Young Tweed vs. Department of Federal Elections

[© tweed]

I, as a citizen and candidate in the June 2012 presidential election, sue in an attempt to overturn the results of said election as certified by the DoFE and its Secretary, homelycooking.  the certified results can be found:

(text omitted for aesthetic purposes, click above to see)

I file two separate claims, insofar as this is possible.

first, as regards jurisdiction: the Supreme Court has unequivocal power to decide the outcome of a federal election as it sees fit, pursuant to Article III, Section 1, clause 5 of the Third Constitution, which reads as follows:

The Supreme Court shall arbitrate in all disputes concerning federal elections.

CLAIM 1:  the Certification of Napoleon as victor of the June 2012 presidential election, as opposed to Young Tweed, is in violation of Preamble of the Third Constitution, namely, the General Welfare and "equality for all forum members" clauses.  the Preamble reads as follows:

We the People of the Republic of Atlasia, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, support equality for all forum membersand secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the Republic of Atlasia.

I seek Supreme Court certification of Young Tweed as the victor of the June 2012 presidential election pursuant to a careful reading of the above text.

CLAIM 2: the Certification of Napoleon as victor of the June 2012 presidential election, as opposed to Young Tweed, is in violation of Clauses 30 and 31, Article 1, Section 5, which read as follows:

30. To protect the Public Health and commerce by making such regulations as shall be necessary for the protection of those in employment.
31. To protect the Public Health, commerce and heritage by making such regulations as shall be necessary for the protection and preservation of natural beauty, biological diversity and other natural resources.

I seek Supreme Court certification of Young Tweed as the victor of the June 2012 presidential election pursuant to a careful reading of the above text.

__

may Chief Justice Ebowed step forward and grant Certiorari.

[Insula Dei]

As the North-East's chief judicial expert I can only say that I don't see how the Supreme Court could refuse to hear this case. I'm waiting for the DoFE's case before giving any further thoughts, but right now this case looks solid to me.

[World politics is up Schmitt creek]

They could refuse cert on grounds that accusing another candidate's platform of not promoting the general welfare, equality, or public health is a political question.

[Insula Dei]

Such a clear distinction between the institutional/legal level and the political level seems impossible to draw to me, and the Supreme Court should be allowed the leeway to draw a line in the sand for its own use. As far as I can see the Founders who drafted our present constitution clearly meant the articles above as we can read them now; why else would they have included them? If the SC judges that the stated beliefs of the administration-elect are not within the bounds of executive power as imposed by our wise and righteous constitution, then they must strike down this election's results and declare a candidate who is more in line with the constitutional requirements for the office as our next President. As I have said, I'm eagerly awaiting the case from the DoFE.

[World politics is up Schmitt creek]

The fact that previous liberal and conservative Presidents have been allowed to exercise the office without incident indicates that the Court, if respecting precedent and Atlasian history, would treat this as political. 'Not within the bounds of executive power' for ideological reasons would be something like a fascist or Pol Potist candidate.

[MASHED POTATOES. VOTE!]

What a crap.

[Ebowed]

Official Atlasia Supreme Court Release
Nyman, DC

Writ of Certiorari
The Atlasian Supreme Court grants certiorari to hear the questions of whether the Secretary's certification violates the Preamble and/or Article 1, Section 5, Clauses 30-31.

Schedule
Petitioner has forty-eight hours to file his brief.  It is expected no later than 6:00PM EDT on Wednesday, June 27, 2012.

Respondent has an additional thirty-six hours to file his brief.  It is expected no later than 6:00AM EDT on Friday, June 29, 2012.

Amicus Briefs will be accepted until 6:00AM EDT on Friday, June 29, 2012, unless the filing party can show sufficient need.

Additional time may be granted to either party upon a showing of sufficient need.

A possible period of argument (Q&A) may be scheduled after presentation of the briefs in case any member of the Court has any questions for the parties.

[World politics is up Schmitt creek]

This is ridiculous. For the Court to find in Tweed's favor wold be tantamount to a coup. If Tweed wants to mount a legit real-folk coup he's welcome to try and I'll consider that on its merits as I have in the past but he shouldn't hide behind an absurd attempt to nullify the results of an election. This is no better than the recent mess in Egypt.

[© tweed]

obviously I do not have a brief ready at the moment, but I do suggest that Justice bgwah recuse himself due to the obvious potential for conflict of interest in his hearing this case.

