The United States Pirate Party has launched a new initiative called “Message in a Bottle” to feature editorial letters from supporters on its official website. The project aims to provide a platform for individual perspectives within the party. Two letters have been published so far this month.
A member of the Illinois Pirate Party told Independent Political Report this week that the project was conceived by Pirate National Committee Captain* Drew Bingaman. The idea stemmed from expectations that the new Trump administration would prompt many party members to want to express their views on various political issues. The new initiative offers a structured way for those voices to be heard.
“We are a collective, and we wish to highlight the opinions of diverse Pirates from around the Republic. To that end, we created a process by which Pirates can submit opinion pieces to be published on USPirates.org,” Bingaman said in remarks shared with IPR by the same member.
The member further relayed that the party originally intended for these articles to be published as editorials in its Through the Spyglass newsletter. However, the decision was made to launch a separate project dedicated exclusively to supporter submissions. Those interested in contributing can submit completed pieces to Bingaman, preferably through the party’s official Discord server.
The first letter, published at the start of the month, was submitted by a Pennsylvania Pirate Party member using the pseudonym “Forward Thoughts.” The piece promotes the Pennsylvania affiliate, the national party, and the broader worldwide Pirate movement. The second letter, published last week, came from an anonymous supporter writing under the pseudonym “Al Noneemus” and focuses on the two-party system.
While there are no plans to establish a fixed publication schedule, the party has adopted a one-letter-per-week maximum policy to ensure each submission receives adequate visibility. Otherwise, articles will be posted as they are received.
*Editorial note: The Captain of the Pirate National Committee holds a role equivalent to that of a chair.
“In reality, the Pirate Party probably has more diversity of opinion than most other parties, with the POSSIBLE exception of the Libertarian Party”
Like true pirates, they share tendency for opportunistic alliances.
@Bigdick Bubley
Your comment makes NO sense. It implicitly postulates the false presumption that everyone in the party shares the same views about everything – like some kind of hivemind – and that any view differing from that of this hivemind, would be “antithetical”. THAT is silly and disparaging.
In reality, the Pirate Party probably has more diversity of opinion than most other parties, with the POSSIBLE exception of the Libertarian Party – at least formerly – and the Liberal Party USA.
https://independentpoliticalreport.com/2024/12/pirate-and-transhumanist-parties-explore-opportunities-for-potential-collaboration/#comments
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@WZ
Good thinking. The “pirate queen” madam Zheng allegedly even identified as a “sea goddess” and styled herself “empress” at some point. So the possibilities for self-aggrandizement within a pirate-themed hierarchy are practically limitless.
@Nuña Your comment makes little sense. Why would a supporter of any party submit an antithetical position to the website to be posted? That’s silly. Just seems outwardly disparaging and not much else. .
Not a bad idea. Though knowing the Pirate Party, I suspect certain types of letters will be published while certain others will not, all because of their content not their form. But I’d be delighted to be proven wrong. You can take that as a challenge, me hearties.
Also, not thrilled about the preference for Discord submission. Not a very pirate platform…
“The Captain of the Pirate National Committee holds a role equivalent to that of a chair.”
Maybe the Chair of the national party should be given the title of Admiral. The state chairs could be Commodores, and the local chairs could be Captains.