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Post by Sir Alexandreu Davinescu on Aug 5, 2014 9:42:59 GMT -6
We will have one final pair of questions, and then we will move on to let you make closing statements to your voters. A great deal of agreement in this debate, so let's try to spur some engagement: Sir Trotxa, is there a question you would like to ask of your opponent or a challenge you would like to make? Preferably something about his qualifications, history, actions, legislation...?
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Trotxâ
Talossan since 10-17-2005; Knight since 11-5-2006
Deo duce, ferro comitante
Posts: 1,574
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Post by Trotxâ on Aug 6, 2014 1:12:32 GMT -6
We will have one final pair of questions, and then we will move on to let you make closing statements to your voters. A great deal of agreement in this debate, so let's try to spur some engagement: Sir Trotxa, is there a question you would like to ask of your opponent or a challenge you would like to make? Preferably something about his qualifications, history, actions, legislation...?Sir Alexandreu – Thank you for the chance to question S:reu Grischun. S:reu Grischun - you state in your campaign advertising that you are familiar with the television show West Wing. Hopefully, that show has given you some experience of how a national government operates. Using a scale of 1 = lousy governance to 5 = excellent governance, please rank the performance of the last government as a whole, as well as ranking the performance of the major cabinet officers like the Seneschal, the Distain, and the minsters of Culture, Defence, Finance, Foreign Affairs, Home Affairs, Justice, and Stuff. Please also rank the performance of all of the attorneys-general that we had during the last government. Please discuss your reasoning for assigning these rankings. T
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Post by Sir Alexandreu Davinescu on Aug 6, 2014 12:45:27 GMT -6
S:reu Grischun, your answer? I won't hold you to a rating scheme, but could you give your opinion in specifics, please?
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Post by Eðo Grischun on Aug 6, 2014 15:34:50 GMT -6
Thank you, Sir Alex, for allowing me the option of not having to individually rate the outgoing government Ministers as if I were filling out some kind of customer satisfaction survey Sir Trotxâ, I wish I was disappointed in the government's performance, however, for the most part, it lived up to the low expectation I had of it from the start. Bear in mind that prior to the previous election that the leader of the MRPT stated numerous times that he had no desire to be Prime Minister. The MRPT was not really seeking to govern and I think they were rather surprised when they got voted into the position that they did. So, was I surprised or let down by the government's less-than-stellar performance? No, not really. Man of the Match: Minister for Immigration Anglatzara. Great job. Stars of the show: Miestra and Luc. Total flops: Ministry of Justice. I'm not going to individually assess every Minister as both of us know that some Ministries get nothing done ever no matter who the governing party is. Home affairs, defence.. no words to say. I will address the situations of the multiple Attorneys-General seeing as you specifically asked ... I can't hold the government responsible for what transpired. Nobody here has a crystal ball, so nobody could foresee what each AG was going to do (or not do) before he did it. Likewise, none of the AG's had glass heads, so nobody could see what was going on in the mind of these guys at the time of appointment. I look at each appointment as having been made in good faith. To assess the performance of each AG: I have nothing bad to say about Minister Ursüm other than I don't remember him showing up very often. I had high hopes for Minister Asmourescu and still believe he was a good choice. I reckon he will be a good choice again in the future once all the surrounding legal affairs have been closed and settled. Minister Da Lhiun is the only questionable appointment as he has shown on multiple occasions that he has a less than desirable grasp on the laws of our Nation. In summary, the government are probably regretting a lot of decisions made regarding the Ministry of Justice, but again, how could they have known in advance that it would all have ended up like this? And a quick note on the currency project. It's a crying shame that this didn't happen. I think some Ziu members outside of the government let fear stand in the way of progress on this one. Final point: One massive thumbs up for this government. They certainly know how to hold their water and stand up for what they believe in. There were several events this past Cosa where the government had to make difficult decisions and, whether we agree with their politics or not, they stood by those decisions unwaveringly. Had this government been more active and present, I imagine they would have been highly effective.
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Post by Sir Alexandreu Davinescu on Aug 6, 2014 17:04:56 GMT -6
Do you have a brief follow up, Sir Trotxa?
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Trotxâ
Talossan since 10-17-2005; Knight since 11-5-2006
Deo duce, ferro comitante
Posts: 1,574
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Post by Trotxâ on Aug 7, 2014 2:30:27 GMT -6
Do you have a brief follow up, Sir Trotxa? Sir Alexandreu – Yes - I have a brief follow up. May I speak with Mr. Grischun? S:reu Grischun: Thank you for your answers. I agree that Minister for Immigration Anglatzara was the the most productive minister of the past term. I'm not going to individually assess every Minister as both of us know that some Ministries get nothing done ever no matter who the governing party is. Home affairs, defence.. no words to say. I must object to this assertion. As a former Minister of Defence, I believe that the record will show that motivated Ministers of Defence have made a difference in Talossa. T Post Script: I would like to remind S:reu Grischun and Sir Alexandreu that I will be travelling this weekend, and will be away from the keyboard from Friday on. I hope to return to typing late on Sunday night.
