Northeast Assembly Thread

[Snowstalker Mk. II]

Official nominations for Speaker are open.

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

I would like to nominate myself.

[Snowstalker Mk. II]

Please vote on the next speaker. Voting lasts until whenever all 4 members of the assembly vote.

[ ] Scott
[ ] Write-in:______

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

[1] Scott
[2] Write-in: Cincinnatus

[Cincinnatus]

X Scott

[Snowstalker Mk. II]

Uhh... let's just give it to Scott.

This session is now open.

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

Uhh... let's just give it to Scott.

This session is now open.

Would that be legal?  The Northeast Assembly Speaker Act authorizes that the Speaker be elected by a majority of legislators.  But of course, there are other parts of that act that the Assembly doesn't follow, either, technically.

Just want to clarify so there won't be any problems.

[AndrewTX]

Uhh... let's just give it to Scott.

This session is now open.

Would that be legal?  The Northeast Assembly Speaker Act authorizes that the Speaker be elected by a majority of legislators.  But of course, there are other parts of that act that the Assembly doesn't follow, either, technically.

Just want to clarify so there won't be any problems.

Yeah... pretty sure it isnt legal.

[Snowstalker Mk. II]

Fine.

RFK, wormyguy, please vote.

[Username MechaRFK]

[1] Scott

[Snowstalker Mk. II]

Okay, session starts.

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

First I would like to say thank you, to this Assembly, for giving me the opportunity to serve as your Speaker for another two months.

The Assembly will first consider the legislation introduced by myself.  Debate will be for 48 hours.

The Northeastern Anti-Bully Initiative Act of 2011

A BILL to curb bullying across the region and assist teenagers and families who struggle with bullying problems

1. Bullying is defined as:

• Verbal harassment
• Physical harassment
• Cyber bullying
• Stealing
• Bullying that is motivated by race, gender, religion, or sexual orientation
• Stalking

2. Teachers in Northeastern schools are hereby required to report all cases of bullying to their schools, school districts, fellow teachers, parents of the bully(s), parents of the student(s) being bullied, and if necessary, local law enforcement.

3. Bullying is hereby defined as a criminal offense.  Acts of bullying, as mentioned in section 1, are punishable through community service hours, after-school suspension, in-school suspension, expulsion, a monetary fine to be paid by the parents of the bully(s), or jail time, depending on the degree of the crime.

4. High schools are responsible for addressing the topic of bullying through lectures, health class assignments, or yearly assemblies.

5. The Northeast government shall subsidize anti-bullying and teen suicide prevention centers.

6. The Northeast shall apply for the appropriate funding for this law from the federal government, in compliance with The Atlasian Anti-bullying Bill 2011.

[Snowstalker Mk. II]

Section 5 seems like a job best suited for the school counselor. The centers may be unnecessary if we can somehow encourage teens to use them if they have problems.

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

In that case, I will amend that the section be taken out.

[Snowstalker Mk. II]

I once again encourage Assemblymen to participate in the discussion.

[AndrewTX]

I once again encourage Assemblymen to participate in the discussion.

You have to place the fear into them Mr. Governor! Threaten them to discuss. Tell them that you will replace them with a egg salad sandwich if they dont work. Thats what I did when I was Governor.

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

Debate time has expired.  Members will now cast their votes on passage of the legislation.  This will be a 24-hour vote.

The Northeastern Anti-Bully Initiative Act of 2011

A BILL to curb bullying across the region and assist teenagers and families who struggle with bullying problems

1. Bullying is defined as:

• Verbal harassment
• Physical harassment
• Cyber bullying
• Stealing
• Bullying that is motivated by race, gender, religion, or sexual orientation
• Stalking

2. Teachers in Northeastern schools are hereby required to report all cases of bullying to their schools, school districts, fellow teachers, parents of the bully(s), parents of the student(s) being bullied, and if necessary, local law enforcement.

3. Bullying is hereby defined as a criminal offense.  Acts of bullying, as mentioned in section 1, are punishable through community service hours, after-school suspension, in-school suspension, expulsion, a monetary fine to be paid by the parents of the bully(s), or jail time, depending on the degree of the crime.

4. High schools are responsible for addressing the topic of bullying through lectures, health class assignments, or yearly assemblies.

5. The Northeast shall apply for the appropriate funding for this law from the federal government, in compliance with The Atlasian Anti-bullying Bill 2011.

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

Aye.

[tpfkaw]

Sorry for my relative absence, holidays and all.

Regarding the proposed legislation, I find it misguided.  While I detest bullying, I think this bill goes much too far in criminalizing speech.  If Scott were to respond to this post by calling me a stupid poopyface, he would be breaking the law under his own bill.  Free speech includes the freedom to say things intended to hurt the feelings of others.  The recourse that people generally have against this is that they are free not to associate with those who offend them.  School, obviously, is mandatory, so students do not have this recourse available to them.  I could therefore see some justification for criminalizing offensive speech in that context, but not in the context of activities outside of school.  As for physical bullying, that is already a crime - assault.

From my own experiences, I have found that one of the most pernicious aspects of school bullying is that not only do school authorities pay a blind eye to bullying, but that the only time a child is punished for "bullying" is when a bullied child snaps and attempts to get back at the bully either verbally or physically.  The school administration generally is more inclined to believe the side of the story of the adorable little sociopath who knows how to push people's emotional buttons than the fat little socially awkward kid.  I fear, therefore, that these criminal penalties will be applied to the bullied, rather than bullies, as has actually happened (2) in jurisdictions with such statutes.

[tpfkaw]

Nay.

[Cincinnatus]

I'm conflicted here, so I have to Abstain

[Napoleon]

Nothing like a little tough love to make a man right?

I'm opposed to this.

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

Voting time has expired.  The ayes are one, nays one, abstentions one, and non-voting members one.  The bill will now go to the Governor to be voted on by the Northeastern people at his will.  I would like to remind our members to, please, try harder to make arguments before votes come up and alert the Assembly if you won't be able to vote on something.  I, personally, find it not only annoying, but pointless to debate when such time expires, and this has happened on several occasions.

The Assembly will now consider the legislation introduced by the gentleman from Massachusetts.  Debate will be for forty-eight hours.

The Dihydrogen Monoxide Ban Act

Recognizing that dihydrogen monoxide is a substance more addictive than heroin, crack cocaine, or crystal meth, and causes severe withdrawal symptoms upon cessation of use, that dihydrogen monoxide is a frequently used "party drug," that well-known athletes have been known to abuse dihydrogen monoxide in order to increase performance, that the vast majority of users of cannabis, cocaine, meth, PCP and other drugs have reported "swigging" as a gateway behavior, that dihydrogen monoxide is often sweetened with sugar and marketed to small children in flavors like "cherry" and "root beer," and that dihydrogen monoxide is often mixed with other narcotics to enhance their effects, dihydrogen monoxide is hereby banned in the Northeast region.  Any stocks found are to be incinerated.

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

Dihydrogen monoxide is an unfamiliar name for water that was the subject of an internet hoax.  As numerous scientific studies have shown, water is, in fact, necessary to sustain life.  Thus, I oppose this bill.

[Napoleon]

Use this opportunity to remove bans on substances instead of what is essentially trolling.