by Max Barry

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So I'm working to create my religion factbook, Divine Providence.

So the premise is that the Chamberlain & Saratoga families, mainly Joshua Chamberlain from back in NCON 1.0 and Saint Saratoga (name) from the Saratogan-Nedean-Moarfallian independence war, are god intervention into the matters of man to create an Israel-like state that became St. Saratoga the nation.

Divine Providence is using the pre-reformation Catholic Church as the model.

What I need help from y'all is:
A) how to create slick looking factbook for it
1) Maybe wikipedia style?
B) Help with creating the structure and holy book
C) Holy Places; should the new RP have Divine Providence holy sites? Rogerbei have a Vatican? NCON 1.0 map have the holy sites that no longer exist? That sorta thing.

St Saratoga wrote:So I'm working to create my religion factbook, Divine Providence.

So the premise is that the Chamberlain & Saratoga families, mainly Joshua Chamberlain from back in NCON 1.0 and Saint Saratoga (name) from the Saratogan-Nedean-Moarfallian independence war, are god intervention into the matters of man to create an Israel-like state that became St. Saratoga the nation.

Divine Providence is using the pre-reformation Catholic Church as the model.

What I need help from y'all is:
A) how to create slick looking factbook for it
1) Maybe wikipedia style?
B) Help with creating the structure and holy book
C) Holy Places; should the new RP have Divine Providence holy sites? Rogerbei have a Vatican? NCON 1.0 map have the holy sites that no longer exist? That sorta thing.

So, for your people, the land of Saratoga represents a type of “promised land,” right?

This is a central theme of both Judaism and Mormonism. In both religions, a type of covenant is signed with a god whereby they are granted a promised land where they can live in peace in exchange for worshipping that god. This covenant and/or the promise (along with a utopian description of the land) is usually a major feature/theme of any religious text.

A promised land is more than likely something an (historically) oppressed people would pine for. This historic oppression would also be a major theme/feature of the text. As would the liberation from this oppression, the journey to the promised land (which is often difficult and dangerous, but full of miracles from the god that assist the people along the way), and then a history of the first days (or years or generations) in the promised land.

The religious text can be written by one “prophet” or be a collection (curated over time by a church authority) of smaller texts by several or many prophets. There can be a single definitive text, or a core text with many derivative texts authored over the years that have since been adopted as important secondary texts. (Often times these are metaphysical thesis expanding the core text to cover things like day-to-day practices and religious dietary or marriage laws.) Authorship can either be known or unknown. (Known more often if by one prophet, unknown more often if by many prophets.)

Of course, it should also contain any core moral tenets. And often reinforces these with stories of people that either succeeded by following the tenets, or failed because they didn’t follow them.

Holy places are likely (for a people that journey from a place where they were oppressed to a promised land) to be found along the path of the journey, and of course in the promised land itself. One major site being the very first place in the promised land the people touched. Another being the location where the first leader (the one leading your people when they reach the promised land) dies and/or is/was buried (or ascended to Heaven). As well as any places any prophets died and/or are/were buried.

A “Vatican” would be needed if the head of your church needs some sovereign territory in order to offer a bit of political distance between the church and the state (govt) of Saratoga. If there are lots of followers outside Saratoga, this might be a good idea to protect those followers from being accused of being Saratogan agents by virtue of their faith alone. If a vast, vast majority live in Saratoga, then they actually may get more protection from a union of church and state. Meaning no separate “Vatican,” BUT you can still give your religious leader a private campus/estate and even a whole city devoted to the church with lots of seminaries and other religious institutions like libraries, etc. (Basically a religious capital which can be different than your national capital.)

I wanna wish a lovely happy birthday to our dear St Saratoga!!

Happy Birthday to you! Happy Birthday to you! Happy Birthday, Dear St Saratoga! Happy Birthday to you!

I just got a notice saying I was in the top 10% of WA endorsements in the world. I'm not in the WA nor do I have any endorsements. Anyone else get this?

Nedea wrote:I just got a notice saying I was in the top 10% of WA endorsements in the world. I'm not in the WA nor do I have any endorsements. Anyone else get this?

Often.

Read all about it!
- Neutrality breaks out in the DRF Chronicle
- Election special in the Union Truth
- Get green with the Regional-World Newswire
- Ex-Pacifica in NS Today: https://nationstates.news/
- Stars and stars in Gameplay Magazine
Poker faces on - it's 🍒🍓🍋🍍SLOTS🍈🍐🍇🍑 at the Sands

Nedea wrote:I wanna wish a lovely happy birthday to our dear St Saratoga!!

Little late but Happy birthday.

The deepest BB poll ever! the most choices allowed via poll!

page=poll/p=148260

^ • Favorite Halloween Candy Damn it!

