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Dateline: Saturday, February 13th. (Day 3,007)
Location: James S. Brady Press Room, The White House

Today’s WHPR Contents:
1. Real World Breaking News
2. It’s that time again
3. Who Wants To Be a Millionaire: EUSA Edition
4. Interview with DMJ
5. Interview with Illliguy
6. Interview with Orik
7. All Quiet on the Homefront

Real World Breaking News: Justice Scalia Found Dead At West Texas Ranch
James Schubert, Secretary of Media

In the real world U.S. Associate Justice Antonin Scalia found dead at West Texas Ranch which he died of natural causes. Justice Scalia was 79 years old. Justice Scalia was nominated in 1986 by U.S. President Ronald Reagan and was the longest serving justice on the U.S. Supreme Court.

For more information you can read here or from any other news source: http://www.cnn.com/2016/02/13/politics/supreme-court-justice-antonin-scalia-dies-at-79/index.html

It’s that time again
Joey3790, Deputy Secretary of Media
It’s that time again. Love is in the air, everything tastes like chocolate and sparkles like diamonds. While everyone may be focusing on February’s main holiday, there’s another holiday right behind it that often gets overlooked. Monday is Presidents Day. No, not just another day for a big sale down at JCPenney’s but also the day to commemorate the top job in the country. Everyone at one point or another dream of achieving the goal of being the one to take the reins and lead this country, but few truly realize the hard work that goes into managing the job.

Many people have differing opinions on what makes a good president. If you don’t believe me, just look at the campaign articles that were floating around a couple of weeks ago. And even more debatable is considering who exactly has been the best president. But everyone can at least agree on one thing, being President of the USA is not an easy job. Only the ones who possess the right skills can really be successful. We thus have Presidents Day. A day to honor those that step up into the line of fire to make all the hard choices and while Presidents Day is meant to honor Real Life Presidents, like the ones depicted on Real Life money, we here in the eUSA also have the privilege to honor the various ePresidents we’ve ever had, the ones depicted on eMoney.

So here’s to you Orikfricai. Here’s to you and those that came before you. Here’s to you and to those come after you. You are the one to make the hard decisions; to bask in the glory of the good ones and take the heat for the bad ones. It isn’t easy, but you’re there make them anyway. We’re 10 days in, so far a good 10 days. Keep up the good work Orikfricai. Depending on what you prefer, whether it’s beer or Coca-Cola or chocolate milk, open up a cold one on us because you deserve it. Who knows, we may get Orik’s face on the $100 Bill yet!



Who Wants To Be a Millionaire?
RegisPhilbin, Deputy Secretary of Media


Who Wants to Be a Millionaire: The eUSA Government is sponsoring this wonderful contest in which people can win up to 1000 Q5 food by answering 11 questions correctly. Visit RegisPhilbin's newspaper, "Let's Ask the Audience" (http://www.erepublik.com/en/newspaper/let-s-ask-the-audience-317714/1) to enter!

Interview with DMJ
Siaan Kaan, Deputy Secretary of Media

Saturday has arrived, time for new interview. To continue interview with our strongest parties, I have invited DMJOHNSTON from US Workers Party to share his opinion and vision of eUS today. I would like to thank you you’re kindness and patience and, specially the time you took for these questions.

SK: For our readers how just started or don’t know, tell us who is Dmjohnston?
DMJ: I've been playing eRep since 2009. I spent most of my early time in the eUS mil, specifically the Training Corps here I trained a lot of new players, most of whom are long gone by now. Eventually got into politics and have been just about everything in Government since then.

SK: Could you tell us about your start in politics?
DMJ: Well, for a long time I really didn't want to get involved with it at all. The JCS-led eUS Military was very anti-politics, anti-government, due to some past events. I had pretty much accepted the JCS side of the story as the whole story, but eventually I got tired of dealing with some of the people there, so I looked for a new home elsewhere and found that in USAF, and the Air Force. I worked there with Hale26 who convinced me to join WTP and that's where I started really getting involved with politics.

SK: A bit about your party, its goals, for what it stands?
DMJ: USWP, I think, is a party that focuses on doing what is best for the nation. We don't get lost in rhetoric or let the loud voices distract us from the facts and we make our decisions based on evidence and law.

SK: I see you have 2 country presidencies behind you, what is the experience that stuck with you until today?
DMJ: My terms as President were a lot of fun, but a lot of work. I spent a LOT of time online during those two months. I think that one thing I learned was to stick to my guns when it came to foreign policy. I had to deal with some pretty tricky situations and I feel like not backing down helped me get us through them in a productive way.

