There is also a financial guy that I watch that has a theory that Disney was caught up in FTX and that a lot of their money was blown away when that all collapsed. And that is the reason that they yeeted Chapek in such a brazen and unusual way. Nope because he was the one doing it, but because he could have exposed the ones who were (specifically, he thinks the CFO).

Will his anger in losing the nomination override any sense of rationality he possesses?

I suppose that that comes down to what you feel of Trumps personality. For my money, I do think he would resist the urge. Yes, he is driven by ego and has done bizarre shit because of it. But Ego is a lot easier to read than people give it credit for, and the only way I see him pulling something like that would be if he had some trick up his sleeve to make it work.

Being a loser, who then causes even bigger losing to someone a lot of his supports actually have respect for, would destroy him, which would bruise his ego a whole lot more than just losing and then fuming in the corner. Especially if he can turn it into something that he thinks he can win on ("DeSantis was going to be a weak RINO, but I helped pull him in a more based direction folks!")

And what context, exactly, would make a dildo blow job acceptable for an elementary school book? And "Journey to figuring out they're nonbinary" is not an actual answer.

Which, quite frankly, is why I don’t think he would run 3rd party. We may have differing attitudes toward Trumps chances in 2024 (not that I think they are great, just better than you do, and still lean DeSantis). But I think we can both agree that Trump is obsessed with ego and image. If he ran 3rd party and spoiled the vote, all but his most hardcore supporters would turn on him and his legacy would be forever ruined.

Better to sit in the background, rage about how “The RNC totally screwed me for that RINO!” While DeSantis just starts repeating all of the steps he used to turn Florida from a swing state to solid red.

Erh, You may want to get a source that actually knows what they are talking about instead of Hollywood Reporter, who is on Disney's side and has incentive to hate on DeSantis. Might I suggest going with the likes of Legal Mindset, who is one of only a handful of lawyers specializing in Florida Special District law? Because Disney was never going to lose control of Reedy Creek.

But DeSantis controlling the oversight board means they have to dance to Florida's tune, just like very other amusement park in Florida. No more special ability to do whatever they want. They will need permits. They will need to pay taxes that were exempt before. Anything they will be working on is public knowledge now. And Disney is on the hook for the bonds that have to be paid back, since they are the property owner of the district (you know, like he said would happen 9 months ago).

The plan as outlined is the worst that could probably happen to Disney realistically with the powers of law. This idea that it was "no real change" doesnt match the reaction that Disney has been having to the whole situation since it all started.

Remember how they spent millions of dollars and used extensive focus groups to come up with "Ultra-MAGA"...only for it to be immediately taken and run with as a good thing by the people it was supposed to insult.

And he prattles on about the Doomsday clock re-unveiling of all things.

What do you mean "Of all things"? It is entirely in character for him to fly off the handle and preach coming doom based on utterly meaningless bullshit. Like his accusations that the 2nd Civil War will start because someone breathed wrong (until he says it wont because the Right wont fight back, until he freaks out because they do fight back, until...).

Two of them. One for Ace Combat 7, and one for Ace Combat Zero.

Yeah, I know the Trash Taste guys. Not normally my thing, but my fiancé likes them, so and I have enjoyed them when I have watched with her. I also very much enjoy Sseth as well.

As for my normal viewing channels beyond that, they are:

Graystillplays: An "older" Youtuber (in his early 40's) who does a lot of GTA challenges and plays a lot of trash mobile games while doing dumb shit in them.

Max0r: Does funny reviews of games involving significant amounts of jump cuts and a lot of millennial/zoomer type humor, but I do thoroughly enjoy his content. Especially since he does stuff like Ace Combat, which is usually outside mainstream gaming Youtubers. He is also the source of the "My source is I made it the fuck up" meme.

The Russian Badger: Does a lot of shooter games with his gang of friends, and is characterized by doing dumb shit with the purpose of having fun instead of being sweatlords trying to be ultra-tactical in everything. So they usually spend a lot of time throwing out jokes and memes while they are playing.

Rimmy Downunder: A mid-size Let's Play channel that does a lot of mil-sim and RTS. We generally have very similar taste in games, so I keep him on the list.

Adeptus Ridiculous: A 40K lore channel run by a youtuber named Bricky (who has done 40K stuff for a while), talking about 40K with his buddy who is new to the setting. Generally very good as a guide for getting people into 40K lore since he is having to explain it all to a total newb. Also is generally good on 40K matters, like standing up for the Imperium's place in the lore and saying that there shouldnt be female Space Marines.

Drachinfel: A naval history channel dealing with Age of Sail up through the end of WW2. He mostly deals with telling about what happened in different battles, and every week gives a 5-minute history of various warships. Also does a lot of in-depth analysis of things like the making of armor and guns for the ships as well as deeper breakdowns of things like the sinking of HMS Hood, as well as occasionally wargaming out alternate history scenarios (like the "Death Ride" of the German fleet in 1918, that was ordered but mutinied against IRL).

