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Post by Sir Alexandreu Davinescu on Nov 19, 2015 13:22:08 GMT -6
I have voted against the Vote of Confidence, and I believe every MC should join me. Let me be clear that the Government has not lost my confidence because of any malice -- either on their part or mine. I am sure that they want the best for Talossa, just as I do. But the past term -- and the two terms of this coalition before it -- demonstrate that the Cosa and the people of Talossa should not have any confidence in this Government's ability to fulfill their obligations. This is unfortunate, disheartening, and unavoidably will bring me accusations of partisanship... but it is absolutely true.
There are a shocking number of programs or requirements that have simply been ignored. In some cases, this is recent -- in other cases, we're talking about derelictions that have been going on since the beginning of the current coalition. It took a front-page story in Beric'ht Talossan and a great deal of criticism to prompt the Government to even do very simple things, like updating pages on our national website to show current office-holders. That should be the first thing, not the last thing, when it comes to our priorities. And the justice system has been badly handled from start to last, with the Government giving its political allies a pass -- people who have broken the law deserve their day in cort, either to serve the demands of justice or escape the shadow of doubt.
But those two problems, while extremely serious and on a large scale, are not the only problems. The list of programs and initiatives that have gone nowhere is astonishing. Some of these are relatively trivial -- the "Miss Talossa" pageant, for example -- but others are serious. The Government thought that voluntary contributions and a fundraiser were important enough to put it in the law... where is the donation page? The Government thought it was important to put "social media ambassadors" in the law... who has been appointed? The people of Talossa offered up hundreds of louise to print hundreds of stamps... why are they being wasted, sitting on a shelf, when we could be selling them and putting the money aside for a second run? Why are we getting a third thread about coins maybe coming soon in the closing months of the third term of this coalition? The Avocat-Xheneral is supposed to provide a way for people to ask for investigations into the justice system -- this coalition sponsored that legislation, so why hasn't it happened over the course of this year? Where is the public list of Supporters of Talossa that the Ministry of Finance is supposed to display? Where are the activity reports mandated by law -- there's been one after my terpelaziun prompted it, but should I really need to drag statutory obligations out of this Government?
Again, I do not doubt that this Government means well. Everyone involved is a patriotic Talossan. But they're not doing what must be done to have a secure and prosperous country. The number of things actually accomplished is extremely small, mostly having to do with passing legislation. And while it's important for our legislators to enforce the will of the majority through well-written laws, the leaders of this Government, indeed, seem more focused on passing laws than on actually enforcing them!
Three terms ago, several parties banded together in the Time Is Up Coalition, agreeing that the RUMP government was doing a poor job and not meeting its basic obligations. In many ways, they were right. The people of Talossa said that time was up for the RUMP, and electoral power passed to the coalition. But it has been three solid terms of coalition government, and we have serious problems. We need to stop ignoring them. The reflexive support for a Government that is not doing its job needs to end.
Basic contact information that shows we still exist... an active prosecutor... a fundraiser... social media ambassadors... stamps... the justice intervention program... coins... Supporters of Talossa... activity reports... the list goes on, and it is absurd! You might not agree with each item in full, but the problems are piled up to the sky!
Members of Cosa -- and I speak now not just to the RUMP minority, but to those Members of Cosa from every party who have taken a good look at these problems, and found their Government wanting -- it is time to vote against this Vote of Confidence. Not because of anger or frustration or any nasty implications -- again, these people are patriots who are trying. Nor because any party or person is exactly at fault or evil -- my party and everyone should be open to working with any of these fine people. But we need to vote against this Vote of Confidence because we've given them long months, and there's no sign things will change. Vote against this Vote of Confidence because time is up.
Time is up.
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Miestrâ Schivâ, UrN
Seneschal
the new Jim Hacker
Posts: 6,635
Talossan Since: 6-25-2004
Dame Since: 9-8-2012
Motto: Expulseascâ, reveneascâ
Baron Since: Feudal titles are for gimps
Duke Since: Feudal titles are for gimps
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Post by Miestrâ Schivâ, UrN on Nov 20, 2015 12:46:15 GMT -6
What? When? No-one has ever mentioned this to me before, and no-one has asked me to do any such thing, within or outside the government. What legislation?
