The Examiner: Election Tracker

[Franzl]

I suggest just creating a second newspaper for your RPP obsession, since most of the recent articles and comments here seem to be all about them.

I have no love for some of their positions but this is getting silly.

Are you opposed to the freedom of the press?

I think he (and I) would just prefer more meaningful discourse by the press.

That's perfectly fine to feel that way, no worries.

Might I suggest that you create your own newspaper as an alternative? It's always good to have competition.

[Associate Justice PiT]

     I'd say it's rather uncommon for a party to actually have enough Senators for meaningful observations about intra-party politics to occur. I'm happy that someone is taking advantage of this opportunity.

[Lief 🗽]

How is this not meaningful discourse? The RPP currently has a very large edge, as their own leader has made clear a number of times, in the Senate. To ignore that would be silly. Whether you like it or not, they're currently, by far, the most newsworthy party in the game.

[Purple State]

I suggest just creating a second newspaper for your RPP obsession, since most of the recent articles and comments here seem to be all about them.

I have no love for some of their positions but this is getting silly.

Are you opposed to the freedom of the press?

I think he (and I) would just prefer more meaningful discourse by the press.

That's perfectly fine to feel that way, no worries.

Might I suggest that you create your own newspaper as an alternative? It's always good to have competition.

Between the Convention and Mideast Assembly I would rather express my opinion on matters in regular commentary and debate (and through my campaign), rather than start my own paper. In general I don't find anything wrong with The Examiner, but when it falls into continuous RPP-bashing it really does get tiresome.

How is this not meaningful discourse? The RPP currently has a very large edge, as their own leader has made clear a number of times, in the Senate. To ignore that would be silly. Whether you like it or not, they're currently, by far, the most newsworthy party in the game.

There have been some interesting stories in this paper, but Jas seems to have become solely focused on attacking the RPP. Now it's that they lack party discipline. Of course, if they all voted together 100% of the time then he would bash them for lock-step voting behind their party leader. Enough with this already.

If you want to report on the RPP you can note that, due to public pressure, they have publicized their platform. You can report on the Convention (I'd hope that is more newsworthy than the RPP). I don't disagree with reporting on individual parties, but this is simply a constant attack on the RPP by Jas. It deteriorates the integrity of the paper.

[DownWithTheLeft]

I find the level of jealously Jas has for my party humorus.  If venting helps him, let him.  I'm sure if people cared enough about what he did (which frankly they never did) the NWA could run a story on it.

[Јas]

The Examiner

1 April 2009

Rumblings of Dissapproval?

By any standards, President bgwah’s second term has been a quiet one. This is not a great surprise, indeed, it’s arguably something the people endorsed in the last Presidential election having strongly backed bgwah despite a rather reserved first term, and no substantial promise of much different for his second term. Where possible he has been keen to act privately – such as in relation to the recent scandal surrounding Earl’s unexpected absences.

His relative quiescence may have just recently started to get some attention though. This morning, Sen. Franzl voiced his annoyance: “I'm seriously disappointed in the President's inactivity. Get to work, Mr. President!”. The Senator might not be alone in wondering whether the Commander-in-Chief is pulling his weight. Indeed, questions may be asked as to whether the Attorney General has full confidence in the President’s efforts to perform his legal obligations.

Just a few days ago, Sen. realisticidealist introduced The Beginner's Guide to Atlasia Act onto the Senate legislative agenda on behalf of Attorney General Marokai Blue. The bill seeks to replace the Introduction to Atlasia Act – a piece of legislation which gives the President responsibility for the upkeep of an Introduction to Atlasia thread. The measure though has been oft ignored; indeed no President has performed their responsibilities under the Act since its introduction.

The Attorney General’s draft is almost identical to the original act in every way – save that it proposes to transfer the responsibilities from the office of the President to the office of the Attorney General. The Examiner has no doubt that Marokai is acting from noble motives; but it may be difficult to characterise the measure as something other than a demonstration of a lack of faith in his boss’s activity.

[Marokai Backbeat]

Indeed. I didn't want it to seem like I was trying to push for more power for myself simply for the sake of a power grab, or that I didn't have faith in the President, but I would definitely have more trust in myself in crafting a detailed and informative guide for beginners.

