The Office of Senator LumineVonReuental (A Farewell to the Senate)

[Lumine]

You will be getting preference #2.

Thanks, Maxwell!

endorsed

Thank you very much, Representative!

[Lumine]

Update XV:
Southern Tour:

August 9th, 2014:
After the recent controversy over the Political Tracker and after a very unexpected day, the Senator has now moved to the South for a brief tour, to be followed by the Midwest, Northeast and a couple foreign trips before the Primary and the General Election. He delivered a speech commenting on recent events on Iraq, the Senate Debate and the Tracker controversy.

Good day, my fellow Atlasians!

As I start my tour of the South I must say that yesterday I faced a rather interesting day. After the recent controversy I felt it was the time to take a break and save the credibility of the Tracker by closing it, since I believe that the issue that we really needed to discuss was the one regarding the Constitution and the powers of the Vice-President, instead of the usual personality fight. So far I have received many messages in support and I’ve seen many other posts in support of the Tracker, and I can’t really state how pleased and how thankful I am for this support. I am glad that the Tracker served the purpose it was set to achieve, and I believe it will indeed return very soon. Certainly not today or in the following days, but I can state with some confidence that the Tracker may indeed return after we can leave this current crisis behind. As I continue to campaign for the Federalist Primary and the General Election I feel more and more encouraged by events like these (even when they bring negative consequences at times), and so I am energized and ready to fight and win this election and continue the work I’ve been doing in Atlasia.

And so, I can’t miss the opportunity to comment on the recent events regarding the proposed change in rules for the Senate, the announced military strikes against ISIS on Iraq, and the recent confusion that seems to be taking over some elements of the administration. First things first, we have a major constitutional issue ahead of ourselves to solve and we also have a challenge regarding the current Senate rules, which many agree are perhaps too complex and too amended over the years. Secretary Nix has introduced a new set of rules before the Senate which should be up for discussion very soon, and while it’s necessary to debate and add what may be missing, I can confidently say that I stand behind this reforms and I plan to support them. These reforms make the rules simpler and more uniform (like reducing the voting time) and they introduce a new figure: the Speaker, to replace the current roles of the VP and the PPT, which are currently rather mixed up. Needless to say, I welcome this change and I plan to vote for it. Now, moving onto Iraq, I must deliver once again my congratulations to Secretary Nix, Special Envoy Riley and all other Atlasians involved in this bold and effective action, which I am confident will help improve the complicated situation on Iraq. Thus, I am rather pleased to see this step on the right direction.

However, I must point out that the administration seems to be having problems with it, which I find surprising. Yesterday we saw a rather public conflict within the Department of External Affairs, and since the President himself took the time on another thread to state that I was not a very straight-forward man (once again, to put it mildly), I am currently taking his kind advice working in order to freely talk about what I think it’s wrong in Atlasia. And I'll say this: I find it incredibly disappointing to see the Secretary and the Special Envoy being held back on current and future efforts by the President. For all that talk of my accusation of not caring about foreign affairs being false, you can clearly see the President’s unwillingness to take any further steps regarding the Middle East and his stated opposition to most if not all efforts that have been attempted lately. We have a great cabinet, so it pains to see the government having such evident problems to coordinate its efforts in a proper way. Now, I don’t want this to turn into another boring, long and bitter speech, so I might as well stop now. I will continue my Southern Tour over the weekend, so hopefully I will be able to release a good amount of speeches and activities for my campaign. I’m not sure if I’ll use videos once again as I did in January-February, but that’s not out of the question yet.

Thank you very much for your attention, and don't forget to watch the debate!

LumineVonReuental, OSAS, At-Large Senator.

[Lumine]

Endorsed, as always.

Thanks a lot, Simfan!

[Lumine]

Update XVI:
Midwest Tour:

August 13th, 2014:
With little more than a week until the election and two days until the Federalist Primary, Senator Lumine has returned to the region in which he spent more time in Atlasia: the Midwest, where was Governor once. After taking a tour of the Depositaren and touring his past home state of Montana, the Senator took the time to address some recent issues affecting the Senate and the campaign as well.

