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 mandates AM radio in every vehicle, gas or electric

AM is not going away on car radios in Patria

 A bipartisan coalition in the United States Congress has introduced the AM for Every Vehicle Act – legislation that would require federal regulators to mandate AM radio in all new vehicles, whether traditional internal combustion or electric powered. The bill was likely inspired by Patria’s own version of the Act, which the 52^nd Congress ratified virtually unanimously today in a rare Saturday sitting. Only a handful of members voted “present” or abstained. 

Patria echoes US Senator Ed Markey (D-MA) who says “for decades, free AM broadcast radio has been an essential tool in emergencies, a crucial part of our diverse media ecosystem, and an irreplaceable source for news, weather, sports, and entertainment for tens of millions of listeners. Carmakers shouldn’t tune out AM radio in new vehicles or put it behind a costly digital paywall.”

“If Elon Musk can afford to buy Twitter and send rockets into space, surely he can afford to hire some engineers who can find a way of shielding the radio in a Tesla from interference caused by electric motors”, the Social Democrat House Leader said as Patria’s AM for Every Vehicle Act was ratified, while the SRM House Leader added “to state the obvious, AM radio is critical to public safety and could literally save your life by providing emergency information that will get through in the event of any power outage or disaster that takes down the internet and knocks out cell phone service”. 

“Radio and Peace” – the theme of World Radio Day 2023

 The theme for the 12th edition of UNESCO’s World Radio Day on 13 February 2023, is "Radio and Peace". Macro-national organizations like the UN and UNESCO would never have Patria as a member. Nonetheless, World Radio Day is celebrated in Patria. While not an official government holiday, because Feb. 13 falls on a Monday (the day after Super Bowl LVII to boot), a lot of folks will book it off work.

War, as an antonym to peace, signifies an armed conflict between countries or groups within a country, but may also translate into a conflict of media narratives. The narrative can increase tensions or maintain conditions for peace in a given context - for instance weigh in on the rough or smooth conduct of elections, the rejection or integration of returnees, the rise or tempering of nationalistic fervour, etc. In reporting and informing the general public, radio stations shape public opinion and frame a narrative that can influence domestic and international situations and decision-making processes.

Radio can indeed fuel conflict but in reality, professional radio moderates conflict and/or tensions, preventing their escalation or bringing about reconciliation and reconstruction talks. In contexts of distant or immediate tension, relevant programmes and independent news reporting provide the foundation for sustainable democracy and good governance by gathering evidence about what is happening, informing citizens about it in impartial and fact-based terms, explaining what is at stake and brokering dialogue among different groups in society.

The preceding two paragraphs were lifted from the UNESCO site, but to state the obvious, this World Radio Day theme is very much needed as the Russo-Ukrainian war drags into its second year with no real prospect of peace.

Whether in unrecognized micronations like Patria or new “real” nations like Radio Miraya in South Sudan, radio is uniquely positioned to bring communities together and foster positive dialogue for change. 

Radio – particularly the much-maligned AM or medium wave band – remains a vital, vibrant force, a source of news, information and entertainment in Patria. Full-service AM stations, such as the iconic century-old PMC-846 in Castoropolis, featuring relevant local programming, in-depth local news and sports, as well as talk shows from across the political spectrum abound in Patria. Not to mention music programs hosted by real in-studio DJs, not remotely voice-tracked. Sadly, this is not the case in the US, where most AM stations fall into only four formats: right-wing talk, sports talk (often with an emphasis on sports gambling), religion (usually evangelical Christian), Spanish/brokered ethnic.

Patria's first Flag Day, 50 years ago today

On Jan. 25, 1973 the 39th Congress ratified the Flag Act. Although Patria's red, white and blue flag had been in use since 1818, there was no Act of Congress that officially proclaimed it as the national flag or fixed its technical standards.

Stand up for the flag of Patria! These colors don't run!

The Flag Act specified the proportions of the flag as 2:1, the shades of red and blue (same shades as on the US flag or Union Jack), as well as the width of the white saltire (the X-shaped cross separating the four triangles). Note that the saltire is considerably narrower than that of the Jamaican flag or Scotland's cross of St. Andrew.

The Act also officially proclaimed the flags of Patria's Armed Forces and Merchant Marine, which had also been in use long before 1973:

Flags of Patria's Navy, Army, Air Force and Merchant Marine

The Flag Act contains a comprehensive code for use of the flag:

• The Flag is to be regarded as the sacred emblem of the Inner Realm of Patria to be paid due reverence and devotion by all its citizens.

• The Flag should never be allowed to touch the ground or floor.

• The Flag should not be flown or used for purely decorative purposes on anything that is for temporary use and likely to be discarded, except on State occasions. 

• It should never have placed on it, any mark, insignia, letter, word, number, figure or drawing of any kind.

• The Flag should never be smaller than any other flag flown at the same time.

• When the Flag becomes worn, dilapidated, is torn, or no longer suitable for display, it should be destroyed in a dignified manner, preferably by burning privately.

• No other flag should be placed above or to the right of the Patrienish Flag, except at Foreign Embassies, Consulates, and Missions.

• Except at Foreign Embassies, Consulates, and Missions, no foreign flags may be flown publicly, unless the Flag of Patria is also flown.

• The Flag, when carried in procession with another flag or flags, should be on the marching right, or if there is a line of flags, in front of the centre of that line.

• The Flag should not be draped over vehicles of any sort, except on Military, Police, and State occasions.

• The Flag should not be used as decorative patches or adornments on certain articles of intimate clothing such as bras, panties or boxer briefs.

• The Flag should be flown in or near every Polling Station on Election Day.

• The Flag should be flown at half-mast as a sign of official mourning when so declared by Congress, for a period determined by an Act of Congress. The half-mast position is approximately the ‘hoist’ or width (short side) of the flag below the peak of the flagpole and not halfway down.

• The Flag, when flown at half-mast, should be first hoisted to the peak for an instant and then lowered slowly to the half-mast position. It should be again raised to the peak before it is lowered.

• During the ceremony of hoisting or lowering the Flag or when the Flag is passing in a parade or in a review, all persons present should face the Flag and stand at attention. Men should remove their hats. Persons in uniform should salute.

• The Flag should be flown on all Government and municipal buildings and offices, on or near the main administrative building, it is recommended that if possible, each day it should be lowered at sundown and raised at 8:00 a.m.

January 25 is celebrated as Flag Day in Patria. There had been no national day dedicated to Patria's flag prior to 1973. Over the past 50 years this day has become a public national holiday second only to Patria Day/Inauguration Day on June 30. When it falls on a Wednesday, as it does in 2023, all but the most hard-bitten workaholics book off a five-day weekend!