Just as the NU thought, increasing testosterone could turn leftist men right

 Since the 1990s, Patria’s hard-right law-and-order National Union has been pandering to old-school tough-as-nails unreconstructed macho men with slogans such as “testosterone in your balls, National Union on your ballot” and “separating the real men from the pussycats”. The hoary old stereotype is of wimpy, effeminate men being bleeding-heart soft-on-crime liberals or Marxist-Leninist leftists. Come to find out, injections of testosterone could actually turn leftist men, who vote Democrat in the US (and, say, Chakra or Social Democrat in Patria), into right-wingers who would vote Republican (and become National Unionists or at least SRMers in Patria). Prof. Paul Zak, Director of the Center for Neuroeconomics Studies at Claremont Graduate University, recently helped produce an extremely interesting study for the second chapter of a doctoral thesis that showed as much. “Before the testosterone treatment, we found that weakly-affiliated Democrats had 19% higher basal testosterone than those who identified strongly with the party,” the study reported. In other words, the more strongly Democrat a man is, the lower his testosterone is. Read the dissertation here.

 Naturally the far-right, white nationalist, anti-immigration VDARE.com had a field day with this study.

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.

“Rise up, push back” against COVID mandates as Congress begins session

 After sitting for an hour or two in the early afternoon of Inauguration Day, June 30, the new Fifty Second Congress adjourned for the traditional summer recess. Recess time ends today as Congress members return to the Capitol to begin the First Session (1·LII 2022-23), postponed one day in memory of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. The Queen’s state funeral was held on the day Congress was scheduled to re-convene, Sept. 19. Patria paid its respects to the greatest modern macro-national monarch and her 70 year reign.

 On the order paper for the First Session is a call to “rise up and push back” should any government attempt to re-impose mask mandates, vaccine passports, school closures, lockdowns and other COVID-19 restrictions. As duly noted, the time for government overreach has passed, the measures were of very little practical use to stop COVID’s spread and online school likely caused many children irreparable damage. Learn to live with it. As Patria has been saying since 2020, kevál estí grippí – it’s only the flu (or a bad cold).

 RIP Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.

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!

Patria's 52nd Congress - Inaugural Address

 

The following is the text of the Inaugural Address/Speech from the Throne delivered by the Speaker of the House in Castoropolis (Kashipura) on June 30, 2022.

Madam Chief Justice, Mr. Sergeant-at-Arms, distinguished guests, honourable members of the Fifty Second Congress, those who well and faithfully served in the Fifty First Congress, fellow citizens of Patria, Amma’s beloved children, all those gathered here in Kashipura on this auspicious noon hour on the 30^th day of June, let us open this new House of Assembly with salutations to Lord Ganesha Om gam ganapataye namah and the following prayer: Om saha navavatu saha nau bhunaktu, saha viryam karavavahai, tejasvi navadhitam astu, ma vidvishavahai. Om shanti shanti shanti. May we be protected together. May we be nourished together. May we all make a bold attempt. May our study be enlightening. May there be no hatred between us. May there be peace.

 On this day, we would be remiss not to acknowledge the centennial of radio broadcasting in Patria. One hundred years ago today, Patria’s pioneer radio station PMC, which had signed on only a few months earlier in 1922, broadcast the inauguration of the Twenty Seventh Congress.

 As we know, there is one less party seated in this House. The Fifty Second Congress regrets the demise of the Amrita Party, but thanks the Party’s members for their service to Patria since 2002. Patria will forever be grateful for the presence of Amma in this House over the past two decades, representing the great Precinct of Arboria. The Amrita Party’s legacy includes not only Amrita TV being available on all basic cable systems in Patria, an Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences hospital and a campus of Amrita University in Patria, but also – and most important of all – continuing Amma’s work as an environmentalist who leads from the front.

 Patria will listen to the argument that human activity has little effect on the Earth’s climate. There is certainly evidence that climate change took place in ancient times and in the Middle Ages when fossil fuels were virtually unknown. There is even evidence of climate change on Mars, certainly no fault of the Martians. But know this, whether caused by human activity or not, climate change is real, it is happening even as we meet here, and it affects the micro-world just as much as the macro-world. Therefore, micronations such as Patria have an environmental duty of care as great as any macro-national world power. In 2016 Patria ratified the MAPS treaty and Patria continues to advocate for the Marine Arctic Peace Sanctuary, that safeguards the Arctic Ocean north of the Arctic Circle. In this single act of conservation, that advances all 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, MAPS protects our homes, food and water supplies, global immunity, economic balance, social stability, and world peace. It is not only the small Green Party caucus who will support Patria’s environmental initiatives in this new Congress. And there will be new initiatives along with the commitment in the previous Congress to reduce the use of plastics and disposable items. On the order paper: the fashion industry – whether made in Patria or imported fast-fashion from the usual suspects such as Bangladesh – must commit to textile recycling so that old worn-out clothing does not sit in landfills but is re-made into new garments, made and worn in Patria – not turned into industrial rags or exported to Africa. The internal combustion engine has enjoyed a nice run since the early 1900s, but a glance at the price of petrol is all it takes to know that now is the time for the micro and macro-world to break its unsustainable addiction to fossil fuel. As contained in Patria’s fiscal 2023 budget, ratified less than 24 hours ago as the last act of the 51^st Congress, Patria will offer subsidies, loans or rebates for purchase of electric cars and will appropriate sufficient funds in order to build the fast-charge network so that electric charging stations will become an even more common sight on our roads than the traditional filling stations. Beginning no later than 2024, Patria will mandate that the majority of Patria Post trucks and other government fleet vehicles be electric powered. Public transit buses will also transition from diesel to electric or hybrid electric. And finally, in another of Amma’s environmental initiatives that also uplifts the lives of females in the developing world, women in Patria will be encouraged to adopt reusable menstrual pads, such as those produced by Amma’s Saukhyam project.

