Topic: Op-Ed: Post Readers Speak Up

Darien Fenner

Date: 2010-05-17 14:48 EST
Letters to the Columns thread. Please PM me before posting an outside article, so that I can O.K. it first!

Thank you!]]

SpectoSolum

Date: 2010-05-17 16:04 EST
Submitted to the Rhydin Post and other publications by Specto Solum, a political watchdog group.

May 17th

A few weeks into his term as Governor and already, Sheridan Driscol and his newly appointed Council of Minsters are breaking a litany of campaign promises. Implausible, you ask" Unheard of for a politician to change their stance when it's convenient' Of course not, but the record speed at which we're seeing turnabout is cause for concern. Of course, the lines in the sand are blurred, and the level of egregiousness of these broken promises varies from person to person. Where do they sit for you, and do you even know what they are" Read on, find out, and judge for yourself.

Governor Sheridan Driscol campaigned long and hard on a "Remember Your Roots" platform, a platform in which he claimed many things, one of which was to leave well enough alone, to undo the changes of previous regimes and to allow the city to return to its storied and glorious past. Yet, in his first days in office, what has Sheridan Driscol done" He has appointed a Council of Ministers, eight people, to assist him in governing the city. Remember your roots" There is nothing in Rhydin's roots remotely approaching a ruling council, but Governor Driscol claims the establishment of such a body is for our own good. How can one person effectively govern Rhydin, he asks. Perhaps he should take a lesson from ex-Governor O"Helston or ex-Governor Simon, neither of whom needed the level of support Driscol already relies upon in his extremely young tenure. To make matters worse, Governor Driscol chose his cabinet in a matter of mere days, nowhere near long enough to have strenuously vetted the applicants, to see if they not only truly understand their posts, but can perform their newfound jobs with genuine efficiency. Remember your roots" There are no roots here.

In his campaign, Governor Driscol also promised to make no decisions without the majority of Rhydin's citizens agreeing with those decisions. Perhaps he takes his election victory as unilateral discretion that the people will wholeheartedly accept his decisions, for he asked for no quorum, no vote, and indeed no feedback from the people before unilaterally deciding to create these ministerial posts. Interestingly enough, the creation of the Council and the selection of its members will be the first and only decision the Governor will allow himself to make. Governor Driscol has promised, once the Council of Ministers is established, never to make an actual decision on his own. Did we elect a Governor" No. We elected a marionette. In his inaugural speech, Governor Driscol stated with gusto, ?"Let this be my first act as Governor, the appointment of a Council of Ministers, should you, the People, find it meets with your approval." Yet, he sought for and asked for no approval. To make matters worse, Governor Driscol went on to claim that "any decisions made will be approved by a majority vote amongst the Council of Ministers at all times."

Perhaps, then, it was a mistake to appoint an even number of Ministers. Since Governor Driscol will make no decisions without a majority vote from the Council, and since he is not part of the Council, his opinion, by his own admission, will hold no sway in the voting. And what happens if there's a 4-4 tie" Your guess is as good as anyone else's, for that scenario apparently escaped our new Governor's mind. And since Governor Driscol promised that "every concern of the common citizen looked into," we can only imagine the minutia that will bury both the Council and the Governor, who, as you remember, cannot make any decisions without the Council's express agreement via majority vote.

And what of the "Good Samaritan Militia" Governor Driscol advertised in the days leading up to the general election' We've heard nothing since. What of all the good deeds done since the days of the election, each and every one of which were promised a reward" As Governor Driscol said, "Vote for me, Sheridan Driscol, and I'll see to it that your good deeds do not go unrewarded". Again, we've seen and heard nothing that can lead any of us to believe Governor Driscol can or will follow through on this lofty promise. In fact, we know that he won't. It's up to the Council of Ministers to decide. What qualifies as a "good deed?" It doesn't matter what the Governor thinks...it'll be entirely up to the Council of Ministers to figure it out. Assuming they don't deadlock, that is.

Keep watch, Rhydin, as we certainly will in the coming days. Keep watch over this man who you chose to lead us all and, who thus far, has done his absolute best to siphon off the responsibilities of leadership to anywhere but exactly where they should belong'squarely on his own two shoulders.

Darien Fenner

Date: 2010-08-17 22:54 EST
August 15, 2010

Press Release: From an anonymous source, received August third.

Dear Governor Driscol,

Effective immediately, I hereby tender my resignation from my position as Minister of Justice for the City of Rhy'Din.

I feel I am no longer able to effectively fulfill my duties, due to a lack of support, and general disinterest from the public. It has become clear to me that the people of Rhy'Din do not want a justice system; therefore, as the role of the government is to serve the people, I find my position to be unnecessary.

I appreciate the opportunity to serve this city and its citizens.

Sincerely,

Riley O'Rourke

"And Justice for None". Apologies for the lateness of the post!]]

