June 2017 Newsletter

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Topic Started: Jul 16 2017, 05:51 PM (57 Views)

Stellonia

Jul 16 2017, 05:51 PM Post #1

Posts:: 2
Group:: Members
Member: #510
Joined:: Jan 6, 2017

RIGHT TO LIFE NEWSLETTER
Speaking Up. Defending Life.

Published June 30, 2017
Regional Main Page | Offsite Regional Forums

A Note from United Massachusetts, Director of News: As I'm sure you've noticed, we haven't been too active lately. We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused. We had a long stretch: finals for students, a leave of absence by our Founder, and a general decline in governmental activity. However, I'm proud to say that we're back up and running, providing you the news you need to know and keeping you up-to-date on the Right to Life region and the worldwide movement to abolish abortion.

In case you missed it, we published a semi-official newsletter on March 18, 2017:

http://w11.zetaboards.com/NS_Right_to_Life/single/?p=10066557&t=8914497

Record-Setting Spring Lifts Spirits (By United Massachusetts)

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This winter, Right to Life suffered an unfortunate population loss as, for the first time in two years, it fell out of the top 100 regions. At one point, it dropped as low as 122 nations; however, this did not dishearten citizens, who thereafter witnessed a stunning springtime boom. In May, Right to Life shattered its 2015 population record of 169 nations and soared to a new record of 193 nations, becoming the 64th largest region in the world.

Right to Life's population has since declined as many players leave for summer vacation or other real-world activities. Endorsements for the President/Delegate, New Missouri, have increased to nearly 40. Despite what some people, especially in the World Assembly, would have you think, the movement for life on NationStates remains strong and vibrant.

June 2017 Senatorial Election (By United Massachusetts)

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The race for the 19th Senate was one of the most thrilling elections in Right to Life history. Saint Peter (Reactionary Traditionalist Front), United Massachusetts (Liberals for Life Coalition), the RCS (Conservative Federalist Party), the Roman Catholic Federation (Reactionary Traditionalist Front), and Stellonia (independent) ran for two seats; and issues such as constitutional reform, Pro-Life International, regional wages, anti-communism, and anti-discrimination dominated the campaign.

Incumbent Senator United Massachusetts' low numbers on the first day of voting (out of three days) forced him to withdraw from the race. Seeking to keep the incumbent Senator Roman Catholic Federation from succeeding in his own reelection bid, United Massachusetts endorsed the RCS and Stellonia based on their pledges to consider United Massachusetts' proposals for expanding the region's policy against private discrimination (which currently covers race, ethnicity, nationality, and sex) and for increasing wages and salaries for governmental employees.

Each citizen was permitted to vote for one candidate. The RCS and Stellonia were both elected with seven votes apiece. Failing to defend his senatorial seat, the Roman Catholic Federation was third place with five votes. Following the election, an exit tally showed that Stellonia swept the Liberal vote and that the RCS secured his Conservative Federalist base. The Roman Catholic Federation won majority support from his own Reactionary Traditionalist Front, the most right-wing party in Right to Life.

The June election resulted in a hung Senate with President New Missouri (Reactionary Traditionalist Front) (ex officio senator), Senator and Former President RCS (Conservative Federalist Party), and Senator Stellonia (independent) filling the three seats. Notably, Stellonia is only the second person in Right to Life history (the first person was Wugafarian) to win election to the Senate while being an open atheist. In the past, Stellonia won election to the Senate before he "came out" as atheist.

United Empire of Islam Joins PLI (By United Massachusetts)

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Pro-Life International (PLI) recently welcomed the United Empire of Islam as its newest and first Islamic member with PLI representatives voting unanimously in favor. The United Empire of Islam joins the regions Catholic, the Coalition of Catholic States, the International Republican Union, the League of Christian Nations, Right to Life, and the League of Conservative Nations in the alliance.

Far too often, people associate the pro-life movement with the Christian religion, mischaracterizing opposition to abortion as a purely theological or merely sectarian stance. However, Christianity is not the only faith that affirms the inherent value of unborn life -- or non-faith, counting numerous pro-life atheists and agnostics. In the Quran, God commands humanity to "not kill your children for fear of poverty. We provide for them and for you. Indeed, their killing is ever a great sin" (Quran 17.31).

Founder Decrees New Holiday (By Culture of Life)

Founder Culture of Life (Christian Democrats) has added the International Day of the Unborn Child (March 25) to the official list of regional holidays and days of remembrance. Distributist Republics first mentioned the holiday on the regional message board, prompting the creation of a regionwide poll. The poll showed that 36 residents (95%) wanted the Founder to add the holiday and that only two residents (5%) were opposed.

