Poirot for Senate(s)

[Poirot]

I vote nay on the ratification decentralization amendment. I had questions on how this will be applied, how much freedom regions will have in the method of ratification they choose and since I am left with the same questions unanswered, I vote nay.

I have a question on the ratification decentralization amendment. At first I read it as a regional legislature had to choose one method.

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I took it as choosing one option and sticking to it for every amendment. It could also be the legislature chooses one option every time an amendment comes up depending on the topic. (the first time they choose legilsature vote, second time public vote, third time public vote, fourth legislature vote). That could slow the processus of ratification if the legislature makes a choice every time there is an amendment or if the legislature is inactive.

Is it correct the regional legislatures can choose the method of ratification case by case or can make a formal choice of method if they wish.

I was also wondering if the regions have total control on determining the requirements for passage, like simple majority or a super majority, or even rules like a majority of voters registered by the three main parties in the region. 

I would add that it would be prudent in the amendment to include an emergency clause if after  a certain period of time a region doesn't decide on the amendment because of inactivity or whatever that the federal government could open a voting booth for the citizens of that region to vote.   

[Poirot]

People of this great land,

I am running for one of the seats of at-large Senator. This is my first time facing the national electorate. I have served as Northeast representative for three months (November to February). I also had a failed bid at regional senator. If elected in the Senate I will use my eyes to scrutinize legislation and I will be active in debates. I will post my thoughts on legislation so you can get to know me better.

One thing I will like to improve is information to voters about constitutional amendments. After the Senate passes one it is sent to regions. Citizens can notice there is a voting booth open but there is no effort to explain the amendment, there is just the text posted. I would like the senate to accompany the text of the amendment with a summary, explaining the reason behind the change, the parts that are added or deleted from the current constitution. That would give some background information to voters who have to make a decision. If voters have questions I will try to investigate and find answers for them, because when questions are left unanswered, it's more likely people will vote No. Voters are not constitutional experts so information is important.

On the ratification regionalization amendment, I would have liked to see some parameters set for the regions. I would put a deadline for regions to make a decision. A region choosing to decide by legislature could put the amendment in the queue and it could take a lot of time to come up with a decision. I would suggest also an emergency clause for the federal government to have the right to open a regional voting booth in case a legislature becomes inactive or simply ignores the amendment.

Stay tuned for more.
Thank you kindly.

[Poirot]

If in the Senate I would vote for the Libertas Doesn't Understand Fusion Voting Act. It is to repeal fusion ballot act. Fusion voting (or a form of it if it was not the real thing) hasn't been used in some time so I have no problem getting rid of it. I'm like Libertas, I don't understand fusion voting. I'm not exactly sure what it is and what it would mean for our ballots but I lean on the negative side.

I am for the Give the Secretary of Federal Elections a Break Amendment. I am for only voting on ballots and no commenting. If we can't make rules on what is acceptable on the write in line because of free speech or determining what is considered campaining, I would have no objection of removing the write-in line for federal ballots. In federal elections there is no problem in the number of candidates running and if someone wants to get elected, he just has to declare.

Another issue to keep ballots clean, transparent and public is not allowing translation of ballots. This is adding unnecessary work to the SoFE and is not public, transparent voting since when you look at a translated ballot often you can't be sure of the order of preference.

The goal is not to nullified votes. I would be willing to give a warning instead of voided a ballot for first offense. I have the same position for sending a pm if there is a no pm list. People are not always aware of rules or can make a mistake. Perhaps we could let one or two elections go before applying stricter rules so citizens not actively following the latest developments or new citizens can have the time to be aware of voting rules.     

[Poirot]

There is a common market deal between Atlasia and Canada coming for debate. I am generally positive on international trade deals. If we are going to have more integration with our northern neighbor, we should take the occasion to have less barriers to free trade. The first thing  I will look for when analyzing this deal is less control by Canadian agricultural marketing boards like for dairy and poultry products. This supply side management needs to be changed and be less protectionnist. Atlasian agricultural businesses will benefit from this. If I am a Senator I will ask if it is included in the agriculture agreement. I want also to make sure our businesses have better access to public procurement in Canada by their lower level governments and state agencies and that there are not too many exceptions.

I'm less enthusiastic about Canadian provinces being matched with Atlasian regions for election purposes than I was once. I thought it was an exciting idea combined with the amendment about drawing four districts for new senators since it gave many possibilities to draw districts that would depart from looking like the regions. Since that amendment failed, it it just matching Canadian territory with regions and because the IDS doesn't have a border with Canada it's a bit strange and I find it less interesting.

