Senate Protest and Analysis Thread

[Ebowed]

this asbestos bill is really bad; who proposed it?

MasterJedi

[Ebowed]

Bumping this since the Senate needs new legislation:

Campaigning Bill

§1. Findings
   (a) In the recent case of True Democrat v. Department of Forum Affairs, the Supreme Court found that due to the lack of any definition of what constituted campaigning, only the narrowest of definitions could be used.
   (b) A narrow definition of campaigning allows for some campaigning activities to escape the sanctions intended to curb them.
   (c) The Senate has not only power under Article V Section 1 Clause 3 to punish campaigning under the limited definition ascribed to the term by the Supreme Court, but a broader power under Article I Section 4 Clause 6 and Article II Section 2 Clause 2 to regulate elections so as to prevent campaigning type activities.

§2. Definitions
   (a) The term "criminal campaigning" shall mean content in an ballot post clearly and obviously designed to persuade other voters. It shall include any direct exhortation to voters in general or particular to vote in a certain manner.  It shall also include any use of an image or a hyperlink containing references to one more candidates (including potential write-in candidates), save one copied from the post containing the official ballot for that election.
   (b) The term "civil campaigning" shall mean any expression of the reasons for casting a particular vote that does not constitute criminal campaigning.  The term does not include any expression of the difficulty of deciding how to vote or any unexplained statement that one or more candidates are fit or unfit to serve in an elected office.

§3. Civil Campaigning
   (a) If an administrator of a voting booth determines that a post contains civil campaigning, he shall invaldate the ballot only for those offices for which civil campaigning occured.
   (b) The voter may within 72 hours of the determiniation of an occurance of civil campaigning make an administrative appeal to the Secretary of Forum Affairs, giving his reasons for why the activity should not be considered civil campaigning.
   (c) If the Secretary determines that civil campaigning has not occurred, the ballot shall be counted for that office.
   (d) If the Secretary determines that civil campaigning has occurred, or if the Secretary fails to inform the voter of his determination within 72 hours of the voter making his appeal, the voter may appeal to the Supreme Court.
   (e) The Supreme Court may choose whether or not to hear the case.
   (f) If the result of an adminstrative or judicial appeal could affect the outcome of an election, any Justice of the Supreme Court may issue an injuction barring the carrying out of the effect of that outcome until either all appeals have been exhausted or the result would no longer affect the outcome.

§4. Criminal Campaigning
   (a) If the administrator of a voting booth determines that a post contains criminal campaigning, he shall invalidate the ballot only for those offices for which criminal campaigning occured and refer the evidence to the Attorney General for prosecution.
   (b) If the Attorney General determines that he will not prosecute for criminal campaigning, then the content shall be treated as if it were civil campaigning.
   (c) If the Attorney General fails to determine whether he will prosecute within 24 hours of receiving a referral under subsection (a), then the voter may begin an administrative appeal as if the offense were civil campaigning. Such an adminstrative appeal shall be immediately suspended if the Attorney General determines to prosecute, but any rulings made as a result of the administrative appeal shall stand until overruled by the trial court.
   (d) If the Attorney General fails to determine whether he will prosecute within 168 hours of receiving a referral under subsection (a), then all criminal charges shall be dropped.
   (e) If the voter is found guilty of criminal campaigning, then the court shall invalidate  the ballot only for those offices for which criminal campaigning occured and may additionally impose a penalty of the suspension of voting rights for a period not to exceed 120 days, or in lieu of such penalty, may impose a probationary period of not to exceed 1 year, during which the court may impose the penalty if the voter violates the terms of probation.
   (f)  If the voter is found not guilty of criminal campaigning, then the court shall also determine if the action constituted civil campaigning and order the official results of the election adjusted accordingly.

[Ebowed]

There may be a possible further amendment to the ERSB from Brandon H. Could this be included with the above, but voted on separately, or not; or would I need to introduce it separately?

'Hawk'

It would need to be introduced separately if you want it to be voted on separately.

FWIW, I'd like to humbly request all Senators to use the new Legislation Introduction Thread instead of the old one.