[World politics is up Schmitt creek]

obviously I do not have a brief ready at the moment, but I do suggest that Justice bgwah recuse himself due to the obvious potential for conflict of interest in his hearing this case.

Thank you for your honesty in this.

[Modernity has failed us]

Sh*t's about to get real.

[World politics is up Schmitt creek]

Will the Court give me some guidance as to where I ought to take the joint amicus brief I'm writing once it's finalized?

[Ebowed]

Will the Court give me some guidance as to where I ought to take the joint amicus brief I'm writing once it's finalized?

Just in here will be great, thanks Nathan.

[© tweed]

I will be posting my Brief in segmented parts, not necessarily all at once, and I do not yield my ability to 'continue adding' to or editing the brief until I state that I am done, or 6pm EDT tomorrow, whichever comes first.

[© tweed]

I. Opening Remarks
II. On the Lack of a Material Atlas
III. Relevant Authority of the Court
IIII. Introduction to the Reading of the Clauses in Question
IIII(a). General Welfare, Public Health, and the June 2012 Campaign
V. Theological Allegory as a Means to Understand Atlasia's General Welfare
V(a). A Review of the Genesis Thread: On Its Inerrancy and its Authority over General Welfare and Public Health

[© tweed]

nothing is nearer or dearer to my Young heart than uselectionatlas.org.  for instance, just this past Sunday, I met film director/writer Todd Solondz, whom I'd never have heard of without the assistance of the Atlas and its thriving community.  one of the Atlas' enduring charms is the Fantasy Elections and Government subsection, where people can act out their fantasies, delusions of grandeur, whatever, and participate in a genuine politics with one another.

this election and this case is an enduring testament to the potency of uselectionatlas.org.  normally I pose against any form of exceptionalism, but consider this: where else, in which corner of the internet, could you find a situation quite like this one?  you can find rampant emotionalism anywhere, but the combination of emotion shot through a genuine body of collective intellect and personality -- nowhere else, I swear.

this is more than a Supreme Court case.  this is a turning point, my living will and testament, an embodiment of all I have poured into this website over the past nine years and one month -- and with this, I ask the Court does not see the breadth of my argument as an attempt at obfuscation but instead a call forth towards an accurate consciousness.

with this, I proceed with the body of my argument.

[© tweed]

I anticipate, from public commentary but also from common sense, that I will face claims that there is some sort of barrier between the 'Institutional' and the 'Political' that precludes the applicability of the General Welfare clause of the constitution, upon which hinges my case.  this is patently false, even absurd.

it is important that we remember exactly what we are dealing with: a website, a bunch of zeroes and ones.  there is no material Atlasia.  all that there is is the institution.  even the most diehard dialectical materialist would have to admit that real-world 'laws' of nature cannot apply here. 

the Constitution itself is an embodiment of ideology, and ideology informs the construction and interpretation of the Constitution.  from this there is no escape.  there is no economic activity, no dirt, no sand, nothing, except the game itself.  it is all One, unto itself.  no dividing line can exist, on one side lying the rules of the game and the other the game itself. 

therefore, the results of the election without question concern the General Welfare of the Republic of Atlasia.  the presidential elections are the Super Bowls of the game.  when there is no life nor death, no trade nor taxes, all that is left is the currency of politics.  to argue that an election is a 'political' question, outside the scope of the Welfare of the republic, is to add -1 to 1, to nullify whatever exactly it is that we are doing here.  it is nonsensical.

[© tweed]

moving on, it is clear from Article III, Section 1, Clause 5 of the Constitution that the Supreme Court has the absolute and unchecked authority to decide whether or not the DoFE's certification of the election results violates the General Welfare clause:

The Supreme Court shall arbitrate in all disputes concerning federal elections.

a quick look-up of a legal definition for 'arbitrate' turns up the following: "The submission of a dispute to an unbiased third person designated by the parties to the controversy, who agree in advance to comply with the award—a decision to be issued after a hearing at which both parties have an opportunity to be heard."

we can conclude that by contesting the June presidential election, Napoleon entered into a contract with the other candidates and with the Republic, to submit to the will of the Supreme Court regarding the validity or invalidity of the ensuing certification of said election.  only if the certification of said election was in concert with the Constitution -- for our purposes, the General Welfare and public health clauses -- can the certified results stand.

if the Court follows me from here, I must move to prove, after establishing the Court has a right to act in the manner set forth above, that the certfied election results do in fact violate the General Welfare and public health clauses of the Constitution.  