Great to be back in the Midwest!

Almost three months have passed since I left the region in order to pursue new challenges in the Pacific, and I can certainly say I still miss parts of the Most Serene Republic. It saddens me to see the region going through a period of inactivity that reminds me of some moments of the past year, but I can confidently say that both Adam Fitzgerald and Cris are doing a good job to put the Midwest on track, and so I wish them the best of luck in their respective positions. I have lived in three regions as of now, and all three of them have taught me important lessons and they have also rewarded me with a good amount of events and experiences that are hard to forget. Just now there's a proposal in the Pacific Council to name several counties after great people of the region, and I found to my surprise that Salt Lake County has a change to become Lumine County. I'm not sure if I have really done enough for the region in such a short time, but nonetheless I thank Governor Cranberry for including me in his proposal, it is a true honor for me.

Now, moving into policy and politics in general, it seems we are now facing a trend that has become quite visible in light of recent legislation. As a fantasy game Atlasia can allow itself to have more idealistic, bizarre or unpractical legislation from time to time, and after my time in the Midwest I realized that there's no dispute to that. And yet it seems we are forgetting more and more about what's truly possible and what isn't, and as a result of that I fear Atlasia is going to face major problems thank to certain policies. I saw a recent post of Oakvale in the Public Fuel and Power Act which caught my attention, because I believe he is right in many aspects. The past months have seen some Senators proposing more and more radical changes to the economy, including nationalization, incredible amounts of regulations and more and more benefits to an unsustainable level. When one sees legislation like this each day one tends to lose perspective on it, but Oakvale is right, we are approaching danger levels in many areas just for the sake of idealism. Or worse, because some people indeed refuse to accept that the Berlin Wall fell and that capitalism and the free market won the war (as I talked about when I was publicly attacked by a Senator for my stance on Ukraine a couple of months ago). I have voted against many of these proposals, and I plan to oppose them more openly as well in the future, specially since these days it seems like the more radical members of Labor are in actual control of the agenda (which seems such a shame when you have many moderate Labor officeholders doing a good job).

And speaking of radical Labor, it seems we have indeed a new President Pro Tempore of the Senate. It's no secret that I would prefer Yankee a thousand times as PPT and it saddens me to see him gone from a position in where he was efficient, capable and neutral. As it stands the current PPT is only bound to last until the first week of September (and then we will see the composition of the next Senate), and yet I am extremely worried even after only one day. PPT TNF is an active Senator, that much can't be denied, and I appreciate the amount of effort he puts in his work, but after fighting him on a permanent basis since January (and after standing months of being called a fascist among other things) I don't believe he is the PPT the Senate needs by any measure. He has absolutely no authority to come in and dictate his terms on the salary of the Senators, the unions that work there, the people we can and can't celebrate (Martin Luther King and others I can understand, but for god's sake we're talking about busts of Lenin, Robespierre, Trotsky, and other murderers) and the drugs that are allowed on the Senate. On a purely personal title (since I don't know how most of my fellow colleagues feel about it), I do not recognize the legality of these so called "Senate Directives" and I won't feel bound by them in any way. He and others won't care, of course, but that doesn't mean I will ignore that the President Pro Tempore of the Senate is trying to force his ideology on the Senate nor will I ignore that the hammer and sickle has become the new symbol of this "new leadership". And of course, if reelected, I will continue that fight and I will stand for my belief that the fall of the Berlin Wall is something that can't be ignored, not now and not in the future.

Thank you very much for your attention!

LumineVonReuental, OSAS, At-Large Senator.

[Lumine]

Press release on the Pacific:

August 14th, 2014:

Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen.