Let's front foot this, at the risk of alienating my coalition partners. Although FreeDem ministers have done their jobs, this Government - like the last RUMP government - has dropped a distressing amount of balls. Miss Talossa was enacted. It's not our fault there were a lack of any entrants. I note that AD didn't volunteer to put on a dress himself. My time as Culture Minister saw the greatest leaps forward in training material for the Talossan language in our history. AD only reports the stuff that fits his narrative. We tried to appoint a social media ambassador this month - and, well, there's no nice way to put it; on this issue as on the website, STUFF utterly dropped the ball. I don't even know where the Minister of Stuff is.
But let's cut to the chase. Ministers and public servants going AWOL and not doing their jobs is - AD is right - not a partisan issue. For instance, the King has completely ignored his obligations to appoint the Royal Commission on the OrgLaw. I understand he was ill for a while, then travelling for another while, but a whole month is, if you'll excuse the phrase, some bullshit. If only we could vote No Confidence in the King as well. But of course AD will give excuses for His Royal Colorado Majesty. Being a do-nothing absentee is all right if you're one of his political allies.
Given that the last term of RUMP government also coincided with a distressing failure to do anything, clearly voting for AD's party won't do the trick. If I am elected Free Democrats leader, though, I will push for an incoming government where it is much easier to kick out the completely useless, without worrying about partisan balance. Just as "jobs for our old buddies" was the problem of single-party RUMP government, so dividing up cabinet roles on the spoils system is a problem of coalition government. Obviously, single party FreeDem government is the answer!
Tl:dr; Free Democrats are doing their jobs, and AD is ignoring this in favour of his narrative.
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Post by Sir Alexandreu Davinescu on Nov 20, 2015 14:02:17 GMT -6
What? When? No-one has ever mentioned this to me before, and no-one has asked me to do any such thing, within or outside the government. What legislation? Let's front foot this, at the risk of alienating my coalition partners. Although FreeDem ministers have done their jobs, this Government - like the last RUMP government - has dropped a distressing amount of balls. Miss Talossa was enacted. It's not our fault there were a lack of any entrants. I note that AD didn't volunteer to put on a dress himself. My time as Culture Minister saw the greatest leaps forward in training material for the Talossan language in our history. AD only reports the stuff that fits his narrative. We tried to appoint a social media ambassador this month - and, well, there's no nice way to put it; on this issue as on the website, STUFF utterly dropped the ball. I don't even know where the Minister of Stuff is. But let's cut to the chase. Ministers and public servants going AWOL and not doing their jobs is - AD is right - not a partisan issue. For instance, the King has completely ignored his obligations to appoint the Royal Commission on the OrgLaw. I understand he was ill for a while, then travelling for another while, but a whole month is, if you'll excuse the phrase, some bullshit. If only we could vote No Confidence in the King as well. But of course AD will give excuses for His Royal Colorado Majesty. Being a do-nothing absentee is all right if you're one of his political allies. Given that the last term of RUMP government also coincided with a distressing failure to do anything, clearly voting for AD's party won't do the trick. If I am elected Free Democrats leader, though, I will push for an incoming government where it is much easier to kick out the completely useless, without worrying about partisan balance. Just as "jobs for our old buddies" was the problem of single-party RUMP government, so dividing up cabinet roles on the spoils system is a problem of coalition government. Obviously, single party FreeDem government is the answer! Tl:dr; Free Democrats are doing their jobs, and AD is ignoring this in favour of his narrative. Thank you, Dama Avocat-Xheneral, for replying politely and on the merits of my statement. Your willingness to stand and address these matters directly is excellent, and I applaud it -- even when I disagree, I applaud it. I'll break up my reply into sections for convenience's sake. JusticeI am sorry you did not know about the requirements of your job in this regard, but D.2.5.1 requires that the Ministry of Justice make available a way for citizens to "securely and easily report" problems in the corts. This was from the NoPig Act. You voted in favor of it, I think, and the Avocat-Xheneral at the time of the government wrote and was the primary sponsor behind it. You should be aware of it, in all fairness, even if you don't remember the discussion or voting on it, because it is one of the only statutory requirements for your position. I have mentioned it before, but admittedly that may have been to one of the Avocats-Xheneral that came before you. This is a serious thing -- particularly for someone like myself who has things sitting in front of the Cort for months and years, literally. The whole point of Magniloqueu Épiqeu da Lhiun's bill was to give some recourse in those instances with an accountable and accessible procedure. I'm not the only one, now or in the future, either. This is a serious thing, and the Government should honestly know about it and have already done it, especially since it's one of the only things the Avocat-Xheneral is supposed to do. Miss TalossaI am not sure how you could really call this project "done" in any sense of the word. Let me say again that this is not a serious thing -- certainly nothing compared to the stamps issue! -- but if it's something you want to challenge me on, we should take a look. This is how Miss Talossa was done: talossa.proboards.com/thread/10931/talossa-2015A post with a broken image, so we can't see the rules or the time or how to enter. And then instructions with broken sharing permissions, so no one can view them. You yourself were upset, when you were the head of the Ministry in question. You wrote: And that was the end of it. It wasn't fixed and it wasn't pursued and it died a quiet death after never having actually been tried. Once again, the Miss Talossa pageant wasn't a big deal or very important. But it is one in a long list of programs and initiatives and promises that have been abandoned. I know you weren't in direct control of this one, just the boss, but it was your responsibility and it was -- by a very generous measure -- half-assed. I think that you honestly would agree with me, after reminding yourself about the details, right? That wasn't good work... or even adequate work. It was almost impossible to enter, and no effort was made to promote it beyond one post that was broken and ignored. If this is how the Government does projects, then the time for that Government is up. CultureIf there are two bright spots in the recent Government activities -- and there might literally only be two things getting done -- it's that Immigration has continued apace, which didn't happen under the last RUMP government and Seneschal dal Nordselva, and also that there have been amazing strides in the language. However, it's probably also worth noting that the lion's share of this work has been done by Sir Cresti. Unless I am much mistaken, he has contributed a majority of the effort to putting together the MemRise courses and other things. He's been a leader on the relevant forum, as well. Make no mistake: I do not want to detract from the fact that this happened under your watch, and you authorized and presented it. Credit where credit is due. I apologize for not mentioning either this or immigration, as well. You're right. The Government has done those two things. But if you'll pardon me, this is not a lot to hang one's hat on. It's wonderful, make no mistake, but it's really hard to say that this Government has been successful if that's all we have to show for it. His Majesty the KingHis Majesty should be more active, and he has delayed too long in making his appointments to the Commission. That is also true. However, I also have to admit that I don't even know who he would appoint. There's a really small list of active citizens with an interest in the law who aren't already in the Ziu. That list is limited to Tim Asmourescu, I think. But either way, you're right that he has been lax in fulfilling this request. I will remind him of it. PartiesDama Miestra, I'm honestly not sure it's fair to blame just the MRPT for the failures of this Government. In the first place, there are numerous things I've mentioned that have fallen directly under the responsibility of the several of the FDT ministers. Another point worth making is that the Seneschal is the current leader of the FDT, although I understand that will soon change, and the Seneschal should bear the majority of the responsibility for any failures -- especially a whole scope of failures, like this. I think this is another point on which you would probably agree. I know there was a coalition agreement that portioned out some of the jobs, but at the end of the day, the Seneschal needs to be an active and productive force of leadership. The Seneschal is a Free Democrat, leading the coalition. I'm not sure it makes sense to look at all the problems with this Government, to look at all these dropped balls (as you admit), and say that the Free Democrats have been giving the people of Talossa good and active Government. It just doesn't seem credible that this is all the fault of the Moderate Radicals. I don't want to put words in your mouth, though, or speak for the MRPT, so I will leave that one alone. The voters should judge which party has a list of successes to their name from this Government. The RUMPYou rightly point out the problems in the last RUMP government, three terms ago. As I said in my speech, we did a poor job, and justly paid in the polls for it. But the leader of the RUMP is no longer Dr. Txec dal Nordselvă. He is and was a good man, an excellent jurist, and a patriotic Talossan... but I think even he will admit that our government under his leadership had serious problems, as did the one before it. It's hard to say what happened... I think maybe the RUMP grew complacent in power? We had the well-earned loyalty of many citizens, since frankly we did amazing work for years. We did amazing stuff, like creating a national website, creating the wiki, reforming the OrgLaw to balance royal power, and printed and sold stamps. But we cruised, relying on partisan loyalty to see us through to each election. That isn't how you run things. That's why I'm calling for everyone to oppose this Vote of Confidence, and rethink whether this Government has been serving the citizens well. I see the list of problems, abandoned projects, wasted resources, and embarrassments, and I see the same ills that caused us problems before. To see all these problems under a Free Democrat Seneschal and coalition government with the MRPT, and to respond by giving them your confidence because you're in their party? No, we need to re-assess, and re-think. You have spoken in years past of the virtues of alternance -- variance in government, rather than term after term after term of the same problems. I thought you were right then, and said so -- heck, I said so in private to my party (as everyone found out!). We need that virtue now, more than ever. Thank youLet me say again that I am really glad we can have this discussion without getting mean or rude about it -- just vigorous and polite disagreement. I think you and I are turning a corner, Dama... we might never agree on everything, or even most things, but we have a mutual respect for competence and ideals, and that's a great foundation for a healthy democracy. Thank you once again.
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Miestrâ Schivâ, UrN
Seneschal
the new Jim Hacker
Posts: 6,635
Talossan Since: 6-25-2004
Dame Since: 9-8-2012
Motto: Expulseascâ, reveneascâ
Baron Since: Feudal titles are for gimps
Duke Since: Feudal titles are for gimps
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Post by Miestrâ Schivâ, UrN on Nov 20, 2015 17:54:25 GMT -6
I am sorry you did not know about the requirements of your job in this regard, but D.2.5.1 requires that the Ministry of Justice make available a way for citizens to "securely and easily report" problems in the corts. Oh, that. Er, my predecessor did that 18 months ago. Well, you'll want to talk to M.T. Patritz da Biondeu and the current Culture Minister about that. Indeed, I'd encourage a formal terp, although it seems odd that you didn't notice or care until now. Ah, so when Cresti does a good job under my leadership, it's Cresti's credit; and when Donald drops the ball under my leadership, it's my fault? As I suspected: partisan cherry-picking of what are admittedly mixed results. Which suggests that the issues with inactivity you're talking about are not partisan issues and will not be corrected by a change in government. It's an issue with Talossa in general. Let me point out that, if by some disaster we went back to RUMP majority government, things would be just as bad, because there is no active RUMP party any more. I doubt you, Cresti and Eddie G. could cover all the bases of government yourself. The question is formulating a good leadership team in the next Cosa government, and of all the parties, only the FreeDems come close to being able to provide a complete team in a single party. (in a Ronald Reagan voice:) You forgot the Progs. C. Carlüs Xheraltescù has many admirable qualities, but being able to get blood from a stone is not one of them. I repeat the difficulty of getting people to do their job who just disappear and don't answer their emails. A description which applies equally to the King as to, for example, the minister of STUFF. And we can't fire the King at all, more's the pity, and the realities of coalition government mean you can't fire one of your allies unless you replace them with someone who would be better of the same party. Well, we agree there. I certainly don't think the current coalition arrangement will be appropriate for another term, as I've recently said to the FreeDems conference.
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Dr. Txec dal Nordselvă
Puisne (Associate) Justice of the Uppermost Court
Fraichetz dels punts, es non dels mürs
Posts: 4,063
Talossan Since: 9-23-2012
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Post by Dr. Txec dal Nordselvă on Nov 20, 2015 19:13:15 GMT -6
As my name is once more being dragged through the mud, I feel it is important for me to point out that the failings of my government came as a direct result of ministers dropping off the face of the planet. It is too heavy a burden to bear for one person to literally be running almost the entire show. and I honestly gave up in the later portion of my term. Twice I tried in vain to replace my AG only to be reminded that doing so would cause the government to collapse (it was a coalition, remember?). The Minister of Immigration had some family issues but only late in the term did I become aware of it. I was doing all the work of the Foreign Minister, trying hard to update the website in the place of other responsible ministers, etc. My RUMP compatriots never volunteered or stepped up to assist or contact me about failings or forgotten responsibilities. One or two of them did take the opportunity to complain in the RUMP private group, however. I accept responsibility for my former government but I will not take the blame for ministers vanishing and having literally no pool of willing volunteers to choose from to replace them. I could not have accepted a minister from another party because that too would have caused my government to fail.
