FREE DEMOCRATS OF TALOSSA CONVENTION: December 2024

[GV]

I can stand for Party Secretary.  To my knowledge, it mainly involves putting the annual-ish Convention together, which is something I've done before and can do again when the time comes.

My life the past half-decade was spent in helping to take care of my father more and more.  Now that family has him in assisted care (he's doing very well, by the way), I am far more free to at least take a limited role in party affairs.  If Daph needs a Secretary-other-than-her to keep on as President, than I can be that Secretary.

The Free Democrats has a long and proud history.  Our political movement in various labels claims a political ancestry founded in part in the 2004-2012 Republic and continues today as well as dissident-voices around in the Kingdom in the late aughts and early 10s.  This movement has done the impossible: neutralize the grenade of a hereditary monarchy and the prevention of Ben Madison's bedroom-kingdom from becoming an incestuous one-party state with no real political alternative.

The battle for the respect of the Talossan people between We Who Left and Those Who Stayed was begun because Ben Madison refused to publicly see the error of his ways, poisoning the minds of Kingdom-Talossans against us, even in the wake of the mistakes made with the domains and Wittenberg X.

The battle between John Woolley's Talossan political establishment and the political descendants of we-who-returned in Reunision is the foundation for today's Talossan politics and may well be for the rest of time.  Talossan history should be divided between Before-the-Vendetta against Kane and After-the-Vendetta against Kane.  As I've said so often before, the 2004-2012 Republic is a mere by-product.

Where the Free Democrats fit in Talossa's future is something no-one really knows.  However, I think we should give it at least one more year.

Ergo, to prevent the complete demise of our party and to allow Daph to continue serving as our President, I'm putting my hat into the ring for Party Secretary.

Long may King Txec reign!

GV

[Miestră Schivă, UrN-GC]

Interested to hear what you think about my programme upthread, @GV

[GV]

Interested to hear what you think about my programme upthread, @GV

I like every bit of it.

[GV]

Interested to hear what you think about my programme upthread, @GV

I like every bit of it.

And if someone else wants to stand for Party Secretary, I'm happy to support them and not run.  I am the Talossan of last resort.

[Miestră Schivă, UrN-GC]

Great. I think I might have to extend the convention a little bit, to (a) draft a formal programme document, and (b) give people time to read it before they vote on it.

[Miestră Schivă, UrN-GC]

Okay. Here is my suggestion for rewriting the Party Programme, whose current version is here.

A. MONARCHIST/REPUBLICAN COMPROMISE
Free Democrats include both monarchists and republicans, but we all put liberty and democracy first in Talossa. We offer our support to a Talossan Head of State who is continually active, puts the interests of the Nation above defending their own interests and prestige, and acts as the servant rather than the owner of the State. We support Organic structures which ensure that our Head of State continues to operate in this way.

B. POLITICS FOR EVERYONE, CIVIL SERVICE FOR SKILLED WORKERS
For Talossa to really be democratic, Talossan politics and law must be simple enough that average people can always run for the Ziu, serve in Government, and navigate the Corts. Kingdom jobs which require technical or legal skills should be part of the Royal Civil Service, which is non-political and helps the elected politicians carry out their plans. If we don't separate politics and expertise, a small group of politicians with tech skills will end up running everything – and can't be voted out because only they know how to run the systems. We will strictly separate policy-making from administration, and establish strict rules for anyone qualified to do both to make sure they remain separate.

C. ÁR GLHEÞ
'N naziun sanc glheþ, c'è 'n naziun sanc coraziun. The Talossan language is not only one of our highest cultural treasures but something which separates our state from all other nations and nation-building projects. Our vision is that all Talossans will learn and use the national language to some extent, and the Government should set policy accordingly.

D. CULTURE
Liberty in Talossa should mean that Talossan culture should always be independent from the Kingdom authorities. The Ministry of Culture should work with ordinary citizens, non-governmental organisations and provincial governments to build Talossa's "civil society" - ways to be Talossan outside of politics or the Kingdom's administration, including language, research, sports, and leisure. This may include State funding, through contestable grants or prizes for competitions, but will always ensure that Talossan culture never needs Government or political approval to happen.
Every citizen should be able to:
•   Get involved in politics without having skills, experience or training in politics or laws;
•   Work for the Kingdom without getting involved in politics;
•   "Do Talossa" without getting involved in politics or working for the Kingdom.

