Insomniac

The American election is making me an insomniac due to anxiety. Please, finish counting soon!

Election Day in the U.S.A.

America will vote. Trump will lose. Trump will leave.

...and the rest of the World will take a deep sigh of relief, with the singular exception of the autocrat Vladimir Putin and Russia.

Elections have consequences, so vote, vote, vote!

A Message From The Chairman of SP

This message has been posted on the Second Pride website (url) today.

"Dear Second Pride Members,

You may or may not have heard about a very upsetting Board meeting today [October 6, 2018]. As everyone is aware there was a snafu with the original voting process. This, as I have stated already publicly, was my fault. I owned my mistake and the Board took measures to correct that error. Which I supported 100%. It was Bock McMillan that pointed out to me that the IT Director was to be the Election Chairman, according to the Bylaws in place. He was again 100% correct. The system that was originally used was not vetted by the Election Chair, Lee McKay. Therefore, it could not be used in the state it was in. Additionally, the security was just not there. That was a serious concern to all the Board and should have been with the candidates and members-at-large. 

A new voting system was created specifically for Second Pride Elections. It took longer to create then initially anticipated. Anyone who has looked at an SL script knows how complex they can be. We all wanted a secure way for everyone to vote. That way there could be no questions as to the legitimacy of the vote. 

That’s the background. So what happened? 

Today during the Second Pride new Board Member seating the newly elected Marketing Director called into question the integrity of the Election Chair and myself. Also called into question was the legitimacy of the voting process. Mind you he WON, by a large margin.

After some back and forth with others on the Board, the Marketing Director began making derogatory statements and accusations against the Second Pride Board. Pointing out how unfair the election process had been and how it was suspicious how everything happened and how it was handled. Stating that he was not pointing fingers, but calling out the positions of the Board that he had issue with. Well, since there is only one person in any given Board position, it was easy to see how he was actually accusing that positions, inherent occupier. He went on further to degrade the members-at-large, stating “I know that during the second process, the overall feeling was very subdued, people felt angry, disgusted and resigned.” As Chairman, I did not get that sense. During the process, Jimmy was constantly asking for updates on the number of votes being cast. He was told no that was inappropriate. It only incensed him. He stated that in real life you could see how the vote was going and how many people voted. So, I am going out on a limb here, but we in the USA don’t know how many votes were cast until after they are all counted. I am not sure about Jimmy’s country. Perhaps it is different? However, we ran the election process and will continue doing so, according to the rules in the USA.

Jimmy went on to infer that the only reason the original election was deemed null and void, was to get Mr. McKay’s “friend” more votes. Let me assure you of one thing, I am not the smartest guy on the block, but I DO know Lee McKay is not the type of person to do something like that. Nor would he have anyone else do it for him. That is slander and a baseless allegation. Jimmy Augustus-Gracemount needs to apologize to Lee McKay for that. 

As Chairman of the Board, I lost my temper and yelled at Jimmy during the meeting. I apologize for letting my emotions get the better of myself at that moment. Lee and I both motioned to have Jimmy removed from the Board. It was seconded and passed 5-2 in favor of removing him. 

Personally, I like Jimmy. He really is a fine fellow. I am not sure why, after winning the vote, he couldn’t just be happy with that and let it go. The outcome was the same.
I am truly sorry that it had to come down to this. I was ready to resign since it was *MY* fault the original vote was canceled. Bock was correct to point out the problem to me. Lee McKay was ready to resign. For the betterment of Second Pride as an organization, Jimmy had to go. The Marketing Directors position will be absorbed, as the Bylaws are written, by the Events and Community Relations Directors to split the duties as they see fit. 

It is with great hope that the future of Second Pride be as bright as it has been in the past. As we move forward into the future, let’s try not to forget why we are here. It’s not fame and glory. It’s not for recognition. It is to do good work and to reach out to our fellow LGBTQ community and bring it together in a spirit that uplifts us all! That is why I ran for Chairman in the first place. It’s why I will continue to the very best of my ability. 

