Ave Atque Vale - 52nd Congress passes into history

 

As Patria Post issued a World Cup 2026 commemorative stamp, and the Inauguration of the Fifty Third Congress only days away, the Fourth Session of the 52nd Congress (4·LII 2025-26) - indeed the entirety of the Fifty Second Congress - adjourned sine die early this morning following a marathon all-night sitting in order to pass and ratify Patria's fiscal 2027 budget.

Following is the text of the final message of the 52nd Congress

Hon. Member, Caesarea (SRM)

Madam Speaker Pro Tem, the House having ratified Patria’s fiscal 2027 budget, with your permission I rise to deliver the final Ave Atque Vale message of the Fifty Second Congress. Together we have shared, together we have grown over the past four years and as the time comes for the Speaker to bring down the gavel for the final time, together we remember a Congress that was elected during the slow recovery from the fear-mongering and government overreach of COVID-19, for which no one in the macro-world, from Dr. Fauci to the petty tyrants who enforced lockdowns, business closures and cancellations of virtually all public gatherings, has yet been brought to justice or held accountable for the spike in alcoholism, drug abuse, domestic violence, depression, anxiety, suicide, personal bankruptcies, shuttered businesses, children’s learning deficits and school dropouts. For who? For what? For the sake of a bad flu season? As the 52^nd Congress began its term of office, Patria said NO to lockdowns, NO to the great reset. And now, four years later, know this: if the macro-powers that be attempt to gin up another fear-fueled pandemic out of a few unfortunate cruise ship passengers succumbing to Hantavirus or a resurgence of Ebola somewhere in Africa, if they attempt to bring back lockdowns, mask mandates and a dodgy vaccine, Patria will say NO and fight tooth and nail. To quote the Who, “We don’t get fooled again!”

In September 2022, only days before the First Session opened: “The Queen is dead, long live the King!” as Patria paused to pay its respects to a beloved macro-national Queen who reigned for seven decades and to hail the new King Charles III.

In 2023 as international travel once again became safe (not that it wasn’t safe during the years of the so-called pandemic), representatives of Patria and this Congress once again visited the macro-world. On the last day of 2023, the flag of Patria proudly flew over the backwaters of Kerala, raised by the Colonel-in-Chief of Patria’s 108^th Battalion.

 In January 2024, from Cochin to Kanyakumari, Patria fulfilled the almost three decades-old promise of Premyatra II. A special address delivered at Amma’s Amritapuri ashram concluded by praising Amma’s marvelous feats and unparalleled achievements as an environmentalist, chancellor of a major university, representative of Hinduism to the world at large, spiritual mother of millions, and so much more: kritvambike tat prakaroti kanya. Which other goddess can do that work?

 While Patria did not endorse Kamala Harris in the 2024 US presidential election, Patria is not surprised that Donald Trump returned for a second term of office. To the American people we say “Trump is your problem. You elected him, you live with him!” As Patria watches the failed gerontocracy of Donald Trump’s second administration unfold from its safe place in the micronational world, one can only wonder how much better off both the macro- and micro-world community would be had Kamala prevailed.

Fortunately the electorate in Patria has a much broader choice than America’s binary red and blue wasteland. A vote for a third party in the US is little more than a wasted vote. But in Patria, there is not only a third party, but a fourth, fifth, sixth… and even more parties, several of which hold only a single seat. Patria has gone so far beyond the two-party system that virtually no vote is wasted and almost any party can be elected and hold seats in this Congress and the Precinct legislatures. But even in this vibrant multi-party democracy, the major parties have failed to deliver on their slogans and campaign promises.

 The SRM says “bring it home!”, but what has actually been brought home over the course of these four years? Many members of this Congress, SRM and others, regularly  practice yoga, attend satsangs and temple functions, sing bhajans and chant mantras, but do they ever look about them right in their backyard? Have they really brought home compassion and dharma? Do ordinary citizens who live hand-to-mouth on dwindling incomes, who struggle to put food on the table and gas in the tank really benefit from performative displays of Hindu religiosity? How many jobs have been created by doing Lakshmi Puja for Diwali? How have Durga Puja and Navratri celebrations helped to end violence against women? Can anyone chant their way out of runaway inflation, a stagnant economy, flat-lining job growth, skyrocketing fuel prices and endless wars in the macro-world?

 National Unionists say “law and order!”, but where is such obedience to the law and respect for police authority in Patria’s capital city? It takes only a short walk along the streets of downtown Castoropolis or a ride on the Castoropolis Metro to know that urban decay, filth, crime and graffiti have proliferated unchecked. This is not acceptable. The failure of local and precinct governments to re-institutionalize mentally ill and drug addicted homeless street people must be reversed. For decades we have known that deinstitutionalization is a failed policy. This is not acceptable. Judges hand out lenient sentences, or no jail time at all, to violent criminals and repeat offender street thugs, while murderers and rapists roam the streets free on bail while awaiting trial. This is not acceptable. The proliferation of graffiti must stop. Beautiful architectural heritage buildings, including some of the finest Art Deco, defaced by spray paint-wielding punks. This is not acceptable. Yet the main solutions proposed by the National Union, along with banning the sale of spray paint, are restoring the death penalty and public flogging of petty lawbreakers. Again, this is not acceptable. Even in red-state America, most death penalty advocates concede that executions have little deterrent value. Who really thinks that whipping a few graffiti artists and shoplifters in the town square for all to see will deter any young punks? Patria can do better and the NU can do better as well going forward into the new Congress.

 Social Democrats say “go forward!” and “progress with a purpose”, but other than enacting Patria’s universal basic income where is the forward progress? Billionaires and oligarchs are still not paying their fair share of taxes. A network of city-run grocery stores, such as proposed by New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, have yet to appear anywhere in Patria. Free public transit for everyone is little more than a pipe dream. Message to the SD caucus in the new Congress: you were elected as democratic socialists, not slightly left of centre liberals. Do not be afraid to put forward an agenda that so-called moderates and liberals would consider too radical. Eyes on the prize. Stay true to the principles of democratic socialism.

