Yeah I know its straight out of the Fascist playbook, but this is way to conveniently timed and flawlessly executed. Its going to take some pretty compelling evidence for me to be convinced that this wasn't a false flag. I definitely wont trust that its whomever the regime eventually pins it on.
Charlie was a disposable pawn of right wing moneyed interests, and he will continue to serve those interests in death.
Honestly I've always hated this. An early example of the awful trend where there has to be a "lore reason" for every little detail.
Star Trek aliens are mostly humanoids because its a human TV show telling stories that have to be relatable to humans and also has a limited budget. There is no need for a lore explanation.
At least in this case it's a one off that's never really referenced again.
Future Foundation is pretty much the definitive modern F4 story. Hickmens run as a whole is peak.
A problem with the F4 is that their golden age of stories was back in the Silver Age of Comic Books. They were a cornerstone a lot of the early world-building of the Marvel Universe. Their lasting legacy has been the characters and ideas these stories introduced to the Marvel universe: Dr Doom, Galactus, The Silver Surfer, Black Panther, The Negative Zone, ect. Marvel has long struggled to adapt the team to the modern era.
I haven't seen the movie yet, but IMO the best F4 stories are ones where they aren't so much a team of super heroes, but rather a team of scientist and explorers with super powers. They are better suited to telling sci-fi stories rather then traditional superhero stories.
This drop-off tracks with the brand. I say this as someone who likes the F4, they just don't have a broad appeal with general audiences that other comic brands have. They're a property that only comic nerds care about and always have been.
Edit: They also had to complete with Superman. The F4 have never been able to compete with Superman.
I adore BG3 but yeah. Viconia in particular felt like a big middle finger to fans of the original games. If they wanted to bring back an OG character to be irredeemably evil, Edwin is right there!
Trek is dead. It's legacy will be what it inspires in us.
It's also established that's he's an accelerationist. He's intentionally baiting the Empire to crackdown more brutally on dissent in an effort to forment rebellion among the common people of the galaxy. He fears that if he does not do this, there will be a day when the Empires grip is too tight to escape.
"It will burn... Very brightly"
In the end, he was right. The Death Star vindicates his methods. Without Luthen laying the groundwork for the Rebel Alliance, the Galaxy would have been a boiling frog and the Death Star would have led to its brutal oppression for generations.
I do not mean to in anyway downplay how bad this is, or the danger this legislation presents to the American people, but I can't help but wonder how much is this budget increase is going to just be pure pork?
There is no doubt this agency will be riddled with corruption, much like the rest of this administration. How much of this budget will go towards lining the pockets of Republicans and their donors? Contractors who overcharge and under deliver. Leadership skimming from the top. Take a look at the state of the Russian Military for an idea for where this might go.
The Billionaires are a bunch of Degenerate Morons who diddle children, much as the ruling class has always been. They're funneling the world's wealth upwards thinking capital will insulate them from the coming climate crisis they're exasperating. How I wish I could be there when they realize that it won't.
Community organizers and vocal opposition are at the top of the list Palentir is making right now. Scrub your social media and start taking your data privacy seriously if you aren't already. Degoogle and take your opinions off Meta and Reddit at the very least.
They're going to test the waters by going after some brown protestors first, but the end game is all political opponents and uncontrolled opposition.
I think (and hope) that one key difference here is that the US is much more divided politically and culturally then Nazi Germany was. At least right now, there is no way the US declares a war of aggression against a former Ally and doesn't fall into Civil War. It will take a hell of a lot of internal suppression for that to change, the act of which will likely ignite the Civil War itself.
My hope is that the next few years will be less "What if the Nazi's controlled the most powerful nation in history?" and more "What if Francisco Franco controlled the most powerful nation is history?"
Europe and China likely have time to prepare, and they really fucking need to. If they're smart they're already covertly looking into ways to arm and fund internal opposition in America.
There's so many layers of irony to this event. You can't make this shit up.
A man, who made a career downplaying gun violence and advocating against empathy for its victims, was shot while giving a talk about his favorite topic under a tent that said "Prove me wrong", on a college campus in a state that just lifted its ban on weapons on college campuses. His own quotes can be endlessly used to shut down any outrage at his ironic demise.
Charlie Kirk's final moments were spent being definitively and completely proven wrong.
If this wasn't going to used as an excuse to ban Trans people from owning firearms and for further violence against the opposition, it would be hilarious.