SullyMcGully
-
Posts
486 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Content Type
Profiles
Forums
Events
Posts posted by SullyMcGully
-
-
17 minutes ago, Lord Raven said:
The assumption you're making is that politicians act on their promises and they truly believe in their promises.
This is not true; corporate interests are all over our government, and they pander for votes. There are single-issue abortion voters who will never get what they want due to a Supreme Court precedent and a revolt from the majority. But they still campaign on it and still get votes due to it. This is just one example.
You're misunderstanding me. Politicians don't give a crap for their promises, but if they do things that their constituents disagree with, they don't get reelected.
-
THEY DON'T SERVE BREAKFAST IN HELL!
You got enough right. You are a real homeschooler indeed.
76. What's your favorite Veggietales episode?
77. Veggietales character?
78. Silly song?
79. What's your favorite actual vegetable?
80. You think our resident retro hip hop fanatic @buttmuncher.ops would enjoy some classic Christian 90's rap mixes?
-
Ever used a Gamecube case? It has the opposite problem. It's so tight that you feel like you're going to break your minidisc pulling it out.
-
1 minute ago, Lord Raven said:
We are overall powerless unless we vote, and a vote only places your opinion on the table... maybe.
I'd say loudly voiced opinions work too. Politicians depend on your votes, but when a large group of angry people says something, they listen and take note because those are their constituents and if a politician doesn't do what their constituents want, then they don't get reelected.
The ACA repeal-and-replace act probably didn't fail because McCain and co. took personal issue with the bill. It failed because they saw what they would look like if the bill didn't turn out right and they were trying to get reelected. It pretty much works the same way for Democrats. They have it easy now, like the Republicans did under Obama, because all they have to do is hate on Trump and their constituents will be pleased.
-
Okay, so seeing as the Constitution has come up, here's my opinion on the matter. It's completely unique (I've never heard anyone else talk about it like this before) and highly controversial, and I'm not a political science major, so this might have a few flaws that need to be worked out. But I think it provides an interesting perspective on the matter.
What gives the Constitution its power? Do we just obey it because it's the rules, and nobody can change them? Is it only powerful because the government backs it up? When you look at the attitudes the Founding Fathers had about the whole deal, I think it becomes clear that the Constitution is given power by the people. The Constitution is the means by which we Americans hold the government accountable. Just read the Bill of Rights. It gives a bunch of rules about what the government can and cannot do. When you pay attention to the actual rules listed, it is apparent that the purpose of these rules was to maintain the power that the people had over the government. 1st Amendment: No government religion. The government can't decide what is the right or wrong way to think. 2nd Amendment: right to bear arms. If the government were to stop representing the people, the people would have the means with which to dispose of the government. Remember that before the Revolutionary War, the British government tried to take American weapons so that Americans would be unable to protest. The 2nd Amendment was written to avoid that situation ever happening again. See where I'm going with this?
The people give the Constitution power. The Constitution only has power as long as the people back it up. If it could exist without popular support, it would be the very kind of dictatorial rule which the Founding Fathers fought to dispose of. There's nothing God-breathed about the Constitution, it has its flaws. So if the people disliked an aspect of the Constitution... it could be changed. Take the 2nd Amendment. It was great back in the day, but now a lot of people don't like it. The media has replaced firearms as the tool with which to hold the government accountable. If the majority of Americans were to decide that they didn't want it... then it could disappear.
The American government, as it was originally designed, was meant to only work at the behest of the people. And I think it still does. What the people want done still gets done, just very, very slowly. The government can't keep a law going if nobody likes it. All it takes is a good solid majority of angry Americans demanding something and the politicians will cave, because they, too, are at the mercy of voters. They either cave or get voted out of office, which is why politicians who won't vote against their conscience are few and far between. Yes it takes a long time. Trump, who did win the election because enough people wanted him in office, might never get anything done with the current government makeup because the loudest Americans right now are the ones who seem to hate him the most. He might stonewall every initiative Democrats try to pass, but if that's really what the people want, then those initiatives will pass whenever he's out of office. Ultimately, the government is still in the hands of the people. And with enough people against it, there is no law (including the Constitution) that can't be overridden eventually. It's the American way.
