The Atlasian Courant/The Public Office of the SoIA, Speed of Sound

[tmthforu94]

Be expecting a lengthy PM from me fairly soon. Congratulations!

[Speed of Sound]

Hello everyone,

This is just a quick announcement that this office has been officially converted into my private office as Secretary of Internal Affairs. I will use this space to make less formal/non-binding announcements or give more personal opinions regarding issues within the department's boundaries. I will also take questions and comments from the general public here, so as to keep my place of official business a little cleaner.

[Speed of Sound]

The Opinion of the SoIA

It was a mixed day in the eyes of the Department of the Internal Affairs, as the President wonderfully signed into law the LGBT Dignity Act, which will take a great step in protecting and advancing the psychological health of our nation's LGBT citizens, while he vetoed the Right Wages of the Right Regions Act, denying the option to struggling regions to reduce their minimum wage to a still reasonable amount in order to bolster their growth. It is the opinion of the Department that a bill which is only in effect until a region hits a certain level of growth of unemployment would be better, as the ability for the minimum wage to reflect the variable living wage is important. The Department would love to see the President send a revised version of the bill back to the Senate which allows for the worst off regions to take advantage of this legislation until they recover to a determined level. The Department does not deem it necessary to expound further on the matter, however, and leaves it otherwise in the hands of the President and Senate.

[Speed of Sound]

Quoting the official decision from the Department's public office:

Regarding The Right Wages and Late-Term Abortion Bills

This Department takes the view of the majority of the Senate both that the bills have become law according to the Constitution and that there is no longer a reason to work with the President to come to compromise given the nature of his obstruction of legislative process. Therefore, the SoIA is prepared to enforce both of these laws to the extent which the Department is able and is accepting complaints of violation of these laws. If the President wishes to stop ours and the Senate's work in enforcing the laws, he will have to do so in court.

[HagridOfTheDeep]

I'm very happy with your decision. You've been a wonderful SoIA so far, and the effort you're putting into your job isn't going unnoticed. Congrats.

[Zanas]

Is the President the only one which has the ability to contest that outcome in court ? Or do all citizens have this ability ?

[Speed of Sound]

Is the President the only one which has the ability to contest that outcome in court ? Or do all citizens have this ability ?

My gut instinct is to say that all citizens have the ability to bring a case to the Supreme Court, but I must admit that I don't actually know. Can someone with that knowledge shed light on this for us?

[Simfan34]

I didn't notice you do that. Very good!

[Barnes]

Is the President the only one which has the ability to contest that outcome in court ? Or do all citizens have this ability ?

My gut instinct is to say that all citizens have the ability to bring a case to the Supreme Court, but I must admit that I don't actually know. Can someone with that knowledge shed light on this for us?

Any citizen may sue the government of Atlasia for a dispute over a law.  See SPC vs. Atlasia as an example. 

[Speed of Sound]

Is the President the only one which has the ability to contest that outcome in court ? Or do all citizens have this ability ?

My gut instinct is to say that all citizens have the ability to bring a case to the Supreme Court, but I must admit that I don't actually know. Can someone with that knowledge shed light on this for us?

Any citizen may sue the government of Atlasia for a dispute over a law.  See SPC vs. Atlasia] as an example. 

Thanks Barnes!

[Speed of Sound]

I am happy to announce to the public my return to duty after a lengthy leave of absence. I am working towards fulfilling the duties handed to me by bills in the Senate, but I also hope to have generated my first regional story by the end of the evening. I expect this new foray into news-making to require some getting used to and refining, and I will be happily receiving questions and comments here in this private office for the people (or in my government office if officials would like increased privacy and formality in their discussions).

[Speed of Sound]

The Atlasian Courant

IDS: Pressure Mounts for Increased Sports Safety

GAINSVILLE, GA-- The harsh reality of sport was on center stage Sunday. What was supposed to be a day of celebration for Georgia high school program Gainesville became a nightmare when their star quarterback and hot college prospect Jalen Watson was blindsided in the second quarter of the state championship. The senior was suffered serious spinal injuries, and it was revealed today that his football career is almost certainly over, with long rehab hoping only to restore his ability to walk regularly again.

Football has long been at the heart of Southern culture, but local parents are growing weary of the obstacles to increased safety from die-hard fans. A group of 450 parents, organized by the upstart Campaign for Youth Sports Safety (CYSS), showed up at the IDS capital Wednesday to press for increased measures by the region to make the school sport safer. This is no fluke, however, as a string of ugly incidents in Alabama last year led to the establishment of CYSS, who have since reached out across the region to lobby local and regional officials alike to take a hard look at the effects of the sport.
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The Secretary of Internal Affairs, Speed of Sound, released this statement:

"Sport is a beautiful channel to so many of the attributes that we want to teach our children, and I have no plans of helping to dismantle something that so many hold dear. The fact remains, however, that 85% of high school football players will sustain an injury in their playing time, and 11% of those will be 'severe'. I hear the concerns of the parents of the IDS, and I will be in touch with the Emperor to see how he wishes to proceed. I am sure the legislature sympathizes with these kids and parents and will look for a reasonable solution for everybody."

[Meta-Speak: I figured I would start out with something small, something which would give the region something to get to act on, but not something that demands action; if they wanted to, they could never introduce anything, or even choose to comment on this and it would probably fade away well enough. I figure now whether the Governor simply wishes to issue a statement on it and be done with it, or whether he or the legislature wish to go further than that is up to them; I will contact him personally so he knows of this as well. Fear not, for the player is fictional (the school isn't). Please, comment on how you feel about this kind of thing, let me know what could be better, etc. Thanks!]