Quotable election quotes

"Is your own ambition to become Séneschal more important than the ZRT manifesto, have you got something better than this boring play of words or will you stop the false rhetoric???" 

- cxhn. Glüc da Dhi, Moderate Radical Party

"Go raffle yourself... Your politics revolt me. Your constant politicizing of anything and everything to the point that your worse than even me revolts me. I would fear for the safety of the Kingdom if it were in your hands"

- cxhn. Eðo Grischün, Common Sense Progressive Party

"SNAP! YOU GOT TOLE"

- cxhn. Benedict Stamford, RUMP

 

ZRT expands membership

This week marks the expansion of the ZRT to yet another province. Eoin Ursum became the very first member of the ZRT from the province of Atatürk. As the whirlwind of Defencism sweeps through Talossa, the 44th election to the Cosa looks to promise a great deal of excitement indeed. 

 

Commenting on his membership of the party, S:reu Ursum said the following: “I am very glad to be part of a party which aims to bring real democratic reforms to Talossa.”

 

Party founder-president Miestrâ Schivâ added: "I'm very glad that our vision - of a real alternative government to challenge the RUMP - is exciting not only for former Republicans, but for true-blue Royalists as well. The ZRT is a party for all Talossa."

Refundaziun dels Zefençadéirs del Repúblicanismeu Talossán (ZRT LIVES, BABY!)

OFFICIAL: The PVZT (Defencist Unity Party of Talossa) today announced its transformation into a new political force which will operate at both provincial and federal level in a reunited Talossa.

The coming Reunision of the two Talossan states under a single Constitution and sovereignty means that the "Unity" part of our name has been accomplished and is therefore obsolete. We therefore declare the foundation of els Zefençadéirs del Repúblicanismeu Talossán (ZRT - Defenders of Talossan Republicanism).

This is a rebirth of the original ZRT, founded in the Talossan Republic in 2006/xxvii, with both its name, symbolism and programme (as below) updated for the post-Reunision period.

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EL PLATFORM DELS ZRT - 2012 / xxxiii

Zefençismeu, or Defencism - the ideology on which the ZRT party is founded - sees itself as the heir to the traditions which have kept Talossa strong, vibrant and proud throughout its history. At the same time, it repudiates the traditions which kept Talossa paranoid, nasty, and cultish for much of the later history of the pre-Revolutionary period. We stand in, and defend, the best traditions of the Declaration of Independence of December 1979 which created Talossa, the "Noisy Revolution" of June 2004 which created the Talossan Republic, the “Quiet Revolution” of August 2005 which created the modern Kingdom of Talossa, and the Reunision Declaration of [fill in the blank] 2012.

Defencism, therefore, contains the following strands:

1. Nationalism. We uphold the tradition that Talossa is a nation - defined by Perry Anderson as “an imagined community”. we see ourselves (or at least behave as if we do) as a nation of the world, but we cast no judgement on the validity of other non-sovereign entities' claims to nationhood. The Talossan nation includes all current citizens of Talossa, and some who are not currently citizens but have historically shown themselves to be Talossan. We support Talossa having the full panoply of institutions of a nation-state, insofar as they are useful or fun for a population of our size.

2. Traditionalism. Talossa is the Talossan traditions that have evolved more or less continuously since 1979. A Talossan is defined in part by being aware of the history of that tradition and continuing to work within it. This tradition is always open to change - however, too great a rupture with those traditions, and Talossa will cease to be Talossa. One vitally important tradition of the Talossan nation is el glhetg naziunál, and Defencism strives towards the goal of 'n naziun Ladîntsch- where all citizens would know and use at least a small amount of the Talossan language in their daily business.

3. Pretentiousness. Although the Talossan state possesses no sovereign power, behaving as if it does is an essential part of the fun of being Talossan. Pomp, rhetoric and boasting are an important part of the Talossan tradition. however, we also see all this with a touch of irony. We repudiate that part of the Talossan tradition which honoured historical dictatorships and oppressive regimes on the grounds that their uniforms were snazzy. In this, Defencism is a left-wing form of Talossan nationalism.

4. Democratic dirigism. This phrase attempts to define the particular way that Defencism sees the Talossan state:
a) All citizens should be equal before the law.
b) All government offices should derive their powers from a popular mandate and be regularly subject to democratic scrutiny, to the extent that this does not impede their ability to make decisions and take action.
c) The state should have real power and responsibility for the collective life of the nation, including but not limited to cultural development, settlement of disputes between citizens and relations withother nations.
d) Real power in the Talossan state should lie where the constitution and laws declare it to lie. We repudiate pre-Revolutionary Talossa's history of “name only” governments and committees, and a legislature which debated frivolous bills while real power lay elsewhere.

