We SHOULD be passing laws that protect people’s rights from corporations the same way we protect those rights from the government. We SHOULD be passing laws that enshrine the right to be forgotten, by forcing companies to either respond quickly to delete requests, or have massive penalties per day, paid to the person, not to the govt. We SHOULD be building public, free alternatives like a library in cyberspace that is for public good, not profit. We should stop forcing ID laws, and start forcing encryption. Think bigger than tech withdrawals, instead take the opinion that tech should serve everyone, not the rich and powerful. Hobbyists and open source built practically all of the internet, and only later did money and politics take over.

The internet used to be a quirky free library. They turned it into an aggressive rent seeking monster.

Get a load of Mr. Moneybags over here, having enough equity that he could mortgage something…

https://www.dndbeyond.com/spells/2372-catapult

Is a solid choice.

What a time to be a fascist dictator trying to control the media! Easier than ever.

Except the DNC icing out Bernie in 2016 clearly indicates that they aren’t actually democratic, they clearly indicated that they are a private org with no legal requirements to enact the will of the people.

All that said, you better believe I’m still voting for the not fascist party, but also still trying in my weak little ways to advocate and advance ranked choice voting to enable the undermining of the two party system.

Sow doubt and suspicion. Claim fraud, steal election. Martial law the riots, fascism.

This is from the 2024 campaign. Which he won, bafflingly.

The difference is that we’ve allowed a private, for profit company to do the surveillance, and they are not beholden to all of the laws that we put in place to keep the Government in check. Capitalism’s latest innovation is outsourcing fascism. The privatization of all of this oppression is accelerating.

“The first truth is that the liberty of a democracy is not safe if the people tolerate the growth of private power to a point where it becomes stronger than their democratic state itself.” -FDR

To shreds you say…

The laptop is 300+.

“Get out of here, mop, I’ve got a good thing going and I’m not gonna let you ruin this for me!!”

I just feel like posting this completely unrelated story on every automated traffic camera thread, I can’t understand why I feel this compulsion.

https://cybernews.com/editorial/israel-hacked-iran-traffic-cameras-us-war/

2026: it did end, the transition to hell was subtle, but I see it now.

This is Minecraft. Like literally, this idea spawned Minecraft. https://www.wired.com/2013/11/minecraft-book/

VR game. Finger tracking controller mandatory. Basic gameplay is that of a wizard, casting spells. Each finger is an element, like air, water, fire, earth, life. You cast a spell by holding an element and drawing a shape in the air then gesturing. So a fire bolt would be hold fire, move in a line to point the direction, release fire mid throw. To make a fire ball, hold fire, then draw a circle in the air, then throw, release in the throw. Allow the user to make up spell effects by combining elements, shapes and gestures. Combine air and earth, draw a spiral, point at an enemy to trap them in air bands and earth bonds. Paint an ally in broad strokes with life to heal, etc. Moderate inspiration from Wheel of Time, if you’ve read it.

The gameplay of finger-wiggling mage sounds fun. Add bullet time for easy mode/overpowered.

IANAL, but doesn’t settlement mean they don’t admit fault, they have no judgement to actually force changes, and the same case can’t be brought again, aka, they get to keep harming kids, just have to cough up some tiny slice of profit and offer some lip service to doing better? Or, to rephrase, as long as the government gets a cut, they can keep abusing?

Can you call to your mind your mother’s face? Could you describe her from the image? Aphantasia folks cannot call that image. They memorize the words for traits such as “Blonde”, but that’s all it is, a list of memorized words.

Hilariously, you are right. It certainly wasn’t his intention to do so, but it is happening. Strangely aligned with China spending like crazy to pivot to a green energy super-supplier. End of an era, although no one will admit it yet.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immortal:_The_Invisible_War

https://rpggeek.com/rpg/1774/immortal-the-invisible-war-1st-edition

It’s a hot mess out of the box, but the core mechanics make good bones, and they integrate the rules into the lore in a way that makes metagaming hard (Or in character, anyways, for example at high perception, you can actually see stats)

My favorite system only uses d10s, and they should be color coded. 9 colors are assigned, and you always have to have a random, and frequently you will need to roll two of the same color, but you also have to keep track of which color was for which effect… And as I introduce more players, I usually end up giving them a set to play with… I’m sure I’m well over $2k on this over the entire life of the hobby.