So that's just my take on this whole deal of whether the Constitution is valid or not. It only works now because Americans believe in it. I believe in it, but I also believe that it can and should be changed if the people actually will it. Even if those changes lead this country the wrong way and I disagree with them, it wouldn't be America if the power didn't ultimately lie with the people, not a few famous documents.
-
Radle heard the battle going on with Joicelyn down the hall and wondered how many of the anguished cries were from men on his own side. Joicelyn sure is a tough opponent. He contemplated helping, but then he remembered the other captives. He continued down the hall, keys in hand.
Radle moves to E5.
-
Can I just say that the poverty line is a bit of a joke? My family lives under the poverty line. But we own our house. We have plenty to eat. We stay warm in the winter. We have a nice TV. I have a cell phone. We run a small farm. Yet we could get thousands of dollars in government assistance if we wanted to. We don't, because it would be kinda immoral to take money meant to help people who can't survive on what they have and use it for ourselves. But we could.
Welfare reform is a real need. The moment someone (usually a Republican) says that, they immediately get people screaming "but what about the hungry people on the streets? You want them to starve?" But welfare reform (done right) would actually be better for those people, because people like me wouldn't be getting aid that they didn't need.
-
Alright then, let's see how homeschooled you really are. Finish the lyrics! If you get just one of these, I'll accept you as one of us. If not, then...
71. "When the toast is burnt and all the milk has turned and Cap'n Crunch is waving farewell..."
72. "SADDLE UP YOUR HORSES! We got a trail to blaze..."
73. "When he pulls up his sleeves, he's not just puttin' on the ritz..."
74. "Looking for a reason, roaming through the night to find..."
75 "There was a man with a tattoo on his big fat belly - it wiggled around like marmalade jelly. It took me awhile to catch what it said because I had to match the rhythm of his belly with my head. 'Jesus Saves'; that's what he raves in a typical tattoo of green. He stood on a box in the middle of the city and he said he had a dream. He said..."
-
WHAT! No Princess Bride? You can't be a real homeschooler. Liar! Imposter! Fiend! Troglodyte! (That last one I learned from @Clarine)
61. Have you ever been on an adventure in Odyssey?
62. "Oh yeah, all right, take it easy baby..." (HINT: this guy died recently)
63. "I know. All I. Need to know by the way that I got..."
64. What makes the rock and roll world go 'round?
65. Ever watch an anime called Durarara?
66. Ever want to visit the Holy Land?
67. Ever play Munchkin?
68. What's the most difficult job you've ever tackled?
69. What's the dirtiest job you've ever tackled?
70. I wanna know, have you ever seen the rain?
-
12 minutes ago, KingStaragna said:
@Poimagic, waiting on you
I think your mention failed. @Poimagic, waiting on you.
-
39 minutes ago, Lord Raven said:
The democratic platform is "teach a man to fish, and make rods affordable." Republican philosophy is "throw him into the water, tell him to catch some fish, then blame him when he can't do it."
So how exactly are the Democrats planned on getting the poor out of poverty? Giving them more money? Money doesn't equal success if you don't know what to do with it. I have never actually heard a Democrat explain how they plan on getting poor people "unpoor". I've only ever heard them explain how they can give poor people the same things other Americans because they have a "right". Right to not die of starvation? Sure, but the food bank in my town seems to be doing fine, since they have enough perfectly fine excess food for them to send a few trailer loads to my pigs every week. Right to healthcare? Questionable. The Catholic hospital in my town can save you a ton of money in medical bills if you are poor enough, and the wealthy people who go to church and give their 10 percent seem to be completely capable of keeping that program running. Right to cell phone? Gimme a break. Aren't there better things to do with that money?
A better metaphor is one where poverty is a pit. Republicans want to put sharp spikes at the bottom of the pit, so that all who fall down there are intensely motivated to either find a way out or live in misery. Democrats want to put a soft mattress at the bottom of the pit, so that those at the bottom can still enjoy life while they contemplate maybe getting out one day. Neither position is perfect. Ideally, you would put a trampoline in the bottom of the pit so that your stay is as brief as possible. But if partisan economists with big degrees can't figure out how to do that and each political party can't stop blaming the other every time their stupid plan fails, then I doubt that there's anything an ordinary guy like me can do.
