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Region: The Thaecian Senate

History

After almost 2 days of (no) debate, I am hereby closing debate and now am opening voting.

AS A REMINDER, please rank your choices as there are more than 1 candidate.

The Candidates:

The Ambis

New Central Iowa

Eagle Country

Ambis

NCI

EC

The Ambis

It has been over 24 hours. The vote is hereby closed.

Total votes casted: 3

Total Valid: 3

The Ambis: 2

New Central Iowa: 1

Eagle Country: 0

The Ambis wins with 2 votes over all. Please welcome your new chair

Andusre

WHOOO!

Alright, business soon

*claps*

Alright folks. Let’s do this.

First things first: Obalostan will become my Senior Deputy. Congrats.

Second things second: As promised, you will only ever have 24 hours to vote. No more. I have set up a short that I can use to start a 24 hour timer. So vote in a timely manner, otherwise, you might find yourself being recalled.

Third: Business time! We are now debating the first batch of cabinet nominees.

Brototh - Domestic Affairs

Sunipi - Foreign Affairs

Snowflame - Defence

[spoiler=My Thoughts/ Questions]I have no issue with Cinema’s nomination. She has essentially run the department the past 6 months, so I see no reason to deny it.

Sunipi, I have a question for: What experience do you have in FA, and what are your plans for the position?

Snowflame: Something something fired last term, something something status quo, something something how do you intend to run your department?[/spoiler]

I invite the Prime Minister Andusre to speak on these nominations.

[spoiler=Senators]

The Ambis

Obalostan

New Central Iowa

Colonix

Eagle Country[/spoiler]

Snowflame, Andusre, Obalostan

Thank you for the question The Ambis.

So, as Minister of Defence, I will be modernizing our military. I've openly said it many times already, but the way our military functions is incredibly outdated and in desperate need of reform. This includes new ways to reward soldiers.

I will be leading the creation of medals as an additional reward for soldiers alongside promotions. The military hasn't seen promotions in a while, and this can lead to issues with morale since people are not ranking up as fast as they would like. So, I will be getting 3-5 custom made medals to act as rewards for hardworking members of the military.

I will also be establishing training guides. Every large nationstates military has a more effective training policy than we do because of the fact that these same militaries have official training guides used to train new recruits. Instead of jamming new recruits into training raids, we need to give them the chance to self study with the training guides, ask any questions they have, and then we can put them on an operation. Training guides are also useful for current members who may want to look back and remember a certain fact about R/D. In fact, I can even prove how effective my method of training is. When former Prime Minister Korsinia was nominated Minister of Defence by Rayekka under previous military laws, I am the one who trained them. This method allows for a more 1 to 1 connection between officer and recruit, which is something we definitely need during our current recruitment crisis.

Andusre

Thank you! I have no more questions, and have no issues confirming you

Andusre

The Ambis wrote: What experience do you have in FA, and what are your plans for the position?

I’ve been in the FA Council since I was elected President (I think), so I have observed and contributed to Thaecia’s high-level discussions with respect to FA for over a year. Unfortunately, there has been a lack of any sort of diplomatic program for a while, so I can’t use this to demonstrate my experience - though I undoubtably would have if it was available.

With respect to my plans, I have spoken to the Prime Minister and various occasions, and the focus this term was absolutely be looking inwards. Under my leadership, the FAM would be fairly similar to that in previous terms, though I do have some ideas for reintroducing a form of diplomatic program. As I said though, that isn’t a priority this term.

Andusre, The Ambis

Thank you Sunipi!

Sunipi

We Are Now Voting

For each nominee (Brototh for DAM, Snowflame for DM, and Sunipi for FAM) please vote with an Aye, Nay, Abstain, or their equivalent for each nominee. You will have 24 hours.

[spoiler=Senators]

The Ambis

Obalostan

New Central Iowa

Colonix

Eagle Country[/spoiler]

Andusre

Aye to all nominees

Andusre

Aye to all

Andusre, The Ambis

Aye all

Andusre, The Ambis

Alright, since she asked nicely, I hearby declare Brototh duly confirmed as Domestic Affairs Minister. The rest of y’all will be confirmed in like 10 minutes.

