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SubstantialFrivolity

I'm not even supposed to be here today

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joined 2022 September 04 22:41:30 UTC
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SubstantialFrivolity


								

								

								
								
								

								
							
					
 
				


				
I'm not even supposed to be here today

				
				
				

				

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					joined 2022 September 04 22:41:30 UTC
				


				
					

					
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				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.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Friday Fun Thread for June 26, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
I definitely wouldn't say the first RDR had a lot of juvenile humor, or even any that I can think of. Unlike GTA, RDR was never meant to be satire.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Friday Fun Thread for June 26, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
I really wish that there was an easy way to change Civ 4 to 1upt (there is a mod I've seen, but I couldn't get it working on Linux so I'm not sure if it's good or not). It's so hard to go back to stacks of units, they're just so boring to play with. Otherwise yeah, Civ 4 is supreme.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Friday Fun Thread for June 26, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Still on my second Cyberpunk playthrough. I did finally get mantis blades! They aren't necessarily any better than a katana or something, but they're fun, which is what matters. I am not yet an unstoppable death machine, but I'll get there. I figure I'll pick up sandevistan for time slow down, as well as more armor because right now it's pretty easy to get shot up in the thick of things (I'm playing on hard to get a bit more challenge, so stuff hurts).


I also started a new playthrough of Coral Island, because back when the game came out I wanted to romance this one character and she wasn't an option. But they just put out an update adding her as an option, so it's time for a new playthrough. Game is much improved from when it first came out, I have to say. I left a negative review back then because even though it was 1.0 the game was a buggy mess, but they seem to have fixed most of the bugs, as well as added some more content and QOL improvements.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Friday Fun Thread for June 26, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
You can, but if you haven't really played before I recommend playing the beginning of the game.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Small-Scale Question Sunday for June 21, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
Same for me. I wouldn't mind if someone doesn't want to go (it's his loss), but if I was going to be in town during a world cup game I would absolutely go.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Small-Scale Question Sunday for June 21, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
There's nothing torturous about going to a sports event, even if you don't enjoy the sport. I've been to games which I couldn't care less about; still had an enjoyable time.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of June 22, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
To be honest, at this point whenever I see mention of a woman in programming (or other very nerdy things like speedrunning), I assume that it's a dude until I see evidence to the contrary. It's just by far the more likely bet, in my experience.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of June 22, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					


In what way have you not been allowed to criticize Wikipedia?




You were the one who implied he shouldn't criticize Wikipedia, by giving the "but it's legal" retort. Come on now.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Culture War Roundup for the week of June 22, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					


Wikipedia is a private organization and is allowed to set their policies as they please.




I don't think anyone is suggesting otherwise. I do not believe that it should be illegal for Wikipedia to do what they do. But just because it's legal doesn't mean it's acceptable. I believe that it is unreasonable for Wikipedia to act in the way they do, and I (and others) criticize them on that basis.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Small-Scale Question Sunday for June 21, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
I just finished A Canticle For Leibowitz based on the recommendations of a few people here. I was genuinely surprised when I finished it and found out it was written in the 50s - the whole time, it felt like it was a more recent work for some reason. I was also surprised it was so Catholic, mainly because religion is so low these days, but coming from the 50s it makes more sense. I enjoyed the book quite a bit, though the transitions between the parts could be a bit jarring as you had to figure out what was going on. Particular favorite bits were the scene where the monks activate the electric light while reciting Genesis 1 in Latin, and the part 3 abbot's explanation of the concept of redemptive pain to a suffering mother. Overall, solid book and I echo the other recommendations people have given here.


				

				

						

							

								
							

						


						
					

				
			


			
			
			
				

			
		

	






		

			
			
				Friday Fun Thread for June 19, 2026
			
		

	

	

	

		
			

			

				

			

		

			


				

					
I started a second playground of Cyberpunk 2077 to play the Phantom Liberty expansion. It's been fun, I'm not very far in though. I'm going for a mantis blades build, but I'm too poor to afford mantis blades yet. Soon (TM).