Pacific Governor's Press Room

[The Duke]

This is the Pacific Governor's Press Room.  Don't let the misleading title fool you.

[The Duke]

I'd encourage them to seek a promotion- to the Presidency.

[The Duke]

I would like to announce my support for a few initiatives that citizens have put forward.  The first is the Third Trimester Abortion Ban Act.  This bill bans a horrendous practice whereby a fetus is aborted by having its skull crushed and its brains sucked out.

To drive home how truly barbarous this practice is, here is a link to an image of a fetus that has undergone the procedure (I won't post the actual image here it is so gruesome).

http://www.abortiontv.com/images/FetusHeadonSide.JPG

If this image is as disturbing to you as it is to me, you should vote for the ban.

This a procedure that the American Medical Association, the nation's largest professional association for doctors and a group which favors legal abortion, has said should be banned and a procedure they say has no medical value in terms of protecting women's health.

I sign this petition, text below.

x John Ford

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The second bill I announce formal support for is the Protection of Commerce in Arms Bill, written by Vice President Emsworth.  Citizens have a Constitutional right to own firearms, whatever any opponent of the bill may wish were the case.  Unfortunately, some are not willing to accept the will of the people to protect the right to bear arms.  They know they can't get the votes to ban handguns, so they want to sue gun companies into bankruptcy.  This is a cheap and underhanded way to get what you want, and while I support many sensible gun control measures like mandatory trigger locks, waiting periods, background checks, closing the gun show loophole, and banning military caliber weapons, I can't sit back and allow hunters and other law biding gun owners to have their rights assaulted through the backdoor any longer.

I sign this petition, text below.

x John Ford

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The third bill I am formally endorsing is a bill to end affirmative action.  There are many reasons this kind of policy might have been necessary in the late 1960s and early 1970s, but today it simply engenders more hostility between the races when we should be doing our level best to promote comity beteen the races.  It is reverse discrimination, and ultimately in many cases it hurts blacks and browns as much as it hurts whites.

I sign this petition, text below.

x John Ford

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That is all for today.

[The Duke]

I would ask the Governor to offer a significant proportion of the Pacific NG to the people of the Southeast. I would also like to suggest that we can and must offer financial assistance.

I PM'ed Spade a few days ago to discuss doing this very thing, but was told to wait until he takes over as GM to learn what the circumstances are before acting.

[The Duke]

With the news of natural catastrophe from hurricane Katrina, I'd like to offer the services of some of the firefighters, EMTs, and swift water rescue teams to the Southeast Region.

I am also calling forth elements of the National Guard, particularly helicopter and water rescue and medical units of the Guard.  A simple call from the Governor of the Southeast will get these personnel on their way.

I'd also like to encourage Pacific citizens to donate moeny to disaster relief, eitehr through the Salvation Army, Red Cross, or some other reputable organization.

That is all for now.

[The Duke]

With Bono accepting our aid offer, deployment of our committed helicopter and swift water rescue  units and mobile medical forces.

Also being sent are 5 civilian EMTs and one fire engine company from each city with over 100,000 people in the region.

[The Duke]

Ladies and gentlemen, I am proud to announce that all three of my signature initiatives have passed the Pacific Legislature without so much as an amendment, and have been signed into law.  Within a week of my taking office unified our legal and tax codes, consolidated our government bureaucracy, cut taxes for the poor and middle class and on business, and balanced the budget all in one fell swoop.  This is what leadership can achieve when its aims are clear and its dedication is evident.

This is a proud day for the Pacific Region, the first Region to have a unified budget, law code, or tax system.

Now, we begin a new round of voting, this time on legislation submitted by citizens.  We vote on bills banning mandatory drug testing without just cause in the schools, to protect businesses from frivelous lawsuits, to end discrimination based on race, and to protect unborn children.  I urge citizens to vote, as these issues affect you too.

[The Duke]

What is your opinion on the upcoming Senate race? 

So far its just you right?  I plan to vote for you regardless, just wondering.

[The Duke]

What is your opinion on the upcoming Senate race? 

