The Atlasian Sentinel

[Antonio the Sixth]

Very useful topic. I think I'll regularly read it to remain informated about Atlasian news.

[Vepres]

Very useful topic. I think I'll regularly read it to remain informated about Atlasian news.

Informed.

Not to be petty, I assume English isn't your first language.

[RIP Robert H Bork]

Very useful topic. I think I'll regularly read it to remain informated about Atlasian news.

Informed.

Not to be petty, I assume English isn't your first language.

It probably is not. Check out his signature.

[Antonio the Sixth]

Very useful topic. I think I'll regularly read it to remain informated about Atlasian news.

Informed.

Not to be petty, I assume English isn't your first language.

Thanks for correction. I still have some problems to find the right word sometimes, but to be honest it could be far worse...

[Purple State]

I expect everyone is waiting for the court challenge to the election results to start. If we can get the runoff expect activity to shoot upwards.

Obviously. However, I want the governors to actually do something to fill the void. Not just now, but during the whole off season.

It is rare to see regional activity, unfortunately. But I would like to see the governors use this time to perhaps reform the regions, start some legislatures, hold ConCons.

I would just ask that the Assemblymemebers in the Mideast please try to maintain the example set by your predecessors. Especially Bayh, who has striven to hold a seat there for quite some time. How can you expect to join the Senate if you aren't active in the Assembly?

[Vepres]

The Atlasian Sentinel

Opinion: Profiles in Transition
by Senator Purple State

We are a near-perfect nation, now leaving the safe hands of a competent leader. Or so some would have you believe. We are a nation on the brink of chaos, staring destruction down at every turn. Or so others would have you believe.

Obviously neither of these extreme descriptions comes close to properly depicting the current state of this game. But then, what does adequately characterize the hopes and challenges we face? We are a nation in transition, caught within a whirlwind of change everywhere we look. We are a nation in flux, as calls for game reform and the voices of newer members ring louder and louder. Yet, we are only given a vague idea of what these challenges are. The problems are palpable, but obscure. Activity seems to appear and vanish, ebb and flow, repeatedly, yet few take the initiative to change all that. So let me answer a few questions.

What are the problems we face? They include defunct regions void of initiative, non-competitive elections for half of the Senate seats, weak parties without disciplined or passionate members and new members prematurely running for office.

What are the solutions? That is a harder question. We cannot force activity, nor can we make parties exclusive clubs. In addition, few of the answers can be initiated by a higher body or strong President. What is needed is a grassroots commitment to change, a swelling of popular support for sweeping reform. I do not call for a new federal Constitution, altering the very essence of the game. Instead, I have come to understand that we must revamp the interior, replace the rotting furniture and peeling wallpaper with cleaner, modern amenities, while maintaining the basic pillars of our game.

So what do I propose? Shrink the Senate to five at-large seats, as those provide for the most competitive, exciting elections and allow all Atlasians to participate in the process. Create a second chamber, a House, made up by regional representatives to balance the national standing of the Senate. In addition, use the structure of this House to spark regional reform, including the creation of elected regional assemblies fashioned after (but not necessarily replicating) the one in the Mideast.

Of course, all this is no cure-all for the game. With these reforms comes the increased need for members, whether old-timers just coming back into the fold or new members looking for an interesting experience, to actively participate and care. You need to feel it in you. You need to commit to run for elected office, make use of your position and help the game progress and thrive. So let this serve as my call to service for all Atlasians. Push your Senators to pass comprehensive reform, throw yourselves into the mix and run for the appropriate office and make sure this game remains active and successful during your time here.

[RIP Robert H Bork]

Some comments on Purple State's suggestions.

Regarding the problems we face: I agree with regions, disagree on the Senate, am undecided on parties, and disagree on new members.

Regrding the new Constitution: I agree.

Regarding the Senate: I oppose shrinking the Senate to five seats. Regional seats are necessary, just as at large seats are.

Regarding the House of Representatives: The House should use districts like in real life. The number of districts that a region gets should be as equal as possible to that region's share of the Atlasian population, but each region should have at least one district. For the purpose of the House, each region is divided into districts, each having about the same population. Each district elects one representative.

Regarding the formation of regional legislatures such as the one in the Mideast: I agree.

[MasterJedi]

Might I saw good job with the newspaper and congratulations on becoming Midwest Lt. Gov.!

[Vepres]

Might I saw good job with the newspaper and congratulations on becoming Midwest Lt. Gov.!

Thank you.

Since the Lt. Governor isn't too influential on a day to day basis, I will continue to run the Sentinel. However, should I have become the temporary Governor, I will stop reporting until that has ended. Don't want any conflicts of interest no do we.

