Serenes Forest's Teehee Thread

[Hrothgar777]

5 minutes ago, Armagon said:

Trump-supporting Latinos are the biggest group of hypocrites in a group filled with hypocrites.

Depends on how long their families were here, I guess. Many Hispanic people found themselves on this side of the border when the US seized southwest territories from Mexico in the 19th century. Their descendants are counted among the modern day Latino-American population. They're no more "immigrants" than black or white people.

[GuardianSing]

1 minute ago, Armagon said:

Well multiple things can be true at once. Yes Trump's death would've decapitated the GOP. But also he would be seen as a martyr by his supporters and violence could escalate drastically, even more so than right now.

Genuinely think his pseudo-martyrdom from surviving the bullet will be more dangerous and violence escalating than had he died.

4 minutes ago, Armagon said:

 

Trump-supporting Latinos are the biggest group of hypocrites in a group filled with hypocrites.

Latino men being pressured into that macho masculine archetype is a big influence here. People tend to be all too willing to prefer obvious tyranny over perceived incompetence.

[Saint Rubenio]

27 minutes ago, GuardianSing said:

I'm making a collection if anyone wants to add.

Theme-appropriate one

[Armagon]

3 minutes ago, GuardianSing said:

Genuinely think his pseudo-martyrdom from surviving the bullet will be more dangerous and violence escalating than had he died.

It's a lose lose situation but the saving grace is that this did not happen in October. Trump surviving an attempt in October would've actually sealed this country's fate.

5 minutes ago, Hrothgar777 said:

Depends on how long their families were here, I guess. Many Hispanic people found themselves on this side of the border when the US seized southwest territories from Mexico in the 19th century. Their descendants are counted among the modern day Latino-American population. They're no more "immigrants" than black or white people.

You'd be surprised at how many immigrants come here and then say they don't want immigrants.

Not just here but in other countries. See: Germany with it's rather sizable Turkish population.

5 minutes ago, GuardianSing said:

Latino men being pressured into that macho masculine archetype is a big influence here. People tend to be all too willing to prefer obvious tyranny over perceived incompetence.

Bonus points if they come from already authoritarian countries. Republicans have convinced many Cubans and Venezuelans that Democrats will do the same thing to the country that Castro and Chavez did.

[Lightcosmo]

4 hours ago, Codename Shrimp said:

You can't just keep getting attacked and your rights stripped away and do/feel nothing.

Someone like that asshole Trump will ruin alot of lives, and not just in the US. And for no reason than "These people are different" Where different is your flavor of minority, whether ethnic, sexual, political, cultural, religious, ideological or anything that comes to mind. Half of which people don't get to choose anyway.

So... If you dont like someone, its acceptable to just kill them? That cant be right.

1 hour ago, Dayni said:

The point had been on not stooping to the worst kind of people's level, which had not gone on here anyways.

Thats not what I read.

[Codename Shrimp]

13 minutes ago, Lightcosmo said:

So... If you dont like someone, its acceptable to just kill them? That cant be right.

No, i didn't say that, nor do i condone the attack, but having negative feelings about someone that wants to hurt you is very understandable

[Armagon]

4 hours ago, Hrothgar777 said:

I don't know who needs to read this, but take a chill pill dude. If 45 gets elected again, he's not going to kill or imprison you. Or anyone you know. Or strip away your human rights, or those of any US citizen. Sheesh. If he had the power to do that he'd still be President today.

I mean the Supreme Court gave him the ok to do this unopposed. Never mind the fact that Republicans in general have increasingly displayed fascist tendencies. Look at Texas changing how votes are counted to essentially deny any Democrat a chance to win. They implemented a state-wide electoral college so now it's the amount of counties won, not the population, that determines the win. Republicans know that they're unpopular so they increasingly come up with ways to deny people the right to vote. They lost big in 2022 and they began calling for a raised voting age.

Or, better yet, several Republicans have called for a nationwide pregnancy registry, like a sex offender registry but for pregnant women. Can't have them crossing state lines to get an abortion now can we.

Think about how many Republicans dodge the question when they're asked if they would accept a loss. Hell, they are in a position right now to just ignore the votes. Biden wins, Johnson can delay the certification until March, in which case per the Constitution the votes are null and void and the House votes in whoever they want.