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Post by Sir Alexandreu Davinescu on Aug 7, 2014 6:32:20 GMT -6
S:reu Grischun, unless you would like to reply again, you may ask a question of your own of your opponent.
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Trotxâ
Talossan since 10-17-2005; Knight since 11-5-2006
Deo duce, ferro comitante
Posts: 1,574
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Post by Trotxâ on Aug 7, 2014 21:34:07 GMT -6
Guys -
I need to sign off and get ready for my trip. I'll catch you on the flip side, probably late Monday.
T
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Post by Sir Alexandreu Davinescu on Aug 8, 2014 5:53:44 GMT -6
Thank you, Sir Trotxa. There should be a question waiting for you on your return.
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Post by Eðo Grischun on Aug 8, 2014 11:54:25 GMT -6
Sir Alex,
I don't require time to reply to my opponents last comments. I believe we have both made our points here.
With your permission I will move onto asking my own question next.
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Post by Sir Alexandreu Davinescu on Aug 8, 2014 12:30:31 GMT -6
Yes, please do. Thank you.
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Post by Eðo Grischun on Aug 11, 2014 19:18:15 GMT -6
Sir Trotxâ,
You have stated that a priority for you next term would be immigration reform. We both agree that immigration is an important area of business for the next term. You state that you support a citizenship test. I would like to ask what you would like this test to entail and how would such a test improve various aspects of immigration?
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Post by Sir Alexandreu Davinescu on Aug 11, 2014 20:12:25 GMT -6
A brief question, which is good, as we near the end of our time. Your response, Senator?
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Post by Sir Alexandreu Davinescu on Aug 13, 2014 14:05:32 GMT -6
Just so both candidates are aware, this debate will be ending on Saturday. So on Friday, wherever we're at with this question, we'll start final statements, and each candidate will have a day in which to post theirs. If you are unable to post on Friday or Saturday, then please compose your statement ahead of time and send it to me, and I will post it for you.
I believe we are on track to finish neatly on time. since we're on our last exchange here. Senator, your answer?
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Trotxâ
Talossan since 10-17-2005; Knight since 11-5-2006
Deo duce, ferro comitante
Posts: 1,574
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Post by Trotxâ on Aug 14, 2014 1:50:20 GMT -6
Sir Trotxâ, You have stated that a priority for you next term would be immigration reform. We both agree that immigration is an important area of business for the next term. You state that you support a citizenship test. I would like to ask what you would like this test to entail and how would such a test improve various aspects of immigration? S:reu Grischun – Thank you for your question. Yes, I stand in support of a citizenship test. Tonight, I will try to describe how I see the citizenship test in broad concepts, not in concrete legislative language. With an issue of this weight, the full proposal will need the Hopper review process to take final shape. Immigration reform is an important issue for me. As a Human Resources professional, I have represented my employer in sponsoring seven H1B visas for immigrants to the United States. All seven of those immigrants have become citizens of the USA. I have also worked to help two of my fellow US citizen employees work in expatriate assignments the United Kingdom and Canada. These experiences have given me an appreciation for a simple yet rigorous set of well-defined procedures that are fair and predictable. Passing the proposed citizenship test would require extra knowledge of some vital aspects of Talossan life. The test offers an incentive to learn. The immigrant would receive a set of 10 questions, one in each of these topic areas: - Language
- Geography
- History
- Berber Connection
- Heraldry
- Organic Law
- Statutory Law
- Government
- Cabinet
- Courts
The immigrant would be asked to respond to at least five of the ten questions – they could do more for extra credit. The test would be open book, and the answers would be submitted to and graded by a panel of three citizens. The essay would be posted in a special sub-board in the immigration forum for review and comment by all citizens. The applicant would have a fixed time to complete their test. Talossa would reap several benefits from a citizenship test. In the June 22 2014 issue of Beric'ht Talossan, Immigration Minister Anglatzarâ described the attitude of some newcomers to our shores. "They wanted to have a certificate of citizenship to hang on the wall and to tell their friends that they are Talossans," says Anglatzarâ, "but they were never really interested in 'participating' in anything." One positive impact of a citizenship test will be that those who start our process will need to have some 'skin in the game' in order to to finish. Additionally, our democratic system depends on a well-informed electorate. With this system, our immigrants can show mastery of some of these areas. Because of the advantages to the immigrant and the country, I am in favor of having a citizenship test. Trotxâ
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