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«12. . .1,7711,7721,7731,7741,7751,7761,777. . .2,6342,635»

The new sicilian state

Ruinenlust wrote:

I sort of had this half-baked idea:

Not only did the Trump 'administration' botch the pandemic response and everything, but they badly botched a crisis that, if Trump were really everything that his supporters and mouthpieces claim he is, would have potentially worked out to the great victory and vindication of Trump.

Consider:

Trump's supporters like to claim that he has visionary, practical, ballsy, decisive leadership skills. This is (IMO) nonsense, but let's smoke pot inject bleach roll with it!

So, in an alternate world where Trump is actually an effective leader instead of trying to outdo James Buchanan as the worst president, he actually pays attention to his own government's medical experts (that is the point of departure into fantasy; the inability to concede others' superior expertise or knowledge of things is a major flaw of Donald). Based on the increasingly dark view of the CDC, Pentagon, et al., he closes down the country (way back in mid-February, say), with no incoming flights except for returning residents who all must quarantine for 30 days in facilities. This plays to his base's notion of Trump as defending America against "da foreigners," and it also achieves the medical goal of insulating the country against the pandemic.

Then, going against the Republican leadership, he even exceeds the Democrats' calls to close everything and to resist calls for reopening, despite tanking the economy. He "comes out in support of" old and vulnerable people, and argues that stopping the virus is obviously the only priority. As the country goes on lockdown and full funding and help is given to medical services, state governments, etc., the virus follows a similar curve to Germany in the United States during March and April, instead of metastasizing into the world's example of "what not to do," along with fine leaders like Jair Bolsonaro in Brazil and Lukashenko in Belarus.

Then, with much much much less damage done and tens of thousands of lives saved, Trump could champion self reliance and economic independence for the United States while also fighting off the virus. Trump objectively looks good, and it seems like when the chips are REALLY down, Trump actually does have a spine, a set of balls, and a head on his shoulders. By June or July, the economic recovery can begin in earnest, while everything is made ready to test tens of millions of people anew come fall and winter. By November, with some kind of economic recovery underway, with much worse outcomes in many other countries, and with an objective win for Trump in terms of pandemic's first wave, his xenophobia and "great genius"ness work out in his favor and in the country's favor. He is reelected, thanks in large part to winning over suburban and older voters who might have been otherwise souring on him.

---

When the psychosis wears off and you return to the actual timeline, it's so different:

Jan. 2020 -- "Fake impeachment," nothing else matters. Democrats suck!
Feb. 2020 -- I'm AWESOME! Bernie is where it's at (because he's the easiest to beat)! Democrats suck! The virus will magically go away!
Mar. 2020 -- Everything is wonderful and great in Amer--we might have a problem for a couple of wee--April is going to be a rough month.
Apr. 2020 -- We are doing wonderful things! Everything is great! Only liberals get corona! LIBERATE pivotal swing states!
May 2020 -- Everything is getting better! Ignore the 70+ thousand dead! China wanted this to happen! I like people who aren't captured and don't die of pneumonia!

And now, the administration is willing to feed thousands of people every day to the virus so that they can try to force the economy to reopen. No matter how much carnage it causes, they will downplay and ignore and attack the data of deaths, and simultaneously play up the economic recovery.

- Are the American voters going to go along with it, or are the scales going to fall off enough people's eyes that he is crushed in November?
- Will there be a death wave worse than the first one in June as a response to the premature openings?
- If you might die from going to the diner across town, how effective will any "fiat" reopening of the economy even be?

Stick around after these messages to find out!!! :-D

----------

Seriously though, does it seem to anyone else like things could have gone so much better than they did? Idk.

Anyway, I hope everyone has a good day today, and Happy Mother's Day to anyone who is a mother!

Christ I wasn't quite ready for that...

The new sicilian state wrote:Christ I wasn't quite ready for that...

