The Porcupine: The most trusted name in news.

[CatoMinor]

This shall be the main thread for The Porcupine news and polling.

Owned and operated by:
Jbrase - Editor-in-Chief and White House Correspondent
Dallasfan65 - Senior Beer Expert
Tmthfu94 - Senior Analyst and Mideast Correspondent
SJoyce - Imperial Correspondent
Snowstalker - Northeast Correspondent 
Oakvale - Senior Judicial Analyst, Pacific Correspondent, and Political Cartoonist
Scott - Pollster

[CatoMinor]

Over the past several days Dallas & I have polled 32 citizens at random from the various regions on approval of Governor and President. Here are the results.

Southeast: Governor Jbrase
75% approve, 12.5% disapprove, 12.5% are undecided

Mideast: Governor Tmthforu94
85% approve, 0% disapprove, 15% undecided

Northeast: Governor RowanBrandon
42% approve, 58% disapprove

Midwest: Governor Vepres
100% approve

Pacific: Governor Oakvale
66% approve, 33% disapprove

Presidential approval

Southeast:
25% approve, 37.5% disapprove, 37.5% undecided

Mideast:
85% approve, 15% disapprove

Northeast:
42% approve, 42% disapprove, 16% undecided

Midwest:
80% approve, 20% disapprove

Pacific:
83% approve, 17% disapprove

Map'd presidential approval

[CatoMinor]

     Crazy that the Pacific Governor has the second-worst approval rating. I'm used to seeing Pacific officeholders with 100% approval.

I've chosen to believe that at least one of the people polled was Xahar.

maybe, maybe not.
2/6 disapproved in your region, 4/6 approve, not exactly terrible numbers. Your in the positives, the only governor in the negatives at the moment is Rowan.

[CatoMinor]

Interview with Governor Tmthfu94:
By Jbrase

Jbrase - Thank you for participating in The Porcupine's first interview. Is there anything you'd like to say before we start?

tmthforu94 - I just want to thank you, JBrase, for allowing me to do this interview. I look forward to answering your questions!

Question 1:
When you first got involved in Atlasia, what did you see yourself becoming?

Answer:    When I first got involved, my dream was simply to get into the Mideast Assembly and have fun in the position. I never would have dreamed that I would one day be it's Senator and then Governor.

Question 2:
Describe the state in which the Mideast was in prior to your governorship, and how it is currently?

Answer:    Before my term began, I would say the Mideast had become complacement with many not wanting to change much about our double-digit unemployment. When I ran for office, I laid out a plan for the Mideast. Several pillars of my platform have been implemented, but we still have a lot of work to do. It doesn't help that it's summer either, and everyone's going on vacation. I would say the one thing this region has improved on is ambition. I'm excited for this next session, because I believe this Assembly is just as ready as I am to improve this region's economy. We're going to start that by actually having a budget. We're going to build off that budget, and hopefully by the end of this year our unemployment numbers will be below 10%.

Question 3:
What is your opinion on the state of the DA? Are the party's best days behind it?

Answer: While we have managed to maintain a stable number over the past year or so, other parties are growing. I think it's increasingly difficult for the Democratic Alliance to be a gamechanger when we represent less than 10% of the population. For this party to succeed, I think we have to delevop a stronger message on what we're about.
    
    I am concerned that our party's best days could be behind us. A lot of current or potential members are being quickly drawn to other parties, and we are quickly falling behind. One move and we could be destroyed

Question 4:
What are your thoughts on the Purple State administration, more specifically, his appointment of a communist/marxist as SoIA, and Al as GM?

Answer: I admire the Purple State/Marokai Blue administration on their hard work. I think that both of them sincerely care about the positions they hold and are trying to make the most of it. While I don't agree with either of them a lot politically, they are active, and I like that about them.
    