I seems this is a rather curious day for the Pacific, as right now we have faced another change in officeholders. Governor Cranberry has appointed himself to the Pacific Senate Seat, thus leaving the Governorship of the Pacific open and the race to be fought with write-in preferences. As much as it saddens me to see yet another figure of the region leaving regional politics to go to Nyman in the middle of such a complicated period, I believe Governor Cranberry was an excellent Governor during his term, and I personally found him to be both active and reasonable, so it is great to see him on the Senate and to consider him a formal colleague despite the differences in parties. And now, with the Governorship open and Former GM Simfan running for the position via write-ins I give him my formal endorsement and I'd like to encourage all Pacific citizens to vote for him to be our next Governor. I am certainly confident that he will be able to do a good job, and I also hope that our current Federalist council will be reelected in this election. The Pacific faces many challenges after so many changes in leadership and many key people who have left the region, but we have many new and capable faces as well and I believe they will be able to help our region reach good levels of activity. Best of luck to the next Governor and the next Council, and I hope they will be able to do a great job!

Lumine.

[Lumine]

Federalist Primary!

August 18th, 2014:

We only have four days until the general election and the Federalist primary is almost over, so I wanted to take this opportunity to encourage all Federalists to show up and vote in the Convention. Regardless of whom you back over the current three candidates it's very important for the party to vote and thus enhance the democratic nature of this election and by extension our political system. I have been on the Federalist Party since May, and while it hasn't been as much as it could have been I have really enjoyed my time in the party and I have done my best to work hard for it. As of now i have several bills up for discussion on the Senate (one regarding abortion/adoption and two others related to my proposed reform of the war powers), so I can certainly say there's a lot of work to be done and I wish to continue doing that work. To the primary we go, and then to the general election!

Lumine.

[Lumine]

A Few Thoughts:

August 19th:

It seems that once again we are facing a very controversial and divisive situation, and during the harsh debates we've had since yesterday some very serious allegations have been raised against me and my Senate colleagues from several supporters of the administration. Some of my friends have advised to stay silent and others to defend myself, and in the end I have decided to provide a few answers and clear some points according to what I think. I believe the first thing I have to clear up is that I am no machiavellian chess master nor am I  the sole person responsible for this affair. I'm both flattered and annoyed that some think I am, but to believe that I can fully control the actions of five Senators is to insult Goldwater, Yankee, Cassius and Spiral and their own independence as officeholders and Atlasians. I have no idea what led people to place the whole blame for this affair upon my shoulders beyond the fact that I decided to explain my views and the motivations behind my actions on the Confirmation thread instead of remaining silent, but to think I hold such a high level of control over so many people across Atlasia is beyond ridiculous. I accept my share of responsibility for both my vote and my words and I will stand for them until the end, but I will not accept more blame than what I deserve for the sake of the political narrative TNF and others have crafted on the most recent thread with my name on it.

Some have made their criticism known in a very civil way (for which I am thankful) and others have already chosen to portray me as the villain trying to ruin the fun for all, and they can very well consider me a horrible person (or Senator) if they desire. That said, I believe it's wise to contest some of the harsh accusations I have received instead of pretending that there hasn't been a major fight over the last day. For example, Talleyrand was rather explicit in stating that I didn't care about campaign promises and such and that my treatment of The People's Party was harsh and disloyal, a view that others have shared. I take full responsibility for that. What I did to that party was obviously a terrible thing to do, and the support I have received from many members of the party over the past events have only increased my shame at my own failure to choose and deal with that situation in a proper way. Beyond asking for the forgiveness of them for those actions there's little more I can do at this point.

