Mock Presidential Race pt. 2

Also, wherever a member of the Royal Family is, their word is law in the Empire. They speak for the Emperor and -- unless contradicting a known Imperial Edict, their commands must be followed. These are the most trusted of individuals in the Empire as they have the full authority of the Emperor. To facilitate the act of populating the family -- as well as to create a hierarchical structure within the Royal family -- this branch of the government shall be organized into the Imperial Court of Wives and the Imperial Harem.

The Imperial Harem will be under the authority of the Imperial Court of Wives with the Empress as it's head and the Emperor as head over her. Secondly, the Imperial Harem will house a large conclave of virgin women -- culled from the population -- each with noble hearts from which to select future members of the Court of Wives. This Imperial Harem will also have adopted young men and women to serve as spouses for the princes and princesses of the Royal Family.

All men of the Royal Family may only select women who have been vetted by and admitted to the Imperial Harem. Thus the future line of the Royal Family shall have only those added whom are genuine women of faith and noble of character. All of the boys born into the family are to be raised in the Imperial Harem and will be vetted by the Harem to ensure they are raised with the same noble character that is asked of all members of the Royal Family. All women of the Royal Family will have the same restrictions as the men. The girls born into the family will also be raised with the same principles as the boys.

If a prince of the Royal Family chooses to marry from outside of the Imperial Harem, they must disavow their claim to the Imperial Throne. Similarly, if a princess of the Royal Family chooses to do the same, she also must disavow her claim to the Imperial Throne. However, if either Prince or Princess chooses a spouse that is accepted by the Imperial Harem for adoption into the Royal Line, then they would become eligible to retain their claim to the Imperial Throne. Only the Imperial Harem has the power to bring in new people to be adopted into the Royal Line for vetting and they are chiefly responsible in ensuring that all members of the family -- whether born into or adopted into the Royal Line -- live up to the high estate for which they have been afforded.

Thus it is that Imperial Power is placed entirely upon the Emperor. The Empress and the other Imperial Wives have his authority from the Imperial Throne. Beneath them are the Princes and Princesses with authority granted by the Court of Wives as appropriate. They too act with the Emperor's authority when away from the palace as well as in substitutionary authority during a practice or trial phase sitting upon the throne (i.e., while the majority of the Imperial Family is on a vacation).

When the Emperor is away from the throne, the Empress sits on his throne. If she also is away, then another wife or else one of the royal children of established age shall sit on the throne. Because of this, at no time will the entire royal line leave the Imperial Palace at the same time except for emergency situations. Normally, at least three must remain behind to oversee Imperial Matters.

The second branch of the government is the Council of Governors. Similar to the U.S. Senate and the UK House of Lords, the Council of Governors oversees the general legislative policies of the Empire. But, unlike Congress or Parliament, these are not elected representatives of the people. Rather, a Governor is appointed by the Emperor and he has Imperial power over his region. He commands the Empire's general forces stationed within his region and speaks for the Emperor in his region. Each Governor has liberty to rule their region with local politics as they see fit so long as their policy does not conflict with general Imperial policy nor contradicts Imperial Edicts from the Emperor or any of his family -- acting on his behalf -- within the Governor's region. As the Royal Family gets larger over the generations, it is assumed that many will become Governors as the lineage to the Imperial Throne would get saturated with many claims.

Because Governors can sometimes make poor judgements or become too harsh, the third branch of government must exist. This branch has less power than the Governors yet this one is important and answers to the throne. This is the Congress of the People and it operates similarly to the US House of Representatives and the UK House of Lords as representatives of the interests of the people. The difference between the Congress of the People and The Council of Governors is that this governing body does not work with the Council of Governors as part of the legislative body.

This branch is entirely separate from the legislative body and is primarily responsible for bringing grievances and concerns of the people to the attention of the Imperial Throne. They can recommend laws to the Council of Governors but they cannot enact them.

This branch operates counter to the Governors, not in synchronicity with them. Thus, for the purposes of nobility and justice, due to the efforts of the Congress of the People, the Empire shall reign in poor behaviors of it's Governors as is needed. The Empire must prove to humanity that it is a noble and just empire and that is does have concern for the individual. Only citizens of the Empire may vote for and become members of the representative members of the Congress of the People.

The fourth branch of government is the Religious Council. This is a group of specially appointed theologians whose entire purpose is to ensure the holiness of the Empire by keeping the Imperial Throne in check with the Word of God. They are singly responsible for ensuring that whatever teachings of and to the Royal Line are consistent with Biblical principles and of that which were established from the Imperial Throne through Imperial Edict. This body, the Religious Council, is the only branch of government that may question the Emperor without fear of prosecution.

Similar to the Congress of the People, the Religious Council has the ear of the Emperor but they also have the power to unseat an Emperor and give the throne to a different member of the Royal Family. They must have this authority as representatives of God and of His prophecy such that they can overrule any future member of the Royal Line that -- as Emperor -- wickedly goes against his forebears and rules without God as his guide.

