Recent file photo of East Cyberian Red Army Commander Travis Dandy
The Cyberian Presidential Campaign again became a two-way race with the announcement of Acting Gov. Kenneth Thacker (PFP-Corli) of his candidacy for the Oval Office this past Wednesday. Thacker stated his belief that it was time that Cyberia outgrew its reliance on one person, even its founder, for leadership in his announcement and held himself out as the person to whom Cyberians should now pass the torch.
Thacker has not yet, as of the time of this writing, announced a campaign platform or unveiled a campaign website, but answers to reporters during his initial press conference after his announcement give some clues as to what some of his positions may be. Thacker stressed the development of a strong military to ward off possible military threats from East Cyberia or other hostile nations. In response to a question concerning the "Cybercare" proposal offered to the Chamber last week by Dep. Alan Grieve (PFP-Mala) and President Kerns' proposal for a minimum wage, Thacker responded that he "conditionally" supported Cybercare, although he had some serious questions for Grieve on the proposal. Thacker later stated that he supports Cybercare entirely after having discussed the proposal with Dep. Grieve. With regard to the minimum wage proposal, Thacker called for a two-tier minimum wage apparatus, with a lower minimum wage for businesses worth less than ~50,000 and a higher one for businesses worth more than that figure.
Analysts state that Mr. Thacker's candidacy is far more serious and likely to succeed than the abortive candidacies last week of Chief Justice Vadim Pokotilov (PFP-Mattimeo) and Bill (RP-Kernsopolis). But Thacker is facing an uphill battle to unseat the incumbent, Ken Kerns, according to Matthias University Political Science Prof. Alonzo Waite, unless he can somehow gain the support of both the Cyberian Right and his own PFP. Waite commented that this might be a difficult task for Thacker to pull off, considering the recent leftward shift of the PFP, which has been squaring off with the right on both social and economic issues in recent weeks and the formation by Chamber of Deputies candidate Gary Ceres (CP-Menet) of a "Conservatives for Kerns" organization.
In a setback for Libertarian and Conservative opponents of the President's minimum wage proposal, the Chamber of Deputies last week defeated the De Jong Amendment to the President's Labor Act. The Amendment, sponsored by Dep. Cameron De Jong (LPoC-Belar), which would have prohibited the federal government from establishing a minimum wage, was defeated by a vote of 9-7. However, in a non-binding vote on whether Deputies would vote for the Labor Act if their choice on the De Jong Amendment were passed, two Deputies, Jack Santucci (CP-Mattimeo) and Conan Saunders (CP-Lasteria), voted yes who also voted for the De Jong Amendment. In addition, three more Deputies, Joe Zealand (I-At Large), Matt Wilkins (LPoC-At Large) and Daniel Longstreet (LPoC-Menet), indicated they would vote against the Labor Act and two Deputies, John Jacobson (RP-At Large) and J. Michael Reeung (PFP-At Large) abstained. Thus, the prospects for the passage of the Labor Act itself remain uncertain.
The Chamber passed the Windsor Provincehood Act (15-0), the Equal Franchise Act (14-1), the Kernsopolis Equal Rights Act (12-3), and an amendment to the Patent Office Act (14-1). However, a Constitutional Amendment that would have made the requirements for passage of a Constitutional Amendment more stringent proposed by Dep. Peter Hickey (PFP-At Large) failed to gain the two-thirds supermajority needed for its passage, with only a vote of 8-7 in favor of the Amendment.
Fifteen of the 20 Deputies voted in this meeting, an increase to 75 percent from last meeting's 65 percent response. Acting Speaker Terry Clare (PFP-At Large) was very pleased at the increased participation by the Deputies, commenting, "Now that just tickles me silly." The ballot for the Chamber's next meeting will come out this coming Wednesday, according to Speaker Clare, and will include several important proposals, including the Labor Act, Dep. Alan Grieve's "Cybercare" national health care proposal, the President's Tax Bill, a number of constitutional amendments and other important legislation.
A pro-choice rally involving approximately 7,500 people took place Saturday in Bava City. The rally, sponsored by the Peaceful Pro-Choicers (PPC) of Bava, an organization founded by Dep. Stephen Lean (SP-Bava), featured speeches by President Ken Kerns, At Large Deputy candidate Dheeraj Jagadev (SP-Menet) and Dep. Peter Hickey (PFP-At Large). In contrast to a recent anti-choice rally in Port Daviess, Menet, the Bava rally was completely peaceful and no violent incidents or episodes were reported.