However, the RUMP is almost literally a party of three. Please tell me how it can form a reliable government when nearly every voter is absent from Talossa on a regular basis and only show up to vote? Sir Alexandreu, you think you could do better? Do you honestly believe that a return of the RUMP would accomplish all the things you believe are not being accomplished now? Who would you coalition with, in the light of the fact that there is no single party large enough to form a VoC competent government of its own. It is so easy to cast blame and assert failure. It is another matter entirely to govern.
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Post by Sir Alexandreu Davinescu on Nov 20, 2015 20:40:21 GMT -6
I am sorry you did not know about the requirements of your job in this regard, but D.2.5.1 requires that the Ministry of Justice make available a way for citizens to "securely and easily report" problems in the corts. Oh, that. Er, my predecessor did that 18 months ago. Well, you'll want to talk to M.T. Patritz da Biondeu and the current Culture Minister about that. Indeed, I'd encourage a formal terp, although it seems odd that you didn't notice or care until now. Ah, so when Cresti does a good job under my leadership, it's Cresti's credit; and when Donald drops the ball under my leadership, it's my fault? As I suspected: partisan cherry-picking of what are admittedly mixed results. Which suggests that the issues with inactivity you're talking about are not partisan issues and will not be corrected by a change in government. It's an issue with Talossa in general. Let me point out that, if by some disaster we went back to RUMP majority government, things would be just as bad, because there is no active RUMP party any more. I doubt you, Cresti and Eddie G. could cover all the bases of government yourself. The question is formulating a good leadership team in the next Cosa government, and of all the parties, only the FreeDems come close to being able to provide a complete team in a single party. (in a Ronald Reagan voice:) You forgot the Progs. C. Carlüs Xheraltescù has many admirable qualities, but being able to get blood from a stone is not one of them. I repeat the difficulty of getting people to do their job who just disappear and don't answer their emails. A description which applies equally to the King as to, for example, the minister of STUFF. And we can't fire the King at all, more's the pity, and the realities of coalition government mean you can't fire one of your allies unless you replace them with someone who would be better of the same party. Well, we agree there. I certainly don't think the current coalition arrangement will be appropriate for another term, as I've recently said to the FreeDems conference. Dama Miestra, thank you again for standing up to respond to my concerns. I am glad we agree on some respects, but since we differ on others, I will explain further what I mean -- and what I find disappointing in this Government. Addressing the things in dispute... No Miss TalossaAs I have said, I really don't care much about this... it's a nice little culture thing, I guess, but not important at all. But you pointed it out as something that you had gotten done, and so it's worth looking at exactly what got done. But it didn't get done. Nor do I much care about assigning blame. You were the Minister of Culture, and you put MC da Biondeu in charge of it. Was it his fault for not getting it done, or your fault for never re-assigning it or re-doing it or something else to make sure it happened? I have no idea. To me, the thing is that it's something that the Government promised the people and did a poor job on. This is unfortunate, and it needs to be addressed. It's one of the least important things like that, though. No accessible justice intervention programIt is excellent that there are documents available to use for this program, but how could anyone possibly know that? Dama, that post was put up a year and a half ago (!!). The forms aren't linked from anywhere, as far as I know. There is no imaginable way someone could know they even existed, much less how to find them. These forms should be publicly available and accessible. All the reasons for the original bill are good reasons. There are many times when our justice system has bogged down, and we need some sort of remedy. That's one of the things the Government is supposed to do for the citizens... help keep the justice system working and exercise some oversight. This is even more important now that we have judges that are also politicians, since it means that there is the potential for mis- or mal- or non- practice for partisan reasons. This is one of the obligations of the Avocat-Xheneral, but there's no way any citizen could ever actually have filled out the official forms if they were buried back in an unremarked post from May of 2014. Four months for basic Government information updates.You lay this at the feet of the MRPT appointee to the post. Again, I don't think I can sort out who's truly to blame. I don't know what things have gone on behind closed doors. It's possible that the Seneschal approached the MRPT and said, "This appointee isn't working. I have reminded them and asked them to do such-and-such over and over. We need someone who can get this done." Or maybe the terms on which the Government were formed were flawed from the start, and didn't allow the Seneschal any room to hold people accountable. It's hard for me to say either way... to say it's the fault of the minister in charge of the project, or their boss who should be managing them. I have no idea. But I do know that it's incredibly important, and this Government dropped the ball. People who agree, on this and these