Peace Party general thread

[LAKISYLVANIA]

Hi fellow Paxists. Our party has seen a lot of change recently, and this is why we need to have a convention.

I propose the following things will be done

- Making room for updating the platform & bylaws and amending those if the desire for that is there
- Electing and nomination process of a chair and vice-chair
- Electing and nominating a city for the next convention
- Possibly on request already opening up endorsement votes for february

For now I call on fellow Paxists to sign in for the convention to have a vote.

[LAKISYLVANIA]

In text below the existing platform, which later on in the convention one will have the chance to vote for (or request changes through amendments or updating the platform). The platform below is the platform of February 2019.

Platform

The Peace Party seeks to ensure that the common dignity of all people be respected, so that all may enjoy the unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Our mission is to promote a better quality of life for people of every background, race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, and ability. We work for justice, liberty, and peace domestically and internationally. Atlasia's rich tradition of equality, freedom, civic responsibility, and being good neighbors improves the lives of everyone.

These are our guiding values and principles:

Peace and Diplomacy

We believe that war should only be used as a last resort. Our goal for a demilitarized society can only be met through diplomacy and consensus-building foreign policy. Most importantly, we believe that international law, as defined by the Charter of the United Nations, is obeyed at all times in order to maintain the credibility of Atlasia.

We believe that government does not have the moral right to forcibly subject its citizens to violence. As such, we favor a Constitutional ban on military conscription and the dissolution of the Selective Service System.

Sustainable Development

We believe that sustainable development must be the organizing principle for meeting human needs while at the same time sustaining the ability of natural system to provide the resources and ecosystems upon which our economy and society depend. Our goal is a state of society where living conditions and resource use continue to meet human needs without undermining the integrity of the natural system.

We share the 17 global goals set by the United Nations in 2015 and seek for them to be accomplished in our Republic. These goals are the following:

1. Zero poverty 2. Zero hunger 3. Good health and well-being for People 4. Quality education 5. Gender equality 6. Clean Water and Sanitation 7. Affordable and Clean Energy 8. Decent Work and Economic Growth 9. Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure 10. Reducing Inequalities 11. Sustainable Cities and Communities 12. Responsible Consumption and Production 13. Climate Action 14. Life Below Water 15. Life on Land 16. Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions 17. Partnerships for the Goals

Conservation

Atlasia offers incredible access to unique public lands and spaces. We oppose transferring ownership of state-managed lands to state or private interests for environmental exploitation.

We value Atlasia's rich legacy of outdoor recreation. For us to protect our lands, we must acknowledge the human impact on climate change and the ecosystem, including use of fossil fuels, pollution, deforestation, and mountaintop-removal mining.

We support federal and local efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and other environmental impacts, and we support environmentally responsible development for rural and urban areas.

We support incentivizing renewable energy.

Fairness and Equality

We embrace the charge of our Constitution that all humans are equal. This principle should be reflected in our local, regional, and national laws. We strongly oppose recent efforts in the House of Representatives to end birthright citizenship.

We support protecting those who are victim to discrimination, which includes those of all gender expressions, sexual orientations, races, creeds, political beliefs, ages, abilities, economic statuses, and religions.

We support protecting LGBT citizens under existing hate crime legislation.

We seek to establish a better relationship between law enforcement officials and the people whose duty it is for them to protect.

We support defending the entire Bill of Rights from infringement by local, regional, or national authorities.

Healthcare

Accessible physical and mental healthcare should be considered a right and not a privilege, from birth to end of life, including reproductive health care according to personal choice.

We support comprehensive sex education, pregnancy care and prevention services, and the full range of reproductive health care options.

We support, for the promise of accessible and not for-profit health care for every Atlasian, a national "public option" choice for AtlasCare.

Social and Economic Well-Being

Atlasia's boom and bust cycle creates economic instability. Over the past several decades, Atlasia's wealthiest have become richer while our poor have become poorer. Peace believes that Atlasia is only as strong as its weakest link.

To achieve prosperity for all, we support fair distribution of wealththat includes but is not limited to expanding the earned income tax credit, increases in corporate and capital gains tax rates, and as recently proposed in the Senate, raising the top marginal tax rate to 58%.

We support universal access to pre-school and maternity care.

We support economic programs which lift people out of poverty and improve living conditions.

We support expanding job opportunities and higher education, such as free in state tuition at all public colleges. We support an "AtlasDeal' that pledges to repair our crumbling infrastructure, which includes roads, bridges, trains, airports, waterways, our clean energy infrastructure, and schools.

We staunchly believe that strong unions are key to a strong middle class. We endorse the Employee Free Choice Act, recently passed by both branches of Congress and signed into law by President Weatherboy.

