Office of Former President and Gov. DemPGH

[Oakvale]

Is Simfan now able to be Councillor or not? If not, his seat is vacant as well, isn't it?

I have to research that more, but I'd like to keep him. If he resigns or if we can't keep him, then we might have to let Oakvale or someone fill in. IDK, we'll see.

Oakvale isn't interested. I already asked.

Well, that was some time ago, but these are difficult times - if it's possible for me to serve temporarily on the Council without resigning my seat on the Court I'd be willing to do it, although it might necessitate me (temporarily or otherwise) standing down as emergency manager.

[DemPGH]

Yeah, I'd like to keep Simfan - he's actually attempting to debate issues, so it's not just set it up and vote. So, if he resigns and I appoint him, I think that could work. Somebody will have to take me to court to find out if they don't think so.

Also, I think a national conversation about the Constitution  is in order. We have passages that seemingly contradict, we have close to 25 amendments, portions that have been heavily amended, and I think this dual offices thing can be quite confusing and convoluted. I think there should be flexibility with regard to office holding. The point of it is to keep a cabal or one or two people from doing everything, which is understandable, but we should have an emergency clause for the GM and for multiple positions. If no qualified or interested person is available, the nature of the emergency should allow a person active elsewhere to take the job.

And I'll have a Presidential update hopefully before long.

[Хahar 🤔]

As always, there are too many positions and not nearly enough people to fill them.

[DemPGH]

The voting booth is now open for the amendment to I.4.5 of the federal constitution! I believe it is the Proportional Representation Act Fix of 2014.

As always, there are too many positions and not nearly enough people to fill them.

I'm really seriously not among those who need to be convinced of that.

[DemPGH]

Dear Atlasia:

I am announcing to you today that I will seek the Presidency as a Laborite in the June Presidential election! I join at this time his Highness Sir Nick and also Comrade Snowstalker.

I never thought I would ever do it, but encouraged by the many kind and positive words I have received, I view the Presidency as a challenge I am ready to accept. When I went to the Pacific, I said to myself, “One way or another, I am going to leave this region better than I found it.” I suppose that’s the game’s basic challenge. I will bring precisely the same attitude and commitment to Nyman. If we work together and listen to each other on only half the issues (but hopefully more than that!), we can build a much better game. I’m ready for it!

I’ve been able to work with Labor, the Federalists, and the TPP in the Pacific, despite a handful of policy differences on a few issues. My approach is to be left of center but not off-the-wall, and I will not risk the game or the Atlasian economy over ideology. I will be for you a pragmatic left of center President. Civil Liberties, The rights of workers, the health of our economy, environmental sustainability, and peace in foreign affairs will be my objectives, and in the weeks of the campaign I will speak on these matters.

The health of the game will warrant its own platform. We have many interesting ideas on the table from a full reboot or recalibration of the game to a core dump of all statutes to a new Con-Con. I am willing to entertain all of these ideas and will offer a few of my own – like, at the very minimum, a selective process of dumping old or useless statutes seems in order. Or, if we went further, we could keep a “skeleton Atlasia” of basic, major, and needed statutes and re-build around them. In the end, the health of the game is the central focus, so at this time I’m not married to any single idea.

I aim to announce a VP selection over the next few days.

I must also attend to Pacific affairs, so also consider this an open invitation to ask questions from this point on. If something is on your mind, do not wait for me to address it! Have at me.

Now, if you’re a supporter, have a champagne, or bring your own drink. It's a competitive election ahead.

[windjammer]

Obviously endorsed

[Maxwell]

Good luck DemPGH!

[DemPGH]

Obviously endorsed

Thanks, my friend.

Good luck DemPGH!

Thanks, Maxwell! I'll try to capture some.

[sentinel]

You must be logged in to read this quote.

Did you forget that you picked me as your running mate back a few months ago?

[Napoleon]

Its a champagne campaign!!

[Flake]

Endorsed!