PROCEDURAL NOTE: I have, in concession to style, folded both claims into one argument.  this does not constitute a dropping of one claim or the other.  the argument, taken in its totality, will inform readers as to the logic that underlays my belief that both the Preamble and the public health clauses have been violated by the certification of the election results.

[© tweed]

I allege that the DoFE's certification of election results proclaiming Napoleon the victor violate Article III, Section 1, Clause 5 of the Third Constitution, which reads as follows.

We the People of the Republic of Atlasia, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, support equality for all forum members and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the Republic of Atlasia.

and also, Clauses 30 and 31, Article 1, Section 5, which read as follows:

30. To protect the Public Health and commerce by making such regulations as shall be necessary for the protection of those in employment.
31. To protect the Public Health, commerce and heritage by making such regulations as shall be necessary for the protection and preservation of natural beauty, biological diversity and other natural resources.


I argue for a more broad than narrow reading of the above clauses, with special attention to the bolded parts.  I further argue that the meaning and application of these terms can only be derived through a fearless and searching moral and historical inventory of the Republic, with special attention needed to the post and thread that constitutes the spiritual birthplace of the Republic, "Atlas fantasy elections".  heretofore this shall be referred to as the "Genesis thread", the Epistle of Miamiu1027.

[© tweed]

one common thread found in all of the 06/12 campaigns was the genuine sense that this game is not what it used to be. in other words, Atlasia was sick, diseased, profoundly unHealthy. if we look at turnout figures for the elections preceeding 06/12, we find alarmingly small and ever-dwindling numbers.  (see the DoFE's own figures).  however, in 06/12, the numbers shot up, nearly reaching the triple-digit plateau.  

before we ask why exactly the turnout in 06/12 spiked, we must broaden the picture of how ill the game truly was.  simple numbers cannot encapsulate the nature of the disease.  people bemoaned the utter lack of activity on the board.  threads not replied to in two weeks remained on the front Board.  cries for the impeachment of Inactive Senators ran rampant.  citizens wondered with genuine justification whether or not the game had reached its final end, not a flaming apocalypse of glory, but a Big Rip, for the cosmologically oriented among us.

what was the key factor explaining the recent surge in Atlas Fantasy attention?  here, we consult the New Testament, and also look to Atlasian history, before returning to the events of the 06/12 campaign proper.

(please note that I claim no divine inspiration).

[© tweed]

Jesus cried and said , He that believeth on me, believeth not on me, but on him that sent me. John 12:44 (King James Version)

We should have an Atlas fantasy election.  The Democrats and the Republicans could nominate a candidate Miamiu1027 283, "the Genesis Thread"

in Atlasia, but 'He' and 'him' are one and the same.  it should be well known to every informed citizen that I am the God the Father of the Republic.  in that role, I was known as Miamiu1027.  I won't labor to retell the story of the thirteen year old kid sitting in a public library whilst his peers played Madden and smoked weed, sacrificing his real-life social standing to bring you this institution which has come to play a significant role in your lives...  no, back then, I was not a martyr.  only now do I take the mantle of a martyr, in the form of Young Tweed, the only begotten son of Father Miamiu1027.

nor would I claim that every event within the game has proceeded in the immutable shadow of me, ever since then.  surely, many men, perfectly independent of me (if only because of me) have contributed countless man-hours of work to build a body of statute, fight it out in campaigns, and everything in between.  however, this is not due to a failure of my own, a limitation on my power; much like the Abrahamic God, I granted my men free will, and they misused it. 

early Atlasia was Miamist Atlasia.  the Garden of Eden.  God the Father, Miamiu1027, ruled the game through the mechanism of the Atlas Forum Democratic National Committee (the AFDNC).  its mirror image formed, the AFRNC (also my idea, see the original post)].  in the early days, which are talked about with Glory by all remaining who participated, we proceeded without a Constitution.  I could have run for president myself -- much as God the Father could have sent his Son into the Garden of Eden, and Eve, made of Godly rib, never would have eaten the Apple -- but I didn't.  I bequeathed the rights to act autonomously onto my subjects, within the constraints of the proper aforementioned constructs.  with this, I chose Nym90, our first president, namesake of the Capital, and now the god of men as Modadmin.  he betrayed me, but I'm not bitter.  any one of you would have listened to the serpent.

