Confirmation of Bacon King as Justice (Debating)

[Bacon King]

On October 25th, you cast a vote in the Northeast Regional Election in favor of the region seceding. You also voted for a slate of candidates who likewise supported secession. Was this vote an "informed" decision on your part?

No, to be perfectly honest with you it was not an informed decision in the slightest.

For several years now, whenever I am faced with a ballot where I have no strong opinion on how to vote (which, to be clear, is a rare occurrence), I'll log in to IRC and take the first good suggestion someone in the chat gives me - I did so for both the Federal and Regional elections in this most recent election. I believe Adam Griffin personally told me to vote for him, and I think it was Talleyrand who told me how to vote in the Northeast but I'm not entirely certain on that because several other were saying the same thing as Talleyrand at the same time.

I recall that you were in chat at the time, and I would have probably taken your suggestion if you spoke first, because I trust your judgement, and I recall at least two times in the past when I did vote by your suggestion when I asked in IRC. Several people have come forward to inform me that you have been privately sharing an edited IRC transcript in an attempted character assassination, failing to provide any semblance of an accurate contact. Let me correct the record now - yes it's unorthodox but it's no different than the dozens of voters you and other candidates PM every election. If they trust your judgement, they listen to your electoral recommendations. The only difference with me is that I'm proactive enough to openly solicit requests for campaign materials, in an effort to make a semi-informed decision, even if it is just by proxy.

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Regarding "secession": you and I both know that even if that vote had passed, absolutely nothing would have come of it. Secession is literally considered an act of treason under Atlasian criminal statutes, as is the act of serving within a regional government that denies the supremacy of Federal law. But the fact is, those kinds of shenanigans get people active and interested in the game, paying attention and having fun. That Northeast Election had 62% turnout, which is an impressive increase from the 24% turnout the Northeast had in August. With the GM's role in creating story-lines effectively defunct, we as citizens of Atlasia have the sole responsibility to make the game interesting for each other rather than suffering through oppressive mundanity.

That's what I've always believed, and that's why any time I don't hold office, I pull off little shenanigans here and there, just enough to keep the game from being boring, because that's the most I can contribute as a mere citizen. Any decent wrestling match needs a heel, and that's a role I enjoy playing when it's called for. I don't see anything fundamentally objectionable about that. If I'm not nominated to the Supreme Court, I'll continue to be a heel, if that's what the situation calls for.

One thing I do want to make clear, though, is that in all my years of assorted shenanigans I have not once ever done anything of the sort when I held office. When I swear an oath to the Atlasian people to faithfully execute the responsibilities of my office, to preserve and protect and defend the Constitution, I take that oath completely seriously. For example, when I was Pacific Justice I single-handedly saved the Pacific region from collapse via critical activity failures, when I could have easily done nothing and let it die (or, if I was the irresponsible troll you're clearly claiming I am, I could have passed a verdict that would have screwed everything up even worse). Instead of doing that, though, I took my sworn responsibility seriously, and I faithfully executed the powers of my office to protect and preserve Constitional law in the Pacific at a time when a single blow would have ended it.

You may argue that "inactivity" is an abrogation of my responsibilities as an officeholder, and you'd be right. But thankfully that simply isn't an issue anymore. Let me get real with you all for a second - I don't think I need to remind the Senate that I suffer from a psychiatric condition that once, even caused my to try and take my own life (exactly two and a half years ago today, I believe). I had a rough downfall leading to that and it's been a very rocky road to recovery ever since. Yeah, during that time I should have the foresight to not run for office, that's the real sinister thing about bipolar disorder - there are times where it went from "I'm good, I'm fine, I don't understand how things could get so bad again" to "wtf life is worse than it's ever been before, time to give up at everything" so I couldn't really see it coming.

Last July I had a breakthrough (after the downward spiral that cost me my moderator position, in fact, after I finally accepted my transgender identity and came out to my family and friends); correct medication combined with good therapy and the support of my loved ones has all combined to help me tremendously. I'm in school again, for the first time since I dropped out back in December of 2012 - and I'm acing my classes! I have a loving girlfriend, a job, and I've even quit smoking - thirty days without a cigarette and counting.

I apologize for such an extensive tangent into my personal life, but I feel it was necessary in order to put the "BACON KING IS INACTIVE" meme to rest once and for all. I know that objection has been raised elsewhere and I think it's appropriate to clarify why activity has been a problem in the past, and why it won't be one now. I'll be an active Justice, and I can say that with certainty.

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No need to remind me - I knew y'all were in there when I said it obviously, if I was actually saying something so controversial, do you think I'd be so dumb about it?