That's a very nice flag! I'm not sure if the white background brings out the emblem as much as possible, but it is still very Mediterranean-looking! :-)

The wiccan israel

Introducing the Wiccan Socialist Party!

. . . I'm sorry.

Gloriosya, Lord Dominator, Canaltia, Outer Bele Levy Epies, and 4 othersLuvas, Gaianists, Middle Barael, and Mowte

The wiccan israel

Apologies for the double post but . . . Happy Mother's Day! :)

Its mother’s day? Impossible. It was only march last week.

Effazio, Frieden-und Freudenland, Gloriosya, Ownzone, and 7 othersLord Dominator, Turbeaux, Outer Bele Levy Epies, The wiccan israel, Luvas, Gaianists, and Middle Barael

Western continental divide wrote:When was the last Greenness report released for Forest?

-WCD

The last index was in January, I believe. When our original anticipated election date arrived, I asked our ROs to step back from performing official duties, because our mandate was up and we anticipated removal from office was imminent. I never expected it would be quite as a long a delay as it was. I believe Kawastyselir's intention was to do seasonal updates, so I would expect that as soon as the new government is formed, if it includes the statistician position, we will probably see that update appear in short order.

Kawastyselir, Mount Seymour, Ownzone, Lord Dominator, and 9 othersUan aa Boa, Turbeaux, Canaltia, Outer Bele Levy Epies, Western continental divide, The wiccan israel, Luvas, Middle Barael, and Mowte

Gaianists

Roless wrote:Its mother’s day? Impossible. It was only march last week.

I feel you. Not too long ago there weren't many leaves on the trees.

Gaianists wrote:I feel you. Not too long ago there weren't many leaves on the trees.

Still remember when there were only five people with the coronavirus in the US, although as we now see, even that is too much.

Ruinenlust wrote:Seriously though, does it seem to anyone else like things could have gone so much better than they did? Idk.

The injecting disinfectant thing was a real WTF moment for me. Before that I'd decided I was basically no longer shockable by Trump and inclined to the view that he's a distraction from more fundamental problems in US politics. But seriously?

I get that's it's not ideal to have a national leader who lacks the intelligence and/or education to understand that because disinfectant kills the virus on surfaces it still might not be a great idea to use it inside the body. Dubya never came across as the sharpest tool in the shed either, but Dubya appeared to be looked after in the sense that his public pronouncements were relatively few and well scripted. We've all known people who are out of their depth and leaning heavily on more capable colleagues. So it's not really that Trump is stupid and inept, it's that he lacks the awareness to do anything to cover for it.

He could have suggested "bringing light inside the body" (which, lest we forget, can be done "through the skin or in other ways") to his advisors in private, and they could have privately explained the shortcomings of that idea. Instead, he's speaking officially in his capacity as head of state and he's riffing or brainstorming. Not only is he not using a speechwriter, he's given no particular prior thought to what he's going to say. Rather than taking advantage of less hapless people he's fired anyone who might be able to tell him when he's wrong precisely because of that ability, and now that only sycophantic invertebrates are left the science advisor can look as horrified as she likes at the side of the podium but what's she going to do about it?

Then later Trump tries to claim he was being sarcastic to reporters to see what they would do. He doesn't realise that a president at a time of crisis who would use his platform not to lead, advise or reassure but to troll journalists is even more unsettling than a president with no scientific knowledge. It seems intolerable to him that anyone might be seen to know more than him about anything, which is the only reason he needs to try telling medical researchers what they should be working on in the first place.

This nonsense probably isn't a matter of life and death most of the time, but in the current circumstances it definitely is.

Ruinenlust wrote:Anyway, I hope everyone has a good day today, and Happy Mother's Day to anyone who is a mother!

Bloody hell. Moment of panic there before I remembered it's different over here and it's already happened.

The new sicilian state

Ruinenlust wrote:That's a very nice flag! I'm not sure if the white background brings out the emblem as much as possible, but it is still very Mediterranean-looking! :-)

Thanks! Nice to meet you.

