Oh man, oh man, do I love January. Every year we get to either indulge ourselves in the successes of our previous year or welcome in a new leader that can take us into the future. The start of a new year, the death of the old, in every way January symbolizes the greatest piece of American freedom and progress that we adore and aspire to grow with. We revel in our progress, mourn our losses, and we unite under one flag. Seems only fitting that at the end of January we should be addressed by the leader of it all, the President. A tradition older than most of us, the State of the Union is a gathering of statesman as friends and allies who seek to work together to ensure American prosperity. Trump took his first swing at this grand gathering tonight as we indulged ourselves in his first State of the Union. Was it good? definitely. Did it resonate? Deeply. But that doesn't do a grand gathering justice. Join me as we recap our first great moment of the year. Acid Politics comes to you on a special Tuesday night edition as we go through the State of the Union 2018.
Wow, talk about positivity. Trump came out of the gate swinging and built such an air of good feelings it was hard to imagine it could be torn down. From stories of heroism to boasting of a record economy nothing here pointed to the division and negativity the last year have shown us. A message of unity Trump knew what he needed to do to at the start and he did it admirably. It's clear that he isn't the greatest speaker, and the reserved tone compared to other speeches of his felt odd, but the message was strong and pointed. Unite, prosper, and win as Americans. That being said, it wasn't all happy go lucky, and at times got a little emotional. The story of the families who lost their daughters to MS-13 violence, and the hard to hear reality of the opioid crisis really pulled at heartstrings and got the tears flowing. An all around great experience it really felt like the writing and delivery were first class. A win when Trump needed it and the best speech I've heard him give, this was a solid 8/10.
What about the substance though? What did Trump say, and promise, that made us either love him or hate him more today. After the economic boasting Trump rolled us in to his first major accomplishment and told us how we should expect to benefit from it. That's right, first up is the controversial tax reform bill. According to Trump the first $24,000 earned by a married couple is tax free. Really? Well, that sounds fantastic. Also included were increased credits for children, and business tax cuts that should make it easier to start businesses and improve wages and opportunities in existing businesses. It all sounds so good, but how much should we actually expect? Yes, businesses have offered bonuses to employees in light of the tax cuts and there are some new opportunities opening up to people to better themselves, but these come with some negatives as well. The Trump admin has recently begun encouraging investing newfound gains from tax cuts into the market to help middle class citizens increase wealth and prepare for retirement. Investing sounds magical, but FIFO investment doesn't. First in first out forces individuals to better manage investments and pay even more attention to the market to maintain steady earnings on investments. For the middle class person time is of the utmost importance, and they don't always have time to focus that heavily on investments. There is 401k, but not every company offers it and those that do are normally geared towards older, more experienced employees. This leaves young people caught some where in the middle, where wealth is't growing, and stagnating opportunities leave less and less time to prepare for the future. A step in the right direction, but not without it's faults. Let's hope as it shakes out things look better for the working class.
Next up, the American moment. Trump spoke of taking advantage of this record breaking economy to seize the next great American moment that we are creating. Really strong words, and not necessarily an empty promise. Yes, this is as great a time as ever to get started on living the American dream. The economy is great, unemployment down, and good feelings abound. There isn't really a downside here as much as there is a caution from me to you. Remember when Clinton deregulated in a way that allowed so many people to get balloon mortgages and buy homes much more expensive than they could afford? Unmatched growth and prosperity, followed by a massive recession. Why? Because people bought into the feel good vibes without being prepared for what followed them. With proper preparation this could be the start of the new American moment. Be prepared though because at some point this growth has to slow and things have to correct towards more reasonable numbers. I'll agree with Trump, but caution everyone to be prepared for what comes after this growth.
Interlude: Thank god for the death of the individual mandate! No American citizen should be forced to buy healthcare if they don't want to. Freedom returns to the people and it feels damn good.
Combining the next two, Trump spoke of renegotiated trade deals and infrastructure. On trade deals he spoke of the need to renegotiate deals that were more fair and more reciprocal to the United States. Mark me here as a massive supporter of this point. For too long other nations have played belly biters to the super power of the United States, and we can't handle those deals any more. NAFTA was a disaster that allowed other countries to reap massive benefits in trading with us while we gained very little from them. Renegotiate those deals and lets get back to more fair trading grounds. Infrastructure was the next point and what can I say? Hell yeah. I'm from Ohio, half the time things are falling apart and the other half their "under construction." Getting roads that aren't pothole laced and dangerous is like pulling teeth and the bridges, especially that beast between Ohio and Kentucky, need desperate updating or rebuilding. I'll champion this point until I die, either on a rickety bridge or bouncing on a Swiss cheese road.
