Progessive Caucus Convention

[MAS117]

Welcome to Charlotte, NC![/b]

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The Fourth Progessive Caucus Convention Will Be Held at the Bank of America Stadium in uptown Charlotte.[/b]

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Welcome fellow Progessives![/b]

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[MAS117]

Bangs gavel numerous times

My fellow Progessives, welcome to the 4th Progessive Caucus Convention here in beautiful Charlotte, North Carolina!! I hope you all are enjoying your stay here in Charlotte. I'd first like to thank our friends the Carolina Panthers, and our good friends at the Bank of America for lending us this great stadium!

As Chairman of the Progessive Caucus, I hereby declare this convention open for business!

Bangs gavel

I'm going to post the Caucus rules, members of the Caucus, and finally the Caucus platform, if anyone has any revisions they would like to make. After words, we will move on to speechs. The order for speechs will be the following:

1.) Chairman MAS117
2.) Akno21
3.) President Alcon San Croix
4.) Fmr. Chairman Peter Bell

If anyone would like to speak after please send me a pm or an instant message and I'll add you to the list.

After speechs we will vote on the Caucus board and then on Senate endorsements and our Presidential endorsement.

A special thanks goes out to Akno21, and Peter Bell for there hard work and dedication to the most influential Caucus in the history of Atlasia. Now, go out and enjoy the city! Thank you!

Please Check out the following pages for more info:

http://www.progressnj.com/atlaswiki/index.php/Progressive_Caucus

http://newprogressive.proboards25.com/index.cgi

[MAS117]

Caucus Rules

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Leadership

1. There shall be a Caucus Chairman and a Caucus Vice Chairman, elected together for a term of approxiametly two months.
2. The Chairman and Vice Chairman shall be elected in a popular vote of the Caucus membership via Preferential Voting.
3. Whoever shall win the vote shall be Chairman, and whoever shall be the runner-up shall be Vice Chairman.
4. If the Chairmanship shall become vacant, the Vice Chairman shall become Chairman until the next Convention.

Membership

1. Any registered voter of the Atlas Fantasy Forum shall be eligible to become a member of the Progressive Caucus by simple declaration.
2. The Caucus may expel a member by a two-thirds majority vote.

Conventions

1. Conventions shall be held within the two weeks before a scheduled election to the Senate of the Atlas Fantasy Forum.
2. All motions before the Convention must pass by a majority vote to be adopted.
3. At Conventions, elections to the Caucus Leadership shall be held.
4. The Chairman shall chair the Convention. If the Chairman shall be absent the Vice Chairman shall chair the Convention.

Endorsements

1. If possible, endorsements shall be made via a motion before a Convention.
2. If this is not possible, the Chairman shall be able to conduct a vote of the Caucus in the General Board for the endorsement.

Amendment

1. These rules may be amended by the Convention by a two-thirds majority vote.

The Board

1. At the beginning of each Convention a census of the Caucus membership by party shall be conducted by the Chairman.
2. Each party shall be allocated a number of seats on the board by taking its number of members in the Caucus and dividing it by 5 and then rounding to the nearest integer.
3. Independents and members of parties lacking any Board representation may affiliate together to elect Board members as though they were a party.
4. Each party may elect or appoint Caucus members from their party to the Board as they shall wish.
5. The Chairman and Vice Chairman shall have seats on the Board ex officio.
6. The Board may endorse ballot measures and legislation by a majority vote.
7. The Board may issue emergency endorsements for elections when it is the opinion of the Chairman that there is insufficient time to hold a full Caucus vote.
8. The Board may pass a vote of No Confidence in the Caucus Chairman by a majority vote.
9. Should both the Chairmancy and Vice Chairmancy be vacant between Conventions the Board shall elect a new Chairman.

[MAS117]

Platform

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Gay Marriage

The Progressive Caucus is happy with the status quo of Atlasia that has granted to gay couples the joys and benefits of marriage. We regard this as a great victory for equality in society and will oppose all attempts to damage the consensus that has been achieved on this issue.

Death Penalty

The Progressive Caucus opposes the practice of the death penalty in all cases.

Prostitution
The Progressive Caucus supports the legalization of prostitution.  This involves mandating that prostitutes should be at least 18 years of age, kept together in bordellos and off the streets, and are frequently checked by local authorities for HIV-AIDS, and other sexually transmitted diseases.

We believe it makes better sense to have these business transactions conducted in a far safer and cleaner environment than on the streets where they are liable to be exposed to the elements, as well as raped and/or murdered by street thugs.

School Prayer

The Progressive Caucus supports the right of individual children to choose to pray in school and we support schools being able to provide facilities to allow students their free exercise rights during their free time. We do not think it is correct that classroom or organised time is used for school prayer.

Sex Education and Contraception in Schools

The Progressive Caucus believes that sex education in schools should be taught according to guidelines drawn by local communities, specifically including education on STDs and methods of contraception. We think that local communities should be able to include education on matters of homosexuality and abstinence at their own discretion, but we encourage it in both cases. Contraception should be made available to teenagers over the age of 16 confidentially in schools if the local community approves, but once again we encourage it.

