Positive Possibilities - Patria's 49th Congress

60 years the Queen...send her victorious!

2012-02-06T09:30:00.008-05:00

(From time to time, Patria honors macronational - i.e. "real", generally recognized countries - heads of state.)

On this day in 1952, upon the passing of King George VI, Princess Elizabeth became Queen Elizabeth II, by the Grace of God Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain & Northern Ireland, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and a whole slew of other Commonwealth countries. But unlike Queen Victoria, not Empress of India. Any chance of inheriting that title was lost on Aug. 15, 1947.

The Diamond Jubilee will be celebrated throughout the UKOGBANI this summer, including the 2012 London Olympics (another macronational event, to which micronations like Patria are not invited and probably wouldn't be able to field competitive athletes anyway), and members of the royal family will tour many of the Commonwealth member states. The Queen has delegated the job of visiting Canada to Prince Charles and his ugly troll Camilla.

The Queen's Diamond Jubilee message:

'Today, as I mark 60 years as your Queen, I am writing to thank you for the wonderful support and encouragement that you have given to me and Prince Philip over these years and to tell you how deeply moved we have been to receive so many kind messages about the Diamond Jubilee.

In this special year, as I dedicate myself anew to your service, I hope we will all be reminded of the power of togetherness and the convening strength of family, friendship and good neighbourliness, examples of which I have been fortunate to see throughout my reign and which my family and I look forward to seeing in many forms as we travel throughout the United Kingdom and the wider Commonwealth.

I hope also that this Jubilee year will be a time to give thanks for the great advances that have been made since 1952 and to look forward to the future with clear head and warm heart as we join together in our celebrations.

I send my sincere good wishes to you all.

ELIZABETH R'

Patria salutes Her Majesty for sixty years of devoted, tireless, selfless service to the UK, the Commonwealth, and the world - every Canadian Prime Minister from St. Laurent to Harper, every US President from Truman to Obama, and every Congress in Patria from the 34th to 49th.

God save the Queen! Long may she reign! Because Patria is dreading the thought of King Chuck and Queen Camilla.

Boycott Valentine's Day in Patria

2012-02-01T20:16:00.005-05:00

As we turn the calendar page to February (made me shiver, with every paper I deliver...), if on the 3rd of this month you think of Clear Lake, Iowa or "the day the music died" you need to get a life. Buddy Holly, the Big Bopper and Richie Valens have been dead for 53 years. Time to move on.

Having blasted aging baby boomers with the above mini-rant, on the 14th of this month, Patria is leading the campaign to BOYCOTT VALENTINE'S DAY! It is a tawdry, sexist, over-commercialized "Hallmark holiday" that leaves Aspies, social conservatives and many others out of the loop and feeling like crap. Whether you're the nerdy grade schooler who didn't get any Valentines, the bookish college student who still hasn't gone out on a date, or the lonely 40 year old virgin playing World of Warcraft in the basement of his mom & dad's place, V-Day only reminds you of what a loser you are. And if you do have a girlfriend or some kind of relationship, there are several reasons why you should boycott V-Day:

All about her
Phony, expected, guilt-driven, overpriced
All about her
Facebook says it’s breakup day
All about her

Noted men's rights activist Paul Elam says:

If you are a man in a relationship and you like doing nice things for your partner, fine. There are 364 other days in the year to do it. Just don’t do it on February 14th. And by the way, if you think loving someone means your wallet comes out while her purse remains closed then you will delighted to know that A Voice for Men will be selling monogrammed knee pads in the near future. All we need is the circumference of your knees and what sort of flooring is in your bedroom. We expect an endorsement from Joe Biden.

Read Elam's entire rant.

Marc Rudov, the "No Nonsense Man", is also advocating a boycott of this dreadful day.

Boycotting Valentine's Day is not just a National Union effort. The Hindu nationalists in the Amrita Party and SRM are also taking part in the campaign. During the month of February we need to focus on days that really matter and have some spiritual value, such as Shiva Ratri (Feb. 19-20).

Tim Tebow: a role model for Patria

2012-01-09T16:11:00.005-05:00

Tim "Touchdown Jesus" Tebow has become a folk hero or a love-him-or-loathe-him polarizing figure, particularly after leading the Denver Broncos to an overtime victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers in the first round of the NFL playoffs, racking up 316 - yes, 316 as in John 3:16 - passing yards to boot.

While "Tebowing" may not become a popular gesture in Patria's sports leagues (though it is not unheard of to see a player do a pranam or "namasté" goal celebration in the All-Patria Football Federation), Tim Tebow is actually a role model for Patria's youth, who was recommended as such in the 2010 Inaugural Address, in contrast to the Steelers' quarterback Ben Roethlisberger:

"Our children must be taught the value of abstinence before marriage and fidelity within marriage, not only as a highly effective means of birth control and prevention of sexually transmitted diseases, but as the only effective means of preventing a lifetime of public shame, embarrassment, humiliation and ridicule. If our children need role models from the world of American professional sports, they would do well to emulate Tim Tebow and A.C. Green rather than Ben Roethlisberger and Tiger Woods.

Patria must be made a safe place for social conservatives..."

If Tebow, who likely has never uttered a four-letter word other than "gosh" and who proudly proclaims himself a virgin, isn't a social conservative, who is?

Patria's Christmas message

2011-12-24T22:24:00.005-05:00

Unlike the Queen, the Pope and other major players in the macronational world (even Canada's Not-so-Dear Leader Kim-Jong Harper), Patria does not deliver an annual Christmas message. Patria's Christmas message is short, simple, and remains the same year after year: We keep Krishna in Janmashtami. You can keep Christ in Christmas. This message is directed particularly at the greed-mongers who have over-commercialized and debased a sacred day.

The Occupy Castoropolis protesters, who had been camped out in Patria's capital city as part of the worldwide "occupy" movement until being forcibly evicted from Vivekananda Park in downtown Castoropolis earlier this month, managed to get a Christmas gift, as all charges against them were dropped. The Federal District of Castoropolis Court threw out the charges of public mischief, trespassing and nuisance, possibly sending the National Union a message that folks just aren't buying their "throw the bums in the slammer" attitude toward the Occupiers. No doubt the motley crew of hippies and leftist rabble will be back in the spring of 2012 to send another message to the so-called one percent.

As they say in Patrienish, Anandí Xrístnascí et noví anní suxníce!

Patria to sit on LOSS Court of Justice

2011-11-22T19:42:00.002-05:00

The League of Secessionist States (LOSS) has nominated Patria to serve as a member of the LOSS Court of Justice, along with representatives from the Republic of Talossa and of Secundomia.

The Court rules on various inter-micronational affairs between LOSS member states, but does not rule on internal legal issues in Patria or other micronations. Note that Patria's legal system is not based on Anglo-Saxon/Anglo-American Common Law but on a Napoleonic-style civil code. If you are unfortunate enough to get arrested in Patria, note that you are considered GUILTY UNTIL PROVEN INNOCENT, particularly if charged with a heinous crime such as kiddie porn or statutory rape. Just be thankful that Patria has abolished the death penalty, despite the National Union's ongoing effort to bring back public executions.

In another legal issue (see previous blog entry), the Occupy Castoropolis protesters are still camped out in Vivekananda Park, having survived at least two attempts to evict them by Federal District of Castoropolis police, tear gas, rubber bullets and pepper spray at the ready. But they should be gone in a week or two, when it just gets too damn cold to camp out in tents. Yes, Patria does get snow and a real winter, as you might have guessed by the presence of the Patrienish Hockey League.

Occupy Patria, anyone?

2011-11-16T19:56:00.003-05:00

Unless you've been living under a rock for the past couple months, you know about Occupy Wall Street and the proliferation of similar "occupations" throughout North America, Europe and much of the macro-world, whose alleged main purpose is to fight back against the corrosive power of major banks and multinational corporations (the so-called "one percent") over the democratic process, and the role of Wall Street in creating an economic collapse that has caused the greatest recession since the 1930s depression.

Yes, there is an "Occupy Castoropolis" in Patria's capital. You will find the bunch of unemployed losers, left-over hippies, 1960s flower children (or flower children wannabes who weren't yet born in the 38th Congress), blissed-out stoners, discredited union bosses, and other assorted leftist rabble camped out in Vivekananda Park (the grounds of Castoropolis City Hall), just across the street from the Patrienish Stock Exchange on the corner of 1st and Upsilon Street NW. If you need a map and some basic orientation to Patria's capital city. Expect them to be evicted and mass arrested sooner rather than later, possibly with the help of rubber bullets and tear gas, given that there is still a strong National Union law-and-order element in Castoropolis even though the NU no longer holds the majority of seats in the Federal District legislature.

Parvati explains what are the positive possibilities

2011-09-21T19:40:00.002-04:00

Honorary citizen of Patria Parvati Devi spontaneously answers the question, "What are the Positive Possibilities?" For more, you can read her article (and many other excellent articles) at
http://www.parvatimagazine.com/

Along with being the title of this here blog, the Positive Possibilities were a key component of Patria's 2010 election campaign and were referenced in the 49th Congress Inaugural Address.

Congress is back in session

2011-09-19T19:58:00.002-04:00

The 49th Congress has returned from summer recess to begin the Second Session (2·XLIX 2011-12), which will sit until June 2012. As stipulated in the Constitution of Patria, Congress meets annually on the third Monday in September, unless Congress appoints another day - usually the case when that third Monday in September coincides with the Jewish High Holy Days and/or Navratri.

The top item on the Second Session's order paper is (well, duhhh!) the crappy economy and the double-dip recession that is headed Patria's way.

Parvati launches online magazine

2011-09-17T22:30:00.003-04:00

www.parvatimagazine.com is the place to click to read Parvati Devi's new monthly magazine. This is not a traditional dead-tree print periodical or a self-published zine (does anyone still publish zines? 1996 called and wants them back!), but a paperless online magazine.

Parvati explains how her magazine came to be:

When an idea keeps coming to mind, we eventually need to stop and listen. The voice of our soul often speaks to us in repetition until we heed the call. When our soul comes knocking at the door of our mind, we need to open and hear what it is saying.

That has been my experience since the early spring of 2011 regarding the idea of an online magazine. I was watching the success of my Ask Parvati blog rise and was pleased I was touching and communicating with people all over the world. Yet I was also aware that there are many people in the ecological and conscious community who support people’s growth in their own way. So why are we not working together to potentially better serve?

I reached out to friends and acquaintances who I knew were active in their field and who I thought might be interested in contributing to a volunteer-based, monthly on-line magazine that explored various themes. The response was very positive. Thanks to a group of wonderful writers and volunteers who share the vision, Parvati Magazine was born.

The theme of the inaugural October 2011 issue is "Activation". The magazine includes articles in a number of sections, such as living in the Positive Possibilities, yoga, wellness, arts/culture, fashion and business.

Yes, Patria knows what today is. Now can we move on?

2011-09-11T08:10:00.007-04:00

Unless you have been living under a rock, you probably know that today is the tenth anniversary of the so-called "day that changed the world". The day that buzzwords such as "ground zero" and "global war on terror" entered the English language. The day that intense, insane demonization of a major world religion began to be whipped up. The day that made a hero out of a bumbling buffoon of a US President.

Patria remembers the innocent victims of 9/11, the continued pain of those who lost loved ones at the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and over the skies of Pennsylvania, the heroism of the New York police officers, firefighters and other first responders, not to mention the sacrifices over the past decade of thousands of young American, Canadian and British lives in wars that can't be won, shouldn't be fought, and have driven the economy off a cliff to boot.

With no disrespect to anyone mentioned in the previous paragraph, Patria has had enough of a decade of self-flagellation for the 9/11 attacks and the "post 9/11 world" mentality of fear-mongering that has turned the US into a garrison state where freedom is sacrificed on the altar of "security". We don't have to forgive those who planned and executed the 9/11 attacks, we can even be happy that Osama bin Laden has been killed, but for f***'s sake, LET'S MOVE ON!

Yes, let us move on from 9/11. Particularly now that there are university frosh who were only third graders on this day in 2001. Soon there will be a generation of young adults who will have no memory of this day (for kids who weren't yet born or even remotely thought of on 9/11 there is a sickly super-patriotic coloring book!).

Patria supports the efforts of the so-called "9/11 truthers" and calls for free and open debate of what really happened ten years ago today, such as what role the Mossad played in the attacks. If 9/11 was not carried out as a false flag operation by the Mossad, surely Israel's elite spy agency knew what al-Qaeda was up to and were unwilling or unable to inform the US government, though they apparently managed to warn a handful of Jews working at the WTC to stay home on 9/11. Were the WTC towers actually brought down by controlled demolition, i.e. explosives pre-planted in the buildings? Many leading architects and engineers are not convinced that the impact of the planes and the fires fed by jet fuel would have been sufficient to bring a 100-storey skyscraper crashing down like a house of cards. Why are we told to believe that a rag-tag group of 19 Muslim men acting on orders from Osama bin Laden, armed only with box cutters, who barely knew how to fly Cessnas let alone pilot jumbo jets, were able to perpetrate such a crime right under the noses of the FBI, CIA, and the Mossad to boot? Is that any more believable than the lies we've been fed since 1963: how a single lone nutbar working at the Texas School Book Depository, acting only on a personal whim, using only a cheap mail-order rifle, was able to hit a moving target from a nearly impossible angle, firing a bullet that took a circuitous route through President Kennedy's body and then struck Governor Connally? Quite possibly, the official Report of the 9/11 Commission will find its place in the fiction section of Patria's public libraries, along with the Report of the Warren Commission.

On this day, Patria remembers another 9/11, 108 years to the day before the "real" one in 2001. On Sept. 11, 1893 Swami Vivekananda introduced Hinduism to the western world, speaking at the Parliament of Religions in Chicago. The following is an excerpt of Vivekananda's speech:

Sisters and Brothers of America,

It fills my heart with joy unspeakable to rise in response to the warm and cordial welcome which you have given us. I thank you in the name of the most ancient order of monks in the world; I thank you in the name of the mother of religions, and I thank you in the name of millions and millions of Hindu people of all classes and sects.

My thanks, also, to some of the speakers on this platform who, referring to the delegates from the Orient, have told you that these men from far-off nations may well claim the honor of bearing to different lands the idea of toleration. I am proud to belong to a religion which has taught the world both tolerance and universal acceptance. We believe not only in universal toleration, but we accept all religions as true. I am proud to belong to a nation which has sheltered the persecuted and the refugees of all religions and all nations of the earth. I am proud to tell you that we have gathered in our bosom the purest remnant of the Israelites, who came to Southern India and took refuge with us in the very year in which their holy temple was shattered to pieces by Roman tyranny. I am proud to belong to the religion which has sheltered and is still fostering the remnant of the grand Zoroastrian nation. I will quote to you, brethren, a few lines from a hymn which I remember to have repeated from my earliest boyhood, which is every day repeated by millions of human beings: "As the different streams having their sources in different paths which men take through different tendencies, various though they appear, crooked or straight, all lead to Thee."

The present convention, which is one of the most august assemblies ever held, is in itself a vindication, a declaration to the world of the wonderful doctrine preached in the Gita: "Whosoever comes to Me, through whatsoever form, I reach him; all men are struggling through paths which in the end lead to me." Sectarianism, bigotry, and its horrible descendant, fanaticism, have long possessed this beautiful earth. They have filled the earth with violence, drenched it often and often with human blood, destroyed civilization and sent whole nations to despair. Had it not been for these horrible demons, human society would be far more advanced than it is now. But their time is come; and I fervently hope that the bell that tolled this morning in honor of this convention may be the death-knell of all fanaticism, of all persecutions with the sword or with the pen, and of all uncharitable feelings between persons wending their way to the same goal.

Parvati performs a song she wrote for 9/11. While Parvati (the honorary citizen of Patria, best known for her North Pole trek in 2010) was at the piano, she was called to see the twin towers fall live. Filled with emotion she went back to the piano and this song "You Gotta Believe" was born. She sang this song at Madison Square Garden and is currently working on a studio release.

The Dalai Lama's 9/11 tenth anniversary message: "After Sept. 11 yearning for peaceful co-existence".

Finally to state the obvious, we didn't have Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, Blogger, or other social media on this day in 2001. Ten years ago, it was still the heyday of Geocities web pages. Many internet users still made do with dial-up connections. You were probably still snapping pictures with a 35 mm film camera, listening to music on CDs and viewing VHS videos. Even cell phones were still pretty primitive a decade ago. Most of them didn't have cameras. Does anyone still use a Palm Pilot?

Patria to help advance and develop the League of Secessionist States

2011-09-05T10:27:00.004-04:00

As Congress is preparing to return from summer recess (the Second Session of the 49th Congress will meet on Sept. 19), Patria has been appointed to the Committee for the Advancement and Development of the League of Secesssionist States (CADLOSS). Patria has been a member of the League of Secessionist States (LOSS) for many years, but the organization has become neglected, its website not being updated since the last decade and at last click having fallen into "404-not found" country.

The following is the text of the resolution that authorized the creation of CADLOSS:

1. WHEREAS the League of Secessionist States has experienced inactivity and a lack of vision in recent years;

2 . And, WHEREAS, the League seeks to develop its vision and maintain its relevance in the inter-micronational arena;

3. BE IT RESOLVED, that the League of Secessionist States does hereby establish a Committee for the Advancement and Development of the League of Secessionist States (CADLOSS).

(1) This shall consist of three to five members, to be appointed by the Secretary-General.
(2) It shall consult on the purpose, goals and mission of the League, the future and development of the League, the reactivation of the League and its continued expansion and on means for raising public awareness of the League's existence and activities.
(3) It shall, if necessary, propose amendments to the Charter clarifying the purpose, goals and mission of the League;
(4) It shall, furthermore, propose any other measures or resolutions necessary to reform or reactivate the League, which shall be set before the General Assembly.
(5) Finally, it shall consider the League's forms of media and communications, including the Yahoogroup, forum and website and propose changes, where necessary, to the means by which the League informs the public of its activities and the means by which the League itself functions and communicates.

4. This Committee shall be dissolved when the Secretary-General shall decide that it has fulfilled its mandate. It may be re-established in the future when and as necessary, by the Secretary-General, except if the General Assembly shall decree otherwise.

Nicholas J. Bridgewater
Secretary-General

Smoking as economic stimulus: start-smoking help line

2011-07-10T11:28:00.003-04:00

While many countries, states and provinces have launched quit lines to help smokers kick the habit, such as the New York State Smokers' Quitline, Patria is taking the opposite tack. In the wake of the annual message to Congress urging that citizens of Patria take up smoking in order to stimulate the economy, Patria has launched a start-smoking help line: 1-800 NIC FITS.

1-800 NIC FITS. Because Patria is not stooping to the hypocrisy of governments that urge people to quit smoking but are only too happy to rake in tax revenue from sales of cigarettes.

1-800 NIC FITS. Because nicotine addiction can help to pull Patria out of recession and create jobs, from tobacco farmers to embalmers.

1-800 NIC FITS. Because every smoker who dies prematurely of lung cancer is less of a drain on the health care system.

1-800 NIC FITS. Because we couldn't have won World War II without nicotine addiction. Can you imagine Winston Churchill without a cigar?

Now before you fire off a comment such as "It's not helping kids, it's hurting them, Patria, and you shouldn't be talking about it on the blog man!", compare Patria's promotion of smoking as recession-fighting economic stimulus to Jim Rome's promotion of cockfighting as good, clean fun for kids and families. Do you really think that Patria wants anyone to kill themselves with this sick, smelly, filthy habit? If you don't get the jokes on the Jim Rome Show or in Patria, you have a problem with yourself.

Let us make a pledge to meet in September

2011-06-28T21:19:00.001-04:00

The 49th Congress has gone fishin' until Sept. 19, 2011. Out of session. Seal that with a kiss!