M. Sergei Vitko

Date: 2010-09-09 13:59 EST
September 9, 2010

Submitted to the RhyDin Post and other various publications. It is titled "A Necessary Institution" and signed only with the initials M.S.V.

I have heard naught but troubling echoes of vapid dissidence and poorly educated malcontent among my fellow citizens of late, and it has left a bitter flavor in my mouth for however briefly I may have tasted the fruit of competence in this land. After months and years of begrudging silence, a duty, nay, an honor has been charged to me, and one that I must express to the greatest degree I am capable of, lest I suffer the foul tastes of foolhardiness and indignation again as I sup this eve.

I speak of course of the matter of slavery, and address those infantile and unworldly knights who claim to seek justice on behalf of the enslaved. These callous gulls shriek and proclaim shrilly unto their neighbors justifications for "abolitionism" and the eradication of the slave trade. But these folk are blind, not only from arrogance and self-righteousness but from an evident state of being that already exists in perpetuity. This state cannot, must not be reversed if Rhydin's way of life is to continue sans conflict or compromise. And I say unto you, it is not in man's nature to compromise.

These benighted individuals brandish their weapons at you, they threaten you, they squawk and babble breathlessly of "equality for all" at you even as they live and breathe in such a place that prospers largely owing to the very institution they deprecate. Those souls may exist under the illusion that we live in a modernized, free-labor realm, but little do they know that the currency with which they fund their freedom campaigns is just as sullied with the sweat of slaves and their masters as it is with the blood of liberators. Little do they know that strong prebourgeois legs support the body of our society, and keep our lives smooth and efficient as they presently are. They bark at you to banish forthwith an institution with which is bound not only the wealth and prosperity of our great city, but their existence as a free and loquacious political community.

I say unto you, the foundation of so effective a labor system, the cornerstone of such a pivotal trade in galactic society, rests upon the great and invariable truth that one being is not equal to another. Surely you cannot boast so pompously of a diverse, multi-class society and in the same breath claim that there are not such different men from one another as souls from bodies and sentients from beasts"

I do not mean to say that slaves are incapable of critical thought; else, how are they to be adequately trained to perform to a master's standards of behavior" I say merely that once a slave has been acquired, the identity of a slave's character is transformed from a potential to a property. It becomes nothing more than a vessel capable of carrying out tasks, and it is precisely this vessel that becomes invaluable to my brothers in trade. Without a master's direction and constant supervision, these vessels become naught but mindless, demented, and useless shells of an instrument physically incapable of functioning in a higher order. I have personally seen with my own two eyes so very many freed slaves who have become so distraught that they have either returned to their masters and begged to be collared or have done away with their own lives purely by choice. Those who did not make one of these two decisions were naught but useless excuses for sentient beings that for the rest of their lives did not contribute to society.

And still these knights say that these slaves are better off without their masters"

My brothers have told me time and again that their personal vassals have declared that they prefer servitude, that they desire their masters to control the outcomes of their lives.

And still these souls bellow against our heads and paper our streets with notions of freedom"

I say unto you, the system that these knights rail against is partly responsible for their way of life. Displeasure burns in my veins as I try to imagine a world where slaves are equal to their masters and left to their own devices to bring about the ruination of our great city. I tell you now, the consequences would be far too grave to fathom.

I assure you that the only goals your screeching abolitionist brothers harbor are those that bestow conflict and suffering on the Rhydin people. They will not rest until the very foundation of our livelihood has been shaken, and the basis of our economy marred. Like the fruit of Adam, they will spoil our very being with so foul an idea that will live on in perpetuity, taint the blood of our children with the bitter poison of inferiority, and alienate our future brethren.

I ask only that all who read these words pay no heed to these squawking knights of Rhydin, who rally only for the destruction of our way of life, and for the condemnation of those lives that we now protect.

Your Humble Brother, M.S.V.

CARNAL

Date: 2011-11-04 17:32 EST
::Submitted anonymously to the POST two nights ago::

"Hello readers of Rhydin. Due to the time of year we find ourselves basking in, I thought it fun and appropriate to entertain you all with a fun and scary story. Thank you sincerely for your gracious attention to my humble little tale, and I shall try to tell it so as not to bore you with trite prose.

It was once said that the most horrible of creatures is one who knows no difference from right and wrong. I have always felt that it is the ones who fully well know that difference, and yet still pursue the frightening descent into darkness with a pleasant smile, who are deserving of the Abyss's many bejeweled crowns. It is their stories which make the blood of the sheep run cold.

Well my friends, let me tell you this yarn of a "woman" of an eerie sort. A spectral creature damned to this world who drifted in and out of many such stories like a ghost through a bone yard. She was ever-changing and always famished for the next scent of helpless quarry. It was her methodology. It was her providence.