Any hot takes on the Hong Kong situation? It's surprising to see these demonstrations are still going on, considering how most things these days seem to be a flash in the pan.

While I dont condone unprovoked violence, it does bring a smile to my face to see that torch of liberty our founding fathers ignited so long ago still burns. I support the demands of the Hong Kong people but I'm worried this will erupt into something far worse. China can't help but know there are millions, if not billions of eyes on them and what HK and China does in the next months will certainly set the stage for what future events will happen.

If HK's demands are met it may inspire even more liberty movements but it will also make China look bad (it can't handle its sovereign turf). Though if China cracks down it will look equally bad. I think this is a lose lose for China, and an angry China does not equal a safer world.

Just my take though.

I gotta say I’m quite surprised the Communists in Beijing have held out as long as they have, thus allowing the world more time to see and absorb what’s going there. It’s also interesting that the mainland’s media was ignoring the protests at first, then suddenly started covering the “separatist” and “foreign-backed rioting” in Hong Kong. I guess the censorship in mainland China wasn’t working too well and they bit-the-bullet and went from ignore to threaten.

This is probably the final test of “One Country, Two Systems”. The Communists have been pushing that envelop for a long time now and it looks like it’s about to snap. If they take things directly into their own hands and suppress the protest violently, then “One Country, Two Systems” is dead to everyone. THAT is what they really fear. It’s the “promise” Beijing is now offering Taiwan for unification. If that promise proves to be horrifically and violently false, then the only option left for the Communists is to invade Taiwan to force unification under “One Country, One System”. If that happens, the world not only loses a vibrant democracy, China gains direct military access to the Western Pacific from which to threaten us and all our allies on that side of the planet.

The world needs to take a firm stand. If the Communist violently suppress the protests, and finally kill “One Country, Two Systems”, then the world should immediately respond by delisting Hong Kong as a separate economic entity and stripping it of any special privileges in trade, followed up by real sanctions to begin decoupling the world’s economy from China’s.

And as a special bonus, we should recognize, establish formal diplomatic relations, sign a FTA, and establish a defense alliance with Taiwan.

Just my take though. :)

Why would we want to forget about Hong Kong being a seperate entity? Why would we sanction them? If anything we should support Hong Kong liberty and Taiwanese liberty.

Nedea wrote:Why would we want to forget about Hong Kong being a seperate entity? Why would we sanction them? If anything we should support Hong Kong liberty and Taiwanese liberty.

Well, I advocate sanctioning them only if they prove Hong Kong isn’t in fact a separate entity by crossing into the territory and forcibly suppressing the protests. That would make Hong Kong just another Chinese city by default. At that point it should be treated like just another Chinese city without special status. We should threaten crippling sanctions, wait and see, and then act if they act. Best and only thing that could be done.

Nedea wrote:Any hot takes on the Hong Kong situation? It's surprising to see these demonstrations are still going on, considering how most things these days seem to be a flash in the pan.

While I dont condone unprovoked violence, it does bring a smile to my face to see that torch of liberty our founding fathers ignited so long ago still burns. I support the demands of the Hong Kong people but I'm worried this will erupt into something far worse. China can't help but know there are millions, if not billions of eyes on them and what HK and China does in the next months will certainly set the stage for what future events will happen.

If HK's demands are met it may inspire even more liberty movements but it will also make China look bad (it can't handle its sovereign turf). Though if China cracks down it will look equally bad. I think this is a lose lose for China, and an angry China does not equal a safer world.

Just my take though.

Like ath said I'm surprised the central committee hasn't done anything. I'm hoping it wouldn't turn into another tiananmen square. Unlike 30 years ago the Chinese cannot pretend that it never happened. I see what ath mentioned and probably should happen if China should invade Hong Kong. How would it look economically wise if we used our debt as leverage to help Hong Kong? Maybe threaten to default on any Chinese owned US debt?

46566 wrote:Like ath said I'm surprised the central committee hasn't done anything. I'm hoping it wouldn't turn into another tiananmen square. Unlike 30 years ago the Chinese cannot pretend that it never happened. I see what ath mentioned and probably should happen if China should invade Hong Kong. How would it look economically wise if we used our debt as leverage to help Hong Kong? Maybe threaten to default on any Chinese owned US debt?

Well, I gotta say that if I were in US politics, I’d be pushing for a law that prevented nondemocratic governments from holding any US debt. All holders of US would need to be registered, and there would be a limit on how much you can hold versus how much you can sell in a certain time period. But only very high restrictions to prevent state actors from moving ultrahigh volumes of debt in a short period of time. It might make US debt more expensive, but that’s a small price to pay to diversify and certify that our creditors aren’t going to use any debt as a weapon. I would also stipulate that in the event of hostilities that trade in US debt with, by, or for any Chinese entity is prohibited. In essence saying all US debt held directly or indirectly by China or any part of it, would be null and void. (We can say it’s “payment” for all the IP they’ve stolen over the decades and call it even.)

