The Porcupine: Battle for Southern Chamber (PART 2)

[OneJ]

The Porcupine Est. 2010

Good evening ladies and gentlemen!

I, OneJ_, reporter of The Porcupine for regional affairs and elections, as well as Representative (and Congressional Whip), am proud to moderate the debate out of the request from Jbrase.

It's an honor to have with me fhtagn and Speaker Ben Kenobi with me participating in this debate as they prepare for their run to the Southern Chamber on tomorrow. Please make sure you vote in that race along with the Governor's race.

Now let's begin!

[fhtagn]

Thank you to The Porcupine, and Minority Whip OneJ_ for hosting his interview tonight!

While I had originally expected this to be a debate, I am thankful to have this opportunity for my fellow Southerners to get an idea of who I am and what I stand for.

[OneJ]

Thank you again fhtagn for participating.

Q1: I've begun to notice that there hasn't been a lot of discussion on LGBT+ rights as of late. May I ask you what would you do to improve the equality of LGBT Atlasians?

[fhtagn]

As someone who has long identified as a member of the LGBT+ community, this is a topic that is very near and dear to my heart. I firmly believe that members of the LGBT+ community deserve all the equal rights and protections afforded to heterosexual and cisgender citizens.

If I am elected to the Chamber of Delegates, I hope to have the opportunity to work with my fellow delegates to propose and enact legislation that ensures these protections are not only put in place, but enforced.

Some examples of the direction I would like to see our region heading towards include:

- Requiring facilities to grant visitation and medical decision making to the patient's partner, regardless of sexual orientation.
- Protecting our LGBT+ citizens by enacting and enforcing hate crime laws, and pushing to issue harsher penalties to those who resort to these vile acts.
- Loosening restrictions on blood and tissue donation, as science has proven that homosexual sex is no more risky, and no more likely to spread disease than heterosexual sex. With the advances that have been made in science with how closely biological samples are screened, it is time to stop the discrimination towards LGBT+ citizens who wish to do what they can to assist a person in need.
- Proposing and enacting legislation to grant transgender individuals the ability to be recognized as the gender that they identify with. This includes allowing the use of public restrooms, a much easier process of changing one's birth certificate and obtaining a name change, and easing restrictions on transgender individuals who choose to have children, adopt, and marry.

[Wisconsin+17]

I'm on now. Apologies. I had a professional development meeting after my classes. Very important that I attend.

[OneJ]

Now moving on question two!

Q2: I believe that infrastructure is a bigger topic than some seem to realize across the Southern region. What is your plan to improve upon infrastructure in the South?

[OneJ]

I'm on now. Apologies. I had a professional development meeting after my classes. Very important that I attend.

It's now been turned into a debate!

Speaker Kenobi, you may answer the first two questions.

[Wisconsin+17]

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I think the best way to improve life in general for Southerners and particularly homosexual Southerners is to improve the economy and to get more people working. I'm proud that I've cut taxes and saved everyone thousands of dollars this year.

What use is it to have protests and rallies if you don't have a job? Wouldn't you rather have a job, and the money to do what you like and to live the life you enjoy?

[Wisconsin+17]

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That's a good question. I think the best way that we can improve infrastructure is to ensure that dollars devoted to transportation actually go to transportation. Far too often we've seen that funds directed there end up funding other initiatives.

I plan to continue the South's solid investment into transportation infrastructure by focusing our current budget on the maintenance of roads, bridges and the interstates throughout the south. The vast majority of Southern commerce happens on these roads and so we should be devoting the bulk of our spending there.

I'm not personally a fan of so-called 'high speed' rail. The usage rates and the population density of the south doesn't justify the expenditures such a project would command. We'd actually save money by buying every southerner an automobile every year than to build a high speed rail.

And I don't know about you, but I'd like a car every year, personally.

[President of the great nation of 🏳️‍⚧️]

I think the best way to improve life in general for Southerners and particularly homosexual Southerners is to improve the economy and to get more people working.

Impressive deflection, if I say so myself.

[OneJ]

Q3: Recently, the communities of the Southern region have felt fear into their hearts. Although crime across the region (and Atlasia as a whole) has actually decreased, the polls have captured increased anxiety on crime in general. What is your plan ease Southerners' perceptions on crime and on how to continue lowering it?

After the first participant answers, the other may rebut.

[fhtagn]

Welcome, and thank you for being here, Speaker Kenobi! I'm glad you could attend! I look forward to discussing the issues with you tonight!

As for Question 2:

I am delighted to see that this election many of the candidates seem to be interested in discussing infrastructure. This is something that I am truly excited about, as I feel that this is something all sides can agree on, and work together to make happen.

