Office of Senate Speaker Windjammer (Farewell)

[windjammer]

Well, considering I have been elected Speaker for this session, I believe it's time to open a new office.
I would like to thank my senate colleagues for having chosen me, this is a great honour (see the emotion ).
I would like to thank Lief and Griffin for having encouraged me to run.
I would like to thank TNF for having managed to administer the senate before my election.
I would like to thank Cranberry for having run against me because competitive elections are always good.
 I would like to thank Yankee for having supported me and for having encouraged me to run too.
I thank him in advanc for all the good advices he will send me by PM during my term .
I would like to thank my longtime friend Cris for having crossed party lines when he decided to vote for me.
And finally, I would like to thank Bore for having managed to administer effectively during the last 2 senate sessions and for having appointed my friend Nix as VP because good relations between the VP and the Speaker/PPT are really important in order to administer effectively the senate.

Now, after having thanked all these great persons, I would like to present what I would like to do as Speaker. I would like to modernize this office. I indeed believe that the senate as an institution isn't completely understood by atlasian citizens. That's why I would like to improve communication between atlasian citizens and the senate. I plan to be a liaison officer twice:
- between the senate and the citizens: I'm updating constantly the 66th senate noticeboard.. Cris and myself are doing many things here about senate stuff: activity tracker, how much a senator votes with an another senator, and soon an economic, social and foreign tracker. An amendment tracker as well. We definitely want to make the senate more "visible" for you . I will use my office to sum as well which issues are currently debated.

-Between the president and the senate: my goal isn't to be a hack and to use the rules in order to approve the easiest way my agenda. My goal as Speaker is to create the best ever possible conditions in order to create the best conditions for the debate of bills presented by the president or by the senators. As the speaker of the senate, my goal isn't to make these bills pass (this is my job as senator to compromise with the other members of the senate and the president), but that the debates are held effectively. That's why I plan to follow the rules strictly because without doing that chaos would happen. As Speaker of the Senate, I can basically "suspend" the rules. I will obviously not use that often, only in cases where not doing that would create a bigger chaos. Example: if I didn't have suspended the rules for this bill : this bill would have literally been withdrawn because of a technicality, while senators are still debating about this bill. That would have been a TOTAL MESS.

I'm currently as well the acting President of the Senate with the vacancy of the Vice Presidency, that's why I'm administering the executive nominations threads. But when Nix will be confirmed, this will be his duty.

I plan as well to welcome any new senator in this body. Any citizen and any senator can PM me about rules or anything relating to the senate, I would be happy to help.



If you have any questions, I'm available .

[windjammer]

I prefer "PPT" to "Speaker"

Me too

[windjammer]

Sorry for having been so long to answer. Thank you guys for your kind words.

I would like to congratulate Griffin on his victory. I wish Foucaulf and JCL well as well.

[windjammer]

I wish Foucaulf and JCL well as well.

LIAR, LIAR, PANTS ON FIRE

Haha

[windjammer]

Thank you a lot Griffin .

[windjammer]

It appears that many people are "announcing" something. Well, I have personally nothing to say. I anyone has any suggestion to make about me, I would be willing to hear!

[windjammer]

I do apologize for not having updated my office sooner.  I have been extremely busy irl, so I have chosen to focuse on the administration of the senate.
I just would like to say that this is a great pleasure to work with the rest of my senate colleagues.
I'm really happy as well that Bore signed the Set it and Leave it....
I will try to post the activity scores soon and some other things.
I will introduce a legislation amending the senate rules soon as well.

Any question?

[windjammer]

Any question?

Why is the Senate such a generally god-awful place, and why did I ever decide to focus on trying to win so many seats in that chamber at the expense of the regions?

Well, I know that some people like Lumine and Foucaulf are trying to deteriorate the current atlasian atmosphere for partisan gains, but really, don't be fooled by that. Senators seem to appreciate each other, some bills have passed/failed by a strong consensus. There is really a working atmosphere and that's really great to work with all these people .

Why have you chosen not to focuse on the region? The question should be: why haven't WE chosen to focuse on the region ? Well, considering the panicked messages I sent you last month: "THE MIDWEST ELECTIONS ARE A ING MESS, WE NEED TO FOCUS MORE ON THE REGION." You should know that this is a mistake we have now corrected .

[windjammer]

By posting polls. I find it strange to see the number of threads created just about a bill. I really wonder why...

[windjammer]

By posting polls. I find it strange to see the number of threads created just about a bill. I really wonder why...

Are you serious? Posting polls on bills that have attracted a lot of attention and are debated vigorously by several members of the Senate is an attempt at deteriorating the political atmosphere in your book?

If Atlasians are no longer allowed to do that without being accused of harming the political discourse in the game, what else is there left to do in Atlasia?