other points, should not have any confidence in a Government that cannot function on this basic level... whatever the reason. No fundraiser No social media ambassadors No stamps No coins No active prosecutor No Supporters of Talossa No activity reports No culture prizeAnd so on. Txec, as I said, you are a fine man, jurist, and patriot. I am not dragging your name through the mud, nor do I think Dama Miestra is doing so. All I said was this: "I think even he will admit that our government under his leadership had serious problems, as did the one before it. It's hard to say what happened... I think maybe the RUMP grew complacent in power?" And that is true. Nor do I want to rehash that whole period. I think you had a tough time and did indeed have a limited pool of help, even though you at the same time bear some responsibility. No one is attacking you. It is not dragging through the mud to admit what you and I and Dama Miestra all agree: the last term of RUMP government under your leadership of the government and the party didn't do a very good job. I'm not definitely not going to litigate the RUMP right now, either. This speech and this thread are about our confidence in our Government, Txec. You might not think that the RUMP is the party for you. But I don't see how anyone can have confidence in the current Government as it is composed. Some of its very members right now think that they've dropped a lot of balls, so to speak, and want a change in the composition of the Government. When you look at the long list of problems, broken promises, and things that have just been neglected... well, I think that we cannot have confidence in the Government's future performance. Dama Miestra says she doesn't even know where the MinStuff is, for example... can we have any confidence that the Government will do a good job in that regard? I know this is awkward and uncomfortable, but even the people in this Government have to admit -- and have admitted -- that there are a lot of broken promises and a lot of failures here. We could argue about some of these... heck, I could cede all of these disputed points and things wouldn't be any different. No one can dispute that the stamps have been wasted, to the tune of hundreds of louise left on the table. No one can deny that no coins have been made over the past three terms. No one can dispute that there's no list of the Supporters of Talossa (to encourage sign-ups) or the activity reports or a fundraiser to gather the money. Those are still true, even though it's unpleasant and no one likes that they're true. We need to fix them. Do we have any confidence that things will change in the Government soon? No... so time is up.
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Post by Munditenens Tresplet on Nov 20, 2015 20:58:34 GMT -6
No accessible justice intervention programIt is excellent that there are documents available to use for this program, but how could anyone possibly know that? Dama, that post was put up a year and a half ago (!!). The forms aren't linked from anywhere, as far as I know. There is no imaginable way someone could know they even existed, much less how to find them. These forms should be publicly available and accessible. All the reasons for the original bill are good reasons. There are many times when our justice system has bogged down, and we need some sort of remedy. That's one of the things the Government is supposed to do for the citizens... help keep the justice system working and exercise some oversight. This is even more important now that we have judges that are also politicians, since it means that there is the potential for mis- or mal- or non- practice for partisan reasons. This is one of the obligations of the Avocat-Xheneral, but there's no way any citizen could ever actually have filled out the official forms if they were buried back in an unremarked post from May of 2014. I've tried not to insert myself into these types of threads, but I really feel I must say something with regards to blaming this government for not implementing the judicial intervention program. But then again, I have written about the program and non-implementation in the past, and no one seemed to care then. From BT #24: From the thread about BT #24, in reply to the ETT response article: Of the court cases in the last few years, including the other three that were referenced in this response, the only one that implicates the King in a scandal is the one that is currently being prosecuted, which I believe qualifies it as one of the most exciting events that have occurred in the judiciary in the last few years. In addition, it's worth pointing out that I said "one of the most", and not simply "the most", which seems to be what this response is implying. In the discussion thread for what would be Clarked as 46RZ8, it is clear that this bill was meant to provide some kind of power to the Ministry of Justice that would allow the Ministry to deal with inactive judicial officers. While the final bill that was passed only provides for investigations and not an immediate dismissal of the officers, it is clear in the language ("The Ministry shall report the results of its investigations and its recommendations to the Ziu, as it sees fit to do so.") that the Ministry would have the ability to recommend to the Ziu, for example, removal of a Justice. And, as subsection 2.5.1.4 clearly states, the Ministry does not need to wait on a citizen to make a complaint to initiate an investigation. As my article accurately pointed out, the powers granted to the Ministry of Justice by this reform bill have not been exercised. My article lays no blame on the current Government or any current Judicial officers, rather, it seeks to make a point regarding