Michael Hopcroft

I actually unsubscribed from the newsletter of wargame publisher Avalanche Press today when it features, for the second week in a row,, prominently displayed images of the Lee statue on Charlottesville that someone literally died over. They were clearly making a statement, that they wanted it to stay up and that as far as they could tell "wargamer" automatically equals "conservative". The most dedicated wargamer I know, who specializes in the American Civil War, is an African-American liberal and one of the most generous people I have ever met in my life. The stereotype rings false.
 
I told Avalanche in no uncertain terms how they had lost my business. Wargamer and Conservative do not imply one another in the least.

I actually unsubscribed from the newsletter of wargame publisher Avalanche Press today when it features, for the second week in a row,, prominently displayed images of the Lee statue on Charlottesville that someone literally died over. They were clearly making a statement, that they wanted it to stay up and that as far as they could tell "wargamer" automatically equals "conservative". The most dedicated wargamer I know, who specializes in the American Civil War, is an African-American liberal and one of the most generous people I have ever met in my life. The stereotype rings false.
 
I told Avalanche in no uncertain terms how they had lost my business. Wargamer and Conservative do not imply one another in the least.

I actually unsubscribed from the newsletter of wargame publisher Avalanche Press today when it features, for the second week in a row,, prominently displayed images of the Lee statue on Charlottesville that someone literally died over. They were clearly making a statement, that they wanted it to stay up and that as far as they could tell "wargamer" automatically equals "conservative". The most dedicated wargamer I know, who specializes in the American Civil War, is an African-American liberal and one of the most generous people I have ever met in my life. The stereotype rings false.
 
I told Avalanche in no uncertain terms how they had lost my business. Wargamer and Conservative do not imply one another in the least.

I hate "the other side does things that are just as bad" justifications. If there was ever a situation of, "two wrongs don't make a right," this is it. Regardless of whether a minority of racists are deliberately violent, or whether a minority of those who oppose them are equally violent, racism is a philosophical boil on the butt of the human condition, end of story.

Well, you know how I feel about the Alt-Right. I really do see a lot of "Good against Evil" in this contest. We now know what the Nazis are capable of and who they are appealing to.
 
This cartoon scene immediately comes to mind. The context is even similar 
 

But enough about GURPS....

In the NFL Preseason, the controversy over not standing at attention during the National Anthem as a form of protest has intensified after recent events. I'll leave it to someone else to fill in all the details.
 
My thought on the subject is probably going to be rather controversial, which is that the anthem is not an essential part of sporting events. I don't go to a Timbers match to show I love my country. I go to a Timbers match (when I can get tickets, which are never easy to come by) because I love soccer. Although I get goosebumps at the start of every season when the Timbers Army sings the anthem, for me that is not the most essential part of the experience. More significantly, I do not understand how outward shows of patriotism in which everyone is expected to join really shows off anything.
 
Love of country is like love of God. It is an internal process. If you believe your outright show of religious fervor is going to win you points with God, you're missing the point. Patriotism is the same. I do not have to prove to anyone that I love my country, and more significantly that I love its people. When you make a massive effort to "show" your Patriotism, yet your behavior does not match the values it represents, then what good is your exhibit? Who do you think you're going to impress?
 
That's why I approve of the NFL players taking a knee if that is what they see fit to do. They seem to me no less patriotic, but they also don't believe it's either one-way or unconditional. If the people in charge of the event tells me the flag represents something it does not, and that something is in defiance of my own core values, I would be strongly tempted to sit down.

In the NFL Preseason, the controversy over not standing at attention during the National Anthem as a form of protest has intensified after recent events. I'll leave it to someone else to fill in all the details.
 
My thought on the subject is probably going to be rather controversial, which is that the anthem is not an essential part of sporting events. I don't go to a Timbers match to show I love my country. I go to a Timbers match (when I can get tickets, which are never easy to come by) because I love soccer. Although I get goosebumps at the start of every season when the Timbers Army sings the anthem, for me that is not the most essential part of the experience. More significantly, I do not understand how outward shows of patriotism in which everyone is expected to join really shows off anything.
 
Love of country is like love of God. It is an internal process. If you believe your outright show of religious fervor is going to win you points with God, you're missing the point. Patriotism is the same. I do not have to prove to anyone that I love my country, and more significantly that I love its people. When you make a massive effort to "show" your Patriotism, yet your behavior does not match the values it represents, then what good is your exhibit? Who do you think you're going to impress?
 
That's why I approve of the NFL players taking a knee if that is what they see fit to do. They seem to me no less patriotic, but they also don't believe it's either one-way or unconditional. If the people in charge of the event tells me the flag represents something it does not, and that something is in defiance of my own core values, I would be strongly tempted to sit down.

I don't know you, but it seems you're a Slayers fan. I approve.

You cannot "peacefully protest" in favor of a racist agenda. Period. Your cause would be violent by definition. There is no such thing as a peaceful Nazi!

Perhaps my best pickup from Westercon -- a local audio drama group's production of perhaps the greatest radioplay ever written, and one of the few that survivies to this day -- Archibald Macliesh's The Fall of the City. It was originally written and produced in 1937, at the peak of power of Hitler, Mussolini and Stalin. It was originally produced for CBS by a workshop company that included Orson Welles and Burgess Meredith. The technique of a simulatyed news broadcast would later be used by Welles in his adaptation of War of the Worlds the next year.
 