Prison reform was the big surprise, and it was unbelievably welcome. Our prisons do nothing but attempt to scare and degrade inmates until they feel "reformed" and they never really are. The weights they carry leaving prison ruin their lives for good and they never get that "second chance." This reform is needed and I hope it comes true. On the immigration front, we didn't really hear anything new. The same old reform and tighten that Trump has spread since 2016, if you came for new you were probably disappointed. I can't agree with Trump on chain migration because I understand the importance of family in the growth of a child. It just isn't justifiable to deny a child to have their family to be with them as they grow, but I understand that we can limit what closeness of family we allow. I will say I support a merit based immigration system as most of the developed world has one, and I'm glad that Trump hasn't let up on that point.
From here on things started to get a bit stale for me and I felt more bored than anything. I live in a place where the opioid epidemic has taken the lives of not only people I don't know, but many that I do. I know the talking points and I know what everyone says we need to do. However it's been all talk ad no action and that kills me. People are dying, families torn apart, and yet we see such slow action that it appears as inaction. This isn't new, Obama's administration had the exact same problem, but it just gets so frustrating hearing it over and over again when nobody wants to do anything.
That leads me to my final point, accomplishment. Trump may be able to boast a great economy and great job growth, but after all of those promises he made he's actually accomplished so little. Here we are, once again, hearing the stars promised. Obama did the same thing and then made so little of what he promised happen. I respect what Trump says, and I support a great deal of it, but it isn't enough to just speak it. To be a truly great leader you have to make your words a reality. That normally means working with the other side and building connections, and it means sacrificing some of what you believe for the greater good. No politician in recent memory has been able to break that partisan hold and really get things done. I want to believe Trump can break that cycle, but until I see it I fear I must remain a skeptic.
On the whole I was impressed with this State of the Union. Strong and well developed it sought to begin building unity and preparing for the next three years. It doesn't end after the honeymoon and I hope these politicians understand that. I feel positive about the future of this union and I will continue to root for my leaders to lead us forward.
What do you think? Greatest SOTU ever or an absolute piece of garbage? Be sure to let me know in the comments and feel free to throw your spin on these topics whenever you like. Tomorrow we hit the Sword and Shield Tribune as Vilcor88 comes out swinging. Thanks for joining me for this special edition of Acid Politics. I'm XionFate5271, good night, and god bless.
Tuesday, January 30, 2018
Monday, January 29, 2018
Trump's Power Grab: The Firing of Andrew McCabe
Hello everyone and welcome to the Monday edition of Acid Politics. Today we're going to talk about F.B.I deputy director Andrew McCabe stepping down from his position. That's right, another one bites the dust in the carousel of buffoonery that is Capitol Hill and the White House. Are we surprised at all? Well, no, not really. Given every other "corpse" this administration wants to leave behind this seems like just another piece of an obvious puzzle. How obvious? How about a power grab and hold that will make your poor little head spin. Will it work? Should you be concerned? Let's get to it.
First off, yes, you should be concerned. This is once again the forced outing of an official in a position that can serve to balance the power of the presidency and keep our political freedoms in place. Checks and balances are so important to what it is we do in the United States. If there is a belief that a power holding individual has abused the power vested in them to undermine the procedures and policies that we have put in place to keep our Republic running smoothly then it is not only recommended, but required, to investigate that individual. Here we have a situation where such a problem has arisen and as soon as we enact our process to guarantee that there either was or wasn't an illegal activity taking place the President himself steps in and uses power he believes is almighty to stop any chance of the facts coming out. Comey, McCabe, and even an attempt at Mueller, Trump has set out to derail and discourage any checks and balances. Why? Because he seems to believe that because he won the vote he is untouchable. Narcissists and Egotists often times take any hint of power as all powerful, and as soon as they feel like someone wants to test that theory they do everything possible to ensure that the power they hold cannot be taken from them. Is Trump a narcissist? Who knows? What is clear though is that Trump seems to believe that what the people bestowed none can remove.
Now, the next question that comes up is whether or not such a massive power grab will work. That depends on what exactly it is Mueller has up his sleeve and how willing the American people are to call this like it is. Should it come out that Mueller actually has nothing at all and it was all a game to discredit Donald Trump then yes, every action taken would then appear to be justified. If there isn't anything against him then every slanderous lie that the media flung at Trump would become blatantly obviously partisan and such an attack from the left with no payoff could jeopardize the momentum that Democrats seem to have grabbed heading into election time. What if, however, Mueller actually does have some damning evidence against the President? Then it would be on the people to keep up the push and see this thing finished. If Trump truly did what he is being accused of then odds are the House and Senate would wait to see if the people just shrugged it off and went on with business as usual. At that point it is up to the people to call out congress and demand justice for the crimes of our leader. If he's guilty, lock him up. In no way will any of this deceit and lies against the American people be persecuted if congress believes it will blow over. If we were to put the pressure on them and make them fear their seats during this election cycle then in that reality there is a possibility that action may be taken to preserve the power that Republicans currently hold in congress.
