Thursday, December 28, 2017

The Tuimelaar or Mud Folk

Tuimelaar

The Tuimelaar (slang mudfolk) are a rural race that inhabits the swamps and jungles of Chalice World, though communities do exist in human areas, especially near rivers and harbors.
See the latest edits here

Racial Template

71 points
  • Attribute Modifiers: ST-3 [-30]; HT+1 [10]; IQ-1 [-20].
  • Secondary Characteristics: Basic Move +2 [10]; SM-2; 
  • Movement Notes: Can brachiate at 1/2 Move, Swim at full Move and Jump an average of High 4' or Broad 
  • Advantages: Amphibious [10]; Arms (Both arms are Extra-Flexible and Foot Manipulators) [4]; Brachiator [5]; Catfall [10]; Double-Jointed [15]; DR 3 (Can't Wear Armor, -40%; Crushing only, -40%) [3]; DR 1 (Can't Wear Armor, -40%; Top only, -40%) [1]; Discriminatory Taste [10]; Extra Head 2 (Extranous, -20%) [24]; High Manual Dexterity 1 [5]; Injury Tolerance: Damage Reduction /2 (Crushing only, -40%) [30]; Innate Attack, Spit (Tox) 1d (Takes Recharge, 1 hour, -30%) [3]; Nictating Membrane 1 [1]; Payload 2 (BL/5) [2]; Perfect Balance [15]; Sensitive Touch [10]; Slippery 1 [2]; Sonar Comm (Vague, -50%) [5]; Super Jump [10]; Vibration Sense (Water) [10].
  • Perks: Burrower, Drench
  • Disadvantages: Cannot Speak [-15]; Chummy [-5]; Clueless [-10]; Cold-Blooded (50) [-5]; Curious (15) [-2]; Gluttony (12) [-5]; Impulsive (12) [-10]; Increased Consumption 1 [-10]; Semi-Upright [-5]
  • Quirks: Broad-Minded, Responsive, Weird Sense of Humor [-3].
  • Feature
* Drench: Can moisten body parts at will, providing enough water to extinguish small flames, rinse off gunk, etc.
Climbing bonus +8; Escape +6

Common Learned Skills

Acrobatics, Gesture, Jumping, 

Common Optional Traits

Trickster is common among those who have left their communities and wander the cities or actually adventure.

Racial History

The Tuimelaar are a fairly young race that are very well adapted to their natural environment. They learned farming and irrigation to build and support small communities of dens and burrows. Each community typically has a central hut in a lake where they congregate for town meetings and parties.
They met elves first but most elves considered them merely smart animals, it was not until they met the dwarves that their history was changed forever. They learned writing and the power of magical writing from the dwarves with whom they have an extensive farming trade. Some Tuimelaar even moved into dwarven underground cities where are appreciated for their fine detailed craftsmanship.
They do sometimes come into conflict with humans and elves when they dam up rivers to expand their wetlands and marshes, but these tend to be small local conflicts rather than full out race wars. Small communities have been known to spring up near harbors where they create their own farms by dredging fertile soil from the harbor.

Physiology

Appearance

Picture a three foot otter with, two long knobbed tails, the oversize hind legs of a frog, and tentacles for the two forelegs. Each foreleg further splits into a dozen smaller tentacles that surround a (usually hidden) small mouth. That is a Tuimelaar!

Anatomy

The body of a Tuimelaar relies on thousands of small heart type muscles that can rapidly pump fluid into or out of almost every part of its body. They have almost no bones at all and rely on cartilage and hydraulic pressure to control their movement. This gives them fine control with their tentacles and explosive power with their legs and tails.These muscles can also expel water from pores in the skin, allowing them to more easily escape grips, slip through tight passages and soil or even clean themselves. A similar muscle is used to spit a small glob of toxic fluid they use to hunt small game, though it takes an hour to produce poison enough for 1 shot. They also have a large pouch in their main mouth they can use to store things in, including their young or even tools and equipment.

The pair of forearm tentacles each support an extra head surrounded by smaller tendrils. This evolved to let them dig up or pull smaller animals and bugs from holes. The brains are slightly underdeveloped and can only control the arm, not the rest of the body.  They can communicate with the main brain however so it can see what they see and direct them.  This not only allows more effective foraging but each head can also be a lookout which helps spot danger and look for things to grab or hunt. Finally the tendrils are very sensitive and adept so can be used to sense and manipulate with extreme precision.

They can understand the speech of most races but are unable to speak complicated sounds. Instead they use their powerful tails to tap out messages to each other. These signals can be heard up to 3 miles away underwater, about a mile through rock, and 50 yards in open air or loose soil. Messages are fairly crude, though they can issue quick warnings or calls for help.

Habitat

They prefer warm and damp environments, such as jungles, rain forests, and swamps. Their extraordinary climbing and jumping ability is a great advantage in these environments and they tend to dominate them. Note that their whiskers also provide an advantage in murky water where visibility is low. They also favor wetlands for farming and are good at irrigation where they cut down trees like beavers and pile up dirt from their warrens into dikes.

Psychology

 The Tuimelaar are a playful and chummy race and aggression tends to be rare. They get along very well with each other and any conflicts tend to be along the lines of practical jokes.
Some take their playfulness too far however and that is pretty much the main type of crime to be found in thier communities. Those who leave the community tend to do it for the challenge more than a seeking of riches or fame and often have Trickster as a disadvantage. They tend to be scouts or thieves due to their desires for challenge and their innate abilities. Tuimelaar make excellent scouts and second story men, though mages are also popular second choices.
They do not wear clothes as they would jut rip or fall off very quickly.  They do sometimes use tattoos and jewelry piercings to decorate themselves but tend to be fairly mundane in appearance as they generally eschew wealth. Any goods tend to be of a practical nature or for their home, which tend to be rather colorfully decorated.

Culture

They tend to live in farming communities but most will hunt small game or even larger animals. They tend to be very active and their communities will have ropes strung from trees and travel perches which they also use as watchtowers and informal gathering places.
They are excellent craftsman chefs and export food, clothes, and jewelry all around the world.

Language

They have a very complicated written language that has a visual and a physical component. The visual style tends to be composed of curved lines and shapes, with a lot of circles. The physical component provides subtext and must be felt to be read. Despite its complexity the language is less precise than others, especially dwarven and is meant to convey emotional and abstract concepts more than engineering ideas or precise measurements.
The audible language is likewise very rhythmic and can convey emotion pretty well and even be used to make powerful and moving music.  The tails make drum or cymbal like sounds, while the pair of auxiliary heads can (with practice) imitate bird and other sounds. They have developed a signal portion of the language that is used for communicating things like numbers, distance and warning of danger or invitations to the hunt.

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Monday, December 18, 2017

Tax Scam

1000+ pages?!  That is simplifying the tax system?
Included in the latest version...

  • Excise tax added to certain people working for a non profit.  So not only are they taxed on income they get a penalty for going to a non profit.  Why?
  • Individual cuts still temporary.  All expire in 2025.  Yes they may get renewed but that they have to put that in there to keep the deficit down means its going to be a problem.
  • State and Local tax deduction capped at 10K
  • Repeal the AHCA mandate means young healthy people drop out everyone else pays higher premiums
  • .Corporate rate 21% but most loopholes left in, and Doctors and a lot of small businesses will get hit harder.  Another reason premiums and health care will go up.
  • Special kickback to real estate people.
  • Carried Interest (Wall Street loophole) still left in despite Trump and everyone in the GOP asked saying they would get rid of it.

Think about this.
  • If the GOP thinks this bill will be great for wage growth, why are none of them able to offer specifics?
  • If its really good for America why do most economists disagree?  Why rush this through in a nonpartisan manner and avoid any public hearings?  Only Lobbyists were invited to the party, the public was left out.
  • Why does tax reform need to be over ONE THOUSAND pages long?  If they were really closing loopholes it should be short.
If they have to rush it through before people get a good luck that indicates they are afraid of what people will see.