Obviously my drink of choice

[Cranberry]

ENDORSED !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[DemPGH]

Dear Atlasia:

I would like to announce today that as your President I would like to follow through on some successful ventures we’ve undertaken in the Pacific. We are upgrading our science textbooks, offering start up scientific companies funding and support, and offering means and support for individuals with degrees to pursue further education in science and engineering.

As President, I will prioritize Education and Science advancement. I would very much like to work with the Senate and with my SoIA to develop a much needed science policy. We are at the frontier of many exciting discoveries, like the ability to harness resources from asteroids and other objects.

As we speak, chemical, medicinal, dynamics, robotics, and engineering companies are moving science forward, and if there is anywhere that the private sector can help us, it is with science advancement. I believe the Government should develop a science policy, inclusive of green technology, that will move us forward.

My focus on Education will be to:

1)   Improve old and decaying school buildings.
2)   Promote manageable classroom sizes.
3)   Support physical education with clear guidelines and expectations that able-bodied children
        receive thirty minutes of actual physical training each day.
4)   Establish clear science guidelines that affirm the scientific method, as we did in the Pacific.
5)   Support STEM by improving access to new books and materials.
6)   Re-imagine teacher training to incorporate more content and less method.
7)   Make it much easier for scholars and content specialists to become teachers by entering an apprentice style program.

[Dr. Cynic]

Have I endorsed you yet? If not I should. You have my endorsement for President.

[DemPGH]

Its a champagne campaign!!

Haha, it will be a good time on the 'ole trail, then. Lots of corks to pop.

ENDORSED !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks! It's great working with you in the Pacific!

Endorsed!

Obviously my drink of choice

Thanks, Flo! We'll be making plenty of cool cocktails around my campaign office as the weather heats up.

Have I endorsed you yet? If not I should. You have my endorsement for President.

Many thanks, Doc! I look forward to addressing game reform a little later too. I like your ideas and you surely have my endorsement as well.

[SWE]

Endorsed

[DemPGH]

Dear Atlasia:

I would like to take a moment to speak about healthcare. I unequivocally support a simplified single payer style system for medically necessary services including physician, specialist, hospital, mental health, reproductive health, prescription drugs, dental care, and eye care. This would not only provide universal access to necessary care anywhere in Atlasia, it would give physicians complete autonomy to care for their patients.

Our current system is rather complicated. As I understand it, there exists competition between the government and the private sector, which must cost an obscene amount of money. My idea is to end healthcare as a for profit system across the board, streamline and centralize its administration and financing (thus alleviating the need for a lot of bureaucracy – every bit of research I have done demonstrates that a single payer system drastically reduces administrative costs), leave the delivery of care mostly in private hands, and as a result of it we will be able to control costs and make care available to all. Why would this happen? Because it’s happened everywhere else in which a single payer / no alternative system has been implemented.

Similar to the Canadian system, I think we could (inactivity being the only barrier) get creative and allow our regions to develop their own means of funding it. In any event, we are a peaceful nation. There is no reason why we could not find ways to fund such a system.

I think we simply have to grasp that a for-profit model is not the be-all and the end-all. There are some things, like healthcare, and like the government, that do not exist to secure profit. It’s not their purpose, and to force them into a for-profit model actually increases cost, increases bureaucracy, increases inefficiency, and certainly invites inequality in access to care.

[DemPGH]

Hello again, Atlasia,

I guess I'm a glutton, but campaigning is fun after all.

I want to speak for only a moment about the game and game reform.

Look, I went to the Pacific thinking that it would be a fun challenge to try to get a dead region moving. With a new Council (Cranberry, Flo, Devin, and Simfan all get credit) we got a new Constitution, and with it new life.

