Talk Elections

Cabinet Appointments, 3/3/06

For Secretary of Forum Affairs, I nominate Ernest.  Ernest served as one of the greatest Governors in Atlasian history in the Southeast, and has more recently shown himself to be an able and competent Senator during a brief term.  I believe he has the legal knowledge, the experience with administering elections, and the general expertise necessary to serve in this position, and look forward to working with him.

For Secretary of State, I nominate Al.  Al has been a mentor to me in many ways since I joined Atlasia, and has shown that he is able to keep a friendly and helpful tone when dealing with people who disagree with him.  I believe this will translate into the diplomacy necessary to serve as Secretary of State, and urge the Senate to confirm him.

For Secretary of Defense, I nominate Akno21.  This position has been neglected over the past year, and as a former Secretary of Defense I am certainly partially responsible for that.  I trust that Akno21 will work to restore activity to this position and provide input to defense-related issues facing the Senate in the coming months.

For Secretary of the Treasury, I nominate Bono.  Bono has a healthy interest in economics and has been one of the people who often comments on decisions made by the Secretary of the Treasury in the past.  His invitation to an ultimately unsuccessful economic roundtable planned by former Secretary Keystone Phil is a testament to his continued devotion to economic issues throughout his time in Atlasia.

For Attorney General, I nominate Brandon H.  He has already served as our Attorney General for the last four months and performed excellently in the post.  As Senator, I proudly voted to confirm his nomination when he was appointed by President Joe Republic four months ago, and I have no doubts about his commitment to the job or his ability to perform it.

You're just asking for trouble, aren't you? ;)

Horrible nomination for Secretary of Defense. I hope my senators will come out in full opposition to this nominee.

Your nomination is an honor, Mr. President.  It is somewhat like the honor of being the principal in a funeral, in that one would rather decline, but is unable to. ;) It is a thankless job, but someone has to do it.

I thank the President for nominating me to be Secretary of Defense.

Thanks :)

Congratulations to all nominees!

Great picks- what promise!

Pete proposed that bill pal. Hopefully you will monitor Senate activity more throughly.

That's not the word I would have used... :P

Ah, so you're talking about the amendment? The one I wrote when it seemed many supported the change? Who am I to propose an amendment forcing my opinion on what I percieved others preferred?

I believe this has been explained to you at least once before. Now I see why you only got second place.

THank you Mr. President, for the oportunity to serve Atlasia as Secretary of Treasure.
Hopefully the senate will allow me this as well.

Statement on Puerto Rico Government, 3/22/06

An attempt to create a new government in the Atlasian-owned commonwealth of Puerto Rico by former President True Democrat in Puerto Rico is misguided, and this administration will not be recognizing this so-called government as official or legitimate.  I will also not be recognizing him as a Governor alongside the Governors of our five regions, and view him as nothing more than a mere rebellion leader.

His attempts to impose involuntary military service upon all male citizens of Puerto Rico between the ages of 18 and 45 in preparation for a secession attempt are worrying.  However, as the Government that passed this bill of conscription is illegitimate and essentially a figment of True Democrat's imagination, Puerto Rican citizens can rest assured that they do not need to and should not follow the orders of the bill.

By seizing an Atlasian territory and declaring himself Governor of it without any constitutional basis, True Democrat has committed borderline treason.  Although we would like to take as diplomatic a course as possible, his initial demands for regionhood for Puerto Rico and later increasingly ridiculous demands are unreasonable and will not be met should he continue to pursue them in his current fashion.

The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Atlasia are willing to give all that is needed to assist the government in defeating this illegal, right wing, seperatist regime.

(I wonder how many cute commie chicks are in Puerto Rico? Got to be some.)

He has committed treason.  He has mustered an army.  The time to act is now!  It is your constitutional duty to defend the Union.  The Union has been infringed upon by an illegal and belligerent element.

Mr President,

Since I have it on good authority that my emergency resolution would be unconsitutional, I have withdrawn it

Given that secessionist activity is spreading and secessionists are taking up arms. I urge that you as Commander-in-Chief take immediate action and appoint Southeast Governor Cosmo Kramer as General of the Armies in prepration for any military action by secessionists against the Republic

'Hawk'

Executive Order

Registrations in Puerto Rico are no longer allowed and are not to be permitted by the Department of Forum Affairs.  The sixth amendment states: "In registration, the person must state his name and State of fantasy residence."  As Puerto Rico is currently not a "state of fantasy residence", any registrations in it are invalid, and any persons who registered in Puerto Rico should have their state of residence reverted to their previous registration (in True Democrat's case, Washington, though he is free to remain in his self-founded Puerto Rico Liberation Party).

Statement on Current Events, 3/27/06

First, on the issue of Senator DemoHawk being wounded by a shooting.  We send our best wishes from the administration to Democratic 'Hawk' and hope for a continued quick recovery.  We trust that he will heal soon and be back to work at the Senate serving District 4; until then, we hope he is doing well in hospital care.

On the issue of Puerto Rico, True Democrat claims that Puerto Rico is now an independent country because he pretended to seize it.  First, to be clear, True Democrat is still officially recognized as being registered in Washington.  Second, Puerto Rico very much remains in the ownership of Atlasia, and an imaginary take-over and subsequent secession are not, as True Democrat describes it, "fun," but rather, annoying and mind-numbingly stupid.  We recommend that the former President take up a new hobby, such as masturbation.

I would also like to congratulate Atlasia on an effort to pass regional bans on sex crimes where laws were insufficient or nonexistant previously.  Four of our regions have now passed bans on bestiality, with the Midwest to vote on a proposal next month.  I'm glad to see such a unified effort across every region and proud that our nation has worked quickly to pass appropriate legislation on the issue.

That was totally out of line, honestly.  I demand an apology immediately.

Puerto Rico

All right, we're sending 75,000 troops from the federal guard to Puerto Rico to retake the island territory, and another 15,000 troops to help the Southeastern Guard in Florida to help maintain order.

Game Moderator Announcement
Sam Spade today announced his resignation as Game Moderator.  I'd like to thank him for his service in this time-consuming and difficult position and announce that I'm naming True Democrat as the new GM, who is welcome to assume the role at his leisure.

*applause*

Thank you Mr. President.  I will start the transition either Monday or Tuesday.

I suspected as much.

