Texan Times

[Yawoo]

In his first national address since taking office Chancellor Croix has unveiled the first stage of his campaign pledge to fully secure the nation. Calling his proposal Joint Operations Command Alamo, or J.O.C.A. for short, the plan will immediately seek to secure Texas’ borders via manned and unmanned means. In speaking about his proposal the Chancellor commented that, “the borders are Texas’ first line of defense and therefore their security is paramount”. While the Chancellor has yet to reveal the entire J.O.C.A. plan, his office did confirm that the nation has partnered with Virtus International to build and maintain miles of automated turret systems called Wardens which can detect humans up to 3km in total darkness or 4km in daylight. The turrets will be able to engage in ground, air or sea targets with a variety of weaponry from 40mm grenade launchers to machine guns, it will be the nation’s largest defense purchase to date. The turrets will be housed in underground silos to ensure their protection and maintenance capabilities. In speaking of the Warden system, Chancellor Croix said, “the Wardens are just the beginning of my promise to dramatically scale back costs associated with maintaining the nation’s large border patrol forces”. An anonymous source in Austin confirmed that the Warden system will be able to communicate wirelessly to call in backup as well as coordinate with other border security systems yet to be announced.

OOC: Based on the [url="http://singularityhub.com/2010/12/16/south-koreas-robot-machine-gun-turret-can-see-you-coming-3-km-away/"]Super Aegis II[/url]

[Yawoo]

Austin,

Chancellor Croix's campaign promise to secure the nation's borders has passed its final hurdle as the Socialists and the Greens squeezed the first article of J.O.C.A. past the Conservatives and the Nationalists today in a closely contested battle. Though the public has overwhelmingly supported J.O.C.A.'s cost reductions opposition lawmakers have cried out against the removal of thousands of jobs as J.O.C.A. axes border patrol agents in favor of machine protections. Speaking out against the the law, M.P. David Buchanan of Arlington said, "The Chancellor's plan puts undue hardship on thousand of loyal Texans protecting our borders - it's madness what he's doing and I will continue to protest J.O.C.A. and all of its articles until Chancellor Croix cancels the Warden program."

Virtus International, the company partnering with the government issued a short statement once J.O.C.A. passed through parliament, "Virtus International is pleased to be working with the Texas government to strengthen its borders and provide security for millions of people. We will be ready to start the Warden project a week earlier than schedule which will further add savings to the nation's taxpayers."

Chancellor Croix issued a statement congratulating parliament on their work and made a surprise announcement that the second phase of J.O.C.A. would be issued for parliament's review within a month. Though the Chancellor wouldn't comment on what the second phase would be anonymous sources in Austin say that the Chancellor is seeking to overhaul Texas' energy production capabilities.

[Yawoo]

Austin,

In a broad sweeping energy reform bill Chancellor Croix has pushed through changes to the nation's energy production facilities. In a win for his own party the Socialists, the government will now provide tax subsidies to all homeowners that purchase a personal green energy device (solar panels, wind turbines, etc.). As part of the Texas-Green bill - the nation will develop wind and solar fields in federal land to provide an alternative green energy source. New nuclear power stations will be built to provide an alternative power means should the grid need more power, natural disasters or military actions put the green fields out of service. The Conservatives lamented the bill as being too expensive. The Cons failed to push through their own version of an energy bill focusing on domestic oil and coal facilities. Under Chancellor Croix's bill Texan oil supplies will be directed for export as new green infrastructure is built. In other news, Virtus International announced the successful completion of 20% of the Warden System.

[Yawoo]

Classified:

With tensions already high over Cascadia the military was angered when they viewed Greenland's invasion of ATO soil via satellites. Immediately, preparations were made to deploy on two fronts. Canadian and Cascadin. Virtus International was urged to speed up production of the JOCA Warden program as a precaution. Troops (20,000) loaded transport vessels and were deployed to the Canadian protectorate. The Holy Ursalian Empire would be contacted ahead of these landings and asked to send in their own troops to prevent further Greenlandic aggression. The American Treaty Organization would be alerted to Greenland's aggression and asked to provide their own troops.

