Talk Elections

So I've decided to jump into this Senate race as candidate #11. I'll write up a detailed explanation of my policy on any given subject if there's anything y'all have questions about.

Bit new relative to some of the other candidates (like, say, Bacon King), but I'm ready to start talking about and hopefully solving the issues our nation faces. Currently I'm an IDS Legislator and Chairman of the Imperial Bloc, and I've also served as Secretary of External Affairs (and yes, my campaign will center on foreign policy).

In light of Senator Wormyguy not running for re-election, the Atlasian Senate could be left without a single Senator with any kind of libertarian leanings; as for the challengers this cycle, the only candidate with anything close to libertarian leanings is NV Townsend, who I urge you to support along with myself (he's a good choice for second preferences, as is Clarence). I'd generally categorize myself as (and this is what my political advisors tell me to say) fiscally responsible and socially tolerant, as well as a non-interventionist, though not an isolationist (diplomacy first and foremost, with war as, if anything, an absolute last resort). I may not agree with someone on everything, but I can probably agree with anyone on something, and multipartisanship will be a goal I strive for in the Senate, along with debating (and of course voting) on every bill. I'm going to attempt to support my principles, yes, but more than anything I want to get things done.

With the best of luck to my opponents,

-SJoyceFla

So many people running. :o

Despite my head exploding, I will be giving you a high preference.

The number of people running was one of the reasons I decided to run. Us libertarian-leaning/regional-rights advocating folks aren't that large a portion around here, but I figure if I can get a pretty decent percentage I can get in. Thanks for your preference!

Economic issues?

I tend to support smaller government involvement in economics; I'd like to lower tax rates and prevent deficits. I also support free trade agreements with nations that can economically benefit from such agreements. I oppose attempts to over-regulate small businesses. However, I also support the rights of unions to do things such as collectively bargain, and support consumer protection and anti-trust regulation. Basically, I'm a moderate-conservative economically; also, I'm more focused on things like foreign policy and I'm not in favor of wasting the Senate's time on trivial issues, so I won't be introducing bills, say, repealing the national healthcare system or other things that would get shot down in a heartbeat. I prefer to focus on issues where I can make progress and get things done rather than taking an ideological stance and wasting everyone's time.

I appreciate that sentiment. :)

Not naming names, but I think the current libertarian-leaning member of the Senate has been perhaps a little too rigid in his legislation and stances. I'd try to be a bit more accepting of compromise.

Mostly via reducing the tax burden on middle-income folks; personally I advocate the FairTax, but I think the best I can accomplish in the Senate is some cuts in the rates (though not enough to cause large defecits).

How far would you go beyond the tax cuts I signed into law?

Not all that much, maybe a percentage point or two, and taking a good look at possible cuts to, say, the estate tax (I don't think the final bill text included a percentage), that kinda thing. Nothing drastic.


I think that in areas like defense (not military retirement), Afghanistan operations, maybe science and technology, the postal service (a slow phase-out or transition into a service focusing more on commercial deliveries, and nothing fast, given the massive amount of people it employs), transportation, and the national broadcaster (though this is sorta obvious; we don't need to spend much more on infrastructure acquisition now that we've acquired the infrastructure), in those areas, we could make small cuts without much adverse effect.

So I'm going to talk about my stance on foreign policy/national security (personally the issue I find most interesting, being a former SoEA). Basically, my opinion on national security is that, while we need to maintain a strong national defense, we don't need to be nation-building. We've got enough nation-building we need to do right here. I believe it's finally time to end the deployment of Atlasian forces in Afghanistan (still a $600M budget item).

I'd also like to do a comprehensive audit of two things. One of them, which Rep. Hagrid has proposed and I find to be an excellent idea, is to take a good hard look at where our foreign aid is heading, and to reevaluate and redistribute that foreign aid so that it goes to nations that are most in need of it, and that it goes to nations where foreign aid goes to helping people and not to lining the pockets of its rulers. The other is our deployments overseas. Atlasian forces are currently deployed in large numbers in nations such as Kuwait, Japan, South Korea, Germany, and Italy. I favor an initiative to evaluate those deployments and attempt to consolidate and reduce our presence in those nations, and where possible turn over responsibility for defense to the host nation. I also believe we need to make better use of our military alliances to share the fiscal and human burdens of protecting the national interests of both those nations where Atlasian troops are deployed and of Atlasia.

