True, but it’s happened twice in the last six presidential elections. The fact that the system allows it at all is problematic, but it’s unfortunately becoming more common, not less.

That’s exactly why so many countries around the world roll their eyes when America bangs on so much about democracy.

It’s a marketing thing. Look around the world. Find any country with the word “Democratic” in the name, and odds are you’ll find a poor excuse for a democracy.

The actual democracies in the world don’t feel compelled to keep repeating the fact.

The reality is that America is only really a democracy in the loosest sense of the world. All you need to do is look at how often the wealthiest candidate wins to see that it’s true. Or how often the person with the most votes loses. Or how unregulated lobbying actually is. Or the insane amount of power the President actually has. The power doesn’t lie with the people - it lies with the super-rich.

Sorry if that came off as really negative! America has a lot of good stuff going for it, but its implementation of democracy is not one.

If you’re thinking yoga retreats etc, I’d consider building an Earthship or two first. They’re totally eco-friendly, almost hobbit-like buildings. They fit the vibe and would give you a base of operations for future plans.

Love it, especially the alt text.

That’s my point - you can’t tell someone’s religion just by skin colour.

FWIW, there’s plenty of people with a similar colour skin who aren’t Muslim. India, for example, has a population of nearly 1.5 billion.

Unless someone tells you, or has some obvious sign, it’s bad form to assume someone’s religion from how they look.

Exactly this!

I mentioned One Page Rules in particular because it’s the one that I still play.

The buy-in is zero - you get the core rules for free. They are clean, easy to remember, and fast to play with.

OPR : Grimdark Future is the 40k equivalent OPR : Grimdark Future Firefight is a smaller scale skirmish based version. I like Firefight best personally - you can play with just a handful of figures per team.

An additional aspect is that it is miniature agnostic. Most of the teams are “legally distinct” spins on the 40k factions, with each troop type having an equivalent, but you can use any miniatures you have (regardless of who makes them) totally legitimately.

They have a free army building web app called Army Forge. You can spin up a couple of armies based on the models you have already, print off the rules, and have a quick game straight away :)

Edit: I just visited their homepage and thought I should clarify something. When they say “receive 50 minis a month”, they are talking about files for 3d printing these miniatures, not actual physical figures in the mail!

I’m an oldie who got into 40k way back in the early 90s with the Rogue Trader stuff.

In my honest opinion, I love the minis (they look glorious), but I would not recommend the current game to anyone. It’s far too expensive and just not that fun.

There are better games out there that you can play using 40k minis. One Page Rules : Grimdark Future is one such example.