Hell, a suicide squad game that actually properly utilized the suicide squad could have been great.
Hell, a suicide squad game that actually properly utilized the suicide squad could have been great.
Trump has a lot of wealth on paper, but a lot of it is tied up in real estate, which isn’t the easiest thing to turn into cash when you need it. And a lot is tied up in stock, but since he got caught fixing the books for the Trump Organization, he can’t really use that as his personal piggybank without a lot of scrutiny. And Truth Social is worth over a billion on paper but will crash if he starts to sell any of his stock, which would cause a lot of new problems right now.
Meanwhile, he is burning through money at an insane rate. I mean historically, he’s lost far more money than he’s ever been worth. He’s always had to have new businesses and schemes to cycle through as the old ones crumble. He basically never made a profit until the Apprentice, and that actually caused problems because he’d structured his operations around losing money, leaving other people holding the bag when things go completely south, writing off the loses for tax purposes, and, well, cooking the books.
But with hundreds of millions in judgements against him, on top of the hundred million plus in legal fees, he’s in a bit of a bind. He already had to put a $175 million up for bond to appeal the judgment civil judgment against the Trump Organization. If he loses the appeal, he’s out not just the $175 million, but the full $489 million judgement, plus about $115k a day in interest. Plus he’s got the E Jean Carroll judgments and ongoing cases because he’s a dumb bastard that can’t stop himself from committing defamation every time he leaves a courthouse after losing a defamation case.
While he has been funneling money from his PAC to cover his legal bills that only goes so far, and as I understand it, he can’t use that for actual judgements against him. If he loses the election, he may be fighting legal battles for years to come, that PAC money will likely dry up, and if he doesn’t have the cash when the court demands it, he could see his assets seized and auctioned off. If he wins the election, he can do basically anything and we’re all fucked.
So to simplify this a bit, imagine that he spent almost all his money on a lot of properties without getting a single monopoly, while his opponent has hotels on the dark blue and green properties. He keeps trying to survive the gauntlet and pass go to stay in the game, and maybe he can survive by mortgaging everything, but it’s much easier for him if he has the cash to pay the bill.
So, what I’m getting from this is that Trump’s campaign doesn’t have anyone that knows a goddamn thing about SEO. And that apparently it’s election interference for Google to prioritize real news sources over right wing propaganda outlets.
But this is also another good reminder that Trump views government authority as something that he should be able to wield without restraint. If he gets back into office he’ll use the justice department, the IRS, and any other federal agency he’s aware of as weapons to punish those who displease him. Doesn’t matter what the law says about any of this, his bullying will cost people one way or another, and all while he can’t be touched because as president he will be above the law.
With voters gearing up for the fall elections, these scandals have left many party members frustrated.
Not being able deal with their frustration is how they got into this mess.
The movies that need remakes are the ones that had potential but just sucked (or at least, failed to deliver a fraction of what they could have been). Unfortunately, those are rarely huge hits that people will still recognize decades later. It’s the popular and successful movies that they want to remake.
Yes, it’s the thought of paying for a car seat that is preventing me from having a kid.
I mean, I can handle the crushing weight of student loans, the housing costs that keep going up, wages stagnating, having shitty insurance that makes me dread even small medical costs, and making ends meet by subjecting myself to an endless grind that leaves me barely enough time to contemplate kids let alone raising them. That’s all just normal, no need for concern. But a car seat? How the fuck am I supposed to pay for that?
Actually, the Haitian version would be vodou. Voodoo is a related but distinct tradition that developed in the US.
Republican official determined to make voting harder in Republican dominated community, not going to let facts or laws get in his way.
“Lol. These Haitians are wild. Eating pets, vudu, nastiest country in the western hemisphere, cults, slapstick gangsters… but damned if they don’t feel all sophisticated now, filing charges against our President and VP,” he said, referring to Republican presidential and vice presidential nominees Trump and Vance, respectively.
“All these thugs better get their mind right and their ass out of our country before January 20th,” the post concluded. That would be the day Trump and Vance would be sworn into office if they win November’s election.
Let’s see what we have here:
Meanwhile Russia’s spraying the country with a firehose of lies, and illegally funneling money in to influence the election. IIRC Johnson got a hefty campaign donation from Russia, which he had to return when it was noticed.
But no, this is clearly the real outrage. Just because he didn’t endorse any politician or party and didn’t appear with any presidential candidate doesn’t mean that this wasn’t obviously election interference. Just look what he’s doing, reminding people that Ukraine exists and shaking hands with American workers who build the shells that are helping to save his country. What could be more sinister?