I believe that in foreign policy it is important for Atlasia to lead by example. I support and would introduce a bill that would allow people detained unjustly during Atlasia's 'War on Terror' to seek compensation via the court system of Atlasia, and a right of all individuals detained to seek justice through the civilian court system, as well as a ban on indefinite detention. I fully support the Return to September 10th Act.

My basic opinion on these hot-button issues is that the government should remain neutral on people's personal beliefs and should allow people to make decisions for themselves.

• Abortion: I believe that life is precious and should be protected, and as such women should be allowed to make their own decisions during pregnancy until the point of viability of the fetus. I oppose statues like the Mideast's, which would ban all abortions except in specific limited cases, as an invasion of the private lives of individuals.
• Gay Rights: I fully oppose any attempts to repeal the Elimination of Civil Marriage Law and Establishment of Civil Unions Act and support it continuing as our law regarding marriage; religious organizations should be allowed to follow their own beliefs on the matter so long as they do not impose such beliefs on others.
• Stem-Cell Research: I oppose efforts to ban stem-cell research, yet am not a huge fan of government funding of the practice.

Could you speak on the Equal Rights Amendment?

If Senator Scott adds in an amendment (which he mentioned in Sen. Clarence's office) that would exempt specific organizations (ex: Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts), then I have no concerns about it and would enthusiastically support it.

Actually, upon closer inspection it seems as though it would only prohibit discriminatory practices by Atlasia and the regions, not necessarily private groups. Since that means that Senator Clarence's concerns are addressed, I have no problems with it.

Endorsement Update: I've been endorsed by 15-minute Senate candidate ChairmanSanchez, Mideast Governor ZuWo, as well as the official endorsements of the Liberal and Whig Parties.

Would you support an exemption for religious institutions?

Do you consider such an exemption needed in light of what the Constitution says about freedom of worship?

Since it only prohibits government actions that discriminate on sex/sexual orientation and does not apply to private groups (such as religious institutions), I do not believe such an exception is necessary.

Thank you SJoyce for answering my question.

I'll take the discussion back to the Judiciary Thread now for legal detailings.

What is your opinion of the values and aims of Mustafinism-Komovism? What is your opinion of Aliya Mustafina, Viktoria Komova and Maria Paseka? Your answers will determine if I offer you a preference.

They're certainly talented athletes, and are very very good at their chosen field. As for the movement, I see nothing objectionable about it.

do you support the ability of the regions to make it's own laws on these issues, or do you believe a single national policy is necessary?

I think we need a few lines that guarantee basic rights (ie: abortion cannot be completely banned) but that regions should be free to refine it (ie: abortion is banned beyond 20 weeks).

I disagree - I believe keeping abortion policy to the regions has kept this issue from being divisive for Atlasia, while sometimes the regions benefit in terms of activity from debating a passionate issue.  In spite of this, I have decided to give you my first preference.

Which is why jurisdiction over the vast bulk of policy (date of prohibition beyond (or lack of such a date), parental notification/consent, mandatory waiting periods, counseling laws) should be left to the regions. Regardless, thanks! :)

So it's still unclear who won the election. However, it is clear that I am not one of those who did. I don't really have any hopes of a last-minute drastic reversal in the vote count, and shall not be demanding a recount nor retracting this concession speech. The campaigns who won may now declare victory (once it is determined exactly who they are). The campaign is lost, but I'd like to thank my supporters (Nix, PiT, Sanchez, Mecha, Shua, Goldwater, Jbrase, homelycooking, Pingvin, Dead0man, 20RP12, Julio, SPC, nclib, Clarence, NC Yankee); many thanks for your valiant efforts. It was certainly a good trial run to see how IB candidacies can work on an at-large scale, and I think that this campaign was good at raising attention to issues that perhaps wouldn't be so much in the public spotlight without it. Congratulations to the winners, whoever they may be, and may they have much luck in office.

Running for re-election to the IDS Legislature!

In the words of Barack Obama, "ask me anything".