I'm not exactly sure but does the Senate have to approve the new GM?

Nope, thank goodness.

Congratulations, Mr. Moderator.

Military Force in Guam

We are sending 80,000 troops from the National Guard to Guam to end the violent protests and stop the marchers from taking over military bases there.

FYI, the second State of the Forum Address will be coming up later this week.

Statement on Reconsideration of Pacifican Statehood Bill

Senator MasterJedi has re-introduced the Pacifican Statehood Bill.  Recently it passed the Senate by a vote of 5 to 4 (and 1 abstention); I vetoed it.  The Senator has decided that reconsidering this proposal will be a good way to address the riots in Guam.

By even considering to have another vote on this proposal immediately after it was vetoed, we are showing the protesters that Atlasia is weak and they are strong.  We are telling them that we will bow to their every whim and demand if they kill enough people and hold riots long enough.  This is not the message we should be sending.  Atlasia is not weak and we should not be obeying the commands of violent protesters.  And yes, I will be vetoing it again, not only because it is a poorly thought-out, imperialistic, and unnecessary addition of a state, but because it represents the mentality that Atlasia's statehood policy is controlled by a group of violent rioters on an island territory in the Pacific.  I will have none of it.

A bold statement, Mr. President.

()

The following units stationed in Europe are redeployed to bases in continental Atlasia:
First Infantry Division, and subsidiary units;
First Armored Division, and subsidiary units;
Third Air Force, and subsidiary units;
V Corps HQ, and subsidiary units.

Finally

Just an FYI to Ebowed that we need a new GM to be named.

Uh, do you think I don't know that?

Hey, I'll take GM if no one else wants it.

Yes, you might not have. You haven't given any indication that you have until now.

Right, because it would make perfect sense that I don't read the GM thread.

Even then, True Democrat discussed it with me before ever making the resignation public.

()

In accordance with the Constitutional Convention Resolution passed by the Senate, I hereby call the Convention.

As stated in Clause 2 of the Resolution, I am given the power to appoint three delegates to the Convention.  I therefore announce that I am appointing Chief Justice TCash, Associate Justice Emsworth, and Associate Justice Colin Wixted as delegates.

I would like to thank the President for his appointment.

Thank you, Mr. President, for the appointment.

Thank you. I look forward to the convention.

()

With Al's election as Mideast Governor, I am nominating Afleitch to serve as Secretary of State.

The position of Game Moderator has been left vacant for quite some time.  An interesting note about this job is that it's based almost entirely on precedent, and as such any guidelines pertaining to it are based on tradition.  Therefore I am announcing today that we will be changing things a little bit around here and instead of having one person doing all of the GM duties, we will have an entire news organization.  Atlasian World News will be taking over the "position" of Game Moderator, with Senator EarlAW and jerusalemcar5 at the head of the network.  Now I realize that there have been some controversial broadcasts on this network, particularly within the editorial section, but I am confident in their ability to report news accurately as well as continue their excellent coverage of elections.  I will not be restricting any editorial content on this network, however, a new thread for comments and debate will be created so that Atlasian World News reporters may only post in the news thread as is similar to the situation we had with SAM News Corp. and True News Inc.

Do you know what the hell a "Game Moderator" is?

Apparently, it's two annoying leftists who run a joke news channel.

EarlAW can't be GM becuase he's a Senator so basically you appointed Jcar GM. Get preparted for a screwed up Atlasia.

Why not?

Unless the GM isn't considered a position you can't hold two positions at once.

Well, I was under the impression that the President wasn't making EarlAW and Jcar5 co-GMs--instead, he was making an organization the GM.

Except that would still be a problem. Right now IIRC the organization consists of EarlAW, Jcar and Captain Vlad which means that Earl could make official news as a GM when he's in the Senate.

It also consists of Sos, Clay, and BRTD as staff and we are accepting ideas and articles from anyone who submits them, just we will work as a Editor's Council to pick the best and post those.  Game Moderator is not an official posititon, since it is only mentioned in one obscure clause in the budget section.

Yeah, it's a position that's been unfilled for too long because nobody else would step up to the plate to fill it. 

Did you have any other suggestions?  Now get the hell out of my thread.

While I understand that the decision that was just made by the President was very controversial (and I told him that repeatedly), there is the fact that we have no GM, and the AWN (as biased as it may seem) has been active in reporting the news for the last week, and Atlasia desperately needs a GM at the moment, so we (unfortunately, perhaps) were the best candidate.

If a conflict of interest arises (and is proven) I will be willing to step down from co-GM and give it to Vlad at least until my Senate term is finished.

Don't worry about it, Just the same old whiners.

We are dispatching federal troops in the states of Pennsylvania and Maryland to aid the Northeast, Mideast, and Southeast regional armies in quelching the rebellion troops.

At this point in time I would like to extend my thanks and appreciation to the following people for their support of the Republic: AndrewBerger, Governor FezzyFestoon, Governor Al, and Governor Cosmo Kramer.

Thank you, Mr President.

How did 50,000 troops get to California in a matter of minutes?  And how long will it take for 25,000 to reach Nyman?

The fact that you are a sitting Senator means that a conflict of interest already exists.  There is no need to wait for it to arise.

Unless the rebellion is restarted, the following people are granted amnesty from any treason charges: Keystone Phil, Wildcard, Supersoulty, and True Democrat.  Wildcard and Supersoulty are also recognized for switching their forces to the defense of the Republic and are thanked for their support.

I don't want amnesty.  I want to be charged.

I refuse to pursue charges.  Sorry.

I'd like to make a few statements.

First of all, I'd like to thank everyone who came out to the polls to vote this weekend.  Once again the people of Atlasia have shown that our democracy is strong, not weak.  And while the presidential result may have been more decisive than Atlasia is accustomed to, we still had several interesting senatorial and gubernatorial races with close competition.

I'd also like to thank the citizens who participated in the rebellion for ceasing their actions before they caused more damage.  While there has been some harm done (I have proposed a bill to the Senate to address some of these problems) we should be grateful that the effect will be lessened by the speedy surrender of the rebellious forces.  Of course, it goes without saying that I give my most heartfelt thanks to all of the people who stood with the Republic from the very beginning, including in particular our Governors, presidential candidate Andrew Berger, the President pro tempore, and the Secretary of State.

