Mideast Assembly Thread

[Queen Mum Inks.LWC]

Right now, I am adamently opposed to a Con Con.

As am I.

Why?

We just passed a new constitution.  Why do we need a new one?

You realize this is a federal convention, right?

I realize that your CC is.  I thought Hashemite wanted a regional one.

[Queen Mum Inks.LWC]

Alright, so I'd like to open debate on a federeal constitutional convention (since I'm now pretty sure that's what Hashemite was referring to).  Citizens, supporters, opponents, make your arguments to me.

[Queen Mum Inks.LWC]

I'd like to see at least 2 major things that people want changed in the Constitution before I would decide to vote AYE.

[Queen Mum Inks.LWC]

None of those which I'd support.  lol

[Queen Mum Inks.LWC]

None of those which I'd support.  lol

Why do you oppose the first measure?

I see no reason to change to 3 regions.

[Queen Mum Inks.LWC]

None of those which I'd support.  lol

Why do you oppose the first measure?

I see no reason to change to 3 regions.

Hs the ineptitude of your region not told you anything?

And if it continues, I'll run for Governor in January.

[Queen Mum Inks.LWC]

The Mideast does not run smoothly, lol.

But I'm not sure reducing the number of regions would make regional governments more efficient.

But at least we might have competitive elections instead of a situation where 11 out of 17 registered voters hold office of some kind.

Sure, and all these matters could be debated. I think reducing the regions would make things more competititive, and that would lead to more competent leadership.

That's basically why I think the convention is a pretty good idea. Gives everyone a chance to talk about these issues.

I'm still not convinced that a CC would be good for us.  If a vote was held today, I'd be voting against it.

[Queen Mum Inks.LWC]

My big problem with the 3 regions idea is that it may break up a very active region.  If we remove a region, it should be one that isn't active.

and suggestion?

If we remove a region, I would suggest it be either the Pacific or Midwest, as they seem to be the least active; perhaps cutting down on the number of At-Large Senators, and increasing the frequency of elections.

that's basically my problem....we need direct authorization from any region we want to integrate with another. I wonder which region would voluntarily agree to be broken up.

We wouldn't need any authorization in a CC.  The Const. would be redrafte and then voted upon.

[Queen Mum Inks.LWC]

I posted the following in the thread to recall Benconstine, but since I made the following speech on the floor of the Assembly, I'll also repost it here:

You must be logged in to read this quote.

[Queen Mum Inks.LWC]

My big problem with the 3 regions idea is that it may break up a very active region.  If we remove a region, it should be one that isn't active.

and suggestion?

If we remove a region, I would suggest it be either the Pacific or Midwest, as they seem to be the least active; perhaps cutting down on the number of At-Large Senators, and increasing the frequency of elections.

that's basically my problem....we need direct authorization from any region we want to integrate with another. I wonder which region would voluntarily agree to be broken up.

We wouldn't need any authorization in a CC.  The Const. would be redrafte and then voted upon.

Right, but apparently 4 regions would have to ratify any decision made by the convention, if my understanding is correct. (which is a good thing, it'll prevent anything completely idiotic from happening.)

Right, but it's not specifically asking 2 regions, "Can we merge you?"  Hypothetically, one region could say no.

[Queen Mum Inks.LWC]

My big problem with the 3 regions idea is that it may break up a very active region.  If we remove a region, it should be one that isn't active.

and suggestion?

If we remove a region, I would suggest it be either the Pacific or Midwest, as they seem to be the least active; perhaps cutting down on the number of At-Large Senators, and increasing the frequency of elections.

that's basically my problem....we need direct authorization from any region we want to integrate with another. I wonder which region would voluntarily agree to be broken up.

We wouldn't need any authorization in a CC.  The Const. would be redrafte and then voted upon.

Right, but apparently 4 regions would have to ratify any decision made by the convention, if my understanding is correct. (which is a good thing, it'll prevent anything completely idiotic from happening.)

Right, but it's not specifically asking 2 regions, "Can we merge you?"  Hypothetically, one region could say no.

yeah, that's true, I suppose.

Don't you think, though, that giving people the chance to vote on it in a constitutional convention would be a net gain in almost any case, though? The end result would be certain to, at the very least, be approved of by the vast majority of Atlasians.

As I've argued before, it would be an attention getter and would hopefully increase general interest.

But is that fair to the merging regions?  What if we merge 2 regions and one of the to-be-merged regions votes against it, but the other 4 vote for it?  That's unfair to the to-be-merged region in my opinion, and considering my stance on regional rights, I cannot vote for something that would allow for such a travesty.  Now, if I could be guaranteed that a scenario like that could not happen, I would be more likely to vote for the CC.