In the rare event that such a need arises as to replace the Emperor or even to establish an outside regent due to a lack of available Royal Family members of established age, then the Religious Council has authority over the Palace Guards and over all Imperial forces in the Imperial Capital during the interim. This is a necessity to ensure that no wars within the Royal Family may occur as power belongs only to one member of the family at a time, without conflict.

Furthermore, in the unlikely and highly unusual occurrence that the entire Royal Line is eliminated due to acts of war, pestilence, insurrection, willful abdications, or other causes, it falls to the Religious Council to select a new Emperor and to select a new Council of Wives out of the Imperial Harem from which to generate a new Royal Line. However, to avoid conflict of interest, No current or past member of the Religious Council may ever sit on the Imperial Throne. In the event that the Royal line must be replaced, the title, "Diabolical Throne" must be retired and a new title shall be established for the Imperial Throne as is desired by the future Emperor.

Finally, whereas Governors are selected by the Emperor or a member of his Royal Family, and Congress members are elected by the people, the established Religious Council is an oligarchy in structure and thus it must choose it's own replacements -- similar to the College of Cardinals of the Catholic Church. Only in it's founding is it's top members to be selected by the Imperial Throne. Also, in the event of a total decimation of this branch, the Imperial Throne must select a new group of core councilors in accordance with dictates of the Bible. Thus, due to the duties of the Religious Council, both it and the Imperial Throne are closely tied together at the hip.

Whereas many governments have a separate judicial branch, in the United Christian Imperium, the Emperor and his Royal Family have absolute rule including in all judicial decisions. In addition to Imperial laws and judicial decisions, when issued, an Imperial Edict is the highest law proclaimed from the Imperial Throne. On occasion -- when necessary -- for example, due to controversy or due to a question of ethical basis -- an Imperial Edict may be subject to review by the Religious Council and may be overturned by an extra-super-majority vote of the council (that's two thirds plus half of a third (5/6th) of all votes). Incidentally, this same extra-super-majority of votes by the Religious Council must occur for an Emperor to be deposed from the throne. This is the only legal way in which an Emperor may be unseated from power in the Empire.

In common judicial matters, the Governors of each region may establish local courts as they deem necessary to maintain justice. But, as mentioned previously, Gubernatorial law is subject to Imperial law. For cross-regional matters, either a joint court established by the Council of Governors or else a member of the Royal Family may oversee the issues at hand. Separately, for all spiritual matters of the people, in addition to the Royal Family, the Religious Council may hold court to ensure that the faith is protected and that the Word of God is adhered to in all aspects of Imperial life.

Only loyal citizens may participate in official matters of the Empire. For citizens, the following basic rules apply.

Elections are conducted by the Congress of the People and all Elections are available only to loyal citizens. Also, membership in all positions within all branches of the Imperial Government is restricted to loyal citizens. In addition, service in the Imperial Armed Forces is restricted to loyal citizens. However, in times of crisis, non-citizens may be admitted, willingly, on a temporary basis so long as they pledge their loyalty to the Empire and to the Emperor with the understanding that their continued service is contingent upon their eventual acceptance as citizens of the Empire.

Citizenship admittance is governed by the Religious Council and the council is responsible -- among the population of citizens -- for verifying loyalty upon those rare occasions where a citizen's loyalty comes into question. As would be expected in any elite system as highly esteemed as that of a theocratic empire, citizenship is highly restricted. Only professing Christians who admit to being born-again may even be allowed to take the oath to God, to the Emperor, and to his Empire in order to become citizens.

There are absolutely no other restrictions placed on citizenship in the Empire except that a person must be of a minimum age of accountability as is determined separately for each individual by the Religious Council. As such, a citizen could -- in theory -- be as young as five or six years of age or an individual might not be considered eligible for citizenship until they are even nine or ten. Each person reaches an accountable age differently so this number must be variable. No person is born as a citizen; all must pledge their loyalty to the Emperor and to his Empire and to his God.

However, despite the young age in which citizenship is possibly achieved, only adults may vote in elections. In the United Christian Imperium, sixteen is considered an adult for all practical purposes. The age of adulthood is also the consenting age of marriage though a parent of a young adult may object to marriage until as late as the age of twenty-one in some circumstances.

Normally, the Imperial Armed Forces require a minimum age of twenty-one for enlistees and twenty-five for officers. Thus, adolescent young adults are restricted from enlisting in the Imperial Forces except in times of national crisis. In such times as these, the minimum age may be dropped to as low as sixteen -- which was previously declared to be the age of adulthood. But, like with marriage, a parent may object; but only until as late as eighteen. Conscription is neither needed nor required as most younger citizens will desire the unique benefits of having served in the Imperial Armed Forces.

Having served bestows special privileges that do not expire throughout the citizen's lifetime. Such privileges may include guaranteed preferential treatment in business matters, an acknowledgment of service at any special ceremonies, honors and examples of service will be the norm and many loyal businesses will offer discounts to current and past soldiers. Additionally, depending on the level and length of service, a permanent pension will ensure that loyal citizens who have served are always able to rely upon the Empire that they so willingly pledged their lives to defending.