Uan aa Boa wrote:
The injecting disinfectant thing was a real WTF moment for me. Before that I'd decided I was basically no longer shockable by Trump and inclined to the view that he's a distraction from more fundamental problems in US politics. But seriously?

I get that's it's not ideal to have a national leader who lacks the intelligence and/or education to understand that because disinfectant kills the virus on surfaces it still might not be a great idea to use it inside the body. Dubya never came across as the sharpest tool in the shed either, but Dubya appeared to be looked after in the sense that his public pronouncements were relatively few and well scripted. We've all known people who are out of their depth and leaning heavily on more capable colleagues. So it's not really that Trump is stupid and inept, it's that he lacks the awareness to do anything to cover for it.

He could have suggested "bringing light inside the body" (which, lest we forget, can be done "through the skin or in other ways") to his advisors in private, and they could have privately explained the shortcomings of that idea. Instead, he's speaking officially in his capacity as head of state and he's riffing or brainstorming. Not only is he not using a speechwriter, he's given no particular prior thought to what he's going to say. Rather than taking advantage of less hapless people he's fired anyone who might be able to tell him when he's wrong precisely because of that ability, and now that only sycophantic invertebrates are left the science advisor can look as horrified as she likes at the side of the podium but what's she going to do about it?

Then later Trump tries to claim he was being sarcastic to reporters to see what they would do. He doesn't realise that a president at a time of crisis who would use his platform not to lead, advise or reassure but to troll journalists is even more unsettling than a president with no scientific knowledge. It seems intolerable to him that anyone might be seen to know more than him about anything, which is the only reason he needs to try telling medical researchers what they should be working on in the first place.

This nonsense probably isn't a matter of life and death most of the time, but in the current circumstances it definitely is.

Bloody hell. Moment of panic there before I remembered it's different over here and it's already happened.

I completely agree with what you said about the injecting disinfectants idea. I’m still in utter bewilderment after he suggested nuking hurricanes, or after Sharpiegate (when he used a sharpie on an official weather map to prove that Dorian was heading for Alabama; it did not), or after he claimed that his administration had “done more than perhaps any administration in the history of our country” at the UN, or when he has repeatedly cyber bullied Greta Thunberg while at the same time calling out people saying mean things about Barron, or when he forced government officials to go out of their way, wasting more money and CO2 emissions, so that they’d have to stop at his resorts. The list can go on and on, but these latest ones I hope will be the straw that breaks the camel’s back, and I hope they might actually convince some people who are on the fence simply how inept he is.

Can someone please explain to me what AN stands for? I keep seeing it in the forums, and I have no clue what it means

The wiccan israel

Mowte wrote:Can someone please explain to me what AN stands for? I keep seeing it in the forums, and I have no clue what it means

AN means "above nation", while YN means "your nation".

Mowte wrote:Can someone please explain to me what AN stands for? I keep seeing it in the forums, and I have no clue what it means

AN = Above nation.

Usually, there's a thread asking you to do something to the AN, meaning the last person who posted on that thread.

EDIT: I was hijacked. The AN to my post is The wiccan israel. After I post this message, I will become the AN. Hope this helps.

The new sicilian state

Mowte wrote:Can someone please explain to me what AN stands for? I keep seeing it in the forums, and I have no clue what it means

Automatic Necromancer. There’s one in every thread, it usually refers to him/her.

The new sicilian state wrote:Automatic Necromancer. There’s one in every thread, it usually refers to him/her.

Hahaha

Octopus islands

The wiccan israel wrote:Apologies for the double post but . . . Happy Mother's Day! :)

Just edit above post.

Newvigen wrote:I'm waiting for the update too

Stuff like map updates and greenness index updates won't be released until after the election is over and cabinet positions are appointed at the earliest.