Sincerely,
ReZ Vale-Starfall
Chairman of the Board"

SP Election Results Announced

Today we received a notice in the Second Pride Festival Group with the long-awaited announcement:

"On September 27th, 2018, the Election Committee hereby certifies the following results for the Election completed on September 26th, 2018.

For the Marketing Director seat
60 votes - Jimmy Augustus-Gracemount (jimmmmmy) - Winner
9 votes - Kaiden Brandt (Kalculate)

For the Building Director seat
44 votes - Sтαятєя Ɛνєηѕтαяя (starter232) - Winner
23 votes - Dҽʋιɳ Kɳιɠԋƚ Dɾαƙσɳ (devindevin1111)

Congratulations!!

ReZ, SP Chairman"

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I would like to join the chairperson in congratulating the winning candidates.

I would also like to thank the other candidates and wish them better luck next time. I hope we can convince them to work with Second Pride, even without the Directorship.

SP Elections: Last Chance to Vote!

The Second Pride elections end today at 12 AM (midnight) SLT. If you want a chance to influence the selection of Marketing Director and Building Director you need to get your vote in.

The candidates for Marketing Director are
1. Jimmy Augustus-Gracemount (jimmmmmy) url or
2. Kaiden Brandt (Kalculate) url

The candidates for Building Director are
1. Sтαятєя Ɛνєηѕтαяя (starter232) url or
2. Dҽʋιɳ Kɳιɠԋƚ Dɾαƙσɳ (devindevin1111) url

(The url's lead to each of the candidates statements at the Second Pride website)

How to decide whom to vote for
So how do you choose whom to vote for?

There are multiple techniques used by voters throughout democratic history to decide on whom they vote.

A) Beauty Pageant/Talent Pageant
This technique is mostly used by people who are completely uninterested in politics or ideology. They look at the pictures of the different candidates and decide on that fact alone which candidate they will vote for.

"They have beautiful hair/eyes/body/nails/feet", "They are so sexy", "I don't like their eyes, they look mean" or "I would do them", are the answers you most often get when you ask the voters how they decided.

B) Relationship
This method is usually used by voters more interested in relationships than politics/ideology. They will rather vote for someone they or their friends known and like than someone they don't know, and definitely, rather than someone they or their friends dislike for whatever transgression/reason through the history of mankind.

"I know them, they are an asshole", "They are good people", "My friend says they are batshit crazy and drama-seekers", "Their partner is a friend of my friend and they are so nice" or "variations of "The enemy of my enemy is my friend".

C) Analytical
This method is used by people who don't give a shit about anything else than if the person is qualified for the job. These are the people that will read the candidate statements and decide based mainly on that, and maybe check their references or previous work history.

"I trust they can do the job", "They seem to be qualified enough", "I've seen their work before and they seem trustworthy", "They seem to have the right priorities", "I like how they think".

D) Haphazard/Lottery
This method is good when everything else fails and you still see the choices as equally good or if all the above methods fail.

Flip a coin, and let that decide.

"I don't know any of them", "They both look great", "Both of them see qualified to do the job"
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There now you do not have an excuse not to vote. Get the f*** off your ass and teleport to the Polling Place (SLurl) at the second pride sim.

VOTE! VOTE! VOTE!

I Want You...

...to vote in the Second Pride board election, if you are a member of the Second Pride Festival Group!

You only have until 12.00 AM (midnight) SLT on September 26, 2018. The sooner you do it, the better it is (for my piece of mind). So go, just do it NOW!

Go here to vote: Polling Place (SLurl).

Pick up a ballot at the entrance and follow the instructions. It's easy-peasy.

How To Vote In The SP Election

First of all, get your ballot either from the notice in Second Pride Festival Group, or, if you have notices turned-off, go to the group and look for the notice with the box containing the ballot.

Rez the box, and click to get the ballot and the instructions.

