A Response to SirChaos's Allegations

Day 411, 21:21 • Published in USA USA • by James MacKennon

This article is a response to SirChaos's accusations, as presented in his newspaper.

I have long remained content to write PMs to those citizens directly involved in this debate, but my opponent has become so strident in his accusations and so bitter in his recriminations that I feel it necessary to publicly set the record straight.

To be clear: I would understand SirChaos's feelings of bitterness more if he had not taken third, behind me and another "legitimate" (his claim) candidate. I received 6 votes, Cooper Jackson 4, and SirChaos 2. SirChaos assures me that he had two other voters who were simply unable to vote on Christmas. That is all fine and good, but how is it my fault that his voters did not turn out? He seems to be angry that he lost the election, and is using me as his punching bag.

As to his claims that I am uninvolved, the article he cites comes from a thread on the eUS forum that ranks congressional activity. The well-intentioned citizen who made the ranking system based it on involvement in three categories: IRC, Forum, Newspaper. Each counted as 1/3 of the total score. Congressmen who met all three were superb, those who met two were great, and those with one were mediocre.
Unfortunately, this sort of all-or-nothing system is highly inaccurate. Does it measure how many PMs you send to your constituents? No. Does it measure how involved you are in each category? No, it merely indicates whether you use that form of communication. As such, this is hardly an accurate representation of congressional activity.

You have merely to look at my eUS forum profile (http://erepublikusa.com/forums/index.php?action=profileu=747) to determine that SirChaos's allegations of inactivity are false. In the past twelve days, I have spent 8 hours on the forum. That translates to a respectable 40 minutes per day. I have also made 56 posts, for 4 and 2/3 per day. How many congressmen spend 40 minutes on the forum every day? Few that I know of. If this is not active, I do not know what is.

It is true that I do not use IRC; it's not my chosen form of communication. I have always emphasized, however, that I am readily available by eUS Forum or eRepublik PM. Indeed, I rely heavily on PMs, as my constituents will readily witness!

As to my lack of a newspaper, SirChaos is right--an update to the citizens of South Dakota is long overdue. You can read my article here.

Now, throughout all of this, SirChaos has sought to set himself up as the virtuous alternative to my supposed "shenanigans." Therefore, in the spirit of competition, let's compare SirChaos's involvement to mine.
FORUM
- SirChaos: has been a member since December 7, and has posted a grand total of once. Incidentally, that was to complain about my election. See his profile: http://erepublikusa.com/forums/index.php?action=profileu=579
- James MacKennon: Has been a member since December 23, and has posted 56 times.
NEWSPAPER
- SirChaos: Has owned a newspaper since December 18, and has written three articles--one announced his intention to run for congress, the other two contesting his loss of the aforementioned election. See his newspaper.
- James MacKennon: Has owned a newspaper since January 4, and has written two articles--one updating the citizens of South Dakota on the happenings in Congress, the other this rebuttal.
IRC
- SirChaos: Unknown.
- James MacKennon: None.

As you can see by the comparison, SirChaos is not as actively involved as he would have you believe. Indeed, if it weren't for his vendetta against me, he would hardly be active at all! If he truly wants to be the knight in shining armor for the citizens of South Dakota, why has he not bothered to post even one useful comment in the forums? He's been a member for almost a month, for goodness sake!

Does SirChaos have a legitimate reason to complain? No. Are his accusations accurate? No. Have I done anything to cause my election to be regretted? The citizens of South Dakota must decide.

Thank you for your time,
James MacKennon