We believe that our trade policies have not been beneficial to the Atlasian worker and instead have been beneficial to companies interested in increasing their profit margin by shipping jobs to lower wage nations. As such, trade deals such as CAFTA and NAFTA warrant re-negotiation.

Game Reform

Unfortunately, we consider the incumbent's level of engagement in the day to day workings of Congress to be insufficient. Meanwhile, Congress has become increasingly polarized and divided between the two major parties. We believe in big and diverse tent that encourages political discourse that goes beyond the traditional left to right political spectrum. We believe that the loophole that circumvents the six month regional lock should be closed. At the regional level, we generally favor consolidation of the number of offices and feel cabinet offices at the regional level should kept to moderation.

Final Thoughts

Finally, we encourage all Peaceniks to get involved. Hold our elected representatives accountable. Run for regional legislatures. Run for Congress. Above all - VOTE! And also, free hugs.

Bylaws

STRUCTURE

• The Peace Party shall be organized by a Chair and a Vice-Chair.
• The Chair is responsible for organizing conventions, running votes, and the general day-to-day operation of the party.
• The Vice-Chair is responsible for recruitment and shall take over for the Chair if that person cannot or does not fulfill their duties.
• The members of the Peace Party shall be all those Atlasian citizens considered by the Registrar-General to belong to the Peace Party, with the exception of anyone who has been expelled.

THE MEMBERS
Any group of two or more members may at any time petition for a vote on any of the following subjects:

• endorsing one or more candidates in an upcoming election
• a specific proposal for modification of the platform or by-laws
• dismissal of the Chair and/or the Vice-Chair
• expulsion of one or more members
• dissolution of the Peace Party

All members are eligible to participate in any vote conducted by the Peace Party.

THE CHAIR
The Chair shall run all votes and threads of the Peace Party, except for votes on their own dismissal, which shall be run by the Vice-Chair.
The Peace Party shall assemble at Convention the second week of every February, June, and October in order to complete tasks including, but not limited to, the following:

• electing a new Chair and Vice-Chair
• endorsing candidates for President, Regional Senate, House of Representatives, Lincoln Governor and Assembly, South Governor and Chamber of Delegates, and Fremont Prime Minister and House of Commons.
• affirmation or modification of the platform and by-laws

At the beginning of every convention month, the Chair shall allow members to nominate and vote on the location of the convention. February conventions shall be held in the South. June conventions shall be held in Lincoln. October conventions shall be held in Fremont.
Votes shall consist of a 72-hour nomination period (where applicable) and a 72-hour voting period. More than one vote may be held at the same time.
If the Chair resigns or fails to fulfill their duties for a period of 72 hours, the Vice-Chair shall automatically become Chair.

THE VICE-CHAIR
The Vice-Chair's main duty is to recruit members and candidates for the Peace Party.
The Vice-Chair shall also remind all eligible members via PM of upcoming elections and any relevant endorsements.
If the Vice-Chair resigns or fails to fulfill their duties, the Peace Party shall elect a new Vice-Chair.

GENERAL
Peace Party members are automatically endorsed, except in the case of more members running than there are available seats in a given election. If there are more candidates than available seats, a primary will be held, using a public IRV vote to determine the endorsement in which all members registered with the party 72 hours in advance and in the case of a regional election, registered in that specific region. Non-party members may petition for the endorsement of the Peace Party if there are more available seats than Peace Party candidates, prompting a nationwide majority vote to determine the endorsement.
Elections for party offices will be held by a public IRV vote.

• All yes-or-no votes will require a simple majority, except for dissolution, which will require two thirds.
• If all party offices are vacant at the same time, elections shall be run by the first available member.
  

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

x Scott, Fremont First Minister and Secretary of State

I nominate Ruckersville, VA for the convention location.

[LAKISYLVANIA]

x Myself

Nominating locations for convention is opened (and Scotts nomination is included)

There will be a 72-hour period to sign for the convention.

[NewYorkExpress]

x GM Team Member NewYorkExpress

Nominating Richmond, Virginia for convention location

[Mr. Reactionary]

X R, PPT

Seconding Ruckersville, Virginia

[Attorney General, LGC Speaker, and Former PPT Dwarven Dragon]

X Dwarven Dragon

[Dr. MB]

x Dr. MB

[Liminal Trans Girl]

x Classic Liminal

Thirding Ruckersville, Virginia

[fhtagn]

x fhtagn, Southern Deputy Speaker

Fourth-ing Ruckersville, Virginia

[Make America Grumpy Again]

x Christian Man
In favor of Ruckersville, VA

[Zinneke]

X Zinneke

[PPT Spiral]

X Spiral

[Mr. Reactionary]

Not sure if this is the time to consider platform amendments. I have a few but wanted to start with this one. It updates and expands upon the existing provisions and adds some new stuff about big business.