Saturday, December 16, 2017

GOP Tax scam, not about Conservative Values, just greed.

So the final version of the GOP Tax bill is out.
I haven't been able to find the full text online yet but have read the House and Senate versions going into this plan.
Senate Taxplan 515 pages!
House Bill 429 pages
House Summary and breakdowns


You have probably heard the talking points already, it raises the deficit, does very little for wage and job growth while granting huge boost to the super rich and corporations, hurts teachers and firefighters, will prompt millions to lose their insurance and raises everyone else premiums, close many hospitals, increase the national debt, and even how the individual tax cuts are only short term while corporate tax cuts are permanent.
They put the lie to the test when they said this was about reform and closing loopholes.  You did not need a 500 page bill if you got rid of all (or even most) of the loopholes.

Further, this bill punishes individual tax payers in a lot of hidden in the dirt pile ways.
  • Repeal of Casualty loss:  You wont notice this until your hurting but this repeals a deduction if you suffer a major loss such as your house burning down, flood damage, earth quake, tornado or even theft. That deduction enabled you to rebuild and get back on your feet faster, However they repealed it, except for Hurricanes.  Wonder why Republicans decided to repeal it for earthquakes but leave it for hurricanes? However, everyone is at risk for these things.
  • Territorial Tax:Most countries use this system which means your not taxed on income made overseas. We tax our corporations on that money when they bring it back to the U.S. Personally I am ok with going to a territorial system to help our companies be more competitive and avoid offshore tax havens.  However lets not take on more national debt or lose jobs to do it.
  • Chained CPI: This little gimmick will keep the standard deduction from keeping up with inflation. So as inflation goes up or taxes go up faster!
  • Repealing the corporate Alternative Minimum Tax: Corporations already pay an average of 18% tax even though we have a top rate of 35%.  Removing the minimum tax means many larger corporations will be able to avoid paying any taxes at all!  Meanwhile smaller businesses will pay the bulk of corporate tax.  How fair is that?
  • Repeal of Deduction for Income Attributable to Domestic Activities: Currently companies are allowed to deduct up to 9% (6% for oil and gas companies) for costs related to making and selling stuff in the US.  Getting rid of this will just incentivize them to move those operations overseas.  More job loss.
This bill does nothing to encourage companies to increase wages or hire more workers. Companies are already sitting on tons of cash and have access to low interest rates.  Instead of job growth we see mergers and stock buybacks. The only way to boost the economy is to increase consumer demand.

Wednesday, December 13, 2017

The Case for Conspiracy against the United States against the GOP

I uploaded this video and wanted to give my reps a chance to look it over before posting about it.
I am heartened by the Alabama race and some Republicans coming out against Roy Moore.  While I accept the argument that its possible not all the women told the truth.  However you only had to listen to his own word during his interview on Sean Hannity to see that he did indeed do at least some of what he was accused.  Even if as he said he did not 'commonly' do it.

However, while the moral issues and hypocrisy of the GOP infuriate me that is not related to this video. It is the GOP providing cover and enabling the criminal actions of the President and many in his cabinet.

Look for my tax plan later this week!

Tuesday, November 28, 2017

Why we need Regulations and the Consumer Protection Bureau

The Wall Street Journal reported yet another scandal with Wells Fargo cheating their customers.
Republicans want to strip out regulations and watchdog agencies because they think small government is better and that businesses do better without burdensome regulations.

But what about the cost to the American people?  How about the cost to taxpayers when we have to bail banks out because they are careless with their money?
Its bad enough that executives can steal billions and ruin lives but do less time than a shoplifter or someone caught with a little pot.
People need to remember who is on or not on their side when it comes time to vote or donate.
Dont be fooled by rhetoric, just look around and pay attention.  Republicans are clearly in favor of big business over small business and citizens.

Sunday, November 19, 2017

A letter to my Senators on their horrible tax bill.

Dear Senator Lankford and Senator Inhofe,
This is a horrible bill.
It increases the debt, takes away health care for people through backdoor legislation with the repeal of the mandate, and promotes big business over small business (especially service industry, one of the largest segments) all to give more money to the richest people and large corporations . There is nothing in this plan that will increase wages or new jobs, instead the money will be used for stock buybacks, dividends, exec bonuses, increased automation, and mergers so will actually cost jobs.
Companies will only hire more people if they need more work, not just because they have more money.  To grow the economy you have to work on the demand side, not the supply side.
Lowering taxes is fine but it needs to be fair, honest in its presentation, and budget neutral or better.
Final comment on the estate tax, why cut it? It was designed to prevent an aristocracy class and if Americans have to pay taxes on gifted money why not inherited money?

Vote no on this bill and rework it from the ground up, in bipartisan fashion and with public input.
Not rushed legislation so you can claim a victory for your donors over the American people.

Rory

We NEED to get rid of establishment politicians, America has been taken over by corporations and wealthy donors and now works against the principles it was founded on. Vote for new blood that promises to only take individual donations so they work for the majority of America.

Saturday, November 18, 2017

Tax Scam

Most of the individual and Middle Class cuts are only temporary and will be phased out within 10 years.  The corporate tax cuts are set to be permanent.
Watch this, especially the first 12 minutes where they talk about the GOP tax plan.
Some middle class people will pay more, others less in taxes for the first few years but the majority of lower and middle class Americans will pay more as the individual tax cuts expire.
Also insurance and tuition will go up and major cuts to Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid will impact many families.
Why cut taxes to corporations, millionaires and real estate moguls? Big donor money.
Will tax cuts to corporations increase jobs and wages as the GOP says? History says no. They will buy back stock, lower their debt, pay dividends and executive bonuses, and merge with other companies to reduce competition.  Corporations have been doing historically well and making more money than ever and have access to cheap capital.  Instead of job growth we will see lay offs due to mergers and consolidation and deregulation.  Wages will remain stagnant or continue to drop when compared to inflation as nothing in this tax plan requires or even encourages wage hikes.  Between increased automation and less competition in fact they have fewer reasons to increase wages and many of the larger companies will lay people off.  Smaller businesses will face stiffer competition from the big companies who can take better advantage of the tax cuts and cheaper loans.

This is something I havent heard a lot on the news...
The AMT or individual minimum tax is repealed for individuals (that gets talked about) but also for BUSINESS so it will be possible for companies through loopholes to pay NO INCOME tax at all!
And why does the corporate tax rate need to be lower than many individuals?

Note This!

  • Expiring Provisions: All individual income tax changes, excluding the move to Chained CPI and the elimination of the individual mandate penalty, would expire effective December 31, 2025. This includes the individual income tax rate cuts, the expanded child tax credit, the repeal of personal exemptions, and the expanded standard deduction.


Frankly if they really wanted to increase your effective income it would be much better to raise the minimum wage which would spread out to everyone getting a wage increase. We would have more income, pay more in taxes because we make more but still have more in our pocket!
That would even lower the national debt instead of increasing it!!
More money in the general economy also leads to job growth as people spend more and companies can then sell more.


2004 Bush Taxcut to  bring money back to the USA resulted in massive stock buybacks and layoffs.


Saturday, November 11, 2017

The Tax scam is out

So the House and Senate Tax bills are out.  They dont match so details will be hammered out in committee if they pass.  Here are some of the highlights, its several hundred pages so there are a LOT of loopholes to read through.
Going Away or Down ...

  • SALT (Local state tax deductions) for most individuals, Those who incorporate still get them.
  • Personal property tax deduction, lowered or gone
  • Import tax for corporations (making it cheaper to import things)
  • Earned Income Tax Credit
  • Medical Deductions
  • School Loan Interest Deduction
  • Teachers deduction when they buy school supplies for the kids.
  • AMT (Alternative Minimum Tax)


Still In....