 Along with these environmental initiatives, Patria is also committed to a fair and equitable workplace environment. Not only should every worker in Patria be guaranteed a living wage, topped up if necessary by the universal basic income that has been ratified in principle and will be implemented no later than fiscal 2024, the new Congress will spearhead legislation that will ensure across Patria a mandatory minimum of four weeks paid vacation, year-long paid parental leave, unlimited paid sick or disability leave, and a four-day work week so that Thursday becomes the new Friday.

 Forty years ago today, on these same Capitol steps, Patria marked the end of the “failed policies, failed hopes” of the Forty First Congress. Say what you want about the alcohol-fueled, hedonistic Forty Second Congress, but it at least served as a partial do-over or make-good for the failed Forty First. Let it be the intention of all who are old enough to remember the dark time, all the veteran Congress members who actually served in that House, to reach some kind of reconciliation with the failed Forty First Congress, acknowledge its legacy, be grateful for its few good experiences such as exceptional medium wave and shortwave DX catches and move on. Recall fondly or not, nostalgically or not, the excesses of the Forty Second Congress, but know that in 1986 it left Patria in a better place than it found it in 1982. And forty years from today, let it be said that the Fifty First Congress left Patria in a better place than it found it, COVID-19 or no.

 Patria calls on China to take responsibility for the pain and suffering they have foisted on the macro and micro-world alike, most likely through a biological weapon under development that was accidentally leaked from a lab. No macro-national leader has dared to say that China should pay reparations – not only to the families of those who died of COVID but even more to the loved ones of those who committed suicide during the lockdowns and those who died of cancer, heart disease and other non-COVID causes because the surgeries and treatments that could have saved their lives were cancelled or postponed indefinitely. But Patria has been saying it for more than two years. The geriatric ChiComms must pay the debt for their horrific crime against humanity, just as Germany continues to pay reparations to Holocaust survivors and the US may someday do for the African-American descendants of slaves. Can I get a “MAKE CHINA PAY?”

 Long before COVID-19 Patria said: “If we have to go alone, we go alone with pride”. And when the lamps were going out all over the macro-world in March 2020, Patria stood alone. Alone against the world, Patria adopted the Great Barrington Declaration. Alone against the world, Patria chose freedom above fear. Alone against the world, Patria considered COVID-19 little more than a bad flu season, comparable to the 1957-58 Asian Flu or 1968-69 Hong Kong Flu. Alone against the world, Patria adopted herd immunity as its primary means of keeping those truly at risk of serious illness safe. Alone against the world, Patria refused to impose lockdowns, vaccine passports and mask mandates. Alone against the world, Patria chose to protect those who were truly vulnerable, such as residents of nursing homes and long-term care facilities, while allowing the majority of Patrienish citizens to continue living a normal life free of restrictions, free to protect themselves as they and their personal health care providers saw fit. Alone against the world, Patria placed personal responsibility and individual choice above government decree. And of course, almost alone against the world, Patria did not let the fear-mongers and lockdown-mongers win.

 Many macro-world liberals and progressives seem content with letting the pandemic – or should we say “panic-demic” – continue indefinitely, and keep the mask mandates and other restrictions on the books – even if self-imposed rather than by government fiat – permanently. But Patria’s message to the macro-world and micro-world alike is “COVID is over”. It is in the rear view mirror NOW! If not now, when?

 Patria chooses freedom over fear. Today, as in March 2020, and always. If not now, when?

Let us move from fear to love and be rooted in love. As Amma says, “my religion is love”. If not now, when?

Let us recognize that health care decisions such as how to protect oneself against a mostly mild but highly communicable disease are choices made between each citizen and his or her personal physician or health care provider, not mandates handed down by unelected, unaccountable public health officers and so-called “top doctors” such as Theresa Tam and Anthony Fauci. If not now, when?

Let us recognize that hugs and human contact are essential, pandemic or no. Self-care and self-love are essential, pandemic or no. If not now, when?

As Pride month concludes, let us affirm that Asexuals should be included and welcomed within the Pride movement along with their LGBTQ brothers and sisters, not looked down upon as simply failed heterosexuals, out of luck adult virgins or incels who have yet to commit violent crimes. If not now, when?

Let us support all forms of free speech and free expression, including unpopular and dissident voices. Let us never limit free speech to only the views that have been deemed acceptable by the elites, social media fact-checkers and our so-called betters. If not now, when?