Should we see Trump off though? There may be no way of knowing how the markets will react should the worst case scenario come true, but if they follow current trends would it be smart to remove our President? I know that a good deal of this market run is Obama era decisions that contributed to growth and stability, but a year into Trump's presidency the market still seems to be running strong. New record highs and market confidence have led to more job opportunities and wage growth that has helped rekindle the dying middle class. Is it really in our best interest, given the power behind this run that the president has taken over, to remove a major catalyst to that growth? Hard to say. We will have to see where the market goes as winter draws on and gives way to spring. No slowing down may lead to Trump dodging the proverbial bullet no matter what comes out of the investigation.
Am I glad that Trump saw fit to drive McCabe out? No, not at all. It isn't how our political system should work and it isn't the system that I grew up dreaming of being involved in. What I can't condemn however is that everyone I know, at least for the time being, has benefited greatly from the election of Donald J. Trump. The waters are uneasy and the storm is building, here's hoping we are built to ride it out.
Well, what do you think? Is it all just smoke and mirrors or is there actually some real underhanded stuff going on? I'm XionFate5271 and this has been the Monday edition of Acid Politics. Join us on Wednesday as Vilcor88 hopefully peels himself away from the T.V screen and hits us with a monster of a piece in the Sword and Shield Tribune. Thank you for reading and good night.
First off, yes, you should be concerned. This is once again the forced outing of an official in a position that can serve to balance the power of the presidency and keep our political freedoms in place. Checks and balances are so important to what it is we do in the United States. If there is a belief that a power holding individual has abused the power vested in them to undermine the procedures and policies that we have put in place to keep our Republic running smoothly then it is not only recommended, but required, to investigate that individual. Here we have a situation where such a problem has arisen and as soon as we enact our process to guarantee that there either was or wasn't an illegal activity taking place the President himself steps in and uses power he believes is almighty to stop any chance of the facts coming out. Comey, McCabe, and even an attempt at Mueller, Trump has set out to derail and discourage any checks and balances. Why? Because he seems to believe that because he won the vote he is untouchable. Narcissists and Egotists often times take any hint of power as all powerful, and as soon as they feel like someone wants to test that theory they do everything possible to ensure that the power they hold cannot be taken from them. Is Trump a narcissist? Who knows? What is clear though is that Trump seems to believe that what the people bestowed none can remove.
Now, the next question that comes up is whether or not such a massive power grab will work. That depends on what exactly it is Mueller has up his sleeve and how willing the American people are to call this like it is. Should it come out that Mueller actually has nothing at all and it was all a game to discredit Donald Trump then yes, every action taken would then appear to be justified. If there isn't anything against him then every slanderous lie that the media flung at Trump would become blatantly obviously partisan and such an attack from the left with no payoff could jeopardize the momentum that Democrats seem to have grabbed heading into election time. What if, however, Mueller actually does have some damning evidence against the President? Then it would be on the people to keep up the push and see this thing finished. If Trump truly did what he is being accused of then odds are the House and Senate would wait to see if the people just shrugged it off and went on with business as usual. At that point it is up to the people to call out congress and demand justice for the crimes of our leader. If he's guilty, lock him up. In no way will any of this deceit and lies against the American people be persecuted if congress believes it will blow over. If we were to put the pressure on them and make them fear their seats during this election cycle then in that reality there is a possibility that action may be taken to preserve the power that Republicans currently hold in congress.
Should we see Trump off though? There may be no way of knowing how the markets will react should the worst case scenario come true, but if they follow current trends would it be smart to remove our President? I know that a good deal of this market run is Obama era decisions that contributed to growth and stability, but a year into Trump's presidency the market still seems to be running strong. New record highs and market confidence have led to more job opportunities and wage growth that has helped rekindle the dying middle class. Is it really in our best interest, given the power behind this run that the president has taken over, to remove a major catalyst to that growth? Hard to say. We will have to see where the market goes as winter draws on and gives way to spring. No slowing down may lead to Trump dodging the proverbial bullet no matter what comes out of the investigation.
Am I glad that Trump saw fit to drive McCabe out? No, not at all. It isn't how our political system should work and it isn't the system that I grew up dreaming of being involved in. What I can't condemn however is that everyone I know, at least for the time being, has benefited greatly from the election of Donald J. Trump. The waters are uneasy and the storm is building, here's hoping we are built to ride it out.
Well, what do you think? Is it all just smoke and mirrors or is there actually some real underhanded stuff going on? I'm XionFate5271 and this has been the Monday edition of Acid Politics. Join us on Wednesday as Vilcor88 hopefully peels himself away from the T.V screen and hits us with a monster of a piece in the Sword and Shield Tribune. Thank you for reading and good night.
Friday, January 26, 2018
Trump vs. Mueller: The Political Battle of the Century
Come one, come all and witness the greatest political spectacle since Watergate. That's right, an all out brawl between the old school, and the new crew. In one corner, a billionaire superstar who plays by his own rules, your current President of the great United States, Donald J Trump. In our other corner, a previous director of the FBI and a man hell bent on seeing justice reign supreme. Head of the special council investigating Trump, Robert Mueller. Will it be the tried and true, the old way, that comes out on top? Or will the new kid in town drain the swamp and his rivals chances at victory? It's a fifteen round smack down where anything can happen, so let's get this rumble rolling.
