Gromnir

*shrug* am thinking that the study ignores that not all freedoms is equal. personal freedoms should be given more weight, no? looks like many o' the southern states have issues with personal freedoms. additional, poor states is understandably gonna have less regulatory laws as they simple cannot enforce even good laws. etc. regardless, its the price o' democracy. act surprised or angry that State and local Government is taking away 'freedoms' is kinda silly, no? is the democratic process at work. enough folks agree that smoking in restaurants is bad and that "there should be a law preventing it," hopeful results in such a law being passed. sure, is an infringement o' liberty rights, but virtual all laws is. prevent small business owners from being unfair to employees or operating without safeguards for the public is an infringement o' liberty and freedom. prevent folks from bringing invasive species o' plants and animals into a state is terrible burden on personal liberty *snort*, but the democratic process often arrives at the reasonable conclusion that west nile virus and dutch elm disease and japanese beetle infestations is stuff folks wanna avoid. 'course, the tyranny of the majority is always a threat. all you need is +50% to take away freedoms o' the minority. is democracy, but it is often stoopid, shortsighted and even cruel. the reason why the Bill of Rights and protections o' fundamental rights is so important is they is a check on the inevitable excesses o' the People. interesting but misleading link. HA! Good Fun!

We wouldn't run welfare programs the way the feds run them. It would be very difficult to get welfare in independent Texas. Anyway, "how will we ever fund welfare" isn't a burning question on anyone's mind. oh, well then. you wouldn't run welfare "the way the feds run them." excellent. is so much more specific than your previous responses. and given all the folks you got taking SNAP benefits, how to run welfare should be a burning question, 'cause a multitude o' starving and homeless children becomes a burning question very fast. HA! Good Fun!

yes, you were extreme vague about policies in general, which is why we addressed your only concrete claims and concerns. and yeah, we suspect that less people would receive welfare if texas seceded. again, did you not understand the fed dollar differential? texas wouldn't be able to cover the costs o' fed programs as you is a dependent state. you can't afford welfare or a multitude o' other programs. oh, and children is far-and-away the largest age group receiving welfare benefits, and they receive the mostest individual benefits. no doubt once wod cures cancer and patents riding dinosaurs, he will tackle the problem o' reducing welfare recipients w/o punishing the children who is already suffering the most. HA! Good Fun!

'cause the ioc decided it would be a waste o' time to have karate competitions when all medals would be won by chuck norris. chuck is so tough that he would win every medal in every weight class. he would fight multiple opponents at once... perhaps all o' them at once, and just to make it a challenge, mr. norris would fight blindfolded and with a rabid ferret in his karategi. an extra copper medal would need be introduced just to reward mr. norris appropriately... or maybe platinum, or painite. HA! Good Fun!

the children of illegal immigrants? they aren't illegal if they are born on US soil. duh. california has 1/3 more population and 2x as many illegals than does texas. nevertheless, the % o' the california population benefiting from SNAP is also significant less than texas (just north o' 10%) and making it #10 on list o' lowest % o' SNAP beneficiaries, in spite o' more ca illegals and their underclass children. and we already mentioned the much skewed tax dollar issue which you mischaracterize. ca does not have a higher percentage o' upper class than any other state, so kinda misleading. and there is a .1% difference 'tween high income in ca and texas, in spite o' significant higher cost of living. ca has also only benefited from a 1.3% gain for upper class since 2000. texas has increased 1.9% since 2000, so since figures is accurate only to 2013, texas has likely already surpassed ca for % o' high income citizens. "We wouldn't be a pauper nation, without the federal government pulling us back, we'd be the most prosperous, freest nation in the world." sure. sure. right after wod discovers the cure for cancer in armadillo p00p, every texan would have his own private 18-hole golf course, and you would all ride the lab-created dinosaurs wod created. when you get tired o' living in the fantasy world, come back to us. HA! Good Fun!

http://www.espn.com/olympics/summer/boxing/story/_/id/17327993/aiba-removes-several-olympic-judges-refs-results-stand caution: sweary https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NNKUoAmgDb0 HA! Good Fun!