"This won't happen here" that's what they said in Venezuela too.

18 minutes ago, Lightcosmo said:

... If you dont like someone, its acceptable to just kill them? That cant be right

After a certain point, the dam explodes. Mussolini was never simply gonna retire.

In fact, a lot of Europe's 20th century dictators met brutal ends, either legally or outright assassination. Franco was one of the lucky ones in that respect.

[BrightBow]

His supporters really stopped having an excuse once Trump put thousands of children into concentration camps.

Back then I still assumed that such a blatant display of pointless cruelty against children would cause his base to turn on him.

But of course nothing of that sort happened. Every single one of them really is that Lopto church level of evil.

Edited July 14 by BrightBow

[GuardianSing]

1 hour ago, Lightcosmo said:

So... If you dont like someone, its acceptable to just kill them? That cant be right.

You're thinking about it on too much of an individualistic level. It's not about disliking Trump as a person. Very practically it's about ending his influence and importance to the Republican party and how without him they wouldn't have the time to get a new political candidate as popular as Trump before the election. The single death of one rich man would be the nail in the coffin to the party that allows for the continued occurrence of school shootings killing dozens of children every month.

[Hrothgar777]

15 minutes ago, Armagon said:

I mean the Supreme Court gave him the ok to do this unopposed.

Yeah...no. That's not what it does. To quote the opinion of the Court, delivered by Chief Justice Roberts:

 

 

"We conclude that under our constitutional structure of separated powers, the nature of Presidential power requires that a former President have some immunity from criminal prosecution for official acts during his tenure in office. At least with respect to the President’s exercise of his core constitutional powers, this immunity must be absolute. As for his remaining official actions, he is also entitled to immunity. At the current stage of proceedings in this case, however, we need not and do not decide whether that immunity must be absolute, or instead whether a presumptive immunity is sufficient...

...Congress cannot act on, and courts cannot examine, the President’s actions on subjects within his “conclusive and preclusive” constitutional authority. It follows that an Act of Congress—either a specific one targeted at the President or a generally applicable one—may not criminalize the President’s actions within his exclusive constitutional power.

But of course not all of the President’s official acts fall within his “conclusive and preclusive” authority. As Justice Robert Jackson recognized in Youngstown, the President sometimes “acts pursuant to an express or implied authorization of Congress,” or in a “zone of twilight” where “he and Congress may have concurrent authority.” 343 U. S., at 635, 637 (concurring opinion). The reasons that justify the President’s absolute immunity from criminal prosecution for acts within the scope of his exclusive authority therefore do not extend to conduct in areas where his authority is shared with Congress.We recognize that only a limited number of our prior decisions guide determination of the President’s immunity in this context."

 

This ruling clearly doesn't grant Trump permission to be a dictator, kill his political opponents and lock up anyone he dislikes.

And just think about it for one second: why would the Supreme Court willingly give up its power of judicial review? Bureaucrats tend to want more power for themselves, not less, so explaining it as some cynical ploy doesn't really make sense. And I doubt Justice Roberts, an old school 20th century Republican, just loves Trump and wants to be his boyfriend so much that he'd gut his own career.

 

32 minutes ago, Armagon said:

Never mind the fact that Republicans in general have increasingly displayed fascist tendencies.

That's your opinion. And it cuts both ways: Republicans could just as well point to their personal experiences of being censored on social media, and having to walk on eggshells when they discuss anything political online, as proof that it's the Dems who are really fascist and want to destroy constitutional rights like freedom of speech. I think at this point it's more than reasonable to accuse both parties of having authoritarian streaks, being pro-liberty on certain issues and not on others.

In any case, the brilliance of our political system is that it works even when people and parties aren't good. It's just too hard for anyone to gain complete unchecked power. There's layer cake Federalism (see the states unilaterally blocking Federal marijuana policy, for example), the minority party's exercise of the filibuster in Congress, the Presidential veto, the power of some random Federal court to throw a wrench in a President's border wall plans, and so on. In Trump's first term he was a weak President who hardly managed to get any of his agenda passed, and definitely not for lack of trying. I don't expect his second term, if he gets it, to be much different.

 

40 minutes ago, Armagon said:

Look at Texas changing how votes are counted to essentially deny any Democrat a chance to win. They implemented a state-wide electoral college so now it's the amount of counties won, not the population, that determines the win.

