Nah, the hairs don’t cooperate. If I cut away all the curly strands that stick out, I have no beard.

That’s also true. Also, Leonidas from 300 was the reason I grew it out, but it’s all curly and hoboish.

Perfection

This is me, except replace the second photo with Robin Williams in Jumanji after he comes out of the game.

There were also the control monkeys, who only had the standard Motaba virus.

Plus, being flung from a cage at highway speeds has been clinically proven to have an agitating effect on monkey dispositions.

Right? Like it’s weird so many people are saying “This isn’t what I voted for.” Yes, it is exactly what you voted for.

PartyCity Putin. That’s gold.

The fucked up part is that this bill permits the bypass of existing regulations. Wilderness protections already included a process to receive exemptions for critical infrastructure, including security-related improvements. The new bill simply removes the review process and creates a rubber stamp they can use to do whatever they want under the guise of border security, with zero review, oversight, or accountability for abuses.

I would just think you’re trying to be funny. If you keep a deadpan face, you might succeed.

There have been several high-profile systemic failures in the past few years that give us a glimpse into the hypothetical you’re describing. Most interruptions have lasted mere hours, if not minutes, before causing mass panic and devastating economic catastrophes. Planes are grounded, banks stop operations, global trade shuts down, and hospitals can’t access patient records.

The question isn’t how long before it would be a huge problem. That starts immediately. The better question is, how long before people adapt to a world without the internet? How long would it take to build an alternative?

And those are just the ones we know about. Thousands of people have been abducted without due process. We don’t have an accurate record of everyone ICE has assaulted or kidnapped.

Like, imagine a baker hired to bake bread. That baker claims he makes the best bread, using a traditional Grimm’s recipe where he grinds up human bones to make bread. And you think that’s a terrible idea, because there’s no source of human bones that would be not horrifying. But everyone wants him to be the baker, so he starts murdering people to grind their bones to make his bread. And you’re horrified because of all the murder and mutilation, but also the bread is terrible. You can’t bake bread from ground up bonemeal. It’s bad bread. But all the people who wanted him to bake are eating it, insisting through gritted teeth “Mmm, sooo good… You’re just a hater. Are you triggered yet? Yum, delicious.” And you want to scream because none of this is normal or moral or even human, but also it’s just poorly done. The bread is all weird and clumpy, and it’s been burnt on the crust and underbaked in the middle. There’s either too much or not enough salt, and none of it is consistent at all. It’s just the absolute worst bread ever made because the baker is incompetent and evil. And he’s transparently stealing money from the register. But because they love the baker, and they know it bothers you, all the people who voted for him are pretending this isn’t a nightmare collapse of society. They keep eating the bread, dying from the lack of nutrition or basic hygiene, and sometimes their loved ones will be murdered to become the bones that make the bread, and suddenly it’s all terribly unfair but they’d still vote for the guy again.

Telescopes would be fun. Everyone doesn’t need their own, if you can sign it out on a clear night and return it in good shape.

Bull, and I cannot emphasize this enough, shit. Everyone is not a little bit bigoted. That’s something bigots tell themselves when rationalizing their own prejudices. You should probably take a hard look in the mirror and ask yourself if you’re the problem.

“Progressive” describes a position, not a person. A person can be many things. A person can hold contradictory viewpoints, and fully believe two incompatible thoughts at the same time. It’s tragically naive to assume that people are rational or consistent.

Can a person think they are progressive and also be a bigot? Of course a person can. Everybody is the hero in their own story.

There are thick, uncrossable lines, and there are a lot of people who don’t mind crossing them. You cannot compromise with a bigot. You cannot find common ground with a person who would subjugate you, or someone who sees you as less than human.

We can have disagreements about many political issues, but when you are standing next to pedophiles, rapists, fascists, and bigots, you shouldn’t be surprised to be called a Nazi.

So the question becomes, what is the test of “purity”?

Oh yeah, that’s a point I hadn’t considered.

1200 people disappeared at that camp, without charges or due process, they were absucted off the street and sent to a swamp to die.

Germans didn’t want to believe that the Jews were being slaughtered at concentration camps, either, but willful ignorance is not a morally defensible choice.

Is fiverr still a thing? I had luck there years ago, but I don’t know if it is still around and legitimate.