[Ebowed]

Here's a proposal for the Senate to work with.  This is inspired by the recent banning of Hawkeye, who remains on the voter rolls despite being banned.

Banishment Procedure Bill
1. Any registered voter who is permanently banned from the Atlas Forum by Dave Leip shall be considered to be a deregistered voter, as defined in Section 2, Clause 2 under the Deregistration Act.
2. Public confirmation from Dave Leip stating that a person is permanently banned is considered sufficient information to invoke Clause 1 of this act.

[Ebowed]

What is imperialist about a Bill that sought to allow the people of American Samoa, Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands to determine for themselves whether they desired statehood or not?

Imperialism is defined as the continuous acquisition of land and power.  It's not a healthy way to govern, imo.  Especially when these territories were so small and separated from each other that statehood was hardly warranted.

On a side note, I wonder if people so anxious to allow the inhabitants to have a vote on statehood would be just as eager to allow state secessions.  If the people want it, who are we to stop them, right? :-S

[Ebowed]

Well, I think this is one of those issues where we need to have a fine line between real life and Atlasian politics.  In real life, extending voting rights sounds like a good idea, but in Atlasia, I don't see the need to extend anything towards territories.  One of the things that needs to be considered is the practicality of such a move: i.e., people would have to go to extra lengths to make maps for presidential elections, there would be more eligible places to register that the SoFA would be required to keep track of, etc.  So I'm inclined to say that I wouldn't support such a proposal.

[Ebowed]

South American Free Trade Act
1. No tariffs, customs, or restrictions on movement of goods, except those that have been outlawed by the destination or interim nation, shall exist between the Republic of Atlasia, Columbia, Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana, Brazil, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Paraguay, Uruguay, Argentina and Chile.
2. The President and other officers of the Atlasian Government shall take such actions as may be necessary to implement the provisions of this bill.

The New Triple Entente

May 4, 2006

Carmen Sandiego

Havana - Fidel Castro, Hugo Chavez, and now Eva Morales have all agreed to reject any Atlasian attempt for further free trade in the Western Hemisphere.  In the agreement, all three men promised to lead their nations against Atlasian influence in Latin America.  Furthermore, the pact contained much left-leaning rhetoric.  This is now the second version of the Bolivarian Alternatives for the Americas, as Bolivia has been added this time around.  All three leaders met in Havana, where Fidel Castro offered them a warm welcome.

It seems though that not all of Latin America is happy this agreement.  Recently, Peru recalled its ambassador to Venezuela.  Furthermore, an emergency meeting has been called among the leaders of Bolivia, Brazil, Argentina, and Venezuela to discuss the most recent natural gas crisis in which President Morales has attemped to nationalize Bolivia's entire natural gas industry.  Many leaders, such as Silva of Brazil, have expressed concerns about this plan.

On the issue of free trade, the conflict between Atlasia and the members of the Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas will only get worse.  In light of the recently passed CAFTA, a possible free trade agreement with Colombia, and the Senate debate currently focused on a revision of NAFTA that would ensure true free trade, it seems unlikely that this crisis will diffuse quickly.  Not only has policy opposition plagued the two sides, but also rhetoric.  In his campaign for President of Bolivia, Eva Morales used the slogan "Long live coca, Death to the Yankees!"  Hugo Chavez has continually spoken out against Atlasia and wishes to equip citizens of Venezuela for a possible Atlasian invasion.  With Castro, I think we all know what the story is.  In conclusion, the clash between Atlasia and the leftist leaders of Latin America isn't going away any time soon.

Caribbean Free Trade Act

1. No tariffs, customs, or restrictions on movement of goods, except those that have been outlawed by the destination or interim nation, shall exist between the Republic of Atlasia, Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, Barbados, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Dominica, Grenada, Guadeloupe, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Jamaica, Martinique, Montserrat, Netherlands Antilles, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and Trinidad and Tobago.
2. The President and other officers of the Atlasian Government shall take such actions as may be necessary to implement the provisions of this bill.

https://uselectionatlas.org/AFEWIKI/index.php/Central_American_Free_Trade_Act

[Ebowed]

More free trade fun.  This will catch Atlasia up with the U.S. in terms of free trade agreements, I think.