So maybe the last year of investigations into Donald Trumps campaign colluding with the Russian's to interfere in our election wasn't as flashy as a top billed bout in the ring, but it sure hasn't been devoid of the hard hits and staggering punches we love to see. With recent news about a potential Mueller charge coming out and some changing rhetoric in the media now seems as good a time as any to really dig in to this beast of a conflict. Over the next few paragraphs we're going to get into the investigation itself and make our decision on if we believe there is really any meat to these accusations, or if it's all just smoke and mirrors.
For those living under a rock, the sun is a wonderful thing and you should try it sometime. That aside, you also probably don't know about this investigation. After evidence came to light of potential meddling in the 2016 election from Russian sources accusations began to fly that Donald Trump had worked with the Russians to influence the election and sway the votes to guarantee his victory. What started as a federal investigation was quickly turned over to Robert Mueller after cries that the investigation should be independent of the justice department which had been newly rebuilt by Trump himself. Over the year following the start of this investigation many people within the Trump campaign were questioned and four of those people, (Paul Manafort, Richard Gates, Michael Flynn, and George Papadopoulos) were charged. Most notable of those charged is Paul Manafort who as at one point Trump's campaign chairman. That should bring you up to speed.
Now here we are, 2018, and there seems to be some chatter of a potential charge coming down against the president himself. Collusion? No. The rumors seem to suggest that Mueller will be charging Trump with obstruction of justice for firing James Comey at the onset of this investigation. There are also rumors that Trump did at one point call for Mueller to be fired, and only backed down after the White House counsel threatened to resign instead of carry out the firing. All of this has led to some very juicy media cycles that seem to want to point the finger at everyone from Donald Trump to Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. So where do we start? and furthermore, where do we go when we get there.
Let's start with the potential charges, and those being investigated, against Trump. Collusion with the Russians to influence the 2016 election and obstruction of justice are the two big charges making the rounds in the news right now. Looking at the facts presented one of those is much more likely to stick than the other. The one I doubt actually comes to fruition? Collusion. We know that at least one member of Trump's campaign met with the Russians, and we know that that individual has been charged. Michael Flynn did meet with a Russian ambassador about potentially lifting sanctions on Russia Roughly 2 weeks before Donald Trump was to be inaugurated. He was also relieved of duty in mid February of 2017 after it came to light that he had lied to the FBI and Vice President Pence about said meeting. If Trump and Pence are to be believed, and we live in an innocent until proven guilty nation, then it is fair to say that Trump was unaware of the meeting with the Russian ambassador.
We also know that Papadopoulos was charged with making false statements to the FBI about his dealings with the Russians as well. George, who was a member of Trump's foreign policy advisor team, met with a connection in Europe by the name of Josef Mifsud, in order to receive "dirt" on the Clinton campaign. Yes, George had dealings with the Russians, but all of it was communicated through Manafort. It is just as likely that Manafort used his position to manipulate foreign interests as it is that Trump was actually aware of and behind these dealings.
Obstruction however, that is one much more likely to stick. While I do believe Trump innocent of the collusion charges it is clear now that not everyone in his campaign is as well. In my opinion, after seeing that friends and close colleagues of his were guilty and would be charged Trump sought to use his power to protect them. We know he isn't a career politician and we know he's used to having power that grants influence. How could he use his power to protect his friends? By firing James Comey of course. Comey was easily the biggest opponent in the way of Trump after the election and posed the biggest threat to his "perfect" cabinet. By removing Comey Trump set the investigation back considerably and allowed his friends to begin to build legal walls that they could use to cushion whatever punishments eventually came out. Couple this with the fact that we know Trump wanted to fire Mueller and it's clear that something inside Trump's group needs protecting.
Looking at recent changes in the talking points leads me to believe that Trump can sense a charge is coming and is attempting to deflect and discredit in any way he can. While attending the World Economic Forum in Davos Trump took his chance to talk not of economics and how to better the world, but instead to attack the "fake news" for being dishonest and lying to the American people. Fox News has attempted to discredit the report of Trump calling for Mueller to be fired as fake because it was published by the New York Times. Hell, even Devin Nunes has drafted a memo accusing the FBI of political bias and misdeeds. Instead of focusing on what matters, like that tax cut the Republicans passed and the health care changes they still have yet to make reality, all they can do now is go full on attack mode against anything and everything that dares say there may have been foul play. Shoot, If I were any bigger they'd probably attack me for being fake news. What does that sound like to you? An administration that knows it's innocent? Or does it sound more like a cornered animal using it's last desperate attacks to claw its way out and survive?
In the end I think it's rather clear that Trump had something to hide and did whatever necessary to hide it. I do hope Mueller either confirms my suspicions or proves me wrong soon. My final guess is obstruction of justice charges against Trump.