[Queen Mum Inks.LWC]

Can someone introduce an amendment?

Good Government Amendment

The office of Governor is hereby devolved upon Inks.LWC in perpetuity.

Remind me again why you even bother to live somewhere other than the Mideast?

[Queen Mum Inks.LWC]

Can someone introduce an amendment?

Good Government Amendment

The office of Governor is hereby devolved upon Inks.LWC in perpetuity.

Remind me again why you even bother to live somewhere other than the Mideast?

I'd do a competent job as Governor, and we can't have that.

Of course we can.  We had me, and hopefully in January, we'll have me again.

[Queen Mum Inks.LWC]

On the following matter:

The Mideast Assembly refers the matter of whether to petition for a Constitutional Convention to a public vote.

I vote:

NAY

I would like to call on Governor Afleitch to propose this as a proposition.  In my opinion, this is something that ALL Mideasterners should have a say in.

[Queen Mum Inks.LWC]

On the following matter:

The Mideast Assembly refers the matter of whether to petition for a Constitutional Convention to a public vote.

I vote:

NAY

I would like to call on Governor Afleitch to propose this as a proposition.  In my opinion, this is something that ALL Mideasterners should have a say in.

Umm..a public vote is exactly what is being suggested in this legislation...

Sorry, I misread that.  However, we cannot authorize a proposition.  Only the Governor can do that, and the people would be voting on whatever we voted on, so the people would be voting on voting on the convention.

We need to introduce legislature that directly petitions for a Constitutional Convention, and then the Governor will put it up as a proposition for the people to vote on.

I hereby introduce legislature that petitions for a Federal Constitutional Convention as follows:

The Mideast Assembly petitions for a federal Constitutional Convention.

[Queen Mum Inks.LWC]

bump (to keep on 1st page)

[Queen Mum Inks.LWC]

We can't just do a proposition.  The Constitution doesn't allow it.

[Queen Mum Inks.LWC]

Due to Franzl's absence, I'm officially the Speaker of the House (we just need somebody to get this done quickly).

I hereby bring the following resolution:

The Mideast Assembly petitions for a federal Constitutional Convention. (sponsored by Inks.LWC)

This will be a 48 hour vote.  Franzl is excused from voting.

[Queen Mum Inks.LWC]

On the following resolution:

The Mideast Assembly petitions for a federal Constitutional Convention. (sponsored by Inks.LWC)

I vote:

NAY

[Queen Mum Inks.LWC]

Due to Franzl's absence, I'm officially the Speaker of the House (we just need somebody to get this done quickly).

On what possible grounds?
For the record, I refuse to recognise the validity of this vote. For crying out loud, its Christmas, there's no rush, especially as the petition of the Mideast is not likely to be crucial.

Fine, you take the position.  The point is, we've been trying to get this done for over a week now, and it hasn't gotten anywhere close to a public vote.

[Queen Mum Inks.LWC]

Peter, do you want to bring my resolution to a vote, this way Afleitch can send it on as a proposition to the people after Christmas?

[Queen Mum Inks.LWC]

There is no procedural resolution allowing either of us to assume the Speaker's Chair. You were so beset on us having a resolution that followed a very exacting formula to avoid a possible breach of the Constitution (and I emphasise possible because I'm not convinced a Court wouldn't have allowed my text), and now we will adhere to a system that does not bypass our own Speaker because he's eating mince pies with his family at Christmas.

Technically, there's not resolution that puts into place what the Speaker does.  We simply elected Franzl speaker but gave him no power.  Technically, we never voted on a procedural resolution to establish the position of speaker.  And the position of speaker is nowhere listed in the Constitution.

[Queen Mum Inks.LWC]

There is no procedural resolution allowing either of us to assume the Speaker's Chair. You were so beset on us having a resolution that followed a very exacting formula to avoid a possible breach of the Constitution (and I emphasise possible because I'm not convinced a Court wouldn't have allowed my text), and now we will adhere to a system that does not bypass our own Speaker because he's eating mince pies with his family at Christmas.

Technically, there's not resolution that puts into place what the Speaker does.  We simply elected Franzl speaker but gave him no power.  Technically, we never voted on a procedural resolution to establish the position of speaker.  And the position of speaker is nowhere listed in the Constitution.

Actually we passed a resolution setting out the Powers of the Speaker during the first Assembly.  I believe it was our first act.

I missed that and stand corrected.

[Queen Mum Inks.LWC]

On the following resolution:
The Mideast Assembly petitions for a federal Constitutional Convention. (sponsored by Inks.LWC)

I vote: NAY

[Queen Mum Inks.LWC]

And now the governor can take it to a vote by the people.