Have we figured out a time? I will try my best to be there but I have some family obligations later in the day.

That could work. If the terms of the Assembly don't coincide with national elections, we could avoid confusion over which GGS is entitled to break a tie in a Senate election

I appoint @Lüc to the Electoral Commission and thank him for his service.

Azul all,

The Google Ad campaign promoting immigration to Talossa has spent the budgeted amount of $50 (in fact, it spent a total of $53.97, but I will spot the unauthorized $3.97). It was running for just over a month, from the beginning of October until when I paused it a few minutes ago.

The campaign had 1,690 impressions (that is, it was shown 1,690 times), which resulted in 54 clicks. This means we are paying just about $1 per click. The ad looked like this:


For 49 of the 54 people who clicked the ad, Google is showing me the term they were searching for when they saw the ad. 18 of them had just searched "micronation" and the rest included a term specifically about Talossa. Advertising to the latter group obviously wouldn't be as impactful (since they were searching for Talossa already), although the cost per click for that group was lower.
-Average cost per click for the 18 people who searched "micronation" = $1.25
-Average cost per click for the 31 people who were searching for Talossa = $0.70

However, the most important metric is, of course, how many more applications we got because of the ads. During the campaign period, there was one applicant that indicated he had heard about Talossa via Google Ad (Emmanuel Olusan).

Perhaps the sample size is still too small, but spending $50 to get one application is not exactly a great return on investment.

I have declared a Living Cosa for the 20th.

Azul all,

This is notice that a Living Cosa will be held Sunday, November 20th. Additional details about time and method to come.

Given that I employ an A-Xh to advise me on these matters, and that she was the one who proposed the bill in question, I would be a fool not to heed her advice.

That sounds fine, just let me know when you would like me to say it is happening.

See below.

Azul all,

The logic of my Prime Dictate to hold the Living Cosa for the November Clark in December (during a month of recess) went like this:
-Org.IV.11 states "The Cosa may set and hold Living Cosas (live parliamentary meetings) to coincide with a Clark as described by law." This seems to indicate that there is some legislative leeway as to what it means for a Living Cosa session to "coincide" with a Clark, and that it could include times outside of the traditional window for a Clark.
-Lex.H.20 seems to expand on this, saying "The Seneschál may, if events warrant, issue a PD authorizing a Living Cosâ in the following calendar month." Note that this provision does not state that the PD must authorize a Living Cosa for the following Clark.
-With regard to holding a Living Cosa during a month of recess, Org.IV.9 describes a month of recess as a month "in which no Clark is published." If we held the Living Cosa in December, there would still have been no Clark published in December, because it would have been published in November.

I realize there are a few issues with this reasoning, but I was hoping it was good enough that we could all agree to go with it. Apparently not. In the immortal words of Justice Lauriéir, "[P]ractice, in the Talossan context, is all too frequently defined by what one can get away with without triggering any objections." I did not get away with it.

I have no interest in litigating this, so I have withdrawn my Prime Dictate. Given the circumstances I believe it best not to have a Living Cosa this term. I have been reliably informed that, because the bill enabling the Living Cosa was a Sense of the Ziu, it is not technically binding.

There has been some grumbling that I did not start planning the Living Cosa soon enough. I thought it would be inappropriate to begin the process before the enabling legislation passed (on October 21st), although I now admit that wasn't a good idea.

This Prime Dictate is withdrawn. Having never been countersigned, it is void.

I'm not sure what your point is. The Living Cosa will "coincide" with the November Clark. I am also perfectly within my authority to declare a month of recess in December. The Writ can be issued at any time after the Living Cosa.

From the map it appears that "insular Central America" means the Caribbean Islands

I just remembered that @Lüc made some maps of the catchments areas back in 2016 when he was working on the Catchment Area Reform Act. Maybe these would help:

When I looked closer, I found that there are a lot of countries not mentioned by name. Many of them are captured by broader regions, some of which ("any European nation not listed elsewhere") are more helpful than others (insular central America for one, and "all nations in Africa south of the Equator not listed elsewhere")

Having reviewed the (somewhat confusing) legislation concerning Living Cosas, this is how I think this will work:

-MZs may vote on the November clark in the usual ways from November 1-21.
-Anyone who attends the Living Cosa session who has not already voted will be allowed to cast their vote at that time. The final tally will be taken after the session.

If anyone would be so aggrieved by this that they would be likely to file suit against the Chancery, I would appreciate it if you let us know now.