[Malankazooie]

Just found out that Paul Sorvino died last month. The dinner in prison scene in the movie GoodFellas is one of the most sublimely executed sequences ever committed to celluloid.

[Nicodimas]

"But, Pry points out, disabling only 9 of the 2,000 US EHV transformer substations would result in a cascading failure and collapse of the US power grid"

Reading that..and putting together some recent info bums ya out.

The fragility of civilization..

[Azath Vitr (D'ivers]

'"Christian Nationalism" Used to Be Taboo. Now It's All the Rage.

[...]

A year ago, calling someone a Christian nationalist was an insult.

The phrase was in the air after Jan. 6 rioters had come to the Capitol wielding Christian iconography and speaking of their cause as a religious crusade. Crosses and bibles and banners citing scripture were held aloft by a crowd calling to hang Mike Pence and overthrow a democratic election.

In the aftermath, as many horrified Republicans scrambled to condemn the violence, evangelical pastors decried "Christian nationalism" as deeply dangerous[...]

Al Mohler, the president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, called Christian nationalism "idolatrous" and pushed back on the idea that evangelical Christianity was linked to what had happened at the Capitol.

"Nationalism is always a clear and present danger," he wrote a week after the insurrection. But linking it to "American evangelical Christianity," he said, was an unfair "accusation."

By this summer, Mohler had updated his thinking.

[...] "We have the left routinely speaking of me and of others as Christian nationalists, as if we're supposed to be running from that." He added: "I'm not about to run from that."

[...] "I am being attacked by the godless left because I said I'm a proud Christian nationalist," Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene wrote in a recent tweet. Two days later, she was hawking merch—a "Proud Christian Nationalist" T-shirt, for sale on her Instagram. [...]

[...] experts say that shift is not limited to a few extreme people.

[...] In the last few months, [...] the attitude has changed to be more like: "'Oh yeah? Of course, Christian nationalism is what we're supposed to do.'

[...] surveys that show [...] the more staunchly people hold Christian nationalist profiles, the less they defend democracy[...] Other scholars have shown that Christian nationalism seems to incline people toward baseless conspiracy theories.

[...] "Christo-fascism" [...] extreme Christian nationalists who openly embrace the idea of using violence to achieve their ends.

"That's the most worrisome development I see," [...] "More overlap in some cases with militia groups, more of this gun fetishism."

[...] Michael Peroutka, the Republican nominee to be Maryland's attorney general, who believes leaders should "take a biblical worldview and apply it to civil law and government," and who has said laws supporting gay marriage are null because they violate God's law. There's Rep. Lauren Boebert, who floated the idea of mandatory "biblical citizenship training," who has said "the church is supposed to direct the government" and that she's "tired of this separation of church and state junk."'

Christian nationalists are starting to embrace the label

This post has been edited by Azath Vitr (D'ivers: 06 August 2022 - 01:22 PM

[Azath Vitr (D'ivers]

Granted, the charitable (and overly optimistic IMO) interpretation might be that 'Christian nationalism' has just become the mirror image of 'critical race theory':

'Scholars and self-proclaimed Christian nationalists may not always mean the same thing when they use the term. Some self-identifying Christian nationalists might simply be social conservatives who advocate against gay marriage, for example. This is different from the scholarly study of those who believe the American political process itself should be overhauled to serve God—or that the reasoning undergirding the laws of the U.S. should be explicitly Christian.

But many Christian nationalists who identify that way likely know what they're advocating for.

[...] Other politicians who promote the ideals of Christian nationalism include Doug Mastriano, the Republican nominee in the Pennsylvania gubernatorial race, who justified his participation in the Jan. 6 riots in religious terms and who promised that "above all" he would "bring God back" to Pennsylvania.'

Christian nationalists are starting to embrace the label.

... just as 'critical' and 'race' (and probably 'theory' too) sound scary and 'bad' to a lot of Americans who aren't going to bother trying to understand what the scholarly term means, 'Christian nationalism' might sound 'good' to many Republicans if they assume it means Christianity + 'patriotism' (or even Christianity + putting US interests first).

But it seems like the latest shift has been much worse than that... though we'll see to what extent it leads to greater electoral success for candidates advocating for 'Christian nationalism' in the scholarly sense.

This post has been edited by Azath Vitr (D'ivers: 06 August 2022 - 08:07 PM

[Mezla PigDog]

We hit a pretty funky milestone at work today but because all of my work buddies have left, there was nobody to share the feels with. Gutted.

Also it's too hot.

[Cause]

Three random thoughts from the week:

Is it weird that my dental hygienist found me on instagram and followed me?

I hate when people (my mother as it happens) hint how long it has been since you last called them as if they dont have phones that can call as well.