IDS Legislator SJoyceFla, in a speech to the Florida AFL-CIO, Tallahassee, Florida:

Today is Labor Day, a day where we celebrate the economic and social contributions of workers, where we celebrate the people who brought us weekends and the 8-hour day, the unions, and express our thanks to them, for that and all the hard work they do to build our region and our nation. A day of picinics, barbecues, fireworks, water sports, public art displays, vacations, and parties. However, we've got some problems. An 8.3% unemployment rate is dropping slightly, but is still above the national average. We've got to take drastic action to get people back to work, and not just in jobs, but in good jobs, and the best way to do that is strengthening you folks, the unions. The unionization rates in this region are by far the lowest in the nation; as a legislator, I'm going to fix that. To do so, I shall, if the good people of this region see fit to grant me another term, introduce and hopefully pass legislation repealing the union-killing 'right-to-work' law; such legislation would strengthen unions and help them protect worker health and safety, and generally be a boon to this region. Some of my opponents may say that this proposal gives too much power to unions. I say that, while it gives power to unions, do you know what unions are? The unions are merely representatives of the people; this bill provides more power to the people of this region!

Following this speech, the Legislator walked in the Tallahassee Labor Day parade, followed by one in Valdosta and a similar meeting with union groups there.

I believe that the proper function of the federal government is to exercise the powers enumerated to them in the Constitution, and the regional government to engage in such activity as they deem necessary to benefit their region (without violating the rights of the people, of course).


I oppose Operation Cottonfield, simply because it's a cynical attempt to take control of a region by a specific political party, disrupting the already-established order (which can be good in some situations, but not when it's artificially done like this and is instead the result of organic person-based movement, rather than a party attempting to take over). I oppose strategic registration for political gain (though I support it for, say, activity reasons), but since it's a difficult crime to prove, would not support any federal/regional action on it other than the current condemnation of it that's making its way through the citizen initiative process.

Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, and it is good to be here at Skyline High! Now, the reason I've come to speak here tonight is because this school is known for its innovation. Y'all were the first high school in the nation to have a magnet school-type curriculum. Your innovation has directly translated into a new regionwide program that I am current implementing as your legislator. We're reworking schedules, minimizing learning lost in the summer and providing extra time off in the fall. We're fixing up teacher pay, making teaching a viable alternative to other careers, and meaning that your children will be educated by the best of the best, and we're changing hiring procedures, to make sure we hire good teachers. We're going to increase funding for your extracurricular activities, so your kids can take part in life-enriching activities, while other kids are also kept off the streets and given something to do, drastically cutting our crime rates. We're going to expand tutoring for that same reason, help bring kids up to grade level. We're setting some basic standards for class sizes, so you don't get shoved in a class with 40-some kids. And yes, we're expanding the Skyline model regionwide, creating a regional system of magnet schools like Skyline, to offer your educational value to everyone in our great region. We're going to make sound, connected, knowledgable, and accessible schools, where every student can even learn the basics of a foreign language. But that's just what we're going to do. If we're actually going to make these ideas reality, the real policy of our region, I need something from all of you, more than just listening to me talk. I need your votes. I need your votes in the election this upcoming Monday, if we truly want to make this vision of our region's education into reality. Thank you!

This event was followed by similar events in Allen (TX), Duncanville (TX), Houston (TX), The Woodlands (TX), Deer Park (TX), Spring (TX), and Laredo (TX); tomorrow there shall be events at schools in Snellville (GA), Suwanee (GA), and Hoschton (GA); he shall subsequently hold events at schools in Orlando (FL) Weston (FL), Miami (FL), and Homestead (FL). This represents a major focus on the current education bill up for discussion in the Legislature, as SJoyceFla attempts to draw citizen attention to his legislative record and the bills he has introduced.

Fellow citizens! I'm SJoyceFla, your current Legislator, and I'm running for re-election! Now, one of my major issues, at least one y'all'd like to hear about, is Imperial Exceptionalism! I know y'all were disappointed when the Imperial Dominion's bill to claim some of Antarctica as our land failed due to the Vice Presidential switch and such, but never fear! The feds can't stop us! We're going to continue to colonize our rightful land, whether or not the feds says it's approved!

Also, the affairs of our great region are currently confined to the Regional Governments board. As legislator I've introduced a bill, and if you re-elect me I'll guarantee its passage, of a resolution calling upon our great and glorious god Dave Leip the creation of the Imperial Dominion of the South sub-board that our region deserves. All this and more is what I'll do to promote our glorious region, if y'all'd be so kind as to give me your votes in our upcoming election Monday!

Following this speech, the Legislator attended two fund-raising dinners at the Garibaldi Café and the California Dreaming restaurant in Columbia. Rumors campaiging causes weight gain is entirely unfounded.

