The Mideast: Dead?
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  Atlas Fantasy Elections (Moderators: Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee, Lumine)
  The Mideast: Dead?
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Question: Is the Mideast Region on the right track?
#1
Yes
 
#2
No
 
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Total Voters: 28

Author Topic: The Mideast: Dead?  (Read 1385 times)
Talleyrand
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« on: August 20, 2014, 11:00:34 PM »

One incredible thing that's happened over the past week is that one has pointed out something quite troubling- the current state of Atlasia's biggest region.

Governor Riley Keaton, despite having been online as recently as today, and continuing to post on the forum, has not posted in Atlasia since August 11th, when he made these two posts.

Chairman:

[X] Senator North Carolina Yankee

Vice-Chairman

[X] Assemblyman JCL


And he has not made a post relating to his duties as Middle Eastern envoy since August 8th, which saw a series of posts.

The briefings will be postponed until the matter has been discussed in appropriate channels.

But most strikingly, he has not performed any duty as Mideast Governor since August 7th.


That is the only post he has made as Governor since August 2nd.

Right. I'd like to work with Hagrid and Napolean to get estimates on the legislation we've passed.

The most recent Assembly was sworn in on July 31st, with a legal case forcing the third member, Franzl, to swear in on August 2nd.

On August 4th, Spiral resigned from the Assembly.

I resign from the Mideast Assembly.

I, Spiral, do solemnly affirm that I will faithfully execute the office of At-Large Senator and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the Republic of Atlasia, so help me Dave.

On August 9th, Cassis resigned from the Assembly.

I, Cassius, do solemnly affirm that I will faithfully execute the office of Mideast Senator, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the Republic of Atlasia, so help me Dave.

Since August 9th, the Mideast Assembly has been dead, and by no fault of the single remaining assemblyman, as a legislative body cannot operate with one member.

The inactivity of the Governor and virtual nonexistence of the Assembly are part of an ongoing trend of inactivity in this region.

This is the second time a mass disappearance without warning by the Governor has happened. The last was only last month, which also coincided with an Assembly blackout for three weeks.
 


While Lt. Governor TJ and Senator Cassius have been active in their roles, a region cannot survive with two active officeholders. The Mideast has the numbers to be active- and a number of participants who'd be willing to serve in office, so what's the matter here?
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Dallasfan65
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« Reply #1 on: August 20, 2014, 11:04:08 PM »

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D3rFgr0Tu1c
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PPT Spiral
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« Reply #2 on: August 20, 2014, 11:13:22 PM »

I'm dismayed to see it get as bad as it has. The decline in activity already started to become apparent during my term as governor, but it's a lot worse now with Riley, who's been rather inactive himself. To be honest I think I should have stayed in the Assembly and try to carry things along as Speaker instead of running for the Senate, so I'll be open in my regret there. I really don't know how we'll be able to reverse this trend anywhere in the short term. Part of what made the Mideast bustling in the past was that there was genuine conflict (like with last year's abortion law), but with the left having fled that's no longer really around either. With subpar officeholders and long-term vacancies, there's no incentive for anyone to motivate the people of the region, and that's disappointing.
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Fmr President & Senator Polnut
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« Reply #3 on: August 20, 2014, 11:19:16 PM »

If the political leadership isn't active, then why should anyone else be?

I don't know how he's managed to get away with this level of inactivity.
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H.E. VOLODYMYR ZELENKSYY
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« Reply #4 on: August 21, 2014, 12:03:15 AM »

This is why we need consolidation. The five-region model has time and time again left us with several strong regions and one oregion that does nothing - the Midwest, the Pacific, now the Mideast. It's time for a change.
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DemPGH
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« Reply #5 on: August 21, 2014, 06:42:37 AM »

Alfred's right. I'll say that a healthy game and a healthy approach must allow for adaptation. We should not stick with a five region model just because that's how the game was set up a decade ago. But more than that, it's apparent that in the Mideast's case, despite its size, a few active people leave for various reasons and the region becomes inactive. Consolidating regions will allow us to combine the talent and desire to play that is spread too thin currently.
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Fmr President & Senator Polnut
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« Reply #6 on: August 21, 2014, 08:42:14 AM »

I disagree this situation is justification for consolidation. I understand the logic, if there's a rotation of inactivity, having fewer regions would make more sense. Few overall offices requiring fewer active participants.

