Capt. Sir Mick Preston
Capitán of the Zouaves
Posts: 6,511
Talossan Since: 9-21-2006
Knight Since: 10-12-2010
Motto: Cuimhnichibh air na daoine bho'n d'thainig sibh
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Post by Capt. Sir Mick Preston on Dec 12, 2006 9:49:01 GMT -6
Ah! So there it is!
Thank you for pointing me in the right direction!
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Post by Xhorxh Ûnamind on Dec 13, 2006 14:08:08 GMT -6
We're talking about entrusting Sir John with a certain degree of power in Talossa. We should take a look at how he's used the power he already has, and get an idea of how would act as King.
Sir John has been Secretary of State for 16 months, through two general elections and one special referendum. If my count is right, he has prepared and administered nine Clarks . Has he ever misused or abused any of the power of his office? I don't think so! Has he ever even been suspected for a moment of falsifying records, faking a vote, doing anything at all "under the table" or in a "back-room deal"? No! The elections and the Clarks have all been run smoothly, openly, with perfect fairness and transparency.
Has Sir John ever used the discretion that the Organic Law gives the Secretary of State to keep someone from being able to Hopper or Clark a Bill? No! Has he ever tried to keep someone from voting? No! He always lets anyone go right up to the last possible moment of a deadline, to vote or to submit a Bill or to put together a Party statement, or whatever. He's always there to help people improve their Bills, suggesting better wordings, offering help whenever people are trying to figure out what the laws require.
Has Sir John ever manipulated anything at all about the immigration process to favor himself or his party? No. Once again, he's acted simply and openly as a civil servant. The great majority of current Talossans can testify that he has been tremendously helpful as they immigrated, with welcoming emails and advice and help setting up their Witt accounts and whatever else they needed.
How about as the administrator of Wittenberg, another function in which Sir John certainly wields considerable power. Has he ever misused that power? Has anyone, ever, had any trouble at all with a Witt account, that Sir John didn't quickly and efficiently try to fix? Has he deleted or edited anyone's postings? No, no, and no, with the single exception of Ups Martüc, who we'll all agree needed some deleting, maybe more deleting than he got. It was Sir John, remember, who gave us the News Fader at the top of Wittenberg, and the Coat of Arms, and all the different Boards (remember when Witt had only the one Board?), and the "Wittiquette" guidelines.
Has anyone ever gone to Sir John for advice or information about Talossa, and not gotten a good, prompt, correct, and courteous answer? I doubt it.
Sir John has been extraordinarily generous with the Kingdom, in time and money both. The last couple of elections, he tells me, he didn't submit his costs to the Burgermeister for reimbursement. Why not? Because the Kingdom needs to build up its treasury a little, and he felt he could pay the postage and printing costs himself. And not just elections! The website itself, the kingdomoftalossa.net domain, belongs to him personally! He registered the domain, and paid for it last year and again this year out of his own pocket. And how about the Google Ads? Thought of, set up, and paid for all by Sir John, personally. Has there been anyone else in Talossa these last couple of years who has paid actual cash out of his own pocket to keep the Kingdom going, or to expand it? I don't think so. I think it's just Sir John, spending his money to make Talossa work better for all of us.
His generosity in money, though, pales beside his generosity with his time. Since he became a citizen, has any other Talossan dedicated even half as many hours per week to building up the Kingdom as Sir John has? Secretary of State is the most time-consuming and detail-oriented job our country has. But besides that, he's worked on the website, he's helped organize the College of Arms , he's written dozens of laws, good laws, laws that have contributed immensely to the orderly government of the Kingdom since the bad King quit last year.
Since King Ben's departure, Talossa has faced two really huge crises, and it's no exaggeration at all to say that Sir John was the most important factor in the Kingdom getting through both of them. When Wes Erni and Ben Madison joined forces to try to revert the Kingdom back to the bad old pre-Fritz days, and tried to revoke the citizenship of 20 citizens all at once, how was the Kingdom defended from their attack? The Attorney General bowed out of the case, and people were talking about postponing the elections. Who knows what might have happened? But what DID happen was that Sir John took over for the Kingdom and Sir Fritz's government, and spent who knows how many hours preparing the defense briefs that eventually, thanks also to Lord Dan's acting as Judge, preserved Talossa for all of us. Lots of us would have been kicked out of Talossa if it weren't for Sir John's legal brilliance, dedication, and generosity. Anyone who thinks Sir John shouldn't be King should go back and read through the records of that one Cort case, and consider where Talossa would be today if it weren't for Sir John's leadership.
And then remember Ups? (He's the other crisis I mentioned.) It was Sir John who prosecuted Ups for the terrible things he was doing to our community. It was Sir John who gathered the evidence, organized it, and presented it to the Cort, the evidence that allowed Talossa to free itself from the harrassment and obscenity that Ups was inflicting on us all. How many dozens of hours did Sir John spend on this effort? I don't know, but I'm sure it was huge.
I'm sure that Sir Fritz and Sir Samuhél, the two Prime Ministers Sir John has served, could tell us a lot more great things he's done for the government, behind the scenes. And doesn't the fact that those contributions remain BEHIND THE SCENES tell us something more about Sir John, that he's happy to help out and let other people take the credit, that he doesn't insist on always having his name on everything he does. How many laws has he written, and let other people sign them? How many ideas has he had, and let other people present them? Lots, I'd bet, if the truth were ever known.
How about recruiting new citizens? I've sat in bars with him, and listened to him trying to get the waitresses and bartenders and other patrons interested in Talossa, with this amazing enthusiasm in his voice and lighting up his face. And I thought to myself "This guy really LOVES Talossa." How many of us are there who were brought into the Kingdom by Sir John, or because of his influence? Or because of his Google Ads and his other publicity ideas.