So far its just you right?  I plan to vote for you regardless, just wondering.

No, there's one other candidate.  NOTA.  I shall vanquish NOTA.  Did you know he's been on more ballot than anyone else? 

He's an ambitious fart, I'll give him that.

[The Duke]

I would like to make an announcment.  During my campaign, I promised to place a moratorium of executions in this Region in order to have time to do a full fact finding in every case to make sure no innocent persons are killed.  I also hope to find ways to prevent racially biased application of this penalty.

In this vein, I now announce a moratorium on all executions in the Pacific Region until further notice.

[The Duke]

good, but didnt the Pacific already outlaw the Death Penalty?

https://uselectionatlas.org/FORUM/index.php?topic=19809.0

It was tried and the measure failed.

The death penalty is still legal, but as of today it won't be active.

[The Duke]

Just a notice, so citizens can forumlate their views on this, I will be opening a vote on two bills sponsored by citizens and put before the legislature by yours truly.  With debate on abortion so intricate and the urgency of the minimum wage law, these bills were lost in th shuffle, but debate was opened and no amendments were ever proposed, so I think we can start voting on thm tommorrow when votng on the minimum wage is done.

Protection of Commerce in Arms Bill
Sponsor- Vice President Emsworth

1. The manufacturer or seller of firearms or low-potency explosives shall not be held liable for death, physical injury, or property damage resulting from the use of said firearms or low-potency explosives.

2. Clause 1 of this section shall not apply where:

(a) Death, physical injury, or property damage is the direct result of a defect in the design or manufacture of the product;
(b) The seller negligently supplies the product to a person whom he knows, or reasonably should know, is likely to use said product in an unlawful manner involving unreasonable risk to others;
(c) The manufacturer or seller is an accessory to, or is otherwise unlawfully involved in, the relevant crime.

Affirmative Action Bill
Sponsor- Vice President Emsworth

1. For the purposes of this act, "affirmative action" is defined as granting special preference or other advantage in employment to individuals on the basis of race, sex, sexual orientation, ethnicity, or economic status.

2. No agency of the government of the Pacific Region may use affirmative action in any decision relating to the selection, payment, treatment, or dismissal of any employee.

3. No public university of the Pacific Region may use affirmative action in any decision relating to the admission, treatment, or removal of any student.

Anti-Drug Testing Act
Sponsor- Vice President Emsworth

1. No public school may compel a student to submit to a drug test without probable cause.

2. No public school may make suspicionless or random drug testing a requirement for participation in any school activity.

[The Duke]

Two announcements:

1. I will be running for re-election in two months, in case anyone had doubts.

2. I will be asking the Lt. Governor to compile a more extensive set of information of the Pacific Region's laws, initiatives, etc. for the Wiki.  There had been comnplaints that the section on our region was not very extensive, and since the Lt. Governor rarely has to perform his other duties, I am asking that AkSaber contribute to this.

[The Duke]

When voting ends on the Protection of Commerce in Arms Bill and the Affirmative Action Abolition Bill, I'm going to propose some spending cuts.  For frame of reference, here is the Region's budget as it stands now, the only balanced budget in the country:

Total expenditures-$256 billion
Department of Education $102 billion
Department of Health-$64 billion
Department of University-$32 billion
Department of Corrections-$24 billion
Department of Transportation-$10 billion
Department of Resources-$4 billion dollars
Department of Housing-$1 billion
Administrative Costs-$19 billion

Total Revenue-$258.3 billion dollars
Federal Aid-$67.9 billion
Income Taxes-$184.5 billion
Sin Taxes-$3.5 billion

Rainy Day Fund (Accumulated Surplus)-$2.3 billion dollars

*********************************************************************

The proposed spending cuts are as follows:
-$2.5 billion in savings from consolidating the ten state government agencies
-$600 million in savings from the removal of unnecessary administrative positions
-$800 million in savings from salary cuts to administrators
-$700 million in savings from other salary cuts
-A total of $4.6 billion is savings for the Region

The new budget will look like this if all cuts pass:

