Gromnir

what is curious to us personal is how many o' the folks here who see on tv the hong kong protesters and sympathize with them is nevertheless calling for more police state when is blm protesters in portland. sure, a couple obsidian posters is channeling the david duke fringe element o' the republican party and we consider such folks a lost cause, but other folks at least claim to be motivated by conscience, and bruce should have the extreme real example o' how the apartheid government o' sa used brutality under the guise o' law and order to suppress protesters and dissent. we mentioned at the time o' ferguson, the protests are symptomatic o' larger societal concerns beyond what eve the protesters claim is their raison d'être. bruce is looking at unrest and seems to think law enforcement is a solution. he should know better. law and order may be effective in suppressing the protests but such is only exacerbating the problems if there ain't simultaneous efforts to fix the underlying causes o' the protests. and no, am not suggesting lawless behaviour should be ignored. don't need to search very hard on these boards to see where we complain 'bout the failure o' any kinda protester leadership which might disavow and help control those behaviours which do not lead to progress and would make john lewis weep. protests is a symptom. past Presidents have failed to adequate address the causes. is no question the problems is massive. however, trump is the first President in our lifetime to encourage the divisiveness which is one o' the causes o' the protests. trump has ignored the Constitution and sent federal troops to enforce his view o' law and order in states and localities where his efforts has been categorical and overt rejected. there has been arrests by individuals claiming to be fed who refuse to identify selves and who routine fail to observe due process and miranda rights o' those detained. labeling o' protesters as domestic terrorists and purveyors o' sedition? really? as such, why would anybody vote for trump if they is genuine concerned 'bout protests? is so the Opposite o' law and order, but it is consistent with police state behaviours. but perhaps we misread bruce. perhaps he does see blm and hong kong protesters as analogous and mayhap bruce thinks more Chinese style police state behaviours is the appropriate response both in portland and hong kong. HA! Good Fun!

so, thanks for sharing the hannity/carlson/inghram narrative? HA! Good Fun!

dog whistle much? the suggestion being a woman and person o color "meets all the requirements o' the far left" will be the fox news and breitbart spin. thanks for being the obsidian board voice box for the conservative media echo chamber. such silliness will be yet another way for trump to make race and gender issues. choose a woman evangelical who is public opposed to roe v. wade and suggest she meets requirements o' liberals is what we expect and should be transparent and hollow... but it will play to the trump base. HA! Good Fun!

already addressed in our ps. trump wants to juice his campaign and distract from covid-19. is gonna be a hard push from the wh to get this done before november 3. am also thinking mcconnell believes he won't have the political clout to get a lame duck appointment through senate. mcconnell is more concerned with his legacy o' fed court appointments than anything else, which is why this has been the most unproductive Congress in modern history. mitch has tabled everything but appointments. am honest not sure how this all plays out 'cause trump is impulsive and often irrational. that said, am suspecting the best predictor o' what becomes the strategy for trump and the republicans is to watch fox the next couple days. HA! Good Fun!

