seen from United States
seen from Türkiye
seen from France
seen from Japan
seen from Germany
seen from Malaysia
seen from Germany
seen from United States
seen from Chile
seen from United States
seen from Argentina
seen from United States
seen from Japan
seen from Algeria
seen from China
seen from Türkiye
seen from Russia
seen from China
seen from China
seen from United States
I love my choices:
A Corporate Billionaire who only believes that felons should be able to vote because he is one
A Geriatric War Criminal that somehow fails to walk up a flight of stairs
A couple actually decent people who almost certainly will not win because our country is having an identity crisis and the Jenga tower is starting to tip
Hey y'all! how are you liking your first election?
:) I'm doing GREATTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT
Nadya followed Carolyn to the small room off the main entry--the room that would apparently be her new office. There wasn’t much to it yet; the main feature was a desk piled high with stacks of documents.
At a gesture from Carolyn she seated herself behind the desk, while Carolyn took a seat in one of the handsome leather chairs opposite.
“Congratulations, Nadya,” Carolyn said sincerely. “You’re just what Panorama needs: someone young, with lots of ideas--and lots of energy. I hope you know how very glad I am to be leaving the town in such capable hands.“
Nadya was touched. “Thank you, Carolyn.”
“Now, there are just a few things I thought I should walk you through to get you started. Nothing very big; mostly, I just wanted to make sure you understand my records. I’ve done my best to keep track of the town’s finances; you’ll find a complete account of the town funds in that box.
“You’ll also find, in that stack of papers, some blueprints that Wilson drew up a long time ago for plumbing and electric grids, as well as some price calculations. Keep in mind that Wilson was more an architect than an engineer--but in any case, his blueprints seem like a better starting place than none. And if his calculations are correct, the town should already have nearly enough funds to cover the complete construction of one or the other.”
“This is amazing, Carolyn!” Nadya hadn’t known what shape she’d find the town coffers in. If Carolyn was right and they had nearly enough money to fund the construction of a plumbing system already, her term would be off to a great start.
“I’ll leave you to look through everything,” Carolyn said. “Of course, if you have questions, you know where to find me. ...Make Panorama proud, Nadya.”
Desert Twins: part 14
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13
***
Now the time came to choose leaders to guide them as they tried to understand what freedom meant. These are a people whose only freedoms lay in secrets, in whispers in the dark and a language never heard beyond the ears of the Amatakka. How, then, to move forward?
They had decided that the planet could not be rebuilt on blood, but on justice and the idea of choice. Democracy was the obvious route after this, but not with a single elected leader. They made a system wherein they elected three representatives: an elder, for their wisdom and experience; an adult, for their strength and fortitude; and a child, for their ideals and their heart. These electives would change when the people deemed it necessary; any individual could call for a re-election so long as they had a valid reason.
The Amatakka nominated people for these roles. Someone called the name Shmi Skywalker; she accepted the nomination. Then someone called out the name, Bentu Skywalker.
She considered it. The child, the ideals, the heart. But she didn't want the power or the responsibility. She could not lead the people without knowing herself first, knowing how to be free. She also knew that though she was young, because of her role as hutt-slayer, Leia, Ekkreth, the others would defer to her judgement. Let Tatooine grow without her interference, she decided.
She declined the nomination. There were others nominated, and the elections happened: a simple show of hands, for this first election. Bentu and Anakin stood in the back, so as to not taint the vote.
The representatives were elected: Margaret Towner, the elder; Shmi Skywalker, the adult; and Kitster Banai, the child. The three would, in the years that followed, hold court in Jabba's palace, turning it from a den of inequities to a place of justice and freedom.
Bentu decided to leave with Anakin and the two Jedi masters. She needed to learn more about her abilities, and she wanted to spend time with her brother without the threat of being caught hanging over their heads.
And so, goodbyes were said, and Bentu and the Jedi left for Coruscant.
12 May 2018 – 8:34 An Iraqi man casts his vote at a polling station during the parliamentary election in the Sadr city district of Baghdad, Iraq May 12, 2018. REUTERS/Thaier al-Sudani By Michael Georgy and John Davison / Reuters BAGHDAD/KIRKUK, Iraq, Iraqis began voting in the first parliamentary election on Saturday since defeating Islamic State, …
My first ever vote in New Zealand!
“You’ve tallied the votes?”
“Congratulations, Nadya! It was ten votes you, one vote ‘other.’ You’re the new mayor of Panorama!”
Nadya grinned. It really had been just that easy! Walter had been right--all of her worrying had been for nothing. Although... who had voted for ‘other’? Nadya knew it was silly to get stuck on one lonely vote, but something about that needled her.
Nadya didn’t have much time to dwell on either her triumph or her hurt feelings. There were many who wished to offer her congratulations, and she had to smile and thank each of them in turn.
Among the well-wishers was Hannah. “Nadya! So happy for you. I’m sure you’ll do a great job.”
“Thank you for your support. I’m certainly going to do my best!” Nadya said, her standard reply.
“Oh, but one more thing,” Hannah rushed to continue before she lost the new mayor’s attention. “Now that you’re the mayor, I wanted to talk to you about building a school.”
“Of course. A school is a wonderful idea, especially with the way our little town has grown recently. I’ll make a note of your suggestion and see what I can do--”
“I know you promised to build Panorama a proper plumbing system as your first major project, but the thing is, I really think we need to build a school as soon as possible,” Hannah continued doggedly, not to be brushed off. “You may know I’ve been doing my best to teach all the children at my home, but there just isn’t enough room now that there are so many. Your own children will soon be school-aged, won’t they?” Hannah was banking on that getting through to Nadya, and judging by the way Nadya’s expression had suddenly become much more intent, it had. “I want to do my best for all the children,” Hannah said, “but without the right learning environment, it’s difficult.”
“I’ll see what I can do,” Nadya repeated, though this time there was greater weight in her voice.
Content that her idea hadn’t been dismissed outright, Hannah allowed Nadya to resume her mingling.
The next person to pull Nadya aside for longer than the standard congratulatory sentence or two was Carolyn.
“Would you come with me for a moment, Nadya? I’d like to have a quick chat with you in your new office.”
I sent this to my American son following last year’s Presidential election.
I feel the same way today.
जम्मू-कश्मीर में 370 खत्म होने बाद हो रहा पहला विधानसभा चुनाव, चुनाव आयोग करेगा राज्य का दौरा
J&K Election: जम्मू कश्मीर में चुनाव की तैयारियां जोर पकड़ने लगी हैं। इसी क्रम में चुनाव आयोग अगले हफ्ते जम्मू कश्मीर का दौरा करेगा। यह दौरा मुख्य चुनाव आयुक्त राजीव कुमार के नेतृत्व में 8-10 अगस्त तक होगा। इस दौरान उनके साथ चुनाव आयुक्त ज्ञानेश कुमार और एसएस संधू भी होंगे। गौरतलब है कि इस केंद्रशासित प्रदेश में चुनाव कराने के लिए सुप्रीम कोर्ट ने 30 सितंबर की समयसीमा तय की है। पिछले मार्च में,…
