Quote from: Sir Lüc on November 26, 2025, 06:11:22 AMThat is a fair point. Bit late now but I will switch to putting the important bit at the start.

(To be fair, the absolutely unprecedented amount of mailers probably doesn't help either)

I've appreciated each and every single email I've received from the political parties. It's great to see the reachout!

A round of reminders is getting sent out as I type this. (With much clearer subject line, as suggested)

Roughly 4 days and a half left to vote; turnout is 53.33% (72/135). 23 further voters needed to match the absolute turnout from last election, 26 to match the relative turnout, 28 to get triple digits.

We're roughly 73% of the way into the election. Last time, vote #72 was cast about 60% of the way into the election, and at the 73% point there were 76 votes in the ballot box, so we seem to be four or five votes short.

However I had not sent any reminders prior to now on account of the many mailers that were submitted, and additionally:

- 14 nonvoters have voted in all four national polls within the last two years,
- 11 further have voted in three of four,
- 10 others voted in 2/4, but voted in both previous General Elections,
- and this still leaves almost 30 further citizens

so I'm hoping it's just a matter of voters voting later than usual this time around, and that most of them will show up.

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3.  ÜC/Yes on referendum.

4.  ÜC/Yes on SG seat.

All I can say about the preservation of the Regipäts is that we have now survived more than 20 years without him, and I don't *think* what we have today is that different from 2005.

But here is the full quote from Ben's post.

QuoteWith all due respect, he's behaving like a paranoid nutcase, trying to
cover his tracks, belligerently wailing at people that didn't do anything
wrong, and revealing himself to be a total jerk--something that Amy
and I learned through sad experience during his visit here last year,
when (among other things) he barged into my wife's living room and
ordered her to get off the couch during a Brewers game so he could
watch Talossan videos. ("You don't tell me what to do in my own
house," my wife said. "Well, they're going to lose anyway," Grubi replied
with a snarl. What an asshole!)

That doesn't change my point, the quote still doesn't provide the full context or shape of this foundational event, and you've zeroed in on the reaction because it supports your thesis.  It remains a one-sided and incomplete quote.  Like I said, we need to rewind a little bit further, to look at what KDN said to her to provoke that reaction -- because he was provacative, and not always in a good way back then.  Which Ben may not have committed to paper.

And as for the other thing, Ben's alleged "patterns"...from my perspective, everything he did was for the preservation of the Regipats.  Remember he wasn't just the Leader, he was the Creator.  The stakes were personal for him.  He felt -- rightly -- that he should at the very least have some say in the direction of the polity.  And whatever others said of him, from where I was sitting, his methods actually seemed to work.  Until he loosened his grip, that being what people said he should do, and consecutive waves of people with ambitions swept in and tried to take over, Fritz's coterie being the last straw. 

He didn't have to grant as much constitutional freedom as he did.  He could have kept all power to himself, instead of letting others brainstorm, instead of relegating himself to being the ultimate veto. No pretense, no wiggle room, just "my way or the highway", like the (half tongue-in-cheek) Version 1.0 of the Constitzion.  "All power shall rest with the King; this document is perfect and shall never need amendment."  Fault him as much as you wish, but he didn't do that, he didn't keep it there.  He tried to share, and he got pushed out of his own creation.  Was he supposed to LIKE that?!

Quote from: Xheralt Del'Encradeir on November 26, 2025, 11:03:55 PM

Quote("You don't tell me what to do in my own
house," my wife said. "Well, they're going to lose anyway," Grubi replied
with a snarl. What an asshole!)

 If you're basing this solely on KDN's recounting,

No, I'm quoting above verbatim from Ben's recollection.

Quote from: Miestră Schivă, UrN-GC on November 22, 2025, 09:23:16 PM

Quote from: Xheralt Del'Encradeir on November 22, 2025, 08:19:57 PMthe personal and deadly insult he'd offered to Ben's wife (and his nominal Queen, let's not forget!).

Is this the "personal and deadly insult" you're referring to?

Quote("You don't tell me what to do in my own
house," my wife said. "Well, they're going to lose anyway," Grubi replied
with a snarl. What an asshole!)

Or did KDN say something much, much worse that I'm not aware of?

Quotesomehow he's been villified for it

You're talking about KDN's "patterns of behaviour", so I assume you must know something about King Robert I's "patterns of behaviour" which go *far* beyond his feud with KDN. Believe me, he isn't "vilified' for that alone.

As I said, I didn't hear the actual exchange of words, being busy elsewhere as host of the event.  I'm fairly sure you weren't there either, to hear the words as they were spoken.  If you're basing this solely on KDN's recounting, well, it's probably just as biased as Ben's recollection.  The truth is probably somewhere in the middle. 

You're focusing on the reaction to what he said, not what he said to provoke it.  This is a phenomenon every bullied child (myself among that number) knows all too well.  I'd be more interested to learn what KDN said to her that prompted that reaction from her, that was probably the REAL insult.

At the VERY least KDN was presumptuous in the extreme.  As >I< was the literal host, the only "house" she could have been referring to would have be the Regipats itself, and what he sid bearing on that, and preemptory.

One thing any historical re-enactor (SCA, RenFair, etc,) learns is proper deference to nobles and royalty, to say Milord, Milady, Your Highness, etc., even when you are proposing that they should be cut up as fish-bait.  Even that minimal consideration seemed to be missing.

But there is no reason to leave this as heresay.  While I've been reluctant to open old wounds, I can to to a primary source -- Ben & Amy themselves.  Ben may have mytholized it, the way he mytholized the Cone War, but her take would be invaluable.

A reminder to all Cézembreans to please vote in the November-December 2025 General Elections
Voting open: November 15, 2025 at 9:00 AM TST - December 1, 2025 at 5:00 PM TST
You may also claim a seat in l'Etats if such is your desire.

You can vote in any of the following ways:

by casting an electronic ballot on the Database: https://database.talossa.com/elections/november-2025-general-elections/vote/

by posting on Wittenberg on the official polling place thread: https://wittenberg.talossa.com/index.php?topic=4603.0

by compiling the PDF ballot included from the chancery and emailing it back to the chancery address

by compiling the PDF ballot included from the chancery sending it by post (snail mail) - contact the Secretary of State for instructions

To verify your identity, unless you vote publicly on Wittenberg, you will need to include Personal Security Code (PSC) while voting that should have come to you directly from the chancery via email.

That is a fair point. Bit late now but I will switch to putting the important bit at the start.

(To be fair, the absolutely unprecedented amount of mailers probably doesn't help either)