Talk Elections

Thank you for being here today.

Q: Tell us about your plans for foreign policy.

A: I want to get Atlasians involved.  This means establishing Embassies, and Ambassadors.  It means regular stories involving foreign affairs, and Presidential action on the issue.  It'll take a lot of collaboration with the GM, the SoEA, the GTO Ambassador, and the Senate.

Q: Should the UDL hold a primary and you lose, will you continue to your run for President?

A: I have not yet decided.  I will enter the primary, and depending on the results, I will move from there.  Nothing has been decided yet.

Q: Say you win the election, walk us through the fist few weeks of your presidency.

A: I will assemble a Cabinet, and then begin planning out what legislation will be prioritized and how it will be written.

Q: How has The Porcupine changed your life?

A:  It's brought me joy and entertainment.

Q: Why do you think the SC has not yet gotten around to saying if I made the SC bar or not, even though I requested at the start of December?

A: They've probably been busy.

Q: The past couple administrations have been criticized for very partisan cabinets, would you follow in their tradition?

A: No.  I have a general idea of my Cabinet already, and it is non-artisan to an extreme.


Thank you for your time.

Q: What made you wish to make this run?

A: I've watched this game progressively getting worse for over a year now. I got tired of just watching it happen, so I decided to act and actually try and do something to improve this game, whether it be by just running a competitive race and getting activity flowing or actually winning and making some reforms to the game.

Q:   Assuming you win, are you willing to pledge that your cabinet will not be hyper partisan and that you will look past ideology in you selection?

A:  I can promise you right now, JBrase, that I have no intentions of a hyper partisan cabinet, and I will not be running a hyper partisan government, either. At the cabinet I'm currently looking at placing, I have a member of each major party represented. My number one requirement for anyone who wishes to be in my cabinet is activity. After that, follows experience and political ideology., But activity is #1. My goal is to have one of the most active cabinets in Atlasian history.

Q: Ok, we are going to go into the territory of your rival Ben here, tell us how you will approach foreign policy.

A: The position of SoEA will be extremely important to me, as that person will be one of the cabinet members I will work the most with. I think foreign policy issues are largely ignored in Atlasia. I'd like to see the GM focus a bit more on foreign affairs, and hopefully then, we could have something to do. Overall, my goal as commander in chief will be to look for peaceful solutions in foreign affairs. I will do everything in my power to prevent Atlasia from entering any wars. However, if we ever (Dave forbid) attacked, I believe it is important that we are ready to protect and defend our nation.

Q: As you are well aware, the economy has not been in the greatest shape, and a stimulus package is currently underway. Written as is, if you were president right now, would you sign it, or send it back with a veto and ask for something else?

A: As it is currently written, I would sign it. However, I wish the Senate would consider leaving more freedom to the regions regarding spending the funds. In the Mideast, we managed to find a way around it by saving back 3.9 billion for government use, but no other regions did that, I believe. I'm also concerned about this raising our national debt, and I wouldn't have minded a lower overall amount. Hopefully though, this bill will provide regions the "stimulants" they need to hopefully kickstart their economies.

Q: Why in your opinion have I not received in answer yet from the supreme court if I am admitted to the BAR or not, even though I asked Dec 1st?  :(

A:   Those lil possums still haven't put you in? ;) Well, hopefully, since I'm sure everyone will be rushing to this thread to read my interview, one of them will take notice of this question, and they'll quickly discuss it with each other and admit you. :) 

The Porcupine: Dave willing...

Q: One final question, tell me how The Porcupine has improved your life.

A:     Ran into a porcupine once - hurt like the dickens. Since then, I've found that once you pluck out all their quills and skin then, put them in a deep fat friar, and cook for a bit, they taste very...sweet. Sorta like a racoon, though not quite as greasy. On top of that, they're healthy. Eating porcupine has made me a healthier person, and the feeling of running over one, then getting to throw it in a pot and eat it, well, it's like nothing else....Oh, I'm sorry, were you referring to your paper?...In that case, I'm really looking forward to the in-depth analysis of this election, and the polling is always helpful. ;) Looks like I have a nice little lead going in the IDS.

The Porcupine: Sir, I believe you have forever lost the ever so important Seatle vote. Thank you for your time.

Tmth: Sinders and Ashes! Oh well, hopefully, if I pull through, I won't bust their boilers or fizzle their firecrackers.

Question: Past administrations have been accused of having very partisan cabinets. Should you win, how do you see your cabinet looking?

Answer: I don't really care about partisan affiliation one way or another. My cabinet will be put together with an emphasis based on experience, activity, and enthusiasm. How someone is excited for a particular job greatly affects how they will perform in the position and best utilize their past experience.

What I will not do is try to have balance just for the sake of balance. I'm not running to be Prom King of Atlasia nor will I try giving Miss Atlasia "world peace" type answers. I, and all the other candidates, are running for President to accomplish some tough problems and get the job done. To do that requires the best of the best.

When Purple State was President, I remember that he and I decided to appoint Winston as SoIA. That caught alot of flak from people, but we did it because that position needed someone to get attention to it, and based on Winston's Senate arguments at the time, we believed he could do it. We didn't give a damn about his political ideology, we wanted someone who would make the job work.

