Let it motivate you to go vote. You are not alone, even if you live in a deeply red area.

Every person who votes helps tell the story that the majority of this country rejects a crazy person leading our country.

I hear ya, It was more of a bookend of the Trump era, but adding him felt like it loses the thread.

Sure, my plan:

• Donate & Volunteer to candidates I support
• Vote for candidates I support in the primaries
• Get as many of those people elected
• Call them and donate to causes that advocate for what I believe in (SLPC, NAACP, CCL, EFF, etc)
• Call them and donate to causes that advocate for ranked choice voting or something better than FPTP
• Throw my hat in the ring one day

I can’t control what others do, I can only strive to influence others. So to entertain the question, if a dictator gets elected - I will fight, I will protest (and have) up until the point that I can’t or it no longer presents as a viable option for change. And if we do ever get to that point, then I’d reassess my options.

And as for your ignore constituency statement, I get it. I didn’t like the way it went down either. The timing was terrible - I was with Joe up until that disastrous debate and then yea, I started to call people and voice my concern. I responded to survey saying he was unfit. Morale was low. The powers that be decided on Kamala, and I stand by much of her platform. I liked her as a top candidate in 2016.

And I’ll just present you with this idea. Wouldn’t it be so lovely to bookend this racist moron and all of his racist followers with a black man preceding him and a black woman after? I think that gives me a little bit of hope and faith in America.

No, centrists who are against the genocide are over here thinking, you’re cutting off your nose to spite your face. The president isn’t a dictator, the country isn’t a monolith, and you don’t understand how the three chambers of US government works.

But hey maybe that’s the point, you’d rather destroy the system and get a dictator. I love having the freedom I have and it’s served me pretty well these years. I support the cause, but I’m not willing to walk with you if it means the end of democracy.

It’s a bold move. I suppose if you let in the guy who 100% supports the genocide and they go through in full with it, then you no longer have the problem 🤷‍♂️

Focus that stress energy and go volunteer!

The ROC, Tibet, India and Mongolia at a minimum would like to have a word.

This is exactly how I found out my refrigerator was running.

As someone who doesn’t necessarily consider himself a progressive, I couldn’t fucking agree more. This is the way we get back to a strong middle class, not giving up all of our tax dollars to billionaires.

And below was my prompt, took me appx 5 minutes to write from my phone. I like that the AI thought that Elias would recall secret passages from his youth, which I’m thinking could help the adventures bypass some of the guard. I definitely would want to workshop that highwaymen twist, I mean what kind of party would be willing to return a relic of shadows back when they perceive a ruler as being corrupt? It needs something a bit more convincing.

——

Provide me a framework for a DND campaign that will contain the following story arcs. A lord of a small fiefdom seeks a group of traveling adventures to return a relic (you choose the relic, it must have magical powers) that was stolen from him by a group of highwaymen. The story must include a twist about the highwaymen. When returned, the lord becomes corrupted and throws the party in a far off dungeon. The adventures must work their way back to the lord and seek their revenge, with the assistance of a self exiled hermit who formerly knew the lord in his youth that they encounter along the way. If the hermit dies, the party loses insight into the lord’s intentions and it makes it much more challenging to win the campaign.

For those interested, I just asked it to generate a campaign with a quick prompt and this is what it spit out. Not perfect, but a good basis to build from:

Campaign Framework: The Relic of Shadows Introduction: The Call to Adventure Setting: The campaign begins in the small, picturesque fiefdom of Ravenwood, ruled by the benevolent Lord Alaric. Known for his wisdom and kindness, Lord Alaric’s peace is shattered when a relic of immense power, the Amulet of Shadows, is stolen by a band of notorious highwaymen. Hook: Lord Alaric seeks the help of the adventurers, promising wealth and favor in return for the retrieval of the Amulet of Shadows. The relic is said to possess the ability to manipulate shadows, providing its bearer with unparalleled stealth and the power to traverse through the Shadow Realm. Act 1: The Journey Begins Initial Quest: The adventurers set off to track down the highwaymen, following clues and engaging in minor skirmishes along the way. They learn that the highwaymen are more than simple thieves—they are a fragmented faction of former soldiers who turned to banditry after being betrayed by a corrupt noble. Twist: Upon confronting the highwaymen, the adventurers discover that Lord Alaric had once wronged them in his past. The highwaymen had stolen the Amulet of Shadows not out of greed, but to prevent Alaric from using its dark powers. They reveal that Alaric’s benevolent facade hides his darker ambitions. Act 2: The Corrupted Lord Return and Betrayal: Despite the highwaymen’s revelations, the adventurers decide to return the Amulet of Shadows to Lord Alaric, hoping to resolve the situation peacefully. However, upon returning the relic, Lord Alaric’s true nature is revealed. Corrupted by the power of the amulet, he becomes malevolent and orders the adventurers imprisoned in a distant, forgotten dungeon. Dungeon Escape: The adventurers must navigate the treacherous dungeon, facing traps, monsters, and puzzles. During their imprisonment, they encounter an exiled hermit named Elias, a former friend of Lord Alaric who was cast out due to discovering the lord’s dark ambitions. Act 3: The Path of Vengeance The Hermit’s Guidance: Elias offers to guide the adventurers back to Ravenwood and reveals crucial insights into Lord Alaric’s plans. He explains that Alaric seeks to use the Amulet of Shadows to control the Shadow Realm and extend his dominion. Elias knows secret paths and hidden truths that can aid the adventurers. Critical Choice: The adventurers must protect Elias throughout their journey. If Elias perishes, they lose his valuable knowledge, making their mission significantly harder. Without Elias, they will face additional challenges and must uncover Alaric’s weaknesses through other means. Act 4: The Final Confrontation Return to Ravenwood: The adventurers, now armed with the knowledge provided by Elias (or through their own investigations if Elias is lost), must confront Lord Alaric. They rally allies, face Alaric’s corrupted forces, and uncover the hidden vulnerabilities in Alaric’s plans. Climactic Battle: The campaign culminates in an epic showdown with Lord Alaric in his fortified castle. The adventurers must disable the Amulet of Shadows, overcome Alaric’s dark magic, and ultimately restore peace to Ravenwood. Resolution Victory or Defeat: Depending on the adventurers’ actions, they may emerge victorious, freeing Ravenwood from Alaric’s tyrannical grasp, or they might succumb to the shadows, leaving the fiefdom to its dark fate. Their choices throughout the campaign will determine the final outcome and the legacy they leave behind. Feel free to add or adjust details to fit your players’ preferences and playstyle! This framework should give you a solid foundation for a thrilling and complex campaign. Happy adventuring! 🐉⚔️

I’ve used it to fill in the gaps for DND storyline. I’ll give it a prompt and a couple of story arcs then I’ll tell it to write in a certain style, say a cowardly king or dogmatic paladin. From there it will spit out a story. If I don’t like certain affects, I’ll tell it to rewrite a section with some other detail in mind. It does a fantastic job and saves me some of the guesswork.

You had me up until friends.

Leaving this here for you: https://communications.yale.edu/sites/default/files/4-7-18_what_monkeys_can_teach_us_about_money_bbc.pdf

And that’s the problem right there. The fewer kids with mommy and daddy issues, the fewer kids these “elders” can “take under their wing.”

Funny but not so funny story. I was at the Playhouse in Cleveland, Ohio about 15 years back and my stepdad really wanted to take us to Finnegan’s Wake. It was an improv show where the actors would take suggestions from the audience in what would happen next. A few of us were trying to to be playful with the context, but the vast majority of the meatheads in the audience just kept shouting out lewd suggestions like the reverend fucking the widow. Over and over and over again. The lead guy (reverend) got so tired of it that he said “is this all you want to see!” and humped the actress a few times then ended the show. Simultaneously the best and saddest anti joke I’ve ever experienced.

Take it as you will, but these are the kind of people we are now hinging our democracy on.

Not so fast. David Duke was saying the quiet part out loud and he was only a fringe candidate. There’s something else going on here, I don’t know what it is exactly, that makes Trump more marketable.

The only things I can think of is that he has had decades in the public eye, and he’s been presented as smart and successful for most of that time. And bizarrely enough, he reflects a bygone era in America where blue collar union guys had pensions, which were blown away by billionaires like him. And yet, this billionaire known for grift and stiffing his workers, somehow became their champion.

The whole process has opened my eyes to just how much marketing works with a certain demographic.

No. Language is dynamic by design. If þey/þem wish to be diacritical fluid, who are we to deny freedom of speech?

Democracy Dies in Darkness indeed.

What kind of MF watches the Harry Potter movies and thinks “you know, that Voldemort guy, he had a point.”