illegals don't get SNAP. 'cause, y'know, they is illegal. *chuckle* california gots loads o illegal immigrants-- 2x more total in point o' fact, but CA taxpayers get less than $1 o' fed benefits per $1 o' tax payer contribution. oh, and is not the fed that put texas on the boarder with mexico. you think becoming independent would stop illegal immigration? HA! sure, many illegals would leave texas if it weren't US, but to get to real US, you would still get illegal immigrants in texas. maybe look at a map? is texas policies that is causing texas poverty, and decades o' bad texas private business. wod may wanna leave, but the actual folks in power in texas know what an utter disaster that would be. can't even pull own weight with influx o' excess fed dollars and you think going it alone would improve the situation? add a new pauper nation on US southern boarder? gosh, why wouldn't the USA want that? HA! Good Fun!

I have three problems with dialogue wheel. 1, Needless obfuscation: written "yes", says "sure". 2, When the short written sentence doesn't match what my character says and/or does. 3, When the dialogue wheel is used to hide my lack of choice. Two or more written choices, but they all lead to my character saying/doing the same thing. #2 and #3 really are the worst. It's crazy how often it seems to be done, though. bring up #2 and #3 is why we got banned from bioware. complained 'bout how frequent #3 were happening in mass effect, so chris priestly locks thread-- insists that our complaints could lead to spoilers. no actual spoilers, but potential were too great. okie dokie. so then a dragon age dialogue wheel thread gets started by somebody other than Gromnir. no possibility o spoilers, yes? we get banned 'cause priestly told us we should "drop it," and we ignored his directive. *shrug* no big loss, but we bring up to show just how little the dialogue o' the dialogue wheel has changed. dialogue wheel has been broken from the start. minor improvements have not improved the dialogue wheel enough to make it worth the trouble. for a game with enormous amounts o' dialogue, the dialogue wheel is a developer time/resource saver, but somehow it gets sold as a boon to role-play. is pt barnum game design. HA! Good Fun!

texas need to pull its own weight before it can complain 'bout the fed. near 15% of the texan population is benefiting from SNAP, and texas also receives more fed dollars than its citizens contribute... make it one o' the many dependent states. there is 14 states that get back less than $1 in fed benefits for every $1 o' citizen contribution. texas in Not one o' the 14. texas is ranked 32 outta 50. until texas steps up, they might wanna shut up. HA! Good Fun!

six times? six? http://www.bloodyelbow.com/2012/8/2/3214407/2012-olympics-video-boxing-bad-decision-shimizu-abdulhamidov now that is brazen. HA! Good Fun!

we like the olympics, but am getting annoyed by the sensitivity level. got numerous athletes open weeping 'cause o' social media comments. so much for mental toughness o' elite athletes, eh? and how many stories need we endure that ain't 'bout the sport, but rather 'bout the commentators, social media pundits, or random guy on the street who were insensitive. didn't give a female athlete enough credit? made too much o' athlete being female, thus diminishing her accomplishments? can't win. is ok to highlight the first african-american gold medalist swimmer or is doing so racist? a commentator is awed by biles power and mentions that she is getting more air than the men on her bar dismounts... and the commentator then needs apologize ad nauseum. why exact? nbc exec mentions that women viewers o' the olympics outnumber men and that they are more intrigued by the human stories surrounding the olympics than they is 'bout the actual competitions. *shock* etc. olympics would be better for us if there were absolute no social media related stories, and the threshold for culture and gender insensitivity need be adjusted a fair amount. its freaking sports for chrissakes. HA! Good Fun!

"There is no right or wrong answer, this is your personal views on what matters to your view of a citizen." make us feel a bit dirty to quote bruce. shame on us, and shame on you. *shrug* we agree with bruce that the opinions in this thread ain't wrong. sure, if somebody gets a fact wrong 'bout how polygamy is advocated in the US Constitution and it is required that every male must have at least three wives, we would point out error, but am not honest seeing benefit in a thread such as this to critique feelings 'bout citizenship... though such is only our opinion. and heck, we didn't even answer the original question, so what do we know? just seems like off-the-rails blather is counter-productive to encouraging folks to post their own opinions. HA! Good Fun!