Andusre

Andusre

Post by Brototh suppressed by Chairman Ambis.

Brototh

Chairman Ambis wrote:Alright, since she asked nicely, I hearby declare Brotot duly confirmed as Domestic Affairs Minister. The rest of y’all will be confirmed in like 10 minutes.

Andusre

long live brotot

Andusre, Toerana V, The Ambis, Chairman Ambis

Post by Toerana V suppressed by Chairman Ambis.

Toerana V

wow i can not believe thaecia could be so corrupt

yes The Ambis is my sponsor

Obalostan

Fantastic. Now that we did that, Sunipi is duly confirmed as the Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Snowflame is duly confirmed as the minister of Defensive Affairs.

New nominations momentarily

Andusre

Toerana V wrote:-snip-

I did not sponsor you. Please do not post without a sponsor. Thank you

Obalostan

Alright time for round two.

Senators, we are now debating the final two (for now) ministerial nominations.

Toerana V - Communications Minister

Obalostan - Cultural Affairs Minister

I invite the nominees and the Prime Minister to speak.

[spoiler=Senators]

The Ambis

Obalostan

New Central Iowa

Colonix

Eagle Country[/spoiler]

Andusre

Alright Mr.Bowshot118, Comms is dead. How do you intend to revive it

Obal, you’re great, keep doing what you’re doing

Andusre, Obalostan

Post by Brototh suppressed by Chairman Ambis.

Brototh

Chairman Ambis wrote:I did not sponsor you. Please do not post without a sponsor. Thank you

You didnt sponsor me either but I am so outrageously based that I am speaking

Toerana V

Brototh wrote:snip

That is against the law

Alright Mr.@realTheAmbis

Simply, I will be covering the updates myself. I wrote a small one part way through last term per Cinema's request, it's not that hard, I can easily cover the bare minimum functions of the Ministry. I am beyond the point where I think that group writing of an update is appealing for people, and I don't want to spend my term playing catch up with people for simple recaps I could write myself in the time.

What we are going to be doing is reintroducing the Tribune with a mixture of single article publications and full blown newspaper releases, aiming for full blown newspaper releases roughly every month. Per the Prime Minister's campaign, we are going to try and work towards an every two weeks timeline, but I'm not gonna make any promises I might not be able to keep. Thaecia is currently very saturated in the media market, with two active private papers already. Luckily, I'm wanting to gear the Tribune more towards longer form content, whereas both the Federal Post and the Reflection are more geared towards highly produced, polished shorter form content. With a bit of luck, what we're going for will help to encourage people already active in and with interest in other Thaecian papers to take a look at writing for the Tribune to allow them to go a bit more into detail, cover some bigger topics and give Thaecians some food for thought. At the same time, churning out 4-5 high quality, decent articles very well may not be feasible every two weeks, and I don't want this Comms term to be a success on the back of a burnt out staff. The raw facts on their own are for the update, the Tribune should host the meat, the opinions etc.

To go a bit more into detail as to specifics of what the paper could look like, prior conversations within the department during its Ministerless phase have settled us on a text based format. We are not going to be producing images and using them as the paper, I believe they are too restrictive for length, can introduce accessibility issues and render any client side modifications to their browser or NationStates ineffective, when these may be useful to make reading a screen easier, or for screen readers for the visually impaired etc. We have flirted with the idea of producing plain text copies at the end a more highly produced dispatch, but we will not be going into the term in the more classic Thaecian style of paper.

The articles I want to focus on are a mixture of things, I want to personally write a few opinion pieces about Thaecian Politics and the region's status, and I want to encourage all interested to take a look and spend some time detailing their thoughts and opinions on a topic. Interviews have their place, but I want to keep them to a minimum, max one per full release, as while interviews are often an easy get out of jail free card for lazy writing, and we will be at risk of running out of interviewable candidates at some point. I want to explore further into a more roleplay setting like we saw with Brototh's article published last week, try and tie the newspaper back into Thaecia's roleplay scene a bit more, encourage some roleplayers to write about their nation from an OOC perspective, cover their location from the view of an IC reporter, or cover a recap of a sports league or match. I want them to be able to experiment and discuss what they spend their time curating in a manner that will be promoted to Thaecians. I think the Tribune also has the ability to return to some pre-election polling, but that's probably only going to come into its own next World Assembly Delegate or Prime Ministerial election.

