Question the Power: Ask the Governor anything (Mideast Edition)

[ZuWo]

Governor ZoWu,

As a new member of the Labor Party in the Mideast region I thought it would be proper to introduce myself.

I do have one question. I've noticed that the Mideast wiki hasn't been updated since 2008. Were would I be able to see a list of laws that have been passed and repealed since then?

Thanks and I look forward to becoming active in here in the Mideast,

Gass3268

Thanks for the important question since other people who had a look at the Wiki may have got the same impression.

As A-Bob said, the wiki has been updated up to the previous legislation and will continue to be updated as soon as the current legislative progresses. If you have a look at chapter 31 "Legislation considered in the 24th Assembly" you can see that. I admit that the formatting of the "Statute" page is not ideal or even confusing to newbies, but I've decided to leave things as they were before I took office.

On an unrelated note, you or any other leftist could seriously consider a run for Governor in September. That would make for an exciting election.  

[Gass3268]

Oh boy I was so confused. Thanks for clearing that up.

[ZuWo]

Question Time (August edition)

In accordance to the "Questioning the Power Act", I hereby open the third question time session of my tenure. If you have any questions, feel free to ask.

[ZuWo]

Not everyone at once, please!

[tmthforu94]

I'll bite.

When announcing your reelection, one of the highlights you brought up was the recent growth in our region, attributing it as a success of your administration.

You must be logged in to read this quote.

What have you personally done that has attributed to this occurring?

[ZuWo]

I have sent out PMs to many people and encouraged them to join Atlasia. Some of them actually joined the game and are now members of the Whig Party and the MCPR.

Additionally, the public work I and other elected regional officials have done in the recent months has made our region more attractive. Indeed, the more active and vibrant a region appears, the more people are tempted to register in this region.

[Napoleon]

Building a party base for personal gain doesn't necessarily benefit the region, does it Governor?

[ZuWo]

Building a party base for personal gain doesn't necessarily benefit the region, does it Governor?

The region benefits from new players, regardless of their party affiliation. And as I said, not all of the people I have PMed and have subsequently registered in the Mideast are now members of the Whig Party.

And to be clear, it sounds a bit hypocritical and even slightly humorous to hear such an implicit reproach from you, Mr. President. After all, you were the one who was at least partly responsible for the registration of numerous leftist players in the Northeast, which led to the surge of the JCP/Liberal Party in that region - a development which could certainly be described as "building a party base for personal gain".

[tmthforu94]

Building a party base for personal gain doesn't necessarily benefit the region, does it Governor?

The region benefits from new players, regardless of their party affiliation. And as I said, not all of the people I have PMed and have subsequently registered in the Mideast are now members of the Whig Party.

And to be clear, it sounds a bit hypocritical and even slightly humorous to hear such an implicit reproach from you, Mr. President. After all, you were the one who was at least partly responsible for the registration of numerous leftist players in the Northeast, which led to the surge of the JCP/Liberal Party in that region - a development which could certainly be described as "building a party base for personal gain".

By MCPR member, do you mean NiK, who originally joined your party, but later decided to switch over to the MCPR? While I agree that recruiting members to the region is good, I think regional diversity makes it even better. Badger is a perfect example of someone I messaged being complete opposite of me. I don't think he ever voted for me, but I'm very glad I was one of the people who helped get one of our most outstanding members to join.

Napoleon also was not leading the regional government during much of that "rebuilding" process. But anyways, that was the Northeast, and that's not what the focus should be on this election. It should be on the Mideast and what we can do better.

[ZuWo]

No, I didn't refer to NiK. I referred to Vosem, who first registered as an independent before he joined the MCPR. Before and during my time as Governor I have reached out to numerous Atlas forum users and, if they were conservatives, made them aware of the Whig Party and if they were, for example, libertarians, I told them the Popular Liberty Party was a good fit for them or that they could register as independents.

I would also like to point to the fact that this is a "question time" thread. If anyone has questions, I will answer them with pleasure. However, for general comments there may be more suitable threads.

[tmthforu94]

Vosem is a long-time member of this Atlasia, he just fell out of the game for a while. But good for you, getting him to register again!

Napoleon did answer a question - you responded to it, then I asked a follow-up question, as well as provided an additional comment. Friendly discussions are good, but in the future, I won't ask you, my Governor, any questions here.

