The Light Party

[Donerail]

I'll get a FoPo one up tomorrow.

And I'll surely have to fight you

This'll be a fun one

[SUSAN CRUSHBONE]

Taxes

The Light Party believes a heavy tax burden is hard for hard working citizens. The Light party in most cases will vote against tax raises on working/middle-class Atlasians except for economic emergencies. If more money is needed for welfare programs, the first priority should be to scale down other programs.

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

Taxes

The Light Party believes a heavy tax burden is hard for hard working citizens. The Light party in most cases will vote against tax raises on working/middle-class Atlasians except for economic emergencies. If more money is needed for welfare programs, the first priority should be to scale down other programs.

Personally, I think this is the most appropriate form of that plank for this platform.  Perhaps we can vote on which proposals are included if they conflict with other ones.

When I see the name of this party, I think of the Jedi and it makes me feel giddy inside.  Oh God I'm such a nerd. 

Haha.  Well, join the bright side.  We have cookies.

[OAM]

I think Labor still represents my views, but the dynamism here right now is just exciting, and I agree "in principal" with a lot of things.  I think I've found my go to spot for protest voting.  The red of labor seems to be graying, and hopefully this will light a fire under them again   You guys have my best wishes.

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

I'm going to start drafting our social planks.

Haha.  Well, join the bright side.  We have cookies.

Cookies convinced me.  I hope they are warm and gooey, just out of the oven. 

Only the best.   Welcome aboard!

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

Abortion & Reproductive Health
Our members are split on the issue of abortion, as is the rest of the country.  The Light Party respects each individual's opinion on this deeply emotional issue, and we therefore represent a diversity of both pro-choice and pro-life voters.

At the same time, we encourage federal, state, and local governments to consider additional funding for adoption centers, family-planning facilities, and education, so that fewer women are faced with the challenge of bearing an unwanted pregnancy.  We represent and support all women with these challenges, and value them as members of society whether they opt to abort or not.

Same-Sex Marriage
In keeping with the tradition of upholding justice and equality, we fully believe that members of the LGBT community are entitled to the same rights and privileges as every other Atlasian citizen.  We support marriage equality on the national level, as well as the movement to secure equal treatment under the law for same-sex couples and individuals.  We also support the freedom of churches and religious entities to decide how to minister marriage as religious sacraments without government interference.

Firearms & Crime
We recognize the right of every individual to keep and bear arms.  Lightists, however, are split on the extent to which firearms may be regulated by federal and local governments.  We believe there ought to be an open and rational conversation on how this issue ought to be addressed and how crime can be deterred best, be it via gun legislation, mental health legislation, or otherwise.

Freedom of Speech and Religious Exercise
Lightists believe that Atlasia has forever shined as a beacon of free speech and religion, and so it must remain.  We believe that speech shall only be regulated to protect the rights, privacy, and security of all citizens.  We also believe that the freedom to practice one's religion or to abstain from any religious activity is a fundamental right, and that all school students should be allowed to pray in accordance with their religious beliefs.  However, in no way shall teachers or school administrators influence how a student prays, or endorse any particular religious faith or view.

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

So here's what will happen.  We'll vote on planks that contradict each other (such as Zac's and Person's), but planks that don't will be automatically added to the platform.  Then we will vote on the final platform.

Until then, keep making your proposals.  We'll vote when everything's covered.

[Donerail]

Foreign Policy
A strong national defense is the most basic of our government's responsibilities. However, protracted foreign interventionism is not. Atlasian military activites abroad should focus on the protection of Atlasian interests and citizens, not costly and ineffective interventions. Close cooperation with allied nations is essential, and foreign deployments should be reevaluated. Some barriers to free trade should be eliminated. Atlasia should not forsake her values in foreign policy - torture both physical and psychological should not be used, detainees must be given due process through the courts, and must not be held indefinitely without charge or trial. Those unjustly incarcerated should be compensated.

Civil Liberties
The Light Party stands firmly on the side of civil liberties and views them as fundamental to Atlasia remaining Atlasia. Individual liberties, such as the rights to free speech and association, must be kept paramount. Government must stay out of the private lives of individuals. Although some revocations of our rights have come in the name of national security, we can remain safe while maintaining due process and the rule of law. Federal investigations must operate under judicial oversight and must provide probable cause before executing searches. Only high-risk individuals should be subject to invasive security procedures. Habeas corpus must be respected and individuals must be charged with a crime or released.