I think if we give Atlasians ownership over a new vision for Atlasia, we can increase activity. That is why I fully support a new Con-Con (constitutional convention). Our current, 3rd Constitution is serviceable,  but contains contradictions (dept. renaming, anyone?), numerous vague areas, and many places where it has been amended and re-amended. I would support a new, 4th Constitution that clears up vague areas and simplifies matters. I believe in the supremacy of the federal government, but that the regions may work within a broad framework to carve out their own identities. So it's about balance, of course.

I also think that if we're to reboot Atlasia, a new constitution should be the catalyst, the trigger, because dammit, right now we don't have the activity to stay status quo. I'll fully support a reboot if Atlasia wants it, but I tell you that ownership breeds interest, and a new constitution can help us re-invision and re-invigorate Atlasia! That's the start. We can re-imagine the regions, the government, and their responsibility to each other. We can also consolidate the regions in a way that is meaningful and healthful to the game. If we stay married to an old way of doing things because it's tradition, we'll continue to lose interest. We have to get creative, and we have to prioritize the health and interest of the game! That's what I'll do: Be open to change and to thinking outside the box.

Feel free to ask questions! And yes, I will have a VP.

Let's do Spirit in the Sky and feel good about our potential!

[Flake]

Can I endorse you a second time?

[Cranberry]

You're the one Atlasia needs. You brought back the Pacific, so I'm really confident that you will increase activity in Atlasia as a whole.

Go DemPGH!

[DemPGH]

Thanks guys! Yes, we're accepting dual and repeat endorsements.

[Fmr. Pres. Duke]

Good luck with trying to get regional reduction and the like. I have been pushing the Duke Plan for months and have failed at every step of the way.

But I do agree and have agreed since October when I ran that things are stale and we need to shake things up, which is why I authored a plan to transform the government and the way we play the game. Sadly, it was met with enough opposition that it has stalled.

We've been playing the same game for a long, long time and have really debated some issues to death. I am happy that one of my legacies will be leaving Atlasia with a functioning Pacific, and that is thanks to you and the legislature's hard work and your utilizing the tools given to you all by my administration.

[DemPGH]

Good luck with trying to get regional reduction and the like. I have been pushing the Duke Plan for months and have failed at every step of the way.

But I do agree and have agreed since October when I ran that things are stale and we need to shake things up, which is why I authored a plan to transform the government and the way we play the game. Sadly, it was met with enough opposition that it has stalled.

We've been playing the same game for a long, long time and have really debated some issues to death. I am happy that one of my legacies will be leaving Atlasia with a functioning Pacific, and that is thanks to you and the legislature's hard work and your utilizing the tools given to you all by my administration.

Man, you don't know how glad I am we got the same page. If I'm elected, I'll also re-authorize the second installment of Pacific funds that I believe will kick in in July. Of course, we'll see if consolidation or a merger or anything goes anywhere by then, but I won't hold my breath; meanwhile, your admin was a big help to us. And I'll keep it going.

Getting out of the same old same is critical, I think, and that's why I'm throwing my support behind a new Con-Con. Let that be the first step!

[Dr. Cynic]

You know that it is my belief that in order for this game to survive, we're going to have to do a ConCon and at that point we need to flesh out whether or not we want to completely become a new nation from scratch or not.

But the fact remains, we NEED a new ConCon. We're just all going to have to work together to steamroll the opposition

[DemPGH]

Dear People,

It is my pleasure and honor to announce to you my running mate. He is extremely hardworking, extremely active, and will compliment the ticket with remarkable balance. As a matter of fact, he already has his speech ready.

I am pleased to announce Governor Windjammer (LAB-MN) as my running mate. Give this rising star a chance and you will be truly impressed. He has written me multiple times about his vision for the Vice Presidency and about his eagerness to run the Senate. In many respects I feel like I am catching a good player in his prime.

I think in terms of activity and balance, it will be very difficult to beat DemPGH / Windjammer!

Thus far, I have spoken about 1) Science, 2) Education, 3) Healthcare, and 4) Game Reform and the need for a new Con-Con. Stay tuned for more of the platform this coming week!