There is plenty of debate on the left about what exactly the next move is for left of center politics in America.

One side says Obama and Democrats are doing about as well as we should have expected them to do, and that most of our problems are being caused by Senate filibuster rules, and a coalition of conservative Democrats and the whole Republican party.

The other side says Obama and the Democrats sold us out, that they're co-conspirators with the corporate Republican party, and it's time for us to make our voices heard...by trashing Obama and Democrats as much as possible.

I'm mostly sympathetic with the first group (mockingly referred to as "Obots"), while I'm mostly disgusted with the second (mockingly referred to as "firebaggers").

That said, I do think that while most of our problems can be chalked up to filibuster rules and conservadems, I think progressives as a whole have to reexamine how they practice politics. Democrats by and large refuse to make a full throated argument in favor of liberalism as a philosophy. Instead, they spend an inordinate amount of time trying to couch progressive ideas in conservative frames. For example, Democrats talk a lot about how health care is going to fix the long-term budget, but not so much about how it will help people who were being left for dead by the old system.

Maybe a third party would solve those problems, but I doubt it. The left needs to start getting angry, and demanding that their voices get heard.

3 more comments have been lost in the ether at this killed duplicate.

I will never again see the Left 4 Dead "zombie hand" in the same way...

[redacted]

I only buy games on Steam that are on sale. If I buy something new it is the good old fashioned way. Steam will probably be a better outlet for older games but I do not have good faith in new games on it yet. The prices are rarely compeditive for new games compared to just walking to a store and buying the damn thing and I get a physical copy of the game. I realize the whole point of Steam is to install games anywhere which is nice, but you still have to wait a few hours (or more) when downloading a 5-10GB game!

The sales are indeed nice, but I sometimes dislike the OMG 1 DAY SALE TOO LATE IF YOU MISSED IT LOL!!!1 I missed out on the EA racer package in July since I was on vacation

Now if only they gave the amount of attention they have been giving $20 Team Fortress 2 (ALOT) to stuff like $50 Left 4 Dead... Oh yeah and where is HL2 Ep. 3 This kind of lop-sided support is a bit odd but I cannot complain as they are still better than most game companies

The only real complaint I can see about Steam (and why I don't buy anything new as such a small investment into it) is that if you lose your account or it gets deactivated for whatever reason you lose ALL your games and there is NO recourse thanks to the EULA. Maybe Valve will be nice when Steam eventually falls under and allow you to unlock what you have... but what if someone buys out Valve

>> ^bananafone:

well that's certainly out of the mold. If its not a spoof, I wonder if they can pull it off without it become cliche or sexist.


Well, being that the entire gaming experience was does as a cliche on b movies, lets hope they do!

Anyone ever wondered what a Parish is?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parish_%28country_subdivision%29

Ever since Left 4 Dead 2 Parish I always wandered what the fuck that meant. It is like a county.

Your right it does change the message.

>> ^Krupo:

How the hell does this not have the femme tag on?
Also, I'm not going to second it - the captions totally change the message!!!
Particularly, where they cross out you "don't need a gun"

I cannot imagine ever using a one button mouse. I mean I cant stand using a 3 button mouse even, I need at least 5 or I feel handicapped.

This teaser is quite awesome but the demonstration of the new mechanics is even better. They have some fantastic ideas and I think that, like the Left For Dead series, the first is awesome, but the second will trump it in every way possible.


... you monster.

Portal in a Nutshell. (MAJOR SPOILERS - you'd be better off just playing the thing yourself - it's a perfect game IMO)

Created by Valve, makers of Half-Life, Left 4 Dead and Team Fortress, Portal is at it's heart an ingeneous puzzle game that focuses around a Portal gun. This gun is basically a wormhole gun that allows you to project entry/exit points onto walls, ceilings and floors which you can then travel through. The physics in the game are perfect and momentum figures into the puzzles in a very satisfying way. The increasingly more challenging levels are all based around getting from the beginning of the level to the end, and some of the later ones take some real brain power to figure out.

Beyond this, they've crafted a fairly brilliant story, narrated by the only speaking character in the game, GLaDOS, who is the insane computer in charge of the research facility that you are trapped in. The dialog is very witty and the rapidly decreasing mental state of GLaDOS's AI, and adds a lot of tension to the game. You slowly realize that there are major problems with this facility, and things unfold in an interesting way.

At one point, you are tasked with caring for a 'companion cube'. Later you are asked to 'kill' the cube by dropping it into an incinerator. Later in the game GLaDOS reprimands you for doing this.

As a reward for completing all of the research challenges, you are promised a tasty slice of cake. As inevitably escape research maze, you find notes from others who have presumably escaped too. You find things on the wall that say 'The Cake Is A Lie'.

Great boss battle at the end, and just when you think the fun is over, GLaDOS herself sings this amazing hilarious song by Johnathan Coultan.

In reply to this comment by Croccydile:
Am I the last gamer on Earth to not know what the deal is with this game? The limit of my knowledge involves overplayed jokes about some cake or something.

She's the opposite of Francis

>> ^xxovercastxx:

dead


Hmm, don't remember which one this is: http://www.google.com/search?q=Hitler+Left+4+Dead+2 ...

*beg Where the heck are all the sift gamers? I don't even play Left 4 Dead and I love the intensity of the girl chasing the cameraman.

Your video, left 4 dead 2- Charger sneak attack at the start, has made it into the Top 15 New Videos listing. Congratulations on your achievement. For your contribution you have been awarded 1 Power Point.

>> ^Kevlar:

The "normal" (meaning cheap but not outside game rules) way this is done in Versus mode (at least as far as I do it and normally see it done) is to spawn the Charger on the roof the instant the first survivor runs into the building, thus leaving the 'safe room' which consists of the outside area. If the team is unprepared for such an attack or if one person simply runs ahead (which allows the SI to spawn), you can immediately jump down and charge anyone still standing outside and picking up weapons/kits off the pier and into the ocean. Using a Jockey or a Smoker to hold the person still also helps, or helps to drag them back into position for the death charge. However, I've never seen the death charge occur while the opening intro is still going - that shouldn't technically be possible due to everyone still being in the safe room and thus disallowing the charger spawn.
(cue "The More You Know" theme music)

Thanks for dropping some science.