The Internets
The Internet is an engine of growth and innovation. The government should not subsidize or favorably treat ISPs. The FCC should not create rules regulating content, Internet speeds, or pricing. Nobody should be able to turn off the Internet, and an Internet 'kill switch' must be opposed. The Internet must remain tax-free. Political speech should not be censored, online gambling should be legal, and online crimes, such as fraud and chile pornography, should be treated just as offline crimes are.

Immigration
The Light Party supports those who wish to be legal immigrants to acquire work visas and will work to make it easier for them to do so. It should be easy and simple for willing workers to come here with a temporary visa, pay taxes, fill jobs, and contribute to society. Potential immigrants should take a background check and then begin to pay taxes just like a native Atlasian. Illegal immigrants should receive a two-year grace period to acquire such visas so they can continue to contribute to Atlasian society. Those with temporary work visas should be able to access the normal pathway to permanent status and citizenship, and should be able to bring their families to Atlasia if they can support them. The process should be extremely streamlined to reduce illegal immigration - those who circumvent the process should be deported.

Drugs
The Light Party recognizes the failure and expense of drug prohibition and believes marijuana should be legalized, taxed, and regulated - we support the current status quo under the Consolidated Marijuana Regulation Act. In regards to harder drugs, the Light Party believes that abuse of hard drugs is a health problem that should be dealt with by health experts, not the prison system. The Light Party supports policies that aim to reduce the death, disease, and crime associated with violent drugs. While we can never eliminate addiction and abuse, we can minimize the harms and reduce the negative impacts on society by promoting treatment options. Effective education and sensible regulation is the path towards reducing use of hard drugs. Hemp production should be legalized.

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

SJoyce, I'm a little confused by your immigration proposal.  If someone enters the country illegally, should they receive grace time or be deported?

[Donerail]

Social Policy
The Light Party takes the view that, in our multiethnic, multireligious nation, we should respect all citizens and allow them to make personal decisions themselves. Government should be neutral on personal beliefs. What follows is our stance on a variety of social issues.

Abortion & Reproductive Health
Our members are split on the issue of abortion and stem cell research, as is the rest of the country.  The Light Party respects each individual's opinion on this deeply emotional issue, and we therefore represent a diversity of both pro-choice and pro-life voters.

At the same time, we encourage federal, state, and local governments to consider additional funding for adoption centers, family-planning facilities, and education, so that fewer women are faced with the challenge of bearing an unwanted pregnancy.  We represent and support all women with these challenges, and value them as members of society whether they opt to abort or not.

Same-Sex Marriage
In keeping with the tradition of upholding justice and equality, we fully believe that members of the LGBT community are entitled to the same rights and privileges as every other Atlasian citizen. We support the Elimination of Civil Marriage Law and Establishment of Civil Unions Act as a just federal solution, as well as the movement to secure equal treatment under the law for same-sex couples and individuals.  We also support the freedom of churches and religious entities to decide how to minister marriage as religious sacraments without government interference.

Firearms & Crime
We recognize the Constitutional right of every law-abiding individual to keep and bear arms.  Lightists, however, are split on the extent to which firearms may be regulated by federal and local governments.  We believe there ought to be an open and rational conversation on how this issue ought to be addressed and how crime can be deterred best, be it via gun legislation, mental health legislation, or otherwise.

Freedom of Speech and Religious Exercise
Lightists believe that Atlasia has forever shined as a beacon of free speech and religion, and so it must remain.  We believe that speech shall only be regulated to protect the rights, privacy, and security of all citizens.  We also believe that the freedom to practice one's religion or to abstain from any religious activity is a fundamental right, and that all school students should be allowed to pray in accordance with their religious beliefs.  However, in no way shall teachers or school administrators influence how a student prays, or endorse any particular religious faith or view.

My changes in bold, and I added an intro at the beginning.

SJoyce, I'm a little confused by your immigration proposal.  If someone enters the country illegally, should they receive grace time or be deported?

Those who are currently in the country should get 2 years of grace time to acquire a work visa - after that those who attempt to enter the country via illegal means instead of through the much-simplified work visa process should be deported.

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

I'll support that proposal over mine, so there won't be a vote.

