@SubstantialFrivolity's banner p

SubstantialFrivolity

I'm not even supposed to be here today

5 followers   follows 0 users  
joined 2022 September 04 22:41:30 UTC
Verified Email 

				
User ID: 225


				
				
				

			

		

	














	


		


			



	

		

			

			

				

					

						

							
						

						

							
							

								
SubstantialFrivolity


								

								

								
								
								

								
							
					
 
				


				
I'm not even supposed to be here today

				
				
				

				

					5 followers  

					follows 0 users  

					joined 2022 September 04 22:41:30 UTC
				


				
					

					
No bio...

				

				

				

				

				

					

					

					
					
					

					
User ID: 225


					
					
					
				

			


					

						
							
								Verified Email
							
						
					



		

	

 











			
			

			
			

			




	


		

			
‎

			

				
				

					Hour
					Day
					Week
					Month
					Year
					
				

			


			
‎

			

	
	

	 Hot Bump Top Bottom Old Controversial Comments
	



		

	






	

		
		

		
		
	

	

  







		

			
			
				Small-Scale Question Sunday for July 5, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Man... I just found out last night that there is a P4R version of Heartbreak, Heartbreak that people have pulled off their promo stream. It's so awful compared to the original. No idea what the heck Atlus is doing rewriting music to have a completely different feel. I think I might pass on this one, or at most try it out on game pass. The music in P4 is top tier, and what this remake is doing to it is a crime.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of July 6, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
When my wife and I were dating, we would have sex every single time we got together (which was about 3x per week). I was kind of excited when we got married, thinking that living together would mean we'd have sex perhaps even more, like 3-4x a week. Yeah no - I'm doing good if we have sex once per month. I'm not happy about it to be honest, but ultimately I do love her, and I also took a vow before God to stay by her side no matter what - there aren't take backs on that kind of thing. So I make do.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of July 6, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
The weird thing is they had this figured out in the 2000s. You could get an American Strat, a Mexican/Japanese Strat, or a Squier if you were ultra cheap. And the second tier Strats weren't crappy! I have a Mexican Strat from 2003, which cost $500 at the time (so more like $900 today), so it was pretty reasonable in price, and is honestly a nice guitar. It might not be as nice as the American models were, but it's still a good instrument that can last you a long time (I mean, it's going strong for me 23 years later).


Then you look today, and I honestly have no idea what kind of guitar I would get from Fender if I was in the mood to upgrade. There was no need to add more models until a casual purchaser has no hope of figuring out what the product line is all about. They had a pretty good system, and then trashed it for... no reason that I can tell.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Small-Scale Question Sunday for July 5, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Personally I'm holding out to see if they mess up the music (I saw a video with a version of Your Affection which was absolutely atrocious, they turned the breezy J-pop song into a techno track, and I'm hoping that is not going to be the summer town music cause I can't stand it). The P4 soundtrack is really good (the singer's ability to pronounce English aside), and if they screw that up it's probably gonna be a no from me. The other major concern I have is whether they rewrite story beats for culture war reasons (Kanji and Naoto are likely victims there), which I doubt they will do but is always a possibility in this day and age.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Small-Scale Question Sunday for July 5, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
I bought P5R (been feeling the itch for another playthrough and I don't really feel like using my PS4) and Shadow of the Tomb Raider. Not much that piqued my interest, in all honesty.


With P4, just making sure you know there's a remake coming out in Feb. Jury is out on whether it'll be good, but it is probably worth holding off playing P4G until there is some consensus on how the remake compares.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of June 29, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Buh? 12 oz is not 1.25L, it is 355 mL.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of June 29, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Excommunication can be lifted. It's meant to be an incentive for the person to act in the way the church wants (ostensibly also the way God wants, though of course due to human nature those two things aren't always the same), not a permanent separation.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of June 29, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Good explanation. I think you touched on, though didn't explicitly mention, one of the teachings about the sacraments: they are emphasized because they work (which in turn we know because God promised that they would), but they are not necessarily the only path to salvation. God is not limited by the sacraments, and if he chooses to work in someone's life outside of them, great! But it can be hard to discern God's will, so the safe approach is to stick to the sacraments.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of June 29, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
I'm not sure to whom you are referring by this. The tradcaths I've encountered don't believe that. They believe the previous form of the liturgy is better, but liturgy is not dogma and they are allowed to believe that. They don't believe that any actual dogma was put forth wrongly by the church.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of June 29, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					


The tradcaths on X do so much PR work by being miles to the right of their Church. And one has to believe they are sincere and genuine. Which leads one to ask why they present themselves as Catholic.




