#deal with banning firearms like you SHOULD HAVE BEEN DOING

[anonbinaryweirdo]

hey we should riot and cause a public disturbance (this post is about project 2025)//hj

[beardedmrbean]

Great, there’s going to be a tax hike on firearms in Cali

That would be because gavin and the state assembly actually want to deny poor people their right to defend themselves any way they can.

One of these days folks will figure out that it's not Cletus the hill dweller that's the one that is the problem, it's gavin the multimillionaire that decided that it was better to maintain a policy of using prisoners as slave labor because it would be too expensive to pay them minimum wage with one hand while dangling a massive reparations package he knows we can't afford but that doesn't matter he has no intention of actually making good on any of those promises anyhow in the other.

And his sycophantic cronies in the state assembly are in lockstep behind him, even the ones he stabbed in the back over the prison labor and reparations deals.

I don't give a shit about either party, they're both evil and at this point all either party seems to want to do when they get the upper hand is to mete out what they see as retribution for the ills they caused by the party that's now not in power.

Ban all political parties, make each candidate fund-raise for themselves and not have a party 'war chest' of any sort.

I'd almost like to not even have the names of who is running out there, but knowing who they are and their actual history is important, or it should be at least then again

__________-

After Trump doesn't what?

_____

So ya,

This is not in support of a damn thing other than the truth here jsyk

they don't care, a very very tiny number of them might care some but they're hopelessly outnumbered by the people that hate you the citizen, the average American, they don't care about you or your safety.

People keep on voting for them, republicans are just as bad as the democrats are too.

The Sheriff's in the different areas of New Mexico telling the governor that they will not comply with her order to violate peoples constitutional rights, they probably care.

They are in the teeny tiny minority.

Sorry I got fairly annoyed went off a bit, been a rough few days got a bit of steam built up.

[rachelbethhines]

Tangled Salt Marathon - Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf

Ok, so I’ve tried and tried several times to get this posted, we’ll see if this is the time it goes through. Half the reason why this review series has slowed down is not just the multitude of real life stuff I have to deal with, but also Tumblr just refusing to work with me and deleting my posts. I also can’t save my work else where due to Tumblr messing up the formatting. It’s been a frustrating mess and so far no one @staff​ has come up with a tech solution or work around. 

Summary: Rapunzel helps to rebuild Old Corona, (after its near destruction from the Black Rocks) which will become the permanent home of Red and Angry, who have returned to Corona to settle down. However, she begins to notice strange footprints around the area, as well as the livestock becoming more unruly and fearful. The group comes across a monster hunter named Creighton, who explains to the group that the area is being stalked by a werewolf, who possessed one of Corona's citizens. Aiming to save this person rather than kill them, Rapunzel sets out to find who it is. 

When Was This Decided?

No seriously, when was this decided? It’s a pretty big leap go from ‘the rocks makes various towns inhabitable’ to ‘let’s rebuild!’ What’s changed here? Cause the rocks haven’t been removed and Rapunzel failed in her mission to nullify their power. In fact the rocks were not only reawaken in the second season finale but shown to be under the power of someone who’s intentions were made unclear to the heroes.

So I ask again; who thought this was safe thing to do now? What provisions have been made to accommodate the rocks? They blocked the well, remember, and destroyed the fields; how are the people getting food and water? 

And most importantly why wasn’t the audience informed beforehand? When you change up the status quo in a story you need to provide just cause to the viewers. I legit thought I had accidently skipped an episode when I first watched because this plot point was not set up properly.  

Why Were They Ever Left Alone to Begin With?

In a story where neglect is a central theme and motivating factor for all the main characters, it is super tone deaf to have those same characters perpetuating neglect themselves. The decision to live on their own should not be left up to Angry and Red because they are children. Children are not mature enough to provide for themselves neither emotionally nor physically and when placed in situations where they have to do so it psychologically damages them. Which the series already showcased with Varian so why is this suddenly deemed ok? 

This Completely Undermines the Past Two Seasons

The entire conflict of the past two seasons was the rocks forcing people out of their homes. Eugene was made an orphan from them, Varian lost his entire support group because them, they drove out the Saporians from their encampment which prompted them to invade Corona, and Rapunzel and company spent an entire year on the road trying to find a way to stop them from spreading supposedly. 

All of that has now been flushed down the drain with this decision. And its super insulting to watch because it’s the writers telling us that we’ve wasted our time caring about this plot for two years. You don’t resolve major conflicts off screen and without explanation; it’s lazy!  

Also Where Is Varian and Quirin During All This?

This is not only their home and legal charge, but it’s also the ending to their ongoing story, and they’re not even here in a silent cameo. 

Wouldn’t Quirin be overseeing the rebuilding of his town? Wouldn’t Varian be using his skills to find workable engineering solutions for them, fulling his season one goal of saving his home and making his village better with his inventions? Also wouldn’t Edmund want to catch up with his brother and help out now that he’s here? 

In fact not a single person who actually lives in Old Corona is to be found in these opening shots. 

Oh, But We Do Get Earl

Earl might be from Old Corona, or he might not be. We’ve literally never seen him before. The artists had to create a brand new character model for this character, the writers had to write new lines for him, and the casting director had to hire an actor and have him record these lines for only less than a minute of screen time, never to be seen again. Even though they legit had shepherd models already to go from season one that they could have used. It’s a waste of resources and a prime example of the mismanagement going on in this show. 

It’s Too Late In the Series to Waste Time On a New One Off Villain

Speaking of a waste, Creighton might have more story reasons to appear in this episode than Earl does but her inclusion is still a poor decision. The show already has an overabundance of villains, so many in fact that they shipped the bulk of them off in season two, and this is the final season; the season where we should be wrapping up plots and minor characters stories not kicking off new ones.

Taken on her own Creighton isn’t a bad character presa, she works for the episode, but when we could have gotten a resolution to Caine’s, Hector’s, or the Disciples’ story arcs instead it highlights how misused the series assets are. 

All This Lore Will Be Forgotten In Just a Few Episodes Time

We finally get like some magical rules and backstory only for future episodes to ignore it from here on afterwards. Red can turn into a werewolf whenever she pleases, night or day, with little explanation as for why.  

Just Arrest Her Rapunzel

You’re the acting queen. You have the power and the right to arrest or even merely detain someone who is threating your citizens and refuses to leave. In fact it’s kind of your job. You don't even have to throw her in a dungeon if you thought that too cruel. Just lock her up in a nice room somewhere in the castle until you’ve sorted out the mess yourself. 

The series wants to treat Rapunzel as the underdog when she isn’t, and her failure to wield her power effectively doesn’t make her look ‘nice’ it just makes her look stupid and grossly incompetent. This is a conflict that didn’t need to have happened and Rapunzel let it happen.  

Oh, So Now Y'all Riot

You didn’t complain when the king orphaned children with his crack down on crime. You rolled over as he dolled out overly harsh punishments to poor people who committed minor offences. You gleefully went along with the royals as they  scapegoated a child for their mistakes, even as they endangered your homes.  And ya’ll sat on your asses while invaders pulled off a coup and enslaved you. 

But this is what you get mad over? A rumor about a mythical creature existing that your princess has zero control over. Seriously? 

Man, I hate the townspeople in this show. 

Pointless Dream Sequence Is Pointless

This scene tells the audience nothing new and just wastes screen time. 

This Is the Wrong Lesson to Focus On Rapunzel

We do not tell the 12 year old to unload their phycological issues onto their baby sister!

You’re telling me parents were involved in writing this show? What the hell!?

Rapunzel you are the adult here. At 20 now you should be more adept to handle listening to the deep seated emotional traumas of a little girl than a fucking 10 year old! And if you’re not, or don’t want to, then it’s your job to find another adult who will. 

That’s the core problem with this entire episode. It treats Red’s and Angry’s problems as some eternal issue that they need to work out and not as the inherent failure of the adults around them that it is. 

It is neither Red’s nor Angry’s decision on weather or not they get live on their own. Nor is it their responsibility to be each other’s therapist. Yes, a change in living arrangements is always stressful and for children with abandonment issues it can be hard to readjust, but that’s when you need to step it up and deal with the problem; not shove it off onto the kids themselves! 

Monty Is Useless

Is this all Monty is good for? Being a red herring in ridiculously simple mysteries? Is this why we wasted a whole episode introducing him back in season one? Really?

Why Are We Still Treating Old Corona As Being Separate from Corona Itself?

Look, I get that it’s a joke, but it’s a joke that highlights how poorly thought out the worldbuilding is in the series. Is the Coronan government in charge of Old Corona or not? If so then you can just make those lease laws yourself as the acting regent Eugene. If not then Frederic shouldn’t have had any say in the matter of relocating Old Corona’s citizens nor putting a child outside of his jurisdiction under arrest.

But more importantly this is a just a repeat of that vague level of responsibility Rapunzel has for people who live off the island. She can’t order a whole village to be rebuilt while simultaneously claiming that she bares no accountability for Varian and Quirin’s problems in season one. 

Replacing Guns with Crossbows Isn’t the Safe Option That the Censors Think It Is

I find it kind of amusing that censors will ban showing a 17th century blunderbuss but allow it to be replaced by a weapon that is still mass produced today and can be bought in any Walmart across the country. Like I’m a major advocate for gun regulation in real life, but even I have to find this to be a bit silly. Crossbows aren’t some fantasy weapon. People still own and use them. But it would be seriously hard to get ahold of a working antique firearm.  

Seriously This Is How the Girls Have Been Living and the Adults Haven’t Done Anything About It Until Now?

I feel like I’m beating a dead horse by now, but it’s so engrained into the episode I have to keep bringing it up. The show itself is visually telling us that Red and Angry can’t keep living this way, but it never wants to call Rapunzel and the other adults out for not rescuing them from this life sooner. 

So All This Tells Me Is That Rapunzel Could Have Easily Checked Up On Varian In Painter’s Block, But Didn’t.

Remember they’re right next to Old Corona; meaning that Janus Point is also right next to Old Corona. Meaning that Rapunzel could easily have checked up on Varian right after Painter’s Block and choose not to. With each passing episode Rapunzel has less and less excuse for her behavior in season one. 

Yeah Remember that Plot Point That Wound Up Being Entirely Irrelevant to the Story?

In jokes don’t cover your ass when you make poor writing choices. Quite the opposite in fact as all you’ve done is remind the audience of all the various dangling plot threads that you will fail to follow up on. The disciples plot goes no where and serves no purpose, and it should not have been introduced as this big important thing if you weren’t going to do anything with it. 

Nice Idea, Poor Execution

I’ve heard fans of this episode tell me that they enjoy it because of this scene with Red. If you’re a naturally introverted person or neurodivergent and have trouble communicating at times then Red’s speech here can strike a cord. Which is cool; I’ll never deny someone’s feelings and if a piece of media speaks to you on a personal level for whatever reason that is great. What I’m here to discuss though is story structure and whether or not the story’s themes are presented well in context of what it’s set up. 

The conflict here does not work from a pure structural standpoint because it’s a surface level deflection of the real issues. Red’s problem isn’t that she is being ignored, it's that she’s been abandoned. Now communication issues can arise from that abandonment and feeling heard can be step forward in working those issues out, but Red’s central trauma isn’t going to be magically fixed by people ‘listening’ to her, i.e. being granted whatever she wants, but by providing her with a real home and with a real guardian to look after her. 

Because what Red wants on a surface level is harmful to her, and the reasons why she wants what she wants needs to be addressed more so than then sedating her angry outbursts in the moment. This is treating the symptoms not the cause.

So What Is or Isn’t Real About the Curse?

Once again, we finally get some actual lore and rules for magic and the writers are already throwing it away during the same episode they are introduced. I now have as little context for how the wolf curse works within the Tangled world as I did before the episode started. 

This Is Sweet, But Once Again Context Brings It Down.

So just to reiterate, this a surface level resolution to the conflict of the episode that doesn’t actually address anything. It might feel like an appropriate ending but only if you ignore the fact that Red and Angry are orphans who’ve been abandoned but the adults. 

Angry apologizing here to Red does not solve any of their problems, especially since Angry, as a child herself, is not responsible for her sister’s behavior, feelings, nor well being. That falls to the adults and they fail to address Red’s core issues and their own failings to her in their apologies as well. Not to mention that the very next scene undermines any optional progress that could have been made here. 

Listening to Someone Does Not Mean Giving Them Whatever They Want

This does not fix anything. Red and Angry are still left to live on their own without any real supervision. Giving them a big play house is not providing for them, it’s spoiling them. Would you let all the other orphans in the local orphanage roam free without an adult to take care of them? No!? Gee I wonder why? Could it be because letting a 12 and 10 year old raise themselves is a very stupid idea? One that will potentially damage them later in life assuming that they don't get themselves killed in the meantime. 

Moreover this is yet another example of the series overall problem with not understanding that compromise and resolving conflicts does not mean rewarding the characters at the end with everything that they want without having them work for it. That’s not how life works and it’s not how good story telling works. 

This Is Beyond Irresponsible

No! Bad Show! Bad! 

You do not get to pretend that negligence is the same thing as compromise. Yes I know Eugene said to come to him when they have a problem, but as demonstrated by this very episode children do not always know when to ask for help nor can they always find it when needed, that is why parents exist!  

Nor does the show get a free pass for turning it’s main characters into child abusers who neglected three minors multiple times now. Even when they themselves are victims of that same abuse!

How utterly blinkered do you have to be to not see the problem here? 

It’s the Return of the Pointless Parallels

Let me count the ways for how stupid this is. 

Red and Angry’s conflict has no impact on the on going narrative. Even with them now being reoccurring characters they still manage to contribute nothing to the future storylines involving Cass. 

Neither Rapunzel nor Cassandra learn anything from Red and Angry’s spat; Rapunzel because she refuses to acknowledge her own flaws and Cassandra’s not even here for any of it. 