[Zacoftheaxes]

Taxes

The Light Party believes a heavy tax burden is hard for hard working citizens. The Light party in most cases will vote against tax raises on working/middle-class Atlasians except for economic emergencies. If more money is needed for welfare programs, the first priority should be to scale down other programs.

I'll agree to this change.

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

SJoyce, would you accept this change to one of your proposals?

The Internets
The Internet is an engine of growth and innovation. The government should not subsidize or favorably treat ISPs. The FCC should not create rules regulating content, Internet speeds, or pricing. Nobody should be able to turn off the Internet, and an Internet 'kill switch' must be opposed. The Internet must remain tax-free. Political speech should not be censored, online gambling should be legal, and online crimes, such as fraud and chile pornography, should be treated just as offline crimes are.  The Light Party supports expanding availability of the Internet to poor, rural, and/or disadvantaged communities and nations.

[Donerail]

Yep. Sounds good.

[Penelope]

Civil Liberties
The Light Party stands firmly on the side of civil liberties and views them as fundamental to Atlasia remaining Atlasia. Individual liberties, such as the rights to free speech and association, must be kept paramount. Government must stay out of the private lives of individuals. This is also true for private institutions, such as internet service providers. ISPs, or any other private organization, will not be allowed to monitor customers in any way. Although some revocations of our rights have come in the name of national security, we can remain safe while maintaining due process and the rule of law. Federal investigations must operate under judicial oversight and must provide probable cause before executing searches. Only high-risk individuals should be subject to invasive security procedures, but a legal warrant must still be obtained. Habeas corpus must be respected and individuals must be charged with a crime or released.

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Copyright Law
The Light Party believes that copyright law's recent history of being a tool of censorship is unfair to many citizens. We believe that copyrighted materials can be used fairly by the public, and works containing segments of copyrighted material are perfectly legal as long as the original producers are cited. Full versions of copyrighted works uploaded to the internet for download or viewing will be considered illegal, however. Companies or individuals who are found to be repeatedly abusing copyright claims may be subject to a severe fine.

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

I accept Odysseus's change to my proposal.

New proposal:

Education
We of the Light Party believe that education is paramount to a competitive workforce and flourishing economy.  While we support the right of parents to determine which schools their children are enrolled in, we believe that cooperation, not competition, is vital to ensure the success of all students, regardless of background.  The traditional education system is broken, as students have not been adequately prepared for life and are outperformed by students in nations such as Finland and South Korea.  Our solutions, therefore, are to:

• Grant communities full administrative, curricular and extracurricular jurisdiction over all school districts within their boundaries
• Ensure that all students are offered the benefits necessary (including food and health care) to succeed
• Accord teachers a great deal of autonomy in their respected professions and allow them to choose their own textbooks
• Eliminate the current standardized tests, and replace them with one national matriculation exam to assigned to all high school seniors

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

All we need is an environmental policy (and maybe a science/technological advancement policy, since we are the Light Party ) and we'll have everything covered, but please feel free to add more or propose competing planks.  I'll write the preamble, compile everything, and hold a final vote some time next week.

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

Draft preamble since I felt like writing one:

We of the Light Party are guided by our ten principles: equal opportunity, integrity, honesty, personal responsibility, fiscal responsibility, justice, cooperation, liberty, progress, and the general welfare of the socially and economically disadvantaged.

Government has a vital role in a civil society.  While it should not be considered the arbiter of economic and societal development, we believe it is a tool to propel the ongoing advancement of our world.  We recognize that at the heart of progress is not the powerful few, but the working majority of the citizenry.  Our party proudly represents the commonwealth and believes all people are entitled to a life of prosperity.  We believe that the least of society must come first, and though we may not always agree on the issues, we must approach every conversation with a sound and open mind.

In order for a party to grow, it must be a voice for progress.  We lend our name not only to the vision of a brighter society, but to one of the most common inventions known to man: the humble light bulb, and all of the technological advancements that have come with it.  Likewise, we must recognize that Atlasia is forever changing, and that cooperation is the only way it will move in the right direction.  This is why we are a party of diverse interests and opinions, and we believe that independent thought inspires rational solutions.

These are the tenets which unify us as liberals, conservatives, libertarians, populists, and moderates.  These are the values which enable us not to dwell on the dark days of the past, but march together for a brighter society.

