QuoteWHEREAS the recent reforms to immigration emphasising "quality over quantity" raised valid concerns about the Immigration Minister having too much discretion;

AND WHEREAS a possible form of abuse of discretion would be for the Immigration Minister to petition for grants of citizenship and to expect "favours" from new citizens in return;

BE IT ENACTED that El Lexhatx E.7 be amended by the insertion of the words in bold:

Quote7. The Secretary of State shall, on a date of his choosing, but within a period of ten days after receiving a petition from at least two citizens, neither of whom shall be the Minister of Immigration or anyone to whom they have delegated their powers, to issue a Grant of Citizenship as described in clause 4, and upon certification from the Ministry of Immigration that the prospective citizen has sufficient understanding of Talossan life and culture for full participation determine the provincial assignment of the prospective immigrant and issue a Royal Grant of Citizenship to the immigrant. This Grant shall be issued under the Royal Seal, either as applied by the Chancery, or, should the Majesty request, by the Sovereign under his or her own hand. If requested by the Government, the Grant may also bear the signatures of the Seneschal and/or Immigration Minister. The Royal Grant shall be promptly issued coincident with the candidate affirming his fealty to the Royal House and his allegiance to the Kingdom by taking any Oath of Talossan Citizenship specified by law. At the time this Royal Grant is issued, and from that point forward, the applicant shall be a full citizen of the Kingdom of Talossa. The fact of the issuance of this Grant shall be posted on Wittenberg by the Secretary of State, that the new citizen may be welcomed by his compatriots. Any and all objections raised to the immigration made after this Royal Grant will be moot.

In accordance with 60RZ13, this year's Budget, which states:

Quoteno funds shall be disbursed without a notice of disbursement having first been transmitted to the Ziu at least fourteen days prior to the disbursement, except that disbursements solely for the purpose of postage may be made with no less than 24 hours notice. Notices shall contain details of the purchase and a cost estimate for the purchase, or the total amount paid if seeking funds for reimbursement. Copies of receipts and/or invoices will be provided upon request to Members of the Ziu.

BE THE ZIU NOTIFIED that, on behalf of the Minister of Finance who is on leave, I have authorised the Burgermister of Internal Revenue to disburse 33¤20 (US$50.00) from the Ministry of Culture's budget, to purpose two $25 Amazon gift cards for the winners of the Talossan-language writing competition.

Any questions?

WHEREAS, given the historical genocide of the Armenian people under the Ottoman Empire, and its continued denial by the Ottoman successor state, the Turkish Republic, it is highly offensive that new citizens from Armenia be assigned to Atatürk province;

AND WHEREAS the nearest contiguous nation to Armenia not assigned to Atatürk province is Iran, which is assigned to Fiovă;

THEREFORE be it enacted on the countersignature of the King under Organic Law VI.4 that:

1) El Lexhatx E.7.4. shall be amended by the deletion of the word "Armenia", to read thus:

Quote7.4. ATATÜRK PROVINCE. Talossan citizens living in the following areas shall be assigned to Atatürk Province: the Wisconsin counties of Calumet, Door, Kewaunee, Manitowoc, Ozaukee, Sheboygan, and Washington; and the U.S. states of Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, and Vermont, and the Canadian provinces of Newfoundland & Labrador, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia. Prince Edward Island, Quebec; Internationally, the nations of Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belarus, Bhutan, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Congo-Brazzaville, Congo-Kinshasa, Cyprus, Djibouti, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Georgia, India, Israel, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Nepal, Oman, Pakistan, Palestine, Qatar, Russia, Rwanda, Sao Tome & Principe, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Somaliland, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Türkiye, Turkmenistan, Uganda, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, Yemen.

