Senate Office of NC Yankee (Statement on Constitution)

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

Have you considered joining me when I voluntarily commit myself to one of our new psychiatric wards if we pass that bill of ours in the senate?

The bill will be passed.


I can say that days like yesterday most definitely make me want to have my staff look into the option.

[Dereich]

Do you think those Pacific hearings have been at all productive?

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

Do you think those Pacific hearings have been at all productive?

Not at the present time, no.

The intent was to provide a clear environment to bring ideas forward. Part of the problem was we were doing too many things at once and that contributed to confusion, but there was a desire to address those issues and therefore they were included at the beginning, theorizing that people would cooperate and still be respectfull and civil enough to make it happen. Unfortunately, that did not come to pass. I had feared such would be the case and an attempt was made to split the discussions and have the Judiciary take the more legalist aspects and so forth, but that failed in spite of what I thought was a settled game plan.

We also had a lot of non-members who weren't called who came in and rather then contribute to the substance, really just added more to the problems we were facing. It was my intent to get the President to state what he did yesterday back on Saturday, that seemed to backfire by Monday in such a way as to then motivate the President to finally say something on the matter, ironically. Aside from the timing, I think I generally agree with his remarks.

Generally, I think the results so far are emblematic of a larger problem and one that cannot be legislated or reformed. To the extent that the NM-AM sees Rimjob as a success for having motivated discussion of activity, I think that I can likewise view this hearing as a success in that it highlighted one phenomenon that we have to be carefull about with the return of the two party system, and that is the impact on activity and achievable results when partisanship, but especially rhetoric, goes to far. This only discourages people from participating and exacerbates our activity problems.

I also think that beyond the rhetoric, there are wide areas of agreement and there has been for some time. But I think a lot of people are focusing too much attention on a loosely related issue and insisting that a specific and very controversial action be taken on that first before anything else can be done. I think this is a counterproductive approach that prevents compromise and has the effect of hampering things getting done. It was my hope that we could find a way to acheive some sort of compromise that addresses those problems we can address (those that can even be legislated or reformed) while minimizing areas of controversy, and the first goal of the committees was to hear out the NM-AM and see how willing they were to compromise. Hopefully, we can still do that at least.

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

Time for Ole Time Legislative Highlight:

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This was a piece of legislation that my homies wrote and got passed back in 2010, mainly to torture the other Regional Senators.  

Of course if ya'lls suddeners
You don't need to worry about no petition.
Just shoot me your PM with the desired legislation.
Cause thats the way its been
Since Obamacare was still just a bill to be seen.

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

Decided to remove the joke referencing another joke that probably no one would get, and distract from the overall message.

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

Hauls out the old axe and starts sharpening it


I'm gonna bring the hammer...er... axe down on several powerful Senators soon for gross neglect of their responsibilities. There will be no exceptions and no one is safe.

Wanna watch? (Insert the most sadistic, horror film grin you can think of here).

You have been warned.

This is in red because it will soon be the only color one can distinguish.

[Fmr. Pres. Duke]

Thankfully, you can't touch me anymore. The retirement home has plenty of security.

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

There is always August.


Me: You must run in August, then you will live happily ever after!
Duke: Happily ever after
Me: Happily ever after, Dukie!!

Background instrumental from Halloween plays in the background

Unavoidable YGSZA reference here.

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

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[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

PRESS CONFERENCE!!!

Members of the Press and Public -

It is my view that the Government has no greater purpose then to protect and defend its people. I have always been more open to thus to utilizing government in some ways that some might find distasteful on the right. I have supported minimum wages, stimulus and a variety of government programs thus. Whenever they have come about I have always considered the adverse impact on business, sought to ensure that our objectives were always balanced with the appropriate amount of understanding of unintended consequences and subsequently tried to mitigate those issues.

