Senate Protest and Analysis Thread

[Marokai Backbeat]

Shua is a great GM, how come all I see from you is posts bitching about this or whining about? You really have nothing positive to say and it is such a turn off.

Please take your demagoguery elsewhere. It is beyond transparent at this point.

Shua has been "okay" at best. He hasn't been as active as I was, or even as Badger was. He's only praised because of no one elses willingness to do the job at all. I also dislike his tendency to completely disregard all previous GM stats right back to Purple State.

If all of your criticism of me didn't exude willful dishonesty, I might take it seriously. In the meantime, I will continue freely speaking my mind on these issues, even if you enjoy jumping on every other word I say and winding up your faux-outrage.

If you're going to pop in here to pretend to be nice, though, then at least pop into the three ongoing votes I started hours ago. It's the least you could do.

[Marokai Backbeat]

Shua is a great GM,

In fact, what you just said here is a checkable thing. So let's check how "great" Shua has been in this job by way of his activity and number of updates.

Shua has been on the job for three months, and his GM update thread started on November 14th, 2011. He's been in charge of a GM update thread for 94 days. In that time, he has made 12 GM updates, and one budget update. (The latter is supposed to be done monthly.)

During Badger's first 94 days as GM, he made roughly 30 dedicated GM updates, and the GM thread was several times larger than Shua's, and Badger took interest in more individual concerns people had than Shua.

During Purple State's first 94 days as GM, he made 152 separate GM posts, and the GM thread was several times larger than Shuas, and Purple State took more interest than even I did in individual legislative discussions.

During my mere 70 days of updates as GM, I made 45 dedicated GM posts (not taking into account my habit for combining stories instead of separating them all), and I posted 2 budgetary updates in less time as GM than Shua's posting of one.

By what metric, then, are you determining Shua's status as a "great GM" aside from the fact that I dislike him? Since you seem to assured of it, I'm positive there must be a great explanation.

[Marokai Backbeat]

This is what's wrong with this game. Maybe shua doesn't have the time that you or Badger or Purple State had. That's okay. I think shua's a great GM and he's a great person.

What's been wrong with this game at several instances in the last couple of years has been everyone's tendency to just sort of shuffle someone's shortcomings under the rug because of what party they belong to, or what friends they have in Atlasia. In many ways we have become too personal, and in many ways we have become too partisan, but we certainly haven't been very ideological, even now.

Shua is a delightful person personally, I'm sure. Napoleon is friendly with him, and also wants to maintain a spectrum of support right to left. (It's what the Liberal Party is all about, in general.) But we can't suddenly stop critically evaluating people just because of how nice they are, in the same way that we can't continue denying people their accomplishments because of what clique they've belonged to.

Shua is a good GM in the absence of all other options. On any sort of objective level he has been mediocre. This is not an attack, it is simply a reality. A conclusion based on what is empirical. We can't be so caught up in trying to be nice that we make excuses for people or stop doing good jobs. Just because I am the one saying something, doesn't mean it's wrong. The actions (or lack thereof) speak for themselves.

(Note that I'm not saying it's awful and wrong and Shua is a nasty terrible person for not doing his job. If he's not able to, he's just not able to. If he doesn't have the time, he doesn't have the time. But if someone doesn't have that time, they shouldn't have the job that requires that time.)

[Marokai Backbeat]

This is what's wrong with this game. Maybe shua doesn't have the time that you or Badger or Purple State had. That's okay. I think shua's a great GM and he's a great person. We're becoming so much like the United States in the sense that we just go off on these ideologically-fueled rants with bias hid behind rhetoric. It's ridiculous. We vote for people based on ideology, we say we disapprove of them and then don't tell them why when they ask, we exile them from politics and then we rinse and repeat. I just can't comprehend this. At all.

Amen.

Explain how Shua is a great GM.

There is absolutely no way that you can except for stupid populist niceties that are completely fake. By no metric has he been good, but you only stick to that because I dislike him and you like him.

You can say he's been okay. But calling him "great" is preposterous. Objectively so. This is not something that is up to an opinion. He has made barely any updates in almost three months. He has done only one of the three budget updates scheduled of him. He has updated less than all previous Game Moderators for the last two and ahalf years aside from those that were only GM for a hot minute before getting replaced.

