The Office of Senator LumineVonReuental (A Farewell to the Senate)

[Lumine]

On the unexpected passing of Senator X:

As Former Senator Simfan said, today is a sad day, for we have witnessed the loss of a valuable Atlasian to the unexpected forces of destiny. In all honesty, I find Former President Napoleon's refusal to duel quite dissapointing, and it believe the excuses he spoke of are quite weak for something as decisive and relevant as a duel. With Senator X's passing I now find myself as the  only Senator of the People's Party, and despite this loss for the Senate I am confident that we will keep up the good work that this session has showed. I probably have a couple of other announcements as well, but those will have to wait a few hours or a couple or days.

Thank you very much for your attention.

LumineVonReuental, At-Large Senator.

[Lumine]

OOC: Alright, I guess I'll play along with this for some time.

Aliens?

March 20th, 2014:
In light of the recent "unusual" activity in the skies of many countries, and given the lack of official statements beyond Mr. Urquhart's announcement, Senator Lumine chose to make a rather short televised address in order to express his thoughts and his evident skepticism of the possibility of alien contact.

Good night, my fellow Atlasians.

I understand that words alone cannot express how many of you feel right now. Right now, we are facing quite a good amount of doubts that range from our personal safety to some pretty philosophical questions. Are we alone? What is going on? Are we in danger? What is the government doing? and so forth. Throughout this day we have seen unusual objects in the skies, objects to which we are not used to, and a good number of countries have jumped to interesting conclusions, like the President of Mexico's (Adam: Isn't the President of Mexico Peña Nieto and not Calderon?) comments on the aircraft nor being "human". To those of you who are worried about the government, I encourage you to take a deep breath and have a second look at what's going on, as I did to compose myself. When Francis Urquhart called for tranquility and prudence, he was making the best request possible. Panic never helps, and I'm sure the President will address you soon and perhaps put this issue to rest.

Perhaps some of you heard about my small intervention in the Midwest Althing in regards to the second coming of the so called "Alien Bill". I stand by those comments. Call me a skeptic, but I refuse to believe that what we have seen today is the day in which aliens appeared on Earth. As far as I'm concerned, this could very well be Atlasian special military aircraft being tested, and it wouldn't surprise me if an announcement from the President confirmed this. We have no reason to think this could be the work of beings from outer space, and I want to encourage every Atlasian to take a second look, to try and come up with a different explanation just in case. Panic and fear will not help our nation or the world in this incident, and the more calm and composed we face it, the better for all of us, for we will reach a resolution in a more efficient way.

Do not fear, do not despair, and always doubt and think twice. That is the key for solving a problem, and by tomorrow I believe we will be able to witness a true ending to this matter. If I am wrong in my approach to this, well, my conscience will tell me I did the right thing at giving a lot of careful consideration to alternate explanations. Until then, I remain confident in my resolve to doubt the very existence of aliens in this world, and I tell you that as an individual and as a Senator.

Thank you for your attention,

LumineVonReuental, At-Large Senator.

[Adam Griffin]

(Adam: Isn't the President of Mexico Peña Nieto and not Calderon?)

No: Calderon is in his second term.

MEXICAN SPERG TIME:

In 2007, NAP and the Coalition for the Good of All made history by forging a makeshift alliance of sorts to weaken what waning strength PRI had at the time. Perhaps an apt comparison to this in Atlasia is an effort by both the Labor Party and the Federalist Party to weaken the Liberal Party's ability to return to glory after it lost control of the Senate and the Presidency; the Federalists saw opportunity to permanently weaken the left and the Laborites wanted to stop what it perceived to be a pro-business, liberal chokehold on the country ("what's the difference between a Federalist and a Liberal?").

One of the key reforms pushed through the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate at the onset was a constitutional amendment that would allow the President, federal legislators and local mayors to serve two consecutive, six-year terms. This amendment was passed in late 2007. Despite opposition within the coalition and worries that this would further empower any future PRI comeback, its roughly 80% control of congress allowed for the amendment to pass.

