[News] Post a D&D Picture

Previous incarnations of Cleveland/P&C/D&D have had an image thread, to handle political cartoons and other image-based stuff that doesn't belong in the general post-a-picture threads.

If any of them spawn an extended discussion, please spawn it off into its own thread. Replies to non-picture replies should take the form of a link pointing to a post on a different discussion thread.

And I shouldn't have to say it, but the images still need to abide by the rules.

maverickz wrote:

I find this "save our democracy" stuff really weird and histerical. The 2020 election had the highest voter turnout since 1900, with a roughly even split between the two candidates. That's not how broken democracies work.

Do you genuinely think that people saying "save our democracy" are saying that mainly because they think the 2020 election turnout was too low?

If so, I humbly submit that you've not looked closely. If not, I less humbly submit that this is a blatant straw man argument.

And Left. And Left. And Left. And coup. And Right. And Right.

maverickz wrote:

I find this "save our democracy" stuff really weird and histerical. The 2020 election had the highest voter turnout since 1900, with a roughly even split between the two candidates. That's not how broken democracies work.

How do broken democracies work? In 2018 Putin got 78% if the 'votes" "cast".

The democracy is not broken, the running for office is.

Being able to cast a vote doesn't make it a democracy.

I guess Iraq, North Korea and other places where the tyrant got over 90% of the vote, count as democracies too...

fangblackbone wrote:

I guess Iraq, North Korea and other places where the tyrant got over 90% of the vote, count as democracies too...

You get the gold star for today!

"Save our democracy, it's on the brink of collapse" != "Restore our democracy it has been completely destroyed".

We obviously have a significant degree of democracy in the U.S., but if you think we have a healthy stable democracy you haven't been paying attention. We have a significant degree of minority rule, and there is a significant racial element to that minority rule. We have one party that has completely given up on ever having a majority, and openly plot to disenfranchise suppress and gerrymander their way to power.

Has our democracy completely failed? No. Has it failed in limited ways already? Absolutely. Is there great danger of further more significant failures? Obviously yes. Are there significant and powerful forces working to kill democracy here (including one of two major parties that has cozied up to and openly aspired to imitate Putin)? Very yes.

You get the gold star for today!

You get a bridge to hide under!

ElectricPi wrote:

We obviously have a significant degree of democracy in the U.S., but if you think we have a healthy stable democracy you haven't been paying attention. We have a significant degree of minority rule, and there is a significant racial element to that minority rule. We have one party that has completely given up on ever having a majority, and openly plot to disenfranchise suppress and gerrymander their way to power.

Minority opinion is baked into our constitution, and was argued for by Madison in Federalist 10. Not exactly this kind of minority power, but this is the result. You would prefer majority rule? I'm not sure that'd go the way you may expect.

Has our democracy completely failed? No. Has it failed in limited ways already? Absolutely. Is there great danger of further more significant failures? Obviously yes. Are there significant and powerful forces working to kill democracy here (including one of two major parties that has cozied up to and openly aspired to imitate Putin)? Very yes.

I'm going to just repeat myself because no one reads what I wrote. What's broken in our system is the electoral system. If that's what Tom Nichols, and everyone else chanting "save our democracy", means then he ought to say that instead. And then advocate for campaign finance reform.

Without a fair electoral system there is no Democracy.

maverickz wrote:
ElectricPi wrote:

...We have a significant degree of minority rule, and there is a significant racial element to that minority rule... disenfranchise suppress and gerrymander their way to power.

Minority opinion is baked into our constitution, and was argued for by Madison in Federalist 10...

You are well aware that there is a difference between respecting minority rights and opinions and minority rule, that's why you changed the wording. You are also making the mistake of assuming that the compromises baked into the U.S. Constitution are good or wise. I would hope that most people (at least three fifths of us) could see that the U.S. construction may have been a step forward a couple hundred years ago, but it is absolutely reprehensible by modern standards, and remained so even after the bill of rights was passed (and plenty of people saw how bad some of it was even then).

maverickz wrote:
Has our democracy completely failed? No. Has it failed in limited ways already? Absolutely. Is there great danger of further more significant failures? Obviously yes. Are there significant and powerful forces working to kill democracy here (including one of two major parties that has cozied up to and openly aspired to imitate Putin)? Very yes.

I'm going to just repeat myself because no one reads what I wrote. What's broken in our system is the electoral system. If that's what Tom Nichols, and everyone else chanting "save our democracy", means then he ought to say that instead. And then advocate for campaign finance reform.

The electoral system is *one* thing in our democracy that is broken. Voter suppression, racialized justice system removing voting rights of minorities, sewing distrust in legitimate electoral outcomes, and encouraging violent overthrow of the government are not "the electoral system", and cannot be fixed by "advocating for campaign finance reform" (which is probably a fools errand given the hijacked supreme court with an extremist majority anyway).

ElectricPi wrote:

You are well aware that there is a difference between respecting minority rights and opinions and minority rule, that's why you changed the wording.

I changed the wording specifically to avoid the ethnic and racial connotation of the word. Because I was taking about the political minority.

I guess I was hoping it would give Mitch a tiara or something but instead it just built slightly more flattering pictures of him.

IMAGE(https://i.postimg.cc/RhxxSCnB/21-A3-C050-1874-46-B2-93-DE-94-D39158-A9-FA.jpg)

EDIT: I’m going to have to block this website or I’m not going to have time to do anything else.
IMAGE(https://i.postimg.cc/gkGHTRvm/C06-C6-A3-F-8-D0-A-439-A-9-E2-F-8-C5-EDBA1-F790.jpg)

Kyiv is upping its topiary game.

IMAGE(https://i.imgur.com/C2jQj81.jpg)

That is one hell of an expert troll. I am glad to see their spirit is still incredibly strong.

IMAGE(https://i.imgur.com/JTYN1bO.jpeg)

IMAGE(https://i.imgur.com/QksZSYi.jpeg)

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The gas one is worse than that. I saw a list of 28 companies and their Q1 2022 vs 21, it was staggering. Even some that lost money last year are making hundreds of millions now

farley3k wrote:

IMAGE(https://i.imgur.com/GYnIYBX.png)

I may need this as a sticker.

IMAGE(https://i.imgur.com/DrPaGCM.jpeg)

.

At least oil companies are seeing a future where they are a lot less relevant. I can almost understand their getting money while their sales numbers are still decent. It'll be time to build infrastructure and pivot to greener pastures soon.

IMAGE(https://i.postimg.cc/0Q7xCx6v/1-BA15-A14-0-F0-D-47-DC-8403-2-A8153880958.jpg)

That’s just Charlie Kirk after a bender.

IMAGE(https://i.imgur.com/o4S6boY.jpeg)

IMAGE(https://i.imgur.com/rkqHaLd.png)

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NSFW

Spoiler:

IMAGE(https://i.imgur.com/9g500rx.png)

Heartened to see I wasn’t the only person less than thrilled by Maverick.

DSGamer wrote:

Heartened to see I wasn’t the only person less than thrilled by Maverick.

Everyone's a critic!

maverickz wrote:
DSGamer wrote:

Heartened to see I wasn’t the only person less than thrilled by Maverick.

Everyone's a critic!

Oh no, "Maverick Z: The Legend Continues" was awesome.

IMAGE(https://i.imgur.com/v0bZDX1.png)

IMAGE(https://i.imgur.com/CcanV25.jpg)