  • Carried Interest
  • Corporate property tax deduction
  • Golf course owner deduction
  • Real Estate LLC and Pass Through deductions


The claim is 800 to 1200 break for middle class, higher wages because companies will take the money they save a raise wages. How many people think they would rather raise wages then buy back stock, invest in more automation or buy out the competition which means lays offs and more people out of work?  Or maybe they will just raise the executive bonuses.
This is just another con job and not even a good one, the Republicans in Congress think and are counting on Americans to be stupid to see it till its too late, and too lazy to vote.
We proved Trickle Down Economics does not work, lets not give it another chance.

Thursday, November 9, 2017

Pyramid Writer Group

A few years ago there was a Pyramid Writers group and a call was put out to start it up again.
The original leaders have moved on to other things so a few of us took it up.
If you want to join, either to get feedback as you start writing for Pyramid or as an authoer willing to help out, please drop me a note to be added.
We are using a private Yahoo group to keep it simple.

Sunday, October 29, 2017

Demand Side Economics

Last week I went over Supply side Economics which is the Republican strategy and this week I go over the other half or Supply Side Economics which is the Democratic strategy for economic growth.
It was also the Republican strategy under President Eisenhower who continued the New Deal strategy and supported the Space Race which led to much of the technology we use today.
Incidentally he was also for civil rights and fought McCarthyism so quite different then modern Republicans.

Tuesday, October 24, 2017

Vets and dead soldiers are Losers!

I am surprised it took me so long to think of this given all the evidence.
A lot of people are speculating on why Trump attacked and continues to attack Myeshia Johnson...

  • He is a Racist. People point out the only other Gold Star family he attacked was also of color.
  • He is a misogynist and attacks women on a personal level, never a professional one.
  • He was counter punching and felt attacked when the reporter asked why he had not yet said anything about the soldiers killed in Niger (12 days prior).

I think there all wrong, or rather partly wrong.  There should be no doubt by this point that he is a racist and a misogynist, nor that he hits back when he thinks he is attacked.
However from what I have seen the thing that Trump is most about and considers most sacred is ego and winning.  Everything he does is always the best and greatest ever. He considers himself a winner.
He respects winners. and those he thinks are losers are beneath him and should just shut up.
I think because he was able to dodge the draft that he feels anyone who serves is a loser who was unable to get out of it.

Think about his history with Vets.
  • Attacks McCain for getting captured
  • Attacks the Khan family on the campaign trail
  • Attacks the grieving widow of a dead soldier, accusing her of lying about what he said.
  • Defrauds Vet charities he raised money for during the campaign by not paying them until the media calls him on it.
  • Despite tweeting about virtually anything he never utters a word about soldiers who die unless first asked about it, whether the latest bit in Nigers, the sailors who died in ship accidents or the raid in Yemen.
  • His speeches, whether at memorials like the CIA or the graduation commencement at the Coast Guard.  He will talk at length about how powerful the military is because he considers it an extension of his will and power,  But only talks in offhanded ways about dedication.
Seems pretty clear that the rel reason is so down on veterans is he thinks we are losers.

Rory
USAF E-3 Honorably discharged in 1983

Friday, October 20, 2017

GOP one step closer to putting America into another recession

So the Senate approved the budget which is built around cutting taxes.  Most of the taxes cut will be for the richest people with many middle income people actually paying more in taxes according to the CBO.  Further, cuts to Medicare and Medicaid and an increase in the deficit will cause problems down the road.
However the real lie here is that the corporations getting tax breaks will boost productivity and boost the economy.  We have seen this before and they will use the money to buy back stocks and consolidate by buying competitors which will cost jobs.  When companies put more money into automation and buy other companies they need fewer workers so lay people off.
Ask your representative how this helps America and do not let them give you spin or pie in the sky promises.  See if they can offer any provable history that this actually works.  They will have none to offer.  I have been challenging my reps for two months now and get nothing but crickets on the issue.

Watch my video on Trickle Down Economics ( what this tax plan is based on) and next weeks video on Demand Side Economics.

Thursday, October 19, 2017

GURPS Online Roleplaying

So this news is rather exciting...http://www.themook.net/gamegeekery/gurps-with-fantasy-grounds/
Basically there are two big players in he Virtual Table Top Market (VTT), Fantasy Grounds and Roll20.
Roll20 is subscription based and uses their own servers so has a few features Fantasy Grounds does not. However the GM needs to pay a small monthly fee.
Fantasy Grounds uses your own computers so has an option for a one time software purchase.
From what I have heard and seen they are pretty comparable but each has thier own strengths and quirks.
However with an automated system FG will be able to save a lot of game prep by allowing faster game prep and some faster online actions.  It may even allow import from GURPS Character Assistant which would really save a GM some time.
Create a character in the $15 program (Including NPCs and foes) and export them direct to your online game instead of typing them up.

Also a Fantasy Grounds license will add more visibility to GURPS .

Monday, October 9, 2017

Pences stunt, Its not Free Speech when taxpayers pay for it

The Trump Admin pulled yet another hypocritical political stunt over the weekend.
In order to pretend to be patriotic by saying the NFL protesters who take a knee during the Anthem are unpatriotic they staged a stunt and made you and me foot the bill for it.
It is not Free Speech when the taxpayer pays the bill.
Free Speech is when citizens speak their mind even if others do not agree and is a vital part of our country.  How much did this stunt cost us? Five hundred thousand?  A million?
Travel and staff costs for the VP, his team, and secret service protection and checking out the stadium would make this a pretty expensive ad.

Tuesday, October 3, 2017

Pissed at the GOP


  • Paul Ryan said they repealed the Obama regulation for Medicare to share with the FBI information for Gun background checks. This was those people mentally ill enough they cant work.

So people who have admitted they are mentally ill enough that they cant work should be able to get guns according to the GOP.

  • Trump goes to Puerto Rico and spends most of the conference bragging and even asking local reps to say how good a job he has done. Really? Ratings are more important than making sure you resolve any issues?
  • Trump the draft dodging coward who has to be reminded by his wife to salute the flag dares call out the NFL for peaceful protests?  There not talking or sitting there taking a knee, that is more respect then he ever gave to the Flag or the country.

There is more, just look at the news or pick up a paper but I am too mad to think about it any longer.  Called my Senators office and let them have a piece my mind.
The GOP is the party of hatred and division and are more concerned with lining their pockets than serving the country.
The GOP is trying to censor the internet, give guns to everyone, murder US citizens, promote wars and all to line thier pockets. We must get rid of them.
I have2 reps in my state I think ar honest actors, Senator Lankford and Rep Tom Cole but both are not doing enough to curb the corruption.

Friday, September 29, 2017

Day 9 and were still way behind where we should be in aid

While Trump cheers himself saying how great a job he is doing in regards to the disaster in Puerto Rico (and just left for his usual weekend off) they are suffering and dying.
These are American citizens yet he and the GOP treats them like a third world country.  Did they ask Texas or Florida how they were going to pay for aid?
We should have ha the navy and air force in their a week ago to help out.

Thursday, September 28, 2017

Government Reform

Listening to the lies and dodges from government officials the past few days I am again struck by how bad things are getting.
We need real government reform.

Some Ideas

  • Get money out of politics. Start with getting rid of PACs and Citizens United.  Let organizations encourage people to vote or donate as individuals but require transparency and prohibit them from donating.
  • Make it a crime to lie to the public.  I am tired of hearing how its not a crime for a government official to lie to the public. Who wants an employee that lies to them? In most cases they make it a crime for the public to lie to them so why not the reverse?  Dodges and especially no comments can be allowed but not provable lies.
  • More transparency in government.
  • Slimmed down bills.  We need Congress to stop burying legislation in thick overly worded bills padded to make it so complicated.  Many Congressman dont read and fully understand the bills they vote on. That should be a crime.  Give it a common sense or high school test and if the average graduate cant understand t redo it.
  • Every proposed bill should have a reasonable public review period. Exempt emergency legislation but the American People should be able to review and give our opinions.
  • A strong and effective Ethics office that reports to US.

How about you? What changes would you like to see?