Stern economic warning as Congress adjourns

2011-06-27T22:34:00.013-04:00

Summer is here! The First Session of the 49th Congress (1·XLIX 2010-11) adjourned at 11:26 PM Patrienish Local Time today with the Speaker Pro Tem banging the gavel (a 19th century tradition) and blowing the vuvuzela (21st century tradition).

The First Session was declared adjourned for the summer recess immediately following the delivery of the Annual Message to Congress, which is Patria's version of the State of the Union address, though much shorter than the US President's annual speech. The 2011 message warned that Patria's economy is tottering on the brink of a double-dip recession and pointed fingers at the usual suspects: Chinese imports, globalism, offshoring, banksters, and even non-smokers. If you scroll down to the last paragraph, note a grisly last-ditch nicotine-fueled solution to help grow Patria's economy.

XLIX Con. Pat.
Annual Message to Congress (at closing of Session)

June 27, 2011

Om Sri maha-rajñyai namah, chid agni kunda sambhutayai namah. Salutations to the Divine Mother, who is the Empress of the Universe, who was born in the fire pit of Pure Consciousness. With the Divine Mother’s blessings, the 49^th Congressus Patriaë has come to the end of its first year in office.

As we all know, this Congress was elected and took office in the wake of the Great Recession, arguably far worse economic times than the 1930s. One year later, Patria’s economy is still fragile and far from fully recovered. We have found convenient outlets for our frustration at the failed economy and the wholesale export to China of Patria’s once-thriving manufacturing industry: the rise of the Diet Coke Party’s grass-roots less-government populism, the surge of protectionism and anti-globalism spearheaded by the SRM, the growing push back against the barrage of cheap made-in-China consumer goods, and the push to make the Patrienish Rupee the micronational reserve currency of choice, ahead of once-hard but now-cratering currencies such as the US dollar, British pound, Japanese yen or Euro. On this day two years ago, citizens of Patria – at least those who still held jobs – were urged to “stimulate the economy by going out this weekend and purchasing a new car, an iPhone, a plasma TV, a laptop computer, a new washer and dryer, or any other big-ticket item”. That exhortation still holds, for just as in 2009, consumer spending, particularly on made-in-Patria goods and services, is still as close as it gets to being the single magic bullet that will cure the economy, bring the jobs home and prevent a double-dip recession.

In just a few days, the unemployment data, the number of new jobs created, and other economic statistics for Second Quarter 2011 will be released. If, as is likely, they show that the economy has shrunk during the quarter, and there has been little or no job growth, we are halfway to recession number two. But whether the economy has merely hit a short-term rough patch or is on its way to a double-dip recession, it is still our patriotic duty to defeat the downturn through continued consumer spending, thorough non-violent resistance against the G8, G20, World Bank, IMF and other one-world-government globalist cabals who won’t have Patria as a member, through peaceful protests against offshoring and globalism, through boycotting the slew of Chinese junk, and through the efforts of this Congress to impose tariffs on imported goods and build an impregnable wall of protectionism in order to save Patria’s industries and jobs.

During the 2010 election campaign and one year ago on Inauguration Day, the Amrita Party, Chakra Party and several other parties represented on the floor of Congress spoke in grand and hopeful terms about living in I AM consciousness and being “open, ready, willing to be completely restructured around the Positive Possibilities”. But over the course of this session, attempts to open to the Positive Possibilities have largely failed. We are not being authentically ourselves, and sadly, due to the state of the economy we cannot be. In the face of soaring gas prices, shuttered factories, jobs offshored to China, India or the lowest bidder, worthless retirement plans and double-digit unemployment, there seems to be no way the members of this Congress and citizens of Patria can find their true voice, experience a true expression of life force, and tap into a sense of rooted, vital expansiveness. Doing so seems impossible, out of fear of losing what little financial security we have. For those who are still employed, all we can do to eke out a little existence in this economic wasteland is to be grateful we still have jobs, as poorly as they pay, as soul-destroying as they may be, as much as they encourage a phony culture of corporate conformity, and as much as they force us to check our true selves at the door, stuff down our joy, stamp out our true connection to who we are, and stay stuck in the realm of impossibilities as long as doing so pleases supervisors, co-workers, clients and customers while paying our bills and putting food on our tables. At best, a joyful, expansive life of real growth is a hobby to be enjoyed only on weekends, after hours and during what little vacation time our employers may deign to grant us.

Finally, there is a grisly, ghastly method of stimulating the economy and creating jobs, but one that might be considered as a desperate last resort to stave off the double-dip recession. Like Canada, the United States and most macronations, the government of Patria and the thirteen precinct governments take in a substantial amount of tax revenue from the sale of tobacco products. If people were encouraged to take up smoking or continue their smelly, disgusting habit rather than quitting, the flow of tax revenue into this government’s coffers would continue to fund social programs, public transit initiatives and infrastructure projects. Through nicotine addiction thousands of jobs would be created – not only in the tobacco farming and cigarette manufacturing industries, but steady, well-paying and virtually recession-proof jobs for florists, casket makers and funeral directors. The argument that smoking costs Patria billions of rupees in health care expenditures is a red herring. It is a generally known but politically incorrect fact that a 50 year old smoker who drops dead of a heart attack or lung cancer is less of a drain on the health care system than a 90 year old non-smoker bedridden in a nursing home or slowly dying of Alzheimer’s. Not to mention that the prematurely dying smoker does not drain the Social Security system of the old-age pensions that the millions of Baby Boomers who are now reaching retirement age are expecting to receive. Indeed, if we are so desperate to grow the economy, we should seriously consider smoking as our patriotic duty in the war against the recession, just as sending cartons of cigarettes to the troops overseas was “doing our bit for victory” in another war almost seventy years ago that virtually depended on nicotine for victory. If you don’t smoke, thank someone who does for helping to light up the economy. And if you are not willing to smoke your way out of recession, you should at least consider going out and buying a 40 ounce bottle of whiskey to enjoy responsibly or spending a Saturday night playing the slot machines. Along with the tobacco industry, Patria’s liquor stores and casinos are doing their part to fight the recession through the so-called sin taxes. This government needs the revenue generated by nicotine-addicted heavy-drinking compulsive gamblers in order to stay afloat. The practitioners of Sanatan Dharma, spiritual lifestyle and yoga sadhana did not bring Patria into recession, but neither are they helping to lift us out. It is too easy to point fingers at the banksters, greed-mongers and globalists in New York and London for dragging down Patria’s economy, when right here among us the yoga practicing, tea-totaling, tree-hugging vegan New Agers, buy-nothing renunciates and orthodox Hindus who don’t smoke, drink or gamble – let alone sufficiently spend on consumer goods – are not doing their fair share to bring Patria out of the economic doldrums.

As is traditional, this session is adjourned with a brief prayer:

Asato ma sad gamaya. Tamaso ma jyotir gamaya. Mrityor ma amritam gamaya.
Shanti, Shanti, Shanti.

"Under the power vested in me by the Constitution of Patria, I declare closed the First Session of the 49^th Congress, and call this Congress to re-assemble here on Monday, the 19^th of September 2011, to open the Second Session of the 49^th Congress".

New address for 49th Congress on Twitter

2011-05-24T11:29:00.003-04:00

If you had been following the 2010 election campaign on Twitter, note that the name of Patria's 49th Congress Twitter feed has been changed. Patriavotes2010 is now twitter.com/Patria49thC

Left unanswered: Will we still be using Twitter, Facebook and Blogspot for the 2014 election? Or in about three years time will they go the way of MySpace, to say nothing of Geocities?

Beavers beat Barons for Kamala Cup

2011-05-10T20:13:00.002-04:00

The Arboria Beavers are the champions of the Patrienish Hockey League (PHL) for 2010-11. The Beavers won the Kamala Cup (Patria's Stanley Cup) - their fourth since 2003 - by beating the Lazuria Black Barons 4 games to 2. As for the Castoropolis Centurions, they further solidified their claim of being the Toronto Maple Leafs of the PHL by finishing dead freakin' last and out of the playoffs for the sixth straight season. The last time the Cents saw any post-season action was in 2004-05, the year the NHL's season was killed by lockout.

2010-11 Kamala Cup playoff results:

Semi-Final: Centralia Crusaders (1) v. Lazuria Black Barons (4)
Game 1 at Centralia, Apr. 13 - Lazuria 4, Centralia 3 (OT)
Game 2 at Centralia, Apr. 15 - Centralia 5, Lazuria 2
Game 3 at Lazuria, Apr. 17 - Lazuria 5, Centralia 4 (2OT)
Game 4 at Lazuria, Apr. 19 - Lazuria 3, Centralia 0
Game 5 at Centralia, Apr. 21 - Centralia 5, Lazuria 4 (OT)
Game 6 at Lazuria, Apr. 23 - Centralia 6, Lazuria 5
Game 7 at Centralia, Apr. 25 - Lazuria 4, Centralia 2
(Lazuria wins series 4 games to 3)

Semi-Final: Caesarea Violets (2) v. Arboria Beavers (3)
Game 1 at Caesarea, Apr. 14 - Caesarea 4, Arboria 1
Game 2 at Caesarea, Apr. 16 - Arboria 5, Caesarea 2
Game 3 at Arboria, Apr. 18 - Caesarea 6, Arboria 3
Game 4 at Arboria, Apr. 20 - Arboria 7, Caesarea 5
Game 5 at Caesarea, Apr. 22 Arboria 3, Caesaera 2 (OT)
Game 6 at Arboria, Apr. 24 Arboria 4, Caesarea 1
(Arboria wins series 4 games to 2)

Final: Lazuria Black Barons v. Arboria Beavers
Game 1 at Arboria, Apr. 28 - Arboria 1, Lazuria 0
Game 2 at Arboria, Apr. 30 - Lazuria 2, Arboria 1 (OT)
Game 3 at Lazuria, May 3 - Arboria 2, Lazuria 1 (OT)
Game 4 at Lazuria, May 5 - Arboria 4, Lazuria 2
Game 5 at Arboria, May 7 - Lazuria 4, Arboria 3
Game 6 at Lazuria, May 9 - Arboria 2, Lazuria 1
Arboria Beavers win Kamala Cup 4 games to 2

Parvati on Rogers Daytime

2011-05-03T19:45:00.002-04:00

Parvati Devi appears on Rogers Daytime (a Toronto-area cable TV channel, part of the mighty Rogers empire) to discuss her recent journey to the North Pole, where she gave the northernmost musical performance ever, in order to raise awareness of the melting polar ice caps and bring back the message.

Patria supports Libya's fight for freedom

2011-04-10T22:46:00.003-04:00

As a member of the League of Secessionist States (LOSS), which is kind of like a United Nations for micronations, Patria has voted in favor of a resolution passed by the LOSS General Assembly supporting the Libyan people in their transition toward freedom and democracy:

WHEREAS, the Libyan people have shown their desire for freedom and democracy to all the world, wanting to force the tyrants who rule their nation from power;

WHEREAS, the League of Secessionist States upholds freedom and human rights for all peoples and nations and supports the principle of free and democratic elections;

WHEREAS, the Libyan people have shown that the Libyan dictator has always exerted a strong oppression against his people;

WHEREAS, the League of Secessionist States does not want bloodshed and does not accept the bombing of the people; And likewise, the League of Secessionist States supports the United Nations in its view that the Libyan dictator's actions against his opponents in Libya may amount to crimes against humanity;

And, WHEREAS, we desire to express our solidarity with the Libyan people,

WE, therefore, CONSIDER acceptable the UN resolution on a "no fly zone" (UN SC Resolution 1973) and the intervention of the "coalition" against the army of the Libyan dictator;

WE, furthermore, support the Libyan people in their journey toward freedom, respecting their freedom and determination.

Occasionally Patria, through LOSS, will take a position on macronational affairs ("macronation" refers to countries such as Canada, the United States, and about 190 others that are generally recognized as "real", in contrast to micronations such as Patria). As for Gaddafi, Qaddafi, or however you attempt to spell it, Patria can only wonder why he is still only a Colonel. Surely he could have promoted himself to Generalissimo when he had the chance, having ruled Libya for some 40 years.

Jungle Party: Smack-Off 2011

2011-04-08T22:28:00.004-04:00

The Smack-Off is the single greatest annual event for Jim Rome's clones and the Jungle Party caucus in Congress. The winner of the 2011 Smack-Off is Brad in Corona. It is the second title for Brad in three years, having won the 2009 Smack-Off and earning a virtually automatic seat in the 49th Congress.

Final Smack-Off results, as determined by Jim Rome, J-Stew and the other members of Rome's production team, aka the XR4TI:

WINNER OF THE 17TH ANNUAL SMACK-OFF

BRAD IN CORONA (2 TIME CHAMP)

FINAL STANDINGS

1st BRAD IN CORONA

2nd Steve Carbone

3rd Iafrate

4th Vic In No Cal

5th Dan In DC

6th Jay Mohr

7th Mike In Indy

8th Mike In San Diego

9th Isreal In Los Angeles

10th Joe In The Oc

Other Participants

Jeff In Richmond

Trapper In Dana Point

Oren In Denver

Note that a number of Smack-Off invitees - including the winners of the Hack-Off and the Golden Ticket, did not call the show, or remained on hold when the show ended and thus didn't get on the air.

The Jim Rome Show, aka the Jungle, is Patria's leading sports talk show, where rapid-fire, hard-hitting sports commentary is combined with social commentary on what's jacked up with America. Syndicated throughout North America via the Premiere Radio Networks, in Patria the Jungle can be heard in Castoropolis on PMBC-1152. If your local radio station does not broadcast the show, bang the monkey (Jim Rome smack for aggressively contacting the station's staff) or become a Jungle Insider and never miss a take.

Parvati's guided meditation for Japan

2011-03-30T19:50:00.003-04:00

Patria is fortunate not to be affected by deadly earthquakes, tsunamis and nuclear meltdowns. Japan, not so much. When we launched the Positive Possibilities store at our headquarters in Toronto on March 20, 2011, Parvati led a meditation for Japan, which we recorded. Please join us in sending the people of Japan and our planet much-needed healing by clicking here to listen to the meditation.

You can also download the meditation as a free mp3 file here.

Japan will also experience some much-needed healing later this year when Amma visits as part of her world tour. In response to the devastation caused by the recent earthquake and tsunami in Japan, Embracing the World (the collective organization for Amma's worldwide charities) representatives have already traveled to hard-hit Sendai to provide food and water for refugees and to assess conditions on the ground. Embracing the World will soon be initiating a broader relief effort.

Amma's Japan site (mostly in Japanese).

Kupid's Play sounds the I AM revolution!

2011-03-28T19:24:00.002-04:00

Who is it for? Everyone.
What is it? Impossibilities are not real.
When is it? Now.
Where is it? Everywhere.
Why bother? It already is.
How to do it? Drop the shit.

Parvati is known as a musical Renaissance woman, dedicated yogini, active humanitarian and environmentalist. And an honorary citizen of Patria to boot! Kupid's Play is Parvati's official record label, dedicated to promoting her I AM revolution. Cliquez ici et vive la Révolution!

PosPos store now live!

2011-03-20T10:20:00.003-04:00

The Positive Possibilities Store has been officially launched and is online at a computer or smartphone near you! Your one-click shopping place for CDs, DVDs, t-shirts (made with 100% organic cotton), hoodies and other gear featuring Positive Possibilities' butterfly-like logo consisting of interconnected letter P's. They even have baseball hats. If anyone asks you which team you are wearing, you can say it's "The Team"!

All products are packed with recycled biodegradable materials. Proceeds support global eco-spiritual initiatives such as tree-planting and meditation centers in Canada and Patria.

Ask Parvati: Getting Unstuck and Finding Your Passion

2011-02-27T23:05:00.003-05:00

Parvati Devi: Ask Parvati 1: Getting Unstuck and Finding Your Pa...:

"Getting Unstuck and Finding Your Passion, February 27, 2011 - Thank you very much for your submissions to this first in a series of ‘Ask Parvati' blogs."

Parvati has launched a weekly blog entry in which you can ask her for guidance on various life challenges. Sort of an I AM version of Ann Landers or Dear Abby. Your name and e-mail address will not be published.

Throughout the week, please send your questions to ask@parvatidevi.com. Submissions close on Thursday. Anything sent after that will be considered for the next week. Parvati will pick at random one question to answer and will post the answer on Sunday so everyone can enjoy and benefit.

Parvati's North Pole Journey: Epilogue

2011-02-17T20:30:00.002-05:00

Parvati Devi: North Pole Journey: Epilogue

"A week after my return: Friday, October 7, 2010 - COMING TO OUR SENSES - It has been about a week since I have been back from the North Pole. Though I’ve slept well these past days, I feel very tired and strangely, I think I feel something like culture shock. My heart is heavy having seen even more clearly and palpably the effect of human ignorance. Yet there is new life being born in me beneath the undeniable process of grieving I am experiencing. Perhaps that baby Inuit I felt wiggling in my soul while in the Arctic is shape-shifting into a wiser, more compassionate self..."

Which came first? Parvati's cocoon or Lady Gaga's egg. A side-by side comparison:

Lady Gaga born out of an egg? Parvati's been there, done that!

2011-02-15T19:31:00.004-05:00

At the Grammy Awards, Lady Gaga got quite a bit of attention with her schtick of appearing to be born (or hatched) out of a reptilian egg. But North Pole trekker and honorary citizen of Patria Parvati actually did that first - in a more positive way, being born as Natamba from a cosmic spaceship rather than a lizard egg - with her original Yoga in the Nightclub opening act in 2007.

View Parvati's photostream on Flickr.

Parvati shares a dream of the Goddess that she had the night after returning home from the North Pole.

Parvati's North Pole Journey: fun times at Inuksuk High

2011-02-07T21:32:00.001-05:00

Parvati Devi: North Pole Journey - Day Seven

"Day Seven: Wednesday, September 29, 2010 - Performance at Inuksuk High School IQALUIT - We fly back to Toronto today, but first, we have one last stop. I am scheduled to perform and Satish will present his fabric at Iqaluit's Inuksuk High School at 11 am. It is already 8 am. We must check out of the hotel and head up the hill for my sound check, costume change and walk through the show in a space I have not yet seen ..."

And so the North Pole adventure ends. But stay tuned for further re-blogs as Parvati and friends integrate their new-found love for the Inuit and deeper love for Mother Earth.

Congratulations t0 the Green Bay Packers, SUPER BOWL XLV CHAMPIONS! In Patria, like most of the world outside North America, "football" is usually understood to mean soccer. If there were a smash-mouth contact sport of Patrienish football, it would likely have more in common with Australian Rules football than the North American game.

View the Super Bowl ads that you may have missed.

Remembering Reagan on the Gipper's 100th birthday

2011-02-06T09:16:00.003-05:00

Ronald Reagan would have been 100 years old today. Born in Tampico, IL on Feb. 6, 1911. A native of the Land of Lincoln, but moved to California as a young man to begin his acting career. Say what you want about the Gipper, but at the end of his presidency Mr. Reagan left the United States in better shape than he found it when elected in 1980. He was exactly what America needed after the failed Carter administration. From his first day in office, positive change had come to America, and even the Ayatollah in Iran knew it. (Read Reagan's first Inaugural Address). Indeed it was no coincidence that the hostages in Iran were released some time between "I, Ronald Reagan do solemnly swear..." and "...so help me God".

While Mr. Reagan may not be a "great" president in the same league as George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln and FDR, he is certainly right up there with the second tier of US chiefs, honorably mentioned (Iran-Contra notwithstanding) along with other strong presidents such as James Monroe, James Polk, William McKinley, Teddy Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson. He certainly did a better job than some of the other recent occupants of the White House, such as one whose last name is a synonym for "small tree" or "shrub". Even if Mr. Reagan may have been suffering from the early stages of Alzheimer's during his eight years in office, at least he didn't screw around with a White House intern and allegedly use a cigar for a dildo. Quickly recovering from an assassination attempt also scores brownie points even among gun control advocating liberals. Arguably Mr. Reagan's greatest achievement - although it didn't actually happen until a year or so after he left office - was winding down the Cold War, challenging "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!" and ratcheting up US military spending so much that the Soviet Union virtually went bankrupt trying to keep up.