Assuming you meant for Presidential or US Congressional elections, Google search turned up nothing about this. Wikipedia doesn't mention it either.

I did find this article:

https://www.democracydocket.com/analysis/why-texas-republicans-want-a-state-electoral-college/

While the article has a slant against this proposal, it does admit that (a). it would only affect state offices, and (b). such for statewide offices isn't unprecedented in modern history. It wouldn't keep Texans from voting blue in a Presidential election, or electing Democrats to Congress.

Plus, it's just a proposal. It may well never happen.

55 minutes ago, Armagon said:

They lost big in 2022

If taking back the House and breaking the previous Democratic trifecta is a "big loss", I hate to see what winning looks like.

Plus, Republicans actually won the popular vote in the 2022 House elections, which covered every district in the country. By over 3 million votes. I don't think they're too worried in this department.

 

[Codename Shrimp]

2 minutes ago, GuardianSing said:

The single death of one rich man would be the nail in the coffin to the party

Would it tho

Or would it have a martyr effect?

[Hrothgar777]

1 minute ago, Codename Shrimp said:

Would it tho

Or would it have a martyr effect?

What did Kennedy actually do as President? What was memorable about his 2 years in office save for the Cuban Missile Crisis? Not much. But he was shot and killed, and now he's remembered as among the GOATs of American political history.

Americans, as a rule of thumb, do not take kindly to their elections being unilaterally decided by one man with a sniper rifle. They didn't back then and they still don't today.

[Dayni]

Somewhat politically charged? Yes.

Tasty? Yes.

For the time of year that's in it.

27 minutes ago, GuardianSing said:

Seriously though, if any center-left folks want to get up an arms about wishing violence on a political figure, know that tolerance as an agreement only applies to people who also have signed that agreement. Trump and his cult of personality are based around the intolerance of others in society and so the rules of tolerance do not apply to them.

And don't make the mistake that wishing for his death is based off of a pure personal hatred for him as a person, when what's really important here is how his death would've guaranteed the loss of the Republican party this election and his greater influence on alt-right movements across the globe.

Look, I get it to some degree, considering we have lads calling for violence here who are very much willing to go for it and have priors not being adequately called out or responded to (I mainly am getting at the sort calling for violence in particular), when official responses fail, the desire is there to have people called out and pushed back against.

Having to not use force is a choice of trying to take the high road that's easy now. I'd be less sure if they got cockier than burning hotels at night.

20 minutes ago, Interdimensional Observer said:

Was maybe thinking of seeing Ellis Island... in a few months. Too hot and busy this time of year. I apparently saw it when I visited the Statue of Liberty ...but that was before the Twin Towers fell, so I remember it not.😅 Feels odd that I haven't really been to that historic tourist destination, and the tickets include Liberty Island too.

$25 for the ferry that takes you to the two islands is fine, it includes everything on the islands themselves. However, if one wants to see the half of Ellis where the unrestored medical facilities (keeping the terribly ill out of America was one of Ellis Island's jobs) are, you need a $75 ticket.😐 I love history yes, but paying triple simply for that makes me queasy. *Checks why this might be* It's called the Hard Hat tour b/c you have to wear a hard hat? How is it that structures of the famed hub of immigration right to NYC have fallen into such disrepair?🤨 I guess wards for the sick simply aren't tourist-sexy like the Great Hall.

Was there January, partly as checking for an ancestor of a relative of a relative over, you guessed it, land connections. The Statue of Liberty was still pretty dang busy so we weren't going to stop especially as we went in the afternoon. Was cold enough last January though, fair warning.

I'd suspect (as someone who didn't tour) that the main reason they didn't go into restoring it is a question of it being worthwhile to bring it into full repair. And on cost assessment going "not worth the trouble and expense", Ellis is a small enough island and not as close to Manhattan as I expected.

20 minutes ago, Interdimensional Observer said:

It worked for the Egyptians, Egypt didn't have money until the Ptolemies. Those pyramids are peak anti-capitalism. 

An example of central planning that was determined around a cult of personality? Hmm, not sure I want to be recommending it

20 minutes ago, Interdimensional Observer said:

Alas, escaping into the wilderness to live as a hermit unaffected by the vagaries of society, is not the most comfortable nor viable of lifestyles.

