NationStates Jolt Archive

[OOC: Some of this comes from the computer-generated NationStates biography of Sarzonia. The parts that aren't culled from that come from my imagination.]

The Incorporated States of Sarzonia was founded on 22 March 2004 (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=7283576&postcount=1) by a group of former Americans who were upset with the direction the United States of America was headed in under then-President George W. Bush. Sarzonia consists of 25 states and a freestanding capital, Woodstock.

The government is made of an Executive Branch, led by the President and including two Senior Vice Presidents (External Affairs and Internal Affairs). [OOC Note: The SVP External is equivalent to a Secretary of State but he's above the cabinet]. In the event of the death, resignation, or removal from office of the President, the Senior Vice President for Internal Affairs shall become acting President. There are several Vice Presidents in charge of areas including Defense and Health and Athletics. More details about the Sarzonian government and laws affecting it can be found in our constitution (http://forums2.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=330340).

The legislative branch consists of a bicameral legislature, Parliament. The upper house, the House of Delegates, represents the direct voice of the people. Each Delegate represents 3 million people, though this figure has been adjusted four times from the initial rate of 100,000 people per Delegate. Any state having fewer than 3 million people would be entitled to one Delegate. Woodstock has one Delegate despite having a population of less than 3 million people. The lower house, the Senate, consists of two Senators per state and is appointed by the state's governor and approved by the state legislature. Despite not being a state, Woodstock is treated as a state wherein its mayor appoints two Senators pending approval by the City Council. [OOC: That is in stark contrast to D.C., where its "delegate" does not get a real vote and the people get no real voice.]

Strict term limits apply to all elected positions throughout Sarzonia. The current President is appointed for life, but in the event of his death, resignation, or removal from office, the Senior Vice President for Internal Affairs shall call an election to fill the position of President. From that point, the position will be elected every six years and no person may serve more than two terms, consecutively or otherwise.

Sarzonia is part of the Organization of Maritime Powers and has founded the Woodstock Pact. It also has alliances with several other countries. Its closest allies are Isselmere-Nieland, Praetonia and Granzi. All the countries listed and several others supported Sarzonia in its war against the now-defunct nation of Cam III.

Parliament may declare war, but the President must agree to the war declaration. If the President asks Parliament for a declaration of war, that agreement is implied and the President need not formally sign such a declaration. The House of Delegates has the authority to ratify treaties or vote to remove the President. In the event the House of Delegates is in recess, the President may sign a recess ratification of treaties. The Senate may deliberate and vote for articles of impeachment, but the trial and vote will take place in the House of Delegates.

The judicial branch is led by the Supreme Judicial Court, which contains six Associate Justices and one Chief Justice. The Chief Justice only votes when necessary to break a tie. There are also two reserve Justices in the event up to two Justices must recuse himself or herself from a case.

Sarzonia's national animal is the tiger and its currency is the dollar. Its national anthem is the Fleetwood Mac song "Freedom" and the tribute song to the Head of State is the Fleetwood Mac song "Destiny Rules." English is the official language for all government business and functions and potential immigrants are expected to be conversant in English to the intermediate level. The most popular sport in Sarzonia is football [OOC: "Soccer" for the Americans out there]. Other popular sports include basketball, ice hockey, and team handball. So-called American footall is also popular, though its official name in Sarzonia is "Gridiron football, also known as American football." However, no one calls it that. Its popular name in Sarzonia is gridball.

Facts at a Glance
Long Form Name Incorporated States of Sarzonia
Official Short Norm Name Sarzonia
Common Name Sarzonia
Sometimes Referred To As ISS, Incorporated States
Language English (official); Spanish
Religion No state sponsored religion. Most Sarzonians practice one denomination of Christianity or another.
Ethnic breakdown 82.3 percent American (former United States of America); 3.8 percent Praetonian; 3.7 percent Isselmerian-Nielander; 3.4 percent Pacitalian; 3.3 percent Granzian; 3.2 percent Euroslav; trace amounts of other nationalities.
National Anthem "Freedom," written by Stevie Nicks and Mike Campbell, sung by Fleetwood Mac.
Presidential Honorary Song (in other words, like "Hail to the Chief" for the USA) "Destiny Rules" written by Stevie Nicks, sung by Fleetwood Mac.
Political Breakdown (Found in Political Parties (http://forums2.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=6886109&postcount=32) post)
Closest Allies United Kingdom of Isselmere-Nieland; Democratic Imperium of Praetonia; Commonwealth of Granzi; Capitalist Republic of Pacitalia; United Freedom Forces of Euroslavia; Royal Empire of Mauiwowee.
Enemies Anti-Shooban Empire of Roach-Busters; Bold Imperium of Generic Empire, Plutocratic Shahdom of The Parthians

[OOC: Feedback welcomed. Edited to correct grammatical errors and add additional notes.]