am thinking too many people is forgetting how to read a calendar. in 2016 this were an issue 'cause the election would decide if the Court swung activist or remained in the hands o' the textualists. if trump gets a supreme court justice nominated and approved before november 3rd, then you have removed the immediate voting motivation o' folks indifferent to trump v. biden, but concerned 'bout the SCOTUS composition. am suspecting trump wants to nominate an individual who will anger liberals so as to energize his base. such is not good news for senate republicans who are in danger o' losing their seats. collins might be fighting a doomed battle precise 'cause o' her support o' kavanaugh. other vulnerable senate republicans need support o' independents and even a few democrats to win reelection. this upcoming SCOTUS battle is not what most senate republicans facing reelection want. sure, there will be an effort to frame this situation as a repeat o' 2016, but that ends as soon as folks remember how to read a calendar. even so, this will be an issue trump uses to energize his base, so he will probable choose an evangelical as unpalatable to democrats as possible... though will likely be female as he has taken a considerable hit 'mongst women who voted for him in 16. choose somebody who at least appears to reject roe v. wade. the more divisive the candidate, the better it is for trump... and the worse it is for senate republicans fighting close battles. rush through background investigation and do a lightning fast committee review is not gonna be a good optics but is gonna be necessary to get this completed before november 3. oh, and not that democrats wanna hear this, but this nonsense all started 'cause obama and harry reid were frustrated with republican intransigence regarding appointments and they went nuclear as a solution. needed sixty votes for Presidential appointees. democrats changed the rules and at the time mcconnell and other republicans cried foul, warning there would be a reckoning for violating time honored traditions. an eye for an eye for an eye foraneyeforaneyeforaneyeforaneyeforaneye... you reap what you sow. the thing is, if this kinda thing don't stop, is only gonna get worse. after four years o' trump and republicans one-upping the democrats, does anybody believe the democrats, if they wrest control o' the senate, will try and reset to a more sane and sober political environment? democrats, faced with the long list o' trump and senate republican violations o' constitutional law and government norms will indeed be justified in their efforts to do unto the republicans as has been done unto them... and so the cycle will continue. "“You’ll regret this and you might regret it even sooner than you might think,” McConnell warned." am knowing it is too late for mcconnell to look in the mirror and have a discussion with his 2013 self. we will all suffer 'cause folks on both sides o' the aisle refuse to stop and reflect on the consequences o' their actions. ps is nothing to stop trump and mcconnell from pushing forward this effort even if trump loses. nothing precludes a lame duck appointment. is a couple republican senate seats which may change sooner rather than later, but until at least january 3, 2021, mitch has control o' the senate, and trump stays in office 'til january 20.

hmmm. rocky and bullwinkle were, in our opinion, the greatest animated show for kids... evar. the thing is, the fact it were aired with an intent kids would watch (aired 2x a week in the late afternoon and sponsored by general mills) the subject matter were kinda advanced. am not thinking kids in the 60s suffered overmuch from being shown mushroom clouds and being confronted with the dark humor o' national government incompetence. machiavelli for 12-year olds? maybe wait 'til thirteen and show 'em venture brothers. aside: am suspecting a few o' our regular maga supporters would especial loathe rocky and bullwinkle as the animation were outsourced to a company in mexico. HA! Good Fun! ps "only 5% of cases of corona result in death." would be a noteworthy point if only a hundred americans had been infected. lethality is inextricably tied to transmissibility and with millions o' infected... +200k dead and counting. as we said, "a special kinda obtuse." thanks for illustrating. btw ~20% o' those cases require hospitalizations. no biggie though.

not this again. 3.5% o' the popular vote, if were all in one state, would be meaningful. it were not. it isn't. compare: ross perot in 1992 won almost 19% of the popular vote. what changed for 3rd party candidates after 1992? well, ross decided not to run 3p in the future. 19% were not near enough and future 3p candidates learned from perot's blunder. libertarians is doing all wrong. they spend money and effort on national elections when such limited funds is better directed to winning important state and local elections. throw up yet another spectacular unqualified candidate to fail miserable is not creating a positive groundswell o' support. dumb. oh, and btw, clinton AND trump were Historical unpopular. one reason why 2016 polls were so dodgy is 'cause something like +8% o' voters were still undecided on days immediate before the election. 2020 is different 'cause thanks to polarization trump's base, in spite o' his improbable impotence, has solidified. biden voters is near equal solid. is not a huge number o' undecideds who unable to vote either major ticket will wave the white flag and choose libertarian or green. misleading graph which does not prove anything save that both trump and clinton were unpalatable choices. HA! Good Fun!

the reason trump blows this dog whistle is 'cause he wants a quote or a sound bite from a liberal in response. even if trump's proposed 1776 project were other than unconstitutional, there isn't a mechanic for trump to implement. trump's 1776 would need be an act of Congress. as much as trump plays fast and loose with the rule of law, am just not seeing any executive apparatus to achieve what he claims is his desire w/o Congress. but again, trump don't care 'bout 1776 or any other date not direct affecting trump. trump wants liberal rage and indignation. gets sound bites for fox news and quotes for breitbart stories. see the liberals attacking the patriotism and ideals o' the founders... attacking America. is more proof that for liberals everything is 'bout race; they wanna punish white people for no reason other than that they were born white. appeal to white grievance. is a distraction https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/country/us/ takes a special kinda obtuse to fall for such a distraction but the terrible reality is that near 30% o' the US electorate is that special. HA! Good Fun!