5.  Diversity. We repudiate the historical tradition of “cultural monolithism” in Talossa. Every one of good will who pledges loyalty to the Constitution and Laws of Talossa should be welcome as a citizen. Although we defend Talossan cultural traditions as we understand them, we recognize that the democratic will of the people trumps tradition. Cultural distinctiveness should be encouraged in Talossa's provinces - in fact, that is the main reason why they should continue to exist. We particularly defend the Qatoritrìnistà culture (the culture of former citizens of the Republic) as a vital part of our national tapestry.

6. Focus outwards. At all those times when Talossa has become inward-looking and static, it has become a nasty place to live. Talossa is best when we are continually accepting new Talossans, and engaging in cultural exchanges with non-Talossans of good will. we are poorer for pretending that we exist in a vacuum. We support the demolition of the Semi-Permeable Wall and full friendly relations with other Talossa-like entities and their members.

7. Republicanism. We are proud of the history of the Talossan Republic, 2004-12, and the Revolution which it founded. We say "the Republic will never die". We seek to preserve the Republican tradition in the reunited Kingdom by pushing for the following democratic reforms:
a) a secret ballot for all Federal and provincial elections;
b) a system of voting for named candidates or lists of candidates, rather than "blank cheques" for party leaders;
c) reducing the current baroque requirements for changing certain parts of the Organic Law;
d) progressively reducing the political influence of the monarchy and nobility in Talossa, while recognizing that the majority of Talossans currently look to the monarchy as a symbol of national unity and cultural continuity.

The ZRT is therefore a cultural movement as well as a political party, which seeks to actively build Talossan culture and deepen understanding of our history, while at the same time competing democratically for positions within the Kingdom of Talossa and seeking to improve our constitution and laws. We believe that our Seven Points above embody the positive side of the tradition which has kept Talossa alive for almost three decades. 

Endorsed by Miestrâ Schivâ and C. Carlüs Xheráltsëfighleu, ZRT co-refounders. Applications for membership warmly received.

State of the Talossan Republic Address 2011/xxxii/VIII

¡Prontu, Prüm Citaxhiên! #2 - Talossa as narrative

My good friend and co-founder of the Free Commonwealth of Penguinea, Adiêns Glaçâ, once said to me: "Talossa is a story or it is nothing", or words to that effect. He was damn right. Talossa is not an RPG, in which a designer sets up the terms of a "game" and everyone else plays roles in it. (Although sometimes it got that way when ex-King Robert was at its worst.) Talossa is an ongoing collaborative narrative - a story about a small independent nation in North America - in which the co-writers are all characters, playing themselves. Sometimes it's a narrative about whether that nation should even exist; or whether it is even a nation. But "a small independent nation in North America" is the sine qua non, or should I say the sânc qët nitgil, of the Talossan narrative.

It follows that the only reason anyone will be interested in Talossa is if the story is interesting. But who writes the story? Simply put - we all do, by our interactions as Talossans. And - if we want new people to come join us in our glorious, ridiculous pasttime - we have to make that story an appealing one. The old Kingdom, for most of its history, had a narrative of "the combat between Leftists, Rightists and Centrists". By the pre-revolutionary period, that had turned into "patriots vs. traitors", a far less interesting story, because who really wants to play the role of a traitor?

So, this is the question for those voting in the current Chamber of Deputies election. Whose narrative is most interesting? Which of the three candidates is telling a story that not only you, the voter, finds most interesting, but prospective citizens might find interesting, interesting enough that they wish to become not only a character but a co-writer of this story?

Let's look at the platforms of the various parties in this election. The Democratic Socialists' platform is completely devoid of contact. It basically promises "I will be a good person". And no-one doubts that cxhn. Jum will be so, but how will it push the Republic forward? What will he do?

On the other hand, the Peculiarists at least have a vision. One can argue about whether simplified immigration (i.e. lowering our standards?) or provincial reform (i.e. turning them into clubs?) will be a good idea. But they are raising debate. It is the debate about what kind of nation Talossa is, and is really the only nation worth having. The one flaw is the ridiculous option of abandoning half the national territory, and that's a flaw basically because it sends a message to all prospective citizens - "The Republic of Talossa is not real, not serious". (Certainly not as serious as the intransigent Royalists under the Woolley monarchy.)

Compare these to the Defencist manifesto. Electoral Reform will make our elections mean something in terms of programmes and mandates, rather than personality - i.e. will make them part of the ongoing story of Talossa, rather than a bloodless process of rubber-stamping members of a committee. Legislative Reform will make it much easier for citizens and newbies to understand "the rules of the game" - or "the story so far". Real Time Talossa will enable us to be Talossans in other way than posting on a web forum indistinguishable from a godzillion others. Federalism will make the Talossan story more interesting by decentralising it - a goal we have in common with our Peculiarist cüncitaxhiêns, although we may differ on the means. And finally, the National Webspace is our window on the world. Currently it is impenetrable and unfriendly. If we are serious about getting new citizens, we need to reform that.