1) El Lexhatx E.7.11. shall be amended by the addition of the word "Armenia", to read thus:

Quote7.11. FIOVA PROVINCE. Talossan citizens living in the following areas shall be assigned to Fiova Province: the nations of Afghanistan, Angola, Armenia, Australia, Botswana, Brazil, Cambodia, China, Comoros, Eswatini, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Laos, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mauritius, Mongolia, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, New Zealand, Seychelles, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Vietnam, Zambia, Zimbabwe.[424]

We've got an Armenian prospective who really resents being assigned to a province named after the founder of the Turkish Republic.

Have you guys considered doing what Belacosta did with their old name? Twice?

¡Estimadă.ts cüncitaxhiens!

It has been a grief for me that, during the Duke of Lupul's time on the throne, there was a growing alienation between the King and his elected Government, to the point of total lack of communication - unless repeated text messages requesting a formality, followed by a formality being issued, counts as communication.  I thought maybe that was just my winning personality, but no; other Governments had similar issues.

You may have been me rambling to the Free Democrat convention that this was something we had to change. As luck would have it, we now have a King who is paying attention. I am happy to announce, therefore, that henceforth, as Seneschál I will be having regular audiences with His Majesty The King to discuss Government business.

My preferences for minimal Royal political action - in fact, for minimal Royal anything - are well known. However, failing the dawn of the New Republic, Talossa needs a constitutional monarchy as exists in other well-run countries. In the United Kingdom, the Monarch has quite awesome powers in paper, which it is a social contract never to use except in the direst emergency. But the 19th century journalist Walter Bagehot argued that the Monarch has three rights, which are also three duties, towards their elected Government: to advise, to encourage, and to warn.

So: regular meetings so that His Majesty can advise, encourage, and warn me. This is a precedent that we hope will be upheld by my successors in Government - and his successors as Head of State of Talossa.

Questions? Comments?

Under the provisions of El Lexhatx D.2.1, I am happy to name @Mic'haglh Autófil, SMC EiP as Acting Foreign Minister, to cover for @Bentxamì Puntmasleu who has taken a leave of absence.

(For those keeping track, I don't need the King to do a formality on this one!)

In accordance with El Lexhatx C.3.1, I humbly advise the King to appoint @Sir Lüc as Secretary of State.

We are pleased to announce that, due to the sterling and very timely work of @Baron Alexandreu Davinescu, we appear to have restored functioning on the Immigration form.

The even better news is that at least one of the "lost" immigration applications has confirmed that they still want their application to continue.

The Government of Talossa sincerely apologises to the nation for this technical disaster. I will work with the Minister of Technology and other interested parties to produce a full report of why this happened, and the steps we are taking to make sure it never happens again.

As authorised by Organic Law IV.8, and with the advice and consent of Cabinet, I am declaring a Month of Recess for December XLV/2024. That is, there will be no Clark next month.

This is to enable (a) the Cabinet to have some extra time to grapple with a backlog of work; (b) to enable proper debate and discussion of the current Organic Law reform proposal, and probably one more to come.

This would also be an excellent time, being Independence Day, for the King to abdicate, hint hint.

The Ministry of Culture, in association with La Società per l'Ilesnaziun del Glheþ Naziunal (SIGN), is pleased to formally announce a contest for writing in the Talossan language / ár glheþ naziunal.

There will be two categories of entries each with a prize of a US$25 Amazon gift card:

• Short-form: under 100 words. This opens the field to poetry, as well as to less confident Talossan language learners who might only be able to do one or two sentences.
• Long-form: 100-1500 words. Ain't no-one got time to read more than that.

Entries will mainly be judged on literary merit and on at least a good "attempt" to write in Talossan. (If we can understand it, it's good enough). Correct grammar may be used as a "tiebreaker".

Entries must be submitted by December 1 as a reply here or by private message to a member of SIGN, and will be judged by the members of SIGN as a committee. Please note that the judges may well submit their own entries, but all entries will be published for the sake of transparency (unless entrants object).

The winning entry will be announced on 12 December, Llimbaziua (Language Day).

Questions? Comments?