I will leave Senator Yankee with that line of inquisition and ask something slightly different.

Mr. Bacon "the King" Man, how would you currently characterize the relevance of the Supreme Court and judicial institutions at-large, and what judicial reforms, if any, would you support at the present Constitutional Convention?

I think the relevance of the judiciary is mostly at an appropriate level. One thing I'd like to see more of are lawsuits pertaining to the constitutionality of legislation that doesn't directly affect us as players. Here in Atlasia, standing hasn't been required for a lawsuit since Sam Spade left the Court so many years ago. This allows anyone to file a suit if they see the Senate or regional legislatures passing a law they believe contradicts the text of the Constitution in some way - there's a lot in there that doesn't directly affect the game, but does relate to powers allowed and/or prohibited by the Senate and the Regions.

As for reforms, I'd like to see the judiciary unified, or at least federalized to some extent. Different regions have different court systems and different circumstances where they permit appeals to the Supreme Court. Also, in some regional constitutions it's explicitly prohibited to violate Federal law - so in those regions, when the legislature passes a law that violates something at the Federal level, a potential plaintiff could pick either the regional court or the supreme court to file their initial lawsuit. There's also the situation where regions can give the Supreme Court the authority to act as their regional court. That gives you the ridiculous situation where you can appeal the Supreme Court's decision to the Supreme Court to make them hear the case again.

It'd make a lot more sense if the regional judiciaries had a standardized scope and scale of authority, as it would allow them to also serve in a role equivalent to irl Federal District Courts or Appellate Courts, which would allow equal opportunities for appeal and a more sensible system for understanding the precedents and jurisprudence of a given court.

I also believe Atlasian criminal law should be reformed to prevent long-term bans from being doled out so easily, but I suppose that's more on the legislative side of things - this opinion would not interfere with my impartiality when presiding over a criminal trial.

Thanks for the questions, guys!

[Bacon King]

No, to be perfectly honest with you it was not an informed decision in the slightest.

How can we expect you to make an informed decision on court cases when you can't make an informed decision in the voting booth?

For several years now, whenever I am faced with a ballot where I have no strong opinion on how to vote (which, to be clear, is a rare occurrence), I'll log in to IRC and take the first good suggestion someone in the chat gives me - I did so for both the Federal and Regional elections in this most recent election. I believe Adam Griffin personally told me to vote for him, and I think it was Talleyrand who told me how to vote in the Northeast but I'm not entirely certain on that because several other were saying the same thing as Talleyrand at the same time.

With all due respect, counselor, you must admit that this is a troubling explanation of your actions. How can we be sure that you would not be similarly swayed by, in your own words, "the first good suggestion someone gives [you]" when interpreting Atlasian law?

That's easy: I'm not a moron.

Asking for input from others on how to vote is a normal thing that people do, especially when they're ill-informed.

As a Justice I will be required to lengthily describe my own beliefs in my decisions and legal opinions. It is a baseless and slanderous smear against me to suggest it's literally even possible to perform as a member of the Judiciary in the vacillating fashion you suggest. I have an entire decade of a record that proves I am principled, knowledgeable, and independently minded; you two are both very intelligent people so I'm sure you already know this.

 I care deeply about the law and I will apply my full wisdom, intelligence, and morals to every single decision I make. If I wasn't capable of doing that, I would not be campaigning so hard to confirm my nomination when there is quite obviously a group of people so dedicated to stopping me that they spread rumors and lies behind my back.

If I wasn't going to take this job seriously I wouldn't be here right now, and I would not have typed literally 1,500 words in a single post - which apparently everyone stopped reading after the first paragraph.

[Bacon King]

For several years now, whenever I am faced with a ballot where I have no strong opinion on how to vote (which, to be clear, is a rare occurrence), I'll log in to IRC and take the first good suggestion someone in the chat gives me - I did so for both the Federal and Regional elections in this most recent election. I believe Adam Griffin personally told me to vote for him, and I think it was Talleyrand who told me how to vote in the Northeast but I'm not entirely certain on that because several other were saying the same thing as Talleyrand at the same time.

With all due respect, counselor, you must admit that this is a troubling explanation of your actions. How can we be sure that you would not be similarly swayed by, in your own words, "the first good suggestion someone gives [you]" when interpreting Atlasian law?

I'd suggest you look into Bacon King's extremely long, deep and distinguished record in Atlasian law rather than attempting to smear him in such a shameless manner.

