Thoughts on "later" and some substance

Day 1,927, 20:18 • Published in USA USA • by Jefferson Locke

My fellow Americans:



Today I would like to talk to you about plans for the future. Before I get to those however, I feel the need to discuss something. There were comments on my cabinet selection article questioning whether or not to bring back certain members of the cabinet. I would like to respond to that by saying this: It would have been better politically for me to clean house, and select brand new people in almost all departments. It would have made more sense strictly from a “winning” perspective. However, the people that I decided to bring back and include in my cabinet have all worked hard this term. The Dept. of Education has produced some quality articles this term, and I know for a fact that Mr. Swagg will continue this trend, as well as doing some other things that we have planned this month and talk about later. RainySunday has done an amazing job as SoI, and indeed has been selected by both campaigns as a result. Her dept. has made this nation strong. Tenshibo as Secretary of State has been a big part of building up our international relations with CoT, and has provided excellent advice. His council should never be dismissed or diminished. And Duncan Crowe is a player that will only continue to improve in his role as SoD.




To get rid of them and replace them, thus completely doing away with any connection to the previous month would have been, simply put, the easy way out. However, I don’t believe in taking the easy way out. I believe that leadership is about making tough decisions that may not be the politically favored move, but that are right for the long term health of our country. Involving newer players in our government is something that I believe in. If we only use older players to lead our country, what happens when they leave? It leaves a gap in leadership that cannot be filled. There are some that will say “we have time to prepare for that!”. To them I would say that we have heard that for too long. When will that time come? I think that after months and months of hearing the same people say that they will do things differently, or “change the ladder” so to speak, the nation is ready to see these changes now, not “next time” or “in a few months”. It’s easy to say the word later. It’s a lot harder to be the change that is needed.


I do not make these decisions based on what is better politically for myself. instead I make them solely on what I believe is in the best long term interests of the nation, even if such decisions are sometimes unpopular. I am proud of this cabinet, and I know that they can do excellent things when they have clear goals and a leadership that holds them accountable.



The time for the next generation is now. Not in a few months. Not later. Now. One has to wonder if later will ever come after it has been said so many times. Under a Jefferson Locke administration, later has finally arrived.

With that out of the way, let me take a moment to share some goals with you. I will try to keep this quick and too the point, so as to not make this tl;dr, as I’m afraid some of my articles might be 😛 .



For education, I want our players to not only be educated in what is happening here in America, but also to know what is happening overseas. It will be the responsibility of the Education team to compile a list of articles and other various media about the three alliances in this game, as well as important events that have occurred in our nation. A well-informed population is a strong population.

For Interior, I would like there to be a Miss America pageant. After the mess that the organizer of Miss Erepublik caused by not standing by his words to me, and then lying about it to Artela and others ( You can see my article about that here: http://www.erepublik.com/en/article/-vp-desperation-in-the-air-and-the-faults-of-the-miss-erep-competition-2217525/1/20 ) I think that the American people should have our own yearly competition, so that we know that it is done in good faith and honesty, and the winner would automatically be the representative in any international competitions during their term. I know that this is silly to some, but there were many people that wanted this, and it will be good for activity and the sense of community that we will create. We will also be working on getting some programs that help not only the newer players, but our D2-D4 players as well, as to maximize damage in our battles.



For State, the focus this month will be to increase our international relationship with CoT and our other allies. This serves two purposes. One is that this is the last month of our trial membership with CoT. Tenshibo and myself already have numerous connections with the current leadership of CoT, and have worked with them all this month. This will help us when it comes time for them to vote in regards to full membership. I would hate to see months and months of hard work in foreign affairs blown up due to a lack of continuity and goodwill. We have made good progress this month, and we will not turn back on that. This also helps with ATO efforts, as the domestic threat that we are facing is still very real. As a leader in the ATO efforts over the past three months, I can personally attest to the help that our allies from all alliances have given us, and I have an excellent working relation with them, as does Tenshibo.



For DHS, the goal will be to work with newer players to steer them away from the AFA, detect and investigate potential multi accounts, receive and examine intelligence, and coordinate the ATO efforts along with myself, Artela, and Dr Luis. Basically, what the department has done for the past few months. It will build on the success of the ATO efforts in the past. I don’t want to see America have to start over from scratch due to a change in the DHS culture. I have a GREAT amount of experience here. I have been an important leader in ATO efforts for the past three months now, and have had great joy and success in watching the AFA get destroyed. In ATO efforts against the AFA, experience counts. I am one of the most experienced people in the nation when it comes to fighting them.

For Defense, the goal this month will be to ensure that the Daily orders paper is fully visible to all, and to work on fixing the budget problem that we have by tracking all money that is given to our MU’s and making it viewable to Congress for oversight, and to come up with innovative ideas for us to lessen the financial burden on these MU’s by getting them more money. We will use any means at our disposal for this, including contests, private donation drives, and working with our allies to increase our communes in nations with full bonuses. This past month, the USAF bottom line has gotten better than it has been in previous months, and we have to continue that trend. With Duncan’s leadership, along with the help of Emdoublegee and the USAF CO’s, I have zero doubt that we can’t completely defeat this budget/economic problem.



Also militarily, we will evaluate the Operation Gangnam situation, and see where we stand when I take office. Whatever the outcome we will try to make sure that the United States is involved in direct battles in a major operation. Direct battles, in which players fight for their country, helps to keep the game fresh and interesting for our players, and gives opportunities for people to progress with their True Patriot medals. There will be war.

As a final note, here is what I promise you:



I will be active and reachable in forums, on IRC, and in game mail. This is essential for a CP, so that you feel like you can connect with your leadership and always offer up any suggestions, concerns, or (hopefully) compliments. I am always easy to find, and will remain that way. My job as President isn’t just to work with the cabinet and people in government, but to work with all of you as well. I feel that this is an advantage I have over the other candidates.

I will give you everything I have in this job.

I will provide clear leadership to the cabinet members, and clear goals.

I will Communicate with you. Communication is something that is also essential for a good CP, and I feel like I have a very clear edge in this. I would encourage you to look at my articles and media activity (Radio shows, writing, etc) and compare it to my opponents, and you will see that this is another advantage to a Jefferson Locke Presidency. I have built my cabinet with communication in mind as well, to make sure that it is filled with people that will inform you of what their departments are doing. You will never wonder where your President is or what he is doing.

I will respectfully listen to your opinions. I am sure that there are many of you that know that even if I don’t agree with you, I at least listen and explain my side. Gone will be the days of having your opinion rudely dismissed.

And I will make this month fun for you. After all, if we’re not having fun, then what are we doing?

Help me bring about the new generation, America. The time isn’t later. The time is right now.



Yours always in service,
Jefferson Locke