The Reagan legacy is fondly remembered in Patria. The 1980s were a journey from darkness to light, from the stagnation, failed policies and failed hopes of the 41st Congress (1978-1982; Patria's version of the Carter administration) to the full self-sufficiency, stability and prosperity that flourished in Patria in the 43rd Congress at the end of the Reagan administration. And in between were the years of real growth and new frontiers of the 42nd Congress (1982-1986). After Mr. Reagan's passing in June 2004, Congress declared a public day of mourning and remembrance in his honor and Patria Post issued a memorial stamp. To be fair, Patria also did the same after the death of Pierre Elliot Trudeau in 2000.

Parvati's North Pole Journey: back to the metropolis formerly known as Frobisher Bay

2011-02-02T20:57:00.001-05:00

Parvati Devi: North Pole Journey, Day Six

"Day Six: Tuesday, September 28, 2010 - BACK TO IQALUIT - Satish, Sunanda, Rishi and I greet this, our last day in Resolute Bay, before sunrise. Out the breakfast room window, the wind blows powdered snow across the rocky ground and out over the frozen Arctic Ocean where yesterday we walked on icebergs. Today the sky is cloudy, still darkened by the remains of the night. Our bags are packed, awaiting us at the front door of the inn so that we may catch an early flight to Iqaluit today, en route back to Toronto..."

Satish, Rishi, Parvati and Sunanda at Resolute Bay airport.

"All I know for sure is, like a child who marks their growth with lines on the inside of a doorjamb, the growth of my Self is marked on the doorjamb of my life by this trip to the North Pole" - Parvati.

Parvati's North Pole Journey: One Earth Family on Amma's birthday

2011-01-31T20:03:00.001-05:00

Parvati Devi: North Pole Journey: Day Five

"Day Five: Monday, September 27, 2010 - One Earth Family - Far from feeling rested after the immensity of the work we did yesterday at the North Pole, we meet this day knowing that today will be just as full as the day before. Lisa and Louisa meet us at the Inns North where we are staying in Resolute Bay, soon after breakfast. Sunanda, Rishi and I meet these wise Inuit healers once again to reaffirm the need for all people of all races and creeds around the world to understand one another at this time more so than ever..."

On Amma's 57th birthday, Parvati and friends are back in Resolute and re-join Satish, who displays his giant green fabric banner containing handwritten messages by dignitaries from around the world as a call to ecological action in light of the melting polar ice. Later that evening, Parvati puts on another show, this time for about 50 people at the Inns North in Resolute Bay.

"In the language of love, music and interconnection, we are one human family, all children of the same Earth Mother". - Parvati

Parvati's North Pole Journey: Healing at the top of the earth

2011-01-26T21:41:00.001-05:00

Parvati Devi: North Pole Journey: Day Four, Part Five - Healing ...

" Day Four: Sunday September 26, 2010 Part Five HEALING HAPPENS IN THE UNSEEN Healing work happens in the unseen. It is a process of becoming still and surrendered, enough so that we align with a much greater truth, beyond our limited ego or will. In that state, we move from a monochrome, black and white reality to what I call ‘hyper-real’, a tapestry of Technicolor possibilities and infinite, co-creative abundance..."

"It is clear to me that we have succeeded in this mission to support healing the planet. It is clear to me that this trip, from beginning to end is Grace, orchestrated from far beyond, and so much bigger than us all." - Parvati

Parvati's North Pole Journey: Frozen music video shoot

2011-01-24T20:47:00.001-05:00

Parvati Devi: North Pole Journey: Day Four, Part Four

Day Four: Sunday September 26, 2010, Part Four - FROZEN MUSIC VIDEO SHOOT. "In the wind and -25C weather at the North Pole, Rishi unveils our video camera from beneath its own miniature “snow jacket”, while Sunanda sets up the tripod for the shoot. I take out my props, walk quickly through my routine now on snow, consider my performance flow, and check the lighting. The sun is fading fast but it will have to do..."

Despite frozen batteries, frozen fingers and frozen iPods, Parvati manages to perform her set of four songs. Up next, the healing work for Mother Earth.

Parvati's North Pole Journey: they're at the Pole!

2011-01-22T09:27:00.001-05:00

Parvati Devi: North Pole Journey: Day Four, Part Three:

"Day Four: Sunday September 26, 2010Part Three AT THE NORTH POLE It feels as though we have arrived on the moon. The plane seems even tinier now that we have touched down onto the vast field of pure white, untouched ice and snow. To the East, the wind has carved a few sculpted, hills made of solid ice. The snow extends as far as I can see, far out over the flat, vast ocean that is capped by solid ice, upon which we stand. The pale blue, expansive sky blends with the pale blue tinge of the snow, giving the impression of otherworldly groundlessness and infinite reach in all directions. ..."

With the temperature at a balmy -25ºC and very little daylight, can Parvati and friends manage to perform their songs, do their healing work for the earth and accomplish everything else they had planned to do at the top of the world? Stay tuned.

Halfway to the Palin adminstration

2011-01-20T17:58:00.004-05:00

At the midpoint of the Obama administration, we can shudder at the thought of President Palin! But more likely, on this day in 2013 we will be hailing President Pawlenty, Romney or Huckabee as the Free World's new Chief. Don't kid yourself, Democrats and "progressives", Obama is one-term toast. Here in Patria, I like Obama, hope he does manage to win re-election in 2012, but just don't see it happening given the right-wing Tea Party-led revolt against him that has been brewing almost from the day he was elected, and given what he has accomplished - or failed to accomplish - in the first two years of his presidency, dragging down many Democrat members of Congress with him in the recent mid-term election. He couldn't even win the 2016 Olympics for his adopted hometown of Chicago!

Having shared that mini-rant, let's remember a stirring Inaugural Address delivered half a century ago today. Jan. 20, 1961... ask not what Youtube can do for you, ask what you can do with a Youtube clip!

Full text of JFK's Inaugural Address.

Parvati's North Pole Journey: arriving at the Pole

2011-01-16T23:22:00.002-05:00

Parvati Devi: North Pole Journey - Day Four, Part Two:

"EUREKA Around midday, we land to refuel in the Canadian weather station Eureka, official population seven. As the plane lowers to the ground, I notice unusual animals in the distance that look like prehistoric woolly mammoths...."

Parvati, Rishi and Sunanda arrive at the Magnetic Pole, dodge a herd of wild muskoxen, and put the jury-rigged Natamba wig to use.

Parvati says of Natamba: "Natamba to me is much more than an entertainment character. She represents the Cosmic Intelligence, the highest good in us all. The embodiment of I AM consciousness, she is a multidimensional co-creator of the most potent kind. On Earth to serve the evolution of all beings, it is perfectly fitting that ‘she’ will perform my songs at the North Pole. In effect, this is the journey of Natamba to the top of the world."

Parvati's North Pole Journey: Up up and away!

2011-01-13T21:21:00.002-05:00

Parvati Devi: North Pole Journey: Day Four, Part One:

"Day Four: Sunday, September 26, 2010 Part One UP, UP AND AWAY! The morning alarm goes off just a couple of hours after I had stretched myself out to sleep. I pop out of bed, surprisingly not tired. This is the day I have been preparing for. We are going to the North Pole so I can perform my songs there. Rishi will shoot the video, and then we will offer healing to our Mother Earth at the top of the world – all to help raise awareness that the polar ice caps are melting at an alarming rate. I feel connected to warrior-like steadiness, ready to meet whatever this day may bring...."

Parvati, Rishi and Sunanda take off for the North Pole in a little Sea Otter plane. Invoking grace during the flight, reciting the Lalita Sahasranama (1000 names of the Divine Mother).

Parvati's North Pole Journey: Styrofoam, cat-5 internet cable and duct tape

2011-01-07T22:50:00.002-05:00

Parvati Devi: Back from hiatus, and North Pole Journey Day Three...: "We return from visiting the thousand-year-old Inuit village that overlooks the Resolute Bay Memorial, ready to prepare for our final journey to the North Pole tomorrow morning. As Meghan's vehicle rolls up to the inn, Sunanda and Rishi jump out of the side of the van and immediately get to work setting up our tent. We need to test it in this weather and icy ground. It will be even colder at the North Pole and we will have little time or resources there to deal with technical difficulties. We must be ready..."

Thanks to Air Canada, an important piece of Parvati's gear - the wig that she wears during her performances as the multi-dimensional being "Natamba" who embodies the essence of I AM consciousness - is left behind in Toronto. But Parvati and friends are able to improvise a wig using what they have on hand: some styrofoam, mayonnaise tub lids, cat-5 internet cable and duct tape. Duct tape is arguably the most useful thing ever invented since the Industrial Revolution!

A new face in Washington, DC: Hansen Clarke

2011-01-02T12:37:00.006-05:00

As the United States Congress meets for the first session of the 112th Congress, there is a new face in the House: Hansen Clarke, Democrat, representing Michigan's 13th District, which includes much of inner-city Detroit.

Mr. Clarke is part African-American, part Bangladeshi, born Muslim, converted to Catholicism, and even tried unsuccessfully to become a priest. He grew up in one of the toughest neighborhoods on Detroit's east side and dropped out of high school, but was saved by his talent for painting. He attended Cornell on an art scholarship, once defeated Ann Coulter in a campus election, and eventually became class president.

In the Democratic primary, Mr. Clarke knocked off long-time incumbent Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick, the mother of former Detroit mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, who ran Motown like his personal fiefdom, hosted sex and drug orgies in the mayor's mansion, and is doing some jail time for obstruction of justice. Of course the 13th District is Democrat to the hilt, so Mr. Clarke didn't face much of a challenge winning the seat in the general election last November.

At Amma's public program in Dearborn, MI on Nov. 27, Mr. Clarke received Amma's darshan. Speaking on the occasion, he said “Amma is an extraordinary leader…in the political sense, in the global sense, in terms of worldwide influence. But what makes her so extraordinary, is that she is a leader who is also a personal friend to all of us individually. Let us pray that those of us, who were hired by you to serve, focus on love and peace…because that’s how we can have an extraordinary world to live in. And to me, that is what Amma is all about. ”

He is only a rookie Congressperson, joining several other Congressional frosh going to Washington for their first term, but with Amma's blessings this guy is going to rock the House!

Rep. Hansen Clarke and Detroit's new Renaissance - Newsweek.

Become a friend of Hansen Clarke on Facebook.

[Disclaimer: the above post is not an endorsement of any kind. Patria will occasionally profile lawmakers of macro-national legislatures.]

49th Congress, six months in office

2010-12-29T19:10:00.002-05:00

Six months since Inauguration Day, really not much of substance has been accomplished. The 49th Congress continues to deal with the shaky economy, continuing the tax breaks and other economic stimuli passed by the 48th Congress earlier this year, particularly during the post-election lame duck session. But the lack of any substantial recovery (i.e. jobs being brought home from China and a reduction in the unofficial double-digit unemployment rate), has only strengthened the Diet Coke Party and the Swadeshi Ramrajya Movement. Note that Patria does not have mid-term congressional elections, but several Precincts will be electing new legislatures in 2012.

Patria's Congress congratulates its counterpart in the United States for voting to repeal "Don't Ask Don't Tell", allowing gays and lesbians to serve in the armed forces, the objections of the usual Christian America rightist dinosaurs and curmudgeonly homophobes such as Pat Buchanan notwithstanding. This horse left the barn in Patria back in the last century; gays and lesbians have been integrated into Patria's army, navy, air force and coast guard since the 1980s. The last frontier is to repeal the unwritten "don't ask don't tell" in Major League Baseball, the NFL, NHL and NBA -- not to mention the Patrienish Hockey League, All-Patria Football Federation and the Castorian and Lazurian Leagues (Patria's two baseball leagues). Any gay high school or college athlete who hopes for a professional career knows the unwritten rule to stay in the closet until his playing career is over, or even after his playing career if he wants a job as a coach or manager. There are no general managers in any of the major pro leagues who are willing to take the risk that Branch Rickey took in 1947 to challenge a very old so-called gentleman's agreement. Consequently, even in the second decade of the 21st century, an openly gay player would face an even tougher battle than Jackie Robinson.

Parvati's North Pole Journey: Inuit past and present in Resolute Bay

2010-12-23T20:49:00.002-05:00

Parvati Devi: North Pole Journey - Day Three, Part Two:

"Day Three: Saturday, September 25, 2010, Part Two. The light in the sky is dull. It is just early afternoon. In just a month or so it will be..."

Parvati and friends visit the remains of a thousand-year-old Inuit village in Resolute Bay and cannot help but notice the irony in the community garbage dump being so close to this government memorial for people who were left here to make do, removed from their natural birth homes and familiar environment.

Parvati's North Pole Journey: the Thread of Pure Consciousness

2010-12-13T19:37:00.001-05:00

As long as Parvati keeps posting these powerful and inspiring accounts of her North Pole journey, Patria will keep re-blogging!

Parvati Devi: North Pole Journey - Day Three, Part One: "Day Three: Saturday September 25, 2010Part One The Thread of Pure Consciousness I wake up to my second morning in Resolute Bay. It is the..."

"To me it takes way more courage to say I love myself than to say f--- you". - Parvati.

Christmas in Patria

2010-12-05T13:45:00.005-05:00

Yes, there is Christmas in Patria. Dec. 25th is an official government holiday. And, no, it's not the tawdry, schlocky, over-commercialized greed-fest with little spiritual value that it has become in much of North America. Indeed, if Jesus could see what is being done allegedly in His name, he would throw the greed-mongers out of the malls faster than he threw the money-changers out of the temple! Practicing Christians in Patria can celebrate Christmas as the sacred celebration it is meant to be, free of the HO-HO-HO'ing, pressure to spend into the poorhouse, phony forced joviality, and all the commercial trappings that have little to do with Christianity. In Patria, you will not see Santa Claus, Rudolph, Frosty the Snowman, or other secular winter-fest stuff that has virtually no connection to the birth of a divine incarnation (or avatar) who is on the same level as Krishna or Rama. In Patria, the only Christmas songs you will hear on the radio are traditional carols such as Adeste Fideles (Latin version of O Come All Ye Faithful) that have as much spiritual value as any Hindu bhajan and actually mention the name of Jesus. Cruddy, sappy songs, and generic winter-fest songs that do not acknowledge the birth of a divine being are all but banned on Patria's airwaves. You know which songs are being referenced here. Horrid stuff that gets trotted out year after year beginning in late November, such as Jingle Bells, Jingle Bell Rock, White Christmas, Brenda Lee's Rocking Around the Christmas Tree, and arguably the most brutal Christmas song ever written: Jose Feliciano's Feliz Navidad. Santa Claus wouldn't dare show his fat butt in Patria. In fact, the only place you will see a picture of Santa in Patria is in the post office - among the posters of wanted criminals! Santa has been indicted in Patria for violation of labor laws. His workshop has failed to adopt equal-opportunity fair hiring practices, hiring only elves, and from the looks of it, only white male elves who are not paid overtime or allowed to join a union. Santa is also wanted on hate crime charges, for repeatedly stiffing Jewish children. Jolly as he may be, he is a notorious anti-Semite, and he also is not too fond of Muslims, Hindus or other non-Christian heathen swine. Not for nothing do his reindeer have Aryan names like Donder and Blitzen. Fortunately for the kiddies, Patria does not have an extradition treaty with the North Pole!

Patria Post issues an annual Christmas stamp, depicting a traditional Christmas image that those who actually celebrate Christmas as it was meant to be can relate to. See above for 2010 version, and visit the Patria Post site to view previous issues.

Merry Christmas in Patrienish is Anandí Xrístnascí. Note that in Patrienish, many words can and do begin with the letter x, which is a back-of-the-throat fricative, like Scots-English loch. There is even double-x in Patrienish, pronounced as "ksh", e.g. Laxxmí (Lakshmi).

Another installment of Parvati's North Pole journey

2010-11-23T20:05:00.001-05:00

Parvati Devi: North Pole Journey - Day Two, Part Four - Lisa and Louisa:

Meghan and I meet with the Inuit elders and healers Louisa and Lisa on the second floor of the inn, on the soft chairs and sofa in the comfortable lounge. After a couple of minutes together, Sunanda and Rishi join us, soon followed by Satish... To my surprise, when I ask them about shamanism and the Inuit spiritual traditions, Louisa responds with a question: “Have you accepted Jesus into your life?”

Christianity has had a nice run for about 1900 years. But, U.S. conservative politics notwithstanding, it has run its course. And over the long haul Christianity has done more harm than good, particularly among indigenous people such as Canada's Inuit, who have been on the receiving end of centuries of forced conversions by missionaries who allegedly represent "civilization".

Patria is proud to be non-Christian. The Inner Realm is a place where Hindus, Pagans, New Agers, and of course Atheists/Agnostics may practice their religion (or lack of one) free from Bible-toting social conservatives.

Parvati's North Pole Journey, Part 2

2010-11-12T19:36:00.004-05:00

GREEN MESSAGE FABRIC

"After about fifteen minutes on the gravel road driving out of Resolute Bay in Meghan’s dusty, grey van, we arrive at the ice on shore of the Arctic Ocean. Rishi jumps out of the warmth of the vehicle and into the harsh wind, video camera in hand, as Meghan, Sunanda and I step onto the rocky beach, each taking a piece of Satish’s long, green, silk fabric. Satish Sikha has traveled for the past two years and nine months all around the world collecting ecological messages from dignitaries, politicians, scientists and movie stars who signed this piece of eco-silk I now have in my hand..."

Parvati shares more experiences at the top of the world, unrolling Satish's giant green eco-silk banner and dropping in on a classroom of Inuit school kids.

Parvati Devi: North Pole Blog: Day Two, Part Two - Resolute, wit...

Patria is on blip.fm

2010-11-11T20:49:00.002-05:00

Well it's not exactly Akashvani-Ramrajya (Radio Patria) per se, but the owner of this here blog is now a DJ on Blip. Click and listen. Some of Patria's favorite songs will be shared on Blip.

Note that the .fm in the URL (http://blip.fm/Keval) does not necessarily mean that the site is hosted on a server in the Federation of Micronesia.

Princeton University Band plays Patria's national anthem

2010-11-01T21:48:00.000-04:00

It begins at 1:12 of this video clip, following some prayers by Princeton's gang of Chabad Lubavitchers.

Parvati in Punjabi

2010-10-25T19:36:00.000-04:00

In an interview that was recently aired on Punjabi TV, Parvati shares some thoughts about Amma, Yoga in the Nightclub and her North Pole trek. She also reminds Indian youth not to abandon their culture. What's next up for this awesome, amazing friend of Patria? Perhaps Parvati will do an interview in Patrienish? (It's sort of like a cross between Latin and Sanskrit!)

Parvati's North Pole Journey, Part 1

2010-10-11T00:26:00.002-04:00

Parvati Devi: North Pole Journey, Part 1: The Night Before We Le...:

How do you pack for a journey you have never taken, to a landscape that is dangerous, inhospitable and very, very cold? Parvati shares her experiences packing and preparing for her epic journey to the North Magnetic Pole. Please click on the above link and read it!

And what does this have to do with Patria, you ask? Is Parvati an elected member of the 49th Congress? No, she wasn't on any Precinct's ballot or party list last April 17th. But Parvati and her friends (Rishi, Sunanda, Pranada, etc., aka the "Earth Team") are very dear friends of Patria. As an intuitive healer, Parvati has developed a very evolved concept of an "Inner Realm" though, of course, she doesn't call it Patria.

