Prelude to the Apocalypse

[BryanM]

Oh Strider : (

It ropes back into that thing I've been blaming for the core of our problems: our electorate being groomed so that only the worst people care about politics.

The 24/7 news thing was never a natural thing. There's never that much going on that warrants that much attention, that's why everything is raw fear and hate. 9/11 sure taught our owners lots of lucrative ways to profit off of our psychology. The 24/7 parasocial clown you can be imaginary friends or enemies with is perfect for the kind of people here who still care about politics. Losers that can get tired of stuff are supposed to be filtered out and go care about other things. That's how our system was designed to work. Operating as intended.

One way you can square the circle of how you think things are supposed to work, is that the president isn't a leader or someone who wields power in our system. Their job is to distract attention away from those who actually do. I'm sure there has to be some puppet rulers in history whose sole function was to act like a human shield, right? It seems like such a fundamental trick that it's a wonder everybody didn't do it. Maybe it takes a society living under liberal ideology for it to work so well?

As for a never-ending deluge of content, well. It's all about what particular key unlocks things and captures the mind. Soap operas and web novels tend to have the highest output. If stuff is "good" to you, it doesn't matter if there's more of it than you need. Those who don't need that much can take breaks and catch up on things later. While the bored people who need new entertainment daily to feel alive can stay engaged with a topic all the time. It's just like the daily log-in bonus to gacha games or MMO's!

Shit, if they were still making Simpsons episodes, I'd probably still be watching the Simpsons.

[Sengoku Strider]

The man topped 60 posts today. Olympian.

24/7 parasocial clown

Presented without comment, la pièce de résistance:

[orange808]

The man topped 60 posts today. Olympian.

24/7 parasocial clown

Presented without comment, la pièce de résistance:

Maybe that's a teaser for an upcoming autobiographical post?

[Sengoku Strider]

Maybe that's a teaser for an upcoming autobiographical post?

I'm gonna go out on a huge limb and guess that degree of self awareness might not be in play here.

[orange808]

Maybe that's a teaser for an upcoming autobiographical post?

I'm gonna go out on a huge limb and guess that degree of self awareness might not be in play here.

Looks like the thick fat fuckers that would punch people in the pit.

Revenge comes around. We convinced one fat midwestern rube to do stage dives. We caught him the first time and it hurt. It was worth it, though. The second time, we scattered. Stupid fat ass broke his arm real good. Ha! That's what you get for hitting people in the face.

Put your elbows and fists away, farm boy. HB Strut, you dumb fuck.

[To Far Away Times]

Maybe that's a teaser for an upcoming autobiographical post?

I'm gonna go out on a huge limb and guess that degree of self awareness might not be in play here.

Boss Fight:
MAGAt

Bio:
Rank: Meal Team Six - 82nd chair borne division
Location: Howdy Arabia
Weight: Too much
Intelligence: Low
Aggression: High
Attacks: Confusion, Obfuscate, Zealotry, Dullard
Weaknesses: Words, Numbers, Intelligence

[BryanM]

A GAN won a $ art prize at a state fair.

Everyone having movies and TV shows made specifically for them in the future says something about wire-heading and the further isolation of people apart from one another. I've been waiting over 20 years for those new episodes of the Simpsons..

I guess the people who fell for the Bruce Willis geezer teasers could get some new real Bruce Willis movies as well. More than anyone could want or need, really. DAL-E says The Man will try to deny us our free Bruce Willis movies where he rides a shark into battle, to continue to oppress us with their rents, but anarcho-scum will fight for our right to it.

The Razzie Awards have retracted their 2021 special category for Worst Performance by Bruce Willis, despite initially defending the decision to move forward with the dubious honor.

Bunch o' ableist cowards...

[BulletMagnet]

You'll have to forgive me both for being so frothingly punitive and for engaging in what's almost certainly wishful thinking, but deep in my heart of hearts, even more than Trump himself, man oh man do I hope someone can finally nail this utter son of a bitch.

[orange808]

Pardon me, but when California says something about the grid and necessary or unavoidable blackouts, I'm pretty fucking skeptical.

Did anyone go to jail for switching things off last time? People died. That's called murder.

Of course, rich people can do anything they want. Everything is subjective. Everything is invented in the moment for pure convenience. Everything is bullshit.

Biden should appoint investigators now. Get started when the grifters get started. Pardon me, but I don't trust the same fuckers that did "rolling blackouts". I'll need more than their word.

[To Far Away Times]

Pigs, Greed & Extortion (PG&E)

[Sengoku Strider]

“Geoff is a proven fighter who successfully pushes back on the ultraliberal extremists,” Trump said on behalf of Diehl during the tele-rally. “He’ll rule your state with an iron fist, and he’ll do what has to be done.”