    As to the appointments of Al and Winston, only time will tell. I'm not sure if I would have appointed either of them, given that I don't believe that the positions either men hold represent the views of Atlasians. I think both Al and Winston are off to pretty good starts, and I'm anxious to see what actions both men take over the next two months.

question 5:
Speaking of Secretary Winston, are the rumors true that at one time you were considering being his running mate for a presidential election? and in retrospect would you still have wanted to be his running mate?


Answer:    
 As a matter of fact, Winston and I did have a tentative agreement where I would be his Vice President. However, we also agreed that if Afleitch ran for reelection the deal would be off. That's the main reason it never panned out.
    
    In retrospect, no, I wouldn't have. Assuming he still left the Populares and did a political turnaround, I think our ticket would have really struggled to get votes and wouldn't of had a clear message.

Question 6:

Are you aware that in less than an hour the Region currently known as the Southeast/Dirty South, will amend the regions constitution, in effect becoming The Imperial Dominion of the South? what are your thoughts on this revolution in awesomeness?

Answer:
    I am aware. I've never been a huge fan of the name changing, but I guess to each his own. Everyone has a right to their own decision, and if it ever happened in the Mideast, I'd respect the will of the people.

question 7:
What are your future plans?

answer:    For now, I plan on working with the Assembly this session to create a better region. In the coming days, I'll decide whether or not I'll seek reelection to the Governor's mansion and go from there. :-)

Question 8:
What are your thoughts of the Constitutional convention going on? and what specificly do you want it to accomplish?

Answer: I am generally supportive of the Constitutional convention. I think Purple State and Marokai Blue have a good plan, and if the convention can follow that plan, it should be successful. In the end, I'd like for Atlasia to have an easy to read constitution where we don't have pages and pages of amendments to sift through to determine what is legal and what is not.

Question 9: Now for a peak into the future. Are you looking at possible presidential run in the future? If so, and if in your view it seems beyond repair, would you consider leaving the DA while doing so?

Answer:
    I think that just about everyone in Atlasia has their sights set on the Presidency. ;-) So yes, it is something I have seriously considered on multiple occasions. However, it certainly wouldn't be my main reason if I ever left the DA. Right now I truely want to see the Democratic Alliance prosper. We'll just have to wait and see if that happens.


Question 10: You mentioned earlier about your plan to turn around the ME's unemployment problem. Would you like to elaborate to the readers the steps you have and plan to take to meet this goal?

Answer
    Of course. I want a market-friendly environment for businesses to meet their daily needs and grow. I think cutting taxes could do just that, which is why I support lowering taxes on capital gains and investments.
    Something I have been working with Assemblyman A-Bob on is the building blocks of our budget. One of our key points is to invest heavily in our infrastructure. We believe that is a fast way to provide relief to many struggling families in Atlasia.
    
    Finally, I support a tax credit boasted by the Purple State/Marokai Blue administration that gives businesses with less than 200 employees a tax credit for each new employee they hire. That recently passed on a national level, and I expect it to benefit our unemployment problem as well as the nation's unemployment issue.

[CatoMinor]

Yet another lawsuit involving the Imperial Dominion of the South

Ernest was recently found unconscious in room 101 of an abandoned warehouse, witnesses last saw him being drug into a white van.

In other news...

Ernest, a former legislator for the I.D.S. has challenged the region's authority to change the title of it's chief executive from Governor to Emperor. The Porcupine will be closely following this case.

[CatoMinor]

Supreme Court and the IDS: The Front Lines of Atlasian Politics

The Supreme Court of Atlasia and the Imperial Dominion of the South are currently both the scenes of battles that will have a serious impact on the future of this great nation. In the court lies the potential for a Marxist-Tweedist coup that would oust President-elect Napoleon in favor of failed presidential hopeful Boss "Young" Tweed. Tweed cites the general welfare section of the Atlasian Constitution's preamble, claiming that it is the duty of the Supreme Court to declare Tweed the President-elect as Napoleon would go against the general welfare of the people (not to be confused with The People). The SoFE as well as most sane Atlasian call BS however and have faith the court will do the same.