For the record I now support consolidation... I'd like to see the ME and the MW merge Cheesy .... but fundamentally, this is because Riley hasn't done his job. Worse than that, no one in the legislature is calling him on it.
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Cassius
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« Reply #7 on: August 21, 2014, 09:44:42 AM »

Not dead, just chilling...
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GAworth
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« Reply #8 on: August 21, 2014, 12:03:05 PM »

I do think it is very sad for the Governor not to be around, he may have valid RL issues, so I am not calling him into question. However, it does reflect badly on the Mideast. And JCL is active so you can't the region is entirely dead, just on life support. The Pacific has an active VP Candidate, At-Large Senator and Senator (well at least when he was governor . . . but he announced a LOA) and the Midwest has the soon to be Governor, Cris, and myself, along with Fritz, and our Althing has had contributions from all members.
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Talleyrand
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« Reply #9 on: August 21, 2014, 12:12:12 PM »

I do think it is very sad for the Governor not to be around, he may have valid RL issues, so I am not calling him into question. However, it does reflect badly on the Mideast. And JCL is active so you can't the region is entirely dead, just on life support. The Pacific has an active VP Candidate, At-Large Senator and Senator (well at least when he was governor . . . but he announced a LOA) and the Midwest has the soon to be Governor, Cris, and myself, along with Fritz, and our Althing has had contributions from all members.

He has been posting quite regularly on the forum during this whole period, with the most recent post just two days ago.
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HagridOfTheDeep
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« Reply #10 on: August 21, 2014, 03:08:27 PM »

Being on the wrong track and being dead are two different things, though I understand why some would try and sell the failings of one Atlasian as a "flaw in the system!!1"
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Maxwell
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« Reply #11 on: August 21, 2014, 03:17:11 PM »

Being on the wrong track and being dead are two different things, though I understand why some would try and sell the failings of one Atlasian as a "flaw in the system!!1"

the Mideast is literally dead though. JCL is the only one in the legislature.
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SWE
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« Reply #12 on: August 21, 2014, 03:18:48 PM »

Being on the wrong track and being dead are two different things, though I understand why some would try and sell the failings of one Atlasian as a "flaw in the system!!1"

the Mideast is literally dead though. JCL is the only one in the legislature.
Franzl is the only one in the legislature, actually.
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MyRescueKittehRocks
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« Reply #13 on: August 21, 2014, 03:19:27 PM »

Being on the wrong track and being dead are two different things, though I understand why some would try and sell the failings of one Atlasian as a "flaw in the system!!1"

the Mideast is literally dead though. JCL is the only one in the legislature.

I'm not a member of the assembly. I'm just a private citizen and candidate for Senate.
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Maxwell
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« Reply #14 on: August 21, 2014, 03:20:12 PM »

Being on the wrong track and being dead are two different things, though I understand why some would try and sell the failings of one Atlasian as a "flaw in the system!!1"

the Mideast is literally dead though. JCL is the only one in the legislature.
Franzl is the only one in the legislature, actually.

Oh, my bad.
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Oakvale
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« Reply #15 on: August 21, 2014, 03:24:36 PM »

While I don't mean to excuse Riley or the Assembly, part of the blame must rest with the left-wing members who left the region in a fit of pique, transforming it from a conservative-leaning but thriving nexus of heated debate into another bland one-party stronghold.

It also leaves me in an amusing position since I'm open to consolidation in theory (although the proposal to merge the Pacific and the Midwest, and the South and the Mideast wouldn't leave us all that much better off - two boring one-party strongholds instead of four?) but not if this bicameral amendment nonsense passes. I'd also have to make sure that the Pacific doesn't get screwed if that were to happen.
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HagridOfTheDeep
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« Reply #16 on: August 21, 2014, 03:27:42 PM »

Being on the wrong track and being dead are two different things, though I understand why some would try and sell the failings of one Atlasian as a "flaw in the system!!1"

the Mideast is literally dead though. JCL is the only one in the legislature.

Death is irreversible.
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Talleyrand
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« Reply #17 on: August 21, 2014, 03:32:24 PM »

Hagrid, I think it was pretty obvious no one was referring to literal death.

While I don't mean to excuse Riley or the Assembly, part of the blame must rest with the left-wing members who left the region in a fit of pique, transforming it from a conservative-leaning but thriving nexus of heated debate into another bland one-party stronghold.

I can't disagree that the mass exodus seven months ago hurt the Mideast pretty badly in terms of activity, but continually using that as an excuse for the current situation is silly (I understand what you're saying there, but some citizens in the region, instead of trying to improve activity levels, constantly bring this up to deflect attention from themselves).