as usual, trump is full o' p00p. ca won't implement some kinda cumpulsory 1619 project. what will continue to occur is that individual school districts will include the 1619 project as a potential recommended resource for teachers such as @Hurlshot... along with dozens if not hundreds o' similar resources. regardless, the 1619 project is not a straight jacket or a comprehensive history curriculum. thank goodness. more than a few historians roll their eyes at the assertion the american Revolutionary war was fought primarily because of slavery. those darn abolitionists were actual major instigators o' rebellion. even the 1619 creator has agreed that the project was a starting point and it should evolve, and she admitted she might have reached a bit too far in an effort to make every pivotal event in early american history a slave/race issue. that said, is nothing wrong with recognizing just how significant slavery was in the formation o' the US and how it shaped institutions into the late 20th century and that it impacts us still today. for chrissakes, is more than a few high schools which has machiavelli's the prince on their polisci reading lists. *gasp* isn't bruce terrified impressionable young minds is being indoctrinated with an instructional manual as to how to overthrow the current regime and then take and hold power? what about fragile minds? oh, and am not certain how trump could implement his 1776 plan or forbid use o' 1619. the reason nclb and common core is legal is kinda the opposite o' oro's argument. is 14th amendment equal protection which makes possible. precise because the quality o' education is so disparate from school district to school district in the US, and thanks to a history o' zoning and race-based housing limits, such gaps 'tween those who get quality education and those who do not is based on reasons repugnant to the Constitution. the Federal Government is prohibited both by the Constitution and by federal statute from direct interfering with state education. at same time, 14th amendment says we all get equal protection of the law. the justification the fed has in interfering with state education is to bring 'bout fairness o' education regardless o' sex and race and whatnot. this 1776 thing by trump is a dog whistle. nothing more. HA! Good Fun!

article from 2017... not 1901 How is the Civil War taught in school? Depends on where you live. When curriculum standards were approved in 2010 by Texas’ Republican-controlled Board of Education, debate focused on slavery being a Civil War "after issue." The state’s fifth- and seventh-graders taking Texas history courses, and eighth-graders taking U.S. history, are now asked to identify the causes of the war, "including sectionalism, states’ rights and slavery." Eighth-graders also compare ideas from Abraham Lincoln’s inaugural address with those from Confederate President Jefferson Davis’ inaugural address, which did not mention slavery and instead endorsed small-government values still popular with many conservatives today. The eighth-grade curriculum also lists Confederate Gen. Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson alongside Frederick Douglass, a 19th century abolitionist, as examples of "the importance of effective leadership in a constitutional republic." Home to about 5.3 million public school students, Texas has a textbook market so large that volumes published for its classrooms can be sold in other states, though that influence has waned recently. Publishers can now more easily tailor electronic materials to the needs of individual markets. Still, in 2015, a publisher promised to make editorial changes after a mother in Houston complained that her son’s ninth-grade geography textbook referred to African slaves as "workers" and immigrants." saying that we got standardized k-12 education is nonsense and link a wiki article for common core standards don't mean you know what the hell you are talking 'bout. common core is NOT common curriculum, which is prohibited by fed law by the way. from common core site: Myth: These standards amount to a national curriculum for our schools. Fact: The Common Core is not a curriculum. It is a clear set of shared goals and expectations for what knowledge and skills will help our students succeed. Local teachers, principals, superintendents, and others will decide how the standards are to be met. Teachers will continue to devise lesson plans and tailor instruction to the individual needs of the students in their classrooms. Myth: The federal government will take over ownership of the Common Core State Standards initiative. Fact: The federal government will not govern the Common Core State Standards. The Common Core was and will remain a state-led effort. The NGA Center and CCSSO are committed to developing a long-term governance structure with leadership from governors, chief state school officers, and other state policymakers to ensure the quality of the Common Core and that teachers and principals have a strong voice in the future of the standards. States and local school districts will drive implementation of the Common Core. oh, and am admitted confused by your recognition o' how education gets funded and the disparate impact such has on education. common core is swell and all but minimum standards for state funding don't change fact that individual school districts have, from a practical perspective, much different tools and options for trying to meet such standards. not common curriculum, and is particular not common for stuff such as history and civics. do you even know what common core covers? will give you time to self educate before further chastising. oh, and bring up university where adults (still kids in our mind, but legal adult) is being educated when the following is what started this discussion is predictable ludicrous. not to mention fact is complete unrelated to your concern as these is stem professors. these professors is so not being investigated 'cause they is a threat to the hearts and minds o' fragile young minds as they indoctrinate students with their pro chinese hegemony propaganda. "The cases underscore Justice Department concerns about Chinese programs that recruit scientists with access to cutting-edge technology in the U.S. and encourage them to conduct research for Beijing’s gain and even to steal the work of American academics." you see rando word "china" in links to education and somehow glomp onto such as potential proof that your night terrors brought on by the teaching o' women's studies (HA!) and critical race theory (another wiki link) in universities is justified. btw, we don't doubt that foreign powers use university campuses to recruit young and gullible. is so far afield o' what is being proposed by trump and is not actual at all related to the links you provide. you are such a weird person and your ideology driven posts would be laughable save that 1) your chosen ideology is pernicious and 2) you pretend as if the ideology, which would make the daughters o' the confederacy proud, is the result o' intellectual curiosity and reasonable reflection. your schtick is not unique; the venom is, am sad to say, all to common. real tragedy is that as much as we criticize florida man, the shift o' high tech industry to the south is doing more to change the current paradigm than is any efforts by naacp or educators to change notions 'bout bigotry. increasing educated southern parents is teaching their children to reject conspiracy theories and thin veiled bigotry. as more educated folks is moving south, what we loathe 'bout the south (other than the humidity) decreases. meanwhile, is the rust belt which is becoming more southern every day. won't be long before is indiana man we need worry 'bout more than florida... so 1920s. am gonna leave the ginsburg reflection for at least a day or two. HA! Good Fun!

