DShomshak

Indeed, the CU as a whole has scads of alien characters: all the ones in Champions Beyond, all the Lemurians -- and I'd include the Empyreans as well. But they're largely shuffled off into their own subsettings, apparently not interacting much with the rest of the CU. (Though two Lemurians make it into CV3.)
 
But you could argue that Skarn and Tyrannon aren't really "core characters" for the CU, either. I mean, they're literally in different planes of existence. Either they invade Earth, or PCs have to come to them. They also fill the same story role. So why put both of them in CV but not, say, Xarriel, who is also a mad tyrant with vast powers and nigh limitless resources who might invade Earth? I don't know, other than I wrote up a bunch of setting material for Skarn and Tyrannon and got it published in The Mystic World. So Steve had it all ready to cut and paste into CV1; didn't have anything comparable for Xarriel. Too bad. The CU can use a Darkseid expy as well as a Dormammu expy.
 
PS: Yes, I counted. Another category: Created By Me: 30 characters. 10%. And I'm not counting characters I rewrote, such as Tyrannon or Edouard and Anais Vandaleur.
 
Dean Shomshak

When the SCOTUS overturned Roe v Wade six months ago, anti-abortion forces seemed to have won. No federal protection for abortion, trigger laws taking effect in many states, and Republican legislatures ready to pass additional bans.
 
But now? Thie situation is far less clear. The fight will surely be long and fierce, but abortion rights advocates have found strategies and won some victories... sometimes using the very words conservatives placed into state constitutions.
 
The Unexpected Ways the Left is Winning in the Abortion Fight - The New York Times (nytimes.com)
 
Dean Shomshak

When the SCOTUS overturned Roe v Wade six months ago, anti-abortion forces seemed to have won. No federal protection for abortion, trigger laws taking effect in many states, and Republican legislatures ready to pass additional bans.
 
But now? Thie situation is far less clear. The fight will surely be long and fierce, but abortion rights advocates have found strategies and won some victories... sometimes using the very words conservatives placed into state constitutions.
 
The Unexpected Ways the Left is Winning in the Abortion Fight - The New York Times (nytimes.com)
 
Dean Shomshak

Yep, we've been here before. Today's episode of Fresh Air interviews the author of a book about American history 1917-1921 -- the country's participation in WW1 and shortly thereafter -- when the US went beyond flirting with Fascism to some pretty serious foreplay. The Federal government shutting down newspapers and magazines for unapproved political views. Thousands of people jailed for speaking against the US joining the war. A government-chartered vigilante society. A scheme for mass deportation of immigrants. Pogroms against Black people and organized labor. So much that the Trunmp administration tried, the Wilson administration actually did. But it's also been swept under the carpet. No need to trouble the Land of the Free with history of a successful campaign of state repression.
 
Woodrow Wilson led the U.S. into WWI. He also waged war on democracy at home : NPR
 
Everything old is new again.
 
Dean Shomshak

Yep, we've been here before. Today's episode of Fresh Air interviews the author of a book about American history 1917-1921 -- the country's participation in WW1 and shortly thereafter -- when the US went beyond flirting with Fascism to some pretty serious foreplay. The Federal government shutting down newspapers and magazines for unapproved political views. Thousands of people jailed for speaking against the US joining the war. A government-chartered vigilante society. A scheme for mass deportation of immigrants. Pogroms against Black people and organized labor. So much that the Trunmp administration tried, the Wilson administration actually did. But it's also been swept under the carpet. No need to trouble the Land of the Free with history of a successful campaign of state repression.
 
Woodrow Wilson led the U.S. into WWI. He also waged war on democracy at home : NPR
 
Everything old is new again.
 
Dean Shomshak

Interesting. I have to say, I have myself noticed a relative dearth of robots (including androids), cyborgs, and aliens in the ranks of both CU villains and heroes, compared to the previous incarnation of the CU through Fourth Edition. I believe I've identified certain contributory, but not exclusive factors influencing that discrepancy.
 
On the cyborg front, the current CU lacks any official scientific genius with that particular specialty, comparable to Dr. Samuel Levy, his proteges Heinous and Despite (see more about them from Classic Enemies and 4E VIPER), and Doc Digital  from High Tech Enemies for 4E. ARGENT has demonstrated impressive expertise with cybernetics and bionics, and could be further exploited to create more such supers. Champions Online built up a minor background character from the history of Justiciar (a cyborg superhero in 5E Champions of the North) called Cyberlord, who used to provide bionic augmentation for pay, but was repurposed as a full-on cyborg mastermind villain.
 