What do you think? Is he guilty? Is he innocent? Is Mueller just a puppet of the Democrats? Let me know what you think and be sure to follow me over on Twitter for more political discourse and other silly fun. Next time we talk, assuming no big bombshells drop, I'd love to look into the other side of this investigation and talk Hillary Clinton. I'm not so sure she's as innocent as people believe and I want to thoroughly cover both sides of this. Thank you for reading and I look forward to catching up with you all again next week. Good Night.
So maybe the last year of investigations into Donald Trumps campaign colluding with the Russian's to interfere in our election wasn't as flashy as a top billed bout in the ring, but it sure hasn't been devoid of the hard hits and staggering punches we love to see. With recent news about a potential Mueller charge coming out and some changing rhetoric in the media now seems as good a time as any to really dig in to this beast of a conflict. Over the next few paragraphs we're going to get into the investigation itself and make our decision on if we believe there is really any meat to these accusations, or if it's all just smoke and mirrors.
For those living under a rock, the sun is a wonderful thing and you should try it sometime. That aside, you also probably don't know about this investigation. After evidence came to light of potential meddling in the 2016 election from Russian sources accusations began to fly that Donald Trump had worked with the Russians to influence the election and sway the votes to guarantee his victory. What started as a federal investigation was quickly turned over to Robert Mueller after cries that the investigation should be independent of the justice department which had been newly rebuilt by Trump himself. Over the year following the start of this investigation many people within the Trump campaign were questioned and four of those people, (Paul Manafort, Richard Gates, Michael Flynn, and George Papadopoulos) were charged. Most notable of those charged is Paul Manafort who as at one point Trump's campaign chairman. That should bring you up to speed.
Now here we are, 2018, and there seems to be some chatter of a potential charge coming down against the president himself. Collusion? No. The rumors seem to suggest that Mueller will be charging Trump with obstruction of justice for firing James Comey at the onset of this investigation. There are also rumors that Trump did at one point call for Mueller to be fired, and only backed down after the White House counsel threatened to resign instead of carry out the firing. All of this has led to some very juicy media cycles that seem to want to point the finger at everyone from Donald Trump to Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. So where do we start? and furthermore, where do we go when we get there.
Let's start with the potential charges, and those being investigated, against Trump. Collusion with the Russians to influence the 2016 election and obstruction of justice are the two big charges making the rounds in the news right now. Looking at the facts presented one of those is much more likely to stick than the other. The one I doubt actually comes to fruition? Collusion. We know that at least one member of Trump's campaign met with the Russians, and we know that that individual has been charged. Michael Flynn did meet with a Russian ambassador about potentially lifting sanctions on Russia Roughly 2 weeks before Donald Trump was to be inaugurated. He was also relieved of duty in mid February of 2017 after it came to light that he had lied to the FBI and Vice President Pence about said meeting. If Trump and Pence are to be believed, and we live in an innocent until proven guilty nation, then it is fair to say that Trump was unaware of the meeting with the Russian ambassador.
We also know that Papadopoulos was charged with making false statements to the FBI about his dealings with the Russians as well. George, who was a member of Trump's foreign policy advisor team, met with a connection in Europe by the name of Josef Mifsud, in order to receive "dirt" on the Clinton campaign. Yes, George had dealings with the Russians, but all of it was communicated through Manafort. It is just as likely that Manafort used his position to manipulate foreign interests as it is that Trump was actually aware of and behind these dealings.
Obstruction however, that is one much more likely to stick. While I do believe Trump innocent of the collusion charges it is clear now that not everyone in his campaign is as well. In my opinion, after seeing that friends and close colleagues of his were guilty and would be charged Trump sought to use his power to protect them. We know he isn't a career politician and we know he's used to having power that grants influence. How could he use his power to protect his friends? By firing James Comey of course. Comey was easily the biggest opponent in the way of Trump after the election and posed the biggest threat to his "perfect" cabinet. By removing Comey Trump set the investigation back considerably and allowed his friends to begin to build legal walls that they could use to cushion whatever punishments eventually came out. Couple this with the fact that we know Trump wanted to fire Mueller and it's clear that something inside Trump's group needs protecting.
Looking at recent changes in the talking points leads me to believe that Trump can sense a charge is coming and is attempting to deflect and discredit in any way he can. While attending the World Economic Forum in Davos Trump took his chance to talk not of economics and how to better the world, but instead to attack the "fake news" for being dishonest and lying to the American people. Fox News has attempted to discredit the report of Trump calling for Mueller to be fired as fake because it was published by the New York Times. Hell, even Devin Nunes has drafted a memo accusing the FBI of political bias and misdeeds. Instead of focusing on what matters, like that tax cut the Republicans passed and the health care changes they still have yet to make reality, all they can do now is go full on attack mode against anything and everything that dares say there may have been foul play. Shoot, If I were any bigger they'd probably attack me for being fake news. What does that sound like to you? An administration that knows it's innocent? Or does it sound more like a cornered animal using it's last desperate attacks to claw its way out and survive?
In the end I think it's rather clear that Trump had something to hide and did whatever necessary to hide it. I do hope Mueller either confirms my suspicions or proves me wrong soon. My final guess is obstruction of justice charges against Trump.
