Post Archive
Region: Libertatem
Anyone here a DJ?
I was thinking of using this at my next gig, but it's cheating beyond belief:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ECkNPqkR3X4
Is it sad I read this RMB for entertainment sometimes? lol
Not at all. It's pretty entertaining. You're welcome. *bows*
Eh, I've seen worse.
2 hours ago: The Internationale News Service of The Red and Black arrived from The Internationale.
*Readies banjection catapult*
It's been fun. So long, and thanks for all the views. Check back on Sunday for the next regular edition! :)
As for legislation, let's hold off on the flag debate for awhile until we get this finished:
I'm going to write up a rough draft soon, but I'd like to have a better idea of what to include. Discuss.
I think it looks good.
Ditto
I'm asking for what to add to it. I can already tell that what I have so far is good.
A clause stating that any one time holiday can be observed by the government if a citizen asks the Board and they pass it. Like observing a CTE, or a political victoy or something. Opening the process to the public.
That works - good idea.
[B]Holidays:
February 6 - Reagan's Birthday
Observances (yearly):
June 5 - Mourning Reagan's Death[/B]
Do we really need this? The Reagan worship has gotten out of hand. He was a good president, yes, but seriously this is hero worship.
He is my hero. I literally have a copy of his official portrait in my living room.
Ah. Good point - just because I'm a fan of the Reagan administration doesn't mean everyone else here is.
That gives me an idea, by the way - REATO Day. Except, I forget what day REATO was founded.
Except I'm not. I'm a Coolidge "fan" but I don't go blushing over him.
Just make a catch all Reagan Day or something and leave it at that.
I like Coolidge too.
Alright, we could demote Feburary 6th to an observance, and scratch June 5th - gives us more room for more region-centric holidays anyway.
Speaking of which, ideas for region-centric holidays would be good.
Yeah, me too. We could make his birthday an observance as well.
Flag Day.
Also, I am creating a flag act and will incorporate that in. This way, it can become official, voted on, and the executive can stop complaining. >=D
Coolidge Day should be August 2, the day of his inauguration. I don't really give birthdays much significance as actual events, but that's just me.
One thing at a time.
Ah, another good point. Yeah, that works.
Naturally, I am taking the time. Plus I have a headache at the moment, and can't really think.
Off to bed, gnite
fokes
34 telegrams? Cool.
I approve of the changes to the HOLIDAY Act. I understand that Reagan is not admired by everyone. We shouldn't forget that he was a conservative, after all.
Concerning the flag: the legality of altering the flag is ambiguous and vague. There is no mention of the flag in the Constitution, and up until the last year or so, there was no serious public question of whether it should be changed. Traditionally, the minutiae of changing the World Factbook Entry is entirely up to the Founder and President. Section I, Subsection V of the Constitution says that:
"The Board, its members, and the Managers may not propose taxation or a budget of any kind in the name of the region, nor may they attempt to create legislation outside the realm of embassies, war, peace, [B]and the check of Presidential power[/B]."
A Board vote on a flag change would be such a check. And to those who are seeking so desperately to change our flag, I tell you this: if a new flag is not built on a region-wide consensus and broad approval for this new proposal, then it will not stay up for long. Common sense tells that few controversial laws, in NationStates or in the real world, that pass within a few votes rarely stay on the books for long. As it stands, I will vote against Minerva's current flag proposal. But I'm sure there are alternatives out there that are far better.
I am not the Founder and thus not the last word on the matter, so I think we should wait for Liberosia to voice his opinion before we move ahead with anything.
I hadn't really thought of it as a check, but it does seem that that would be the closest thing. I was looking at it like an amendment, not a power check.
Yesterday, I was getting two telegrams a minute. Today... crickets.
I have decided to retire from raiding and such. I will keep A&LC and Shermaniya, and get rid of my other puppets.
Reagan was not the conservative many claim he was. Reagan's image as a conservative superhero is propaganda, created to unite the various factions of the political right behind a common leader.
That makes me like him even more as a Classical Liberal. As a liberal in everything except coin and abortion, I'm okay with that.
Reagan did next to nothing to fight a womans right to choose. As California governor Reagan signed a bill to liberalize the states abortion laws. When he ran for president he advocated a constitutional amendment that would have prohibited all abortions except when necessary to save the life of the mother, but once in office didn't move to take action in any way. He was also a compulsive tax raiser. As former GOP Senator Alan Simpson, who called Reagan a dear friend, said publicly, Ronald Reagan raised taxes 11 times in his administration I was there.