The play (which I won't link to, because the version I bought isn't online) concerns a city that is being approached by a "Conqueror" and how the populace reacts to the prospect of a coming conquest. It's a divers and often contradictory set of responses. Messengers send terrifying reports. Appeals to non-violence are embraced and condemned. Appeals to religious fervor are counteracted with an appeal to take up arms -- which proves to be pointless. In the end the city embraces the Conqueror, and only the reporter sees that the populace has manufactured their own opressor.
 
As I mentioned, the play was originally produced in 1937. It was a perilous time, when there was a real chance that American democracy would fail in the face of dictatorship's appeal. Almost eighty years later, the theme is just as resonant as it was then -- if not more so.
 
You can buy the CD here. It is one of the best $10 I've spent all year.

It's fitting that this story be mentioned on a website with "Hero" in the title. In fact I couldn't resist.
 
http://www.cnn.com/2017/06/29/us/veteran-beaten-death-trnd/index.html

Yeah, if you're there, then the Sun and stars have the same altitude all day/all night. If you're not there, you can figure out which way to go, and how far off you are, with a sextant and a bit of math.

And on Facebook I ran into posters decrying the removal of one such statue is a demonstration, as if it was one of the worst things that could possibly happen. This from people who openly cheered when the statues of Saddam Hussein that were everywhere in Baghdad were taken down by jubilant mobs.
 
I also frequently see commenters on Facebook claiming that nobody is really opposed to Trump and that the "Antifa" demonstrators and movement were creations of George Soros' money. Since the opposite of Anti remains Pro, I can't help but think of these people as "Profa"
 
I get sickened by these comments very quickly. Why would anyone be pro-fascist? Didn't we have a war about this? And didn't the Fascists lose and lose big?
 
This poses a serious question for me. I am for the most part powerless to influence events. If this country continues the path it is on, there isn't a lot I personally can do about it. After the events of last weekend, that really bothers me. I can't really do anything that would make much of a direct impact as an individual voter in a blue state that would not back the President anyway. Nothing I say or write is likely to have much of an impact. I really wish it would. But it won't. I feel terrible about that.

Lesson learned: defraud the poor and you're a great businessman, but defraud the rich and you're a criminal.

Sometimes there is a place for anger. Historical perspective is all well and good, and certainly informs us, but in times like this we should be angry. Indeed, it is imperative that we be angry when our nature as a nation is under attack.
 
I did something today I have not done in decades. I wrote a letter to the President. He won't read it -- it's possible that nobody at all will read it -- but I had to get it out. He wimped out yesterday, while at the same time singing his own praises as if the point of the exercise was to make himself look good. I actually watched that speech, and my gall rose higher and higher with every word. I had the strong desire to rake him over the coals for it, so I did.
 
I chose my words carefully, but I did not mince words either.
 
Even his own party is calling him out over that speech.
 
There is a time for anger. There is a time for outrage. This is that time.

This might sound weird, but I wanted to thank you all for carrying on a rational, respectful discussion. In the face of what's happening in Charlottesville right now, it gives me hope for the future to see people of different backgrounds and opinions trying to understand each other instead of resorting to yelling, name-calling, and threats.
 
I don't know why, but these events have hit me harder than I expected. For really the first time, I've begun to despair for the future of my country, and the world my kids are going to have to grow up in. It's been hard for me to process. I've begun to succumb to cynicism about the fate of the United States and the world.
 
So thank you for reminding me that there are still grown-ups out there who are genuinely interested in making the world a better place than it is today.

Last I heard there were 35 injured and 3 dead. A hideous tragedy for America. This is what intolerance and hatred leads to.

I don't view is as "homogenization" Is America homogeneous? No. Homogeneity implies things like a single religion, a single language, and a single national identity. America has none of these things. And you know what? None of these things are at all desirable. Can you imagine how boring life would be if everyone ate, wore,read, and viewed the same things? If everybody prayed the same way to the same concept of God? If deviance from those "national ideals" was swiftly and ruthlessly punished.
 
If you would like a country like that, welcome to Pyongyang.

Take a look at the Australian band Icehouse - very good synth-pop from that period, went a little harder with some of their later albums.

One of Oregon's US Senators, Jeff Merkely, made a Facebook post (probably written by a staff member -- most politicians are smart enough to vet their tweets and Facebook posts) deriding how enforcement of the Voting Rights Act is being gutted. This of course led to complaints about "illegals voting" and demands that the voting rolls be purged.
 
My personal take on this is like my personal take on justice. I do not object to a few voters getting in who shouldn't be there if that means ten voters who should be voting are not "purged". Maybe it;'s the Oregonian in me, but I very much oppose a system where it is presumed you are an ineligible voter unless you can somehow prove otherwise. It's like the judicial system, in which I am willing to liver with seemingly appalling verdicts (the first OJ trial, the Bundys in Malheur County) because I would much rather release a guilty person than condemn an innocent one.
 
What kind of civics are they teaching these days if voter suppression is viewed as virtuous, or an accused person is guilty until so proven?

"Shaggy" Rogers, International Man of Mystery

Q: I'm a brand-new Champions player. I wonder what SPD does?
 
A. I thought using children as begging props was something only the poor do.