This Vernal Equinox marks three months of great constitutional changes in the State of Sandus. In our constitution, the Council has been very effective in passing proposals based on consensus and the power vested in the facilitator has passed from the Sôgmô to Adam von Friedeck, also Party Secretary. In the national economy, the Sôgmô and the Party Secretary are currently drafting a plan for comprehensive changes to the economic cooperatives and the adoption of a command economy for Sandus that befits our membership in the Saint Josephsburg Economic Pact and our socilivançae. In the Party, the Sôgmô and the Party Secretary consult one another in a healthy relationship between the two leading powers of the State’s vanguard. In the Royal Family, the Sôgmô likewise will celebrate soon three months together with his partner, the Sanôba Consort. In Sandum society, a healthy discussion has been happening, considering the traditional Philosophy of the State of Sandus and the personal values of the Sandum citizens.
This Vernal Equinox marks the beginning of Spring: a Spring of Political, Social, and Economic Advancement!
Charitable Giving on Decline:
Charity Taxes continue to fare well, though the act of small philanthropic giving — in the form of donations — is on decline. Only approximately $107.00USD has been given away by Sandum citizens in the past quarter, though tax declarations are still coming in so the numbers may not reflect reality. However, the act of volunteer work as a labour, skills, and education-based philanthropy has gone up: since 21 December, 114 hours have been spent donating time to other peoples, causes, and communities — and these numbers are likewise still awaiting other charity tax declarations. This reflects a greater change in personal behaviour away from Capitalist-based forms of philanthropy and more towards Socialist ones, where an individual’s own power and intelligence is preferred over capital.
Edit: as of 23 March 2015, philanthropic giving is no longer on the decline. As more declarations have come in, philanthropic giving and volunteering has increased since the 2014 Winter Solstice.
Decisions by the Council — the Two Legislative Sessions:
The Council, in the First Session, decided the following: to begin a media project under Akhil Indurti for Sandum citizens to share their written media; to be chaired by a Facilitator who shall facilitate discussion in the Council and begin a session’s agenda; the term is for one month and there are no term limits; to elect Sôgmô C. Sörgel Publicola to the Facilitatorship for the First and Second Sessions of the Council; to approve a Treaty of Mutual Recognition and Diplomatic Relations between the Principality of Aigues-Mortes and the State of Sandus.
The Council, in the Second Session, decided the following: to direct the Collegio Sacerdae for greater diversity in holidays celebrated by minorities in Sandus, reflecting Sandus’s religious and cultural pluralism in both the micronation and the broader macronational world; to direct Tellus Agrarian Cooperative to publish a list of crops it will produce in the new growing season and resources the Cooperative currently has, and publish it; to direct Tellus Agrarian Cooperative to consider radishes and wasabi as plants to grow in the new growing season; to direct Sandum citizens to learn or use a basic trade for basic economic exchanges for Erganê Artisanal Cooperative; to direct the Sôgmô to learn knitting.
Economic Development for the 2015 Economic Goal:
Though the Sôgmô and the Party Secretary are still considering the 2015 Economic Development Plan, many of its considerations have met the approval of both leaders of the vanguard of State. These include the establishment of work-groups in Tellus and Erganê for both workers’ democracy and for greater economic specialisation, which will result in centralisation of Tellus and decentralisation of Erganê. Each cooperative will publish a list of products it can be commanded to produce on order, though Tellus will produce a production schedule for its agricultural work-group. Sandum citizens will be paid for the time they work in Sandum Persumae, which will be used towards a future Work Merit Rewards Program by which Sandum products can be purchased, and will be paid per product an amount which covers the price of their labour on an item; the remainder of the money the State receives for the sale of a product will go towards the cooperative and for the purchase of other resources. Persumae can also go towards purchases at Sandum ‘Intershop’-like program which will purchase products for Sandum citizens from Saint Josephsburg Economic Pact members on command with the use of persumae. The Commission for the Command Economy will be created and chaired by the heads of state of the Sandum and Socilivae economies that have cooperatives in the Sandum economy. Though the Sôgmô and the Party Secretary must still meet, the current proposal is to request socilivae corporations that wish to have operations in Sandus to apply for Sandum cooperative-status. The Plan can be read here.
Lingua Latina — tertia lingua pro civitate culturaque nostris:
There is currently a motion in the Council to see to it that Sancta, the cultural constructed language that is the third official language of Sandus, is replaced with Latin. Proponents propose that using Latin as a cultural language would tap into Roman reconstructionist communities, reach a wider audience, and would provide more resources for education than Sancta while still able to remain independent in terms of culture. Opponents, who are predominantly foreigners, argue that it will show Sandus being less independent in culture and more aligned with Roman reconstructionists. If the language should become the third official language of the State of Sandus, replacing Sancta, then more educational material will be provided to Sandum citizens for learning Latin.
sandus.org 