This wonderfully macabre lady had a fine palate for the taste of children's flesh and a delightful fetish undying for their gorgeous, flowing locks. Hair was a crown after all, and crowns are meant to be boldly worn and, in some cases, murderously stolen.

It was oft said in frightened whispers that this fiend wielded cruel, lengthy shears like a demonic harvester; bathing in gore and ravishing the fear out of her unfortunate prey in order to survive. She had her way, murdering the various oodles of little bastards who wandered too far from home; forever leaving their disconsolate parents to cry like whimpering simpletons. Good times indeed to be had by all!

Well as this tiny tale goes, some odd twist of fate on one dismal Autumn eve, this "Knife Lady" as she was dubbed by hushed voices, was drawn away from the art of opening up little tots to see them bleed, by a rather dark and omnipotent source of evil. It called to her like a lost lover; like a convivial angel. The voice tickled her elegant ears and appealed to her adoration of gratuitous carnage.

"To the house of corpses...", it whispered, "To the house of transgression..." it crooned like a snake dragging itself through the dry leaves, "...There is work for you restless spirit, work that will saturate your black soul and in turn satiate your enduring appetite for bloodletting. Make haste and go. Go..."

Now the Knife Lady's eyes were wild and blustery, a rich shade of chocolate brown or perhaps a tawny hue of amber" They were fluid, they were cryptic. It was blissful destiny that this sinister creature wished to heed these open words from beyond.

To the "House of Transgression" this maniac did venture. As she passed through the shadows and by the many gossipers of the eve, she resisted the temptation to steal breath and blood from them or from their frail offspring. She finally arrived at her destination, at long last. The "house" was naturally unattended to, and in consequence had fallen into a state of lonely decay. Impressive it was in its design, nevertheless, massive and looming over its area of the city like a psychopathic colossus. The woman silently entered. There was not a touch of resistance to her steps.

Down. Down. Down. Down. Down the many stone stairs she glided, and then around the labyrinthine corridors she slipped until she reached the unholy room filled with bones, decomposing flesh, and crushed wreckage.

The cavernous voice again reverberated with omnipotence to her, but this time with in a maligned rhyme:

"Dig the path clear, and make waste of this mess, Dig the path clear, and behold wonder 'oh vice of the flesh. Underneath you shall find a monster like you, Trapped within you shall loose a demon most true. She will rise and partake in your reign of fear She will aide you in stealing what these sheep hold most dear. Set her free as I wish and I promise to thee, That unto you shall be given the most seductive of keys."

And dig the butcher did with a grace like no other, tearing and ripping until at long last she found what was lurking down there in the dark. Her strong, gloved hand delved into the jagged rubble and was ultimately met by a fist of razored steel.

There in the dim haze, blood soaked leather melded with flesh stained iron. A new pact was soon forged. It was shaken upon and sealed with a rigid grip of malice and conjoined malevolence. One pulled, the other rose.

The wicked "house" then yawned with a definitive and otherworldly snap and the dead violently screeched. As the decaying, eyeless skulls gazed at this inexplicable affair, the vibrations of pandemonium and murder were heavy in the air. The great sigh was felt on the very wind and the stench of rot and death seeped throughout the vicinity, beyond the confines of this immense, baneful "house". A resolute call was made on the wind to the waiting eyes or, more appropriately, Fangs hidden within the very city in which you rest your sleeply little heads.

The slaughter of small children would be just the mere beginning, so the rumor goes, as extermination of all free life was the goal, after all.

Ghosts and goblins" Flesh and blood" They are out there somewhere wretched readers, this "Scissor Stalker", "The Red Lady", and all their playful friends. Best keep your little ones indoors.

And so the story goes....

~ANONYMOUS BALLOONS

*The tale explaining how this yarn came to be, can be found here: http://rdi.dragonsmark.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=21564

PrlUnicorn

Date: 2018-09-24 02:34 EST
23 Sept 2018

Tomorrow, when you wake, you will have a new Governor in office. It has been my pleasure for the past year to serve this city as your elected Governor. I hope that the next person, or people as the case may be, taking the reins of the office will have a positive impact on Rhydin and her citizens.

It has been said that the Governor of Rhydin is just a figurehead. While in essence that is true, it takes a strong figure to head up and support projects that are very much needed to create better lives for those living in and arriving in this place. A place that many of us have come to call home. Each candidate has his or her own ideas about what is needed most. Those that I heard speaking at the debate made fine points about their own causes. Regardless of who wins the election, I hope that each candidate will not let title or lack thereof stop them from achieving their goals in helping their fellow citizens. I shall continue to work toward improving emergency services, healthcare, and education for and of our citizens and offer any assistance that I am able to give to the new Governor.

Sincerely,

Colleen MacLeod-Fenner Governor of the City of Rhydin