Atlasian-Australia Free Trade Bill

1. No tariffs, customs, or restrictions on movement of goods, except those that have been outlawed by the destination or interim nation, shall exist between the Republic of Atlasia and Australia.
2. The President and other officers of the Atlasian Government shall take such actions as may be necessary to implement the provisions of this act.


Atlasian-Morocco Free Trade Bill

1. No tariffs, customs, or restrictions on movement of goods, except those that have been outlawed by the destination or interim nation, shall exist between the Republic of Atlasia and Morocco.
2. The President and other officers of the Atlasian Government shall take such actions as may be necessary to implement the provisions of this act.


Atlasian-Singapore Free Trade Bill

1. No tariffs, customs, or restrictions on movement of goods, except those that have been outlawed by the destination or interim nation, shall exist between the Republic of Atlasia and Singapore.
2. The President and other officers of the Atlasian Government shall take such actions as may be necessary to implement the provisions of this act.
3. The United States-Singapore Free Trade Agreement is repealed.


Atlasian-Bahrain Free Trade Bill

1. No tariffs, customs, or restrictions on movement of goods, except those that have been outlawed by the destination or interim nation, shall exist between the Republic of Atlasia and Bahrain.
2. The President and other officers of the Atlasian Government shall take such actions as may be necessary to implement the provisions of this act.

*Note:  The U.S. also has a free trade agreement with Chile, but that is covered in MasterJedi's South American Free Trade Bill.

[Ebowed]

Actual Farm Subsidies Abolition Bill

Whereas, F.L. 9-13 "Farm Subsidies Abolition Act" did not abolish farm subsidies:
1. Sections I, II, IV, and V of the Farm Subsidies Abolition Act are repealed.
2. All farm subsidies are hereby abolished, effective from Fiscal Year 2007.


Atlasian-Israel-Jordan Free Trade Bill

Section 1: Jordan
1. No tariffs, customs, or restrictions on movement of goods, except those that have been outlawed by the destination or interim nation, shall exist between the Republic of Atlasia and Jordan.
2. The United States-Jordan Free Trade Agreement is repealed.

Section 2: Israel
1. No tariffs, customs, or restrictions on movement of goods, except those that have been outlawed by the destination or interim nation, shall exist between the Republic of Atlasia and Israel.
2. The United States-Israel Free Trade Agreement is repealed.

Section 3: Designation of Powers
1. The President and other officers of the Atlasian Government shall take such actions as may be necessary to implement the provisions of this act.

[Ebowed]

Food for thought:

Adoption Bill
1. No adoption agency run by or funded, either in full or in part, by the federal government of Atlasia shall bar any individual or couple from adopting a minor based solely or primarily on their sexual orientation.
2. Any agency outlined above shown to be in violation of this act shall be liable to a three month suspension of their funding pending further investigation.
3. This act shall not be construed as to deny adoption agencies the ability to deny adoption rights to someone with a criminal record of sexual misconduct, nor shall the definition of "sexual orientation" be interpreted to include predators of children.

[Ebowed]

Written by Brandon H.

Medicare and Medicaid Reform Bill
1. A senior shall be defined as a person age 60 or over.
2. Seniors shall have the right to opt out of medicare and this shall not affect their Social Security benefits.
3. Seniors receiving Medicare benefits shall have the option of using private doctors for services covered by Medicare without penalty.
4. Persons who have paid into the Medicare system shall be elegible for a voucher upon becoming a senior.  The value of the voucher shall be based on past medical history and probablity of future health risks.
5. Employees shall have the option of contributing the 1.45% Medicare Tax into a Retirement Health Savings Account.
6. The Federal Government shall cease future spending on Medicaid.  All current funds allocated to Medicaid shall be distributed to the regions as grants.

[Ebowed]

Unified Federal Territories Sex Crimes Bill

Section 1: Applicability
This law shall only apply in the District of Columbia and in federal territories that do not form part of any Region.