I love debating common people. It's like, really cold here. People were discussing the best way to keep warm, one of them said to walk around in the cold. I told them that would be counterproductive, you would still be cold. "But, you'll exercise.... which keeps you warm" That would make you sweat, which would accelerate hypothermia.
Moral of the story, don't say stupid things. And don't leave your house at all until March. It's cold outside.
True, he had his faults, but came closer to any other President since the 20s at governing as a federalist/classical liberal. But that's an interesting interpretation.
It was a bill that provided for abortions during special circumstances, but the courts gave it a wide interpretation. He felt intensely guilty over this, and later in 1970 vetoed a bill that would have expanded abortion "rights".
There is a simple reason for this - his wife was a stubborn woman, and a stubborn pro-choice woman. It's been well-documented that Nancy had a very big influence on the administration. Don Regan wrote in his book that it was because of her pressure that Ron did not include a reference to abortion in his 1987 State of the Union Address. Occasionally he would mention the issue during his Presidency, but you're correct, he did little about it.
At the judicial level, I think he significantly weakend Roe vs. Wade and helped kick-start the national pro-life movement. The ruling in Gonzales v. Cahart, which upheld the partial-birth abortion ban, was made very narrowly, 5-4. Two of the justices who voted to uphold it were appointed by Reagan, and one other (Clarence Thomas) was appointed by Bush I, but moved up the court system under Reagan.
Straw man argument. You're implying that these tax increases affect his overall record, which is not true. I've done a lot of research into this subject, and have been writing an essay on it which I'll post at some point, but I found that "in summary, between 1981 and 1989 laws signed by President Reagan that increased taxes were largely composed of loophole closures, excise tax increases, a 0.3% increase in the FUTA tax rate and a 0.86% increase in individual payroll tax rates." These were largely eclipsed by his record on other taxes.
The consensus is that he reduced the tax burden significantly, although there is no agreement as to how much he reduced it. One study found a reduction in the average effective tax rate from 38% to 33%. A Heritage study found that "Average effective income tax rates were cut even more for lower-income groups than for higher-income groups. While the average effective tax rate for the top 1 percent fell by 30 percent between 1980 and 1992, and by 35 percent for the top 20 percent of income earners, it fell by 44 percent for the second-highest quintile, 46 percent for the middle quintile, 64 percent for the second-lowest quintile, and 263 percent for the bottom quintile."
We know for a fact that lower-income groups were the largest beneficiaries of the tax cuts. The marginal tax rate for lower incomes increased from 14% to 15%, but for many their effective income tax rates declined to 0%. The share of Americans who didn't pay income taxes doubled from 14% in 1983 to 28% in 1989. The trend towards cutting taxes on the poor continued, until today where around half of Americans pay no federal income taxes.
As much as people would like to distort his record, Reagan has a very sound legacy on taxes.
My main problem with Reagan is that he went along with way too many stupid things the Congress passed. I read a Heritage article in 1985 that complained about him not using the veto pen anywhere near as much as he should have. Un-libertarian things include the escalated Drug War and the raised drinking age to 21.
I love the sound of debate in the morning.
Hey fellow freedom-lovers! Just from reading the message board I can tell I'm gonna fit in here ;)
To pitch in on some of the debate going on on this message board, I think Reagan was one of the best presidents America has had, but he didn't stick to his own principles quite enough. As Pevvania said, a fair amount of legislation passed during his presidency reduced personal freedom, and ideally he would have reduced government size even more. The best type of state in my opinion is the "night-watchman" state, and no administration has succeeded in reducing America's state to those proportions since founding.
Welcome to Libertatem! And, yes, I think you will.
Honor of Occurrences Legally Identified by Dates and Anniversaries Yearly Act
HOLIDAY Act
Pre-Draft
Holidays:
August 6 - Founder's Day
December 14 - Pevvania Day
December 23, 24, 25, and 26 - Christmas Recess
Observances (weekly):
Wednesday - Hump Day
Observances (yearly):
February 6 - Reagan's Birthday
August 2 - Coolidge's Inauguration
Limit to be imposed on total number of official holidays celebrated: no more than twenty-four days per year (average of two per month)
Limit to be imposed on total number of official holidays established: not counting Christmas Recess, no more than ten (if any more than ten are established, demote extraneous holidays to observances)
Method of establishing new holidays (yearly): Board votes to amend this Act
Method of establishing new holidays (one-off): By public request, Board votes to celebrate it, in accordance with this Act
Solid.
Hi guys. What is your opinion about legal aid ? Justice is supposed to be a State mission for minarchists libertarian, so I don't really know what to think about it.