Stop willfully ignoring reality just to appear fake-nice. The idea that anyone can sit here and call him one of the greats blows my mind, and can only be done by people that clearly do not care about his performance at all and just want to maintain an appearance of being a "good guy."

[Marokai Backbeat]

I really do appreciate people trying to defend me, but there's no need for it here.  It's just giving our esteemed PPT an opportunity to criticize me while ignoring my posts.

The only thing that's sticking with me here and irritating me is the raping of the word "great" to the point that it apparently means nothing, anymore. Whatever problems I have with your numbers, I'll deal with them because you are still GM and what you say goes, regardless.

[Marokai Backbeat]

The biggest drop off in jobperformance has been in the PPT position. Bgwah was great and active, Marokai is inactiveand here only to troll. Yet, Marokai wants to bitch about GM Shua. Cute.

Please explain (I'm referring to the part in bold print).

Bills sit on the floorway too long with no debate, mostly his own bad ideas.

Until today, I had spent the last two and ahalf days in bed incredibly sick (at one point I slept a solid, uninterrupted, 14 hours), and with my moments of actually being here, I had no desire to deal with whatever trouble I knew you would predictably be stirring because I took even a single day off. Because I was sick, and knowing the Senate needed to continue moving, I asked BK to take over for me, and he declined to do so.

I am a human being with human frailties, and as such, my immune system isn't always super awesome, but we have a President that has basically done nothing here and taken the last few weeks of his term off entirely, and a Vice President who will not come to the aid of a PPT who requests his help. If you would like to bitch at someone, do it at the people you pander to and excuse, and not to me.

I have returned now and the Senate will begin to move again. Aside from this absence, I have been a very active PPT, something literally no one else aside from you would argue with. I'll take the vast majority's opinion over yours. Thanks.

[Marokai Backbeat]

Leave of absences are typically posted when, you know, I plan it. I asked BK to take over, and he declined to. If you were sick, I wouldn't criticize you or anyone else for taking time off to recover. No one in their right mind would do so.

[Marokai Backbeat]

Im trying my best to understand this. You were too sick to allow the Dean to take over, but not sick enough to PM BK or post elsewhere? Yes?

Yankee has repeatedly complained in the past that he is unable to serve as PPT due to at-home struggles and inadequate internet. I went to the Vice President because that is the person I am usually supposed to turn to. I PMed him, and then crashed in bed. Posting in public about it was not necessary by any stretch of the imagination, and anyone who knew me personally would tell you I was sick.

You're someone who is sitting here nearly accusing me of lying about being sick in the first place, for some reason. Am I supposed to actually take your complaints seriously? You're searching for any reason to attack me, when you should be criticizing people who failed to follow procedure in this case, but you wouldn't dare do so because they're your party members. For someone who cares about activity, you only seem to care about mine.

My real life situations come before this forum. If I feel like garbage because of any sort of illness, my recovery takes priority. No one around here is expected to ignore their own health for the sake of a fantasy government. That would be insane. If you want to go criticize people, please criticize the President who allows bills to sit on the floor for ages without giving his signature to them, clogging up the que like you supposedly hate so much, or the Vice President that refuses to take over the Senate from an ailing PPT.

This is the second or third time I have seen you dodge any sort of criticism about that, saying it's the "wrong place" for talking about this Administration. Would you care to point out there the right place would be for discussing this so I can actually get your opinion on it without some sort of excuse? You have either become twisted and distorted by personal and partisan grudges, or you really don't care about trying to be honest at all.

[Marokai Backbeat]

No excuses, and I think you are lying anyway.

[Marokai Backbeat]

In accordance with Article 3, Section 1, Clause 7 of the Senate Rules, I am removing Napoleon's legislation from the Senate que, because he is no longer a Senator. His healthcare bill will now be, for the purposes of my work, considered an MOPolitico only sponsored bill, and his other proposal is no longer in the que for the Senate's consideration.

[Marokai Backbeat]

I do have to give Marokai props for helping push cosponsorship in the Senate.

Thanks! It's not done nearly as often as it should be, IMO.

[Marokai Backbeat]

OH GOD WE'RE COMPLIMENTING EACH OTHER A BLACK HOLE IS FORMING OHG OGWDI NOOO-

[Marokai Backbeat]

I just called some bills dead on the floor (since they were obviously legitimately rejected) but now that it's officially the first day of a new session, I'm pretty sure I now I have to step back and await a new election of a PPT and for everyone to swear in and start the next Senate. So.. yeah. Just wanted to say that.