In the IDS is an effort to extend southern voting rights to all southerners. The Southern Unity Amendment sponsored by Representative and former Emperor Jbrase would allow those who have been citizens of southern states outside the IDS for a certain period of time to participate in elections conducted by the IDS. While this has received mostly positive reviews it has also be viciously attacked Representative Duke who has fears of carpetbaggers ruining what he referrers to as 'The Dirty South'. Representative Duke, long opponent to the IDS's Cultural Revolution of Awesomeness, has been running has been running an exhausting schedule of debating the bill, protesting the bill outside the Capitol, an running skateboarders of the sidewalks by his house with a shotgun. Currently the Amendment is looking favored to pass in the Legislature.

[CatoMinor]

Gracias

[CatoMinor]

Coming Soon: interviews with tmthfu94, Polnut, and Tweed!

[CatoMinor]

World Eagerly Awaits SC Ruling On IDS Trojan Act

Today we are expected to receive the long awaited ruling on the future of safe sex. Lat year the IDS passed the Trojan Act, expanding the amount of condoms available to college students in an effort to fight STI's. However earlier in the month in an unprovoked attack, agents of the federal government attacked and seized control 12 Imperial cities and attempted to rob the south of billions worth of property. Facing the arrest of all agents and possible criminal charges against Fuzzybigfoot the matter was instead taken to court where we await the ruling.

We would like to remind everyone that The Porcupine in the most trusted name in news. Our competition, "The People" meanwhile have this to say. "The People...do not support...giving...women...votes." Incredible stuff.

[CatoMinor]

An Interview with Clarence
By Jbrase

Q. Thank you for taking the time do do an interview with the Porcupine. What are your future plans for Atlasia?
A. My pleasure, Jbrase- thanks for the interview. My plans are to continue to be an active Senator... I love the role and find the discussions to be interesting and I always learn something new, even when the votes don't go my way. When I was running for President- much of my time and attention went towards the campaign and I've now put much of that time to my role as a Senator which I enjoy very much. I am of course very passionate about issues involving the armed services, foreign policy, and education. I will continue to fight for what I believe in and make the conservative case as best I can

Q. You recently lost an election for president, making it to the final round and withing 11 votes of Napoleon. What were your personal expectations on election day(s)?
A. Before I made the decision to run- I spoke with many wise folks who gave me insight into the way things work with the elections. I was prepared from the start for an uphill battle and told the folks on my campaign- ZuWo, Yelnoc, etc- that the best we can do is try our darnedest. Well- we tried our darnedest and on election day I reckon we had as good a chance as any one else! After the election was halfway thru, it became clear we were the underdogs but I was happy to see us close the gap in the final hours. I am very proud of the final result and grateful to those who made it possible to come within reach of victory

Q. Currently Tweed is fighting the results in court and if successful will have essentially pulled of a Marxist coup. Would you support a Tweed government if he rose to power in this fashion?
A. I hope the Supreme Court rules in favor of the democratically elected President- my former opponent and friend Napoleon. I'm no expert on the board's constitution, but it seems if the Court rules for Tweed- we have no choice but to follow that decision and work to reform the court so it does not happen again. I've seen two bills- from Ben and from TJ- which have that intention already. However- as perhaps the person on this board who worked the hardest to prevent Napoleon from being elected, I find Tweed's case to be amusing but not convincing in the slightest. I also don't believe the theory some folks have put forward that there is a silent majority rooting for Tweed in this case- I believe folks want the will of the voters to be followed

