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For All Nails #83c: Politics as Usual
New York _Herald_, page 1, banner
22 June 1974
MYSTERY SURROUNDS REPORTER'S DEATH IN VICTORIA:
GG TO ADDRESS NATION TONIGHT
(Nairobi, Victoria) Confusion reigns in this troubled nation
following the fatal shooting of NUBS vitavision reporter Kenneth
McCormick in a refugee camp just outside this riot-torn city [1].
McCormick was shot by parties unknown while broadcasting live
to the CNA on an experimental satellite link. Before the link
was cut, an unidentified NUBS technician was heard saying "Oh
my G-d, they, they killed Kenny, the [scoundrels]". Armed civilians
remain in control of the camp this morning. Spokesmen for the
government and the Victorian National Congress each blame the other
for the shooting, and no independent investigation has been possible.
Unconfirmed reports say that the NUBS transmission waggon was on
fire [...]
Sources in Burgoyne say that feverish diplomatic activity is in
progress. The Palace has announced that Governor-General Monaghan
will address the nation at 9:00 p.m. Eastern time tonight [...]
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Excerpts from Governor-General's
vitavised speech, 22 June 1974
"My fellow North Americans, the situation in the east African nation
of Victoria has become intolerable. For many years a white-dominated
government has trampled the basic human rights of the Negro population,
most of whom are denied even the basic privileges of citizenship. An
opposition movement, the Victorian National Congress, has used both
peaceful and military means to attempt to redress the legitimate
grievances of the people. Their struggle has for the most part
commanded the admiration of the world, though occasional excesses have
been a matter for concern."
"Since the sedition trial of lawyer Victoria Madoka last year, North
Americans have watched the deteriorating situation with honest compassion
but a certain detachment. After all, Victoria is very far from us, and
trade with her is of no great importance to our economy. But the recent
escalation of violence, culminating in the murder of a young North American
journalist, means that our detachment is no longer warranted. Stable and
prosperous nations like our own depend for our stability and prosperity
on a stable and prosperous world order of peaceful nations. Instability
in Victoria can spread to neighboring nations where whites and Negros
warily share the land. Great powers may be tempted by the opportunity
to compete for influence among the various factions through military and
other aid. We cannot solve all the problems of this planet, but where we
can act prudently we must do so."
"I have been in conference today with the President of the United States
of Mexico. We have agreed on a comprehensive program of joint action to
attempt to resolve the Victorian conflict. First, each of us will ask
our respective legislative bodies to impose economic sanctions against the
government of Victoria, until and unless they undertake negotiations with
the VNC. Our two great nations account for a large fraction of Victoria's
foreign exchange, and the threat of losing us both as trading partners
should weigh heavily on them. Secondly, both North America and Mexico
undertake not to provide arms to the VNC or to other opposition groups, and
we will publicly expose any other nation that does so. Finally, President
Moctezuma and I jointly offer our good offices as facilitators of
negotiations, or as direct negotiators if need be, between the government
and the VNC. [...]"
**************************
New York _Herald_, page 1 banner
26 June 1974
COUNCIL DEFEATS VICTORIAN SANCTIONS 77-73:
SIX PC COUNCILORS AGAINST, PJP MOVES NO CONFIDENCE
(Burgoyne) -- Governor-General Carter Monaghan suffered a
major foreign policy embarassment yesterday when, after two days
of sometimes acrimonious debate, the Grand Council defeated
his proposed package of sanctions against Victoria. The
vote was 77-73, with six People's Coalition Councilmen
joining all 57 Liberals and fourteen Peace and Justice
members in opposition. All nine of the PJP Councilmen who
voted to elect Monaghan last year also supported him on the
sanctions bill.
This was only the beginning of the Governor-General's problems,
however, as after the sanctions vote PJP floor leader Vernor
Dean rose to formally move that the Council declare "that it
no longer reposes confidence in the Governor-General". Under
the procedures codified by the Second Britannic Design, passage
of this motion would vacate the office of Governor-General.
The outgoing leader could then call for new national elections
at his own discretion, or allow balloting to take place in the
current Council until either a new Governor-General is chosen
or (if five successive ballots fail to produce a majority)
elections follow automatically.