E. FEDERALISM REFORM
Provincial governments in Talossa only function intermittently; by and large the provinces only act as electoral districts for Senators. We support reforms to the Senäts and other Organic provisions to provide incentives for provincial governments to be more active, or to create new provinces, either by splitting or merging.

F. MODERATION
One of the major ways in which people are excluded from participating in Talossa is rudeness and discourtesy from other Talossans. This does not mean "making being rude illegal" – our legal system should only get involved in the worst, most dangerous forms of abuse. But clever abusers can always find a way to stay within "the letter of the law" while making people's lives miserable ("I'm not touching you!) Moderators on Wittenberg should be empowered to uphold standards of courtesy ("Wittiquette") in our main discussion forum, without fear of being bullied by either State authorities or private citizens. To do otherwise is a statement that Talossa values the input of rude bullies more than those who give up rather than keep dealing with them.

[GV]

This is lovely - now for concrete Hopper-fodder.

[Antaglha Xhenerös Somelieir]

I can support this proposed platform for the party

[Miestră Schivă, UrN-GC]

I think I'll think on it a little white to see if I can tighten the language up. I also wonder whether we should renew a commitment to *some* kind of pro-democracy OrgLaw reform. But we should probably move on to a vote before the new year on this; and a ticket of me as President and GV as Secretary

[Miestră Schivă, UrN-GC]

new draft

===

PREAMBLE

Free Democrats put liberty and democracy first in Talossa. This means that every citizen should be able to:
•   Get involved in politics without having skills, experience or training in politics or law;
•   Work for the Kingdom without getting involved in politics;
•   "Do Talossa" without getting involved in politics or working for the Kingdom.
•   Participate in Talossa without their fun being ruined by bullying, harassment, or political interference.

A. OUR CONSTITUTION

1) BASIC PRINCIPLE

Talossa's institutions are made for its people, not the other way around. If the people do not fit the institutions, it is the latter which must change. Free Democrats always support reforms to our Organic and Statute Law to promote liberty, democracy, and the flourishing of Talossanity.

2) MONARCHIST/REPUBLICAN COMPROMISE
Free Democrats include both monarchists and republicans. We support to a Talossan Head of State who is continually active, puts the interests of the Nation above defending their own interests and prestige, and acts as the servant rather than the owner of the State. We support a constitution that ensures that our Head of State continues to operate in this way.

3) FEDERALISM REFORM
Provincial governments in Talossa only function intermittently; by and large the provinces only act as electoral districts for Senators. We support reforms to the Senäts and other Organic provisions to provide incentives for provincial governments to be more active, or to create new provinces, either by splitting or merging.

B. POLITICS FOR EVERYONE, CIVIL SERVICE FOR SKILLED WORKERS

For Talossa to really be democratic, Talossan politics and law must be simple enough that average people can always run for the Ziu, serve in Government, and navigate the Corts. On the other hand, any job that requires technical or legal skills should be part of the non-political Royal Civil Service, which helps elected politicians carry out their plans.

• No Cabinet or political office should require technical or legal skills to fill; any technical aspect of government should have a Civil Servant to help, including preparing legal drafts or budgets, administering websites or social media accounts.
• All Civil Service roles should be fully documented, to make it easy for new people to take over.
• The Honours System should encourage effort and achievement in the Civil Service.
• For those who wish to be both politicians and civil servants, there should be clear rules to prevent the two roles interfering.

C. CULTURE

1) ÁR GLHEÞ
'N naziun sanc glheþ, c'è 'n naziun sanc coraziun. The Talossan language is not only one of our highest cultural treasures but something which separates our state from all other nations and nation-building projects. Our vision is that all Talossans will learn and use the national language to some extent, and the Government should encourage learning materials to enable this.

2) A TALOSSAN CIVIL SOCIETY
Liberty in Talossa should mean that Talossan culture should always be independent from the Kingdom authorities. The Ministry of Culture should work with ordinary citizens, non-governmental organisations and provincial governments to build Talossa's "civil society" - ways to be Talossan outside of politics or government. This may include State funding, through contestable grants or prizes for competitions, but must never make culture reliant on government approval.

3) A POLITE TALOSSA
One of the major ways in which people are excluded from participating in Talossa is rudeness and discourtesy from other Talossans. We cannot and should not try to make rudeness and bullying illegal. But moderators on Wittenberg should be empowered to uphold standards of courtesy ("Wittiquette"), without fear of being bullied by either State authorities or private citizens.