State of the Forum Address (#2)

[Ebowed]

As the second month of the Twelfth Senate concludes I'm proud to say that this Senate has been active and more productive than previous sessions.  Among its accomplishments are statehood for Puerto Rico, the Electoral System Reform Act (more on that later), a repeal of the restrictions of asbestos, and a Constitutional Amendment clearing up issues with the time a voter registers in a new state and his eligibility to vote in the Senate election taking place in his new state.

After months of work the Senate passed the Electoral System Reform Act which, among other reforms, established a First Past the Post with Run-off method of voting in federal elections to replace Instant Run-off Voting, on the condition that the adoption of this syetm passed a public nationwide poll.  I signed the legislation to allow for this vote to take place (and to sign in the other reforms that this bill contained, such as the end of disenfranchisement of voters in presidential elections who do not list a VP candidate on their ballot), but am very pleased to report that the vote failed, and we will continue to use the preferential voting system.  I think smaller parties and organizations in Atlasia should be particularly pleased with this result as it protects them from the fear that their parties will be overtaken by larger parties in an effort to build coalitions and ensure smaller fields of candidates.  The preferential system is by no means perfect, but no system ever will be, and IRV is one of the best options despite its flaws - so I am glad we have retained it.

The situation in Puerto Rico was resolved earlier this month thanks in part to military force authorized by myself and Southeast Governor Cosmo Kramer.  After stopping an offensive force of Puerto Ricans in Florida we retook the island territory, stabilizing the situation and ensuring it was back in the full control of Atlasian hands.  The Senate simultaneously passed legislation making Puerto Rico a state Atlasia after the citizens held a vote on the oppurtunity, which I vetoed and they successfully voted to override.  A vote was held in Puerto Rico, and after two somewhat suspicious recounts, the result was certified at 51.8% in favor of statehood and 48.2% opposed.  Congratulations to Puerto Rico on becoming the 51st state!

Meanwhile, in Guam, there were violent protests in response to my veto of the Pacifican Statehood Bill, which allowed for Guam and other territories in the Pacific Ocean (which were not all close to each other) to have a vote on statehood.  I vetoed this bill because I found it to be imperialistic and unnecessary.  As far as these violent protests go, I was upset that the reaction of some was to respond to them by attempting to hold another vote on giving them what they want - that is certainly not how we should treat violent protest.  In order to quelch the violent protests and stabilize the situation in Guam, I ordered 80,000 troops to go there.  Arriving in record time, the reaction in Guam was mixed at first but now deaths have ceased, protests have become peaceful and instead of riots we are dealing with a boycott of Atlasian goods.  This certainly must be a chore for Guamians participating in the boycott, as many of their products are Atlasian.  Nonetheless, I am glad that the situation is now peaceful there and that the violent riots have, for now, ended.

In Nepal, following the assassination of King Gyanendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev, a seven-party coalition was able to take control of the government over Maoist rebels.  The State Department has extended its full recognition and support to the new government.  We are glad that the seven-party coalition has been able to take control so quickly and wish them luck in helping Nepal recover from the events that led up to this, as well as stopping the violence and hostility caused by the Maoist rebels.

Our midterm elections took place with little error and controversy; run-offs for two of the races are taking place as I speak.  In the mean time, I'd like to congratulate Senators Dave Hawk and Gabu on their successful re-elections and Sen.-elect Virginian87 on his victory in District 2.  Secretary of Forum Affairs Ernest has established a new commission on laws relating to the way elections are handled, in an effort to clear up issues in our current statutes.  I encourage the Senate to give due consideration to the SoFA's proposals when they are ready.  The regions will shortly be considering an amendment to allow for flexibility in the time that the Secretary of Forum Affairs opens and closes federal voting booths.  This is meant to clear up issues between the new and old times that the booth opened and any discontent that people had with the new voting time.

As always, I remind every citizen to vote, even in votes that are considered "minor"; making your voice heard for every regional election, constitutional amendment ratification, and other polls is absolutely necessary to ensure that the federal and regional governments know that they are doing what citizens request of them.  With every vote that is cast, no matter how minor, our democratic and lawmaking process is strengthened - don't hesitate to vote when you have the oppurtunity to do so.

Thank you.