Total expenditures-$251.4 billion
Department of Education $101.0 billion
Department of Health-$63 billion
Department of University-$31.4 billion
Department of Corrections-$23.5 billion
Department of Transportation-$9.7 billion
Department of Resources-$3.8 billion dollars
Department of Housing-$1.0 billion
Administrative Costs-$17.9 billion

Total Revenue-$258.3 billion dollars
Federal Aid-$67.9 billion
Income Taxes-$184.5 billion
Sin Taxes-$3.5 billion

Rainy Day Fund (Accumulated Surplus)-$6.9 billion dollars

So, citizens place comments here if you have anything to say about this plan.  All numbers are GM approved.  I hope to go forward with a tax relief package if these cuts pass.

[The Duke]

Governor, what is the total debt for the region?

I'll have to look it up.  I'd also have to ask the GM what debts we're obligated for.

Most outsanding debt of states is from bonds issued, and paying off these bonds is not usually much concern, since its already figured into our annual spending.

[The Duke]

Tonight, I will be opening a vote on some budget cuts that have already been publicly outlined elsewhere.  Once these are approved, and as an increidbly arrogant Governor I simnply presume that no on will dare oppose my plan, I intend to proceed with tax cuts.

[The Duke]

I'd like some feedback from constiuents on an idea that I have that I came up with absed on my experiences in office as Governor.

I'd like to change the Constitution so as to eliminate the position of Lt. Governor, a position whose duties have never been particularly obvious or essential, and create two positions that will take its place.

The first would be a Pacific Judge, who will perform the duties of a chief judge, a role currently filled by the Lt. Governor.

The second would be a Pacific Attorney General, whose duties would be to maintain the Pacific's Wiki page as new laws pass, to represent to Region in court cases, to enforce the Region's laws, and to be the second in line for the position of Governor.

I wonder what people think of this idea?

[The Duke]

I have decided, in my power as Governor to place an iniative on the ballot that will abolish the post of Lt. Governor and replace it with two seperate posts, that of Chief Justice and that of Attorney General.  Text to be made public soon.

Which is pretty good since were now 12 days away from a Lt. Governor's election and so far as I know we have no announced candidates for the second straight time.

[The Duke]

Text of proposed Amendment:

Amendment to Restructure Pacific Government

Section 1
1. Section 1:6 of the Pacific Constitution shall be amended to read "The Lieutenant Governor shall be charged with maintainging and updating the Region's Atlas Wiki page, and shall supervise all elections and referenda. But if the Lieutenant Governor is absent or unable to act (due to conflict of interest or otherwise), the Governor may designate another citizen of the Pacific to temporarily perform his duties."

Section 2
1. The position of Chief Justice of the Pacific Region is hereby created.
2. The Chief Justice shall be the presiding judge in all cases, criminal, civil, or otherwise, and will be empowered to determine the outcome of said cases.
3. The Chief Justice is empowered with the authority of Judicial Review, and may review the Constitutionality of laws, if a citizen petitions him to do so, in an open hearing.
4. The Chief Justice shall take his position on appointment by the Governor, and upon confirmation by the Pacific Legislature.  His appointment shall be for an term of life with good behavior.  He must take the oath of office before assuming his duties.
5. The requirements to be named Chief Justice are that a person must be a citizen of the Pacific, a registered voter, and have at least 200 posts.


So, what this does is strips the Lt. Governor of his judicial role and gives him the role of maintaining our sorely inadequate Wiki page.  It creates the position of Chief Justice to take up the judicial role formerly held by the Lt. Governor.

This is an idea I've talked about that has come to me based on what I think the practical needs of the government are, specifically that we need a good Wiki page and that the executive and judicial authority had ought not be together.

Any thoughts?

[The Duke]

I am idsappointed to hear that crime in this Region has risen.  Despite our best efforts to improve the economy which resulted in the strongest ecnomy of any region, crime has risen nonetheless.

I believe there are two reasons for this rise in crime.