Now I'd like to take this oppurtunity to congratulate all of our winners this weekend, as well as all of the Senate, Gubernatorial, and Presidential candidates who ran and were unsuccessful.  Everyone plays a part in offering something different to the Atlasian voters, and the choice that many of our citizens had at the ballot boxes this weekend is something that should not be minimized.

I am truly amazed at the presidential result.  Not only was it decisive and without controversy, Q and I broke Atlasian tradition by being the first President and Vice-President to be given a second term by the Atlasian people.  Throughout the upcoming term I will try to not forget the powerful mandate that I have been given by the electorate this weekend.

To those who have willfully deregistered, I urge you to reconsider your decision.  Everyone who has an interest in this game should play their part and make their voice heard.  I was actually particularly enjoying the input of one person who recently deregistered in Senatorial business, although I did not vote for him.

Thanks.

A Note About the Armenian Genocide

This weekend the Senate passed a resolution based on a text I proposed that reads:

    1. The government of Atlasia recognizes the forced evacuation and resultant deaths of over a million Armenians as ordered by the government of the Young Turks from 1915 to 1917 to be genocide.
    2. The government of Atlasia hereby condemns the refusal to acknowledge the said events as genocide by the government of Turkey.

Today, a month after the 91st anniversary of this horrible genocide, I would like to once again express my full support of the Senate's actions on this matter and send a message to the Turkish government that while we are not imposing any economic sanctions against them and continue to consider them a strong ally, we are not pleased with the way it treated the Armenian people 91 years ago and join more than a dozen other countries in demanding that the Turkish government simply recognize that they perpetrated the genocide and apologize.  That is all we ask; the time is now for it to happen.

Amtrak Privatization Bill

1. All rail subsidies are abolished effective FY 2007.
2. The Amtrak rail system is to be privatized through an auction.
3. The Secretary of the Treasury is authorized to make necessary rules and regulations relating to the process of privatization.
4. The privatization of the Amtrak system shall be completed before the year 2007.
5. The person or corporation who purchases the Amtrak system will be authorized to terminate unprofitable routes at their discretion.

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Whaling Bill

1. The Alaska Eskimo Whaling Commission is abolished.
2. The act of whaling, the hunting and killing of whales, is hereby criminalized.  No person shall be exempt from this law due to ther ethnic or religious status.
3. The intentional killing of a whale for hunting purposes shall be punishable by a maximum fine of $15,000, a maximum of three years in prison, enviro-centric community service, or any combination of these.

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Human Cloning Bill

Section 1: Federal Funding
1. Any business, institution, or organization run by or funded, either in full or in part, by the federal government of Atlasia, shall not engage in human cloning.
2. Any business, institution, or organization outlined above shown to be in violation of this act shall be liable to a three month suspension of their funding pending further investigation.

Section 2: Prohibition
1. This section shall apply in the District of Columbia and in federal territories that do not form part of any region.
2. Human cloning experimentation is hereby prohibited.
3. "Human cloning" is defined as attemps to create a human being through artificial means by experimenting with and attempting to create a clone of a human embryo.
4. Any person who breaks this law will be sentenced to a minimum of five years in prison or a maximum of twenty-five years in prison.  Medical professionals who violate this act shall be liable to a temporary or permanent confiscation of their medical license as found appropriate by the jury.

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Corporate Welfare Elimination Bill

1. The Maritime Administration's Guaranteed Loan Subsidies are abolished effective FY 2007.
2. The Department of Defense's Foreign Military Financing program is abolished effective FY 2007.
3. The Department of Commerce's International Trade Administration is abolished effective FY 2007.
4. The Department of Agriculture's Market Access Program is abolished effective FY 2007.

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Highways Bill

1. The federal fuel tax, the Federal Highway Trust Fund, and subsidies to mass transit programs are eliminated as of FY 2007.
2. The federal government shall no longer appropriate any funds for the construction and financing of highways.

To be blunt, the state of the union could be better.

The short-lived rebellion caused some very severe economic problems, some of which have yet to reveal themselves fully.  Unemployment is up, parts of the Northeast and Mideast regions have suffered property and economic damages, and 270 people lost their lives in the midst of needless violence.  I hope this will serve as a lesson to those who feel that military rebellion is the best way to answer what they view as problems with Atlasia.  I have proposed two bills before the Senate, one that will define these acts as treason in the future, and one that will give monetary aid to the two regions most affected by the rebellion (though the Northeast Governor has graciously refused any such aid due to the struggles of the current federal budget).

Regardless of this, Atlasia just completed one of the most uncontroversial and smoothly ran federal elections in our nation's history.  Special thanks should go to Ernest, the hard working Secretary of Forum Affairs, for his competent administration of the voting booth and work in his position leading up to the election, and to the Senate for responding to various problems in the last election (such as VP-less ballots) which somehow managed not to rear themselves again this election.

We leave the thirteenth Senate as one of the most productive sessions ever, with seventeen pieces of passed legislation and counting.  Much of the passed legislation was proposed at my request, including serious reform to our medicare system and penalties for adoption agencies that discriminate against same-sex couples.  We have also removed trade tarrifs and restrictions on dozens of countries in this session alone, including strong allies such as Australia, New Zealand, Chile, Israel, and Bahrain, among many others.

Today I introduced yet another batch of legislative proposals.  I hope to make new batches of legislation for the Senate to work with a weekly feature of my office beginning this week.  Among the bills posted this morning is one to completely ban whaling in Atlasia.  Currently we have a commission that allows Alaskan Eskimos to hunt and kill up to 800 whales every year.  That's just not right and I hope that the Senate will move to both protect whales and remove unfair race-baced priveleges from our hunting laws.

Next month will break away our long-held tradition of no two-term presidents when I swear into a second term as President of Atlasia.  I will also be giving an inauguration address and announcing the new Cabinet.  I look forward to working with the Senate for another four months and hope to see more citizen input into our lawmaking process.  I'd also like to suggest to all citizens to become more active in regional legislatures, propose laws, and revive regional politics.  This is one of the best ways ordinary citizens can contribute to Atlasia and I hope more people will begin to take advantage of it.

Some very good bills on the agenda Mr. President. I especially hope for the speedy passing of both the Corporate Welfare Elimination Act and the Amtrak Privatization Act both of which are much needed and will, hopefully, refocus attention back on economic issues.

