I actually still remember this movie when it first came out! Have you seen it recently? Does it hold up, or is it even cornier than it probably seems by today’s standards?

It may be more my own personal demons than a true reflection of current events, but it doesn’t even feel that funny to me anymore. Even with comedians I used to enjoy like Stephen Colbert, I’m not laughing anymore, it’s just nodding in agreement or worse, wincing in recognition and reflection.

It’s a war where you hope everyone loses!

From all the news I’ve read in the past year or so, I’m cynical enough to believe that. (I know there’s been corruption, graft, other ethical and legal breaches for far longer than a year but it all seems to have spiked since Tr*UghICan’t took office.) The governing mentality of everyone in his administration seems…

1) I care

It just occurred to me: going forward, we may hear stories about a lot of stuff getting downgraded from “Top Secret” for no apparent legitimate reason, just so Jared and the rest of the flunkies can get their grubby little hands on it.

So far, the short answer seems to be “no.” :(

ugh. though big chunks of MN are also lily-white, i’m at least grateful i live in Minneapolis, where it’s not uncommon for me to hear two different conversations in two different non-English languages simultaneously while riding the bus. i mean don’t get me wrong, some of my best friends are white ;) but still...

Dismaying but not at all surprising.

the 7th district in Wisconsin, which is largely rural and 96% white

I probably don’t need to say it, but yeah: interpreting The Matrix as a metaphor, or allegory, regarding “society’s rules [rather] than real physical rules” is definitely more mature and appropriate than more literal questions like “Are we actually in The Matrix already? How can we know for sure?”

I always saw it...

I mean, we don’t even need new technologies though; the atomic/nuclear bomb is plenty scary. That, and global warming/climate change, is all we need to be more than a little nervous about humanity’s future.

Well, the obvious point of the movie was: Neo was special because he was better than anyone else at transgressing the “rules” of the Matrix. You can’t stop bullets in midair just by holding your hand out, but Neo could! The philosophy in the movie was explicitly: if you know you’re in a simulation, you have the…

Agreed on all counts.

I actually agree w/ “my bot friend” here, though. First there were a lot of stories confirming Russian attempts to hack voter rolls, etc. - there was evidence they were trying to get in. Then there’s this nbc.com story, where they found evidence that Russians were successful at getting in. BUT still no proof that…

No, I get what you’re saying; honestly that, and gerrymandering, are more important to me than any Russian hacking here - all credible sources agree there’s no proof (yet) of Russians successfully tampering w/ anything.

I think the problem is more that too many Democrats can’t recognize competence. For presidential candidates especially, a lot of those strategists were shit but got paid very handsomely. Remember Gore? Kerry? Even Clinton’s strategists either sucked, or she sucked at taking their advice.

I don’t think I’ll ever understand your tendency to leap to the conclusion that “he/she/it’s” a bot. The world is full of living, breathing people who believe stupid shit, who argue in bad faith, and who are perfectly willing to waste your time - for any reason, or no reason at all - and you know it. I think bots…

I couldn’t find anything on msnbc.com either, but found some other sources. This is my reply to Rooo: