Based on my summary of feedback to the initial PdR reform plan, I submit for public review the "Reform" Plan, Reformed.

Key Points:

Ziu Reform:

• Unicameralism: The Senäts is abolished with the general election following ratification of the relevant Organic amendment.
  
  • Senators are still "grandfathered" into a "merged" Cosa as previously proposed, in slightly different ways depending on the electoral method below.
• Cosa Option 1: Biproportional Representation
  
  • One of the two proposed methods of Cosa election is the "biproportional representation" method previously proposed.
  • Seats are apportioned among each province based on how many votes were cast from that province in the previous election, and parties are awarded seats within a given province based on their proportion of votes within that province.
  • Any seats that cannot be assigned to a single party are awarded at the national level via a "topping-off" once all provincial seats possible are awarded.
  • The apportionment of seats to provinces and the awarding of seats to parties (both at the provincial level and the nationwide "topping-off" stage) is all accomplished via the Webster method.
  • Incumbent Senators at the time of the Senäts' dissolution (of which there would be five) are automatically assigned half of their respective province's seats for each election during the remainder of what would have been their current Senatorial term. Should any of these ex-Senators appear on a party's list (with their consent) during such an election, their automatic seat assignment will count towards that party's seats in that province instead.
• Cosa Option 2: Mixed-Member Proportional Representation
  
  • The Cosa is split between "provincial seats" and "list seats".
  • Each province is assigned an equal number of seats, such that the total number of provincial seats does not exceed one-half of the whole Cosa.
  • Provincial MCs are elected by Instant-Runoff Vote and hold all of their province's seats.
  • The remaining seats are apportioned between parties, taking the provincial seats into account in order to arrive at a proportional amount.
  • Incumbent Senators are considered their province's "provincial MC" for the remainder of their Senatorial term.

[Note: It may not be an awful idea to submit these two options, along with "Status Quo", to Ranked-Choice Referendum 2]

A Fixed Legislative Schedule:

• Elections now occur three times over a biannual schedule (every eight months).
• The Seneschal may still issue a single month of recess per Cosa term, but this no longer pushes back subsequent Clarks (in other words, this Cosa will instead have five Clarks instead of six).
• Because elections are now fixed, a Vote of Confidence is no longer capable of calling a new election. As a result, the current-style VoC is removed from the Clark.
• It is replaced by a "Constructive Motion of No Confidence" -- this bill, which can be moved through the Hopper quickly as it may be an emergency, names a specific candidate to take over as Seneschal. If it does not pass, the current Government remains in office.
• As an alternative, we could simply extend the ability to submit a "majority petition to name a Seneschal" throughout the term, since as the law is currently written it may only be usable upon the seating of a new Cosa.
  
  • This could potentially be harder to use, since the petition requires a majority of the whole Cosa, and not just a majority of seats currently held. As a result, an "absentee Government" could still be active enough to avoid losing their seats, blocking the usage of the petition.
  • On the other hand, this could also prevent a poorly-timed absence from a given Clark from allowing a minority government to take office based on little more than luck.

Other Reforms:

• The ability of MCs to petition the Chancery for official recognition / "parliamentary status" for a new party in the middle of a Cosa term is retained in this proposal, along with the same limitations on doing so.
• A convention to coordinate provincial mergers is also retained.

Removed:

• The "power-swapping" arrangement between the Crown and Ziu regarding Seneschal appointments and vetos. (This was the only plank to get a negative score when I summarized the feedback.)
• Retaining the entire country as a single electoral district when moving to a unicameral Ziu. This proposal, one of two for the method of electing the Cosa, was replaced with MMP in this new proposal.
• The move to a yearly Cosa schedule had quite a bit of support from the people who supported it, and quite a bit of opposition from the people who opposed it. (It actually registered a perfectly even 0 in my summary tally.) So while I believe we should continue to push for it, I also recognize that sometimes you need to walk before you can run. The point is establishing consensus, after all.

As part of the Government's commitment to revitalize and improve the structure of our state apparatus, we have thus far held a discussion in which many valuable ideas were submitted, discussed, and initially refined. The next step is to allow, as per the Avant! coalition agreement, "each party [to] promote its own preferences." To that end, I submit the Reform Plan (in that it is the proposal of the Reform Party, not the definitive roadmap for reform -- cf. the Virginia Plan, the New Jersey Plan, etc.) Keep in mind of course that this is not a concrete legislative proposal -- we need to know what the goal is in order to know what legal changes must be proposed, after all!

The main points of the plan can be found here.

For a bit more detail:
Crown Reform:

• The Crown and Ziu execute a bit of power-swapping arrangement.
• The King regains the right to appoint a Seneschal after consultations with the various party leaders in the Cosa, but it also becomes easier for the Cosa to override a royal veto.
• The royal veto on Organic amendments is eliminated, simplifying the process and ensuring vital amendments are not logjammed by a single individual.

Ziu Reform:

• The Senäts is abolished with the general election following ratification of the relevant Organic amendment.
• Because Senators pay to serve in the Senäts, and in doing so directly contribute to the upkeep of our nation (web presence etc), I believe it unfair to strip them of something before they have gotten that which they pay for. As a result, I believe it necessary to "grandfather" in Senators to Cosa membership for the remainder of their Senatorial term -- effectively making this somewhat of a "merger" as opposed to an "abolition". There are two ways to do this that I foresee, which I will go into more detail below.
• Option 1: Biproportional Representation:
  • As a means of retaining a form of "provincial representation" despite a lack of Senäts, the Cosa is now elected using electoral districts (which for the sake of ease are coterminous with provinces). (I should point out here that this practice is actually fairly common, very few proportional-representation legislatures use the entire country as a single electoral district.)
  • Seats are apportioned among each province based on how many votes were cast from that province in the previous election. This is meant to be equivalent to "apportionment by population", but renders useless any attempts to "gerrymander" catchment areas. It also is useful as a tool to both encourage and reward activity.
  • Parties are awarded seats within a given province based on their proportion of votes within that province (these seats do not necessarily need to be assigned to an MC from that province).
  • Any seats that cannot be assigned to a single party (for example, if one province has two seats left to be apportioned and three parties equally deserving) are awarded at the national level via a "topping-off" once all provincial seats possible are awarded. This method takes all provincial seats into account as well as the nationwide proportional vote.
  • The apportionment of seats to provinces and the awarding of seats to parties (both at the provincial level and the nationwide "topping-off" stage) is all accomplished via the Webster method.
  • In this case, incumbent Senators at the time of the Senäts' dissolution (of which there would be five) are automatically assigned half of their respective province's seats for each election during the remainder of what would have been their current Senatorial term. Should any of these ex-Senators appear on a party's list (with their consent) during such an election, their automatic seat assignment will count towards that party's seats in that province instead.
• Option 2: Retain a Single District:
  • The Cosa remains elected on a purely nationwide basis, but the Webster method is still adopted. This maintains a very proportionate outcome in terms of seats awarded to each party, but also abolishes the "percentile dice" system currently in place for something that uses straightforward mathematical rule as opposed to pseudo-random number generation.
  • In this case, incumbent Senators could be granted some equal number of Cosa seats (perhaps 10 each?) outside of the 200 seats normally elected. In other words, this would see the Cosa increase from 200 to 250 at the Senäts' dissolution, shrink to 220 at the next election after that, and then return to 200 seats starting with the election after that. Ex-Senators may still be assigned party seats, but are of course subject to the same limit as every other MC on the number of seats an individual MC may hold, and these additional seats count towards that limit.

A Fixed Legislative Schedule:

• Elections now occur annually from January 15 - February 1.
• This increases the length of a Cosa term from six Clarks to nine. Namely, March through November, with December kept clear for the sake of the Chancery (preventing too much overlap between holidays and election prep work).
• The Seneschal may still issue a single month of recess per Cosa term, but this no longer pushes back subsequent Clarks (in other words, this Cosa will instead have eight Clarks instead of nine). This aligns with the preceding point of keeping December clear.
• Because elections are now fixed, a Vote of Confidence is no longer capable of calling a new election. As a result, VoCs now become "constructive" -- MCs voting Non are asked to provide a replacement candidate for Seneschal, who, upon review by the King and consultation with party leaders, can name a new Seneschal should a VoC fail (as per their restored power to do so anyway).

Other Reforms:

• MCs may petition the Chancery for official recognition / "parliamentary status" for a new party in the middle of a Cosa term.
  • Each MC who defects from their original party forfeits half of their personally-assigned seats to do so (which, as all their seats do, return to the original party).
  • Each MC may not defect more than once per Cosa term.
• A convention / commission / panel / what-have-you will examine, in a coordinated manner, the best possible paths to reduce the number of provinces. Individual provinces are strongly encouraged to heed their recommendations.

While I know we've discussed the possibility of redoing the Zouaves' logo previously, I had a little burst of creativity the other day and produced the attached.

And yes, as the linked post mentions, the legal Talossan name of the Zouaves is apparently incorrect, but as was discussed there, it is the legal name nonetheless, so that's what I used.

- SPC Autófil

Azul Talossaes! As one of its goals, the incoming Government is committed to a nationwide discussion on reforms to the Organic Law and Talossa's constitutional structure. This discussion is open to all, and it is intended to be open-ended. In recent weeks, we've seen different suggestions and brainstorming for reforms to the monarchy and succession, ideas on how to reform both the Cosă and the Ziu, and various suggestions for how to reform how provinces function (and even how many of them there should be) -- but the list shouldn't stop there if you have something else you'd like to discuss!

I think as a first step, it would be prudent for anyone who has posted such a suggestion in some other thread to repost it here in a central location, and I can start keeping a list of the different ideas posted. If you have an idea you haven't posted elsewhere, add it anyway! This will make it easier for us to identify popular ideas and areas in which we can move the discussion forward productively.

You can find a recap of the discussion so far here. Anyone with this link can also comment.

Pursuant to El Lexhátx C.1.1, as Minister of Technology I recommend to the King that @Danihel Txechescu be appointed as Permanent Secretary in the Office of Backend Admin under the Ministry of Technology.

This position is the same one to which the outgoing Permanent Secretary @Sir Lüc da Schir, was nominated in 2022, and as such carries the same responsibilities.

Qe ça piaçadra Voastră Maxhestà:

Osprei ünă eleziun xheneral conductadă par la Cantzelerïă, noi, els Membreux dal Cosă subsignhats, represantent ünă maxhorità dels eschcaes da din această cámeră. Noi piedent respectunösmint qe Voastră Maxhestà, d'osprei las stipulaziuns d'Artical IV del Legeu Orgänic, apünta Miestră Schivă come voastră Seneschal.

---

May it please Your Majesty,

Following a general election conducted by the Chancery, we, the undersigned Members of the Cosă, represent a majority of seats within that house. We respectfully petition that Your Majesty, under the provisions of Article IV of the Organic Law, appoint Miestră Schivă as your Seneschal.

---

@Miestră Schivă, UrN
@Bråneu Excelsio
@Mic'haglh Autófil, SMC EiP
@Antaglha Xhenerös Somelieir
@Bentxamì Puntmasleu
@Marcel Eðo Pairescu Tafial, UrGP
@Sir Lüc

WHEREAS the Legislative Chancery of the Province Formerly Known as Benito passed an Act renaming that Province to Belacostă; and

WHEREAS the citizenry of that Province did approve of the renaming via referendum; and

WHEREAS the Act in question requests the Ziu and Government to implement this renaming at the national level at their earliest convenience, then

BE IT HEREBY RESOLVED that all uses of the word "Benito" in El Lexhatx are replaced with the word "Belacostă", namely those in Lex.B.12, Lex.E.7.5, Lex.F.12.3, Lex.F.26.3, Lex.F.29, and Lex.F.36.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the use of the word "Benitians" in Lex.F.5.2.3 is replaced with the word "Belacostans".

Uréu q'estadra så,
Mic'haglh Autófil, MC
Lüc da Schir, MC

As per the Database, the election results are as follows:

OPEN            2
PRESENT         3
IND             1
FREEDEMS        3
PDR             1
A GAGGLE OF BABY DUCKS QUACKING JOYOUSLY AND IGNORING EVERYTHING SILLY HUMANS DO     1

With "Present" votes excluded and the "Baby Ducks" ballot spoiled, seven valid votes have been cast.

FreeDem: 3/7*11 = 4.714 (4 seats, remainder 0.714)
OPEN: 2/7*11 = 3.143 (3 seats, remainder 0.143)
IND: 1/7*11 = 1.571 (1 seat, remainder 0.571)
PdR: 1/7*11 = 1.571 (1 seat, remainder 0.571)

Nine seats are filled, with two remaining. With the largest remainder, one of the two remaining seats is granted to the Free Democrats. If there are no objections, following the precedent established for the Assembly during the 58th Cosă, a picker wheel should be used to assign the final seat between the Independent Party and the PdR.

El Partì da Reformaziun, the Reform Party, is currently welcoming new members who may wish to serve as Members of the 60th Cosa. If you are someone who wants to make a positive difference for our country and help build toward a brighter tomorrow, consider registering with the PdR! Our goal is to lead Talossa into a more democratic future, where our culture can flourish under a smoother, more responsive state structure. If this sounds like your goal -- if you find our 50-word statement appealing -- if our platform aligns with your own values -- then think about reaching out to Mic'haglh Autófil, our Zirecteir Naziunal, for more information. And regardless of whether the PdR sounds like your cup of tea, be sure to watch this space as details on the PdR platform's planks is released!

These maps rearrange the catchment areas within the US states, with the obvious exception of Wisconsin itself.

The idea is to divide the states as evenly as possible among each of the eight provinces with respect to number of states -- not population thereof. I have done some bare-bones math on that (see the second post) if people want to see how it shakes out, but population itself is not the goal. Since there are 49 states plus DC to divide out, that's still 50, which divided by eight is six with a remainder of two. In other words, two provinces will each receive seven states, with the others each receiving six. Where possible, I have attempted to consider both geographical and cultural reasons for putting each catchment area where it is. That being said, since the only real "provincial cultures" are the Cjovanì and the Reviensadeirs -- and the latter aren't really geography-centric -- a lot of the "cultural" considerations are of an extra-Talossan nature.

• Cézembre, which currently has no states, receives the six New England states, due in part both to their proximity to Quebec (the main francophone region of North America) and also because they are the closest states to the island of Cézembre itself.
• Atatürk, which currently contains five of the six New England states (Maine being unassigned), is instead reassigned to the area around (and including) the District of Columbia. Atatürk contains Talossa's capital, so it made sense to me to have it contain our Big Neighbor's capital as well. (Having grown up in Virginia, I am aware Kentucky is not super close to DC, but it works out here that the borders are rather clean if we make it the sixth state in KA.)
• Maritiimi-Maxhestic receives no new states, but is reduced to the Southeast.
• Benito, which currently only has the Cjovanì homeland of Ohio, receives several states with higher Italian ancestry (which are luckily contiguous with Ohio itself). Alternatively, if the Belacostă name is approved, BE would have a large amount of beautiful coast along the Great Lakes.
• Fiovă, which currently has no states, receives six states that lie along the Mississippi River (as fiovă means river).
• Vuode loses most of its current territory to Benito and Fiovă, but keeps the recently-transferred Minnesota and gains several other "heartland" states (which feels appropriate to a province named for a bed. Beds, heartlands...coziness and safety seem to permeate the idea.)
• Maricopa, having lost Arkansas and Louisiana to Fiovă, gains Hawaii and Nevada from Florencia.
• Along with M-M, Florencia is the other province to only lose territory without making gains, but because of this they are also one of the two provinces to receive an extra state.

Furthermore, the catchment assignments of US territories (Puerto Rico, Guam, etc.) are unaffected by these changes, in part because their current provinces (M-M and FL) are losing territory as opposed to gaining.

Please keep in mind a few things:

• This only affects new citizens; any current citizens keep their provincial assignments unless they request to be moved to their new province as per Org.IX.8 and Lex.E.7.3.3. Furthermore, under Lex.E.7.3.1, it would appear that any citizens who do not request to be reassigned immediately retain the right to do so at any point in the future.
• This map provides a springboard for us to reconsider the alignment of Canadian provinces, Mexican states, and Wisconsin counties (I have a few maps on this last idea which I can post later).
• This map is only a preliminary draft; a conversation-starter, if you will.

The third map attachment is one that rewards M-M a seventh state instead of Maricopa, since M-M is the other territory to only lose states (Florencia and M-M surrender territory, so it seems fair they get the extra states). This one definitely creates some clean borders, especially out west. It also seemed fair that since Vuode was losing both New York and Illinois (home to the largest and third-largest cities in the country, respectively), they get the heavily-populated Texas as compensation (Maricopa is keeping the most populous state, it seems odd they should get the second-most as well.)

Some things these maps were not explicitly designed with in mind were mergers. In some cases, (for example, a VD/M-M merger, or FL/MA) they work quite well, and in other cases (BE with anyone)...less so.

Fun fact: You have to write something here to be able to post. Did you know that?

QuoteWHEREAS the Sovereign Province of Benito has gone by two names throughout its existence; and

WHEREAS the previous name of "Mussolini" had multiple negative connotations and implications, and the name of "Benito" does little to dispel these in the context of its predecessor; and

WHEREAS the Sovereign Province is home to multiple scenic areas along the Manáweg; and

WHEREAS the Sovereign Province is nice enough to be named thrice (but really hopefully no more than that),

BE IT HEREBY RESOLVED that the Sovereign Province of Benito is hereby renamed the Free and Sovereign Province of Belacostă (meaning "beautiful riverbank") pending a referendum of the Province's citizenry, and that should this name be approved, all references to "Benito" in current provincial law shall be understood to refer to the same legal entity under its new name.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that upon approval of this referendum, the Government and Ziu are requested to give effect to this renaming at the federal level at their earliest convenience.

Uréu q'estadra så,
Mic'haglh Autófil MA
Sir Lüc da Schir MA

This bill, having passed the Assembly, now comes before the Senate. Voting will last for one week, until midnight Talossan Daylight Time, Sunday/Monday, April 21/22, 2024.

Alternatively, once all members have voted, or if at least four votes (representing a majority of the Senate) are cast either in favor of or in opposition to this bill, then voting will close at that time as per Article 10 of the Benitian Constitution.

As a Senator under the appointment of the Maestro, I cast my vote për.

Tagging Senators here for notification. @Sir Lüc @Iason Taiwos @Flip Molinar @Istefan Perþonest (Senator Carschaleir does not appear to have a Witt account)

I know the other big thing was reforming the province's legislative structure. I had some thoughts on this that I've put in a draft constitution here.

It largely follows the Fiovan governmental model (three-member executive with the citizenry as a popular assembly), while keeping a few clauses and sections from the current Benitian Constitution for continuity's sake. I did use the Belacostă name, simply for the sake of seeing how it looks on paper (and also because it seems to have a good chance of becoming official anyway). That highlighted Section in Article I is unchanged from its current form, but I figure we'll look at redesigning the flag once we fry the bigger fish. (Though I may have attached a few ideas. You know me, any excuse to make a flag...)

One thing I did wish to include is a clause ensuring that provinces that merge into this one (should our constitution be good enough for them without amendment) is that their chief executive gets a seat on the Provincial Council for the remainder of that term. This is to ensure that all citizens of the merged province have representation in their government. I think planning ahead for future reforms and creating a flexible constitution with them in mind will serve us well.

April 7 is Cjovani Day, which "honors a trailblazing example of Talossan subcultural development, the Cjovani Benitians, and serves as a day for Talossans to consider the potential for future subcultures in their own provinces".

While not a Cjovani myself, to my fellow Benitians who are, I hope today has been a particularlay good day for you in whatever you have been up to.

One of the hallmarks of Cjovani culture is the the viewing of Spaghetti Western films. Do any Talossans have a favorite Spaghetti Western film? If so, why?

WHEREAS the Sovereign Province of Benito has gone by two names throughout its existence; and

WHEREAS the previous name of "Mussolini" had multiple negative connotations and implications, and the name of "Benito" does little to dispel these in the context of its predecessor; and

WHEREAS the Sovereign Province is home to multiple scenic areas along the Manáweg; and

WHEREAS the Sovereign Province is nice enough to be named thrice (but really hopefully no more than that),

BE IT HEREBY RESOLVED that the Sovereign Province of Benito is hereby renamed the Free and Sovereign Province of Belacostă (meaning "beautiful riverbank") pending a referendum of the Province's citizenry, and that should this name be approved, all references to "Benito" in current provincial law shall be understood to refer to the same legal entity under its new name.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that upon approval of this referendum, the Government and Ziu are requested to give effect to this renaming at the federal level at their earliest convenience.

Uréu q'estadra så,
Mic'haglh Autófil MA
Sir Lüc da Schir MA

Something that has been bugging me for some time is the state of the Talossan achievement. I mean... look at this:

There's nothing wrong with it in a substantial sense, but this is 2024, surely we can do better than a low-resolution GIF file. As a result, I've taken the liberty of creating these:



Nothing about these changes from the currently-specified blazon, they are just a rendering of my own. I did replace the crown (which, as previously discussed, is taken from the arms of Spain) with the princely crown of Monaco. I've also replaced the "Ben" character, but only with a different version of it. Specifically, this is still 'ben' but in seal script. Seal script is the style of characters still traditionally used on East Asian seals, ranging in formality from the Privy Seal of Japan (below, left) to my own personal hanko (below, right).