I am somewhat concerned that "Vote for Geoff, he will rule you with an iron fist" signals we've shifted into the Monty Python worldline.

Boss Fight:
MAGAt

Bio:
Rank: Meal Team Six - 82nd chair borne division
Location: Howdy Arabia
Weight: Too much
Intelligence: Low
Aggression: High
Attacks: Confusion, Obfuscate, Zealotry, Dullard
Weaknesses: Words, Numbers, Intelligence

What does the orange juice do?

[Mischief Maker]

Is Ukraine... gonna take back EVERYTHING???

[Sengoku Strider]

Is Ukraine... gonna take back EVERYTHING???

I mean, as long as the West is willing to supply them with more bullets than Russia has zergs, wasn't it always going to end that way?

[Koa Zo]

Pardon me, but when California says something about the grid and necessary or unavoidable blackouts, I'm pretty fucking skeptical.

Did anyone go to jail for switching things off last time? People died. That's called murder.

Of course, rich people can do anything they want. Everything is subjective. Everything is invented in the moment for pure convenience. Everything is bullshit.

Biden should appoint investigators now. Get started when the grifters get started. Pardon me, but I don't trust the same fuckers that did "rolling blackouts". I'll need more than their word.

The documentary Enron Smartest Guys in the Room is a great primer on where we are with electrical blackouts in California.
jump to around 1:03 to get into the CA connection

[Ed Oscuro]

red-brown alliance moments: jimmy dore fans in shambles. read and weep

https://twitter.com/mike10010100/status ... 8968420360

Pardon me, but when California says something about the grid and necessary or unavoidable blackouts, I'm pretty fucking skeptical.

Speaking of right-wing talking points - Ted Cruz said basically this and got hammered for it. Everything I'm seeing suggests CA has avoided mass blackouts. ERCOT in Texas did it by charging $1B in fees to customers this summer as they struggle to provide.
https://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-go ... 03041.html

I'm not saying that the situation in CA's power grid is or isn't great but this sounds like a lot of selective outrage and hyperventilating to me considering what's happening elsewhere.

[orange808]

What does the orange juice do?

Find the real killers?

[Sengoku Strider]

Getting this thread back on topic, away from decidedly un-apocalyptic Twitter weirdo spats:

THREE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-SIX OF YOUR EARTH PAGES



"It speaks about End Time Prophecies and Biblical revelations regarding President Donald J. Trump, the Son of Man. The Christ."

Completely and utterly unrelated:

US Is Becoming a ‘Developing Country’ on Global Rankings That Measure Democracy, Inequality

The United States came in 41st worldwide on the UN’s 2022 sustainable development index, down nine spots from last year.

The Economist’s democracy index now groups the U.S. among “flawed democracies,” with an overall score that ranks between Estonia and Chile.

Maketh thine peace now.

[orange808]

The United States came in 41st worldwide on the UN’s 2022 sustainable development index, down nine spots from last year.

The Economist’s democracy index now groups the U.S. among “flawed democracies,” with an overall score that ranks between Estonia and Chile.

Maketh thine peace now.

And, roughly half of America is voting for it. They want it. This is democracy in action. Destroying itself.

Does it give you pause? If it doesn't, you have your head buried in the sand.

Democracy right now isn't the last stop. The American Constitution is not a religion. We need new governance technologies. We have to keep moving forward or we'll slip backwards. I have no idea what could be done, but this isn't the last stop. People are stupid; they want to use their votes to create a king. That's lunacy. What can be done?

What's worse? America could never agree on a new document. In fact, Americans wouldn't ratify their existing constitution a second time--while simultaneously (often cynically) pushing the document as holy. It's ridiculous.

Remember when the adults told you they deserved to make decisions because they were "adults". lmao. Okay, boomer. Is that why we are electing people that behave like five year olds to office?

We don't even talk about problems in realistic ways. We argue endlessly over issues we never try to solve. It's too politically costly to admit realities or tackle problems head on, so we dance around them--pinballing between crazy utopian fantasies and extreme right wingnut-tery:
wasting valuable time and resources waiting for broken things to start magically working. There's no political will to change anything that's "established" in the United States. America is a toxic brew of exceptionalism and cynical people that benefit from the status quo. Everything is etched stone.

If someone does try to honestly solve a problem, they get 90 days to make it happen, they are sabataged from all sides, and many are removed from office.

And, back on topic. Into the apocalypse we go.

[Sengoku Strider]

And, roughly half of America is voting for it. They want it. This is democracy in action. Destroying itself.

Does it give you pause? If it doesn't, you have your head buried in the sand.

Democracy right now isn't the last stop. The American Constitution is not a religion. We need new governance technologies. We have to keep moving forward or we'll slip backwards.