Now the big one: Cancer Free 5 years, so as it happens my annual check up was yesterday. I get the blood tests, have a basic physical and finally I see a doctor who asks some questions looks at my results and does an exam. Says everything is fine but tells me to wait and the head of the practice will come see me shortly and check me out. He arrives, says I know you had an exam already but mind if do one too. slight alarm. Repeats the exam and tells me everything is fine. I don't know if the first doctor is in training or what but wtf were they thinking. For a minute I'm wondering if the first doctor thought he found something and called in for a second opinion. Stupidly handled I think.

Reminds me when I thought I had cancer and saw my Dr, he sent me to get a sonogram and ill never forget but the Dr/technician or whatever who did the sonogram basically told me I cant give you your results, you have to see your doctor but I would see him soon. I was like great, you just told me I have cancer. I understand why the SOP might be that way but honestly if that is how you handle it you might as well just have said. So when the first doctor called in the head of the practice and he did a second exam it definitely alarmed me.

[amphibian]

Cause, on 23 August 2022 - 04:16 PM, said:

Three random thoughts from the week:

Is it weird that my dental hygienist found me on instagram and followed me?

I hate when people (my mother as it happens) hint how long it has been since you last called them as if they dont have phones that can call as well.

Now the big one: Cancer Free 5 years, so as it happens my annual check up was yesterday. I get the blood tests, have a basic physical and finally I see a doctor who asks some questions looks at my results and does an exam. Says everything is fine but tells me to wait and the head of the practice will come see me shortly and check me out. He arrives, says I know you had an exam already but mind if do one too. slight alarm. Repeats the exam and tells me everything is fine. I don't know if the first doctor is in training or what but wtf were they thinking. For a minute I'm wondering if the first doctor thought he found something and called in for a second opinion. Stupidly handled I think.

Reminds me when I thought I had cancer and saw my Dr, he sent me to get a sonogram and ill never forget but the Dr/technician or whatever who did the sonogram basically told me I cant give you your results, you have to see your doctor but I would see him soon. I was like great, you just told me I have cancer. I understand why the SOP might be that way but honestly if that is how you handle it you might as well just have said. So when the first doctor called in the head of the practice and he did a second exam it definitely alarmed me.

If they and you are single, it likely means they're interested in you.

[QuickTidal]

Trying to sell my used books (even rare ones) from Canada on Ebay is a mugs game as everything over 2cm thick is an AUTOMATIC $15CDN to ship a single item....so US shippers can kill me every time by offering MUCH cheaper shipping....and the FBA model for Amazon in Canada takes almost the entire profit of the item...so I'm stuck with no real way to viably sell my books that I no longer want and make any kind of profit on them. I'm not looking to make crazy bank, just get what they are worth to the average consumer.

Canada Post, fucking over the average Canadian yet again. I should not be surprised, but I am.

I hate this.

[Tiste Simeon]

Feel free to send any books you can't sell to me, QT. It won't solve your issue but I'll get some sweet new books, which is nice!

[QuickTidal]

Tiste Simeon, on 23 August 2022 - 07:14 PM, said:

Feel free to send any books you can't sell to me, QT. It won't solve your issue but I'll get some sweet new books, which is nice!

LOL, will do!

[Briar King]

My right middle finger is pissing me off.

[Tsundoku]

Stop waving it so vigorously at other drivers then.

This post has been edited by Tsundoku: 24 August 2022 - 09:16 AM

[Abyss]

QuickTidal, on 23 August 2022 - 06:44 PM, said:

Trying to sell my used books (even rare ones) from Canada on Ebay is a mugs game as everything over 2cm thick is an AUTOMATIC $15CDN to ship a single item....so US shippers can kill me every time by offering MUCH cheaper shipping....and the FBA model for Amazon in Canada takes almost the entire profit of the item...so I'm stuck with no real way to viably sell my books that I no longer want and make any kind of profit on them. I'm not looking to make crazy bank, just get what they are worth to the average consumer.

Canada Post, fucking over the average Canadian yet again. I should not be surprised, but I am.

I hate this.

Where's your list QT?

[Briar King]

Tsundoku, on 24 August 2022 - 09:16 AM, said:

Stop waving it so vigorously at other drivers then.

Pretty sure it’s broken. Or maybe a bruised bone though idk really if bones bruise in the same way as you see on your skin? I see nothing and I might not feel it for a week or so and then some simple innocent brush or grab will have me lit up bouncing around spewing mass profanity.

[Briar King]

Got 33 12pk of the Berry Dr Peppers. Need more but I haven’t been able to find them. I hate limited edition shit. Now I’m going to have to only drink a handful of them to make them last longer.