 The Chakra Party says “inquire within”, but despite some 36 years of following a yoga-based spiritual practice and claims of inward focus, have very many citizens found peace within? Has anyone meditated their way out of poverty? Has anyone’s yoga practice helped get them a good job? What is the Chakraite agenda, other than being mushy, aimless centre-leftists while advocating yoga in pre-school and mindfulness exercises in kindergarten?

 The Green Party says “for a sustainable Patria”, but one of the Greens’ environmental initiatives misses the big picture. Promoting the purchase of electric cars, while helping break the unsustainable addiction to fossil fuels, does not address the larger issue of breaking the even more unsustainable addiction to driving a personal vehicle, rather than walking or taking public transit wherever possible.

 One last time in this House, can I get a “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free”? Patria’s Jews are not personally accountable for Benjamin Netanyahu’s war crimes. Patria’s Jews know that Judaism and the State of Israel are not one and the same. Jewish spiritual teachings and religious practices do not include or condone the bloodthirsty nationalism of Zionism concocted by Theodor Herzl in the 1890s and pushed since 1948 by the Israel-right-or-wrong lobby in the US. As the Social Democrats congratulate Avi Lewis upon his election as leader of Canada’s New Democratic Party, Patria will never conflate Jewish identity with the political ideology of Zionism and unconditional support for a genocidal apartheid state that claims to represent global Jewry. Not in our name.

 Over these four years and particularly during the 53^rd Congress election campaign, Patria became a battleground for petty culture wars, leaving many to wonder “is this really the hill you want to die on?” The NU campaigned hard on “BIG DOGS, NOT PUSSYCATS”, but are men who love cats instead of or more than dogs effeminate pussies? While the Lilith Party defends biological women and were the driving force behind the SAAB Act, are women’s athletics really threatened by a disproportionate number of trans women wannabes? Is the universal basic income the end of the work ethic as we know it? What really constitutes “Cultural Marxism”? Along with the other tired old issues trotted out by rightists and conservatives for decades such as the pushback against feminism, environmentalism, gay rights and abortion on demand. But Patria’s war on AI far transcends the tired, lame culture wars mostly imported from America.

 In this Fourth Session, Congress pushed back against the growth of artificial intelligence, particularly against the use of AI on broadcast media. As proclaimed during the World Radio Day celebration last February, “AI is a tool, not a voice”. As the Ramrajyavani network celebrates its 100^th anniversary in 2026, fake AI-generated songs and fake AI-generated voices will never be heard on Patria’s radio stations. AI must not be allowed to enter our schools. AI must be kept out from kindergarten to college, so that only human intelligence will be used for every lesson from basic arithmetic to differential calculus. The Social Democrats do not need to warn us that AI must not take jobs away from hard-working citizens and the Greens do not need to remind us that the environmental costs of AI data centers are unsustainable.

 The message will be reiterated in the Inaugural Address: NO AI IN PATRIA! No more AI slop. No more Victoria Goldiees. No more bogus AI-generated pictures and texts. The fight against AI is the fight of all fights going forward into the Fifty Third Congress and this is a hill that Patria is ready to die on, true to the last!

…………………………………………..

Speaker Pro Tem of the House:

If there is no more business to be brought forward to the attention of this House, I move that this Congress stand adjourned.  All in favor of adjournment, say “aye”. All opposed, let them speak now.

 Therefore, the motion is carried by voice vote.  In closing the Fifty Second Congress, I do so with the following prayers:

Twameva mata cha pita twameva. Twameva bandhush cha sakha twameva. Twameva vidya dravinam twameva. Twameva sarvam mama deva deva.

Asato ma sad gamaya. Tamaso ma jyotir gamaya. Mrtiyorma amritam gamaya.

Mantra hinam kriyahinam bhaktihinam janardana
Yat pujitam maya deva paripurnam tadastu me.

Lokah samastah sukhino bhavantu.

Om, Shanti, Shanti, Shanti.

Under the power vested in me by the Constitution of Patria, I declare closed the Fourth Session of the Fifty Second Congress, and further pursuant to that power I declare the Fifty Second Congressus Patriaë adjourned sine die.

108 days of “NO AI” campaigning as New Year begins

 As the calendar flips to 2026, there are exactly 108 days until Election Day, April 18. Virtually every party on the #patriavotes2026 campaign trail is on board with Patria’s so-called War on Artificial Intelligence. Whether the leftist Social Democrats, the new-agey Chakra Party, the macho man National Union, the TERFs of the Lilith Party, Jim Rome’s Jungle Party, the tree-hugging Greens, and of course the Hindu nationalist SRM, all parties contesting seats in the 53^rd Congress rise as one with the calls of “NO AI IN PATRIA!”, “Human intelligence, not ChatGPT!” and “No more Victoria Goldiee’s”.

 

One of the worst-kept secrets of the 2026 campaign is the apparent resurrection of the Amrita Party under the name of “IAM”, rising from the tiny Independent Amrita Member caucus that was left over when the Amrita Party dissolved in late 2021. Like virtually all other parties, they also oppose the proliferation of AI. The IAM Party will not have Amma as a sitting member of Congress and will probably be lucky to elect more than a handful of members to the 53^rd Congress, but they stole Patria Post’s 2026 definitive stamp design, depicting Amma as a young girl named Sudhamani, to use as one of their campaign posters.

Needless to mention, the SRM has been leading from the front on the WAR ON AI campaign.

Patria Post 2026 definitive stamp, on sale at post offices across Patria Jan. 5, 2026

No to woke, no to AI as Congress adjourns

Patria is not on Trump's tariff list.