What? Why? If you're of an Abrahamic religion, you believe that God will either return to Earth or end all things in some manner or another anyways. Regardless of your immortality, I think God should win here and he renders judgement unto you as he does all others. If you're Hindu or Buddhist, you'd just be allowed to keep living your one life instead of living out many different ones. I can't think of many specific faiths where you believe you really lose if you're immortal. The answer to that is in the Gospel of John, 18:36 am suspecting that the verse in question is not about becoming a telepathic god-puma. HA! Good Fun!

doesn't say who filed it, could be a joke Most likely is. Although there is always hope. I'd trade Pillars of Eternity 2 for Fallout by Obsidian any day of the week. we wouldn't. obsidian would have to get bethesda approval for any number o' fallout development choices. would be kinda amusing to have tim cain need convince bethesda that obsidian story and design choices were fallout appropriate, but such is life. poe were the first game in a new IP-- we expected growing pains. the thing is, obsidian can fix poe2 whatever and however they choose. that is not the case if obsidian were to do a fallout game. no doubt there is an enormous list o' improvements the obsidians would have in mind for fallout after having played fo4 and its dlc. unfortunately, to make any changes to fo, the obsidians need stand, hat-in-hand, and request bethesda's indulgence. as 'tween an obsidian fo game and poe2, seems like an easy choice to be making. ... 'course money is a major difference. make a fo game on bethesda's dime is also presenting opportunities not availble to obsidian if they try and makes their own poe2. am aware that the choice is not simple poe2 freedom v. bethesda's fo shackles. HA! Good Fun! ps we liked poe, so there is that as well

the notion o' min-maxed class tiers is amusing to us... particular in a single-player game. is the class too weak to be fun? is the class too powerful to be fun? answer should be "no" to both queries. if we don't get a "no" from near all players, then developers need make balance changes, but concern over relative power of classes is only relevant when it makes classes unplayable. as to original question 'bout playing cipher correct, see above. is the cipher fun? then you is playing correct. make sure you have squeezed every possible dps outta a class is a waste as your success will depend, in part, on your individual play-style and party composition and any number o' other factors. there is also gonna be level shadows-- two to three levels, before a particular ability or whatnot is available that a worldbeater class feels positive mortal. regardless, is not a question worth much consideration. fun or not? is only thing that should matter. HA! Good Fun!

depends on our options. being human is swell and all, but if we could be a telepathic god-puma with opposable thumbs and the ability to transform discarded plastic into end-cut prime rib, we would give serious thought to discarding our humanity. HA! Good Fun!

silly kenny loggins movie theme, but caddyshack makes this one different. anybody who has seen caddyshack, listen to this song on radio or an mp3 and try to Not picture a dancing gopher in your noggin. HA! Good Fun!

we got dual citizenship, so the answer is more complex for us. we will limit to US citizenship for the sake o' simplicity.... and then we won't actual answer your query. we has traveled a fair bit. been to most countries in europe, a few which no longer exist. asia is familiar to us, though not so much the islamic nations. have only twice been to the african continent. *shrug* Americans is considered arrogant. the "amerika, f*** yeah!" stuff is mostly myth. look on this board alone and am thinking you can realize americans is quick to be critical o' the USA. in our experience, americans is actual more critical o' their mother country than is the citizens o' almost any other western nation. even so, we understand why Amercians seem arrogant. individual americans, more than almost any other citizens we has met, believe they matter. americans believe their opinions matter. they believe they deserve respect for no other reason than they is walking and breathing. contrary to popular belief 'cross the globe, americans don't see self worth being tied to their american citizenship. however, is fundamental to the american character that we have significance and power simple by existing. an american is not dissuaded 'cause few others share his beliefs. in fact, americans seem to take a kinda pride in being attacked or vilified for his/her beliefs. revolutionary heroes and all that. most americans believe they is right... about everything. we do seem arrogant. 'course this is what makes americans different. being american means we believe we matter. is no such thing as a lost or hopeless cause... or rather, it don't matter if a cause is lost or hopeless. americans is as likely (if not more likely) to fight for a hopeless cause. the lessons o' brutal history and generations o' inherited ennui has taught the rest o' the world that individual efforts is, in the grand scheme, pointless. being an american is different. being an american means we know we matter. americans don't think they is special 'cause they is american. myth. the american character is inextricable tied to a sense o' self worth which is alien in most parts o' the world. I matter. not need an explanation or a reason. not need proof o' worth. water is wet. the sun is warm. americans matter. I matter. is what it means to be an american. not exact answering your question, but... HA! Good Fun!

