Clearing the Air...

Day 640, 21:46 Published in Ireland USA by Chris Stanwick

This series of questions was asked by Donovan Thomas on the Irish forum. I have done my best to answer them. I apologize for the length of the article, but ask that you take the time to read it through.

1)Are you constantly wronged by others and misunderstood while always keeping your nations best interests at heart?

A) I am not "constantly wronged" by others, nor do I claim to be. However, my actions and motives are almost always misunderstood. I am the only person who can truly understand the reasoning behind my actions; all anyone else can do is guess. In the past, even when I have attempted to explain myself, my responses were not accepted by those who believed their own opinions above the truth.

2)Your involvement in the eSA PTO? Again, not your fault?

A) I have responded several times to my involvement in the South African PTO situation, but not publicly for good reason. I will respond now. I was first approached by Ajay Bruno (surprisingly as he has stated often that he dislikes me and my beliefs) two days before his move to South Africa. He offered me the Presidency of South Africa in exchange for my support. I make it my business to be constantly aware of the political, militaristic, and social situations in every nation, so I already knew Ines Schumacher and her history in South Africa. Although I did not commit to anything, claiming I had plans in Ireland to throw him off, I remained a member of his "inner circle" to gather information. I immediately warned Ines of the plan to PTO South Africa and sent her as much information as I could about it, including the IRC transcript that by now, most of you have probably read. I strung Ajay along until he finally stopped planning the PTO on the IRC. I have not spoken with him since, nor am I involved in the attempt.

3)Do you believe no one understands and that it is not your fault?

A) I'm not entirely sure what you were referring to here, I assume the PTO attempt, which as I have explained above, I was not actually involved in except as a spy.

4)Why didn’t you take the time to address these concerns prior to announcing your run? Why did you make the assumption (through inaction) that the eIrish people wouldn’t notice?

A) As for the South Africa PTO, my intelligence activity was still ongoing, so I could not risk blowing my cover at that time. As for anything else, I truthfully did not think that this far after the fact there was anything left to discuss. Regarding the "treaty scandal", I will discuss it further below.

5)Why have you constantly switched parties in your career?

A) I have often been accused of switching parties often, which I find confusing as I haven't. I joined the United Independents Party in the US on my second day in the New World (I purchased the unlock). I remained with the UIP until the beginning of August, when I had to switch to the Umbrella Party to receive their endorsement, which I will also discuss further. I was partyless from 2 August until I joined the IUP the day before yesterday. I have belonged to a total of three parties, although I don't really count the Umbrella Party.



A) I have found that there is no fundamental difference amongst political parties ideologically. They are more social clubs than political parties. There isn't a party in Ireland whose manifesto completely correlates with my own in-game political beliefs, and so I sought out a party willing to work with me rather than one that shares my beliefs. Not the best way to operate, but at least it was honest. The UIP did not have a manifesto or party platform. Each member had their own set of beliefs and values and wrote their own platforms for elections. We were successful in this because we realistically treated the party as a social club.

7)Why is everyone out to get you?

A) This is where I will discuss the "treaty scandal" as I said above. Toward the end of July, then-President Harrison Richardson posted in Congress a list of PEACE's demands for surrender. At the time, the US still had the majority of its states and at least one of each high-producing resource region. Then-Secretary of State Emerick contacted me at an ungodly hour the night before I was moving to a new home in RL and asked me to write up a draft for a peace agreement based on those terms, which I did.

Two days later, after I had moved in RL, the Umbrella Party approached me about an endorsement for President in the election. I had spoken publicly in favor of peace at that time, which they also claimed to support. In order to receive an endorsement, you have to join the party that makes the first, which I did under no obligation to remain in the party after the election. I wanted their opinion of my draft as peace would be the major issue of my campaign, so I posted it on the party forum. I intended to publish it in my newspaper the next day to gauge public opinion as well. That did not go according to plan as the party forum was not secure and the draft was leaked by a third party.

I continued my candidacy after it was leaked because I was the only presidential candidate that supported peace at the time. HR and Emerick both supported the continuation of the war, the results of which we have seen. Because I was a member of the Cabinet and popular with the two-clickers and newbies, but primarily because I supported a peace agreement, HR and his cronies (aka the majority of the government then and now) began attacking me publicly. After the treaty was leaked, HR had PMed me and said that if I resigned quietly from the Cabinet and sat out the election, he and his people would stay quiet about it as well.

I rejected his offer as he was secretly negotiating with PEACE behind the nation's back while claiming support for continuation publicly. I was in favor of peace with PEACE while we could still recover, knowing that if the war continued the US would be lost. In the ensuing days, with all the attacks and hatred, I lost my endorsements, my reputation, my party (UIP), even the ability to serve in the military.

Although everyone claimed otherwise, I did what I did not for political advancement or personal gain, but for what I thought was the best interest of the United States and its citizens. I knew that supporting peace then was the unpopular position, the majority of Americans still supported the war, but I knew what would happen if the war had continued and didn't want to see the US eradicated from the map. I was looking out for my constituents and neighbors, not myself. Someone had to bring the issue of peace to the election. I stepped up to do so, and destroyed my political career and any chances of being redeemed in the United States. I stayed as long as I could, but the recent treaty situation brought up the issue all over again. I didn't want to remain in a nation that hated me for doing what I thought was best for them.

I hope that my answers help clear up any misgivings you might have against me.