Q. Everyone knows the Navy is the best branch. but what would you consider the second best?
A. Yes- every one does know that- you're right. I want to say first that I consider every one who has served or currently serves in our armed services to be kin to me and I love and respect them all. I put the Marines with us sailors since they're in our department, so the choice for me is between Army and Air Force. I've much respect for airmen and the critical role they have in preserving our nation's security- even more so today then when I served. However- at risk of angering dead0man I consider Army “second best” due to the experience I have serving with soldiers. I was a Seabee and our motto was “we build, we fight”... and much of my job involved construction (we build) but there were a few times I had to heed the second part of the motto. Fortunately- the first of these times I had soldiers by my side including some of the best trained warriors in the military- Rangers and Special Forces (I once made the mistake of referring to an Army Captain as a Green Beret and he informed me not very kindly that a green beret was something he wore, not something he was). Later on- I served on a Civic Action Team with both Marines and soldiers and the valor I witnessed was a thing of beauty. I owe my life to those men and will sing the praises of the Army every chance I get...

Q. Which was your favorite Darrin on Bewitched?
A. Because my wife once admitted she'd have left me for Dick York, I'm going to go with Sargent...

Q. The porcupine, great newspaper, or the greatest newspaper?
A. If it helps you sleep at night, Jbrase- greatest ;-)

[CatoMinor]

Interview with President Polnut

Thank you for taking the time for an interview with The Porcupine.

Q. As you are in your final days of a presidency, what do you look back on as your greatest achievement and your greatest failure as President?
A. It's odd to look back and say "I should or could have done x or y" but I would say that I will back on this time and say I was disappointed that we couldn't get traction on regional financing reform. But honestly, I'm going to look back on my two terms with a degree of pride. I worked with Senate to put in place social service and health reforms to make them solvent for future generations. We put in place protections for those hit by predatory home lending, got our troops out of Iraq and Afghanistan, and our unemployment rate is down and we're on the edge of a Budget surplus two years ahead of schedule.


Q. In a move no one saw coming, Boss Tweed has sued your SoFE in hopes of taking the presidency. Who do you predict will be the next President of Atlasia?
A. Tweed is off his meds, Atlasia now longer needs and as the results show, want him. I'm confident the Supreme Court will ensure Governor Napoleon will take his rightful place as president in a week's time.

Q. Mick Dundee vs Steve Erwin
A. I hate both of them... but Dundee in a pinch.

Q. You have recently decided to sue the IDS over a law promoting safe sex. What is your issue with giving condoms to college students?
A. The Federal Government is suing the IDS for an unconstitutional element of the Bill. I'm fully supportive of greater availability of instruments for safe sex, but the IDS legislature made a choice that left us with no choice. I made an offer to the Emperor to amend that legislation to keep that element in place... but I've heard nothing in response.

Q. What are your future plans for Atlasia?
A. I made some declarative statements last year that I was made to regret. Times change and situations do too and what seemed a reasonable position suddenly seemed unrealistic.

I won't say that I have no future role in Atlasia, but what that is will be determined by the circumstances.

Q. How would you like a job as official interviewer for The Porcupine?
A. That's a kind offer, but that's one I'll confidently pass on.

[CatoMinor]

Announcements

The porcupine is pleased to welcome are newest staff members, we are ready to announce 3 of them:
Tmthforu94 - Senior Analyst/Mideast Correspondent
SJoyce - Imperial Correspondent
Snowstalker - Northeast Correspondent 

[CatoMinor]

Glad to have not one, but two newspapers that will have an active regional correspondent in the NE. I hope that at least one paper will cover our ongoing debate over the Roscoe Conkling Equity Before the Law Act.

You can count on coverage from Atlasia's most trusted name in news.

[CatoMinor]

Moar Announcements

We are happy to announce Oakvale as our newest member to the team. He shall be the Senior Judicial Analyst, Pacific Correspondent, and Political Cartoonist. Welcome aboard!

[CatoMinor]

Today we shall release interviews with Tmth and Tweed. Here is the first.