[Marokai Backbeat]

Would anyone happen to know if minor gun safety laws are constitutional in Atlasia?  I'm not sure to what extent the 5th Amendment of Article VI of the Constitution forbids gun laws.

Have we implemented any gun control legislation nationally, at all?

[Marokai Backbeat]

Ugh, guys, you have no idea how sorry I am. Our sh** phone line completely died for three straight days and f'ed with our internet. I've had absolutely no reasonable way to let anyone know this so I've just sort of been adrift this entire time until earlier today. I am really really really really sorry; it was all completely out of my control.

[Marokai Backbeat]

For the record, yes, I did withdraw it by just cutting it out of my larger proposal posts. Sorry about that. From now on I'll use the strikethrough.

[Marokai Backbeat]

My brother was in the hospital for several days (falling into a particularly nasty case of Diabetic Ketoacidosis..) and I wanted nothing to do with Atlasia in the meantime, understandably. So, thanks for any understanding, assuming I'm getting understanding..

[Marokai Backbeat]

What's wrong with the current law?

Excellent question.

[Marokai Backbeat]

Forgive me if this issue has already been addressed...in response to recent events in the state of Connecticut, I strongly feel that it behooves the Senate to introduce appropriate gun control legislation.  Thank you gentlemen for your attention.

I did manage to (barely) get this into law, earlier in my term, but I'm definitely open to expanding on it.

[Marokai Backbeat]

Does anyone know if there's a 'Violence Against Women Act'-esque piece of legislation on the books in Atlasia?

Technically we inherited all the laws from the US upon creation of Atlasia way back when, but as it's a piece of legislation that requires frequent renewal, I suppose it no longer exists by this point. (And frankly, I don't know if it would pass.)

[Marokai Backbeat]

Does anyone know if there's a 'Violence Against Women Act'-esque piece of legislation on the books in Atlasia?

(And frankly, I don't know if it would pass.)

In this Senate?  Why not?

Atlasia can be weird sometimes. Things that would be completely uncontroversial sometimes get weird and widespread objections.

[Marokai Backbeat]

I like the intent of your Amendment, Nix (I love consolidating and clarifying things) but I think it might be better in the long term if we removed the SoIA and SoEA from the Constitution so the Senate could have more flexibility in defining and rejiggering those offices.

[Marokai Backbeat]

The PPT does indeed have that power, yes.

[Marokai Backbeat]

I am utterly baffled at how this is some sort of scandalous issue. What weird agenda do I have, there? I made the order because there is a clause in the Pacific's Constitution (which specifically says to interpret it liberally!) to immediately designate someone who can open voting booths as quickly and efficiently as possible when there's a breakdown in government and things aren't working how they're supposed to. Only in the last day before I made the declaration did the Governor finally appear, and then he went back into hiding. The majority of the regional council decided to stop doing their jobs.

What questions do you want asked? What investigation is there to be had? I designated someone to open voting booths and immediately resolve the meltdown in in the Pacific's regional government, which was in my power to do, and not only in my power to do, but gave me serious leeway in determining when to do so. After a Governor goes horribly inactive, is under recall, and the regional legislature effectively loses a majority of their members, that's a pretty good reason to feel like the Pacific could use some help.

You would basically have to prove, for it to be invalid, that there wasn't any reasonable belief whatsoever that the Pacific government was either mismanaged or breaking down. And it's clearly understandable why anyone would think that.

Is this my Benghazi, or something? What in the world am I even being sinisterly accused of here that I have to be investigated for? You guys are acting like I installed a puppet government in the Pacific. I literally just authorized a specific person to be the on-call vote administrator. Deep breaths.

[Marokai Backbeat]

I don't think anyone other than Poirot's expressed any concern about this. Maybe he hasn't read the (Third?) Pacific Constitution; I don't think it's on the wiki.

Sorry, I read Hagrid as being more aggressive than he probably meant to come off as being.

Nevertheless, I wish people who are uncomfortable with the declaration could cut me a little more slack, here. I did it for genuine reasons; I want the region to get back on track as soon as possible. I'm sorry if I stepped on toes, I just want everything to get sewn up as quickly as it can.