The International Day of the Unborn Child was started in the real world by St. John Paul (pictured above). A number of pro-life nations have officially observed it, including Argentina, Chile, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Paraguay, Peru, and the Philippines.

Subversive Organizations Act Becomes Law (By United Massachusetts)

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Following a leak of the Red Fleet's clandestine plans to overthrow the Right to Life government, acknowledged by communist totalitarian board member Caelapes, the 18th Senate of Right to Life took sweeping action, passing the Subversive Organizations Act. The new legislation requires Right to Life citizens who have connections to subversive organizations -- only the Red Fleet at this time -- to register with the regional government in a program overseen by the Right to Life Army.

An important provision in the new law specifies that regions and groups that are associates or allies of subversive organizations are to be held blameless for the actions of subversive organizations. This provision was included, in large part, as a reaction against the CAIN model. (In the past, the so-called Coalition Against the Ideology of Nazism, a multi-regional alliance, has infamously blacklisted and defamed regions with the loosest of ties to far-right politics as "Nazi collaborators.")

In the Subversive Organizations Act, the Senate decided not to include a proposed ban on the display of subversive-organization flags. United Massachusetts, then a senator, argued that such a prohibition would infringe too heavily on the right to free expression and that it would be alarmingly similar to the red flag law struck down in the real world by the United States Supreme Court in Stromberg v. California (1931).

Real World: Lucky Number Nine? (By The RCS)

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After the death of the conservative intellectual Antonin Scalia in February 2016, the Supreme Court of the United States was left with only eight of nine justices. Seeing an opportunity to push the Supreme Court to the left, then President Barack Obama nominated Judge Merrick Garland to fill the vacancy. This nomination came in the middle of 2016; but the Republican-controlled Senate refused to hold a vote on Garland, upholding the custom ("the Biden Rule"), created by Obama's own vice president, that justices are not to be appointed during presidential election years.

Donald Trump succeeded Obama as president in January and subsequently nominated Dr. Neil Gorsuch. Judge Gorsuch is a graduate of Columbia, Harvard, and Oxford universities. The Republican Senate confirmed Gorsuch in April, filling the seat vacated by Scalia more than a year after his death.

Gorsuch's appointment to the Supreme Court came with some jubilation on both sides of the aisle in Right to Life, thanks to his presumptive position on the constitutional issue of unborn life. New Dolgaria, the leader of Right to Life's Liberals for Life Coalition, commented: "As far as conservative judges go, I don't see anything particularly wrong with him. One of Trump's saner appointments."

For the right-leaning nations of Right to Life, the appointment came with much praise. Former President Phydios of the Conservative Federalist Party had this to say on the appointment: "In an age where the Supreme Court is given more legislative power than Congress, Justice Gorsuch is a wonderful man to have on it. I fully trust him to protect states' rights, fight against judicial overreach, and interpret the Constitution according to the original intent of its authors. He is a worthy replacement for Justice Scalia."

Only time will tell if Justice Gorsuch is the true, pro-life conservative who many think he is or if he will turn out to be a more centrist justice, such as Anthony Kennedy, who has endorsed legalized but regulated abortion. In early cases, Gorsuch has gravitated toward Justice Clarence Thomas, who is generally considered by the press and many legal experts to be the Supreme Court's most right-wing member.

Contests in the Lifemarket (By Culture of Life)

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Two contests were held in the regional marketplace, or Lifemarket, in June.

In the first contest, five Right to Life citizens placed bets on the outcome of the United Kingdom general election. The RCS won the 30-lifemark jackpot. Two days before the election, he predicted that the Conservative Party would win 320 seats and form a coalition or minority government. In reality, the Conservatives won 318 of 650 seats, barely keeping Prime Minister Theresa May in power.

The second contest was to predict the outcome of the NBA Finals in the United States. Four citizens entered, and the Imperial States of Maryland won the jackpot of 48 lifemarks. He correctly predicted that the Golden State Warriors would defeat the Cleveland Cavaliers in game five of the best-of-seven series.

Adopted in August 2014, the lifemark is the official currency of Right to Life. At present, more than 7500 lifemarks are in circulation with each new citizen receiving 100 lifemarks from the Bank of Right to Life upon applying for them. Lifemarks can be used to purchase private goods and services as well as certain public services, and they are often used for wagers in the Lifemarket.