Or we just stop borrowing money at an unsustainable rate.

Nedea wrote:Or we just stop borrowing money at an unsustainable rate.

Pretty sure that would destroy America and capitalism.

Athretvari wrote:Pretty sure that would destroy America and capitalism.

Why you gotta shove capitalism in there too? Also, how would it destroy America? We cut spending down to the point we no longer have a deficit, I mean really make some cuts. Then we can run a surplus, and work to pay of the princible debt. It will take a long time and this is a little over simplified but our Congressmen and women need to sober up and not indebt our future generations. It will be tough, not atractive and long but its what needs to be done.

Nedea wrote:Why you gotta shove capitalism in there too? Also, how would it destroy America? We cut spending down to the point we no longer have a deficit, I mean really make some cuts. Then we can run a surplus, and work to pay of the princible debt. It will take a long time and this is a little over simplified but our Congressmen and women need to sober up and not indebt our future generations. It will be tough, not atractive and long but its what needs to be done.

Well it's going to be unpopular for both parties. Cutting defense spending hurts Republicans and cutting things like Medicare and other social programs hurt the Democrats. I'd argue rasing taxes across the board might help with also using tariffs to increase revenue would help. If we need to spend money maybe use it to update and upgrade infrastructure using American preferable local goods. Having huge infrastructure improvements could improve local economies at least short term.

Would it be possible to recruit or hire the homeless to help repair infrastructure? Mostly things like road repair, freeway repair and the like. Would it be cost prohibitive to train and shelter them for the duration of the contract or untill they quit? Offer to pay for housing (maybe temp housing for freeways in the middle of nowhere) and pay for lunch.

Warning: Lengthy post required.

Nedea wrote:Why you gotta shove capitalism in there too? Also, how would it destroy America? We cut spending down to the point we no longer have a deficit, I mean really make some cuts. Then we can run a surplus, and work to pay of the princible debt. It will take a long time and this is a little over simplified but our Congressmen and women need to sober up and not indebt our future generations. It will be tough, not atractive and long but its what needs to be done.

Well, here’s the problem. The US govt alone (not counting the states and municipalities) generates a deficit of approximately 5.1% of the nation’s GDP, a vast, vast majority of which is spent in the US market (govt salaries, purchases of goods and services, etc). In essence, the US govt is the largest consumer in the US market. To strike a budget balance, that consumer needs to spend 5.1% GDP less, a vast, vast majority of the lost spending being, again, in the US market. (Ouch! That’s a lot for the market to lose without disruption. And again, that’s just the US govt’s deficit. States and municipalities are themselves huge consumers also, and nearly all run deficits.)

Debt is the unspoken life’s blood of capitalism. Companies take out loans directly or issue and sell bonds (private debt) to pay for upgrades, salaries, bills, etc until revenues actually start covering operating and production costs. Banks rarely have all the money they need on hand each day to pay for withdraws, so they borrow (often just for a day or so) the money they temporarily need from other banks or the Fed. The US govt needs to do this all the time too, which is why you often hear about “the debt ceiling” being debated in Washington. This is because the govt is in a near state of constant borrowing until tax revenues (usually quarterly) flow into the Treasury.

HOWEVER, US debt is very strange. Unlike nearly every other nation on Earth, the US doesn’t need collateral to issue debt. This is because the US dollar is the world’s de facto universal currency. What this means is that the US could theoretically cancel all its debt by simply printing the money to pay it off. (It’s as if back in the day when there was a “gold standard,” the US had the ability to “print gold” from thin air.) Not sure if you remember at all, but when Obama was president, a conspiracy theory surfaced that he planned on ordering the Treasury department to issue several $1 trillion coins and deposit them in the Federal Reserve in the US govt account. Effectively printing all the money needed to pay off the debt. (Republicans at the time were fighting raising the debt ceiling, so the idea was to cancel the debt altogether.) It would have caused massive inflation if released all at once, and would have destroyed America’s banking sector which relies on servicing the govt’s deficits and debt. (Not to mention it would have destroyed the dollar’s reputation as a “safe” currency.) Of course, he didn’t order the coins to be issued.

A much more effective policy would be to retain the market’s largest consumer, and give it more spending power—money. We need to implement policies that increase foreign investment in America, and greatly increase its exports relative to imports. This would provide the govt the resources to continue participating in the market, pay off debt, and generate additional revenues that could be used for anything from infrastructure to a “rainy day fund”. (This is how China rakes in the dough, not counting the intellectual property theft and forced tech transfers.)