Let us never teach our children, teens and young adults that any sex, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, religion, or national origin is inherently superior or inferior. The First Session of this Congress should pass legislation that would ban so-called Critical Race Theory from all Patria’s publicly funded schools, colleges and universities. Let us never teach Blacks to hate Whites and Whites to hate themselves. If not now, when?

Let us significantly reduce the dependence on Chinese-made consumer goods. To the greatest extent possible, bring the manufacturing jobs back to Patria, or in the macro-world back to Canada, the United States, the UK and other first-world democracies. If it can be made in Patria, let it be made in Patria. Bring the jobs home. If not now, when?

Whether we voted SRM or not, let us proudly declare “PATRIA FIRST”! Say it loud, say it proud. Our Inner Realm, take it back! Our economy, take it back! The banner of Sanatan Dharma, raise it high! Always be asking these three Patrienish words: “estí buní Patríæ?” Is it good for Patria? If not now, when?

Nationalism is not something evil, not something to be feared, not even something that is the exclusive domain of rightists and conservatives. Either we have a country or we don’t. And if we do, and if Patria is something more than the name that goes on our coins, postage stamps and passports, something more than the team bearing its flag on the athletic uniforms we root for at sports events, then we must put it first, to love and serve, support and defend. Hence, Patria First! If not now, when?

No one ever complied their way out of government overreach. No one ever changed the world by being pragmatic or incremental. No one ever got nice things by being moderate or centrist. Let the multi-party composition of this House affirm that that Patria has no use for moderate milquetoast big-tent center-left and center-right parties such as Canada’s Liberals and Conservatives, the UK’s Labour and Tories and certainly not the binary bipolar wasteland of America’s Democrats and Republicans. Patria does not need some new political parties. Patria needs a generation of brave men and women who can fearlessly rise to face all threats to their collective interests. A generation steeled in their effort to realize their grand vision of a new nation. This gathering of the faithful — the true inheritors of Patria — will urge our people onward.

Know this: a nation run by bankers will never be out of debt. A nation owned by weapons manufacturers – what Dwight Eisenhower dubbed the military-industrial complex – will never know peace. A nation that allows only a small, mostly unelected segment of its citizens to write the laws and draft extra-legal mandates will never know justice. And if these elements own a nation’s media, its people will never know the truth.

In the 1960s the left was a major component of the counterculture, part of the revolution against the so-called establishment. Today it is the establishment, while the right is the vanguard of the anti-establishment. And in this new Congress, Patria looks to the right for the four Fs: Faith, Family, Freedom and Free Speech, while retaining universal basic income, extended paid maternity (or paternity) leave, subsidized child care, single-payer health insurance that includes dental care, vision care and pharma care, and the other progressive economic underpinnings laid down by the Social Democrats and the old, traditional, populist left that advocates free speech, open debate, freedom of association and above all, freedom of choice and bodily autonomy, be it abortions or vaccines, while giving no quarter for wokeism, intersectionality, critical race theory, hurt feelings of easily-offended snowflakes and of course the never-ending COVIDocracy of mandates and restrictions. Just as Pierre Trudeau said “there is no place for the state in the bedrooms of the nation”, Patria says there is no place for the state in the bodies of our citizens and the doctor’s offices of our nation. Just as the abortion rights pioneers said some half century ago, Patria says again: “my body, my choice”!

In Patria, citizens should not only be free to speak but to speak freely. Yet today in much of the macro world, free speech is threatened and has even gotten a bad name. How did free speech get such a bad name? How did free speech come to be seen as an enemy of civilization? Was free speech not supposed to be one of the noblest goals of the enlightenment, a touchstone for democracies worldwide? Yes it was. That is why the modern left hates free speech. Because the modern left in much of the macro-world is an authoritarian movement built around censorship. They would not accuse you of being against God or the government. Rather, they will say that your speech is a form of violence against some particular group of people. And therefore, you need to be stopped, in order to keep other people “safe”, in order not to hurt other people’s feelings. These leftist totalitarians alone get to decide what is racist, sexist, homophobic, transphobic, or even anti-science. But know this: not the democratic, traditional, non-woke left in Patria, not the Social Democrats, Greens, Chakra Party and the independent progressives seated in this House today. To those totalitarian killers of free speech and free thought who claim to be “progressive”, Patria says – to quote Greta Thunberg – “how dare you!”

And thus be it ever that Patria will stand as a maverick state that goes alone. Democratic socialist and not woke. Leftist – old-school leftist – and proudly standing for free speech, open debate, questioning of authority, defying the ruling class elites, and of course vehemently rejecting cancel culture. Progressive and politically incorrect. A so-called welfare state that accepts capitalism while obliging its billionaires and plutocrats to pay their fair share of taxes as well as direct a small part of their wealth towards making Patria a better place for those less fortunate. Proudly populist. Fiercely nationalist. No elites. No thought police. No safe spaces or trigger warnings. For the benefit of the working classes, not the woke elite. As George Orwell wrote in 1984 (the book, not the year), “if there is hope, it lies in the proles”. The proles, the ordinary working men and women of Patria, not the woke elite, who struggle daily to make ends meet, to put food on their table and fuel in their gas tanks, amid economic, social and environmental collapse. The proles care not one whit about which pronouns to use, whether trans women are bona fide females, whether they are ticking enough diversity, equity and inclusion boxes, or whether black lives matter more than all lives. The proles also say, as Greta says, “how dare you!”

