I can’t help but read the ph as an f, even though it is clearly a concatenation.

And there you go from the moral/intellectual high ground, mocking them as toddlers and saying it’s right and normal to laugh and make fun of them.

I can’t stand vaccine hesitancy and anti-science bullshit. I’ve had to deal with this becoming a Fox News thing in my own family, and lost too many people from alternative “Eastern” medicine over “Western” medical science. But the mockery and ridicule only feeds into the Christian persecution complex most of that rural white population already embraces, and causes the wagons to circle.

A bunch of empty calorie LitRPG desserts right now like He Who Fights With Monsters, The Primal Hunter, and Unbound, with my currently active book being the first book in the Infinite Realm series. I am eagerly awaiting Beware of Chicken 4, and I have the latest Bobiverse book queued up as the audiobook dropped this week.

Audiobooks really allowed me to get back into reading due to time constraints, so I almost always have a book going in one ear throughout the day. I cycle between “realer” literature and light fun reads, but have been on a nice trashy kick for a little while now. I am debating another attempt at Malazin Book of the Fallen because I have no idea where I got cut off in my last listen through, and possibly another thrip through of Dune due to the movies and the nearly 2 decades since my last read through.

As someone who has been a fan of the Sword of Truth series, I can confidently say that Wheel of Time is superficially similar but definitely better. Both main characters are unknowing chosen one’s with mysterious lineages, who go on their heroes journey to save the world. Both have an interesting magic system, and mostly engaging and enjoyable characters. Both have a morally headstrong lead character who has a hero complex after being thrust into the position, who are genuinely fun to root for as they grow into the hero they become.

Wheel of Time is a much larger story, more grand epic in comparison, with a larger cast and 5 “main” characters that are followed with their satellite characters. The timeline and scope start out with the entire world and remain on that scale in comparison, and Jordan is a significantly better writer in my opinion. I would say that Wheel of Time is like if J.R.R. Martin wrote the Lord of the Rings, so there is more individual depth (almost too much sometimes) and so the story takes longer to tell but is incredibly “lived in”.

I have a real soft spot for Terry Goodkind, having found the series in the late 90s or early 00s. It was one of my first big high fantasy series and before Wheel of Time. That said, i just couldn’t really get further than Confessor in the series. It looks like there were only 4 more books in the series, so I may have to go back and try and finish it and see if it gets better. Goodkind has a habit of pulling new powers out of Richard’s butt or changing how magic works when he seems to have written himself into a corner, which eventually killed my suspension of disbelief. And as much shit as Jordan gets for “men writing women”, his female characters are significantly better written than Goodkind’s. Both stories are rather traditional male power fantasy, but Goodkind can be kind of egregious there.

I am not ragging on Goodkind even if it seems like it, honestly, but read Wheel of Time because it is that good. The best way I can describe the difference is that it feels like going from a YA or main stream series to adult literature. You won’t be disappointed.

I have never heard someone call all of recorded human history relatively recent outside of paleontologists or geologists.

Immigration is never a crime, because immigration is done through established channels.

Maybe your right though and we should stop calling people who violate international borders or break the law by violating visas illegal immigrants, because that is a politically correct term.

I know you are actually arguing against the existence of countries in favor of a single planet spanning global commune, I just couldn’t resist.

Still have the theme song stuck in my head to this day. Good times. The 90s was a great decade, which was definitely only 10 years ago because the 80s was 20 years ago. No need to check my math on that.

If there was credibility for a Jewish ethnostate 70 years ago due to the Holocaust and global antisemitism, how do we get to say things are better now and take the country back. Especially with all the other ethnostates in the world.

Obviously there is a problem because the region had changed hands over the past 1-2000 years and had other ethnic groups when the country was established by the Allies. The idea of having taken the land from Germany instead of the area around l Jerusalem sounds like poetic justice, but ignores that they have a historic homeland. Anyone would want their historic homeland with their historic religious sites back over somewhere else.

It seems like Jews are treated as second class when it comes to that. Talk of giving Mt Rushmore back is because it was that tribes sacred religious site, and no one would be happy giving them another mountain in another state.

You indicated that anyone that is Zionist and anyone who has served in the IDF should be deported to wherever they came from or wherever their father’s family line last held citizenship. With the IDF being mandatory service, that is basically the majority of able bodied people.

You also said the same should happen with the US and Canada, which are over 200 years old, so I am not sure why Australia gets a pass. Better optics on treatment of aboriginals than first nations and native Americans?

Actual justice to you is deporting all people without sufficient/correct bloodline from Israel to Europe, and the Americas back to Europe, Africa, and Asia, to return those lands to their “correct” ethno states? I assume you would include Australia and New Zealand, and Africa as well. Very “sins of the father to the third and fourth generations”.

It seems that you are arguing that only the Jewish people who stayed or managed to return to the region prior to the 18 or 1900s count as “real” Jews, and those that came after the foundation of Israel are Europeans faking being Jews for the purpose of colonizing the middle east?

Ah, so as long as you push a people/culture out of a region long enough, they no longer count as having been there. Or are you saying that the Jewish people interbred with Europeans too much after the Roman diaspora and thus Jews are no longer of middle eastern descent? Is there an argument that the Jews originated in Europe or elsewhere and not from the region surrounding Jerusalem?

I am ignoring the entire subject of the state of Israel, I’m just trying to understand the logic on the Jewish people and culture not being “already there” in the region.

Have you seen children? Empathy is one of the last things to develop. There is a specific purity of cruelty attributed to children for a reason.

Civilization is conditioned into humans as a general rule, not the other way around, and needs consistent reinforcement. Humans are eusocial, but like chimpanzees and ants where war with other “tribes” is closer to a baseline than cooperation.