The wiccan israel wrote:Apologies for the double post but . . . Happy Mother's Day! :)

In the future, please edit your first post rather than double posting. Roless will send you to Tree Gulag and it is not fun despite the name!

Lord Dominator, Canaltia, Outer Bele Levy Epies, The wiccan israel, and 3 othersNewvigen, Middle Barael, and Mowte

Western continental divide wrote:When was the last Greenness report released for Forest?

-WCD

Yes, as Verdant Haven said, my plan when I started my post was to release new editions of the Greenness Index and List of Exceptionally Green Nations around each season's change, but they've been postponed until after this election, sorry! Assuming I retain my position, I'll have them posted shortly after the election is over, and for the autumn editions, I'll try to release those just before the election begins instead.

Evening, comrades.

Nominations are closed for the Forest Keeper elections. The candidates are:

Chan island
Mowte
Raider Bele Levy Epies
Verdant Haven

The nations below are eligible to vote in the upcoming election in a week's time:

Aeterno tranquillitas
Alendisia
Anachronolandia
Appendia
Artemis
Ashrah
Awhaiti Kaiatu
Bakwaas
Bananaistan
Bilsa
Blon gre
Bregaria
Burkhai
Canaltia
Candlewhisper Archive
Cannibaland
Caterasia
Cat-herders united
Chan island
Cheloboria
Chilledsville
Clemmtopia
Coranova
Cosona
Crowacia
Daves computer
Deontologia
Dwardossa
Eaven
EcoLof
Edible Plywood
Effazio
Elundris
Entitize
Eryndlynd
Esterild
Euso
Fahx
Feladria
Forgotten Beauty
Frieden-und Freudenland
Gandenia
Girelna
Gorthias
Greyveldt
Groenwald
Haaparanta
Hathoratrix
Hyon Delta
Ironic remarks
Itini
Jardinbleu
Jonre
Jutsa
Kawastyselir
Kinectia
Kinganaryasia
Krisylia
Laplund
Lousykitty
Love and Nature
Lura
LVK212
Marimoland
McClandia Doge 2
Middle Barael
Murmuria
New cascada
New ladavia
Nimros
Novian Republics
Octopus islands
Oldshade
Ordand
Oregone
Oryx the mad god
Ownzone
Palos heights
Paplia
Pen blanityion
Pesto alla genovese
Plifte
Porth dunwich
Prydaein
Ransium
Ratulia
Reannia
Rippardine
Rivienland
Roless
Ruinenlust
Sacara
Salvezia
Sean fiobha
Shauls
Snjor
Spengland et south toiwan
Svelta
Szivland
Taco Respublic
Tanoik
The Black Forrest
The Cypher Nine
The new bluestocking homeland
The new sicilian state
The righteous order of youth
The southern cascadian states
The void territories
Tur ada
Turbeaux
Uan aa Boa
Vanenia
Velkia and the Islands
Verdant Haven
Villturland
Wantevolo
Window Land
Wixenstyxia
Ziotah and Riverside
Zultacke
Zwibelarusia

Turbeaux wrote:In the future, please edit your first post rather than double posting. Roless will send you to Tree Gulag and it is not fun despite the name!

What are tree gulags?

Errinundera wrote:

The nations below are eligible to vote in the upcoming election in a week's time:

Aeterno tranquillitas
Alendisia
Anachronolandia
Appendia
Artemis
Ashrah
Awhaiti Kaiatu
Bakwaas
Bananaistan
Bilsa
Blon gre
Bregaria
Burkhai
Canaltia
Candlewhisper Archive
Cannibaland
Caterasia
Cat-herders united
Chan island
Cheloboria
Chilledsville
Clemmtopia
Coranova
Cosona
Crowacia
Daves computer
Deontologia
Dwardossa
Eaven
EcoLof
Edible Plywood
Effazio
Elundris
Entitize
Eryndlynd
Esterild
Euso
Fahx
Feladria
Forgotten Beauty
Frieden-und Freudenland
Gandenia
Girelna
Gorthias
Greyveldt
Groenwald
Haaparanta
Hathoratrix
Hyon Delta
Ironic remarks
Itini
Jardinbleu
Jonre
Jutsa
Kawastyselir
Kinectia
Kinganaryasia
Krisylia
Laplund
Lousykitty
Love and Nature
Lura
LVK212
Marimoland
McClandia Doge 2
Middle Barael
Murmuria
New cascada
New ladavia
Nimros
Novian Republics
Octopus islands
Oldshade
Ordand
Oregone
Oryx the mad god
Ownzone
Palos heights
Paplia
Pen blanityion
Pesto alla genovese
Plifte
Porth dunwich
Prydaein
Ransium
Ratulia
Reannia
Rippardine
Rivienland
Roless
Ruinenlust
Sacara
Salvezia
Sean fiobha
Shauls
Snjor
Spengland et south toiwan
Svelta
Szivland
Taco Respublic
Tanoik
The Black Forrest
The Cypher Nine
The new bluestocking homeland
The new sicilian state
The righteous order of youth
The southern cascadian states
The void territories
Tur ada
Turbeaux
Uan aa Boa
Vanenia
Velkia and the Islands
Verdant Haven
Villturland
Wantevolo
Window Land
Wixenstyxia
Ziotah and Riverside
Zultacke
Zwibelarusia

What a mighty list of nations! I believe that makes 121 eligible voters in the upcoming election - pretty sure that's a record. I hope everybody will take the time to think about what they want for Forest, and come out to vote when the poll goes up in a week.

For my own part, I here present my campaign platform for another term as your Forest Keeper. I am honored and humbled to have served, and hope that you will consider permitting me to continue in that vein in a second term!

Forest Keeper Second Term Campaign Platform

Verdant Haven

Greetings, Foresters! For those who do not know me, I am Verdant Haven. I have had the honor of serving as Forest Keeper during the past 6-month term, and I humbly submit myself for consideration for a second term. The coming term will likely be foreshortened due to our constitutionally mandated election dates, and the delay in bringing about the present election, but I believe that even this shorter term until September is sufficient to make additional positive changes for our region, and to solidify some of our successful programs already in existence. I am proud to maintain a straightforward platform that is dedicated to our constitutional principles of Open, Verdant, and Democratic governance.

The world outside is presently in great turmoil. Illness, political wrangling, self-sacrifice, job loss, anxiety, frustration, fear, personal tragedy… these are things that many of us are experiencing at levels and for durations that any sane person would have hoped never to see. It would be understandable to ask why, at a time like this, do I care about a game? I care because I believe that holding on to normality is important. I believe that this is something we can control in a world full of uncontrollable things. Above all, I believe in Forest and its people. In the past months we have seen Foresters from all around the world coming forward and sharing their experiences, hopes, and fears at an unprecedented level, and supporting each other when it all feels like too much. The strength we offer each other is the strength to go in to each day knowing that others care, that we are not alone, and that though we are all practicing social distancing, there are those who are never distant in our hearts.

With all of that said, please allow me to present my platform should I be elected to a second term as your Forest Keeper.


1) The thing that binds Forest together is our real-life belief in the importance of protecting the environment. During the past term, we had multiple programs that emphasized this, and I would like to see those continue. Most distinctive was our monthly Environmental Action Item to spark discussion and help spread information. I believe this was a huge success, and its continuation is of great import. We also had new updates to our Greenness Index and our List of Exceptionally Green Nations. I will see to it that our statistics department remains in operation, and hope to see these released as seasonal updates, as previously envisioned.