[Marokai Backbeat]

Lord help me, he never gives up, does he?

[Purple State]

Some comments on Purple State's suggestions.

Regarding the problems we face: I agree with regions, disagree on the Senate, am undecided on parties, and disagree on new members.

Regrding the new Constitution: I agree.

Regarding the Senate: I oppose shrinking the Senate to five seats. Regional seats are necessary, just as at large seats are.

Regarding the House of Representatives: The House should use districts like in real life. The number of districts that a region gets should be as equal as possible to that region's share of the Atlasian population, but each region should have at least one district. For the purpose of the House, each region is divided into districts, each having about the same population. Each district elects one representative.

Regarding the formation of regional legislatures such as the one in the Mideast: I agree.

I thank you for the comments. I would just like to point out that while my proposal does remove the regional Senate seats, it maintains the balance of national and regional representatives with the House, as the two bodies would be equal in strength.

Lord help me, he never gives up, does he?

Who me? I am supposed to give up on fixing the problems in the game? Present your solutions and I'll work to find the best solution.

[Хahar 🤔]

Lord help me, he never gives up, does he?

Braindead reactionaries don't contribute much to the game, don't you think? Maybe you might try giving your solutions. Too bad you don't have any.

[Vepres]

The Atlasian Sentinel

Purple State Tries to Steer the ConCon in a New Direction
by Vepres

Senator Purple State, the presiding officer of the constitutional convention publicly delivered some thoughts to the convention. He noted that the convention was dead, with no quorum being reached in weeks. He said that public opinion would not allow for a parliamentarian style government, and that the focus needs to be shifted to fixing up the current system.

You must be logged in to read this quote.

While some had a positive reaction to Purple State's ideas, such as Senators Afleitch and PiT, Senator Marokai criticized his reform ideas, citing his attempt to reform the constitution through the Senate. However, Senator Purple State dismissed these criticisms saying,"I like the feedback, but what would you propose? Especially you Marokai. You publicly condemn and scorn my ideas, yet you propose nothing but petty tweaks. Show me something real we can work on."

Fmr. Senator Lief reiterated his support of abolishing regions, but said nothing more regarding Senator Purple State's ideas.

Of note, Senator PiT stated in the thread that he had a regional legislature Dirty South constitutional amendment in the works.

[Lief 🗽]

I'd like to point out that I didn't criticize PS, just the idea that more regional elections (or even retaining them at all) is the solution.

[Vepres]

I'd like to point out that I didn't criticize PS, just the idea that more regional elections (or even retaining them at all) is the solution.

Noted. Article edited accordingly.

[Purple State]

I'd like to point out that I didn't criticize PS, just the idea that more regional elections (or even retaining them at all) is the solution.

And I thank you for the sentiment. I would urge you (and anyone else, delegate or not) to propose broad visions or specific ideas in my thread in the ConCon so we can start working out the best way to move forward.

[RIP Robert H Bork]

I'd like to point out that I didn't criticize PS, just the idea that more regional elections (or even retaining them at all) is the solution.

And I thank you for the sentiment. I would urge you (and anyone else, delegate or not) to propose broad visions or specific ideas in my thread in the ConCon so we can start working out the best way to move forward.

So even non delegates can propose ideas on the convention, on government systems and so on?

[Marokai Backbeat]

Lord help me, he never gives up, does he?

Braindead reactionaries don't contribute much to the game, don't you think? Maybe you might try giving your solutions. Too bad you don't have any.

I did give a proposal (go read), it was ignored and then Purple State used the momentum generated by my discussion of it and presented some horrible bastardized version.

Edit: Also, I haven't posted much as of late partly because I've been, quite frankly, disgusted at Purple's horrible proposals and grandstanding, and this newspaper's literal obsession with him now.

This proposal has been dead for about a month and a half basically, and I've been doing something thinking.

Activity in Atlasia has taken a jump, even though of course some of the activity is from The 25's, I think that an entirely new government has lost considerable support amongst the people and this convention's activity, including mine here, has dropped to a record low. As such, I think we need to re-think our approach. We still have considerable problems in Atlasia and the best way to fix them IS through this convention, but let's take our current system as our model and make some improvements here and there.