Get on gardening first as a step towards that?

14 minutes ago, Armagon said:

Well multiple things can be true at once. Yes Trump's death would've decapitated the GOP. But also he would be seen as a martyr by his supporters and violence could escalate drastically, even more so than right now.

  Not certain that it'd be a crushing loss (could be a R House/Senate for instance, I don't know how engaged people are on downballot votes in practice) but with how the elections are run there I'd feel like there'd certainly be panic for figuring out what to do. Is there a precedent for a dead presidential candidate this close to election time?

6 minutes ago, GuardianSing said:

Genuinely think his pseudo-martyrdom from surviving the bullet will be more dangerous and violence escalating than had he died.

Honestly I agree, he sure gets to spout unchallenged often enough.

Just now, Armagon said:

You'd be surprised at how many immigrants come here and then say they don't want immigrants.

Children of same bother me, outright beneficiaries of that move made by their family and they tell everyone else to fuck off. Especially where they complain about them coming in with their foreign cultures and not assimilating and having their own cultural pieces they keep close to their chest.

Why yes I do have those relatives, which rings out worse from a nationality perspective

[Acacia Sgt]

32 minutes ago, Hrothgar777 said:

If taking back the House and breaking the previous Democratic trifecta is a "big loss", I hate to see what winning looks like.

They retook the House with a razor-thin majority and even lost a Senate seat. Forecasts were they'd get a sizable majority in the House and the Senate was a toss-up on being retaken too, both which didn't end up happening. Compare it to how the Dems performed in 2018. They gained +41 seats in the House compared to the GOP's +9 in 2022. They all talked of a Red Wave that never manifested in the end.

21 minutes ago, Dayni said:

Having to not use force is a choice of trying to take the high road that's easy now. I'd be less sure if they got cockier than burning hotels at night.Not certain that it'd be a crushing loss (could be a R House/Senate for instance, I don't know how engaged people are on downballot votes in practice) but with how the elections are run there I'd feel like there'd certainly be panic for figuring out what to do. Is there a precedent for a dead presidential candidate this close to election time?

It's already proven turnout is low on average during midterm elections. And this also applies to the GOP if Trump isn't on the ballot as well. This was both seen in 2022 and 2023, where Dems over-performed against expectations.

[Interdimensional Observer]

1 hour ago, Acacia Sgt said:

Tougher in that you can't just relentlessly attack since it's constantly diving and resurfacing from the pool of water it dwells. And also since for some reason its musical attack was able to one-shot me like twice over, and I still have no idea why.

The musical note attack was strong in RF1 as well.🎵 ...And the generic Siren enemy in RF5 I'm very sure has a chance of inflicting insta-death with its song (or a lesser ailment).☠️ Died a few times trying to tame one (which became one of my go-to monster companions).

 

25 minutes ago, Dayni said:

An example of central planning that was determined around a cult of personality? Hmm, not sure I want to be recommending it

Since when I was talking about the Palace of the Soviets?

Besides, it's not just His resurrection machine, it's YOUR resurrection machine! He needs his subjects when he gets to the Field of Reeds, doing their old jobs, just more blissfully and for eternity.☀️

25 minutes ago, Dayni said:

Get on gardening first as a step towards that?

I don't like getting my hands dirty.😆

I've tried a few simple gardening plants a few times, tomatoes are the only thing that turned out okay. And agriculture isn't as quick and easy as Harvest Moon 64 told me.🤣

3 minutes ago, Dayni said:

Was there January, partly as checking for an ancestor of a relative of a relative over, you guessed it, land connections. The Statue of Liberty was still pretty dang busy so we weren't going to stop especially as we went in the afternoon. Was cold enough last January though, fair warning.

...And here the ferry website was telling me that Nov-Feb is when visitations are at their lowest. Thanks for the heads-up.😃

5 minutes ago, Dayni said:

I'd suspect (as someone who didn't tour) that the main reason they didn't go into restoring it is a question of it being worthwhile to bring it into full repair. And on cost assessment going "not worth the trouble and expense", Ellis is a small enough island and not as close to Manhattan as I expected.

There was a lawsuit in the 1990s over who owns Ellis Island- New Jersey or New York. The winner? Both. 

