Join the new world

Hello, and welcome to the first edition of The Bear Island Banner. For those of you who aren’t familiar with me, my name is Zachary Dionne. A bit of backgroun😛
•Joined eRep. In 2009, played for a while, but left due to medical issues. I started again at the beginning of this year.
•I’m a member of the eUS National Guard, a branch of the eUS Military private MU.
•I’m a party member of We The People, joining after the WTP/LAP merger.
•I’m an ordained Dudeist priest, but have a great deal of respect for all of you heathens Dioists.


The topic I’d like to speak to you about today is the upcoming Congressional elections. Now that I feel comfortable/settled in my return to eRep., I want to try and branch out a bit and experience more of what there is to do to support the eUSA. I currently have the opportunity to run for a congressional seat through We The People, and if elected, this would be my inaugural term.



Understanding that it’d be unreasonable to ask people to support my bid without any knowledge of my stances, I’ll do my best to briefly describe where I stand on some of the issues facing the eUS today.






eCanada


I’d like to preface my statements by saying I wasn’t active for or otherwise don’t remember the pertinent events in eUS/eCA history that led to the fracture in “Brolliance” relations, and therefore am unfit to comment on anything of that nature. What I do know is that with effort and contributions by a wide swath of eUS citizens, we have kept eCanada effectively wiped since for much of our campaign. It has been a well fought, but costly war for all involved, but even with repeated eCA RW victories, I think most objective assessments would state, with regard to our combat activities, that we’ve been victorious. If, hypothetically, eUS funding and activity levels maintained the levels shown throughout the war, I believe it could be estimated that we would maintain our hold over the eCanadian provinces, with the same RW ebbs and flows we’ve experienced up to this point.



There’s been a lot of heated debate about how we as a nation can proceed from here. Without meaning to gloss over the many important discussions that have taken place, I’ll limit my statements here to solely how I personally feel we should proceed. Taking my statement from the last paragraph into account, I believe we should attempt to approach eCanada for negotiation and cessation of open hostilities, but with terms not as stringent as have previously been discussed. Though we can claim victory, it wasn’t a trouncing, and I believe it’s important to regard the national dignity that has been well fought for and earned by the people of eCanada, and I believe to put them through the ringer would go against our collective national integrity. Understanding that a defeated nation doesn’t hold much power at a surrender table, I believe we should be amenable to terms that won’t serve only to continue, if not worsen, the enmity between us, and from what I’ve seen, that’s where we are currently with our stated expectations.




10% Work Tax


Without rehashing past discussions and in the interest of maintaining some level of brevity, I’ll try to keep this shorter: I believe in the utility of taxes, as long as they’re well managed and used in the interest of those who they’re supposed to benefit. Understanding that many are disgruntled with the level and utilization of the tax revenue up to this point, I will seek to better understand the application of tax funds and seek the viewpoints of those more knowledgeable than myself so as to approach any proposals or future WT discussion with a better viewpoint than I have now. If elected, I will approach tax discussion with both utility and public opinion in mind, and make sure any vote weighs objective benefit against cost to the citizenry.




Skub


Perhaps the most divisive of all the topics discussed here, I regret to say that I cannot, at this time, present a solid stance with regard to Skub. I realize that may discourage you, but please realize that, if elected, I will be more than willing to discussions with both sides in the Skub debate, in hopes of better understanding the possible benefits Skub can offer, as well as any unintended or harmful side-effects that may come of recreational Skub consumption.



In conclusion, I’d like to offer a brief statement, as I realize my inexperienced nature may breed doubt in those who read this:
I fully admit that I may not be the most knowledgeable when it comes to all the facets of the eUS, and I understand that we may disagree on some of these issues. My intent in seeking this seat is to expand my knowledge, to come to understand the viewpoints of those on the other side of the aisle, to develop a better understanding and appreciation for views that may not be my own, and to work towards finding a solution that can benefit all of us. I don’t claim to know it all, but I want you to know I’m more than willing to learn.

I hope you’ll consider voting for We The People in the coming election, and if you’re a WTP member, please consider voting for me in the party primaries.
Thank you for your time, and have a great day!

Regards,
Zachary Dionne