While the former coalition ceased to exist in late 2009, its policy initiatives and continued negative public perception of PRI were enough to stave off a major resurgence of the left, allowing Calderon to win in 2012 and keeping PRI's Senate plurality from being much larger than that of NAP (40-35). PRI still dominates in the Chamber of Deputies, however.

[Lumine]

My mistake then, thanks for the clarification!

[Lumine]

Running for Reelection!

March 24th, 2014:
With the "Alien Crisis" done and the Senator correctly predicting that there were no aliens, Senator Lumine has formally launched his reelection bid after declarating his candidacy a few days ago. As the remaining Senator of The People's Party, and despite having served less than a month, the Senator is confident of victory in the upcoming election.

Good morning, Atlasia:

I'll try to be brief this time, given that so many announcements will end up making this office too boring for the constituency to actually read. It is with great relief that I saw the end of this so called crisis in Burlington, Vermont, where we finally discovered the reason for the panic: a simple prank. Regardess of the need for us to put those people in jail for all they did (invading foreign airspace, causing widespread panic, and so forth), and trying not to sound  "I told you so", I'm rather pleased that in the end it was reason and a calm disposal what won the day. This incident goes to show that we still need to evolve in our state of mind to face the uncertain, but this is no way a legitimation of "alien" legislation, and I sincerely hope we can put this to rest as soon as possible.

Now, I also wanted to launch my reelection bid in a more formal way (not just announcing on the legal thread), for I intend to remain in the Senate for a very long time! I don't know who else will run, or if the current At-Large Senators intend to run for reelection, but I'm sure we will see a rather engaging election with great challenges to all parties and independents. Despite my new party affilation, I believe I have managed to stay away from mere partisanship, and I would like to count on the support of people of all parties, as always. Independents, Federalists, Democratic Republicans, Laborites and fellow members of The People's Party, my office is always open to all of you.

I also decided to give some changes to my old logo, as you can see. I decided to switch blue for green, and honoring my days as an Archduke and in light of the slightly germanic surname I chose to have, I have decided to adopt this as my new sigil: the eagle. The words remain similar, and I hope that my performance so far has been satisfactory to the voters. I'm not really sure about what else to say here, besides that I am also considering a potential change of regions in the near future. I have been for several months in the Most Serene Republic, but I guess I have also done everything I wanted and aimed to do here, and new challenges are always welcome in a political life. It's just an idea, but it doesn't hurt to think about new options.

Nothing else to say here, thanks for your attention!

LumineVonReuental, At-Large Senator.

[Maxwell]

Depending on shua's re-election status, you'll have my first or second preference, obviously.

[Simfan34]

Endorsed!

[Lumine]

Depending on shua's re-election status, you'll have my first or second preference, obviously.

Thank you, Maxwell, it really means a lot!

Endorsed!

Thank you very much, Simfan!

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

Endorsed.

Anyone who supports the Duke-Scott education reform bill, let alone sponsors it, gets a vote from me.

[Lumine]

Endorsed.

Anyone who supports the Duke-Scott education reform bill, let alone sponsors it, gets a vote from me.

Thanks, Scott! I hope the Education bill passes the Senate as quickly as possible!

[Flake]

You've always got my endorsement

[Lumine]

You've always got my endorsement

I'm glad to keep having your support, Flo, thanks!

[Lumine]

Update II: Aliens and Godzilla
in the Campaign Trail 14'

March 31th, 2014:
With almost a month as a Senator and after a rather strange month, the Senator has decided to release the next update (they will be released every two weeks with the voting record, potential ideas for legislation and a few comments on Atlasian politics, just for the sake of attention whoring.

Well... It looks like I'm still the only Senator from The People's Party, but I honestly hope that will change in the April election. Not that Senators actually make caucuses like in real life (and I believe that would be a nice addition), but it still feels somewhat strange. Anyway, my sincere congratulations to Alfred (I congratulated him via PM as well), for his victory, and my congratulations to the challengers who fought hard in a titanic and rather short election. As of now the only candidates for At-Large Senate are Senator Goldwater and Assemblyman JCL, so I hope more people will jump in and make it a truly memorable event.