Ellis Island -and Liberty Island- are both in New Jersey waters. As for the islands themselves, well, they've been enlarged via land reclamation over time, which complicates them. The original terra firma? New York owns those, exclaves. The landfill areas, not originally being there at the time the agreements were made, are owned by New Jersey, since it's atop their waters. So NY & NJ both won.

However! The Statue of Liberty and the Great Hall of the two islands are on the solid ground, so New York got the best cuts. New Jersey got stuck with literal filler and a decaying hospital. -Not like it really matters when the federal government is in charge of the islands.😛

[Hrothgar777]

1 minute ago, Acacia Sgt said:

They retook the House with a razor-thin majority and even lost a Senate seat. Forecasts were they'd get a sizable majority in the House and the Senate was a toss-up on being retaken too, both which didn't end up happening.

Of the 35 Senate seats up for grabs, 21 were held by Republicans and 14 by Democrats. If Dems won half the races, that would be a net 3 or 4 Senate seats gained. In fact, Republicans won 20 races and Dems won 15, meaning a net gain of 1 seat for Dems. Hardly a smashing loss.

Furthermore, of these 35 seats, 7 incumbents did not run for re-election, whereas every incumbent who did seek another term won it. 6 out of these 7 were Republican-incumbent seats, which further weakened their standing. Despite this, again, 1 seat lost.

This only looks bad for two reasons: (1). The outright win in the House, by however small a margin, and (2). News media projections before the midterms that it'd be some kind of red wave. Perhaps those projections were wrong on purpose to frame the most likely Republican performance as an underperformance relative to the new goalpost, or a ploy to scare Dems into getting out and voting. In any case, there's no reason to consider the election a failure for Republicans just because a bunch of journalists' predictions were faulty.

11 minutes ago, Acacia Sgt said:

Compare it to how the Dems performed in 2018. They gained +41 seats in the House compared to the GOP's +9 in 2022. They all talked of a Red Wave that never manifested in the end.

I'll admit that 2022 did break a long-running trend, wherein the party which doesn't hold the White House makes big gains in the first midterm election after a new President is elected by the other party. Then again, the level of partisan fearmongering by once-trusted institutions against Republicans was at a historically unprecedented high. Every journo with a camera pointed at his head was shrieking nonstop about January 6 and how democracy would die if the GOP won another election ever again.

In short, a lot of built up social capital was sunk into influencing the outcome this time around. They probably won't be taken as seriously by the general public in the future.

[Lightcosmo]

2 hours ago, Codename Shrimp said:

No, i didn't say that, nor do i condone the attack, but having negative feelings about someone that wants to hurt you is very understandable

I never said it wasn't, i even said that I've been down that path myself i ended up hating myself for it. It was a spiral of hate and despair, why put oneself through that?

1 hour ago, GuardianSing said:

You're thinking about it on too much of an individualistic level. It's not about disliking Trump as a person. Very practically it's about ending his influence and importance to the Republican party and how without him they wouldn't have the time to get a new political candidate as popular as Trump before the election. The single death of one rich man would be the nail in the coffin to the party that allows for the continued occurrence of school shootings killing dozens of children every month.

As long as hate and revenge exist in people, this wont suddenly just "go away".

Bullying is going to sadly be a part of life, i hate it as well, but I would never hurt another human being over it.

[Codename Shrimp]

Spain is just our generation's Brazil tbh

16 minutes ago, Lightcosmo said:

It was a spiral of hate and despair, why put oneself through that?

Because life is not an anime and you can't counter racist asshole by just letting them

[Acacia Sgt]

Alright, my Level 7 Hot-Hot Fruit won me the festival! That's all of them I got first place! Phew, now I can rest easier without worrying too much... maybe. I even got a Trunip's Miracle drop after so many days. Nice. Though I need to craft a Magical Charm. Elemental absorption/resistances are just screwing me at this point in Rune Prana. I'd rather use a Magical Charm and switch spells than switch weapons.

Winter 30. I can't believe only now I'll go through the entire calendar. I reached far in just one year's time!

[Lightcosmo]

37 minutes ago, Codename Shrimp said:

Because life is not an anime and you can't counter racist asshole by just letting them

There has too be a right way of doing things.

If someone insulted my intelligence, my first thought isnt going to be to off them.

[Sidereal Wraith]

…Well at least Spain beat England in that soccer game I totally didn’t watch.