The sister’s dynamic between Raps and Cass is not well established and the writers mange to piss all over it by series end because of gay baiting and poor writing. Therefore relying on lazy parallels to other siblings in the show to bolster this connection falls flat.  

Red and Angry’s argument has nothing in common with Rapunzel and Cass’s current fighting. One is about abandonment issues and the other is about shallow validation. Trying to tie these two themes together actually winds up undermining both conflicts. 

Red and Angry are children. Rapunzel and Cassandra are not. That very much matters. 

Red and Angry didn’t drag innocent people into their petty bitch fight and endanger them because they wanted to feel special. 

This Makes Zero Sense

I don’t know; she looked pretty happy during Crossing the Line. 

She was also able to control the rocks just fine then, so what happened? 

Not to mention soon after this Zhan Tiri is telling her she needs some sort of incantation to control the rocks, despite being able to already control the rocks.... 

It’s almost as if the writers are full of shit and don’t actually know what they’re doing. 

So Are We Remembering the Burnt Hand or Not?

Does the hand matter or not? Is it ever a motivating factor in what Cassandra decides to do? Is her waning control over the rocks connected to her burnt hand; even though having a burnt hand is what allowed her grab the moonstone in the first place? Did the moonstone heal the hand? Does Raps singing the healing incantation later on heal it? Does Cass have a forever burnt hand? 

Who the fuck knows! 

Not the writers that’s for sure, cause it never comes up again. 

Don’t introduce plot points and then not resolve them. That’s writing 101 guys. 

Wait if she needs the incantation to control the rocks and the angry thing is a lie, then how the heck is she controlling them just now? Make up your dang mind show! 

I swear I lose brain cells whenever I have to rewatch the evil Cassandra plot. It is so dumb  you guys.... so, so dumb. 

Conclusion

It’s not the worst thing ever but series has far better episodes on offer than this one. Even in a season as suck ass as season three. 

So there’s praying that this review posts this time and if you enjoy my writing and would like to support me in my projects feel free to leave a tip on my Ko-Fi. Thank you. 

https://ko-fi.com/rachelbethhines

[rametarin]

Ways I predict the gun-grabbers are going to try to stack the deck in the future, thanks to Kyle.

1.) Demanding that you can’t buy guns unless you’re 21, perhaps even try and use rent-a-cars as a model and demand you be 25. Because why not, they don’t respect that you’re an adult at 18 and are under no obligation to.

2.) Demand that you aren’t allowed to be given a gun when you’re under 18 by anyone without that being considered a felony. So no more taking people under the age of 18 hunting, either. This also helps to disrupt hunting culture, and the vegans think that’s just the best, anyway.

3.) Demand that you aren’t allowed to move your guns across state lines and that anti-gun states do not have to respect the gun laws of other states. That should prevent people from doing what ANTIFA or The Peoples Revolution or any number of a bunch of them do, and move people in from out-of-state to protest before going back home. Helps prevent that side of the ideological fence from being brave with things like disproportionate force for self-defense.

4.) Demand that you aren’t allowed to buy guns outside your state of residence and if you buy them in another you have to leave them there somewhere and can’t take them home with you. As if the states were separate countries.

5.) Another ludicrous goalpost move I saw was someone arguing, “Kyle didn’t do self-defense in good faith! If he TRULY was trying to flee for his life, he’d have DROPPED his gun to prove he was friendly and non-violent afterwards!” Around a mob that was already trying to kill him despite the fact HE HAD JUST KILLED AN ATTACKER AND WAS ARMED WITH A “SCARY” AR-15 RIFLE. They were threatening to kill him BEFORE he shot Rosenbaum and WHILE he possessed a rifle; You honestly think if he just dropped his means of self-defense they wouldn’t have used his powerlessness to grab him and gang-slam him out?! So I can see them trying to demand, “you don’t get to call it self-defense in good faith anymore without dropping your weapon and running away after the first killing.”

6.) Demand that a state’s gun owners have to pay into an insurance program in order to participate in gun ownership that makes them pony up the dough for the ludicrous and outrageous medical bills the healthcare stablishment writes for themelves. Specifically designed to make it financially impossible to own firearms.

7.) Once again hammer down on that tired old propaganda about a semi-automatic being, “military grade assault rifle” and “having no business in civilian hands with no legitimate function.” Despite, again, we seeing exactly how legitimate with how many people went after Kyle and Kyle having just enough bullets to come out of that situation alive. Trying to outlaw semi-automatics to cut down the threat of people with firearms from their violent mob tactics.

Kyle’s situation proved that you can survive the mob’s ire and show them equilibrium when they decide acting as a mob they’re going to bully communities and burn parts of society down just because they have the numbers to throw their weight around and hide the bad actors so they can come out clean. They do not want this to be a thing. They’re so very desperate to eliminate semi-automatic firearms, because they know their little Revolution is impossible so long as it only requires a minority of the population to be armed and stand against them at a moment’s notice.

But given the way the Supreme Court has been hammering out landmark cases for gun rights over the last 4 years, state Supreme Courts have been overturning unconstititional gun bans and gun taxes, the convergence of more minority gun owners and white gun owners and other minority gun owners unified on this, that’s not likely.

The window for some big Red Revolution is closing. And I think they’ve known this for a while. That’s why after 2010, they stepped this shit into overdrive.

And it’s like watching a phony assed used car salesman trying to close a deal in the last 5 minutes, spilling pocket spaghetti everywhere as what they thought would be 6 months to schmooze and work their way in has shrunk drastically to less than hours before the window will close completely. And they’ll never get another chance like this, again.

[phantomflower42]

Deciding The Technological Level of Your Setting

When writing a story, it is important to determine what level of technology your characters have access to.  That determines what tools or solutions a character may have to solve a problem.  It will also influence their hobbies.  Before going too far, consider what technology actually is.  It’s not all about electric gadgets.

What is Technology?

Technology is knowledge used to solve problems or create useful tools.  Phones and computers come immediately to mind, but there are others.  Roman aqueducts are an example of ancient technology helping to solve a problem.  Knives are another basic example.  Medical care is a very important technology.

Basic Factors When Deciding Technological Level

If your story is a fanfiction for another work, research what items wouldn’t look out of place in the setting.  Take a look to see what the characters use in the work when completing tasks or performing hobbies.  If the work takes place in a certain real year or time period, look up that period’s available items such as radios or printing presses, and head off from there.

Sometimes, the development level isn’t the same for all areas in a work or for all types of technology.  This is okay.  There are many reasons why this may happen.  Some areas are more studied than others.  Rural areas take longer than cities to adopt now inventions.

The Legend of Korra is set in an analogue of the 1920′s.  Characters drive cars, ride trains, listen to the sport of pro-bending on the radio, and have sepia/black and white photos.  But when Korra and her companions visit the Earth Kingdom in season three, it is heavily undeveloped compared to the other settings.  It is hinted the Earth Queen’s corruption stimmed its growth.

In Naruto and its sequel series Boruto, they do not have cars, tanks, modern firearms, or many modern style shoes.  But, the setting has TVs, refrigerators, wireless radios, batteries, satellites, color photographs, and eventually phones and laptops.  They explore the advancement of the setting in several of the Naruto light novels, especially the first one (Kakashi Hiden: Lightning in the Icy Sky).  In Kakashi Hiden, it is mentioned that the invention of an airship will cause many people to lose their jobs.   

If your work is an original fiction, first decide whether it has its own timeline or is based in the real world.  If it takes place in a real world place and time period, please look up what people in that area used.  If a particular field of science or theory is more advanced in your work than in that actual time period, determine how it would influence the technology in the story, study in related fields, and the social classes interacting with each other.

Should the tale be based in its own world, you have free reign.  How advanced of a setting do you want?  Is it set in the beginning of time, in a medieval era, in your setting’s equivalent of the Victorian or Edwardian era, in modern day, in the far off future, or even at the end of the world?  

Are certain types of technology more advanced than others?  Which kinds are banned or discouraged?  Are certain parts of the world more developed than others?  Are supplies of certain items limited and/or nonreplaceable? How does this affect the average person’s lifestyle? You decide.

Making Original Technology For Your Story

Sometimes, the technology shown in an existing work isn’t helpful for dealing with a certain task.  Maybe your original story needs a special tool for issues specific to the setting or an equivalent item for a modern gadget that doesn’t exist in your world. Sit down, and ask yourself a few questions.

Why is this item needed?  Does your character need a way to store cold food?  Are their culture’s medical techniques different from the norm?  Do your characters need a way to stay in contact while split up on a quest?  Need is the mother of innovation.

What does it look like?  What materials is it made of?  Is it bulky or sleek?  How large is it?  What color is it?  How is it shaped?  Is it expandable?  It is the item’s first version, or an improved model?  How well does it perform?

What situations are this item used in?  Who invented it?  Has it been made in bulk?  If so, how does it affect trade, medical care, communication, hobbies, or travel?  How common is it?  How expensive is it?  

Besides the benefits, consider the item’s weaknesses.  Does it run out of its power source in a certain period of time?  Does it need a long time to recharge?  Is the item fragile?  Is it prone to malfunctions?  Is it too bulky to be hauled everywhere?  Is your setting’s equivalent of cell service patchy?  Does relying on the item for too long cause health problems for people using it?

Technology and Magic

If the story is one where magic also exists, consider how the two interact.  It may depend on the individual setting.  Remember that magic can be considered a scientific field.  If in a world where magical and non-magicals live separately, magic users may use their power to invent versions of modern tech.

Oftentimes, magic is presented as incompatible with modern technology, or at least electronic devices.  In the book series The Dresden Files, the main character Harry Dresden is shown to short out any inventions past the 1950s.  He actually has to leave modern hospitals as soon as he’s mobile after injuries, in fear of his magic shorting out another patient’s life support.  This issue also forces him to drive an old-school car, use an ice box to store cold food, and go without a lot of modern conveniences like heated water or air conditioning.

In Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, it’s stated that technology fails around large amounts of magic or largely magical areas.  However, the limits are not clearly established.  Harry Potter uses a watch until it’s destroyed in the Triwizard Tournament’s second task in the Black Lake.  He continues wearing it out of habit afterwards.  Those usually require batteries.  

Certain technology can run off magic instead of electricity, such as the Weasleys’ car or Colin Creevey’s camera.  Diagon Alley is in the middle of London, yet there’s no fuss about random blackouts in the area or the local security cameras shorting out.   

In other situations, magic may coexist alongside regular technology.  They can even enhance one another.  In Sailor Moon, the Sailor Guardians protected the Moon Kingdom before its destruction, and gain magical abilities while transformed.  Yet, the Moon Kingdom and later Crystal Tokyo are depicted as  high-technology societies; the Moon Kingdom had an artificial climate dome around it, and an advanced computer.

Consider what approach you want, and the consequences there of.  Settings where magic is supposed to be hidden have the risk of ‘outing’ magicals to non-magicals if electronics like phones or crosswalks fizzle out whenever they’re in public.  Modifying items with magic may be a special scientific field.  Imagine a person with a pacemaker or insulin pump wandering into a highly magical area, only for their medical device to fail on them.  Even a few bigoted magical folks would hate that they’re unintentionally causing harm.

Technology and Magic Subsection: Harry Potter

As Harry Potter fanfictions are very common, it’s important to address the series and its approach to magic and technology interacting.  As mentioned above, technology blacks out around high amounts of magic or highly magical communities, but limits on what is affected and what isn’t weren’t clearly established.  Battery-run items like Harry’s watch seem to work fine, but phones and bugging devices do not.  

In post-Deathly Hallows works, think of how jarring it may be for muggleborns or muggle-raised wizards to go from being able to text friends in a moment to having to mail letters to family members by owl.  New Hogwarts students despairing over not having Facebook anymore makes for a good joke, but consider practical problems.  

Say a girl with cerebral palsy has magic.  She uses an electric wheelchair because her limbs don’t work well.  She receives a letter from a wizarding school.  Let’s hope the girl’s parents and the school’s representative talk it over and find a solution to her dilemma before she sets foot in Diagon Alley.  She will otherwise be unable to move under her own power in a magical environment. 

Wizards are portrayed as ignorant to modern trends.  Arthur Weasley goes crazy over various gadgets.  He even wonders what people use rubber ducks for.  It’s implied that Harry Potter misidentified his cousin Dudley Dursley’s broken video game console as a Playstation One in 1994 when writing to Sirius Black.  The Playstation One was not released in Europe until September 1995.  Multiple wizards are shown fascinated with the Dursleys’ microwave when they visit at different times.  It is stated that pureblooded wizards resist adopting muggle tech unless there is no choice.   

That is not to say wizards are a technological blackhole.  Many items like radios, cars, and others can be enchanted to work off magic.  A lot of wizards enchant or create their own magical items.  Sirius Black and James Potter used a set of two-way mirrors during their school days, with the device acting similar to a cell phone.  They and their friends Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew eventually created the Maruaders’ Map, which showed nearly everyone on Hogwarts’ grounds and most of the castle.  The Weasley twins come up with Skiving Snackboxes so students buying them can skip class without too much trouble.     

Maybe Professor McGonagall goes soul-searching after the final battle, and tries finding ways to make the school more non-magical friendly.  She would have ample reason to do so; she would not want the Carrows’ days of cruelty to return in any form.  She may modify the wizarding wireless radios to cast local muggle stations or keep an enchanted phone in her office so non-magical families of her students can contact her in emergencies.          

Keep in mind that a wizard OC can’t sneak their modern video games into Hogwarts or Beauxbatons, but watches, certain cameras, radios, and handheld games with non-rechargable batteries could make it in.  Non-electric devices like notebooks, pencils, pens, paints, or board games have no restrictions.   

How Technology Affects Living Conditions

How advanced society is affects how housing and chores are handled.  Many modern perks like clean water, heating, air conditioning, refrigeration, and fast travel are taken for granted.  If the characters in your setting lack certain conveniences, think of how they will tackle different problems that usually require them.

