Guard Dog

All of that is true. Although the North Korea thing went nowhere. But from what I understood they were all set for cruise missiles into Iran as a reprisal for shooting the drone down and the president declined to do it. It’s also arguable that he has not gotten us any new entanglements. Which is certainly an improvement over the last four presidents. Obama got one for doing far less. He then proceeded to intervene in Syria, North and West Africa, drone strikes in Yemen and dozens of other places. You are right, not the worst nominee ever. I mean Hitler was nominated for one. Arafat actually won which was a joke.

Donald Trump has been nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize. LOL no seriously. Sure why not. More than a few genuine idiots, dolts, villains, and ne’er do wells have taken that dubious “honor” home.

@Humanoid I agree it's done some things that defy history and logic. In my Alto Aragon game I ended up with a marriage alliance to a Welsh petty king. I was also allied with the other Catholic Houses in Spain. When the war with the Islamic states started I called all the allies and shortly after 200 some odd Welsh troops showed up. A game like this cannot be historically accurate but should at least be historically authentic. There is no way such a campaign would be within the means of a Welsh king. Nor would it be prudent to throw his soldiers and levies into a foreign war outside a papal crusade. That should not have happened. The problem is navel transport in this game is free and easy. In reality moving a medieval army by sea would be a huge and expensive undertaking. Naval movement and just army logistics overall are flawed. I didn't experience any strange religion changes like you mentioned. That would be immersion breaking in the extreme. Definitely something that needed to be patched. I will say compared to Imperator Rome, CK3 is MUCH better out of the gate. And being a Paradox title the game we are playing now will be much more refined a year from now. For my second game I decided to go big: the Byzantine Empire. It is much easier when you have money, armies, and well established dynasty. But there is a LOT to do. You spend a lot of time on pause keeping up with everything. I'm in a plot now to murder the Fatmid Sultan because his heir is much more favorably disposed to us. And I have a hook on a Seljuk Emir on my border. In a pretty good place right now.

No need to murder family members anymore. Just call the police.

I have 30 hours in now. I've lost my first game and I'm into my second now. On the whole, it is a great game. I spent 60-70 hours in Imperator Rome so I was able to slip right into this pretty easy. But if you are not familiar with Paradox games like EU, Stellaris, and CK2 there is a TON of details and a steep learning curve to climb. The tutorial does a good job of teaching the basics. It's 20 minutes well spent. So here is my tips based on what I've seen: Remember above all else you are playing a King/Queen, NOT a Kingdom. You have to roleplay the part. That might not sound like a distinction but you will find it is. The objective is the survival of your House first. Conquering and the 4X's are a means to an end rather than the end itself. NPC ARE the game. Interact with them as much as you can. Intrigue is a big part of the game. Hooks and plots are very useful Knights: you NEED them. They make the difference between battles won and lost. Pay attention you who your counselors are. When they screw up it hurts. Also I don't know what the hardest start is but Alto Aragorn in in the running. You only weaker neighbor is an ally AND your cousin. The Islamic counties are all stronger than you and will go to war with you really quickly. I know several of you guys are playing. What are your thought?

Point of fact he can’t. Which is why I said he is going to end up with jail time on the weapons charge. But it’s not a hard argument to make the shooting was in self-defense. The funny thing about self-defense laws is “he shouldn’t have been there in the first place” is not a valid argument

Column: Here’s why Kyle Rittenhouse, the teen shooting suspect in Kenosha killings, is likely to get off I wouldn't convict him. Not of homicide at least. The weapons charge there is no getting out of.

Lou Brock and Tom Seaver passed away this week. Two of the greats.

The role of the federal government had to play in the desegregation of schools and what that means for the existence of a Department of Education I already knew about. The others I’m afraid don’t ring a bell. I will do some reading. Turning off the forum hyperbole and devils advocacy for just a moment. In an ideal world an ideal people could restrain their base instincts and not f—k with, discriminate against, or otherwise treat their fellow humans with less than the kindness and respect they surely deserve as equally beloved by God. But... we don’t . In 1798 John Adams sent a letter to the Massachusetts Militia in which he said We have no Government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion. Avarice, ambition, revenge or galantry would break the strongest cords of our Constitution as a whale goes through a net. Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious People. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other We were not that then, and we are even less so now. It’s why can’t have nice things like limited government. Instead we have a government that can crush us like bugs. And sometimes does. Oh sure the government does have limits, but it seldom fails to find its way around them I am no anarchist. And I am not foolishly optimistic that people will behave themselves without the government gun to their heads. But I wouldn’t respect a man who didn’t chafe at authority. Who felt that people’s lives were best managed by someone other than themselves. Someone must to be the ones to stand up and shout “no”whenever the government tries to do something. Sadly there is only one political party left in the United States that does that. And their voice is small indeed.

Does the Constitution specifically enumerate any power for education to the Federal government, Executive Branch specifically? The argument is not entirely without merit. However it is a bit more complicated than that I realize. The Dep of Ed did not magically spring into existence. It was once part of a single entity along with the Dept of Health and others stuff. And that entity was once part of a larger department. Government agencies grow like stock splits. Instead of 10 departments doing 20 between them you get 20 departments doing 60 things between them, then 40 departments doing 120 things. It's domination via increments. Leviathan did not emerge from the abyss fully formed. It grew before our very eyes.

More like non-existent. Goldwater & Reagan would have abandoned it if they could see it today.

No argument from me on your general point. However the very existence of the Department of Education is also arguably unconstitutional. Along with a lot of other crap that exists but shouldn’t

Of course. But debt can only be monetized if the currency is stable. Right now the dollar is stable. But only because there is no alternative. If the dollar collapses or if something like Bit Coin becomes a real currency for trade, the US will not survive the mismanagement of it's political class.

OK one more and I'll go back to CK3

In the spirit of keeping the Funny Things thread politics free:

US politics explained in one pic

Besides, it really does NOT matter who wins the 2020 Presidential race. Neither will contribute to fixing this: https://www.usdebtclock.org/ Someday, when your money is worthless, you will all remember with fondness when all you had to worry about was whether Trump was worse than Biden.

I wouldn't do that. There is the control of Congress to be determined. I'd argue that is even more important that who becomes President. I suspect Biden is going to win so I am 100% voting Republican for House and Senate. I do NOT want ANY President to ever have a completely friendly Congress ever again. No good comes of that. This is what comes of one party rule in the USA: The Vietnam War Housing and Community Development Act The 1994 Crime Bill The Patriot Act The Invasion of Iraq The ACA "The Wall" The involvement in the Syrian civil war Everything Trump did from 2017 to 2018 We are SO much better off when they all just cancel each other out. Also State and local elections to be decided. Those are not sexy but believe me, they ARE important.

Like I said before, Trump being terrible does not make Joe Biden good. I am fed up with choosing the "lesser evil". All you get is evil. I cannot, I WILL not cast a vote for either of them. The candidate I am voting for will not win the election. And I'm OK with that. And I'll be OK with the guy in the mirror. Because the terrible candidate that did win didn't get my support. I've been saying this for the last four years and I'll say it again. Don't blame me for Trump's BS. I voted for Johnson.

Refer to my flow chart from last page. The only problem is he is not on their side. They are only on his.

Cohen's new book calls Trump a 'cheat' who sought help from Russia Cohen of course has 0 credibility. He is the kind of lawyer that gives the profession a bad name. One of the kinds anyway. That said even if he is scum it's easy to believe at least some of this is true. Maybe some truth in all of it even if exaggerated. Either way I think we have all had enough of Donald F-----g Trump. He needs to go.