• Take our current Constitution and combine it with all the passed Amendments so it's alot cleaner and more organized, and make some changes where necessary to deal with Regional Powers and other small areas, etc.
• Reduce the number of regions to three, the simplest way could be to divide the Midwest and the Mideast between the Pacific, Southeast, and Northeast regions. This still keeps the mode of some of the current regions but improves the system a bit.
• Expand the size of the Senate to 15, perhaps having two elected by each of the three new expanded (and consequently more active) regions, and the remaining six elected at-large.
• Deal with issues revolving around the GM, such as putting the position in the Constitution or putting it's responsibilities into a new job reminiscent of my "Department of Economic Affairs" or something.
• Fix other misc. problems such as Absentee voting, Presidential powers, or anything else we need to deal with.

We can do all of this within the framework of our current constitution without the need to build and entirely new government. So, if Lief is willing to hear me out, and PS is willing to possibly scrap and rebuild this proposal like we did with Presidential Universalism, I think we can fix Atlasia without building an entirely new house and get something we can all agree with.

Edit #2: Guess where this went? No. Freaking. Where.

[Purple State]

I'd like to point out that I didn't criticize PS, just the idea that more regional elections (or even retaining them at all) is the solution.

And I thank you for the sentiment. I would urge you (and anyone else, delegate or not) to propose broad visions or specific ideas in my thread in the ConCon so we can start working out the best way to move forward.

So even non delegates can propose ideas on the convention, on government systems and so on?

Absolutely. Everyone and anyone is welcome to post their ideas in the Convention. Only delegates will ultimately be able to vote on whatever proposals are created, but you are certainly able to contribute to the process.

Lord help me, he never gives up, does he?

Braindead reactionaries don't contribute much to the game, don't you think? Maybe you might try giving your solutions. Too bad you don't have any.

I did give a proposal (go read), it was ignored and then Purple State used the momentum generated by my discussion of it and presented some horrible bastardized version.

Edit: Also, I haven't posted much as of late partly because I've been, quite frankly, disgusted at Purple's horrible proposals and grandstanding, and this newspaper's literal obsession with him now.

I fail to see why you are taking my genuine wish to improve the game and trying to inject your demonstrable hyperpartisanship. You are free to disagree with my proposals, but to be so offensive while doing so is uncalled for.

Regarding your proposals, I agree with most of them. While I don't see the merit (or viability for passage) of reducing the number of regions and expanding the size of the Senate, I would be happy to discuss these things. You need to remember that, just as with the current proposals, anything the Convention passes has to pass regional voting. It needs to be viable in the regions. Your first idea can easily be implemented by citizens and the current AG. And if you think we should add the GM to the Constitution, I look forward to your Aye vote on my amendment to do just that.

[RIP Robert H Bork]

I'd like to point out that I didn't criticize PS, just the idea that more regional elections (or even retaining them at all) is the solution.

And I thank you for the sentiment. I would urge you (and anyone else, delegate or not) to propose broad visions or specific ideas in my thread in the ConCon so we can start working out the best way to move forward.

So even non delegates can propose ideas on the convention, on government systems and so on?

Absolutely. Everyone and anyone is welcome to post their ideas in the Convention. Only delegates will ultimately be able to vote on whatever proposals are created, but you are certainly able to contribute to the process.

Sounds good. Where are propositions to be posted?

[Purple State]

I'd like to point out that I didn't criticize PS, just the idea that more regional elections (or even retaining them at all) is the solution.

And I thank you for the sentiment. I would urge you (and anyone else, delegate or not) to propose broad visions or specific ideas in my thread in the ConCon so we can start working out the best way to move forward.

So even non delegates can propose ideas on the convention, on government systems and so on?

Absolutely. Everyone and anyone is welcome to post their ideas in the Convention. Only delegates will ultimately be able to vote on whatever proposals are created, but you are certainly able to contribute to the process.

Sounds good. Where are propositions to be posted?

I plan on using this thread for discussing and compiling ideas for proposals. That would be the best place to start. And you can read up on what others are proposing as well.

[RIP Robert H Bork]

I'd like to point out that I didn't criticize PS, just the idea that more regional elections (or even retaining them at all) is the solution.

And I thank you for the sentiment. I would urge you (and anyone else, delegate or not) to propose broad visions or specific ideas in my thread in the ConCon so we can start working out the best way to move forward.

So even non delegates can propose ideas on the convention, on government systems and so on?

Absolutely. Everyone and anyone is welcome to post their ideas in the Convention. Only delegates will ultimately be able to vote on whatever proposals are created, but you are certainly able to contribute to the process.

Sounds good. Where are propositions to be posted?

I plan on using this thread for discussing and compiling ideas for proposals. That would be the best place to start. And you can read up on what others are proposing as well.

OK, I currently am about to post my ideas in that topic. Though I am not sure if anything similar has been suggested already, but anyway.

