every 4 years I see people talking about how they live in a red state (or more rarely a blue state) so their vote doesn’t matter and I just want to briefly point out that I think nearly every state is either a swing state for the Presidential election, having a key Senate Race that will decide control of the Senate, has one or more key House races that’ll decide control of the House, or is having an important Governor’s race that’ll could flip control of the state
Presidential Swing states:
Arizona
Georgia
Michigan
Nevada
North Carolina
Pennsylvania
Wisconsin
Key Senate Races:
Arizona
Florida
Maryland
Michigan
Montana
Nevada
Ohio
Pennsylvania
Texas
Wisconsin
States With Key House Races:
Alabama
Alaska
California
Colorado
Connecticut
Florida
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Kansas
Maine
Maryland
Michigan
Minnesota
Montana
Nebraska
Nevada
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New Mexico
New York
North Carolina
Ohio
Oregon
Pennsylvania
Texas
Virginia
Washington
Wisconsin
Swingable Governor Races:
New Hampshire
North Carolina
there are lots of local and state level races that are very important to, but my point was basically odds are very very good, you live somewhere where your vote will help decide what America looks like in 2025. Don’t get tricked into thinking just because your state isn’t one of the ones always mentioned in the news as a swing state that it doesn’t matter what you do
And even if your state is not in any of those lists, and there is really and truly not a chance that it will go blue in any way in this election at any level, your vote still matters! Leaving aside local races (and your school board, sheriff, police chief, county commissioner, mayor, and other local offices have a huge impact on your community), your vote will change things in the 2026 and 2028 elections.
A district where the Democrat gets only 30% of the vote is very different from a district where the Democrat gets only 40% of the vote. In both cases they lose (unless the conservative votes are split). But! If the Democrat gets 30% of the vote, the Republicans know that next election cycle that district is safe. They don’t need to put much money or effort in getting their guy elected, they could put up an inanimate object and it would probably win the race. So they can take all their money and put it into races that are competitive. Races that could go either way.
But if the Democrat gets 40% of the vote, that changes the calculus. Maybe it’s still a safe district! … but maybe it’s trending purple-to-blue. If they want to keep it safe, they gotta pour resources into it. Which means they have fewer resources to spend on the swing states, which means that Democrats elsewhere have a greater chance of being re-elected.
Also, consider it from the Democrat perspective. If the Democrat gets 30% of the vote, they’re not going to support the next candidate very well. They’re going to use their resources elsewhere, and the chances of your district flipping or getting competitive are vanishingly small.
But if the Democrat gets 40% of the vote, then it’s worth it to pay more attention to the local races, see if they can influence things and build up a voting base and flip the district.
Politics is a long game. You’re not just voting to get someone elected this term. You’re also voting to try and set things up so that things are possible further on down the line.
There’s always going to be a next election (unless fascism wins). It’s a tournament or a season of play, not a single game. Even if you don’t win this time, you can set things up to put you in a better position next time.
Voting directly on issues is the purest expression of democracy, and one way even people in heavily suppressed states can get good policies around their shitty legislatures.
Also the “I didn’t vote group” is the largest voting group by far.
Texas for example, if every Texan voted, would very likely be a purple/blue state but a lack of engagement (and aggressive voter suppression) makes it red.
The right engagement can push any state Blue or Red.
So I’m looking through the changes in the 2024 D&D players’ handbook and this catches my eye.
ALT
I’m sorry go over that bit again?
ALT
Uh huh…
ALT
“I’m going to roll stealth to sneak in undetected.”
“OK, how do you see that working?”
“I am very angry.”
“… And that helps you how?”
ALT
“Ah, I see”
shaking dice “Oh do you now…”
Is the perception check just the Barbarian screaming “GET OUT WHERE I CAN SEE YOU!” and hidden bad guys/important items/what have you just gets so intimidated they walk up and announce their presence?
“Leave no stone unturned” as interpreted by someone who can deadlift a large boulder the size of a small boulder
I’m always a sucker for “skill check with a different ability” stuff. What does a deception check with wisdom look like?
I imagine that a strength based stealth would look like some sort of anime style, blink and there’s nothing but a crater where Gragnol used to be situation. Is he on the ceiling? Around the corner? Hiding in the cloud of dust that just erupted from the ground? Who knows? You won’t, until his axe finds you.
I’ve been reading through the notes and I just have to say that I absolutely promise, promise, promise you that nobody in the dental surgery is there to judge you, and we’re certainly not mad at you. Cavities happen. Even to dentists. You think your dentist has a mouth full of virgin teeth? Unlikely! They’ve all visited eachother’s surgeries to get a quickie filling (ooh, saucy) between patients. They understand that life can get in the way of oral hygiene sometimes. They understand that life’s too short not to eat chocolate. They understand that you’ve got to live. I swear to you that everyone in that room is just there to help you. Please, please, please don’t stop going to the dentist because you’re worried they’ll be mad at you. It’s really not the case. They understand. It’s fine. It’s really, really fine. Please go to the dentist. I promise you it’s ok.
ALT
ALT
ALT
ALT
