Basically, yes.

In the books it was just that they would only answer to Isldur’s Heir. They also scared the Corsairs of Umbar away from their ships, but it was an army of Dunadain (along with a few elves, like Elrond’s sons) that actually ran them off permanently, so they could use the ships to bring some of the Gondorians in the south back north to join the main battle.

There was a book like that, but this illustration is from a calendar James Gurney did.

‘Gigantic welfare system’? What alternate-universe US are you living in? Our welfare system is shit. We don’t even have universal healthcare!

Welfare should be to help support struggling people. Helping those who are struggling improves not only their lives, but all of society as well. This has been proven over and over again—just look at UBI programs. We should be offering more support, not less.

These people pay taxes same as legal Americans, through their employer. They should therefore get access to every American system except voting.

Edit: relevant post lol

Honestly, hard to say. Maybe, maybe not… those guys had a weird disconnect between ‘nice black man I met on the street’ and ‘slaves I own’. But even if he wouldn’t want them, what he said is still true. America should be open to everyone. Pretty much all of us are immigrants here, our families coming in search of a better life. We should be opening our doors to the world, not closing them.

Ever read up on the elections in Germany that led to Hitler’s rise?

The millionaires and billionaires that have paid for all these nominees think Trump will: 1. cut regulations for them, & 2. he’ll be easy to control.

Those who don’t learn from history are doomed to repeat it.

(I admit, there’s also a bit of 3. help get Israel to start WWIII so all them rich white folks can get raptured, which is one of the reasons Biden also is supporting Israel.)

It isn’t just that. Any job seen as a ‘woman’s job’ is going to pay less. And it isn’t just for the ‘traditional’ women’s jobs, like grade school teacher or secretary. If women enter a field in significant numbers, then wages overall will fall. See veterinary work for one example.

Pisses me the fuck off.

Men who are inferior to their fellow men, are always most anxious to establish their superiority over women. -Mary Wollstonecraft

Many billionaires are not only morons, they’re racist morons. They also love the trappings of fascism—as long as they get to be the ones on top.

Have you seen that article about that one techbro rich boy and how he wants to structure San Francisco? How the techbros would wear grey shirts, and their Republican friends would red shirts, and everyone else would be forced to wear blue shirts, and those with grey and red shirts would get preferential treatment, because they would buy out the cops?

It’s a chilling article; I recommend reading it.

I mean, it’s supposed to be.

Probably still won’t stop future humans from opening the vault, sadly.

We used to have a thriving rail and trolley system in the US; in most major cities especially. The automakers destroyed it. When they were caught, they got a slap-on-the-wrist fine and the nation went with the automaker’s suggestion of building the highway system up.

So yes, there is a fundamental reason we can’t. It’s the auto makers and the politicians they own.

I contend that we are both atheists. I just believe in one fewer god than you do. When you understand why you dismiss all the other possible gods, you will understand why I dismiss yours. ― Stephen Roberts

Could be worse… could be like the old Japanese fine dining, where you’re just supposed to stare at the food and pretend to eat it.

No, its even worse. One side reacted by saying ‘how horrible!’ and offering sympathy and support to the victims, and the other side said ‘it never happened, and all those so-called dead kids were just paid actors!’

How can you unite anyone when a good chunk of them live in an alternate reality?

A lot of misogynists like to throw out how ‘women don’t have to suffer the draft’ (like we’ve even had one of those in forever). So if it’s just for men, probably giving that old tired jaw teeth again?

Yeah, a couple family members converted a few decades ago and the Mormons sent us all a request to list all our ancestors so they could retroactively ‘save’ them. Most of my family being Lutheran, that didn’t go over well lol.

My grandpa, my uncle, and a few other family pranksters got together and gave them the most outrageous list they could come up with. I had a Mormon kid as a friend when I was young, and some days I wonder if they looked me up, and actually believed I was related to the King of Sweden.

Ignoring bigots makes them bolder. And throwing a drink does not excuse a punch.

It’s not only about what I have, it’s about what you people don’t have!

As others have said, these are taken from Gary Larson’s daily website posts of old comics.

He is still drawing. Although retired, he recently got a tablet and has been experimenting with it, so he puts out new comics on his website every so often when the mood strikes him.

Wow. Even Trump thought they went too far. Damn.

And the CEO who brushed that assault off ‘suffered’ a ‘delayed promotion’. Poor thing. For saying that stuff about anyone, let alone a customer, he should have been fired, no golden parachute.

I think the doctor’s patients should have sued the airline too, since no doubt having their doctor pounded to a pulp caused them to miss their appointments.

On a guess? Skin color.