I have no intention of making the newspaper geared towards an international audience, we're not going to be the next GP focused newspaper, and while we might share editions on the forums our focus will always be Thaecia, and a little dose of interesting international news to keep our citizenry informed about the goings on of our friends abroad.

Happy to go further into detail if I can, and if wanted, and happy to answer any other questions the Senate may have. Thanks.

Andusre, The Ambis, Obalostan

Actually, Obal, what are your plans for the ministry?

The Ambis wrote:Actually, Obal, what are your plans for the ministry?

Thanks for the question, my plans for the ministry is aim to improve engagement in Thaecia's RMB and Discord. I believe an improvement in this area will help in retaining people in Thaecia and make it a good place to be.

Plans such as, the continuation of Game Nights (Paradox and non-Paradox games) held in Discord, weekly polls on NS and hosting of potential festivals with allied regions, will help strive to my goal of increased engagement.

Feel free to ask any further questions.

Andusre, The Ambis

We are now voting (sorry for the delay) on the second batch of nominations (Toerana V for Communications Minister, and Obalostan for Culture Minister).

You will have 24 Hours to vote.

Obal, as a remind you are not allowed to vote on your nomination

[spoiler=Senators]

The Ambis

Obalostan

New Central Iowa

Eagle Country

Colonix[/spoiler]

Andusre, Toerana V

Aye to both

Andusre, Toerana V, Obalostan

Aye to Toerana V

Abstain for me (ofc)

Andusre, Toerana V, The Ambis

Aye I'm down for both

Andusre, Toerana V

Vote Closed

Every single Senator has voted, and both nominees are confirmed unanimously! Andusre.

New business shortly

Andusre, Obalostan

Apologies for the Delay

Ladies, Gentlemen, and all other relevant parties, it’s the moment you’ve all be waiting for. I present our next order of business, The Yogurt Viscosity Act!

https://www.nationstates.net/page=dispatch/id=1907971

If passed this will become L.R.069.

[spoiler=Senators]

The Ambis

Obalostan

New Central Iowa

Colonix

Eagle Country[/spoiler]

This bill is perfect, I have no issues passing it

I see no issues with this bill, so I'm happy with it.

The Ambis

We are now voting on the above bill

*sighs*

I should be on vacation.

Ok, I am more than happy to announce the passing of The Yogurt Viscosity Act. Andusre, you know what to do. New business shortly

Debating has begun.

https://www.nationstates.net/page=dispatch/id=1909282

[spoiler=Senators]

The Ambis

Obalostan

New Central Iowa

Colonix

Eagle Country[/spoiler]

I see no issues with this Act, i'll be happy to pass this.

Ashlawn, The Ambis

Seventy legislative resolutions. Insane. I remember the first one

Ashlawn, Chairman Ambis

I agree I vote Aye

Senators, I have a UC motion for ya. Simple mistake that I’ve fixed

https://www.nationstates.net/page=dispatch/id=1912069

I acknowledge my motion

The Ambis wrote:Senators, I have a UC motion for ya. Simple mistake that I’ve fixed

https://www.nationstates.net/page=dispatch/id=1912069

I acknowledge this motion

New Central Iowa wrote:Aye

Are yo acknowledging the motion or voting on the bill prematurely?

