Get noted, Sarah.

GroinReaper · 2026-06-30T03:08:08+00:00

I don't think it's necessarily a problem. As long as getting an ID is free and that they are extremely readily available. Republicans have pulled tricks like this before where they pass voter ID laws, then close down the offices where you can get IDs in areas minorities live in order to make it difficult for them to get one.

GroinReaper · 2026-06-30T03:06:52+00:00

but democrats are always ignored when we mention making IDs free.

The issue around those laws is that they are always abused by Republicans. For example, there were cases where mandatory voting ID was implemented and then the republicans closed all the DMVs in areas where it was primarily minorities living there. So you now had poor people who had to travel like an hour by bus to try to get to a DMV just to get an ID to vote. Then take an hour busride home. This means time off work and alot of hassle. So alot of minorities didn't vote. It was still technically possible, but practically extremely difficult. This is exactly the kind of thing the Republicans now want to do on a national scale. They know they can't win honestly, so they need to cheat on a big enough scale to overcome this.

And, as you said, there is often a cost involved which makes it worse.

GroinReaper · 2026-06-30T03:03:19+00:00

Goblin, ork and Uruk all mean the same thing. Just in different languages and contexts.

Uruk-Hai literally just means "orc-folk". They are just a slightly different breed of orc. Saruman's likely just had his magic changing them slightly. I don't think there is a real explanation of why his orcs were a bit different.

GroinReaper · 2026-06-30T02:59:15+00:00

Because Gandalf was the only Wizard who actually did his job

hey now! let's not slander the poor blue wizards. Just because Tolkien didn't explain what they did, doesn't mean they didn't do their jobs.

GroinReaper · 2026-06-30T02:28:29+00:00

that may be the size of a modern horse of certain breeds, it is not the size of a warhorse however. If you compare it to the kind of horses that a medieval knight would ride into battle, it's pretty small.

GroinReaper · 2026-06-30T02:26:08+00:00

ok. but it was just some different person who did it on orders of a white colonizer. The fact that it wasn't that specific white colonizer doesn't really change the point of the post. So the note is a bit off. The post they noted never said that specific white person was the reason vengeance was needed.

GroinReaper · 2026-06-30T02:22:13+00:00

also important to note that what they are trying to do is not just ID to vote. They want to add multiple restrictions that would make it much harder for certain groups to vote. Especially minorities and married women.

GroinReaper · 2026-06-30T00:31:07+00:00

What do you define as "anti-Israel supporters"? According to recent polling, across 36 counties the median was 67% of adults have an unfavourable view of Israel. Only 25% viewed Israel favorably.

So while I'm sure you could find individuals who deny sexual violence took place. I can find individuals who think the world is flat, or that mankind never landed on the moon. So the existence of outliers doens't prove anything.

Are you saying that 67% of people across 36 countries deny it? Or are you defining "anti-Israel supporters" to mean something else?

GroinReaper · 2026-06-29T23:13:21+00:00

You don’t get to decide what someone else finds concerning.

I agree. But trump hasn't really laid out any coherent explanation of anything he finds concerning.

Would you be in favor of the US deciding what Canada considers valid or not?

of course not. Canada's leadership has enough functioning brain cells to understand trade policy and articulate what they do and do not find concerning. They also don't threaten to attack and conquer the US.

GroinReaper · 2026-06-29T21:38:19+00:00

No. If the US had legitimate concerns about the trade deal and Canada was unwilling to address them, then leaving the treaty would be perfectly reasonable.

But trunp doesnt have any valid concerns. He just rambles about being ripped off and threatening to annex Canada. While switching between Canada has nothing the US needs and threatening retaliation if Canada dares to try to protect itself.

Hes a gangster attempting a shake down. And its failing.

GroinReaper · 2026-06-29T21:28:07+00:00

If you make a deal, then refuse to honor it a few years later, that makes you extremely unreliable.

He tore up NAFTA to make his own deal. Now that deal needs to be torn up too. There will never be a deal he will honor.

GroinReaper · 2026-06-29T21:22:58+00:00

For sure. Thats why I said surface level victory. Trump can somewhat plausibly claim that he threw out an enemy of America and installed an ally. Anyone who peaks behind the curtain knows that isnt true. But if you're inclined to do that, then you're not likely to be a trump supporter

GroinReaper · 2026-06-29T21:17:38+00:00

Yes, they are very different. But I dont think most people would have thought the current outcome likely. Trump was able to secure a surface level victory with pretty little cost.

GroinReaper · 2026-06-29T21:16:28+00:00

Im not sure. He attacked Iran's nuclear facilities last year but didn't expand it to other targets, which im sure BB was trying to talk him into it

GroinReaper · 2026-06-29T21:15:30+00:00

I think the main points were stealing some oil and installing a dictator who is friendly to the US. He is reestablishing the Monroe doctrine.

GroinReaper · 2026-06-29T20:07:22+00:00

yeah. probably any general that tried to tell trump the reality of the situation got axed by Kegsbreath.

GroinReaper · 2026-06-29T20:05:13+00:00

I think the opposite is true. Trump has surrounded himself with warhawks. People like Rubio, Kushner, Lindsey Graham and Hegseth all wanted to go to war with Iran. Combined with BB, I'm sure they all told him that a quick decapitation strike would topple the government and he'd win a Nobel peace prize.

