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I still say Disney should buy DC Comics from ATT/Warner, lay out a strategy to merge the two universes through a long crossover event culminating in a relaunch of both universes as a single unified comic book universe. You'd get 20-30 years of new stories and also address the aging copyright issue since you could intro new elements for old characters. And of course the movies that came out of it would be outstanding. But what do I know, I'm just a lifelong comic book fan with a creative writing degree. 🙃

I think the psychosis of the mass shooter includes a desire to be effective in killing as many people as possible. To the extent you remove the most effective means(assault weapons with extended magazines) from the equation, you reduce not only the number of fatalities per incident but also the incidence rate. It has been noted that there was a dropoff in mass shooting incidents during the period of the ban on assault weapons and extended magazines, and a pronounced uptick since the ban expired. Handguns are substantially less effective at inflicting fatal injuries compared to rifle bullets. They're also less accurate outside short ranges, tend to have smaller magazine capacities and it's easier for police to intervene more swiftly without fear of being outgunned. Mental health is certainly a factor, and red flag laws might help to further reduce access to the lethal tools used to perpetrate such massacres. Cracking down on extremist groups and the various social media and political movements empowering such extremism would help as well. I would also point out that the acquisition of guns by extralegal means is not some impossible-to-address issue. Gun thefts can be reduced(hell, eventually, with smart guns, maybe even basically eliminated) and illegal gun sales cracked down upon.

4 bucks an issue is a bit of a barrier. Prices in 1990 were a buck an issue, inflation adjusted would be about 2 bucks. So the relative prices increased. So now the same budget buys half as many comics. And a kid with 10 bucks to spend a week could buy maybe 2 titles. In the old days, 10 titles. If they dropped the price to 2 bucks an issue and put them all over the place, they might sell better. But then profits would dip in the short term. Can't have that. Instead they will just fritter away their audience.

Both Marvel and DC have around 35-50 active titles published per month, plus about 10-20 "limited series" published per year. Collecting all of them combined would cost around 4-500 bucks a month. Back in the 1960s I think Marvel published 10-20 titles a month. That seems like the de minimis variety necessary to keep it viable. If they shrank down to 25 books each, dropped the prices to 3 bucks and tried to sell them more widely, they might be able to keep things going longer. But I think comic book specialty shops are headed for another crunch.

I think, in the United States, a group of people who have mostly been on the losing side in every battle of the culture wars of the past 50-60 years are digging their heels in, alarmed by the ongoing demographic changes in the nation, and prepping for something equivalent to a last stand. I generally agree that human existence is mostly improving, but I don't think we live in the best of all possible worlds by any stretch, and there are some huge challenges ahead of us(heading off a potential extinction level event/crisis wrt climate change, e.g.).

Not the worst idea. I'm not sure having an effective monopoly on superhero comics is that big of a deal, antitrust-wise. And we could finally see a JLA/Avengers movie, someday.

Just merge Marvel and DC. You will get a surge in buying that could last a decade or so. Plus the opportunity to tell a bunch of fresh stories due to new combinations of characters, you wouldn't feel bound to keep retelling old stories, etc.

Ultraviolet, I believe got 10%. I enjoyed the film. Good popcorn flick.

The Onion‏Verified account @TheOnion Follow Follow @TheOnion More Tucker Carlson Insists Every White Supremacist In America Could Fit In Stadium But That Tickets To TuckerCon Won’t Last https://trib.al/OtMRiOD 2:39 PM - 7 Aug 2019 1,157 Retweets 5,138 Like

We have a robust early warning system that warns us of missile launches and bombers en route. We have a robust "triad of deterrence" consisting of land based missiles in hardened silos, strategic bombers and hard to detect ballistic missile submarines operating in the oceans. Mutually Assured Destruction was a highly effective deterrent system. "No First Use" <> "No use". It just means no pre-emptive nuclear attacks.

"Faith without works is dead."

Generally speaking, so does whoever fires first.

Dems gunning for Sen. Susan "Deeply Concerned and Disappointed" Collins next year. This is a pretty good opening salvo:

Well, an Obama who can counterpunch effectively. A positive vision is great, but we also need a real fighter in there.

A black female 007 getting the Black Sidekick Treatment would be infinitely worse. We know that Craig is ready to move on, so either Lynch takes over the franchise, or they recast James Bond and come up with some gobbledygook about how "James Bond" is now a perennial "cover ID" for the 007 agent.

He was apparently an enormous PITA to work with by the time Blade Trinity rolled around. And Mahershala Ali isn't exactly a step down.

3,737 people are talking about this

Horrific.

Basically, traditional liberal Democrats and newfangled progressive Democrats are both Social Democrats, using state intervention to offset the ill effects of market capitalism and providing a safety net for all citizens. They're not really out to seize control of private corporations but instead to regulate and reform them. So calling Democratic policies "socialist" is just hyperbolic silliness. We're just trying to continue doing what FDR started, what LBJ continued, and what Obama revived. But social democracy does require a robust tax base, which is really what upsets conservatives.

I don't think any of the 26 Democratic presidential candidates, nor the 4 members of the "Squad"(the 4 freshmen congresswomen), have actually advocated workers' ownership of the means of production, so none of them are really socialists. What they are, more generally, are Social Democrats, in the vein of FDR and LBJ, who both created and expanded the so-called welfare state. Social Democrats see a role for government in offsetting the ill effects of capitalism--exploitation of labor, corruption, concentration of wealth, environmental pollution etc.--and providing a safety net for all citizens while distributing the benefits of prosperity more evenly throughout society.

Maybe they can give Hulk a cameo in that one.

The "debate" over whether the President is racist is now starting to resemble the "debate" over whether manmade climate change is real.

It's a real challenge. The best hope is for a relatively rare blowout win in the presidential race, by 8+ points, because that would have long coattails for the Democrats.

It's not just about the verbal sparring. It's about the body language. She will dominate him on the stage, and the audience watching will see it.