I wanted to touch a bit on some of the discussion from this thread (without commenting in a dead thread) and see if we as an Assembly can think of a few things we'd like to accomplish during the remainder of this Cosa.

• Agreed that the province needs renaming. I know I've proposed "Garibaldi" in the past but in light of the fact that it was intended to be a name of a merged province (as Garibaldi helped lead the Unification of Italy) -- and in light of the fact that we already have a Garibaldi Canton -- I would propose something else. Maybe something like Vittorio/Bitour? Taliulă (Little Italy)? Or, keeping with the "Be-" theme as discussed here, Belăcostă ("Beautiful Riverbank")
• Also agreed on a simplified legislative structure. I'm not necessarily opposed to an elected unicameral legislature but I think given activity levels it makes sense to consider the citizens as a whole the province's legislature and perhaps institute some sort of elected executive. I'll admit to admiring Fiova's model, though that's probably because I will carry the torch for the directorial model until my dying breath. Going this route could likely mean abolishing the Arviteir Prima office entirely, rendering the grammatical correctness of the title moot.
• The above point means we could likely just do with adopting an entirely new constitution. Ours isn't the worst ever but if we want to really overhaul things it might make sense to just start fresh.
• I'm glad that Luc mentioned the unicameral MMP Ziu as easing the pathway to provincial mergers, as that was one of the secondary reasons I think it's a good move. That said, I'm not sure the various proposals I've seen to have provinces share governments passes Organic muster. Org.IX.1 states "They are administered by constitutional governments elected democratically within the Province." If provinces share governments, that means the governments elected are not elected within the province in question. I think I've been pretty clear in my support of mergers, though -- I support bottom-up mergers, but I support well-considered bottom-up mergers.
• Hard agree on catchment reform (though the big issue has evidently been rectified since I originally wrote this up). I've actually attached a few maps to this post. The first shows the catchment areas as they currently stand -- and no, Maine being gray is not a mistake on my part. It is currently unassigned in El Lexhatx. (Ctrl-F "Maine" only returns one result, as part of the word "remained".) On top of that, Vuode -- though no longer controlling rightful Benitian clay in Ohio -- is assigned two of the three largest cities in the US (New York and Chicago), which just frankly feels a little stacked. So I've got two proposals to fix several catchment issues all at once:
  
  • The "Split East" moves Maine and Connecticut to Ataturk, making that province's US catchment area coterminous with New England. Pennsylvania, New York, and New Jersey all are reassigned to Benito. Personally I'm in favor of this method, as it moves multiple states known for their Italian populations (NY, NJ, and to a lesser extent PA) to the province that was twice named for the Italian heritage of its Talossan neighborhood. It also results in a slightly cleaner map, as Michigan is not separated from the rest of the Vuode states. (Note: I see the "Florencia <3 Vuode Act" currently under a vote on this month's Clark, which very much would make this by far the more sensible of the two options.
  • The "Split West" method still results in ME and CT going to Ataturk. It also results in Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, and Iowa moving to Benito. However, it better reflects the arrangement of Benito and Vuode proper (BE to the west, VD to the east). It also results in a more sensible map should Florencia and Benito ever merge to create Garibaldi. (If Garibaldi results from a BE-VD merger, this is obviously less important...)
  • I will admit that it also feels a little sad that neither Fiova nor Cezembre get any states whatsoever, but that's less of a Benito-centric issue and so I'll leave it to the Ziu to do what they want on that front. Frankly given some of the recent bills it seems like a large-scale catchment realignment (at least pertaining to state-level assignments) might be in order, but there's likely a good way to do that without in a coordinated manner it feeling too "top down".
  