Patria rose up in a spirit of defiance back in 1818, rose up again and reaffirmed Sanatan Dharma in 1989, rose up once more against the COVID totalitarians in 2020, and still we rise. No macro-world governments recognize Patria. No foreign aid given or ambassadors sent. No one wishes to travel on the path with Patria. And that suits Patria just fine. Indeed, we go alone with pride!

But of course we are not walking alone in this new Congress. The Lord – Krishna, Shiva, Devi, Allah, Yahweh – is at our side in whatever name and form is best suited to each citizen of Patria. Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Hosts; the whole Earth is full of His glory. Praised be the glory of God through all the world. Let Thy doctrine descend as the rain, Thy word distil as the dew. May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in Thy sight, may Thy will be done, and may God bless Patria!

© 2022, LII Con. Pat.  The above text is an official transcription, preserved in the Archives of Patria.  Any re-broadcast, re-transmission or other use of the pictures, descriptions or accounts of this Inauguration ceremony without the express written consent of the Undersecretary for Protocol, Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Dharma of Patria is strictly prohibited.  Don’t fool with us, boy!  We will throw your sorry ass in the slammer!

Ave atque vale - 51st Congress adjourns sine die

 The Fifty First Congress passed into history on its final day in office, as the Speaker of the House brought down the gavel and declared the fourth session (4·LI 2021-22) adjourned sine die.

Bhagavad Gita at the ready for Inauguration Day oath of office.

On the last day of the lame-duck session, Congress ratified Patria's fiscal 2023 budget and passed a number of other motions including an affirmation that abortion will always be safe and legal in Patria.

Minutes prior to the final adjournment, the final message of the 51st Congress was delivered by the Acting House Leader of the now-defunct Amrita Party (one of only four Amrita Party members who didn't resign and abandon their seats when the Amrita Party was dissolved in December 2021). The following is the text of the final message:

Mr. Speaker Pro Tem, with your permission I rise to deliver the final message of the Fourth Session, Fifty First Congress. As I speak, I am surrounded by empty seats that belonged to members of the Amrita Party, who abandoned this House when the Party was dissolved in December 2021. Let all members of Congress, whether their terms are coming to an end as the Speaker’s gavel next hits the dais or are continuing to serve in the Fifty Second Congress-elect, acknowledge the legacy of the Amrita Party and the great things Amma’s children have accomplished in Patria over the course of the past two decades. Though there remains only a small rump of the Amrita Party’s remnants – only four members calling themselves IAM in the new Congress – Patria will continue to be held in Amma’s hands and bow at her feet. 

Before continuing further, on behalf of the Jungle Party caucus, I would like to congratulate Kaleb in Green Bay, winner of Smack Off XXVIII, who will serve as the Jungle Party’s de facto House Leader in the Fifty Second Congress-elect, as well as Iafrate, who finished a close second and will serve as Deputy Leader.

 The Fifty First Congress began so auspiciously with Patria’s 2018 bicentennial celebrations, but – along with the entire macro-world – was dragged into a dark place midway through the Second Session. But while much of the macro-world resorted to lockdowns and police state tyranny in March 2020, Patria would not play along. Patria did not give in to those who would take away freedom for the sake of a bad flu season. Proudly we can say that this Congress and the thirteen Precinct legislatures did not impose full-scale mask mandates, business and school closures, the colossal failure of online school, to say nothing of police state lockdowns. Patria stood alone against the world in March 2020 and still we stand, not giving in to fear, protecting those who need protection, while allowing COVID 19 to run its course among the healthy population. Patria has gone on record that if you want to wear a mask, that is fine, as they say “you do you” but as a means of curbing the spread of COVID 19 masks are nearly useless except in certain limited circumstances, such as those who are actually infected, at high risk, or whose work comes into contact with such cases. Let the powers that be hate us. Let the ruling class call us a fake country that enacts fake laws and follows fake science. Proudly we went alone in the 51^st Congress and proudly we will go alone in the 52^nd.

 Forty years ago on this day, Patria moved on from the failed Forty First Congress. Today Patria moves on once again. Not from a failed Congress, but from one that rose up against fear, panic and oppression to say “enough is enough”. No masks, no lockdowns, no shuttered schools. This was not the 14^th century. COVID was not bubonic plague. It was not even the 1918 flu. Did anyone see bodies dropping dead on the streets and corpses stacked like cordwood on tumbrel carts as the driver called out “bring out your dead”? The macro-world powers that be attempted to immiserate, embitter and enslave the free world with lockdowns and isolation, with mandates and overreach by petty tyrants disguised as public health officers and “top doctors”. They attempted to control and re-set. For who? For what? To ratchet up fear of a respiratory virus with a 99-point-something % survival rate. For a bad flu season. And then after two years, when COVID began to wane they ratcheted up a new Cold War against Russia that has turned far hotter than the one against the former Soviet Union. But Patria would not play along.