-
2 minutes ago, Res said:
Hurrah for increasing the national debt and decreasing welfare! And to wealth inheritance and rich families.
And especially hurray for my older brother, who is now going to inherit his parent's farm without paying more money than he's made in his life beforehand. Hooray for my grandparents being able to pass down their hard-earned cash to the next generation instead of spending it all as fast as possible on themselves because "when we're dead, the government will just take it all and use it for things we don't agree with."
-
A few of you may know me as possibly the only person on Serenes Forest who has never played a Pokemon game. Well, I'm planned on changing that. I have a 3DS, which means I have access to almost every mainstream Pokemon game ever made in some way or another, either through Virtual Console, enhanced remakes ported to DS/3DS, or original titles released on DS/3DS. I checked it out and they all seem to sell for about $25 used on Amazon. So which game should I start with? Should I go all the way back to the beginning and play the Gameboy titles? Should I start with a remake or an original? Should I wait for Ultra Sun/Moon to come out? Every game has two versions, which is better?
Keep in mind that the things that matter most to me when buying a game are:
1. Good value for money
2. Good storytelling
3. Good music
4. Long-lasting gameplay experience
-
51. Finish the lyrics! "Take a look at my girlfriend..."
52. "I would do anything for love..."
53. "I don't mind you coming here..."
54. "Didn't I didn't I didn't I see you..."
55. "In the town where I was born there lived a..."
56. Were the above 5 questions an appropriate test of your classic rock related knowledge base, or do you want me to stop taking it easy on you?
57. Of all the years of your life, which was your favorite?
58. On a scale of 10 to 100, how many times have you seen the Princess Bride?
59. What's your favorite quote from the Princess Bride?
60. What style of music makes you want to dance?
-
41. Have you ever watched The Office?
42. Have you ever had a crush on a girl?
43. Describe your dream woman's emotional characteristics?
44. Physical characteristics?
45. Do you ever flirt?
46. Can you dance?
47. Can you sing?
48. Tell me a funny joke!
49. If you were to start a charity, what would it do?
50. What homeschool curriculum did you use?
-
23 minutes ago, eclipse said:
Conception 2. Just. . .stay away from that series. The difficulty spike apparently occurs late, but I don't have the stomach to get there.
Yup. While it wasn't exactly pricey, downloading the demo for that game is probably the worst game-related mistake I've ever made.
-
Fanfics about leg hair! Another shared experience!Coincidentally, my Wii does have a meltdown every time I insert Brawl. I thought it was because I installed Project M from a sketchy site, but maybe they're in love! It doesn't happen to any other games...
31. Wait, are you one of those guys with attractive leg hair, or do you just have a lot of it?
32. If I'm not the lead singer/producer/songwriter/composer for that band @Natalie wants you to start, then how mad do you think I'll be?
33. Have you ever played Project M?
34. Have you ever played Super Smash Flash 2?
35. Have you ever played a Fire Emblem fangame?
36. Tell a sad story about something you liked breaking.
37. What's your favorite Queen song?
38. Finish the lyric: "I'm sailing away... set an open voyage ____________"
39. So you've never had a girlfriend? What kind of girl would you want to be your friend?
40. Are you health-conscious?
-
8 hours ago, Phoenix Wright said:
my points have been within the context of the natural world, but i agree. coincidentally, this issue is partly what makes studying brains so goddamn hard.
i honestly don't know how to parse your second statement so i'll just ignore it, haha.
there's an example of that. maxwell formalized much of electromagnetism, but faraday was an experimental scientist and didn't actually receive a formal education in physics. but he's still named for a bunch of things.
the problem with religious people is they'll never ask about 'b,' they assume god and head straight to 'c.' god is not an apt substitute for real knowledge.
the problem is he doesn't care. cause now that's being used as evidence for the existence of god even though it shouldn't be. at this point this is less about that pastor and more about the bigger picture: using the unknown as evidence of god. it's inherently faulty reasoning, intellectually lazy, and detrimental to progress.
The incorrect assumption I'm seeing here is that faith inherently hinders scientific progress. It doesn't. Many early scientists were religiously motivated. Isaac Newton is probably the most common example, but there are many others.