[Yawoo]

Breaking News -


Austin,

Chancellor Croix called a special press conference this afternoon to inform the nation of recent developments. Parliament, in an emergency session, has voted to withdraw the nation from the American Treaty Organization. Troops dispatched to the former Canadian nation have been withdrawn back to their home bases. In speaking about the former Cascadian nation Chancellor Croix said, "The Republic of Texas maintains that the Americas are for American nations, but without support from fellow neighboring nations we have no choice but to accept the foreign encroachment."

[Yawoo]

Austin,

As tensions rise across the North American continent and following satellite imagery of increased Cajun troops at Texas's border Chancellor Croix has unveiled another part of his J.O.C.A. plan. Following better than expected reports of alternative energy and nuclear production facilities (OOC: 5% done), in a joint signing ceremony with the Greens and Socialists, Chancellor Croix has announced a massive cross-nation high speed rail project (OOC: Essentially, my explanation for the interstate system). In all places the new Trans-Texan Railway will have multiple lines dedicated for military as well as civilian use. This comes at the heel of a very spirited debate in Parliament over how to reduce the nation's carbon emissions while at the same time keeping the nation's infrastructure moving. In a surprise move several members of the Nationalists crossed party lines to support the rail project. Attached to the Trans-Texan Rail bill was a highly touted Chancellor backed bill to provide unnamed aerial drone coverage of the nation's borders. In speaking about the bill Charles Fountaine, the nation's former representative to the American Treaty Organization, and the man many view as a successor to departing Foreign Secretary Marlene Johnson, stated "Unmanned drones are virtually invisible to modern radar and all but silent as they patrol our nation's borders. Truly, this is yet another great step for J.O.C.A. and Chancellor Croix as Texas's borders gain an added layer of security in these times of tension."

[Yawoo]

Dallas,

In front of the Colossus Building in downtown Dallas Chancellor Croix held a press conference this afternoon to update the nation on his many large construction projects. In a surprising turn of events, Virtus International C.F.O. Marilyn Pievel joined with the Chancellor to announce the successful completion of nearly 45% of the Warden program - a higher competition rate than previously expected. In speaking of the Warden System, Pievel said, "When Chancellor Croix approached Virtus International with his vision of placing Wardens Systems every kilometer on Texas' borders we were quite skeptical, but Chancellor Croix proved to be absolutely correct in his vision and today I am proud to announce the completion of nearly 45% of all Warden systems. Truly, a great step for the security of Texas." Pievel went on to comment about the possibility of working with the government on other security projects in the future. No doubt, however, the Conservatives will seek to block further cooperation with the Antarctic-based corporation.

The nation's Minister of the Environment joined with Chancellor Croix to unveil new sights of alternative energy production based in the nation's west - massive wind farms are planned on both government and private owned grazing lands. Furthermore, Grant commented that, "A.E.N.P. (OOC: Alternative Energy/Nuclear Production as seen elsewhere in this thread) construction continues to advance with nearly 15% of the facilities built. While the construction pace is slightly down than earlier estimations I am confident that speed will pick up in the later months of the year." The energy portion of the Chancellor's J.O.C.A. has faced sweeping criticism from both the Nationalists and Conservatives who are largely known for their support of oil and coal facilities. In a surprising twist however, Texas Oil, the nation's largest oil company, of which the nation controls the majority of shares, threw their support behind the Chancellor's plan calling it a "needed strategic security move [and] a great way to provide jobs for hardworking Texans". C.E.O., Walter Amdale hinted that Texas Oil may recently undiscovered a large deposit of oil, and "[Texas Oil] will begin drilling as soon as proper permits are acquired" when question however, Amdale refused to say where the deposit is located.

The Trans-Texan Railway continues to recieved broad support from the Socialist, Greens, and in an odd move by the nation's Nationalist party. The Conservatives breaking with their Nationalist allies have continued to voice criticism for the plan. Progress continued to move forward with roads being demolished to provide faster routes for the mass transit system. Rumors have recently surfaced from the Chancellor's mansion in Houston that a new law may be introduced before Parliament requiring every city with a population of over 30,000 to provide a inter-city transit system to further reduce the nation's reliance on individual private vehicles. The nation's largest manufacturer of automobiles, Standard Auto stated that they're prepared to lobby against the bill with, "all necessary resources to prevent the Chancellor from further putting hardworking Texans out of jobs" when asked to comment on the manufacturer's comments, the Chancellor's residence provided no comment.

Edited July 21, 2011 by Yawoo