Interview with Tmthforu94
By Jbrase

Q. Thank you for tanking time to answer some questions. Lets start with your thoughts on the current court cases?

A.Starting with the Tweed case. I think it's a very...interesting case. I do give props to Tweed for creating some buzz in the game. Now, I just hope the Supreme Court will view this rationally and rule in the DoFE's favor. This entire nation runs on democracy, and if the court rules in Tweed's favor, democracy as we know it will be gone. That is just unacceptable.

As for the Atlasia vs. IDS case - I've reviewed this case, and it's something I've been waiting on a lawsuit for years - I believe I wrote an article as SoIA on it, but nothing was ever done.

I would tend to favor Atlasia in terms of the actual case - I think it's very difficult to dispute the Dibble as some form of currency. What I do have a problem with, however, is the way the Justice Department handled this case. We're talking about a law that had been in place for years with nothing being done about it. The IDS wasn't hiding it - it was wide out in the open. Then, one day, the Justice Department decides to file a lawsuit and basically takes over the IDS government. The way it was handled was completely wrong, and I believe the Attorney General should issue a formal apology statement to the IDS for his actions.

Q. The Porcupine, a great newspaper or the greatest newspaper?
A. It would have been a toss-up before, but since I'm now on the Porcupine staff, the greatest!

Q. You recently started a Mideast-centric party. What are your ultimate goals for the party?
A. My goal for the Mideast Citizens for Progress and Reform (MCPR) was to create a reformist, pro-Mideast party in our region. We're not necessarily going to play party politics, rather, we're going to focus on discussing idea's that we think would better our region, then find ways to implement them. We will also seek to elect candidates who we believe share this same philosophy of putting your region and your country over party politics.

I think we're off to a great start thus far - we're nearing double-digit membership, already hold some key offices in our region, and some reform idea's have already been discussed. I hope this party is successful in pushing through some reforms, as well as creating a sense of regional pride in our region.

Q. Was the Imperial Bloc your main inspiration when creating your new party?
A. Short answer: Yes

Q. Do you have any future plans for national office?
A. That's a great question. You never know what's going to happen in this game - when I left the office of Presidency last year, I never would have believed that a year later, I'd be serving as Vice President.

We'll see what happens - I don't see myself running for at-large, that's just not my style. I'm also very pleased with the job Ben is doing in the Senate, and won't challenge him. So at least in the near future, it would likely be at a regional level. I have given thought to running for Governor again, as there are some new reforms I'd like to see through, but that's a long ways away, so I won't commit to anything.

Q. Who would win in a fight, Super Man or The Hulk
A. Superman, obviously.

I will now give you the opportunity for any shameless plugs you have for our readers.
A. Well...I guess my serious advice would be to try and treat this game as an educational experience - it provides you with a lot of life lessons that will be applicable later in life. I'm realizing this after playing the game for over 3 years.

*The Porcupine would like readers to know that the official position of our paper in a Superman vs Hulk fight is that The Hulk would win.*

[CatoMinor]

Interview with Tweed: An inside look at Atlasia's beginnings and possible future
By Jbrase

Question one: Tweed, you are one of the few who have been here since day one. Describe Atlasia in the early days for our readers.
Answer: astrophysicists postulate that in the first Planck Length of time, the physical laws of the universe that have governed since did not apply.  ie, chaos.  as was the case in early Atlasia.  it was a vacuum, ideas here, personalities there, and through the guiding influence of myself and a few others, it found structure.

those were the AOL Instant Messenger days, so much of the politicking went on there.  the first election was held prior to the passage of the constitution.  before the Atlas Fantasy board proper was created, the threads were posted in 'US Presidential Election Results'.  I have posted a set of questions from a fellow named Junkie, which goes into greater detail on many points.

https://uselectionatlas.org/FORUM/index.php?topic=153429

Question: For those who are unaware, please explain to our readers what Tweedism is.
Answer: In the beginning of my campaign, I defined it simply as "a fusion of the revolutionary-political with the reactionary-cultural".  by now everyone should know of my sympathy for the great 20th Century actually existing socialist movements and states, and seek to push the state apparatus further towards this end.  in the Court case, I stated that, in an Atlasian context, Tweedism is the "absence of ideology" -- those comments are available publicly.