Parvati Treks To The North Pole: It's a Family Affair

2010-10-08T19:17:00.000-04:00

An air of excitement was felt in Resolute on the 27th Sept 2010. After Parvati returned from the North Pole she gave a concert at the Inn's North in Resolute.

Signs were posted, radio was promoting Parvati's concert in Inuktitut and people were buzzing with anticipation. It was the first ever concert performed there. Parvati performed some songs and played for the first time ever, to a live audience, her new song "Hear This Prayer", which she gave to the Earth at the North Pole. Amy and her friends performed Inuit traditional Throat Singing. Sam and Louisa played the Inuit drum.

In the clip below, Parvati and her northern family have some fun together to the tune of the "I AM" song (Day one life is fun, day two I am new...) from Yoga in the Nightclub. This song received a lot of airplay in Patria, particularly last June during the World Cup and the countdown to Inauguration Day.

Parvati & company safely home from North Pole

2010-10-03T23:41:00.000-04:00

Parvati Devi: Returned from the North Pole

Parvati, Rishi and Sunanda (along with fashion designer Satish Sikha, who made the journey as far north as Resolute, Nunavut) have returned from their journey to the North Magenetic Pole, with quite a story to tell.

Parvati notes: "The message we carry back from everyone we met was unanimously the same: please tell the South that the ice is melting, the animals are fewer and we are suffering. I am left with a heavy heart, an ache in my soul seeing even more clearly and palpably the effect of our pollution and our cultural disconnect from the Earth. I feel charged with an even stronger connection to an immense, universal force that can help each one of us wake up, so that we may join together as one Earth family and create positive environmental change to benefit all."

Globalization fails to connect our hearts and minds - Amma's birthday message

2010-09-27T16:08:00.001-04:00

Globalization fails to connect our hearts and minds « Amma, Mata Amritanandamayi Devi @ amritapuri.org: "

Delivering her 57th Birthday Address, Amma spoke about how despite the connectivity created via globalization, the world is still suffering. “Where have we gone wrong?” Amma asked those assembled. “By connecting the external aspects, the entire world is being reduced to a small village. However we’ve failed to pay enough attention to uniting the inner aspects, to connecting all of our hearts and minds.” Amma also spoke on the importance of cultivating respect for Mother Nature, the perils of alcohol and drug abuse, the need for abidance in dharma, the role of meditation and many other topics.

Amma delivered this speech at her home base in Kerala. But she might as well have said it on the floor of the 49th Congress in Castoropolis. By voicing opposition to globalization, the Amrita-led Positive Possibilities coalition has found some common ground with the Patria-first SRM and the Diet Coke Party gang who slammed free trade and globalization all through the 2010 election campaign.

Video Blog Sept 23, 2010 Parvati Trek to North Pole (Arctic Bay)

2010-09-25T17:30:00.000-04:00

Not quite the North Pole, but about as far north as you can get in Canada and still have internet access.

Back to work in Congress

2010-09-21T10:06:00.002-04:00

After the post-inaugural summer recess, Congress is back in session. The First Session, 49th Congress (1·XLIX 2010-11) kicked off yesterday and will sit until June 2011. Patria's 2010 election transition is now complete. The 49th Congress was elected on April 17, inaugurated on June 30, and finally gets down to official business on Sept. 20, the two-day Special Session on July 1 and 2 notwithstanding. Almost as fast a turnaround as the US Congress election cycle.

The struggling economy is high on the new Congress' order paper. The recession is over. Allegedly ended in June 2009. But it still feels like a recession in Patria and in many of the First World macronations. A double-dip recession is still a very real possibility.

Today, Sept. 21, has been designated by the UN as the International Day of Peace. As one of Parvati's songs goes, "if I want peace in the world I know it begins with me".

Go North! For healing the planet. For Amma's love.

2010-09-19T12:25:00.004-04:00

As the First Session of the 49th Congress is about to get down to business after the post-inaugural summer recess, three dear friends of Patria, Parvati, Rishi and Sunanda, are journeying to the North Magnetic Pole in Canada's far north (about 200 km from the actual North Pole at 90ºN). They are making this trek in order to create awareness about the environmental devastation there - particularly the melting polar ice caps - and the effect that this is having on all of us.

Parvati, Rishi and Sunanda are going to the North Pole to help create awareness and to do some prayers for the restoration of the health of Mother Earth. Their mission is based on the fact that we can create positive change. It is not doom and gloom and focused on the negative. The approach is hope-based. Positive possibilities all the way.

If you are a devotee of Amma (in Patria, aka the Hon. Member from the Precinct of Arboria, House Leader of the Amrita Party), note that they have passed the word along to Amma via Dayamrita Swami and she has given her blessing. :) They will be celebrating Amma's 57th birthday on Sept. 27 way up north.

To learn more, and to follow their journey, please visit Parvati's web site.

The following is a press release from Rishi:

Canadian Musical Artist and Yoga Teacher First to Perform at the North Pole

Toronto, Ontario - Sept 16, 2010

*** For Immediate Release ***

Parvati, a Canadian musical artist and yoga instructor, is taking a courageous journey to the most northern Canadian soil: a small, desolate island in the Arctic Ocean known as Ward Hunt Island. The location is just kilometres from the Magnetic North Pole and 200 kilometres from 90 degrees North.

Parvati’s mission is to bring awareness to the urgent ecological effect of melting polar ice caps. Charged with purity of heart, clear intention, and the willingness to serve, Parvati will become the first artist to ever perform this far North. There she will offer her songs to help raise awareness of just how quickly the ice caps are disappearing and the devastating effect this is having on the entire planet.

Born in Montreal and now living in Toronto, Parvati is an internationally acclaimed singer, songwriter, performer and producer of electronic dance pop. Her music celebrates the gift of life and her debut album and multimedia show, Yoga in the Nightclub, has had people from Toronto to Berlin shaking to its joyful rhythms. After a summer of increased signs of environmental distress, Parvati decided to postpone her Canadian tour to trek to the North Pole. She says she simply cannot turn away from the effects climate change is having.

“I feel the global ecological crisis is a wake up call for us all, a call to awaken I AM consciousness, the magnificence of who we are,” says Parvati.”The planet reflects how we collectively treat ourselves, each other and our environment. A collective is only as strong as its individuals. If we want to change our environment, we need to transform ourselves.”

Parvati will be joined on the trip by Satish Sikha (www.ourearth-wewill.com), another environmental activist. In Resolute, Canada’s most remote city, Satish will unveil the world’s longest piece of woven silk. Each segment is signed by a celebrity, politican or international dignitary who shares their thoughts on climate change.

Parvati leaves Toronto on September 23, 2010 to meet with city council in Iqaluit andperform for school children in Nunavut. She will sing at the top of the world on September 26th.

The timing of Parvati’s trip is significant. Recent news reports that many ice shelves in Greenland and Canada have cracked. At the end of August, NASA reported an ice crack on Ward Hunt Island that is 40 metres deep and the size of Bermuda. Meanwhile, the sea ice levels are at an unprecedented low land as such wreaking havoc on our fragile ecosystem.

More information about Parvati’s trip is available at www.parvati.ca.

-30-

For more information, interview arrangements, video, or photographs, please contact: Rishi Gerald - 416-890-5878

2010-11: the push for "Premyatra II"

2010-08-22T12:26:00.002-04:00

One of the major initiatives in the 49th Congress, referenced in the Inaugural Address, is the call for a Premyatra (literally "pilgrimage of love") to India:

Now the conch summons us again. Not a call to battle but a call to be open to the positive possibilities of a new Premyatra. A call to take up non-violent arms in order to defeat the economic obstacles and social limitations preventing a second pilgrimage to the birthplace of Sanatan Dharma, particularly to the Amritapuri and Penusila ashrams and temple towns of Tamil Nadu.

While the 45th Congress Indian yatra of 1995 focused on North India, particularly the Kripalu lineage temple of Kayavarohan and the Malav ashram in Gujarat, the 49th Congress journey would be completely in South India, and would book-end Karunamayi's ashram in Penusila, Andhra Pradesh (or possibly Amma K.'s Bangalore ashram) and Amritapuri (Ammachi's home base in Kerala) with visits to Madurai, Rameshwaram and Kanyakumari in between, as well as a few days hanging out in Madras...ERRRR!!!..Chennai.

Can this happen? The debate, as well as the bill to authorize funding, will appear on the Order Paper when the First Session convenes in September. But at this point it seems like a pipe dream with too many obstacles to overcome. Maybe a more realistic possibility would be late 2011 or early 2012 rather than during the 2010-11 First Session of Congress.

If you think returning to India for about a month and spending some time at both Amma's ashrams is a worthwhile pursuit, and an expansive positive possibility to boot, e-mail your Congressman. That would be me!

49th Congress. 49th freakin' Congress!

2010-07-02T21:04:00.007-04:00

On June 30, 2010 at 2359 UTC/7:59 PM local time (the inauguration ceremony was held in the evening, rather than the traditional 12 noon), the 49th Congress of the Inner Realm of Patria was sworn into office on the steps of the Capitol in Castoropolis.

Read the full text of the 49th Congress Inaugural Address.

On July 1, in a Special Session of the newly inaugurated Congress, Amma Karunamayi delivered the Speech from the Throne. (technically not the Inaugural Address, which was delivered on the evening of June 30 after the official oath-taking and may be read at the above link). The following is the transcription of Karunamayi's address to Congress.

Inaugural “Speech from the Throne” by Amma Karunamayi

July 1, 2010

Om Gam Ganapataye Namah. Amma’s blessings to you all. I love you so much, my sweet children. I love you, babies, millions, billions and gazillions of times. I love Patria so much.

[Amma K. spent some time discussing the benefits of regular meditation practice, the energy contained in the various chakras, how the human brain viewed in cross-section resembles Lord Ganesha, e.g. the trunk is like the brain stem, and how Mother Lakshmi’s four arms resemble the four chambers of the human heart.]

Children, think twice, no, not twice, 10 times, 100 times before speaking. Keep your speech sweet and gentle. Your words and thoughts must always contain the sweetness of kindness and compassion. Be humble always.

[Amma K. shared her experiences at the 2009 Parliament of Religions in Melbourne, Australia, where she was one of the keynote speakers representing Hinduism.]

Embodiment of Divine Souls, my beloved children, true knowledge is truth only. Omkara is the world of power and divine truth. Truth is spiritual food for aspirants. Inner spiritual strength comes from sadhana and silence. Those who meditate daily will get tremendous power.

"I"ness is bondage. This is ignorance. This "I"ness is illusion. It is born from ignorance. Illusion always springs separation. Difference is nothing but duality only. Through meditation, destroy the ignorance by the sword of your knowledge. Ignorance generates desires, hate and fear. Ignorance always obstructs the true vision. Children, destroy ignorance today with silent meditation. Experience your true Self by your silent practice. Body, senses and mind are part of the nature. The Self is absolute consciousness, identification with supreme self is the highest experience in life. Life has no bliss in the finite. There is no sorrow in the infinite. Bliss is only in the infinite. Sorrows and pains are only in finite. Everything that is related with the material world is imperfect. Absolute alone is perfect. The forms are not in the real, but the real is in all of the forms.

A real yogi is unchanging, non dual, atman or soul. Visible universe and the mind seem to be changing. Atman only is changeless, imperishable. Everything in this world decays and takes birth but to die. But supreme Self, Brahman alone is immutable, undecaying, birthless and deathless. Brahman is infinitely pure, ever free, perfect and indestructible. The Self is ever free, nothing can bind it.

Immortality is the birthright of all. I am not this body; I am all pervading immortal soul. This is true wisdom. Deep is the supreme silence. Peace of the soul is infinite and immeasurable. Know thyself. Children, realize Brahman and attain immortal bliss.

Children, there is a strong desire in all of your hearts for freedom, independence and eternal happiness. Wisdom is the greatest weapon. It surely saves meditators from worldly ills.

Divine love of Wisdom, as an ideal of perfection burns brightly in the heart of all. Real truth vibrates in the heart. This total world is the body of consciousness. World is the essence of Brahman. Entire world, all the living beings they get light and power from the truth. The knowledge of atma comes when you are aware of your own innermost self. Children, do not apply reasoning to what is unthinkable. The kingdom of bliss is your heart only. We all are one; the one Divine Light. Vedas speak of oneness of divine consciousness.

Upanishads' essence is essential unity of all religions. Inner Wisdom is real gold. A man of an inner wisdom can transform the earth into liberation. The perennial fountain of nectar flows in the heart of a Brahman Jnani. Moksha or wisdom is the ultimate goal of a yogi. After attaining wisdom, there is no rebirth.

My Children, you are nothing but the truth only. Truth is pure spirit. The nature of truth is peace and bliss. The self-effulgent truth destroys all sorrows and all pains. It is impossible for self to hate self. A knower of self becomes master of all worlds. Worldly reasoning cannot lead to spiritual truth. There is an unchanging entity in everyone's heart, who is silent witness of three states namely dreaming, waking and sleeping. Identify with this "witness" and then end life mundane.

Children, meditate in order to reach your goal of perfection. All is Brahman, fearlessness is the fruit of wisdom. Inner freedom is immortality. Root yourself in your Atman. All miseries will come to an end. So children, deep, deep in the ocean of bliss, in Samadhi only you attain illumination you have Brahmic supreme consciousness. You will see God in all living beings.

With motherly love in the new 49th Congress, your Amma has not come this day as your guru or as Speaker of the House, but as your own mother. I love you, babies.

*****************
The first act of the new Congress, after the above Inaugural Address, Speech from the Throne, divvying up cabinet positions, and other bits of administrivia during the two-day Special Session, is to adjourn until September. The First Session of the 49th Congress (1·XLIX 2010-11) will convene on Sept. 20, 2010.

With the new Congress having been sworn in, and the 2010 election campaign having ended, note that the title of this blog has been changed to reflect Patria's mandate for Positive Possibilities.

Inauguration Day 2010

2010-06-30T23:09:00.005-04:00

Four more years for Amma. The re-elected House Leader of the Amrita Party of Patria begins her new term of office by waving the flag.

The Hon. Member from the Precinct of Arboria about to take the oath of office. "I do solemnly swear that I will...support and defend the Constitution of Patria...and will to the best of my abilities, preserve, protect and defend the Inner Realm of Patria...against all enemies both foreign and domestic. So help me God". Bhagavad Gita used for the 49th Congress inaugural ceremony is Gandhi's translation and commentary ("The Gita According to Gandhi").

Oh my God, the 48th Congress is toast!

2010-06-29T22:11:00.003-04:00

The last full day in office for the 48th Congress. Patria's fiscal 2011 budget has been presented to the House and duly ratified. Once that last major item of business was done and other pieces of legislation were cleared off the order paper (or left to die on the order paper without being brought to a vote), shortly after 10 PM, the Speaker Pro Tem of the House stopped all proceedings with the following announcement that all Patria had been waiting to hear: "Under the power vested in me by the Constitution of Patria, I declare the 48th Congress adjourned sine die!", followed by several long, loud blasts of the Congressional vuvuzela (which has replaced the traditional Speaker's gavel for the duration of the World Cup). For those who don't remember their Latin, sine die means adjourned indefinitely, without setting a date on which to re-convene.

The work of the 48th Congress is done. Finished. Amen. It is toast. On to the 49th Congress-elect. Lokah Samastah Sukhino Bhavantu.

Cleaning house for a new Congress

2010-06-27T21:57:00.003-04:00

Almost nothing says Inauguration Day is almost here more than recycling bins stuffed full (yes, they have Blue Boxes in Patria) and shredders working overtime, as members of the soon to be toast Congress - not only those who are retiring or were defeated for re-election - clean out years (and in some cases, decades) of accumulated paper that no longer serves their needs or Patria's expansive growth into Positive Possibilities.

A stack of high school notebooks from the failed, brutal 40th Congress (1974-1978) are offered at Amma's feet before being chucked into the recycling bin for collection on June 29. Note the Wacky Packages on the Duo-tang on the left. On the eleventh grade physics notebook on the right, check out the attempt to draw Montreal Expos and 1976 Olympic logos. These notebooks were apparently saved "for reference", but weren't consulted much over the past 30+ years.

Last days in the bunker

2010-06-24T20:18:00.002-04:00

With less than a week until Inauguration Day, the Fourth (and extremely lame-duck) Session of the 48th Congress is hunkered down in the Capitol, sitting day and night in order to pass various pieces of last-minute legislation and hammer out Patria's 2011 budget before adjournment, which is expected some time on June 29. Indeed, it is said that the only time any significant work gets done in Patria's Congress is in the ten weeks between election and inauguration.

From the Capitol, lawmakers can view the platform and reviewing stands being constructed at the main entrance (on Schaefer St. and the eastern end of Castoropolis Common, if you have your map of Patria's capital handy) for the inaugural ceremonies and parade. For many members of Congress, particularly the National Union, which lost half its seats in the April 17 election, they might feel like the death row prisoner looking out from the cell window and watching the gallows being built.

Countdown to inauguration: the last ten days

2010-06-20T09:52:00.002-04:00

Ten days remain in the 48th Congress term of office. With due credit to Parvati, let's count them down:

Day one, life is fun.

Day two, I am new.

Day three, I am me.

Day four, I adore.

Day five, I'm alive.

Day six, create the mix.

Day seven, I'm in heaven.

Day eight, I co-create.

Day nine, feeling fine.

Day ten, do it all over again! (or do it all over again in 2014).

I AM...open, ready, willing to be completely restructured around the positive possibilities of the 49th Congress-elect.

Sometime between now and June 30, most likely in the late afternoon or early evening of June 29, the Speaker of the House will bang the gavel (or blow the vuvuzela) and say the words we've been longing to hear: "Under the power vested in me by the Constitution of Patria, I declare the 48th Congressus Patriaë adjourned sine die"! In the meantime, there is still some work ahead for the lame-duck session. The report of the Chancellor of the Exchequer - Patria's 2011 budget - is still on the order paper.

48th Congress Triple-U

2010-06-18T20:24:00.002-04:00

In one of the last speeches delivered on the floor of the 48th Congress, the Jungle Party deputy leader summed up the past four years as "Triple-U: Uninspiring. Unfulfilling. Underachieving". That pretty much says it all about the 48th Congress: a mostly "maintain the status quo", "hold the line", or "same old same old" administration with few real accomplishments to its credit, simplistic boilerplate solutions to fight the recession ("spend, spend, spend"), and little in the way of real growth since 2006. It wasn't a truly failed administration like the 41st Congress, which pretty much failed right out of the box, or the 40th Congress, which was unfortunate enough to hold office during the god-awful 1970s. But the 48th Congress was unequal to the task of fighting the global economic downturn, kick-starting Patria's failing industries or stopping the export of jobs to China.

A number of other U's could also describe the lame-duck Congress limping on to adjournment: underemployed, underperforming, underwhelming, unrewarding, unsustainable, unprepared, etc. The term "Triple-U" was, of course, coined by Jim Rome to describe truly awful e-mails and texts (Unfunny, Uninspired, Unreadable) that often result in the sender being blocked ("BLOCKED!! BLOCKED!!").

Dr. Amma!

2010-05-29T08:29:00.005-04:00

On May 25, 2010 the Hon. Member from the Precinct of Arboria and House Leader of the Amrita Party in the 49th Congress-elect received an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from the State University of New York at Buffalo. “Through her leadership of Amrita University, as well as through her humanitarian work, Chancellor Amma exemplifies the value of international collaboration and dedicated public service in the global arena,” said UB President John B. Simpson. “Her personal example and leadership demonstrate the critical importance of international and cross-cultural cooperation, exchange and dialogue, and it is in that spirit we honor Amma with the conferral of the SUNY Honorary Doctorate in Humane Letters.”