Oh please, come on Zuwo, stop using the card "oh I'm shocked". It doesn't work with me. You have been in my position for a longer time than myself. You know exactly how the game works, how these things work. People see a potential controversial thing, so they try to make it a big controversy. This is obviously what he's doing with the 2 polls he created.

And I don't blame him either. Griffin or I would have done the same than him in his current position. He has the right to do that. But I have the right to notice that publicly, the right of free speech, right?

[windjammer]

No, I am actually shocked about some things that have been happening lately.

A few Senators and the President are more or less openly discouraging citizens from posting in Senate threads even when their contributions are useful. Now we have a Senate Speaker who attacks a private citizen for conducting polls on controversial bills. Both things would have been unheard of in Atlasia just a few months ago

Things are getting worse really quickly, and if there are officeholders who want to stifle participation in this game completely this is exactly what they need to do.

Of course it would have been unheard a few months ago, because the office of Senate speaker has never existed before. And come on, the game before was much worse than now. I mean, don't you remember, for example Wolfentoad who was leading smear PM wars against people?

But more seriously, I have never been fan of polls in the atlas fantasy election board. I have always believed this is a way to make a big issue about something that clearly shouldn't. This is the same problem we have with referendums you know irl. For example, making a poll about a senate race and strangely too many people voted to be realistic (ie: the Southeast senate race recently. Yankee was never going to lose 10-0). Or an another example, the opinion of "xxxxx", so many ways to hijack itin order make the senator look bad.

  And this is the same thing I'm reproaching with polls about a bill. This is a way to influence the process or to make people look bad and I don't like at all (and this is the case with 2 polls). If people have something to say, I would prefer them to debate directly in the senate threads.

But people are obviously free to do whatever they want, I just give my opinion, something I have the constitutional right to do so . I'm not trying to shutdown his newspaper (like I have never tried to do so by the way) or whatever.

[windjammer]

Wait,

What is going on? Are people discouraging citizens from posting in senate thrads?

Just to be clear: I wasn't aware of that. My opinion on this subject has always been clear: every citizen has the right to post in the senate threads and I encourage it. As I just said, I prefer that than postings polls or whatever. Just for the record.

[windjammer]

Thank you Yankee.

So, just to clarify my stances :

- I hate literally the polls for many reasons irl:
  x They always have a goal behind: the formulation, the timing etc etc.
  x They're not completely reliable
  x Politicians focus too much on that instead of really trying to advance policies.

- And I hate polls on this fantasy election even more because there are always goals behind and this is easier to hijack them . People are free to do that, but I don't like that and I will always use my constitutional right of free speech to express my disdain to that.



However, I strongly encourage every citizen to participate to the senate threads. I hate direct democracy but I don't see that as a problem because this is still the senators who have the right to vote. And citizens often manage to improve the bills.


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Oh, it appears I need to follow more Atlasia. I thought the controversy started with these polls. My apology .

[windjammer]

Just curious, why did you delete your previous answer?

Because I wanted to make a longer answer later and that I didn't have the time right now . Don't worry you will get your answer.

[windjammer]

      I’m obviously a bit paranoid, but I have always the feeling that everything you’re doing, that you have been doing with this newspaper has been to undermine Labor. I indeed find it strange that you have opened a poll about the Sexual Consent bill, even if there was basically no senator who was supporting this bill. I wonder why… Oh I know ! Trying to make Labor look bad, like with the other poll about the police the policing bill. Oh, look at these polls, look at Labor’s extremism. 

        I know how you play the game Lumine, I know you for quite a longer time than most of the current active players. And this kind of things is clearly typical from you. Oh, just to be clear, you have the right to do that, and I do respect your ability of being a nuisance for my party (like Griffin and Lief were 2 nuisances during your presidency ). Bust just to tell you I’m not blind.

         And the other reason I don’t like this kind of things is that I don’t want Atlasia to become like irl, where polls are basically making politics, with all of their flaws irl, and with their even bigger flaws on this site (ie even more inaccurate). See my previous posts for that.

[windjammer]

If the people think Labor proposals are extreme, that's a fact that the Labor Party will either have to deal with or ignore. It's not a crime to advertise and ask about what's happening in the senate.

I never said it was a crime. Thanks. I just find that boring.

[windjammer]

Please find a single post where I was saying I supported these bills...

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I will soon make an important announcement.

[windjammer]

Well,
This is my last day as Senate Speaker and as Senator representing the beloved Mideast. It has been a high honor to represent this state. And I have really appreciated to work with all my senate colleagues. So I would like to thank them all: Bore, JCL, Deus, Cranberry, BK, DemPGH, Cris, Hagrid, Yankee, Polnut, Blair, SWE, Talleyrand, Griffi, TNF and Lief (I hope I have not forgotten anyone). You have all been fantastic and I wish you simply the best .

[windjammer]

Thank you all for your kind words.

I just resigned. I have updated everything, so good luck to everybody .