In summary, I would say that the PVZT manifesto is a specific and realistic way of making our Republic more understandable, more attractive and more interesting as "the story of a small independent nation in North America". This will enthuse both us, and outsiders. Can you, the voters, say that the DemSoc or Peculiarist visions will do as well?

SIMCÂ PÎNTS PËR 'N NOUÂ TALOSSA: The PVZT manifesto for the Fourteenth Chamber of Deputies

¡Votetz C. Carlüs Xheráltsëfiglheu për Deputat!

Carlüs has worked hard and well for Talossa for nine months as Seneschál, and he needs a new mandate for a new programme with the PVZT. Here is the plan he will present to the Fourteenth Chamber:

1. Electoral Reform: The current "candidate based" system of voting for the Chamber has been inoperative for quite a while. A PVZT majority will bring back the old Party List system, so Talossans get a clear choice between political alternatives.

2. Legislative Reform: Talossa has too many laws and not enough of them are interesting, operative and relevant. We will go through the Federal Code and the Executive Orders and repeal anything that's useless. We will then start a program of legislation and SOs to declare all manner of things "official" (national car, national food, national entertainer, etc.) so as to expand the definition of what it means to be Talossan.

3. Real Time Talossa: A nation which is only a web forum is a waste of time. We will encourage Talossans to interact in other ways. We will instigate a live Joint Session of Parlamînt (either by Skype or IM), and encourage real-time provincial discussions. We will finally send out the citizenship certificates. We will see about starting a Second Talossan Chess Tournament (and of course invite our Royalist brethren).

4. Federalism: Vibrant provinces mean a vibrant and interesting Talossan Republic. Friendly competition between provincial identities provides an interesting alternative to party politics. We pledge to make the Provincial legislatures active in all those Provinces where we have members, and enact this program on a provincial level where applicable.

5. National Webspace: Our website is currently a confusing mess. However, since it's on a Wordpress platform, it should be easy to amend, once we have someone to take responsibility for it. But first, we will conduct a national survey to see what you, the Republic's citizens, want to see on it.

GUEST POST: Provinces and Philosophy

(by C. Carlüs Xheráltsëfiglheu, Seneschál of the Talossan Republic)

The issue of provincial reform has always sparked heated debates and discussions. It’s clear that we’ll never all agree on a solution to some of the issues that face our provinces, or indeed what the provinces’ functions are in our Republic. As a vehement federalist, I’ve always advocated an increase in provincial authority and control over the political system. The mistake many make here is to assume that the federalist goal here is to completely overhaul the system and to replace it with a fully decentralised one. This is, quite simply, not the case.

What the Federalist Party failed to take into account when proposing radical reforms to the assignment laws was the macronational cultural identity that certain provinces wielded. The exemplary Cezembre shows how an entire provincial identity has spawned from the ‘European flavour’ that ensued from having an overseas territory in Europe. In this respect, it should be the aspiration of each province to have a binding and identifiable provincial link otherwise what would the provinces be other than small social clubs? Of course, if a citizen doesn’t identify with the binding cultural link, then he or she has a fairly strong case with the Court.

Reform is necessary, but for reform to have any effect it requires immediate action. The Defencist philosophy maintains that action be decisively implemented, that the problem be tackled as soon as possible, and that it tackles the problem at the root. Now, whilst there’s no doubt that the Peculiarist philosophy has the nation’s best interests at heart, it is unlikely that slow deliberation will get us anywhere any time soon. The same approach can, and should be applicable to government as well. If the government is to function in a way that is beneficial to the Talossan Republic, it must work conscientiously.

Of course, not everyone has the time, or possibly the willpower, to apply this ethic with such energy and enthusiasm. This is understandable, and many may tire of officials asking time and time again for an update one thing or another. Misinterpretation of this leads to the assumption that Defencist philosophy advocates bullying tactics, but this isn’t the case. Through reports and updates the Seneschal, the President, or even other Cabinet members can then work with struggling officials in order to relieve the pressure and eight of whatever tasks they’re required to complete. The trend for any government that doesn’t have a Seneschal incessantly though figuratively prodding other officials in their respective ribs is that progress is slow, reform is grey, and the problem will inevitably remain unfixed.

In the long run, the only way the Talossan Republic can solve many of its issues is by increasing the influx of prospective citizens. The opposition parties are well within their rights to criticise any failure in doing so, but must also recognise that it’s possible for the government to work on a multitude of projects and reforms at the same time. Though Defencism may annoy some of the slower-paced politicians in the Republic, in the long run such a philosophy is one of the primary reasons Talossa hasn’t completely sunk into the boggy marshes of apathy.