In her address after accepting the degree, Amma said “Spirituality is not religious study. Spiritual education is a training that helps us to truly understand ourselves. It gives us strength and helps us comprehend the deeper realms of knowledge...Knowledge is like a river. Its nature is to constantly flow. Wherever it can flow, it does so, nourishing culture. On the other hand, the same knowledge, if devoid of values becomes a source of destruction for the world. When values and knowledge become one,there can be no more powerful instrument for the welfare of humankind. Today, physicists have even begun investigating the possibility that the essential substratum of the manifest universe and the individual are one and the same. We are standing on the threshold of a new era wherein material science and spirituality will move forward hand in hand...It is Amma’s prayer that we develop the expansive-mindedness to embrace both scientific knowledge and spiritual wisdom. We can no longer afford to see these two streams of knowledge as flowing in opposite directions. In truth, they compliment one another. If we merge these streams, we will find that we are able to create a mighty river—a river whose waters can remove suffering and spread life to all of humanity.”

New plates for 49th Congress

2010-05-02T10:37:00.005-04:00

(Click on plate to view larger image)

Every four years, along with the new Congress, a new passenger car license plate is issued. The 2010 base plate design features a scene from the Devi Mahatmyam: Hanuman, Durga and Kali leading the Devi army into battle with the demon Mahishasura. The slogan at the bottom of the plate Narayani Namo'stute is also taken from the Devi Mahatmyam.

New for 2010: the serial numbers on these plates are printed flat, rather than being embossed. This is actually a cheaper method of producing plates than the traditional hydraulic press, and has been adopted by several U.S. states.

The sample plate above is actually a general issue, not a vanity. The serial number LSN 623 can be taken as a reference to the 623rd name of the Divine Mother in the Lalita Sahasranama: Om Kevalayai Namah (Salutations to the Devi who is the absolute, who is complete, independent and without any attributes).

Note that all plates are permanent, and remain with the owner when the vehicle is sold or scrapped. You will still see older 1998, 2002 and 2006 base plates on vehicles in Patria. To view more license plates, including diplomatic and consular plates, visit Patria's miscellany page.

Jungle Party's 49th Congress caucus

2010-04-27T20:54:00.002-04:00

According to the results of the Smack-Off, the 21 seats won by the Jungle Party have been awarded to the Clones with the best smack, former Smack-Off winners, and to certain XR4TI members, as follows:

Jim Rome (House Leader)* - FDC
Jason ("J-Stew") Stewart* - FDC
Vic in NoCal (2010 Smack-Off winner) - Lazuria
Mike in Indy - Aeolia
Dr. Mike DiTolla - Aeolia
Joe in the O.C.* - Caesarea
Iafrate* - Centralia
Jay Mohr - Arboria
Terrence in Sierra Madre* - Aeolia
Brad in Corona** - Lazuria
Dan in DC - Arboria
Lisa in Indy - Antioch
Cheryl in Austin - Ambrosia
Vinny Mac in Des Moines -Ambrosia
Greg in Vegas* - Nova Columbia
RayRay in Tampa - Mauretania
Rachel in Houston* - Caesarea
Jeff on a car phone in Phoenix* - Haldimania
Stevie Carbone from LMU* - Canardiere
Little Alvin Delloro - FDC
Trapper in Dana Point - Pottsylvania

* Incumbent member from 2006. **Brad in Corona replaced Sean the Cablinasian, who was declared ineligible to serve in Congress in 2009.

48th Congress begins lame-duck session

2010-04-21T21:26:00.002-04:00

As the transition to the 49th Congress begins, and the countdown to Inauguration Day is on, a lame-duck administration with few real accomplishments to its credit continues in office for about 10 more weeks. If that seems familiar, it is just like the U.S. between Nov. 4, 2008 and Jan. 20, 2009.

Having returned from its pre-election recess, the first item on the 4·XLVIII order paper was to certify the results of the election as official, following a re-count that awarded one more seat to the Jungle Party.

49th Congress-elect seat allocations by precinct and party.

Before the 48th Congress is adjourned sine die, the lame-duck session will have to ratify Patria's 2010-11 budget, deliver the final report of the Chancellor of the Exchequer, and take care of a number of other legislative loose ends, e.g. legislation to further implement Patria's virtual legalization of all non-medical recreational drugs.

Election day winners and losers

2010-04-19T22:21:00.003-04:00

A judicial re-count in Aeolia awarded one seat to the Jungle Party that had originally gone to Family Values. Re-counts were also ordered in Lazuria and Centralia, but no seats changed hands. The following are the 333 seat allocations in the 49th Congress-elect, which will be confirmed later this week when the Fourth Session, 48th Congress returns for lame-duck session, with the first item on the order paper to ratify the election returns.

+/- in [ ] indicate gains or losses from 2006.

Amrita Party ---------------------------- 78 [-10, but merged with SRM in 2006]

Chakra Party ---------------------------- 63 [+15]

SRM ------------------------------------ 50 [merged with Amrita in 2006]

National Union -------------------------- 35 [-35]

Social Democrats ------------------------ 33 [+3]

Jungle Party ---------------------------- 21 [+9]

Green Party ---------------------------- 18 [-6]

Libertarian ----------------------------- 8 [-7]

Lilith Party ----------------------------- 7 [-9]

Incel Party ----------------------------- 5 [new]

Chastity Party -------------------------- 3 [-3]

Family Values Party -------------------- 2 [-2]

Freedom Party ------------------------- 1 [-4]

Party for Personal Responsibility ------- 1 [-2]

Rationalist Party ----------------------- 1 [-1]

Reconstruction Party ------------------- 1

Victory and Peace ---------------------- 1

New Age Centralia ---------------------- 1

Popular Front of Pottsylvania ----------- 1

Lazurian Independent Party ------------ 1

Peoples Party --------------------------- 1

Christian Heritage Party ---------------- 1

Of the whopping 22 parties that have been awarded seats in Congress, ten are single-seaters.

National Union was, of course, the big loser. The NU's tough-as-nails law-and-order schtick is tired and played. No one seems to buy the promises of public executions, corporal punishment for petty miscreants, or hard time for lonely, repressed or socially inept men trying to buy some sex on the street.

The day after the election. It's morning in Patria!

2010-04-18T11:07:00.002-04:00

To borrow Reagan's 1984 campaign slogan. As Campaign 2010 transitions into the 49th Congress-elect, the dust (not the hanging chads) from the election is beginning to settle. The Positive Possibilities coalition can claim 199 seats (78 Amrita, 63 Chakra, 33 Social Democrat, 18 Green, 7 Lilith). If they can get the support of half the 50 SRMers elected, they will have the two-thirds super-majority required for key ratification votes in the 333-seat Congress. With 50 seats, the SRM holds a huge chunk of the balance of power. The macho-man National Union pretty much lost one of its testicles. Cut in half, from 70 seats in the 48th Congress to only 35 in the 49th. Light up another Marlboro, NU man!

Best case scenario, the Diet Coke Party gang can count about 100 votes (50 SRM, 35 NU, 8 Libertarian, and the handful of one or two-seat right-wing fringe parties). Diet Coke Party or no, the SRM will continue to push hard in the new Congress for Patria-first economic nationalism and Gandhi-style non-violent resistance against globalism. Will the PosPos be open, ready, willing to listen? Not to mention the other parties that have been vilified as "leftists", "progressives", "tax and spenders" and of course, that dreaded L-word "liberals"?

The have-a-take-don't suck smack-talking Jungle Party, which is unlikely to throw in its lot with either the PosPos or Diet Coke, jumped from 12 to 20 seats (and possibly one more, pending results of re-count). The results of the Smack-Off on April 23 will determine which Clones will fill these seats along with Jungle Party house leader Jim Rome and "Mr. Automatic" J-Stew.

Next task is for the 48th Congress to return from pre-election recess for a final lame-duck session. The first item on the 4·XLVIII order paper is to certify the results of the election, pending judicial re-counts, which in any case only involve one or two fringe party seats in backwater precincts. This ain't Florida in 2000!

Today is Election Day!

2010-04-17T08:23:00.003-04:00

Vote early and often! Polls are open from 7:00 AM to 9:30 PM. Patria holds its election day on a weekend, like most of Europe, Japan, and even some of the Third World DINOs (Democracies in Name Only). It's a concept that has never even been thought of in the U.S., Canada or the U.K., where they constantly complain about poor voter turnout but won't even consider moving the election day from a weekday, when many people find it a pain in the ass to take time off to vote or their employers don't give them an hour or two off in order to cast a ballot.

Of course, the real problem with poor voter turnout in the U.S., Canada and U.K. is not so much weekday election days, but disgust with the dinosaur first-past-the-post electoral system that results in wasted votes (unless you are lucky enough to live in a riding or district where your vote may actually mean something). While they may never adopt some kind of proportional representation, surely it's not too much to ask for the three leading first-world democracies to hold elections on a Saturday or Sunday.

Last day on the campaign trail

2010-04-16T20:39:00.002-04:00

The last day of Campaign 2010. The long, sometimes hard-fought, drawn-out 49th Congress campaign is about to come to and end. By law, all rallies, campaign speeches, broadcast advertising, and other electioneering must end at 11:59 PM tonight.

On the last full day on the campaign trail, the Diet Coke Partyers are hitting it hard, pushing the usual rightist and populist buttons. "Fight liberals & leftists!" "No socialized medicine in Patria!" (actually, Patria - like Canada, Europe, Japan, and most of the civilized world - has had a federally subsidized health care system for decades), "Cut taxes now!", "Ride the Diet Coke Party bus or get thrown under it!

The SRM is front and center at the Diet Coke rallies, with their "take back the economy" promises of non-violent resistance against globalism. The Three S's - Satyagraha, Swadeshi, Swaraj - are an integral part of the populist verbiage freely spewed out at Diet Coke Parties. They give the anti-government populists what they want to hear: hard-core economic nationalism and "freedom from China" rants. But there is a fair degree of dissension among the SRM caucus. The more moderate SRMers seem to be trending toward the Positive Possibilities.

And then there's the National Union, showing up at Diet Coke Parties with nooses in hand, promising to use them on murderers, rapists, pedophiles, and pretty much anyone convicted of a more serious offense than jaywalking or littering. What else did you expect from the NU besides an amped-up take-no-prisoners war on crime. Actually the NU will take plenty of prisoners, and even push "lock 'em up and throw away the key" law and order as a job creation scheme. Building prisons and hiring prison guards is one way to fight the recession!

The "sex is dirty" Chastity and Family Values Parties are also throwing in their lot with the Diet Coke Parties. What would you expect from fringe parties plugging old-school Christian conservative values straight out of Leave it to Beaver and Red-state America.

The Amrita Party, Chakra Party, and the rest of the Positive Possibilities bunch are also campaigning hard on the last day before the election, taking their message into Hindu temples, yoga studios, ashrams, and even nightclubs (Yoga in the Nightclub, literally taking the CD by Parvati out into the streets of Patria).

And finally, on the day before the election, the Jungle Party gained a potential new member of Congress. By winning the Hack-Off, Vinny Mac in Des Moines earned a bid for the Smack-Off and a chance for a Jungle seat in Congress.

Kamala Cup playoffs

2010-04-14T21:49:00.003-04:00

For fans of the Patrienish Hockey League, the puck is about to drop on the Kamala Cup playoffs, Patria's version of the Stanley Cup. In one best-of-seven semi-final, the defending Kamala Cup champion Arboria Beavers meet the Nova Columbia Condors. The other semi-final has the Caesarea Violets going up against the Centralia Crusaders. The winners meet in the finals, and the season is over by the first week in May. Just like in the Original Six-era NHL, mainly because the PHL has never expanded beyond its Original Six franchises!

As for the sad-sack hapless Castoropolis Centurions, they finished dead freaking last, out of the playoffs for the fifth straight season. It wouldn't be fair to call the Centruions the Toronto Maple Leafs of the PHL. At least the Cents do have a couple of Kamala Cups, as recently as 1999 and 2002. Far better than the Leafs, who have been stiffing Leaf Nation since 1967.

Jungle Party's Hack-Off and Smack-Off

2010-04-13T09:04:00.006-04:00

Jungle Party leader Jim Rome announced that the Hack-Off would take place this Friday, April 16, the day before the election, and the Smack-Off a week later on April 23. The Hack-Off is a contest for the "worst of the worst" callers who have a take and DO suck. The winner of the Hack-Off will receive an at-large Smack-Off tournament bid, and thus have a chance to advance to a seat in the 49th Congress.

Among the Hack-Off contestants: Jolene ("dressed as your mom") in Farmington, Vinny Mac ("I'm the bottle on the top shelf") in Des Moines, Eddie ("on the banks of the 'What do we do now' river") in Boise, Parody Patrick, Nezrin not Mezrin ("Phil JACK-son!"), Corey in Buffalo, Aaron in Canton, Jason ("star Canadian linebacker") in Ottawa, Tobin in Chapel Hill, Flamian in LA, Ryan in Wichita, Jerome ("BOHICA, Bend Over Here It Comes Again") in Nashville, and Dean in Edmonton.

While the Hack-Off is new for 2010, the Smack-Off is an annual competition on The Jim Rome Show, in which select listeners are invited to provide their best "smack talk", with Rome and his show personnel determining the winner. The contest is a way to recognize the best callers to the show, as well as a means of determining the best caller of the year. Show host Jim Rome has referred to the Smack-Off as the most important show of the entire year. For Patria, the Smack-Off determines who will sit in Congress as part of the Jungle Party caucus, along with Rome and "Mr. Automatic" J-Stew (Jason Stewart).

The defending 2009 Smack-Off champion Brad in Corona gets an automatic bid for a seat in Congress, along with previous Smack-Off winners, with the exception of Sean the Cablinasian, who was declared ineligible in 2008:

Iafrate*
J.T. the Brick
Jeffrey E. DiTolla "Esquire"
Doc Mike DiTolla
Steve Carbone*
Silk in Huntington Beach
Jeff in Richmond*

Previous Smack-Off invitees who may receive at-large bids in 2010:

Greg in Vegas*
Bill in Knoxville*
Irie Craig
Jeff "bumping around on a car phone" in Phoenix*
Terrence in Sierra Madre (best caller never to have won)*
Trapper in Dana Point (who should be representing the Social Democrats)
Jay Mohr
Gino in San Antonio
John in C-Town
Jim in Fall River
Casey in Vegas
Joe in the O.C.*
Rachel in Houston*
Oren in Denver
Vic in NoCal
Chad in Portland
J.D. in Nashville
Bodie in Pearland
Corey in Ann Arbor
Mike in Wichita
Dan in D.C.
Smooth Joe in Hollywood
Josh in Grand Rapids
Mike in Indy (surprise second-place finisher in 2009)

* Incumbent members of the 48th Congress.

The Jungle Party received only 12 seats in 2006, so it's likely that not all Smack-Off participants will be awarded seats in the 49th Congress, unless the Jungle Party makes the jump from fringe to coalition bracket-buster in 2010.

NU plays the men's rights card

2010-04-12T18:44:00.003-04:00

As if "top dog for the alpha male" slogans, promising to bring back public executions, advocating corporal punishment for kids, and smoking Marlboros aren't macho enough, the National Union is pushing "masculinism" (as opposed to feminism) and men's rights. Worried about "the declining state of today's male," and "the war on men and boys", the NU is even fighting hard for courses in mens' studies at Patria's universities.

The NU notes that in the latest recession, 82% of pink slips handed out in the United States went to men, and a good chunk of those jobs won't be coming back. Boys and young men commit suicide at a rate of more than four times that of girls and young women. Boys are far more likely to be diagnosed with ADHD and put on Ritalin. In the United States, women outlive men by an average of seven years. In Eastern Europe the gap is 15 years. At universities in the United States and Canada, as well as in Patria, women make up about 60% of the student population, men only 40%, a dramatic reversal from the early days of feminism. Not to mention that 90% of the homeless, mentally ill, and substance abusers are males and that men consistently get the short end of the stick in divorce and custody battles.

The NU is committed to "taking back the testosterone" and restoring male pride as early as grade school. As Phyllis Schlafly notes in her Eagle Forum, elementary schools are not only ruled by females; they are dominated by feminists who make school unpleasant for boys from the get-go. Fewer than ten percent of elementary school teachers are men, giving boys the distinct impression that school is not for them.

Elementary school teachers used to understand that boys will be boys, but teachers now look upon boys as just unruly girls. Feminists manifest hostility to males and to masculine traits such as competitiveness and aggressiveness, and instead reward typical female behaviors such as non-assertiveness and group cooperation.

Schools cannot make gender go away by pretending that boys do not have an innate masculinity, or by trying to suppress it with ridiculous zero-tolerance punishments, banning sports such as dodge ball and tag, and allowing only playground games without winners.

Five- and six-year-old boys are not as able or willing as little girls to sit quietly at a desk and do neat work with pencil and paper. Even worse is the appalling fact that first-grade kids are not taught how to read phonetically, and the assigned stories are mostly about topics of interest to girls not boys.

It's no wonder that boys are more likely to have academic or behavior problems, repeat a grade, get suspended, be enrolled in special education programs, or become involved in drugs, alcohol or crime. Little boys make the calculation that school (and college) is not an environment where they want to remain.

For decades, the National Union has been thumbing its nose at feminists. Is it any wonder one of the NU's slogans (along with "testosterone in your balls, National Union on your ballot") is "committed to putting the Patriarchy back into Patria".

The 3 F's meet the 3 S's

2010-04-11T13:24:00.002-04:00

A simplified explanation of Patria's Diet Coke Party phenomenon: the Three F's of the U.S. Republicans and Christian supremacists - Faith, Family, Freedom - meet the Three S's of the SRM and the Hindu nationalists - Satyagraha, Swadeshi, Swaraj. For those who haven't been following the Patriavotes2010 twitter feed (shame on you!), Satyagraha is non-violent Gandhi-style resistance or civil disobedience, Swadeshi refers to made-in-Patria domestic production of virtually everything, rather than dependence on imports (mainly from China), and Swaraj means literally self-rule, i.e. freedom from China, or freedom from globalization-mongers who are exporting high-paying manufacturing jobs to China and replacing them with (if you're lucky) minimum-wage service industry jobs. And like India in the dying days of the Raj, leading up to Aug. 15, 1947, Patria today sees itself locked in a struggle for freedom - not from the British, but from China. And while China might not be ruling Patria (and the U.S. for that matter) as a colonial power, the forces of globalization, free trade and made-in-China imports make it seem that way.

With a big chunk of seats likely to be won in the new Congress, the SRM will be crucial in forming the next coalition. Some of the more moderate SRMers can be persuaded to join the Positive Possibilities, while the "take back the economy" Hindu hard-liners are firmly in the Diet Coke Party camp (though they may be drinking ThumsUp, which is almost as popular as Coke in Patria).

Dead horses that won't die, no matter how much they're flogged

2010-04-09T21:36:00.005-04:00

A number of hoary old issues keep coming up in every election campaign. Campaign 2010 is no exception.

Abortion: Women in Patria have had access to safe and legal abortion since 1973, thanks to a ruling by the 39th Congress and the Supreme Court of Patria that was handed down shortly after the U.S. Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade decision. Nonetheless, the Christian right wing (yes, there are Christian right wingers in Patria), secular social conservatives, and other rightist busybodies still want to ban abortion outright or severely restrict its availability. Yawn. Tired old fight from the last century. To quote the late Canadian Prime Minister Pierre E. Trudeau, "the state has no business in the bedrooms of our nation".

Death Penalty: Another tired old fight from the last century. The death penalty in Patria is outlawed per Article VII of the Constitution of Patria, although theoretically a military court-martial can still impose a death sentence for desertion or treason in time of war. Nonetheless, bringing back the death penalty plays well with the law-and-order right wing, even if they concede that the death penalty has little deterrent value. Of course, the National Union leads the campaign to bring back capital punishment, and every four years the tough-on-crime NU promises public executions by hanging in the town square, or even by beheading. Yes, beheading, though the NU does not specify whether heads would be made to roll by sword, axe or guillotine. (Although France abolished the death penalty in 1981, there is apparently a manufacturer of custom-designed guillotines!)