When it comes to protecting the unborn, I take a similar approach. I do support reasonable exceptions based on reason and common sense, but I am Pro-Life and desire to protect life wherever practical and possible, not because I relish in denying women their right to privacy or freedom to make medical decisions, but becuase I believe firmly that one own freedom ends when another's is thusly put in jeopardy. Much of this debate centers around philosophical and religious arguments regarding whether life begins at conception or not. Presently before the Senate however is a not a debate grounded in religious beliefs, but science. It is about whether or not we as a society should condone the extermination of viable life, or chose to utilize our vast wealth of knowledge, science and technology to preserve life that in some cases has just as much chances of a survival as a newly born baby. The answer is obvious to me which path should be taken and thus it is my desire to see to it that the ban on late term abortion is maintained. A ban I should say, which was passed last year as part of a reasoned compromise that boosted support for policies to reduce unwanted pregnancies and thus avoid the need for many to have abortions.

We can craft a policy that reduces the number of unwanted pregancies and we already have strong provisions on the books to do just that and I will gladly work with my collegues to further enhance and strengthen these provisions, but we should not be condoning the destruction of life at this late stage. Some are arguing that "It will happen anyway and this way we can at least be regulating it", I for one don't buy that argument that a government so powefull and so capable of doing so much, can be so helpless as to not have any choice but to utilize the same approach for the destruction viable unborn as that used for drugs and alcohol.

I will now take any questions that you may have.

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

How would you make the case for a ban on third trimester abortions to someone who does not assign any moral value to the unborn? If you assume that you cannot change their opinion on that premise, can it be done?

Well I don't presume that, but changing such an approach is probably the realm of someone with far more ability than myself. Assuming I do lack such ability, then yes I still think it is possible to make the case.

I would start off by emphasing the randomness of the exact point of birth and the fact that our technology can allow us to save someone born much earlier if that situation were to happen, as a means of articulating why the emphasis on that point in time is misguided. One doesn't necessarily have to get into the realm of moral value to think that banning abortions at such point is a reasonable approach to take.

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

I meant to include this in the previous post starting the Press Conference, but I decided to just focus it on the abortion thing.

I am working on a plan to consolidate the committee structure, reduce by at least half the present number of committee spots, change the way the chairmans are selected, replace the pre-Trial Impeachment process with a more practical and functional approach, and establish a more targetted forcus within a wider range of issues/areas of concern for those sub organizations that remain. It is my hope to have it ready by the time the Committee Abolition Resolution Hits the floor so as to offer it as an amendment to that.

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

Outline of basic points

-  1 Committee of four members, or 2 of three
-  Rotating Chairmanship
-  If two, one legislative formation and the other investigative or one foreign and one domestic.
-  Replace the Judiciary Committee with temporary hearings on legal issues as they arise, the formation of which will be streamlined and expedited to a three day process.
-  Possible trial experiment a partisan committee structure, one from each party, with the two then selecting the third member. 

- Non Committee Changes:
   - Removing the Amendment exclusion from Slots 4 and 5
   -  Slot five will be freed of "in-order" requirements and transfered over to the VP's administration (only the first half requires OSPR change).
   - Loosening the Anti-Clogging Rule for the VP's slots, but keeping it overall.

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

Is there any reason why this wouldn't be sufficient to govern the debate/adoption of amendments to legislation:

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The current procedures on this is like three paragraphs long. This is basically the same exact thing, minus the anti-clogging rule, which serves no practical purpose in this area (unlike in legislation).

Edit: Removed the "etc" from clause 1 and finished it with the clarity standards, which are a combination of pre-existing rules and my own additions in 2011.

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

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[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

WE ARE NOW TAKING QUESTIONS!!!

Senate Legislation. Reform Ideas. Recent IDS Constroversy. Something Else Entirely. Feel Free to opine, inquire or complain!



Yes, I realize people haven't shown much interest in this format, but we'll see what happens.

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

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[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

Man you people are boring.

[Flake]

What is your position on regional reform? How would you feel if we had four regions? Three? What if we abolished all regions? Do you enjoy pumpkin pie? What is your favorite thing about fall? Do you enjoy movies? How about Sharknado? If you couldn't be a Federalist, what party would you join? If you couldn't be a Republican, what party would you join? Do you call carbonated beverages soda, coke, or pop? Do you put mayonnaise on your meat and cheese sandwiches? Do you think you cook well? What is your opinion on the state of Rhode Island? Utah? Minnesota? Georgia? Do you like barbeque? Are you a vegetarian? Do you have any pets? Do you have allergies? Do you like the state of North Carolina? What is your opinion of coal mining in Appalachia? Do you enjoy pulled pork sandwiches? What kind of orange do you like? Do you like Tangelos? What is your favorite kind of fish? Do you like fishing? Do you like your neighbors (South Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, Virginia, and the Atlantic Ocean)? Do you like your neighbors at your house? What is your opinion on the color purple?