In regards to aliens, the "super" potential of the CU was greatly diminished by basing the Milky Way on the version used in the Star HERO line, which has almost no races with physical superpowers, although a number of them have "psionic" abilities. There's no one official comparable to Kryptonians or Saiyans. There is an out, though, in that many of these races can develop powers through the same methods that you identify for human supers. It's just that they usually develop them at a lower average power level, less frequently, and/or over a narrower range of abilities, than humans do, thus maintaining the usual comic-book conceit that our supers are our equalizer against superior alien tech.
 
Champions Beyond helps address that gap, identifying more than four dozen alien supers (mostly villains, but not all). Around half of them have full character sheets, while the rest are named and briefly described. For my part, I've sometimes repurposed alien supers from previous editions of Champions by adapting them to current continuity. For example, I made Myrmidon from the 4E Champions of the North source book a Malvan (his look was right, and his history didn't require a lot of rejiggering); while I redefined the winged alien hero Quasar from To Serve and Protect as a Thrinu, a slave of Firewing whom the Malvan had augmented with light powers so he could fight in the arena.
 
All that being said, I don't think we can discount the possibility of Steve Long, during his time as Hero's Line Developer, simply not having as much interest in those types of characters as in others.

https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2022/12/13/23505459/supreme-court-birth-control-contraception-constitution-matthew-kacsmaryk-deanda-becerra
 
Yup. They're going after Birth Control Access. My apology to the writer of The HandMaid's Tale. I thought it was far fetched.. boy was I wrong.

I wondered which origin types are particularly popular for the Champions Universe, and what types of Powers go with them the most.
 
Why? Because
1) It might point to character concepts that are cool but have been neglected; and
2) I’m a deranged nerd.
 
So this has been my spare-time project for the last week.
 
The whole CU is very large, but not all of it is equally propmoted. So I’m restricting the domain of analysis to the three volumes of Champions Villains. 292 characters total, not counting “agent” types such as Doctor Destroyer’s robots or Necrull’s Necrullticians. Individual characters only!
 
Here are the categories I devised when I did this analysis for my own Champions settings:
 
* SUPERNATURAL BEINGS are innately magical creatures: demons, dimensional conquerors, undead, etc. Examples: Bloodrage, Takofanes, Tyrannon. Also people with supernatural ancestry, such as Frag.
 
* MUTANTS were born with super-powers in their genes. I also include MUTATES, whose origin stories specifically say that their powers are the result of genetic manipulation (such as anyone given powers by Teleios). Examples: Menton, Hurricane, King Cobra.
 
* ROBOTS AND CONSTRUCTS are artificial beings. They have powers because somebody else built them that way. Robots are of course the result of tech; but golems and similar magically-created artificial beings fit in this category as well. Examples: Mechanon (duh), Syzygy.
 
* ENCHANTED characters were given powers by magic: a curse, a spell cast upon them, a magic potion, or the like. Examples: The Basilisk, Black Fang, Harpy.
 
* WEIRD SCIENCE covers all those lab accidents, exposures to industrial waste or atomic radiation, and empowerment processes that are scientific but aren’t specifically called out as exclusively based on gene-splicing. (Though some origin stories are not clear on this point.) Examples: Durak, Bulldozer, everyone in Project Sunburst, Sunspot.
 
 
* CYBORGS started out as normal people but gained powers by having bits added to them. Usually techm but I extend the concept to magical additions (such as a magical gem permanently affixed to the character’s body) or other surgical modification. Examples: Interface, Fiacho, Cairngorm, Howler.
 
* SORCERER characters cast spells. Examples: Doctor Yin Wu, Demonologist, Talisman.
 
* INVENTOR characters build gdgets (including, but not limited to, powered armor) or otherwise do things using SCIENCE! It’s implied that they can build new tech, even if they don’t have VPPs — they aren’t limited to just one device or suite of gadgets. Examples: Doctor Destroyer, Teleios, Utility, Binder, Doctor Philippe Moreau.
 
* TRAINING: If a character’s powers come down to extraordinary skills that aren’t super-tech or sorcery, they go here. Mostly martial artists, but there might be others such as a super-thief with incredible skills but uses mundane tech, Examples: Scorpia, Green Dragon, the Cahokian.
 