 Patria of course condemns Russia’s brutal and unprovoked attack on Ukraine, but Patria will not join the neo-Cold Warriors in demonizing Putin and ginning up hate for the long-gone Evil Empire. Ladies and gentlemen, the Soviet Union ceased to exist in 1991. Putin is not Stalin. Not Khrushchev. Not Brezhnev. Not even Yuri Andropov. Russia is not our enemy. Ukraine is not our ally, much as Patria offers the Ukrainian people its moral and spiritual support as folks everywhere are virtue-signaling by flying the Ukrainian flag or hash-tagging #standwithUkraine on social media. Patria must remain neutral in all macro-national conflicts that do not threaten Patria’s security. Patria’s defense budget – part of the fiscal 2023 budget ratified earlier today – serves for the defense of Patria, to repel an actual invasion or serious threat of same, but the Patrienish Army, Navy, Air Force and Coast Guard will not fall in line with the US-led military industrial complex of endless wars that benefit only the weapons manufacturers.

 The men and women who have served in the Fifty First Congress and will serve in the Fifty Second Congress-elect are not elites. Not plutocrats. Not multi-millionaires. Not the so-called one-percent. For the most part they are ordinary citizens of the 13 Precincts and the Federal District. Their desire to love and serve, support and defend the Inner Realm has inspired their decision to seek elective office and has brought them here. Consequently this House is, and must always be not liberal, not conservative, but populist, reflecting the views of the grassroots, of the Joe Sixpacks and Sally Soccermoms, of the ordinary working people struggling to make ends meet, be it putting food on the table, putting clothes on their children’s backs, or putting gas in the car.

 Those who disdain Patria’s role in the micronational world, as a politically incorrect maverick state that goes it alone, as a democratic socialist nation that is not woke, as a land that proudly affirms Sanatan Dharma along with the Judeo-Christian western traditions as well as the “spiritual but not religious” folks in the Chakra Party, as a realm of free speech and free choice, as the only country on this planet that thumbed its nose at the COVID police – know this: Patria is doubling down on all of the above in the new Congress. Let the haters hate Patria’s lack of woke-ism. Let the elites despise Patria’s grassroots populism. Let the ruling class in America call Patria a land of conspiracy theorists. Let the ignorant ignore Patria’s legacy since 1818. Let the skeptics be skeptical that such a micronation can thrive and prosper. Patria will live on as it has endured for the past 204 years, fortis et liber, strong and free. They can call us a fake country. They can shout their words of hate. But as the song goes, the cost of keeping this land free can never be too great.

 As we bring down the gavel on the Fifty First Congress, as the Speaker Pro Tem leads the closing prayers, let us pause to remember the real victims of COVID as a result of the vast over-reaction since March 2020: those who committed suicide or seriously thought about it during the lockdown as they suffered intensely from economic devastation, isolation and depression, who were considered by the unelected, unaccountable public health authorities little more than collateral damage, as well as those who died amid these actions befitting a police state because their cancers went undetected, their surgeries were canceled or their treatments for non-COVID diseases were postponed indefinitely.

 The Amrita Party may be no more, but Patria has been blessed by Amma’s grace, by her presence. May it continue to be so in the Fifty Second Congress-elect. Om amriteshwaryai namah. Antarbhumi ramrajya ki jai ho!

 

SRM slams NU and Jungle as lame duck session begins

 The SRM Congress members are pointing fingers at National Unionists and Jim Rome’s Jungle Party for failing to deliver a right-wing coalition in the 52^nd Congress election. “If the National Union and Jungle had doubled their seat count, to 40 and 20 seats respectively, along with most of the minor parties the Patria First movement could have held off the Social Democrats, Greens and Chakras… but no, they failed to deliver and Patria is stuck with four more years of so-called progress with a purpose, four more years of discredited leftist rabble”. Of course, the SRM could have done better itself, as its own pollsters projected at least 108 seats. They won 90 seats, but in Patria’s everyone-into-the-pool proliferation of parties, that translated into only about 27% of the popular vote.

All bark, no bite. NU won only one more seat than in 2018.

 Holding a mediocre 22 seats (about 6.6% of popular vote), the National Union won only a single seat more than in 2018, while the Jungle Party lost one seat, down to 10 members from 11 in the 51^st Congress. The biggest winner in the 52^nd Congress-elect is the Chakra Party. They won 76 seats – 43 more than in 2018 – and succeeded in scooping up a large number of Amrita Party supporters. Given Patria’s multi-party mish-mash, getting about 23% of popular vote is a big win for the Chakras.

 The old 51^st Congress (4·LI 2021-22) reconvened for the traditional post-election Lame Duck Session that will continue until a day or two before Inauguration Day and will include Smack-Off XXVIII on June 24, in which the Jungle Party will select the ten members of its caucus (broadcast live on PMBC-1152). The first item on the order paper is to certify the returns of the recent election, as provided by the returning officers of the 13 Precincts and the Federal District. The last item is to hammer out and ratify Patria’s fiscal 2023 budget. In between there are many items of business and other loose ends to tie up, including a proclamation of Patria’s neutrality in the Russo-Ukrainian war.

SRM thought they won, until they didn't.

