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As stated in my original war article, my writing tends to be reactionary. I am a reactionary person by nature, and thus, my announcements tend to be reactionary. It is for this reason that I asked Wahoobob and Fionia to write articles for everyone to see what is going on before - and as - it happens. I don’t like writing, I prefer working, hence the delegation.

“In this morning’s article, Prime Minister Calbe explained his reasoning for the declaration of war with Australia. Though such an article should not be written by the leader of a country to assuage the disgruntlement of a single citizen, his article, the first he’s written since his campaign for president, seems to be all about Arjay Phoenician’s criticisms, having used my name and my words eight times. It was an article written AFTER the vote for the declaration was final, and it was completely reactionary.”

Your criticisms sum up the hurt felt by the majority of the populace, plus, you seem to be the only one to write an article about it. Since you’re the one pushing for the use of newspapers to make announcements, I felt it prudent to respond to the only newspaper criticism I could find. As you state, Forums and IRC are secondary.

“If there’s one thing I can’t stand, it’s a politician who only makes public appearances when they’re running for office. Don’t people like that just piss you right off? It’s commonplace in real life, you sort of expect it, you see a candidate’s signs and TV ads for months leading up to the election, then when he wins, he goes away, and you don’t hear from him again until the next go-round.”

Generally that is because they have a lot of work to do. You may not have realised this, but this is the first Presidential term for eNZ and there are some very difficult and extenuating circumstances. I make an appearance and everyone is welcome to send me PMs, I have a nigh on 100% response rate. I don’t make big newspaper articles because I feel that my time and effort is best used preventing a civil war from breaking out and letting this country descend into an EDEN v. Phoenix land grab. Please excuse me for thinking that ongoing security demands more time than re-stating what is said by others.

“While it is important to be on IRC and the Forum, in my experience, those meeting places are auxiliary and secondary. They are unofficial. Yes, that’s where deals are made, that’s where you get into the blood and guts of the function of a country, and that’s where you can meet fellow citizens and make friends.”

Gotta say here, the CP’s main role is to discuss things and make decisions. The “blood and guts of the function of a country” is what I am primarily interested in. The CP is here to do stuff, not write articles. Yes articles are good, and I have received positive feedback from most about the article published this morning, but when it comes to running a country, I would rather spend 2 hours negotiating terms of alliance with strong neighbouring nations than working on an article saying the same thing as 4 other people.

“They should never, however, be considered a substitute for the newspaper module, because that’s actual eRepublik. That’s official. The newspapers are where you post for the entire country, nay, the entire e-world to see.”

Often the decisions made are not of interest to the entire e-world. What does Italy care if congress passed a food tax that was 5% higher than last time? I will look at publishing articles giving an overview of what’s going on, but that is primarily the role of the Public Relations Department.

“Sure, you might have a couple dozen devotees on IRC, maybe a few more at the Forum, but by their very nature, what you say in those media do not have a chance to be seen by everybody. IRC and the Forum should augment the newspaper media, they should be places where deals are struck, but in terms of news and announcements from leadership, they should never replace a well-written article that every in the world can read.”

Of course, by why does that article need to be put on my plate? Do you not think there is enough to do already? Why is a report from a representative of the government not good enough? Because it didn’t come from a newspaper with a picture of a cat kicking a dog? I understand that the name associated with the report is important, but why can it not be signed off by me and produced by another. There are things that I alone can do, but for everything else, that’s why I have a fantastic cabinet around me. To help where I need assistance, like with writing newspaper articles.

“Though I believe in democracy and that it cannot survive without an active and educated population, it’s not a two way street between citizens and leaders. If you’re going to call yourself a leader, if you’re going to ask people to vote for you, if you have the audacity to think you can speak for a whole country, then you’re asking for greater responsibility than the average citizen who is just looking to work and fight and live. People deserve to know what’s going on, and it is incumbent on leadership, starting first and foremost with the prime minister, to deliver. Leaders get out in front of an issue, they claim it before it becomes the talk of the town. No one should ever say to themselves when something big happens, hey, this is happening, where’s our fearless leader?”