* WEAPON: The character’s powers derive from a device that could be taken away, whether it’s tech, magic, or undefined. Moreover, the character lacks the skills to replace or alter the device easily. Examples: the Warlord (he didn’t build his own battlesuit), the Crowns of Krim, Lazer.
 
* MASTERMINDS would be powerful just from the people and resources they command, even if they didn’t have any other source of power. Example: Franklin Stone and Doctor Philippe Moreau are “pure” Masterminds; Doctor Destroyer, King Cobra, and the Warlord have extensive organizations in addition to their personal powers; Baron Nihil and Tyrannon rule entire populations; and the Demonologist can Summon whatever demons he wants, while the Engineer creates robots at will.
 
* ALIENS aren’t human, but aren’t specifically supernatural. Extraterrestrials such as Herculan and Firewing go here; but so does Leviathan (a Lemurian) and Ape-X (uplifted gorilla). This is often a “meta-origin,” worth noting even if not being human is not specifically the source of powers (as Herculan was artificially given powers that are not natural to his species, the Fassai).
 
* OTHER is anything so rare and weird that it doesn’t justify creating a new category, or the source of the character’s powers simply is not known. Example: Timelapse, Glacier.
 
* COMPLEX: Characters can fit within multiple categories, as the dimension lord Skarn is both a supernatural being and a sorcerer, or Cheshire Cat is both a highly trained martial artist and gained teleportation powers through weird science. But if a character fits in three or more categories, I just call it “Complex.” Example: Josiah Brimstone has one set of powers as a sorcerer, another set from the demon that’s fused to him, and a third set from magical devices. OTOH I make exceptions for Masterminds and Aliens, as these tend to be meta-origins — and I try to limit assigning categories based on what’s really important to a character. Just packing a gun or minor gadget, for instance, isn’t enough to place a character as using a Weapon.
 
Placing characters in origin categories can be iffy. Like, I don’t assign every character with martial arts on the character sheet to the Training category: Often its just an add-on and the character would function as a superbeing without it. And as the discussion of Weird Scienct and Mutate characters suggests, the line between them can be blurry. But the goal is to spot patterns, not to precisely classify every character.
 
Here’s the result:
 
Supernatural Beings: 30 characters; 10%
Mutants/Mutates: 65 characters; 22%
Robots/Constructs: 8 characters; 3%
Enchanted: 23 characters; 8%
Weird Science: 54 characters; 18%
Cyborgs: 9 characters; 3%
Sorcerers: 33 characters; 11%
Inventors: 26 characters; 9%
Training: 31 characters; 11%
Weapon: 44 characters; 15%
Mastermind: 25 characters; 9%
Alien: 17 characters; 6%
Other/Unknown: 9 characters; 3%
Complex: 3 characters; 1%
 
Further analysis available if anyone's interested.
 
Dean Shomshak

I wondered which origin types are particularly popular for the Champions Universe, and what types of Powers go with them the most.
 
Why? Because
1) It might point to character concepts that are cool but have been neglected; and
2) I’m a deranged nerd.
 
So this has been my spare-time project for the last week.
 
The whole CU is very large, but not all of it is equally propmoted. So I’m restricting the domain of analysis to the three volumes of Champions Villains. 292 characters total, not counting “agent” types such as Doctor Destroyer’s robots or Necrull’s Necrullticians. Individual characters only!
 
Here are the categories I devised when I did this analysis for my own Champions settings:
 
* SUPERNATURAL BEINGS are innately magical creatures: demons, dimensional conquerors, undead, etc. Examples: Bloodrage, Takofanes, Tyrannon. Also people with supernatural ancestry, such as Frag.
 
* MUTANTS were born with super-powers in their genes. I also include MUTATES, whose origin stories specifically say that their powers are the result of genetic manipulation (such as anyone given powers by Teleios). Examples: Menton, Hurricane, King Cobra.
 
* ROBOTS AND CONSTRUCTS are artificial beings. They have powers because somebody else built them that way. Robots are of course the result of tech; but golems and similar magically-created artificial beings fit in this category as well. Examples: Mechanon (duh), Syzygy.
 
* ENCHANTED characters were given powers by magic: a curse, a spell cast upon them, a magic potion, or the like. Examples: The Basilisk, Black Fang, Harpy.
 
* WEIRD SCIENCE covers all those lab accidents, exposures to industrial waste or atomic radiation, and empowerment processes that are scientific but aren’t specifically called out as exclusively based on gene-splicing. (Though some origin stories are not clear on this point.) Examples: Durak, Bulldozer, everyone in Project Sunburst, Sunspot.
 
