I try hard to keep an optimistic outlook, but this is incredibly dire. On a level that we probably haven't seen in decades. It will ensure a Conservative Court that will remain for generations.
In practical terms, what does this mean? Well, first:
Roe v Wade will be overturned.
Marriage equality will be overturned.
Obamacare will be overturned.
ICE will be protected.
Corporate power will grow unchecked because lawsuits will be ruled in their favor.
A contested 2020 election will be ruled in Trump's favor (ie Bush v Gore).
And that's just the beginning. I see an erosion in a separation of church and state with this ruling--from school prayer to what your doctor or pharmacist can do on religious grounds, and much more.
Just remember all the people who told you it didn't matter between Clinton or Trump, or Democrat or Republican "because they are all corrupt and we need to tear down the system".
Oh yeah, the system is coming down. Just not the way most of them would like.
Anyone who thinks the Republicans aren't going to ram through a new justice is dead mistaken. Even if Trump loses and the Republicans lose the Senate, they can fill the seat before the switch in power in January.
And since many of you haven't been paying attention, Mitch McConnell and the Senate Republicans have been stacking the lower federal courts at a rate that is alarming and unprecedented. They have this down to a science and can make it happen quicker than you'd believe.
Yes. The system is definitely coming down. And when I say 'the system', what I mean is most of your liberties and freedoms and a society unfettered by Evanganelic Christian control or unchecked corporate power. Or massive income inequality. Or environmental safety.
The more I think, even basic consumer protections will be out the door, because lawsuits will always rule in favor of the corporation and all federal agencies are supporting them, too.
Clean water? I wouldn't trust it.
Safe food? Don't be so sure.
Vehicle integrity? Maybe not.
We may fracture fully into regional powers. So if you want some basic level of safety and consumer protection, you need to live in a Blue state especially one that put's its people before corporate interests. It won't fully protect you, but Red states are going to get much worse.
I don't want to discourage anyone, but all the 'We'll fight!' posts don't make much sense. There is no 'fighting' in this scenario. The Senate is controlled by the Republicans. Trump nominates the President. It's a locked system.
The only chance are Republicans in swing states but they will fall into line if it fits their agenda. For instance, Romney will definitely vote for a justice that fits his religious beliefs even if he hates Trump. Susan Collins will be very concerned as she votes a Trump nominee.
If you want my advice: Look into Blue Cities in Blue States with policies on the state and local level that fit your needs. We're looking an "enclave" scenario for the foreseeable future.
For instance, Massachusetts has good healthcare.
California has some strong protections around the internet/consumer protection.
And so on.
What should you do?
Get invested in a real and serious way on your local level: Board of Education. Mayor. City Council. Sheriff. State Reps. Judges (any that are elected, not appointed). Governor.
You MUST push all these bodies Blue. IT IS YOUR ONLY SAFETY NET.
Clarifying some of the 'Hey Democrat Senators, stop this!' tweets & other confusing pieces of information. Legal scholars correct me if I am wrong but this piece sums it up: The Republicans can't be stopped. They only need 50 votes. Pence breaks the tie.
So even if Collins, Romney, and Murkowski vote 'no, Trump and McConnell STILL cram their nominee into the Supreme Court.
There isn't any scenario I can see where this gets stopped by anyone.
It's all down the local levels to protect individual rights.
Also, to clarify, I am not giving up. I'm voting Blue across the board in November. I'm donating strategically and smartly to candidates, especially in tough elections, to push Blue. Both on the local and state level, as well as out-of-state. Fight every inch where I can.
• • •
Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to
force a refresh
I've seen this question pop up, and the obvious answer to linking it is to use one of the missing Concord Jewels--for the PCs to discover it buried, or hidden in a giant statue or tower, etc.
But another way has to do with...Ravenloft.🦇
There is a bit of text in the Radiant Citadel about how the Auroral Diamond acts as a beacon for those lost and hopeless and being able to find the Citadel by following it's light. The text assumes you're on the Ethereal Plane, but that doesn't have to be the case.
I envision the Light of the Auroral Diamond as the counterpoint of the Mists of the Domains of Dread. The latter engulfs you--often whether you like it or not--and transports you into that doomed realm.
With the first chapter of @Wizards_DnD's Journeys Through the Radiant Citadel out on @DnDBeyond, I'd love to talk about why I made some design choices and the idea of a "fragile utopia" in this thread!
The Radiant Citadel is solarpunk inspired city, a response to the grimdark we've seen in a lot of media, including other D&D cities. On the surface, it seems like a positive and relatively safe place to live.
Let's get into why I made those choices.
“Maybe you have to know the darkness before you can appreciate the light.” – Madeline L’Engle
I've heard this quote a lot, but not in reverse. But I think that it's equally applicable--to appreciate the darkness, you need the light.
Seeing some WEIRD takes about how this is the Democrats' fault.
Know who loves it when liberals eat their own? When progressives don't vote? REPUBLICANS.
That's the way they win.
Here is a quick lesson on how we got here.
In 2010 and 2014, Dems didn't show up in enough numbers to ensure the House and Senate remained in their hands, and we lost both. This radically changed our trajectory, including blocking Merrick Garland from an empty Supreme Court seat for ONE YEAR.
Then in 2016, Dems didn't show up in enough numbers to ensure Hillary Clinton won the presidency, so Trump got to select THREE VERY CONSERVATIVE Supreme Court Justices that changed the entire fate of our nation.
We've now entered a period where a black-robed theocratic council of 5 men and 1 woman of near unlimited power to change the laws of the land and no accountability rules us. Rules our lives. Rules our bodies. Rules our natural surroundings.
Things are grim, but we can change it.
First: We need to ditch purity politics. IMMEDIATELY. We are imperfect, and we need to work with other imperfect people for imperfect compromises. The Republicans learned this decades ago--look who they elected to Congress!
We need to be strategic or we will continue to lose.
Second: We need to expand our hold over the House and get to 51 or 53 or whatever number of Democratic senators will vote to revert the filibuster to a talking one.
Then we need national laws protecting abortion, gun control, environmental protections, etc
The Shieldbearers of the #RadiantCitadel are the ‘best of the best. Think ‘D&D special forces’. But they’ve got an intentional twist that asks some tough questions and poses added complexities that DMs can utilize and players can build stories from.
The Shieldbearers are deployed to hot zones, dropped into the worst situations. Their mission is to find & rescue people in danger. Their casualty rates are high; they’re true heroes of the Citadel.
The twist: The rules of engagement state they can only defend if attacked first.
They aren't allowed to impact the area or otherwise go on the offensive.
The leadership of the Citadel is wary of how intervention can cause unforeseen larger problems. Changing natural conditions, even for "good", can have a ripple effect that is unpredictable in its impact.
The first is the very first sketch ever drawn of the Radiant Citadel, done by @the_strix while I rambled at her after inspiration hit me while I was in bed reading. We jammed for hours on it.
I have lots of notes from that first conversation--here is a small taste: "This is the central location of [redacted], and it is a place of trade, diplomacy, learning, and mystery. The current occupants don't know where it came from but have occupied it and learned to use it."
"There are 15 mini-floating island-buildings. Each has a single building that is [redacted] corresponds to 1 of the 15 locations. Below the base-level of the central island-city will be a protruding gemstone geode that corresponds to one of the 15 locations."