Nonetheless, I should point out that if changing parties makes one unable to complain about some of these issues then a substantial part of Atlasia is guilty of that as well, with the President himself heading the list after leaving and rejoining Labor several times over the past months. For all the talk of dishonesty in officeholders that I have seen so far (with several of those comments directed at me) and the concept of promising something only to forget about it one only needs to see the administration's confused and changing stance on Iraq (as an example) to see that I'm hardly the single and perfect culprit from this sort of behavior, regardless of whether some people have already decided what I am or how they wish to portray my actions (like Griffin, who so nicely implied that I staged some sort of character assassination on the Former Vice-President). I will not contest I am probably not the indicated person to “lead the charge” or take the stand I am taking because I have my good share of mistakes and failures, but for all the talk of ModerateVonHero it was about time I started taking more strong stands, and right now, I believe this stand is necessary.

It disappoints me that Atlasians like Griffin or TNF are somehow allowed to say what they want and act how they please with bitter rhetoric, assaults against all other parties, attempts to install guillotines, undermine the seriousness of Senate, the use of implied threats and so forth. It disappoints me because whenever someone decides to fight back in any way they and others are quick to launch all-out assaults to shame said person, often with bitter attacks (and I should know, I have a good number of threads with my name on them and god knows how many nicknames at this point). I got tired of that when I was in the Progressive Union and many of us were forced to stand that for a long time, I got even more tired of that during the Midwest Senate race and by now I am a bit fed up with that attitude, especially when some can talk about Labor playing the game in a less nicer way to be successful (“win at all costs?”) and right after that go after me and my colleagues and charge us with partisanship, bitterness and being "undemocratic".

While the attacks and the discussion might last a long time, I have myself decided to stand firm, even if it costs me what little reputation I have left after the recent events. There's an election in a couple of days, and that will be a great way of learning about how the voters feel about this.

Thank you very much.

Lumine.

[Lumine]

tl;dr

I'm glad to see you taking the time to check my office thread, Senator, so nice of you to leave a message!

You've certainly got my vote

The overreach by Labor over the past few days is disgusting. I'm not even that active in this game anymore and even I can still see it. When the extremists in the party are determined to continually re-add bills that have failed and discuss ignoring the posts of those on the right side of the spectrum, it shows they must be stopped.

The extreme members of the Labor Party are not entitled to everything and must be shown this.

Great speech, Mr. Senator!

I think this was the best way to say your piece. Congrats.

Thank you, my friends, for your comments and your support, it's something I truly appreciate. To the election I go!

Well, I did read your speech.  And while I don't agree with you politically I do think it's pretty great that you spoke from the heart on what bothers you about this game.

While I feel as though I should say that it's ridiculous that some people take a win at all cost approach to this simulation, I really can't.  Because like you yourself said this is a game.  In fact, this is a political game.  While I do not like it, name calling, dishonest tactics, and political machinery should be entirely expected.

How do I deal with that?  Easy, by not giving a sh*t.  Once you decide that winning is overrated you can just sit back and laugh at everyone else who loses sleep over what happens in the game. If you wish to continue being serious though and wanting to win the best I can advise is to a) get a whole lot more people to register in your party and b) get a really good preferential voting strategy down that outsmarts Labor (this is key, especially on Senate elections).

But really all you really need is a lot more voters than the other side.  So hit the streets and start campaigning among your RL friends to see if anyone has no life and is ready to join this simulation.

-Mechaman

Thank you, Mechaman, I think that is some pretty sound advice (we often do forget that is this nothing but a game) and I am grateful that you took the time to read the speech, I have the misfortune of doing long speeches instead of more concise phrases. I'll certainly get to work and hopefully I might be able to find people bored enough to join this thrill of a game, xD

[Lumine]

Well, it seems you always manage to be controversial, even against your will .

Indeed, but I guess I am starting to get used to it at this point...

[Lumine]

Update XVII:
Pacific Earthquake/Re-elected to another term:

August 25th, 2014:
Despite some notorious moments of tension through the past days Senator Lumine was able to get reelected once again to serve as an At-Large Senator, and he is currently celebrating in his campaign HQ at Salt Lake City along with close friends and staffers. He also took the time to address the recent crisis in the Pacific and pledge his support to the Governor and the victims.

Good night, my fellow Atlasians!

