I really thought that slogan was just a bit in Mad Men. I had no idea that was based on reality.

I try to read books without knowing anything going in; just the title and author. I just finished Piranesi and The Sparrow, which were both good and benefitted from knowing nothing. I grabbed The Witches are Coming off my pile because some more fantasy sounded good. Definitely a bit of whiplash coming off some dark sci-fi, expecting some lighter Pratchett-esque witches, and getting a collection of non-fiction feminist humor essays. It’s a good read, but I really set myself up for disappointment.

When I was a kid I would see the magazines with headlines like, “Hillary Clinton gives birth to Bat Boy.” I always wondered how they stayed in business; surely even the people buying them for a laugh were a tiny market.

Then I had a lot of jobs that put me at others’ homes and I understood very quickly. Fixing computers, painting walls, census taking, even roofing. People that seem normal out in public seem to feel safe revealing their beliefs when they’re on their own turf, especially when they have a captive audience.

In the US, at least, it’s a frightening amount of people who believe in the really out-there stuff.

That’s exactly what it feels like. Cops aren’t required to be fair or pull over the fastest. If everybody around you is going 5-15 MPH over the speed limit and you’re going 10 over a cop can still pull you over, even if someone just blasted past you.

This is what makes the situation you describe so frustrating. If everyone is speeding you can be pulled over for not joining in. If you try to be in the middle of the pack you’ll likely be safe, but not necessarily. And if you get pulled over for something else, like a bad taillight or your kid made a face at the cop, a ticket for speeding is pretty likely.

Same deal in my house. Better not to bring it up yet. You can use it to know who used the toilet last when something breaks.

One of my favorite mechanics is when you place tiles next to each other and the effectiveness of the tiles depends on what is next to them. Suburbia does this but almost goes too far in my opinion. It’s way too much to easily keep track of.

A game called Cité is my favorite for this because you share a border with your opponents and you can make deals out of it. “I’ll put my x2 multiplier on the border here if you give me one Cloth per turn.”

There’s a place only 10 minutes from me. I never would have known. Thanks for the link!

I remember they tried to make an American version but it just wasn’t as good as the original.

Sadly they do not need warrants if they are within 100 miles of a land or sea border, which Newark is definitely in. [https://www.aclu.org/know-your-rights/border-zone](Border Zone) 2/3s of the US population lives in that zone, meaning we’re going to see a lot more of this and absolutely no pushback from officials.

Plus they have two attributes needed to make a great Boogeyman:

1. Very small percentage of the population. You can go your whole life without ever realizing you met one, much less get to know them and start seeing them as human.
2. Not always readily apparent if someone is trans or not. This applied to Jews in Nazi Germany as well. You can really ramp up the paranoia if people start fearing their neighbors and isolate themselves.

First thing I thought of too. This article seems like Schmidt propaganda.

I thought this was the very thing the GOP said the Executive Branch can’t do when they blocked student loan forgiveness.

“Speculation” being the key word here. No references or evidence, just someone wondering if it could happen. I’m already skeptical of any LW article about AI, but this one didn’t even have any substance.

The stupidest joke I ever heard that has stuck with me for some reason:

How are Santa and a plum alike? They’re both purple, except for Santa.

As somebody from Wisconsin I will say that I don’t approve of us being excluded, but I also can’t blame them.

I think both parts are doable, and I see no reason Republicans wouldn’t try. It seems likely that we are going to see Federal election laws over the next couple years to strengthen GOP control, in addition to the local and state level laws we are already dealing with. This is all going to further strengthen their hold and I think we could see 2/3 majority in both houses in 2026.

Honestly I think the 3/4 would be the easier part. Since it’s done by state instead of electorates he just needs 38 states, and he got 31 to vote for him. We’re also talking about state legislatures, not voters, which means the shenanigans above will also be effective here.

I don’t think this is going to be Trump’s first step; this is going to be the capstone on a campaign to secure power for the party forever.

I am sincerely hoping I’m wrong, but the last decade has shown me I am not nearly pessimistic enough.

I admire your optimism. It would take a constitutional amendment, which I don’t think he would have any issues getting past the GOP Congress. After that it’s less likely, but still possible with his shenanigans. I think the only reason it wouldn’t happen is he croaks first.

Some of the dialogue is not great, but overall he has some fantastic acting that is worth seeing. Not to mention the other actors who are actually likeable and do a great job.

But, yeah, it is Mel Gibson. I wouldn’t buy another copy if it puts money in his hands. If you haven’t seen it I recommend finding an alternative path to watch it.

I disagree that it’s about the graphics (in this specific case). That scene has a scare that, when looked at by itself, is not scary at all. However, the setup is so perfect that it had people screaming when they first watched it. I was definitely the target audience at the time, maybe 11 or 12 years old, but it was incredibly powerful. I still get goosebumps when I see it, even though the graphics are bad. It wasn’t a jump scare; they flat-out said what was about to happen in more ways than one. But there was something so pure and fulfilling about them actually following through with exactly what you expected that it transcended being a simple scare.

Anyway, if you watched it as a kid there’s a decent chance that scene permanently lives in your head. I believe that’s what the poster is referencing.

Yeah, my work has an anti-union section of the employee handbook. It says they are proud to provide such good benefits that a union isn’t needed (definitely not true). And how we need to talk to HR first if we ever feel like our working conditions would warrant one. I suspect you wouldn’t be allowed back to your desk if you did that.