[Acacia Sgt]

Spring 1. New year... and the birth event triggers!

... okay, I know the event is meant to be heartwarming and all, but... they really couldn't afford making an actual baby model? I never noticed in the 3DS version, but with my larger laptop screen... they just used the child model, pft. AHAHAHAHAHA I mean, sorry, I just... I just can't take it as seriously... XD LOL

[Benice]

8 minutes ago, Acacia Sgt said:

they just used the child model, pft. AHAHAHAHAHA I mean, sorry, I just... I just can't take it as seriously... XD LOL

They really do grow up so fast XD

[Codename Shrimp]

34 minutes ago, Lightcosmo said:

There has too be a right way of doing things.

The right way would be for Trump and his ilk to not exist to begin with.

35 minutes ago, Lightcosmo said:

someone insulted my intelligence, my first thought isnt going to be to off them.

There's a difference between insulting and wanting someone dead because they happen to be different.

I don't condone violence, but the curre t state of the world thanks to the rise of alt right is very dangerous for alot of us, especially in this day and age where many people are multicultural and have many roots. Many people would lose their homes if this continues.

26 minutes ago, Sidereal Wraith said:

…Well at least Spain beat England in that soccer game I totally didn’t watch.

Counter terrorist wins.

[Dayni]

Pooped Fusion back on, got to the forbidden section. Once Samus said words I knew shit's fucked.

Spoiler

Turns out there's 10 SA-X's.

Fuck waiting for you get bit on your own, X gonna deliver to you indeed.

Also, next boss is X-Ridley. Considering the history of Ridley fights getting harder based on chronological game order, I'm fucked as Super was rough.

Also, opinion time: I feel like damage is a bit overtuned in Fusion.

32 minutes ago, Interdimensional Observer said:

Besides, it's not just His resurrection machine, it's YOUR resurrection machine! He needs his subjects when he gets to the Field of Reeds, doing their old jobs, just more blissfully and for eternity.☀️

I mean, the afterlife wasn't tied to where you got buried anyways, right?

Aren't the offerings aimed at the Pharaoh? Wouldn't that make the pickings for the staff slim?

Doesn't that make their chances less of making it less likely?

32 minutes ago, Interdimensional Observer said:

I don't like getting my hands dirty.😆

I've tried a few simple gardening plants a few times, tomatoes are the only thing that turned out okay. And agriculture isn't as quick and easy as Harvest Moon 64 told me.🤣

It really isn't, last time I did some they got mostly blown down by a gusty day and the tarp blocking weeds killing them. The lone survivor was pretty dang big though.

33 minutes ago, Interdimensional Observer said:

...And here the ferry website was telling me that Nov-Feb is when visitations are at their lowest. Thanks for the heads-up.😃

At their lowest not empty.

Besides, time was the main barrier for us.

34 minutes ago, Interdimensional Observer said:

There was a lawsuit in the 1990s over who owns Ellis Island- New Jersey or New York. The winner? Both. 

Ellis Island -and Liberty Island- are both in New Jersey waters. As for the islands themselves, well, they've been enlarged via land reclamation over time, which complicates them. The original terra firma? New York owns those, exclaves. The landfill areas, not originally being there at the time the agreements were made, are owned by New Jersey, since it's atop their waters. So NY & NJ both won.

However! The Statue of Liberty and the Great Hall of the two islands are on the solid ground, so New York got the best cuts. New Jersey got stuck with literal filler and a decaying hospital. -Not like it really matters when the federal government is in charge of the islands.😛

Ah yes, the territory disputes. So of course NJ technically has jurisdiction over the least monetisable parts, no wonder the ferry from New Jersey was shuttered when we went.

11 minutes ago, Acacia Sgt said:

... okay, I know the event is meant to be heartwarming and all, but... they really couldn't afford making an actual baby model? I never noticed in the 3DS version, but with my larger laptop screen... they just used the child model, pft. AHAHAHAHAHA I mean, sorry, I just... I just can't take it as seriously... XD LOL

You need them working ASAP /s

Just now, Codename Shrimp said:

I don't condone violence, but the curre t state of the world thanks to the rise of alt right is very dangerous for alot of us, especially in this day and age where many people are multicultural and have many roots. Many people would lose their homes if this continues.

Good risk to people's lives as well, happened here too.