On the day that Patria Post issued a commemorative stamp in memory of Jimmy Carter (scroll down to end), the Third Session of Patria's 52nd Congress (3·LII 2024-25) adjourned for the Northern Hemisphere Summer recess, following the traditional Annual Message delivered by the Speaker of the House:

Om lalitambikayai namaha. Salutations to Devi who is the Divine Mother Lalita. With Her blessings, the Fifty Second Congress has served three-quarters of its term of office. 

As always, and as per tradition, the final act of the Third Session earlier today was the ratification of Patria’s fiscal 2026 budget. Along with the budget’s usual appropriations, as in several years past, for spending on infrastructure improvements or re-builds and day-to-day improvement of existing public transit service is a call for micronational free trade. In past years, Patria pursued policies of isolationism, protectionism and a so-called “wall of tariffs”. But as unpopular as globalism might be with the grass roots and non-elites, such positions are now virtually untenable. Free Trade agreements must be ratified between Patria and other micronations, along with the current free flow of goods and services between Patria and Canada. Due to the economies of scale (or should we say, lack of scale) and the lack of a manufacturing base in most micronations, requiring almost all consumer goods to be imported, there must be no tariffs between micronations. To no one’s surprise, Patria stands with Canada, not to mention the rest of the macro-world, in the tariff wars being waged by Donald Trump. 

As this Session adjourns, it seems necessary to remind Americans and Patrienish citizens alike that the most profound act of patriotism is not waving a flag or singing an anthem, but defending the constitutional order when it faces existential threat, as is now the case in Trump’s America. True patriotism is not “my country right or wrong”. It is not abstract love of country divorced from its foundational principles. It is not blind loyalty to the person or the party who currently holds power. It is certainly not the willingness to abandon constitutional principles in the name of partisan advantage or cultural grievance. True patriotism is the moral courage to stand for the democratic republic and its constitutional underpinnings even—especially—when doing so comes at personal cost such as the risk of arrest, deportation, or imprisonment without due process. 

Patria said it a year ago with the passage of the SAAB (Sex Assigned At Birth) Act and Patria will say it again today: women’s competitive sports, women’s change rooms and public restrooms in Patria are intended for biological females only. Patria may not agree with much of President Trump’s bluster and bombast, but he is absolutely correct, as is the UK’s Supreme Court, that there are only two genders, male and female. Those former men can take pills and hormones, they can seek surgery in order to give them fake breasts and fake vulvas, but most citizens of Patria will still see them for what they are: guys pretending to be girls. They can use female pronouns and call themselves by women’s names, but we will call them he, him and by their given names as stated on their birth certificates. No one in Patria should hate trans-women, only love real biological women and shout it loudly without fear of pushback from misguided wokesters and leftist totalitarians: you transpeople are not women, you will not play sports against real women, you will not share intimate and safe spaces with real women. 

Once again it is necessary to state the obvious: Patria is not a home for unelected elites and “we know what is best for you” petty tyrants who claim to be liberals or progressives. Know this: there is nothing liberal or progressive about these totalitarian elites. Patria must be a safe haven for the average Joe and Jane, for the real people who work hard and struggle from paycheck to paycheck if they are lucky enough to have a job that has not been outsourced, offshored, or replaced by AI, for the grass roots, for the non-woke and never-woke. Let us forever say NO to cancel culture, NO to the gatekeepers, NO to the thought police, and particularly NO to AI! 

To paraphrase George HW Bush: “Read my lips, no Artificial Intelligence!” As far as can be determined in the daily lives of most citizens of Patria, ChatGPT and other AI programs serve no practical or beneficial purpose, particularly on social media where AI has only caused fake news to proliferate alongside lame pop culture fads such as blister-packed action figures. Bogus AI-generated “photos” and artwork such as the so-called Ghibli images are worse than photoshopped fake pictures, which at least must be based on an actual photograph. AI-generated text, essays and the like tend to be stilted, uninspired cliché-riddled prose that comes out sounding like a middle-school kid’s book report. Indeed, for students from grade school to graduate school, AI has done more harm than good. Not only does AI not improve writing skills, it takes plagiarism to a whole new level and outsources critical thinking to a nameless, faceless server bot. Consequently, Patria will not use AI for any official purpose – particularly in the campaign for the Fifty-Third Congress that will begin to roll out in this inter-session summer recess and continue until Election Day on April 18, 2026. While it is impossible for Patria to ban the use of AI, those who make excessive and unnecessary use of it will be looked down on with derision and scorn, just as Patria disdains sidewalk cyclists, graffiti artists, dog owners who fail to stoop and scoop, let their pets run off-leash and do not acknowledge that many people dislike dogs or are scared of them, and of course the proliferation of young hipsters (or even older folks) with otherwise attractive bodies defaced by tacky, ugly tattoos. 

Under the power vested in me by the Constitution of Patria, I declare closed the Third Session of the 52^nd Congress, and call this Congress to re-assemble here on Monday, 15 September 2025, in order to open the Fourth Session of the 52^nd Congress. 

HUMAN INTELLIGENCE DISCLAIMER: the preceding message was prepared, edited and delivered without the use of ChatGPT or other AI tool.

Failed policies, failed hopes: RIP Jimmy Carter

 

"AVE ATQUE VALE"

Flags across Patria are flying at half-mast today to mark the passing of former US President Jimmy Carter at age 100. Carter’s admirable record of humanitarian work in the 44 years since Ronald Reagan sent him back to Plains, GA is a matter of record. As an elder statesman, Mr. Carter was second to none. Nonetheless, he goes down in the annals of the United States presidency as a failure, overmatched in office and not up to the job. Wasn’t the hostage crisis such a blast? Particularly his bungled attempt to rescue the hostages in Iran. Failed polices, failed hopes all around. By any yardstick, there was crappiness, if not outright failure during the Carter years: crappy cars, crappy fashions, crappy economy, crappy music, even crappy sports for fans of certain teams. Of course, Mr. Carter was not responsible for the crappy cars or music during his administration, but when it comes to “crappy sports” he will not be forgiven for his misguided decision to boycott the 1980 Moscow Olympics. 