Media Regulation

The Progressive Caucus opposes regulation of the media in all its forms as it is an attack on free speech and the free press. We will work to ensure that all media outlets are able to transmit without regard to state censorship, but with regard to what they feel their viewers and readers want.

Taxation

The Progressive Caucus supports the continuation of a fair, progressive system of taxation at the federal level of government.

Education

The Progressive Caucus supports the doctrine of educational funding and control expounded by Mideast Governor Bell: We support a system that places control over funding at the community level. We support ever increasing funding of education so that we can have truly the best educated citizens in the world for the benefit of the the future economy.

The Pledge of Allegiance

The Progressive Caucus feels that any citizen being required to invoke the existence of a God in order to pledge allegiance to the nation discriminates against those who do not believe in God. We therefore support making the uttering of the words 'Under God' optional in the Pledge.

Environment

The Progressive Caucus supports all measures to reduce the amount that industry pollutes the environment; We embrace the Clean Energy Act pioneered by District 2 Senator Siege40 as a good step forward. We urge all Regions to initiate programmes to protect the environment, develop clean technologies and to place higher environmental standards onto industry.

Pornography

The Progressive Caucus supports the right of persons of 16 years and over to buy, possess and view pornography depicting only consenting persons of at least 18 years of age.

Assisted Suicide

The Progressive Caucus supports the right of the terminally ill to seek a death faster than would have otherwise occured through the assistance of doctors, and for persons to leave instructions to this effect for the event of their permenant incapacity.

Abortion

The Progressive Caucus supports the right of a mother to an abortion throughout the first trimester of the pregnancy and in the cases of a threat to the mother's health and foetal inviability throughout the pregnancy. We leave it to the conscience of individual members to decide their position in other cases.

[MAS117]

List of Progessive Caucus Members

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Peter Bell    
Ilikeverin    
Akno21    
Blerpiez    
Defarge    
Flyers2006
Alcon    
Wildcard    
Al    
True Democrat    
Siege40    
MAS117    
Lewis Trondheim    
Nym90    
Harry    
Immy    
Ian    
Gustaf    
Frodo    
Sam Spade    
Cosmo Kramer    
Josh    
Emsworth    
Texasgurl    
Migrendel    
Opebo    
Ebowed    
LiberalPA    
Smash255

If anyone else from Atlasia would like to join the Progessive Caucus just state your intentions in this thread. Thank you.

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[King]

Nothing like a convention held in an outdoor football stadium.

[Keystone Phil]

Nothing like a convention held in an outdoor football stadium.

Exactly what I said to him. He told me that you should just wear a jacket. Genius idea, isn't it?

[King]

http://www.charlotteconventionctr.com/index.asp

[Sam Spade]

I hope it doesn't rain.

[King]

I hope it doesn't rain.

Looking good, for now:

[MAS117]

I have talked to the Mayor of Charlotte and if there is rain in the forecast he has given us permission to move and set up in the Charlotte Convention Center.

***In real news, I will give until Wednesday for anyone to offer a revision to the current platform.***

[Frodo]

The Pledge of Allegiance

The Progressive Caucus feels that any citizen being required to invoke the existence of a God in order to pledge allegiance to the nation is a clear establishment of religion. We support the removal of the words "under God" from the Pledge.

I propose removing this provision from our platform.  I really do not see what harm it would do to anyone to recite by rote the Pledge of Allegiance with 'Under God' in it, if it is required.  I am an agnostic, and it has never bothered me.  I can understand the concerns relating to the establishment of religion, but throughout United States' history (in the real world), God has frequently been invoked by every president that this country has ever known.  Has this ever resulted in the establishment of a state church over the 229-year history of this republic? 

This is frivolous, and needless provocation to those of faith, including progressives.   What next, do you propose removing all religious references from the United States Constitution and the Declaration of Independence?  Where does it stop?

[MAS117]

The Pledge of Allegiance

The Progressive Caucus feels that any citizen being required to invoke the existence of a God in order to pledge allegiance to the nation is a clear establishment of religion. We support the removal of the words "under God" from the Pledge.

I propose removing this provision from our platform.  I really do not see what harm it would do to anyone to recite by rote the Pledge of Allegiance with 'Under God' in it, if it is required.  I am an agnostic, and it has never bothered me.  I can understand the concerns relating to the establishment of religion, but throughout United States' history (in the real world), God has frequently been invoked by every president that this country has ever known.  Has this ever resulted in the establishment of a state church over the 229-year history of this republic? 

This is frivolous, and needless provocation to those of faith, including progressives.   What next, do you propose removing all religious references from the United States Constitution and the Declaration of Independence?  Where does it stop?

I agree with Frodo on this, and I am for the removal of this from the Platform.

[Frodo]

Pornography

The Progressive Caucus supports the right of teenagers of 16 years and over to buy and view pornography.

While I do not disagree with this provision, it should add 'adults of 18 years and over' to it.  In addition, we should clarify that we support pornography as long as the pornography in question portrays consenting participants of 18-years or older, and that it doesn't involve children or animals, or necrophilia.  Within these boundaries, we will not interfere with anyone's viewing of pornography.

