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

[DC Al Fine]

Endorsed of course.

[Lumine]

Endorsed of course.

Thank you very much, Senator!

A few words before the election:

While it is sad to see Cincinnatus leaving the race, I think we can all agree that he will prove an excellent Secretary of SoIA, and I certainly hope his Senate confirmation will go smoothly. Now, this election went much more quickly than expected, so I honestly apologize for not running an extremely active campaign, specially after doing so for the Midwest. I do feel, however, that after so many months the beliefs of all three candidates are more than known to all Atlasians, and I also believe nobody could doubt our stands on the issues. I wish both of my opponents the best of luck, this election will be a tough one, and electoral surprises are not unheard of in this game.

It is true I can't boast to have a resume as impressive as Adam Griffin's, nor I can claim to have the 100% independent spirit of Poirot, but some of the things I have proved is my commitment to this game and my desire to go out and do things to the best of my ability, all while trying not to drive my fellow Atlasians insane. Hopefully these constants runs for office won't achieve that undesired effect.

Well, to the election we go, and let's see if I'll end up in Nyman or back to be home!

Lumine.

[Rooney]

I greatly hope we will see you in the senate, governor. I can think of no one who could do a better job or make a greater difference.

[Lumine]

I greatly hope we will see you in the senate, governor. I can think of no one who could do a better job or make a greater difference.

Thanks, Rooney! So far the results look very encouraging for me, but there are still many voters left, and everything can happen in the remaining election time.

___________________________________________________________________________________

I hope that the this election will enjoy a very high level of turnout, the more voters the better for us candidates and the more representative this election is. Don't forget to vote!

[Flake]

Congratulations on getting the most votes in Atlasian history, Senator Lumine.

[windjammer]

Congratulations Lumine, you seem to be a bit like Mary Landrieu, you like close elections .

[Senator Cris]

Congratulations Mr. Senator!

[Lumine]

Victory! (I hope)

March 3rd, 2014:
After a very intense week, the election is over, and the apparent final count gives Former Governor Lumine a one vote advantage, breaking a good number of election record numbers. The results still have to be certified, but it seems that Lumine goes to Nyman after all.

"Thank you, Atlasia!

It's hard to describe the feeling that victory (so far) brings to a player, but it can be described as both a reward and a reminded. You are rewarded for your efforts, but you have to remember that there are so many things to do that you can't stop, you have to keep working. I received a gracious PM from Adam Griffin with his congratulations (although concessions of any kind will have to wait for the official results, obviously), and I wish to thank him as well for being a fantastic adversary. The same goes for Poirot, who fought a valiant fight until the end and got a great result in the first round. Together we broke several records during the weekend, and I can't explain how happy I am right now. This was one hell of a race, ladies and gentlemen!

I will await until the official certification to see if this victory is truly certain, but even if the results showed a narrow loss for me, I would be as proud and as happy. In the past days I had to trust on the judgement of the people of my region and then the people of Atlasia, and the support I received was always incredibly encouraging. Despite how hard it has been, this was a fantastic period of time for me in Atlasia. The Senate comes now, and granted, starting college always makes things more complicated, but I am confident in the future, and I feel that I will be able to perform in the best way I can. I have good relationships with several of the current Senators, so I am confident that my stay in the Senate will be both productive and very pleasant.

On a related note, today's global crises seem to further illustrate the point that foreign policy is starting to be neglected in a very dangerous way, with the same thing happening to the environment. There were those who claimed in 1990 that History was dead, but they were wrong. They said governments and states were dead, and they were wrong. We live in a complex world, ladies and gentlemen, and it's time for Atlasia to put more focus and find more assertive ways to become a truly positive force in the international stage. This is our chance to fix some of the mistakes of the past and fight for long term policies that will make the difference, and I wish to be a part of said effort.

I thank my friends, my opponents and the voters for such a fantastic election, and to Nyman I go!"

LumineVonReuental, Probably Senator-Elect.

[Lumine]

Congratulations on getting the most votes in Atlasian history, Senator Lumine.

Thanks, Flo! It really is a fantastic surprise to get this record!

Congratulations Lumine, you seem to be a bit like Mary Landrieu, you like close elections .

Thank you Governor, it seems I'm haunted by close results, xD

Congratulations Mr. Senator!

Thank you very much, Cris!

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

I'm glad to have supported you, Lumine.  You really deserve this.

[Lumine]

I'm glad to have supported you, Lumine.  You really deserve this.

Thank you, Scott! I can't wait to swear-in!

[Rooney]

Congratulations! You will do a grand job I have no doubt.

[Lumine]

Congratulations! You will do a grand job I have no doubt.

Thanks, Rooney! Sadly I'll have to wait until certification, but I trust to be able to start working as soon as possible!

[Associate Justice PiT]

     Wonderful job, Herr von Reuental. I look forward to good things from you in the Senate.

[Lumine]

     Wonderful job, Herr von Reuental. I look forward to good things from you in the Senate.

I hope that will be the case, Emperor, thanks!

[Lumine]

To Nyman!

March 5th, 2014:
Right after the certification of the electoral results, now Senator Lumine took the oath of office and then proceded to open his new private office in Nyman, ready to work. Naturally, friends and fellow officeholders are more than invited to visit once in a while.

"Well, the election is now truly over, and it's time for the to get to work.