Voting has begun. 24 hours

https://www.nationstates.net/page=dispatch/id=1909282

[spoiler=Senators]

The Ambis

Obalostan

New Central Iowa

Colonix[/spoiler]

The Ambis wrote:Senators, I have a UC motion for ya. Simple mistake that I’ve fixed

https://www.nationstates.net/page=dispatch/id=1912069

Btw, motion passed Marvinville

The vote is closed. It passes 3-0-1. Marvinville

Please note that Colonix has not voted on the past three bills, and therefore voting can move on without their vote.

~~~~~

We are now debating the confirmation of Ashlawn as Legal Affairs Minister.

Now is your time to ask the nominee and the Prime Minister (who I encourage to speak on this nomination) questions.

[spoiler=Senators]

The Ambis

Obalostan

New Central Iowa

Colonix[/spoiler]

Post self-deleted by The Ambis.

Hello Senators! If any of you have questions, I'll be more than happy to answer them and I'll try responding in a timely manner (unless I'm sleeping in which case no)

Ash I’ll have some here soon

Hi I've actually been sponsored by Ambis this time.

So, Ash, I have a couple questions.

Per the condition of the sponsorship:

The Ministry of Legal Affairs has historically been an idle one aside from the occasional court case which doesn't exactly happen too often. As minister, should we expect for you to maintain sort of the status quo with the ministry or are there any potential plans that you hope to implement?

Per my own desire:

It is important for the Legal Affairs Minister to be able to cooperate in good faith with the Court, I think we all agree on that, so:

The last confirmed office you held was Electoral Commissioner, and the last election you oversaw was a controversial one, which saw allegations of voter rigging (although those have mostly been dismissed as Marv being.. Marv), and subsequently saw a court ordered redo. Can you please run us through your thought process during that election - why you chose to delete the voter sheet and subsequently leave the region in face of allegations instead of cooperate with the court and make clear what you thought had happened?

Ashlawn, The Ambis

Bow legit voiced my thoughts exactly

Toerana V

Toerana V wrote:The Ministry of Legal Affairs has historically been an idle one aside from the occasional court case which doesn't exactly happen too often. As minister, should we expect for you to maintain sort of the status quo with the ministry or are there any potential plans that you hope to implement?

Well the only correct answer to this question is that yeah, I’ll do the occasional court case, but I’ll also try to keep the people of Thaecia updated on any ongoing court cases. I’ll also make sure that the Bar Exam is accessible and easy to find. All I have to do is find it myself. Still working on that part.

But in all seriousness I recognize that the Legal Affairs Ministry has been a very inactive Ministry for quite a long time. This is partly because of its very limited role of dealing with the occasional court case and managing the Thaecian Bar, which in all honesty doesn't really end up doing much. I think that in order for the Ministry to be active and successful we need to expand its role beyond the two jobs it has traditional had. One widely discussed idea that I intend on implementing if confirmed is to do mock court cases and hold forums on legal questions which I believe will not only boost the activity of the Ministry but the region as a whole.

Reforming the Bar Exam and the Bar itself is something I also hope to do. The Bar Exam shouldn't just be a test of legal knowledge but should also test an applicants ability to debate and make a well crafted argument. I also believe that the status of being a member of the Bar should be changed so that it is more rewarding so that it can be something for people, including newcomers to aspire to and work towards. I will admit that I don't have a specific idea how to make the status more rewarding but I believe that through public feedback and discussion a viable idea will emerge.

Other ideas I've tossed around my head include having the Ministry publish reports on the legality of proposed major bills in Congress or the effects of newly passed laws and a sort of Guide to Thaecian law where newcomers (and old residents) can go to find simplified explanation of all the laws.

Toerana V wrote:It is important for the Legal Affairs Minister to be able to cooperate in good faith with the Court, I think we all agree on that, so:

The last confirmed office you held was Electoral Commissioner, and the last election you oversaw was a controversial one, which saw allegations of voter rigging (although those have mostly been dismissed as Marv being.. Marv), and subsequently saw a court ordered redo. Can you please run us through your thought process during that election - why you chose to delete the voter sheet and subsequently leave the region in face of allegations instead of cooperate with the court and make clear what you thought had happened?