Cool.

If you want to create one of the devilishly more intricate (and painfully more time consuming) factbooks, you can use an entry from the CIA World Factbook (http://www.odci.gov/cia/publications/factbook/docs/history.html) as a template.

Cool.

If you want to create one of the devilishly more intricate (and painfully more time consuming) factbooks, you can use an entry from the CIA World Factbook (http://www.odci.gov/cia/publications/factbook/docs/history.html) as a template.
I see quite a few countries here have done so. I think that'd be a bit too much for me at this early stage in my time here, but I'll not rule it out for the future. :)

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Will update soon.

*BUMP* with new information.

What are your political parties Sarzonia?

I see quite a few countries here have done so. I think that'd be a bit too much for me at this early stage in my time here, but I'll not rule it out for the future.


I still think it's too much for a factbook for my nation, if I were to make one. Much too much. Factbooks should contain useful, pertinent information such as government structure, alliances, military structure, maybe national history/past engagements...they should give readers who've never seen your nation before everything they need to know.

The CIA Factbook would be only useful for other nation's central intelligence agencies, and I'm sure that none of us write out detailed CIA-style intelligence files on other nations. If you do...O_o you have way too much time on your hands.

Seriously, I have no idea what sort of usefulness anyone can derive from birthrate, age distribution, male/female ratios, land mass area (with the population increasing so quickly), perimeters...it's fairly useless, just like listing height, width, and wingspan for the average fighter aircraft unless it's in comparison to another.


The current President is appointed for life [...]


Ah, the curses of a president with the same name as your nation :)

Isselmere has a fantastic factbook as well, and is very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very detailed...:P More than necessary for me if I were to do a factbook. But I suppose it's pretty interesting.

Yeah, so good job on the factbook Sarzonia...

What are your political parties Sarzonia?

[OOC: I really haven't figured out names for the political parties, nor dominant political ideologies.]

*bump* with alliance notes.

TAG

Very good :)

OOC: Sarzonia, have you ever thought of doing a map? Or do you already have one?

OOC: Sarzonia, have you ever thought of doing a map? Or do you already have one?

[OOC: There's a general map of the region Sarzonia is in. It labels where the country is in relation to the region as a whole. I haven't taken the area and broken it down further into states. I have a detailed description of the states and Woodstock.

http://www.dirt-racing.com/3wide/sites/ao/aomap.jpg

You should be able to see where Sarzonia is in the region from there.]

All the countries listed and several others supported Sarzonia in its war against the now-defunct nation of Cam III.

WTF?!? I am NOT defunct, oh no. I am very active, but that is in space. I guess you not that advanced yet.... (BTW, Roach-Busters DID NOT)

[OOC: There's a general map of the region Sarzonia is in. It labels where the country is in relation to the region as a whole. I haven't taken the area and broken it down further into states. I have a detailed description of the states and Woodstock.

http://www.dirt-racing.com/3wide/sites/ao/aomap.jpg

You should be able to see where Sarzonia is in the region from there.]

I see Starblaydia is in your region as well. Haven't seen him in a while. :)

[OOC: Since I IGNORE you Cam III, in my eyes, you are defunct. Bye.]

Very nice job, Sarzonia! Keep up the excellent work!

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Very nice job, Sarzonia! Keep up the excellent work!

Well thank you! :)

Sarzonia now has a website (http://www.freewebs.com/sarzonia). It's in the beginning stages (and my HTML skills are crap). But it's out there.

Nice website. I was thinking about doing one myself, but I don't really have the time, and I'm lazy.

Nice website. I was thinking about doing one myself, but I don't really have the time, and I'm lazy.

Thanks for the comment. Freewebs does a lot of the work for you (I haven't had to try to put those limited HTML skills to work yet), so if you ever get the chance to update one, they do a nice job with it.

Nice website. And what are Morathanians considered. Your smelly old aunt? What are we nothing to you? I thought you cared.

Nice website. And what are Morathanians considered. Your smelly old aunt? What are we nothing to you? I thought you cared.

[OOC: I mentioned that we hold all our closest allies (we have at least five) in very high regard.

The website's just the first draft. I'll add more later, including our other very close and loyal allies in Morathania, Granzi and Zoogie.]