Speaking of memorable, I want to take the time to discuss with you some of the issues we have seen in the past days. I think we can all agree March has been a rather crazy month, even when compared to the February Presidential Election. We lost Senator X to Godzilla after a former President refused to duel, we saw an election that had no candidates 24 hours before the start, and we saw Chinese military staging an alien invasion in our ground. Concerned as I am because of this, I openly support the recent efforts of the Senate to punish this type of activities, and I'm really looking forward towards the Administration's response to China. While I openly disagree with the way this event was handled by our Game Master, I find it much more worrying to see a lack of response, not only in the middle of the event, but in the aftermath. We constantly complain about the lack of exciting events, but we don't react when we have them or we fail to grasp the consequences of a lack of action, and that is something we have to change.

For that reason, I have seen the recent talk of game reform quite encouraging, and I openly support having another house in Congress. The reboot is something I'm not so sure about, but I can say with confidence and having a Lower House (and a parliamentary system as well) would bring innovation back, and it would lead us into the unknown. I'm probably alone here, but the constant repetion of events in Atlasia (centrists are HP's, the Napoleon hate/love cycle, the fact that people can't let 2012 and 2013 go, etc, etc, etc) is not really helping the game, and I want to encourage the voters to acknowledge that we need reform, and that repeating the same over and over again is eventually going to kill us.

Going into my performance, it has been dissapointing thus far, so I am going to blame college and a lack of free time. Thankfully, my foreign trade reform will soon be up for discussion, and this week I should be able to introduce one or two bills to accomplish other parts of my old platform. All in all, I feel this half-term and a full term should be more than enough to do quite a good amount of projects, and I'm looking forward to continue my work on the Senate. As always, I'm open for questions, comments and criticism, and I thank whoever took the time to read this.

Voting Record

(March 16th - March 31st)

Small Investor Protection Act  (AYE)
The Stingray Conservation Act (AYE)
Fracking Limitation and Safer Energy Act (AYE)
Collective Bargaining Modernization Act (NAY)
Fair Banking Act (NAY)
Co-Determination Act (NAY)

LumineVonReuental, At-Large Senator.

[Sec. of State Superique]

I was busy with many things and I was pretty unhappy that all those alien things happened in a period of hard tasks in RL.

[Lumine]

Special Envoy to Ukraine!

April 14th, 2014:
Right after his appointment as Special Envoy for the Ukrainian Crisis, Senator Lumine jumped on the first flight to Kiev and is getting prepared to meet with President Alexandr Turchinov and the Ukrainian government in order to coordinate further efforts and support from the Atlasian government.

Good day, my fellow Atlasians.

As of now, I am the new Special Envoy for the ongoing Ukrainian Crisis, and as I stated in the SoEA thread, I am now getting prepared to meet with Presdent Turnichov and his government in order to ensure the best cooperation and coordination possible between Atlasia and Ukraine in this difficult time. By combining the prerogatives of a Senator with the duties of a Special Envoy, I will try to do my best to make an impact and gather enough support for the Ukrainian government against Russian aggression. I will push for further Atlasian assistance once the Ukrainian Act passes the Senate in the form of an aid package and potential weapon sales in case the Donetsk situation gets out of control.

Superique has given me a set of instructions and general ideas that I shall follow as closely as I can, and while I can assure you that is not in my plans to make this situation even more complicated, I do not plan to sit idly while we let Russia do as it pleases with a sovereign nation. It's about time Atlasia faces the fact that we do not live in a vacuum, and that we have to do something about the issues the rest of the world is facing right now. We can't simply abandon Ukraine, not in this time of need. To do so would mean that our commitment to democracy, to diplomacy and to international law are mere words, worth nothing in the face of a real crisis, and I wish to prove this point by working as the new Special Envoy.