 
* CYBORGS started out as normal people but gained powers by having bits added to them. Usually techm but I extend the concept to magical additions (such as a magical gem permanently affixed to the character’s body) or other surgical modification. Examples: Interface, Fiacho, Cairngorm, Howler.
 
* SORCERER characters cast spells. Examples: Doctor Yin Wu, Demonologist, Talisman.
 
* INVENTOR characters build gdgets (including, but not limited to, powered armor) or otherwise do things using SCIENCE! It’s implied that they can build new tech, even if they don’t have VPPs — they aren’t limited to just one device or suite of gadgets. Examples: Doctor Destroyer, Teleios, Utility, Binder, Doctor Philippe Moreau.
 
* TRAINING: If a character’s powers come down to extraordinary skills that aren’t super-tech or sorcery, they go here. Mostly martial artists, but there might be others such as a super-thief with incredible skills but uses mundane tech, Examples: Scorpia, Green Dragon, the Cahokian.
 
* WEAPON: The character’s powers derive from a device that could be taken away, whether it’s tech, magic, or undefined. Moreover, the character lacks the skills to replace or alter the device easily. Examples: the Warlord (he didn’t build his own battlesuit), the Crowns of Krim, Lazer.
 
* MASTERMINDS would be powerful just from the people and resources they command, even if they didn’t have any other source of power. Example: Franklin Stone and Doctor Philippe Moreau are “pure” Masterminds; Doctor Destroyer, King Cobra, and the Warlord have extensive organizations in addition to their personal powers; Baron Nihil and Tyrannon rule entire populations; and the Demonologist can Summon whatever demons he wants, while the Engineer creates robots at will.
 
* ALIENS aren’t human, but aren’t specifically supernatural. Extraterrestrials such as Herculan and Firewing go here; but so does Leviathan (a Lemurian) and Ape-X (uplifted gorilla). This is often a “meta-origin,” worth noting even if not being human is not specifically the source of powers (as Herculan was artificially given powers that are not natural to his species, the Fassai).
 
* OTHER is anything so rare and weird that it doesn’t justify creating a new category, or the source of the character’s powers simply is not known. Example: Timelapse, Glacier.
 
* COMPLEX: Characters can fit within multiple categories, as the dimension lord Skarn is both a supernatural being and a sorcerer, or Cheshire Cat is both a highly trained martial artist and gained teleportation powers through weird science. But if a character fits in three or more categories, I just call it “Complex.” Example: Josiah Brimstone has one set of powers as a sorcerer, another set from the demon that’s fused to him, and a third set from magical devices. OTOH I make exceptions for Masterminds and Aliens, as these tend to be meta-origins — and I try to limit assigning categories based on what’s really important to a character. Just packing a gun or minor gadget, for instance, isn’t enough to place a character as using a Weapon.
 
Placing characters in origin categories can be iffy. Like, I don’t assign every character with martial arts on the character sheet to the Training category: Often its just an add-on and the character would function as a superbeing without it. And as the discussion of Weird Scienct and Mutate characters suggests, the line between them can be blurry. But the goal is to spot patterns, not to precisely classify every character.
 
Here’s the result:
 
Supernatural Beings: 30 characters; 10%
Mutants/Mutates: 65 characters; 22%
Robots/Constructs: 8 characters; 3%
Enchanted: 23 characters; 8%
Weird Science: 54 characters; 18%
Cyborgs: 9 characters; 3%
Sorcerers: 33 characters; 11%
Inventors: 26 characters; 9%
Training: 31 characters; 11%
Weapon: 44 characters; 15%
Mastermind: 25 characters; 9%
Alien: 17 characters; 6%
Other/Unknown: 9 characters; 3%
Complex: 3 characters; 1%
 
Further analysis available if anyone's interested.
 
Dean Shomshak

That's already happening.  Solar (with battery storage for overnight loads) is in single digit cents per kilowatt hour.  That's cheaper than coal, nuclear, and natural gas, and it doesn't come with the environmental or political complications of fossil fuels.

Its...  interesting but not as good as its being reported.
 
 

I wondered which origin types are particularly popular for the Champions Universe, and what types of Powers go with them the most.
 
Why? Because
1) It might point to character concepts that are cool but have been neglected; and
2) I’m a deranged nerd.
 
So this has been my spare-time project for the last week.
 
