Office of Senator Clarence

[CLARENCE 2015!]

In case any one has any questions or comments... I have proposed the first legislation- one which I do not support but which Polnut asked to be put forward and I believe we need to be doing somethign so I sponsored it

[CLARENCE 2015!]

ZuWo- thank you for your comments and I want to tell you that I agree with every comment you have made and I will strongly oppose the bill I put forward. I put the bill forward because ZuWo had asked a Senator to and I saw no bill had been proposed since February... so I stepped up and put it on the docket. I told the President that I will be opposing it- however I believe we need to debate SOMETHING...

I will be submitting a bill more in line with our ideology later regarding Department of Justice overreach...

[CLARENCE 2015!]

Update

I would like to commend a few people- Polnut, 20RP12, Scott, NC Yankee- I am sure there are more but these people in particular I would like to commend for being very active in their roles even though I may disagree with especially Ponut and Scott on the issues. I look forward to upcoming debates on the President's unilateral disarmament of our nuclear arsenal, education policy, national radio policy, and Department of Justice overreach.

clarence

[CLARENCE 2015!]

The office is still open! I have three comments I'd like to make...

First, I urge my every one to take a look at the legislation I've proposed-

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As a veteran, I sincerely appreciated President Polnut's commitment to veterans issues and hope it continues in the future with our next President- but we all know we need to get our national finances in order, and I want to be prepared for veterans issues to be placed on the table along with everything else... We must be prepared to give the world to those who serve or have served in our armed services, but we must also expect the world from these fine men and women. Currently- any service member who receives a dishonorable discharge forfeits his or her right to any benefits. I am proposing to extend that to the types of discharges mentioned above...

The American Legion, VFW, Vietnam Veterans of America, AMVETS, and all national veterans organizations preclude members who received anything other then an Honorable Discharge. While I agree with the principle, I believe those who received a General Discharge should remain eligible for benefits. When our resources are dwindling, we must focus the gratitude of our nation to those who served most honorably and that is the intention behind this bill



Second- I'd like to comment on the formation of another regional party in the Mideast by Vice President Tmthforu94... while I respect him and the party members, I hope we don't see too many regional parties. Political parties ought to be ideological- and forming parties to improve a region I don't believe can often work. Of course- the South has always been far more independent then other regions of the country, but even considering this- if I believe in lower tax rates, I should join a conservative party and push that issue nationwide and in the IDS as well. What's next- a party for the Northeast and the Pacific and the Midwest??? Then we spend our national elections voting in folks from our regions? Let's be careful with this...



Third- I find the current court case between Young Tweed and the Elections Department very interesting... I'm not sure of the constitutional facts here but I want to make it clear that I believe Napoleon won the election and the will of the voters ought to be respected



If any one would like to talk with me about legislation, European travel, or overweight women- please message me

Best,
clarence
At-Large Senator

[CLARENCE 2015!]

Always happy to see constructive and well-thought-out foreign policy/military legislation; makes my job a lot easier, not to mention much more enjoyable

And having a fella like you in your post makes putting these forward much more enjoyable!

[CLARENCE 2015!]

That is a well written bill regarding military matters and I can say as a son and brother of veterans as far back as the Revolution you have my support.

Thank you, JCL

[CLARENCE 2015!]

For those who have not seen- my education tax credit bill which passed the Senate but was vetoed was unable to get the votes necessary to override that veto. I am glad that the Senate had a discussion about it, but one point sticks in my craw...

The goal of government is to hand as much power as possible directly to the citizens. Much of the rhetoric around that bill involved either "this inflicts regional rights" or "we need to promote the public school system instead of weakening it." Tell that to the parent whose child attends an overcrowded, low-ranked school because he or she can't afford to send that child to a private school which may well provide a better education and local regulations ban that child from attending a school outside of their zone. I sent my kids to private school for this reason

The public school system is there to educate children- and that must be our most important goal! Education children comes before strengthening the public school system... as I mentioned in the White House- these goals often go hand in hand, but when they do not we MUST side with the students and parents. And for all this talk about finding ways to strengthen the public school system- I've yet seen a bill which aims to do that in my tenure in the Senate... except my own which would decrease the burden on the public school system and allow more focus- both time and financially- on each individual pupil

You can be sure that I will continue to advocate for the rights of students and parents to have access to the best education available...

[CLARENCE 2015!]

I've just introduced the Power to Parents Act which continues my advocacy of giving power directly to the people- in this case to parents to determine what is best for their children...

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I understand the Northeast may have already had a similar law- I support the idea of increasing school choice in any manner. This bill does not seek to replace the public school system, but to give parents and students choice within that system. If a student is zoned for a poor-performing school, that student and his or her parents has the right to attend a different school which is higher performing. The problem here is that the alternate school may be distant from the family's home- which is why I am providing transportation assistance to needy families to be able to afford to bring their children to and from school. Alternatively, there could be grants for school districts to expand school bus routes- but this method seemed more straightforward. I've taken the funding for the transportation assistance from what appears to be a bloated line item in Polnut's budget proposal

I am hopeful that this legislation addresses the concerns my colleagues had that my previous legislation attempted to gut the public school system

[CLARENCE 2015!]