So in response to this question I'm going to repeat what I have said to people when asked similar questions in dms which is that there were several personal factors that led to me make very poor decisions in responding to and handling the situation that in retrospect I completely regret. I know that's a somewhat unsatisfying response and I hope you'll understand my unwillingness to go into what those personal factors were but that is the honest answer to your question.

I will be changing my vote to nay. I do not believe maintaining the status quo is the best option for the ministry right now.

/j

Great answers Ash, will be voting aye

Amazing, vote now please

Confirmed, 2-0-0-2.

Also, welcome new senators! Actias will serve as my Junior Deputy Chair

Actias

I hereby inaugurate Toerana V and Actias as Senators

Actias, Toerana V, The Ambis

i sponsor Brototh to speak thank u

Toerana V wrote:i sponsor Brototh to speak thank u

red hot chilli sauce

https://www.nationstates.net/page=dispatch/id=1913641

I motion UC

[spoiler=Senators]

The Ambis

Obalostan

Actias

Toerana V

New Central Iowa

Colonix[/spoiler]

Brototh

I acknowledge

Brototh

Alright, because she asked, we are now debating the following bill:

https://www.nationstates.net/page=dispatch/id=1911959

Brototh

Senators, I feel that the arguments in the preamble perfectly justify this legislation. Let us remove this archaic feature of Thaecian politics from a time long past that serves for nothing other than discouraging newcomers.

The Ambis

The Ambis wrote:https://www.nationstates.net/page=dispatch/id=1913641

I motion UC

I acknowledge this motion

I acknowledge the motion and support the bill up for debate.

The Ambis

1) Motion fails

2) Voting now on above bill.

[spoiler=Senators]

The Ambis

Obalostan

Actias

Toerana V

New Central Iowa

Colonix

[/spoiler]

Alright, the bill passes 4-0-0-2, Marvinville.

New business soon ™️

Alright senators. We are now (finally) discussing the Election act thing that the convention did.

https://www.nationstates.net/page=dispatch/id=1900129

I strongly strongly encourage Senators to share their thoughts and feelings on this bill, especially as a large part of it pertains to this chamber. Author Brototh may speak.

[spoiler=Senators]

The Ambis

Obalostan

Actias

Toerana V

New Central Iowa

Colonix[/spoiler]

I support this bill wholeheartedly.

Too many times have recall petitions hit the 2 weeks mark, and with our current lull in activity, we must fix elections. I also am a large fan of senate classes, as I believe it will bring more activity!

I'm 50-50 with this bill.

Elections being held more is a great thing will allow for more activity in the Senate and the region, but however I'm not personally a fan of the senate class system.

Obalostan wrote:I'm not personally a fan of the senate class system.

Why is that?

The reason for Senate classes is to compensate for the longer term lengths. Terms are longer to make recalls possible and practical, and we extended Senate terms to 6 months so that we could still have a functioning general election at least once a year due to the activity that it brings in.

House terms had to be 3 months long and that meant we wanted Senate terms that lined up with that- three doesn't go into four but it does into six.

The problem with that is that one election every six month is undemocratic for a nationstates region. The compensation is that we split the Senate into two classes to keep regular elections; more elections is more representation for the people and more elections is directly proportional to activity.

The Ambis

We will also be debating https://www.nationstates.net/page=dispatch/id=1913641

Brototh

https://www.nationstates.net/page=dispatch/id=1913641

I see no issue with this.

Brototh

Obviously no objections to the second bill.

As for the first one: Full support. I think Senate classes are an excellent addition alongside longer terms in general.

Brototh, The Ambis

I am hereby temporarily stepping down from my role in the Thaecian senate. Me stepping down has nothing to do with my inability to work or serve the region, I am just struggling with my senior year of high school and I can’t juggle this aswell. I appreciate all you guys and rest assured I will be back, I just need to take a break. Thank you, -Senator Colonix

https://www.nationstates.net/page=dispatch/id=1900129

https://www.nationstates.net/page=dispatch/id=1913641

Vote now. Quickly please

[spoiler=Senators]

The Ambis

Obalostan

Actias

Toerana V

New Central Iowa[/spoiler]

Abstain to "Election Reorganization and Senate Classes Act (2023)"

Aye to "Regularity and Normalization Amendments to LR 048"

Aye

aye

captain

Ashlawn, Brototh, The Ambis

Toerana V wrote:Aye

aye

captain

You are somehow my favourite & least favourite person in the world simultaneously

Ashlawn, Toerana V, Obalostan

Assembled with Dot's Region Saver.
Written by Refuge Isle.