Office of Senator Cynic: Chaos and Sh*t

[Dr. Cynic]

I am hereby withdrawing from the At-Large Senate race as I don't feel I have enough support to win a seat. I will be considering my Atlasian future for awhile before making a decision on what to do next, if anything.

[Dr. Cynic]

Pulling a Ross Perot here.

Hey guys, guess what. My three week working trip/vacation was cancelled just days after it was set. So I'm back in the At-Large Senate race. Will it make a difference? Only if you want to save this nation, it will...

Also, I'm accepting write-in votes for those of you in the NE who simply can't live without me in the Assembly.

On to victory.... Or probable defeat and humiliation!

[Fritz]

So...you are declaring now to run in August?

[Cranberry]

Endorsed!

[Dr. Cynic]

So...you are declaring now to run in August?

Yeah.

[Dr. Cynic]

Having a town hall/Q&A session. Have at it folks. Let's keep things alive.

[Dr. Cynic]

So, I won't be returning to the NE Assembly. I congratulate all of the winners and I wish them all possible success.

I'm hoping that you'll still see me as a viable candidate to be elected your At-Large Senator. As always, the most important thing in the game to me, is the game itself. We shouldn't out and out reject the possibility of a restart the same as we shouldn't discount all change in general. The most important thing is keeping this game going in whatever form that may take.

Hopefully we will see a new era of positive activity with the upcoming administration of my friend, DemPGH. I'm hopeful also that I'll move on to new things going forward.

[Dr. Cynic]

In regards to the NE special election, I'd rather prefer new blood stepped up for it. If not, I'll run, but only in that situation.

Health Care statement to come tomorrow.

[sentinel]

...do you want it? Cause if you do, I'll step out.

[Dr. Cynic]

I want to wait a day and see if any new blood comes up. Someone who hopefully hasn't held office yet. If not, then I'll go for it. Unless you'd like the job, Nick. I wouldn't ever encourage you to drop out if you wanted to do the job.

[Napoleon]

Hey the only bad thing about the two of you running would be choosing. I wouldn't complain if we had four or five good candidates. And a fierce election would do well to motivate the rest of us to do better.

[Prince of Salem]

You running? 'Cause if you are, prepare for JoMCaR, 'cause I'm in

[Dr. Cynic]

I'm in.

(My internet has been having a problem all day today, hopefully it will be resolved by tomorrow).

On Healthcare:

It is my belief that Fritzcare was a damn good starting point, but by no means should it be regarded as the end of the line. As a member of the Labor Party, I'm committed to 100% Universal Health Care and I believe health care is a right and not something only the privileged should be a part of. I'm not into nationalizing every industry there is, but when it comes to the health and well-being of our citizens, then yes, I believe the private sector can be callous to the needs of those on a lower income. After all, their duty is to deliver a profit, not to make sure you get the best possible care.

Atlasia's National Health Care program should be expanded to meet the demands of our citizens. Also, the tax level of 0.5% that is levied on those who are 250% below the poverty line (an absurd thing to think that there are individuals who are at that level of suffering in a society such as ours) should now be reduced to 0 and in order to pay for it, we could levy 0.5-1% of a raise across the rest of the income brackets.

In order to do this, however, we want to be able to keep taxes as low as humanly possible, so yes, we would look for other places in which to lessen the burdens. We can also look at non-essentials with which to cut in order to reduce spending. Nevertheless, I feel that providing 100% free health care for the entire population is of utmost importance in the coming term.

[Adam Griffin]

Fabulous news!

[Dr. Cynic]

Attention Nor'Easterners! The Special Election for the Assembly seat is on and I encourage you to vote for me!

[Dr. Cynic]

First of all, thanks to all you NE folks who turned out and voted for me.

It was a good campaign and a close campaign but in the end, we pulled out a victory and I'll be again serving as one of your representatives. I want to thank my opponent, JoMCaR (if I got the caps right, I can't remember exactly, hopefully, I did) for running a damn good campaign and for really putting the effort in to make things competitive. I have no doubt he has a good future ahead of him in Atlasia.

Moving forward, I will continue to work in the Assembly and I'll continue to campaign for the At-Large Senate election. I'll take questions, comments, etc.

[Barnes]

Congrats.

[bore]

Congratulations!

[DemPGH]

Good work, Cynic, and congrats!

[Dr. Cynic]

On Homelessness:

What I hope to see in the future is a complete end to homelessness in Atlasia. To that end, I have introduced a bill before the Northeast Assembly to improve upon and work in tandem with the Anti-Homelessness Act, which is already the law of the land in the Northeast.

The gist of the bill is to both improve upon the operation of shelters to include daytime operation (Since the current law only provides for nighttime operation), and to try and move some of the individuals into a longer term situation by providing both long term, affordable housing and employment. I'm sure my bill may go through some revisions on the floor, however, I will work hard to protect the intent and work toward maintaining the integrity of this legislation.