Question: As by now everyone is well aware, you are continuing your efforts to become president in the Supreme Court. How confident are you that the court will issue an opinion making you President-elect?
Answer: I like my chances better than I did 4-5 days ago.  I am ecstatic that the Court appears to be willing to engage my argument despite its uniqueness of form.  I can't say how confident I am of a victory, but I am very confident that my case has received a fair hearing.

Question: Lets the Supreme Court rules in your favor and you become President. Walk us through what a Tweed Administration would look like.
Answer:  I have a few concrete plans.  first I would like to absolutely re-iterate that all federal elections will occur on schedule.  the People's Tweedist Republic will NOT be a one-party dictatorship.  on a website, what fun would that be?  however, I would issue a directive on inauguration day to the Department of Federal Elections to only take into account first preferences in tabulating and certifying election results, and award victory to the candidate with the highest number of first preferences in a given election, regardless of whether or not this constitutes a majority of votes.  I would leave at least a few offices vacant, and fold the positions of Game Moderator, Secretary of Internal Affairs, and Secretary of External Affairs into one post -- the Ministry of Information, to be headed by ex-president Lief. 

Question: Who was the best co-star on Seinfeld?
Answer: Michael Richards.

Question: Finally, what are your thoughts on the current Supreme Court case Atlasia vs The Imperial Dominion of the South?
Answer:  Haven't been following.

[CatoMinor]

Breaking News

We are receiving unconfirmed reports that senior analyst for The People's Paper, Duke, has been hospitalized after mumbling with a confused look on his face about voices coming from people withing his chest telling him to do things.

[CatoMinor]

The Federal Government: Are the office holders above the law?

Last month as many of you are well aware the Attorney General of Atlasia, Fuzzybigfoot, sent federal agents into the Imperial Dominion of the South in an attempt to seize control of the various state capitols and an estimated $25 billion worth of IDS property. All of this was done without a warrant, making it nothing less an armed robbery attempt. Only after the IDS ordered for the arrest of all agents involved did the feds back down so the matter would be decided in court.

For the charges of armed robbery, burglary, criminal trespassing, criminal breach of the peace, and conspiracy against rights Senator Wormyguy introduced articles of impeachment against the Attorney General. That was last month and nothing has happened since. Not so much as a thread has been opened on the matter. This paper is not going to call anyone guilty before they had trial, but that is just it, there is no trial.

For whatever reasons not so much as a thread has been started and by now it is nearing the end of the current administration. Clearly something went wrong somewhere for there to be no trial when such serious charges are thrown at a sitting office holder. From what we can gather the Senate realizing that their SoP do not cover impeachment proceedings (!?!) has essential decided "its not our mess" placing the ball in into the hands of Chief Justice Ebowed who has for unknown reasons not started the proceedings.

So what does this mean?

This means that any Federal office holder can break any rules they wish to without fear of impeachment from office. Until the Senate can pass come concrete procedures on how to handle impeachments this paper sees no reason to believe that any outcome in the future will be any different. As it stands the Chief Justice essentially has the power to completely ignore impeachment charges.   

The Porcupine would like to urge all readers to place pressure on their Senators to pass clarification on how to handle impeachment proceedings. We must make sure all office holders are held accountable. Unfortunately it is becoming too late to do anything about the current articles of impeachment, but w must make sure this embarrassment never happens again.

[CatoMinor]

Thanks for letting me poll for you guys.  Drop me a message when ever you need one.

The Porcupine is proud to welcome you to the team

[CatoMinor]

Atlasia vs The Imperial Dominion of the South: Feds win Battle, IDS winning the war.