Alcohol Reform Bill

1. This act shall apply in the District of Columbia and in federal territories which do not form part of any region.
2. Recognizing that persons between the ages of 18 and 21 are eligible to serve in defense of the country, vote, and consent to sexual relations, the Senate wishes to correct an inconsistency by reforming the age at which restrictions on alcohol are removed.
3. The age at which one may legally purchase, possess, and consume alcohol is hereby lowered to 18.
4. Persons under 18 shall be allowed to consume small quantities of alcohol for religious or medical purposes if under the supervision of a parent or guardian.

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Rail and Airlines Bill

1. The Railway Labor Act of 1926 is repealed.
2. The Railway Retirement Act of 1934 is repealed.
3. There shall be no subsidies for airline companies or aircraft producers except those that are given for purposes of defense.
4. All federal legislation preventing airports from being privately owned or operated is repealed.
5. All federal legislation preventing foreign airlines from flying domestic routes in Atlasia is repealed.
6. The Jones Act is repealed.

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USPS Privatization Bill

1. The United States Postal Service is to be privatized through an auction.
2. The Secretary of the Treasury is authorized to make any necessary rules and regulations relating to the privatization process.
3. The privatization of the USPS must be completed before the year 2007.
4. Upon the successful privatization of the USPS, all legal restrictions on the competitive delivery of mail are repealed.

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National Zoo Privatization Bill

1. The Smithsonian National Zoological Park (National Zoo) is to be privatized through an auction.
2. The Secretary of the Treasury is authorized to make any necessary rules and regulations relating to the privatization process.
3. The privatization of the National Zoo must be completed before the year 2007.

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Elimination of Selective Service and Conscription Bill

1. The Selective Service is hereby eliminated.
2. No Atlasian citizen shall be involuntarily required to join the Atlasian Military.

Another batch of excellent bills. I hope that the current of alcohol reform also catches in the regions themselves and I have always believed in the privatization of the USPS. Good job Mr. President.

The Rail and Airlines Bill is atrocious.  I wouldn't be surprised to see a nationwide railroad strike at this attempt to eliminate Railroad Retirement without at the very least providing for a transition.  It's one thing to transition railroad employees to private pensions, but a simplistic repeal is going to leave railroad retirees in an extreme lurch, since they won't even get Social Security.  Total repeal of the Jones Act is also a bad idea, tho I wouldn't object to repealing the cabotage provisions of the Jones Act and the Passenger Services Act with respect to countries taht allow our ships the same privledge.  The same with opening up our skies to foreign airlines.  That should only be done to the same extent as other countries open their skies.  Unilateral disarmament is just as bad an idea economically as it is militarily.  As for our aviation subsidies, those are already supposedly for defense purposes so clause 3 is mere window dressing.

Appointments, 7/7/06

Chief Justice: Emsworth
Associate Justice: TexasGurl
Secretary of State: afleitch
Secretary of Defense: Bacon King
Secretary of the Treasury: Bono
Secretary of Forum Affairs: Peter Bell
Attorney General: Cosmo Kramer

Thanks to TCash101, Al, Brandon H, Ernest, and Akno21 for their service in the previous term!

Thank you for your confidence and support Mr. President.

Thank you for the nomination, Mr. President, and congratulations again on becoming the first person to be elected to two terms as President.

Thank you for your nomination, Mr. President, and good luck on your second term :)

Thank you for your nomination President Ebowed. I hope I am a fitting successor to Secretary Ernest once again.

Inauguration Address, 7/8/06

Good evening, Atlasians.  We have emerged from one of the least, if not the least, controversial presidential elections ever, with the first re-election of a President in Atlasian history.  With the unfortunate resignation of Chief Justice TCash, and the beginning of the new term yesterday, I nominated the new cabinet as well as replacements for the court.  These nominations can be found earlier in this thread.

The thirteenth senate session found itself to be the most active in Senate history, with twenty-three officially passed pieces of legislation.  We removed tariffs and sought free trade with literally dozens of countries, the latest additions being Thailand, Oman, and India.  We were able to give financial aid to the Mideast to help it with its recovery process after the rebellion events of last month.  We passed legislation to make what the rebels did last month strictly illegal and liable to harsh punishments.  We passed medicare reform, barred funding of adoption agencies that discriminate against same-sex couples, and pursued various social goals in our federal territories.

The fourteenth senate session promises to be just as active.  Two weeks ago I began a weekly feature of legislative proposals written by myself and members of the cabinet.  Some of the legislation has been more well-received than others, but I hope that eventually all of these proposals are duly considered.  In the coming months we will be working on solving our budget problems and hopefully fixing the funding crisis currently being suffered by the Department of State.  At times like these, people must realize that some increases in taxes may become necessary.

Attorney General-designate Cosmo Kramer and I will also be working on GM reform.  The GM issue is not a political issue, but a game issue; the GM has indisputable powers to dictate over matters of the game and, essentially, define the reality of the Atlasian world.  Preston is writing a proposal that will alter the way our news is presented to us here in Atlasia, creating a small panel of GMs where each member will be able to focus on separate issues such as economics or foreign policy; this panel will collectively form the "GM."  We look forward to introducing this exciting proposal to the public.

Finally, I'd like to congratulate Senators MasterJedi and WMS on their re-elections and jerusalemcar5, Jas, and Captian Vlad on their successful elections and hope they will enjoy the atmosphere in the Senate.  Don't hesitate to introduce any legislation, particularly if it's a proposal that originated in this thread ;).  Above all, remember to have fun and to keep the Senate civilized and cordial (but don't be afraid to have a heated debate!).

1. The GiftAid program is hereby formed, as part of the Department of State.
2. Citizens and Atlasian-based charities will be able to contribute any monetary amount they wish to go towards foreign aid programs in the Department of State; these contributions will not be eligible for taxation.
3. The government will pledge 1 cent to this effort for every dollar that is donated.
4. Governmental money used to match contributions will come from the money saved by F.L. 10-4, Foreign Aid Reduction Act.

The following proposal, written by Cosmo Kramer and edited by myself, will establish uniform rules for the appointment, confirmation, removal, and roles of the Game Moderators.  This is a matter that we feel should be best kept out of the law and constitution, but these uniform rules will provide a reference for future administrations and game moderators.  I'll leave this here for a period of 24 hours where any debate and changes or suggestions can be proposed, and then we may hold a vote on the resolution.