[SUSAN CRUSHBONE]

Copyright Law
The Light Party believes that copyright law's recent history of being a tool of censorship is unfair to many citizens. We believe that copyrighted materials can be used fairly by the public, and works containing segments of copyrighted material are perfectly legal as long as the original producers are cited and the material is not used for profit purposes. Full versions of copyrighted works uploaded to the internet for download or viewing will be considered illegal, however. Companies or individuals who are found to be repeatedly abusing copyright claims may be subject to a severe fine.

An important distinction needs to be made here.

Regulation
The Light Party believes that the fundamental duty of government is to protect the weak from the strong. To that end, we support strong, comprehensively and thoroughly enforced regulations in the areas of food-safety, environmental protection, workers' rights, money in politics, consumer finance, &c.

Culture
As Lightists, we support the preservation, promotion, and, if necessary, subsidisation of Atlasia's literary, musical, and artistic traditions.

With the addition of Siren () a majority of our members now comes from one region. And so,

Regionalism
The Light Party recognises the self-evident truth that the Mideast is best region and that all the other regions suck worse than Inks.LWC's sense of justice.

(j/k)

[Donerail]

I approve Ody's changes.

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

I like a lot of what I see so far!

• Accord teachers a great deal of autonomy in their respected professions and allow them to choose their own textbooks
• Eliminate the current standardized tests, and replace them with one national matriculation exam to assigned to all high school seniors

I have a few qualms about these though.  It's a tricky issue... while I understand the value of an education enriched by regional culture, etc., I'm worried that giving teachers too much discretion in choosing textbooks could lead to an education based on silly partisan values.  For example, these stories about eliminating Thomas Jefferson from school curricula.  Ya might not like the guy, but not teaching him to students is a good way to churn out stupid students.  I think there has to be some mechanism to make sure the books teachers choose have the core elements of a good education.

My first idea was to have a national (or state) approved list, but doing that also diminishes the chance of educational diversity.  Maybe if the curriculum committee is given a mandate to provide an education rich in cultural diversity while remaining true to the standards of a strong education.

I guess the national exam can also help incentivize that kind of direction, but I also worry about determining what a child can do with their life based on the scores of one exam.

In Finland, teachers are allowed to choose their own textbooks, and I can't recall hearing about any abuses of that privilege.  And even if there are any, they would likely be fired if they're caught doing so.  Teaching needs to be made a more serious, high accountability profession, like medicine is.

I see your point about the exams, but I'd prefer to experiment with what we did in the Northeast regarding those.  Finland took things a step further and abolished homework, for cryin' out loud.  This may sound detrimental to a student's success, but I haven't seen any evidence that it is.  As long as the teachers are doing a good job and the new system works, I don't think we'll have to worry so much about the test scores.

[Donerail]

Perhaps establish a committee of experts to generate a variety of different textbooks that they deem adequate and then allow teachers to choose among them?

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

Science and Technology
Science and technology have had an important role in every aspect of human history, from fire to the wheel, from the telegraph to the telephone, from car travel to space exploration, and from radio to television.  We believe that while the advancement of science and technology is best left to a competitive market, government rightfully acts as a propeller to countless advancements.  We recognize the scientific method as one of the best methods of determination and acquirement of knowledge, and the achievements that science has brought us must not go unrecognized.

Scientists have always played a role in the legislative process, but we feel that their jobs are often overlooked, under-appreciated, and seldom taken full advantage of.  This is not because we believe scientists have a monopoly on knowledge or discoveries, but that it is the best separator of truth from ideology.  We of the Light Party support programs that incentivize the growth of technology, especially for space exploration and environmental protection.  We also support giving scientists more representation in all levels of government.

Energy & the Environment
As technology improves, we support an all-of-the-above solution to our energy needs, provided that we are making the conscious effort to advance our energy resources to a state of quality and safety for our planet.  We believe in letting the regions determine how this issue can be tackled best, provided that they all recognize global warming as a phenomenon that is scientifically supported.

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

Perhaps establish a committee of experts to generate a variety of different textbooks that they deem adequate and then allow teachers to choose among them?

Would you prefer the states, regions, or federal government determines which textbooks can be used?

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

I'm going to open a vote as soon as I get home from school on Tuesday, since we appear to have all the basics covered.  Please feel free to make changes or add proposals until then.  It must be done as soon as possible.  After we vote on a final platform, I will formally open the declaration period for leadership positions (Chair & Vice Chair).