That's the sort of attitude I will carry to my cabinet appointees. I'm not going to sit here and make promises about making sure all parties are included in the process, though I won't shut anyone out at all. There will be no affirmative action in my cabinet for either side.

As for who will be in the cabinet, well, I intend, if I win, to run my cabinet selection similar to the way Purple State and I did it the first time, by opening applications up for every office (though this time, with the exception of the GM) and re-appointing everyone, even current officeholders (again, with the exception of the GM) to give them some oversight even if they're currently in office.

Question: I'm sure you remember catching some flak over a couple court case while you have been AG. Looking back do you see it as a double standard how you refused to prosecute Antonio, offering to have someone be appointed in your place, but went after Mint/Ghost_White for an arguably much minor offense?

Answer: Not at all, there are a zillion different distinctions there. For one thing, I was very biased in the Antonio case. I had argued in Antonio's defense before I came into the office, and then was expected to argue against him. That alone disqualified me from handling the case, and it's perfectly within my legal responsibilities to hand off the case to a more interested and responsible party than I was in that case.

That alone makes the distinction silly.

But it goes beyond that, if you really want to get into the details. Antonio, I believe, didn't break a law. (I think the law should be changed in Antonio's case to allow for more clear prosecutions of annoying wiki edits like that.) Mint did break the law, but I believe the law is incredibly silly, yet that doesn't matter, because he still broke the law.

I hate getting back into law matters all the time, but I seem to have a knack for it, so here goes: The law in Antonio's case says this:


It specifically says malicious editing the wiki. Not just "editing the Wiki." Doing so maliciously. That was the tricky part in prosecuting Antonio, and why I publicly defended him before I became AG. For those that may be confused on what malice means, it has a definition specific to the legal term. It refers to "a party's intention to do injury to another party."

In evaluating all of the evidence in that case, I saw nothing at all which showed that Antonio was intent on maliciously editing the wiki. He, on multiple occasions, attempted to engage Libertas in discussion. He very clearly and elaborately explained his reasons for doing what he did. Nothing in anything he said whatsoever had any mean or mocking tone to it.

Now, I think Antonio was mistaken in editing the wiki in the way he did. It was clearly stupid to go beyond a certain point and it was rather clear he wasn't going to get anything accomplished, but that is irrelevant. What was necessary in that case was proving the legal term of malice in regard to Antonio's actions. While his actions were shortsighted, they couldn't be proved outright as malicious.

Question: I know how you love talking about legal stuff so here is another ;) . This is a two part question. Say there is an opening on the Supreme Court, what would you look for in a replacement judge? and Why in your opinion have we not heard back from the SC yet on if I have been admitted to the bar or not, even though I applied on December 1st, well over a month ago? :(

Answer:  
Do you want to keep me talking all night with this stuff? :P

I would look for someone alot of history in Atlasia, experience on legal matters in Atlasia, good organizational skills, and a very open mind. Also, someone who works well with others behind the scenes. There's alot more give and take in the background during those private deliberations than people think. If you're strong, you can persuade others to change their minds, or give on certain issues. It's actually really fun and interesting.

I wouldn't prefer someone who takes a very literal standing, but I wouldn't want someone to go crazy either and start interpreting things out of thin air. The Supreme Court requires a very cautious mind, at times, when it comes to interpretation.

I remember the HAEV case, which I think you took the opposition side over, I believe? Anyway, I remember when I went into that case, I was very strongly in favor of it's constitutionality, but eventually, reading the arguments and then debating Sam in private, and re-reading portions of the Constitution, it was just an incredibly stretch allowing it to exist.

Eventually, Sam and I decided on an opinion that would allow HAEV, the body, to exist, but strike down the guidelines. It was a complicated ruling requiring alot of careful wording, but sometimes, even if you want something yourself, you have to realize that the wording just isn't there and you cannot allow something to continue.

Similarly, there was another case concerning the Southeast maintaining a separate voter roll where I initially went in under the opinion that it was wrong and shouldn't exist, but over the case, I realized there was nothing preventing the existence of it in a slightly more limited form. You really have to let your mind change on some things. I'd want someone who could be forceful in their arguments, but also open minded, as I believe I was. (I'm also quite a fan of Justices who ask alot of questions and argue a little themselves. It makes the cases much more interesting.)

As for you not getting into the bar yet, God only knows. If it were up to me, I'd let you in. :P We always approved people very quickly when I was on the court!

Question: When you were vice president, you and PS focused on game reform, what in your opinion was the administration's single most important reform?

Answer: https://uselectionatlas.org/AFEWIKI/index.php/Third_Constitution

Beyond that, I think we did a marvelous job kicking off Wiki consolidation efforts.

Question: In 500 words or less, describe how The Porcupine has improved your life.

Answer: During the time I've had to write out these (extensive at times) answers, your interview gave me the opportunity to listen to alot of good music that I wouldn't have done otherwise, since I think much better with music pounding in my ears. :P

Otherwise, this interview has been a huge pain in the ass. ;)

...and a primary caused by a stubborn member who refuses to back down...