For real though, the pro-Putin wing is desperate to spin this story because it clearly shows how full of shit they are when they bitch about spending money on Ukraine instead of keeping it in the US. Supporting Ukraine isn’t just good for upholding the international order, safeguarding allies, and degrading Russia’s capabilities for remarkably little cost, but it’s also supporting domestic manufacturing jobs.
If they lie and tell people that their votes were counted when they weren’t in order to disenfranchise them by robbing them of their opportunity to correct the ballot, I believe they could face fraud charges. That’s in addition to any potential legal consequences for violating this court order.
I have to ask, have you read Orconomics? It’s a parody of fantasy, gaming, and economics. I recommend it to anyone who likes Pratchett, and especially if you’re into the extremely specific niche of financial fantasy satire.
The Dresden Files: A wizard working as a detective in Chicago. Fun, pulpy, and has an expanding world and scope as the series goes on. Often described as Harry Potter for adults.
Children of Time: Humans escaping a dying earth encounter a planet where a terraforming project accidentally created sapient spiders. Very thoughtful and creative. Explores the evolution of the spiders as a species and civilization and the ways they would be both similar and different from humans.
Dungeon Crawler Carl: OK, this is a hard one to describe in a blurb, but basically aliens invaded and turned earth into a massive reality show / video game. Our pantsless hero Carl and his cat Donut are among the survivors being whittled down level by level in an insane fantasy dungeon crawl. Has much better world building and character development than you would ever expect, is compelling while also being hilarious, and despite the very dark subject matter, it stays fun and avoids getting bogged down by misery. I highly recommend the audiobook version as it is absolutely first rate and adds so much more to the experience.
War of the Worlds: The adaptations have never done thr original justice. It’s a simple story, but very effective. And I just have a soft spot for really old classic sci-fi, what with the lumbering mechanical monstrocities and their heat rays assaulting pre-WWI military units.
Discworld is a strong recommendation from me as well, though Guards Guards is my preferred starting point
This reading order guide is quite good, though I’m pretty sure the note saying where the author said to start is wrong. IIRC, Pratchett’s recommendation was to start at Mort, skip Sourcery, and read through chronologically.
I also highly recommend the Orconomics trilogy. It’s clever, witty, satirical, and very, very Pratchettesque.
Isn’t this the same attorney general that refused to release prisoners that had been exonerated?
I’m a bit skeptical about the idea of people staying home in large numbers specifically because it was supposedly safe. But I think you can get to about the same place through an enthusiasm gap.
People who might have been moved by a better candidate and/or campaign but weren’t very motivated by Clinton stayed home. It’s possible that some might have been swayed if the race was neck and neck since it would have helped drive home the stakes.
Unfortunately, a lot of people are politically disengaged, and a large portion of the population votes on vibes more than reason and policy.
I think there’s two main reasons this keeps coming up every time a poll shows that Harris has even a chance at winning:
In 2016, Hillary Clinton was way ahead in the polls, only to lose. This was due to many factors, but one that gets a fair amount of blame is that a lot of people hated her and didn’t want to hold their nose and vote for her. Staying home was a lot easier when she was supposed to win by a wide margin.
While a lot of people pushing third party candidates were never going to support Harris, there are also those who think that it’s ok to vote third party in states that aren’t seen as in play in order to “send a message” without risking a Trump win. But if the polls are off and that state is closer than expected, those votes could still cost the election.
Historically, being ahead in the polls helps a candidate. The bandwagon effect is real, and can help drive up turnout and shift how people perceive an election or issue. That’s why partisan polls designed to skew the numbers have been around for so long.
Either way, it doesn’t hurt to remind people that no matter what they expect the outcome to be, we need as many votes as we can get. Bigger margins can help fight off conspiracy theories and legal challenges, and more turnout in down-ballot races can make the difference between gridlock and real progress.
Sadly, I was only able to find a fifteen year old, potato quality clip of Mel Brooks demonstrating what DeSantis just did to sex ed:
For physical tasks that require little higher brain function but just need me to not zone out or chase a distraction, I listen to audiobooks and podcasts. It’s about the only way I can get stuff done around the house.
For tasks that require real brain power, I stick to original scores from movies and games. No lyrics, easy to find something with the right level of intensity for your mood, and generally designed to compliment an existing experience rather than be your sole focus.
Extended loops of Brothers in Arms from Mad Max Fury Road and Mountains from Interstellar have saved my ass in many a crisis. And the hour long Skyrim morning exploration mix and Witcher relaxation mix combined have probably doubled my creative output.
Anything presented as news should be kept separate from opinion. If it’s news, you should be able to defend it like it was said under oath.
Personally, I would love it if news channels had to distinguish opinion content from news by removing the word news from the screen and replacing it with the word opinion. That or some other clear and unmistakable signal to the audience should be there to establish whether the station is going on record and asserting facts or whether this is some talking head spewing bullshit.