I believe that for a disease like homelessness, we need not only to treat the symptoms, we must also work to prevent it. By providing housing and employment to those who need it, we can ensure better lives for our citizens. I'd also like to see if we can't work to find ways to counsel those individuals on making the right choices that can prevent relapse. You can send an addict to rehab to help cure him of his illness and I believe something like homelessness can be treated in a similar way. By providing treatment and counseling, we can cure this condition. I hope my bill can go a small way towards doing so in my region and I hope we can address this issue in the country as a whole.

[Adam Griffin]

Glorious news (on both fronts)!

[Dr. Cynic]

Corporate Personhood/Welfare for Atlasians:

I believe that when it comes to how we administer laws in this country, we must hold corporations up to a very high standard. These large entities control a great deal of capital and thus we must make sure that they act within the confines of the law and we prevent them from trampling over those workers who are just as responsible for their profits as their board of directors.

That said, the current law being discussed in the Senate, sponsored by Senator TNF, is designed to prevent things like the Hobby Lobby decision, which grant corporations a loophole in the law. It is my view that because individuals cannot shirk a law simply because it inconveniences them, then a corporation shouldn't be able to either. Nor should a corporation be able to pin its moral code onto the individuals who work for them. Giving an individual a paycheck for work done does not, in my view, mean that they also have the right in determining whether an employee gets birth control, for example. First of all, the health care costs always come out of the individual's check, so by that logic then, an employee has already paid for it and should be given whatever services they require.

In terms of welfare, it should be our ideal to create a society where no one lives in poverty, everyone has a home, at the least basic necessities, and a job. We have to continue working to achieve that. In the Northeast, I've proposed a bill that attempts to attack this issue at its roots. The Northeast is currently running a nice sized surplus in the budget. My bill would, in fact, put some of that money to good use in not just expanding the operation of shelters, but also would allow for those individuals to have a home, the basic necessities and a job. With hope, it will achieve here in the NE, what we would like to see on a national level.

With respect to some of the conservatives making a run in this race, just cutting taxes doesn't get to the root of the problem in the same way that just raising taxes on the wealthy doesn't get to the root of the problem. Eliminating all welfare is a callous and short-sighted venture that doesn't invest in the people of this country. In my view, that's why government programs should do. Invest in people and give them the opportunities that they so sorely need.

[Dr. Cynic]

Sports Nationalization:

Although in most cases I agree with my esteemed friend, the Senator from the Midwest, TNF, I have to say that in this instance, with respect, I disagree with his course. My reasons are based primarily on my geography probably more than anything else and I probably speak for every one of my fellow yinzers in this.

The Pittsburgh Steelers are our most treasured symbol. Of our culture, there is very little that I can think of that takes precedence. Since 1933 (with the exception of an aborted time period in the 40s where a businessman named Alexis Thompson took control of the team for a few months), the Pittsburgh Steelers have been primarily owned by the Rooney family. First Art, then Dan and now Art II. The Rooneys were progressives in every sense of the word, such as encouraging the hiring of minority players and coaches and front office personnel. Not only that, they have been a generous and positive influence on the city as a whole. The Steelers, being owned by the Rooney family, who know how to find football talent, has been the harbinger of the franchise's success since the 1970s when the team hired the late, great Emperor Chaz to be the Head Coach. Pittsburgh traditions are taken seriously by the populace here and one of the most cherished quirks this city has embraced is the stewardship of the Rooneys. When businessman Stanley Druckenmiller (a Pittsburgh resident and Steelers fan) attempted to buy the team, reaction from the city was overwhelmingly negative.

Apart from the Steelers, let us move on to the ownership of the Pittsburgh Penguins and Pittsburgh Pirates, who would also be affected by the legislation. The Penguins have gone through several owners and internal instability. Mario Lemieux saved the franchise once as a player and again by buying the team. To remove an owner who has taken the Penguins from a hardly talked about team, to one with such tremendous positive feedback in the city. I would hate to think Mario's work in saving the team from bankruptcy would be for naught.

As for the Pirates... Well, they were good last year and are doing ok this year. If the government buying them would get them in contention for a World Series, by leveling the salary playing field, I say go for it...

I kid...

I can't speak for other cities sports traditions, because I don't live in another city. I can only speak for mine. I'm sorry TNF, I would definitely support not using federal funds to build the big stadiums, but I cannot support the seizure of sports franchises from competent owners, particularly those in Pittsburgh such as the Rooneys and Mario Lemieux.

[Dr. Cynic]

Holding a Campaign Q&A in Evansville, Indiana!

Please don't hesitate to pop in and ask a question, or have a complimentary donut and coffee or soda.

[MyRescueKittehRocks]

Welcome to southern Indiana Lt. Gov Dr Cynic. What are your thoughts on Dukes proposal to reform the national legislative system by turning our current unicameral into a bicameral legislature?