The featured speakers all focused on the need to preserve women's right to choose what happens to thier bodies and the danger to everyone's liberty caused by the attempts of the anti-choice movement to restrict this right. President Kerns promised to support legislation penalizing businesses that refuse to provide health care to women who need financial support in getting an abortion and urged pro-choicers not to support politicians who oppose a woman's right to choose.
Mr. Jagadev emphasized that the right of a woman to have an abortion is a fundamental right. Jagadev stated his belief that the removal of other rights, such as freedom of speech, would be the next target of "the tyrannical tendencies of the right wing which seeks to segregate society," should the pro-lifers be successful in abrogating a woman's right to choice. Mr. Jagadev also refuted the conventional "wisdom" of Conservatives and anti-choicers that the pro-choice movement consists of godless atheists by closing his speech with the words, "God bless Cyberia."
Dep. Hickey, in the rally's longest speech, pointed out the contradictions in the anti-choice position, calling the anti-choice equation of abortion with murder "overly simplistic." Hickey pointed out that, due to progressive social programs in Cyberia, the rate of abortion is far lower here than in other, comparable nations. Hickey warned that the Cyberian Right would likely try to roll back these programs, perhaps even increasing the number of abortions sought in the process. Hickey stated that the pro-choice movement must remain non-violent but noted that pro-choicers had the right to use reasonable force to protect themselves from death or serious injury at the hands of violent anti-choice radicals. Hickey closed his speech by urging the participants, the Liberal Party and the Socialist Party to join the Progressive-Futurists in seeing "that abortion remains 'safe, legal...and rare.'"
The rally's organizer, Dep. Lean, closed the rally by warning the participants that "the 'pro-life' movement is very much alive in Cyberia," and urging women and men in the pro-choice cause to "not give up, and continue to fight the good fight (figuratively) for our cause of liberty, freedom, and personal choice." Commenting on the success of the rally, Lean stated, "It couldn't have gone better, in my opinion."
Chamber of Deputies Candidate Gary Ceres (CP-Menet) Saturday proposed the formation of a "Liberty Party," encompassing and merging all the major Parties of the Cyberian Right, the Conservative, Republican and Libertarian Parties. Ceres formed an "Organization for the Liberty Party" and announced that the new Party's goals would be to "create opposition to liberal policies, run candidates and win elections and promote liberty." As a tentative platform for the proposed new Party, Ceres suggested the following:
1. A compromise plank on abortion that calls for no government funding of abortion and work towards ending "partial-birth" abortions...with a provision stating that the party is divided over other abortion-related issues.
Ceres suggested that the Party might deal with possible ideological differences among its ideologically disparate elements by having intraparty caucauses for social conservatives, economic conservatives and civil rights. Ceres contended that, if formed, the new Party would be the largest Party in Cyberia. As of this printing, the leaders of the Conservative, Republican and Libertarian Parties had not responded to Ceres' proposal.
Professor of Comparative Politics Simon Wilco of Bava State University pointed out that the concept of the Liberty Party is hardly new. There is a Liberty Party presently in Terra Novum and one existed in the Virtual Republic of Sementia. In both Terra Novum and Sementia, the Liberty Party is and was known for its commitment to a limited federal government, provincial rights and opposition to the enumeration of more than basic rudimentary rights for individuals in the federal constitution. All of the Liberty Parties are direct descendants of the National Rights and Sovereignty Party (NRSP), the opposition party in the former virtual nation of Cyberland. Both Ceres and Gov. Tim Dunkin (CP-Menet) were prominent members of both the NRSP and the Sementian and Terra Novum Liberty Parties.
2. No mention of gay rights
3. A call for lower taxes and lower spending
4. Opposition to universal healthcare
5. Opposition to the minimum wage
6. Support for property and gun rights
7. Support for liberty
8. Support for a strong military
In response to Conservative Gary Ceres' call for the unification of the major parties of the Cyberian Right in a proposed "Liberty Party," President Ken Kerns, leader of the Liberal Party, issued a public call on Sunday for the major parties of the Cyberian Left, the Liberals, the PFP and the Socialist Party, to consider a similar merger. Kerns repeated a recurring theme of his that there are too many political parties representing essentially the same issues in Cyberia and that the nation may benefit from their consolidation into two or three major parties.
