Stevenson

Character Name: Alexander C. Stevenson Home State: Mississippi Previous Job: Politics (Congressman, Governor, Mayor, or lower rank) Date of Birth: 04/15/1956 Race / Ethnicity: White Religion: Protestant Christian Wealth: Upper Class Gender: Male Sexuality: Heterosexual Are you married?: Yes How many children do you have?: 6 Name: Alexander Stevenson Full Name: Alexander Curtis Stevenson Avatar: Remy Danton, Former Chief of Staff House of Cards Party: Republican Birth: April 15th, 1956, in Ozana, Mississippi Residence: Biloxi, Mississippi Family Info: Married to Belle Stevenson on August 27th, 1979. Has 6 children. Jonah, Isaiah, and Joseph(triplets born on August 1st, 1980), Victoria Wilder(born on April 3rd, 1982), Alexandria Bevin(born on June 7th, 1983), and Reverend Lionel(born on July 16th, 1985). Religion: Southern Baptist Educational Info: Bachelor's of Arts in International Relations from Ole Miss in 1979. Occupational Info: Chief of Staff of House Republicans Foreign relations Committee staff, 1979-1983 Mayor of Biloxi, Mississippi, 1983-1989 Member of Congress for Mississippi's 5th Congressional District, 1989-2001 - Chairman of the House Foreign Relations Subcommittee on the Middle East & North Africa(1995-1997) - Chairman of the House Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights, and International Organizations(1997-2001) Chief of Staff to Secretary of State Colin Powell(2001-2003) Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs(2003-2007) United States Permanent Representative to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization(2007-2009) Secretary of State of State of Mississippi (2011-2015) Secretary of State Designee(2019) View full character

Name: Alexander Stevenson Full Name: Alexander Curtis Stevenson Avatar: Remy Danton, Former Chief of Staff House of Cards Party: Republican Birth: April 15th, 1956, in Ozana, Mississippi Residence: Biloxi, Mississippi Family Info: Married to Belle Stevenson on August 27th, 1979. Has 6 children. Jonah, Isaiah, and Joseph(triplets born on August 1st, 1980), Victoria Wilder(born on April 3rd, 1982), Alexandria Bevin(born on June 7th, 1983), and Reverend Lionel(born on July 16th, 1985). Religion: Southern Baptist Educational Info: Bachelor's of Arts in International Relations from Ole Miss in 1979. Occupational Info: Chief of Staff of House Republicans Foreign relations Committee staff, 1979-1983 Mayor of Biloxi, Mississippi, 1983-1989 Member of Congress for Mississippi's 5th Congressional District, 1989-2001 - Chairman of the House Foreign Relations Subcommittee on the Middle East & North Africa(1995-1997) - Chairman of the House Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights, and International Organizations(1997-2001) Chief of Staff to Secretary of State Colin Powell(2001-2003) Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs(2003-2007) United States Permanent Representative to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization(2007-2009) Secretary of State of State of Mississippi (2011-2015) Secretary of State Designee(2019)

Te same woman resopnds Thank you, Congressman, for your clarification on that issue. While I disagree with your stance on a woman's right to choose, I really like you on almost every other issue. Knowing that federal funding does not go to the abortion services that they provide, thanks to the Hyde Amendment, would you support ending federal funding for the Planned Parenthood centers right here in Chicago, who provide a wide range of important healthcare services for Chicago women?

A young Hispanic woman walks up This is to all the Congressman and Congresswoman here. There are millions of people who look like me, who support throwing my own parents in prison for simply overstaying a prison. My parents have been here for many years- working hard, paying taxes, but without papers. Should they go into prison for that? Should they be taken away from me, sent back to Guatemala, for that, for simply trying to realize the American dream?

An African-American woman, who looks between the ages of 60 and 70, walks up to the podium Congressman, You're a pro-lifer representing a district that is D+28. How can you reconcile those views while accurately representing the district, a majority of whose voters are pro-choice?

Hispanic male voter walks up to the podium Congressman, The president has signed legislation attacking sanctuary cities such as this one, Santa Fe. El Presidente wants to attack our people and drive us out- what will you do to stand up for us? Will you fight on our behalf to make sure that our city stays a sanctuary city, for the benefit of all its residents, and that our city does not get its funding gutted by people who hate people who look like me in the White House?