The whole CU is very large, but not all of it is equally propmoted. So I’m restricting the domain of analysis to the three volumes of Champions Villains. 292 characters total, not counting “agent” types such as Doctor Destroyer’s robots or Necrull’s Necrullticians. Individual characters only!
 
Here are the categories I devised when I did this analysis for my own Champions settings:
 
* SUPERNATURAL BEINGS are innately magical creatures: demons, dimensional conquerors, undead, etc. Examples: Bloodrage, Takofanes, Tyrannon. Also people with supernatural ancestry, such as Frag.
 
* MUTANTS were born with super-powers in their genes. I also include MUTATES, whose origin stories specifically say that their powers are the result of genetic manipulation (such as anyone given powers by Teleios). Examples: Menton, Hurricane, King Cobra.
 
* ROBOTS AND CONSTRUCTS are artificial beings. They have powers because somebody else built them that way. Robots are of course the result of tech; but golems and similar magically-created artificial beings fit in this category as well. Examples: Mechanon (duh), Syzygy.
 
* ENCHANTED characters were given powers by magic: a curse, a spell cast upon them, a magic potion, or the like. Examples: The Basilisk, Black Fang, Harpy.
 
* WEIRD SCIENCE covers all those lab accidents, exposures to industrial waste or atomic radiation, and empowerment processes that are scientific but aren’t specifically called out as exclusively based on gene-splicing. (Though some origin stories are not clear on this point.) Examples: Durak, Bulldozer, everyone in Project Sunburst, Sunspot.
 
 
* CYBORGS started out as normal people but gained powers by having bits added to them. Usually techm but I extend the concept to magical additions (such as a magical gem permanently affixed to the character’s body) or other surgical modification. Examples: Interface, Fiacho, Cairngorm, Howler.
 
* SORCERER characters cast spells. Examples: Doctor Yin Wu, Demonologist, Talisman.
 
* INVENTOR characters build gdgets (including, but not limited to, powered armor) or otherwise do things using SCIENCE! It’s implied that they can build new tech, even if they don’t have VPPs — they aren’t limited to just one device or suite of gadgets. Examples: Doctor Destroyer, Teleios, Utility, Binder, Doctor Philippe Moreau.
 
* TRAINING: If a character’s powers come down to extraordinary skills that aren’t super-tech or sorcery, they go here. Mostly martial artists, but there might be others such as a super-thief with incredible skills but uses mundane tech, Examples: Scorpia, Green Dragon, the Cahokian.
 
* WEAPON: The character’s powers derive from a device that could be taken away, whether it’s tech, magic, or undefined. Moreover, the character lacks the skills to replace or alter the device easily. Examples: the Warlord (he didn’t build his own battlesuit), the Crowns of Krim, Lazer.
 
* MASTERMINDS would be powerful just from the people and resources they command, even if they didn’t have any other source of power. Example: Franklin Stone and Doctor Philippe Moreau are “pure” Masterminds; Doctor Destroyer, King Cobra, and the Warlord have extensive organizations in addition to their personal powers; Baron Nihil and Tyrannon rule entire populations; and the Demonologist can Summon whatever demons he wants, while the Engineer creates robots at will.
 
* ALIENS aren’t human, but aren’t specifically supernatural. Extraterrestrials such as Herculan and Firewing go here; but so does Leviathan (a Lemurian) and Ape-X (uplifted gorilla). This is often a “meta-origin,” worth noting even if not being human is not specifically the source of powers (as Herculan was artificially given powers that are not natural to his species, the Fassai).
 
* OTHER is anything so rare and weird that it doesn’t justify creating a new category, or the source of the character’s powers simply is not known. Example: Timelapse, Glacier.
 
* COMPLEX: Characters can fit within multiple categories, as the dimension lord Skarn is both a supernatural being and a sorcerer, or Cheshire Cat is both a highly trained martial artist and gained teleportation powers through weird science. But if a character fits in three or more categories, I just call it “Complex.” Example: Josiah Brimstone has one set of powers as a sorcerer, another set from the demon that’s fused to him, and a third set from magical devices. OTOH I make exceptions for Masterminds and Aliens, as these tend to be meta-origins — and I try to limit assigning categories based on what’s really important to a character. Just packing a gun or minor gadget, for instance, isn’t enough to place a character as using a Weapon.
 
Placing characters in origin categories can be iffy. Like, I don’t assign every character with martial arts on the character sheet to the Training category: Often its just an add-on and the character would function as a superbeing without it. And as the discussion of Weird Scienct and Mutate characters suggests, the line between them can be blurry. But the goal is to spot patterns, not to precisely classify every character.
 
