Messages

121

Off Topic / Re: My future.

« on: January 09, 2012, 10:39:21 PM »

Are you sure you shouldn't just be searching for Civil Engineering? I've heard of a lot of people who originally thought they wanted to be  in architect, but civil engineering was actually what they were thinking about.

Err I didn't see the poll you put, looks like you're already realizing the difference between them.

But anyways, are you more concerned about practically designing things, or more on the artsy side? Whichever you side you pick, you'll learn to hate the other in college.

122

Games / Re: Nintendo 3DS! MARIO KART 7, FREE ZELDA, AMBASSADOR GAMES FOR GBA!!!

« on: January 03, 2012, 08:08:03 PM »

code?

51-9003-8595-8180

123

Off Topic / Re: The NDAA '12 passed WITH sections 1021, 1022

« on: January 01, 2012, 02:34:38 PM »

that article is only citing all the other things in the NDAA that do have to be passed. no one is saying the thousand other sections were bad. just a few of them that could have been removed or altered.
thats how bills work. this one went back to the house twice before this version was approved.

reddit is stuff and missing he point

I wasn't trying to argue that the NDAA should be passed, but that if Obama hadn't signed it, it would have been passed anyways and he would have been ridiculed for vetoing the good sections.

Now that I look at it, I wasn't arguing against the main point of this topic, just a minor detail.

124

Off Topic / Re: The NDAA '12 passed WITH sections 1021, 1022

« on: January 01, 2012, 01:47:26 PM »

In an effort to give an opposing argument, what about this statement from Reddit?

TL;DR The President's opponents played the electorate like a fiddle and will get away with it because people don't seem to realize they've been tricked into being angry at the wrong person.
He signed it because if he didn't, defense spending including benefits to veterans and their families would not have been authorized. The sections of NDAA that many people here seem to have a problem with are sections that were added into the document by primarily Republican legislators and which the President adamantly opposes but was powerless to stop. I'll repeat that: the parts of this bill that many people here hate were included against the President's wishes and in a way that he is powerless to stop. The only way he could have stopped these sections from being included would have been to try to veto the bill in its entirety, a move that would have been both political Self Delete as well as being futile, as Congress would simply have overridden him. He is explicit in his opposition to exactly the parts of the bill everyone here hates, going so far as to detail exactly which sections he opposes and why.

You'll notice that the bill also restricts his ability to close Guantanamo Bay; this isn't coincidence. These sections are openly hostile to the President's stated mandate - they are effectively a giant 'forget you' to the President, as well as a nasty way of eroding the President's support with his own base. Observe:

1. Draft legislation that is almost guaranteed to piss of the President but more importantly piss of his base.
2. Attach said legislation to another piece of larger, more important legislation like, say, the Defense Spending budget for the entire year so that any attempt to dislodge the offensive legislation will result in a political stuffstorm, as well as place the larger legislation in jeopardy.
3. Once attached, begin a PR campaign that highlights the offending legislation and brings it to the attention of as many media outlets as possible - not just the traditional media, but alternative media outlets as well (Fox news, MSNBC, Media Matters, Huff-Po, cnn, etc.)
4. Here's where it gets tricky: Simultaneously, speak to both your party's base and the opposition's. To your base, argue that the legislation is necessary to 'Keep America safe' and that the President, by opposing it, is clearly soft of terrorism and endangering the military by trying to strip the legislation out. At the same time, sit back and watch your opponent's liberal supporters tear into the offending legislation as being dangerous, anti-democratic, and a threat to civil liberties. You know they will; that's what they care about most. You've designed legislation that will make them froth at the mouth. You don't even have to keep flogging the message; one look at the legislation will be enough to convince most people that it is anathema to everything they hold dear. Because it is.
5. Pass the 'parent' legislation. Doing so forces the President to sign it or attempt to veto it. Since the legislation in question just so happens to be the military's operating budget, a veto is out of the question. The President must sign the bill, you get the legislation you wanted, but you also practically guarantee that your opponent's base will be furious at him for passing a bill they see as evil. Even if he tries to explain in detail why he had to sign it and what he hates about it, it won't matter; ignorance of the American political process, coupled with an almost militant indifference to subtle explanations will almost ensure that most people will only remember that the President passed a bill they hate.
6. Profit. you get the legislation you want, while the President has to contend with a furious base that feels he betrayed them - even though he agrees with their position but simply lacked the legislative tools to stop this from happening. It's a classic piece of misdirection that needs only two things to work: A lack of principles (or a partisan ideology that is willing to say anything - do anything - to win), and an electorate that is easy to fool.