[Poirot]

My campaign song is For your eyes only by Sheena Easton
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NGrptJTswNg

I need to raise funds to pay for a tv ad. In exchange for donations, donors receive a eyes cap.

[Poirot]

I wish to encourage savings by individuals in creating a federal version of the Northeast No tax accounts. Income received from money put in this type of financial account is not taxed. The creation of this savings plan is a medium term goal. I am not making a short term goal because there is the Napoleon tax cuts bill being debated and I figure there will not be an appetite for another proposal that will lower revenues of the federal coffers.

I propose writing a guideline rule on how to count ballots with a double preference rank or a missing a rank in the order of preference. I'm not sure if there is a rule or if it's been left to the judgement of the election's officer. The rule would be the order of preference is valid and vote counts up until there is a repeat of a rank (giving two third rank for example) or up to a missing preference in the sequence (like voting 1,3,4).

[Poirot]

Time for a pep talk to my team to give energy for the final stretch of the campaign. There was a poll published for the senate at-large election. My internal poll as me higher than that poll. The public poll shows I'm behind fifth place (there are five seats up for grabs) by 10%. With the margin of error, maybe we are not that far. The poll was also done before the tv ad so it ccould not measure the its effect. We need to continue working hard until the last day. People will reward us for our hard work. We can do this!

We will be distributing free eyes lapel pins on the street and to the campaign office visitors.
 


The campaign food for volunteers and office visitors is roasted carrot fries (carrots are good for the eyes).

[Poirot]

Release of Poirot's "watching eyes" tv ad


Can you read this clearly?

Like Atlasia's Senate work, it is difficult to read and understand for most people. You need the eye of an expert. It's normal you don't follow Senate activities because you have a busy life, but you need someone to represent you and keep an eye on your interests.

I have the dedication for the work in the Senate, the sharp eye for legislation and the vision. I will look closely at issues and make things clear for you.

Between April 19 and 21 vote Poirot in the At-Large Senate election.
Let me be your watching eyes.

[Poirot]

With the regionalization of constitutional amendment I suggest after the Senatevotes for an amendment, the role of liaison and follow up be given to the Vice President. He would be in charge of alerting the regions an amendment passed the Senate by posting it in the conference or regional executives thread. After this formal announcement he would be in charged of keeping track of regions going through process of adoption if a region forgets to act and needs some proding.

If elected I will be fiscally responsible. I haven't made costly spending promises to buy your votes. I think it's important that the government stays in a good budgetary situation.

I have seen the sample ballot. If you need help voting, I am at the bottom of the list of candidates, so it is easier to mark your first preference starting at the end of the list.

I hope you will trust me to be your watching eyes in the Senate.
Thank you kindly.     

[Poirot]

I like your ideas.  Endorsed.

Thank you for the endorsement! It is much appreciated.

[Poirot]

Concession speech

The first results are coming in and it is clear I will finish last. Citizens have chosen other candidates to represent them. It was a group of strong candidates. I congratulate the winners  and wish them good luck in the demanding work of Senator.

It was my first national race and it gave me the opportunity to deliver my message to all the nation and meet people from all over the country. I am proud of my campaign. I had the three important element of official song, logo, and food. I also produced a tv ad. There were less visitors than anticipated in my campaign office. As a result I have carrot leftovers. This food will be donated to a local food bank.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank the people who have updated the wiki over the last six months, wether it was part of their job, official volunteer or individual effort. Give them a big round of applause for their work.

Last, thank you to those who took the time to read what I had to say and looked at my campaign. Heartfelt thanks to those who gave me words of encouragement and my supporters.

Thank you kindly.

[Poirot]

News bulletin

Poirot was appointed to the Northeast assembly.

[Poirot]

Hello everyone!

I have officially entered the race for the Senate regional seat of the Northeast. The election is in June and the term covers the summer. I know most of you want to go outside and enjoy the sun and it's not a period you are much interested about politics. I am willing to sacrifice the joys of outside sun to work inside in the Senate. I might bring a bit of sun inside, to the Sunate!

My first campaign stop is in Plattsburgh, New York. Tonight I will be at the Airborne Park Speedway to mingle with the local Saturday night race fans.

Before going there I wanted to talk about the Senate bill on same day registration. I understand the two sides. It can be frustrating for a new citizen to have its vote not counted because the citizen was not registered for seven days prior to the start of the election. That person might have to wait two months to participate in another election. On the other hand there is a possibility that many people are driven to the registering office only a few hours before the election to vote and never be seen again. That tactic could be used before any deadline, 1 day or 7 days, but the closer to the election the more it looks like trying to steal the election.