[Napoleon]

ZuWo doesn't welcome debate or discussion, Tmth. That is why I endorsed you, actually. He ignored my questions about his legislative proposals until he couldn't avoid it any longer. I am not surprised that he is now upset about being questioned in a thread which was created to question him.

[Supersonic]

ZuWo doesn't welcome debate or discussion.

lol

[ZuWo]

I encourage people to ask questions if they have any. As the text of the "Question the Power Act" explicitly states, this thread is for questions to the Governor, not for attacks:

"Once every month, the Governor of the Mideast shall be required to dedicate a part of his time to provide answers to questions which citizens may ask in a special thread."

For attacks or any utterances made with the intention to campaign for or against a particular candidate, please use the respective campaign threads. I will still answer questions as I did before, but I will not engage in mud-slinging in this thread and I urge other people to respect that.

[FEMA Camp Administrator]

Do you prefer currency over women?

[ZuWo]

Do you prefer currency over women?

You mean "currency" such as in "money"? If yes, I don't see why the two are mutually exclusive. In fact, both of them are quite nice to have.

[Kaine for Senate '18]

Governor, why did you sign the driving politeness legislation?  It seems like a pointless infringement on our rights as motorists.

[FEMA Camp Administrator]

Do you prefer currency over women?

You mean "currency" such as in "money"? If yes, I don't see why the two are mutually exclusive. In fact, both of them are quite nice to have.

It is in regard to a common phrase, best described as "disregard females, acquire currency", the vernacular translation being much more graphic.

[tmthforu94]

I never "mudslinged" - I simply asked which MCPR member you recruited. I hardly would call that, as well as stating that ideological diversity is important to this region as "mudslinging."

And to be honest, I consider it ironic that you don't want any mention of the campaign in this thread, yet have criticized me and brought up the campaign multiple occasions in Mideast Assembly debate threads, which I think is a much more important area.

At this point, if you'd like to move this discussion to another thread - one of our campaign threads - that's fine. But I think Napoleon was certainly within his limits when asking about your recruiting strategy, as was I when I asked which MCPR members you have recruited.

Next time you do this, just specify that you don't want your political opponents asking questions, and I won't.

[ZuWo]

Governor, why did you sign the driving politeness legislation?  It seems like a pointless infringement on our rights as motorists.

Mainly because of safety concerns. The atmosphere on the roads is often very heated and the actions that are mentioned in the bill can cause disorderly conduct and lead to conflicts between drivers, which has a detrimental impact on road safety.

[Kaine for Senate '18]

How will this bill achieve that?  I've never seen a study advocating this type of legislation as a solution.

[ZuWo]

How will this bill achieve that?  I've never seen a study advocating this type of legislation as a solution.

Why do we have traffic safety regulations in the first place? Because we want to make our roads safer. By sanctioning certain excessive activities which lead to conflict or put other road-users at risk we can try to make these activities occur less frequently. I believe that when the actions mentioned in the bill are sanctioned, they will be made less frequently and our roads will be safer.

[Kaine for Senate '18]

There's a difference between running a stop sign and flipping off a guy.  Again, is there any data which shows this bill will have a significant effect?

[ZuWo]

This is a helpful link in my opinion. The information that can be found here has been compiled by the traffic department of the government of New South Wales.

Some snippets from the text:

"‘Road rage’ can refer to verbal abuse, rude gestures, aggressive driving (like tailgating or braking suddenly), threats and physical assaults."

"Drivers are increasingly worried about the aggression of other motorists on the road, according to recent research released by the Australian Automobile Association."

"For a first offence, the penalty can be up to $3,300 or imprisonment for 18 months, or both. You can also be disqualified from holding or obtaining a licence permanently."

"For a second offence, the penalty can increase to $5,500 and/or imprisonment for 2 years - again with the possibility to be disqualified permanently!" - Now that's a severe punishment. Our regional bill is much more lenient.

"There is a lot of research underway in Australia and overseas to find out what causes road rage, whether it is increasing, what impact it has on road safety and what can be done to stop it."

So, first of all, this bill deals with a problem that car drivers are increasingly aware of. Secondly, there is still scientific debate on the causes and the effects of 'road rage' and what can be done to prevent it. I am convinced that the legal framework we have set with this bill helps to contribute to make people aware of the problem of 'road rage' and is therefore a tool to make our roads safer.