WHEREAS, in the words of a respected MC, assigning a job via statute to a role not guaranteed to exist by statute is a bad idea;

AND WHEREAS the role of "Wittmeister" nowhere exists in legislation, but exists as part of the job description of Permanent Secretary of Back End Administration, which doesn't exist in legislation;

AND WHEREAS the role of "Permanent Secretary to the Cabinet" doesn't exist at all any more;

AND WHEREAS the current legislation makes reference to the Minstry of STUFF, which is no longer responsible for technical issues like this;

BE IT ENACTED by the King, Cosă and Senäts in Ziu assembled that El Lexhatx E.3 be amended from:

Quote3. The Minister of Immigration, working with the Seneschal, the Minister of Stuff, The Permanent Secretary to the Cabinet and/or the nation's Wittmeister shall cause the prospective immigrant to be granted an account on Wittenberg, allowing said prospective immigrant to converse with the subjects of the Kingdom gathered there. The Immigration Minister shall verify that the said account is fully-enabled, and that the candidate is able to communicate using this forum with the citizens of the Kingdom. The Immigration Minister shall then begin a single thread on Wittenberg introducing the prospective immigrant to the nation. The "Why I am Interested in Becoming a Talossan" essay shall be published by the Immigration Minister in this introduction. The Immigration Minister is further directed to remind his fellow citizens from time to time that the initiation of new citizens into Talossa is a serious matter and that questioning a prospective citizen is a patriotic obligation of all who love their King and Country.

to:

Quote3. The Minister of Immigration, working with the Seneschal and the responsible authorities for administering Wittenberg,  shall cause the prospective immigrant to be granted an account on Wittenberg, allowing said prospective immigrant to converse with the subjects of the Kingdom gathered there. The Immigration Minister shall verify that the said account is fully-enabled, and that the candidate is able to communicate using this forum with the citizens of the Kingdom. The Immigration Minister shall then begin a single thread on Wittenberg introducing the prospective immigrant to the nation. The "Why I am Interested in Becoming a Talossan" essay shall be published by the Immigration Minister in this introduction. The Immigration Minister is further directed to remind his fellow citizens from time to time that the initiation of new citizens into Talossa is a serious matter and that questioning a prospective citizen is a patriotic obligation of all who love their King and Country.

Got some researcher asking questions about "micronations and tourism" - by which I think he's talking about places like Hutt River Province, Seborga, or the Republic of Whangamōmona. So not really relevant to us, but I'm kind of proud of this answer

You cannot view this attachment.

¡Estimat.dăs citaxhiens!

60RZ9 has passed the Ziu with the requisite majorities, endorsing @Sir Txec dal Nordselvă, UrB  as Heir Presumptive to the Throne of Talossa. I am proceeding from this point on the assumption that His Current Majesty will not exercise his royal veto.

On the basis of my Government's principle of Not Messing Around, and using my authority as Seneschal under Organic Law VII.13, I announce that the Referendum to confirm the Heir Presumptive as named in 60RZ9 will be held during the same period as the Third Clark of this Cosă, that is, 1st to 21st October Talossan Standard Time.

For reasons of propriety, this Referendum (and the attendant Clark) will be administered by Deputy Secretary of State @Sir Lüc . I should also note that, on the assumption that this referendum passes, @Sir Lüc is this Government's preferred candidate to become the next Secretary of State. I am making this announcement so the Chancery will have continuity to make long-term plans, for example, on the replacement of the Database.

Questions? Comments?

A previous government, of which I had the honour of being a part, established La C'hronică (LC), the "official newsletter" of the Talossan government. At the time, we made it clear that LC was supposed to be a stop-gap, a way of keeping less-active citizens in touch with what was happening in Talossa, substituting for the lack of a private enterprise press.

But there are several functions of a private-enterprise Free Press which LC cannot, and should not, cover. Like fearless reporting on political debates, or muckracking explorations of personal misbehaviour. It is this Government's belief that a lot of bad habits have crept into Talossan politics and culture precisely because there is no sanction - reputational or political - for bad behaviour, or simply for being what we could call in the national language 'n verpă.