Drive for 25: Raising the legal drinking age to 25, in order to get drinking out of college campuses and cut down on impaired driving. Another cause that gets dragged out every four years, mainly by teetotaling social conservative busybodies. Patria can only laugh at the U.S. insisting on 21 as the drinking age, given that any 18 year old can legally vote, marry, serve on juries, join the military, and do a whole lot of other adult things.

Gun control: In Patria you hear the same slogans as in Red-State America, e.g. "they can have my gun when they pry it from my cold dead hands", "don't let the liberals take away your guns", "my truck - yes, my wife - maybe, my gun - never", and of course "guns don't kill, people kill". Although there is no equivalent to the U.S. Constitution's "Right to Keep and Bear Arms" Second Amendment in Patria's Constitution, Patria is like Switzerland when it comes to gun ownership and civilian militias. Every adult male citizen in Patria is considered to be a member of the civilian militia and as such, is required to own a rifle (fixed bayonet optional) or 12-gauge shotgun and keep it locked and loaded in a safe place at home! But unlike the U.S., handguns in Patria are severely restricted and are almost impossible to purchase legally. Stealing firearms or using a gun to commit a crime almost always means serious hard time in prison. Furthermore, the rate of homicide and other violent crime is much lower in Patria than National Unionists would have you believe.

War on drugs: The law-and-order types and social conservatives want Patria to step up the so-called war on drugs. But Patria recognizes that the American-led "war on drugs" is as much of a failure as America's "war on booze"of the 1920s, if not a greater failure than Prohibition ever was. In the 2006 Inaugural address, Patria advocated legalization, government regulation and taxation of all recreational drugs from marijuana to crystal meth. And although you can't buy a a rock of coke or a hit of LSD at the local convenience store in Patria, some progress has been made toward legalization and taxation (in Patria, a joint of pot is taxed as heavily as a pack of cigarettes or a bottle of liquor). Unlike in the U.S., drug abuse is considered to be a social not a criminal justice issue.

PosPos or Diet Coke: which side are you on?

2010-04-06T09:04:00.002-04:00

During the course of Campaign 2010, the Positive Possibilities movement (known colloquially as "PosPos") has emerged as the leading potential multi-party governing coalition in the 49th Congress. With the staggering array of parties represented in Patria's proportional representation Congress, it is virtually impossible for one party to win a strong plurality (forget about a >50% majority!) of seats. Multi-party coalitions, usually consisting of two major parties plus a number of minor ones, are the rule in Patria, particularly when most bills require a two-thirds majority (yes, the dreaded "super-majority") for passage.

So which parties are backing "PosPos"?

Amrita Party: with PosPos being led by devotees of Amma and being linked to the I AM meditation technique, they're the obvious front-runners.

Chakra Party: as the leading New Age and "no gurus, just right" party, they're in. The Amrita and Chakra Parties would likely be co-leaders of a PosPos coalition.

Green Party: probably, though it's often hard to tell if the Greenies are really into progressive grass-roots movements for change, or are little more than a bunch of old-school economic conservatives and Ayn Rand capitalists disguised as bike-riding Birkenstock-wearing tree-huggers.

Lilith Party: have you ever seen a right-wing or socially conservative lesbian?

Social Democrats: also in as the remnants of Patria's "progressive" old-school liberals and leftists. Where would Patria be without tax & spend, soft-on-crime, bleeding-heart liberals?

SRM: maybe a few of the more moderate SRMers, but generally the SRM's economic nationalism is more attractive to the Diet Coke Party movement. The SRM could be split in two, with some of the party's more liberal caucus joining PosPos, while the Hindu nationalists and economic conservatives - much like the Blue Dog Democrats in the U.S. - sticking with the Diet Coke partyers.

Along with much of the SRM caucus that is behind the 3-S (SATYAGRAHA! SWADESHI! SWARAJ!) take-back-the-economy populism that is taking root in recession-ravaged Patria, the law-and-order National Union and less-government-more-freedom Libertarians are also leading the Diet Coke Party movement.

The Diet Coke party gang also has support from the socially conservative and sex-is-dirty fringe, i.e. the Chastity Party and Family Values Party. The Incel Party caters more to socially inept nerds and may trend toward PosPos.

The Jungle Party is unlikely to go either way. The only positive possibility in the Jungle is to have a take, not suck, and not get run with the manual buzzer. And the Clones in the Jungle tend to prefer Mountain Dew (or Bombay Sapphire) over Diet Coke.

The remaining nutbar, one-trick pony single-issue, and socially inept nerd-catering parties are also unlikely to support either movement. In any case, with only one or two seats in Congress each (if they're lucky enough to get past the proportional representation vote percentage threshold), no one much cares about the Rationalist Party, Reconstruction Party, Freedom Party, Christian Heritage Party, Peoples' Party and the other oddballs that might happen to find their way onto your Precinct's ballot come April 17.

Positive Possibilities and Diet Coke Parties

2010-03-30T09:57:00.003-04:00

Positive Possibilities are not a party per se, but a new pan-Patria movement that has developed over the course of Campaign 2010 to bring a new dimension to Patria's consciousness and spiritual growth for a new decade. Positive Possibilities' main campaign slogan is "I AM open, ready, willing to be completely restructured around the positive possibilities of the 49th Congress".

Positive Possibilities is a conscious company launched in Toronto, Canada in 2009 by the innovative singer/songwriter/producer/performer Parvati. The company’s mission is to enhance the quality of people’s lives by connecting our communities with products and events that support co-creation through music, arts, education, community, cultures and the environment by bridging the market leaders in holistic industries with the music and entertainment industries. Since Yoga is officially Patria's national sport, Positive Possibilities is taking it beyond the traditional settings of ashrams and yoga studios and into daily life, even seeking to take yoga into nightclubs with its Yoga in the Nightclub campaign.

The Positive Possibilities movement is also seeking to move Patria towards I AM consciousness. What is I AM consciousness? To live in I AM is to live knowing that one's true nature is love, that we are all interconnected and that one is loved unconditionally. To live I AM is to be in service to the creative flow, which is beyond the limited grasp of our ego or personal will. I AM is also related to the IAM (Integrated Amrita Meditation) technique developed by Amma and the Mata Amritanandamayi Math organization.

On the other side of Positive Possibilities ("Negative Possibilities" perhaps?) are the Diet Coke Parties, Patria's version of the Tea Party movement. There aren't a lot of tea drinkers in Patria, and in any case the movement needed a name to distinguish itself from the US bunch of Tenthers, Truthers, Birthers, gun-loving NRA members, economic conservatives, social conservatives, and other assorted hard-right patriots. As in the US, the Diet Coke Party movement an ideological mix of libertarianism and conservativism with the common denominator being lower spending and smaller government.

Who's on your ballot?

2010-03-01T22:19:00.003-05:00

Election Day is a little over six weeks away. The campaign is now into the home stretch. Today (March 1) was the deadline for parties to register with the Election Commission of Patria in order to appear on the ballot.

The following are the parties that will appear on all 49th Congress ballots in all 13 Precincts and the Federal District of Castoropolis.

Amrita Party
Chakra Party
Chastity Party
Christian Heritage Party
Family Values Party
Freedom Party
Green Party
Incel Party
Jungle Party
Libertarian Party
Lilith Party
National Union
Party for Personal Responsibility
Peoples' Party
Rationalist Party
Reconstruction Party
Social Democrats
Spiritual Regeneration/Swadeshi Ramrajya Movement (SRM)
Victory and Peace Party

On April 17 voters will have a staggering nineteen parties to choose from, as well as space on the bottom of the ballot for a write-in vote. One or more additional parties may appear on your precinct's ballot, such as Alpha-Omega Party (Caesarea), Lazurian Independent Party, National Democratic Union (Nova Columbia), and the Popular Front of Pottsylvania.

Polls don't vote, people vote!

2010-02-15T20:33:00.001-05:00

...to paraphrase the National Rifle Association's very old and often trotted out war cry. Unlike in the U.S., where pre-election polls seem to come out almost daily, polls predicting which parties are the most popular and how many seats each party would take "if the election were held today" are officially banned in Patria. The reason for the ban is so that voters will not think "my party is trailing so badly that it's not worth voting", or "my party is such a shoo-in that I don't need to vote", or "I like Party A, but they're trailing so badly in the polls that I should just hold my nose and vote for Party B".

Although there are no official polls, there are plenty of rumors and on-the-street talk about which party is the front-runner and how many seats each party could win. Current scuttlebutt: the Amrita Party is trailing the SRM badly and could lose almost half of its seats, the Jungle Party could double or even triple its seats (the Jim Rome show is becoming extremely popular in Patria!), and the SRM is the real wild card as its "no more made-in-China" economic nationalism is playing very well among voters who have lost their jobs, had their homes foreclosed, or have been otherwise screwed over since the economy went down the crapper.

Drive for 25. FAIL

2010-02-13T13:14:00.003-05:00

The "Drive for 25", a campaign to raise the legal drinking age to 25, was one of the National Union's campaign promises in the 43rd Congress election of 1986 (when the NU still hadn't quite found its testosterone-fueled law 'n order niche). The campaign attracted little support and eventually crashed like a drunk driver with a blood alcohol level far over .08. Twenty four years later, "Drive for 25" is back, though with support mainly from the social conservative fringe parties such as Family Values Party and Chastity Party rather than the NU. Not to mention busybodies who don't believe in things such as personal responsibility and free choice.

Why flog this dead horse? Apparently there are elements in Patria who believe that raising the drinking age to 25 would cut down on impaired driving as well as get the culture of drinking out of college campuses. Didn't anyone ever tell these misguided social crusaders that a lot of drunk drivers are over 25, and college campuses are not limited to 18- to 23-year-old kids.

Just as in 1986, the 2010 "Drive for 25" campaign is destined for failure. Patria's legal drinking age is 18, the same age at which it is legal to join the armed forces, vote, serve on juries, and do a whole lot of other adult things. Yes, it is true that drinking is a privilege, not a constitutional right like voting. But there are better ways to fight drunk driving (e.g. lifetime license revocation, serious hard time in prison, even special "convicted DUI" license plates) than raising the drinking age to 25 (why stop there? why not hike it all the way to 30?). How will making 40-something folks born in the 1960s produce photo ID in order to buy beer at the ball park help deter drunks from getting behind the wheel?

Incel Party: a new party for an extremely marginalized segment

2010-01-17T12:50:00.005-05:00

It wouldn't be an election in Patria without at least one new one-note single-issue fringe or nutbar party being launched. For 2010, the new party is the Incel Party, a party dedicated to addressing the stigma of involuntary celibacy and giving the kings (and in rare cases, queens) of all nerddom a voice in Congress. The Incel Party is offered as a public service in Patria of the Incel Project, to address the pain, frustration and social ostracism of the poor social losers who are 25 years of age or older and still virgins, who have not taken vows of celibacy (e.g. becoming a Catholic priest or Hindu sadhu), and are physically able to perform.

Involuntary celibacy (or incel) is a non-technical descriptive term of the state of a person who has not established an intimate relationship or engaged in sexual intercourse for reasons other than voluntary celibacy or sexual abstinence. The term is used especially for people who, despite general expectations, have had little to no sexual or romantic experience.

Unlike the "just say 'no' until you say 'I do'" Chastity Party, the Incel Party speaks for those who are extremely unlikely ever to say "I do", and have not even gotten to the point in a relationship where it would be an option to say "no". In the 49th Congress, those social misfits who have not only never been to first base, but haven't even stepped into the batter's box, will have a voice speaking for them.

Background information from the Incel Project website:
Obviously most people are already aware of incel, it's just more likely they call it something else. Phrases such as "old maid", "spinster aunt", "dried-up virgin", "ugly creep", "miserable loner" and the all-purpose "loser" are a few examples, but the general concept is the same that has existed in the public consciousness for as long as the idea of relationships has existed.

According to the wikipedia: “Involuntary celibacy is not recognised by most experts in psychology, virtually no research has been published, and no statistics are available...It does not appear to be a concept taken seriously by those who do not experience it...However, conditions associated with involuntary celibacy may include severe depression, self-harm, mental illness and even suicide.”

Loneliness. Love shyness. Sexual frustration. Romantic envy. Missing the boat. Playing an agonzing, tantalizing game of catch-up. It’s alarming that a problem so destructive can be all but virtually ignored by both serious sociologists and the mental health community. It can be argued that incel is a symptom of a deeper root cause and that this cause should be the greater focus of investigation. The most obvious reasons for some incels would be social phobia or a significant degree of social incompetence. However many incels are also actually outgoing, charming, humorous, gregarious, approachable types who resemble most people already in relationships. Yet they find themselves in the same social situation of the stereotypical shut-in. Many introverts involved in serious relationships or are even married. There are no easy causal explanations.

Besides there are other psychological problems out there--alcoholism, shoplifting, self-abuse, gambling, overeating, violent tendencies, drug abuse, nymphomania--that have whole shelves of literature that address them specifically, even though they can also be described as symptons deriving from a variety of other deeper psychological issues. Support groups, counselors specializing in their issues and internet communities are also available for them.

Yet, there is almost nothing written about involuntary celibacy, and incels have almost no professional to turn to for it, aside from maybe therapists--and assuming these therapists care to address the issue specifically and seriously. If an incel suffers depression or anxiety as a result, they can of course address this to a professional, but these incels also have the added grief of feeling their own situation is so peculiar. Not only this but there exists also negative effects from just being incel that are distinct from incel’s sources. (Reiterating one example, not all social phobics are incel, nor vice versa.)

To help simplify matters, when I say incel, I mean to include only men and women above age 25, who are not incarcerated and do not have any physical handicap that could get in the way of a relationship. For now I don’t want to include the medically celibate or prisoners and other people in strict single-sex communities in the discussion yet--even though they do actually qualify as incel--mainly because the reason for being incel is so self-evident there. I would also defer discussion on very youthful incels because I believe most people understand in the adolescent and young adult years, people are expected to stumble and get rejected, and some frustration is a natural way of life, even though it can certainly be no less troubling in one's social development.

But I do very much want to address the problem of mature emotional frustration of people in a sexually permissive society, who have reasonably advanced sexual knowledge, even if it is all secondhand, especially for incels who are outgoing, are quite socially competent and are free to mingle with whoever they please. In these cases, the frustration is compounded because the sufferer has difficulty pinpointing the reason they are like this. It’s not as easy as in the last century where one could be frustrated from being in the wrong class or wrong sort of family or neighborhood. Because we live in an increasingly global community, there would seem to be no excuse not to connect with people, but incel cases still exist and, I think, much more prevalently than it would seem.

There’s also the feeling of helplessness and that the situation is somewhat out of their hands; after all it takes another reciprocating person to form a couple, and even doing everything right is no guarantee, as incels understand too well. Obviously luck plays a role in the success of many relationships, but luck affects non-incels as well; why does fortune frown on them in particular?

It seems non-incels find the idea incredibly absurd that a person of reasonable maturity and attractive would be incapable of getting a mutually affectionate romantic partner. What’s even more incredible is if someone of an advanced age turns out to still be a virgin; the most common misconception people seem to make is that this man or woman must have wanted to be like this in order to end up like this. It’s hard to admit it even to close friends and family for fear of hearing “you’re free to see whomever you please; you have no excuse not to find someone” which can make the sufferer feel worse. Without any external cause to point to, the incel has only him or herself to blame, which can certainly degrade more an already damaged self-esteem.

Actual lack of sex is not only the most misunderstood aspect of incel, but in many cases, it’s also beside the point. Some incels have had opportunities for casual or paid sex but have declined them because they don’t consider them a real relationship (or in the latter case it’s illegal for them in their residential jurisdiction.) What they are truly missing is the affectionate touching, holding and kissing and unconditional give-and-take that true couples the world over enjoy. The most common feeling is that after passing an advanced enough age, they feel they are “missing the boat” and are unable to catch up. Although late bloomers exist in other fields of life, incels find being in such small and written-off company difficult to endure. There’s also the cultural expectations similar to the plight of adults of a certain advanced age who still live with and depend on their parents.

Note that non-virgins may also qualify as incels, e.g. that 50 year old loser who once had a girlfriend in the Carter administration summer between high school and college, but has been celibate for the last 30+ years. Incels are not Average Frustrated Chumps. A good number of incels have ASD's (autistic spectrum disorders, i.e. Asperger's syndrome), too much moral integrity to have a one-night stand, and too much pride (or fear of being arrested) to buy sex from a hooker.

Patria's decade in review

2009-12-28T17:39:00.006-05:00

2000
As the decade, century and millennium began, Patria was still online with a 56 k dial-up connection. It was still the heyday of Geocities and non-interactive web pages; quite some time before blogs, Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, etc. There wasn't yet any need for high-speed DSL or cable internet.

The National Union-led Federal District of Castoropolis legislature imposed a dusk-to-dawn curfew and dress code on all under-18s in Patria's capital. No do-rags, baggy jeans, bandannas, or other "gang" clothing.

The 46th Congress ratified a Treaty of Friendship, Alliance and Mutual Regard between the Holy Empire of Reunion and Patria.

After watching the US presidential election fiasco, Patria decided to stick with hand-counted paper ballots for the 2002 election.

2001
The latest iteration of Reference Grammar of the Patrienish Language (Grammatíc-referítu linguë patríenice) was released.

Patria's devotees of Mata Amritanandamayi bolt the SRM and Chakra Parties to establish the Amrita Party.

9/11 - the event the defined the decade - immediately transforms the National Union into George W. Bush's number one cheerleader, "Ready aye ready at America's side". "Let's roll" as the events of Sept. 11, 2001 define the 47th Congress election campaign.

2002
The Castoropolis Centurions win the Kamala Cup. The perennially underachieving Toronto Maple Leafs of the PHL would at least have one championship season in this decade.

47th Congress election: National Union wins 85 seats, two more than the Amrita Party. But the tungsten-tough law-and-0rder NU is again stuck in opposition, looking up to Amrita's 83 seats, along with the SRM's 30. Another new-for-2002 party, the Rationalists, win 23 seats on an Ayn Rand, atheism and laissez-faire capitalism platform.

An extra day in office for the 46th Congress, as the inauguration of the 47th Congress is postponed until July 1. Not because Inauguration Day fell on a Sunday, but because the World Cup final was played on June 30.

2003
Patria remained SARS-free. Canada, particularly the Toronto area, wasn't so lucky.

While gay and lesbian marriages became legal in Canada, Congress affirmed that marriage is a sacred commitment between a man and a woman and refused to recognize or permit same-sex marriages in Patria.

The National Union continued to back Bush and Blair to the hilt, while the spiritual parties (SRM, Chakra, Amrita) spoke out against the invasion of Iraq and the potentially endless and unwinnable GWOT (Global War On Terror).

2004
Patria declares war on spam by going after the suckers who fall for the Nigerian scammers and the chumps who buy cut-rate Viagra, fake Rolexes and other spam merch. These morons, once tracked down and outed, were publicly ridiculed on Suckers who Bought Snake Oil, which quickly became one of the most popular programs on Ramrajyavani-Doordarshan (Patrienish television network).

Patria waded further into politically incorrect waters by condemning Israel as a Jewish-supremacist apartheid state and noting that not only are most of the neo-cons surrounding Bush Jews, but the war in Iraq was being fought at the behest of the Jews and to benefit the Israel-first war mongers. Virtually all parties in Congress favored a free and democratic Palestinian state. Jewish groups were aghast. Organized Jewry of course detests Patria anyway, as the Inner Realm is a haven for non-practicing Jews attracted to yoga and Hinduism.

2005
While the 2004-05 NHL season was wiped out by a lockout, the PHL played a full schedule. The Centurions were bounced from the Kamala Cup playoffs in 5 games and have not been to the post-season since.