The revised provision will hereby read: 'The Progressive Caucus supports the right of teenagers of 16 years and over, and adults of 18 years and over, to buy and sell, as well as view pornography as long as it portrays consenting participants of 18 years and over, and that the pornography does not involve necrophilia, children or animals in any way, shape, or form.  Within these set boundaries, we do not support the intervention of the government into the buying and selling, as well as the viewing of pornography.'
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To the assembled caucus, I propose these changes. 

[Frodo]

I have talked to the Mayor of Charlotte and if there is rain in the forecast he has given us permission to move and set up in the Charlotte Convention Center.

If you don't mind me asking, why did you even pick an outdoor football stadium in the first place as opposed to the Charlotte Convention Center?  Wouldn't that (the Convention Center) have been a more natural choice given the political nature of this gathering? 

[Hatman 🍁]

May I join the caucus?

[Akno21]

May I join the caucus?

Yes. Welcome to the Progressive Caucus, be sure to check out our off-site forums.

[Ebowed]

I fully support your change to the pornography plank, Frodo.

I think that the Death Penalty plank should be changed:
The Progressive Caucus opposes the practice of the death penalty in all cases.

The current one, which includes treason as a capital crime, is more in line with Dick Cheney's beliefs than the current system being used in America, so this section of the plank is regressive.  Also, where's it going to stop?  Why support it for terrorism if not for all other cases of murder?  Draw the line, don't be afraid to be tough when you need to be.

I would support removing the Pledge plank, though I prefer we just change our position to have it so that it is not mandatory to recite it in schools.  We should be more worried about the fact that it is a pledge of nationalism rather than the fact that it contains "under God," anyway.  Our priorities are mixed up on this one.

More thoughts later.

[minionofmidas]

The Pledge of Allegiance

The Progressive Caucus feels that any citizen being required to invoke the existence of a God in order to pledge allegiance to the nation is a clear establishment of religion. We support the removal of the words "under God" from the Pledge.

I propose removing this provision from our platform.  I really do not see what harm it would do to anyone to recite by rote the Pledge of Allegiance with 'Under God' in it, if it is required.  I am an agnostic, and it has never bothered me.  I can understand the concerns relating to the establishment of religion, but throughout United States' history (in the real world), God has frequently been invoked by every president that this country has ever known.  Has this ever resulted in the establishment of a state church over the 229-year history of this republic? 

I agree, there's more important business than altering the pledge.
Abolishing the pledge, for one. And even that is not something I'd consider important even if I were an American.

[minionofmidas]

Pornography

The Progressive Caucus supports the right of teenagers of 16 years and over to buy and view pornography.

While I do not disagree with this provision, it should add 'adults of 18 years and over' to it.  In addition, we should clarify that we support pornography as long as the pornography in question portrays consenting participants of 18-years or older, and that it doesn't involve children or animals, or necrophilia.  Within these boundaries, we will not interfere with anyone's viewing of pornography.

The revised provision will hereby read: 'The Progressive Caucus supports the right of teenagers of 16 years and over, and adults of 18 years and over, to buy and sell, as well as view pornography as long as it portrays consenting participants of 18 years and over, and that the pornography does not involve necrophilia, children or animals in any way, shape, or form.  Within these set boundaries, we do not support the intervention of the government into the buying and selling, as well as the viewing of pornography.'
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To the assembled caucus, I propose these changes. 

This doesn't really add anything that shouldn't be understood anyways, and is incredibly verbose. I oppose this change.

[minionofmidas]

I fully support your change to the pornography plank, Frodo.

I think that the Death Penalty plank should be changed:
The Progressive Caucus opposes the practice of the death penalty in all cases.

I concur.

[Peter]

I oppose all changes to the Pornography plank:

The clarifications of things such as child porn, necrophilia, etc. are easily understood as being there as Lewis says. In fact, by creating a list of exceptions, we actually cause ourselves more problems because if we miss something out, then we have actually endorsed it as legitimate, as opposed to using the "read between the lines" understanding.

Secondary to that is the change in the age viewing requirement: I have always found it ridiculous that we set the age of consent for sexual relations and for viewing pornography at different ages. It does not make intuitive sense - If you can have sex legally, then what exactly are we protecting 16 year olds from by stopping them viewing porn?

If we are to raise the age required to view pornography then I strongly urge that we be intellectually consistent and make the same demand on the age of consent.

I will continue to support the removal of the words "under God" from the Pledge: The law has systematically discriminated against principled atheists who have declined to say those words in their pledge of allegiance - in so doing, the Law has actually stopped an entire class of citizens from legally having pledged allegiance to their country - This, to me, is wrong, and I would leave the Pledge as it is.

The death penalty is a fault line through the caucus, and the present compromise was made to stop this from truly dividing the Caucus - I cannot vote for splitting the Caucus into two.

[King]

This convention is going to have to go on a rain delay:

[Keystone Phil]

This convention is going to have to go on a rain delay:

MAS said that everyone can wear a jacket.

[King]

This convention is going to have to go on a rain delay:

MAS said that everyone can wear a jacket.

I'll have to go to the convention just to make fun of it...