The firststems from a misunderstandng I'm afraid some criminals have about the status of the death penalty.  It seems a common view that we have abolished the death penalty.  We haven't.  The death penalty has simply had a moratorium placed on it for three and a half months.  My intention is not to commute any death sentences, as it is not my role as Governor to determine what a sentence should or to determine the guilt or innocence of inmates.  My role is to execute the laws fairly.  There is reason to believe this penalty is not being applied fairly.

My goal was to find a Lt. Governor, which is mostly a do-nothing job, and have him investigate the fairness of the death penalty's application and make recommendations on how to end discrimination in the justice system.  Since the job has proven very difficult to fill, I have not had a chance to do this.  I now have a bill before the legislature that will create an independent position of Chief Justice, and whoever is chosen to fill that position will be given the job of this review of the fairness of the death penalty.

We have not gotten rid of the death penalty, we've just put it on hold.  So if you're a crimnal and you think you can't be executed, don't be fooled.

The second reason has to do with the adoption of the Arizona Revised Statutes as our unified law code.  The Arizona Code is a pretty tough document when it comes to criminal law, but there is one area where its adoption has softened our laws.  Arozona has no Three Strikes Law, and California did.  Now, the Region's largest state no longer has its crime rate suppressed by this important law.

If re-elected, I propose to add California's old Three Strike Law to our Region's law code, and these tougher sentences will put dangerous criminals behind bars and keep them there so that repeat offenders cannot hurt innocent people anymore.

Crime is up, so we'd better get tough soon.

Thank you, and good day.

[The Duke]

I will be opening a vote on Jesus' voting bill soon.  Then, I want to start debate on two initiatives I'm putting forward as the basis of my second term agenda.

The first, as noted above, is a three strikes law.

The second is a a new budget for the new fiscal year.

Our fiscal year coincides with our Calendar year out here, so it's time to pass a new budget.  Thanks to sound fiscal management, we have a substantial surplus, and I want to establish a "Rainy Day Fund" where surpluses will be accumulated and held where politiicans can't spend it unless we need to.  I want to increase department budgets commensurate with the rate of inflation.  I also want to reduce income taxes, since we have such a huge surplus projected for this year and so much money in surplus from last year, I think we should give people some of their money back.  We should only tax what we need to tax to fnd what we need to spend, and right now we tax more than we spend.

I also want to wish everyone a happy new year, and anyone interested in permanently taking the job of Chief Justice, please notify me of your desires.

[The Duke]

Budget time:

Main spending changes are that all department saw icnreases roughly in line with inflation and population growth, except for health care and universities which are experiencing higher rates of inflation and transportation, which has been a total mess out here for decades.

There will also be a reduction in tax rates.  The top bracket will be lowered from 15% to 14%, and the next highest bracket lowered from 12% to 11%.

New Budget
-$265.0 billion in total expenditures
       -Department of Education - $104.6 billion
       -Department of Health - $68.7 billion
       -Department of University $34.0 billion
       -Department of Corrections - $24.2
       -Department of Transportation - $12.0 billion
       -Department of Resources - $3.7 billion dollars
       -Department of Housing - $1.0 billion
       -Administrative Costs - $16.8 billion

Total Revenue-$265.5 billion
       -Federal Aid - $71.2 billion
       -Income Taxes - $187.5 billion
       -Sin Taxes - $3.6 billion
       -Gambling Taxes - $3.2 billion

-Surplus - $0.5 billion

-Rainy Day Fund - $11.3 billion
************************************************************

So any comments constiuents have about thenew budget, please make them in the legislature thread.  I want to vote in this relatively quickly if at all possible.

[The Duke]

Note to pacificans: Debate is continuing on the budget and I'm interested in hearing people's comments on the idea of combining the Department of Education and the Department of University.

[The Duke]

Oh, and I'm officially endorsing Fezzy Festoon for Governor of the Northeast and Rin-Chan for Lt. Governor of the Northeast.  Not that they need my help, of course.

[The Duke]

In my final post as Governor, and probably my final post in the fantasy boards, I announce that I have no intention of filling the empty pacific Senate seat.  The Pacific Region does not exists.  The Seante does not exist.  I am not actually Governor of anything.  Therefore, filling the seat is not relevant.