Endorsed.

Campaign Kickoff, Belle Terre Park, Palm Coast, Florida:

Hello, fellow IDSers, and thanks for having me here in your beautiful city. But I'm not here to talk about aesthetics. Atlasia is crumbling, and our infrastructure is deteriorating and becoming inadequate for our future generations. We need to take a hard look at how we're going to work now to ensure that our growth in the future is sustainable and maintainable. We need to invest and invest now in our roads, our rails, and our ports, our electrical grid and making it smart, our communications network, and our water infrastructure, if we're going to continue to be competitive in the global economy while transitioning to a low-carbon future. In future appearances I'll be outlining a comprehensive plan to develop our national infrastructure to deal with the challenges of tomorrow, and considering fiscal, environmental, and social aspects of our development.

In 1939 General Motors displayed an exhibit at the World's Fair, called Futurama. This Futurama was a place where we could all travel in cars on interstate highways, and this vision eventually led, in 1956, to the creation of the Eisenhower Interstate Highway System. It is now 2012, and our transportation infrastructure is desperately in need of a reboot. We're spending billions to import gasoline from not-so-friendly nations to fuel our travel on those same highways from 1956. A 1956 solution won't work today. We've got to reevaluate and reinvest in our transportation infrastructure to create more jobs, now and in the future. And that's why I'm running to be your next Senator from the Imperial Dominion of the South. Thank you all!

Endorsed.  When Yankee leaves, you will certainly have some big shoes to fill.  I'm glad that you are making infrastructure a priority in your campaign, so I am prompted to ask you this: what is your opinion on expanding the St. Lawrence Seaway?  If elected Senator, would you endorse the idea of assisting the Northeast and Mideast regions, as well as Canada, in modifying the seaway so that ports in the Great Lakes can be more accessible to merchant vessels?  Is this an initiative you would be willing to work with Northeast and Mideast officials on during your term?

One of the easiest endorsements ever.

Not my area of expertise per se, and I'd certainly need to get more information on it, but I would certainly be willing to work with Northeast and Mideast officials on it. Actually, that was something I was intending to do; I was going to ask Ben, Nix, and JCL (and anyone else who has announced for the Senate) to detail an infrastructure plan they'd like to implement for the region they're representing so we can fit them together when (or if) we get there. Having a high-speed rail line, say, from Atlanta to Charlotte to Raleigh-Durham isn't much use if it stops at Roanoke Rapids instead of going to Richmond and Nyman, and a Houston-Dallas line isn't as good as it could be if it stops at Dallas instead of the end of the line being OK City or Wichita. So yes, I would be extremely willing to work with representatives of other regions to develop a holistic transportation policy to address our infrastructure needs.

Component One: Energy

Our energy needs are growing, but as we consider that we must also confront the very real threat of global climate change. We must examine our currentl generation, transmission, and distrubution network, and when necessary modernize it to 21st century standards. But my strategy does not call for a larger government role. Private sector corporations provide 75% of power generation in Atlasia and own 80% of transmission lines. We need to engage the private sector if we really want to guarantee a secure energy future.

Of course, the first thing we should do before engaging the private sector is to do a self-assessment. One of my priorities in the Senate would be to require every federal agency to create and implement a climate action plan. This step has been taken by the cities of San Francisco, Boulder, and Chicago already, and this would simply be taking it and applying it to federal agencies to set carbon performance goals and standards for federally financed activities.

We have already sent stable market signals by putting a price on carbon, namely the Carbon Tax Act; this is one of the best solutions we have to discourage carbon emissions, and I'm very glad we've passed it. However, I do not believe that the federal government has in place any tax credits for renewable energy. If elected Senator, one of my actions shall be to introduce a tax credit for renewable energy to encourage private investment in renewable technologies (one of the partnerships with the private sector I mentioned earlier).

The ARRA gave $10 billion to modernize our electrical grid. We need to do more than just modernize it, we need to fundamentally change our electrical grid into a smart grid. If we do so, fast-tracking and expanding our research into that area, our electrical grid would be much more redundant against failures, generation could be distributed, and monitoring could become more sophisticated, creating the reliable advanced electrical grid our nation needs to advance in this century.

But I'm not looking to become some sort of eco-hippie who only wants windmills and solar panels. I recognize the important role fossil fuels play and shall continue to play in our economy, especially coal. My grandfather was a coal miner in West Virginia; I understand the importance of coal. With the backing and participation of the private sector, we need to invest in R&D of clean coal, allowing coal, something we can produce indigenously, to remain an important part of our energy system while making its use more efficient and more environmentally friendly.

Component 2: High-Speed Rail.

Over the past 50 years, other nations (China, Japan, Spain, France, Germany) have been investing in modern high-speed rail system that will satisfy their travel demands in future. The same cannot be said for Atlasia. We've had four decades of lessons from Europe and Asia; we know what works and what doesn't, we know how to bring in the private sector, and we know how to create a new high-speed rail system to bring its transportation, economic, environmental, and safety benefits to Atlasia. Although up-front costs are high, the improved access to markets and closer intertwining of cities means boosted productivity, more jobs (in operations, maintenance, and manufacturing), expanded labor markets, new tourism spending (Orlando-area high-speed links would bring in around $225 million more), urban regeneration, and commercial development, meaning high-speed rail continues to pay dividends far into the future. We need to plan and prioritize now to secure rights-of-way along high-speed rail corridors to find the areas so that a federal chartered/owned corporation (that can operate across regional and national borders) can attract private as well as regional and federal investment (be they in the form of a gas tax, ticket surcharges, infrastructure banks, PPPs, and/or credit assistance programs) and create these corridors. Ideally, this would couple with encouragement of development around station areas in center-city locations to promote urban revitalization.

One area where electrified high-speed rail would be most applicable within Atlasia (and the IDS) is Texas. There, you have a group of cities (Houston, Dallas-Fort Worth, Austin, San Antonio) that are geographically close together, too close to make air practical, but still several hours apart by car. That is the gap that high-speed rail is designed for, and spurs from Fort Worth to places like Amarillo, Lubbock, and Odessa-El Paso aren't impractical either.

Additionally, Florida is well-designed for a high-speed rail network (and I'm not just saying that as a Floridian). Population densities in South Florida approach levels like Japan/China, where high-speed rail is very successful. A Miami-Ft. Lauderdale-West Palm to Tampa line via Sebastian-Vero and Orlando, which has the side-effect of decreasing congestion at the Orlando airport while making attractions (such as Disney World and the Orlando Convention Center) more accessible.

One of my favorite rail proposals would serve as a link between three great regions: a rail line that goes from Atlanta to Charlotte, from Charlotte to Raleigh-Durham, and from Raleigh-Durham on to Richmond, then to Washington, and then to Philadelphia.

These links could be connected in a further united plan: the Texas line running north to Tulsa, Oklahoma City, and Wichita, linking the IDS and the Midwest and revitalizing a currently struggling region. The Atlanta-Philly line can be extended west to Birmingham, and the Florida system can have an Orlando-Jacksonville link that splits to one north to Atlanta and one along the coast to Raleigh-Durham via Savannah and North Charleston. The end goal of building this transportation system (which would be coming online in stages) would be Birmingham and Houston via Baton Rouge to New Orleans, Birmingham to Jackson, Dallas to Little Rock, and Atlanta to Chattanooga, where the line would split, one to Memphis and another on to Cincinnati.

-MORE DETAILS TO COME-

Is Yankee retiring???

Yankee is angling to drop the "pro tempore" off of his title and become President of the Senate (not to mention Vice President of Atlasia); he's running on the Jbrase/Yankee ticket.

I know, but I wasn't aware he was returning if he lost the VP race.

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The five stages of high-speed and traditional rail development in the IDS.

Blue: 1st priority (HSR)
Red: 2nd priority (HSR)
Orange: 3rd priority (HSR)
Green: 1st priority (traditional)
Brown: 2nd priority (traditional)

Explanation:

In Florida, we begin with a high-speed top-priority line between Miami and St. Petersburg, with stops at Ft. Lauderdale, West Palm Beach, Orlando, Lakeland, and Tampa. Additionally, we have a high-speed line from Atlanta to Greenville, to Charlotte, to Winston-Salem, Greensboro, and Raleigh, from Raleigh to Rocky Mount, and from Rocky Mount and Raleigh north (to Richmond?). You also have the Texas line, which interconnects Dallas, Ft. Worth (the line should be shifted slightly; there is a high-speed line from Dallas to Fort Worth, mainly for connecting to the line from Fort Worth to Austin and San Antonio), Austin, Houston, and San Antonio.

The next stage of development is connecting Atlanta to Birmingham, as well as Atlanta to Jacksonville, via Macon. Jacksonville is connected via Winter Park to Orlando, and Jacksonville is connected to Savannah, which goes to North Charleston, then Fayetteville, then Raleigh.

The last stage of high-speed rail is Atlanta to Chattanooga, Birmingham to Tuscaloosa, Tuscaloosa to New Orleans and Jackson, New Orleans to Houston by Lake Charles, Lafayette, and Beaumont, Dallas to Little Rock by Texarkana, and a line from Dallas hopefully up to Oklahoma City.

Next there is traditional rail development, which connects Chattanooga to Nashville and Knoxville and Nashville up to theoretically Louisville, Tri-Cities to hopefully Lynchburg, Winston-Salem to Asheville, Wilmington to Raleigh and Fayetteville, Raleigh to Savannah by Columbia, Jacksonville to New Orleans by Tallahassee, Pensacola, Mobile, and Biloxi, New Orleans to Jackson and Memphis (and then on up to Chicago hopefully), Little Rock to Jonesboro (and then theoretically St. Louis), Longview to Texarkana, San Antonio to Midland-Odessa and El Paso, and Jackson to Dallas by Longview, Shreveport, and Monroe.

Finally, there's the next stage of traditional rail development, which brings less-connected cities into the rail network. St. Petersburg connects to Sarasota, and Miami connects to Ft. Myers by Naples. Gainesville is accessible by Jacksonville. Atlanta becomes even more of a hub, now connected to Albany, Dothan via Columbus, Montgomery, Huntsville, and Decatur. Nashville connects to Clarksville and Memphis to Jackson (TN). Rocky Mount gets spurs to New Bern and Greenville. Little Rock is connected to Pine Bluff, and there's options for Fayetteville (AR) and Fort Smith to connect to Tulsa. Dallas connects to Wichita Falls (then to OK City), Lubbock, and Abeline. Houston joins to College Station and Victoria, Victoria joins to San Antonio and Corpus Christi, San Antonio gains lines to Corpus Christi (forgot to draw this direct one), Odessa, and Nuevo Laredo, and Corpus Christi goes down to Reynosa and Matamoros.

I may draw in the connections that I most hope this rail plan can make with the other regions, and am interested in seeing what other regional representatives come up with.

I have not made any decisions regarding whether or not to run for the Senate again. It is still an open possibility, even with the VP candidacy. The final decision would be made sometime before the end of this month.

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This is what the IDS rail network would theoretically look like when coupled with that of the rest of the nation. Same colors apply.

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If Yankee does run, then I'd more than likely drop out; if he doesn't, then I shall continue. Gotta keep this seat in Bloc hands, y'know.

It wasn't my intention to derail your campaign, I just didn't feel comfortable with you going on the record about my future plans that even I am not aware of at this time. ;D

Nice rail plans by the way. Though, I think Charlotte might have some reason to be concerned that it isn't as much of an intersection of different lines as even Raleigh, more or less Atlanta.

     While I will wait on the incumbent Senator's decision before issuing an endorsement, it pleases me to see Legislators seeking other offices. It lets me know that the Legislature is doing its job of introducing new Atlasians to the game.

Charlotte would still have a major station along the Atlanta-DC line; they're just geographically less well-placed to link in with a coastal DC-Richmond or Charleston-Savannah line, and I'd rather not go to the expense of running stuff through the Appalachians.

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As for airports, I think the IDS is actually doing pretty well with airports. While we should consider adding new terminals and runways, renovating terminals, adding on parking spaces, gates, rental car areas, and hotels, making the rail lines connect to the airport, and putting in faster people mover systems, there isn't that much to be done relative to rail construction.

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As for our seaports, we need to devote to expanding them in order to handle international trade. To do this, I propose we focus on several specific ports that handle much of our current trade. These ports (Savannah, Charleston, Houston (as well as Texas City and Beaumont), Corpus Christi, San Juan, and South Louisiana (including New Orleans, Baton Rouge, and Plaquemines). These ports are the ones we need to focus on and invest in to handle our future transportation needs.

Yes, plus such a "Moutains Plan" would cause unnecessary destruction to the environment and damage a major turist destination most likely, on top of costing a lot more money.

I'm withdrawing from the race.