Section 2: Rape
1. Rape shall be defined as the unlawful penetration (however slight):
(a) of the mouth by the penis, or
(b) of the anus or the vagina by the penis or any object held or manipulated by another person.
2. To be found guilty it must be proved that at the time of the act the actor knows that the victim does not consent, or is reckless as to whether the victim does or does not consent to it.  Any person found guilty of rape may liable to a term of life imprisonment.

Section 3: Age of Consent
1. The age at which a person may consent to engage in sexual relations with another person shall be 16.  The following exceptions are made:
(a) A person between the ages of 14 and 16 may consent to have sex with another person of the same age;
(b) A person between the ages of 15 and 17 may consent to have sex with another person of the same age;
(c) A person aged 16 or 17 may not consent to have sex with another person over 18 if that person is in a position of authority over the 16 or 17 year old;
(d) In order to partake in group sexual relations, all participants must be at least or older than 18 years old.
2. Any person who is 18 years old or older that has sex with any person who is between the ages of 14 and 15 years old shall be guilty of statutory rape; they shall be sentenced to no more than ten years in prison and may be subject to rehabilitation and counseling sessions as determined by the jury.
3. Any person who is 16 years old or older that has sex with any person who is 13 years old or younger shall be guilty of child molestation; they may be liable to a term of life imprisonment depending upon the severity and frequency of the violations.  Persons 18 years old or older who violate this law will be sentenced to no less than ten years in jail and may be subject to rehabilitation and counseling sessions as determined by the jury.
4. "Group sexual relations" (as referred to in Clause 1(d)) is defined as sexual activities consisting of three or more people.

Section 4: Bestiality
The act of bestiality, which is defined as gross sexual imposition, sexual assault, or the committing of a deviant sexual act with an animal that is not a human being, shall be illegal.  Any person found guilty of bestiality shall be sentenced to no more than one year in jail and/or shall be fined no more than $2000.

Section 5: Penetration of a Human Corpse
1. Sexual acts relating to necrophilia shall be illegal.  Any person found guilty of sexual acts relating to necrophilia shall be sentenced to no more than one year in jail and/or shall be fined no more than $2000.  Appropriate penalties relating to restrictions on cemetery visits and in particular contact with the family of the person whose corpse has been defiled may be applied by juries as they see fit.
2. "Sexual acts relating to necrophilia" is defined as:
(a) a person intentionally performing an act of penetration with a part of his or her body or anything else,
(b) what is penetrated is a part of the body of a dead person,
(c) the person knows that, or is reckless as to whether, that is what is penetrated, and
(d) the penetration is sexual, and in particular not for medical, scientific, forensic or investigative reasons.

Section 6: Incest
1. No two people or group of persons who are closely biologically related may engage in sexual relations with each other.  Any person found guilty of willingly violating this law shall be sentenced to no more than one year in jail and/or shall be fined no more than $2000.
2. "Closely biologically related" is defined as to restrict sexual actions between a person and his or her biological mother, father, sister, brother, aunt, uncle, first cousin, niece, nephew, daughter, son, granddaughter, grandson, great-granddaughter, great-grandson, great-grandmother, or great-grandfather.

Section 7: Pornography
It shall be legal for persons of 16 years of age or older to buy, possess and view pornography depicting only persons of 18 years of age or older.

[Ebowed]

We should consider making it so that if a declared candidate for federal office doesn't log in for a set period of time (say, two weeks) without advance explanation, that candidate is withdrawn from the ballot unless he comes back before voting begins and claims he wants to remain on the ballot.

I've also noticed that the Senate will soon be in dire need of more legislation, so I'm opening up my backlog of little pet projects and posting a few more of them here.  Anything that appeals to Senators, feel free to introduce.

Recognition of the Armenian Genocide Resolution

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 government of Turkey for refusing to acknowledge the said events as genocide.

(for more information see The Armenian Genocide)


Atlasia-New Zealand Free Trade Bill

1. No tariffs, customs, or restrictions on movement of goods, except those that have been outlawed by the destination or interim nation, shall exist between the Republic of Atlasia and New Zealand.
2. The President and other officers of the Atlasian Government shall take such actions as may be necessary to implement the provisions of this act.