Tuesday, September 26, 2017

Taking a Knee is more respectful than burning a flag

We have all seen a lot of commentary on his and Trump is increasing the rhetoric.
First taking a knee is actually not really disrespectful. 
Disrespecting the Flag includes...
  • Burning the Flag
  • Trampling the Flag or letting it hit the dirt
  • Hoisting another flag such as the Confederate flag above the US flag.
  • Honoring the Confederate flag, which was a symbol of sedition and attacking the United States.
  • Talking during the Pledge or Anthem.
Quietly taking a Knee?  That is honoring the flag but praying for things to get better.
Trump cares nothing for the flag or the anthem.  Remember during his inauguration how Melania had to remind him to put his hand over his heart?
He dodged the draft, sold the country to the Russians and wants to sell our national monuments to the oil companies.  The man never cared about the USA, he just wants attention and conflict.
He came down harder and more impassioned against the NFL then he did the Nazis and KKK after Charlotsville.
He chose to pick a fight to get attention rather than help the people in Puerto Rico, an actual US territory.

Hey GOP!  Next time can YOU show the country some respect by nominating a patriot for president?

Monday, September 25, 2017

GOP led by Senators Lankford, Hlls and Hatch and may have made progress on Immigration

This interview outlines the Succeed Act, it is only  part of the issue  but it sounds like good legislation to me.

  • Sets up a time line towards Naturalization which helps deal with the uncertainty for them and their families and communities.
  • Sets in place pretty strict requirements but ones that were mostly in DACA.  Basically it takes 15 years during which they have to be productive members of society and staying out of trouble.
Sounds good to me, though their is  lot to be done, including securing borders and dealing with the overstay visa problem.

1 week to go for the GOP to try and repeal the AHCA

The GOP has decided to make another attempt to repeal the Affordable Health Care Act using a procedure to bypass the normal repeal process.
If Congress was operating in good faith they would change the law for the better.  That they feel they have to resort to trickery and legal loopholes rather than persuade the citizens that the changes to be made are good for us. That the GOP feels they cannot win a debate or persuade a majority of the country to support it indicates a failure of leadership and the lack of desire to serve the people.

Republicans say they must do this as they promised to repeal and replace an unpopular law.
However they seem to have missed the point.  They promised they had a better plan that would lower costs for all Americans, yet all evidence points to this doing the opposite for most.
The elderly and sick will suffer first but eventually everyone gets sick and if they are lucky enough old.  Further business will suffer as more people get sick and cannot afford health care and lose time at work or fail to pay their bills and as so many before file bankruptcy because they got sick.
Also it seems likely more people will be removed from employee based insurance plans.
Ask your Senator to vote no or justify their actions to you.

Friday, September 22, 2017

GURPS Dungeon Fantasy Roleplaying Game unboxing

My first video.
I picked the unboxing and it went a bit long at 49 minutes but includes a good amount of information for those knew to GURPS.

After the video I saw the GM screen which I had set aside during my first attempt at the video.  I will do a shorter video on that this weekend.

Thursday, September 21, 2017

The Health Care lie

So the GOP is trying yet again to quickly push a Repeal and Replace bill.
They had 7 years to work on a bill and have been running on it as a signature issue all that time.
They have shown us they did not bother and when they took over the legislative and Executive branches they had nothing ready to go. They keep trying to pass something using deceitful and under handed methods.

  • Senator Barosso (Wyoming)  when interviewed refused to answer any question on the new bill and kept pivoting to Obama Care.   If you honestly believe your thing is better than the other guy you would tout its merits rather than just deflect or attack something else. This is a bullying tactic not a rational one.
  • Senator Cruz (Texas) Says there are no cuts, though there are.
  • Vox interviewed 9 Senators and NONE were able to sell this as a better bill for American citizens.
  • The GOP is still trying to force it through reconciliation to avoid Democratic votes.  They want to pass a partisan bill despite complaining that the AHCA was passed as a partisan bill (It wasn't, GOP members voted for it and put in amendments) and rushed through (again, a lie as AHCA went through committees and was looked at for over a year) and this new effort is again going to be rushed through without full examination
Call your local senator office and let them know your feelings.
We need and deserve a congress that works for the American people rather than the drug and insurance companies that fund their campaigns.


Monday, September 18, 2017

What the GOP really wants when they say smaller government is better

Big Government vs. Small Government?

Conservatives and Republicans exclaim that big government is bad and smaller government is good.  Look at some of the examples below and see if you agree...

  • Equifax has had 3 major breaches in the last 2 years.  They engaged in Insider Trading before telling the public and are trying to force people to waive the right to sue them before they will tell you if your info was hacked.  Oh and if this damages your credit rating they will help to fix it for n additional fee.  Remember as a credit bureau they have your information even if you never agreed to it or signed up with them.
  • Houston chemical plants are now being sued by first res-ponders because they stored toxic chemicals and lied bout it when asked, endangering their lives.
  • Exxon has been revealed to hold onto climate change data from forty years ago that warned of problems.
  • Financial Advisers are allowed to lie to their customers when recommending choices.  This is so they can recommend options with higher commissions or fees even if those are bad for their customer.
  • Companies are allowed to dump things into our water and air without regard for the public safety.
  • Banks can use account money in high risk investments so that they can get a higher rate of return at the risk of defrauding those with savings and checking accounts or taxpayers bailing them out again.
  • Big corporations are allowed to buy or undercut smaller companies to drive them out of business.  Even though some of these companies use tax incentives to offset their costs.  We lose many small business each year this way and that overall depresses wages and consumer choice.
  • Wages and Employee insurance. GOP stance is there should be no minimum wage or employee based insurance.
All those are results of trying to weaken or remove regulations and oversight.
Big government vs. small government is a red herring or false flag.  Inefficient government is bad because it wastes resources. However efficient government that is accountable to the citizens of the United Sates is good.  Further we need to be able to vote and choose our issues so that government gets back to being OF AND FOR THE PEOPLE.

Monday, September 11, 2017

Check this out!
https://www.stampstampede.org/
A co founder of Ben and Jerrys came up with this nifty grassroots messaging idea.
The idea is buy a stamp and stamp your bills.  As you spend them they get passed around and stay in circulation for years, getting passed around to various people.

Thursday, September 7, 2017

What Happened? Hillary still blaming everyone else for her failed campaign

So excerpts of Hillary Clinton's latest book is out and she is still blaming everyone else for her loss.
Still going after Bernie Sanders, among others.
The lack of accountability by her and the DNC is truly amazing.
People voted against her because they did not trust her and they were against the establishment.
Heck millions of people (including myself) who DID vote for her felt she was corrupt, untrustworthy and interested in her self more than the country.  We just felt she was less of a threat to the country than Donald Trump, as usual it was a choice between what you hoped was the lesser of two evils rather than someone you actually wanted in the White House.

Please vote for Justice Democrats or Brand New Congress and lets get rid of these establishment people and put in some fresh faces.

Conservatives so full of hate there trying to kill each other now

This story on Rush Limbaugh is really crazy.
Once in awhile I will listen to parts of his broadcasts just to try to keep my news balance.  I never finish because he is so disgusting but at least I try to listen to the Right Wing Extremists side of things.
In this broadcast reviewed by The Young Turks we see Rush Limbaugh claim media coverage of hurricanes is a conspiracy by small business retailers and the so called Deep State. He actually encourages his listeners to ignore the news and not take shelter or stock up on emergency supplies.

Meanwhile Sheriff Grady Judd will be using emergency shelters to arrest people with outstanding warrants. Think about that a minute.
Having the police check everyones paperwork in the middle of a Cat 5 Hurricane will...

  • Slow down access to safety for his local citizens.
  • Put his officers at risk hauling people off to jail during the storm.
  • Possibly scare some people away from safety who fear they may have a warrant.
If these people are really dangerous why not serve the warrants under normal circumstances?
This is just an easy way for him to look tough but his stupidity and reckless disregard for human life (Including public safety officials) is what really comes through here.