My plan for in the South is to increase funding to implement programs intended to improve and bring our infrastructure into the future. I plan to have these programs have some overlap with my clean energy ideas. This includes phasing into the use of power sources such as solar, wind, and hydroelectric. With implementing a whole new source of power in the South, we are not only creating many more jobs (especially for those who are currently working in dying industries), but we can be the leading example of where society should be, and set the pace for the rest of Atlasia. I would also like to propose ways to offer incentives to private companies who wish to help us achieve this goal and call the South their new home.

Much like Speaker Kenobi, I also feel that it is important to allow room in our budget for the maintenance of roads, bridges, and interstates throughout the south. Where I disagree with him is on the high speed light rail systems. While I do not feel we are at a position where it is economically feasible to put this in place throughout all of the South, I feel that we can work closely with local governments, especially those in urban areas and their suburbs to enact this. This would help ease our carbon footprint, as well as ease congestion on our roadways for those in high population areas.

[Wisconsin+17]

You're welcome, Fhtagn.

I'll let Fhtagn answer the third question first so that we alternate.

[fhtagn]

I want to start by thanking law enforcement and local communities who have helped ensure that overall crime has gone down in Atlasia. Without these groups, we would not have the opportunity to acknowledge that. I also want to acknowledge the fears that our communities are feeling. Given the negative things we hear on a daily basis, it's easy to feel afraid. Your feelings are valid and something we can admit we feel. It's something I feel along with you.

My plans to ease the fears of our communities is to keep our focus on the communities themselves. We should be working with them directly to implement programs to set examples of a functioning and safe society. One of my biggest focuses will be on our youth. By offering a wide variety of programs for our children to become involved in, we can ensure they are influenced by positive role models, and develop healthy habits that will help them succeed in life. This is the future of Atlasia, and we cannot set them up for failure.

I'd also like to incorporate programs intended to provide help to victims of crime. I'd like to establish programs intended to provide counseling services and group workshops to victims of crime, particularly those of violent crimes. It's often hard for people to ask for help, especially when they don't know that it is out there.

[Wisconsin+17]

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Well, I'm from Texas and we've had considerable challenges, especially with the murders of 5 Dallas police officers. I think the best thing we can do for security right now is to enforce the border regulations and deport anyone who's in the country breaking the law. I know a great deal of immigrants who abide by the law and respect Atlasia in general. Why should they have their good names tarred by the horrific acts of a few? I'm also a proponent of former Mayor of New York, Rudy Guiliani's 'broken windows' strategy. He believed strongly that if you took care of the small offenses, the larger ones became easier to deal with.

Also, I'd like to point out that we finally passed DFW's body cameras bill. This will help to protect our police force from frivolous lawsuits as well as protecting them. Suspects are much less likely to attack officers if they know that they are being recorded.

[OneJ]

Because it is getting kind of late and there have been lengthy responses, I'll go ahead and request that both of the candidates make their closing remarks before the termination of the debate before election day.

Both of you have done a marvelous job during this debate and wish y'all the best of luck!

[fhtagn]

I'm not going to spend a whole lot of time on Speaker Kenobi's response because I feel that immigration is a completely separate issue, and while important, doesn't address the fears our communities are feeling about crime as a whole.

As a registered voter in the South, I am happy about the passing of the body cameras bill. This is something I can come to an agreement with Speaker Kenobi on. This is something that protects not only law enforcement from being attacked by a suspect or frivolous lawsuits, but protects our citizens from abuse of power. I feel that it is a step in the right direction for our region, and hope to have the opportunity to work with fellow delegates to continue the trend.

[Wisconsin+17]

I want to thank OneJ and the porcupine for hosting the debates.

I've spent a lot of time in the Chamber of Delegates, having served since August. I cannot say that I've had a better time than when I've been working with some incredible governors like DFW and now Diptherian. We've gotten a lot accomplished, including the elimination of Income Tax putting several thousands of dollars into the pockets of each and every southerner. We've banned euthanasia to protect the weak and the helpless, and we've banned abortions done after 14 weeks. Many doubted these things could be done, but they have.  

We still have a lot more things to do! I hope that the people of Atlasia will return me again to work as your delegate, and I appreciate the confidence you've all had in me.

Good night and God bless all of you!

See you on the campaign trail!

[fhtagn]

Thank you OneJ and The Porcupine for hosting the debate, and thank you Speaker Kenobi for being able to make it out tonight.

While there is no question of my progressive values, I truly feel that my goals for the South are truly in the best interest of our region. I don't want to only be a delegate who votes based on my political affiliations, I want to be a delegate that you can trust and believe in. I truly hope to be given the opportunity to work with whomever gets elected, regardless of their party, to make the South a prosperous region.

I wish you all a good night, and good luck to Speaker Kenobi in the election tomorrow!