[DownWithTheLeft]

Wow, the RPP stories are gone??  Maybe I'll need to do something drastic

[bgwah]

Just a few days ago, Sen. realisticidealist introduced The Beginner's Guide to Atlasia Act onto the Senate legislative agenda on behalf of Attorney General Marokai Blue. The bill seeks to replace the Introduction to Atlasia Act – a piece of legislation which gives the President responsibility for the upkeep of an Introduction to Atlasia thread. The measure though has been oft ignored; indeed no President has performed their responsibilities under the Act since its introduction.

Can't say I knew that was my responsibility, to be honest. Though I suppose the fact that I never saw any of my predecessors doing it may have something to do with it.

[Marokai Backbeat]

Just a few days ago, Sen. realisticidealist introduced The Beginner's Guide to Atlasia Act onto the Senate legislative agenda on behalf of Attorney General Marokai Blue. The bill seeks to replace the Introduction to Atlasia Act – a piece of legislation which gives the President responsibility for the upkeep of an Introduction to Atlasia thread. The measure though has been oft ignored; indeed no President has performed their responsibilities under the Act since its introduction.

Can't say I knew that was my responsibility, to be honest. Though I suppose the fact that I never saw any of my predecessors doing it may have something to do with it.

I'd be happy to take over the responsibilities, if the Senate moves on the legislation this month.

[bgwah]

Just a few days ago, Sen. realisticidealist introduced The Beginner's Guide to Atlasia Act onto the Senate legislative agenda on behalf of Attorney General Marokai Blue. The bill seeks to replace the Introduction to Atlasia Act – a piece of legislation which gives the President responsibility for the upkeep of an Introduction to Atlasia thread. The measure though has been oft ignored; indeed no President has performed their responsibilities under the Act since its introduction.

Can't say I knew that was my responsibility, to be honest. Though I suppose the fact that I never saw any of my predecessors doing it may have something to do with it.

I'd be happy to take over the responsibilities, if the Senate moves on the legislation this month.

Isn't this just a temporary solution to the supposed problem that is only convenient right now, though? Perhaps in a year's time, the AG won't want to do it and the SoFA will. Or maybe the President will want to do it again. If such positions still exist.

Perhaps it should be changed to something along the lines of "Maintaining the Introduction to Atlasia thread will be the President's responsibility, though he may delegate it to a member of his cabinet if they are willing"

[Marokai Backbeat]

Just a few days ago, Sen. realisticidealist introduced The Beginner's Guide to Atlasia Act onto the Senate legislative agenda on behalf of Attorney General Marokai Blue. The bill seeks to replace the Introduction to Atlasia Act – a piece of legislation which gives the President responsibility for the upkeep of an Introduction to Atlasia thread. The measure though has been oft ignored; indeed no President has performed their responsibilities under the Act since its introduction.

Can't say I knew that was my responsibility, to be honest. Though I suppose the fact that I never saw any of my predecessors doing it may have something to do with it.

I'd be happy to take over the responsibilities, if the Senate moves on the legislation this month.

Isn't this just a temporary solution to the supposed problem that is only convenient right now, though? Perhaps in a year's time, the AG won't want to do it and the SoFA will. Or maybe the President will want to do it again. If such positions still exist.

Perhaps it should be changed to something along the lines of "Maintaining the Introduction to Atlasia thread will be the President's responsibility, though he may delegate it to a member of his cabinet if they are willing"

I view it merely as an extension of the AG's power when it comes to updating and maintaining the Wiki, although the AG isn't solely responsible for that of course. Opening an introductory thread and maintaining one doesn't seem to be that difficult and is pretty much in the same vein as the aforementioned responsibilities.

[Јas]

The Examiner

4 April 2009

Bacon King To Stand Down

Sen. Bacon King (JCP) has announced he will not be running for re-election. The Senator didn't offer any further comment on the reasoning behind his decision to leave the body at the end of this, his 5th term in the chamber.

Eyes may now turn to the JCP to see whether the party will be putting forward a candidate to defend a seat they've held for over 2 years.

----

Examiner Poll: Senator Approval

The latest Examiner Opinion Poll snapshots public opinion of the 5 incumbent Senators whose seats are up for election later this month.

The returns so far disclose very strong favourability ratings for Sens. Franzl and Lief coming to the end of their first terms of office. Sen. Franzl has both the highest 'strongly approve' returns (57%) an the lowest disapproval ratings of any Senator. The returns should come as some comfort to both heading into the upcming election. The results give some credit also to the retiring Sen. Bacon King also. He leaves the body with a 2 to 1 favourability rating.

RPP Senators South Park Conservative and DownWithTheLeft appear to be much more divisive than their colleagues - Sen. DWTL almost achieving a dead-even split in approval/disapproval terms. He also registers the most 'strongly disapprove' returns of any Senator (45%).