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A Resolution to create a code for the management of all game functions in Atlasia.

The Game Management Board (GMB) shall hold the full power in defining the nature of the reality of the world in which Atlasia exists, dictating over all scenarios of occurance within and outside of Atlasia, projecting economic conditions, representing all foreign powers in the world, representing segments of the Atlasian public and people of the world in general, among other duties falling within this area.

The GMB shall consist of three members, or Game Managers.  Each member shall be appointed by the President of Atlasia, and to be confirmed, two-thirds of those registered voters casting ballots must vote in favor of the appointment, the confirmation being valid if that vote lasts for 72 hours and at least one-third of citizens vote.  All ballots must be by public post.  This confirmation poll should be administered by the Chief Justice, or in his absence, the Vice President, and finally, in his absense, the Dean of the Senate.  No one may hold Atlasian office, federal or regional, while serving as GM and no former GM can hold elected office for four weeks after they have stopped serving as GM, nor may they announce candidacy for office while holding the position of GM.

A Game Manager is considered to be holding said job immediately upon the confirmation of the result that he has been confirmed with a sufficient number of votes by the presiding officer administering the voting booth.

A Game Manager can be removed if eight citizens sign a petition calling for his removal, or if the President requests that a vote be held on the subject of removal.  A vote under the condititions stipulated above will be held.  Alternatively, should a GM be convicted of treason against Atlasia for any action deemed worthy of said sentencing, they will cease to be a GM upon the handing down of the sentence.

The decisions of the GMB shall be indisputable and uncontested.  Each GM shall have the power to make decisions without consulting the other GMs; however, two GMs can veto the decision of one if there is a conflict.

The ratification of this code shall occur with two-thirds of those registered voters casting ballots voting in favor of the adoption of this code under previously stipulated conditions.  This document may be may be amended with the petition of such an amendment signed by either four citizens or the President; a vote under the same conditions will be administered on whether to adopt the proposed changes.  This code shall take effect one month after it has been certified as ratified in order to allow for a transition period.

It is so resolved.

My suggestion is to chuck everything except the above sentence and make it a proposal for a constitutional amendment.

The resolution is not bad, but there's too much there.

One thing isn't clear.  If eight citizens petition to have the GM removed, does he leave, or is there a vote on it?

Just a quick call, Mr President, welcoming :) your Executive Order establishing the GiftAid program

'Hawk'

Read the next sentence

This seems to be a little too strict.

I agree that we may want more oversight but believe we should break this up and vote on things individually. The more complex a "bill" gets, the more reason there is for citizens not to approve. In my opinion removing the conflict of interest is the most important aspect. I'd hate for it to not be approved because there are other parts of this plan citizens don't approve of. We need to break this proposal up.


I agree with this too- six weeks is a lifetime here. I'd argue that maybe any time limit for elected should parallel the time between a declaration deadline and the election- or scrap an actual time limit and say that no GM may run for or serve an office while GM.

No, that's not going to happen.  We're going to vote on this thing as one solid package and finally settle this matter.  And to call this a "complex" plan is laughable.

This could be compromised, but, looking at how long Presidential campaigns, for example, last, can be no lower than 4 weeks.

Four weeks is a very long time in Atlasia. I would prefer a rule that states that no GM may serve in office, or declare his candidacy for any office. This would effectively mean that a GM must resign before beginning his campaign. For presidential election, the GM would normally resign earlier (because the campaign is usually longer), while for other elections he could resign later.

We will add that, but there still needs to be some sort of time limit.

Excuse me? Is it going to be standard practice for the Attorney General to tell citizens what they can and cannot propose as laws? That you seem to be inflexible on this further reinforces my belief that citizens or the Senate should settle this matter, as they are charged with making laws rather than executing them.

The time limit will, effectively, be tied to the candidacy declaration deadline. In order to enter a race, the GM must resign before the deadline passes.

The citizens are going to settle this matter - whenever we vote on the measures.  My opposition to dividing this up is for clear practical reasons.  I'm not proposing these as reforms to complement our existing structure but as a whole new code of doing things.  We can compromise on some of the quanitive areas that are of dispute before we vote, but once we do, we need the whole thing to pass as one and act as one, solid system.

"Is it going to be standard practice for the Attorney General to tell citizens what they can and cannot propose as laws?"  What the hell is this?  This isn't a law.  And I'm not the Attourney General.  I'm proposing this as a member of atlasia, not as an executive figure.  The reason we're taking charge in administering everything is that there are no precedents for what we're doing .

If you refuse to consider breaking the proposal up, you are not fully allowing citizens to decide this matter.


"I'm, proposing this as a member of Atlasia"- then why was this introduced in the White House thread, by the President, with White House letterhead at the top, in the same 24 hour period that the Senate opened up a thread for your nomination as AG??

If individual citizens are able to make this kind of proposal and hold a vote on "legislation," and say we're going to make some rules here, but we're not going to do it in the traditional way we make rules, then I take huge issue with your comment that

"No, that's not going to happen.  We're going to vote on this thing as one solid package and finally settle this matter."

That is quite an uncompromising statement from someone who is proposing reform in this quite unusual manner as a private citizen.

I'd like some GM reform too. But I truly believe if it's all or nothing, it will be nothing. I'm not satisfied with that.

And I am still quite clueless as to why the Senate (hello??) would allow itself to be bypassed and completely ignored in such a manner. Senators- you make the laws here- maybe free trade with Mynmarekistan is fun for you to pass- but we've got some real needs here in this system- and again, it's YOUR job to "make all laws necessary and proper" for making this nation work. You, according to Peter Bell, initially inserted the GM into our constitution via the Budget stuff, yet you have not MADE laws to settle the matter of how this GM you mention gets into "office" (if it is an office). The President has been criticized for this most recent appointment, but all we have had to go on is precedent. I'm sorry if this sounds rude and disrespectful, but I'm not sure how else to get your attention on this matter.

The problem is that this isn't a law.  This has nothing to do with atlasia.  This isn't concerning the world in which atlasia exists; that would be like having a debate

And what's there to break up.  This isn't a controversial matter.  That's as if we we're voting on a law code and you say you want to break it up.  You can't break it up.  If one part doesn't pass then its incomplete.  Like I said, we're working on a clean slate here.