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

What is your position on regional reform?
I want to save Atlasia. I will do what is necessary to best effect that end in my judgement and it is my guiding purpose regarding my approach to the efforts to reform the regions.

How would you feel if we had four regions?
Possible, depends on how you shift the boundaries.

Three?
Begins to get dicey, even more so if done in the way that some are trying to at present.

What if we abolished all regions?
I would rather lose both of my kidneys.
 
Do you enjoy pumpkin pie?
Once in a while, but most of the time it is yucky.

What is your favorite thing about fall?
I have had a devil in my signature since last October and this office was located in a tomb (perhaps why no one posts in it . Should be obvious that it is Haloween.

Do you enjoy movies?
Depends on the movie.

How about Sharknado?
Not familiar with it.

If you couldn't be a Federalist, what party would you join?
The party that for while I was a member, I never thought I would ever have to worry about selecting a new party for myself.

If you couldn't be a Republican, what party would you join?
Probably be an independent.

Do you call carbonated beverages soda, coke, or pop?
I have not drank any such beverages since May 19, 2012, therefore I will refain from the debate since it no longer applies to me. Prior to that period the first one was the dominate reference to such drinks and is still used by those in my house who have yet to see the light regarding them.

Do you put mayonnaise on your meat and cheese sandwiches?
Only a select few I would say. I used to hate it, but then I started to get a taste for it every once in a while.

Do you think you cook well?
No, but I can prepare some rather good stuff with pre-cooked leftovers and such.

What is your opinion on the state of Rhode Island? Utah? Minnesota? Georgia?
They are all nice places I would imagine.
 
Do you like barbeque?
Depends on the location, since such varies based on where you are. For us barbecue was just throwing meat on the grill, since we were from up north originally. I would say yes to that version since it is what I am most familiar with.

Are you a vegetarian?
No, though sometimes I wish I was.

Do you have any pets?
Yes, two dogs.

Do you have allergies?
Yes

Do you like the state of North Carolina?
Sometimes I do, Sometimes not so much.

What is your opinion of coal mining in Appalachia?
I hate the health and environmental effect, but it provided a living for a large number of hard working people and we must be mindful of that.

Do you enjoy pulled pork sandwiches?
Every now and again, but I put too much hot sauce on them usually so not frequently. I have had a taste for one lately though.

What kind of orange do you like?
No real preference, I eat at least one a day and usually don't pay much mind to what kind they are.

Do you like Tangelos?
I suppose.

What is your favorite kind of fish?
In terms of fish to eat, then it used to be salmon but I lost my taste for them. In terms of fish in general I have too many to count.

Do you like fishing?
I have only been once and Bill Clinton was still President at the time, so I really cannot say based off that one experience.

Do you like your neighbors (South Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, Virginia, and the Atlantic Ocean)?
I don't have any reason to dislike them.

Do you like your neighbors at your house?
Never really interacted with them directly, but we did have issues with one of them concerning their overgrown foilage interfering with the power lines.

What is your opinion on the color purple?
As a litteral subject, I guess positive.

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

Can you feel the beckon of October? It sloucheth toward the with the intent of tearing assunder ye souls.

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

^

What happens to people who don't read my office thread.

[Flake]

^

What happens to people who don't read my office thread.

#2spooky

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

The building in the background is this office, by the way.

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

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Elminated items:
Merging of Amendments - never seen in used in like four years
Vote extensions on Amendments - never seen it used either.

The rest of it is basically the same. Meaning in three small paragraphs we can do the work of three sections. I wanted to tackle Section 1 of Article 4 as well, but that will be big on its own so perhaps seperate is better. Also, I didn't have time to compose that one yet.