This is pretty basic political maneuvering and the biggest problem is that it almost always works because most people either don't know or don't care how their political system actually functions. The President was saddled with a lose-lose situation where he either seriously harmed American defense policy (political Self Delete), or passed offensive legislation knowing that it would cost him political capital. To all of you here lamenting that you ever voted for this 'corporate shill', congratulations: you are the result the Republicans were hoping for. They get the law they want, they get the weakened Presidential candidate they want. And many of you just don't seem to see that. You don't have to like your country's two-party system, but it pays to be able to understand it so that you can recognize when it's being used like this.

Source: http://www.reddit.com/r/politics/comments/nxu96/obama_signs_ndaa_with_signing_statement/c3ctkzz

125

Games / Re: Nintendo 3DS! MARIO KART 7, FREE ZELDA, AMBASSADOR GAMES FOR GBA!!!

« on: December 29, 2011, 11:51:16 PM »

In Mario Kart 7, when i get 10 coins in a track, ill find a spot to go hide.

Does anyone else do this?

I'm trying to 3 star everything, I'll get all the coins I need by the time I do that, so I don't have to worry about losing some coins.

126

Off Topic / Re: Laptop taken away because of too much time on it & grades.

« on: December 29, 2011, 09:20:20 PM »

I can tutor you in Math if you want, I've been only tutoring in computer science so far but I'm sure it wouldn't be hard to jump to lower level math.

Edit: I'm realizing it might be hard to tutor when you're without a computer, so maybe that isn't a good idea.

127

Games / Re: Nintendo 3DS! MARIO KART 7, FREE ZELDA, AMBASSADOR GAMES FOR GBA!!!

« on: December 29, 2011, 08:58:52 PM »

left my community
gets boring with barely anyone there

Guess I wasn't good enough for you? :(

Sorry my internet got disconnected after that last battle.

128

Games / Re: Nintendo 3DS! MARIO KART 7, FREE ZELDA, AMBASSADOR GAMES FOR GBA!!!

« on: December 29, 2011, 08:46:24 PM »

i made a ramming balloon battle community
51-5610-8375-2964

(mushrooms only balloon battle)

I haven't done any of the battle modes yet, but I'll join. I prefer racing the most.

Edit: I just notice you said "ramming."

129

Games / Re: Nintendo 3DS! MARIO KART 7, FREE ZELDA, AMBASSADOR GAMES FOR GBA!!!

« on: December 29, 2011, 08:36:17 PM »

its showing someone fall off in rainbow road and then theyre back on the road in an instant
wtf

That's just a simple predicting problem, that's not surprising.

130

Games / Re: Nintendo 3DS! MARIO KART 7, FREE ZELDA, AMBASSADOR GAMES FOR GBA!!!

« on: December 29, 2011, 08:29:43 PM »

This game seriously needs a patch.  Connections always die on grand prix.

I've never had a connection die yet..

131

Games / Re: Nintendo 3DS! MARIO KART 7, FREE ZELDA, AMBASSADOR GAMES FOR GBA!!!

« on: December 29, 2011, 08:20:44 PM »

Alright, Marcem and I are waiting in the BL community now.

132

Games / Re: Nintendo 3DS! MARIO KART 7, FREE ZELDA, AMBASSADOR GAMES FOR GBA!!!

« on: December 29, 2011, 08:16:31 PM »

im at the metal cup community

What's the code for that? I can join the BL com after this race but on'r have that one.

133

Games / Re: Nintendo 3DS! MARIO KART 7, FREE ZELDA, AMBASSADOR GAMES FOR GBA!!!

« on: December 29, 2011, 08:10:55 PM »

im on the mk7 blocklanders community

Still in it? I just got online but I'm in a generic room.

134

Games / Re: Nintendo 3DS! MARIO KART 7, FREE ZELDA, AMBASSADOR GAMES FOR GBA!!!

« on: December 29, 2011, 06:52:25 PM »

Their names would've probably been in Japanese. It might have just been clan buddies that have "nin" as the acronym.

I'm sure some NoA employees would use the same prefix, but you're probably right. They were both based in California so I'm not sure how that might affect that.

135

Games / Re: Nintendo 3DS! MARIO KART 7, FREE ZELDA, AMBASSADOR GAMES FOR GBA!!!

« on: December 29, 2011, 06:23:28 PM »

I'm going to repost the Blockland community for reference: 51-9003-8595-8180

I was just in the community about an hour ago and got to race someone (ChaoJuniorJ,) but I think that was someone from outside the community that just saw me in there. There was someone waiting there earlier, maybe that was Goron since he said he just joined it? They left without saying anything so I couldn't get their name, it was someone with a purple shirt and long hair.

Oh and also, I might have gotten into a game with two people from Nintendo! They went by the names of Nin*Josh and Nin*Blooper (close to that.) They might have been fake, but either way it was a high level game and was pretty fun!