Tuesday, September 5, 2017

National Security and Climate Change

Climate Change is becoming serious and apparent enough that I think most people believe it exists at this point.  I am sure Senator Inhofe (Oklahoma's snowball Senator) is still in denial of course.
If your old enough  (or just google storm history) you get the feeling that we see worse and worse storms. I mean how many storms of the century do we have to have this century before everyone wakes up?

As the temperature warms up we get more rainfall from water evaporation and more sever storms as heat gives them more energy to work with).
We will have costly bailouts for our East and Southern coasts with them getting more frequent and more costly. Lowering emissions will help but we have waited so long were going to still have to deal with this even if we started reversing the trend today.  As long as the GOP is in charge I think any reversal is very unlikely.  So do we keep spending billions on patches?
If we were willing to spend significant money on infrastructure for flood walls, emergency dams (could be used for fishing or to help the power grid), regulating the flood plains and stringent building codes we can improve long term survival and probably save long term costs.

How Can We Pay For all these "Acts of God"?


I propose that by transferring up to 100 billion annually from the National Defense Budget we could do some serious improvements. We outspend everyone in the world, in 2016 the USA spent 611 billion and the second highest player was China at 215 billion.  So moving 100 billion still gives us the most expensive military in the world by a large margin.  A lot of this is  pork barrel politics so we would be transferring the wealth from some military contractors to civilian contractors.  The old contractors will complain but they can expand into the new markets. Aerospace could adapt tech for light rail for example.
Many of these companies build stuff overseas anyhow and at least some of this money will go to local job growth such as in construction.
This could be like the Apollo project but rebuilding America.
And as a bonus all those new jobs mean more taxes to offset our budget deficit.
If you like the idea tweet or share this link to this post to your congress person.

Seriously Imagine What We Could Do!

  • Renewable Energy for new jobs, economic growth and energy independence.  We dont have to put the oil companies out of business, many sell overseas already!
  • Create many small and medium sized dams used for fishing, recreation, power generation, and irrigation or water management.  These could hold some of the flood waters and reduce the damage to cities.
  • Saving thousands of American Lives!
  • Light Rail elevated transport for public transportation that is still usable even in flooded areas.
  • Improved Public Transit for more jobs and better standards of living.  Improved Tourism too!
  • Economic growth in short term jobs such as construction, mining, and manufacturing.
  • Permanent new jobs in renewable energy and tech sectors.
  • A safer and more prosperous America!
And really is hat not what money for National Defense is supposed to be for?
One thing I would love to see but would be a technical challenge is pipes from lower lying areas to the dams that act as sump pumps. That would be very expensive and technically challenging but if it works could further reduce flooding and speed recovery.

Some Links (Recent data is harder to come by and current data has been pulled by the Trump Administration).

Friday, August 25, 2017

Best wishes for those in Texas

I dont pray (Quaker, look it up for why) for things but I am hoping and wishing for the best for all those about to be hit by the hurricane.
I hope FEMA is ready for you.

Wednesday, August 16, 2017

And the GOP stood by and let America slowly die

You might have heard this poem by German pastor Martin Niemoller or one of the variations of it.
First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Socialist.
Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Trade Unionist.
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.

Sound familiar? The following are not posted in any special order....

  • The GOP attacked the Socialists than the Trade Unions, then the Left and then minorities and the poor and middle class.
  • With President Trump it has gotten more transparent and blatant.
  • Trump attacked and objectified women, the GOP stood by.
  • Trump called Mexicans rapists and murders, the GOP stood by.
  • Trump called for a Muslim ban and the GOP supported or simply stood by.
  • Trump ran on Universal Health Care, the GOP heard "Repeal and Replace" and cheered him on.  Not caring about the promise made to Americans but hearing what they wanted which was to get rid of the Democrats Health Care (even if it was largely Mit Romminy's a GOP plan).
  • Trump feels insulted he could not get the job done and says will let the AHCA implode because he will stop funding, the GOP cheered.  After all they have already been pulling this tactic by making a month to month decision during President Obamas term to keep the insurance companies nervous and the market unstable.
  • Trump violated his oath of office starting on Day one, the GOP stood by.
  • Trump compared a confederate general who fought against the USA with George Washington and Thomas Jefferson and the GOP stood by.
  • Trump is using the White House to line his pockets and promote his properties, the GOP stands aside.
  • Trump lies to the public on a daily basis, the GOP stands aside and lets it happen.
  • Trump refuses to meet with veterans and sends out Ammorsa to meet them because he cant be bothered, the GOP is quiet.
  • Trump wont pay the Veterans charity he did a fund raiser for until they take it to the media. theGOP stands by.
  • Trump insults a disabled reporter, a war veteran and more and the GOP stands aside.
  • Trump attacks the media and tries to censor the press, the GOP stands by.
  • Trump pulls climate change data from government websites and issues gag orders, the GOP stands by.
  • Trump attempts to intimidate federal prosecutors and the FBI, the GOP stands by.
  • Trump kicks the Secret Service to the street because they ran out of money paying his hotel for office space to protect Trump and his people, the GOP stands by.
  • Trump violates the property of an Indian reservation to boost the stock he has in an oil company, the GOP stands by.

And finally...

Trump blames both sides for the death of a young woman, instead of the typical presidential call he claims the mother complimented him and otherwise uses that press conference to brag about himself.
He started off the last conference stating how great a job he has done with the economy (News flash the first year is still based on the previous years policies as it takes time for new company fiscal years) and ended it by bragging he has one of the biggest wineries in the USA. He never once mentioned Heather Heyer by name.  I doubt he even bothered to think about her or remember her name.
The Neo Nazis actually THANKED Trump for his remarks
And though we are hearing a lot of noise only TWO GOP members have called him out on it by name,  The rest continue to aid and abet this enemy of our country and try to provide him cover so they can push their agenda.  Because Party over Country, profit and self interest over patriotism
#GOPKillsUSA.



So far Senators McCain and Graham are the only ones to call Trump out on this by name.

Sunday, August 13, 2017

Trump credited with standing by and FOR the Nazis in Charlottsville

So Trump condemned the violence in Charolltsville by saying there was violence on "many sides" even though the only person who killed anyone was a neo-nazi and they assaulted the police and priests with bottles, brass knuckles and baseball bats.
The Daily Stormer a neo-nazi rag actually thanked Trump (I rarely bother qualifying him with the title of president which he won but does not deserve) for supporting them and not condemning them.
A REAL president would have made a statement that was so crystal clear no one could interpret it differently on this.  Yet he knows part of his base are racists so he wont call them out.
The man has known racists and at least one publicly admitted nazi in his inner circle.
The GOP put this man forward as the best of their party and still mostly support him so in my mind they are culpable and have effectively declared themselves the party of hatred and anti-american values.
Had this been an American Muslim Trump would have jumped all over it and used it to fuel more of his facist agenda.  However because it was Right Wing terrorists he barely says and actually does nothing about it. Remember he ordered the FBI to specifically avoid looking into Right Wing violent groups and the GOP stood quietly by.

Saturday, August 12, 2017

Charlottsville, VA Not where most of us think of as a racist hotbed

The good news is the anti-racists outnumber the racists in the protests.
The bad news is the violence and a racist driving a car into the crowd.
The worse news is that Trump again says nothing, though he took the time ot threaten war against Venezuela,  Likely another feeble attempt to distract people from his problems.
The man really shows he cares nothing about America.

Update.
Seems Trump cares more about HC emails and Mikas looks than he does about violence in America.  At least when its his supporters that he stirred up killing people.
He offered condolences to the police officers and the civilian killed which is a nice if somewhat empty gesture.  However he did not come down hard or demand they stop.
The closest he said was we need to restore law and order but in those three tweet not ONE word condemning or calling out the hate groups.

Thursday, August 10, 2017

Why do GOP people spin and talk about the past rather than what is going on now?
Its a always an excuse and a spin back to the past when asked about what is going on now.