Copyright Reform Bill

1. Copyrights shall not extend beyond the life of the work's author, or 25 years in case of a corporate authorship.
2. Existent copyrights shall either be removed if they do not meet the demands of this bill, or reduced accordingly.

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Wage Enforcement Bill

1. This bill will only apply in the District of Columbia and in federal territories which do not form part of any region.
2. The minimum wage shall be set at $7.20 per hour.
3. The federal territory minimum wage shall be indexed annually to the Consumer Pricing Index (CPI).
4. Any employer found to be paying any of his employees below the minimum wage shall be sentenced to a prison term of up to five years, depending on the severity of the offense, and/or a fine of up to $10,000.

---

Consolidated Criminal Justice Bill

Introduction
Whereas previous Criminal Justice statutes contain references to obsolete Law and have become out of date, and whereas some statutes are not entirely discursive of their subject matter, the Senate resolves to update and consolidate existing Criminal Justice Law.

Section 1: Crimes against Atlasia
The following shall be crimes against Atlasia:
1. The impersonation, or attempted impersonation, of another Atlas Forum member on the Atlas Forum.
2. The "hacking" or taking over control of another Atlas Forum members personal account without their permission.
3. Voter fraud, defined as the creation of identities other than ones primary identity in Atlasia and subsequently entering this identity into the tally of registered voters.
4. Posting pictures, other media, or links to the same of a pornographic nature on the boards provided for the purposes of Atlas Fantasy Elections.
5. Maliciously editing the AtlasWiki to remove legitimate content or create off-topic pages.
6. Posting threads on the boards provided for the purposes of Atlas Fantasy Elections of a sexual nature that contribute nothing to political or philosophical discussion.

Section 2: Punishment of Crimes against Atlasia
Sentencing of the crime shall be by the presiding Justice; He may use any combination of the following as punishment, depending upon the severity of the offense:
1. For offences described in Clauses 1 through 3 of Section 1:
          i. Up to a one year ban from voting in any Atlasian elections.
          ii. Up to two years ban from holding any office under the Republic of Atlasia.
2. For offences described in Clauses 4 through 6 of Section 1:
          i. Up to a two month ban from voting in any Atlasian elections.

Section 3: Acts of Treason
The following acts are hereby declared Acts of Treason:
1. Rebellion, defined as the use of military forces to overthrow the Federal or any Regional government of Atlasia.
2. Aiding of a rebellion, defined as the fully knowing and intentional direction of funds, military aid, or strategic advice to a person or group seeking to engage in rebellion.
3. Terrorism, defined as the unlawful or threatened use of force or violence by a person or an organized group against people or property with the intention of intimidating civilians and/or the federal and/or regional governments of Atlasia.
4. Destruction of a Voting Booth, defined as deleting the thread in which a voting booth, or absentee voting booth, for an active election is contained.

Section 4: Punishment of Acts of Treason
Sentencing of Acts of Treason shall be by the presiding Justice; He may use any combination of the following as punishment, depending upon the severity of the offense:
1. Up to a lifetime ban from voting in any Atlasian elections.
2. Up to a lifetime ban from holding any office under the Republic of Atlasia.

Section 5: Trial Rules
Trial of all these crimes and Acts of Treason shall be done in full compliance with the provisions of Article III, Section 2 of the Second Constitution.

Section 6: Admissibility of Evidence
The presiding Justice may admit the following as evidence of the crime at his own discretion:
1. The actual statements made on the Atlas Forum itself
2. Screenshots of the statements made.
3. A quotation of the statement in a post by another Atlas Forum user.
4. The testimony of forum users who viewed the statement itself.
5. An admission by the accused in a thread on the Atlas Forum, or in a place viewed or heard by multiple persons, with recordings or testimony attributing to the same.
6. Evidence obtained through investigation of the IP address from which the offence was perpetrated.
7. Evidence given to the Court by the Forum Moderators or the Forum Owner, Dave Leip obtained in their capacity in that position.

Section 7: Rights of the Defendant at Trial
1. The defendant shall not be denied access to adequate legal counsel in the form of an upstanding, active citizen of Atlasia. The defendant also has the right to waive their right to legal counsel. If the defendant requests legal counsel, but is unable to secure his own adequate legal counsel according to the stipulations above, the presiding Justice shall request the chief judicial officer of the Region which said Defendant resides in, to serve as legal counsel to represent the defense. The chief judicial officer of the Region shall have the right to refuse such a request.
2. If there is no chief judicial officer of said Region or if the chief judicial officer refuses this request, the Senior Senator of the Region shall be appointed as chief legal counsel, or if there is no Regional senator, the Senior Senator of the District in which Defendant resides in shall be appointed as chief legal counsel. If the Senior Senator of the Region or District, as stated above, and the Defendant are the same person, then the Junior Senator of the Region shall be appointed as chief legal counselor, or if there is no Regional senator, the Junior Senator of the District in which Defendant resides in shall be appointed as chief legal counsel.
3. For this clause, active citizen is defined as someone who voted in the last federal election and upstanding citizen is defined as someone who is presently, or who has previously, held elected office in Atlasia.
4. The defendant shall have the right to a speedy trial as defined in Article III, Section 2. In addition to this provision, the following section will be used as definition of a speedy trial:
          i. If a brief by the Plaintiff is not filed within one week (7 days) of the presiding Justice opening the trial against the defendant, the case will be dismissed and all charges will be dropped.
          ii. A one week (7 days) leniency period may be granted by the presiding Justice by request of the Plaintiff, but any further delays may not be granted by the presiding Justice, except in the case of grave illness or publicly announced absence from the forum.

Section 8: Right to Appeal
In addition to any Rights of Appeal the Supreme Court may find under the Constitution, the defendant retains the following statutory rights of appeal against their conviction:
1. Procedural Appeals
          i. Should the defendant wish to appeal his conviction on grounds of errors of procedure during the trial, he may do so to the full Supreme Court provided the appeal is filed within one month of conclusion of the trial.
          ii. If the Supreme Court does find errors of procedure in the trial, vacation of the conviction shall not be automatic, but at the discretion of the Supreme Court.
2. Substantive Appeals
          i. Should new evidence come to light, the defendant may appeal his conviction to the Supreme Court on the grounds that the evidence no longer supports his conviction or severity of his sentence.
          ii. In reviewing the appeal, the Supreme Court may refer the question of guilt to a new jury in a new trial (without vacating the original conviction).
          iii. The Supreme Court may also reduce the sentence if it determines that the severity of the offence is reduced in light of the new evidence.