Why do you keep focusing on american presidents ?
We could have a Friedman day or a Thatcher holiday.
Or even a Rand day, standing for both Ayn and Ron's son.
A fair justice system is (rather, would be) the most important part of a true minarchy, and legal aid represents an equally important part of that justice system. It would be a gross injustice to deny legal representation in a court of law to those who can't afford it, even (nay, especially!) in a libertarian society.
Good ideas for observances, but I think we'll save our holidays for regional events.
We could have a...a... Constitution Day, or a Snabagag Day, or... something. Ideas?
Ive seen a region with an
"Interwebs Day" on Nay 31st ti Celebrate the internet... so...
;p
I say aye.
[nation=short]Ankha[/nation] has been named a Deputy Attorney. Essentially, a Deputy Attorney General, but without the General. His official titles are: Mr. Deputy Attorney, or Attorney.
Fun fact: in the United States and most states, the Attorney General is addressed as General. Do with that what you will.
Thanks.
That reminds me - I want each of our Managers to tell me who their deputies are as well.
Social Security.
Page 8, A Libertarian Premier by David Boaz, first paragraph:
"In the United States, Social Security will start running
deficits by 2012only fifteen years from nowand will be out
of money by 2029-"
This was written in the 80s and 90s.
Compare this to the recent findings of Heritage, first few paragraphs:
http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2013/05/2013-social-security-trust-fund-reports-massive-deficits-benefit-cuts
Because, like, most of us are American?
I think.
Most of us are American, right? I feel like we had a similar discussion before and that was the conclusion.
Pevvania.
Murican.
Good choice.
Ditto
Remove Kebeb.
Nah just kidding welcome
I see what you did there
So, it looks like the Internationale is continuing to give the attention we have fought so hard for. It really is gratifying to be the object of one of their inquiries.
The Internationale News Service of The Red and Black
8 minutes ago
Any comments on your resignation from your positions as Chairman of the Board, Boardman, or President?
Can the people of Libertatem feel comfortable with you in government with your track record of resigning under pressure?
I personally feel honored and would like to thank you, the people of Libertatem, for elevating me to a position in which our enemies believe that they can disgrace the region on my past. I have never felt so important.
Who doesn't love tabloids?
I adore them. So full of lies, and so juicy.
At a glance, they're one of the less crappy welfare programs. But I suspect that it might be inflating the price of lawyers in the same way that Pell Grants are driving up the price of college.
Good thinking!
What a joke. I have no respect at all for the welfare whores in AARP that continue to prop up this evil, vile program's existence. But thankfully, it'll go bankrupt soon, and privatisation will become a major option. Honestly, it's fecking pensions for Christ's sakes! It should be the easiest thing to cut.
Pev's quote of the day:
"If socialists understood economics, they wouldn't be socialists." - Hayek
I'm appointing [nation=Yrellian Confederacy] as my deputy in the position of Associate Diplomat for Libertatem. He'll be sending a puppet to TCB to continue building our relationship with them.
I take applicants, and currently nobody has applied. So, none.
I went back and read the RMB from last night. Do they seriously have nothing better to do with their time, like, I dunno... work? Oh, wait. They're commies. Silly of me to think they'd actually contribute to society.
What is involved in being a deputy?
The office of the Vice President is quiet and cozy right now. Just a burning fire in the fireplace right now.
Haven't found the bodies yet, huh? Don't press the button on the wall behind my portrait. Remember I built that office.
Indeed....
Well, first you have to become a citizen, but after that the Deputy of Internal Affairs just does whatever it is I'm too lazy to do myself.
Usually it's miscellaneous organization and checking different things to make sure they're all up-to-date.
Good. We could use a pensive, reserved Vice President.
God knows that we haven't had one yet.
Oi
Hi
We haven't had a poll in a while.
It's all CI's fault now.
Hit me up with some executive controls and I'll fix my error.
Go directly to Lib for that stuff, man.
Oh, how exhilarating. :P Although it'd be nice to get my foot in the door somehow...
I moved over here a few days ago, so, hm... I can become a citizen next week, it looks like?
If I remember right, yeah, should be some time next week.
What do you think of Crouch?
Then I'll get in touch with you next week! So long as you don't find someone else before then...
Based on the servant job description...he wont.
There can be a bunch, actually, just it's hard for me to find jobs for more than one.
It sounds worse than it is.
But only because I describe it exactly as it is.