These are the instructions to vote:
1 - Edit your ballot notecard and put an X in the box beside ONE candidate in each race.
2 - Save your ballot notecard - DO NOT change the name of the notecard
3-  Do not add your name to the notecard
4 - Remove the "modify" permission on your ballot notecard by right-clicking on it, choosing properties, and removing the check beside "modify".
5 - Step into one of the voting stalls and click on the box to begin voting.
6 - Follow the instructions given by the Voting Station in local chat.
7 - Note that when you drop your ballot in the box, you must hold down CTRL when dragging the ballot to the box.
8 - Be sure to confirm your vote when prompted and look for the message that your vote was received and sent to election officials.
9 - Election staff CAN verify that your vote was received if you are unsure. We CANNOT see who you voted for.

Thank you for voting!

Go here to vote: Polling Place (SLurl).

Don't use Voting Station 1, at least not today Thursday, I had problems dropping my ballot there. The problem has been fixed, see Lee's comment below!

SP Election - Voting Resumes!

According to an announcement today on the Second Pride website (url) the voting for board directors of Second Pride now resumes.

"The Election Committee has done significant testing of our new voting solution, and believes it to be secure and reliable. Therefore, voting in the Second Pride Board Election for the positions of Marketing Director and Building Director will run from September 20th, 2018 through September 26th, 2018, a full seven day period. On September 28th, 2018, the Election Committee will certify the results and the Chair will make the announcement. Installation of the new members will be done on October 6th, 2018.

Your candidates for Marketing Director are Jimmy Augustus-Gracemount (jimmmmmy) and Kaiden Brandt (Kalculate). For the position of Building Director, the candidates are Sтαятєя Ɛνєηѕтαяя (starter232) and Dҽʋιɳ Kɳιɠԋƚ Dɾαƙσɳ (devindevin1111). Click on their names to view their candidate statements.

The Community Relations Director seat is still open with no current candidate. Per the Bylaws, the Board has the ability to name an individual to this seat, so it’s not too late to step up! If you or someone you know is interested in being a major part of Second Pride, please contact one of the Board members TODAY! It’s the perfect time to get involved!"

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I am so proud of the board for taking - what must have been a difficult decision - to halt voting when problems with security and reliability were noticed. Hopefully, the new voting procedure ensures a reliable result.

Now go do your darn civic duty as members of the organization. Go vote, you only have seven days and we all know how time flies. Remember, better early than never!!! 

Yaas, I know it should be "late", but I am the writer of this blog so I do a bit as I please. You may complain to the municipality of  Ystad at this address: 

Ystads kommun
Avdelningen för tramsiga klagomål
Box 238 
271 25 Ystad 
SWEDEN

SP Elections Update & More

REƵ VALE-SŦARFALL™ (DJReZ Cyberstar), the Chair of Second Pride, in a Group Notice yesterday in The Second Pride Festival Group and a message on the Second Pride website:

"The new voting solution will be completed soon and voting is expected to start within the next day or so. Watch here and in the Second Pride Festival group for updates and instructions.

The candidate for Community Relations Director has decided not to accept the position. Therefore, we have an open seat and per the Bylaws, that seat is available now for anyone who wishes to be considered for it. This would be a Board appointment unless we have TWO candidates before voting begins."

Thriller Ends In A Toss-Up

Yesterday 6,328,643 (84.4%) of the Swedish electorate voted and created what pundit's call "an interesting parliamentary situation", others (like myself) would rather call it a royal mess.

Swedish politics has for the last two decades been dominated by two parliamentary "blocks". One side, called "the red/green mess", consisting of the Social Democratic Party and the Green Party with additional support from the Left Party. The other side, called"the Alliance", consisting of the Moderate Party (previously Right Party), the Christian Democratic Party, the Center Party, and the Liberals.

The blocks have over time been fairly even, with the tides turning one way or the other and splitting the 349 seats of the Swedish parliament in various ways.

Three elections ago the Sweden Democrats walked on to the parliamentary scene. First in a small way, then increasing four years ago and finally increasing a bit again this year (although far from their own expectations). They were hoping to become the largest or at least the second largest party in the parliament and get close to 25% of the votes. That did not happen!