Social and Economic Well-Being

Atlasia's boom and bust cycle creates economic instability. Over the past several decades, Atlasia's wealthiest have become richer while our poor have become poorer. Peace believes that Atlasia is only as strong as its weakest link.

To achieve prosperity for all, we support the fair distribution of wealth that includes but is not limited to such as by expanding the earned income tax credit, increases in corporate and capital gains tax rates, and as recently proposed in the Senate, raising the top marginal tax rate to 58% and ensuring that to the maximum extent practicable tax burdens are borne by the wealthiest in society rather than those who have less.

We support universal access to pre-school, daycare services, and maternity care.

We support economic programs which lift people out of poverty and improve living conditions.

We support expanding job opportunities and higher education, such as free in state tuition at all public colleges. We support an "AtlasDeal' that pledges to repair our crumbling continued investment in infrastructure, which includes such as roads, bridges, trains and mass transit, airports, waterways, ports and harbors, shoreline resiliency, internet and electricity service, our clean energy infrastructure capabilities, science laboratories and equipment, and schools education and workforce training.

We oppose the concentration and consolidation of economic power as a tool to control, abuse, defraud, or otherwise harm the people. Accordingly we support government action to prevent and break up monopolies, trusts, company towns, and other anti-competitive behavior. We support consumer protections against fraud, deception, price gouging, and the violation of customer privacy and advocate for fairness to customers.

We support limiting the power of big banks, outlawing loan-sharking and usury, protecting customer access to financial services, and preventing harmful speculator bubbles and harmful inflation. We support protecting debtors from cruel and degrading treatment by creditors and from an endless spiral of poverty.  

We oppose the consolidation of food production into corporate factory farms and support protections for independent farmers such as preventing seed patenting, promoting organic farming and fertilizer, and outlawing monopolistic marketing boards and subsidy programs that only enrich the largest landowners.

We staunchly believe that strong unions are key to a strong middle class. We support efforts to protect the right of the workers to collectively bargain, anti-retaliation protections for workers, and the elimination of wage theft and exploitative practices by employers. We support high wages and employer investment into the well-being of workers such as paid leave policies and retirement assistance. We endorse the Employee Free Choice Act, recently passed by both branches of Congress and signed into law by President Weatherboy.

We believe that our trade policies have not been beneficial to the Atlasian worker and instead have been beneficial to companies interested in increasing their profit margin by shipping jobs to lower wage nations. As such, trade deals such as CAFTA and NAFTA warrant re-negotiation. The outsourcing of the workforce should be discouraged.

[Mr. Reactionary]

Second platform amendment proposal. It expands upon our commitment to peace.

Peace and Diplomacy

We believe that war should only be used as a last resort. Our goal for a demilitarized society can only be met through diplomacy and consensus-building foreign policy. Intervening in foreign wars should be avoided, Atlasian military bases in foreign countries should be scaled back, foreign spying should be limited, the presence of foreign soldiers on Atlasian soil should be prohibited, and the sale of arms to foreign militaries should be greatly curtailed. Most importantly, we believe that international law, as defined by the Charter of the United Nations, is obeyed at all times in order to maintain the credibility of Atlasia. human rights should be prioritized and respected and that our military should not engage in torture, prisoner mistreatment, the targeting of civillians, or other war crimes and crimes against humanity.

We believe that government does not have the moral right to forcibly subject its citizens to violence. As such, we favor a Constitutional ban on military conscription and the dissolution of the Selective Service System. We also oppose martial law and the deployment of the military domestically.

We oppose the militarization of the police and oppose giving weapons of war to civilian police forces. The police should strive for deescalation whenever possible. We support training all police officers in deescalation and appropriate use of force guidelines to limit police violence against the people.

[Mr. Reactionary]

Final proposed amendment. Modernizes a dated reference and add support from crime victims.

Fairness and Equality

We embrace the charge of our Constitution that all humans are equal. This principle should be reflected in our local, regional, and national laws. We strongly oppose recent efforts in the House of Representatives to end ending birthright citizenship.

We support protecting those who are victim to discrimination, which includes those of all gender expressions, sexual orientations, races, creeds, political beliefs, ages, abilities, economic statuses, and religions.

We support protecting LGBT citizens under existing hate crime legislation.

We seek to establish a better relationship between law enforcement officials and the people whose duty it is for them to protect.

We support defending the entire Bill of Rights from infringement by local, regional, or national authorities.

We support treating the victims of crime and violence with dignity and respect.