"Democracy is flawed because what if people vote for things that erode democracy so we need to get rid of democracy" is not much of an argument. At the end of the day democracy is about being stable, not being perfect. It's about providing a non-violent outlet for opposing factions to obtain power. It's about keeping in place a mechanism for government renewal, to minimize (forget about eliminating) corruption & cronyism. It's about giving lower classes persistent access to institutional recourse to push back on exploitation.

The US is only a nominal democracy because it has two parties monopolizing power. They're effectively two opposing wings of the singular power structure which has shaped every law in the country for 160-odd consecutive years. People either have to swallow the abuses of their chosen party, or vote for something which is diametrically opposed to fundamental beliefs which have been assiduously polarized by 7 decades of hired gun political psychologists. Most other developed democracies manage just fine without experiencing this level of civil erosion, because they aren't handcuffed by this sort of voter hostage situation.

[orange808]

And, roughly half of America is voting for it. They want it. This is democracy in action. Destroying itself.

Does it give you pause? If it doesn't, you have your head buried in the sand.

Democracy right now isn't the last stop. The American Constitution is not a religion. We need new governance technologies. We have to keep moving forward or we'll slip backwards.

"Democracy is flawed because what if people vote for things that erode democracy so we need to get rid of democracy" is not much of an argument. At the end of the day democracy is about being stable, not being perfect. It's about providing a non-violent outlet for opposing factions to obtain power. It's about keeping in place a mechanism for government renewal, to minimize (forget about eliminating) corruption & cronyism. It's about giving lower classes persistent access to institutional recourse to push back on exploitation.

The US is only a nominal democracy because it has two parties monopolizing power. They're effectively two opposing wings of the singular power structure which has shaped every law in the country for 160-odd consecutive years. People either have to swallow the abuses of their chosen party, or vote for something which is diametrically opposed to fundamental beliefs which have been assiduously polarized by 7 decades of hired gun political psychologists. Most other developed democracies manage just fine without experiencing this level of civil erosion, because they aren't handcuffed by this sort of voter hostage situation.

The other developed democracies don't treat their constitutions like religions or use circular logic fueled by exceptionalism to the extreme degree that Americans do. In the collective American psyche, the rest of the world is frozen in 1979. Europe and Canada are forever perpetually trapped in the stagflation era and plagued by strikes and evil red tape. Europe is "old, dirty, and backwards". Only American "free enterprise" delivers a quality standard of living. Americans will stare at the rotted teeth of their cashier at the shops and make a joke about English people's teeth when they get home; completely fucking oblivious. They already have all the answers, you see. It's always 1979 outside the United States--and many Americans believe this based on what they were told growing up, because a huge number of Americans weren't alive (or were small children) back then. It's the Boomer nation.

[BryanM]

I just wanted to drop in to complain about fucking stupid talking points.

Al Gore's "beachside house" is around 100 meters above sea level. At the current rate of sea level rise, he has over 30,000 years before it's underwater. Should things accelerate massively to an insane degree, he'll still probably have at least 3,000 years to enjoy it or to find another sucker to take the bag.

Thank you.

Most other developed democracies manage just fine without experiencing this level of civil erosion, because they aren't handcuffed by this sort of voter hostage situation.

That reminds me of Sarah Palin losing that special election by a narrow margin. It's weird seeing ranked choice voting here. It's weird man.

They're effectively two opposing wings of the singular power structure which has shaped every law in the country for 160-odd consecutive years.

It's always amazing how long these regimes are able to endure. I mean, they're the blink of an eye in evolutionary or geological scale, but to span multiple lifetimes?

Talk about regime change in Russia is popular these days, and someone mentioned it's only happened like three times? One of the regimes lasted like two or three hundred years.

And, roughly half of America is voting for it.

A third. This is important!

The other developed democracies don't treat their constitutions like religions or use circular logic fueled by exceptionalism to the extreme degree that Americans do.

Ha... haha... hoo....

Ah, good one.

The 1979 thing is true for a lot of people though. Everyone tends to kind of crystallize in early adulthood at the end of highschool. A lot of us here will hiss and growl at anything that was made after the late 90's.

60's kids only have a couple decades left in them, unless that immortality serum works out. It's possible just flipping off the "let's age and die" switch with proteins won't be enough, and the hypothalamus will need... a few corrections.

One of my favorite tropes is that the elite already know this and guys like W are getting regular infusions of young blood into their vampire veins. The only reason I don't believe it is there aren't a bunch of people on record talking about it. Even if it's something you obviously want to shut up about for all the reasons, some idiots will never not spill the beans.

[orange808]

And, roughly half of America is voting for it.

A third. This is important!

We have sufficiently high voter turnout in recent presidential elections to reach some solid conclusions about the population (as a whole).