46566 wrote:Would it be possible to recruit or hire the homeless to help repair infrastructure? Mostly things like road repair, freeway repair and the like. Would it be cost prohibitive to train and shelter them for the duration of the contract or untill they quit? Offer to pay for housing (maybe temp housing for freeways in the middle of nowhere) and pay for lunch.

There are only about half a million homeless scattered across America. About 7% of them are children, another 18% are chronically homeless, many because of mental or other debilitating illness. That leaves you about 350 thousand, not all of which can do that type of heavy construction work. You probably could, but I would think the logistics of it all would be too much to make it politically palatable for the likes in Washington. It would be cool if there were a type of National Work Corps, though. Something where if you’re out of work and/or homeless, you can apply and get trained for govt infrastructure jobs.

Athretvari wrote:Warning: Lengthy post required.

Well, here’s the problem. The US govt alone (not counting the states and municipalities) generates a deficit of approximately 5.1% of the nation’s GDP, a vast, vast majority of which is spent in the US market (govt salaries, purchases of goods and services, etc). In essence, the US govt is the largest consumer in the US market. To strike a budget balance, that consumer needs to spend 5.1% GDP less, a vast, vast majority of the lost spending being, again, in the US market. (Ouch! That’s a lot for the market to lose without disruption. And again, that’s just the US govt’s deficit. States and municipalities are themselves huge consumers also, and nearly all run deficits.)

Debt is the unspoken life’s blood of capitalism. Companies take out loans directly or issue and sell bonds (private debt) to pay for upgrades, salaries, bills, etc until revenues actually start covering operating and production costs. Banks rarely have all the money they need on hand each day to pay for withdraws, so they borrow (often just for a day or so) the money they temporarily need from other banks or the Fed. The US govt needs to do this all the time too, which is why you often hear about “the debt ceiling” being debated in Washington. This is because the govt is in a near state of constant borrowing until tax revenues (usually quarterly) flow into the Treasury.

HOWEVER, US debt is very strange. Unlike nearly every other nation on Earth, the US doesn’t need collateral to issue debt. This is because the US dollar is the world’s de facto universal currency. What this means is that the US could theoretically cancel all its debt by simply printing the money to pay it off. (It’s as if back in the day when there was a “gold standard,” the US had the ability to “print gold” from thin air.) Not sure if you remember at all, but when Obama was president, a conspiracy theory surfaced that he planned on ordering the Treasury department to issue several $1 trillion coins and deposit them in the Federal Reserve in the US govt account. Effectively printing all the money needed to pay off the debt. (Republicans at the time were fighting raising the debt ceiling, so the idea was to cancel the debt altogether.) It would have caused massive inflation if released all at once, and would have destroyed America’s banking sector which relies on servicing the govt’s deficits and debt. (Not to mention it would have destroyed the dollar’s reputation as a “safe” currency.) Of course, he didn’t order the coins to be issued.

A much more effective policy would be to retain the market’s largest consumer, and give it more spending power—money. We need to implement policies that increase foreign investment in America, and greatly increase its exports relative to imports. This would provide the govt the resources to continue participating in the market, pay off debt, and generate additional revenues that could be used for anything from infrastructure to a “rainy day fund”. (This is how China rakes in the dough, not counting the intellectual property theft and forced tech transfers.)

There are only about half a million homeless scattered across America. About 7% of them are children, another 18% are chronically homeless, many because of mental or other debilitating illness. That leaves you about 350 thousand, not all of which can do that type of heavy construction work. You probably could, but I would think the logistics of it all would be too much to make it politically palatable for the likes in Washington. It would be cool if there were a type of National Work Corps, though. Something where if you’re out of work and/or homeless, you can apply and get trained for govt infrastructure jobs.

For me the infrastructure stuff would have primarily outside of the cities. I live in California and we have the Mojave desert here. The homeless would have been housed in a government temporary city(something hopefully temporary and movable) it would have gave a central location for the workers to live and not burden cities. We have roads that might go nowhere or fix the main Street of Baker CA.(1 major road town of like 700 people at best) I agree on paper it's a good idea but impossible to do.

I'm curious on people's thoughts on defense spending. I could see defense spending actually dropping in 10 to 20 years. The reason being most of the newer voters never grew up in the cold war era. I was like 6 when the USSR kinda dropped out in 92. It's been almost 30 years since it happened. While we had wars non have been against a big bad or something to fear. Most things are not as clear cut as us or them. I could see the eventual cutting the defense budget.

Zombies

Don't believe the lies! Extermination is our only hope!

Part of me wishes the changes in population due to Z-day were permanent. I think it would be very, very interesting to see how the NS and RP rankings would get shaken-up. I could see large empires “falling” while smaller nations that do a good job surviving the zombies gain in strength as a result. It would actually reward those players that are playing during the zombie outbreak.

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