Finally, for citizens, Imperial Taxes will be levied as necessary for each region by the Governors. The Imperial Throne will receive a portion of each Governor's taxes as budgets allow but the primary source of revenue for the Empire's national interests will be provided by profitable holdings of the Royal Family. Since the Empire follows the basic principle of no taxation without representation, only citizens are required and even allowed to pay any taxes in the United Christian Imperium.

Non-citizen residents of the Empire do not receive any of the privileges of citizenship but they also do not pay taxes. As mentioned in a previous section, non-citizens can't vote but can be accepted into the Imperial Armed Services in times of crisis as deemed necessary by the local governors of each region with the intent that they will become citizens in the near future.

There are several personal responsibilities of every citizen. Among these are requirements that -- as Christians -- they actively serve God and attend regular Church services as they are able. The are expected to follow the basic codes of conduct of the Bible as enforced and interpreted by the Imperial Throne and by the Religious Council.

Citizens are expected to represent the Empire's nobility in their dealings with others and a failure to act in a manner according to the teachings of Jesus and the apostles may cause one to face a series of reprimands and punishments from the Religious Council and the Imperial Throne as needed. However, in most cases, the local community and -- usually -- even just the family will have regards in these issues.

Non-citizens are expected to live peaceably with their Christian citizen counterparts and adhere to certain requirements. Among these requirements naturally expected of all Christians -- but enforced among non-citizens -- are basic morality issues such as: no sexual congress outside of a legally recognized marriage between a man and a woman. No chemically-based birth control agents and no abortive processes or agents may be used at any times by any individuals within the bounds of the Empire. Any person found to have left the Empire temporarily to have received these services and/or chemical agents will be restricted from re-entering the Empire.

Although non-citizens may conduct fair businesses without taxation, preferential treatment may be given to Imperial Citizens. However, discrimination due to non-citizenship for basic services will not be allowed. Healthcare is a privilege but not a right and non-life-saving medical services must be payed for by the individual. There is no insurance allowed but prices of healthcare shall be restricted to economically-based values and not the whims of a liberal set of values led by secularistic economic interests. Profit among the healthcare industry will naturally be driven by competition among market forces and not by regulations.

False religion (i.e., any spiritual teachings apart from Christianity) may not be taught to children and may not be practiced nor proselytized within the Empire. There is an exception for Judaism in which case it may be practiced within the home and taught to the children of Jewish descent. However, Jewish children must be allowed to participate with the Christian education that all other children receive. Despite this, Judaism is respected in the Empire and Zionism among Hebraic persons shall not be restricted so long as it does not directly conflict with Christianity in the Empire.

The Imperial Throne recognizes that our Christian faith adopts us into the House of Israel (of the Hebrews) -- specifically of Jewish lineage (of Judah, through Jesus, [that is] of the tribe and line of Judah, a son of Israel (Judaic origin)) -- and thus all Israelites and Jews of Hebraic descent and all adherents of Judaism will receive a special Imperial dispensation to allow for their continued religious practices so long as they don't infringe upon Christian practices within their local communities.

Hillsdale College is a private, non-sectarian, coeducational, liberal arts college. It has a long tradition of patriotism. Four hundred students (proportionally, the most of any college in the country) fought for the Union in the Civil War, four of whom gained Congressional Medals of Honor. It was first college in America to officially prohibit any discrimination based on race, religion, or gender. Hillsdale College does not accept federal or state subsidies.

The rigorous core curriculum is rooted in the enduring truths of the Western tradition. It is one of only two colleges in the nation to require all students, regardless of major, to take a class in the U.S. Constitution. In addition to the core, all students take classes on Western Heritage and American Heritage. As Hillsdale’s mission states, “Through education, the student rises to self-government.”

Through Hillsdale College’s Washington, D.C.–based Kirby Center, students may take part in the Hillsdale-Washington Internship Program (WHIP), which provides students internships in places like the White House, Congress, think tanks, and media outlets.

Conservative-leaning on-campus clubs include College Republicans, Young Americans for Freedom, Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE), Classical Liberal Organization, Fairfield Society, and Students for Life.

• Established in 1844
• 1,400 students
• 1.5 hours from Detroit, 3 hours from Chicago
• Fewer than 50% of applicants admitted
• Average SAT score: 1980
• Notable alumni include Arizona Cardinals offensive tackle Jared Veldheer; U.S. Representative (Indiana) E. Ross Adair; slavery-born African-American pastor and educator Jared Maurice Arter; and U.S. Representative (Michigan) Henry M. Kimball

[all emphases mine]

...what makes Hillsdale different from so many other colleges and universities is the source of that financial aid.

To maintain our institutional independence, we accept no state or federal funding—even indirectly in the form of student grants or loans. All of our financial aid packages are made possible by the gifts of hundreds of thousands of generous donors nationwide. Most of these supporters are neither alumni nor parents of graduates; they give because they believe in the need to teach the principles of liberty and independence that Hillsdale has taught and exemplified since its founding.

You still have to fill out a form, but many families find that our Hillsdale College Confidential Family Financial Statement (CFFS) is far simpler to fill out and less invasive than the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). We’re happy to answer any questions you may have. And we’ll work closely with you to tailor a package to fit your family’s situation.

[all emphases mine]