am knowing this were already responded to but with trump promising all americans will receive vaccine by april, am reminded o' shady concerns and what actual went down with the polio vaccine. the polio vaccine which crippled many thousands and killed too many were not flawed, as hard as that may be to believe. if the polio vaccine had been produced as designed, it woulda' been ok... or at least the side effects woulda' fallen within the unfortunate unavoidable but nevertheless acceptable range o' almost negligible incidence per hundred thousands. the thing is, at the time, there were insufficient oversight on the production end o' the vaccine. the polio vaccine were safe. what were being shipped out the door and injected into the arms o' children nationwide were not the polio vaccine as designed. we trust dr. fauci. we actual trust the process concocted by darpa folks years ago in anticipation o' producing a vaccine quick and safe if the US were ever faced with a serious pandemic. the thing is, the scientists such as fauci won't be the folks doing oversight o' production o' the vaccine and no matter how safe is the vaccine, if quality control fails in enough numbers am unsure what will be the results. likely end up with ineffective vaccine as 'posed to deadly, but... am wondering how many trump voters genuine believe the current administration will take a safety first approach to regulation and oversight? HA! Good Fun!

sean connery being the obvious #1, no? HA! Good Fun!

not accurate, but would make more sense than the actual story not petrified, 'cause petrified would be too tame? instead, is an accidental pinocchio kinda/sorta bit o' blame it on magic wackiness. ... the forgotten realms suck. HA! Good Fun!

am agreeing with hurl pov, but the no child left behind mandate doesn't actually make exceptions for the willful obtuse. "for the student with a language obstacle or learning disability am suspecting most o' us have greater sympathy, but the stubborn and obtuse student is failing to learn no less than does the kid with serious dyslexia." that said, am reassured to discover hurl is not wasting effort on those indulge their ignorant impulses and, beyond all reason, choose to wallow in their own crapulence. and again, if such comically challenged learners didn't exist, we would need create 'em. nobody here makes the obvious fail regarding 94%? well, we would need create some kinda improbable science challenged yutz to illustrate the silliness o' the trump retweet. some clown decides cdc handwashing guidelines is foolish 'cause he is already wearing a mask in public could only exist in our imagination... until such a reason fail manifested for reals and convenient before us to serve as an object lesson o' ignorance. not gonna take vaccine so as to save dose for a person with a higher priority than self, a vaccine which is only gonna be effective at stopping pandemic if enough people take it? *chuckle* understandable, hurl can't pick on the obtuse 'mongst his flock to serve as living illustrations o' ignorance. more's the pity. HA! Good Fun!