[Briar King]

See I fucking KNEW I was going to end the day with a migraine as I kept getting woken up from nightmares involving a pedo, a rapist, going up in a Microsoft Flight Sim plane, a black tornado and the cancellation of Ray Stevenson.

Today sucks and I’m fighting a sour stomach full of 2 BC powders.

[Maark Abbott]

Two things.

1) energy cap is going to double so we are all expecting bills to double in turn. This means I will not be able to afford to heat my house in the winter, and it also means that I am not going to be able to afford to travel to and from the office if my workplace demands it of me. Chances are it will also mean I can't afford rent for my band's practice space and this basically means I'd have to give up playing with them. It also hits my working day because I am reliant on running one of two laptops between 9am and 9pm across both of my jobs.

And speaking of work...

2) the team is contracting due to people transferring into the new company who bought us out by MY GOD there is some shit being transferred to me that has no business being this badly case managed. Holy fuck WHY

[Tsundoku]

Maark Abbott, on 26 August 2022 - 11:49 AM, said:

Two things.

1) energy cap is going to double so we are all expecting bills to double in turn. This means I will not be able to afford to heat my house in the winter, and it also means that I am not going to be able to afford to travel to and from the office if my workplace demands it of me. Chances are it will also mean I can't afford rent for my band's practice space and this basically means I'd have to give up playing with them. It also hits my working day because I am reliant on running one of two laptops between 9am and 9pm across both of my jobs.

And speaking of work...

2) the team is contracting due to people transferring into the new company who bought us out by MY GOD there is some shit being transferred to me that has no business being this badly case managed. Holy fuck WHY

Because "do more with less" is their mantra. Except when it comes to themselves, that is. More like the exact opposite when you think about it.

This post has been edited by Tsundoku: 26 August 2022 - 12:29 PM

[Azath Vitr (D'ivers]

'In the most recent Pennsylvania poll, [...] Mastriano trailed Shapiro by just 3 points.'

'Mastriano has already said that he wouldn't have certified Joe Biden's 2020 victory in Pennsylvania. [...]

In recent days, though, multiple reports have focused on another fun fact about Mastriano: His apparent fondness for the confederacy!

[...] Mastriano playing dress up as a Confederate soldier in a faculty photo at the Army War College [...]

[...] Mastriano is the only one wearing a Confederate uniform.

[...] Once Reuters informed the War College about the photo hanging from a wall at the school, they took it down from a public display, saying it had "been removed because it does not meet AWC values."

[...] Mastriano live-streamed himself going to the site of the Gettysburg battle and saluting a group of Confederate flag-waving armed members of the public, who were ostensibly there to prevent an Antifa flag burning. (This was[...] a social media hoax.) Maybe Mastriano just didn't see the giant Confederate flag waving from the back of the truck when he went up to the group and told them: "Friends, thanks for being here. I'm Sen. Mastriano. … It's good to see you guys." [...] he posted a similar salutation to a man wearing a half-American flag, half-Confederate flag on his back near Robert E. Lee's statue at Gettysburg, telling him: "You're looking good there, man. I can't think of a better cape."'

Republican candidates Doug Mastriano and Blake Masters show the worst of the GOP

This post has been edited by Azath Vitr (D'ivers: 29 August 2022 - 11:14 PM

[Azath Vitr (D'ivers]

'Car Companies Are Making a Deadly Mistake With Electric Vehicles

[...] Unlike virtually all other developed countries, where such fatalities declined during the last decade, the U.S. has seen an increase of over 30 percent. Today, an American is more than twice as likely as a citizen of France or Canada to die in a crash.

[...] the national penchant for tall, heavy pickup trucks and SUVs. The weight of these behemoths endangers other road users in a crash, and their height leads them to strike a person’s torso instead of their legs (it can also make it difficult to see those standing in front of the vehicle). American deaths among those on foot or a bicycle rose more than 40 percent during the last decade; one study found that the shift to SUVs over the last twenty years led to more than 1,000 additional pedestrian fatalities.

Electrified versions of SUVs and trucks can be even more dangerous. Large vehicles require massive batteries[...] tipping the scales at over 9,000 pounds, with a battery that alone is heavier than an entire Honda Civic.

[...] Even with heavy batteries, these vehicles’ electric powertrains allow them to accelerate unusually quickly.

[...] reaching 60 mph in two and a half seconds—faster than any other SUV on the market.

Car companies are touting these acceleration rates as a selling point, which is ominous. Although supercharged pick-up speeds serve no practical purpose, they create real danger for other road users—especially those on foot or in a wheelchair who have scant time to get out of the way.'

Electric trucks are too heavy and the Inflation Reduction Act doesn’t fix it