This is truly a suprising night. We have witnessed an absolutely thrilling and surprising election, one with active and focused candidates and a result that was incredibly close. And I admit it, at one point I thought I was going to lose this one, a bit of a useful scare to return humility into any politician. It was a long and active campaign, a campaign which saw a great debate and series of controversial issues that at some times were quite encouraging and, at other times, frustrating. But I am rather pleased with the results, specially since my friend and fellow party member JCL will finally enter the Senate and great individuals like Polnut, Cynic and Deus will be reelected or will enter the Senate as well. My most sincere congratulations to all of them for their campaigns, I really look forward to serve with all of them. I would also like to congratulate Alfred on a strong campaign and for his term in the Senate, despite our differences in some issues I enjoyed working with him (specially in foreign affairs, were we had a lot of common ground and it was thanks to him that some of my projects passed the Senate), and it will be sad to see him leave the chamber.

As of now I am close of reaching six months as a Senator, and it does feel weird to see how many things have passed since then. The Senate has changed a lot as well, and once Alfred and Goldwater leave the Senate I will reach fourth place in seniority, something I did not expect when I joined back in March. I feel rather energized and encouraged by this election despite previous difficulties over the most recent political controversies. and needless to say I am happy to go out there and renew the push for my current and future projects in Nyman. There's still a lot of work to be done and many things to be said, so here's to four more months as a Senator!

Despite the happiness in my HQ over this victory, not all is positive tonight. As many of you know, the region was recently struck by an earthquake causing major damage and injuring many of our fellow citizens. I applaud Governor Simfan's quick response to this crisis, and needless to say I will tour the affected zones as soon as I can to see how can I help those who have suffered the consequences of this terrible event. As a young man who lived through one of the largest earthquakes ever recorded I am fully aware of what can happen and how much suffering can be caused by something like this, even if thankfully there were no deaths. The victims and the region as a whole are in my prayers, and I will do whatever is necessary to help the region to recover as quickly as possible.

I would like to finish this address by thanking the voters of Atlasia for their preferences and their support during this election, and well, it's time to work!

LumineVonReuental, OSAS, At-Large Senator.

[Lumine]

Congrats on your victory. No matter our differences of opinion, I consider you a friend an I really appreciate how hard you work for what you feel is good for the game.

Thank you, Mr. President, our differences aside I also consider you a friend and I am glad that we will be able to work together over the next term. Congratulations on your victory as well!

That's great news! Congratulations Senator Lumine!

Thanks, Cris!

Congratulations on your re-election and I look forward to working together

Thank you, Mr. President, I look forward to working with you as well!

[Lumine]

Mr. Senator,

my congratulations.  You have won.

-Mechaman

Congrats, I'm happy you're sticking around!

Thank you very much, Mechaman, Mr. President!

[Lumine]

Update XVIII:
War Powers Amendment: Vote Yes!

August 29th, 2014:
With the double passage of the Repeal of the War Powers Resolution Act and the War Powers Amendment, Senator Lumine has started to campaign for a "Yes" vote in the coming election over his constitutional amendment, while also encouraging other politicians to support it if possible.

Good night, my fellow Atlasians:

After some time, I am glad to be able to deliver on my on my earlier promises: the reform of our constitutional war mechanisms. During the time in which I advocated for military aid to the government of Iraq and the use of drones against ISIS I originally tried to have the Senate authorize the use of force against this terrorist organization, but as many pointed out, the constitutionality of such an action was pretty dubious thanks to the ambiguity of the Constitution when it came to war. Several individuals spoke about it, including Senator Yankee, SoEA Nix and then Representative Deus, and then the idea of a Constitutional Amendment to solve this dilemma was proposed. I took on the challenge and I devised a bill and an Amendment to the Constitution to solve this issue, and both were recently passed by the Senate after some minor modifications. I thank my fellow Senators for passing these two pieces of legislation, the Repeal of the War Powers Resolution Act (which gets rid of the legislation passed on 1973 regarding war which was obsolete and unconstitutional) and the War Powers Amendment, which regulates the powers of the Senate and the President regarding war, creates two mechanisms for war (a Declaration of War and an Authorization of Force, they will depend on the assets that are needed and the size of the enemy) and gives the President some space to react to some immediate threats in a legal way while also having to inform Congress of the progress that's being made.