this is a tell... and a lie. find the exact quote which supports. you cannot 'cause doesn't exist. basically says. essentially claims. etc. is dead giveaways. is tells. is bs. biden said that to have trump, who denies the science o' human affected climate change in the wh for four more years, is dangerous and arguable catastrophic. now maybe you think he indulged in hyperbole, but he did not basically say or essentially claim as you and the article suggest. even the greenyist and gullible green new deal folks is not gonna believe any implementation o' climate conscious efforts will result in immediate impact on climate. however, there does need to be recognition o' a problem and a President who willful ignores the problem is making situation for future Americans worse. is appropriate we is talking education... as if we needed yet another example o' skarp_one reading comprehension fails. @Azdeus have noted previous we don't mind specific events failed to be taught. am more interested in what you were taught than what you were not. US school kids, for example, may have any number o' events which gets overlooked with disturbing frequency, but japanese internment and slave trade and triangle shirt waistcoat factory does get covered in many US schools... and best we may say is "many" 'cause there is no national standard and enforcing such a thing is beyond problematic as doing so violates multiple aspects o' the Constitution. if we attempted to teach school kids every US fail o' character and conscience, there would never be any time to delve into individual aspects o' history and it would be impossible to teach research skills and analysis as there wouldn't be time for much save brief laundry listing o' every fail. that said, is bad for us to do same thing we complain 'bout with others and overgeneralize europeans. bad on Gromnir. am suitably chastised. however, perhaps illustrative and right on cue regardless, the pith 'bout those who fail to learn the lessons o' history being doomed to repeat is apt even if is a bit oversimple. after all, what example exists from recent past which reveals the dangers o' legally mandating nationalistic pride in the teaching o' children? again, is not surprising who is the boardies advocating such nonsense. HA! Good Fun!

to help get you started, perhaps you should research the daughters of the confederacy and their efforts to promote the teaching o' a more enlightened and positive historical narrative. spoiler: the ladies o' the south were disturbing successful although 'course such schemes necessarily need happen at the state and local level. heck, is more than a few examples o' southerners posting on this board which show just how powerful a tool were the motivated teaching o' patriotism to school children. not need look very far for examples... not far at all. HA! Good Fun! ps is amusing, but is more than a few times on these boards where we felt compelled to defend US education from europeans or others who see our nation's ubiquitous displays o' patriotism and is startled. worse, folks such as oro gives europeans a chance to seize on the worst aspects o' so-called american exceptionalism they imagine is taught in every school. many times we has pointed out how hurl and other teachers is not only teaching the rosy-hued narrative o' US and world events. we do indeed get the darker aspects o' american history taught along with the heroic stuff, at least such is the case in most places. ... is gotta seem surreal to the europeans that there is a segment o' americans who genuine believe there ain't enough o' the 'Murica, F#@% yeah! being taught in US schools. HA! Good Fun!

you managed to beat @HoonDing to the punchline. tragedy is, you are serious. HA! Good Fun! ps perhaps @Hurlshot could join the commision and give pointers to the fed regarding how they would possible implement and enforce such silliness. fed provides dollars to states for education-- is their leverage. state and local education departments will actual need develop means o' implementing . as such hurl may aid in creating a scheme which improves historical patriotism in the classroom and somehow measures such. is amusing to imagine the resulting standardized tests but only if trump ain't reelected. fact something is impractical and unconstitutional is not an obstacle for trump and barr.

am curious. as a teacher, how does hurl approach a learner who is either unwilling or incapable o' understanding material? exhaust the modalities and invent new options? use group learning to see if other students may aid in the learning process? witchcraft? all fail. now what? for the student with a language obstacle or learning disability am suspecting most o' us have greater sympathy, but the stubborn and obtuse student is failing to learn no less than does the kid with serious dyslexia. pithy bit o' education silliness: there are no bad students, only bad teachers. socrates or mr. miyagi? easy to confuse the two. personal, as am not a teacher, we find the obtuse student to be illustrative. we would likely invent him/her if she didn't exist... but in our experience he always exists. nevertheless, am wondering how hurl deals with such. oh, and HA! Good Fun!