Nobody is trying to "smear" Bacon King's record, Oakvale, and I will thank you to stop this ridiculous grandstanding and actually listen to what has been said. The nominee has just stated that he frequently makes major policy decisions based on whatever the first person he meets on IRC tells him to do. I'm sure Bacon King is a nice person, but that raises serious concerns in regard to his independence as a jurist. 

With all due respect Senator, that's a lie. I have never made a single policy decision at any level of office that was not based on my own wisdom and conscience. Soliciting opinions on how I should vote in boring elections does not in any way suggest any sort of flaws in my judgment as an elected official and I would greatly appreciate it if you withdrew that remark.

[Bacon King]

Well, at least it's good to see you're feeling better .

Hear, hear!

Outside of anything in this game, I am genuinely glad that you are in a better place now, BK. And while you might have felt it necessary, no one on this website hold have to defend their personal life in front of others on the Internet.

Thank you - I've already been informed that several of my opponents are spreading lies about me and my personal life, so I felt the need to preemptively set the record straight here before they could spread their rumors any further

[Bacon King]

     You are willing to abdicate your own judgment to persons of questionable character for a "boring" election. One must wonder how far you trust these persons (who you have collaborated with for other questionable decisions in the past). One must also wonder that if you hold "boring" elections in such contempt, how do you feel about "boring" court cases?

There's no such thing as a boring court case I could spend hours enthusiastically arguing the law on literally anything.

I didn't abdicate my judgement, I solicited advice. With all due respect Senator I fail to see how that has any bearing on my future job performance. I guess it was stupid to do but it's never affected my actions as a government official in any capacity.

I trust nobody (because, after all, this is politics), and when I'm a Senator I will be beholden to nobody because I won't have to face re-election. I'll be free from any influences and I will be able to use my own judgement. I will solicit no input and if anyone tries to tell me how to rule I'll publicly state that it happened for full transparency and declare it an obstruction of justice if they continue attempting to influence me. Nobody decides my opinions except me.

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My apologies, Senator, if I come across to you as combative - I'm simply intending to set the record straight. I am here to demonstrate why I would make an excellent member of the Supreme Court. I'm sorry if I'm not rhetorically behaving like you deem a nominee should, but if you want to pick a Supreme Court Justice with a congeniality contest then I'll let you know right now that I'm not who you want.

[Bacon King]

As an aside, I'd like to note that I believe it sets a very dangerous precedent to oppose a nominee for a nonpartisan office on account of how they have voted - I strongly urge the Senate against politicizing the Judiciary in this manner. That said, I do understand that several members of the Senate have concerns about my independence and my decision making process, so I'd like to answer your concerns all together in one post here.

1. I voted "who care" as a joke, because I would have abstained anyway and I thought it was funny to parrot the exact wording - I didn't think anybody noticed I abstained because I personally dislike the idea of a regional cabinet, but if enough people like the idea and are willing to serve in one, I wouldn't wish to keep them from that.

2. If I had voted without entering chat or asking anybody, I still would have voted for the candidates Talleyrand recommended. I supported the Northeast independence movement because it seemed fun so I obviously would have voted for their slate of candidates, which is exactly what was recommended to me. I'd like to reiterate that I wasn't literally asking to be told how to vote - I was asking for information about the candidates in what I considered to be a humorous and jocular manner. I'm entirely capable of making up my own mind. It appears you don't share my sense of humor, which I'll admit is a bit odd at times, but rest assured that if I was actually requesting "marching orders" of any kind, I wouldn't be so dumb as to literally shout it across a chat room filled with my political opponents.

3. I've already stated I supported the northeast independence movement in an attempt to bring excitement to the game; whenever I'm not in office that's always how I've most enjoyed Atlasia. Yes, I wrote the Deathstitution in the Pacific - and the sixth months following that stunt were the most active that the Pacific Region has ever been in the entire history of Atlasia and I'm damn proud of causing that. Like I said, I'm entirely willing to play the heel if it makes Atlasia more fun or entertaining - as long as I'm not in office at the time. I assure you all, if I'm not confirmed tomorrow I'll definitely be pursuing more shenanigans but only because I won't be holding office - but if you do confirm me as a member of the Supreme Court, I'll take the job entirely seriously, as I always have.

4. Just to make it perfectly clear, if I were on the Supreme Court I would have joined the opinion that reinstated the Third Constitution in the Pacific, and in the event of Northeast Secession I would write an opinion denouncing it as criminal and illegal. If I'm in a position of responsibility, I promise to all of you I would not in any circumstance violate my oath of office. I will always strive to defend, protect, and serve the Atlasian Constitution - and I sincerely hope you would impeach me if I ever failed to do so


PiT, Cris, Truman, Lumine, Yankee, and any other Senators who have legitimate questions regarding my vote:

You're entirely right. It was stupid of me to solicit instructions on how to vote. There's no justification for it and it casts a very poor light on Atlasian democracy as well as my own integrity. Regardless of how funny I thought it was, or how little it actually affected my judgement, it was dumb. It's always been dumb when I've done it before, too. For what little my word might mean to you now, I can promise I won't do it again.