Pretty clear that Riley and those who failed to point out this situation for almost two weeks are to blame here.
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Oakvale
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« Reply #18 on: August 21, 2014, 03:35:45 PM »

^ I'm obviously not disagreeing for a moment that the current Governor and current members of the Assembly (er, member) are the ones at fault for this final stage of terminal decline, but it's something that was sadly inevitable once it became a one-party region.

If we're going to have the consolidation conversation again it's going to take an admission from the Right that the current situation is untenable and a guarantee from the Left that new system isn't going to be gerrymandered into a lopsided left-wing stranglehold on the remaining Senate seats.
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Talleyrand
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« Reply #19 on: August 21, 2014, 03:43:37 PM »

I would be fine with that, as would most other leftists in favor of consolidation, I think. But is there any concrete idea/proposal you have which could accomplish that?

I think the hope with last year's consolidation bill was to have two sets of regional senators and six at-large senators, which I think wouldn't cause a stranglehold on the seats. Although one could argue that the process by which the new regions were to be drawn (by a committee of Governors) could have caused a bad split in the allocation of the six regional senate seats (though  due to the right-wing majority of Governors that existed at that time, I doubt it would have).
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GAworth
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« Reply #20 on: August 21, 2014, 03:48:04 PM »

Regional Senate seats only will lead to a disproportionate strength to one side, most likely the Labor led Left. However, the bicameral situation can lead to a possibility for a center right coalition to have some power if not a possible majority. It all depends on the final composition of the regions, and the candidates running in either chamber and the GOTV campaign used by both side.
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Cassius
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« Reply #21 on: August 21, 2014, 03:54:04 PM »

Our current Assembly member, Franzl, is most certainly not to blame for the present... ah... lethargy of the Mideast. What can he do, being the only member of the Assembly? If anything, I am far more to blame than he is for the current state of the Mideast. But, I hope, the Governor will get round to appointing some new people to the Assembly, and hopefully we'll see some new blood elected to the Assembly next time round. These things take time, regions appear to gently ebb and flow, like the tide. The Mideast is at low tide, but it will surely reach high tide again, some day.
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Adam Griffin
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« Reply #22 on: August 21, 2014, 04:14:42 PM »

I'd just like to point out that while I had personally supported giving up on the Mideast as a competitive region for a long time prior, I wasn't involved with the diaspora and actually, I don't think I was even Chair at that time. The citizens there did not want to give up back then. To my knowledge, it wasn't really a coordinated effort by the party so much as it was a collective discussion among citizens there who were tired of trying. As I recall, the left had basically been shut out of the Mideast since the (left-leaning majority in the Assembly at the time) ignorantly went along with Inks' proposal to change the method of election to the standard bearer employed in all regions today, which destroyed the elastic ability for both sides to win majorities depending on the circumstances. This was is early 2013, I believe.

But the Mideast really wasn't any more competitive then than it is today; having a 60/40 split for purposes of one-seat regional elections - or even Assembly elections - basically guarantees the Right would dominate there. And of course, any efforts to "strategically recruit" to the region would have been met with complaints about how the region was being destroyed. People who wanted to be Governors, Regional Senators and evn assemblymen simply decided to seek opportunity elsewhere. My Party has always been regionally diverse - we even had a name for it at one point (Griffin's Five Region Strategy), but it proved to fall short in two regions due to Federalist tendencies to clot together in them. I tried to break this tendency, but alas.

As far as ebbs and flows, I haven't been around as long as some, but I've been around long enough to see what the true ebbs and flows look like. The game went through several of these cycles in 2012 and the first half of 2013, but we've been in a consistent cycle of inactivity and regional crumbling for the past year. Obviously, something isn't working and the tendency to advocate for more of the same is more a reaction to the messenger I feel than the message itself, and is perpetuating this ongoing issue.
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afleitch
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« Reply #23 on: August 21, 2014, 04:40:49 PM »

It's cause I left isn't it? Wink Smiley
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Simfan34
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« Reply #24 on: August 21, 2014, 05:06:44 PM »

Is it just me or has the usual one region that plays the role of the "Sick Man of Atlasia" now two? Indeed, I'd say every region sans the Northeast is pretty sickly, and even they don't seem as robust as I recall it before my absence from the forum.

Am I correct in recalling that towards the end of 2012 there were just a tad under 200 registrants while now we have around 160? Is that ultimately the problem?
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