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.

Darcy Day in Patria

Darcy Belanger (1972-2019), literally gave his life for MAPS.

By Act of the 51st Congress, today has been proclaimed Darcy Day in Patria. It is a day to remember Darcy Belanger, the "quarterback" of the Marine Arctic Peace Sanctuary (MAPS) team, who was one of the 18 Canadians who lost their lives on Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 on March 10, 2019. He was en route to the United Nations Environment Assembly in Nairobi, Kenya. There, he was slated to meet with government officials, media and a growing pan-African volunteer contingent in support of MAPS.

A native of Edmonton, Alberta, who later moved to Denver, CO, Darcy was one of the first to join the cause for MAPS, recognizing the importance of the Arctic Ocean to our collective future. He co-founded Parvati.org and has been on the front lines for MAPS ever since.

Today in Patria, Darcy will be remembered not only for his heroic dedication to the cause of MAPS, which Patria ratified in 2016 - one of the first (albeit non-recognized) governments to do so - but also for his courage and selfless service. Indeed, today is a day in which all citizens of Patria should perform some act of seva or selfless service in memory of Darcy.



View Darcy's final video message.

Darcy was the quarterback, but now it is up to all of us to get the MAPS ball into the end zone. If you have not yet signed the MAPS petition, click here now! (or touch, or swipe; "click" is a leftover of the 1990s and early 2000s when virtually all internet access was done with PCs.)

“Dialogue, Tolerance and Peace” the theme for World Radio Day 2019

On 13 February 2019, UNESCO - the United Nations organization that does not include Patria and other micronations - will celebrate the 8th edition of World Radio Day (WRD). As in previous WRDs, once again the official WRD logo consists of an old-school radio microphone that used to be common in broadcasting studios, say in the 1940s, but that looks more like a Shivalinga. And why shouldn't it? The day is fairly close to Maha Shivaratri, which in 2019 falls on 4 March.

This day marks a time where people around the world celebrate radio and how it shapes our lives. Radio informs, transforms and unites us. It brings together people and communities from all backgrounds to foster positive dialogue for change. More specifically, radio is the perfect medium to counter the appeals for violence and the spread of conflict, especially in regions potentially more exposed to such realities.

On that basis, World Radio Day 2019 will celebrate the theme of “Dialogue, Tolerance and Peace”. Broadcasts that provide a platform for dialogue and democratic debate over issues, such as migration or violence against women, can help to raise awareness among listeners and inspire understanding for new perspectives in paving the way for positive action.

Even though Patria will never get a sniff of membership in the United Nations, WRD is still celebrated in the Inner Realm on all its AM, FM and shortwave stations. Broadcasting has been going on for one year short of a century - if you accept the claim that first radio broadcast was Pittsburgh, PA legacy station KDKA's coverage of the 1920 US presidential election. And radio is not going away any time soon. It can be enjoyed on very cheap and simple portable devices that do not require a high-speed internet connection or a reliable source of plug-in electric power. It is virtually immune to jamming and shutdowns by authoritarian governments. Despite the proliferation of fear- and hate-mongering right-wing talk, gospel hucksters, "my team right or wrong" sports talkers and other poorly executed formats on AM radio in the US and in Patria, the medium can still be a force for dialogue, tolerance and peace, at least on Patria's "all bhajans all the time" Hindu dharma, New Age, progressive talk and college campus stations.

Millennials disdain radio. But maybe there is hope for the next generation of kids.