I'll try to write on an often basis as well, so expect more updates.

LumineVonReuental, At-Large Senator and Special Envoy to Ukraine.

[Lumine]

At-Large April Election Speech:

April 16th, 2014:
A few hours after returning from a meeting with Ukrainian President Turnichov and high ranking members of the European Union and NATO, Senator Lumine has chosen to release a small speech making his case for reelection before going to the At-Large Senate debate.

Good day, my fellow Atlasians.

I think it's a good time to make my case for reelection, given that the election is near. I will try to participate as much as I can in the debate, but given the more focused approach the debate will have in regards to the issues, I thought about delivering this small speech now that I am back from Europe.

I come to you as a man who has witnessed many decisive events, despite having a comparatively short life in Atlasia. I come to you as a man who has had the honor of being the sole Senator of The People’s Party for a few weeks, following the unfortunate death of Senator X. I come to you as a man who desires the support of voters in order to continue to work for Atlasia, as I’ve tried to do in my career as Mideast Assemblyman, Midwest Archduke, Midwest Governor, At-Large Senator and Presidential Candidate. There are seven Atlasians running in this race, and I am confident that all of them could do a wonderful job in the Senate. Alas, there can only be five winners, five standard bearers that shall represent the people in the At-Large Senate.

My time in the Senate, brief as it may be, has been marked by activity and by a desire to open new ground instead of presenting old legislation over and over again. While I openly acknowledge that my participation in debate is not the ideal (it has been rather limited thanks to time constraints) I’ve tried to find a way to commit Atlasia to a greater focus on foreign policy and the world stage, and I have taken the first steps to do that. Trade reform with Latin America and Asia, a preliminary reform of NATO, a resolution condemning Russia for the aggression against Ukraine, increased funding for green energy, and co-sponsoring President Duke and Emperor Scott’s Educational Reform bill. These are the preliminary steps (and I hope to send more if reelected), but they go a long way to show that this Senator takes a stand, and cares about issues that are often neglected for supposedly not being “amusing”, or because some (when dealing with foreign policy) prefer isolationism or believe we already do enough.

If anything, the recent alien debacle and the depressing state of activity in the months of March and April prove that we are not doing enough in any area of policy and politics. While I am not the most active public officer, I believe I am active enough to draw attention to the situations I listed before, and I am confident that the Atlasian public will reward those efforts. Well, that's all I have to say for that, I'll see you at the Nix debate!

LumineVonReuental, At-Large Senator.

[Lumine]

Crimean Crisis Act passes the Senate!

April 18th, 2014:

Another bit of attention whoring for Atlasia (I promise to tone it down in the future), after a very long time of discussion and a fairly good amount of interest, the Crimean Crisis Act, my first piece of legislation, has passed the Senate and it has been signed by President Duke. As I stated back in the thread, my thanks to the Senate and the President for allow this to pass, and I look forward in continuing to work with the Senate if I win reelection. As I promised, I will introduce the aid package to Ukraine before the Senate tomorrow.

[Lumine]

Elected for a full term!

April 21st, 2014:

I'm not going to lie, I will admit that I was somewhat nervous at some point on the voting period. It passed quickly, but even if the results of this election were something I had I mind after running a poll, Atlasia continues to prove that everything can happen in every election, and that even the strongest or the more experienced candidates are nowhere safe. After serving half of Tmthforu’s term in the Senate, I will now go once again to Nyman to serve as your Senator for four more months, once again the only Senator from The People’s Party, despite Butafly’s strong efforts to win this election was well.

Well, what can I say? I sincerely thank the voters for giving me the chance of having a full term and continue my foreign policy and environmental focused efforts in the Senate, and I keep my promise of doing the best job that I can. I also wish to congratulate the rest of the winners, fellow Senators Alfred, Shua and Goldwater, and GM Griffin on their well deserved victories. Of course, Butafly and JCL should be congratulated as well for their strong campaigns and their focus on the issues, and I can only hope that one day they will form a part of the Senate as well. With all of that said, it’s time to resume work! Thank you very much, Atlasia!

