I would be interested in a new book as well


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

In light of the fact that "the door will remain open" (a sentiment we have echoed) but the only group with the power to walk through it (which is not the URL) seems unlikely to do so, the most likely outcome of this national embarrassment of a month is that the URL will serve as the Official Opposition in the 62nd Cosa. With this in mind, it seems like a good time to announce the tentative roster of the Autófil Shadow Cabinet, which will critique the presumptive Government-To-Be on its actions and policies, provide alternative courses of better action, and politely yet firmly push back on their attempts to re-cast criticism of principle as criticism of person.

Leader of the Opposition: @Mic'haglh Autófil, O.Be
Immigration: @Marcel Eðo Pairescu Tafial, UrGP
Defense: @Andrïeu Cabischabuerg
Justice: @Miestră Schivă, UrN-GC
Foreign: @Antaglha Xhenerös Somelieir
Culture: @Miestră Schivă, UrN-GC
Finance: @Marcel Eðo Pairescu Tafial, UrGP
Propaganda: @Mic'haglh Autófil, O.Be
Public Records: @Mic'haglh Autófil, O.Be
Technology: @Mic'haglh Autófil, O.Be

Other topics:
Democratic Reforms: @Mic'haglh Autófil, O.Be , @Miestră Schivă, UrN-GC , any other members who wish to contribute really.

Quote from: ADWe have never denigrated the URL as a broad group with mocking names or memes

If the argument is that you can tell outrageous lies and make accusations of corruption against your enemies, as long as you don't lighten the tone with mockery or memes, eh, I'm going to go with the mockery and memes.

Quote from: ADthe contrast between our stances has been a part of Progressive success.

The power to tell barefaced lies with a "sunny tone" while flattering your audience is the major part of Progressive success. As I said back then:

Quote from: Miestră Schivă, UrN-GC on August 12, 2025, 04:19:31 PMThe problem is that [the Baron] made this whole political deal out of the idea that my interest in keeping quality control over which prospectives get onto Witt is what is keeping immigration low. All the evidence shows that's not true in the least. He can read the numbers same as I can. But he keeps saying it because he knows it will outrage the barely-active voters he relies on to become Seneschal power behind the throne again.

Nevertheless, and one more time: the URL would still enter negotiations on confidence/supply with no preconditions, if the PA were to reciprocate.

Quote from: Baron Alexandreu Davinescu on December 15, 2025, 08:23:07 PMOur criticisms have been mild and far between,

🤦

Quote from: Baron Alexandreu Davinescu on August 11, 2025, 11:24:57 PMYou wanted to break the law to block the application of someone with different personal and religious beliefs.  This is specifically against the law.  If you'd done it, then you would have been subject to criminal prosecution.

Quote from: Baron Alexandreu Davinescu, probably, Prog mailer, 20 OctoberBut this URL Government is on the brink of killing The Public Process Act so that they can keep the power to secretly bar immigration.  But no government should have that power!  We need this reform!  We need this progress!

Whereas, the Kingdom of Talossa is founded upon an open and pluralistic society, the rule of law, free and fair elections, and the peaceful transfer of power, and has for decades held these principles to be non-negotiable foundations of legitimate government, and

Whereas, the United States of America has historically claimed a leading role among democratic nations, frequently positioning itself as a standard-bearer, external judge of democratic practice abroad and "leader of the free world," and

Whereas, in recent years the United States has exhibited patterns of democratic backsliding increasingly associated with illiberal and hybrid regimes such as Hungary or Turkiye, including sustained attacks on the legitimacy of electoral outcomes, efforts to weaken or intimidate independent courts and civil servants, the politicization of law enforcement, the normalization of disinformation as a political tool, attempts to delegitimize and/or control independent media, the demonization of groups on society's periphery, and hostility toward traditional allied nations and international institutions, and

Whereas, these developments stand in marked contrast to norms observed in many peer nations, including those with fewer resources, less global influence and historical struggles with democratic consolidation, yet which continue to safeguard electoral integrity, institutional independence, and public trust, and

Whereas, the erosion of democratic standards within a state that exercises outsized cultural, economic, and political influence carries consequences far beyond its borders, emboldening anti-democratic actors and undermining an international order based on rules and right rather than might.

Therefore, be it resolved, that the Ziu of the Kingdom of Talossa formally registers its grave concern regarding democratic backsliding in the United States and rejects claims that government without the consent of the governed is an acceptable or inevitable feature of a healthy community of nations, and

Be it further resolved, that the Ziu of the Kingdom of Talossa affirms that a government's legitimacy derives not from a monopoly of violence, power within a given territory, or historical prestige, but from consistent adherence to constitutional limits, respect for electoral outcomes, and the independence of democratic institutions, and

Be it finally resolved, that the Kingdom of Talossa calls upon the United States, as it has called upon others, to meet the standards it has long demanded of the international community, and to undertake the necessary civic, legal, and institutional renewal required to restore democratic credibility at home and abroad.

Uréu q'estadra så
Breneir Tzaracomprada (MC-Green)

Our criticisms have been mild and far between, and focused on specific issues.  We have never denigrated the URL as a broad group with mocking names or memes, and instead have gone out of our way to highlight our belief that the URL was also a legitimate choice run by decent people.  We continue to think that's the case.  We wish there was mutual respect along those same lines, but we can't control your words or actions -- only our own.

I suspect that the contrast between our stances has been a part of Progressive success.

Here's another one, which I just brought up in another thread: narrow down or eliminate the ability of parties to allocate seats off-list.

1) Requiring bigger party lists means that parties have to be "real parties", collectives based around a platform, not a figurehead nominating expendable pawns. (Admittedly, the latter is Talossan tradition.)

2) There's something gross and sneaky about how a party can give seats, post-election, to someone whose presence on their list would have sunk their chances in the election.

There's also a vague idea about adding requirements for parties to choose their lists in a democratic and open fashion, rather than the leader doling them out at whim, but I'm not sure how we'd work that.

Based on the haranguing posts from the URL co-leader to the PA one concludes that perhaps the big party arrangement is not finding support among the PA membership? ^{No surprise there...} If that is the case I look forward to seeing who the URL will be posting as their shadow cabinet and to some lively terpelaziuns.

One way I might actually resile from this analysis is that I'm increasingly nervous about the ability to allocate seats off-list. I think the Progressive Alliance would have had a tougher time fending off accusations that they're simply reproducing the RUMP-clique of a decade ago if the broad masses had known they wanted to put the ex-King in the Cosa.

Quote from: Miestră Schivă, UrN-GC on December 15, 2025, 07:22:14 PMDuring the last Cosa, a certain Cabinet minister was approached with an offer to join the main opposition party.  Hardball politics, but not outside the bounds of acceptable conduct!

👀