	Approval -	Disapproval -	Net Approval
Franzl (DA)	76.2%	4.8%	71.4%
Lief (SPD)	76.2%	14.3%	61.9%
Bacon King (JCP)	57.1%	28.6%	28.6%
SPC (RPP)	52.4%	38.1%	14.3%
DWTL (RPP)	50%	45.5%	4.6%

[DownWithTheLeft]

I don't know if approval ratings really provide too much comfort in this style of elections.  Do I doubt that heads up Franzl would most likely beat me? No.  However, I think very few would say that no RPP candidates are going to be elected in the next election

[Purple State]

Interesting stuff there. Bacon King will surely be missed. And I want to congratulate my fellow DA party-member Franzl on his outstanding job in the Senate and great results in the approval rating poll.

Perhaps a more accurate series of polls could be done where people vote for their first preferences, and then the last place is dropped, followed by second preferences, etc. until you get 5 "winners." But that's up to how you want to run things.

[Franzl]

Interesting stuff there. Bacon King will surely be missed. And I want to congratulate my fellow DA party-member Franzl on his outstanding job in the Senate and great results in the approval rating poll.

Thanks PS. I don't see what's been so outstanding, of course, I've just been trying to do my job and get sensible bills passed. Thank you for the kind words, though, they're much appreciated, and I wish you the best of luck in your quest to join the Senate. I'm sure we could work well together.

[bgwah]

Eyes may now turn to the JCP to see whether the party will be putting forward a candidate to defend a seat they've held for over 2 years.

Oh my, it has been a while hasn't it? I wonder if that's a record.

[Јas]

Perhaps a more accurate series of polls could be done where people vote for their first preferences, and then the last place is dropped, followed by second preferences, etc. until you get 5 "winners." But that's up to how you want to run things.

The polls aren't really intended to predict the election result - I don't believe a polling effort for the 5 seats is really doable to a sufficient degree of accuracy to be worthwhile.

The approval ratings are worthy enough in themselves, IMO - though I do think that one can draw a number of conclusions from them which are useful in considering how the election may play out.

[Associate Justice PiT]

Eyes may now turn to the JCP to see whether the party will be putting forward a candidate to defend a seat they've held for over 2 years.

Oh my, it has been a while hasn't it? I wonder if that's a record.

     How many parties have existed continuously in any significant form for over two years?

[Јas]

The Examiner

5 April 2009

Southeast Considers Monetary Independence

Th Southeast region is currently balloting on a number of propositions, including the Freedom of Currency Amendment. The measure, put before Southeasterners for the second time, proposes to remove Atlasian dollars from circulation in the region in favour of a Southeastern currency backed by (presumably as yet inexistent) gold reserves.

The proposal appears to be in direct contradiction with the federal Constitution. As stated in Article 1, Section 5.8, the Senate shall have the power "to establish coin and currency, which shall be the sole legal tender of the Republic of Atlasia, regulate the value thereof, with respect to other coin and currency.To establish coin and currency, which shall be the sole legal tender of the Republic of Atlasia, regulate the value thereof, with respect to other coin and currency."

The legislation would appear to be a declaration of monetary independence from the Republic of Atlasia - an economic secession from the Union. As of yet, the federal government has not yet offered any response to the proposal which would have very significant implications for economics and trade in Atlasia.

[Purple State]

How would at play out when the federal government sends funding, I would assume in Atlasian dollars, if the SE doesn't accept them.

[afleitch]

How would at play out when the federal government sends funding, I would assume in Atlasian dollars, if the SE doesn't accept them.

Probably conversion. However what you actually get after that would depend on the strengths of both currencies.

[DownWithTheLeft]

We would simply convert the money and we will still have Atlasian dollars, that's why it is the "Freedom of Currency Act", it allows for the people to choose which currency they want.

VIVA LA DIRTY SOUTH!

[Purple State]

We would simply convert the money and we will still have Atlasian dollars, that's why it is the "Freedom of Currency Act", it allows for the people to choose which currency they want.

VIVA LA DIRTY SOUTH!

So how long before the President takes your region to court?

[DownWithTheLeft]

We would simply convert the money and we will still have Atlasian dollars, that's why it is the "Freedom of Currency Act", it allows for the people to choose which currency they want.

VIVA LA DIRTY SOUTH!

So how long before the President takes your region to court?

I don't intend anyone taking us to court, and if they do we will fight it tooth and nail