Section 9: Repealed Legislation
The following Acts are repealed: Voter Fraud Act, Omnibus Criminal Law Act, and Treasonous Rebellion Act.

---

Tax Increase Bill

1. All income up to $500,000 shall be subject to social security taxes.
2. Clause 5 of F.L. 11-6, National Sin Tax Act, is amended to read: "The taxes implemented by this act are an addition to, not an overriding of, any existing federal and regional taxes that are placed on the aforementioned products."
3. An estate tax is established. Each portion of the value of the estate shall be taxed at the following rates, with each rate corresponding to the tax rate on only the portion of the estate that falls in the appointed range:
a) $0-$5,000,000 – 0%
b) $5,000,001-$10,000,000 – 3%
c) $10,000,001-$17,500,000 – 4%
d) $17,500,001-$25,000,000 – 5%
e) $25,000,001-$50,000,000 – 7.5%
f) $50,000,001-$100,000,000 – 10%
g) $100,000,001 and above – 12.5%

---

Writing help on various legislation is credited to Peter Bell, Bono, Cosmo Kramer, Emsworth, True Democrat

(Part 2; 10,000 character limit was exceeded)

Child Labor Restriction Bill

Section 1: Applicability
1. This statute shall only apply in the District of Columbia and in federal territories which do not form part of any region.

Section 2: Definitions
1. The following definitions shall apply throughout this statute:
a.) A "school day" is defined as a day that contains more than two hours of classroom instruction.
b.) A "school week" is defined as any week (beginning noon Sunday) that contains two or more school days.
c.) "Work" is defined as receiving financial compensation for services rendered.

Section 3: Minors aged 15 to 17
1. Minors aged fifteen to seventeen years may not:
a.) Work more than 40 hours in a non-school week, and no more than 20 hours in a school week.
b.) Work more than 8 hours in a non-school day, and no more than 4 hours in a school day.
c.) Work more than 6 days in a non-school week, and no more than 4 days in a school week.

Section 4: Children aged less than 15
1. Employment of children aged less than fifteen years is prohibited, except those over the age of 13 years, who may work only as a newspaper carrier, and for no more than 10 hours in a week.

Section 5: Hours of Work
1. Employment of any person under the age of eighteen years between the hours of midnight and 6 a.m. is prohibited.

Section 6: Type of Employment
1. Employment of minors in any place that sells alcohol, except a supermarket or other general provisions store, is prohibited.
2. Employment of minors in work that requires the use of heavy machinery is prohibited.
3. The Secretary of the Treasury may additionally prohibit employment of minors in certain jobs that it considers hazardous as he or she finds necessary.

Section 7: Penalties
1. Any employer in violation of Sections 3, 5 or 6 shall be fined between $500 and $1000 for each infraction.
2. Any employer in violation of Section 4 shall be fined between $2000 and $10000 for each infraction.

Section 8: Exemptions
1. Parents may employ their own children to work in the home or at the place of their own business, except in prohibited types of employment specified in Section 6.

---

Writing help on various legislation is credited to Peter Bell, Bono, Cosmo Kramer, Emsworth, True Democrat

First, I think Preston's proposal is definitely going in the right direction. Some thing needs to be definte as a set of rules pertaining to the GM. I also agree that the rules of the game should be seperate from the political laws that exist inside of Atlasia.

Second, I agree with TCash that if this was proposed as a citizen then this was not the proper thread for it. Besides being voted on by all citizens, all citizens should have the right to offer modifications. For example, maybe 6 weeks is too long. Too some, maybe it is too short. But the citizens should have the right to make the decision instead of having a take it or leave package with not change to improve it.

Well, that's why we have it hear for citizen examination.  Because of the comments received on it we are now going to amend the section at hand.  We do plan to hold a vote soon, however.

Rule, guiding principal, call it whatever you want- it's setting forth standards of conduct. I'm arguing a small part of it needs to be law.


You seem to have decided so, and I'm still trying to figure out on what authority it's based, but "GM" is mentioned in the Constitution so a legal basis for this position does exist, in fact, some might say there is a need to define the nature of the position since there is defined resonsibility. We have Senators serving as GM, and in fact, you have proposed a - well it's not a law- but I guess an agreement that includes disallowing Atlasian officials- positions created and defined by our constitution- from serving as GM. So this part of your proposal is based in Atlasian law- it is necessary to limit federal officers, and this most certainly does enter the Atlasian world. I think you agree or you wouldn't have written it into your proposal to eliminate the conflict of interest. The rest of it, more arguably, could be left out of the Constitution. But no, "we can't won't and shant break it up." I'm telling you how to keep a lot of it out of the Constitution; ignore me if you want to.



???


I believe I've explained my opinion on this already:
1. limiting of federal officials from serving as GM and
2. everything else.


???

As long as that is the only part of it that would be seperated from the rest, I'm comfortable with breaking it up that way.

Just to be clear- the confirmation hearings for Preston and Bono will continue as scheduled, and JerusalemCar5 and EarlAW are NOT fired from the Senate or from the Game Moderatorship.

Any more complaining will be ignored.

Well done Ebowed, but Ive still got my eye on you....

Thanks Ebowed. Is True Dem a GM too though?

He's still allowed to write stories for the Midgard Wire Services I think, foreign policy events or whatever.

Well, that's unfortunate.

More the unfortunate.  Horrific.  Remember what he did in Nepal?  Next thing you know Belgium will be annexing France and Islamic fundamentalists will take over the Mexican government.

Thanks for giving me nothing.  Ebowed goes clean.  Everyone is happpy, yet I'm screwed again.

You still get to write the Midgard News rag.

rag? Try massive pile of executive loyalist sh**t.

OK, this GM situation is obviously problematic.  Two organizations are spouting back at each other that the other is wrong.  Let's get back to real news, shall we?