Hey, Wabash,
Spin it best you can :)
Americans tell themselves more lies about Reagan than Reagan ever told himself, if that's possible. Reagan nearly tripled the federal budget deficit. During the Reagan years, the debt increased to nearly $3 trillion, roughly three times as much as the first 80 years of the century had done altogether. Reagan enacted a major tax cut his first year in office and government revenue dropped off precipitously. Despite the conservative myth that tax cuts somehow increase revenue, the government went deeper into debt and Reagan had to raise taxes just a year after he enacted his tax cut. Despite ten more tax hikes on everything from gasoline to corporate income, Reagan was never able to get the deficit under control. Reagan grew the size of the federal government tremendously. Reagan promised to move boldly, decisively, and quickly to control the runaway growth of federal spending, but federal spending ballooned under Reagan. He bailed out Social Security in 1983 after attempting to privatize it, and set up a progressive taxation system to keep it funded into the future. He promised to cut government agencies like the Department of Energy and Education but ended up adding one of the largest the Department of Veterans Affairs, which today has a budget of nearly $90 billion and close to 300,000 employees. He also hiked defense spending by over $100 billion a year to a level not seen since the height of the Vietnam war. Under Reagan terrorists were funded in Afghanistan, among them Bin Laden. But of course Reagan was just doing what his corporate masters ordered him to do.
Ronald Reagan was a clueless clown who never had an original thought in his life. That he was able to convince millions of citizens that he was something other than an empty suit and a fraudulent con-man is to this day proof positive of the profound gullibility and ignorance of a huge percentage of the American public.
Reagan was paid to shuck and jive and mesmerize the populace with quaint anecdotes and nonsensical BS while the military-industrial complex engineered and bankrolled theft and torture and mass murder from Angola to El Salvador and Guatemala to Mozambique. He read the scripts he was given and did as he was told.
When he retired and was put out to pasture on his ranch in California, it was like he vanished off the face of the Earth. You'd think that this great president, this genius senior statesman, would be sought after and pestered constantly for interviews by scholars and journalists and policy wonks from all over the world, beseeching him for his nuanced insight on all matter of important diplomatic and economic and geopolitical issues. But that never happened, because everyone with even minimal critical thinking skills knew that he didn't care about anything, wasn't interested in anything, and had absolutely nothing to say.
Reagan left office in early '89. He wasn't diagnosed with Alzheimer's until '94. In '87 he began having some minor memory problems but was nowhere near clinical Alzheimer's. In fact, after prostate surgery that same year he continued to deftly play the part of jocular snake-oil salesman during press conferences.
He was successful because of a fawning, subservient business press, a merciless party machine chock-full of flag-wagging attack dogs, rampant nation-wide Cold War hysteria, and the variously corrupt, gutless, pro-corporate and warhawk Republicans and Democrats in Congress.
He was a great teacher, though, and I did learn from him. I learned that if you can just convince a majority of Americans that you're the living embodiment of John Wayne, Jesus, Santa Claus and General George S. Patton all rolled into one you can play President for eight years as 138 of your administration's officials get busy busting unions, trashing environmental protection laws, funneling federal housing project money to their cronies, conspiring to mislead Congress, accepting bribes, and providing millions of public tax dollars and military hardware to Nazi-style death-squad governments in Central America, hence facilitating the torture, disappearance, and murder of priests, nuns, school teachers, students, farmers and trade unionists; 138 government officials who would be variously convicted, indicted, or subjected to formal investigations for official misconduct and criminal violations.
Ronald Reagan helped ruin countless lives and made many crimes possible. He served his purpose and now he is gone.
I'd probably more readily believe you if that didn't have ad hominem all over it.
Yeah, it's not easy to win an audience over by insulting them.
I'm not even going to read. Eight paragraphs of misguided hate.
I'm calling you counter-Pev from now on.
Better idea: The Anti-Pev
Making a point of how tax dollars don't just appear out of thin air, that those come from people, from taxpayers who should be respected when the government makes decisions... I like what I hear. I also like that she's tried to raise awareness of what the State Auditor actually does... I admit that I was a bit clueless myself before.
What do you think of her? You've had your finger more on the pulse of state politics than I have, being involved in Pence's campaign and all.
I think she is great. The Governor and the three statewides came to my town the night before election night for a campaign rally and I met her, she's a really nice lady.
That's good..
That's great! Maybe she could be Indiana's first female Governor after Pence becomes President, huh? :P
I'm not sure whether I should be pleased, worried, or terrified by the current poll results.
Maybe I should ask the President and see how he thinks I should feel :0
I don't think she's interested. I have a few people that I want to get it after Pence.
Assembled with Dot's Region Saver.
Written by Refuge Isle.