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Abandon the antics of CJ and Toby? No way! Especially not when a lot of people - PPs included - aren't up to speed on their electoral math.



What an odd Monday it has been. Cheerful conversations with Serbs and Poles, my parents return home unexpectedly early, and somebody finally remembers that this game has a "publish" button. I was getting worried it was only on my screen.

All the day's updates, as always, follow. Look below the next banner for a response to this article. You should read it, and give it some thought. Agree/Object as you will, but try not to cuss too much. Please.


Death is Only the Beginning:

France. Greece. Russia. America. Brazil. Five nations, all of whom are our allies. Each of them have been wiped - some of them repeatedly - in this war. Together they have a combined population of over 31,000.

Canada has a population of 1800. Countries close to us in size, such as Germany and Italy, have spent weeks off of the map or with one or two regions only.

What are these numbers for? A reality check. A lot of people have told me recently that, if only we spent a little more money, tanked a little bit more, we could win the Polish RWs handidly and get them out of our country.

There are 14,000 people in Poland. Poland alone, already 8 times our size. That doesn't include the rest of their alliance, or Serbia, who are larger than Poland and who fight in Canadian regions daily. How much gold do we suppose it would take to level that 12,000 person gap? For how long?

"Being wiped means we're giving up" is a mythical arrogance of Canada's isolation. It stems from having no awareness of the fact that we are not the only nation going through hard times, that we are not the only nation pushing to have regions, elections, and Congressmen.

A wipe is temporary. Most nations recognize this, because they know the community we've built up doesn't vanish with "Regions: 0". Yes, we should absolutely strive to put ourselves back on the map, to have a full Congress, and to try and turn the tide in this war. That's the whole point of playing. But if you expect to get through this without landing on Boardwalk's Hotel a few times, you're playing the wrong game.


“Our Allies are Ignoring Us” :

No, they're not. There has been more direct, two-way communication with our allies this month than we've had in ages. We are not settling with "I asked for access and didn't get in." This was acceptable, indeed the norm, from Canada not 2 months ago. This month, Canada is in the alliance channels, taking active roles in summit discussions, and cooperating with coordinated attacks on a near-constant basis.

It's absolutely true that Canada isn't the top priority every day - indeed, most of the time, we're not. But that's basic math. If you're in an alliance with a dozen other countries, how often should you expect your nation to get priority? 50%, which some have called for, is absurd. Canada is receiving more attention, particular on days when we're fighting battles that we can win (not battles we want to win, since Pipe Dreams give us about 20 of those).

Are Terra and Eden perfect allies? No. Do they bend over backward for us at every opportunity? Absolutely not. But they view Canada far more favourably than they did in any recent month. More love for Canada means more help for us when we need it. We help our allies, so that they help us when they can make the difference. Let's not be the kid who cries "wolf" every time a battle crops up. Sooner or later, the villagers will stop heeding the call.


What Happens to Congress?

Much of our attention over the past few days has been on Congress. Not the current one - their successors. Because for the longest time, the word "wipe" has been synonymous with one thing - No Elections. Now, this we know no longer applies to CPs, who can be elected regardless of the size of their nation. This our PPs were told last month. As well, Party Presidents are elected for nations, not regions. We're long past the days where a party is absorbed into a conquering country in the event of a wipe.

But Congress is different. How many candidates run depends on how many regions there are - more regions means more candidates, up to 40, spread around each of the regions. So Congress elections are tied to how many regions a country has. The ratios are locked at the end of the 23rd (as are candidates), and you're required to hold a region all the way until elections close (06:00 on the 26th) for those candidates to get elected. In other words, if you get wiped at all during that 3 day range, game over. No Congress. The treasury locks and Canada's on standby for spending for 1 month.

Now, today someone told me this wasn't the case - that so long as you held a region until the candidates locked, you could vote for them on the 25th. They were told that all CPs were informed of this directly, and that it was a CP that told them. ... News to me. I've checked a number of sources on this, and have a pending ticket with the Admin, but to my knowledge and that of everyone save this source, it's not true. If they changed it and didn't tell Canada I'mma cut somebody. 😛


Electoral Math:

Obviously, having regions for the Election Range is important. Without it we lose our Congress and a lot of our power as a nation. Some countries make do with this all the time (Norway, for example), but Canada's never walked that road, and I'm not about to volunteer us for that path.

So what exactly will the math be on Election Day? I've seen several parties, indeed a few PPs, get this wrong - so let's go to the source. If you're running the election for your party, bookmark this link.

It details, for every possible division of regions, how many Congressmen we'll have in each region, and how many we'll have in total. For everything 4 regions up to 40, it's 40 Congressmen. In our situation, with 1-3 regions, you're looking at 10 elected Congressmen per region.

I've told our Party Presidents to expect less than 4 regions for the 25th. That's our reality. It's not defeatist, it's life. With 1 region, it's really simply: Each Top 5 party can place 10 Candidates, for a total of 50. Then we vote on them, and 10 get elected. With 2 regions, it's a little more complicate😛 Each Top 5 party can place 9 candidates in each region. That's a total of 90 candidates, of which 20 will win (9 in Region A, 9 in Region B, & 2 Wildcards). 3 regions, and you just tack on 9 more candidates per party, and 10 more elected Congressmen (9 in Region C, and a Wildcard).