European Election Roundup- Fillon and Erdogan score big wins while Theresa May narrowly holds onto her place at Number 10, Downing Street There were three major European elections in this past quarter, and they all were fairly important. The Turkish constitutional referendum, that was widely seen to strengthen Recip Erdogan's grip in power, was narrowly won by the AKP and supporters of the constitutional reforms his party chose. Francois Fillon and Les Republicans scored a big win, an election they were originally favored to win, then they had to scrap from behind, but still pulled out the Presidency and a Parliamentary majority. And, lastly, Theresa May just barely held onto her spot as Prime Minister, as the Tories shockingly lost 13 seats- though the DUP agreed to prop up a Conservative minority government with a confidence & supply agreement. We'll have analysis of the French and British elections, here. France- Francois Fillon becomes the 25th President of France PARIS- Just earlier this week, former Prime Minister Francois Fillon was elected the President of France, just barely getting out of the 1st round and cruising through the second round against Marine Le Pen, in what was the stunning rise of the French right. Socialist President Francois Hollande has had approval ratings in the single digits for the last year or so, and it showed at the polls, when France's mainstream left party, Parti Socialiste, placed in 5th in the 1st round, in their worst ever electoral performance. In France, each party can run a candidate in the 1st round, and if nobody gets 50%, the top two candidates go to the second round. Marine Le Pen won the first round with about 25% of the vote, a record for her party, FN, a far-right party who supports French withdrawal from the European Union. The election between the remaining three candidates was close, with Fillon winning 21.5% of the vote, Macron winning 20.9% of the vote, and Melenchon, the communist candidate, winning 20.3% of the vote. Fillon was the heavy favorite, as those who lost began to endorse him to prevent Le Pen from becoming President, just like what happened when her father miraculously got to the second round in 2002. However, in the second round, turnout was low, as many among the French left, especially Melenchon, accused Fillon of being 'Le Pen lite'. He specifically said that both candidates "were the same, Fillon just wears brighter lipstick." Fillon was elected with 58% of the vote, to 42% for Le Pen, a watershed mark for her party. His party then easily won a majority in the French Parliament, to ensure that he will be able to govern domestically. He ran on a pro-business platform, and he promises to clash with France's powerful labor union sector. He wants to put an end to France's famous 35 hour work week, and raise the retirement age. He is also a social conservative who considers himself pro-life, and is against same-sex marriage, though he has promised not to legislate on the issues of abortion or gay marriage. On foreign policy, he wants closer relations with Russia, as he has praised President Putin in the past as a 'pragmatist', and has supported ending EU sanctions on Russia for their invasion of Crimea. He has also publicly supported working with Bashar Al-Assad, the embattled Syrian leader who is currently winning, though has not won, his civil war, to defeat ISIS. United Kingdom- Theresa May holds onto her residence at Number 10 Downing Street LONDON- Prime Minister Theresa May took a gamble, and lost, in the British elections. Since the Brexit vote, her party had been consistently leading in the polls against Labour by very large margins, consistently leading by double digits. With a small majority, just 330 seats in the 650 seat body, so a majority of just 14, she wanted to expand that majority before the start of Brexit talks. She likely saw an opportunity to drive a stake into the heart of Jeremy Corbyn's political fortunes, and with some time before the start of Brexit negotiations, she would be able to strengthen her hand in Brussels and in London over the issue, by coming away with a much larger majority, to give her more leeway and strength at the table. It is safe to say that the idea feel apart entirely. Theresa May lost her gamble, in a strange, and interesting way. The Tories, who had one seat in Scotland, won 12 more seats in Scotland, giving them 13 Scottish MPs. The American political equivalent of Scotland, in terms of consistently being left-wing without any real right-wing base, is a state like Massachusetts. The Tories had not won this many seats in Scotland since 1983. Those results looked, of course, like a coming Tory landslide. It was a different story elsewhere across the Untied Kingdom. The Tories butchered their campaign in their English heartlands, losing 22 seats in England, and a further 3 in Wales. Jeremy Corbyn, who was expected to get blown out, had a successful election not by winning a majority, but by defying expectations that were essentially on the floor that not only did Labour not get wiped out, but they made some serious gains. Heading into Brexit negotiations, we will see how this dynamic plays out, as a score of major issues will have to be settled before March 29th, 2019, the date when the United Kingdom officially leaves the European Union. The only major surprise for her cabinet was naming Andrew Rosindell as a member of the cabinet, and creating a new Secretary of State for the British Overseas Territories, transferring responsibility for issues regarding the Overseas Territories, the sovereign base areas, the Crown Dependencies, and Gibraltar, from the Foreign Office to that cabinet office. It is widely expected that they will take up his legislation to grant Parliamentary representation to their Overseas Territories.