Huge increase in number of Democrats running in 2018

Political activism is good!
Hopefully we get fresh faces more than the establishment ones on both sides of the aisle.
Check out this listing

Why does Congress favor corporate subsidies over job retraining?

So Trump wants to kill the Appalachian Retraining Commission which helped 100000 people get jobs in the last five years. However he washappy to spend millions on Carrier for what now looks like about 300 jobs.
Or the deal with FoxConn that will cost taxpayers Billions with no guarantee that they will even stay in Wisconsin.  At least this deal is looking so bad even Congress is starting to balk.
Why are our politicians more interested in corporate welfare and subsidies than helping the workers of this country?
Think it might be related to the corporate donations they get to line their pockets?
And anyone else wonder how we keep hearing about job growth but still have so many people out of work?  How can we see people laid off so much if there are really all these new jobs?  You should be able to find a new one quickly if this is really what is going on.

Friday, August 4, 2017

Saturday, July 29, 2017

PLaylists

So I just finished going through a LOT of videos and organized them into some play lists.
If you subscribe to a list you will be notified when I add more items to that list.  I have subscribed to many lists and turned on notifications for my daily news so I dont have to go looking.  I hope that maintaining my own list will help save some time for others.  At the very least it will save me from piling up the bookmarks!

Gaming

RPG Tips: For Players
RPG Tips: GM Advice and Resources includes everything from GM tips to map making tutorials and how to come up with names and languages.
GURPS Videos  is a list of videos that include book reviews and game sessions, as well as  a number of tutorials and other useful things GURPS related.
Theme Stuff is a short collection of music that might be good to play as mood music.

Politics

War of America is a collection of videos, good and bad that I think are important social issues going on.
Trump is a list for things that tick me off about the current administration and I use these in tweeting to my legislative reps or activist posts.
Health Care is about various news or educational items related to Health Care.
Climate and Environment is about Climate change and things we need to pay attention to if we want to continue have quality air and water.

Adventures, Campaigns, Encounters, and Quests.

On the GURPS forums we have had a recent re-occurrence of a sort of per-annual topic which is how to make GURPS more popular.
One thing that comes up is GURPS needs more adventures, then the conversation gets side tracked with what is an adventure and what kind of adventure do you really want and why.  So here I go over some terminology.

Encounters

These are typically one shot events, often random encounters or just a distraction or obstacle. An Encounter usually takes very little work by their GM. Typically you pull a foe or group of foes from the bestiary or other appropriate book and fight a single battle.

Adventures

These are a bit more involved and may be played over multiple sessions. Typically a map is involved and several encounters and obstacles in the way of completing some task.

Quests

Typically a specific type of adventure where an NPC assigns or requests the players go accomplish some specific task.

Campaigns

A long running campaign consists of multiple adventures and encounters. A Campaign may be a few months or last several years.

Settings

This is a world and includes the background but is run as a sandbox and no pre-planned campaign or adventures.  Games run in a setting are likely to involve the latter but it is not part of the initial material. Especially for example a setting book., if it is it is a very optional part of the material.

Friday, July 28, 2017

GURPS Game Videos

So on the SJG Forums Mook (Author of How to be a GURPS GM) posted some links ot various GURPS Games that are on video.  These things exist for a variety of RPGs and can be both entertaining and a demo of a game.
In compiling this list I was surprised at just how many are out there so at some point I started to create my own playlist here


Reviews and Tutorials


Interviews

Thursday, July 27, 2017

How can anyone trust thisWhite House to be able to handle anything with even a small degree of competence?

Scaramucci is inept.
I wonder if he will last the weekend and if he does it shows yet again how inept the White House really is.  I mean asking the phone call to off the record it would still have been stupid to say but toi forget that key detail?  And this is a communications Director?

His quotes ranked

This is actually kind of funny but after the laugh is over its scary to realize these guys are in charge of the country.

Senator Graham remembers that the government was set up to be a check and balance against abuse of Power.

Senator Graham came out against the firing of Jeff Sessions today
Senator Sasse and Senator Grassley reportedly also came out against the idea.
I wish my Senator James Lankford (forget the useless snowball Senator Inhoffe he cant get his head out of the sand) would do the same.
Additionally Graham says he will introduce legislation (I'm sure Trump will veto it) to protect special prosecutors in the future.  Good news for America, at least a few GOP members are stepping up to their responsibility.

Democrat vs. Republican: A study in Ethics and Morality

Readers of this blog may think I hate the Republicans and like the Democrats.
That is only half true as I hate both parties.  Not all individuals in both, but overall both stink.

However the latest GOP attempt to pass something, ANYTHING along the lines of repeal for Obamacare (The Affordable Health Care Act) shows the hypocrisy in a dramatic (though not the only) way.
Republicans screamed that not enough time was taken to discuss the AHCA and that it was passed without bi-partisan support.
The AHCA was debated in the senate for a month and numerous GOP amendments added to it.  This after taking about a year to pass through various committees, being scored by the CBO, and public exposure and discussion.
And now?
Republicans have been screaming for repeal and Replace for over 7 years yet never bothered to actually work on a plan.  If they had we would have seen it by now.
Instead they keep coming up with rushed plans behind closed doors where not even all party members get to carefully examine it before voting on it.  They deliberately exclude and dont even try to get Democratic support. Granted getting support to repeal a bill that you passed and so many of your party sacrificed for would be a tough sell but to not even try?
Further after failure after repeated failure the GOP Senate decided to just call for a procedural vote on a bill none had seen just so they could check a box.
Understand that this is not actually passing anything but it is a step towards it. The idea i to vote quickly on whatever Mitch McConnel wrote and try to hash it out in reconciliation between House and Senate leadership. Democrats are expected to try and push amendments in order to slow things down enough that people will have a chance to read it.

Do you understand the difference here?
Democrats worked on trying to make health care better for over a year and let the public and Republicans look it over and put in amendments and comments. Their President asked them to take a stand for making Health Care better (not perfect but it did slow down premium rate growth and saved lives) and they fell on their swords and many lost their seat as people did not really understand what was really going on. Democrats suck at messaging compared to Republicans, witness how much more popular the AHCA is now after Republican attacks and people have a chance to see the real benefits to them compared to GOP plans.
However now that they have the power the Republicans refused to do the homework on crafting a bill (7 years and nothing to show for it?) and keep trying to sneak something past not only the Democrats and the American People but others in their own party as well.  They violate everything they complained about before.
Republicans have demonstrated they are short on ethics, morality, and commitment.

Right now many want to pass something, anything so they can go home and aid they kept their promise to Repeal and replace.  They forget they also promised to make it better and transparent.
What they did not forget is to cut taxes to their wealthy donors.

I hope people remember what happens here and hold them accountable.  Though they are trying to procrastinate and pull one over us by pushing out most of the damage for two years.
So they hope to get reelected because people wont realize the costs in time.

In summary both parties are full of problems but at least the Democrats are less bankrupt than the Republicans.  Lets replace them all by voting in fresh faces at Brand New Congress!

Trumps Thashes about to try and distract

I have been worried about and telling as many people as I can, including my legislatures that Trump is willing to damage and possibly even destroy the the country to distract people from his crimes and poor poll numbers.
Consider the latest effort, banning and removing Transgender  people from the military. Imagine fighting for the country in say Afghanistan and you suddenly hear you may be forcibly discharged from the military, Possibly losing all benefits you earned from your service and possibly facing felony charges depending on how they go about that discharge.
Why?  Money? Congress was already looking at exempting medical expenses from their benefits (Hint: Make it up by having Trump skip a visit or two to his resort and tax subsidized property Mara Lago).
What about his shameful speech to the Boy Scouts? Was it self aggrandizement and his typical bragging and mud slinging?  Or was it another effort to distract us?

Now it is true that so far none of these and other efforts are very effective, firing Comey did not stop the Russia investigation and if he fires Sessions and Roesenstein in efforts to stop Meuller even the cowardly and sycophantic GOP will likely step up and reenact the Special Counsel/Prosecutor law.
At least I hope so.