Atlasia-Oman Free Trade Bill

1. No tariffs, customs, or restrictions on movement of goods, except those that have been outlawed by the destination or interim nation, shall exist between the Republic of Atlasia and Oman.
2. The President and other officers of the Atlasian Government shall take such actions as may be necessary to implement the provisions of this act.


Atlasia-India Free Trade Bill

1. No tariffs, customs, or restrictions on movement of goods, except those that have been outlawed by the destination or interim nation, shall exist between the Republic of Atlasia and India.
2. The President and other officers of the Atlasian Government shall take such actions as may be necessary to implement the provisions of this act.


Atlasia-Thailand Free Trade Bill

1. No tariffs, customs, or restrictions on movement of goods, except those that have been outlawed by the destination or interim nation, shall exist between the Republic of Atlasia and Thailand.
2. The President and other officers of the Atlasian Government shall take such actions as may be necessary to implement the provisions of this act.


Atlasia-Malaysia Free Trade Bill

1. No tariffs, customs, or restrictions on movement of goods, except those that have been outlawed by the destination or interim nation, shall exist between the Republic of Atlasia and Malaysia.
2. The President and other officers of the Atlasian Government shall take such actions as may be necessary to implement the provisions of this act.


The Ensuring Personal Security Bill

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

Section 2: Identity Fraud and Privacy Protection
(a) The security of personal information that could be used to identify a citizen is hereby protected.  This information shall be known as Protected Personal Information, or "PPI."
(b) PPI shall be defined to include both financial and medical information.
(c) Medical records as well as any genetic information that has been generated may only be viewed by another party when a citizen specifically and voluntarily authorizes that information to be shared. An insurer shall not require the release of genetic information by a preexisting or potential customer, nor shall any genetic information be taken into consideration when insurance-related decisions are made. The disclosure of personal medical information of any nature shall be limited to between the patient and the medical care provider, but the patient shall be permitted to authorize disclosure to other entities, as necesary in the course of treatment or for other purposes, at the patient's discretion. This information shall be used only within the legal relationships established voluntarily by the patient.
(d) Personal financial information of a citizen may be viewed only by individuals or entities specifically and voluntarily authorized by that citizen. Financial guarantors, whether individuals or commercial entities, may request financial PPI. Disclosure by the citizen shall be optional, but the guarantor may decline transacting with the individual solely on the grounds of refusal by the individual to release requested financial PPI. The guarantor may also decline transacting with the individual solely because of the nature and status of that individual's financial PPI.
(e) Commercial entities and individuals shall not sell PPI or pass it on in any way or by any means that violate the rules established by this act.
(f) Fines for violations shall be $10,000 per individual whose PPI has been handled illegally, to be imposed upon the violator of the provisions of this act.

(blatantly stolen from a Southeast initiative written by Q)


Return to Normalcy Bill

1. The Metric Converstion Act of 1975 is hereby repealed.


Ebowed Needs A Life Bill

1. See title.

[Ebowed]

What's wrong with allowing them to get elected, and if they don't show up, declaring them to be bogged down (a reference to Hales Bogg), and replacing them.

Nothing, although it does slow the process down a bit.

[Ebowed]

This is open to suggestions.

Rebellion Aid Bill

1. $750 million in monetary aid is given to the Government of the Northeast to help it in restoring harm done by the recent anti-Atlasia rebellion in the states of Pennsylvania, Delaware, and New Jersey.
2. $25 million in monetary aid is given to the Government of the Mideast to help it in restoring harm done by the above mentioned rebellion in the District of Columbia and the state of Maryland.
3. The Senate of Atlasia expresses its heartfelt grief for the friends and families of the 270 people who died in the violence of the rebellion.

[Ebowed]

Open to suggestions.

Treasonous Rebellion Bill

1. The following acts are hereby declared Acts of Treason.
a.) Rebellion, defined as the use of military forces to overthrow the Federal or any Regional government of Atlasia.
b.) 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.
c.) 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.