Patria Votes 2022: SRM foiled again by Social Democrats, Chakra and Green Parties

 “Whose Patria? Our Patria?” But not quite the SRM’s Patria. While the Hindu right “Patria First” SRM won the most seats in the Fifty Second Congress, they ran into a progressive (but not woke) buzz-saw: the “Progress with a purpose” Social Democrats, “Bikes not cars” Greens and “Inquire Within” Chakra Party, who have enough combined seats for a simple (50%) majority in the House. For those bills, constitutional amendments and other resolutions that require a two-thirds majority, they will still need support from the minor parties, Jim Rome’s Jungle, National Unionists and at least a few SRMers. The election really did not change much of the power balance from the Social Democrat-Amrita-Chakra dominated Fifty First Congress, even if the SRM won 34 more seats than in 2018. Despite the demise of the Amrita Party, there will be four IAM – Independent Amrita Members – sitting in the new Congress, who were elected through write-in votes and the party remaining on the ballot in Caesarea. 

The law and order National Union campaigned hard on a “don’t be a pussy” platform, but equating manliness with owning a big dog and supporting the police right or wrong (aka Blue Lives Matter) seemed hardly worth it as they managed to win only one more seat than in 2018. Jim Rome’s Jungle Party finished down one seat from 2018, but at least they took some votes away from the NU, those votes being unemployed or minimally employed adult boys living in their mom and dad’s basement, spending most of the day playing video games. 

The SRM claims its “win” was in large part due to the demise of the Amrita Party. But the real winner was the Chakra Party, who scooped up 43 more seats than in 2018. Most of those votes would likely have gone to Amrita. 

A whopping 22 parties (including the remnants of the Amrita party, known as “IAM”) will be represented in the 52^nd Congress, though nine of those parties hold only a single seat each. Try doing that with first-past-the-post! Thanks to proportional representation, no vote in Patria is ever wasted or elects no one. Even write-ins can win a seat, though this was due to nostalgia for the defunct Amrita Party rather than proportional representation per se.

 Campaign 2022 final score:

 SRM – 90 (+34 from 2018)

Social Democrats – 84 (-12)

Chakra – 76 (+43)

National Union – 22 (+1)

Green – 17 (+1)

Jungle – 10 (-1)

Lilith – 8 (+2)

Libertarian – 5 (unchanged)

Independent (Amrita) – 4**

Chastity – 2 (-1)

Family Values – 2 (unchanged)

Peoples’ Party – 2

Reconstruction Party - 2

Others* – 9

*one seat each: Pottsylvanian Alliance, United Patriots of Pottsylvania, United Farmers of Antioch, Lazurian Independent Party, Patriots Union of Nova Columbia, Incels’ Rights, Victory and Peace, Freedom Party, Popular Front of Caesarea.

** Now-defunct Amrita Party, aka “IAM” (Independent Amrita Members).

Seats won by precinct: 

Fredonia (9)

Chakra – 2, Green – 1, Jungle – 1, NU – 1, SD – 2, SRM – 2

 Haldimania (12)

Chakra –2, Green – 1, Libertarian – 1, NU – 1, SD – 3, SRM – 4

 Pottsylvania (13)

Chakra – 3, Lilith – 1, NU – 1, SD – 3, SRM – 3, Pottsylvanian Alliance – 1, United Patriots of Pottsylvania – 1

 Mauretania (15)

Chakra – 3, Green – 1, Jungle – 1, Lilith – 1, NU – 1, SD – 4, SRM – 3, Peoples’ Party – 1

 Canardiere (16)

Chakra – 3, Green – 1, Libertarian – 1, SD – 6, SRM – 5

 Ambrosia (17)

Chakra – 4, Green – 1, Lilith – 1, NU – 1, SD – 5, SRM – 5

 Antioch (19)

Chakra – 5, Jungle – 1, NU – 1, SD – 5, SRM – 6, United Farmers of Antioch – 1

 Arboria (21)

Chakra – 4, Green – 1, Lilith – 1, NU – 2, SD – 6, SRM – 6, Independent (Amrita) – 1

 Aeolia (24)

Chakra – 5, Green – 2, Jungle – 1, Libertarian – 1, NU – 1, SD – 6, SRM – 8

 Centralia (25)

Chakra – 6, Green – 2, Jungle – 1, Lilith – 1, NU – 3, SD – 5, SRM – 7

 Lazuria (27)

Chakra – 7, Green – 1, Jungle – 1, NU – 1, SD – 8, SRM – 8, Lazurian Independent Party – 1

 Nova Columbia (36)

Chakra – 9, Chastity – 1, Green – 2, Jungle – 1, Lilith – 1, NU – 1, SD – 8, SRM – 9, Patriots’ Union of Nova Columbia (PUNC) – 1, Peoples’ Party – 1, Incels’ Rights – 1, Reconstruction Party – 1

 Federal District of Castoropolis (38)

Chakra – 10, Chastity – 1, Family Values – 1, Green – 2, Jungle – 1, Libertarian – 1, NU – 1, SD – 7, SRM – 10, Independent (Amrita) – 1, Victory and Peace Party – 1, Freedom Party – 1, Reconstruction Party – 1

 Caesarea (61)

Chakra – 13, Family Values – 1, Green – 2, Jungle – 2, Libertarian – 1, Lilith – 2, NU – 7, SD – 16, SRM – 14, Independent (Amrita) – 2, Popular Front of Caesarea (PFC) – 1

As Patria awaits the 52nd Congress Inauguration Day on June 30, a reminder that Patria is not a place for social conservative culture wars. The tired old horses such as modest dress for women and no same-sex marriage left the barn a long time ago.