Dean's motion produced turmoil on the floor of the Council,
but eventually the motion was determined to be in order, and
it will be debated at the opening of today's session. The
outcome is uncertain. With the defection of several "Green
Dog" Councilors to the Liberals, it is clear that the
Governor-General no longer commands a majority of the Council.
But neither does Liberal leader Lennart Skinner, as the balance
of power is held by a Peace and Justice faction to whom Skinner's
foreign policy positions are anathema. Each party is weighing its
chances of improving its position in a new election [...]
**************************
Record of the Grand Council (excerpts)
26 June 1974
MR. SPEIGAL (L-IN): Mr. President, I well remember the last time
that a Governor-General so lost the support of his
own party. Horace said _de mortuis nil nisi bonum_,
and I have no intention now of debating the merits
and shortcomings of the late Dick Mason. But without
debating Mason himself I have something to say about
Masonism. Masonism to me is the view that all the
leaders of all the nations of the world are as good
and decent as Dick Mason himself. I long for the day
when the whole world is run by Dick Masons, but I
fear it is far off indeed, perhaps as far off as the
Second Coming of Our Lord. In the meantime we have a
very human mix of leaders, some trustworthy and some
not. And Masonism, in a world run mostly by lesser
mortals, is a tragically unwise foundation for policy.
Mr. President, I saw the triumph of Masonism within my
own party, from the initial glories of the New Day
program as it rushed to meet the suffering of a
war-weary world, to the last days of an administration
plagued by dissension and tragic inaction as our rivals
surged ahead of us in military technology and military
readiness. My party purged Masonism from its ranks at
great political cost, and now stands firmly for a
realistic foreign policy while the banner of Masonism
is carried forward by a third party.
I fear now, Mr. President, that Masonism is resurgent,
but now in the other of our two great major parties,
the Peoples' Coalition. I have the highest respect for
our Governor-General. I worked with him, with the
great Perry Jay, and with members of my own party in
1963 as a bipartisan coalition fought to restore the
strength and greatness of the Confederation after the
Mason administration. He is a man of the highest
ideals and of great compassion. And I fear now that
those ideals and that compassion, like those of Dick
Mason, have led him to an unrealistic view of the
world.
Mr. President, the Governor-General has reached a
number of diplomatic agreements with Mexico. Some,
like the negotiations finally leading to the release
of our prisoners from the Moca expedition, we applaud.
Some, like the agreement to keep atomic weapons that
neither has out of the Caribbean, are meaningless and
thus harmless. Some, like the reductions of tariffs
on agricultural products, we oppose. In each case
our neighbors are pursuing their own interests, not
some grand ideal of international peace. Each proposed
agreement must be considered on its own merits, and in
the context of the internal situation of Mexico, where
we can never be sure that the word of the President
binds the Secretary of War and the vast military that
he controls directly.
The bill this Council has just defeated, Mr. President,
was a Masonist bill. It serves the interests of Mexico
and not our own, as I stated in the earlier debate.
It was motivated by the desire to contract an agreement,
any agreement, with Mexico in the interest of a "peace
process" that can never lead to true peace as long as
Vincent Mercator truly rules Mexico. It was rightly
sent down to defeat, with the aid of several Councilors
from the Governor-General's own party. Those members,
Mr. President, recognize the creeping tide of Masonism
within the People's Coalition, and seek to join a
bipartisan effort to eradicate it [...]
MR. DEAN (PJP-NC): I stand here in amazement as the name of the late
great Dick Mason is invoked in characterization of
a policy that would have appalled him. Mr. President,
I knew Dick Mason. I served with Dick Mason, Dick
Mason was a friend of mine, and Carter Monaghan is no
Dick Mason. Would Dick Mason have responded to a
conflict with economic sanctions that will cause
suffering, even starvation, to both sides? No. He
would hold out the hand of Christian compassion to
both sides, sending legions of volunteers to serve
the people on both sides, ending the economic
deprivation that lies at the root of all conflicts.
He would use the economic might of the Confederation
not as a club to force submission but as a balm for
that wounded land [...]
The Governor-General has exploited the unfortunate
recent events in Victoria for his own purposes. We
appeared to see a man die on vitavision last week,
and the sight touched us deeply. But was that sight
what truly happened, or only what we were meant to
see? Meant to see by the business conglomerates that
control our vitavision networks, control our newspapers,
and control our two major parties. Mr. President, we
don't know what happened to Kenny McCormick. I call
for an investigation, Mr. President, to get to the
bottom of the deception perpetrated on the North
American people in order to gain support for a failed
policy of confrontation [...]