Shadiversity: Medieval weapons and armor history channel. Has also started getting into the Dissident Nerds sphere with the likes of Nerdrotic (also watch him) by writing his own books and doing reviews of movies and tv shows.

The Black Pants Legion: Mostly run by a guy named Tex, this channel does in depth looks at Mechwarrior lore and mechs, as well as Tex playing games he likes (usually RTS) and a lot of Space Station 13.

Also various Vtubers, but not as hardcore as any of the above.

he Right wing state that results from the split would soon be far more based and powerful than America is now.

Which, ironically, happened with Rome too, where Western Rome decayed while Eastern Rome reinvented itself, became Byzantium, and lived for another thousand years as one of the most powerful nations in Europe.

Kind of like how people keep comparing us to the Roman Republic not realizing Rome reached it's height after it overthrew the Republic and became an Empire.

if he only takes an Ukrainian town of 10,000 after longer than the Battle of Stalingrad,

And has blasted the area so much and had to resort to so much trench warfare it actually resembles a WW1 battlefield (complete with the casualty figures to match). I will never not laugh bringing up that fact, because it makes the Vatniks seethe.

Dont you know that Wokeness and Liberalism are totally hyper-oppressive forces that are keeping you in chains right now!? You should join forces with the Russian Empire, and together we can crush them all, throw them in camps, and we...Oh wait, your black (flips through "How Do Propaganda" book)...The American Government is keeping you in chains and killing your people in the streets for the crime of existing! You should join forces with the You should join forces with the Russian Empire, and together we can crush them all, throw them in camps, and we will rule the world!

Being more serious, I have found it extremely bizarre that the anti-Woke have started simping for Russia and China even though both are evil nations that actually engage in hardcore, systematic oppression and would probably gulag-ize almost all of them as threats to the state (dont you know freedom is evil?!). Just because the Woke currently running the West are evil doesnt mean I am willing to trade one evil for another. And I am not willing to consign others to evil just to spite the Woke (motions at Ukraine and Taiwan).

Same here in Kansas. But it is so infrequently I can usually count it on one hand and 9/10 they have other tells that say “Leftist” instead of “Normie”. And this is a reasonable sized town with a major college and typically a purple voting pattern.

Actually, on that note, last time around the college was both the biggest agitator locally and the most rebellious locally. But when you saw which where which, it still tracked (Ag and Engineering? Rebellious. Social Science? Aggressive enforcers.)

Must be a difference of location. Most of the normies where I live were some of the first to stop paying attention to the Covid stuff once it became clear the government was taking the piss. The only people who insisted on it were the Leftist.

They have learned that declaring a pandemic is a cheat code to curtail individual civil liberties.

I still dont think it is. In certain countries where they dont have the attitudes or beliefs to resist it (read: Most of Europe+Canada+ANZ). But at least the US? They managed to do stuff for all of a month or two before states started doing major pushback, people started ignoring the powers that be, and now no one will believe them when they do it again. And many states have even started putting in place measures to make it harder to try again.

They took their shot, and while they managed to wing us, they still missed. And now they are reeling from that because that was their only shot.

And more importantly, when you have spent the last several months losing massive amounts of ground, and then getting bogged down every time you have tried to retake it, to the point that one particularly well defended area could credibly be confused for a WW1 No-Mans Land shot if you made it black and white.

Numbers can lie. Combat footage does not. We can argue about who is winning what. But the idea that Russia is stomping on the Ukrainians is utterly laughable. And I would go so far as guessing the kill ratio is in Ukraine's favor (just by a small amount).

Considering it was also being tailed by ELINT aircraft pretty much the entire way, I am sure there was more going on than we are privy to.

I honestly think that a lot of normies are starting to catch on to what is going on and that it isnt just a handful of weirds, but the entire clown show. I know people like to hate on them for not seeing what we see, but a lot of them just want to go along and arent on the internet to see what we see.

Yesterday when I was going to work, I heard on the comedy radio show I listen to (which is all a bunch of normie-tier comedians), they were talking about Airplane the movie being in the news for a book about the making of it coming out. But when their news person said "Airplane is in the News", the host, without pause, said "No wait, dont tell me. A bunch of Woke shits are trying to cancel that too now, right?" So normies are starting to catch on that the Woke are not good people and hate the things they normally like.

I have also seen my fiancé starting to get the sort of videos I watch on Youtube. Stuff like Critical Drinker, Nerdrotic, etc. But she has largely wanted to remain out of the culture war because she hates both sides (although has always hated the Woke more than us). I know I didnt show her those videos, she found them on her own. And so now she is even starting to learn about some of the crazy shit I havent told her about like Woman King.

Which is why I cant be pessimistic. The future is fine for most of us (at least in the US). This has all happened before, it will happen again. Just find the place you can keep going and we will endure.