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.

Battleground Precincts as Campaign 2022 ends

Today is the last day of the race for Patria’s Fifty Second Congress. Tomorrow is Election Day. Just as there are battleground states in the US presidential election campaign, there are battleground or swing precincts in Patria as the SRM, Social Democrats, Chakra and other parties attempt to woo voters from the now-defunct Amrita Party. The following is a brief look at the precincts that could swing the 2022 election.

Arboria

As the home base of the Amrita Party and Amma’s adopted “home” since the party’s formation in 2002, Arboria is one of the leading battlegrounds thanks to the demise of the Amrita Party in late 2021. The Chakra Party and SRM have been battling tooth and nail for Arboria’s 21 seats, with the Social Democrats and Greens also strongly in the hunt. There are likely enough Amma devotees in Arboria longing for the now-defunct party to elect at least one independent Amrita member through write-in votes.

Centralia

Patria’s old de-industrialized Rust Belt. Amrita took 9 of its 25 seats in 2018 while the Social Democrats won 6. The Social Dems are fighting hard for Patria’s former industrial heartland, in an attempt to stave off frustrated, poverty-stricken voters going for the macho-tough National Union and the “Patria First” SRM.

Nova Columbia

Usually a breeding ground for fringe and nutbar single-seat parties such as the Patriots’ Union of Nova Columbia (PUNC), as well as minor parties such as the Lilith, Chastity and Libertarians. With 36 seats up for grabs, a fair chunk of the minor party representation in the 52^nd Congress could come from Nova Columbia.

Pottsylvania

Like Nova Columbia, another hotbed of fringe and nutbar parties. The Pottsylvanian Alliance, United Patriots of Pottsylvania or some other stupid party is likely to take one of Pottsylvania’s 13 seats.

Federal District of Castoropolis & Caesarea

With 99 seats in play – 38 in Castoropolis and 61 in Caesarea – Patria’s largest city and the Caesarean suburbs and exurbs that surround it are the major prize in the 2022 election cycle. Note that unlike the District of Columbia, Patria’s capital city enjoys full representation in Congress. Like most major macro-world cities, Castoropolis is chock-full of liberals and hard-leftists, who will split the vote between the Greens and Social Democrats. The proliferation of yoga studios will translate into votes for the Chakra Party. Minor fringe parties usually pick up a seat or two in the Federal District and Caesarea, and along with Arboria there are some hard-core Amrita supporters who could write in an independent Amrita member or two.

As in 2018, Social Dems are playing the Bernie card.

Typical SRM campaign poster seen all over Patria.

Chakra Party could hold balance of power between SD and SRM.

NU men are tough as nails.

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.

Micronationalism in action: Patria salutes the Principality of Islandia

The tiny island of Coffee Caye off the coast of Belize has been acquired by a group of investors who hope to turn it into the world's first crowdfunded micronation: the Principality of Islandia. The investors paid US$180,000 plus tax for the island in 2019 and are selling shares in it for $3,250 apiece. So far 89 people have invested in the project. Investors and visitors to Coffee Caye automatically become citizens of Islandia. Of course one of the first things Islandia's investors/citizens did was adopt a flag:

Patria naturally extends de facto recognition to Islandia. May your hearts bloom and spirits soar in Islandia.

Welcome to Islandia! For a mere $3,250 this could be yours!

Six more weeks on campaign trail as Congress takes pre-election recess

Patria’s tenrec (the animal symbol of Patria, as proclaimed by Act of Congress in 2018) saw its shadow – or perhaps didn’t see its shadow – today, meaning there are six more weeks of campaigning until 52^nd Congress Election Day, April 16.

After a rare Saturday session that capped off days of marathon debates on tax reform and tax cuts for 2023, the Fourth Session of the 51^st Congress (4·LI 2021-22) adjourned for the traditional, though unwritten, pre-election recess in order to allow Congress members to hit the campaign trail in their home Precincts and districts. Congress will return a few days after the Election Day/Patriots’ Day weekend for the also traditional Lame Duck session, which will conclude a day or two before Inauguration Day.

Although supporters of the defunct Amrita Party tend to be parking their vote with the Social Democrats or Chakra Party, the SRM is fighting hard for their votes. The newest SRM campaign posters feature the goddess Kali and a new slogan “WHOSE PATRIA? OUR PATRIA!” along with the SRM's usual "Patria first".

“Radio and Trust” as Patria celebrates World Radio Day 2022

 

While not an official public holiday where schools and businesses are closed, Patria celebrates World Radio Day on February 13.

Radio is a powerful medium for celebrating humanity in all its diversity and constitutes a platform for democratic discourse. At the global level and even in unrecognized micronations such as Patria, radio remains the most widely consumed medium. This unique ability to reach out the widest audience means radio can shape a society’s experience of diversity, stand as an arena for all voices to speak out, be represented and heard. Radio stations should serve diverse communities, offering a wide variety of programs, viewpoints and content, and reflect the diversity of audiences in their organizations and operations.