This proposal, Amendment XXIX to the Constitution of Atlasia, will be voted by the public during the following week, and I feel it's imperative that the regions pass this. This will make this issue much more clear in times of crisis, it will avoid a potential conflict between the Senate and the President and it does form a part of a series of attempts by several individuals to reform the way that foreign policy works in a reasonable way, in order to make some aspects of the game easier and more interesting. I humbly ask the people of the regions to vote in favor of this, and I encourage the officeholders and the citizens who support this Amendment to the Constitution to, if possible, endorse or talk about this proposal. It's obvious that our Constitution is not perfect and that we need to correct the mistakes or the parts that may have not been envisioned when it was created. It's a slow process, but if done correctly it can only give more life to our Constitution and improve the game in it's own way. It's very important that we don't forget about these issues (both Constitutional and Foreign Policy-related), and I wish to publicly thank those who voted in favor of these proposals and those who gave their thoughts or their own ideas, like SoEA Nix or Senator-Elect Deus. We are all bound to have our disagreements in foreign policy just like we have them on domestic policy, but I think most of Atlasia can agree that constitutional ambiguity is something that has to be avoided, specially in light of the several court cases we've had during the past two or three months.

Once again, thanks for your attention.

LumineVonReuental, OSAS, At-Large Senator.

[Lumine]

Update XIX:
Running for President-Pro-Tempore!

September 6th, 2014:
After the start of a new session and with current PPT TNF running for reelection and Yankee choosing not to run again, Senator Lumine has decided to run for the position, and he is confident about his chances.

Good day, my fellow Atlasians:

A new session of the Senate has begun, and as the Senators of the Sixty-Third session were sworn-in a bit of nostalgia affected me. I entered the Senate six months ago, and as time has passed many Senators I worked with have left this august body. As of now, I unexpectedly find myself as fourth in seniority, after Yankee, TNF and Bore. It does feel strange considering that until a month or so ago the Senate as pretty similar as when I originally joined, and now we have elder statesmen like former Presidents Cynic and Polnut, new Atlasians like Cranberry, Cassius and Deus and experienced politicians like JCL, and I can't stress how eager I am to work with them as well, to work with a Senate ready to fight for countless issues affecting Atlasia.

And, as you know, with a new session comes a new election for President Pro Tempore. Needless to say, I believe Senator North Carolina Yankee is the man for the job, the Atlasian that can make an excellent and unparalleled work with the position. Sadly, Senator Yankee will not be able to contest the position, and I have decided to run for President Pro Tempore myself. Our current PPT may be an active Atlasian, but I feel awfully uncomfortable with a man whose victory speech for the position consists of pearls of wisdom like "and utilize my power as PPT as a bludgeon against bourgeois sensibility and against the oppression of the working class by the parasitic vampires of the bourgeois class" and so forth. Yes, I know, many don't believe I am a moderate anymore after my criticism of the current administration, but I think I could do a great job as PPT, and I want to ask my colleagues to join me in this effort and this election.

The Senate needs reform and activity, and I will do my best to ensure that we have new and fresh rules. The rules proposed earlier by Nix need reform and some amendments, but I think it's a great chance to simplify our current set of rules and make the Senate more efficient and modern. I also pledge to update the wiki regarding the Senate, as we have several missing pages of key parts of current Senate history. And yes, I also plan to get rid of a good part of the directives of the current PPT, for I believe they are not necessary and some of them are, to put it mildly, frivolous. It's going to be fairly amusing to run against the Senator from the Midwest again, so I expect this election and perhaps, this Senate session, to be particularly interesting and even invigorating to some point.