SK: In upcoming months, aspirations for third mandate?
DMJ: Heh, well, maybe the April showers will bring DMJ flowers.

SK: Any advice for our new president?
DMJ: Know the game mechanics. Especially now with the defensive dictatorship, it's vitally important that the CP knows how to work the mechanics to keep things running.

SK: And in general, plans for next month’s?
DMJ: I've got a lot going on in RL right now, but I'll be continuing to work hard in Congress and elsewhere to keep the eUS great.

SK: And now a topic that is a bit “bad news”, work tax, can I ask your personal position on the topic?
DMJ: I've been pretty open about my position on this in Congress. We spent a lot of money defending ourselves in the recent invasion. The eUS is a country that relies on money more than anything else for its defense. That means that when we spend large amounts of money, the aftermath leaves us vulnerable. I voted to raise the tax to replenish our reserve faster for the months ahead. I never wanted to keep it there long term, but at least a month at 25% was my opinion.

SK: Result for this month’s congress put you on second place, were you pleased with the ranking or expected more?
DMJ: We dropped from first the month before, and as this was my first month as the PP of USWP, I was a little disappointed in myself. But I think that the Feds had a bit of a resurgence, so it's possible it was more due to their hard work than anything I didn't do right on my end.

SK: Any preparation for next congress elections, maybe for first place?
DMJ: I'm not sure who will be PP of USWP for the next election, but I do have some ideas for getting us back up where we belong.

SK: With 13 congress members, how is influence of USWP is recognized in eUS?
DMJ: I think USWP has always been and will continue to be a power house in the eUS community. We have many former Presidents in our ranks and many of our senior members serve as advisers in the executive basically in perpetuity. I don't see our footing changing any time soon. It's a tribute to the respect people have for our history and our continued commitment to doing the right thing.

OK, this was a DMJOHNSTON - US Workers Party.
Interview with Illiguy
Siaan Kaan, Deputy Secretary of Media


In continuation, we move to a SFP. Lets see opinions of PP, Illiguy. With his time short we run through a few questions. Thanks for your time, I know it is pressed.

SK: Well, for start. could you talk about how you decided to run for party presidency,
I: I wanted to run for PP this month because I thought the party needed a good balance of reformation and revolutionary ideas, which is a balance I always try to strive for.

SK: Due to number of party members did you expect better result on congress elections
I: I thought we had a good showing in the Congressional elections, finishing 3rd behind Feds and USWP, both of which have more members than us.

SK: Are there any preparations to make that result better?
I: We also secured perhaps a record number of positions in Orikfricai's administration. I'm a little disappointed in the relatively low activity in the party and the fact we haven't started on a new Party Program. I hope this is something we can address in the next month.

SK: Plans for months to come?
I: I'm not running for PP this month as I will be too busy running DoCA. However, I plan on running again in future months.

SK: Thoughts about the taxes in US?
I: I'm generally in favor of higher taxes, but I think maybe we pushed it too far with the max taxes. It would've been interesting to see how things would've turned out if we kept that rate awhile longer, but it was clearly unpopular.

SK: And for the end, could you explain for new readers, your party, for what it stands for, for what is fighting for?
I: To me, SFP stands for inclusiveness and creativity. We have such a great variety of players who always keep things interesting. I hope that spirit continues in the party and spreads to the rest of the community.


Interview with Orik
Siaan Kaan, Deputy Secretary of Media

And for the last treat today, interview with ORIKFRICAI, eUS President. Welcome and many thanks for your time. Our new president, first elections, lets see his thoughts on today`s events.

SK: For our readers who just started or don’t know by now, tell us about our new president?
OR: I'm Orik. In real life, I'm a 25 year-old ex-Army Captain with degrees in Computer Science and Mathematics each. I've been married for 3 years and I have a baby boy due at the end of March. I have a Great Dane that's a little over a year old. My hobbies include tinkering with computers and networking, baseball, college football, and reading.

SK: I see you have big CV, how did you start in politics?
OR: I started politics in the Federalist Party just working my way up through the ranks and eventually working my way up through eUS ladder.

SK: From all the mandates you had so far, what was most challenging?
OR: So far, being Country President has been the most challenging and my term has been relatively tame so far. Just the sheer amount of information necessary and stuff to do is amazing.

SK: Long time in eRep, was there candidatures for presidency before? If not, why now? If yes, in your opinion, why did it take so long to climb this highest step?
OR: This was my first run at the Presidency. It came down to a little goading from friends and from the advantageous political landscape.

SK: Now as a president, what was/is first decision you had to made?
OR: As President, I haven't made any decisions yet. I empower my Cabinet to be autonomous and make their own decisions, of course, with input from me and the many advisers available to them, so nothing has, yet, come to me for a decision.

