Given by His Excellency, President Kevin Baugh
26 May 2011 XXXIV
My Follow Molossians, treasured friends and family, Greetings.
This day marks the 34th anniversary of the founding of our nation, a nation that today stands as the foremost small nation in the world, a symbol of self determination and personal sovereignty, and of imagination, creativity and resourcefulness. The past year has amply demonstrated our initiative to do mighty things with our nation as we ever strive to make Molossia an ever greater place.
Last June marked our second visit to the far flung province of Desert Homestead, in Southern California, since it became a part of Molossia in 2005. During this auspicious tour of the largest single territory of our nation, the First Lady and I marked the boundaries of the province and above all raised the Molossian flag for the first time over the sere desert, establishing it formally as a part of Molossia.
Also in June 2010 our new water tower was inaugurated, bringing the sight and sound of running water to Red Square. Subsequent to that, tiny Molo Lake was dedicated to receive the runoff from the Tower, completing the first active water feature in our dry desert land.
Molossia’s fame, already international, has exploded over the past year through the media of the social networking site, Facebook. Although our Facebook page has been around since the fall of 2009, the invasion of the Kickassians in spring 2010 brought Molossia an even greater deal of notoriety, and main vehicle of this celebrity has been via Facebook. Through Facebook, fans of Molossia can ask questions about our nation, and the First Lady and I always do our best to respond to them. This has proven to be an invaluable tool for helping the world learn about Molossia and the world of small nations in general, and has inspired many others to found nations of their own.
Offline, Molossia continues to be a popular place to visit; last summer and autumn saw several tourist visits. We continue to welcome travelers to our nation and always will, as we are very fond of showing off our tiny Republic to the world.
Our Navy made headlines in the past year, as well. Last summer, the First Family participated in naval maneuvers on nearby Lake Tahoe, for the first time ever. During that exercise, the Navy took part in shore- and water-borne target practice aboard the Platypus and Bandicoot, as well as general vessel maneuvering. In addition, in January 2011, the Navy launched the redoubtable Seahorse Diving Bell through the ice of a nearby pond, exploring the frigid depths below. This is the first such mission for the Seahorse and we are very proud of its performance.
Molossia continues to support the microfinance program Kiva, which helps finance entrepreneurs in developing nations. In the past year Molossia has helped fund two budding business men in Africa, one of who has already nearly paid off his loan to us. Inasmuch as Molossia itself is a developing country, it only makes sense to help out others in the small way we do, and thus hopefully make the world a better place.
Never shy about promoting Molossia abroad, the First Family and I appeared again in the Nevada Day Parade last autumn, which is held in nearby Carson City, Nevada. The 2010 parade marked the fourth time that Molossia has been represented in the parade, a tradition we intend to continue for many years to come.
In addition, The First Lady and I traveled to Washington DC, the United States capital, for a tour of that beautiful city. Over a two-day period, we visited the monuments and sites of that city, enjoying the history and significance of the capital of the free world. Our excursion around Washington was documented on video by Kevin Wells, as a part of larger project about Molossia. He later visited our nation to complete his project in April of this year.
Regarding some of our nation’s other accomplishments, the Molossia Ministry for Air and Space Exploration launched the Pegasus Unmanned Aerial vehicle last autumn, taking a series of unprecedented aerial views of a nearby park on its historic flight. The Molossian Naval Infantry took part in a Winter Warfare exercise in the snowy Sierra Nevada Mountains this last winter, honing their combat skills to thus remain a formidable fighting force with which to defend our nation. On a related note, our nation marked the 10,000th day of the War Against East Germany in February 2011. As there is no end in sight for that conflict, keeping our military at peak fighting strength continues to be of paramount importance. On a more peaceful note, the long dormant Molossian Institute of Volcanology emerged back in the news with a visit to the nearby Soda Lakes craters, performing valuable research there. And finally, Molossia came to the aid of our friend and ally, the Kingdom of Vikesland this very month, as rising floodwaters threatened their Royal Embassy. We continue to pledge our support to that nation, as their flood crisis continues on to this day.
As we review our accomplishments, we must also look ahead to the future. We never rest in Molossia and we always seek new and greater achievements. This coming year we have planned a State Visit to the Great Republic of Rough and Ready, new Naval missions to Donner Lake and the Carson River, and the first ever Misfit Regatta race on Misfit Flats. Our biggest event in the coming months shall be the Presidential Wedding of the First Lady and I, taking place in September. It promises to be an historic, gala event.
And so, as we look back on the events of the past year and forward to our plans for the future, we do so in the secure knowledge that we can accomplish anything as a nation. There is no obstacle that the Molossian nation cannot overcome and no vision that we cannot make a reality. One of our adages is “dream the impossible dream”, but no dream is impossible for the mightiest small nation on earth. I am proud to be a part of these dreams and to lead our grand nation into the future.