Here’s the result:
 
Supernatural Beings: 30 characters; 10%
Mutants/Mutates: 65 characters; 22%
Robots/Constructs: 8 characters; 3%
Enchanted: 23 characters; 8%
Weird Science: 54 characters; 18%
Cyborgs: 9 characters; 3%
Sorcerers: 33 characters; 11%
Inventors: 26 characters; 9%
Training: 31 characters; 11%
Weapon: 44 characters; 15%
Mastermind: 25 characters; 9%
Alien: 17 characters; 6%
Other/Unknown: 9 characters; 3%
Complex: 3 characters; 1%
 
Further analysis available if anyone's interested.
 
Dean Shomshak

Thousands of Teens Are Being Pushed Into Military’s Junior R.O.T.C.
 
 

Keep in mind that -- as I blieve I've said before 00 from a certIN POINT OF VIEW THERE REALLY WAS A GIGntic fraud in the 2020 Presidential election... and the Constitution was at the heart of it.
 
The question is whether one believes that straight, white, Christian conservatives are "real Americans" to whom the rest of us should defer in culture and politics. 45 anointed himself the tribune of these "real Americans," and they embraced him with fervor. But the Constitution doesn't offer much support for "real Americans," or indeed support the idea of "real Americans" in any way. Straight vs LGBTQ? Not mentioned in any way. Christian? Religious privilege explicitly barred. White? No privilege since those darn woke progressives somehow slipped the 15th Amendment in 1870. Not much if any support for other conservative" cultural positions, either. And worst of all, it lets practically anyone vote!
 
So do you accept there's no such thing as a Real American, or do you reject the Constitution? Trum p finally said out loud what I'm sure many conservatives felt but were not willing to say even to themselves.
 
Dean Shomshak

Keep in mind that -- as I blieve I've said before 00 from a certIN POINT OF VIEW THERE REALLY WAS A GIGntic fraud in the 2020 Presidential election... and the Constitution was at the heart of it.
 
The question is whether one believes that straight, white, Christian conservatives are "real Americans" to whom the rest of us should defer in culture and politics. 45 anointed himself the tribune of these "real Americans," and they embraced him with fervor. But the Constitution doesn't offer much support for "real Americans," or indeed support the idea of "real Americans" in any way. Straight vs LGBTQ? Not mentioned in any way. Christian? Religious privilege explicitly barred. White? No privilege since those darn woke progressives somehow slipped the 15th Amendment in 1870. Not much if any support for other conservative" cultural positions, either. And worst of all, it lets practically anyone vote!
 
So do you accept there's no such thing as a Real American, or do you reject the Constitution? Trum p finally said out loud what I'm sure many conservatives felt but were not willing to say even to themselves.
 
Dean Shomshak

Keep in mind that -- as I blieve I've said before 00 from a certIN POINT OF VIEW THERE REALLY WAS A GIGntic fraud in the 2020 Presidential election... and the Constitution was at the heart of it.
 
The question is whether one believes that straight, white, Christian conservatives are "real Americans" to whom the rest of us should defer in culture and politics. 45 anointed himself the tribune of these "real Americans," and they embraced him with fervor. But the Constitution doesn't offer much support for "real Americans," or indeed support the idea of "real Americans" in any way. Straight vs LGBTQ? Not mentioned in any way. Christian? Religious privilege explicitly barred. White? No privilege since those darn woke progressives somehow slipped the 15th Amendment in 1870. Not much if any support for other conservative" cultural positions, either. And worst of all, it lets practically anyone vote!
 
So do you accept there's no such thing as a Real American, or do you reject the Constitution? Trum p finally said out loud what I'm sure many conservatives felt but were not willing to say even to themselves.
 
Dean Shomshak

Can't you just feel your superpowers starting to come into being?
 
A bizarre gamma-ray burst breaks the rules for these cosmic eruptions (sciencenews.org)

I know there has been a contingent on the Far Left that believes the CIA and the oil companies conspire to cause every evil thing in the world, but I could not venture a guess how large a contingent it is. I prefer not to guess; I want data.
 
I would agree that the exaggerated view of American influence is subtly narcissistic, in that it presents the rest of the world as helpless and clueless to resist America's malignant power.
 
I presume the US tries to influence policy in other countries, whether allied, hostile, or neutral, through both regular diplomatic channels and covertly. I presume other governments do the same, from Israel lobbying Congress to Russian troll farms. And I don't see anything wrong with that, in the same way that I don't see anything wrong with the danger of infections or falling heavy objects: They are facts of existence, one should take reasonable precautions to avoid being harmed by them, but being upset by them is pointless.
 