However even though he has had more resignations and firings than any other President in history at this stage we see little more than lip service by the GOP. Even though we have plenty of evidence of actual crimes we see stalled investigations as the GOP continues to protect him because they have chosen to put party ahead of country.
At some point they will realize its not working and even if they dont change priorities they will see that this attitude will cost them the power and seats they so crave.
I have informed Senator Lankford, Senator Inhofe and Rep Lucas (my legislative reps) that they are encroaching on becoming accessories after the fact and violating their oath of office.
Everyone who cares about America needs to do the same.

Elected officials need to realize and be reminded that they work for the People not a few ultra wealthy or corporate donors. Lining their pockets by selling out the country will eventually cost them.  It is up to us to see if they get away with it in this world or have to wait till they come before God.

Wednesday, July 26, 2017

Health Care talk

So confused about Universal Health Care, Medicare for all, or a Public Option?
This is a good explanation.
Here is another

A Public Option is a reasonable compromise as Insurance companies will still exist but they will be forced to be competitive or get out of the market.
However Universal Health Care is more where I think we need to go.  Lot of options on how to pay for it.  I think basically payroll taxes like we currently use for Medicare and our employer based insurance.
But the republicans will have to cave and allow it to negotiate prescription drug prices which they dont like and is the requirement they placed on Medicare and Medicaid.


The Free market bit tht republicans want will simply never work.  Health Insurance is something everyone needs but needs mot when they do not expect it.  And if you do not have enough the tax payers and hospitals eat the cost.  So it shuts down rural hospitals and medical care and bankrupts millions of Americans and small companies.

DNC proves yet again they have learned nothing

So this story where the DNC used barricades to block access to Nina Turner.
They still have not learned and despite the rhetoric just proved yet again that they are not changing.

We need to kick them out and get in people who will work for the people not corporate donors.

The Uncivil Party, GOP are becoming more the party of Fascism and Authoritarianism and leaving Democracy and Patriotism behind.

Senator
Wow, listening to TYT today and this article about the Pentagon spending more for Forest Camo uniforms than desert camo so someone could benefit financially really hacks me off.
We all know there is lots of government waste but it is extra enraging when that waste actually hurts the country and in this kills kills more soldiers.

Senator Blake Farenthold (R-Texas) said he would be happy to take his fellow Republican Senators outside and shoot them.
We had a GOP rep body slam a reporter in Kansas during the last special election.
We here in OK had a GOP house rep tell his constituents to just shut up because they don't pay his salary.
We have had a couple of cases where the GOP had reporters arrested in the past 6 months.
Finally we have the vast majority of Republicans refusing to hold Town Halls.

The GOP can no longer be considered the patriotic party, instead they are the authoritarian and fascists party.

Lets see what they do over the next week with Health Care.
Meanwhile democrats are raising more money and candidates than ever before at this stage of an election cycle.
https://www.brookings.edu/blog/fixgov/2017/07/24/does-the-opening-predict-a-wave/?utm_campaign=Brookings%20Brief&utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&utm_content=54625936

Adding Rep of Buddy Carter Georgia thinks someone should go over to the Senate an "Snatch a Knot in their ass"  Not sure what that means but it does not sound civil.

Monday, July 24, 2017

Huge Dem response

Watch thiscvlip, the key item is about 10 minutes in https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=luqyEECcY9c
That is a huger number of fresh faces.

Random Dungeon and cave generators!

SO a post on the GURPS Forumsaskingabout charecter sheets got me looking at Myth Weavers.
This site is a nice resource for a GM.
Dungeon Generator  and Cave Generator make useful random maps.

There are some other items here but those are pretty useful for any game system.

Sunday, July 23, 2017

Updated GURP Setting page

Made a few minor updates to some pages.  The main GURP update is reorganizing my Settings page and dded a few thins to it.

Thursday, July 20, 2017

Jeff Sessions under fire for doing the right thing

I don't think Jeff Sessions is a good guy.  I think he is a misogynist and a racist.
However recusing himself in the Russia  investigation was the right thing.
The Dictator in Chief however has been pretty mad about it.  In his mind its all Sessions fault that he is under investigation for the Russia mess.

The bit about he would never have hired him if  he knew he was going to do that tells us a lot about Trump.  It makes it clear that he thinks of the Attorney general as the Presidents lawyer not the countries lawyer.
I think Sessions should stay and rough it out.

I would hope, but of course don't expect the GOP to stand up and protest in mass if he is forced to resign.

Rep Steve King, another traitor to the USA

Listening to yet another GOP member try to deflect and provide cover for Trump.
He made it clar he would rather go back and re-investigate Hillary again over her emails than deal with Trumps Russia issues.
These people need to be removed from office!
I get partisan politics and why they want to blame the other guy for everything but at a certain point you have to step up and put the country ahead of your party and political agenda.
Now I don't defend Hillary, shes corrupt and has lots of problems.  However she had her day in court and its over. The Great Obstructionist Party went after her for years and came up with nothing to convict her on.
STOP rehashing history over a politician who has made herself irrelevant.

And his crack at Obama makes him deserve to be shot for treason.
Could Obama have done more? Yes, Should he? Probably but he did try and the Great Obstructionist Party stopped him. They REFUSED to team up for a bi-partisan complaint over Russian meddling and call for tighter security.  They REFUSED to take the issue seriously and to this day thier dear leader still says nothing to see here and it was some guy in a bed somewhere, or maybe Chinese, or maybe whomever. Republicans did not want to help and now they are culpable.  Had President Obama gone out on his own it would have been the brave thing but it would have backfired and they would have roasted him over it on air.
We ALL know this.


Where is the red line? At what point will the Greed  Over Patriotism group finally step up?

Just look at the public record, the things the average American can see for themselves.
President Trump is guilty of violating the Emoluments Clause of the US Constitution.
He is gettign pay for access and DOUBLED his membership fees for his resort Mara Lago and meets with foreign officials there and shows them off to members.
He golfs almost every weekend and uses the weekends and even the White House website (till he was forced to take it down) to showcase his properties and add value to his brand at taxpayer expense.
He is guilty of money laundering for the Russian mob.
He is guilty of obstruction of Justice and witness tampering and intimidation.  Ok he is incompetent at it and has not succeeded so far but failing does not absolve you of guilt.
His defense of his sons meeting with Russians was that its ok because nothing came of it is not a true defense, nor is it true that anyone would have done the same. Al Gore turned his into the FBI and the gal who tried it with him is in jail.

At what point will these people finally step up and act?
At this point they are supporting and aiding and abetting criminal actions against the United States of America  When will they stop?
When will Trumps loyal base of 35% of America finally have had enough of this?
They waiting for him to get on with his promises? Willing to sell out the country as long as they get what they want?
If I cant appeal to their integrity and patriotism how about their sense of entitlement? He WONT do anything for you!
He has proven and does so every day that he cares about no one but himself.  His inability to stop bragging about himself and stop blaming everyone else but himself for things that go wrong and his inability to stop tweeting stupid shit has erased any chance he had of getting anything done.
A REPUBLICAN controlled congress is still unable to pass any major legislation, 6 months  in.  they are incompetent and so used to obstructing they have no clue how to work together to get anything done.

The Trump supporters and the GOP leadership must step up and start working for the country instead of themselves. The rest of us must vote or otherwise remove them from office at the earliest possible opportunity before they destroy the country.

You stood by while he accused a former president of a felony.
You stood by while he lied to everyone about his connections, even as evidence continues to mount.
You stood by while he wastes taxpayer money and lines his pockets.
You stood by while he takes money from Turkey in return for holding up on supporting the Kurds against ISIS.
You stood idly by and provided cover while he fired investigator after investigator, First Yates, then Bahria, then Comey.
You stood by while he tried to intimidate and threaten witnesses against him.
You stood by while he tried ot intimidate the director of the NSA and CIA into talking Comey down.
Your standing by while he lays the ground work to destroy the credibility of the entire DOJ.
Will you continue to stand by when Jeff Sessions and Rob Rosinsiten are forced to resign?
Will you stand by when he gets rid of Meuller?
Will you stand by when he gets us into a war to get his poll numbers up and provide another distraction?
Will that finally be enough? Though of course by then it may well be too late.