"He effectively promised that if he wins, America will suffer from fewer fires, fewer floods, and fewer hurricanes." translation: biden didn't promise fewer fires, floods and hurricanes if he is elected in november. *add eye-roll emoji here* according to the article, biden did point out how dangerous it were to keep a President in office who denies human affected climate change particular given the increase o' such conditions as fires, floods and hurricanes. HA! Good Fun!

... am suspecting bruce has ignored every william barr post by Gromnir in the past couple o' years. HA! Good Fun!

not accurate, but not complete wrong neither. in the bundy standoff, unarmed predator drones were used for surveillance, and there were a couple lunatic-fringe far-right blogs which claimed to have sources deep embedded in the pentagon which insisted eric holder had advocated an armed drone strike to neutralize the protesters. such claims never gained much traction and were never any proof whatsoever. obama justifiable took considerable heat during and after his Presidency regarding his willingness to indulge in spying 'pon american citizens and while the drone surveillance weren't the same thing, it were consistent with the administration's use o' resources which had previous been deemed verboten on american soil. what had Gromnir's shorts in a twist at the time were harry reid labeling bundy and his followers "domestic terrorists." drone strikes woulda' been less dangerous than the successful application o' domestic terrorist bit. obama did not push back on the label. the precedent woulda' been difficult to undo if clive bundy had been charged for sedition and we were personal borderline apoplectic over the widespread indifference from too many democrats on the issue. HOWEVER, clive bundy were not actual charged with rebellion or sedition. we blame obama for not clear reprimanding reid and others, but... we will note that while am not recalling any wapo article as gd describes, there were a national review article which were... disturbing. compared bundy to mahatma gandhi and george washington. the national review conservatives recognized that the law were against bundy but that were precise why clive bundy's heroics were so noteworthy-- few attributes more american than a willingness to stand up to tyranny. ... is indeed disappointing to see how the narrative changes when the folks accused o' domestic terrorism is playing for the opposing political team, or is predominant sharing more robust melanin production. the domestic terrorist bit were terrifying to us in 2014. fast forward six years and william barr is proving to many just how dangerous is the label. Barr Tells Prosecutors to Consider Charging Violent Protesters With Sedition

Military Police Leaders Weighed Deploying 'Heat Ray' Against D.C. Protesters misleading title. US Park police were the folks who requested. pentagon had refused to use in iraq 'cause o' ethics and morality concerns. were also recognition by the military that the first deployment o' such a weapon would have serious pr repercussions... although the wh directed hhs to use ADS (Active Denial System) at the southern border in 2018 but kirstjen nielsen refused citing humanitarian concerns. bunch o' "dopes and babies" in the military trying to undermine The Monarch? is too bad the venture brothers recent cancelled 'cause this kinda thing writes itself, no? related No Pain Ray Weapon for Iraq (Updated and Bumped) ... of more immediate significance, major adam demarco of the d.c. national guard is calling the feds and wh narrative regarding the lafayette park protest dispersal a bunch o' lies. no doubt will be a few o' our pro totalitarian posters who see nothing wrong with using ADS kinda weapons on US citizens exercising first amendment rights and regardless, so again, where is the trump supporters of conscience? HA! Good Fun!