For instance, a lot of people use electric washers and dryers to take care of their clothes.  Getting them cleaned, dried, and sorted is easy.  But, what if your world doesn’t have these items?  Do the local people scrub them by hand in a river or on a board?  How are stains dealt with?  Are herbs mixed with the clothes to freshen their scent?  Are they dried on a clothesline?  If it’s raining or snowing, what is done instead?

Think along similar lines for various issues.  Water might be boiled for safety, or mixed with alcohol.  Shades will be pulled if too hot.  A lot of food may be canned, cured, or otherwise stored in a root cellar when fresh cannot be bought.  Preparations for any trips may take a long while.  People will sleep under mountains of blankets to retain heat.  

Conversely, works set in the future may find all of this child’s play.  Think of how a lot of appliances can be activated now with a smartphone application.  Do robots grocery shop on the characters’ behalf?  Are clothes dried and sorted in one machine in a few minutes?  Can a room’s windows be programmed to show a certain background, like in the Hunger Games film?  Are fingerprint scanners used so characters may access restricted areas?

Think long and hard how the technology of your world will influence daily life.

In Conclusion

Technology is a powerful force.  Sometimes characters may solve problems too easily with it, but all time periods have some level of it.  It’s important to know what the limits of inventions in your setting are.  Otherwise, someone may complain ‘how did they end up with this issue when so-and-so gadget could have solved the problem?’, or ‘why is the ninja watching television?’.

Have a nice day.

[fearfulkittenwrites]

“Traitor! My cookies!”

Inspired by @tiny-italian-danger-noodle​ (Link to the amazing post: https://tiny-italian-danger-noodle.tumblr.com/post/624948123561852928/im-sorry-but-i-just-love-the-idea-of-the-rest-of )

Word count: 2261

Notes: Heyy! Quick heads up: I changed some things from the original post. Idk, it just made sense in my head to write it like this. Also, yes, I did made a point in fitting in the batman bingo, because I have a card to fill and it was perfect, so don't yell at me :( I hope you enjoy it! <3

It’s not like there was any kind of conscious effort in it. And yet, Dick was slowly becoming the closest thing the batfamily had to a mom. He hated it, but someone had to tell Damian to not kill his brothers. Or tell Tim to go to bed after 48 hours up. Or tell Jason not to shoot firearms inside the house. Or tell Steph to not prank elderly people (It doesn’t matter that they are homophic Steph, you can’t do that, they’re 80). And if no one else would do it, then, well, he would.

It started after the cookie episode.

Alfred had baked them after Damian requested it. He had been craving those for months, and finally decided to ask for them. But Jason came home before he did, and ended up eating most of them, leaving the smallest two for the boy. Once the kid got home from school and saw what happened, he was fuming.

“Devilspawn, what are you doing in my room?” Jason asked, laying on the bed, face buried in a book.

“You. Ate. My. Cookies.” He said, katana in his hands.

“Okay, and?” Jason answered “I left you some. And I eat stuff from everyone in the house, so that really shouldn’t- You have your sword. Oh my God, why do you have your sword?” He jumped to his feet after the realization, trying to run.

“You will pay!” Damian raised his katana, charging towards his brother.

“Fuck!” Jason yelled, climbing on the bed, trying to get away from the boy.

“I have been waiting for those cookies for ages!” Damian sliced through the air, aiming for the other’s feet. Jason fell from the bed trying to evade the move and ran through the bedroom door.

“Help!” He yelled, running down the halls “Dick, help! Damian wants to kill me! Again!”

“Traitor!” Damian screeched behind him, tiny footsteps growing louder and louder as he approached Jason “My cookies!”

“AAAAAAAAAAAH!” He ran down the stairs, going to the entrance hall “Dick, please! He’s getting closer!”

Damian skipped steps behind him.

“You coward!” He brandished his sword “Face me like a man!”

As they went into the dining room, Damian felt a sudden pull at his uniform’s collar. Dick held him there, as if he was a kitten, and pointed at Jason.

“Don’t move.”

“Okay.” Jason said, backed up against the wall.

“Unhand me Grayson!” He complained, trying to twist himself free “He deserves punishment for his crimes!”

“Give me the katana.” Dick took the weapon from his brother’s hands “Damian, the no kill rule does extend to siblings. Please keep that in mind.”

“I wasn’t going to kill him.” Damian pouted, angry “I was simply going to mutilate or maim. If he died, that would be on him.”

“We don’t mutilate or maim each other in this house, okay?” Dick said, finaly letting go of the kid “Don’t make me repeat that.”

“Fine.”

“And you,” He turned to Jason, crossing his arms “Why did you eat all of his cookies?”

“I left him some.” He mumbled.

“Doesn’t matter.” Dick answered, hardened expression “You should’ve waited for him to get home, and you know it.”

“Yeah, okay.” He scratched his head.

“Now, apologize to each other.”

Both of them looked horrified at the idea. Dick sighed.

“Apologize. Now.” They didn’t budge “Or you’re both banned from patrol for a week.”

“You can’t do that.” Jason said “Can he?” He asked Damian, in a quieter voice. The kid shrugged.

“Don’t test me.” Dick answered.

“Fine.” Jason rolled his eyes “I’m sorry for eating all your cookies.”

“And I’m sorry for trying to mutilate you because of it.”

“Great. Now hug it out.”

“I’m not...”

“You must be...”

“Now!” He stomped his foot, and both of them grumpily hugged each other, clearly uncomfortable way “See? Was that so hard?”

“Yes.” Both of them answered.

“Then think about that before you do some stupid shit again.” Dick answered, leaving the room.

Tim, who was out of sight but within earshot, raised an eyebrow at the scene.

The next week, he knocked on the door of Dick’s room, covered in glue, feathers and glitter.

“He- Woah!” Dick said as he opened the door, finding a very unamused Tim on the other side “Okay, you’re not getting in here like that. What happened?”

“Steph happened.” Tim answered, flat toned and tired.

“I love how that explains so much and so little at the same time.” He sighed, supporting an arm on the door frame “What did she do?”

“Glue bucket on my door. Tripwire, then a bunch of feathers. And finally, a glitter bomb by my bathroom door.”

“Oh God.” He covered his mouth with a hand “Why?”

“Prank war. She took it a little too seriously.”

Dick rested his head on his forearm.

“Steph!” He yelled out “Come here!”

They heard footsteps, and the blonde girl emerged, laughing.

“Oh, man!” She said “This is the best one yet.”

“Steph, why would you do that?” He asked.

“Oh, so he can hack into my computers and change the names of all my files and I can’t play a little physical prank? I sent my teacher a very rude meme because of that. Almost got expelled.” She crossed her arms. Tim snickered.

“What?” Dick asked “Why?”

“Prank war.” Tim shrugged.

“Okay, you know what? No more prank wars until you two learn how to behave.” Dick said and pointed at Steph “You are cleaning all the mess you made in his bedroom. And you,” He pointed at Tim, and twisted his nose “Well, you are going to take a shower, and then you’re going to change back all that you messed with on her computer. And,” He kept going “Both of you are cleaning the batmobile after patrol for a week.”

“What? That’s not fair!” Steph complained.

“You’re right.” Dick said, scratching his chin “Okay then, Steph is cleaning the batmobile for a week and Tim can’t use the batcave before sunset and after three a.m. for a week.”

“What?!” Tim screamed “What do you expect me to do all day then?”

“Learn how to function in a healthy way? Anyways, complain too much, I’ll make it a month.” Dick answered.

“You can’t do that!” Steph complained “You’re not Batman.”

“Try me.” Dick squinted.

“Fine!” She threw her hands up, leaving “I’ll clean the stupid room and the stupid car.”

“Traitor.” Tim hissed, walking away.

Then three weeks after that, Batman came up to him in patrol, and, on top of a building, said:

“I need your assistance.”

“Sure. Who are we up against now?” Nightwing asked.

“Not... That kind of assistance.” Batman looked down “Your brothers keep talking in a weird way. I don’t understand the colloquialisms in their language, and I’m almost sure they are mocking me.”

Dick blinked a little under the mask.

“I’m sorry, what?”

“I need you to stop them from doing that while we’re on patrol.”

“B, can’t you... I don’t know, you are their dad, not me!” He pointed out.

“But you are the one who gets them under control.” He shot back. They stared at each other “Please. Just while they are wearing the mask.” Dick sighed.

“Fine. I’ll talk to them.”

Later on, when they got back from patrol, Dick felt a little ridiculous having to explain to a bunch of masked heroes that they have to stop communicating in memes and insulting Batman when on patrol. And why it wasn’t okay even if it was to his face, Steph. Damian, of course, was let off the hook on that one. He had just recently grasped the concept of a meme, having declared on multiple ocasions that they were a stupid waste of internet data. Tim was personally offended by all of those declarations.

It didn’t take long for Dick to start correcting the family’s unhealthy habits after that. He had given Cass a “required socialization day”, to be performed at least once a month, Damian had mandatory off patrol days every two weeks, he dragged Bruce to bed every other night, and regulated Tim’s caffeine intake.

Duke was the best enforcer of his rules in the house. Not because he was brutal or particularly persuasive, but because he could instill guilt into the members of the family.

“Hey, Bruce, didn’t Dick tell you to go upstairs and grab lunch?” He asked, going down to the cave to practice. The man grunted as he set down his gym bag “Okay then. I just don’t know how you’ll deal with his broken heart when he sees you haven’t been taking care of yourself like you said you would. I mean, how can you even break a promise you’ve made to that guy? He worries so much about us, it’s-”

“Okay!” He exclaimed, getting up “Okay, I’ll go get lunch.”

Whenever Tim went to get a cup of coffee after seven p.m., Duke would stare at him until he poured the liquid in the sink. He could convince Jason to give up on any idea by saying ‘But what would Dick say?’, or ‘That would break your brother’s heart you know?’.

Duke’s proudest moment was the one time he managed to build up the courage to do it with Cass.

Dick had been telling her for weeks that she needed to rest. That training so much everyday is bad for her health. That she should try having fun in different ways. The man had been (and still kind of is) on a quest to find her a non-lethal hobby. But when Duke went down to the cave once, to fetch his forgotten water bottle, he found her training, and figured out why Dick had a frow on his face earlier.

“You know,” He started, testing the waters “Training so much can strain your muscles.” Cass shot him a look, but didn’t say anything “I’m just saying,” He put his hands up “Maybe you should listen to Dick. I mean, he’s usually not wrong about these things. And he’s been doing it for longer than we have.”

“What do you want?” She asked, annoyed.

“Me?” He placed his hands on his chest “I don’t want anything. I just think you have been working too hard. You deserve a break.”

“I don’t want a break.”

“Well, maybe you should take a break anyways. It would make Dick so happy.” She stared at him, and Duke kept going “You know, he was very upset earlier. Seeing that you have taken his advice would make him smile so much. He really cares about you, y’know? Sometimes, I think we all take him for granted, not realizing how much of his time he spends trying to-”

“Shut up.” Cass said, pushing him aside to climb up the stairs “I’ll take the break.”

Duke smiled to himself. Dick would most likely ask him how did he do it later. He’d smile and say ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about, I didn’t do anything’.

And he rarely ever got into trouble. Considering that the other five had set multiple rooms on fire, broken several pieces of expensive furniture and ruined the house’s plumbing system many times in the past, there wasn’t much Duke could do to be considered trouble. Dick would vent to him about the others and always asked him to report on their behaviours whenever he had to be away for too long.

Damian envied that. He could give much more detailed reports of incidents than Thomas could, and he was ready to die on that hill. Dick mentioned multiple times that this just wasn’t the point, and that if he could go at least a month without threatening to kill one member of the family then he’d consider asking for Damian’s help.

Damian would then argue that he wouldn’t threaten anyone if they weren’t such useless piles of meat with no functioning braincels and irritatingly deficient fighting skills, and Dick would take away his cellphone for the day.

But the moment they realized how much power he actually had was when Alfred started using him as a threat.

“Master Damian, please stop sharpening your sword in the living room. I’m sure you can do this down at the cave.”

“I’m asserting my dominance, Pennyworth.” Damian replied “Drake can hear this from the kitchen and therefore knows better than to continue his attacks.”

Alfred frowned.

“Master Damian, I’m certain there is a better way to handle the situation. I trust you can find that out by yourself, or should I ask for master Dick’s assistance?”

They got caught up in a staring match for a while. And then, the boy silently got up, and went to the cave. Alfred smiled to himself, before moving on to the kitchen.

“Master Timothy, I do believe you have been told not to tease your younger brother in the past.” Tim raised an eyebrow “If you insist on these antics, I will call master Dick.”

“I- um...” The teen started “Okay.”

Alfred nodded, and turned to Bruce, who was entering the kitchen.

“Ah, master Bruce. Will you be joining us for dinner tonight, or should I ask master Dick to call for you?”

Bruce froze and looked at Tim. The kid made a face.

“I will be joining you.” He answered, hesitant.

“How delightful.” The butler said, making his way out.

“Wha... What just happened?” Bruce asked.

“Alfred knows.” Tim said “We’re fucked.”

“Language.”

“Oh, leave me alone.” He shot back, sipping a freshly made cup of coffee “You’re not Dick.”

[the-delta-42]

Rule of Precinct One Vol. 2

Rules of Precinct One Vol. 2

1. Detective Wilde has been authorized for use with all firearm ballistics, don’t ask how, we’re trying to figure that out ourselves.

2. Detective Wilde has been banned from use of all non-firearm weapons; we are running out of tail splints.

3. Detective Wilde is now required to wear a tail guard on duty, we really don’t need to go to hospital to get the damned thing reattached.

4. Do not underestimate Detective Wilde's ability to harm his own tail, seriously, don’t.

5. Detective Wilde is to stop stealing balls from the sports cupboard, we can’t get his wife to retrieve the balls every time.