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

Most of these changes look good, but I would rather take a more finessed approach on trade. As you well know, trade pacts are good for diplomacy, and that is why we have a better relationship with several African countries whereas IRL those ties don't exist. This will pay both monetary and political dividends for both sides over the long term and play a key role in our diplomacy. And, they also partially fill the gap with our failure to establish relations with the Arab world.

While I support trade reform, I'm not really a tariff man. Historically, they haven't worked as intended and have contributed to big economic crashes in addition to inflation. Trade is a touchy subject, and overall I'd say I'm more in favor of trade than I am of protectionism. But there needs to be a balance, and Atlasia cannot be a party to one-sided trade deals, which is why we're fixing NAFTA and its rules instead of simply repealing it.

Just my thoughts.

[Mr. Reactionary]

Most of these changes look good, but I would rather take a more finessed approach on trade. As you well know, trade pacts are good for diplomacy, and that is why we have a better relationship with several African countries whereas IRL those ties don't exist. This will pay both monetary and political dividends for both sides over the long term and play a key role in our diplomacy. And, they also partially fill the gap with our failure to establish relations with the Arab world.

While I support trade reform, I'm not really a tariff man. Historically, they haven't worked as intended and have contributed to big economic crashes in addition to inflation. Trade is a touchy subject, and overall I'd say I'm more in favor of trade than I am of protectionism. But there needs to be a balance, and Atlasia cannot be a party to one-sided trade bills, which is why we're fixing NAFTA and its rules instead of simply repealing it.

Just my thoughts.

Is that version better now?

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

Most of these changes look good, but I would rather take a more finessed approach on trade. As you well know, trade pacts are good for diplomacy, and that is why we have a better relationship with several African countries whereas IRL those ties don't exist. This will pay both monetary and political dividends for both sides over the long term and play a key role in our diplomacy. And, they also partially fill the gap with our failure to establish relations with the Arab world.

While I support trade reform, I'm not really a tariff man. Historically, they haven't worked as intended and have contributed to big economic crashes in addition to inflation. Trade is a touchy subject, and overall I'd say I'm more in favor of trade than I am of protectionism. But there needs to be a balance, and Atlasia cannot be a party to one-sided trade bills, which is why we're fixing NAFTA and its rules instead of simply repealing it.

Just my thoughts.

Is that version better now?

That's much better, yeah.

[Pericles]

You guys are really going to let the right wing PINO PPT water down your platform? All I can say is he'd never be listened to by the Labor Party.

[NewYorkExpress]

You guys are really going to let the right wing PINO PPT water down your platform? All I can say is he'd never be listened to by the Labor Party.

Given the Labor Party's recent past, none of us really want anything to do with you.

[LAKISYLVANIA]

Not sure if this is the time to consider platform amendments. I have a few but wanted to start with this one. It updates and expands upon the existing provisions and adds some new stuff about big business.

Let's wait with deciding over the platform until everyone had the chance to sign in and than i'll explain the process of voting. There will be a time to create and amend the platform, make changes and discuss those. But we will do that together.

[Mr. Reactionary]

As anyone with eyes can see the proposed amendments add the following topics to the platform:

Universal daycare
Infrastructure development
Workforce training
Coastline conservation
Science labs
Big Business
Monopolies
Company towns
Corporate fraud
Price gouging
Data privacy
Consumer protections
Bank regulations
Loan sharking
Inflation
Debtor protections
Factory Farms
Organic farming
Wage theft
Higher wages
Paid leave
Retiree benefits
Outsourcing
Foreign conflicts
Foreign arms sales
Foreign military bases
Human rights abuses
Martial law
Police militarization
Police violence
Victims of violence

In what way are these inconsistent with the Peace Party?

The only thing this is watering down is the corrupt influence that lobbyists and big corporations have over the Labor Party. Why is it that whenever we talk about big banks Labor swoops in and defends them? These changes are bad for Monsanto, Dow DuPont, Google, the big banks, loan sharks, data brokers, arms dealers, the military industrial complex, wage cheats, crooks, and greedy bosses but good for everyone else. That's why the head of the Labor Party is fighting so hard to undermine Peace and its agenda. The Labor leadership is bought and paid for by the banks and lobbyists.

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

Madam Chair (we have a chair, and her name is Cheryl!), I would like to propose adding the position of Party Whip to the leadership roles -- as appropriate when bylaw proposals are allowed. The traditional role of a whip in Parliament or Congress is to "whip" or turn out votes on legislation. The job is mainly behind-the-scenes but as someone who enjoys policy I would be honored to run for this position and work to create a consensus within the party on how we approach legislation, and of course to ensure that our party's representatives are doing their jobs.

I am unapologetically left and I intend to advance progressive policy within our caucus. That will include much of Senator Reactionary's proposals which actually help the average Joe in Atlasia, instead of large banks...

[Continential]

Ishan