Election Night ended with the red/green mess having 144 seats in parliament, the Alliance with 143 seats and the Sweden Democrats with 62. All the other parties stated emphatically that they would have nothing to do with the Sweden Democrats, nor work with them or rely on their support in any way.

None of the blocks can form a government with reliable support without someone from the opposing block. This will hopefully lead to the end of the bloody ironclad political blocks, but it still remains to see how it will turn-out.  

So there are still some final votes to be tallied, about 150, 000, which will happen on Wednesday. However, even if a seat could be moved one of the blocks to the other it will not in any way change the situation. 

It will be two interesting weeks to follow the maneuverings of the politicians until the parliament reconvenes to elect a prime minister.

Civic Duty - Voting ✓

Today the nation in the European Union named the Kingdom of Sweden is having elections for the national, regional and local parliaments.

I have, of course, performed my duty to democracy, myself, my friends and family, my compatriots, my nation and for all future generations by casting my vote on one of the democratic parties running for election. I will keep my votes to myself, as is my democratic right, however, I will reveal one of the parties I did not vote for in any of the elections.

I did not vote for The Sweden Democrats, because it is a populist, anti-intellectual, xenophobic, Islamophobic party, infested by Nazi ghouls from the past and Neo-Nazis from the present.

Their solution to every political problem they encounter is simple and easy and speaks to the lowest and most vile common denominator within the Swedish population and is not based on factual evidence at all but on thoughts, feelings, and beliefs based on prejudice.

Areas of politics and the Sweden Democrats solution

Healthcare:
"Bla, bla, bla and then we kick out the immigrants, the refugees, and the Muslims and send them back to where they came from. Sweden will be back to what it was in the early 50's when life was beautiful."

Housing Shortage:
"Bla, bla, bla and then we kick out the immigrants, the refugees, and the Muslims and send them back to where they came from. Sweden will be back to what it was in the early 50's when life was beautiful."

Terrorism:
"Bla, bla, bla and then we kick out the immigrants, the refugees, and the Muslims and send them back to where they came from. Sweden will be back to what it was in the early 50's when life was beautiful."

Finances:
"Bla, bla, bla and then we kick out the immigrants, the refugees, and the Muslims and send them back to where they came from. Sweden will be back to what it was in the early 50's when life was beautiful."

Taxes:
"Bla, bla, bla and then we kick out the immigrants, the refugees, and the Muslims and send them back to where they came from. Sweden will be back to what it was in the early 50's when life was beautiful."

Immigration:
"Bla, bla, bla and then we kick out the immigrants, the refugees, and the Muslims and send them back to where they came from. Sweden will be back to what it was in the early 50's when life was beautiful."

Education:
"Bla, bla, bla and then we kick out the immigrants, the refugees, and the Muslims and send them back to where they came from. Sweden will be back to what it was in the early 50's when life was beautiful."

Defense:
"Bla, bla, bla and then we kick out the immigrants, the refugees, and the Muslims and send them back to where they came from. Sweden will be back to what it was in the early 50's when life was beautiful."

Daycare:
"Bla, bla, bla and then we kick out the immigrants, the refugees, and the Muslims and send them back to where they came from. Sweden will be back to what it was in the early 50's when life was beautiful."

Etc, etc, ad infinitum!

Second Pride Election Update

According to a notice in the Second Pride Festival group, the ongoing election for Build & Marketing Directors has been temporarily suspended due to a technical glitch in the equipment.

Voting will, according to the notice, recommence with a different method as soon as possible.

The Chair and the board extends its apologies to the candidates and the membership.
---

I applaud Rez and the board for acting promptly when the problems were noticed. After all, we all want a result we can rely on that reflects the will of the membership.

SP Board Election: Voting September 1 - 8

Get your asses in gear, members of Second Pride. Voting in the board election started today and continues through midnight September 8.

You have two positions to choose your preferred candidate for, Marketing and Build.