6. Detective Wilde and Detective Hopps-Wilde are no longer allowed to take the nightshift together, I’m sure you can figure out why.

7. Whoever took the donuts from Clawhauser, well done, he’s supposed to be on a diet.

8. Do not make Box or Funny jokes with Detective Hopps-Wilde, we don’t need to find out that a Rabbit can actually go savage.

9. No stating Detective Wilde’s full name, there is a reason he dropped the John.

10. No asking why Detective Wilde’s father calls him Junior, at all.

11. Never, EVER suggest, imply, or otherwise insinuate that Officer Wilde is capable, or indeed, talented, at cheating at cards, in front of Officer Hoops. This will not end well.

12. Do not attempt to play cards with Officer Wilde. This includes Black Jack, Three Card Monty, and All forms of Poker

13. Amendment to the above: Cheat, Go Fish, and Snap are not excluded from this, on account of not traditionally being betting games. You may think that will prevent you from losing money. This will not prevent you from losing money.

14. A reminder to all Officers, Officers Schneider and Wilde are not to be in the same room together especially if they're both armed.

15. Whenever Detective Wilde is entering the station don't yell out "The British are coming!" Officer Fangmeyer is still recovering from broken ribs.

16. Reminder to all officers, trying to scare Detective’s Wilde and Hopps is generally a bad idea.

17. Reminder to all Officers, posting photos of new equipment on Furbook is now banned.

18. Don't EVER put a muzzle on Detective Wilde's office desk. Whoever did it, I hope you’re happy that he has to now spend a week in therapy. Seriously, we don’t need one of our best Detectives going into shock.

19. Do not, under any circumstance, show Detective Hopps anything Creepypasta related. The last time she saw Jeff the Kitty, she refused to let go of Detective Wilde until he passed out.

20. No one is allowed to use the Ion Cannon in storage. We don’t know what it does or why it’s there.

21. To all officers, stop trying to setup Chief Bogo with another mammal. Last time we had to rescue him from a cross dressing tiger and his friends.

22. Clawhauser is to stop playing matchmaker. It did well with Hopps and Wilde but not so good with others. See previous rule for proof.

23. Detective Wilde is not allowed to pick the movies on Movie Friday anymore. Many are still in trauma counselling.

24. Detective Wilde is not allowed to sing Happy, it caused every Officers in the station to break out dancing.

25. No one is allowed to play the Police Story Movie Series in the station, except on Movie Friday.

26. No one is to play the British Grenadiers within Detective Wilde's hearing distance, he may be an excellent singer, but it does get annoying.

27. All Officer patrolling the slums must wear a stab proof vest. We don’t need another incident where Detective Hopps-Wilde nearly became a Widow.

28. FOR THE LOVE OF ASLAN DON'T PLAY WITH Detective WILDE'S POISON CONTAINER FROM THE SAS.

29. Who played with Detective Wilde's EMP Grenades again? All the Police Cruiser's electronics are fried.

30. All Narcotics Operations are to be jointly operated with the ZDEA, not go out and do an Anti-Drug War with the Cartel, Detective Wilde was spotted wearing Combat Gear with an M4 during one of the Raids.

31. No matter what, Detective Wilde is not to be disturb during his investigation unless it's important.

32. Stop telling the Rookies that Detective Wilde is James Bond.

33. Who gave Wilde military grade super glue?! He somehow glued his tail to the ceiling of the station and it took a long time to get him down!

34. We all know you like Guns N Rodents, Detective Hopps, but whenever you're entering the Rainforest District don't play "Welcome to the Jungle" through the sirens. Same goes for any officers.

35. If you have a backstage pass to a Gazelle concert, make sure to hide it from Chief Bogo and Clawhauser. Officers Delgato and Wolford were nearly trampled to death last time.

36. Only Detective Wilde is allowed to use the Ion Cannon, it seems that he knows what it does and how to handle it. He also has yet to shoot his tail off with it.

37. Reminder to all Officers, Detective Wilde is only allowed to use a Baton in non-lethal situations.

38. Even though Wilde is British doesn't mean he's a stereotype, even if he does like drinking tea.

39. No one is to bet a Schneider vs Wilde fight, Schneider involved the GSG9 and Wilde involved the SAS.

40. No trying arrest a badger because he "stepped on your tail" this means you, Wilde.

41. Whoever keeps putting up bunny/fox adoption papers, please stop. Detective Wilde and Detective Hopps-Wilde become unavailable for the rest of the day when this happens.

42. Reminder to all Officers to not allow any more male bunnies to be in sight of Detective Wilde or Detective Hopps. We don't need another flirting incident.

43. It is now banned to arrest the driver of the ice-cream truck and "confiscate" all of the truck's merchandise because he wouldn't stop. (We're looking at you Officers Fangmeyer, Wilde, and Schneider.)

44. Whoever put up pictures of Detective Hopps getting changed around the station, be aware that none of us will subdue him when Detective Wilde finds you; he WILL find you.

45. Do not even joke that there is someone named Shere Kahn here to see Wilde about his time in the secret service. Last time this happened Detective Wilde disappeared for two weeks and Detective Hopps-Wilde was crying her eyes out.

46. Detective Wilde is to take home all of his personal gear immediately. We can't keep replacing every computer and electronic device in the precinct every time someone uses an EMP grenade.

47. Detective Wilde is no longer allowed to bring personal equipment to work without permission. A Stinger missile launcher isn't police gear.

48. Detective Wilde is allowed to use the ion cannon. He somehow knows how to use it.

49. Do not ask Detective Wilde about his time in the secret service. Last time this happened Detective Wilde freaked out and disappeared for a week, you know I’m starting to see a pattern here.

50. To all Officers, stop baiting Clawhauser to doing your paperwork through the use of donuts and cereals. Be responsible for your own work and Clawhauser is on a diet!

51. No one is to ever label fox repellent as Genuine Zooisiana hot sauce EVER again, Hopps is still crying in my office and Wilde is still being treated for the blindness that was caused by it.

52. Remember kids, fire hot. Someone should probably make a note on that.

53. Attention officers, attention, remember to work the shaft. Wilde we know this was you.

54. If it wasn’t clear before it is now, By no means are Wilde and Hopps allowed in the copy room together and apparently I need a new secretary.

55. Do not use the mini-gun. Half of our officers are still in the hospital.

56. Do not prank Officer Hopps with anything ghost related. Wilde took an hour to literally drag her out of her home because she believed there was a ghost at the station.

57. Reminder to all officers, do not pull pranks that involve any hot sauce or Ghost Peppers. Some of our officers still have ice packs on their tongue.

58. Don't ask why Wilde has the British Flag and a London Metropolitan Police Bobby Helmet on his desk.

59. New Patrol Cars maybe bulletproof, but that doesn't mean it's a target for target practice.

60. All Officers must use the code 10-8 if you’re on duty.

61. All detectives must have their badges on the at all times, I really don’t want another incident where the Mayor mistook Detective Wilde for some shady business man.

62. I don't care how, but Detective Wilde is forever banned from using TASERS so stop giving him TASERS. We really don’t want another ‘king’ incident again do we?

63. Yes, Detective Wilde, we get that you are a Doctor Who fan, especially Sir John Hurt.

64. We don’t need the constant thing of The United Kingdom leaving the EU, Detective Wilde is still trying to deal with the other British Citizens here who have started to break out in riots. This is quite possibly the first time Detective Wilde has used any standard Police equipment properly.

65. Please do not mention Gazelle in front of either Detective Hopps-Wilde or Clawhauser, it took us three hours to get them both to shut up.

66. Officer Cody, there are no contingency orders that tell you to kill/subdue any of the Detectives on the force.

67. Alright, which one of you lot petitioned for Detective Wilde to be removed from the Force?

68. Please, who ever brought the little Vixen into the precinct, bring her again, she’s adorable.

69. Alright, who gave Wilde (Both of them) Coffee? They’ve locked themselves in their Office and frankly I believe that you can all here them from where you are.

70. Detective Wilde, please call your mother, this is the seventeenth time she’s called in at the front desk. PS. We now know your actual first name.

71. Please refrain from commenting that Detective Wilde acts like Conan from the Anime Detective Conan when he finally solves a case.

72. Who created a real Phantom Thief, who is based off Magic Kaito 1412?

73. Could someone please explain to Detective Hopps-Wilde what the previous rule is?

74. Reminder to all Officers, Detective Wilde is an Authorized Firearms Officer, and his Unmarked Squad Car is a moving armoury.

75. Kevlar Vests are now Standard issue and must worn at all times.

76. This a warning to all racists Officers, you are outnumbered 100 to 1 and Wilde has a Pranking/Torture arsenal.

77. Detective Wilde: you may be a detective now, but that does not give you an excuse to dress up like Furlock Holmes on the job. That bubble-blowing Meerkatz pipe is simply ridiculous.

78. To all feline officers of Precinct One: having roaring contests at the station is expressly forbidden.

79. Officer McHorn: from now on when your office door is jammed please wait for a locksmith instead of charging at it with your horn. According to the contractor that was a supporting wall you nearly destroyed.

80. To whoever pumped helium into the chief's office before he passed out the morning assignments, your commanding officer is not amused.

81. To whoever told Detective Hopps-Wilde about Detective Wilde's Playbunny magazines, he has sworn vengeance.

82. Just because the chief is a Buffalo that does not mean that he is angered by the colour red like a bull gets. The fact that Bogo automatically gets aggravated at the sight of Detective Wilde (Wilde's fur being red and all) is purely a coincidence.

83. The hoses on armoured police vehicles are not to be used as showers. I don't care how clean you may get or how funny it is to see bald patches on Detective Wilde's fur we cannot afford the clean-up from flooding the garage... for the fifth time this month

84. When Detective Wilde warns you about someone conning you, listen to him. The ZPD budget is still recovering after the whole fake Gazelle autograph incident.

85. To the practical joker who subscribed Chief Bogo to the Gazelle Gossip magazine, the joke is on you: he's already a subscriber

86. No one is to mention the word "neuter" in the building. It took the whole day to find the male felines, lupines, and the vulpine.

87. NO VIXENS IN SIGHT OF DETECTIVE HOPPS-WILDE OR DETECTIVE WILDE!

88. Do NOT ask Judy's parents if they had vasectomy yet.

89. NEVER underestimate Detective Hopps-Wilde. We have now learned she can beat anybody to a pulp in a sparring match, including Chief Bogo.

90. Reminder to all officers: just because Wilde is a designated firearms officer, doesn’t mean he's a sniper. Also, don't request for any weapons for the armoury, we can't have a Barrett m107 .50 or an M240, we also can't have AT4's.

91. Detective Wilde is only allowed to sing at Karaoke Saturdays.

92. Please don't disturb Detective Wilde, both of them, when they are explaining their deductions.

93. Reminder to all Racists Officers Detective Wilde is armed for a reason.

94. The new Helicopters are for police work not Romantic Flights.

95. Detective Wilde is not Sherlock Holmes.

96. All officer in Precinct 1 must sign a pact to eat Clawhauser's donut everyday at least once. He was supposed to be 'weight reduced' to normal level of fitness.

97. To any officer out there who using police superbike as patrol vehicle, DO NOT give Detective Wilde and Detective Hopps YOUR SUPERBIKE KEY.

98. To any officer who think bringing Clawhauser's family to 'Bring Your Family To Work' day, DON'T. We can't have Clawhauser being scolded for being 'fat'. It reduces Clawhauser's work productivity. And there's a reason why he doesn't live with his family again.

99. - All officer must not pushes Chief Bogo to give you case. When there is no case, there is no case. I'm watching you, Hopps.

100. For the last time, who brings laser to Precinct 1? The productivity of Precinct 1 dropped to zero just because all officer chased after it.

101. ALRIGHT, WHO BROUGHT THE LASER HERE?

102. To all officers, Officer Moon Moon is to be supervised by at least one officer at all times. He's a new recruit and a walking hazard when left unsupervised. Just ask Grizzoli in the infirmary.

103. No more bringing of pets in the precinct, especially spiders. The giant huntsman spider Officer Fangton brought is still on the loose and a third of the force won't come in until it has been caught.

104. Detective Wilde, do not take advantage of Officer Moon Moon's gullibility. The poor guy lost his first pay check when you tricked him into playing cards with you.

105. If anyone, only Detective Wilde is allowed to refer to Detective Hopps-Wilde as "cute". Anyone else risks her fury.

106. WHY ARE THERE ZOMBIES IN THE PRECINCT?!

107. Whoever dressed up as those zombies, your commanding officer is not pleased.

108. NEVER say that you hate pop-star Gazelle in front of Clawhauser. Even though he is not physically fit, he is still a cheetah.

109. To whoever put the nude photo of gazelle in chief’s paperwork you have parking duty for a month. And I'm looking at you Wilde.

110. No one is to mention Detective Wilde’s ex-wife. It was hard enough to explain to Detective Hopps-Wilde.

111. Detective Garfield we don't care how much of a jerk you think your partner Lieut. Nirmal is, so stop spamming HR with requests to get him transferred to Abu Dhabi.

112. While we are on the subject of Detective Garfield, no one's to tell him when the cafeteria is serving Italian, last time he found out he barricade himself in there and by the time we broke down the door half the food was gone.

113. No Detective Wilde, you did not learn everything you need to know in kindergarten.

114. Notice to the motor pool, for now on all porcupine officers are on permanent motorcycle duty as we can afford to keep fixing car seats every time they come back from patrol.

115. Will you all stop harassing officer Bellwether, he had nothing to do with his insane cousin’s anti-predator plot.

116. Okay apparently you idiots disregarded the last note and now officer Bellwether got himself transferred to Los Santos, claiming he'd rather be shot than harass, so I hope you all enjoy the mandatory week long species tolerance seminar.