The one that always annoys me is that the "Cotton Skyscrapers" (the semi-official name for the whole "America built on slavery" thing) idea has been thoroughly disproven by actual data and historical fact. Just like in every other instance, slavery is/was a drag on the economy, and the US was an economic backwater while it was practiced. It wasnt until it had been abolished and the effects of the Civil War overcome that the US became the industrial juggernaut it was/is.

Like always, it is that they hate America and think they found a wedge issue. When instead, from personal experience, it is only serving to undo any good will many normies had toward Black people and unite Hispanics, Asians, and Whites in an idea of "Fuck the Blacks."

And I hate it, but at this point it is a lot of Black people themselves who are perpetuating it, so what do they expect me to do?

When you gonna tell him about the fact that the first slave owner in America was a black man?

World War 1 game made by C&C Remastered team looks awesome.

I had heard about the game, but I didnt know that was the devs behind it. I just recently saw PartyElite talking about it since he got an early access copy of it from the devs, and he had high praise of it. If it does even half of the stuff that they talked about it will be a game I play for ages.

I also thought it was pretty novel how the devs created a way to have the pointless battles of the war and have it be entirely organic about it happening (instead of forced by code).

EDIT: also, that is good news with the hydrogen creation. Between that and the recent breakthrough with fusion, it is stuff like that why I am still optimistic about the future and believe we will return to a time of sanity (outside of a few major places that have always been fucked up if you actually look at history).

I've heard of his YouTube channel but haven't really explored it yet. He's very China-centric right? I'll have to check it out when I have time.

I do recommend him, but yes he is very China-centric for his main area of expertise. His producer is a Chinese expat who had been a dissident before she left, and he has a ton of contacts inside China so he has a tendency to get some info that usually slips by or doesnt come out (even if he can also get a little clickbaity sometimes).

I know I said the other post was the last word, but I figured I would answer the question.

(I will probably make this my last word on the subject if you want to have one last response, but I think there is not a lot extra to talk about on the topic. I did enjoy it though)

I feel like I'm talking to Peter Zeihan or a Zeihgeist

Kind of? I will admit that I do listen to him, and I think it is worth it because he did call a lot of stuff long before it happened, so he at least has an idea. But I dont take his word as gospel, because he has also had moments being wrong, as well as moments of being wildly wrong.

It is more that I listen to him, and if it doesnt have actual data to back up what he is saying (generally anything outside of economics), then I go looking for new info based on what he said rather than just taking him at his word. Since we are on the note, my other big Geopolitical sources are George Freidman and Chris Chappell (China Uncensored/America Uncovered), as well as minor sources.

Soledar

Good to know. Admittedly, while I considered Bakhmut as something Ukraine could win, but once it turned into an artillery slog, that is something the Russians have at least been somewhat successful at.

You posit that the Russians aren't the Soviets. I posit the Ukrainians aren't the Germans.

My main point though was that it doesnt matter if Russia has 10 million soldiers if they cant get into the fight at a rate faster than Ukraine can kill them. You are right, the core Ukrainian forces are effectively "Babies First NATO-army" with the territorials being slightly better armed militamen (with all of the positives and negatives that implies), but if Russian logistics are so bad their soldiers cant get to the fight, or are combat ineffective when they do, it doesnt matter.

That is honestly one of the biggest differences between Russia 1917 and Russia 1945. Both had severe logistical issues in their wars. The Soviets early in Barbarossa were losing to the Germans, even while outnumbering them, due to said supply issues. Then when they entered Lend Lease, and the Americans started throwing trucks and trains at them, it allowed the Soviets to start actually moving their men and their gear, and is pretty much the only reason Deep Battle as a doctrine worked (and Zhukov admitted as much frequently, to the annoyance of Stalin).

Now Russia wants to do Deep Battle, but they have been snorting their own supply of "We Won the Great Patriotic War with no help!" for so long, they forgot about their own logistic issues that were never really solved in the time since the 1950's. This is also before we get to the fact that this is not the Russia of the Soviet era, and their population is probably not up for a continued, protracted war. The mass fleeing in the face of the last round of [partial] mobilization proves that, and I dont see how a second round will change that. In fact, it may make it worse.

And the complete removal of Russia as a geopolitical enemy in our lifetime? Okay Zeihan, calm down

To be fair, I still foresee them being a major threat, especially as long as they have their nuclear stockpile. My point was that I just think this war has well and truly place Russia below China on the "Threats to America" list, and barring something coming out of left field, I dont see that changing.

Did antifa refrain from assaulting Andy Ngo because he was "asian looking"?

Not only did they not refrain from attacking Andy because he was "asian looking". They attacked random Asian men because they thought they were Andy, and when one of them called them out by saying "Do you think all Asians look the same?", the Antifa responded "yes."

but they are always, always, always whining about depictions of spiders in images, movies, and games.

It is honestly one of those things I dont get. IRL, I have a fear of heights and a fear of flying. In a huge twist of irony, I became interested in air warfare as a history, and got interested in flight games like Ace Combat and War Thunder as a result. My fear of flying is a non-issue to my enjoyment, and not even VR would be an issue.