If you haven't read up on the candidates running for the position before - you slackers - you can do so before voting by going to the Second Pride website (url). Click the 2018 Election tab and a roll down menu will pop-down.

In the menu, you can find the candidate statements and their responses to the questions that have been posed to them.

To vote, go to the Second Pride sim (url), there will be voting booths set up for your voting-convenience.

Click the candidate you wish to vote for and you get a blue menu. "Address" is just a note card, when you click "Vote" it will register your vote.

REWARD Let's Play "Find the Edit Button!"

As some of you may know, I am a candidate for Treasurer of the 2018/19 board of Second Pride.

What I see when I am logged into the SP website
(Click picture to enlarge)

That means that I am obliged to take part in the ongoing Q&A for candidates on the Second Pride website. No matter how I try, I am not a perfect proofreader and sometimes the silliest mistake slip by.

So when I noticed two mistakes/typos in my responses yesterday I wanted to edit them. For the love of me, I could not find an edit-function and instead corrected with a reply to my replies.  

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When I got home from work today, there was a message from the IT Director (Admin of the Second Pride website), the right honorable Mr. Lee McKay Esq., waiting to inform me that I, in fact, can edit my responses. Huh, I still cannot see where I edit?

Anyone who finds the edit-option and first posts where to find it in the comments below will win a reward of L$1,000! 

SP Elections 2018 Update & Proposal of New Bylaws

The election for the Board of Second Pride 2018/19 is running according to schedule.

The board members with a year remaining on their tenure are
DJRez Cyberstar, Chair,
MikeAdam Resident, Secretary, and
Lee McKay, IT Director.

Candidates running unopposed (and will be automatically seated) are

Nicky Windstorm, Events Director,

Bock McMillan, Treasurer,

Tootsie Nootan, Security Director, and

Dee Sparta, Community Relations Director

Positions with more than one candidate
Marketing Director
1. Jimmy Gracemount
2. Kaiden Brandt

Building Director
1. Starter Evenstarr and
2. Devin Drakon

The two last positions will be voted on, starting September 1, 2018

Q&A for candidates
All the candidates are answering questions from the membership until August 28, so hurry up and get your questions in at the Second Pride website (url).

"To participate, you will need to have an account on the website if you don’t already have one. Then click on the candidates link under “2018 Election” above and the conversation will be beneath the candidates opening statement."

Discussion of Proposal For New Bylaws
A proposal for new bylaws was introduced at the board meeting yesterday. There is a ten-day discussion period open for members.

Read the proposal (you'll find it under Documents) and take part in the discussion here (url)

Elected Office

"Well, that will be a first," I thought to myself as I wrote the short statement. "I am usually anointed by God or appointed by myself to some office or other. This time there will be actual voting involved with real voters who will decide whether they can trust you or not, should be interesting if nothing else."

Bock McMillan's Candidate Statement
for a seat on the SP Board of Directors

SP Annual Meeting 2018 - Minutes

Clickbait

The minutes from the Second Pride Annual Meeting, that was held on July 14th, 2018, have been published on the Second Pride website. You will find the minutes here.

For those of you who are too lazy to read them, let me give you a short summary.

1. Feedback from the festival has been overwhelmingly positive. There were no problems with griefing. Thanks were expressed to all involved for their contributions.

2. The Trevor Project will receive a donation of L$ 560,800 - approximately $2,243.00 USD. (Bloody awesome, my remark).

3. A proposal for a (much needed, my remark) complete overhaul of the bylaws was made. The Communications/IT Director was given the task to do a draft re-write and present it to the board.

4. Upcoming election 
a) these three members of the board have one year remaining,
- the Chairperson,
- the Secretary and
- the Communications/IT Director,
b) the following five positions are open for candidates
- Community Relations Director,
- Events Director,
- Build Director,
- Marketing Director and
- Security Director

5. Election Dates
a) Candidate Registration on the Second Pride website August 1st, 2018 through August 14th, 2018,
b) Question and Answers with Candidates on the Second Pride website August 15th, 2018 through August 28th, 2018,
c) Voting September 1st, 2018 through September 8th, 2018 and
d) Board Member Installation Meeting September 15th, 2018.