117. Don't let Detective Hopps-Wilde drink any form of energy drink (besides coffee). She already has plenty of energy, and doesn't need more.

118. Officer Mchorn is injured at the moment and Officer Moon Moon needs a new partner. Again, don't leave Moon Moon unsupervised.

119. To the one dressed as a Ninja, Detective Wilde and the rest of the Authorized Firearms Unit are hunting you.

120. Will someone catch that Phantom Thief!

121. Reminder to all Officers, if a Military tank got stolen like San Francisco, please do not ask Wilde for Anti-Tank Weapons.

122. Please do not use the Riot Armor to be RoboCop.

123. No, we will not add attack helicopters to our arsenal.

124. Whoever keeps playing those Hyena Gomez CDs please stop, her shrieking gives half the station a headache.

125. To whoever rigged up the riot tank speakers to play 'let the bodies hit the floor' whenever the water cannon is fired, the Chief is willing to overlook this offense if you help setup his home theatre system.

126. If some whacked job manages to steal a tank like that time in San Dingo, don't go asking detective wilde for a rocket launcher, besides that's what the secondary tank full of industrial adhesive attached to the riot tanks water cannon is for.

127. Lieut. Nokiayama the precincts head corner would like to remind everyone that just because he's a raccoon dog, he doesn't have mystical powers like in Japanese mythology, so please stop trying to grab his crotch thinking it will bring you good luck, he has his ancestor’s katana and he knows how to use it.

128. Do not ask Detective Wilde about his family. He does not want talk about. He had a break down last week. If this rule is broken you will be punished by the chief.

129. To all officers, firearms are supposed to be used in emergency situations only, not in trying to kill the giant huntsman spider Officer Fangton lost. It was last seen in the armoury.

130. Do not tempt Officer Schneider with beer, Detective Wilde with tea, and Hopps with carrots. They will find out where you live.

[lambourngb]

So I moved my Sunday update to tonight in honor of @jumbled-nonsense​ ‘s birthday. Last Year’s Wishes is at 88, 076 words, give or take. 16 scenes to write, 13 days until the end of the month. My guess a little less than 29,000 words to go. Here’s a late addition to the story that I wrote the other day, Alex visiting Mimi. The rest of the story lives here. From the outside,  Sunset Mesa Assisted Living and Memory Care of Roswell looked similar to a resort clubhouse. It was a sprawling two story facility that spread out into sweeping wings with bright red roof tiles and Spanish arches. It was only the glaring lack of a golf course that kept it from being mistaken as a leisure destination. 

Since Maria had transferred the care of Mimi there, Alex had been making a point to visit at least twice a month. His first visit had coincided with being on base, and while the uniform had garnered admiring glances from the staff, Mimi had spent the afternoon addressing him as “Jesse”. His skin crawling, he  had made a note to carry spare clothes for any subsequent visit.

He had spent his childhood and teenage years borrowing mother figures from his friends, ever since he was 8 and his own mother had left. First Michelle Valenti, licking the cinnamon sugar off his fingertips when she made offered her hojarascas to him and then when Kyle had turned from friend to foe in high school, he had embraced Maria’s mother with her warm hugs and bold insistence on being himself, no matter who that ended up being. Mimi holding him tight, whispering in his ear that this was temporary, all while he felt so isolated and alone that maybe falling asleep and never waking was the better option, meant the world to him. It was not an exaggeration that he had considered harming himself at the ages of 14 and 15. It would have been entirely too easy with firearms readily available in his father’s house, never far from reach. 

For that alone, Alex would do whatever he could for Mimi. 

He scrawled his name in the visitor log, noting the frequency of Maria’s name above his. A pang of regret held him close as he thought about how complicated that friendship had become. It had once been the rare source of consistency in his transient life. Alex looked up at the charge nurse with a smile.. “How is Mimi today, Delores?”

“About the same, although thankfully she stopped leaving glasses of water everywhere.” Delores met his confused smile with a shrug, “Someone showed her Signs.”

“I thought alien related films were banned from movie night?”

“We had a new hire. They didn’t know, so for a while it was water, water everywhere with Ms Deluca. We’re back to Will Smith now, which I can deal with because that man is fine.” Delores took the guest book and gestured to the day room. “She’ll be glad to see you.”

Alex forced a smile and walked over to the brightly lit and cheerfully painted day room. As nice of Sunset Mesa was, and it was very nice compared to his experience with VA hospitals, it was still a place where families hauled themselves there out of obligation and their elderly relatives drifted like gray ghosts in the hallways.

Mimi Deluca was the outlier, at least thirty years younger than the youngest resident. She was never combatant, and seemed to help the staff when she could with the other patients. At a glance a newcomer would mistake her as a volunteer, except for the fact she wore slippers instead of the orthopedic shoes popular with the nurses. 

As soon as he drew near to her, she stood up from the soft overstuffed loveseat in the corner with a beaming smile, “Alex! Come here hot stuff and give me a hug.”

Alex mirrored her smile and wrapped his arms around her, absently noting she felt thinner in his embrace. “Mama Deluca!”

“My, married life is treating you well.” She patted his stomach teasingly. Her hands were bare of jewelry but still elegantly straight fingered and absent of age spots. “That husband of yours is feeding you well.”

A sharp pain radiated inside, as he kept his smile intact. Mimi, instead of mistaking him for Jesse, had started commenting on being married to a handsome man and it coincided heartbreakingly with his first visit after Michael had moved in. It was easier and harder to just go with it. “Are you calling me fat?”

Mimi beamed, and pulled him down to the loveseat. “Never, honey.”

The rest of the day room was largely quiet, with a group of residents staring at the flat screen television showing old game shows in the background. Mimi took his hand, and held it firmly. Her hair was resplendent as usual, cascading down her shoulders. 

Alex remembered from his original research for Maria that Sunset Mesa had sported a salon with someone on staff who knew the proper care and treatment of black hair, and every visit he had made had so far born that as true. “You look beautiful as always, Mimi. How are you feeling?”

“I’m fine honey, can’t complain. But you, you are such a mix of happiness and stress. You know you will worry less once all the secrets are out.” Mimi lifted her finger to gently press on his forehead, forcing him to smooth his expression at the teasing touch. 

“Secrets?”

“The pieces want to be together, Alex, and that goes for the truth.”

He shivered at the repetition, but it wasn’t unusual. Mimi had often picked up repeated sentences from old conversations. Hearing her repeat Michael’s steady words from his bunker was still disconcerting. “You know I can’t talk about my work.”

“Hmmm. Now you sound like your father, but I wasn’t talking about that.” She smiled again and then put her arm around Alex, encouraging him to tuck into her side like he used to do as a teenager. “Tell me about your husband.”

“Michael’s fine. We went to Tinnie’s the other night. You would have loved our waiter.”

“He was hot?”

“So hot. Looked like he stepped out of a J Crew catalog.” 

Mimi laughed, delighted. “You’re making that up. I don’t believe you even noticed what that waiter looked like, too busy staring star struck at your hubby.”

“I plead the fifth.” Alex smiled, holding her hand in his with an affectionate squeeze. “He’s been busy at the garage, and I’ve started back at the base again until my commission is finished.”

“Work, work, work, Alex. It’s good you did dinner out together, you should keep making these efforts with each other. I’m telling you, things have a way of working out, without your intervention. Just stick all your troubles in the vessel. It knows what to do.”

Alex tensed in her hold, tipping his head up to meet her gaze. As he suspected, she wasn’t focused on him at all. “Vessel?”

“The ships, Alex. They weren’t just for moving from point A to point B. And what is distance but a state of mind?” Mimi threaded their fingers together, admiring the skin tones with a hazy joy. “These hands, the intent is what matters, for ill or for will. For better or worse.”

He closed his eyes briefly and summoned an even tone to keep her calm. Sometimes the talk of aliens, real or not, could send her into an agitated spiral.  “I’ve tried to keep my intentions pure.”

Mimi laughed again, “don’t con a psychic love. I was young once. Sex is still one of the best uses of our earthly forms.”

The conversation, like usual with Mimi, had slipped completely out of his control. His cheeks reddened in embarrassment. “I am not discussing that with you, Mama Deluca.”

Abruptly, her head shot up to stare toward the door of the day room. “Oh. Oh my sweet Maria. She’s breaking her own heart again. Unrequited love is such a sharp blade to kiss.”

Alex twisted to look over to the doorway half expecting to see Maria standing there. The hallway was empty, just Delores behind the check in desk. He frowned a little concern at the look of sorrow on Mimi’s face. “It might not be? Unrequited that is.”

“You can change your hair, you can change your name, but you can’t change your heart, Alex.” She sighed again, “Aliens might be able to, they have that type of power, you know. The vessel will hold you tight and make you someone else. It’s a change that is so complete you’re remade.” She gently traced circles on the back of his hand. “But this town has had enough of that type of whitewashing. When you think about it, it doesn’t matter what is buried or planted, some flowers will never bloom in Roswell.”

Alex nodded thoughtfully, and noticed the flash of dark hair and bright clothing just outside the doorway at the front desk. Just as Mimi predicted, Maria was here, chatting warmly with Delores as she signed the book. “I should go, looks like Maria is here too. You’re a popular woman today, not that it isn’t surprising.” He kissed her hand gently, and shifted to his feet, feeling the stretch on his right hip. “I love you, Mimi.”

“I love you too, Alex. You should bring that husband next time. I promise not to steal him from you.” Mimi winked devilishly at him, “not that anyone could. He’s been yours forever.”

He shook his head, pressing the sharp knot of want down deep inside. “I’ll keep that in mind.” Alex turned, hoping to escape from the day room exit before Maria caught sight of him. 

[theleadslinger]

you support trans people? (no hate this is comming from a trans person, just suprised because i don't see a lot of support in this community)

I mean, why not? Live and let live. And before anyone gets all up in arms about a future where, whenever you meet someone you have to ask their pronouns, I ask: Is it really such a bother to ask a name, rather than call someone by one of their defining features? Is having to remember and ask for a name really so awful? Why can’t we do the same with pronouns? It could be as simple as adding them after your name when you’re introducing yourself. It would take less than a second of your time, especially if it became the norm. It’s not that hard to respect people and make them comfortable. I know that when you meet a trans person for the first time, in this case we’ll say ftm, and they don’t pass and/or are pre-hormones, it can be very difficult to habitually, correctly gender them because everything about them screams “woman” to you. All your life you’ve been taught that people with those social and/or physical attributes are a woman. That can be a rough hurdle and discouraging, but most trans people are understanding if you keep trying, and eventually you get it down. If you can remember someone’s name, you can remember their pronouns. Some people take intentionally being called a name other than their own offensive. Same deal with pronouns. It’s not that hard to respect people and make them comfortable.

I definitely support the ideas of gender neutral bathrooms, but would worry about perverts a fair amount more, due to the majority population identifying as maybe a 0 or 1 (or a 2 if you’re stretching it) on the Kinsey scale and simply the nature of some humans to be downright awful. If I am to mix a support of trans people and a support of guns, I’d really like it if people who support trans people would stop trying to disarm those same people. Gun control disproportionately impacts minorities, and people who are LGBT+, or whatever acronym you’d like to use, ESPECIALLY trans people, NEED that right to self defense so, so much. For example, if you support any financial barriers to firearms, ammunition, or training classes that are required for a CCW permit, you are directly preventing people in poverty (who are usually the people who need a gun for self defense the most) from accessing firearms. Due to discrimination in many forms against LGBT+ people, this once again disproportionately impacts LGBT+ people. There’s a similar idea with limiting the amount of ammo you can buy, which prevents training to a certain degree, which, I cannot stress enough, is the most important part of owning a firearm for self defense. I digress; the point of this paragraph is to say: Supporting the right to self defense and access to firearms is supporting trans rights. 

The only thing I can feel justified in discriminating against trans people for is in professional sports. Hands down, the easiest way for a biological male to win at their chosen sport is to partially transition, perhaps even without the use of hormones, and participate in the women’s category for that sport. That crushes dreams, and is simply not fair. Testosterone is a steroid, and if we ban the use of steroids in professional sports, why should we let people who have waaayyyy higher levels of testosterone than women participate with women? I don’t have a solution for this. I’m not sure how well a trans-only category would go, considering the relatively low amount of people who are trans and how if it were to be in any way public, if you wanted to participate you had to out yourself to a bunch of strangers, which is quite a dangerous thing to do.

Probably my favorite place on the internet for trans content (memes) is r/egg_irl. Good stuff, especially if you’re even a little unsure about your gender. It can make you realize certain things in your childhood may indicate certain things about yourself. Anyway! Still cis tho. What was the question?

[syranyth]

FACTS ON THE CHRISTCHURCH SHOOTING.

Actual facts, from someone who was in Christchurch at the time, because some people don’t know this stuff, or have been told lies.

1. This was a terrorist attack. There is no other word for it. It was terrorism. Calling it something else is incredibly disrespectful.

2. At least 49 people are dead. 40 died in the Al Noor Mosque on Deans Ave, 7 in the Linwood Mosque on Linwood Avenue, and one other died in hospital. This included children as young as two years old. More bodies are being found as the investigations progress.

3. The shooting was purposeful. It was not a spur of the moment decision. It was a planned attack. It was on a Friday, the muslim’s holy holiday, when they were in their afternoon prayer. The attack was at the mosques, to hit them when they were supposed to be safe. The attack a have been described by the Police Commissioner as a “very well-planned event”, and firearms were found at both mosques.

4. There were home-made bombs planted in two cars which were left around the city. Further proof, if you really need it, that it was planned.

5. The terrorists originally planned to attack Dunedin, but instead decided on Christchurch. No one really knows why.

6. They attacked New Zealand on purpose, to prove that no where is safe from fear and hate. New Zealand is seen as a safe country, and normally doesn’t see much violence.