we suppose belated congratulations are in order. had no idea math and science challenged pro police state midwesterners had moved ahead o' at-risk populations insofar as vaccine priority is concerned. you never know who has a powerful lobby until times such as these, eh? if otherwise healthy people is genuine concerned 'bout the health o' rando old people they will never meet or know, then we applaud meaningful efforts to help. however, such would result in behaviours opposite than expressed. the more people who take the vaccine, the safer will be those rando old people. the doctors and scientists need to do a better job o' communicating vaccine facts, 'cause there is enduring and pervasive misunderstanding 'bout who should take and why. that said, the fda and cdc have done substantial harm to their credibility. sure, too many o' the folks who is most vocal 'bout vaccine safety concerns were equal reluctant in february of 2020 as they is today. is not as if the politicizing o' covid-19 has had any impact on their behaviours. the complicity o' hahn, redfield and others has done little save legitimize the fears o' the government conspiracy crowd. the process implemented and the speed o' the trials is not something to be feared. speed o' the trials is misunderstood, 'cause no single aspect o' the trials is being rushed. same steps were implemented for covid-19 as previous vaccine trials, but multiple steps were taken simultaneous as 'posed to linear. no loss o' safety results from such implementation but there is enormous monetary costs involved particular if any individual vaccine trial fails. however, there is reason to be concerned the administration will follow through with the process implemented. in more than one instance the science has been massaged to better match the President's message. we got a President who is indifferent to the welfare and safety o' even his own constituency. trust has evaporated. am personal thinking the fears o' vaccine safety is overblown, but such fears is increasing reasonable as the US government appears to be doing as much as is possible to undermine their credibility with a public that were increasing inclined towards conspiracy and clear science challenged from the start. every effort shoulda' been taken to reassure the public by making the integrity o' the process unassailable. opposite. the government has attacked its own scientists and science, played fast and loose with facts, and indulged in unrepentant gaslighting. is now too late to rehabilitate fda and cdc reputation. concerns 'bout the vaccine might be overblown, but they is reasonable given government behaviours. HA! Good Fun!

US boasts ~5% of world population and 20% o' the covid-19 deaths... coupled with the fact we had some warning to prepare unlike italy and germany and south korea or taiwan. in february our President were not interested in preparing the nation for the inevitable and since that time he has active, beyond all reason, discouraged social distancing and mask wearing behaviours. who are the people falling for the gaslighting? inexplicable, the trump base is far more concerned 'bout the inevitable future tyranny o' "sleepy joe," (*chuckle*) and the threat o' blm protesters taking over akron than they is 'bout current widespread government corruption and 200k dead from covid... with a significant % o' those hundreds o' thousands o' corpses being unnecessary and avoidable. is important to empathize with the trump base 'cause they is Americans citizens who feels marginalized... and 'cause they vote. nevertheless, the willingness to overlook trump's inept covid-19 response makes extreme difficult to empathize much less sympathize. those folks is nuts. HA! Good Fun!

all the bg1 companions were terrible from a writing pov. bg1 companions contributed little more than a catchphrase to the narrative. point o' fact, the most developed bg1 companion, and the object o' lanfear's curious fixation, were coran who turned out to be an unrepentant deadbeat dad? serious? bg2 companions were considerable more developed than bg1 counterparts. no surprise as shallowness o' bg1 companions were one o' the top five most common complaints on the bg2 development board, and possible top two if you ignore the doomed too difficult/too easy split. *shrug* minsc is a good natured and mental challenged comic relief character (try that in 2020) who has an unusable item slot 'cause he carries with him a tailless rat at all times. in bg2, given the level bloat, he may be effective as a 2-hand weapon combatant or a dual wielder, or both. is less meaningful character development o' bg2 minsc than keldorn or jaheira. nevertheless, minsc has boo and noteworthy vo talent. meh. am thinking the only two bg2 companions we active disliked were anomen and aerie. sorry dave. cernd and nalia were kinda flat for us but there weren't enough to like or dislike 'bout either. edwin were ridiculous. *shrug* our cynicism were prodded a bit with viconia as the degree to which she were victimized by surfacers were, in our mind, a cheap way to generate empathy and compassion for a character otherwise undeserving o' such. etc. nevertheless, were aerie and anomen who annoyed us, made all the more terrible by fact our good aligned parties were self-handicapping by the failure to include either in a party, particular anomen. fyi, bg2 were released 2000 am knowing bg3 is soon to be released, but the thread topic is a bit stale at this point, no?. HA! Good Fun!