Therefore, the Culture Ministry will look favourably on giving grants out of our 60th Cosă budgetary announcement for anyone who wants to set up a private-enterprise newspaper, journal or magazine in Talossa. However, preference will be given to applicants who are not leading political figures or party leaders. A return to the biased partisan press of the Støtanneu/TNN era is not what we need.

Questions? comments?

As the Attorney-General is currently explaining to the Cosa, according to his learned opinion there is no legal requirement to keep the contents of behind-closed-doors Cabinet discussions secret. However, in my perhaps not-so-learned opinion there is a political reason to do so. In the Westminster tradition, we call this "collective solidarity"; that is, debates and individual opinions should not be published so that the Cabinet can speak with one voice. in the US tradition I believe you refer to "executive privilege";  that is, debates and individual opinions should not be published so that the executive officers can engage in full and frank debate and individuals cannot be targeted for their advice.

I have already posted to this effect in the Ziu, in a Terpelaziun thread that descended into nastiness, so I'd better repost it here.

1) My Government will not republish any debates or any opinions or comments of individual Cabinet ministers, and we expect that future Governments will follow this precedent.

2) There is no problem with discussing decisions or consensus opinions of previous Governments, as these form part of our tradition of Government which should be known by the public, especially when they give context to decisions of the current Government. But the names of individual Ministers should not be attached to them.

You guys know what I think of monarchy in general, but the new Māori Queen is quite a looker



Notably it's an elective monarchy chosen by the "Privy Council" equivalent at the previous incumbent's funeral.

OKAY YOU GUYS. In accordance with the Government's programmatic commitments and with public feedback, here is our immigration reform bill. The significant changes are as follows:

    * the "What Talossa Means To Me" essay will be required to demonstrate an understanding of what Talossa is and what citizenship means (if it doesn't, the application doesn't get rejected but the ImmMin can require rewriting before publication);
    * citizenship applications will include a checkbox section on "what parts of Talossa most appeal to you", and the ImmMin will give guidance on who to approach to help with that (this fills the New Citizen's Committee gap)
    * citizenship can be granted on the petition of two citizens and on "certification from the Ministry of Immigration that the prospective citizen has sufficient understanding of Talossan life and culture for full participation" (which would, at least in the short term, meaning passing the Civics Test and consequently getting an ID card);
    * provision that if the ImmMin misuses their new powers to deep-six applications without a good reason, the applicant can appeal to the SoS.

===

WHEREAS the Government of Talossa desires that frivolous applications for Talossan citizenship be discouraged, but serious applications get all the help that they need;

BE IT ENACTED by the King, Senäts and Cosă of Talossa in Ziu assembled as follows:

1. That El Lexhatx E.2 be amended by addition of the bolded text as follows:

Quote2.1 The Minister of Immigration shall ascertain to his own satisfaction, through correspondence or conversation, that the prospective immigrant is a real human being with genuine interest in becoming a citizen of the Kingdom of Talossa. The Minister shall be free to inquire of the applicant on any and every subject, and shall be required to collect the legal name or name used in daily life, postal address (optional if the applicant is under 18 years of age, except for information needed to assign the applicant to a province), telephone number, and e-mail address(es) of the candidate, which information the Minister shall communicate to the Secretary of State. The applicant shall affirm or swear, under penalty of perjury and under the provisions of Lexh.A.16.1., that this information is accurate, and shall provide documentary evidence of the same if the Minister thinks it appropriate.

2.2 Additionally, the Immigration Minister shall be required to collect an essay, written by the applicant, entitled "Why I am Interested in Becoming a Talossan." If the Immigration Minister considers that this essay misunderstands the nature of Talossa or the rights and duties of Talossan citizenship, or gives insufficient information to enable citizens to ask meaningful questions of the prospective, they may require the applicant to submit a rewritten essay before proceeding to the next stage. When doing so, the Immigration Minister shall provide the applicant with sufficient information to do so successfully, or indicate where to find such information.