7. This attack was the worst that the country has ever seen. The previous worst was in 1990, when 13 people were killed in a mass shooting. There is a reason why this is such a big deal. For a large portion of the country, this is something very new. If you compare it to the USA, it would be on scale of 3,344 people being killed in a shooting.

8. The attack started at roughly 1:40pm local time. At that time, schools were still in session and businesses were starting the afternoon shift. It was also halfway through a Climate Change strike, in which over a thousand students went on strike from their schools to protest politicians not doing enough about climate change. Most of these students were then moved into the new library next to where the strike was taking place, and ended up staying there for over 4 hours.

9. After the attack started, the city centre went into lockdown. All Christchurch schools went into lockdown. All public spaces, and bus services, went into lockdown. This lockdown lasted for hours. The only way that anyone could contact anyone else was with the technology they had with them.

10. On that Friday, four people were arrested. One of these people was a civilian, who dressed in camouflage and carried a gun with the intent of helping the police, but didn’t let the police know. Two others were arrested for carrying firearms, but may not have been involved with the attacks. The last one was Brenton Tarrant.

11. The terrorist who live-streamed the attack on Twitter, Brenton Tarrant, is an Australian citizen, and a Dunedin resident. This wasn’t the work of an immigrant, or a refugee. You can’t blame them for this occurring.

12. PewDiePie was not responsible for the attack. The terrorist shouting “subscribe to PewDiePie” was him trying to incite reactions online, and distract people from caring about the humans who were killed and injured in the attacks.

13. Brenton Tarrant has a firearms license, and owned five guns. Because of this attack, the NZ gun laws are going to change, hopefully making it harder for anything like this to ever happen again (take notes America). A ban on semi-automatic weapons is definitely on the list for changes to the laws.

14. None of the detained people had criminal records, or were on any watch lists in New Zealand or Australia.

15. Muslims currently make up roughly 1.1% of the New Zealand population of 4.25 million. That equates to over 45,000 individuals. For us, that is a lot.

16. The list of victims has not yet been released, but it includes:

Naeem Rashid, 50, who tried to tackle the terrorist at Al Noor mosque, before being shot, and his 21-year-old son Talha, who had been living with his father in New Zealand since 2010. 

Sayyad Milne, 14, who wanted to be a footballer when he grew up.

Daoud Nabi, 71, who is believed to have thrown himself in front of other people in the mosque to protect them.

Khaled Mustafa, a refugee from the war in Syria.

Hosne Ara, 42, killed while searching for her husband who uses a wheelchair - he survived.

These are the people who we should be remembering and commemorating, not terrorists.

DON’T be caught up in gossip. DON’T believe anything and everything that you are told. DON’T do what these terrorists want, and put them ahead of the victims.

Think, feel, and remember your humanity. Please. Don’t descend to their level.

[silassanford]

His party is a group of fucking cowards. Or idiots. Or both. He should be seeing his colleagues faces on television every minute of the day, on every news program that they could be booked on. He should be sick of hearing of them on the radio. There should be protests at the gates of the White House every day of the week. Well, it’s as the old adage goes: if you want something done right, do it yourself. So that’s why when he stood up on the Senate floor, he had a plan in mind. He was going to talk until he very well collapsed. Not because he had some true opposition for the bill that stemmed from the pit of his soul. He has purely political reasons for doing this. If it did pass, everyone would know he fought hard against it. And if it failed… well, he would look like a hero of the people, wouldn’t he?

hour one “I stand here today before you to filibuster the Disarmament Act. I will remain here until I no longer have the energy to stand so that I may inform the public about what is at stake with this bill. And if you, a citizen of this nation, has a thought that they would like to express, please tweet with the hashtag filibuster for freedom, and I will read out some of your messages later...” hour two “I would like to bring up some of the excellent points that I have heard over the course of these past weeks. I would like to highlight Admiral Bell who spoke at the Disarmament Debate on the Cora Jones show. I would like to thank him for speaking out on this issue and I will read out one of his statements now. And I quote, ‘I don’t believe that there should be any sort of compromise when it comes to our Constitutional rights, and at best, that’s what this bill is asking of us. I believe that it would set a dangerous precedent in attacking the rights that the government is sworn by definition to protect.’ I believe that we should be following the procedure outlined in Article Five about proposing an amendment to the Constitution. And prior to that, there should be a bipartisan discussion about what such a bill should look like, rather than the president trying to push this bill through as hastily as possible.”

hour three “There is another politician whose eloquent thoughts that I would like to quote: ‘Gun violence is a reality and a tragedy in our lives that ensues from the misuse of a constitutional freedom. Interfering with that is comparable to curbing the freedom of speech because it has resulted in the spread of hatred and bigotry. When a freedom is misused, the answer is not to take it away. The solution is to address it. And this government has empowered every institution in this country to deal with the perpetrators and instigators of firearm-based violence. That is the very definition of ‘political action’. Asking for more is asking me to transgress the boundaries of my power.’ Those words were said by Theresa Wright, on the tragic day of her death. She firmly believed that the solution was not to take away the rights of citizens. If, as the president says, that he is trying to honour Theresa Wright’s legacy, then he should heed her words, rather than pushing his own agenda that goes against her beliefs.” hour four He took a bite out of a burger, flipping to the next page of his very tall stack of papers. He didn’t even look close to halfway through. A soft smile settled on his lips. A nostalgic look. “Some of my fondest memories with my son are when we went hunting together. My son is here, in the gallery, supporting my efforts here today. Hi, Henry.” A warm smile, a wave in the direction of the gallery. “It breaks my heart to think that other fathers won’t have the same opportunity to bond as I did with my son if this bill’s restrictive measures go into effect. What is more American than being able to get into my car with my boy and drive out of the city and taking what my son affectionately calls shortcuts and taking us through this great state of mine, having to fill up the tank of gap and then finally, arriving at one of the four great national forests that my state has and hunt some game? There is nothing more American than family.” hour five “The president hasn’t outlined how he is going to pay for the incentives he intends to hand out. I can only hazard a guess that it will come out of taxpayer money, or heaven forbid, out of the Defense budget which is used to keep this country and its troops safe.”

hour six “I would like to also bring up the point that Senator Lindahl made in the Disarmament Debate on the Cora Jones show, which is that this bill is a “violation of the preeminent human right, and that is the right to self-defense”. hour seven “I would like to acknowledge all of the people who have phoned into my office to express their thoughts about this bill. I would like to give a special shout-out for those from my hometown of Mobile, Alabama, and I will read out the concerns from one of its citizens, Betty McDowall. She has told me she has two adult sons and that she worries about the potential abuses of the lifetime ban, knowing that false claims to the police already have a disastrous effect on a person’s life, and now someone could be be banned for life from exercising their Second Amendment right. This surely is not constitutional. What’s next? Will the government issue lifetime bans on the freedom of speech as well?” hour eight “The president is attempting to forcibly expand the red flag law which is a state legislation and should be voted on at the state level, rather than unilaterally decided here for all of the states.” hour nine “I believe that it is unreasonable to raise the age of purchasing guns from eighteen to twenty five. If at eighteen a citizen can enlist themselves at the military and die for our great nation, they should be allowed to have the freedom to purchase a gun.” hour ten “Within the bill, it is listed that that the person wishing to purchase a gun must justify necessity for owning a gun. This vague rule that places the power in the hands of the government is a dangerous notion that they may be able to bar people from exercising their Second Amendment right. As given the lack of comprehensive criteria, this will lead to arbitrary and uneven decision making which will impede citizens from their right to bear arms.” hour eleven ”The bill has also proposed these ambiguous terns at a municipal level for those applying carry a concealed handgun. It references that a person must be determined to be of good moral character. Now, who is to judge these morals? Is it this administration who will dictate them to us? Would I, Mr. President, pass this judgment? Or would I need to renounce my beliefs that every life is sacred? Will I, and every citizen, need to choose between their religious beliefs and their Second Amendment right?” hour twelve “I do not think that the actions of one man should be used by the president as justification to punish an entire nation and take away their rights…” hour thirteen “I think that it’s certainly a clever ploy for the president to offer a tax credit to bribe citizens to not purchase any guns in the next twelve months. Come election time, I’m sure it will be a nice talking point about out how he’s reduced the number of guns in this country.” hour fourteen ”Now, I haven’t even yet gotten to speak about how excessive and far-reaching it is for a total ban on assault and automatic weapons except for basically law enforcement agencies. Of course the government would want to keep its citizens scared and unarmed.” hour fifteen and thirty one minutes “I hope that my words today have made everyone understand the importance of this moment. I call on all of the senators here to take a look at themselves. Anyone who proclaims to uphold the Constitution must vote no on this bill. Thank you for all listening. And with that, I yield the floor.” At the very least, whatever happened, he damn well that he’d been getting into the records of top ten longest filibusters. He’d been keeping count.

[aftermathdb]

DEATH BATTLE Review: Ghost Rider vs. Lobo

Two badass bikers have one hell of a fight!

Ghost Rider′s Preview.

If one were to take a look at Johnny Blaze, you wouldn’t really expect much out of the son of a famous stuntman who had died in a stunt gone wrong. But, you’d be surprised. Johnny’s new dad, Crash Simpson, got cancer.

So Johnny turned to the one man who could fix the problem: The Devil.

It worked… Until Crash crashed.

From that day forward, Johnny became merged with Zarathos. A being of power that scared Mephisto. And together, they became: Ghost Rider.

Ghost Rider possesses your typical powerset for a bounty hunter for the devil. From your typical Superhuman strength and speed, with a side of insane durability and an extra large healing factor.

And to top it all off, Ghost Rider’s signature weapon of choice is fire. But not just any kind of fire. Hellfire (Insert Hunchback of Notre Dame reference here).

Hellfire burns, but not in the conventional way you might think. Hellfire burns away at the soul, bypassing any defenses that would normally protect against typical burn damage. It’s like Salazzle’s Corrosion ability, only with fire.

But, if you’re going to be on the hunt for bad guys to make them pay for their sins, you’re going to need a toolset to match. From your typical hellish chains to soul manipulaton, Ghost Rider is one hell of a guy to fight…

Real talk: Lowkey disappointed that there weren’t more hell puns like this in the episode proper.

But if there’s anything that Ghost Rider is known for, it would be his Hell Cycle. Which we get a Wiz and Boomstick animation for the explanation.

Moving on, Ghost Rider’s other signature move is his Penance Stare. A Bloodcurdling gaze that burns the victims with the agony of their sins. Every life they’ve ruined, every person they’ve killed, all of it comes hitting you at once. Basically, it’s the “I’m not mad, just disappointed” phrase weaponized to the point that it burns. If you’re a truly sinful being, your soul goes bye bye. It’s like the Dark Hado, only with a less complicated button input.

And since the hosts neglected to mention it here (or even in the list of feats (Though, it is shown)), this stare once brought Galactus to his knees. Here’s the video link.

With all that power, Ghost Rider has taken on some insane opponents.

From the likes of Thor, to World War Hulk, to Doctor Strange, Ghost Rider has taken on a great slew of opponents, both good and bad.

However, Johnny doesn’t exactly have the best relationship with the Ghost Rider.

In fact, Johnny’s relationship with Ghost Rider is similar to Bruce Banner’s relation to the Hulk. Johnny suppresses Ghost Rider’s full potential, and the two often clash.

Also, since I forgot to bring it up earlier, The Penance Stare doesn’t work on the blind, those without a soul, those who draw power from pain, or masochists.

However, plot twist, Zarathos is actually an angel of vengeance, not a demon.

And similar to the Hulk, when Johnny opts to let the reigns loose, Zarathos. becomes so powerful, that he scares Doctor Strange.

For reference to Zarathos’ power, he’s equal to the divorce judge Mephisto, who in turn, once battle Galactus. The fight was so intense, that the entire universe was at risk as a byproduct of the battle.

Zarathos himself can eat souls. As for Johnny himself, the guy is still a mortal man, so he’s vulnerable to any kind of conventionally lethal attack. The Rider himself is vulnerable to holy weaponry, and is killable through it.

And even if he’s not too keen on being the Devil’s bounty hunter, Johnny’s doing alright. He even overthrew Mephisto… Does this mean that Peter and MJ’s divorce is null now?- I’m pretty sure that it’s null on the grounds of it being filed under duress, but still.

However, should you be walking out on your own, hearing a feint sound of a chopper drawing near, and see a glow on the horizon getting closer, you better hope that it’s not you that the Ghost Rider is after.

And you better pray to whatever deity that you believe in for mercy.

Because Ghost Rider won’t be giving it.

Lobo′s Preview.

It’s the 1990s, and the world of comics entered a darker age. After the success of such books like Watchmen and The Dark Knight Returns, comic book companies started to churn out gritty anti-heroes by the dozen.

From the time-traveling mutant Cable, to the darker and grittier Azrael, and Overkill. It was an… interesting time, to say the least. They were certainly cool-looking, but at some point, it just got ridiculous, that the world needed someone to take these guys down a peg.

The world needed a hero- no. A parody.

Enter: Czarnia. A planet that was known to be the most peaceful place in the universe… “Was” being the keyword there. The planet was. ravaged by a biological lifeform that left only one survivor: The guy who killed them all: Lobo.

For the record, Lobo’s name roughly translates to “He who devours your entrails and enjoys it.”

(So, he’s basically the NRA).

Lobo’s birth caused so much destruction, that pretty much everyone around him died out. Hell, some theorists think that the universe made Lobo just to balance out the peacefulness of Czarnia.

Lobo strives to be unique, and what better way to be unique than to be the last of your kind?

Lobo has left destruction in his wake. Which is possibly why he became a bounty hunter, as it’s the only profession that legally lets you kill people… Not that it stops him from killing you illegally as well.

Lobo is so insanely durable, that his healing factor is stupidly powerful. And his strength is off the charts. He’s like the unholy child of Superman and Deadpool. Speaking of which…

Oh, Taka… You never fail to make us laugh.

