Zeropoint

Just now, Iuz the Evil said:

We have not set up any systems in advance that would allow for that.

Well, we did. It's just that someone took them apart for political reasons.

No matter how we deal with it in the US, it's going to be bad, because the measures which would protect people during this time are politically unacceptable.

We will get to choose between different flavors of bad, but we can't have "not bad" because there are people who flip the table when that option is presented.

14 hours ago, Old Man said:

New York begins burying coronavirus victims in mass graves

Oh, I've seen this movie!

"Tony Stark, diligent or lazy?"

. . .

Yes.

Anyway, it says I'm a 93% match for Bruce Banner. I'm not going to complain about that.

9 hours ago, Ragitsu said:

Increased acquisitions of guns and alcohol during a crisis? Yee-haw!

So we're trying to obtain the blessings of St. Alvis?

1 hour ago, Hermit said:

This...could be interesting. Labor is taking the risks, they want more protection. .but will it work?

Labor does the work. Labor takes the risks. Labor gets the health problems. Labor dies the deaths.

Capital gets the money.

It's time to change that.

Some people want to give all Americans $2000 a month for the duration of the pandemic. I say, why stop when the pandemic cools down?

8 hours ago, Ragitsu said:

Workers of the world unite? Seize the means of production? I know that universal healthcare and universal basic income are going to become significantly more popular now that we have strong historical precedent (namely: this pandemic) to emphasize their necessity.

We have nothing to lose but our chains.

It's interesting to note that this pandemic shows us who's really important to society. When the celebrities and the rich cower in their mansions, no one misses them. It's the "lowest"  of the workers who are the most necessary to society. We need to ensure that society provides for them.

5 hours ago, unclevlad said:

Also...quite honestly, what scares me is that this will start a major schism between the states and the feds.

I think it's already started. The Trump administration has made it clear that we can't depend on the federal government. The states are going to have to step up to the plate themselves on important issues.

I don't like saying that. I think a strong, sensible federal government is necessary for a nation, but . . . the federal government we have right now is neither strong nor sensible.

Well, we're not in the post-apocalyptic phase yet. Right now we're still IN the apocalypse, and that's not the fun part.

I'm surprised that the reach of the rifle + bayonet isn't giving that guy more of an edge than it seems to be.

Well, I suppose such an epic battle deserves appropriate musical accompaniment:

Aye, I'm disappointed that I won't get to go--I've been looking forward to getting some RPG table time as a player since last Gamestorm--but I have to admit that shutting it down is (in addition to being legally required) the socially responsible thing to do.

Portland State, where I'm attending, has also announced that all of this term's finals will be held remotely, and classes will be taught online next term. I don't know how that's going to work out for classes that require hands-on work. I only had one term left until graduation (assuming I pass all of this term's classes) and now I'm wondering whether I'll be able to finish my degree.

Knives, vodka, metal, and the homeland of Simo Hayha? Eh, I'm in.

2 hours ago, Matt the Bruins said:

At this point I wish I had the option of intentionally infecting and isolating myself until completely recovered—once you've bounced back from it you're not a hospitable carrier, right?

What I've heard is that having had COVID-19 provides no immunity to it, and may even make it more likely that the victim will be re-infected.

"Quarantine"

"16 million people"

I'm not seeing how this works.

8 hours ago, Pariah said:

There are plenty of disaffected Republicans (and ex-Republicans) who would vote for a reasonable (e.g., moderate) Democrat if one were presented

Bernie Sanders IS reasonable and moderate. The fact that anyone here would consider him in any way radical is a substantial condemnation of how the Overton Window has been shifted way to far to the right. A moderate, centrist position on "the left" is considered radical, and on the right . . . well, we're at the place where concentration camps for brown people is at the "policy" level of acceptance.

14 hours ago, Sundog said:

Have to question the usefulness. There is such a thing as too high a fire rate, especially with a man-portable unit.

I was thinking the same thing. You just get one BWAARP! and all of your ammo is gone. For suppressive fire, that's not very good; you can only suppress while you're actually firing, as I understand it.

It would still be hella fun as a range toy, though.

RELEASE THE QUACKIN'!

No one actually wants realistic damage results. Truly realistic damage wouldn't make dramatic sense. Phineas Gage took a six foot tamping rod through his brain and lived. More than one soldier has been shot through the heart and recovered fully. On the other hand, people have died from shock after getting hit with a bullet that didn't penetrate into their thoracic cavity, people die from simple slips and falls on a routine basis, and sometimes people die of an aneurysm with no warning at all. All the crazy medical stories you've ever heard are 100% realistic, because they're actually real, but players would feel cheated if they happened in their games.

"Truth is stranger than fiction, but it is because Fiction is obliged to stick to possibilities; Truth isn’t." -- Mark Twain

If we're doing fictional martial arts, I'd love to see an interpretation of Panzer Kunst. I've been a big fan of Alita since well before any movies came out.

By world standards, Bernie Sanders IS centrist.

Feel the Bern!

Can it push things off tables and shelves, and get . . . uh, wood fibers and bits of wire on my clothes?