SK: From your point of view, dictatorship in eUS, something to hold on?
OR: From my point of view, the Defensive Dictatorship in the eUS is something to hold on to. It's purpose was on display during our recent war. A revolution was initiated by the enemy, which is not a problem, because, it simply dissolves the already in place Dictatorship instead of starting a revolution to install one.

SK: As a 13 time congressman, are there some mandates as a congressman before the era of dictatorship? Is so, what are the differences that most affected you and your work as a congressman?
OR: I was a Congressperson before the Dictatorship, yes. There are only two glaring, yet insignificant, differences in my opinion. We no longer get to press any in-game buttons and the voting done on the eUS forums are not anonymous like an in-game vote.

SK: And now a topic that is a bit “bad news”, work tax, it brought a lot of discussion in past weeks, can I ask your personal position on the topic?
OR: My opinion the work tax is that 25% was too high and Congress rightfully voted to reduce it before more damage was done to the community.

SK: In your opinion, eUS has 10 parties, do you think that number is to big? Does it drain on a productiveness of political scene in the eUS?
OR: While the eUS HAS 10 parties, many are not active to the standards of the rest and aren't significant. I don't think it's a drain to the Political landscape in particular because those with political yearning will always find a way to make themselves known, regardless of their affiliation.

SK: On the international scale, is time for Pacifica to grow?
OR: It's never a bad time for Pacifica to grow.

SK: Is there a country you would like to see in alliance?
OR: I think some of our allies like Sweden or Australia would be great additions to the alliance.

SK: Is there any possibility of new NAP`s or NAP`s with our foes?
OR: I don't foresee any formal NAP's in the immediate future.

SK: Yesterday I have seen that eCanada sold to eSerbia some of their regions? Do you see it as a good deal for eCanada?
OR: I don't think enough time has passed yet to form an opinion on whether it benefits eCanada.

SK: And for us, eUS? Possibility of upcoming attacks?
OR: I don't foree an upcoming attack from eSerbia.

SK: From your point of view, as eUS has waste number of resources, do we need other territories? For example, when I started to play, eIndonesia and eNorth Korea, won a lot of resistance wars.
OR: True Patriot damage is nice, so, other territories are a necessity, unless we want to lose our cores for resistance wars.



All Quiet on the Homefront
James Schubert, SoM

As I take stroll through the West Wing things have been mighty quiet since it was early morning. Perhaps a little too quiet that no one noticed a coup went on earlier this week and the beat goes on around here. So quiet I could hear the crickets chirp.


Over at counter I spotted Jaden pouring some coffee. It was a good time to ask. “Things are pretty quiet in FA, as we would hope, allowing us to recover from the war.”, Jaden replied. Then Dinnyin came in shortly after which he spoke saying the same thing, “Similar situation in NSC, not much going on. Plato has comped the game to death. Turn off the lights; it's time to join the...real world!” Wow things must be really boring around here but at least the place is not dead yet. As far as the real world I almost forgot because Valentine’s Day is tomorrow. It is time for all you lovers out there to make sweet love with your honey comb sugar pop. Love is in the air my friends.

The good news I managed to get an exclusive interview to put the spark back into my day. Hale Kane was more than happy to answer a few questions before heading back the USAF base. With coke in my right hand and bag of doritos in the other this was the real delight.

Schubert: How you doing with the USAF?
Hale Kane: I personally think I am doing quite well with the USAF. Everyday I talk to at least 1 person that I haven't spoken to before, introduce myself, and offer assistance to that member.
As for the activeness of the MU, it has been low lately, but I have a few plans in affect which will drive the activity up.

Schubert: What is USAF morale like?
Hale Kane: Currently USAF's morale is average, as currently there are not many battles or Objectives going on currently, but I'm pretty sure that will change very shortly as not every country in eRepublik can stay peaceful.


Schubert: What would you like to see in the USAF's future?
Hale Kane: I would personally like to see the USAF rise up again to it's formal glory in the "SF" days. Currently I have gathered the USAF leaders, and we are currently in the planning and fixing stage of the MU. I understand currently that USAF is and has been in a rough state recently, but I believe that will change quite soon as government officials(not mentioning any names) are asking more be done this term.

As far as my plans for Valentine’s Day it is a well-kept secret. My lips are sealed. You can try to pry it out of my brain but I guess I will just go ahead to share it with all of eUSA:

At the end of the day I attended a news conference in the rose garden area of the White House where President Orik expressed his many thanks to his staff. Orik plans to release an article soon if he hasn’t done that already. Happy Valentine’s Day eUSA!