Now, it is true that religions can work against science, with examples being the Roman Catholic Church's anti-heliocentric policies and many modern churches refusal to accept science that would diminish the traditional role of God. But is this a problem with religion or a problem with humans in general? If we were to just take the foundation of the Christian faith, the Bible, and discard everything that Christians have postured since then, we would find that Christianity as it was originally designed (and as many Christians believe it should stay) is not anti-scientific at all, with many passages illustrating scientific knowledge that was ahead of its time and many others extolling the values of sound learning.
Perhaps the reason many religions seem to be anti-science is because of the humans who speak for them. But these humans are not God. They do not decide what is and what is not about a religion. That is already set in stone, and they are merely providing their own interpretation.
Something that would suggest this to be a human problem is that many non-religious nations and governments aren't really doing much better in the way of being scientific and reasonable. Nazi Germany claimed to have science on its side, but very few modern scientists have the clout to back up the aggressive eugenics that they supported back then. The USSR was athiestic, but apparently they couldn't do the math to avoid economic downfall. Being non-religious hasn't made China a utopia of free-thinking individuals, and don't even get me started on North Korea.
Being religious or anti-religious has nothing to do with it. There are smart Christians and dumb athiests, and vice-versa. Whether you are scientifically progressive as a culture or not depends on the intelligence and wisdom of citizens, not religious persuasion. The people you see decrying science and advocating "blind faith" in a context completely separate from how that phrase was even used in the Bible don't speak for the people who actually wrote the Bible. They're giving their own opinion, one that I disagree with and am not characterized by. I'm religious and I'm more pro-science than most Americans seem to be. They aren't mutually exclusive.
-
47 minutes ago, Von Ithipathachai said:
I still MOC a bit in my free time, though I don't post them online as much as I used to.
Right now I have a couple of MOCs based on Fire Emblem's Hero and General classes.
Yeah. I personally always preferred making my own characters within my own world with my own lore.
-
You remember Bionicles? Well this thread is all about them! Reminisce to your heart's content!
This thread was created at the request of a certain @DefaultBeep.
-
I could talk about Bionicle all day... that's it! I'm making a Bionicle thread!
Oh, church! Another shared experience!
21. Are you a consistent churchgoer?
22. What's your favorite denomination?
23. BWAHAHA... DO YOU HAVE A FAVORITE HYMN?
24. What style of worship music do you prefer?
25. Were you homeschooled for religious reasons?
26. Have any bad church experiences?
27. Do you fear death?
28. What is the riskiest thing you've ever done?
29. What is the most risque thing you've ever done?
30. Do you know who my avatar is?
-
You played with Bionicles? So did I! Must be a homeschooler thing...
Prepare for 15 Bionicle-related questions!
6. Who is your favorite Toa?
7. What is your favorite series of Toa?
8. What is your favorite mask?
9. What is your favorite enemy series?
10. Do you like Bionicles for the creativity aspect or are you more into the storyline?
11. I heard that they've started makng Bionicles again. You know if the new ones are any good?
12. Did you like Hero Factory?
13. Who is your favorite Matoran?
14. What is your favorite gimmicky mechanic (gear functions and such)?
15. What is your favorite projectile weapon and why is it the disc spinners from the Toa Hordika?
16. Ever watch a Bionicle movie?
17. Ever play a Bionicle game?
18. What's your least favorite series overall?
19. Which series do you think has the best storyline?
20. What's your opinion of the new construction system that they introduced with Hero Factory 2.0?
-
I've been looking forward to this.
1. Impressions of me?
2. What's the deal with your username?
3. Ya' like bluegrass?
4. When @Arcanite and I derail this thread and turn it into a debate about some random alternate topic, what do you want us to talk about?
5. Will you raise the limit?
-
Emmeryn's would be "Jump" by Van Halen. Or "Free Fallin'" by the late great Tom Petty.
Caeda's would be "Do You Believe in Love" by Huey Lewis.
Libra's would be "Livin' on a Prayer" by Bon Jovi.
Azura's would be "Lost in Thoughts All Alone" by whoever sings that song.
As for my favorite FE character: Ike's would be "Be a Man" from the Mulan soundtrack.
FE: War of Men (Gameplay)
in Roleplay
Posted
Radle finally found the cell. He opened it and peered inside. His eyes still had to adjust to the darkness.
"Is there anyone in here?"
Radle moves to B5 and opens door using keys.