I think there will be some protests, some violence, but it will be much smaller than the protesters want it to be, and any violence will be swiftly met with law and order.

Jan 6 happened in part because Trump was in power. Election deniers in every state tried to gum up the works, and will try again. But Trump is not in power. He cannot exchange favors or offer pardons. People obstructing the democratic process will be arrested and prosecuted.

There was a movie about this last year. It was based on a true story, but strays a bit from what actually happened. It’s pretty good. It’s called Hitman.

Does the term describe yourself? If not, you haven’t reclaimed it.

I’m not entirely sure, because I’ve never gotten the hang of Twitter. But reading between the lines, I think this is the sequence of events:

Libertarian twit tweets a death threat against Harris.

Libertarian twit is reminded of the rules (and common decency) and removes the offending tweet.

Libertarian twit passive aggressively tweets about having removed the tweet they twote, invoking the promises of free speech to imply that Leon was censoring their tweets and trampling on their freedoms.

Leon responds to the complaint with the tweet the twit twote, simultaneously demonstrating that the twit is a twat and amplifying the message.

Some wealthy people don’t give a shit whether you believe they have wealth. You don’t need to prove anything to anyone until and unless you make an offer. Ask questions, and don’t answer questions. Give vague, short responses and neglect to elaborate.

Why do you think you can’t prove Gengis Khan existed?

Claims need proof when there is a call to action. It doesn’t matter to me if you’re from an island or a small town or a big city, unless you’re giving me directions. If you make an extraordinary claim, and you want me to believe you, then I’ll need proof. If you make a mundane claim, then what the fuck do I care if you’re lying? If you claim to have a disease, I’m going to believe you because I’m not a doctor and it costs me nothing to take you at your word.

If you shout “Run, something bad is coming!” I might feel foolish and angry if I later learn you were lying, but I’d rather be foolish and angry than injured or dead. Proof is a luxury when time is of the essence, doubly so when safety is at risk.

There might be some specific nuances to quibnle over, but generally I think we could reach consensus on the guidelines I described.

You seem really upset about something that shouldn’t affect you in any way.

The answer is that you’re thinking about this too much. It’s pop music, designed to be fun and catchy, with a hook and a fun dance routine. It’s performed by pretty people who can sing and dance in a manner that is aesthetically and musically entertaining.

Why do they all look and sound the same? Why does every fast food restaurant have a similar burger and french fry combo? It’s because that’s what sells, and this isn’t art. It’s a product designed to be sold.

I dunno man, if you are a girl wouldn’t you a dude that, yeah, he’s attractive but also that looks manly? That can physically protect you? And that does not has a doll face?..

This just comes off as thinly veiled insecurity. There are a lot of people in the world, and attraction is a spectrum. People like what they like, and there’s probably someone out there who likes you for you. You don’t need a doll face, nor do you need to look manly or be physically imposing. Most people don’t need protection in their day to day lives. People want support, companionship, partnership, compatibility, and entertainment. Be fun and loving, and be yourself, and just leave the outdated gender stereotypes behind. You’re not going to be everyone’s cup of tea, nor do you need to be (unless you’re trying to land a job in a KPop band).

Strong agree on the dark side of the industry. That’s the danger with turning performers themselves into a commodity. It’s bad enough manufacturing commercial music as a product, but turning the talent into a product is dehumanizing in a way that leads to terrifying exploitation.

But as consumers, we’re all really good at compartmentalizing the exploitation from the enjoyment we receive from it. If you think the pop music industry is bad, wait until you learn about fast fashion, or cheap technology, or luxury travel, or abundant meat, or out-of-season produce, or inexpensive energy, or pretty much anything you pay to enjoy. There’s a lot of money involved in hiding the suffering.

How about “as a percentage of your waking hours”?

How much time do you spend grabbing your own butt?

I think they should watch it again and again, then, because that’s the behavioral object lesson of the film. Everybody is the hero in their own story. When he has his moment of clarity, and says to himself, “I’m the bad guy?” it ought to be a wake up call to all the chodes who were cheering him on.

You’re supposed to relate to DFENSE and see him as the protagonist. You’re supposed to feel the same revulsion he experiences when he meets an actual Nazi who thinks he’s an ally. You’re supposed to feel the rush of excitement and power he gets finding a duffel bag of automatic firearms. You’re supposed to feel the cathartic release of shooting up a fast food restaurant when the minimum wage worker smugly follows a pointlessly strict menu policy.

And then you’re supposed to feel it all come falling down when he realizes that he cannot get his life back. He cannot restore his relationship with his wife or daughter. He cannot escape the consequences of his choices and his own lack of control. He did everything they told him to, but they lied to him, and now his job, his family, they are gone, and the cruel world doesn’t give a shit. He is “not economically viable” anymore, so he has been cast off.

He thinks he has nothing left to lose. He’s wrong. He thinks he has fallen down, and is on the rise. That sensation that feels like flying, it’s because he’s jumped off a cliff. And we’re all supposed to feel the landing with him.

And likely a fair bit of bone and connective tissue, but it’s all been processed and homogenized.

You’re not supposed to like anybody. It’s about the fall of civilization. There is no hero. Just flawed people. Nobody is standing up for the little guy. Nobody is doing the right thing every time.

Falling Down is a movie we should all watch again.

Do not put a hole in your skull. No. The headache is not caused by cranial pressure.

Your sinuses may be inflamed, and relieving that pressure might provide temporary relief (like pressing on your forehead) but a hole in your skull wouldn’t fix the underlying sinus problem, and would likely result in worse infections and irritation.

Conservatives are exactly the same as they have always been. It’s just that conservatives define their priorities and their values and priorities around their identity, and that means their values and priorities shift with whatever is best for the conservative at the time. There are no universally conservative values, just the generic resistance to change things conservatives like. When a conservative benefits from a strong federal government, they support it. When a conservative benefits from abortion, they support it. When a conservative is a minority, or gay, or a woman, they support equalish rights for themselves. It’s narcissism wearing the cloak of stoic preservation of their “heritage,” and it’s always paper-thin.

This also means anyone opposing the conservative is not a member of the self, but a member of the other. The other is evil, because they are outside of the self. Anything the other does in opposition to the self is evil. An other could save a busload of nuns and kittens, and the conservative would complain about the traffic caused by the other. Anything the self does in support of the self is good. Lying, cheating, stealing, killing, raping, everything is on the table if it can be justified in support or defense of the self. From the outside of the self, it looks like hypocrisy, but it’s really not, because the conservative never truly holds an opinion. They just say what they need to say to win.

“Owl, pass” Cow is calling for the ball, which Owl has thrown towards Cow.

Same question, but mashed potatoes.

Look, I’m not saying that you’re lazy for not spending your nights and weekends at the library taking online learning courses, but you can answer your own question by answering another, “What’s stopping you now?” There are fewer barriers to education now than there ever have been. People who are curious learn. People who are driven accomplish. People who are both discover.

Perplexica? What sort of sauce goes with that?

For a minute I legit thought Italy had dropped a new pasta shape.