I would propose a compromise of these two views. Cutting it in half: make the waiting period for the right to vote three or four days instead of seven.         

[Poirot]

My campaign activities today are about the Atlasia-Canada common market proposal. I will reiterate my positions on this topic discussed in the all-candidate Senate debate.

In my event in Rutland Vermont I spoke of free trade. I believe in free trade. My first ever vote in RL was in an election in which free trade was a big issue. In section IV of the Atlasia common market agreement, it is written that "all existing trade regulations agreed upon in NAFTA are retained unless otherwise stated". I believe we should be more ambitious and get rid of most trade regulations. For exemple the cultural industries exemption that Canada wanted will likely still be in effect.

There has been progress in the agricultural sector. The accord speak of the goal to reduce where at all possible most agricultural subsidies to even the market. Maybe that is good for products receiving monetary subsidies but I find the accord not strong enough to benefit the dairy producers of Vermont. The wording is not clearly indicating if the Canadian government will give up supply management system and open the border for unlimited exports of our dairy products. It's important non-tariffs barriers are removed and the Canadian market is fully open to our dairy industry.

Another aspect of the common market agreement is the freedom of movement. Section V says there will not be passport security checks when citizens cross the border. With that, millions of people will get the right to cross the border freely. Twenty per cent of the canadian population is foreign born. Allowing all Canadian citizens freedom of movement in Atlasia brings security concerns. We are losing control of screening who we let in in our country.

Later in the day in Newark, New Jersey the topic was the effects of the possible enlargement of the St. Lawrence seaway. I have concerns about jobs in the Northeast. If bigger vessels can navigate into the Great Lakes, it could mean less traffic for the ports along the Atlantic coast. If ships bypass the coast to go to the interior this could result in less jobs in the ports and the transportation industry to bring goods to the Atlantic ports. The Northeast has more shore on the Atlantic than on the Great Lakes.

As regional senator my priority will be to defend the region. The project could be good for other regions of Atlasia but not the Northeast. I will ask for an evaluation of the long term impact of enlarging the seaway on the Northeast and wait the result before approving this project.

The other concern with enlarging the seaway is environmental. Building a larger or deeper seaway could have an effect on the fragile ecosystem of the lakes and coastal area; the same with an increase in ship traffic.     

[Poirot]

I am in Ogunquit in Maine.





Today I am presenting my sunny campaign banner. You want something new under the sun?  Elect Poirot to the Sunate!

I'm also announcing my campaign song is Walking on sunshine by Katrina and the waves.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iPUmE-tne5U

[Poirot]

Thank you Monsieur!

I'm sure there is investigative work to be done in the Senate.

[Poirot]

Campaign stop in Cambridge Mass. It is important for the government to support research. It helps to move towards a knowledge based economy. It gives good paying jobs. It helps to make discoveries and move science forward.

I think we should invest more in research. To have a return on our investment or get back some of the money we invest, we should sign agreements with projects we fund. We will financially benefit from royalties patents, or licenses obtained from the research funded by getting a share of those revenues.

Since research is partially funded by public money it should be made available to all. After reaserch results are published in a scientific journal, a summary of it (if the paper is too long and complicated) would have to be posted publicly on a designated government website within three months. 

[Poirot]

In Manchester New Hampshire I outlined two possibilities for tax relief for individuals.

My first try would be to reintroduce the tax cuts that was passed by the Senate but vetoed by the president. After different proposals the Senate adopted two changes to the current tax structure. The first bracket is modified to start at 15K instead of 9.5K, so it becomes 15K to 35K at 10%. The second bracket keeps the same limits (35K to 80K) but the rate is reduced from 22% to 20%. There is no change for higher incomes. As you can see these changes target lower income and some people not making much money will no longer pay income tax. I believe it is worth try to introduce the same agreement again because the presidential candidates from the two main parties voted for it.

If I see the above could not be put into law, my other possibility is expanding nationally the Northeast No tax account. It was put into place to encourage saving by not taxing what is put into these accounts but there is a low limit on how much you can put into that plan.
https://uselectionatlas.org/FORUM/index.php?topic=168461.msg3610349#msg3610349   

[Poirot]

Endorsed

Great!
Thank you for your endorsement Senator Kalwejt.

[Poirot]

Here is the gist of my speech given in Newport, Rhode Island on federal amendment process.

The federal amendment process could be improved. There needs to be better coordination between the federal government and the regions. First thing is better communication with governors when an amendment has passed the Senate. I suggest posting the information when governors need to act in the Conference for regional executives thread. And after a few days if there is doubt a governor has seen it, sending a personal message would be good. There also need to be better follow up of the results from the regions to make an announcement when all regions have voted or enough have passed an amendment that it is adopted. For this coordination job I think the Vice president or Secretary of Internal Affairs would be best suited.