Well, that's all for now, to the election I go!

LumineVonReuental, OSAS, At-Large Senator.

[Lumine]

It's about to go down. We have never agreed on the issues facing us, but I do wish you luck.

Thanks, GAworth, good luck in the Althing as well!

[Lumine]

Endorsed.

Thank you, Governor!

[Lumine]

You shouldn't use the word "Update" followed by roman numerals in your thread titles. 

I realized that after I started using the numerals, but I guess I have grown rather fond of them... I think I'll switch to another style if I eventually change my office thread, xD (this one already has nine months after all)

Endorsed

Endorsed.

Thank you very much!

[Lumine]

Victory!

Well, it was a close election after all, but I want to thank my colleagues for electing me as the 22nd (if the wiki is right) President Pro Tempore of the Senate. I hope to be able to serve as best as I can, for this is a rather demanding position. As of now I have already updated the Noticeboard and I have solved the most pressing matters regarding amendments, and while my work is bound to be a bit disorganized on the first days I expect to have most issues organized at the end of the week. I will try to start to update the wiki today as well, but that might depend on much time I have available. So far my priority is creating the pages for the Sixtieth, Sixty-First and Sixty-Third Senates, which for some reason do not exist at the moment, making it harder to do any type of research.

I am not a fan of some parts of the style used during the past session, so I can confirm that I do not plan to use Directives to regulate some aspects of the Senate. I don't see the need to regulate salaries, unions, marijuana or honor some interesting people like Vladimir Lenin, so you can trust me not to try something like that during this Senate session, I don't feel that such a thing is necessary. Now, most of the earlier Directives were already halted by Secretary of Internal Affairs Hagrid, but just to be on the safe side here goes my first and hopefully last Senate Directive:

You must be logged in to read this quote.

Since I used to be an Archduke and a Midwest resident for quite a while I must confess I felt inclined to rename my position as "Princeps Senatus" to honor the great historical figures that led the Roman Senate during crucial times, men like Quintus Fabius Maximus, Marcus Aemilius Scaurus or Marcus Tullius Cicero, but in the end I guess common sense won that battle, so President Pro Tempore it is. I hope this will be an invigorating and enthusiastic session, and judging for the debate we've seen so far the next two months and the 63rd already look very promising.

Oh, before I forget, I have a small announcement coming up either tomorrow or in two days, so stay tuned!

LumineVonReuental, President Pro Tempore of the Senate.

[Lumine]

Congratulations!!

Thanks, Flo!

No offense, but I am shocked you won, pleasantly shocked, but shocked. Congrats!!!!

None taken, I could have easily lost this one and I guess at this point I'm doomed to fight close elections, xD, thanks!

[Lumine]

Congratulations on your victory, Lumine. If you have any questions concerning the Senate rules or need a title line updated, please don't hesitate to contact me about either. You are a fine legislator and will make a fine administrator of the Senate.

Thank you very much, TNF. Running the Senate is no easy task and it is a major challenge for anybody, and while I certainly disagree with some of actions taken during the past month I respect the amounts of work and effort that were put into running the Senate in the middle of so many complicated court cases.

[Lumine]

Congratulations!

Senator,

congratulations once again.  The fortunes are smiling on you.

Thanks, Cris and Mechaman! Thankfully, it seems luck has been helping me quite a bit lately, xD

[Lumine]

It seems I have not yet congratulated you on becoming PPT. Well, consider this as my official congrats and stuff - You're going to be an active, skilled and encouraging President Pro Tempore. I am looking forward to continue working with you in the Senate!

Thanks, Cranberry, I really look forward to continue working with you on the Senate as well!

[Lumine]

Regarding the Succession Crisis:

October 4th, 2014:
Right in the middle of the chaos left by President DemPGH's resignation and the controversy regarding President Tyrion and the separatist movements, President Pro Tempore Lumine delivered a statement from the Senate after Senator Cranberry was formally confirmed as the legal SoIA and next in line to the Presidency.