Erm...don't you guys think this will lead to the school perceived as the "best" becoming over crowded and the schools perceived as the "worst" emptying out?  Only children fortunate enough to be able to provide their own transportation could go to the "best" district school while children reliant on busing would be stuck in the school they are districted to, regardless of its quality.  This could very easily become an issue of class.

We are concerned that all sides in many educational contraversaries are not being fairly debated in the public class room. Teachers being denied tenure because of idealology not merit.

It's not the public school system's job to teach religion.

Yelnoc- the class issue is what I attempt to address with my transportation assistance. As for your other point- yes, I do believe that will be an effect. As far as I know... districts allocate resources based upon attendance at their schools. If a school is higher performing and therefore attracts more students, that school will be allocated more resources by the district to account for the extra student load

[CLARENCE 2015!]

I'd appreciate if the discussion on theology could go somewhere else... JCL, Yelnoc, Pres- I'm looking at you ;-)

[CLARENCE 2015!]

I am honored to have received high approval ratings from the recent poll...

Approve - Senator Clarence (W-FL)       21 (16.8%)
Disapprove - Senator Clarence (W-FL)       5 (4%)

I will continue to represent to the best of my ability and be an active and respectful Senator and earn the trust you've placed in me by your election and your approval

[CLARENCE 2015!]

Folks- I'll be away most all this next week...I volunteer every year to assist with a program thru the Legion which many of the young men on here have attended recently. I likely won't have access to the web starting tomorrow....so I will "see" you in a week!
Best,
clarence

[CLARENCE 2015!]

Senator Clarence on Attack on Israeli Tourists

"I offer my condolences to the families and friends of those murdered today in Bulgaria and will keep those recovering from their injuries in my prayers. It is a sad reflection on our world today that Jews still are not safe from hate and terror... I don't know who is behind these attacks but urge the Napoleon Administration to cooperate with the Israelis and our other allies to find out and bring them to swift justice. If Iran is found to be behind these attacks- I urge President Napoleon to stand alongside our ally Israel as they respond in whatever manner they see fit to this act of war."

[CLARENCE 2015!]

I have written an open letter to President Napoleon regarding my upcoming resolution authorizing the use of force against Iran- this letter is below...

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[CLARENCE 2015!]

Uh... they've already got them (it's why when I was SoEA we strengthened ties with our Arab allies.and attempted to do the same with Israel).

All the more reason- if they have them, they can enhance and multiply their arsenal with increasing ease... it will only become more difficult

[CLARENCE 2015!]

I have now submitted the resolution authorizing the President to initiate military action against Iran...

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[CLARENCE 2015!]

Senator Clarence on Equal Rights Amendment

I've seen the ERA proposed by Senator Scott that will soon be before the Senate... I stand opposed to the ERA in its present form for the following reasons which I will also express in the Senate-

1- ERA places a blanket ban on any organization which discriminates membership based on sex. Now you may see discriminate as a bad word as we should... but should the Boys Scouts and Girls Scouts be integrated? What about Boys State and Girls State or the YMCA or fraternities and sororities in schools? I couldn't stand for the Moose or the Masons being forced to admit women. I don't believe these organizations are discriminatory or sexist and should not be penalized or forced to change their membership policies

2- ERA would render women eligible for the draft and for placement in combat arms occupations in the military. Both of these are unacceptable to me and unless an exception is made for this- the ERA will never have my support or the support of most women I know...

3- ERA does not address the issue of transgenders but may include them. I am proud to stand for gay rights but believe it is clear that a transgender is choosing to dress or act as the opposite sex or receive a sex change operation. Being a homosexual may not be a personal choice... being a transgender clearly is and I can not stand for allowing men dressed as women being permitted to use the women's restroom- if restrooms are still divided by sex under the ERA

These concerns and many others are the reasons why ERA has failed time and time again... such a blanket law is well-intentioned and I suport the sponsor's intent but the ERA is not the way to go about it. If these concerns are not addressed thru amendments I will propose to the legislation- I will not support the legislation

[CLARENCE 2015!]

Senator Clarence on National Security Committee

"Seems I've lost out on my bid to serve on the Senate's new National Security Committee but I am very pleased with the committee's membership... one of the members is Redalgo who I have very much enjoyed working with in the Senate and the other two described their views as "similar to Clarence's" so I am confident these views will be represented. I will continue to be vocal on national security issues...."

On Power to Parents Act

"Despite SEnator Redalgo's declaration that he can no longer support the bill- I believe we can still achieve a coalition to override a potential veto and hopefully work with the President to acheive a compromise. I am going to continue debate and discussion with leaders such as TJ and Scott to end up with a bill that does the most good while still being able to be passed and signed"

On Re-election

"I will announce my plans for the next Senate At Large Election by Friday"

[CLARENCE 2015!]

Senator Clarence on Recent Abstentions

I've had a very busy personal life and have missed the debates on many of the bills.... If I do not participate in the debate on a bill, I will abstain. It is unfair to the author of the bill who worked very hard to bring it to the floor if I make  a judgment without having paid due attention during the debate