The Carter Administration (Jan. 20, 1977-Jan. 20, 1981) is forever intertwined with Patria’s awful Forty-First Congress (XLI Con. Pat. June 30, 1978-June 28, 1982). Four failed and wasted years of stagnation, foundering, malaise and little in the way of growth, both in the USA and in Patria. 

At some point in 2025, Patria Post will issue a Jimmy Carter memorial stamp. In the meantime, here’s the 2025 definitive (regular issue) depicting a well-known and well-loved scene from the Ramayana.

Amritavarsham 70 on order paper as new session of Congress begins

 The Sergeant at Arms sounded the vuvuzela and the Speaker of the House swung the gavel in the traditional ceremony that opened the Second Session of the Fifty Second Congress (2·LII 2023-24). One of the first items on the order paper: Amritavarsham 70, Amma’s 70^th birthday celebrations which will take place October 2 and 3, though Amma’s actual birthday is Sept. 27. Patria Post has issued a commemorative stamp to honor the celebration, with a value of 70 Patrienish Rupees. 

Patria Post also issued a stamp in memory of Tina Turner, who passed away in May 2023. The illustration on the memorial stamp bears witness to Ms. Turner’s practice of Buddhism.

Patria is “where woke goes to die” as Congress adjourns

 The First Session of the Fifty Second Congress (1·LII 2022-23) adjourned for the summer recess at 10:13 PM (local time in Patria). The Sergeant-at-Arms brought down the gavel immediately after the traditional Annual Message to Congress was delivered by the Speaker Pro Tem. The speech doubled down on the message that has been propagated over the past three years of COVID and post-George Floyd racial reckoning: PATRIA IS NOT WOKE.

Following is the text of the Annual Message to Congress:

Om Sri Matre Namaha. With the Divine Mother’s blessings, the Fifty Second Congress marks one year in office. 

Earlier today, this House ratified Patria’s fiscal 2024 budget – traditionally the last act of Congress on the final day of the Session. As in previous years, this budget includes the necessary appropriations to build and improve Patria’s transportation infrastructure, support education from grade school to graduate school, maintain national defense in all branches of the military and fund new law and order initiatives. “Defund the police”? Not happening. Not at a point when crime – particularly violent assaults committed by mentally ill psychopaths who belong in institutions, not on the streets – is out of control. Indeed, you do not have to be a National Unionist to agree that there must be a stronger police presence on Patria’s streets and particularly on Castoropolis Transit buses and subways. 

In the past year, Patria has continued on its maverick path of progressive economic and social policies while rejecting the usual leftist orthodoxies, political correctness and of course “wokeness”. Again, say it loudly and say it proudly: PATRIA IS NOT WOKE! To paraphrase Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, Patria is where woke goes to die. 

Why is Patria not woke? Because no objective and informed citizen of Patria can fail to at least question, if not completely reject, premises the American-style leftists and self-proclaimed progressives relentlessly promote:  

Human civilization is unsustainable. We are running out of fossil fuel. Burning fossil fuel will destroy the planet. Renewable energy is clean. Renewable energy is the only acceptable option. White people are inherently racist and enjoy unwarranted privileges. Math and the hard sciences are racist and male-dominated. The nuclear family is oppressive. People can choose their genders. Men not named Jean Drapeau can have babies, or can at least turn themselves into women through drugs and surgery. Not to mention that women can have penises. 

Each of these premises is not only false, but, had they been accepted, would have wreaked destruction on Patria. 

Yet these foundational lies inform every manner of mainstream public communications, from news, entertainment, education, and public policy debate, to social media discourse and search engine results. The truths that must replace these lies, in similar fashion, constitute the foundation of a resistance:  

Humanity can flourish. Fossil fuel does not create an existential threat to the planet, and though it is wise to use it efficiently and not needlessly waste it, there’s plenty of it. Renewable energy is not cleaner or more sustainable than fossil fuel or nuclear power. White people are not inherently racist. Providing equal opportunity to earn success in a colorblind society is the only equitable way to allocate privileges. Math and the hard sciences are not racist or sexist. The nuclear family with a father and a mother is the optimal way to raise children to become healthy, happy and productive adults. Sex is immutable and binary. Women give birth to babies, and men father babies. 

Is that clear enough? It is a relief and a breath of fresh air to hear anyone in Patria explain that we’re not all about to die in a climate cataclysm caused by human activity, that there are plenty of energy resources of which electric vehicles, solar panels and wind turbines are only a part, that prosperity is an eminently possible choice, that Patria has created the most inclusive society in the history of the world, and that it’s OK to be white, black, brown, or whatever, it’s OK to be colorblind, it’s OK not to want trans women playing competitive sports against real biological women and it’s OK to have a traditional family and teach traditional values and norms to your children. 

Wokeness – though usually associated with liberals and the left – has never been progressive in the slightest. It wants to fight discrimination with discrimination. It relies on coercion, censorship and cancellation to defeat its opponents. Its obsession with race only pits working-class people against one another. It does virtually nothing to improve the lot of ordinary citizens of all races, sexual preferences and genders. And that is why the divisive woke ideology has been rejected by the Social Democrats and all of Patria’s progressive parties. 

As the First Session rises for the summer, this House recalls the so-called “For You” or “Flashdance” summer forty years ago, the last mad fling of the Cold War in Reagan’s first term. Nonetheless the 42^nd Congress left Patria in a better place than it found it. Why such hedonism? Why such a lacking of spiritual or at least inward focus at this time in 1983? Just four words: it filled a need. 