unlike Eve and the apple, it is difficult to pinpoint the moment of the game's first move into sin, into good and evil, of which they were supposed to have no knowledge but a quick survey of the early post-election moments makes it abundantly clear how quickly it was that the original vision was abandoned.  the formation of the United Atlas Centrists was in strict conflict with the visions laid out for a two-party system in the Genesis thread.  the move towards preferential voting, all and more going on ad seriatim.  and, ultimately, the passage of a Constitution, the elevation of man's collective word to the level of the edicts of God the Father, represented the final confirmation of a break.  and so began the Great Apostasy, a first gradual and then total separation of God the Father from His children, complete by late 2004 or early 2005.

this would persist until February 2012, when God the Father (Miamiu1027) bequeathed his only begotten Son (Young Tweed) to save Atlasia from its out-of-control propensity for sin and excess.

I returned in the form of the Son out of a sense of duty to my creation.  I didn't have to, I could have let you all march on to your own death by atrophy, my hands perfectly clean.  but from the beginning, my vision of the game was something far more, transcendental.  the disrepair of preferential voting, apathy, no activity... I love you all far too much to let it end like this.  and I am powerful enough, in my role as creator, to be able to achieve universal salvation through the institutions of man.

[© tweed]

I would like to take two quotes from the Genesis Thread in turn.  the purpose of so doing is to prove beyond reasonable doubt the unity of then-Miamiu1027 and the General Welfare of the Republic, the foresight and prophecy contained therein, how alien the present situation is from its spiritual foundation, and apply such derivations to the present situation.

__


first, we will take the following from Miamiu1027 283:27.

There is no constructive point.  but it's fun.

the implications we can draw from this simple quote are so expansive, the nature of the pithy words so profound, that I fear I could go on forever.  in order to proceed I will have to divide the quote into two, its two constituent sentences.  first, "There is no constructive point."  this strikes right at the heart of the destructive-alienating Zeitgeist that afflicts the life-world of post-modern capitalism.  activities are only seen as 'worth doing' if there is a 'point'.  in fact allow me to break the third wall with an anecdote.  in my Anthropology of Sport class we were confronted with this strange question.  "is surfing religion?"  I thought for a bit and responded.  I stated, and I paraphrase, "it seems anytime that we are confronted with the force of human passion, that cannot be explained away with the language and tired formulae vis-a-vis the accumulation of commodities, we don't quite know what to make of it.  especially amongst the political class, libido tied in knots, printing six figure salaries a year, taking our unbankruptable student debt in hand just to make it there -- and meanwhile, right under our noses, on some idyllic shore near San Diego, sits stoner Jim, who has surfed every day for 30 years.  and he has no money but he's happier than we are... and we don't know what to say!  we can't reconcile it with our world!  so we need to reach for the language of the other-worldly, call it religion, call it spiritual, call it anything but grounded in the Real, because if empirically grounded, it would turn our philosophy of life square on its head."

if we take note of Napoleon's utter failure to address these issues, the certification of aforementioned Napoleon is clearly in violation of Article 1, Section 5, Clause 30, which requires the Republic act to protect the interests of those in employment, in order to safeguard the Public Health.  it is likely that Napoleon knows absolutely nothing of labor history, absolutely nothing of Marx nor even Gompers or Jimmy Hoffa (besides perhaps, where he is buried)...  meanwhile Young Tweed, in his 'real life', has earned a Bachelor of Science Degree at the Cornell University School of Industrial and Labor Relations -- the finest such programme in the World. at the very least, he has not found it necessary to speak on any of these defining matters while accumulating posts by the thousands here at uselectionatlas.org.  

to connect this point to the game, return to Miamiu1027 285:27 in its entirety: "There is no constructive point.  but it's fun." Napoleon simply lacks the degree of consciousness necessary to even comprehend the possibility of something being for fun, rather than for business, for profit, or, if he is religiously oriented -- some Higher purpose.  this is no particular fault of his own.  he's been pounded with advertisements since he was a small child, and bourgeois ideology has this habit of seeping into everyone's brains.  he views the Republic as a machine necessary to accomplish things -- for the creation of surplus-value, if we are to the logical end - and not a place for recreation.  as such, the certification of Napoleon as victor of the 06/12 election is in clear violation of the quote taken from Miamiu1027 285:27, the John 3:16 of Atlasia, which is inseparable from any reasoned conception of the General Welfare of the Republic.