The other aspect I think needs improvement is explaining to the voters what specific change from the constitution is contained in the amendment and the reason behind it. That way voters are more apt to make a decision.   

[Poirot]

Tonight I am in Philadelphia PA to give my opinion on the upcoming regional vote on constitution change.



There are two parts on the regional sample ballot for amendment 1 which is the constitution ratification amendment. The first part is about lowering the votes needed for adoption from two thirds of the vote to a majority. The second part is to state that a majority is also needed for federal amendments.

I don't agree with lowering the two third of votes needed to change the regional constitution. I view the constitution has something that should be more stable than ordinary laws. It shouldn't be changed too easily. If a change proposal is great, it will get two thirds of the vote.

I don't mind keeping the simple majority for federal amendments. As the ballot is designed, all these topics are inside amendment 1, so I can't be for one and not the other. Therefore, I will vote No on amendment 1.

There is no big negative implication in voting No because the Supreme Court has ruled that a region not making an explicit decision on federal amendment is deemed to be using the current method of simple majority vote. It turns out regions wanting to continue with the same method don't need to make an official choice. We would still have the same rule for federal amendment regardless of voting yes or no on amendment 1.   

[Poirot]

The Poirot for Sunate has an afternoon activity. All people near Pittsburgh PA can meet me in the parking lot of the stadium before the Pirates baseball game. I'm trying to be allowed to do the ceremonial first pitch. Look for my booth in the parking lot. We will be distributing sunflower seeds.


Sunflower seeds is the official food of my campaign. (you know... because there is sun in the name) Sun can have good and bad effects. Good like helping for vitamin D and bad like skin damage. We can say the sun has two different sides like mini-wheats. Skin damage can lead to skin cancer. For information and prevention of skin cancer, visitors to my booth will be able to see damage done to their skin using a special UV photo device.

[Poirot]

We have seen situtations in the past in which regions needed help from outside of the region to keep functioning. Such situtations could be a legislature being paralysed because a speaker and lieutenant governor disappeared and there was no clear line of succession to proceed or a region completely skipping election because the region was inactive and no one opened a voting booth.

In cases like these intervention from outside the region to open a voting booth for example is useful. The federal government could consult regions and suggest they adopt an emergency clause that allow federal intervention when regional activity is paralysed. I recognize and respect regional powers. This would not be forced onto regions that don't want it.

To respect regional jurisdiction and make sure the federal governement doesn't infringe on regional affairs, there would be perequisite actions to be taken before a federal official could open a regional voting booth. One would be to wait after the regional legal deadline to start voting has passed. Another would be to contact by private message all possible officials from the region that have the right to open the booth (like governor, judge). This step could be done before the opening of the booth if there is serious concern of the booth not opening in time.

I think an arrangement like that helps a region to get out of paralysis while respecting regional autonomy.

These comments were made in Seaford, Delaware.

[Poirot]

This morning I was at a breakfast meeting with business people in Fairfield, Connecticut. Eggs sunny side up were served.




The government should encourage crowdfunding and equity crowdfunding. It helps small business or projects get access to funds, having access to everyone. Equity crowdfunding cuts the middle man and could lead to cheaper financing for start ups. To help secure the method of financing I propose crowdfunding portals must be government approved. It doesn't guarantee the investment is safe. People must know there is risk involved, but hopefully on serious portals there will be serious offers and a reduced risk of fraud. I hope this will help entrepreneurs efforts.   

I also mentioned how the common market agreement with Canada is a good opportunity for Atlasia to push for a review of foreign ownership rules in some industries. If the two countries are more integrated economically, foreign ownership rules should be abolished or less restrictive between the two countries. Canadian industries protected by foreign ownership limit include telecommunications and broadcasting, banking and insurance. 

[Poirot]

In Utica, New York I spoke on two topics. The importance for everyone to pay their fair share of taxes. I would support the federal administration's efforts to fight tax havens, working with other countries around the world. Also work with other nations to fight business tax avoidance and evasion especially by multinational firms.

I also spoke about defending people not belonging to big parties (independent and small party) if there is electoral reform. Sometimes the big parties think mostly about their interest and those without a major voice get forgotten. I believe all should have easy access to being on the ballot and the system still gets a chance to win for everybody. Well, it's easier to win if you are in a big party but potential changes should not make it more difficult and improbable for other candidates to win than now. That is something important for me.