* True Democrat's Midgard Wire Service is restricted to events concerning foreign policy and developments concerning trade with Atlasia.
* I ask anyone currently with GM powers to follow a courtesy code not to directly attack or implicate into an unreasonable crime any single person, party, or organization.  Future violators of this code will be subject to possible punishment.
* I am not recognizing the following news stories by AWN as official or relevant: "Ebowed trying to form dictatorship?", "Southeast Governor killed in duel with the President", an untitled article by Jerusalemcar5 posted on July 14, 2006 at 08:40:35 pm EDT, and "Video proves that JCar didnt kill Harry."  All stories posted by the Midgard Wire Service between July 14, 2006 and today are also not recognized.  My reason for this is that this is the only way to completely end the "news war" currently occurring.  The news organizations may get back to announcing the death of Senators and telling me that large sections of the industries are protesting my trade policies. :)

Mr. President, we have two witnesses you killed Harry.

For the 1,000,000th time Mr. President, you. cant. erase. history.

Ummm....Im citing the Duel thread, not the AWN. You did something stupid. Firing the AWN for calling you out on it doesnt make it better, it brings us right back to your actions yesterday.

Because his death was certified, and it happened on the boards, thats probably why, Ebowed.

The following treaty, pioneered and written by Fmr. Vice President Supersoulty on behalf of the Ebowed/Q administration, in consultation with Prime Minster Tony Blair (UK), Chancellor Angela Merkel (Germany), Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi (Japan), Prime Minister John Howard (Australia), President Álvaro Uribe Vélez (Colombia), President Thabo Mbeki (South Africa), President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (Brazil), and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh (India), will be the beginning of a new international force dedicated to human rights and fighting terrorism.  This will not be an abolition of the United Nations or a moving away from it of any sort on behalf of Atlasia, but rather the formation of a tighter-knit organization that will have this treaty as its guideline.

Keep reading here... (https://uselectionatlas.org/FORUM/index.php?topic=42496.msg940198#msg940198)

(Credit to htmldon for the GTO logo.)

For immediate release, a legislative proposal for Atlasia to enter into the Global Treaty Organization.

Global Treaty Organization Bill

1. The Senate hereby approves the Global Treaty Organization formation treaty entered into on July 17, 2006 with the Governments of Australia, Brazil, Colombia, Germany, India, Japan, South Africa, and the United Kingdom.
2. The President and other officers of the Atlasian Government shall take such actions, and enforce such regulations, as may be necessary to implement the provisions of the treaty.
3. This Act shall have effect only with respect to those countries which have ratified or approved the treaty, and which continue to comply with its provisions.

It has come to my attention that disagreements between our two GM news sources are continuing.  Therefore I establish the position of Veto Moderator, or VM.  If the two sources are having a disagreement or contradiction, they shall post the conflicting articles in a thread directed to the VM, who will then decide which article is correct.  The "loser" article will be immediately considered retracted unless the VM gives more specific directions (i.e. if his decision only pertains to a certain sentence or paragraph).

Anyone interested in this position should PM me.

Edit: the position has been given to Akno21.

No new legislative proposal agenda this week; giving the Senate a chance to catch up.

To replace Cosmo Kramer, I am nominating Boss Tweed to serve as Attorney General.

Sorry for my absence.  I've had a busy last few days.

To replace Peter Bell, I am nominating Lewis Trondheim to serve as Secretary of Forum Affairs.

I find the "News War" to be highly amusing, by the way.

Can we also get rid of Earl? He hasn't done any GM business for awhile (besides complaining about Jake's football team's name) and doesn't seem to be working on the budget which NEEDS to get done.

If all the governors would open the booths on Constitutional Amendments, I have a feeling this would be taken care of.

Earl failed with the budget and hasn't reported news in about a month. He needs to be fired.

Sadly, I must second this.

Earl has admitted to me privately that he is in over his head... As much as it pains me to say this, I must also support his release.

This much was clear to the normals here about two months ago.

As of yesterday I'm on vacation for a week and a half.  I should be around a bit, but not as much as usual obviously, so if some action requires me and I'm a couple days late don't fret.  If you need to reach me about something send a PM or email.

I'm back, new VP announcement in a couple days.  Earl and the Atlasian News Network are hereby fired from the GM slot; however, I do not have a replacement as of yet.  Anyone interested in being Game Moderator, please PM me.

I am pleased to announce that I am nominating TCash101 to be the new Vice-President.  As a former Governor and Chief Justice, TCash101 has showed himself to be an able and competent public servant.  I am confident in his abilities to stay active in the role and, should he be confirmed, will be glad to have him by my side as my Presidency ends and as Atlasia chooses its next leader.

I thank the President for his confidence in me and accept his nomination to serve Atlasia and his administration. I stand ready for any questions the Senate may have.

Good choice :)

Excellent choice. I'll open a Confirmation Hearing momentarily

'Hawk'

Bono is hereby appointed as GM.

A replacement Secretary of the Treasury will be announced as soon as possible.

I wish Bono well in that role

Dave 'Hawk'

Mr President :),

With the signing of the Atlasia Revitalization Act into Law, I'd most appreciate that you make your two appointments to sit on the Atlasian Revitalization Committee

I have publicly informed the Governors of this Acts passing

Dave 'Hawk'

I am appointing True Democrat and Boss Tweed to serve on the Atlasia Revitalization Committee.

First, I'd like to thank Emsworth for his service to the Atlasian Supreme Court for the last almost year.  Today I am announcing that Senior Associate Justice Colin Wixted is being elevated to Chief Justice.  I trust that his work on the court in the last several months is grounds enough for the Senate to confirm his nomination.  A replacement Associate Justice will be announced shortly.

Under new laws pertaining to the make-up of the cabinet, the Departments of Defense and State have been combined into a new Department of External Affairs.  I am therefore nominating Sec. of State Afleitch to serve as the Secretary of External Affairs.

I would like to thank the President for his nomination and hope to continue the fine service in the court in this new position.

For the new vacancy for Junior Associate Justice on the Supreme Court, I hereby nominate opebo.  I trust fully in his abilities to serve as an impartial member of the court and urge the Senate to confirm him.

And there goes all the remaining respect I had for you. -_-

Thank you Ebowed, I look forward to serving.

Ha ha, classic.  I love it. :D

Absolutely

'Hawk'

Just a little note; a new White House thread, speech and so on, will be posted fairly soon.
Got to go now.