I step into the Senate in a truly fascinating time, right as we are facing a crisis in Ukraine, a possible impeachment and several fascinating bills up for discussion and vote. I expect to release my proposals to the Senate as orderly as possible, and while I don't wish to flood the Senate I would like to start with two ideas today. I wish to send a symbolic resolution addressing the Ukranian crisis, urging the Senate to take a stand against potential aggresion from Russia, to support the current Ukranian government and advice the President, the SoEA and the Special Envoy to use every single plausible diplomatic effort, including heavy trade sanctions. I do not wish war, but it's time for the Republic of Atlasia to show our committment to democracy and actual diplomacy by avoiding a Russian takeover of Crimea.

The second bill is also foreign policy related, and it involves the first part of a comprehensive foreign policy reform package that I wish to see enacted. Without giving too many details, I wish to begin by joining and giving more support to several key organizations in Asia and South America involving both diplomacy and free trade efforts, like APEC, OAS, the Pacific Aliance and so forth. I will try to be as involved as I can in the current bills in discussion, although some of them are already at the final vote, thus making my participation rather simple. I will try to devise a rather concrete style as a Senator, but for the time being I wish to state that I consider all of Atlasians as my constituents given my At-Large role, and I'm more than willing to take advice, criticism and to sponsor some bills if that's your desire. I'll try to be transparent and open about most of my bills and votes as well, but time will define how that proceeds. Well, I guess that's all for now.

Time to get to work!"

LumineVonReuental, At-Large Senator.

[Flake]

My little Lumine's now a Senator

[Lumine]

My little Lumine's now a Senator

We grow so fast, xD

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

So do you prefer to be boiled in oil or burned alive?

[Lumine]

So do you prefer to be boiled in oil or burned alive?

Well, a firing squad has always looked very interesting (and somewhat appropriate) to me, but if I had to choose... Boiled, please!

[Fed. Pac. Chairman Devin]

Congratulations on your victory Senator!

[Lumine]

Congratulations on your victory Senator!

Thank you very much, Devin!

[Adam Griffin]

Congratulations on your election, and a job well-done!

[Lumine]

Congratulations on your election, and a job well-done!

Thank you very much!

[Lumine]

Update I: NATO and Environmental Reform

March 15th, 2014:
With ten days as Senator, and right after introducing two new pieces of legislation and having a small meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Senator Lumine (forgive the third person style, I just like it) decided to give a small update on his work so far.

Good night, my fellow Atlasians.

I spoke before of my desire of having an open office as a Senator, being as transparent as I can while doing my job, and that's why I will give these small updates whenever something important happens, like introducing a bill or releasing my voting record. These days have been quite active for me, as they correspond to my first days in the Senate, my first days in college (and it hasn't been easy) and my days in a new political party after the dissapearance of the Progressive Union. And now I find myself as a Senator of the People's Party, who knows very well that he has to keep improving the work in the Senate. My first days have not been impressive at all, but so far I have introduce four pieces of legislation to the Senate, with a couple more to be introduced next week. First we have my Crimea resolution, which is currently in discussion. The need for amendments here has become obvious in light of some of the objections, but I feel that a consensus will be found in time for this resolution to pass before the crisis keeps escalating. Then we have the South American and Asian Trade Act, which will have to wait for discussion.

Today I introduced two new bills: One is designed to take on my earlier promise of "NATO Reform", by addresing the matter of membership. It is a rather simple bill that would make us request the North Atlantic Council to ask a few allied nations to join NATO (like Japan, South Korea, etc.). Once that is accomplished, we can proceed with further reform in that front. The second bill is the first in a series of environmental proposals I have in mind, and it seeks to increase funding of clean energy research. I acknowledge it will take some time before they are discussed, but hopefully I will manage to see them on the Senate floor before the April election. On another note, I feel I should congratulate the new members of the Cabinet for their sucessful confirmation hearings and their good work so far. Game Master Griffin, SoIA Cincinnatus and AG Maxwell are incredibly capable Atlasians, and we can certainly expect a lot from them in their current positions.

I also wish to congratulate SoEA Superique for his hard work on the Israel-Palestine peace talks, given that so far we have seen quite sucessful results when compared to previous efforts. I briefly met with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas today in Nyman (I am unaware if the other Pro-Palestine Senators did the same) to speak about the current situation, and he seems quite optimistic about the potential results. The Atlasian committments of the peace deal will probably undermine some of the efforts to put restrictions on Israel (like the military sanctions I proposed), but so far I am glad that there's a potential resolution to this conflict, and I remain supportive of the Palestinian state.

Last but not least, I wish to conclude this small update with my voting record so far:

Voting Record

(March 7th - March 15th)

60th Senate President Pro Tempore Election (Senator North Carolina Yankee)
Article of Impeachment Against Attorney General Benconstine (NAY)
Senate Hearing: Adam Griffin for Game Moderator (AYE)
Senate Hearing: Maxwell for Attorney General  (AYE)
The Regional Exemption Act of 2014 (AYE)
Collective Bargaining Modernization Act of 2014 (NAY)
Regional Recognition of Marriages and Civil Unions Act (AYE)
Troubled Teen Protection Act (AYE)
The Double Jeopardy Is OK Sometimes Amendment (AYE)

LumineVonReuental, At-Large Senator.