Second Pride Has A New Board

Seeing as there was only one candidate to four different positions on the board the present board made the wise decision to cancel the elections and proclaim the new board elected.

This picture is, alas, totally unrelated to the subject of this post, but nice to look at 
nonetheless. It shows actor Sam Heughan in the hit television series Outlander

The new board will now - well, after the inauguration - consist of
Chair - DJRez Cyberstar
Secretary - MikeAdam Resident
Events Director - Jamie Rozenberg and
IT Director - Lee McKay

Congratulations to you all and may you dispense of your duties as well as the previous board.

The new board faces some difficulties from the start as five heavy positions on the board are vacant, Marketing Director, Treasurer, Security Director, Community Relations Director and Building Director. To even out their workload and get a truly well-functioning board I believe it would be wise for the new board to scout for people to fill the vacant positions.

Sam Heughan in Outlander again, this time with a bit more clothing

Second Pride - Call for Board Candidates (Updated)

The minutes of the Second Pride annual meeting on July 30, 2017, have been published on the Second Pride website. You will find the minutes in the right hand column.

Left to right, Tootsie Nootan, Viktor Sandman, Jak Calcutt & LLedge Eames
(Marge Beaumont wasn't able to attend) 

A quick summary of the reports from the board members would be that this years Second Pride festival was a huge success, with lots of visitors, wonderful venues and builds, few security issues and loads of donations.

The board thanked everyone and the board members were in turn all lauded by those in attendance for their good work for the community and the organization.

After setting aside funds for tier for the Second Pride sim for the coming year and some petty cash, there will be roughly US$1,000 for the board to donate to charity. The board is considering donations to either The Rainbow Railroad or The Human Rights Campaign Fund.

The biggest surprise was the news that the whole board is stepping down, every single one of them. All the positions will be open for the election of new candidates.

The election timetable is as follows (all dates are of course SLT).

1. August 1 - September 3, 2017 - The Second Pride Festival group is closed for new members until the end of the election.
2. August 7-20, 2017 Call for candidates.
3. August 20-26, 2017 Question & answers period 
4. August 27 - September 2, 2017 Elections

The election committee will be headed by LLedge Eames as the outgoing chair.

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Those considering submitting their candidacies will find a Board Candidate Submission Form (here).

Please take the time to consider how you - or perhaps a friend - could serve the LGBT+ community in SecondLife and send in your Candidacy.

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UPDATE 8/13/2017
Lee MacKay, the current webmaster for the Second Pride website, in a comment on Google+, informs me: "It's also very important to note that anyone wishing to participate in the Q&A portion of the election process MUST create an account on the website to do so. The Q&A will take the form of comments beneath each candidate's statement, and a working, verified login is required to post or reply. This applies to the candidates as well, of course. - SP Webmaster"

Laird: "Prachtig Nederland!" (Updated)

The Much Honored Bock McMillan, laird of Southern Charm, prince of Cascade Falls etc., etc., today commented on the results of the Dutch elections.

"The people of the world, and especially Europe, should thank the Dutch voters for putting a stop to the growth of the Islamophobic and anti-EU populists. 

Hopefully the results of this election will break the onslaught of the growing populism in Europe, I even dare to wish that it may set a trend for the upcoming national elections in Germany and France. 

The Dutch example gives us all hope and shows the political leaders of Europe that it is possible to quell the rise of populism, even after Brexit and the American presidential election. Prachtig gedaan, Nederland!"

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Update
I found this quote by Jesse Klaver, leader of the GreenLeft party, that I cannot withhold from you. On polling day he said that the left’s answer to the far right’s rise in Europe was to stand up for its ideals. “What I would say to all my left wing friends in Europe: don’t try to fake the populace. Stand for your principles. Be straight. Be pro-refugee. Be pro-European. We’re gaining momentum in the polls. And I think that’s the message we have to send to Europe. You can stop populism.”