LumineVonReuental, At-Large Senator.

[Maxwell]

My endorsement went to Shua, both for ideological reasons and because I genuinely think he is a good force in the Senate, but you ran by far the best campaign, and you deserve a good pat on the back for that. Way to go buddy!

[windjammer]

Congrats!

[Lumine]

My endorsement went to Shua, both for ideological reasons and because I genuinely think he is a good force in the Senate, but you ran by far the best campaign, and you deserve a good pat on the back for that. Way to go buddy!

Congrats!

Thank you, Maxwell and Windjammer!

[Flake]

Do you think that police departments are benefited by a K-9 unit? Do you think K-9 units must be mandatory? Why or why not?

[Lumine]

Do you think that police departments are benefited by a K-9 unit? Do you think K-9 units must be mandatory? Why or why not?

Flo, I have to sincerely apologize here. I've been so inactive that I completely forgot about this thread and your question, and I'm sorry to have let two weeks pass without saying anything.

In regards to your question, I do support the use of K-9 units, but I wouldn't go as far as making it mandatory. The main issue here is to make it more efficient, as I believe it already is quite useful (we only have to see the numbers and the amount of cases in which the use of police dogs has been crucial, or the role they play in airports and customs). Current laws protect police dogs in many states, but I wish to see something more widespread that establishes that police dogs should be considered full-fledged police officers in order to secure their protection.

[Flake]

Do you think that police departments are benefited by a K-9 unit? Do you think K-9 units must be mandatory? Why or why not?

Flo, I have to sincerely apologize here. I've been so inactive that I completely forgot about this thread and your question, and I'm sorry to have let two weeks pass without saying anything.

You're fine. At least you answered *cough*  *cough*

[Lumine]

Update III:
How I learned to stop worrying and love... inactivity!?

May 7th, 2014:
Right after a very inactive month (not only for the Senator, but for Atlasia itself), the updates have returned, along with the announcement of the Ukrainian aid package, renewed efforts as the Special Envoy, and speculation for the future.

I guess my performance is still too inactive as of now, despite positive polling numbers. For that, I have to apologize. That Atlasia is inactive as a whole is one thing, but it is unbecoming of a Senator to just leave or stop caring anymore, and sadly, real life events don't help right now. College, as many of you know, demands a lot of time, and after going through very negative events like my temporary blindness for a couple of days or the loss of my grandfather a few days ago, well, it has become evident that there's a lot to be done in order to be a truly efficient Senator. I will return to the proposed "two week" updates, so my voting record for the month of April should be up tomorrow, just as I try to do something new to restart my position as Special Envoy to Ukraine.

In the meantime, I have introduced a new piece of legislation, inspirated by a similar resolution in the OTL United States Congress and some of the proposals I've heard as the Senate discussed my Crimean Crisis Act. We have condemned Russia, took preventive action and help President Turnichov fight the rebels in Donetsk, but there is a lot to be done. We have to support the people of Ukraine in their troubled times, and my Act calls for a good amount of economic aid to help them fight Russia in the "energy war", to develop their remaining assets, to recover what Yanukovych's corruption took away, to help the displaced Tatars, and to help their armed forces keep their strength to stop the rebels.

I hope this Act will pass as soon as possible, an in the meantime I will continue to discuss my proposal for NATO with the Senate as well. I also apologize to the administration for my lackluster defense of the Education bill, and I hope to resume work on that as soon as possible. It should be noted, though, that as of now I have no plans to run for another term, in order to focus on my current and upcoming projects without being too complacent about the amount of time left to work on them. And, of course, I remain behind the candidates I endorsed some time ago, like SirNick and Dallasfan for President and Vice-President, and Riley for Mideast Governor. I trust that individuals like them are what Atlasia needs in order to defeat decadence and restore activity once and for all.

LumineVonReuental, At-Large Senator.