  

As per the Database, the election results are as follows:

FREEDEM	2
DIEN	1
NPW	2
PRESENT	3
PT	1
PDR	1
TALOSSAN NATIONAL CONGRESS	1

With eight votes cast ("Present" votes excluded), this means that the eleven seats are divided as follows:
FreeDem: 2/8*11 = 2.75 (2 seats, remainder 0.75)
NPW: 2/8*11 = 2.75 (2 seats, remainder 0.75)
DIEN: 1*8*11 = 1.375 (1 seat, remainder 0.375)
PT: 1*8*11 = 1.375 (1 seat, remainder 0.375)
PdR: 1*8*11 = 1.375 (1 seat, remainder 0.375)
TNC: 1*8*11 = 1.375 (1 seat, remainder 0.375)

This assigns eight of the eleven seats. Because we use the Largest Remainder method, one of the remaining three will go to the Free Democrats, and another will go to the New Peculiar Way, because they tied for largest remainder. However, the remaining four parties each tied for the next-largest remainder after the FreeDems and NPW have been granted their extra seat. And as such...I will admit I am not sure how to proceed here. In theory the Arviteir Prima should likely weigh in first, but I know he has also been facing some extra-Talossan business or other. What are the thoughts of the rest of the community on how to proceed?

To the Talossan people:

There are, I believe, a few matters I must divulge to the public regarding my absence over the past few months, both because several of you have asked for an explanation (some more politely than others), but more importantly because of the position to which I was elected as well as the one I had occupied in the previous Government. A position of public trust demands transparency, and as a result of the "transparency deficit" I have run up, allow me to attempt to settle my debt, so to speak.

I know that, at several points in the past, I have made reference to the existence of a Doamnă Autófil. She and I were married in August of 2018, and had been together in some form or another for five years before that. However, we have also been living apart for most of our marriage, largely due to work -- while I still live in Wisconsin, several months after our wedding she was able to finally find a job in her field, with the caveat that it was in Missouri. While this arrangement worked out well for some time -- frequent weekend visits, as well as being reunited from March to October 2020 during the pandemic -- the end result of this story is that last August she informed me that her love for me has died "a long, slow death" and that she no longer wished to be together.

As one can likely imagine, this is not a particularly easy thing to hear from the person with whom one intended to spend their life. I know that quite a few of you among the community's more active members are yourselves married, and I would be concerned if you were to greet such an event in your own life with a nonchalant attitude. What happened next...I guess you could say that I basically shut down. Went through the motions. "Existed", more than "lived", an emotionally catatonic state. A lot of soul-searching, coupled with quite a bit of self-medicating, some of it through healthier methods than others. At a few points, nearly coupled the erasure of a D:na Autófil with the erasure of S:reu Autófil, if I'm going to be painfully open about it. But the light at the end of the tunnel comes, and the sun rises again, and the time has come to attempt to pick up the pieces of the life I once lived, a life that includes an adopted homeland of Green and Red.

I do not tell you some of these more dramatic parts in an attempt to garner pity, but rather because I believe a brutally conspicuous absence deserves a brutally honest explanation, coupled with a brutally sincere apology. And to that end, I know there were quite a few people I frustrated whether in the then-Government, the Opposition, or just the citizenry -- and even the ones I didn't frustrate, I was your Distain too, and so my only request is that you try to forgive me for coping with my personal goings-on in the only way I could really muster. I do not seek excusal, so much as understanding.

Correction: I have a second request. Should you ever find yourself burdened, and you need an ear, seek me out. I know what that pit is like and just how deep it can go, and if I can help even one other person to avoid it, then I would do all I can towards that end.

Should there be other questions I can answer, please do not hesitate to reach out and I will answer them to the best of my ability.


In Amistà, Imrè



Mic'haglh Autófil, MC EiP

Good afternoon, Talossans!

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is pleased to announce the commencement of a charitable campaign to support Milwaukee Habitat of Humanity! (https://milwaukeehabitat.org/)

I may not live in Milwaukee, but I do live in Wisconsin, and I can assure you, it gets plenty cold here, especially this time of year. As of writing, it's barely above freezing, and this is an unseasonably warm day. January and February will not be any kinder to those who are lacking suitable shelter. This is our chance to give to a community that our shared nation has its roots in, a place that, whether or not you may realize it, has helped shape the Talossa that exists today.

Donations can be submitted via PayPal to the Royal Bank and Post (treasury@talossa.com). When submitting, please include a note clarifying that this is a donation for BHAID, so as to make our good Burgermeister's workload easier.

This campaign will continue until (and including) Sunday, January 8, 2023. I would be absolutely thrilled if we could collect at least $100, but I also know that we as a community can do much better than that. (For my own part, I'm starting with a $15 donation, so feel free to one-up me! This is one of those times it feels nothing but wonderful to be outdone.)