This Session also has four words for those in both the macro- and micro-world who are unable to wean themselves from wearing masks (even when alone outdoors!) and continue to live in fear of a respiratory virus that did not justify the unaccountable, dictatorial, draconian measures taken almost everywhere in the macro-world three years ago and has now become a “learn to live with it” inconvenience like the seasonal flu or common cold: just let it go. Or we have moved on. Patria awaits the “Covid Nuremberg”, when those who advocated and enforced lockdowns and mask mandates will be tried for crimes against humanity or at least be called to account for children’s learning and social skills deficits, undetected and untreated cancer and other non-COVID diseases, spikes in domestic violence, drug abuse and alcoholism, small businesses that permanently shuttered, the proliferation of depression, anxiety and other mental health issues and the tragic rise in suicides directly attributable to the lockdowns. 

In previous years Congress would adjourn with a congratulatory message to the winner of Jim Rome’s Jungle Party Smack-Off. But this year’s 29^th edition of the Smack-Off is a week away, on Patria’s National Day no less. Good luck to all participants in Smack-Off XXIX as Patria will be listening on PMBC-1152 or on other AM radio stations on June 30. Speaking of which, let us note one of the key pieces of legislation passed by the First Session: Patria has ensured the survival of AM radio in all cars and trucks, whether gas or electric, by passing its version of the AM for Every Vehicle Act that is making its way through the US Congress with bipartisan support. 

Until we meet again in September, the House adjourns with a brief prayer: 

Twameva mata cha pita twameva

Twameva bandhushcha sakha twameva

Twameva vidya dravinam twameva

Twameva sarvam mama deva deva.

 

Kayena vacha manasendriairva

Buddhyatmana va prakriteh swabhavat

Karomi yadyat sakalam prasmai

Narayanayeti samarpayami.

 Under the power vested in me by the Constitution of Patria, I declare closed the First Session of the 52^nd Congress, and call this Congress to re-assemble here on Monday, 18 September 2023, to open the Second Session of the 52^nd Congress. 

HUMAN INTELLIGENCE DISCLAIMER: the preceding message was prepared, edited and delivered without the use of Chat GPT or other artificial intelligence.

Also today, Patria Post issued a commemorative stamp in memory of Baba Hari Dass, on his hundredth birth anniversary.

Patria Post honors the Queen

 For the first time ever in Patria's postal history (dating to the introduction of postage stamps around the middle of the 19th century) a foreign macro-national monarch is portrayed as Patria Post issues a stamp in memory of Queen Elizabeth II. Note the denomination of 70 Patrienish Rupees to honor her 70 year reign. Most of Patria's stamps are non-denominated "forever" stamps in which the numeral 1 is not a value of one rupee, but designates the stamp being valid for the current First Class letter rate.

Patria Post also issued a Navratri commemorative stamp. The use of #hashtags rather than text in English or Patrienish is becoming increasingly common on Patria's stamp issues.

First act of 52nd Congress: Recess until September

 In case you were wondering what Patria's 52nd Congress has accomplished after one month in office, the answer is nothing. The first act of the new Congress, only minutes after the conclusion of the Inaugural ceremony on June 30, was the traditional motion to adjourn until September. On Sept. 19, 2022 Congress will re-convene and begin the First Session (1·LII 2022-23).

As the calendar flips to August, Janmashtami - the celebration of Krishna's birthday - is just around the corner (Aug. 18 or 19). Patria Post has the stamp for it!

Election Day 2022 and Hanuman Jayanti

 

Campaign 2022 is done. Now it's up to Patrienish citizens to elect the Fifty Second Congress. Election Day 2022 falls on Hanuman Jayanti. Vote early and sing the Hanuman Chalisa often!

Patria Post has been kept busy during Campaign 2022 with mail-in ballots, but they issued a stamp to celebrate Hanuman Jayanti.

Early voting in Fredonia: SRM, Chakra, Social Dems in dead heat

 The feisty little Precinct of Fredonia (“First in freedom, first to fight”) traditionally votes one week earlier than the rest of Patria (TROP). As Patria’s smallest precinct, Fredonia holds only nine seats in Congress. The SRM, Chakra Party and Social Democrats took two seats each, with almost the same percentage of popular votes. The National Union, Green Party and Jungle Party were awarded one seat each of Fredonia’s delegation in the Fifty Second Congress. Fredonia more often than not goes its own way. Its early election returns are a poor predictor of how TROP will vote on April 16, but the 52nd Congress election is still too close to call in Patria’s 12 other Precincts plus the Federal District of Castoropolis.

SRM took two seats in Fredonia's early voting.

Two seats for the Chakras and Social Dems in Fredonia.

As Fredonia’s Early Election Day is also Ram Navami, the traditional “birthday” of Lord Rama, Patria post issued a stamp depicting Ram and Sita together.

Amrita Party missing in action on Campaign 2022 trail

 As the race for Patria's 52nd Congress heats up, amid the bevy of campaign posters and broadcast ads from the Social Democrats, SRM, Chakra Party, National Union, Green Party, Jungle Party, etc., the Amrita Party has been conspicuously absent from the Campaign 2022 trail. There are rumors that the Amrita Party will re-brand, re-name itself or even dissolve completely as due to COVID-19 the Party's namesake is unable to travel outside India or even set foot outside her hometown ashram in Kerala. Holding 78 seats, the Amrita Party is the second-largest caucus in the 51st Congress. If the party were to disappear, that would leave a lot of seats up for grabs and a lot of Amma devotees scrambling to find another party. Some will be attracted to the SRM's call for renewed Hindu Dharma. Others will find the Chakra Party's emphasis on government through yoga and meditation more to their liking. Some sitting Amrita Party members might try to run as independents, depending on whether their home Precinct allows write-in votes on the 2022 ballot.