our endless obsession with judicial reform. As a current Senator, I am very much in support of the current bills that have been Hoppered, the same as I was in support of 46RZ8 as a co-sponsor, or the same as I was in support of the Judicial Removal Acts of a few years ago, also as a co-sponsor. I'm not sure what record needs to be set straight by this response, as we should all be able to agree that throughout all our attempts at reforming the judiciary, nothing has really ever worked that way it was intended to. From the same thread: The law 46RZ8 also states "Appeals or other actions brought before any national court shall be heard within 90 calendar days from the date of assignment by the Clerk of Courts." and then at this point "it may be subject to an investigation for non-feasance conducted by the Ministry of Justice." The Ministry of Justice has been waiting and the 90 day period runs out on at least 1 case on March 16 which is too late to report to a Ziu that'll be dissolved within a couple weeks of that date. On a further note, no one has complained under the provisions of 46RZ8 to the Ministry of Justice and while the law does allow the Ministry to investigate without a complaint (and by the way I have done some investigating) it should be noted that the law has no real teeth. I can suggest actions to the Ziu, but the Ziu can wholly ignore it or act on it as it wishes. That is why I introduced my own bill (The Judicial Unclogging Act) to address the shortcomings, partially in response to 46RZ8. An investigation may be started by the Ministry of Justice at any time; there is no language that mandates an investigation under section 2.5.1.4 be subject to section 4.2. In fact, the language in section 4.2 ("it may") is almost unnecessary as you may undertake an investigation anyways--it would only have any real power if it read "it shall" rather than "it may". In any event, inactivity isn't the only thing that can be investigated: it could be said that the Ministry has the power to investigate the impartiality of a presiding judge when they refuse to step down, for example. Of course, the Ziu does have the power to wholly ignore any recommendations, and you are correct, we've now seen that this lack of sharpened teeth renders this bill useless. Which means that 46RZ8 is just another example of a widely supported judicial reform bill that failed. I do have high hopes for the currently Hoppered bills, and will vote in favor of them, but at the end of the day, anything we do is subject to human error. The Hoppered bills could vacate the offices of all of our currently inactive judges, leaving us searching for another judicial appointee every other Clark, and by next year someone might have come up with the next "fix" to address the endless vacancies in office. That's fine. My point is, and I hope you can agree, bringing up judicial reform in every General Election becomes tiring after a while. Not to disparage the previous office holders either, my point is simply this: It is wrong to place the blame for the judicial program not being implemented (or publicized) on the shoulders of someone who only recently assumed the office, and it is wrong to consider this a failure of this coalition government. Same goes for the stamps, which I'm assuming are still available for purchase here (also a link created back in the 46th Cosa). There are plenty of criticisms that could be had of this government (coins, for example, may be a valid one), but we don't need to go digging in the past.
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Post by Sir Alexandreu Davinescu on Nov 20, 2015 21:16:01 GMT -6
I agree that the law is a bit toothless -- there are no automatic repercussions in it for good reason, since that would be quite a power for the legislature to have over the judiciary. But whatever the merits of the program might be, it should at least be made possible for people to complain. I don't think it's ever been exercised, still... how could it be, after all? But you do have considerable expertise on this one, so I'm willing to say that it's no a vital matter. Your point is well taken.
Stamps may indeed also still be technically purchased from that page, but they have not been advertised anywhere by anyone, they have not been promoted to the philatelist community at all, and I bet very few Talossans would ever even know about that page. That would explain the zero stamp sales. If they had been promoted at all, then we'd have sold at least a few, and could put the money aside for a second run. They're a resource that is being wasted, and wasted egregiously.
And then there's all the other things. Even if you disagree with me on a couple of these, there's a long list of problems. This is a Government that needs a change.
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Miestrâ Schivâ, UrN
Seneschal
the new Jim Hacker
Posts: 6,635
Talossan Since: 6-25-2004
Dame Since: 9-8-2012
Motto: Expulseascâ, reveneascâ
Baron Since: Feudal titles are for gimps
Duke Since: Feudal titles are for gimps
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Post by Miestrâ Schivâ, UrN on Nov 20, 2015 23:02:20 GMT -6
Perhaps. But I doubt the RUMP will be a major part in that change, if any. Pointing out Government weaknesses is the job of the OppLeader; building an alternative is the job of a potential Seneschál, and I don't see anyone outside the current governing parties providing that. Despite his undoubted talents and enthusiasm, the RUMP leader certainly can't do everything on his own; and if he just thinks he can move in as the leader of a new coalition, he'd come up against exactly the same problems that the last three terms of ModRad and then FreeDem-led government have faced.