While new PFP member Alan Grieve of Mala expressed an initial willingness to go forth with the proposed merger, PFP Chairperson Peter Hickey immediately launched a strong assault on the idea. Hickey noted that the differences between the PFP, the Liberals and the SP were greater than stated by the President. Hickey, known since his historic debate with then-Presidential candidate Jack Santucci (CP-Mattimeo) last year as a champion of the right of small parties to exist, also questioned the desirability of concentrating political power in the hands of a few major parties, noting that the two-party system in the United States had led to the development of virtually indistinguishable "Republicrat" and "Demoblican" parties in that country.
PFP member and Presidential Candidate Ken Thacker and Socialist Deputy Stephen Lean also checked in with statements against the proposed merger. Thacker pointed out that the PFP was, to him, "the embodiment of moderation," and that he would resign from the Party if it were to merge with a far-left Party such as the Socialists. Lean cited the portion of the PFP philosophy denouncing socialism and stated that it would be better for the SP to work as a coalition partner with the PFP and Liberals on the issues where the SP agreed with either or both Parties. Similarly, Hickey suggested that the three Parties could work just as effectively as a coalition as they could as a unified Party and suggested that the three parties could do more to counter the challenge of the Right by getting inactive members to participate and recruiting new members. The President eventually came to agree that working together as an informal coalition might be the best path for Cyberia's Left and Center-Left and it appears at this point that there will be no formal merger of the PFP, SP and Liberals.
President Kerns dropped a true bombshell on Cyberia's political scene Friday when he announced that Skinner Layne, ex-dictator of the defunct Virtual Republic of Cyberland, had applied for re-admission as a Cyberian citizen. Layne, a former Governor of Lasteria and Supreme Court Chief Justice, left Cyberia in early February to avoid impeachment charges related to an attempt by he and former President Pro Tempore Chris Harrop to unconstitutionally violate the rights of two leftist political parties. Layne went on to establish Cyberland, where he eventually came to rule as a virtual dictator. That virtual nation fell apart when Layne refused to hand over the Prime Ministership to challenger David Oatney after losing an election to Oatney. Most of Cyberland's citizens then left Cyberland entirely, emigrating to either Cyberia or the now-defunct Virtual Republic of Sementia.
The announcement by Kerns raised a firestorm of protest from across the political spectrum, with vehement denunciations of Layne coming from politicians as diverse as arch-conservative Oatney and Chairperson Peter Hickey of the PFP. Oatney referred to Layne as being "almost Hitlerian" and Hickey flatly termed the former Chief Justice as "an enemy of the Cyberian people." Conservatives for Kerns Chairperson Gary Ceres announced that he would dissolve that organization and work against the re-election of the President should Layne be admitted as a citizen. The President quickly announced that he would not accept Layne's application.
In a similar story, new East Cyberian citizen Joel Roth attempted on Saturday to become a Cyberian citizen as well. In a series of posts on the East Cyberian Forum, Roth stated his intention to run for Governor of Windsor, declare that Province an "independent, Socialist state," and then resign as Governor and presumably from Cyberia as well. President Kerns rejected Roth's application for citizenship as well.
Samantha Rafferty, a 21-year-old women's studies student at Bava State University, died Wednesday from injuries sustained in a beating by Port Daviess, Menet Police in last week's abortion riot in Port Daviess. Rafferty, a pro-choice activist, had been hospitalized in critical condition since the riot, where she suffered massive skull fractures after being struck repeatedly in the head with nightsticks by Port Daviess police officers attempting to break up the disturbance.
Rafferty's parents, Tom and Alice Rafferty of the City of Equality, Bava, were unavailable for comment. Their attorney, Louise Jameson of the Kernsopolis law firm of Hickey & Associates, told reporters that the Raffertys were extremely distraught and emotionally shattered by the death of their only daughter. Jameson also said it was likely the Raffertys would be filing a federal lawsuit against Menet, Port Daviess and the organizers of the anti-choice rally the riot developed from for violation of Samantha's civil rights and wrongful death.