I could wish the US government were better at such meddling, as the well known cases tend to be train-wreck failures or have been ultimately disastrous for the countries involved and, in the longer term, for the US itself. "Better" both in terms of competence and choice of goals. Of course, the most successful intervention would never be known to the public.
 
I would rarely if ever say I am "proud" of the US, but I do quite like that it is doing so much to help Ukraine against Russia, and so effectively. I am also pleased that it does not act alone in this. I approve the purpose; I approve the methods (to the extent that I know them); and I think it will benefit the US, its democratic allies, and -- in the long run -- humanity as a whole.
 
Dean Shomshak

I know there has been a contingent on the Far Left that believes the CIA and the oil companies conspire to cause every evil thing in the world, but I could not venture a guess how large a contingent it is. I prefer not to guess; I want data.
 
I would agree that the exaggerated view of American influence is subtly narcissistic, in that it presents the rest of the world as helpless and clueless to resist America's malignant power.
 
I presume the US tries to influence policy in other countries, whether allied, hostile, or neutral, through both regular diplomatic channels and covertly. I presume other governments do the same, from Israel lobbying Congress to Russian troll farms. And I don't see anything wrong with that, in the same way that I don't see anything wrong with the danger of infections or falling heavy objects: They are facts of existence, one should take reasonable precautions to avoid being harmed by them, but being upset by them is pointless.
 
I could wish the US government were better at such meddling, as the well known cases tend to be train-wreck failures or have been ultimately disastrous for the countries involved and, in the longer term, for the US itself. "Better" both in terms of competence and choice of goals. Of course, the most successful intervention would never be known to the public.
 
I would rarely if ever say I am "proud" of the US, but I do quite like that it is doing so much to help Ukraine against Russia, and so effectively. I am also pleased that it does not act alone in this. I approve the purpose; I approve the methods (to the extent that I know them); and I think it will benefit the US, its democratic allies, and -- in the long run -- humanity as a whole.
 
Dean Shomshak

The third member of the rocket news trinity is Felix Schlage of “What About It” This cheerful German moved to the space coast of Florida to be closer to the action.
 
 

Re: Create a Hero Theme Team!
 
Pioneer
 
My name is Tenk. Clan names are believed to distract from one's loyalty to the Pyrknot Empire and are thus discouraged. My grandfather , three gods bless his spirit, informed me that our clan name was Cralk. Then again, Grandfather told me many things that the Sci-crat council would not approve of. He told me that in HIS grandfather's time, the Empire was a republic in which ANY being of sufficient age and sanity could vote. He told me that we were not always bent on conquest, nor would we have considered sending thousands to their deaths just to get a handful of 'superior men'. Somehow I doubt this last one. Despite the implants that are put in each applicant's brain to insure loyalty or death, there is no more honored or coveted position than being a 'Superior Man' and they never want for volunteers. Their strength is astounding, they are nearly invulnerable, and best of all, they can fly at great speeds and survive even the depths of space. Of course, only the most obedient are accepted. I am not obedient, and this will never be for me. Still, I shall be drafted for standard legion duty. I have entered my 12th cycle. Conscription is mandatory.
 
My name is Tenk. Cycles have passed, and my insubordination demerits have reduced me to the lowly task of gathering space scrap for deconstruction. If the Empire thought my grandfather's termination would free me from his 'wrong think contamination', they have misjudged. I will not partake in the genocide of planets under the name of 'biosphere cleansing' or any other such thing. I will not abandon my faith of the three gods. If they do not exist, then the government has no need to be so frightened . I dare not speak my mind, or even think too loudly among the reader-supervisor probes, but I will hold to old dreams long dust. My ship's sensors pick up something on the fringe. I go to retrieve it like a good worker despite what my heart says. I am brave in my heart, but my hands? They are cowards
 
For the last four mini cycles I have studied this. It is amazing. Some species was foolish enough to send knowledge of themselves hurtling into the void? Did they not suspect others would not share their apparent love of exploration, but rather see them as weak and naive, and ready for conquest? I have hidden this 'Pioneer' and its data as best I could. The plaque of precious metal is lovely, not for its substance, but for the trust, however stupid, it shows. I am not stupid, merely disloyal, so I learn what I can from it. So much data... so much hope, so much striving for the better. I wonder if the forgotten Republic was like this once? I wonder about this 'Earth'
 
