The White House (Jan 2006)

[Filuwaúrdjan]

What a genuinely shocking announcement

[Joe Republic]

What a genuinely shocking announcement

More shocking would have been my earlier decision to nominate Bandit as Chief Justice.  I could go back to that one if you'd prefer.

[Ebowed]

Ah, but Bandit is no longer a registered voter.

Of course, these nominations are excellent.  I look forward to seeing Emsworth on the Supreme Court.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Ah, but Bandit is no longer a registered voter.

Ah, but Opebo is

[Peter]

It is my honour to accept my nomination for Chief Justice of the Republic.

I look forward to the confirmation hearings and my hopeful continuing service alongside Ernest and Emsworth.

[CheeseWhiz]

Aww...  I was hoping for PD to be named Chief Justice, but instead you nominate someone who is just a pawn in his ultimate plan…  So sad



In reality these are great nominations, and I wish them well.

[KEmperor]

Congratuations to Peter and Emsworth, both very worthy choices.  Emsworth is an excellent replacement for myself if I do say so myself, we share many of the same constitutional viewpoints.

[Joe Republic]

Good morning, everybody.  A few announcements to make.

Secretary of Forum Affairs

I'll make this announcement first, given that it is a top priority.  I have decided to nominate Q for this position, as I feel that he is clearly competent and qualified to take on the role.

Again, I'll declare my best wishes to Alcon in solving his personal issues.  Albeit briefly, he was a very able and committed Secretary, and I bid him good luck in his future endeavors.

Various congratulations

I would firstly like to congratulate the newly appointed Chief Justice Peter Bell, and Associate Justice Emsworth.  I had little doubt that their vastly superior legal minds and general abilities would prove their suitability for their respective roles, and I thank the Senate for agreeing with me.

I'd also like to congratulate Chancellor Andrea Merkel of Germany on her election to that position, and I wish her and her new government well for the future.  I would also like to apologize to her for comparing her to a recently deceased and incredibly ugly dog.  This error was due to an unfortunate mix-up, and no offense was intended.

Another congratulation goes to Senator TexasGurl, who has very recently given birth.  I would like to wish her the very best for her and her family, and also to wish her luck for her re-election campaign.

State of Forum Address scheduled

This is simply a quick note to say that my first State of the Forum Address will be presented to the Senate on Sunday, December 4th.

That is all.

[MasterJedi]

Great pick for SoFA!

[CheeseWhiz]

Great pick for SoFA!

Agreed, when are we gonna confirm him?

[Ebowed]

Q's got my vote for SoFA.

[MAS117]

GREAT CHOICE MR. PRESIDENT!

[CheeseWhiz]

Q's got my vote for SoFA.

Mine too, definitely!  Oh wait...

[Joe Republic]

Great pick for SoFA!

Agreed, when are we gonna confirm him?

Hopefully soon.  There is a degree of urgency to this.

[Frodo]

Secretary of Forum Affairs

I'll make this announcement first, given that it is a top priority.  I have decided to nominate Q for this position, as I feel that he is clearly competent and qualified to take on the role.

A very good choice, and I hope he (Q) stays on the job. 

[Joe Republic]

Good evening once again.  A couple more announcements to make.

Treasury Department nomination

Another press conference, another nomination *laughs*.  For the new vacancy in the Treasury Department, I have decided to nominate former Vice President Keystone Phil.  I have already spoken with him, and I am fully confident that he is an ideal choice to head the department.  We currently face an ongoing period of economic uncertainty, as well as budget difficulties, and I truly believe he is more than capable of pulling Atlasia out of it.

Again, I'd like to pay respect to Supersoulty on his incredibly successful tenure in the position.  I already considered him the best Treasury Secretary to date when I re-nominated him, and I think that is still a fair judgement.  I sincerely wish him the very best of luck for the future.

Dept. of Forum Affairs reform

As many keen-eyed citizens may have already noticed, Senator Al has introduced a bill on my behalf that effectively abolishes the Department of Forum Affairs as we know it.  In its stead, the bill outlines the creation of a new Department of Federal Elections, and a Census Bureau.

The reasoning behind it is that the position of SoFA is currently overwhelmed by a heavy workload, which really amounts to two responsibilities: running elections and recording voter registrations.  As the names of the new departments suggest, the Dept. of Federal Elections will deal with elections, and the Census Bureau will deal with registrations.

I am confident that this division of responsibilities will help relieve the burden on one person and his part-time assistant, and reduce the odds of both vital functions being placed in the hands of a single, unqualified individual.

Rescindment of Executive Order

I have hereby decided to rescind an executive order imposed by an earlier administration, which deals with voters who no longer wish to be Atlasian citizens.  As was previously, voters who had stated their wish to be removed from the voter rolls were summarily ignored.

However, from now on, any such individual's registrations will become 'dormant'.  They will not be permitted to vote, or be considered an Atlasian citizen, until such time that they declare their wish to return.  If they return within the same length of time that they would have naturally been removed from the rolls, then their registration will be treated as if they had never left.

If I had known that it was this simple to overturn such a rule, I would have done it much sooner.

That's all for this evening.

[Joe Republic]

Good afternoon, and may I belatedly wish you all a very Merry Christmas, and I hope you've all enjoyed this festive holiday season.  I know I have.

Oh, that reminds me.  I would like to offer my sincere apologies to the Canadian ambassador and his wife for my behavior at his Christmas party last week.  Let's just say the stressful season had made me very tired and emotional, and that the three bottles two glasses of mulled wine were very well received.  I would also like to explain that I was merely trying to brush what I thought was a crumb from the ambassador's wife's blouse.  Lastly, please send a bill for the coffee table directly to the Oval Office.

Anyhow, I think I've kept you all in suspense long enough.  I would like to announce my choice of nomination for the upcoming vacancy of the Vice Presidency.  After a lot of agonizing, it was clear that there was only one real choice for the position, and this was outgoing Senator Ebowed.  It is obvious to anybody that the senator is one of the most competent and able citizens of Atlasia, and I am fully confident that he could serve in my position with excellence (should that eventuality ever arise).  I also look forward to seeing his strong leadership in the Senate.

With that said, the only other thing I wanted to report is that my temporary Christmas hiatus is not quite over.  Early tomorrow morning, I will be leaving to visit some relatives in Illinois, and I will most likely not have internet access while there.  I expect to be gone for two days at the very most.

Once again, a very happy holidays to you all.

[MasterJedi]

Well it took you awhile to announce it but good choice!

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Good choice

[Q]

I thoroughly enjoyed that recap of your holiday party with the ambassador, Mr. President.

[Ebowed]

I thank the President for the confidence he has shown in me.  I look forward to serving Atlasia as the next Vice President.  (And sorry I've been absent for the last couple days, I'm on vacation and just figured out how to work with this wireless internet configuration thingie.)

[Max Power]

Great pick, Joe!! Ebowed will be a fine Vice President.

[jokerman]

Excellent Choice, Mr. President.

Good luck in your new office, Ebowed, I'm sure you'll make a fine Vice-President.

[TomC]

A great pick- the future of Atlasia. Ebowed is as hard working as anyone (and harder in many cases).

[Bleeding heart conservative, HTMLdon]

I was always told if I couldn't say something nice, I shouldn't say anything at all.  I'll shut up now.