Conservatives win 317- 13 seats less than last time, and they will fall 5 seats short of a majority. (1/3) Theresa May & Arlene Foster sign confidence & supply agreement for the DUP to support a Conservative minority government. (2/3) Theresa May is to remain Prime Minister. (3/3)

Francois FIllion gets out of the 1st round, and with French political establishment against Le Peon, cruises to a 58%-42% victory over Le Pen in Round 2 (1/2) To become the next President of the French Fifth Republic. His party, Les Republicans, also win a majority in the French Parliament. (2/2)

Erdogan wins constitutional referendum by the slightest of margins- 50.7% to 49.3%. Opposition rejects vote, saying it was not held under free and fair conditions.

I will be doing an update every quarter on reactions to various bills that are considered by the House of Representatives. By default, I will be covering bills that are taken up by the full House that America's partners & allies and everyone else have an interest in. If there are any bills that people want me to cover, please send me a message giving a link to your bill and which countries(if any) you want to know their reactions.

Theresa May calls for an early election, before the beginning of Brexit negotiations. Parliament votes to hold early election. Conservatives heavy favorites to build on their current majority.

Fitzgerald Administration deepens ties with el-Sisi with first visit to the Middle East CAIRO- President Fitzgerald took his first visit to the Middle East to Cairo, Egypt, becoming the second straight President to have his first trip to the Arab World happen in Cairo. Secretary of State Blenheim has been working closely with the Egyptian government over the past few weeks, and the two countries moved closer in the realm of international politics. Egypt is known as America's chief ally in the Arab World, outside of the Gulf states, and Egypt is one of two countries in the Arab World to have a peace treaty and diplomatic relations with the State of Israel- establishing them in 1979. Relations had been strained during the Obama Administration in the aftermath of the Arab Spring, when he became unpopular with the current regime for seeming to support the Muslim Brotherhood during the Arab Spring protests, and unpopular with the Muslim Brotherhood for refusing to call el-Sisi's rise to power a military coup d'etat. What was announced was the restoration of cash-flow financing for Egypt, which essentially allows Egypt to buy weapons from the U.S. on credit. It had been in place since 1979, as Egypt and Israel are the only two countries in the world that have had access to this benefit. Amid human rights concerns about the el-Sisi Administration and straining relations between the two countries, President Obama ended this in 2015. Secretary of State Blenheim joined him on the trip, in what has generally been hailed as the President's first major foreign policy victory. Secretary Blenheim even took a veiled shot at this move in the press conference announcing the move in Cairo, saying that "Unlike previous policymakers in Washington, President Fitzgerald understands how important Egypt is as our friend and partner for peace." By all accounts, the meeting went extremely well, and he signed the executive order to provide cash-flow financing to Egypt, in Cairo. The President said that "This financial arrangement will make it easier for the United States to offer our vast arsenal and resources to Egypt’s courageous military." It was hailed by policymakers inside of Egypt, including President el-Sisi himself, who said that this move would 'certainly reverse the unfortunate decline that Egyptian/American relations had during the last 8 years". And via the move, President Fitzgerald and his Administration have appeared to show themselves as firm supporters of the present government. This was not well received in all corners, however. Human Rights groups, like Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, vigorously opposed President Fitzgerald's move to deepen ties with America's traditional allies in the Middle East. Human Rights Watch said that 'el-Sisi is a tyrant, and more weapons in his hands means that he will have more ways to oppress his own people, with him defining terror as anybody who is not an avid supporter of his.' HRW has previously accused el-Sisi of using torture against Egyptian citizens. Egyptian Coordinaton for Rights and Freedoms, an Egyptian human rights group that has long been an opponent of the el-Sisi government, accused President Fitzgerald of 'failing to act' in regards to human rights abuses in Egypt, and saying that the United States should work more for human rights within Egypt. This has been an issue, of course, that many U.S. Administrations, both Democratic and Republican, have ignored in regards to Egypt, as Hosni Mubarak was accused of much of these same abuses. Of course, this comes against the backdrop of Egypt recently withdrawing a resolution criticizing Israeli settlements that they had introduced to the United Nations Security Council. It has sparked calls that these recent moves to restore cash-flow financing, and the visit to Cairo and the appearance of the Presidents together, were in exchange for Egypt dropping the Security Council resolution. This was, of course, vehemently denied by officials at the Egyptian Foreign Ministry, though an anonymous member of the cabinet of Mahmoud Abbas, the President of the Palestinian Authority, said that there was 'no way President Fitzgerald was doing this for free'.

Qatari hunters who were kidnapped in 2015 in Iraq, including members of the House of Thani, have been officially brought back to Qatar. (1/2) There is no word on what Qatar gave up to get these hostages back, which seems to be the result of a negotiated settlement. (2/2)

Prime Minister Trudeau of Canada said to be 'excited' about the advancement of Keystone legislation through the House.