Another four minicycles. I can bear it no longer here. If there is a rebellion, I cannot find it to join it. Instead I must escape. Somehow. I will go to this Earth, whatever it is, it MUST be better than this. Younger, newer, still having a future that need not be trapped in the rigid rulings of those who dub themselves 'elite'. I worry that the naivety contained in this prize is contagious. So be it, if this is fever, I would rather burn than be 'healthy and accepting of the Empire'. I want a new home. This Earth may yet be it. But how? My ship, like all others, is chipped. If I go half a parsec without authorization, it WILL be noted, the fail safes will be triggered, and I will die. I must get my hands on the authorization bypass... I must steal. It means death if I am caught. So be it.
 
One minicycle later. This is insane. I have rifled data, but the wrong sort. Alpha Clearance? Coordinates and a key code of some sort to a building I didn't even know existed. Still, what other lead do I have?
 
Three Gods preserve me! It's the Empowerment Chamber. That drunken fool left data on the Empowerment chamber laying about! This is where common men become 'Superior', only one in a thousand survives. Yet... applicants are chipped. I am not. My dreams are braver than I am. If I take this chance, IF it works, I will gain the ability to fly on my own! Perhaps I can find Earth. Maybe I can warn them? The system is automated. The key will start it up. I am scared and that more than anything sets me on this last path. I am so TIRED of being afraid. Is a life of slavery, of constant fear, worth preserving? For once, my heroic heart and my coward hands work together. I start the empowerment procedures.
 
Time passed, unknown. I have awakened after what felt like a life time of pain and I am strong. The strongest polyfiber materials bend in my grip. Even their jagged edges do not pierce me! Perhaps my grandfather was right, the Three love fools and children. This cannot be the only empowerment chamber, but if I can slow down them down at all, I may have done SOME world out there some good. I set an old style explosive in the right place. The fire it starts will draw the Council's attention allowing me time to flee. It would seem I still have something of a coward in me. Either that, or I'm not a total fool.
 
Three Full Cycles... I do not eat. I do not drink. I rarely sleep. Mostly, I fly, carrying a part of the treasure that inspires me. I have fought some Superior Men, but only by luck have I triumphed, and never more than two at a time. They are chipped. They may only go so far. This worked in my favor. One died painfully as I tricked him out of his safe zone.
I have lost them.
I MUST believe that
Otherwise, I am damning the home I seek.
 
 
Another full cycle, I think. I am long gone from the homestar of the Empire, so who can be sure? Please, let this be the right system. I look for the third planet and it is beautiful. Blue with white wisps adorning it. Oceans, clouds, but knowing what causes these colors does not diminish it. I fly downward but before I enter the atmosphere, I see something drifting by in the corner of my eye. A crude craft, a shuttle that makes my old junk collector look like a top of the line battle cruiser in comparison. It is leaking gasses, no doubt its life support. They are trying to get down to the surface as well, but at the rate of the leak, they will never make it, not without help. This, I gladly provide, though the looks on their faces are amusing. Amazing how like
Pyrknotians they look. I only hope they have not followed us in otherways. I see no weapons on this vehicle. No doubt, the humans are now wondering why I am smiling.
 
Soon I am placing the vessel gently down on a primitive and seemingly unused road. The men and women leave the ship, one of them HUGS me? They talk, but I don't understand. I reach for my back and pull out from a casing the plaque I took so long ago from their creation and lay it down before them. I speak the only 'English' word I am sure I know as I do so
 
"Pioneer"
 
A cycle, no.. a year later. My name is Tenk, but even my friends and coworkers on Saturn Five often call me by my 'superhero' name Pioneer. I have learned three Earth Languages, though I am told my English has something of a Polish accent. Ironic, as Polish is not one the languages I was able to learn. The United States is no utopia, but compared to the Empire? it is a paradise. I worship the three gods unhindered. I speak my mind as I NEVER could before. I pick my own meals as long as I can pay for them (Though I do not really NEED to eat), and I try to be a good superhero. Between traditional superheroics, I help retrieve satellites, repair devices, and deal with any space emergencies. I have tried to share what I know, but sometimes I look down on the planet and worry.
 
IF the Empire finds this Earth, am I preparing my new home to face them? Or have I somehow insured that the question is not "if" but "when"?

I think 45 has a solid business model moving forward. All he has to do is demand that any GOP candidate send him money or he will endorse them.