2010 Amrita Party campaign poster. Will they campaign at all in 2022?

Notwithstanding Patria's Hindu identity in the three-plus decades since the Dharmic Revolution, Christmas in Patria is a public and government holiday. Patria tries as much as possible to avoid the excess over-commercialism and keep Christ in Christmas (old slogan "We keep Krishna in Janmashtami, you can keep Christ in Christmas"). Patria Post's 2021 Christmas stamp features original artwork by Georgetown, ON artist Eric "Magoo" Kohlfurst.

Election Day in Canada, election season in Patria as Congress returns from summer recess

On the day that Canada holds its 44^th federal election since 1867, Patria’s Fifty First Congress returns from summer recess to begin the Fourth Session (4·LI 2021-22). Patria will not endorse any party in Canada’s election even if the Social Democrat House Leader and honorary Patrienish citizen Bernie Sanders has thrown his support to the NDP’s Jagmeet Singh.

Although some campaigning has already taken place, the opening of the Fourth Session marks the de facto start of the 2022 election cycle and the race for the Fifty Second Congress. Although perhaps not the front-runner with election day some seven months away on April 16, 2022 (with many Patirenish citizens voting via advance polls and mail-in ballots beginning in March or even February 2022, that date is actually the conclusion of  "election season"), the SRM is particularly out in front with election campaign posters, billboards and broadcast media ads, going hard on the slogans TAKE BACK THE ECONOMY, PATRIA FIRST and MAKE CHINA PAY (i.e. for the cost of the pandemic). The Chakra Party has also launched its campaign with the slogan “the Inner Voice of Patria”.

SRM are front-runners at least for campaign posters.

Chakra Party also out early with its 2022 slogan.

Near the top of the Fourth Session order paper is a renewed vow not to impose vaccine passports or mask mandates. Masks will be optional in Patria, though recommended to be worn in certain circumstances such as by those who are actually infected with COVID-19 when not in isolation. Vaccines are freely available and highly recommended, but getting a COVID jab and presenting paper or electronic proof of it in order to enter a gym, eat at a restaurant, attend a sports event, or gain entry to other public places will never be mandatory anywhere. Patria remains committed to achieving herd immunity, protecting those at high risk and learning to live with COVID like the seasonal flu.

With Navratri just around the corner, Patria Post issued a stamp depicting Devi Saraswati.

Don't let it dominate you - recovery rate of COVID19 is 99 percent

Patria prefers US President Donald Trump's approach to COVID-19: "don't let it dominate you". The recovery rate of COVID-19 is around 99 percent. Possibly closer to 99.5 or 99.6%. With that in mind, even the House Leader of the Chakra Party, a party who often had been in favor of restrictions and lockdowns earlier this year and even voted against Patria's ratification of the Great Barrington Declaration (which Google doesn't want you to read), spoke in Congress and noted the following:

"Madam Speaker, as we know, the recovery rate of Covid19 is 99%.

What is the recovery rate of your business?

What is the recovery rate of the woman who got beat within an inch of her life last night due to domestic abuse? 

What is the recovery rate of the person whose stress levels went sky high and they just crossed the line into full addiction and is on their way to an overdose? 

What is the recovery rate of the late diagnosis of cancer? Of heart disease or type 2 diabetes that could have been prevented had the gyms and fitness facilities not been forced to close? 

What is the recovery rate of the employees who lost their job and now struggle with their ability to feed their family and pay their rent or mortgage? 

What is the recovery rate of your mental health and that of the people you love, the person standing two meters away from you in the lineup with her face covered, the older gentlemen who sits alone on the park bench or the 22 year old kid who feels lost in his/her own thoughts? 

What is the recovery rate of our ability to trust our government and our public health officials? 

It’s not 99%, you can bet your last rupee on that."

Navratri in Patria this year will be the same as it was last year, a catch-all of friends and family, home and temple pujas, food and football (All Patria Football Federation soccer, not the NFL). For Navratri, for Diwali next month, and even for Christmas in December, Patrienish citizens will hug, laugh, eat, and enjoy each other. What the pandemic should have taught us is life is too short. Wasting precious moments scared and apart is no way to handle the gift we’ve been given.

Patria Post has issued a Navratri 2020 stamp. Note Durga's fierce tiger transformed into a little kitten.

"It's only the flu" - Patria doubles down on COVID-19 dissent

As Patria Post rolls out a new stamp dedicated to Sheetala, the donkey-riding goddess who cures infectious diseases from smallpox to COVID-19, the All-Patria Football Federation will resume its season, with fans in the stands to boot. Patria has launched a campaign against the fear of a generally mild and even asymptomatic disease that is of no more threat than the seasonal flu for those who have a healthy immune system. Posters and broadcast ads across Patria proclaim "it's only the flu" - in Patrienish kevál estí grippí. Physical/social distancing is now only voluntary ("At ease. Hug if you wish.", to paraphrase the roll call sergeant) and virtually all businesses from yoga studios to barber shops have re-opened. Face masks are sometimes seen being worn on transit vehicles and indoor spaces, but the general message in Patria is that unless you are actually sick, caring for someone who is sick, or work in a hospital, there is no need to wear a mask.

Without formally announcing it, Patria is going for herd immunity and is clearly on the side of COVID-19 dissidents, who have been fighting almost from the get-go the authoritarian government over-reach, technological surveillance run amok and stamping out of civil liberties for the sake of the one percent (or less) of the population who are actually at risk of potentially fatal complications from COVID-19. Echoing the "I do not consent" speech delivered by the SRM last month, the National Union said on the floor of Congress that choosing not to buy into the fear-mongering is Patria's "sovereign right to choose". Following is the speech by the NU House Leader:

Madam Speaker, citizens of Patria do not and need not live in fear of COVID-19. As the national campaign says, “It’s only the flu” and we have a sovereign right to choose how we are to respond to the macro-national fear-mongers, the so-called experts and the other powers that be.

If you want to stay home, stay home. That's your sovereign right to choose.

If you want to wear a mask, wear a mask. That's your sovereign right to choose.