Radio continues to be one of the most trusted and used media in the world, according to different international reports. The theme of the 2022 edition of World Radio Day is thus devoted to "Radio and Trust", with the following sub-themes: trust in radio journalism (produce independent and high quality content), trust and accessibility (take care of your audience) and trust and viability of radio stations (ensure that radio survives and remains sustainable even in times of financial crisis, war, revolution or pandemic).

This year also marks the centennial of broadcasting in Patria, as legendary AM stations such as PMC-846, POKX-648 and PMBC-1152 signed on in 1922. Patria’s national broadcasting network, the Voice of Patria or Ramrajyavani, was inaugurated in 1926. In 2001, Patria Post issued a commemorative stamp to mark its 75^th anniversary.

PMC celebrating 100 years on the air.

Radio, of course, plays a major role in Patria’s 2022 election campaign. All radio stations in Patria are required to broadcast paid political announcements. The following are some of the campaign slogans that are heard on Patria’s airwaves, and will be heard every day until Election Day, April 16. All campaigning and electioneering, including radio ads, must end at 11:59 PM April 15. 

SRM: “Patria First”, “Take back the economy”

Chakra Party: “Patria’s inner voice”, “Inquire within for real change” 

Social Democrats: “For the Workers, not the Wokesters”, “Progress with a purpose” 

National Union: “Big dogs for real men”, “Don’t be a pussy” 

Jungle Party: “Have a take, don’t suck”, “Step your game up and make Patria better” 

Green Party: “Bikes not cars”, “For a sustainable Patria” 

Chastity Party: “Because sex is dirty” 

Family Values Party: “1950s values for the 2020s” 

Libertarian Party: “More freedom, less government” 

Reconstruction Party: “Building a new Patria from the ashes of the old” 

Incel Party: “Giving virgins a voice” 

Lilith Party: “Vulvas for victory”

Chakra Party: we love cats

While the National Union considers owning a dog (particularly a big one like a Pit Bull or Rottweiler) a test of manly character, the Chakra Party is appealing to cat owners. The party that bills itself as “Patria’s inner voice” says men who love cats are not pussies. Along with the Chakra Party’s usual posters and outdoor ads featuring, well...duhhhh, chakras, they’ve got a kitty poster girl – a Calico cat named Chandi, who you can follow on Facebook.

With the Beijing Winter Olympics underway, and as usual, micronations such as Patria shut out of the Games, the SRM is cranking up the “to hell with China” message another notch.

“Don’t be a pussy!” as NU plays the Law and Order card

To virtually no one’s surprise, the National Union is campaigning hard on a Law and Order platform that can be summarized as pro-cop and anti-cat. Even more than National Unionists despise soft-on-crime liberals, they detest men who don’t like dogs, are scared of dogs, or who own cats. In the NU’s macho world, dogs are equated with manliness, loyalty and obedience, while cats are useless and effeminate as no police force has ever employed a feline unit and no home has ever been protected by a guard cat. No police department in Patria is in danger of being defunded, violent crime is generally quite rare in Patria, and most cops in Patria do not carry guns while walking foot patrols (but like London Bobbies, they do have nightsticks and know how to use them!) but nonetheless the NU is playing the pro-cop Blue Lives Matter (#bluelivesmatter) card to the hilt.

The NU’s 2022 campaign slogan found on posters and broadcast ads: “Don’t be a pussy!” referring both to cats and the female genitalia.

Finally, a reminder that Omicron is a street in Patria’s capital city Castoropolis (Kashipura). A very pleasant street that passes through the campus of the University of Castoropolis to boot. Patria has never imposed mask mandates, lockdowns, school closures, vaccine passports, or any other COVID-19 restrictions, other than focused protection in nursing homes, long-term care centers and the like. No party contesting the 2022 election is in favor of such things.

SRM playing “To Hell with China” card hard again

 

Typical SRM campaign poster

Just as in 2018, the SRM is again campaigning hard on a PATRIA FIRST and TAKE BACK THE ECONOMY platform, rooted in the old concept of Swadeshi or total self-sufficiency in domestic production, rather than dependence on imported goods. 

Despite the “NO MORE CHINESE JUNK” and “BRING THE JOBS HOME” ranting in the SRM’s print and broadcast messages, the Party has not offered any substantial plan for how the manufacture of typically Chinese-made consumer goods – pretty much everything from computers and electronics to rupee-store crap – will be re-established in Patria (or for that matter in Canada, the US or any other First World macronation) without causing the price of those goods to skyrocket, assuming that the factories can even be built in Patria and enough workers can be found who are willing to accept even Patria’s generous minimum wage.

 

Needless to add, the SRM is also spewing out anti-China hate for unleashing COVID-19 on the world, likely through an accidental lab leak. The common Patrienish phrase for COVID is grippí Chínië – literally “Chinese flu”. 

In-your-face Hinduism plus Patria First economic nationalism! Does that sound like a winning combination, particularly when attempting to draw votes from the now-defunct Amrita Party?