The NU - once Patria's leading apologists for Bush and Blair's war - became almost silent on the war in Iraq. The most macho war-mongering National Unionists and the most peacenik far-left Chakrites and Social Democrats now have common ground against an unwinnable war fought on the basis of lies and deception (i.e. Saddam had WMD's and was harboring 9/11 terrorists).

In the wake of the South Asian tsunami, the Hon. Member from the Precinct of Arboria and Amrita Party house leader (better known as Amma) pledged one billion rupees toward relief efforts in India and Sri Lanka.

2006
The Jim Rome Show becomes one of the most popular radio programs in Patria. Van Smack, J-Stew and other leading clones are drafted into Congress as the Jungle Party is established.

The SRM and Amrita, which were a de facto coalition during the 47th Congress parties officially merged for the 48th Congress election.

48th Congress election: The Amrita Party (merged with the SRM) won 88 seats. Combined with the Chakra's 48 seats, the spiritual parties and new agers again kept the NU (70 seats) in check. Jim Rome's Jungle Party won 12 seats, not bad for a brand new party that had little in the way of a platform beyond "have a take and don't suck".

The 48th Congress Inaugural Address advocated changing Patria's legal system to "guilty until proven innocent" and full legalization of recreational drugs.

2007
Patria joins the social networking revolution by connecting with other micronationalists on Facebook.

The Archives of Patria is kept busy digitizing old images from the pre-digital camera era as the 35mm film camera is officially declared dead, along with VHS videos and audio cassettes.

Castoropolis Transit took the last tokens out of circulation and no longer accepted cash fares. The GoPatriaCard smart card, similar to London's Oyster Card, was adopted by virtually all public transit systems in Patria.

2008
The worldwide recession drags Patria down with the US and the rest of the world's economies. Just before the economy drove off a cliff in the latter part of the year, the price of gas hit an all-time high of RsPat. 50 a litre.

Patria received an apparently serious offer from the African country of Cameroon, offering some land for sale. No action was taken as the offer appeared to be an African scam

Popular opinion in Patria overwhelmingly endorses Barack Obama for US President.

The SRM-Amrita merger begins to show signs of falling apart as the economy goes down the tubes.

Shonny the Cablinasian is bounced from the Jungle Party caucus and declared ineligible for re-election in a "business decision".

2009
In the wake of the Great Recession of 2008-09, Patria is swept by a groundswell of "bring the jobs home", "no more offshoring" and "no more made-in-China" protectionism.

The annual message to Congress at the close of the Third Session urged all Patrienish citizens who still had jobs to spend as much as possible on consumer goods, particularly big-ticket items, noting that consumer spending is a patriotic duty to defeat the global economic downturn, just as saving ration coupons was a patriotic duty to defeat the Axis in World War II.

In one of the worst-kept secrets (rumors had been swirling for almost a year), the SRM-Amrita merger was dissolved and the SRM re-established for the 49th Congress election.

The SRM becomes the leading protectionist party in the 2010 election campaign, advocating Gandhian "Swadeshi" self-sufficiency and rejection of imported goods.

Yahoo killed off Geocities, and Patria's official website migrated to a new host.

Follow the Campaign 2010 tweets!

2009-12-15T09:15:00.004-05:00

A new Twitter account, twitter.com/patriavotes2010, has been set up as a 140-characters-or-less forum for electioneering slogans, promises and other news from the 49th Congress campaign trail. All the parties, from the big players to the nutbar one-seat fringers, will tweet on this site until the day before the election (all campaigning must end at 11:59 PM on April 16, 2010). Of course, for campaign news that is greater than 140 characters long, stay tuned to this blog!

National Union's platform in road signs

2009-12-06T14:06:00.005-05:00

NO LEFTISTS.
NO FEMINISTS.
NO LIBERALS.

What part of "no" don't you understand?

Law and Order. It's where we live. Tough as nails. Vote National Union.

SRM - Swadeshi Ramrajya Movement

2009-12-01T10:14:00.005-05:00

To almost no one's surprise, the SRM is pushing Gandhi-style swadeshi - domestic production of virtually all consumer goods (not just hand-spun cloth) and rejection of imports to the greatest extent possible. Indeed, the SRM may now stand for Swadeshi Ramrajya Movement, as well as Spiritual Regeneration Movement.

BRING THE JOBS HOME!
NO MORE OFFSHORING!
NO MORE OUTSOURCING!
BUY THE GOODS YOUR NEIGHBORS HELP TO MANUFACTURE!
SAY NO TO "MADE IN CHINA"! SAY YES TO "MADE IN PATRIA"!

Nothing plays as well to laid-off workers and those who are in fear of losing their jobs as simplistic, knee-jerk protectionism. All is fair in love and war and recessions.

"Under this plan of life, in seeming to serve India to the exclusion of every other country, I do not harm any other country. My patriotism is both exclusive and inclusive. It is exclusive in the sense that, in all humility, I confine my attention to the land of my birth, but is inclusive in the sense that my service is not of a competitive or antagonistic nature. SIC UTERE TUO UT ALIENUM NON LAEDAS is not merely a legal maxim, but it is a grand doctrine of life. It is the key to proper practice of ahimsa or love."

"I have never considered the exclusion of everything foreign under every conceivable circumstance as a part of Swadeshi. The broad definition of Swadeshi is the use of all home-made things to the exclusion of foreign things, in so far as such use is necessary for the protection of home industry, more especially those industries without which India will become pauperized. In my opinion, therefore, Swadeshi which excludes the use of everything foreign, no matter how beneficial it may be, and irrespective of the fact that it impoverishes nobody, is a narrow interpretation of Swadeshi." (Mahatma Gandhi, 1926)

Gandhi's thoughts on the meaning of Swadeshi.

The Gospel of Swadeshi

National Union: Tough on crime, tough on kids!

2009-11-17T11:03:00.002-05:00

For the past two decades, the National Union has been tough on street punks. But for 2010, they're tough on kids before they even get onto the streets or are old enough to become punks. Appealing to moms and dads to instill tough love in their kids, the NU advocates corporal punishment, "obedience" and "respect for authority".

Spanking, of course, plays to the NU's balls-to-the-wall, forged-in-the-fire, testosterone-fueled advocacy of manly values. Another way to mold impressionable young boys into tough men. Everyone knows that being spanked at home and caned at school helps to build manly, macho character.

Although the death penalty has been abolished (like much of the civilized macro-world, certain US states notwithstanding), per Article VII of the Constitution of Patria, the NU is not only committed to bringing back the death penalty, they promise a return to public executions. Because nothing says tough on crime more than firing up the electric chair, public hangings, or even beheadings in the town square, and on national television to boot.

1989: Spark of Liberation

2009-11-10T08:20:00.004-05:00

"Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!" As many visitors to Patria know, Patria's "Dharmic Revolution" - its unique micronational movement to embrace Hinduism, Sanskrit, yoga, New Age and Eastern-based spirituality - was inspired by the fall of the Berlin Wall and the mostly non-violent (Rumania excepted) democratic revolutions that swept the former Warsaw Pact nations of Eastern Europe in the latter part of 1989 as the Cold War ended and the Soviet Union imploded.

In Patria, the momentous events of twenty years ago were an inspiration to focus inwardly, to begin a spiritual quest, and to tear down walls within that might as well have been made of brick and fortified with machine gun-toting guards. The bland, dishwater-dull centrist, small-l liberal, and small-c conservative parties that had governed Patria for decades and formed the bulk of the 43rd Congress were turfed out of power almost as swiftly as the monolithic Communists of the old Warsaw Pact. Perhaps not coincidentally, in late 1989 an election for a new Congressus Patriaë was on the horizon. In the 44th Congress election of 1990, the Spiritual Regeneration Movement, Chakra Party and the now-defunct New Forum of Patria - new parties that could not have been imagined on the ballot four years earlier - rose up to meet the challenges of a new consciousness and Patria's post-Cold War longing for spiritual values.

Just as there are many Germans who grew up in East Germany and two decades later still long for the pre-November 1989 days of job security, guaranteed housing and child care, cheap (if seldom available) consumer goods, unsafe at any speed Trabant cars and the discredited leadership of Erich Honecker, there are many citizens of Patria who still long for the old days of the boring, secular, but nominally Judeo-Christian republic. The rightist, tough-on-crime, macho-man National Union panders to much of this nostalgia, at least to the populist perception that law and order has crumbled, crime has gone out of control, and Patria has become irreversably feminized by hatha/raja/bhakti yoga, Hinduism and New Age spirituality.

Swine flu: Patria not buying the fear-mongering

2009-11-07T14:08:00.003-05:00

"This ain't 1918, folks"! That sums up Patria's take on the H1N1 (aka swine) flu fear-mongering. It's only a mild strain of flu, and for most people the worst that will happen is that they will get sick for a couple days, recover, and have a strengthened immune system. Don't worry, or don't worry too much. And don't be in a rush to get a H1N1 shot. Trust your own immune system more than any vaccine, particularly one that has been rushed into production without adequate research into potential side effects. The best way to prevent flu and stay healthy through the 2010 election campaign is to take the usual precautions (wash or sanitize hands frequently, cough/sneeze into your sleeve, avoid hanging out with sick people, stay home if you are sick, etc.) rather than inject some unproven and possibly toxic stuff into your body.

Patria vividly remembers the 1976 Swine Flu farce and the useless shots that didn't protect against what was hyped as a killer flu but stuck millions of Americans with Guillain-Barre paralysis. Just another brutal experience in the 40th Congress (1974-1978).

Patria's new post-Geocities home: patria.zxq.net

2009-10-13T21:35:00.005-04:00

Click here to visit Patria's new home on the web!

It's kind of an odd-looking URL (like, WTF does "zxq" mean?), but can't beat the price! Yes, despite the imminent demise of Geocities, there are still free web hosting services! Even better, there is at least one free web hosting services that doesn't screw up your page with pop-ups or splatter ads: Zymic.com. That is where Patria's new site is hosted. If you have still have a website on Geocities, this may be a good place to move it before Geocities dies on Oct. 26. Apparently there will be no stay of execution from the governor of Yahoo.

Congressional apportionment 2006

2009-10-04T14:07:00.005-04:00

As the 2010 election campaign begins, a look back to 2006. The following are the number of seats awarded to each party in the 48th Congress, along with the percentage of the popular vote received in the election held on April 15, 2006.

Amrita Party.........................88 seats (26.42% of popular vote)
National Union......................70 (21.02%)
Chakra Party.........................48 (14.41%)
Green Party...........................24 (7.21%)
Progressive Labor.................19 (5.71%)
Lilith Party............................16 (4.8%)
Libertarian............................15 (4.5%)
Jungle Party..........................12 (3.6%)
Social Democrats..................11 (3.3%)
Chastity Party....................... 6 (1.8%)
Freedom Party...................... 5 (1.5%)
Family Values Party............. 4 (1.2%)
Personal Responsibility........ 4 (1.2%)
Rationalist Party................... 2 (0.6%)
others (*see below)............... 9 (2.7%)
* One seat each: Alpha-Omega Party, Reconstruction Party, Victory and Peace Party, Lazurian Independent Party, Peoples' Party, Popular Front of Pottsylvania, New Age Party, Christian Heritage Party, National Democratic Union.

Since the Social Democrats and Progressive Labor merged for all practical purposes during the 48th Congress, and have made the merger official for 2010, the combined party holds 30 seats, placing the real leftists ahead of the fake leftists hiding their conservatism behind an environmentalist facade (i.e. the Greens).

Back from summer recess! Fourth Session, 48th Congress

2009-09-21T19:44:00.002-04:00

Congress is back in session. The Fourth Session of the 48th Congressus Patriaë (4·XLVIII 2009-10) convened today to begin a session that will adjourn in June 2010, a few days before Inauguration Day. At the top of the Fourth Session's order paper, is of course the battle against the GED (Global Economic Downturn, not a high school equivalency diploma). Congress warns that even if the recession may have "officially" ended, or will end during this session, any recovery will be jobless. With double-digit unemployment (and a jobless rate as high as 35% in Patria's Rust Belt) and anemic consumer spending, notwithstanding the exhortation to go out and buy that was delivered when the Third Session adjourned for the summer recess, it will still feel like a recession for the remainder of this Congress' term of office and could even be GED, Round 2. A double-dip recession in early 2010 is a very real possibility.

Also on the order paper is migrating Patria's web site from the soon-to-be-defunct Geocities to a free server, yet to be determined.

When the Speaker's gavel hit the dais to open the fourth and final session of the 48th Congress, it also marks the de facto official start of the election campaign for the 49th Congress. Patria votes April 17, 2010. As the Jungle Party would say, "Step your game up! Have a campaign trail take and don't suck"!

From Kids Can Press - a micronational handbook for kids 12 and under!

2009-09-20T15:05:00.005-04:00

How to Build Your Own Country is an interactive and totally original learning experience that shows kids how to build their very own country from scratch. This book, the only one of its kind, offers children the expertise and advice they'll need to plant their flag in the backyard, in the bedroom or online. Kids will be amazed to discover that anyone can do it. Nation-building advice is peppered with examples of events that have shaped countries throughout history, teaching young readers about government, elections, geography and global issues.

Backed up with lots of amazing examples of real micronations - some established or ruled by kids - How to Build Your Own Country promises to inspire, entertain and inform young nation-builders.

Want to build your very own country from scratch? It's easy:

Step 1: Stake Out Your Identity ... with a flag, money and a national anthem. Learn how to put your country's name on the map.

Step 2: Run the Country ... with a government, constitution, laws and an economy.

Step 3: Meet the Neighbors … and join other nations on the big issues that face the whole world, such as poverty, global warming, security and international aid.

How To Build Your Own Country is part of CitizenKid: A collection of books that inform children about the world and inspire them to be better global citizens.

Written by Valerie Wyatt, with illustrations by Fred Rix. Published by Kids Can Press, 2009. ISBN: 978-1-55453-310-7

Disclaimer: the above blurb was copied from Kids Can's web page. Patria does not endorse this book in any way.

Minor parties - fringe and nutbar

2009-09-10T21:14:00.003-04:00

To complete the profiles of the parties holding seats in the 48th Congress and contesting the 49th Congress election, the following parties are little more than fringe groups, one-trick ponies that campaign on only one issue, or simply nutbars that game Patria's system of proportional representation and manage to gain a seat or two.

Family Values Party - An old-line social conservative party that broke away from the National Union in 1997, charging that the NU was too concerned with macho values rather than social conservatism and traditional family values (e.g. hard-core homophobia; the FVP's main slogan is "Healthy, Happy, Heterosexual"). Along with believing that homosexuality can be cured with psychotherapy and/or born-again Christianity, the FVP would like to return Patria to a neo-1950's "Leave It To Beaver" era when men were breadwinners, women stayed home with the kids, and gays stayed in the closet.

Party for Personal Responsibility - Formerly the Party for Fiscal Responsibility, the PPR was another breakaway party from the National Union in 1997-98. Originally a one-issue party of strict economic conservatism whose mantras are "Pay down the deficit, cut social spending, cut taxes", the PPR has added personal responsibility - both economic and social - to its one-issue platform.

Lilith Party - Also a new party for 1998, the Lilith Party is a women's party founded to counter the macho National Union. Taking its name from the Lilith Fair all-women music festival held near Toronto in 1997, Lilith mainly attracts hard-core feminists (i.e. those who spell women as "womyn"), out-of-the-closet lesbians, and teenage girls attracted by the slogan "the Grrrrls Party". Anita Bryants and Margaret Thatchers are not welcome in Lilith!

Rationalist Party - Launched in 2001, the Rationalist Party of Patria was established as a protest against the Hindu bloc. The Rationalists are not only strictly secular and advocate separation of church and state but actively encourage atheism. Their main slogan is "Reason not Religion, Science not Spirit". The Rationalists have also adopted some of the "Objectivist" philosophy of Ayn Rand. Among the Rationalist Party caucus are Dagny Taggart and John Galt, the heroes of Atlas Shrugged.

Freedom Party - A new party for the 2006 elections, the Freedom Party was intended to be a successor to the Patriots' Party, which surprisingly received a good chunk of protest votes in 1994 with its "Raise the flag, raise your fist, RISE UP!" slogan. Like its Patriot predecessor, the Freedom Party is a far-right, openly anti-Semitic party, dedicated to preserving free speech, particularly defending politically incorrect websites or "anything the Jews don't like" against censorship. This fun bunch of brown-shirted or white-hooded guys (and perhaps a few girls) claim to be "Patria's only pro-white party".

Chastity Party - The second new party to hit the 48th Congress campaign trail in 2006, the Chastity Party is another one-issue party: fight pre-marital sex, "Just say no until you say I do" is the Chastity Party's slogan, probably inspired by a bumper sticker spotted in Red-State Bible-Belt America.

Several other minor parties hold one or two seats in Congress. Among them are an assortment of New Age splinter groups, the Lazurian Independent Party (which advocates the Precinct of Lazuria's independence from Patria), and the National Democratic Union and Peoples' Party - the last remnants of the pre-1990 liberal centrists swept away by the Dharmic Revolution.

Minor parties from the macro-world

2009-09-07T00:42:00.003-04:00

The following minor parties in Patria actually exist in some form in the macronational world. (In the micronational community, real-life existing countries such as Canada and the U.S. are known as "macronations".)

Green Party of Patria - Unlike like the Green Party of Canada, which gets shut out of Canada's House of Commons and provincial legistatures because of the dinosaur first-past-the-post electoral system, the Green Party of Patria is awarded a number of seats in the Congressus Patriaë (24 in 2006) thanks to proportional representation. Like the macro-national Greens of Canada, the U.S. and Europe, the Greens of Patria appear to be leftist, progressive, bike-riding, Birkenstock-wearing, tree-hugging environmentalists. But a quick glance at their platform would reveal them to be economic conservatives and even Ayn Rand-style free-enterprise capitalists disguised as politically correct left-wingers.

Libertarian Party of Patria - "More freedom through less government", strongly civil libertarian, staunch advocates of free speech and opponents of all forms of censorship, the Libertarian party of Patria, like Libertarian Parties in the United States and Canada, is conservative on economic issues but very liberal on "free choice" issues such as legalization of drugs or abortion. There really is not much need for a Libertarian party in Patria, since Patria has become quite libertarian since the 1990s - decriminalizing drugs for all practical purposes, no restrictions on abortion, and strongly free-speech. In Patria, there are no laws criminalizing freedom of thought such as Holocaust denial. To the extent that they do not advocate violence against specific individuals or incite rioting, far-right nutbars such as Ernst Zundel who might find themselves jailed in Canada would not be prosecuted (or persecuted) for politically incorrect thoughts in Patria.

Social Democrats/Progressive Labor - Much like Canada's New Democrats, the Social Democrats are a social-justice, centre-left, "tax-and-spend liberal" or "progressive" party dating from the 1930s. Progressive Labor is another very old party, going back to the 1890s, that claims to represent the working proletariat. The SD and PL will merge in 2010, in an attempt to unite the left. The combined party will likely be known simply as Social Democrats, dropping any references to the Red-baiting Cold War era baggage contained in terms such as "progressive" and "labor".

Jungle Party - Have a take! Don't suck!

2009-09-04T22:49:00.003-04:00

The Jungle Party of Patria is a new party established in 2006, created by popular demand of the Clones - Patria's faithful devotees of the Jim Rome Show - to have Jim Rome elected to the Congressus Patriaë, along with the leader of the XR4TI Crew, Jason Stewart, aka "Mr. Automatic", "J-Stew", and the best contestant Blind Date ever had. The Jungle Party caucus is made up of the leading clones and Smack-Off participants, including Iafrate, Jeff in Richmond, Terrence from Sierra Madre, Jeff on a car phone in Phoenix, Greg in Vegas, Rachel in Houston, and multiple Smack-Off champion Shonny "Boom goes the dynamite!" the Cablinasian. In 2008, Cablinasian was disqualified from sitting in Congress (apparently a "business decision") and was replaced by Brad in Corona.