Because they believe that the teachings of the Catholic Church are true. What other reason would they need?


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of June 29, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					


Well, yes. Most people these days encounter thee/thou/thy in either Shakespeare and or the King James Bible (early modern English), which makes it sound more formal.




Yeah, most people have no idea that "thou" is informal. They just think of it as old, and used in religion a lot, and therefore invoke it to bring the gravitas those things lend.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of June 29, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Unfortunately, I have no idea what the actual facts behind "USCCB affiliates have settled more than 30% of all refugees to the United States since 1980" are, since none were provided. What are these affiliates, and what does "settled to the US" mean? I can envision very different scenarios that could be described by those words. So, without any real information about that (and also, you weren't the one advancing that point in fairness), let's focus on the PDF you linked (which I was able to highlight just fine btw, so I'm guessing there's some client differences in play). It actually says something very different from what you quoted, if you take it in context:




We recognize that nations have a responsibility to regulate their borders and establish a just and orderly
immigration system for the sake of the common good. Without such processes, immigrants face the risk of
trafficking and other forms of exploitation. Safe and legal pathways serve as an antidote to such risks.




I think it is fair to say that the USCCB does not, based on that statement, support a complete cessation of immigration into the country. But neither are they advocating for simply opening the borders. Doing that would go against the statement that "nations have a responsibility to regulate their borders and establish a just and orderly immigration system for the sake of the common good".


The statement from the USCCB is pretty light on what they envision a successful immigration policy might look like. But while it's true that they say they think our nation's policy needs reform, they also imply that national security is a legitimate concern in designing such a policy ("Human
dignity and national security are not in conflict. Both are possible if people of good will work together."), as well as state outright that nations should regulate their borders (in the quote up above). They also state that we must recognize the inherent dignity of all people:




The Church’s teaching rests on the foundational
concern for the human person, as created in
the image and likeness of God (Genesis 1:27).
As pastors, we look to Sacred Scripture and the
example of the Lord Himself, where we find the
wisdom of God’s compassion. The priority of
the Lord, as the Prophets remind us, is for those
who are most vulnerable: the widow, the orphan,
the poor, and the stranger (Zechariah 7:10). In
the Lord Jesus, we see the One who became poor
for our sake (2 Corinthians 8:9), we see the Good
Samaritan who lifts us from the dust (Luke 10:30–
37), and we see the One who is found in the least
of these (Matthew 25). The Church’s concern for neighbor and our concern here for immigrants is a response
to the Lord’s command to love as He has loved us (John 13:34).




So in other words, they prioritize the importance of upholding the dignity of all people (immigrants as well as our existing citizens), with a focus on love, and finding a way forward which can meet the needs of all parties involved in the situation. I personally think that's pretty much what I said in my previous post, so I don't think that this document really refutes anything I said. In either case, I do not think that such a position qualifies as "pro immigration". They are not in favor of immigration per se, nor against it. They are instead focused on the dignity/love angle which is orthogonal to the question of what our immigration policy should be. Sometimes love is going to mean we should accept the less fortunate from other countries, and sometimes that is going to mean we should place restrictions so as to better serve the welfare of the people already living here.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of June 29, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					


The travesty is that three conservative Catholics - including two (ie enough to invert the majority ruling) appointed by the current President - voted to oppose his reasonable agenda, made clear more than a decade ago, to deter illegal immigration, which they conveniently didn’t mention opposing until now, long after their appointment by said president.