Samantha is survived by her parents and a brother, Jonathan, a Bava City accountant. Her funeral will be held Wednesday at the First Unitarian-Universalist Church in the City of Equality. The family requests that memorial contributions be made to the Peaceful Pro-Choicers of Bava in lieu of flowers.
In a press conference held by Gov. Tim Dunkin (CP-Menet) on Sunday, a number of questions were apparently asked of the Governor by unknown persons posing as reporters from the Mattimeo Messenger and Cyberia Today. In statements issued after the issuance of Dunkin's press release, the Messenger and Cyberian Today denied that "reporters" Eve Brown and Paul Pott (allegedly from the Messenger) and Joseph Steelman (allegedly from Cyberia Today) were employed by either of the two center-left publications and that neither one was aware of the existence of the Dunkin press conference until the press release was made public. While the editor of the Socialist publication, New Bava, has not yet commented on the press conference, there is some suspicion that the reporter said to be from that newspaper, one Adolf Schicklgruber, may also have been an imposter.
In the press conference itself, Dunkin used his answers to several questions posed by the imposters and Microworld Monitor reporter Thomas Jeffson (reportedly a nom de plume for Monitor reporter Benny Mossolino) to counter Left and Centrist concerns that political conservatives in Cyberia intend to amend the Constitution to outlaw abortion and to attack the leaders of the Progressive-Futurist and Liberal Parties.
Commenting on the situation, Messenger editor Peter Hickey stated, "Either Gov. Dunkin has a serious security problem in the Governor's office or these people were deliberate plants the Governor knew of in advance." Hickey noted that there are unsubstantiated rumors that agents-provocateur employed by the Governor, a well-known and outspoken anti-choice advocate, may have provoked the violent confrontation between pro- and anti-choicers at the anti-choice rally in Port Daviess, Menet last week. Sixty persons were injured in that riot and one pro-choice demonstrator, Samantha Rafferty, a 21-year-old Bava State University student, died Wednesday from injuries sustained during the riot in a beating administered to her by Port Daviess Police. "There is certainly no proof behind allegations that Gov. Dunkin was behind either the phony reporters or the Menetian riots," Hickey commented, "but if it should turn out that he was, it would be a sad reflection on Tim's ethics. This is more the kind of thing we would expect from Mike Rosario or Skinner Layne than from Tim Dunkin."
When asked about the presence of the imposters at Dunkin's press conference, Gubernatorial Press Secretary Joseph Gebbels had no comment.
Gov. Tim Dunkin (CP-Menet) announced Sunday the formation of a new foundation to support research science in Cyberia. Dunkin, a research chemist, stated that the Cyberian Foundation for the Advancement of Science and Technology (CFAST) would seek "to advance the respect and acknowledgement of science in our society, to financially support research scientists in their work through grants, and to provide assistance to research scientists through the collection and dissemination of information and collaborative work in the scientific community."
The new foundation was immediately hailed by Peter Hickey, CEO of the Mattimeo Arms Company (MAC) and Jubilee Brewing Company (JBC) and Chairperson of the PFP. Hickey stated that "a foundation that seeks to promote research science can be nothing but good for Cyberia," and pledged contributions of ~1 million from MAC and ~250,000 from JBC to CFAST. Hickey stated, "It is easy to forget, in the rhetorical battles of Cyberian politics, that Gov. Dunkin and I actually agree on several important issues, the promotion of science and technology being one of the key areas where we concur with each other."
Cyberian and Terra Novum citizen Bernard Schulmann Friday announced the formation of the Micronational Human Rights Watch Foundation, an organization devoted to monitoring human rights abuses within micronations. Schulmann predicted that "lunatic" micronations would immediately speak out against the new organization and sure enough, the representatives of several despotic micronations, including Rob Hart of the Communist Dictatorship of Utopia, the Foreign Minister of the Emirate of Bahoudii and Micah Kubic, Chancellor of the Holy Empire of Reunion, immediately denounced the Foundation as "unnecessary" and stated that citizens of despotic micronations enjoyed living under such circumstances.
Schulmann announced that he was immediately renouncing his party affiliations to the Liberal Party in Cyberia and the PFP in Terra Novum in line with his new role as the non-partisan leader of an intermicronational human rights organization. Schulmann stressed that he was not resigning from either party out of disagreement with the political goals of either, but rather, to preserve his status as a non-partisan figure in charge of a non-governmental intermicronational organization.