[Vepres]

The Atlasian Sentinel

Interview with Senator-elect Hashemite
by Vepres

Today, June 29, 2009, I interviewed Senator-elect Hashemite (DA-ME).


Vepres: First of all, I would like to thank you for allowing us to interview you. On to the questions.

First, how do you feel about your job performance as Secretary of External Affairs (SOEA)? Is there anything you regret?

Hashemite: It is my pleasure. I feel that I was generally successful as SoEA, doing the job as best I possibly could and doing as much as I realistically could be expected to do. I feel that I was, at times, inactive, and I regret being inactive at certain times. However, I regret that the SoEA's job was, until the recent legislation, very vague and with very little power. I hope that the new legislation will clarify the expectations for the job, and I will continue working so that the SoEA's actions and work is taken seriously by the Senate and the White House.


Do you wish the senate gave the SoEA more powers or responsibilities?

Optimally, but I don't see how it could. What I want is to revalourize the work of the SoEA. For example, I believe once a Foreign Policy Review is complete, the Senate should debate, amend and pass the review. Furthermore, Senators should take a vested interest in the SoEA's job, work and role.


Has either Presidential candidate contacted you about remain SoEA during their administration? Would you want to stay on?

I was elected to the Senate and I fully intend to serve as Senator.


What are your top priorities in terms of legislation in the Senate?

I will introduce legislation related to the objectives I outlined in my campaign thread, most notably the creation of a public and accessible Senate notice board, an idea which received the support of numerous prominent Atlasians.


As you may or may not know, Senator Purple State has changed the direction of the convention from changing the framework of the game to reforming the current system? Firstly, do you support this change in direction, and secondly, what changes/reforms would you like to see come out of the convention?

I am in theory opposed to the change of discussion from a new constitution to minor "fake" reforms, but I realistically understand that the forces of status-quo have undoubtedly prevailed and any work done for a new constitution will be shot down by these same forces of status-quo. I fully intend to work, in my capacity as delegate, with others to reform atleast something in a system that's undeniably flawed. I will work for real reform, reform that changes important things and reform that takes into account the problems faced by Atlasia. I will oppose any "fake" reforms to change one word here or there or minor tweaks that fail to touch on the important issues. I will make sure the Convention addresses the issues of very low regional activity, poor regional leadership, regional stagnation and decline; among others; in an acceptable way and not in a extremely flawed "everything's fine" approach that seems to be favoured by many here.


You seem to believe, based on what you said, that regional stagnation is one of your biggest concerns. What would be your solution in an ideal world? What do you think you could realistically do?

The truth is, most regions are woefully inactive. Few citizens participate in the initiative process, if the Governors even bother to have one. Elections to regional jobs and regional Senate seats are uncontested or poorly contested. We need competent Governors who are active at all times, Governors who carry out their constitutional duties at all times and on time. We should also remove positions which have extremely little power (if they're even filled) and cannot be sustained in the current environment. For example, Lt. Governors and CJOs. Assemblies are a good idea, though they need to be small so that it doesn't become a universal chamber for all citizens. However, some regions, such as the Midwest, may not even have enough citizens or active citizens for an Assembly to be viable. For that reason, regional boundary reforms is a solution that needs to be taken seriously. I cannot do much alone, but hopefully, with others who share my views, we can make real progress in regional issues and provide a real, viable and sane solution to the issue - which is of utmost importance, obviously.


Would you reduce the number of regions, or simply redraw the boundaries so there are an equal number of citizens in each region as well as roughly a similar amount of people from the three parties proportional to the national party id?

I do not favour any of these ideas over the others at the same time over the other, however, I will refuse to support gerrymandered regions in the name of equal party ID. I am open to discussion and debate of these ideas, something which is lacking, I feel.


I'd like to thank you for doing this interview, and good luck in the Senate.

I thank you for your time.

[Purple State]

I agree with Hash. We definitely should remove unnecessary regional positions, just as we did in the Mideast Constitution. Also, if progress is made on the Council of Governors idea, I think allowing the Senate to redistrict once a year by a four-fifths majority, with majority approval by the Governors, would provide a good balance and maintain relatively equal regions.

[Vepres]

I agree with Hash. We definitely should remove unnecessary regional positions, just as we did in the Mideast Constitution. Also, if progress is made on the Council of Governors idea, I think allowing the Senate to redistrict once a year by a four-fifths majority, with majority approval by the Governors, would provide a good balance and maintain relatively equal regions.

I would prefer they remain static so regional identity remains. However, I guess we could put something like that in there so we don't get a new Pacific-esque region