There is nothing whatsoever that constitutes a "travesty" in justices voting against the actions of a president who appointed them. That is, in fact, the entire point behind having an independent court which serves for life. They are not meant to be an extension of the president's will, rubber stamping whatever he does. Moreover, even if the president's agenda is reasonable (an assertion you didn't bother to substantiate, but just assumed as fact), that does not therefore make his actions in pursuit of that agenda reasonable. He might be taking illegal actions in service to a reasonable goal, and in that case it is the duty of the judiciary to rein him in - that's what checks and balances are all about.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of June 29, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Your post basically hangs on this:




The US Conference of Catholic Bishops (the closest the US Church has to a governing body) is staunchly pro-life but staunchly pro-immigration. So is the (American) Pope. Conservatism for me and my issues, but not for thee and yours, you might say. By some estimates, USCCB affiliates have settled more than 30% of all refugees to the United States since 1980, almost all from the third world. Expecting this to have no impact on the court’s conservative justices, 5/6 of whom are somewhat Catholic and 3/6 (the aforementioned) are closely tied to the modern Catholic intellectual tradition was delusional.




But this passage is not adequate to the task of holding up your argument. The USCCB is not "pro immigration", it advocates for treating people (including, but not limited to, immigrants) with kindness and dignity as befits someone made in the image of God. Nor does the church in general require anyone (supreme court justice or otherwise) to take any particular position on immigration policy. Believers are urged to follow their judgement as to what is prudent, based on love for their fellow man. And the justices, being highly educated people who know well what the church does and does not require, would be well aware of this. It is in no way "delusional" to believe that the justices are following their own reasoning rather than falling in line behind the USCCB, despite your assertion to the contrary.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Small-Scale Question Sunday for June 28, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
It's not gay if the truck balls don't touch.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Small-Scale Question Sunday for June 28, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
It is perfectly acceptable to gently touch another car with your car's door. I try to avoid it, including choosing parking spaces strategically, but it happens sometimes and it's fine.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of June 29, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Also - I dislike the framing by @johnfabian where everyone who disagrees with him is a partisan hack. He thinks it's clear - fine. I, like you, don't think that it is clear, and I think we need to recognize that reasonable people can in fact disagree on this stuff, and not just throw out insults.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Wellness Wednesday for June 24, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Werther's is a brand of butterscotch hard candies, and has the connotation of being something only old people partake of.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Friday Fun Thread for June 26, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Oh, I agree that Civ 6 is better than 5 (though I still enjoy 5 and go back to it sometimes).. I just don't think Civ 7 is particularly good, let alone better than other Civ games. They made their main design objective for the game solving a problem I didn't agree was a problem (late game snowballing) using methods that I think aren't fun to play (era transitions and forced civ switching, though at least they dropped the latter). Pretty poor showing from Firaxis, IMO.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Friday Fun Thread for June 26, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
"Civ VII is the best" is a nuclear hot take. I can only aspire to such heights of picking fights.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Friday Fun Thread for June 26, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Honestly not sure. I only play on King. Was going to move up to Emperor once I played all the leaders once, but that turned out to take me forever so I still haven't done it.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Friday Fun Thread for June 26, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
I'll give you West Dickens as a comic relief character (though in fairness RDR2 has those as well), but I can't for the life of me see how you would say anything else in Armadillo or Mexico is played for laughs. None of that stuff struck me as trying to be funny.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Friday Fun Thread for June 26, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
I also played it a few months ago, so my memory is as fresh as yours is. I completely disagree that the game was full of GTA style goofiness.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Friday Fun Thread for June 26, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
It's based on the progression of one of the main story quests. If you beeline just that stuff, I would guess somewhere between 10-15 hours. I looked it up and it's all of act 1, plus 8 missions in act 2. The reason I suggest starting the game normally is because IMO, act 1 is one of the strongest parts of the game and worth playing if you haven't before.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Friday Fun Thread for June 26, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
That is also why RDR2 is a huge step down from the first. Rockstar lost sight of the fact that they are making a game, not a movie, and that games need to be fun to play. RDR2 had its moments but overall it was a real let down and I had to force myself to finish it.