In their continuing attempts to blackmail Cyberia into recognizing the false claims of East Cyberia to the Provinces of Mala and Windsor, the Kingdoms of Choconya and Falkenberg last week imposed an embargo on Cyberian goods. This is in addition to diplomatic sanctions previously imposed by the two monarchies against Cyberia. The embargo is largely symbolic due to the fact that little or no trade previously existed between either despotism and Cyberia.
In response to the latest moves by Choconya and Falkenberg, Dep. Peter Hickey (PFP-At Large) introduced a resolution in the Chamber of Deputies last week calling upon the President to bring a formal grievance in the Grand Alliance Council against Choconya, seeking relief and restitution against Choconya for "aggression and attempting to interfere with the internal affairs of Choconya." Both Cyberia and Choconya are members of the Grand Alliance. The Chamber will vote on Hickey's resolution in its next meeting.
Recent file photo of East Cyberian Red Army Commander Travis Dandy
In a recent letter to the editor of the Micronational Monitor, East Cyberian Red Army Commander Travis Dandy again pressed East Cyberia's claims to sovereignty over the Cyberian Provinces of Mala and Windsor. Among the claims made by Dandy were his contention that at least two-thirds of the population of Mala were part of the "Revolucion" last month and that the Cyberian military had failed to intervene to put down the revolt, "giving the rebels the chance to establish a base and control over at least part of Mala."
In a letter to the editor of the Monitor in answer to Dandy, Dep. Peter Hickey (PFP-At Large) countered that only the 10 or so "Revolucionistas" had actually revolted. Because the Simulation Control Act gives the President exclusive control over simulation events that affect Cyberia as a whole, Malan provincial authorities would not be able to alter the simulation to the extent of such a large rebellion. Hickey also noted that the Cyberian MoD, Tim Dunkin, had sent 7,500 federal troops each to Mala and Windsor to maintain civil order, thus refuting Dandy's claim of no Cyberian military response to the "Revolucion."
In other news from East Cyberia, Dictator Luke Rosario complained on the MicroWorld Forum about "SPAMming" and "impersonation" by Cyberian citizens after samzidat activists in East Cyberia launched a series of propaganda attacks on Rosario and the East Cyberian police state last week. The activists even managed to seize the state-run East Cyberian television station briefly and broadcast a satirical program highly critical of both Rosario and Dandy.
President Ken Kerns has long been an advocate of international relations with other micronations and has entered Cyberia into a number of intermicronational organizations such as MicroWorld and the Grand Alliance. The idea was that Cyberia could benefit from intercourse and exchanges with other micronations and perhaps even pick up some good ideas from others as to how to run our Virtual Commonwealth.
All very well and good, but recent events such as the C.O.S. affair and more importantly, the acceptance of East Cyberian propaganda and subsequent condemnation of Cyberia by several micronations, including supposed Cyberian allies in the Grand Alliance, show that there is also a dark side to intermicronationalism. Many micronations are, in the words of Minister of Foreign Affairs Fabrice Quertain, "nothing but either jokes or despotic monarchies."
And the discussions among these micronations is hardly always, or even often, on the highest plane. This editor last week subscribed to a mailing list maintained by MicroWorld. I have received a number of messages through this list, most of which I could have done without. The discussion has centered thus far on an improbable proposal by citizens of the Republic of Porto Claro to get "U.N. recognition" of micronations and the response of the Premier of Reunion, Otto von Draeger, to this proposal, which mostly involved calling Porto Claro a "star fruit republic."
The Messenger has to question what benefit, if any, there could possibly be to Cyberia for us to get involved in this kind of nonsense. As has been noted by a number of Cyberians, we have more citizens in many of our provinces than most micronations have in their entire population. Furthermore, we have a vibrant and active political discourse and free press which seems to be mostly absent from the micronational scene. We really do not need these people and, if they are going to accept lies and disinformation from our enemies and refuse to let us present our side of the story (as was done in Penguinea), why even bother with them?
I think we'd be far better off to take the advice of MoFA Quertain and seek to develop relations on a case-by-case basis with serious, democratic micronations, if indeed there are any such nations out there beside Cyberia and Terra Novum.
Peter Hickey, Editor
Contact the artist at swift@goodnet.com
Copyright (c) 1998 by the Progressive-Futurist Party of Cyberia