Recently the Supreme Court struck down section 2 of the IDS's Trojan Act in an effort on the Federal Government's part to kill the dibble, gold and silver coins privately produced that no one is forced to accept as payment of debts, but may do so if they chose. In the time since then the IDS Legislature struck back by passing a new law, Imperial Advertisement and Activity Augmentation Act which essentially brings back the struck down section 2 of the Trojan Act but is crafted with the lessons learned of the court case. One crucial argument made in the case was that because there was no prior mention of the dibble before the law, the IDS must have created the dibble. However with the dibble being in existence for over a year now and still privately produced that argument can no longer work against this new law.

Emperor PiT had this to say:

You must be logged in to read this quote.

The new version passed the Legislature 3-1. The only nay vote against the pro-Southern legislation was the self proclaimed champion of southern people, Representative Duke. Earlier Duke also voted against allowing all southerners to vote.

[CatoMinor]

Slavery: The crusade to ban slavery continues.

Senator Scott is pushing forward the effort the rid this great nation of an evil. Time after time a majority of Senators are shockingly in favor of allowing conscription, essentially military slavery. Though a flat out ban on conscription seems unlikely, Senator Scott has produced a an amendment to make it extremely difficult to allow.

AN AMENDMENT

To protect Atlasian citizens from compulsory conscription by requiring four-fiths approval of the Senate for its enactment.

Be it enacted by 2/3 of the Senate of the Republic of Atlasia assembled.

SECTION 1. TITLE

This act may be cited as the 'Protection From Military Slavery Amendment.’

SECTION 2. CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT

Neither shall the Republic of Atlasia nor any of its constituent regions enforce compulsory conscription upon any citizen, without the consent of four-fifths of the Senate.

The Porcupine would like readers to know it is our official position that slavery is immoral and needs to DIAF. For that reason we support this Amendment. We at the Porcupine would like to ask our fellow paper The People to join with us in our stand against slavery. 

[CatoMinor]

En memoriam
Oakvale left The Porcupine
Forever missed

[CatoMinor]

En memoriam
Oakvale left The Porcupine
Forever missed

You can't write haikus
Four syllables in line 3
Silly paperboy.

As editor of the paper I can change how words are pronounced. I intended it to be read "miss-ed". Do not doubt my power

[CatoMinor]

Interview with JCL

Q: You recently lost a Senate race against Ben by a decent margin in what was supposed to a very close race. Some polls even showed you ahead. What do you feel went wrong?

A:It came down a 3 or 4 vote swing. I ran a clean and honest campaign that I can be proud of even if it came up just a bit short. It wasn't easy having my mentor in Atlasian politics enthusiastically supporting my opponent but he made that decision prior to my announcement. The others who I thought were in my column that sided with Senator Ben did so out of friendship. So it came down to several things rather than just onething.

Q: What are you currently working on in the Mideast Government?


A: Campaigning to return to the assembly. Advocating for conservative reforms in fiscal matters. Also petitioning to see a law that would make human traffickers fear plying their Nefarious trade in the region.

Q:What role do you feel the Federal Government should have in people's lives? Not just economic, but social issues as well.

A: The federal government should be constrained to keep within the enumerated powers it has. Much social policy contraverseries we have are not specifically mentioned in the Constuition. As such they should be left to the regions. Economically the government is following a Kenyesian model which is not beneficial for economic liberty and prosperity. I follow more of what is know as the Austrian school of economics. It advocates for commodity based currency and liberality in contract rights. Though government can play a role as an advocate for specifically enumerated consumer protections. As for the current nationalized healthcare system, I see it as a monstrosity that has to be placed on the ash heap of failed government experiments.


Q: Pepsi or Coca-Cola?

A: Depends on my mood.

Q: Zuwo or Tmth for Governor?

A: I'm playing this race "close to my chest" meaning I'm waiting till after the two debate.

[CatoMinor]

Our campaign internals show the race to be much closer. I expect it to be like that the entire way, should I run.

Well internal polls are always less reliable and this is a Porcupine poll after all, so it couldn't possibly be off