The Clipper Act

[Sir Alexandreu Davinescu]

I have been reading Talossan periodicals a great deal lately, trying to bone up on my history and culture of the realm. And only now do I appreciate that the voluntary dissolution of the CLP by its leaders two months ago was something we should celebrate and be thankful for.

Do not get me wrong; I haven't been sucked in by ex-regent Robert I's "everyone who disagrees with me is wrong" perspective in Ar Pats. The CLP was an amazingly good thing. Founded by Sir Fritz at Robert I's behest, it pulled the country out of what seems to have been a spiraling crash. With skill, honor, and what seems to have been most important, civility, the CLP held onto the gunwales and rode out the storm. But as excellent as this was, it was not their work in the face of the squall of the Great Theft that earns them my admiration and thanks. It was the hurricane of the Great Betrayal by Robert I that was their severest test.

From secondary sources and reading between the lines of Robert I's words, we see that the CLP had won a mandate from Talossa with nothing more than courtesy and debate. This was a marked contrast with the thievery of online properties by the "founders" of the "Republic of Talossa" previously; there was no illegality, nothing untoward. The CLP simply did its job, and did it well. Robert I was ousted from the special position he had occupied for so long, and it appears he resented it. In the end, in the face of a losing debate regarding an immigration scandal which was technically improper but appears to have been innocent, Robert I and the Queen renounced their citizenship, followed immediately by their supporters. The Prime Minister, leader of the MN, also immediately left. Robert I recounts Sir Fritz's words to this PM, Cantalour, as "undiluted venom."

I, however, call them inspiring:
“If wishes were horses beggars would ride. Do your duty as the head of your party and your country. To abandon them when they need you most tells a story about you that words cannot say.”

Names such as Bucholtz, Woolley, and Rajala stand out in the text, hailed as good men when they supported Robert I, and damned as villains when they took Talossa its own way into the future. Denounced as Nazis for the CLP's stand for free speech, they stood firm and kept on working. And as the Great Betrayal by Robert I's theft of the majority of Talossan heritage materials and the chaos churned around them, and the text becomes almost illegible with anger, one thing is clear: the CLP held the line, and held the country in one piece. As the founder began to rant, "What is it about Talossa that makes it such a bad and unappreciative community? Why are wicked people drawn to Talossa?", the CLP soldiered on.

In the end, the CLP ruled Talossa. For some time, it was an entirely one-party state. Even with the friendly opposition of the RUMP, the CLP had a clear mandate from the people, and it seemed likely it would forever retain that mandate. We see here a Rome brought through a crisis with a Sulla, now ruled by a Caesar.

But this Caesar declined the crown not just in name, but in fact. This was no Caesar at all, but a Cincinnatus.

When the CLP disbanded, it was a statement that the Talossa of the future would be a true and free Talossa. The CLP was, in the end, the bulwark on which the spears of the hubris and vitriol of Robert I were broken, and now that the spears were gone, the wall had to come down. A wall unneeded is only a cage.

And it is because of this we should thank and honor the CLP. Because of this, I propose the following act:

The Clipper Act

WHEREAS the Conservative Loyalist Party served the country loyally in her most needed hours, and

WHEREAS we must always remember loyal service and reward it appropriately, especially such heroics, and

WHEREAS the CLP or "Clippers" stepped down from power in the manner of a Cincinnatus,

THEREFORE there is hereby established a new decoration, to be known as the "Medal of Cincinnatus", awarded by the King in recognition for acts of extraordinary Talossanicity in the face of opposition. Recipients of this Medal would be entitled to follow their names with the honorific "Cin.".

Uréu q'estadra så:

Alexander Davis (Senator M-M)
Xhorxh Asmoûr (MC - RUMP)
Mick Preston (MC - RUMP)

[Xhorxh Asmour]

Not bad!

[Xhorxh Asmour]

Being one of the few survivors left, I'd like to co-sponsor that!!!

[Sir C. M. Siervicül]

Well said, and great idea.

[Sir Alexandreu Davinescu]

I have modified the bill slightly, and ask the most honorable SoS that it be submitted for consideration on the next Clark.

[Hooligan]

The Senator is reminded that a bill must remain in the Hopper for ten or more days (five in the case of the first Clark of the Cosâ only). He will need to ask the Secretary of State on or after the 27th of the month for the bill to be Clarked for the June session.

Hooligan
PM

[Sir Alexandreu Davinescu]

Oh. Well, hell.

I mean, I knew that! I in no way forgot to look at the date! Anyone who says that is a suspicious fool! Fool I say! By which I do not mean that I want you to fool my sayings, that's semantical nonsense! NONSENSE!

Ahem. I withdraw my request for the moment for reasons entirely unrelated.

[Capt. Sir Mick Preston]

The Secretary of State formally asks the Barkeep of the Senate to kindly reduce the amount of Ale that the good Senator Davis is currently allotted, until further notice.

[Sir C. M. Siervicül]

The Chancellor of the Bar resigned upon his ascension to the throne, and the Royal Talossan Bar is currently untended. Which may explain the Senator's unfettered access to the coin of the realm.

[Nic Casálmac'h]

My first thought was that this was a great idea.

My second thought was that I didn't even know who Cincinnatus was. So I looked him up. He doesn't sound like a very democratic sort of fellow. (Not surprising though since he was a Roman.) He was in fact described on Wikipedia as "a persistent opponent of the plebeians".

My third thought was that despite this his example is still a worthy one. Also--though I have not heard it before--it seems that this expression "stepping down like a Cincinnatus" is well-known and very fitting.

A second word to add to our Talossan vocabulary then: "Talossanicity". The first one being "Talossanity". The use of these words ought to be highly encouraged.

[Sir Alexandreu Davinescu]

Cincinnatus was hailed as one of the exemplary heroes of Roman lore. His singular virtue, laying down the dictatorship, was what I was trying to emphasize.

He is pretty well-known; if you have been to Ohio, perhaps you visited Cincinnati?

[Hooligan]

I wish to point out to Justice Siervicül that there is some serious question as to whether the Chancellor of the Bar actually resigned. As I recall, the royal authority then in power (the Council of Regency) did not accept the resignation. There is also some question as to whether resigning a royal commission is even something that is countenanced.

The Senate has spent one Clark now without attending to recommending the appointment of a new Chancellor. Perhaps that chamber, too, believes that the office is not in fact vacant at all.

Hooligan

[Lord Q]

I say the King ought to kick that bum out of office!

[Lord Q]

Please pardon my lack of current legislative credentials, but I want to thank S:reu Davis for his proposal that memorializes the tale of the CLP and its great and honorable leader, Sir Fritz.

I like to think of the CLP as having been decommissioned and tied to the dock as a museum. Many things can be learned from her battles and how she fared in peace as well.

[Xhorxh Asmour]

castiglha said:

I say the King ought to kick that bum out of office!

He's not a bum! Maybe he went to visit Pengopäts and has missed the last ship back home