Azul all,

I have activated the Google Ad campaign that is authorized by the budget. I will report back later to report how it goes.

I have joined!

WHEREAS it has been more than a fortnight since @Erisson Marques da Silva first posted on Wittenberg, following his introduction to the citizens of the Kingdom by officers of the Immigration Ministry, and

WHEREAS he has, in that time, demonstrated an active, genuine, and continuing interest in Talossan life, culture, and language, and

WHEREAS he desires citizenship in the Kingdom of Talossa, and

WHEREAS by all indications it appears that he would be a loyal and dedicated citizen, and a credit to this nation if he obtains the grant of citizenship he requests, and

THEREFORE I, Ian Plätschisch, a citizen in good standing of the Province of Maritiimi-Maxhestic and of the Kingdom of Talossa, do by the present petition the Secretary of State @Dr. Txec Róibeard dal Nordselvă, Esq., O.SPM, SMM to issue a grant of citizenship to @Erisson Marques da Silva , as specified by law.

Quote from: Tric'hard Lenxheir on October 03, 2022, 05:00:05 PMUsing that sort of logic then absolutely nothing we do here means anything.

Definitely not; the laws and court decisions we make in Talossa have real meaning within Talossa, which is a real community we all care about. Beyond politics, the social aspects are real as well. We can even have a real impact on the outside world; as Finance Minister last term I held a fundraising drive for the Red Cross back in February when the Ukraine conflict started (or just ask Breneir about BHAID).

Declaring war on Russia, on the other hand, is not real in any way. The fact that there are Talossans who are also Russians just makes it worse; we would be pointlessly exiling them for decisions they have nothing to do with.

Yep, I can "declare" war, but what is the point? It accomplishes nothing except make us look a bit silly. It definitely doesn't give Putin one bit of deterrence.

I'll have to consult the new Defense Minister, but I'm pretty sure we have no capacity to wage war  ::)

@Breneir Tzaracomprada, your certificate is in the mail. Unfortunately, I do not have my own printer and my apartment's printer only does black and white, but I still think it looks pretty good.

RZ20 - CON
RZ21 - PER
RZ22 - PER
RZ23 - PER

First, I would disagree with you about just how low the immigration rate is. I responded to Terp at the end of July in which I addressed this: https://wittenberg.talossa.com/index.php?topic=1637.0, and found that immigration is actually going pretty well. The past few months have seen a slight decline, but that is just because I am receiving fewer applications for one reason or another.

My previous response contains all of the insight I currently have, so I am not planning to issue another report. I will update the Ziu once I start the Google Ad campaign, which I am still planning on doing but haven't gotten to yet.

Unsurprisingly we have not found any other candidates. Given that I am not seeking to become Seneschal again next term, I am willing to become Burgermeister if necessary.

Quote from: Breneir Tzaracomprada on October 01, 2022, 10:08:18 AM

Quote from: Breneir Tzaracomprada on September 30, 2022, 08:25:25 PM

Quote from: Ian Plätschisch on September 30, 2022, 08:03:53 PMI just need to get the certificates designed and sent out. I'll contact you for the address.

I will PM you mine.

@Ian Plätschisch did you get my pm with the mailing address?

Yes

I just need to get the certificates designed and sent out. I'll contact you for the address.

Congratulations!

For the record, the certificates bill didn't fail because of the boycott. I'd still vote no on it because there's no need for a law. I'd be happy to issue certificates to anyone who requests one.

I took a road trip through Kentucky this summer and learned a lot about Bourbon, and I must say this surprises me. One of the requirements for something to be called "Bourbon" is that it is aged in never-before-used barrels. I'm not sure how they get away with calling it Bourbon if they're aging it in old beer barrels.

Quote from: Baron Alexandreu Davinescu on September 22, 2022, 10:08:38 PMThank you for your feedback.  I don't want to be unreasonable, but this represents a pretty careful months-long effort to bring together a number of stakeholders with very different views.  So please believe me when I say that I'm going to do my best, but I think only some of what you propose is possible. 

On one hand, I see what you mean, but on the other, it's kind of irritating. If you were having a months-long discussion with the goal of presenting a nearly-finished amendment, it probably should have included everyone important enough to have their own entrance music (i.e., the Seneschal).

With that aside, I think there are two conceptually distinct aspects of Monarchy reform that both need to be addressed:
1. How should a new King be selected?
2. How should the current King be able to be replaced before their death or voluntary abdication?

Unlike my fellow Free Democrats, I am not that concerned with #1. I personally like my Convocation idea but the other proposals seem mostly fine to me as well (although I am not sure a new King should be able to be elected with only a bare majority of the votes). I think it is fine if the current King gets a say over their successor, and I do not think the democratic-ness of the selection process should be the overriding consideration, as long as there is an element of democracy involved.

As should surprise no one, I am very concerned with #2. A King could be doing a very poor job without committing anything actually criminal, so I don't think the current mechanisms for removing the King pass muster. I understand the aversion to regular votes of confidence, though. What about this:

If the Secretary of State is presented with a petition signed by 1/3 of all the citizens of Talossa to remove the King, then the Secretary of State shall call a referendum on the question. The King is removed if at least 3/5 of the votes are in favor.

Now there is no fixed term of office. I will also point out, given the nature of Talossa, getting 1/3 of all Talossans on the petition would be an enormous task, so this isn't something that could be done willy-nilly.