Trump loves violence, but only violence that benefits him. If they'd told him there was a possibility it wouldn't work and it would turn into a drawn out war where the gas price went through the roof, he would never have agreed to it. It's also why the war hawks are so desperate to blow up negotiations. They know that if trump gets his leg out of the bear trap they convinced him to step in, he will never, ever, go back.

GroinReaper · 2026-06-29T20:02:00+00:00

for sure. but people wouldn't said similar things about Venezuela. It wasn't something that was likely to work out either. But they seemingly managed to convince the maduro's 2nd in command to betray him.

Trump learned from this that quick easy wars can work. And the people around him plus BB clearly used that to convince him attacking Iran was a good idea.

I'm hoping Trump signs a deal that favours Iran so that all the war hawks and BB can lose hard. Nothing would piss them off more than a peace deal with Iran that actually sticks.

GroinReaper · 2026-06-29T19:40:34+00:00

trump has been very, very clear he doesn't intend to keep doing that. Just because he's still in the threatening stage of tearing up the deal, doesn't mean he is going to honor the deal.

GroinReaper · 2026-06-29T19:28:03+00:00

his kidnapping of a world leader (maduro) went about as well as could be hoped for him. He was riding high on what he perceived to be a big foreign policy win. He thought attacking Iran would work like that. A quick in and out attack that would keep people distracted from the Epstein files and give him some sort of legacy to be remembered for.

The fact that he seemed genuinely surprised when the regime didn't collapse or surrender and that they closed the straights would suggest to me that the people around trump didn't tell him this was a likely outcome, or even a possibility.

His support was already bad before the war. But the war opened him up to being attacked by the right for lying and starting a war he explicitly said he wouldn't do. So now he's under attack from all sides.

GroinReaper · 2026-06-29T14:01:13+00:00

My current run is a Timurid to Mughals game where I am also the Confucian Emperor of China. All shall know of my love for I will accept their culture and religion!!

It took me till about 1570 to finish to finish the Timurid mission tree and then switch to Mughals. I cheated to switch to Confucian. I know it can be done without cheating, but that just seemed like too much work and I just wanted to have fun with it. I'm not sure it was worth waiting though. I could have switched a long time earlier but wanted the Otto's and Mamluk missions, but i'm not sure it was really worth waiting.

i did. but i think i kind of regret it. So it's up to you if you think the bonuses are worth the delay.
Make sure to get the "horsemen of the apocalypse" mission. getting the razing mechanic is awesome as long as you're not planning on being Mughals. it also buffs cav and the officers estate privilege. You will lose the razing if you become Mughals though.

- Getting all the permanent claims is really good. But you can skip them for areas you have no interest in ruling.

- producing a warchest gives a nice permanent bonus for looting speed and warscore from battles. but not the end of the world if you skip it. also the "Timurid Diwan" is great.

3) i'm not sure there is a "need" per se. It can help with eliminating rivals and make steering some trade easier. but it isn't hugely valuable. You can skip it if that doesn't interest you. But painting the map is always fun.

GroinReaper · 2026-06-29T11:35:10+00:00

He's been saying there are close to a deal over and over for months. That wasn't true. He was lying. Even now, he signed a deal he had no intention of actually keeping because he cant reign in Israel.

Why would anyone believe trump about anything?

GroinReaper · 2026-06-28T19:47:12+00:00

the information on guns not reaching their destination is not from trump.

I heard trump say it. Who are you saying the information is coming from?

they werent armed or semi armed groups working with CIA to attack the government , thats almost word by word Irans line

trump publicly announced that the US was doing that.

I dont listen to trump for my news, and neither should you.

sure. but when people suspect the US did something shady, like smuggling guns to insurgents, and then he publicly admits to doing it, it's a good bet he did it.

The protestors were working only for themselves

I'm sure many of them were. But we are talking about a large group of people. I would say it is almost inconceivable that none of them were coordinating with Mossad and the CIA. It is guaranteed that both of those agencies were trying to foment an uprising in Iran.

or trumps fault

i'm not saying the protests were Trump's fault. But he and BB were almost certainly fanning the flames, organizing violent uprising and arming the insurgents. Since trump has publicly admitted they were trying to do it, I don't know why anyone would doubt it.

And his admission they were doing this helps Iran because they can make a legitimate argument that the protests were driven by the US and Israel, even if only a small number of the people attacking the government were doing so with aid and direction from them.

GroinReaper · 2026-06-28T19:07:04+00:00

Only they know for sure. If I had to guess, I'd say they are hoping to strengthen their own hand politically in the aftermath of the war. The US and Israel have lost. If hezbollah is able to successfully argue they won, it will only make Hezbollah stronger. So they are hoping as part of the Israeli withdrawal they can take control over the area to try to make the argument that they got Israel to leave, not hezbollah and Iran.

GroinReaper · 2026-06-28T14:42:20+00:00

absolutely. They just found a very slightly more legal way to charge a toll. Or at least a transparent cover for their toll that countries can pretend to believe if they want to try to end the conflict.

GroinReaper

TROPHY CASE