Anyways, not only can Lobo regenerate from a single drop of blood, he can also basically clone himself from it.

If you haven’t guessed by now, Lobo is stupidly hard to kill. He’s taken on the likes of Superman and other high-level fighters to the point that he’s basically  invulnerable. And if that’s not enough for you, he’s also pretty smart capable enough of doing complex equations to be able to tag the Flash.

Lobo can even deduce the weak points of any opponent he faces.

Of course, you don’t get to be an infamous bounty hunter unless you have the tools for the job.

Lobo’s ride responds to his whistle, can fly fast enough to escape a black hole, comes equipped with numerous machine guns, and has numerous other add-ons to boot.

And he has numerous firearms to deal with anyone who gets in his way. Even better: He’s also a fan of chain weapons.

Lobo also likes to ignore some things too. Like how he can sing “Born To Be Wild” while in the vacuum of space.

If that’s not physics-breaking enough for you, Lobo also once did this:

He pulled down Solaris despite it being physically impossible. Not, physically like his physique is inadequate, more like… It breaks physics. Meybe he and the Flash can bond over that.

For reference, this is how much strength Lobo would be exerting to pull Solaris down, assuming that Solaris has a mass similar to our sun.

Lobo also once crushed an entire city to fit in the palm of his hand. And then he ate it. There’s not a laxative in the world that can make that easy to digest.

And thanks to his rambunctious attitude, and constant heavy metal playing, Lobo has been banned from the afterlife. As in, his soul is not to be collected by death. Once the universe ends, he doesn’t go with it.

Lobo has a bomb that wiped out the dinosaurs, allegedly murdered Santa Claus (Who could bypass Apoklips’ defenses to give Darkseid a lump of coal), and has even walked through literal willpower.

However, despite his many claims, Lobo isn’t perfect. He can still take damage, and while his spirit can fight on without his body, he’s not exactly invincible.

He also has a… fondness for dolphins… Apparently. But, he’s also a man of his word, and will follow things to the spirit too. So, he’s basically the exact opposite of the NRA.

And unlike guys like Doctor Fate, the Green Lanterns, and Darkseid, Lobo isn’t immune to retcons.

This new Lobo is a dark and tortured soul. Literally the thing that the real Lobo was meant to be a parody of.

Thankfully, some of the writers at DC had a sense of irony, and decided to shelve the new Lobo… Literally.

And with all that, Lobo is one fighter that you don’t want to mess with. Because when the Main Man gets a contract…

The Battle Itself.

Zack, Luis, and Jerky are heading this animation. Ghost Rider will be voiced by Steven Kelly and Lobo will be voiced by Jason Marnocha. ), sprite artists, Ride to Hell by Brandon Yates. Audio is led by Chris Kokkinos.

The fight starts off with Lobo collecting a bounty, only for the Spirit of Vengeance to show up and give Lobo what’s coming to him.

Lobo, being Lobo, doesn’t take too kindly to someone telling him what to do, so he just runs over the Hell Cycle to get away.

Ghost Rider, understandably mad as hell, gives chase, and even fries Lobo’s bounty while doing it. So now even the Main Man is mad too.

After a brief battle of chains, Lobo does a Scorpion impression and grabs Ghost Rider to give him one hell of a headbutt.

But Blaze doesn’t take this lying down, so the battle gets forced to a city… Hopefully abandoned.

And now it’s Ghost Rider’s turn to do a Scorpion impression as he uses his hellfire to give Lobo a nasty Burn.

This being Lobo, he powers through it to get to Ghost Rider to eat a building.

This being Ghost Rider, the Spirit of Vengeance bursts out, spilling blood everywhere. But, this is Lobo.

Or rather, Lobos (Note the plural). They dogpile on the burning skull head, forcing Ghost Rider to unleash Zarathos.

Lobo, pretty miffed at the moment, blasts Ghost Rider with a massive gun.

So, with the battlefield fragged, the finishing blow (Yes, this wasn’t the finishing blow) is coming up in 5…

4…

3…

2…

1…

Hot damn…

Verdict + Explanation.

Okay, so… This being Lobo, it was a pretty intense fight. Lobo doesn’t die easily. And Lobo also takes many of the physical advantages, like strength. But Ghost Rider wasn’t a slouch in this area either.

Given the insane durability and amount of pain that each fighter could take and dish out, it was hard to say for sure as to who would win out. But, Lobo doesn’t have any specific weaknesses that are obscure, and he wasn’t equipped to have anything to really kill Ghost Rider.

Now, you might be thinking “Who cares about Holy Weapons when you can crush and eat a whole city?” While that’s a good question, and it’s also a good question to ask if Lobo could just overpower Johnny.

However, Remember: Zarathos = Mephisto, and Mephisto = Galactus. Given that the fight between Mephisto and Galactus put the whole universe at risk, it’s reasonable to say that Zarathos could do the same.

Now, given Lobo’s own speed, he couldn’t really run from the Ghost Rider either. Recall that the Hell Cycle could outrace Mjolnir, and Mjolnir could move over 100 Billion times the speed of light. So, even if Lobo could figure out Ghost Rider’s weaknesses, he can’t exactly get away to find a holy weapon to work with.

Essentially, Lobo could handle the Ghost Rider, but once Zarathos was unleashed, his means of victory started diminishing fast.

But now, for the big elephant in the room: How do you kill a person who’s banned from the afterlife?

Well, this is where you need a lawyer, because there’s a small little loophole that Ghost Rider can exploit:

Lobo’s soul can only not be collected, there’s nothing saying that his soul can just go poof. And Ghost Rider has three ways of just ending Lobo’s soul.

His hellfire bypasses normal defenses, his Penance Stare can deal damage to Lobo since he’s got trillions of dead people on his hands, and Zarathos could just straight-up eat his soul. Lobo has no defenses against attacks that target the soul.

Essentially, Lobo was toast.

The winner is Ghost Rider.

Overall impression.

This fight was cosmic. In essence, it takes some of the most intense fighters and pits them against each other. This fight has a lot of hype behind it, and it’s one

hell

of a fight.

However, the lack of “Hell” puns during Ghost Rider’s rundown is somewhat disappointing. But the fight is awesome. It also helps that the music is intense in the good way that it makes it really feel like a battle straight out of hell.

The fight’s awesome, the explanation makes sense, and the music is a banger.

8.666/10

Next Time…

A friend of mine on Deviantart is doing reviews of these Kaiju Movies and a few Power Rangers episodes too. I’m feeling that this fight might interest him.

Is there a fight that you want me to review? - Send an ask/request, and I’ll look into it!

Do you want to read my fanfic based around DEATH BATTLE itself? click here!

Thank you for reading, and I hope to see you next time for…

Robo-Kaiju Rumble.

[dapokemonmadster]

Masterpost of Airplane Tips

For the new and confused. 

Compiled by some slut who travels Way Too Much. 

Hey all! A few of my buds are going to be traveling by plane for the first time soon, and asked me for a few tips, and I thought I might as well just make it into a whole tumblr post, in case there are other folks out there nervous about air travel. If anybody has more to add to my list, by all means! Add away! The list is pretty long, so I’m sticking it under a read-more. 

I recommend being at the airport at LEAST one hour before your flight is supposed to start boarding. Two hours for international flights. An hour and a half, even, for domestic flights. It’s much easier to sit and wait in the airport then the panic and have to get through security and risk being late because you didn’t arrive on time.

Wait to get food until after you’re through security. You never know how long security is going to take, so you want to get through as quickly as possible, then you can figure out food options afterwards. There are usually more restaurants and things past security than before!!

 You can’t bring liquids or aerosols through security, so make sure you dump all water bottles out before going through!! There will be plenty of places to refill when you’re through security (I highly recommend bringing a water bottle! Airports can be stressful places, and you don’t want to get dehydrated).

 Never leave your bags alone!! Take them with you even to the bathroom. Seriously. You don’t want people to get into your stuff, and you don’t want security getting concerned about abandoned bags in the middle of the airport.

 For those with hearing sensitivities or just anyone that doesn’t want to deal with the noise of an airport or a plane (planes and airports are very loud) I suggest bringing noise canceling headphones or earbuds for your flight!! Though do be sure to pay attention to the announcements when you reach your gate so you know when to board.

 Most airlines (with the exception of Southwest) charge a fee to check bags (checking bags is where you give your suitcase over to the staff when you’re checking in at the counter and they send it to your final destination to be picked up at baggage claim). That’s usually around $25 per bag. If you want to avoid this, you’re allowed Two carry-on items for the plane. What I do is pack all my clothes in a fairly small suitcase or duffel (small suitcase as in it doesn’t come up to my knees when I stand next to it) and bring that and a backpack of my other items onto the plane with me. My backpack goes under the seat in front of my and my suitcase goes into the luggage rack up top. They have specific dimensions in terms of how small your bags have to be to be allowed on the airplane without being checked. You can look those up online if you’re curious, but they also have areas to check while in the airport. As a general guideline, as long as you’re using a backpack or a mini suitcase that isn’t taller than your knees while standing on end you’re probably fine. - be careful with fragile items in checked bags!!! - gate checks are a thing too

 If you’re checking bags, please note that a lot of airlines (especially United) are infamous for wrecking more fragile items! Guitars have been known to get destroyed in transport, for example. They toss your bags around a lot, so if you are bringing something a little more on the fragile side, be sure to wrap it very well in clothes while inside your suitcase to cushion it.

 You can also see if you can get a gate check!! Gate checks are FREE checks that they’ll do for you at the airplane gate. These are not always available, but if the flight is full enough that there won’t be enough overhead space to store everyone’s bags, the flight attendants will start offering to check bags to your final destination for free! Don’t rely on this, but you can try to take a bag in through security and get it gate checked if you want to check your bag but don’t want to pay for it (don’t do this with a bigass suitcase, you won’t get it through security, but like a lil extra bag you don’t want to deal with). Also please be warned if you do a gate check you need to be Sure your flight doesn’t get cancelled or your destination changed. Your bag will continue on to the original final destination without you. Speaking from experiences, this Sucks.

 There are certain objects that are not allowed in any of your luggage, including firearms and fireworks, but there are also some items that can’t come in your carry-on bags, but you can check them (like knives, for example). You might want to take a moment before going to the airport to make sure you don’t have any of the illegal items, and if you have something like a knife, that you move it to your checked luggage (if you have any) or find another way to ship it home. If you try and bring a knife through security, they will take it away from you and not give it back. IF YOU ARE AN ANDROID PHONE USER, PLEASE DOUBLE CHECK THAT YOUR PHONE IS NOT BANNED FROM PLANE FLIGHTS. There are certain Galaxy models that were banned because they exploded in midair, so if you’ve got one of those, look it up and make sure you’re good to go!

 If you’ve never been through airport security, you will be asked to remove all electronics bigger than a cellphone and place them in separate bins, remove all metal from your person, and also take off any outer layers (hats, jackets, etc) and shoes. There will be folks telling you what to do, so never fear! Just be prepared!

 Don’t let the big crowds panic you - follow the signs overhead to find your gate. If you get lost or are unsure where to go, don’t be afraid to ask!!

 If your gate seems to have changed or you aren’t sure where your gate is, take a moment to look around. Every airport has big collections of screens scrolling through every flight and noting whether they are delayed, on time, and which gate they’re at. Check your boarding pass and look for the name of your destination and your flight number (also double check that the time of departure matches with the one on your pass) and it will tell you what gate you need to go to.

 Speaking of your boarding pass, it also has your boarding group on it. In the upper right corner, there should be a little box with a number on it (the number can be any number between 1 and 5). That is your boarding group. When boarding begins, people will be called to line up in their groups. Line up when you hear your boarding group number called! (You can also board after your number is called, for example, if you were group 1 and don’t feel like getting on right away, you can wait until group 5 is boarding, just make sure you get on that plane!! Also, you want to get on there ASAP if you have bags to store overhead. Space runs out quickly.)

 If you need help changing a flight (for example if your flight was so goddam delayed that you needed to try and get on an earlier flight to your destination) or getting information on your flight, you can always go to service desks. These are usually past security and in by the gates. You can follow signs to help you find them.

 Mobile passes are a lifesaver. Honestly, I highly advise getting the app of the airline you are flying with. If you’re flying United, get the United app!! And same for the others. The advantage of this is that your airline will send you a text the day before your flight so that you can pre-check in. Once you check in using that link, you can snag the boarding passes online and add them to your Apple Wallet (Apple Wallet is only for iPhone. I’m unsure of there’s an android equivalent). If you have the app, you can check in on there and just have the passes on your app (the app will store your passes, never fear) instead of dealing with apple wallet. The app will also send you updates for your flight, such as delays or gate changes. If you have your boarding pass on your phone, AND you’re traveling without checking a bag (as I like to do), you can immediately head to security as soon as you get to the airport and not have to deal with waiting in line and checking in at the front desk. It’s Awesome.

 All waiting areas have free outlets scattered around!! Unfortunately a lot of ones are usually already being used, but if you’re there on the early side you can hop on one and charge your phone or other devices for your flight. Please don’t count on these, though, and make sure everything is charged before you get to the airport.

 BEFORE getting on a plane, be sure to take a look at the screen by the gate and double check that the destination, time of departure, and FLIGHT NUMBER are the same as are on your boarding pass.

 YOU ARE ALLOWED TO BRING FOOD ON THE PLANE. Yes they provide a few snacks (they aren’t bad but I wouldn’t call them good and they’re very small) but if you want to bring that bag of Doritos or that sandwich you didn’t manage to finish while waiting? You can!!

 In terms of their food service - you are provided with a FREE soda and a few snacks. You totally can ask for more of the snacks, and when you finish your soda you’re allowed to ask for more still at no charge. Any of the other food and alcoholic drinks provided on the menu COST MONEY.