Mr. President, the people have no confidence in the
Governor-General. They have no confidence in the
Governor of Georgia, who will carry out the same
policies as the Governor-General if he is elected.
The people reject the major parties, Mr. President,
and only through a new election can they manifest that
rejection [...]
THE GOVERNOR-GENERAL: Mr. President, as you know, it is not often that I
find myself in agreement with the Councilor from
New York. I repose confidence in my own leadership,
naturally, and I am sorry that he does not. He has
quite rightly raised the question of whether this
Council reposes confidence in my leadership. I hope
it does, and I hope to be worthy of that confidence.
But it is quite rightly called into question when the
Council rejects a major initiative in foreign policy.
I was proud to work with the Councilor from Indiana
ten years ago, and I agree with him that our joint
efforts helped restore the strength and security of
our Confederation at that time. Now, he suggests, my
leadership threatens that very strength and security.
I have endeavored to base that security on two pillars.
The first is a military strong enough to repel any
assault and to preserve our interests wherever
necessary. The largest opposition party supports me
in this, which I greatly appreciate. The second is a
program of cold, rational negotiation with our great
neighbor and with the other nations of the world as
required. It is for this program that I stand
accused of the crime of Masonism.
And it is that program of negotiation, Mr. President,
which is now threatened by the questioning of this
Council's confidence in my leadership. It is far more
difficult for me to negotiate with a foreign leader if
my word cannot be relied upon as representing the
nation. This is a problem. It may be an inevitable
problem, if this Council remains divided between three
factions, none of them commanding a majority, as it is
now. But I propose that we give the people the chance
to remedy that situation if they wish. They may restore
the majority of my party and its allies. They may vote
a majority for the Governor of Georgia. Or they may
even, as the Councilman from New York suggests, decide
that a true Masonist is preferable to a merely accused
Masonist, and support his party. Finally they may do
none of these things, giving no faction a majority, in
which case we will form a government by some compromise,
each secure that we embody the will of some portion of
the people.
I thus, by my prerogative as Governor-General of the
Confederation of North America under the Second
Britannic Design, dissolve this Council as of the close
of business on Friday the twelfth of July. I call for
a general election to be held on Thursday the fifteenth
of August, to be followed by balloting for the office
of Governor-General. The Council is of course welcome
to continue debate on the present motion, but I suggest
that this action on my part makes that motion moot, and
that the Council might better proceed to its other
business.
**************************
NUBS _Morning News_
28 June 1974, 7:00 a.m. Eastern
"Good morning, North America, and a pleasant Friday
to you all. Burgoyne remains in political ferment
this morning, as the members of the Council and the
political parties scramble to prepare for an unprecedented
midterm election. The latest developments overnight:
Grand Councilman Hugh Thomasson of Georgia announced
that he will contest the upcoming election as a Liberal,
bringing the total number of "Green Dogs" to nine.
The Indiana and Northern Confederation delegations walked
out of the Peace and Justice executive committee meeting in
North City late last night. Sources within the PJP indicate
that these two confederation-level bodies will not participate
in the PJP convention on July 10th in Boniface, but instead
call a rival convention in Michigan City. It appears that
two different Peace and Justice parties may contest this
election -- we'll be monitoring this story as it develops.
But the political news may be overshadowed by disturbing
developments abroad. First, reports from Berlin say that
shots were fired at the Chancellery building by an unknown
gunman who was then struck by a passing locomobile. There
is no word on any casualties within the building, where the
German Chancellor and Cabinet were meeting [2].
Secondly, fighting has erupted on the Caribbean islands of
Trinidad and Tobago. Telephone connections have been lost,
but some unconfirmed amateur radio reports say that New Granadan
forces have landed on Trinidad. We'll be keeping track of
both these stories for you, but first an update on the nation's
weather [...]
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Notes:
[1] This incident is described in FAN #83a.
[2] See FAN #57b, #57c, and the forthcoming #85a. In fact the
German Cabinet as such was not in session (Chancellor Markstein
was meeting informally with Ambassador Gellman and some of his
ministers) but even prestigious NUBS is sometimes sloppy with
the details of the foreign news...
Dave MB