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/olympics/2016/08/14/russias-klishina-at-hearing-seeking-to-compete-at-olympics/88717100/ HA! Good Fun!

and go owls. HA! Good Fun!

http://www.wsj.com/articles/ryan-lochte-u-s-swimming-medalist-robbed-at-olympics-1471193123 http://www.latimes.com/sports/olympics/la-sp-oly-rio-2016-was-ryan-lochte-robbed-at-gunpoint-or-1471189256-htmlstory.html

yeah, but is tough to use examples who got away with doping 'cause, y'know, they got away with it. *shrug* am thinking most folks outside the US assume that US sport is like their european or asian or wherever sports. we don't have a analogous sports infrastructure. you wanna be a gymnast, swimmer or wrestler? is not as if your talent is discovered and groomed by the State. we never once had a swim class at any public school we attended. parents and community gotta make sacrifices... and how likely is that gonna be when the payoff for becoming anything other than a sooper-elite athlete is negligible? heck, if you got a lick o' athletic talent in this country and you ain't already rich, then chances are you is gonna consider professional sports opportunities rather than olympic. you got the talent to be the one o' the top 20 sabre fencers in the US, or you got an extreme outside shot at making a pro baseball or football team? if your low-income family is balancing whether or not to get you a membership to a local fencing salon and pay for all the expensive equipment necessary to develop your talent, or they spend that fantasy money on expensive summer football and speed/weight training camps, the choice is gonna be obvious to most. we got major land grant universities with wonderful facilities, but foreign nationals got same access to those facilities too. we got some o' the best PRIVATE sports training facilities and coaches too, but those requires money to access. foreign and state supported athletes got same kinda access to those private facilities as does Americans. the two russian olympians who has most been in the news o' late, the breaststroker and the lone russian track & field olympian, both train in the US. tanstaafl HA! Good Fun!

why should we look at lance armstrong? he is the rarity o' US athletes we mentioned earlier: wealthy. armstrong had access to all kinds o' cutting edge drugs, but the typical US olympian is having to make considerable monetary sacrifices just to continue training. am not kidding 'bout the church bake sales. if you think the average US olympian has access to better doping options than those athletes from 'round the world who get state support, you is kidding yourself. is actual depressing to Gromnir how little the US supports its olympic athletes. also, armstrong only competed in olympics once, back in 2000. might not be best example. that being said, doping in cycling has for decades rumored to be rampant. testing /mongst cyclist is considered kinda a joke. HA! Good Fun!

yeah, the eeoc kinda made a mistake by even suggesting that the gadsden flag could, in and of itself, be a kinda racist message. shoulda' stuck with finding and avoided troubling dicta. HA! Good Fun! That is the problem with leftist notions of Government. They have to interfere. They just can't help themselves. oh, we believe you is kinda overstating. eeoc ALJ is judges, but they ain't judicial branch. ALJ is executive bureaucrats and they don't have the necessary job security to make rulings w/o being political. sure enough, the eeoc recognized that censoring the gadsden flag would create a p00p storm o' epic proportions... and would be monumental stoopid. if eeoc found in favor o' censoring, the case would eventual get before a federal appeals judge who would then chastise the eeoc in blistering fashion. even so, the eeoc attempted to be diplomatic with their ruling... which is bad. don't wanna offend is a concern for politicians but not judges. is one o' the many inherent flaws in having executive ALJ. HA! Good Fun!

... that is so very sad. HA! Good Fun!