The flaw in your thinking is assuming that every "non-voter" will agree with you--even if we automatically assume (sometimes correctly) that non-voters that don't vote Democrat are (probably) voting against their own personal best interest. There a lot of Trumpers that didn't vote--and they aren't all rich white guys.

I think we have a good sample and it really is about 50/50. If we forced everyone to vote, we'd get the same result. If we increased "engagement", things might change, but that imagines an alternative reality--not what real people support right now. And, so many people are already dug in to their crazy Timmy McVeigh fantasies: they can't possibly change; it's impossible.

And, we're back to my core questions about the state of American democracy and the need to improve it. Yes, ranked choice might be a step in the right direction. That would need to exist at the national level and be used in presidential elections to become the norm--and that requires a constitutional amendment; good luck with all that. That would mean amending the holy piece of paper.

[Sengoku Strider]

Digital Devil Saga: Prayer vs. Demoniac A.I. vs. Stock Market

Hardcore Q/MAGA types have tried to make DWAC, the holding company for Trump's Truth Social, their own version of Gamestop stock. Diamond hands memes, the whole 9 yards.

How that's going:





"Dear Lord in Heaven, please push this merger through then rig the NASDAQ in my favor like, the all-time most you've ever rigged it...in your infinite wisdom and mercy."

I gotta admit, this thaumaturgical variant folk Christianity is kinda fascinating. Deeply misguided, but fascinating.

[Sengoku Strider]

Just a heads up to anyone with plans this weekend - QAnon have moved on from Bible code to cracking The Simpsons code, and apparently a German politician used it to reveal that The Storm + Ten Days of Darkness are coming on Saturday:

In his speech, Merz misspeaks and says that everyone will remember where they were on September 24, rather than February 24, the day Russia invaded. Merz corrected himself in the official record of the Bundestag, but QAnon followers in Germany believed they’d spotted Merz revealing a detail of a secret plan.

One member of a German Telegram channel pointed out that in episode 9 of Season 24 (9/24, Sept. 24, get it?) of The Simpsons, the plot revolves around a group of preppers. In particular, the characters discuss WROL, or Without Rule of Law, which is doomsday-prepper lingo for the complete breakdown of society after a major catastrophe.

The episode also features an electromagnetic pulse device, which QAnon followers believe will usher in “10 days of darkness” and ultimately the return of former President Donald Trump to the Oval Office.

The claim has been spread by major QAnon accounts on Telegram, YouTube, and Trump’s own platform, Truth Social. One of those sharing the claim was Juan O Savin, a QAnon influencer whose real name is Wayne Willott, who has deep connections to far-right GOP candidates running for secretary of state positions in November’s midterms.

To back up their wild speculation, followers flagged other coincidences about the day—such as the fact that Sept. 24 on the Gregorian calendar converts to Sept. 11 on the Julian calendar. Others pointed out that it is the beginning of Rosh Hoshanah, the Jewish new year, though, like many of the claims, this is inaccurate as the holiday begins this year on the evening of Sept. 25.

Everything from nuclear armageddon to a financial reset to widespread water poisoning and an armed revolution has been predicted by those spinning these conspiracies to their followers.

https://www.vice.com/en/article/qjkzx7/ ... ns-episode

Nuclear armageddon, widespread water poisoning and armed revolution is a lot for one weekend, so maybe make plans to BBQ at home instead.

[orange808]

Didn't expect to see Maggie again, but there she stands. Calls herself Lizzy now. Going to try the American way again? Good luck with that.

[Sengoku Strider]

So I know Europe's a couple of hours ahead, has the global banking system started to collapse yet?

Spoiler

If the Simpsons hadn't predicted the global banking system collapsing because banks will be left on the hook for trillions in meme stock shorts after hedge funds collapse because someone turned the banks off and now the dollar is rejected by the world because of massive election fraud so everyone turns to financially stable and very democratic Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa to underwrite the new global economic order, I wouldn't believe it.

Luckily I converted all my liquidity subprime margin instrument into Iraqi dinars and import Sega Saturn games, so I should be good once The Great Reset is complete. Hope your weekends are all going well otherwise.

[orange808]

...and now the dollar is rejected by the world because of massive election fraud so everyone turns to financially stable and very democratic Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa to underwrite the new global economic order...

Other issues aside--that would be a neat trick, because all those countries store their wealth in dollars.
They'd be totally screwed.

[Sengoku Strider]

It looks like the Simpsons code numerology intercept rattled the crooked FBI, and maybe probably averted a mass-casualty event just in time.



The deep state unjust corrupt FBI no doubt believed their cryptography unbreakable, but they underestimated the intelligence of internet patriots once again.

[Mischief Maker]

[BulletMagnet]

One more reminder to the "moderates" out there that you are willfully turning a blind eye to what a bunch of utter fools you're being played for.