Greetings, my fellow Atlasians:

I will not give you the usual speech and the usual appeals this time, not when our nation is shocked by the recent revelations and the outbreak of armed conflict by factions who would like to bring down what's left of sanity in this nation. I, for one, am bitterly disappointed by the manner in which the trust of the public has been betrayed (especially by the President's condition), but I recognize Tyrion as the lawful President of Atlasia, while also appealing to others to recognize the federal government's authority and halt this nonsense.

With the President being likely to be banned in the recent time and with the entire cabinet gone, it was pointed out by many that I was second in line for becoming President. Needless to say, I wish to stress that I have no desire of usurping power or authority in any way, for I believe that Atlasia needs a return to normalcy and I have absolutely no desire of becoming President by not being elected. I plan to submit myself to the public in the upcoming election and it will be up to them to take a decision. Senator Cranberry was quickly confirmed by the Senate as SoIA, he has been handling the situation as best as he can, and he has my full support during this crisis.

Finally, I wish to stress that the Senate will continue to work and will not cease activities as long as I am President-Pro Tempore. Police forces in Nyman are already protecting the Capitol and the Senate continues to function. I was originally very opposed to Senate directives, but I will not tolerate any attempts to manipulate, control or halt the performance of the Senate of Atlasia in any way. I hereby declare the following temporary directives:

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I will probably release a more comprehensive statement as a candidate in my campaign thread later today, but all official business of the Senate are still going to be conducted from my office.

Thank you very much, and I hope this crisis is solved as soon as humanly possible.

LumineVonReuental, President Pro-Tempore of the Senate.

[Lumine]

President Pro Tempore,
I humbly request that the Senate withhold funds allocated to the Pacific until the illegal occupation of the Midwest is ended.
Sincerely,
Serene Representative GAworth

As I explained before, I will not withdraw funds from the Pacific Region considering the victims of the earthquake need help, so it's best not to politicize that issue. Furthermore, the funds can only be given to the region after the Governor has sent a plan to the SoIA for approval.

That said, I stand against any illegal occupation of the Midwest, so I have asked the Governor to withdraw. I have also asked the Senate for their input on the situation.

[Lumine]

Regarding the Succession Crisis, Part II:

My fellow Atlasians:

As of now, President Tyrion has been banner for a month, thus ending what can be considered the shortest Presidency in our history. Yet, and despite what those who have attacked our Republican believe, the line of succession is very clear and non-controversial. With the absence of the VP, SoEA and AG it falls on the Secretary of Internal Affairs to take over the White House, and TheCranberry is now President. Needless to say, I fully recognize him as such and I ask all Atlasians to support him during these troubled times. Now more than ever we need to work together to overcome this crisis, which thanks to Cranberry's abilities as a statesman is no longer a crisis of leadership.

The Senate will continue to work as always despite the loss of Cranberry (and he will be missed, he was easily one of our best Senators). It's time for us to move against those who continue to undermine the government, so I also want to announce that a motion will be filed for the expulsion of Senator Deus from the Senate. I consulted this matter with several Senators and several of them already pledged their support to this, and while I would have wanted to wait until all of them answered back it's obvious that at this stage we need to move quickly to end this crisis, and the Senate cannot tolerate being mocked any longer, at least not while I can do something about it.

Ladies and gentlemen, these past days have been terrible for many Atlasians, with many people dead and many others in need of shelter. But regardless of how terrible this crisis is, we will be able to overcome this challenge. The regional executives are already working for their regions in a very efficient way, the Senate is still functioning, and now we have a President who is both efficient and respected across the nation, a man who can lead and solve this crisis once and for all. Let us all unite in support of President Cranberry and fight to help our people and defeat the forces of separatism and totalitarianism.

LumineVonReuental, President Pro-Tempore of the Senate.