[World politics is up Schmitt creek]

Brief in support of the respondent in the case Young Tweed v. Department of Federal Elections

We consider that the plaintiff’s case is founded upon an overtly political reading of the relevant sections of the Atlasian Constitution, and hence should have been ruled a non-justiciable political question in accordance with longstanding Constitutional doctrine. The fact that this Court has decided to grant certoriari is baffling and we believe that the Court must find in favor of the Department of Federal Elections in its count of the results of June 2012’s Presidential election.

Young Tweed’s case is entirely subjective, based upon a reading of the Constitution that takes it as a matter of course that somebody who ran on the platform of the Liberal Party in the election in question is by mere virtue of having run on that platform prima facie, before he has even begun to exercise the duties of the office, to be found incapable of promoting the general welfare, supporting equality for all forum members, or protect the Public Health (sic), commerce, and heritage. This should have been found non-justiciable from the beginning and must now be considered to not constitute sufficient grounds for exercising the Court’s power to overrule the Department’s certification of the election results, for the following reasons:

1.   Neither the Preamble nor Art I §5 clauses 30-31 even address the office of the President; Art I §5 is moreover explicit in pertaining to the powers of the Senate, for which neither Napoleon (the certified winner) nor the plaintiff were running in the election at issue.

2.   Even if the relevant portions of the Constitution made reference to the powers or duties of the President, whether or not Napoleon is on the basis of his campaign platform to be found incapable of doing the things that the plaintiff is arguing the Court should find him incapable of doing is entirely subjective, subjective according to the individual political opinions of the person asking the question.

3.   Even if the Court’s powers in Art III §1 clause 5 are to be interpreted to give the Court the ability to at time void the results of any federal election and assign the office to its preferred candidate on entirely subjective and political grounds, an interpretation which has never been used or even considered before this election no matter how high ideological tensions have run (for in Art II §2 clause 3 we read that the Senate has the general power to determine regulations for federal elections and it is presumably within the bounds of such regulations that the Court is empowered to arbitrate disputed results), it is risible to claim that Napoleon has failed, or must fail, as President of Atlasia before he has taken office.

For these reasons the Court must find that Napoleon was duly elected in the same manner as all previous Presidents under the Third Constitution, that Young Tweed’s claim to the Presidency is based upon a non-justiciable subjective reading of the Preamble of the Constitution and an irrelevant and specious application of the terms of an Article concerning the powers of the Senate to a case concerning the duties of a non-Senatorial office, and that hence the Court ought not to consider the dispute at hand one which rises to the level of enabling it to legitimately invoke its ability to override the Department in determining the results of the election. We confide that Napoleon is the victor of the election, Constitutionally, legally, and by democratic right, and must be sworn in on Friday, July 6, 2012, in accordance with this fact.


Amici curiae:

The Tripartite Commission on the Restoration of Democracy
Nathan, Chairman of the Labor Congress, ex rel The Standing Committee of the Whole of the Labor Party of Atlasia
Scott, Chairman of the Liberal National Committee, ex rel The Liberal National Committee
Simfan, Acting Chairman of the Whig Party, ex rel The Whig Party and its members
Snowstalker, Vice-Chairman of the Labor Congress
Napoleon, Vice-Chairman of the Liberal National Committee and President-elect of the Federal Republic of Atlasia
Clarence, Presidential candidate of the Whig Party and At-Large Senator.

Tmthforu94, Vice President, Leader of the Mideast Citizens for Progress and Reform, ex rel Mideast Citizens for Progress and Reform

Ben, Mideast Senator

Averroës Nix, Northeast Governor and Liberal Party Whip

This 26th day of June, 2012.

[Ebowed]

Young Tweed, Article I, Section 5, Clauses 30-31, also known as the 'public interest' protection, pertains to powers outlined to the Senate, as Nathan points out in his brief.  How would the certification of Napoleon's election as President inhibit the Senate from being able to exert these powers, noting the innately separate duties allotted to the executive and legislative branches?

[© tweed]

Chief Justice Ebowed, it is my understanding of the quote below that Q&A cannot begin until after the presentation of the briefs, and even then it would have to be 'scheduled' before it happens.  I'm perfectly willing to entertain your above inquiry and any other questions the Court may have, but it seems out of place as we're still in the Petitioner-brief stage for another 15 hours.

A possible period of argument (Q&A) may be scheduled after presentation of the briefs in case any member of the Court has any questions for the parties.