If you want to avoid large crowds, avoid large crowds. That's your sovereign right to choose.

I am not required to descend into poverty for YOU.

I am not required to abstain from human contact for YOU.

I refuse to participate in "quarantine life" until there's an unsafe, untested vaccine released in eighteen months, by which time we may be close to achieving herd immunity, making a vaccine virtually unnecessary.

I refuse to receive a vaccine to make others feel safer. That's my sovereign right to choose!

If you're convinced the vaccine is safe and effective, you can get it yourself.

Some of you are allowing fear and policies devoid of scientifically accurate data to destroy the country you live in and ruin your life.

Life is full of risks, whether the risk of being hit by a car while walking or the risk of exposure to bacteria and viruses, many of which spread before symptoms manifest and after they subside.

We have a sovereign right to receive OR refuse vaccines.

We have a sovereign right to trust our immune system to do its job and to strengthen it by actual exposure to germs and viruses.

The data was inaccurate at best; purposely overblown to justify government overreaction at worst.

Stop allowing the government to destroy the food supply, small businesses, medical autonomy, access to healthcare, mass gatherings, privacy rights, our mental health and our constitutionally guaranteed freedom.

When the "new normal" is filled with starvation, depression, suicide, child abuse, domestic violence, imprisonment, governmental spying, and pure DESPERATION, the "virus" is going to look preferable to the world you helped facilitate.

I'm going to turn this around on people from now on. Those that say I'm (or anyone that supports this) putting money over lives by wanting the country back open for business...

Hear this:

-YOU don't care about the people that will kill themselves out of hopelessness.

-YOU don't care about small businesses that will close their doors permanently.

-YOU don't care about the women and children that will be victims of domestic abuse.

-YOU don't care about people defaulting on their mortgages.

-YOU don't care about bills going unpaid by families with ZERO income right now.

-YOU don't care about people wondering where their next meal will come from.

-YOU don't care about the people that will lose their sobriety and slip back into alcoholism and drug abuse.

-YOU don't care about the people that will starve.

-YOU support the looting and rioting that has taken place, some of it motivated more by frustration stemming from the lockdown and mass unemployment than by police brutality or Black Lives Matter.

-YOU don't care about anyone that's murdered the longer this shut down goes on.

-YOU don't care about people's mental health.

-YOU don't care about the children that DO need teachers and educators to guide and educate them. Teach them online, you say. You particularly don’t care about the children from low-income families who can’t afford internet access or a home computer.

-YOU don't care about the economy crashing down around us.

-YOU DON'T CARE.

-YOU love your shackles.

-YOU are pathetic, begging your leaders for MORE shut down and MORE regulations and MORE handouts.

I will NOT tolerate another person telling me that I don't care about lives.

I care about the situation in its entirety.

But YOU don't care about any of that so...
YOU stay home.
YOU wear a mask.
YOU live in fear.

I on the other hand will not. As is my sovereign right to choose NOT TO!

Yes, you can hash-tag it! #sovereignrighttochoose

Greta's climate strikes on hold amid coronavirus lockdown

Greta Thunberg, who is likely to be named an honorary citizen of Patria even before she is old enough to vote or serve in Congress, has urged climate campaigners to avoid mass protests as the new COVID-19 coronavirus spreads, but said her "Fridays for Future" movement would organize online strikes instead.

Although it is rare for a living person to be depicted on a stamp in Patria, Patria Post's first commemorative stamp issue of 2020 honors Greta. Note "School strike for climate" in Patrienish.

There are no cases of COVID-19 in Patria. Nonetheless, and in order to keep it that way, Patria is taking the same lockdown, self-quarantine and social distancing precautions as are currently happening in virtually all the countries of the macro-world. That means no PHL hockey, All Patria Football Federation soccer, Castorian League and Lazurian League baseball, or virtually any other sports event. Public gatherings and events are temporarily on hold, canceled or postponed indefinitely. Yoga studios, libraries, schools and other potential sources of transmission are shut down. And of course, the most common-sense prevention technique - as they say in Patrienish: dhobán vostríu hastu! (wash your hands!)

Greta, Green New Deal on order paper as Congress begins new session

Hey Greta, come visit Patria!

The Fifty-First Congress returned from summer recess to open the Second Session (2·LI 2019-20) with a made-in-Patria version of the Green New Deal on the order paper, despite the rejection of a Carbon Tax on the last day of the First Session only moments before adjournment on June 21.

Patria also extended an invitation to climate activist and Aspergirl Greta Thunberg to visit the Inner Realm, although it is unlikely that the Swedish teenager will actually do so (even if Patria were a real country) unless she could travel to Patria by sailboat or other non-carbon emitting means of transport.

On the first day of the new session, Patria Post issued two new stamps depicting scenes from the Ramayana as an ongoing exhibition ‘Sita and Rama: The Ramayana in Indian Painting’ is taking place at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art. Note that the stamp illustrating Rama’s coronation upon returning to Ayodhya is a high-value (RsPat. 50) definitive, while the stamp illustrating how the chipmunk got its stripes from Lord Rama though devoted service while building the bridge to Lanka is a “forever” non-denominated stamp good for the standard First Class letter rate.

Patria rejects carbon tax as Congress adjourns

The First Session of the Fifty First Congress (1·LI 2018-19) adjourned for the [northern hemisphere] summer recess after protracted burn-the-midnight-oil debate on whether Patria should adopt a carbon tax. In the end, the tax was rejected thanks to heavy lobbying by the SRM and its conservative allies. Nonetheless, Patria remains committed to a made-in-Patria version of the Green New Deal.

As traditional, before the Speaker of the House whacked the gavel on the dais and the Sergeant-at-Arms blew the vuvuzela to declare the session closed, the Annual Message to Congress was delivered, as follows:

Sarvamangalya mangalye shive sarvartha sadhike, sharanye tryambake Gauri, Narayani namostute. With the Divine Mother’s blessings and at the lotus feet of both Amma Sri Karunamayi and Amma Amritanandamayi, the Fifty-first Congress has come to the end of its first year in office.