2) As Forest has continued to grow and thrive, we have continued to refine our Constitution and update its language to reflect our needs. We successfully amended articles 4 and 6 to ease our election and embassy processes. With our growing size and strength, I believe it is time that we amend Article 7 to reflect that we are no longer a small region that is in imminent danger should our Founder CTE. Our Constitution presently mandates that Forest shall be shut down, destroyed, and reformed in the event of Founder CTE, but this is no longer necessary. I will submit an amendment re-writing this article to allow Forest to continue under the guidance of an Executive Delegate.

3) Filling ambassador slots is a challenging ongoing task, but absolutely necessary. The new language of Article 6, as referenced above, mandates that the government must strive to appoint and maintain active ambassadors for all of our embassies, and I will work with my Foreign Affairs Branch to actively pursue this goal. We have three dozen embassies, but more than a dozen require somebody to occupy the seat. Though it is understandable that some vacancies may exist at any given time, this is far too many, and must be addressed.

4) The 13th anniversary of the present incarnation of Forest is approaching in less than a month, and at the beginning of August will be the 15th anniversary of the original founding of our region! I would like us to hold a special Forest Anniversary Event to commemorate our Crystal Jubilee. I want to see this be an event where we can invite our embassy allies to participate in a week of fun and relaxation with an environmental theme, focusing on our usual strengths of creativity and community. Working with a party planning committee of regional officers and other interested Foresters, I believe we could bring a bit of light and levity to what may still be a time of heightened stress for many NationStates players.

5) I will continue my policies of Transparency, Neutrality, and Openness, keeping the citizens of Forest in the loop with monthly Transparency Reports, offering mediation to allied regions in need, and always having an open ear for questions, suggestions, criticisms, and comments from my fellow Forest citizens. I believe these traits served us well over the past term in office, and I hope you feel that way too. As always, if you feel otherwise, don’t hesitate to let me know!

Those are my positions, but what about me?

For those who didn’t catch my dispatch during the last campaign, here’s a bit about myself!

I have been involved in NationStates for nearly a decade and a half on and off, getting my start in around 2005 or 2006. Having played half a dozen nations seriously, Verdant Haven was initially created in early 2013 and played experimentally for a time, before I revived it in 2018 as my new "main." My first government position with Forest was as Deputy Foreign Minister.

I have extensive experience in facilitating the operation of internet and game-based communities, with this year being the 21st anniversary of my first online gaming leadership position. That experience has included running guilds in online games and serving as an officer in others, being a server owner and operator for multiple games in a long-standing gaming community with which I have been involved for more than a decade, and even working as an in-game event organizer and runner on behalf of a company for a major MMO.

Away from the computer, I am a civil servant, with more than a dozen years of work for the US federal government under my belt, running operations, managing records, supervising staff, and successfully navigating the bureaucracy that is inherent to any government, real or fictional. In my present work, I serve in an agency where we make it a point to scientifically address environmental issues and present them to the public.

I believe these experiences, and this platform, make me a strong candidate for Forest Keeper, and I humbly request the honor of your consideration when it comes time to vote. My telegram box is always open – please feel free to reach out with any thoughts or questions you may have.

Read dispatch

If you have any questions, suggestions, challenges, or other thoughts regarding me, my platform, or my candidacy, please do not hesitate to send me a telegram or tag me in a post here, and I will respond as soon as I am able!

Newvigen wrote:What are tree gulags?

Tree gulags are where you send all the trees who have been speaking out of turn against the glorious leader; the rebellious trees live out the rest of their days doing hard labor in the middle of Siberia.

Newvigen wrote:What are tree gulags?

Tree gulags are the place where bad nations go. They don’t come back. Don’t be a bad nation.

Ruinenlust, Lord Dominator, Turbeaux, Canaltia, and 6 othersOuter Bele Levy Epies, Greyveldt, Newvigen, Greta and malala, Middle Barael, and Mowte

Where do we find the list of ambassadors? I’m wondering if a certain region we have embassies with still has an ambassador, as some of its nations have taken a liking to me

«12. . .1,7711,7721,7731,7741,7751,7761,777. . .2,6342,635»

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