I predict - what's more - that this coming election will continue the secular decline of the RUMP, and I hope very much that the Free Democrats will overtake them as the most popular party. The RUMP simply offer no reason to support them, no matter how many well-founded criticisms of Government performance they bring up. The next government will be led, I think, by whichever party presents the most credible leadership team.
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Post by Sir Alexandreu Davinescu on Nov 20, 2015 23:44:35 GMT -6
Dama Miestra, the RUMP will certainly have another strong platform in the oncoming election. I'm actually tempted to post our last (detailed and pretty) platform here and start crowing about it again... But it's not my topic du jour. My concerns are the very specific problems we've had under this coalition Government. Lack of basic government info on the website No fundraiser No social media ambassadors No use of social media at all -- the new Facebook page, the subreddit, the Twitter, etc. No stamps No coins No active prosecutor No Supporters of Talossa No activity reports No culture prize I urge everyone in the Cosa to vote against the Vote of Confidence, given all of this. No matter your party, you have excellent reasons for voting against it and moving for new elections.
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Miestrâ Schivâ, UrN
Seneschal
the new Jim Hacker
Posts: 6,635
Talossan Since: 6-25-2004
Dame Since: 9-8-2012
Motto: Expulseascâ, reveneascâ
Baron Since: Feudal titles are for gimps
Duke Since: Feudal titles are for gimps
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Post by Miestrâ Schivâ, UrN on Nov 21, 2015 1:18:32 GMT -6
What's this "active prosecutor" malarkey? I assume that comes under my portfolio. Who do you want prosecuted?
I note that you don't attempt to refute at all that the RUMP has no team.
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Post by Magniloqueu Épiqeu da Lhiun on Nov 21, 2015 7:29:07 GMT -6
May I just butt in here? I wrote to the previous A-G before Dama Schivâ, where I offered to send him the PDF- and word-data for said Complaint Forms that the NoPig Act requires. I never heard back from him. I also wanted to turn in a complaint form, but since I never heard back from him, I kind of went “Meh” on the whole thing. So, if Miestrâ Schivâ, UrN wants the PDFs to the Complaint forms, I'll be happy to pass them along!
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Miestrâ Schivâ, UrN
Seneschal
the new Jim Hacker
Posts: 6,635
Talossan Since: 6-25-2004
Dame Since: 9-8-2012
Motto: Expulseascâ, reveneascâ
Baron Since: Feudal titles are for gimps
Duke Since: Feudal titles are for gimps
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Post by Miestrâ Schivâ, UrN on Nov 21, 2015 12:50:58 GMT -6
Thank you kindly. I believe that AD is demanding that they be put in a nice public place, so I suppose I'll put them on the wiki.
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Post by Françal Ian Lux on Nov 21, 2015 13:03:15 GMT -6
If I may since we're having a discussion here. The real issue here, in my opinion, is a dozen people cannot run this entire kingdom on their own. We have great programmes and tons and tons of activities, but who's the ones contributing? The same people over and over again! The issue here isn't really about which party or people should be running the government. The government can't really govern if there's none to govern, right? Those of us who contribute day-in and day-out get sick of each other because we're the only ones who actually get things done. Immigration and Culture are the only ones who consistently does things whether in the spotlight or behind the scenes. This maybe due to the nature of our Ministries, but that shouldn't be an excuse to be proactive when concerning other Ministries. My issue is where's everyone else? Where's the other Ministers? Where's the other contributors? As of now, there's only about 10-12 of us who are regularly here doing the job for all.
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Post by Sir Alexandreu Davinescu on Nov 21, 2015 13:12:50 GMT -6
If you have twelve people (!!!) regularly contributing and doing things, then maybe this is a crisis of management. Twelve people should easily be able to do everything that needs doing in the Government over the course of a full term, with time left over for their own initiatives. An hour a week from twelve people for five months is like two hundred and forty man-hours of work. Most of the things on the list of problems and embarrassments need maybe an hour or two, even if you set aside fully half that time for immigration alone. Is the problem that the Government is just not being run well, even though it has so many people helping?
And either way, everyone seems to be agreeing that this Government is misfunctional!
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