In keeping with Patria’s traditions and congressional protocol, the last act of the First Session took place just moments ago – the ratification of Patria’s fiscal 2020 budget. As a partial sop to the SRM and economic conservatives, and in order to keep the price of fuel affordable, particularly for anyone who prefers to drive rather than use public transit, this budget does not include a carbon tax. Such a tax, that would have added at least 12 Patrienish Rupees to the price of a litre of petrol but likely would do little – beyond a symbolic or virtue-signalling value – to protect the environment and would only force those in Patria who can least afford it – seniors, low-wage earners, families struggling to make ends meet, and small mom-and-pop businesses – to pay for the over-consumption of the US and other First World macro-powers, was voted down in this House albeit by a slim margin. Nonetheless, in order to encourage use of public transit, the budget includes increased funding for Castoropolis Transit and local transit authorities to purchase new vehicles, expand service and upgrade transit infrastructure.

  

Rather than impose another tax on those who can least afford it, this Congress believes that a better way to address climate change and help clean up the pollution caused by our addiction to fossil fuels is “make the polluters pay”. The costs of environmental remediation must be paid by the Big Oil plutocrats and the CEOs of amoral transnational corporations who have a far greater responsibility for runaway pollution and greenhouse gas emissions than single mothers or small businesses.

Carbon tax or no, Patria supports a peaceful, healthy planet and a made-in-Patria version of the Green New Deal that will move the economy away from dependence on fossil fuels and non-renewable energy. Since 2016, Patria has supported MAPS. In memory of Darcy Belanger – one of the leading movers of the Marine Arctic Peace Sanctuary treaty, who lost his life in the Ethiopian Airlines B-737 Max crash in March of this year – Patria will redouble its commitment to MAPS. This treaty will keep military activity and commercial exploitation out of the Arctic Ocean waters and it is Patria’s hope that through Parvati and her team of dedicated devotees of Amma, more real-world macro-national governments will sign on to MAPS.

  

Along with Canada, Patria will pursue a ban on single-use plastic products such as straws, cutlery and shopping bags. These products are rarely recycled or re-used and while they may be easier and cheaper in the short term, they have long-term consequences for the environment. They already have been banned in a number of Patria’s cities and precincts. In 2020, this Congress will enact a Patria-wide ban. Be prepared now: if you drink from a straw, get a metal one. Bring your own cloth bag to the supermarket. Serve your family picnic or barbecue with real forks, not plastic ones. Friends of Patria, keeping needless plastic waste out of landfills and oceans is not rocket science.

  

As the Fifty-first Congress moves into its second year, Patria remains both democratic socialist and politically incorrect. Yes, this is possible. Patria is committed to democratic socialist ideals such as a living wage, single-payer health care for all and low-cost post-secondary education or apprenticeship training. At the same time, Patria says NO to the Thought Police, Cultural Marxists, self-righteous high-horse Social Justice Warriors and others who seem to proliferate on the so-called “woke” left doing everything humanly possible to destroy Patria’s constitutionally protected rights of free speech, open debate, freedom of association and lawful assembly for the purpose of peaceful protest. In Patria, in the 51^st Congress, the dissident and populist left can find a home. It is a home that Bernie Sanders would recognize but one that may not be friendly to easily-offended overly-sensitive snowflakes. It is a home where there are no so-called safe spaces and trigger warnings on college campuses. It is a home where physical assault by gutless cowards is a crime but not hurt feelings caused by lawful citizens exercising their constitutional right of free speech. And it is a home where the violent masked thugs of Antifa are not welcome, no matter how much they claim to be on “our side” or to be “progressives”.

  

In the First Session, Patria had a simple four-word answer to all the tired old horses that left the barn years ago and all the failed policies of ages past that keep getting trotted out and can’t seem to die: “we have moved on”. To the social conservatives who have not stopped trying to re-criminalize abortion, keep women in their place at home, bring back “1950s family values” and re-make Patria into a micro version of Red-State America: “we have moved on”. To dishwater-dull middle-ground centrist neo-liberals who cling to the status quo or at best “incremental” change: “we have moved on”. And to all those tired canards and lame proposals, many of which are leftovers from the last century, that will keep being dragged out over the next three years of this Congress or in the 2022 election campaign particularly by National Unionists, such as raising the drinking age to 25 or imposing dress codes and curfews on kids: “we have moved on”.

  

As heard earlier today on AM 1152 PMBC, Patria congratulates the winner of Smack Off XXV: five-time Smack Off winner Brad in Corona. While the Jungle Party is only a small player in the 51^st Congress, Jim Rome’s credo rings loud and strong throughout Patria: Have a take, don’t suck!

  

Finally, Patria congratulates the Toronto Raptors. Earlier this month the Raptors became the first team based outside the United States to win the NBA championship, in six hard-fought games against the heavily-favored defending champion Golden State Warriors.

And so the time has come; let us make a pledge to meet in September. As is traditional, this session is adjourned with a brief prayer, and a moment of silent reflection for those who have lost their lives during the course of this session as a result of war, terrorist acts, hate crimes or other senseless violence from Pittsburgh to Poway, Christchurch to Colombo:

  

Lokah samasthah sukhino bhavantu. Asato ma sad gamaya. Tamaso ma jyotir gamaya. Mrityor ma amritam gamaya. Hari Om.  Shanti, Shanti, Shanti.

Under the power vested in me by the Constitution of Patria, I declare closed the First Session of the 51^st Congress, and call this Congress to re-assemble here on Monday, 16 September 2019, to open the Second Session of the 51^st Congress.

(the House adjourned at 11:55 PM local time)

On this last day of the congressional session, Patria Post released two new stamp issues, depicting both Ammas.