What do you think? Is he guilty? Is he innocent? Is Mueller just a puppet of the Democrats? Let me know what you think and be sure to follow me over on Twitter for more political discourse and other silly fun. Next time we talk, assuming no big bombshells drop, I'd love to look into the other side of this investigation and talk Hillary Clinton. I'm not so sure she's as innocent as people believe and I want to thoroughly cover both sides of this. Thank you for reading and I look forward to catching up with you all again next week. Good Night.
Wednesday, January 24, 2018
Hitting the Labo With Nintendo
Well, well, well, looks like it's time to get the ball rolling with our very first Sword and Shield Tribune. You knew this was coming, we all did. What may easily be the biggest news video game wise of the last month, Nintendo shocked us all again with cardboard. Not just any cardboard though, magical profit generating cardboard. Not one for keeping it simple, (or normal), Nintendo innovated once again and stepped just to the edge of virtual reality with Nintendo Labo. A video game/cardboard peripheral package, Nintendo Labo allows users to experience specially designed games in a new, interactive way. Is it good? Is it bad? Can I use my own cardboard? Let's get into it and go experimental with Nintendo Labo.
First off, let's talk about the marketing here. I've covered this lightly on Twitter recently but I think it's a good time to get in depth here. Clearly the Switch is enjoying an unbelievable sales streak and is constantly top of list in terms of sales and generated hype. Fastest selling console in U.S. history and a wonderful hybrid staying power won't be a problem. Because of the sales numbers we've seen a decent outpouring of indie and 3rd party support and Nintendo has brought its A game in terms of 1st party titles. So, all of that combined it's fair to say that the little hybrid that could is doing very well and is poised to do even better in 2018. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, we get a "kid-friendly" announcement from Nintendo that attempts to reinvent the wheel yet again. Yet, as if to show that we may have come back around to the glory days of the Wii, the death of Nintendo and the failure of the Labo talking points are basically non-existent. Why? Because of how well Nintendo built the platform prior to the bombshell. When the first year is so damn wonderful, and everyone is riding the high of killer games and sales, then no one worries about innovation and kid focused marketing. It's knowing your market and playing it well that Nintendo should be lauded for here, and I'm glad to see them reaping the rewards.
Is it actually worth buying though? That's the main question on the mind of every one else, and it demands an answer worthy of the "hype." Well, like a kid in a candy store, or Toy-con store in this case, I believe it is absolutely worth the price. For starters, it's just absolutely a novel idea. Looking past novelty though it isn't really too much more expensive than any other game we so readily open our wallets for. We normally end up paying roughly $60 per new game release that affords us roughly 10-20 hours of good story gameplay, and so many more hours of multiplayer. Hell, I've payed $60 to blow through a Call of Duty campaign in roughly 4 hours and then play multiplayer for all of 3 hours to drop it and never return. For $10 more not only do I get multiple hours of fun across a number of different games, but I also get to try out a new concept that makes an interactive medium even more interactive. Before anybody throws the mini-game compilation argument at me lets not forget that we all have payed $40-$60 for mini-game compilations that we've had a ton of fun with over the years. Earlier last year multiple thousands of people shelled out half a hundred to enjoy 1,2,Switch. Wii U lifetime we happily would have payed, and some did, for Nintendo land. Even as far back as the Nintendo 64 we popped open the coffers for Mario Party every time a new one came out. This isn't a new concept, and lord knows we've payed for it before.
Would I be hesitant to pay for the $80 robot bundle? Of course, but that doesn't mean I wouldn't buy the base package at $70 all day. It's new, innovative, and creative as hell. With rumors of ability to use your own cardboard so long as you build the shapes properly the entry price is nothing more than the same price as nearly every other game release. I think it's worth the money, and as a kid friendly product it's without a doubt one of Nintendo's better offerings. A proverbial home run, it shouldn'r be overlooked.
So, what do you think? Are you going to be first in line to grab your cardboard future? Or are you more the type to stick to controller or keyboard? Either way, one thing is for sure, gaming looks poised to have an absolutely stellar 2018. I'm XionFate5271, and this has been the Sword and Shield Tribune. Join Vilcor88 next week for what I believe will be a monstrous hunt in the gaming world and keep on gaming strong. Thank you all for reading, and good night.
First off, let's talk about the marketing here. I've covered this lightly on Twitter recently but I think it's a good time to get in depth here. Clearly the Switch is enjoying an unbelievable sales streak and is constantly top of list in terms of sales and generated hype. Fastest selling console in U.S. history and a wonderful hybrid staying power won't be a problem. Because of the sales numbers we've seen a decent outpouring of indie and 3rd party support and Nintendo has brought its A game in terms of 1st party titles. So, all of that combined it's fair to say that the little hybrid that could is doing very well and is poised to do even better in 2018. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, we get a "kid-friendly" announcement from Nintendo that attempts to reinvent the wheel yet again. Yet, as if to show that we may have come back around to the glory days of the Wii, the death of Nintendo and the failure of the Labo talking points are basically non-existent. Why? Because of how well Nintendo built the platform prior to the bombshell. When the first year is so damn wonderful, and everyone is riding the high of killer games and sales, then no one worries about innovation and kid focused marketing. It's knowing your market and playing it well that Nintendo should be lauded for here, and I'm glad to see them reaping the rewards.