More info added (info about relationships with Morathania, Granzi and Zoogie). Roach-Busters to come.

Why thank you for naming a destroyer after the great nation of Morathania.

Why thank you for naming a destroyer after the great nation of Morathania.

[OOC: It's going to be one of the superdreadnaughts, not a destroyer.

We call it a battleship killer because it's one of the Doujin-comparable ships we have. It's one of the largest ships we have.]

OOC: Why thank you. Thats even more of an honor. Must have read it wrong.

OOC: Why thank you. Thats even more of an honor. Must have read it wrong.

[OOC: Perhaps. I'm naming my largest ships after my closest allies. Plus, I'll name new states after them. You'll get one soon. :)]

Sarzonia, will you be continuing with that mutiny thread?

Sarzonia, will you be continuing with that mutiny thread?

[OOC: Yep.]

*Added Sarzonian Constitution (http://forums2.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=330340) to website*

[OOC: I hadn't posted a list of political parties for several OOC reasons. One, I detest party politics IRL and I only reluctantly registered with the political party I tend to agree with on some issues. I am an independent voter in spirit and will continue to vote regardless of party lines.

Two, I figured that my names wouldn't be too clever, so I avoided the cheese factor. Anyway, to give a better understanding of Sarzonian politics, such as they are, here is a list of the parties and the dominant ideologies in Sarzonia.]

Liberal Imperialists: A recently-formed faction that was founded by a second generation Praetonian emigre, the tenets (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=402730) of Liberal Imperialism are best explained by its country of origin, Praetonia. This faction has been the driving force behind the Exclusivity Act passed by Parliament over President Mike Sarzo's veto that stipulates that an overwhelming majority of all military goods be produced by Sarzonian manufacturers. Currently 4.5 percent of Sarzonians have joined this party. Del. Lucianus Dio of Woodstock is the party's de-facto leader.

Liberal Internationalists: A small party with one senator in Parliament, this party advocates an active role for Sarzonia in international affairs. They see Sarzonia as a protector of freedom and they push for Sarzonia to do whatever it takes to protect freedom EVERY TIME. Only about 0.2% of the population is registered with this party. Its de-facto leader is Sen. Alexis Beauregard of Bausch.

Conservative: This party is the dominant opposition party. They favor an isolationist foreign policy and rolling back certain laws passed in favor of equality for women and minorities. They are expected to lobby for an amendment to the constitution to repeal Article XIII's prohibition against discrimination and would restore legal recognition of marriage and deny it to same-sex couples. Conservatives are also staunchly pro-business and want to loosen environmental restrictions. Its leader is Sen. Alex Looney of Wicomico. Approximately 27.6 percent of the population is registered to vote in this party.

Liberal: Liberals favor an increase in welfare programs and favor abolishing civil unions in favor of full marriage rights for the gay community, even though civil unions now carry all the benefits marriage once did. They advocate disarmament of Sarzonia's nuclear weapons and dramatic reductions in army and navy sizes. Liberals espouse the rights of people vs. businesses and are very much environmentally concerned. Only about 14.2 percent of the population signed up with this party. House Speaker Josh Williams is considered the party's leader.

Moderate: One of the hardest parties to pin down, the Moderates range from one faction that is socially liberal and fiscally conservative to another faction that is more business-oriented. People who don't fit the more extreme Liberal and Conservative parties sign in here. They advocate equality among all Sarzonians and believe that a strong military is the best way to deter would be threats. The Moderates are the largest political party in Sarzonia, with 39.8 percent of voters registered with this party. Senate President Pro Tempore Karen Beltran is the leader most identified with this party, although Senior Vice President for Internal Affairs Nicole Lewis is also a Moderate.

Independent: Not a political party, but the rest of the Sarzonian people fall into this category. They often stand on the sidelines in dismay as the parties argue among themselves. Independents account for 13.7 percent of Sarzonia's voting population. President Mike Sarzo is actually an Independent.

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*Added link to the constitution (http://forums2.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=330340) and more alliances that Sarzonia is part of.*

*Link to a History of Sarzonia (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=7283576&postcount=1) added to introductory post.*

*bump*

*bump* for the Halibut. ;)

*More stuff added*

*more stuff added to intro post*

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(OOC: Isn't 'The Plutocratic Shahdom of The Parthians,' an enemy of yours, also?)

[OOC: Thanks R-B. He's added.]

62.7 million Pacitalians in Sarzonia? Holy crap. Awesome :P

Nicely done, Mike. Great factbook for being simple - it's good. :)

Thanks Pacitalia! :)