2.3 The Immigration Minister shall also allow every applicant to indicate, whether in the essay described elsewhere in this section or otherwise, what part or parts of Talossan life are the Special Interests of the applicant. These may include Politics, Language, Culture, Heraldry, or any other categories as the Minister may see fit or that may be suggested by the applicant.

2.4 The Immigration Minister shall make a monthly report to the Ziu reporting the number of immigration applications received in that month which did not proceed because failing to fulfil the requirements of this section. For each failed application the Minister shall note which part or part of the requirements of this section were lacking in the application.

2. That El Lexhatx E.3 be amended by addition of the bolded text and deletion of struck-through text as follows:

Quote3. The Minister of Immigration, working with the Seneschal, the Minister of Stuff, The Permanent Secretary to the Cabinet Technology and/or the nation's Wittmeister shall cause the prospective immigrant to be granted an account on Wittenberg, allowing said prospective immigrant to converse with the subjects of the Kingdom gathered there. The Immigration Minister shall verify that the said account is fully-enabled, and that the candidate is able to communicate using this forum with the citizens of the Kingdom. The Immigration Minister shall then begin a single thread on Wittenberg introducing the prospective immigrant to the nation. The "Why I am Interested in Becoming a Talossan" essay shall be published by the Immigration Minister in this introduction. The Immigration Minister is further directed to remind his fellow citizens from time to time that the initiation of new citizens into Talossa is a serious matter and that questioning a prospective citizen is a patriotic obligation of all who love their King and Country.

    3.1 The Ministry of Immigration shall note the prospective immigrant's future provincial assignment in the introducing thread.

   3.2 The Ministry of Immigration shall also publish any Special Interests identified by the prospective citizen in the application, and put them in touch with Talossan citizens who are identified by the Ministry as being able and willing to help them pursue those interests. In doing so the Ministry shall not promote any particular political party to the exclusion of any other.

3. That El Lexhatx E.5 be amended by addition of the bolded text as follows:

Quote5. If, at any point during the process, either before or after creation of the Wittenberg account, the Immigration Minister determines that the prospective immigrant shall not be considered further, the prospective immigrant shall be informed of this decision, and shall be made aware that a Grant of Citizenship may yet be obtained by the disappointed applicant if an act of the Ziu be passed directing that such a grant be issued. Any account created for the applicant on Wittenberg shall then be terminated.

     5.1 Any person, whose citizenship is denied, may in the first case appeal this decision by application to the Secretary of State, and be given the Chancery's contact details to enable them to do so. The Secretary of State may, if they believe the Ministry of Immigration has misused their discretion under Talossan law, report to the Ziu with their reasons for so deciding and recommend that the applicant or prospective citizen be given citizenship by act of the Ziu. Alternatively, the applicant or prospective may reapply by undergoing the entire procedure (minus any successfully completed portions) following the next general election.

4. That El Lexhatx E.7 be amended by addition of the bolded text as follows:

Quote7. The Secretary of State shall, on a date of his choosing, but within a period of ten days after receiving a petition from at least two citizens to issue a Grant of Citizenship as described in clause 4, and upon certification from the Ministry of Immigration that the prospective citizen has sufficient understanding of Talossan life and culture for full participation, determine the provincial assignment of the prospective immigrant and issue a Royal Grant of Citizenship to the immigrant. This Grant shall be issued under the Royal Seal, either as applied by the Chancery, or, should the Majesty request, by the Sovereign under his or her own hand. If requested by the Government, the Grant may also bear the signatures of the Seneschal and/or Immigration Minister. The Royal Grant shall be promptly issued coincident with the candidate affirming his fealty to the Royal House and his allegiance to the Kingdom by taking any Oath of Talossan Citizenship specified by law. At the time this Royal Grant is issued, and from that point forward, the applicant shall be a full citizen of the Kingdom of Talossa. The fact of the issuance of this Grant shall be posted on Wittenberg by the Secretary of State, that the new citizen may be welcomed by his compatriots. Any and all objections raised to the immigration made after this Royal Grant will be moot.