Is it actually worth buying though? That's the main question on the mind of every one else, and it demands an answer worthy of the "hype." Well, like a kid in a candy store, or Toy-con store in this case, I believe it is absolutely worth the price. For starters, it's just absolutely a novel idea. Looking past novelty though it isn't really too much more expensive than any other game we so readily open our wallets for. We normally end up paying roughly $60 per new game release that affords us roughly 10-20 hours of good story gameplay, and so many more hours of multiplayer. Hell, I've payed $60 to blow through a Call of Duty campaign in roughly 4 hours and then play multiplayer for all of 3 hours to drop it and never return. For $10 more not only do I get multiple hours of fun across a number of different games, but I also get to try out a new concept that makes an interactive medium even more interactive. Before anybody throws the mini-game compilation argument at me lets not forget that we all have payed $40-$60 for mini-game compilations that we've had a ton of fun with over the years. Earlier last year multiple thousands of people shelled out half a hundred to enjoy 1,2,Switch. Wii U lifetime we happily would have payed, and some did, for Nintendo land. Even as far back as the Nintendo 64 we popped open the coffers for Mario Party every time a new one came out. This isn't a new concept, and lord knows we've payed for it before.
Would I be hesitant to pay for the $80 robot bundle? Of course, but that doesn't mean I wouldn't buy the base package at $70 all day. It's new, innovative, and creative as hell. With rumors of ability to use your own cardboard so long as you build the shapes properly the entry price is nothing more than the same price as nearly every other game release. I think it's worth the money, and as a kid friendly product it's without a doubt one of Nintendo's better offerings. A proverbial home run, it shouldn'r be overlooked.
So, what do you think? Are you going to be first in line to grab your cardboard future? Or are you more the type to stick to controller or keyboard? Either way, one thing is for sure, gaming looks poised to have an absolutely stellar 2018. I'm XionFate5271, and this has been the Sword and Shield Tribune. Join Vilcor88 next week for what I believe will be a monstrous hunt in the gaming world and keep on gaming strong. Thank you all for reading, and good night.
Monday, January 22, 2018
Beginning the New year
Helloooo, boys, girls, men, women, and to whoever else may be left out. Back at it again in 2018 with Vilcor as your captain. Co captain? Either way, I am with you in this new year. Some could say a lot has happened over the past years and quite frankly, they are right.
A lot has happened, but in my eyes, it has been the same back and forth bickering that we have always seen since we could understand politics. Same shit, different day.
So when I was asked to start writing to the public again, I was kind of hard pressed to find something worthwhile to write about that wouldn’t be something I would be a dribbling broken record on. I feel that if I am going to put my time into writing, it has to be something I have to be able to put a little heart behind, ya know? Anyways, more on that exposition later.
So when I was searching fruitlessly for interesting tidbits to write about, something new was brought to my attention. Well, not new per say, but new to me. The Davos World Economic Forum(WEF). Yeah, so not really new since it was founded in 1971. It is an organization that brings a lot of the worlds VIPs together, stating the motto of “Committed to improving the state of the world.”
So you may ask yourself, “Hey Vilcor, how come you’ve only just found out about something like this?” Well, that is very simple. I just didn’t know. I am only human and a dumb american one at that. I plan on keeping tabs and researching more into this organization. From what I have read so far, it seems like something that should be kept up on, if they live up to their motto.
I, for one, am all about improving this world. I hear so much bad nowadays and never enough good to make up the difference. So when there is a whole organization about the betterment of the world, of course I would be on board. I know that this thing won’t have its faults, nary a thing ever does, but I hope that it will be successful.
Now I want to talk about this year’s meeting in particular. One that I believe will have interesting result. Whether for good or for bad, who can tell. To get on with it, this year our president, the United States of America’s one and only president, President Trump, is planning on making a visit to the Davos World Economic Forum. When I heard this, oooohhh it brought a smile to my lips. It wasn’t one of those smiles where where everything was happy and okay. It was one of those smiles where you know something was about to go down so you grab one of those fold out chairs and popcorn and just wait for the fireworks.
President Trump is not one who is known for... displaying example for world betterment. Quite the opposite actually. The betterment of the United States? A questionable yes. A very questionable yes in my book. Now, I’ll admit that he hasn’t been as bad as I thought he would be, but he hasn’t been the greatest. Still better than Hillary.
The pull out of the Paris Agreement, the questionably racist and sexist(not to questionable, in my opinion.) remarks, and among several other things have not made Trump a very popular person in the eyes of WEF. I am positive this will lead to some very heated debates in the near future. A slim slim hope for some positive results. I doubt that would come to pass and that Trump’s presence there just may lead for more enemies against the US, but here is to thinking positive.