I respectfully ask that you look past that incident, so you can see the intense passion I hold for the laws of Atlasia. I didn't know I'd be nominated until after it already happened - any one else would have probably turned it down, especially considering the number of Senators who immediately objected to the fact that the nomination even happened. But I wanted to serve in a genuine and serious capacity, to make Atlasia better. I do genuinely believe I'd make a better Justice than anyone else - and I merely wanted to offer that talent and give back to the Atlasia that has given me so much enjoyment over the years.

You have the votes to block my nomination. If I were anyone else, I'd have given up by now. But I'm me. I'm a fighter, and I hope if nothing else, that you can respect that. I know you all respect the breadth and depth of my legal knowledge (I remember more than a few times that a certain President Pro Tem from North Carolina needed me to bail him out when he needed a loophole ) and I understand you rightfully don't trust my intentions or my integrity. You don't need to, though - as a Justice of the Supreme Court, I'll be writing lengthy opinions so you can follow my legal reasoning from start to finish. Even if I agree with the majority opinion, I'll still author my own concurrence so you will know where I'm coming from. You'll be able to audit my decision-making process any time you desire, and I'll voluntarily resign if there's ever a single question about my integrity. With such a safeguard in place, I respectfully ask that you grant me this opportunity to build Atlasia up, because I'm tired of playing the bad guy.

If you confirm my nomination, my first act as a Justice will be to submit an undated resignation letter to President Griffin. The very second he wants me gone, he will be able to put a date on it and accept it, thus allowing him to force my immediate resignation whenever he wants. This method is done IRL with US Cabinet appointees, which is where I got the idea. That way, you don't have to worry about anything because the President would be able to kick me out of office if I ever did anything questionable. Hell, maybe he will accept the resignation as soon as he gets it - but I'd like to think he'd at least give me a shot. If you'd like, I could also leave a letter with the Speaker of the Senate to give y'all direct oversight as well. I understand this is an unorthodox action but I want to make it abundantly clear that I won't be messing around.

I hope I've successfully addressed your concerns, and I hope you will support my confirmation. Regardless of what happens, I'd like to thank every Senator for your consideration and for the impressive diligence you all share as stewards of the Atlasian people's trust. If anyone else has any questions I'll be happy to answer, but until, then thank you and God bless.

[Bacon King]

I would like to note that the President has not rescinded my nomination when he could have easily done so - he clearly wishes to disregard the circumstances surrounding my appointment by the outgoing President Bore, so that the Senate can judge me by my own merits. I therefore respectfully request the Senate thoroughly peruse the testimony I've made before this confirmation hearing, rather than rejecting my nomination before it's even truly considered, on account of circumstances I had no part in.

[Bacon King]

The nominee for fun has been involved with shenanigans. Just his nomination looks like a trick (unexpected resignation in the last days of an outgoing President, and the nominee not even been asked before receiving nomination sounds fishy). He's been involved with people who harm Atlasia. He has shown bad judgement.

The Supreme Court must be composed of people who can be trusted to have credibility. There are good reasons to have doubts about the nominee. 

Hi - if you do genuinely care about the Senate selecting the best candidate, then I suggest you hold off on those vile accusation until you have read the several lengthy posts I have made where I thoroughly addressed each concern and provided specific reasons for why each of those concerns is entirely unwarranted

But if you want to make this confirmation hearing look like a partisan farce, then by all means please continue attacking me in ways that demonstrate you're literally judging me without even bothering to read what I've said.

[Bacon King]

You've had an opportunity to attack me, and I think I've given as good as I've taken. I leave you gentlemen now and you will read this, and you will interpret it - that's your right. But as I leave you, I want you to think about how much you're gonna be missing - you won't have Bacon to kick around anymore because gentlemen, this is my last press conference.

I hope that what I have said today will at least make Senators, the President, the press, to recognize that they have a right and a responsibility against a nominee to give him the shaft - but also to recognize when they give him the shaft, to keep at least one lonely Senator in the thread to listen to what the nominee actually says.

Thank you gentlemen, and good day.





I respectfully withdraw my nomination. It was silly of me to think anyone would listen or that I'd be taken seriously anymore - it appears I've lost what respect I ever had in this Senate and if that's how you all feel then I guess I'm fine with that