At this point the GOP is guilty of aiding and abetting after the fact, those who did not know about this ahead of time.  Right now I feel your morally and ethically guilty.  At what point will you be legally guilty?
I know your all rich white men so wont ever get charged or go to jail.  That does not make it right, it just means you will get away with your crimes against the country.
Hopefully God will take care of you on the other side.




GURPS Broken Into Pieces

GURPS is at its heart designed a a modular system.  Pile up all the parts and you have an overwhelmingly large and even unwieldy system.  However almost no game is designed to work that way. Instead you pick and use just the pieces that are appropriate to your campaign.

Pick Your Attributes

GURPS has just 4 core attributes, DX and IQ cost 20 points a level and HT and ST cost 10 points a level.  You start with a base of 10 and add or lower the attributes based on your character idea.
Brainy type? Up the IQ level.  Athletic? Up DX for a gymnast, coordinated type, HT for the long distance runner or ST for the strong muscleman. Adjust each to taste and within your point budget not random die rolls.
Higher point games are for more impressive character types.

Calculate Secondary Attributes

Secondary attributes include Basic Speed, Move, Basic Lift, HP, Perception, Will, etc.
These are based on your attributes and you can buy them up or down to adjust to get the type of character you want.  
Smart but head in the clouds so does not notice much? High IQ but buy down Per.
Not very bright but animal like senses? Low IQ but high Per.
Coordinated but not able to move very fast? High DX but buy down your Move (yards you can move in a turn) or even Basic Speed (Initiative and Dodge).

Tweak With Talents

Talents represent someone with a general aptitude. The basic set includes a handful and GURPS Power Ups 3: Talents includes a lot more and how to build them.
They can be for someone who is good with plants or animals, or maybe a natural hacker.  talents are not needed but they allow fine tuning and are cheaper than buying up core attributes.

Choose What You Are Good At

The last part of this process is deciding what skills or advantages you have.
Skills represent things anyone can do with the right training.
Advantages are special abilities, some you have to be born with, some could be trained (Improved memory or ambidexterity).  This is where GURPS really shines in allowing you to fine tune a character but the sheer number of choices can be overwhelming.
The GM should pair down the list and there are tools like the trait sorter that can help as well as free PDFs or the index in the back of GURPS Basic.
For any given campaign you only need a fraction of these abilities.

Flavor and Getting More Points

Finally we have Disadvantages, Perks and Quirks to round things out.
Perks are very minor advantages and Quirks minor disadvantages for 1 point each that are mostly flavor.
Disadvantages are things like One Leg, Blind, Overconfident, Duty, etc that limit you in some way but also give you points in return to buy other stuff with.



That is really all you need to build a character in GURPS.

Though I do support this idea by T-Bone

Tuesday, July 18, 2017

Trumps Money Laundering Connection

An article in The New Republic called "Trumps Russian Laundromat" makes good reading.  It is well sourced and revealing in just how far back Trumps Russian connections go.
Included sources include not only public statements from his sons but from Trumps own book "The Art of The Deal".
So tell me again why the GOP offered this man as the best the party had to offer?
Why do they continue to support him, no matter how many things keep coming out the GOP just keeps sticking to their support of Trump.

At waht point do we call the GOP to account for this?  In the beginning they could claim they made a mistake and were ignorant.  However every day that gets harder to believe and by continuing to provide excuses and aid in covering up his crimes, refusing to call him to account for the crimes already proven, or impeach him to protect the selling out of the country the Republican party is more and more culpable.
At what point are they criminally liable for conspiracy to defraud the United States, aid and abetting and accessory after the fact in his violations of the Emoluments clause?

Al Gore had someone approach him with info but instead of taking the meeting he called the FBI and the lady is now in jail.  But Trumps lawyers and members of the GOP say this time it was ok, and in fact if there was anything wrong it was up to the Secret Service to stop it.

Republicans were up in arms over China Gate and now complain about the Ukraine, however because this time its a Republican its all ok. Why are ANY of these things ok?
The GOP simply cares more about their party than they do the United States of America.


Plain and simple we must get rid of the people now in charge and replace them with new and honest people. Check out Brand New Congress.


Monday, July 17, 2017

GURPS Adventures

GURPS Third Edition had quite a few adventures, GURPS Fourth Edition nearly as many.
Of course Third Edition material is over 90% compatible with Fourth Edition.  The stats are mostly the same with just the point costs being different in several cases.

I personally have little use or desire for adventures.  To me NPC or monster stats, including equipment loadouts are more useful.  Plot ideas and adventure seeds, especially maps are also useful.
However others want single adventure, quest chain type adventures or even campaign meta plot type adventures.
What do you think and want?
Feel free to comment here or on the forums thread here.

Linked Page

Sources

Misc

Sunday, July 16, 2017

Broken Care Reconciliation Act

The Grand Old Party is so stuck on the idea that they have been promising to Repeal the AHCA for the last 7 years that I think they have lost sight of what they actually promised.
Trump ran and won on the idea of making Universal Health Care and the GOP has been promising something better, with lower premiums and better coverage.
The concepts they are focusing on instead are...

  • Taxcuts for the wealthiest.
  • Taxcuts and incentives for Insurance CEOs.  Why do they need a special benefit/perk?  How is this even classic republican?  If they run a good business they should not need further incentives.
  • Free market policy.  The idea beign that more competition lowers prices and improves quality.  The trouble is that wont work for Health Care. Remember Insurance companies make a better profit if they can get people to pay premiums and no need medical care.  There is no free market concept that encourages insurance companies to provide good coverage at good prices.  They WANT people who are at risk of getting sick to go to another company and will be fighting for the healthiest part of the market and trying to avoid covering the rest. Republicans are either too stupid to understand that concept or they just don't care.  I think its more the latter.
This bill is not about, nor does it even try to improve health care.  Its about checking off a box and passing a tax cut to themselves and their donors.

So if they manage to get it passed everyone who loses coverage, knows someone who loses coverage or see rates go up faster than inflation, or knows someone who dies because if this needs to remember this when it comes time to vote again.
The AHCA was not perfect, nor even as good as President Obama promised but it was better than what we had before. Working on improving it or replacing it with something better would be the right thing to do.  However the Great Obstructionist Party has been unable (actually it looks like they never even tried) to come up with something better, despite 7 years of looking forward to this.

Saturday, July 15, 2017

Remember the good old days in American politics?

When I was growing up people voted to swap parties in power to change direction and correct for the last party overstepping.
Democrats were pro labor and the common man.
Republicans were for the wealthy and business.

One party would hurt the opposite side of the country in order to help their side.  We HAD to switch back and forth as a form of balance to gt one side from getting too much of the pie and hurting the country overall.

Now?
We vote for the opposing party to the one in power out of disgust with the one in charge and what they have been doing.
Corruption is no longer an isolated incident that is unusual. Now its the daily grind.
This is not something that happened overnight, or even with Citizens United, though it accelerated with that passage.

We must remove the majority of our politicians and do so in such a dramatic and powerful fashion that the message that voters will not longer tolerate it is made loud and clear.
Too many people do not even bother to vote out of sheer disgust and the feeling that it simply does not matter who wins.  We will just get more of the same, voting is not choosing who is better but who is less evil.
Can we do that? Can enough Americans stand up and say "We are tired of your lies, corruption and stealing from the country!"

Thje next election is in 2018 and I hope we see record turnouts at the voting booth.
But for now we must all call our elected officials and express our feelings, we must attend the town halls of those few still having them.
We will only get change if we push for it, and push hard.