Now, I believe my rambling has gone on quite long enough. To summarize it all up; new year, new discovery, Trump is a douche, WEF is definitely worth investigating, be aware of the fire in the near future. That is about it and remember to have a good morning, good afternoon, good evening, and good night. Yes, I liked the Truman Show. Bye!
Sunday, January 21, 2018
Welcome to The Underground Harbor
Well, well, well, look who's back again. Howdy everyone and welcome to the re-re-emergence of The Underground Harbor. You know, that one political/gaming/life blog that existed like two years ago. What? You don't remember? Fair enough, I don't blame you one bit. For those that don't know The Underground Harbor is a collaborative blog project put on by me, XionFate5271, and Vilcor88 That seeks to inform and entertain. We cover politics, gaming, and life in our own unique way and try to make it as friendly and accessible to you, the reader, as possible. If you want a full run-down of everything we do go check out the about page which you can find a link to at the top of the blog.
"This place is a mess though," you say as you wander through the rubble of the blog. I know, it could use some cleaning up, but it's not a complete wreck. Over the course of the first week or two we plan to add a few more pages, clean up the look a bit, and make everything look clean as crystal. It might take some time, but we'll get it looking nice. We plan to stick with blogger for the time being given that it's easy to use and cheap as well. We're not going full Bungie and starting over completely, but we have taken a step back for the sake of bringing you the best content possible.
So, what's old, what's new, and where do we stand? As far as old stuff goes we bring back the only piece of the previous iteration and make it better than ever. That's right, the triumphant return of Acid Politics and everything that comes with it. We want you to feel informed so you can go out and make the best decisions possible and we want you to be informed quickly. Starting tomorrow we bring this beast back from the dead and with enough good juices flowing to satisfy every need. So then, that means everything else is new. Wow, talk about value am I right? Starting off the onslaught of new is our gaming piece titled The Sword and Shield Tribune. Every week we take a look at the world of gaming and catch you up on all of the news worth printing. Want news on the next big console? We'll have it when it breaks. What about landmark blockbusters that could end up being game of the year? We've got it baby. You name it we'll get it covered. Next we introduce our first foray into something non print as we bring you The Harbor Podcast. To finish off our week we sit down in front of the microphone and recap our week for all of you to enjoy. We also field questions from the readers and tell a few jokes but no matter what we have a blast.
Not the fountain of content we're aiming at getting to but it's a hell of a start. Schedule wise it sets up as follows:
Monday-Acid Politics
Tuesday-Off
Wednesday-Sword and Shield Tribune
Thursday-Off
Friday-Acid Politics
Saturday-The Harbor Podcast (starting in February)
Sunday-Off
Along the way we plan to bring you more but to start this seems manageable for us and hopefully entertaining to you.
That covers our intro to The Underground Harbor. For more info check the about pages and keep your eyes out for future updates. Thanks for coming along on this journey with us and we look forward to every road left to travel.
"This place is a mess though," you say as you wander through the rubble of the blog. I know, it could use some cleaning up, but it's not a complete wreck. Over the course of the first week or two we plan to add a few more pages, clean up the look a bit, and make everything look clean as crystal. It might take some time, but we'll get it looking nice. We plan to stick with blogger for the time being given that it's easy to use and cheap as well. We're not going full Bungie and starting over completely, but we have taken a step back for the sake of bringing you the best content possible.
So, what's old, what's new, and where do we stand? As far as old stuff goes we bring back the only piece of the previous iteration and make it better than ever. That's right, the triumphant return of Acid Politics and everything that comes with it. We want you to feel informed so you can go out and make the best decisions possible and we want you to be informed quickly. Starting tomorrow we bring this beast back from the dead and with enough good juices flowing to satisfy every need. So then, that means everything else is new. Wow, talk about value am I right? Starting off the onslaught of new is our gaming piece titled The Sword and Shield Tribune. Every week we take a look at the world of gaming and catch you up on all of the news worth printing. Want news on the next big console? We'll have it when it breaks. What about landmark blockbusters that could end up being game of the year? We've got it baby. You name it we'll get it covered. Next we introduce our first foray into something non print as we bring you The Harbor Podcast. To finish off our week we sit down in front of the microphone and recap our week for all of you to enjoy. We also field questions from the readers and tell a few jokes but no matter what we have a blast.
Not the fountain of content we're aiming at getting to but it's a hell of a start. Schedule wise it sets up as follows:
Monday-Acid Politics
Tuesday-Off
Wednesday-Sword and Shield Tribune
Thursday-Off
Friday-Acid Politics
Saturday-The Harbor Podcast (starting in February)
Sunday-Off
Along the way we plan to bring you more but to start this seems manageable for us and hopefully entertaining to you.
That covers our intro to The Underground Harbor. For more info check the about pages and keep your eyes out for future updates. Thanks for coming along on this journey with us and we look forward to every road left to travel.
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