2. Sentencing of an above defined Act 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:
a.) Up to a lifetime ban from voting in any Atlasian elections.
b.) Up to lifetime incarceration in an Atlasian Fantasy Prison.
c.) A fine of up to $1,000,000,000 in fantasy currency.

3. Rights of the defendant.
a.) The defendant shall not be denied the 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.
b.) 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.
c.) 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.
d.) The defendant shall have the right to a speedy trial as defined in Amendment 3 to the Constitution. In addition to this Amendment, 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.

[Ebowed]

Seeing as the Northeast Governor has graciously refused to accept federal money to aid in fixing rebellion damage, it should accordingly be removed from the relevant bill

I've also added a "rights of the defendant" section to the treason bill.

[Ebowed]

It has come to my attention (thanks to the SoFA) that for countless senate sessions we have been unintentionally ignoring the fact that resolutions unrelated to senate procedural rules are subject to the same presidential signature/veto conditions as regular legislation.  Since there is a recently introduced resolution now in the queue, I thought I would just bring this to light so that we make sure to follow proper procedure from now on.

[Ebowed]

Article I, Section 3, Clause 3 states in part:

"For any Bill or Resolution to pass the Senate, it shall have gained a majority in a valid vote. Before the Bill or Resolution becomes Law, it shall be presented to the President of the Republic of Atlasia, unless it be concerning the rules for the proceedings of the Senate..."

The only disqualifier this makes for resolutions is those regarding Senate procedure.  On the other hand, it states "Before the ... Resolution becomes Law," implying that the resolution would need to enact some sort of law for it to be subject to the presidential signature/veto.  So two interpretations are possible here.  I think disallowing only resolutions related to Senate procedure is more likely, given the strict disqualifier given in the aforementioned clause.

[Ebowed]

If a Senator opposes free trade with any of those countries, he could propose an amendment to remove it from the hypothetical "Sub-Saharan Africa Free Trade Bill".

[Ebowed]

My views on the Copyright Reform Bill.

First, while I agree that copyrights currently last too long, I think 25 years is probably too short.  30 to 50 years seems an appropriate term.

Second, while reducing the terms of existing copyrights as clause 2 of the bill provides is within the Senate's power (tho not their extension) it could prove expensive given clause 9 of our Bill of Rights.  If this isn't an example of takings, I don't know what ain't.  Cheaper to simply reduce the term of new copyrights, and simply let the old ones expire on their own.

Great, now watch nobody offer any amendments and then all vote against it in three days.

[Ebowed]

Sounds like a flawed equation in the eyes of the SOEA.

That's only because you are ideologically opposed to it.  On the contrary of what you claim, Atlasia continuously gets flack from the international community for putting various pet interests above free trade.  Countries do not appreciate being given conditional free trade agreements that come with a threat to be reconsidered at any time.  This will alleviate that diplomatic nightmare and make your job easier because countries won't be asking you anymore why the Philippines didn't get the Hawk Treatment while Bahrain did.

We may discuss this more on the floor.  For now, I'm only disappointed that of all the bills that could have generated some sort of controversy, it had to be this one.  Abolishing Christmas is about fifty times more interesting than free trade.

[Ebowed]

Thanks for the concern.

[Ebowed]

Noting that the President seems to be ignoring all of our legislation save for his Third Constitution, I feel somewhat warranted in suspecting political motivation for his selective inactivity.  The vacancy in the Attorney General office, which has not even been addressed by the President, is also worrying.

I also think it is appropriate at this point in time to take action against inactive Senators who are also slowing down Senate business.  Expulsion motions will need the signature of three Senators (due to the current vacancy in the Pacific) to proceed.

[Ebowed]

Updating the wiki would be a great help, if you are able to do it.

I certainly think it would be fair to deem both the President and the VP inactive especially as they have been online in other parts of the forum.  The President, in particular, pays generous attention to his own proposal, while leaving other legislation to rot.  I don't believe I have to send a PM to the President when there is legislation for him to consider, because this has not been a problem in the past.

We appear to be stuck in procedural gridlock because to declare either of them inactive, we need six senators, which would prove difficult to obtain.