The Jungle Party's platform - beyond "step your game up", "come strong", "have a take" and "don't suck" - includes tax cuts for males 30 years of age or over who are minimally employed and living with their parents, usually in the basement, as well as a promise to fight impaired driving with the Jim Rome Drunk Bus, to be made available to any athlete or celebrity in Patria who has had too much to drink by calling 1-800-BLEAHHH!!

Although holding only 12 seats in the 48th Congress, the Jungle Party is set to make big gains in the 2010 election, given the Jim Rome show's huge popularity on its flagship station in Patria, PMBC (1152 AM) in Castoropolis.

Disclaimer: The Jungle Party of Patria has no de jure or de facto connection whatsoever to the Jim Rome Show, Jim Rome is Burning, the Premiere Radio Networks, or the Stuck Nut online forum. Good night now!

Chakra Party - no gurus, just right!

2009-08-31T09:22:00.002-04:00

A New Age party that burst onto the scene in 1990 with the demise of the mainstream centrist parties and Patria's spiritual re-awakening of 1989-90, the Chakra Party was the SRM's chief rival for the Hindu vote during the 1990s. While the SRM stands solidly behind pure, unadulterated Hindu teachings, the Chakra Party advocates a broader New Age spirituality - partially Hindu-based, but also drawing from other Eastern traditions such as Tibetan Buddhism - as well as practical transformation in one's everyday life rather than rigid adherence to gurus, Hindu dogma and rituals. The Chakra Party's 1998 campaign slogan was "Transformation not Transcendence!", referring to transforming one's life in this world, in this lifetime, rather than transcending one's everyday existence in an attempt to live in some kind of other-worldly nirvana. For a discussion of the path of transformation v. the path of transcendence, and why the latter is unlikely to bring about personal growth or inner peace, it is recommended to read The Path of Transformation by Shakti Gawain.

The SRM and Chakra Party were bitter rivals during the '98 and '02 election campaigns, accusing each other of being full of "out-of-touch pandits, gurus and sadhus" and "spaced out New Age wannabes" respectively, but after the elections, they patched up some of their differences in order to present a united front against the National Union's macho, not to mention the secular humanism, atheism and agnosticism propounded by the Greens, Libertarians, Rationalists, Social Democrats and the other loose ends of Patria's political party smorgasbord. In 2002 the Chakra Party was hit even harder than the SRM by the new Amrita Party. With only eight seats in the 47th Congress, down from 84 in the 46th, the Chakra Party was reduced to a mere rump. But the Chakra Party rebounded strongly in 2006 to take 48 seats in the 48th Congress. The Chakras do not dislike gurus per se, but strongly oppose the guru-centric personality cults such as found in the Amrita Party; hence the slogan "No gurus, just right!" The party takes its name from the chakras, the seven centers of energy and consciousness within the body, according to yogic philosophy.

National Union - Where a man belongs!

2009-08-30T14:11:00.006-04:00

A long-established small-c conservative party that was somewhat centrist and bland (think Ontario's Progressive Conservative governments during the heyday of Leslie Frost, John Robarts and William Davis), the National Union dominated Congress from the 1930s until 1970. After being hammered in the 39th Congress elections and fading into obscurity in the 1970s, the NU re-defined itself in the 43rd Congress campaign of 1986 as "The Man's Party", valuing "Pride, Tradition, Commitment to Excellence". Ever since then, the NU has strongly challenged the Hindu parties by standing for pure, unashamed "manly values" and no-nonsense Law-and-Order. "Tough on crime, tough on welfare cheats!", "Zero tolerance, maximum penalties!", "Top dog for real men", "Forged in the fire, tungsten tough!", "Testosterone in your balls = National Union on your ballot!", "Law and order, tooth and nail" are among the alpha-male-pandering slogans the NU has trotted out over the past two decades. The NU abhors welfare and social programs ("the man's way: Personal responsibility and self-determination!") and adores tough-as-nails male role models like the nicotine-fueled macho Marlboro Cowboy (indeed, the NU even used the slogan "National Union men are cigarette smoking tough!"), John Wayne, Ronald Reagan, and even Margaret Thatcher. The NU considers Thatcher an honorary male, who earned her y chromosome in the Falklands War! In response to 9/11, the NU added "Win the War" to its law and order, tough-guy platform. For the 2002 election campaign, the NU whipped up propaganda for George W. Bush's war on terror, promising to be as tough on terrorists as on petty thugs, advocating torture and public executions. But in 2006, the NU abandoned its cheerleading for Gee Dubya and condemned the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan as unwinnable wastes of manhood ("real men don't die in needless wars overseas, but fight crime at home").

The NU even despises cat owners as wimpy, effeminate men: "the NU is not for pussycats. Or for men who prefer cats to dogs when it comes to animal companions. National Union men own big dogs like rottweilers and pit bulls!"

Since 1998, when the NU took a majority of seats in the Federal District of Castoropolis, the NU has played the broken-window theory of law enforcement to the hilt in Patria's capital city. Jaywalkers, litterbugs, subway fare evaders, panhandlers and other petty quality-of-life scofflaws have been ruthlessly prosecuted and jailed (some luckless jaywalkers in downtown Castoropolis even wound up with 30 days in the slammer) in an effort to deter the murderers, rapists and al-Qaeda wannabe's. "Today's jaywalker = tomorrow's terrorist" was one of the NU's slogans. The NU also advocates racial profiling for public safety and has instituted a dress code in Castoropolis. For the benefit of visitors to Patria's capital, the following are the main points of the dress code:

No do-rags or bandannas

No cornrows, dreadlocks or other non-standard male hair styles

No baggy jeans or cargo pants

No hooded sweatshirts

Baseball caps must be worn facing forward

No stocking caps, unless temperature is below 0ºC/32ºF

No excessive "bling bling" (jewellery), such as oversize crucifixes or Nike pendants.

Have you spanked your kid today? The National Union supports corporal punishment, including caning or strapping in school.

It doesn't get any tougher than the National Union. Tough times, tough choices, tough men!

Spiritual Regeneration Movement - fighting the recession with Hindu dharma

2009-08-25T09:36:00.011-04:00

In some ways resembling India's Bharatiya Janata Party, the Spiritual Regeneration Movement (SRM) is Patria's original Hindu fundamentalist/nationalist/revivalist party. The Spiritual Regeneration Movement can trace its history in Patria back to the hippies, flower children and counter-culturists of the 1960s, who, like their counterparts in the U.S., Canada and Europe began to study yoga, Hinduism, ISKCON's Hare Krishna and Maharishi's Transcendental Meditation. From these humble beginnings, the SRM received its charter as an official political party in 1989. As the Dharmic Revolution was unfolding in 1989-90, the SRM contested its first elections to the 44th Congress and helped to put the final nail in the coffin of the liberal, secular parties that had ruled Patria for more than a century. The SRM is founded on the teachings of the Vedas, the Bhagavad Gita, Patanjali's Yoga Sutras, the Devi Mahatmyam, 19th century Hindu reformers and missionaries such as Ramakrishna and Vivekananda, as well as the many modern-day gurus, saints and divine beings.

Over the past two decades. the SRM has spearheaded efforts to make Yoga Patria's national sport and Sanskrit one of the official languages, but has failed in its attempt to make Patria 100% vegetarian or at least to outlaw the eating of beef. Yes, you can get a Big Mac or Whopper in Patria, but not for lack of effort on the part of the SRM to ban McDeath's, Bugger King and other U.S. beef-guzzling fast food joints!

The supporters of the SRM are the front line of Patria's spiritual warriors, standing shoulder to shoulder to defend Hinduism, not only as a religion or spiritual path, not only as a recession-resistant shelter from the economic storm, but as the bulwark of Patria's cultural identity.

SRM-Amrita Party merger and split - Although both the SRM and Amrita Party consistently denied rumors of a merger during the 2002 election campaign, on May 1, 2002 the two parties agreed to a de facto merger that gave them 113 seats and a comfortable lead over the National Union in the 47th Congress. The SRM and Amrita retained nominally separate identities, i.e. members of Congress could identify either as SRM or Amrita if they choose, but the parties had a single platform and national office. The combination was known as "SRM-A". For 2006 the SRM-A officially merged and campaigned for the 48th Congress as a single party, the Amrita Party of Patria. The SRM was officially defunct as of June 30, 2006. In late 2008 amid the cratering economy, rumors began to re-surface that the SRM would be re-established. In April 2009, to almost no one's surprise, the SRM was officially resurrected and entered the race for the 49th Congress as a new party. Announcing its split from the Amrita Party, the SRM particularly slagged the guru personality cults: "...the SRM is not drawn to the personality cult that often surrounds gurus who have become celebrities in the West, gurus who have beome multi-millionaires by milking their mostly Anglo-Saxon and Jewish devotees, or gurus who have turned out to be fakes, abusers, or sexual predators. We have the greatest love and admiration for Amma, indeed many members of the SRM consider themselves devotees of the Hugging Saint, but we believe that the Amrita Party has failed to adequately deal with the economic downturn that began in 2008."

During the campaign, the SRM may become known as the Swadeshi Regeneration Movement. Taking the Third Session closing message to heart (see blog entry for June 26, 2009), the SRM has promised to fight the recession on a platform of strict protectionism, with a neo-Gandhian "swadeshi" spin. According to a recent SRM communiqué: "...the SRM will stand behind the protectionists. We will stimulate Patria's economy by voting in favor of tariffs and duties on cheap mostly Chinese-made goods, thereby encouraging domestic production of consumer goods of equal or better quality. We believe in self-sufficiency and domestic production of consumer goods and services. The SRM will support economic stimulus packages in order to re-open the shuttered factories and re-establish Patria's manufacturing industry. Say no to made-in-China. SRM holds the key to recovery!".

Watch for the SRM, Amrita and Chakra Parties to pull out negative campaign ads and other non-violent heavy artillery as they go head-to-head (or crown chakra-to-crown chakra) with each other for the hearts and minds of Patria's Hindu, New Age and Eastern-spirituality-in-general voters.

Amrita Party - Mother's love in the 49th Congress

2009-08-24T20:47:00.004-04:00

[Blogger's note - in the weeks to come, this site will present brief profiles of the parties that hold seats in the 48th Congress and are campaigning for the 49th Congress. These party profiles will replace the individual parties' pages on soon-to-be-defunct Geocities.]

The Amrita Party of Patria was established in August 2001 as the offering of Patria's devotees of Her Holiness, Mata Amritanandamayi Devi, known as "Amma", "Ammachi" or simply Mother to millions of devotees worldwide who revere her as a divine being, guru, and spiritual mother.

Ammachi herself even holds a seat in Congress -- though she has never held public office in her native India -- representing "God's own Country" in Patria, the Precinct of Arboria.

The original intent of the Amrita Party was not to draw Hindu nationalist votes away from the Spiritual Regeneration Movement (SRM) and New Age votes away from the Chakra party but to complement those parties in order to form an unbreakable spiritual bulwark against the secular right wing, the Rationalists and the National Union. Following the 2002 elections in which the Amrita Party and SRM won 83 and 30 seats respectively in the 47th Congress, the two parties united under the banner of SRM-Amrita (SRM-A) and were formally merged as the Amrita Party of Patria for the 2006 election campaign. The Amrita Party currently holds 88 seats in the 48th Congress, and has been able to push through legislation by forming an uneasy coalition with the Chakra Party, as well as the Greens, Lilith Party and other so-called "progressive" parties.

Among the highlights of the Amrita Party's achievements since 2002:

Inclusion of Ammachi's teachings and bhajans (devotional songs) in the curriculum of Patria's gurukulam schools.
Opening of a Patrienish branch of the Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences (AIMS) hospital.
Establishment of a campus of the Amrita University in Patria.
Establishment of a permanent Ammachi ashram in Patria, in Karunanagar, Caesarea, easily accessible via the Caesarea Coast Line of the Castoropolis and Caesarea Railways (CCR).
Addition of Amrita Television to all basic cable TV services in Patria.

DISCLAIMER: The Amrita Party of Patria exists only in the unrecognized country ("micronation") known as the Inner Realm of Patria (Antarbhumi Ramrajya) and has no connection whatsoever with the MA Center, Mata Amritanandamayi Math, Amma Foundation of Canada, or any actual Amma-related organization in any recognized country of the world.

October 26, 2009 - Geocities dies!

2009-07-12T13:18:00.007-04:00

Yahoo is killing off Geocities, effective October 26, 2009. That's actually a bit of a stay of execution, since it was believed Geocities would get the axe sometime during the summer, perhaps by the end of this month.

In the meantime, Patria's web pages are still available, though of course will not be updated further. They can also be viewed on the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine.

Where Patria will go web-wise will be decided early in the Fourth Session, when the 48th Congress re-convenes in September. Don't bet the farm on seeing Patria's old pages hosted on pop-up filled spyware-spawning Angelfire or Tripod, assuming those Clinton-era free hosting services are going to be around for much longer after the demise of Geocities.

Congress gotta say goodbye for the summer...

2009-06-26T21:01:00.004-04:00

The Third Session, 48th Congress (3·XLVIII 2008-09) adjourned for the northern hemisphere summer recess today. No, the members of Congress will not send you all their love every day in a letter sealed with a kiss. But they closed out the session with the traditional annual message to Congress - as close as it gets in Patria to a State of the Union speech - containing the strongest calls for protectionism, buy-Patrienish and spend-yourself-out-of-recession ever heard since the start of the GED (global economic downturn).

XLVIII Con. Pat.

Annual Message to Congress (at close of Third Session)

June 26, 2009

Om Amriteswaryai Namah. Jai Karunamayi. Om Sri Maha-Rajñyai Namaha. Salutations to Devi who is the Empress of the Universe. With the Divine Mother’s blessings, the 48th Congressus Patriaë has reached the three-quarter point in its term of office.

As this session is about to adjourn, let us pause for a moment to note the passing yesterday of Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson, two icons of 40th, 41st and 42nd Congress pop culture.

Although it is traditional to deliver an annual message at the closing of each session of Congress, this message will not enumerate the highlights of the Third Session from the election of Barack Obama to the rise of Twitter as the next big thing. Rather, this message will focus on the one single over-riding all-consuming issue that this Congress, indeed the legislatures of the entire democratic world, was faced with since last September: the imploding, crashing economy and the legacy of shuttered factories, out-of-business retail stores, millions of lost jobs, devastated retirement savings, foreclosed homes, bankrupt businesses, and all the other untold pain and suffering brought on by the current recession, indeed the darkest economic times since the 1930s.

Although it may pale in comparison to Barack Obama’s trillion-dollar stimulus package passed by the US Congress, this session has nonetheless enacted a stimulus package designed to breathe life into this shuddering corpse of an economy.

Much like the WPA projects three-quarters of a century ago that left America with a legacy of Art Deco public buildings, Patria’s stimulus package includes almost half a trillion rupees earmarked for infrastructure initiatives. Although infrastructure projects have been criticized as being outdated FDR-era make-work schemes that do not create many long-term permanent jobs once the bridges are built, the roads are repaved and the high-speed railway track is laid, desperate times call for “give a man a fish and feed him for a day” employment initiatives that in the short run will pay the bills and give people fish as well as put other foods on the table for a day or for as many days as needed until the economy improves.

In this session we have offered Patrienish Motor Works loans and bailout funds amounting to almost 3 billion rupees. What GM, Ford and Chrysler are to America, PMW is to Patria. For almost a century, your neighbors have helped build cars and trucks right here in Patria. Our proud auto-making legacy must not go the way of GM – headed toward bankruptcy court – or Chrysler – bought out by Fiat, which, as we all know stands for “Fix It Again, Tony”. Patria’s automotive industry must not be allowed to fail. But the ultimate survival of PMW is up to you. If you are still working and not in danger of losing your job, you must seriously consider purchasing a new domestic car or truck and thereby doing your part to bail out a vital cog in Patria’s economy and helping bring an end to the Great Recession.

We pledge that the stimulus package and the other measures taken in 2008-09 will not have been in vain.

In the face of this brutal recession, this much we pledge – and more.

With security and prosperity only distant memories or faint hopes, this much we pledge – and more.

More, because we must pledge to take back Patria’s economy in the face of a continued GED (global economic downturn) that could be with us well into the next Congress and the next decade. For those who are fortunate enough to still have jobs and some savings, notwithstanding the very real fear of being laid off in the near future and the years of hard-earned RSP or 401(k) savings wiped out almost overnight, you owe it to your country and to the world’s economy to spend, spend, and spend some more, preferably at local family-owned retailers and on made-in-Patria goods and services. We may not be able to spend ourselves out of the recession. But if consumers do not spend, the recession will not end soon and will only continue to worsen. Therefore, you – the 92 or 93 percent who are gainfully employed – are urged to stimulate the economy by going out this weekend and purchasing a new car, an iPhone, a plasma TV, a laptop computer, a new washer and dryer, or any other big-ticket item. If you can afford it, consider making a down payment on a new house or condo. Just as growing a victory garden and saving ration coupons were your patriotic duties to help defeat the true Axis of evil some 65 years ago, today you must consider consumer spending to be your patriotic duty to help defeat the downturn.

In the remaining year of this administration, and as we elect a new Congress on April 17, 2010, we must pledge our best efforts to reduce our dependence on foreign imports and place Patria as far as possible on the road to complete domestic production of all consumer goods and manufactured products. Had there not been globalization and free trade, the damage caused by the toxic assets of a few US banks and the epidemic of subprime mortgages would have ended at the Rio Grande, the 49th parallel and the Peace Bridge. Had there not been globalization and free trade, the United States would not have dragged the rest of the world down with its failing economy, unsustainable military-industrial complex, overabundance of greed-mongers, and unscrupulous bankers pandering to low-income earners who had no business buying homes. Had there not been globalization and free trade, high-quality manufactured goods could still be produced in first-world democracies by workers paid first-world wages. Had there not been globalization and free trade, the suits in the boardrooms of America would not put the financial gain of their shareholders ahead of the welfare of their own fellow citizens. Had there not been globalization and free trade, well-paying unionized jobs with dental plans, company pensions and other benefits would not be exported to Mexico and Red China and replaced by minimum-wage dead-end jobs offering no benefits. Therefore, a mighty fortress of protectionism must be built, with ramparts of tariffs and a moat of swadeshi self-sufficiency in the Gandhian tradition. In the face of the global financial crisis, this Congress must be called to act in the Fourth Session in order to stimulate the economy, take back the lost jobs, and protect Patria’s job-creating industries by ending outsourcing, offshoring, globalization and free trade. From lowly pencils and paper clips to high-tech computers and electronic gadgetry, let us replace “made in China” with a vast new range of “made in Patria” goods and services. IMPORT NOTHING and SAY NO TO MADE IN CHINA should become the battle cries of all the parties who will contest the seats in the 49th Congress and the legislative assemblies of the 13 Precincts.

Let us close this session with this simple prayer: lokah samastah sukhino bhavantu. May all beings in the world be happy!

Pení potentíx ín mirím investíx Constituxioníx Patriaë, ímí diclarí Tertilí Sexión 48-íe Congressus Patriaë imán fermití, et ímí appelí; íllí Congressus primadíním 21-lí septimbríe 2009 híc reconvæt, períful inceptán Quätrílí Sexión 48-íe Congressus Patriaë.

Under the power vested in me by the Constitution of Patria, I declare closed the Third Session of the 48th Congress, and call this Congress to re-assemble here on Monday, the 21st of September 2009, to open the Fourth Session of the 48th Congress.

[The House adjourned at 7:25 PM]

So let us make a pledge to meet in Spetember, and seal it with a kiss...ERRRRR!!!!...with a hug from Amrita Party House Leader Ammachi (the Honorable Member from the Precinct of Arboria)...or with the Speaker of the House's gavel hitting the dais, signaling the end to another session of the Congress of Patria.