And you don’t think requiring licensure won’t be abused to disenfranchise minorities and the lower class? There is a reason poll taxes and anything beyond simple registration was ruled unconstitutional for voting, and even simple registration gets badly abused. Any enumerated right cannot have hoops to jump through to actually be rights instead of privileges.

Training is great, and should be part of our compulsory education starting from elementary school due to the fact that there are more guns than people in this country. Free training should also be offered for adults to be able to regularly (annually or more often) attend, and needs to be available so people who cannot take time off work can attend. I think this might be something that the Guard and Reserves might be tapped for, subsidized training.

Keep up and beef up the universal background checks, and they need to be made free and fast so private sales can also use them.

Mental healthcare needs a huge bump, and honestly we need a universal healthcare system because of the disaster our insurance industry has become. Healthcare at this point should basically be a right, and a universal system is the way to go at this point. Trust busting and anti-competition laws need to be enforced to fix the monopoly and oligarchy situations we have causing mass wealth inequality and killing free market capitalism. With better economic conditions and mental healthcare, that will do the most to improve violence.

That may or may not be entirely true, but you have to admit that was a damn good burn. Someone had to say it, it was too perfect a setup not to.

Ignoring the tragedy of the actual situation, the way the title is parsed for the link implies that a diesel powered bicyclist crashed while rolling coal and that imagery makes me giggle.

Technically you are falling for the positive stereotype fallacy, like saying Asians are good at math or the endowment of black males doesn’t count as prejudice because those are “good things”. Same boat as the Model Minority myth for East Asians.

People from those cultures may lean into those positive stereotypes or be less bothered by them, but they are still a prejudice. They also make it a little easier for less positive stereotypes to be believed by less educated or less tolerant people.

That said, as an Italian American you can pry my cooking stereotypes from my cold dead hands.

Dear God yes, why the fuck is my Fold trying to install fucking candy crush and a bunch of other games every time it does a software update?! And recently it has a new system app trying to install games as well, that comes back if dismissed in any other way than opening it to get the offers and then clicking on the never option. And apparently never is like 3-6 months according to Samsung, because it does come back.

I really hope the Pixel Fold 2 is a solid phone, because that is where I plan to migrate to after nothing but Samsung phones since the Note 3, which was has been all downhill since TBH (RIP microSD cards).

So your argument is sticking your fingers in your ears and shouting “la la la, I can’t hear you”? Just because you don’t believe that a law would ever be used, doesn’t mean it isn’t real and cannot be used. Just because a law was ratified in 1930 doesn’t mean it no longer exists. There is not statue of limitations on how long laws exist for, and laws don’t die of old age.

Yeah, no shit the congress is the only body that can raise an army. No one is arguing otherwise. The army and the militia are two different things. The President activates the National Guard to active duty, done by Executive Order.

Just because the draft is unpopular doesn’t mean that you couldn’t be drafted tomorrow if WW3 broke out. Until it is repealed, it is still the law and can be used. Until there is a lawsuit that takes one of the many laws surrounding the unorganized militia before the Supreme Court and it gets ruled unconstitutional, it’s still legal. Texas, California, New York, Ohio, and Florida all have similar laws to Virginia, none have been struck down as unconstitutional or a violation of the 13th Amendment.

The idea that a foreign power could invade the continental US or that we could have another actual civil war is or should be ridiculous, but that in and of itself won’t stop either of those things from happening. If they do happen, watch how quickly people get drafted into their State Guard when a shooting war is taking place.

Here is Virginia’s laws on this matter for example, which mirror multiple other states laws:

Article 8. Unorganized Militia. § 44-85. Regulations and penalties.

Whenever any part of the unorganized militia is ordered out, it shall be governed by the same rules and regulations and be subject to the same penalties as the National Guard.

1930, p. 965; Michie Code 1942, § 2673(71); 2015, c. 221.

§ 44-86. When ordered out for service.

The commander in chief may at any time, in order to execute the law, suppress riots or insurrections, or repel invasion, or aid in any form of disaster wherein the lives or property of citizens are imperiled or may be imperiled, order out the National Guard and the inactive National Guard or any parts thereof, or the whole or any part of the unorganized militia. When the militia of this Commonwealth, or a part thereof, is called forth under the Constitution and laws of the United States, the Governor shall order out for service the National Guard, or such part thereof as may be necessary; and he may likewise order out such a part of the unorganized militia as he may deem necessary. During the absence of organizations of the National Guard in the service of the United States, their state designations shall not be given to new organizations.

1930, p. 965; Michie Code 1942, § 2673(72); 1958, c. 393.

§ 44-87. Manner of ordering out for service.

The Governor shall, when ordering out the unorganized militia, designate the number to be so called. He may order them out either by calling for volunteers or by draft.

1930, p. 965; Michie Code 1942, § 2673(73); 1944, p. 25; 1958, c. 393; 1984, c. 765.

§ 44-88. Incorporation into the Virginia Defense Force.

Whenever the Governor orders out the unorganized militia or any part thereof, it shall be incorporated into the Virginia Defense Force until relieved from service.

1944, p. 25; Michie Suppl. 1946, § 2673(73); 1984, c. 765; 2011, cc. 572, 586.

§ 44-89. Draft of unorganized militia.

If the unorganized militia is ordered out by draft, the Governor shall designate the persons in each county and city to make the draft, and prescribe rules and regulations for conducting the same.

1930, p. 965; Michie Code 1942, § 2673(74).

§ 44-90. Punishment for failure to appear.

Every member of the militia ordered out for duty, or who shall volunteer or be drafted, who does not appear at the time and place ordered, shall be liable to such punishment as a court-martial may direct.

1930, p. 965; Michie Code 1942, § 2673(75); 1958, c. 393.