Generally Canada fields about 100 Candidates for Congress. With 1 or 2 regions, filling every slot will be easy - something parties rarely achieve. With 3 or more, we're in our usual 100-200 range.

It is extremely important that all 5 of our Top 5 parties follow regional changes closely. I am in contact with the PPs and their representatives, and we are making a concerted effort - with our allies and friends elsewhere - to get Canada a Congress. I have absolutely no desire to be the only elected official kicking around on the 26th. That's Bad News Bears for all of us, and we don't want it to happen.


Who Gets the Money?

Congress is working out the kinks on a policy for funding MUs. Why now, and not before? Have we just been lazy up until now? Well, perhaps - but keep in mind how young most MUs are. Before a few months ago, Canada had only 2 Military Units - the CAF and TCO. "Who gets money" was never a question that needed much legislation, because there weren't any 'new' groups asking for it. Sure, a few new MUs cropped up, but the 3 others we funded last month were either quite large, or led by people Congress and the Executive knew very well. Once they jumped through a few red-tape nets, they got the money.

Now we face a mechanics where MUs can be started (and populated) much more easily, and without the necessity of participating in the Niche Community as MFC and CoI do. So we're left to wonder - who do we fund? Everybody? Everybody who meets Standard X? Nobody?

To save the accusation of personal bias (which we seem to have a serious love for decrying), Congress is figuring out legislation on this. That way, in the future, if MU 72 comes looking for government funding, there's a clear policy in place. We don't need to ask "Does CP 83 just hate that MU?", we simply measure them against the requirements and approve/reject funding on those grounds.

I'd suggest, if you're in an MU now or you plan to be in the future, that you keep an eye on this discussion. It'll affect who's eligible to get the cash when it comes time for August's Budget.


A Little Less Organize😛

Just a brief Mechanics note. As many of you noticed today, the Admins shifted mechanics away from Orgs once more today. Organizations can no longer donate money to other Organizations, and Organizations cannot receive donations except from the Treasury. This won't affect most of you, but if you've got a cluster of Orgs kicking around, bear that in mind. Org-Citizen transfers will be needed from here on out. The government can still send treasury money to Organizations, of course, so no worries about that.



Somebody Else Still Publishes Things?

Better late than never, I suppose.

I’ve made it clear from the start that I am not a military expert. Jacobi makes a very valid point – if you were voting for a Soldier, Sperry’s not your guy. In lieu of this, I looked to those more experienced than myself in the ways of war to make sure I didn’t do anything “crazy” or drastically foolish. Some were very receptive, answering questions and giving suggestions to make up for my lack of military experience. Others, Jacobi among them, were revolted at the concept. Ask for input? Dare to not decide for yourself, and expect us to follow? Jacobi’s article raises lots of good points, absolutely. But it’s a bit disappointing that, once again, his commentary only comes up after the fact, a retrospective “I’m s-m-r-t” that I shouldn’t have needed to ask for until now.

A lot of people – again, Jacobi included, have said in part or in whole that “ya can’t blame me”. That we’re in the weaker alliance, and therefore we should expect to lose just as Brazil, Russia, China, and just about every one of our allies is. Well, there’s some merit to that.

But can you blame Sperry? You bet your ass you can. Lord knows if any one person should be blamed for a nation’s failures, it’s the President. Why not hold me accountable? Why not say “gee, Sperry, this lot we’ve drawn seems pretty crappy, you wanna go fix that please?” Perhaps the “Rolo buffer” has kept Congress from wanting to do that. Fair enough. But if egregious mistakes are being made (that Polish NE I proposed? Egregious mistake.), why is the only answer “well we were damned anyway.” Why has it taken 2 weeks for someone to even contemplate blaming me, when it took less than 2 minutes for Kaz to be attacked for far less?

Some of you no doubt have wondered (if not previously, then today) why I ran for CP if I wasn’t the military guy. The answer’s sitting right in front of you – 2 weeks of a dead media. Forums silent at length. A nation too busy, bored, or uninterested to bother running. I asked Canada to Demand the Best. Not that “I am the Best.” Unlike some of my predecessors, I do not carry that delusion with me. I asked simply to hold our leaders to account, to step up, to make suggestions and give opinions, rather than grouchily hold them at bay for 14 days.

Yes, the situation is bleak. No, I have not always made good decisions. But if Canada – and you – cannot be bothered to step up – if you are content to watch and hold opinions, but not voice them, then our blame is like in meter.

“It is pleasant, when the sea is high and the winds dashing the waves about, to watch from the shores the struggles of another.”

For two weeks and longer, I have invited you into the water. Get wet, or log out. It’s that simple.

I will continue to serve this country to the best of my ability until Congress sees fit to call for my removal. I am now, as I was at the beginning of this term, open to input and feedback. But in order for me to improve – something I am eager to do – I need more than ‘you should know better.’ There's only one person who can force you to play, to contribute. They're not Jacobi, they're not me. They're sitting in your chair.



Come one, come all! Hop to one of these links below and get involved with a Military Unit today. At the very least, you're in for a hell of a ride. Get going!

Military Units
General Coordination: Jfstpierre
CAF: Jsboutin
TCO: Homer J Simpson
HOPE: Jacobi
MFC: Max Maher
CoI: Plugson
IL: Nosyt
LOVE: Cyber Ninja
CS😨 Ralph Kline
MAF: Vandorian
BWB: Venoms III



Stay Strong, Canada.

Dum spiro spero.