No they should not. But as I said, look at the interest it garnered. It was a smooth tactical maneuver to increase interest in the political situation and encourage discussion and further activity. People deserve to know what is going on, yes, and that is why they are told, by folks like wahoobob and Fionia. I made a political decision to withhold the entire picture because it serves us in the long term. We have increased activity in eNZ thanks to people giving their own thoughts on what is going on. The people that needed to know the full picture, i.e. the military leaders, knew what was happening. As laid out in my article, there were a number of reasons for the war, as well as a number of reasons for maintaining some kind of secrecy over the holistic picture.

“Especially, no one should ever ask that question when the event is created by that fearless leader himself.”

Well, I was online, I answered a number of people’s questions on it, whilst maintaining the air of secrecy to encourage interest. You may not agree with my tactics, but it is just that, tactical.

“That’s the audacity I want to see in the leaders of this country. I don’t want the prime minister to be mousy and shy. I vote for the brave, the bold, the confident.”

Seriously? What is not brave, bold and confident about declaring war and dealing with the fallout caused? I am not a mousy, shy guy who makes a decision and immediately regrets it. I weigh up the options, pick the best one and run with it. I made a decision and resolved to deal with any consequences incurred. As I prefaced my initial article, I am happy to defend my decisions made, which is exactly what I am doing right now.

“I don’t want leaders who meekly say you can always write him if you feel like it; I want them to be out there, in front, telling us what’s going on as it’s happening and what they’re doing about it. Pushing the button to declare war, and then not stepping up until the vote is over, that’s weak. If you’re going to declare war, even if it’s for the sake of training, step up and be big and bad.”

Step up and be big and bad? What would have been gained, everyone would have simply looked on and said “oh, that’s nice”. I decided on a course of action about how to introduce this and did it in the fashion I believed most likely to engage with the populace. Again, you may not agree, but that’s you’re choice. You have to admit however, it worked. I would contend that declaring war on a neighbouring country counts as being both rather big and rather bad.

“And you can’t be big and bad if you’re just chatting with your buddies at IRC.”

No, but I don't tend to chat much in IRC these days. It’s mostly business and how to go about it.

“As of this writing, there are 714 residents of eNew Zealand. Calbe is the prime minister for the government sworn to work for all 714 residents, not the couple dozen who show up on IRC, not the little bit more who frequent the Forum. The newspapers are the means by which the whole community communicates. I should not need to explain this to someone who calls himself leader of a country, but apparently I have to. I didn’t think it was a lot to ask for a leader who was timely in his announcements, frequent in his visibility, and confident in his office, but apparently, in this case, it was.”

Newspapers are great, yes. But yet again, you spend an entire article stating the same thing in a variety of different ways. You do not like the fact that I do not post many articles. That’s fine, I am working on posting more frequently. However, If I came out everyday with a new article, wouldn’t you wonder if I was actually getting anything done? The fact of the matter is, there are people in place to make sure that job gets done. The people originally asked to do it left, and so it has largely been a fail department. however this has been dealt with which frees me up to deal with issues that only I can deal with.

“I have every reason to think Calbe would not have even written his announcement today, had I not ridden his ass on the subject, here, in the newspapers. The prevalence of my name in his article leads me to believe it. IRC and forums have their place, and that’s where deals get done, but in terms of getting someone’s attention, informing your countrymen on the whole, and getting a point across, newspapers are where it’s at.”

Sure, you have every reason to. I can state that I would have produced an article explaining it regardless but you have no reason to believe me, so it’s a moot point. The prevalence of your name in my previous article really comes down to the fact that you are the only one really gunning for my on this one. Most of the population can remember that 2 days ago, we had gone 5 days with no battles. Regardless of if they would’ve liked that I consult with them on the fact, they were looking forward to finally having some battles. The point has been gotten across. I have made a statement that has been very positively received by everyone who has commented.

An interesting note to end with. The people who actually give a damn about what I’m saying, i.e. ones leaving comments on my articles, they’re all names that I’ve seen in IRC or the Forums. Two-clickers are great, and I love you folks. But get active! Get involved! Be a part of this ever unfolding story and make a difference! The people that make the difference when it comes to activity and getting stuff done, for the most part, are involved in the forums at the very least.