Who was it who worked to get OUR website up to the top of Google's search engine, so that our website gets listed above Ben's Talossa-doesn't-exist page? Sir John, that's who.
Does Sir John get his feelings hurt when people don't take his advice? Heck no! Just last month, he was just about the only one arguing against having King Louis abdicate, and none of us went along with that, and he didn't go off in a snit or quit talking to anyone or get all upset and angry or anything. He just did his job, efficiently and cheerfully, and went on to the next thing we needed him to do. I'm sure if we reject him as King, he'll do the same thing again. He'll just smile and crack a joke, and go on being the best Secretary of State, the best organizer, the best legislator, the best Talossan that we've ever had. And that would be a real shame, because if anyone ever should be King of Talossa, it's Sir John Woolley.
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Post by Joel Wood on Dec 13, 2006 14:39:22 GMT -6
S:reu Xhorxh Ûnamînd, I must say you have spoken for a number of us with your last post and with incredible perception have articulated beautifully, what some of the more sophomoric of us could not have said.
Your post has inspired me to pursue a different angle in this matter and while the thoughts have been stewing for some time, I guess I needed a catalyst such as yours to put all of them to paper as it were. More to follow and thank you!
Joel
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Post by Nic Casálmac'h on Dec 13, 2006 17:03:27 GMT -6
I would agree with that entirely. And now I know more of Talossan history as well, of which details I have had some difficulty in discovering.
Cheers!
-Nic
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Capt. Sir Mick Preston
Capitán of the Zouaves
Posts: 6,511
Talossan Since: 9-21-2006
Knight Since: 10-12-2010
Motto: Cuimhnichibh air na daoine bho'n d'thainig sibh
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Post by Capt. Sir Mick Preston on Dec 13, 2006 22:43:21 GMT -6
I read the whole Cort case today concerning Ups. I was quite impressed with the whole action. I was alos quite impressed with everyone's handling of the Case. And I believe that Sir John did a most excellent job presenting the evidence, questioning the witness, and his whole demeanor.
I can't add anything to S:reu Xhorxh Ûnamînd post. It speaks volumes by itself. And it is quite enlighting .
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Post by Sevastáin Casálmac'h on Dec 14, 2006 15:18:43 GMT -6
S:reu Xhorxh, That was on of the most beautiful, eloquent, and enlightening things I have heard in a long time.
Thank you! Sevastáin Casálmac'h
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Post by Bleic'h Ianescu on Dec 15, 2006 21:42:12 GMT -6
I would like to join the growing list of admirers of the statement of S:reu Ûnamînd.
You have taken what so many of us have in our heads and put it down into a very well put together address. I could not have done it any better myself(or frankly, come even close).
I can only hope that more will see it the way we do.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 20, 2006 12:44:50 GMT -6
Might I say what a wonderful post S:reu Xhorxh Ûnamînd, what a thumping good post. I could not have ever come within 50 miles of saying it as good as you have.
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Capt. Sir Mick Preston
Capitán of the Zouaves
Posts: 6,511
Talossan Since: 9-21-2006
Knight Since: 10-12-2010
Motto: Cuimhnichibh air na daoine bho'n d'thainig sibh
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Post by Capt. Sir Mick Preston on Jan 2, 2007 23:22:14 GMT -6
Did I miss a rebuttal to Xhorxh Ûnamînd's most excellent post?
I await a response from those that oppose.
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Post by Sir Alexandreu Davinescu on Jan 4, 2007 13:14:15 GMT -6
The persuasive rebuttals of Lord Hooligan and the inspired summaton of S:reu Xhorxh have brought me most thoroughly around. I am not a member of the Cosa, but I am one of the member(s?) of DotT, and accordingly I must withdraw from that party and cast my lot in as a Woolley-supporter. I cannot fear abuse from him given what has been said here and my own past experience, and I believe that the cause of caution has been served.
Woolley for King, Talossa forever.
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Hooligan
Squirrel King of Arms; Cunstaval to Maricopa
Posts: 7,325
Talossan Since: 7-12-2005
Motto: PRIMA CAPIAM POCULA
Baron Since: 11-20-2005
Count Since: 9-8-2012
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Post by Hooligan on Jan 19, 2007 2:47:40 GMT -6
In accordance with his request made in the thread "Moving Forward" on the Ziu board, Lord Lauriéir's name has now been added to the list of sponsors of this proposal.
Hooligan
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Hooligan
Squirrel King of Arms; Cunstaval to Maricopa
Posts: 7,325
Talossan Since: 7-12-2005
Motto: PRIMA CAPIAM POCULA
Baron Since: 11-20-2005
Count Since: 9-8-2012
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Post by Hooligan on Jan 20, 2007 19:45:28 GMT -6
On behalf of the seventeen sponsors of this resolution, we now ask that it be scheduled for consideration by the Ziu during the February Clark.
Hooligan
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Post by Deleted on Jan 28, 2007 11:12:34 GMT -6
Well, I'm new to the Cosa, but I was a supporter of this proposal before I was even a citizen. If it pleases Lord Hooligan and the rest of this proposal's sponsors, I would also like to sponsor.
17 sponsors are great, but 18....well...
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Hooligan
Squirrel King of Arms; Cunstaval to Maricopa
Posts: 7,325
Talossan Since: 7-12-2005
Motto: PRIMA CAPIAM POCULA
Baron Since: 11-20-2005
Count Since: 9-8-2012
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Post by Hooligan on Jan 28, 2007 13:25:06 GMT -6
Eighteen it is, then. You made it in just under the wire, Tim!
S:reu Olivieri's name has been added to the list of sponsors of this act.
Hooligan
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Post by Deleted on Jan 28, 2007 18:19:28 GMT -6
Danger is my middle name.....
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