Unless I've missed something, we haven't had one of those since 1988. We talked about a coronation for Ián I Lupul but I don't think it ever happened.

From Old Wittenberg, I copy the following musings (from the Rajala regency) of the then-Squirrel King at Arms:

QuoteHere are a few of the many questions the Fellows of the College should begin to consider about the upcoming coronation:

    Where should the coronation be held?

    What should be the date? Should a one year mourning period pass between the abdication of King Louis and the coronation of the next king?

    What is the order of precedence for the procession?

    Who should do the crowning? Should the King be anointed? Can we get Archbishop Dolan to help?

    Should Peers and members of the Royal Family wear coronets? If so, what design should they have? Should these coronets display heraldic emblems based on rank or association to the monarch? Who else, if anyone, should wear a coronet?

    Should a queen consort (if any) be crowned as part of the general coronation ceremony? If so, when? If not, when?

And finally, from Ián I himself, upon his accession:

QuoteFor be known and understood, as a principle of our House and of the Talossan monarchy henceforth and forever, that the crowning of a Talossan monarch should nowise be celebrated in any place wheresoever except within the sacred boundaries of the Kingdom.

!Estimat.dăs cüncitaxhiens!

In accordance with our Statement of Government policy of August 8th last, the Ministry of Immigration submits this White Paper on Immigration Reform for public discussion, before formal legislative proposals are drawn up.

The Problem: A steady supply of prospectives turning into a steady supply of new citizens. But:

• a very small percentage of new citizens becoming consistently active. Result: a layer of experienced citizens (those who take on the functions of State or are major cultural figures) which is aging and slowly whittling away
• An immigration policy designed to get maximum citizens in the door carries a risk of unintentional "broosking" - as long as the Immigration Minister is the main point of contact for new citizens, new citizens who are not properly conversant with our political landscape will tend to align with the Minister's party (assuming they become active), even if the Minister is carefully impartial.
• Time and energy wasted processing citizenship applications which go nowhere, either before or after citizenship is granted.

Only the oldest among us will remember the days when every citizen not only had to buy a book on Talossan history and culture and pass a test on it, but be vetted by the Uppermost Cort and be granted citizenship by the Ziu. Perhaps we don't need to go that far. But that made sure that only those who really wanted to participate in Talossa became citizens.

The Principle: Quality over Quantity of citizens. Our Immigration policy not to be judged by number of applications for citizenship, but by number of new citizens who become active and "replace" older citizens who wish to retire, or at least take a break.

Suggested Reforms fall into two categories: pre-screening prospectives and post-screening new citizens.

• Pre-screening: El Lexhatx E.2 states: "Additionally, the Immigration Minister shall be required to collect an essay, written by the applicant, entitled "Why I am Interested in Becoming a Talossan."". This does not happen. We get one or two sentences at best, which often show ignorance or incuriosity about what Talossa is. Suggested reform: The legislation be changed to specify what qualities should be displayed in such an essay, and the Minister to be permitted to put a hold on citizenship applications which do not display such qualities.
• Post-screening: Making a pass in the Civics Test (or an altered form of it) mandatory before a grant of citizenship can be given. Or, alternatively/additionally: require two or more citizens to request a grant of citizenship.

Feedback on these ideas, and any other suggestions that might improve quality of new citizens, is encouraged.

Let His Majesty Ián I Lupul's decree of li 20. Güscht XLV / 2024, that @Sir Txec dal Nordselvă, UrB is the Heir Presumptive to the Throne of Talossa, be CONFIRMED by the Ziu, subject to confirmation also by the people in referendum, in accordance with Organic Law II.7.