 Dress WARM. Even if it’s 90 degrees in the airport, planes are Freezing. I always dress in sweatpants, a long sleeve shirt and a fleece or hoodie.

 Aisle seats are the best. If you need to pee you don’t have to ask anyone to move, and you can sometimes finagle extra leg room. Middle seats are miserable (unless you’re with people you know you end up stuck between two strangers), and window seats are good as well BUT they are the coldest since you’re the closest to the outside. If you know you’re going to be in a window seat be Extra Sure to dress warm. (On most flights you cannot pick your own seat, so keep this in mind while buying tickets!)

 If it’s your first time on a plane, listen and watch the safety presentation! The flight attendants will give you important information on what to do in the event of a crash. If you couldn’t see or hear, don’t panic! There is a booklet in the pocket in front of you that details the same information and provides pictures.

 In the airplane, there ARE bathrooms, two in the front and two in the back. But I’d suggest going before you get on the plane so you don’t have to deal with that.

 There are many buttons and knobs over your head. One of these buttons calls over a flight attendant, use it if you have a question, would like a drink, or need help in any way. The other turns on a light for you if you want to read or something. The knob is a mini air blower. You twist it to turn it on and off. Mine’s always off because it’s COLD. There is also a light depicting a seatbelt. If that light is on, you can’t take your seat belt off or walk around the cabin!! So you can’t pee if it’s on.

 Airplanes also (supposedly) have outlets in between the seats. I have never in my life managed to find one of these outlets, but apparently they exist so…. But again! Don’t rely on these!! Make sure everything is charged before hand!!

There IS free WiFi on most planes - but be warned. It Sucks. Don’t count on it working, and bring other forms of entertainment. You also need to turn your phone on airplane mode when you get on the plane so be prepared for that and send off our last texts before you get on or before the plane starts to move.

 If you’re on an international or overnight flight, you will be provided with a blanket. But pillows are still on you. Honestly? I don’t even have a travel pillow myself but I keep meaning to purchase one, because plane seats KILL your neck. Any flight over 2 hours is gonna be rough. Also please note that you CAN lean your seat back on most planes, but you’ve got to be sure to wait until after takeoff to do so, since your seat must be upright for takeoff and landing.

Turbulence happens and it’s completely normal!! I’ve had turbulence on every flight I’ve ever taken. Some worse than others. In the worse ones the plane might drop a little in the air. It’s scary, but you are perfectly safe and this is perfectly normal. Most likely it won’t even get that bad.

Takeoff and touchdown are loud, fast and can be very scary for first time fliers. Unless you’re into that kinda stuff which all the more power to ya. Be ready for a very loud noise and a feeling like you’re on an upward rollercoaster for takeoff. If you get motion sick, I highly recommend taking something like Dramamine for a flight. Touchdown is fast, bumpy, and will likely pitch you forward against your seat belt a little, so be ready for that as well.

If you get motion sick, check the pocket in front of you. There’s usually a bag just in case if you need it.

[rametarin]

What the war on drugs can teach us about gun control

Consider that for the last 40 years, we’ve been in a culture as well as a physical war with illegal drug sales and narcotics sales. It was thought that the way to curb their illegitimate use and the harm that does, the only way to do so was A.) regulate B.) punish people SEVERELY when caught and convicted for use C.) Punish people SEVERELY!!! for distributing and dealing.

What happened?

The illegal narcotics market never stopped, didn’t even feel a dent. More people got jailed and died in prison. More people overdosed in the shadow of society because they wanted to use drugs and accepted the risks to use them illegally, even if it meant death.

The war on drugs did not shrink drug use. D.A.R.E had the opposite of the intended effect, or its effect was so negligible that all it did was slow the magnitude growth.

All the War on Drugs really did was make illegal narcotics less safe, increase business, increase the profitability of the venture, and serve as a lifeline for everybody from the Russian, to Mexican, to Chinese mobs.

Despite the lingering dangers of being caught using, the bankrupting effects of getting caught up in addiction and dependence for decades, the life threatening and destroying effects of addiction, the hollowing out of families fortunes, people still wind up using drugs.

People can still attain drugs.

Despite how many years you can get sent away to prison for their sale, distribution, possession and consumption, people still use drugs.

The War on Drugs didn’t work, because regulating by punishing law abiding people, making it harder for them to operate in a world designed as a playpen to handle those that abuse drugs, doesn’t work. The war on drugs didn’t work, because government cannot be everywhere and govern everyone in their personal lives. And it’s folly and draconian and authoritarian to try.

Now, a similar thing occurs when you talk about the War on Guns.

Those that wish to do harm with firearms, already do harm with firearms. Legal regulations do not stop it. Because the vast majority of people that commit crime with hot guns that aren’t even stolen from gun stores, get them illicitly. To where stronger LEGAL barriers in the way of when maniacs try to go through legal channels to get them for their rampages serve as near to no barrier at all.

We know this, because while some troubled white boy off his medication and raised in single mother houses get the most press for shooting people, the vast majority of shootings occur between black narco-gangs in urban areas. To where every year, if we get 400 people dead by rifles, that’s peanuts compared to the 8-9 thousand caused by handguns. And most of those are from illegal handguns. Between felons, whom by LAW, shouldn’t have access to firearms in the first place. So sayeth the government.

But again, the War on Drugs and contraband and the war on guns via gun control have been DISMAL failures. Law abiding citizens don’t kill people nor do they want to.

Suppressors? Machine guns? The criminal element don’t even use those. Not because they fear reprisal by the government, or multi-million dollar operations of illegal narcotics make it hard to get guys that can smith guns just for the narco-gangs. They don’t use them, because they’re otherwise worthless and impractical save as cover fire or aesthetics. It serves absolutely no one to make those illegal for any reasons. They save no lives by being illegal and a felony for a law abiding citizen to possess. And if a person conspiring to commit a crime pleases, they could illegally mod or get it illegally modded to be a full-auto, anyway.

They’re analog devices. That means they’re practically tinker toys compared to the sophistry of manufacturing narcotics. Machine guns being illegal helps absolutely nobody be safe or secure from anything, whatsoever. The illusion that them being illegal will somehow protect you is not too different from the illusion putting chips in automobiles so nobody can ever go over 80 miles an hour on national roads ever again will somehow prevent fatal crashes.

It might feel good. That thin veneer of security and satisfaction as you support the passing of, “common sense reform” this, and “reasonable gun control” that. But the truth is, if you’re in favor of gun control, then you’re probably just the leftist equivalent of the Law&Order republicans that thought harsher criminal sentencing and steeper penalties for trafficing and dealing would clean out the gene pool of “certain problemed communities.” And the problem would fix itself within 20 years, as people were removed from the conversation and prevented from having kids.

But banning ‘armor piercing’ rounds does nothing. Banning bump stocks does nothing. Banning butt stocks does nothing. Banning rifles over a certain size does nothing. Banning shotguns under a certain size does nothing. Banning magazine and clips of certain ammo sizes, does nothing. Banning colors, banning materials, banning styles, banning aesthetics, does nothing.

Because you’re trying to whittle whittle whittle until you can get around that constitutional right that says an individual over the age of 21 shall be permitted legal right to a firearm, and the state cannot infringe upon it. That’s ultimately what it boils down to.

People can defend their property, people can defend their family, people can defend their community, people can defend their country, with legal access to open and concealed carry firearms. What can you do with legal narcotics? Get high. The absolute necessity of being able to use firearms outweighs the risks of an individual and the harm they could do with those firearms.

If you so much as entertain the idea that the way to win the war on drugs is to end the war on selling and distribution and instead go to the psychological roots of why people abuse and how to get them clean in the first place, then you cannot philosophically, logically, morally, support gun control laws. Because the same issues that drive a person into a self-destructive spiral of narcotics abuse are often the same issues that drive people to shooting rampages.

Even that nonsense about possession of firearms contributing to murders from domestic fights is just malarky designed to allow the government to constitutionally neuter private individuals if their estranged and ex-wives decide to get revenge on their beau by declaring them a danger.

We don’t need national serial registries owned by the government, we don’t need bans on machine guns, ammunition types, barrel lengths, or styles.

Outside a person being deemed incompetent in their mental state as determined by their psychologists and psychiatrists, and the mental health instituitions being able to privately post your mental health information for relevant bureaus or businesses that deal in things like firearms or automobiles, there’s absolutely no reason why firearms should be illegal for anybody but felons. And it is way too easy to get technically ruined by even simple firearms federal laws.

[cksmart-world]

The Completely Unnecessary News Analysis

by Christopher Smart

March 19, 2019

Genocide & the End of Hamburgers

This is perhaps the most shocking news of the week — and that's saying something: We could be looking at the end of America as we know it and it has nothing to do with Netflix. Utah Congressman Rob Bishop has warned that the end of the hamburger — the sandwich that built America — is imminent, thanks to some rabid left-wing crazies who are taking control of the House of Representatives. That's right, he's talking about the Green New Deal. “[T]he ideas behind the New Green Deal are tantamount to genocide,” he said. Rob Bishop is among the oft forgotten and trod-upon lily-white minority that inhabits lands that eastern elites often dismiss. “I'm an ethnic,” Bishop said. “I'm a Westerner.” How the Green New Deal would kill off hamburgers and people inhabiting the West remains a little fuzzy. But the hideous proposal calls for such things as health care for all, access to higher ed, replacing aging roads and bridges and a guaranteed living wage. Word is it would replace beef cattle with windmills and Sage Grouse. Burger King would have to change its name. Sage Grouse King? It's so shocking that Bishop is calling on Speaker Nancy Pelosi to conduct a thorough investigation of the Green New Deal: “With American safety and prosperity on the line, it's the very least the speaker can do,” he declared. Damn straight. Pass the Freedom Fries.

Happy Days — Lawmakers in Recess

For many Utahns this is the best time of year as the annual session of the State Legislature — a gut-churning 45 days — comes crashing to an end. As usual, our righteous legislators took on abortion and pumped up gun rights. They considered a new tax on food to raise much needed revenue as they wondered how to dispose of a $1billion surplus. They performed major surgery on citizen initiatives that legalized medical marijuana and expanded Medicaid and promised a lobotomy next year on a third initiative aimed at ending gerrymandering. The teetotalers compromised on a bill that would have boosted the alcohol content of beer from 3.2 to 4.8 percent: wait for it — 4.0 beer. WTF. Not least, lawmakers manipulated a proposal that would have banned conversion therapy that proponents claim saves gay people from their sinful ways — if it doesn't kill them. The list goes on, but Wilson and the band can't take anymore, fearing nightmares and flashbacks from bad acid trips and past legislative sessions. We'd go into the Machiavellian Inland Port scheme, but why waste time when the sun is out and lawmakers have been driven back under their rocks. So grab your skateboard and beer cooler and head for the park — but don't forget the sunscreen or your medical marijuana.

It's Not Your Fault, Mr. President

Headlines screaming “Lee and Romney Defy President” thunder across the land, shaking the bedrock of the Grand Old Party of Trump. Normally, when a member of Congress doesn't line up behind a president, it's not such a big deal. But that was BT — Before Trump. Republicans in Congress know that going against the BUM (Big Unhinged Monster) could land them with Mia Love — condemned to wander the political wilderness, like Moses without goats. The history-making vote to undo Trump's border Wall emergency was seen by some pundits as the slaves telling Pharaoh to kiss off. Others thought it might finally be their acknowledgement of Trump's parallel universe. Wishful thinking. In a speech on the floor of the Senate, the bard, Mike Lee, explained his vote: He wasn't telling Trump to kiss off, at all, it's just that he had to vote against the law that gave chief executives too much power. “It's not your fault that it's a bad law, Mr. President,” Lee proclaimed. Only time will tell if this bit of CYA will save Lee's bacon. Wrapping yourself in the shroud of the Constitution goes only so far with an agnostic ruler. Perhaps Lee should pray that it rains frogs and the Red Sea parts.

Good Guys With AR-15s

Following the massacre at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern pledged to change gun laws that permit semi-automatic weapons, like the AR-15. What a crazy idea. After mass shootings in the U.S., Republicans have said that reviewing gun laws following such tragedies is not a good idea because important decisions should not be made when people are thinking about other people who have just been shot to death. It clouds the judgement. In 1996, Australia toughened gun laws after a spate of mass shootings: A person must have a license to possess or use a firearm. License holders must demonstrate a "genuine reason" (which does not include self-defense) for obtaining a firearm license. All firearms must be registered by serial number. Strangely enough, the Australian Institute of Criminology found that gun deaths, including suicides, went down sharply. This is something many people in this country are trying to avoid because we don't want to lose our freedom. Last year, there were some 40,000 gun deaths in the U.S. Fortunately, we have the 2nd Amendment or even more people would have been killed. Too bad those poor muslims in New Zealand didn't carry their AR-15s to prayer. Then, the massacre would never have happened. Right.

News flash: Salt Lake City Mayor Jackie (I'm rebuilding the city brick-by-brick) Biskupski will not — repeat, will not — run for reelection. The surprising news comes soon after former state senator and all around bon vivant Jim Dabakis tossed his 10-gallon hat through the window at City Hall, proclaiming he will be the next mayor. Some Salt Lakers love the mercurial Dabakis for poking Republican state legislators in the eye. And although Dabakis would be a lot more fun than Mayor Frownyface, critics fear he may lack even her meager managerial skills. On the other hand, it is the age of Trump and such skills are no longer required. But can he tweet?

OK, that's it for another week here at Smart Bomb, where the staff keeps track of every move Beto O'Rourke makes so that you and the entire Washington press corps don't have to. Wilson, will you and the band take us out with a little something for the wunderkind: So you want to be a rock and roll star, then listen now, to what I say / Just get an electric guitar and take some time and learn how to play / And in a week or two if you make the charts the girls'll tear you apart... The money, the game, the public acclaim — Don't forget what you are, you're a rock 'n' roll star...