Constitutional Committee

[Crisler]

Gentlemen,

The people are anxious to see the first rough draft of our Constitution. When can we expect it posted?

E.L. Crisler
First Commissioner

[FlameFlash]

We're still unfrantically working on it... if you could help in somehow lighting the fire under them it would be most appreciated.

Also, if you could combine the term limit poll (with the options mentioned there) and the term limit options mentioned in the constitution thread we'd then have our first official term limit poll to add to the constitution... something like that we'd like the people's help in deciding upon.

[DeathByTheSword]

Constitution SO FAR!

check this link

http://apolyton.net/forums/showthread.php?s=&postid=1248015#post1248015

[DeathByTheSword]

sorry to ask AGAIN! but when is the first draft due? Crisler? anyone?

[Darkness' Edge]

i can't tell you
somehow, me, alpha talent and leader of my own party, didn't get invited

[DeathByTheSword]

but they are working on it?


btw sorry DE that you arent invited

[MrWhereItsAt]

So who is this "they"? Perhaps everyone thinks someone else is doing it.

[Method]

the constitution committee i think. the leaders of every party, or so i gathered.

[DeathByTheSword]

they are the committee = leader of every party has to be done by monday for approval of the citizens in a poll and after that it can be changed to what the people want....

or something like this i think

[FlameFlash]

great, by tomorrow

The only thing that has even been taken care of since last time I looked in on that thread was the term limit issue. *sighs*

[AdamTG02]

Let's get this show on the road

Well, despite the apparent lack of debate during my week studying the Xenofungus, the Commissioner expects us to have a draft Constitution by today. That deadline might be unrealistic, but if that's so the Committee deserves to meet and decide that it needs to be extended, and then work on a draft, rather than leave the matter untouched.

As envisioned by Commissioner Crisler, I believe the Committee is composed of the following people:

Mr. President (Capital Party)
Pandemoniak (Centauri Communalist Citizen's Party)
Darkness' Edge (Centauri Democrats)
AdamTG02 (Exploration and Discovery Party)
jdd2007 (Hawk Party)
Ade (Liberal Social Democrats)
M@ni@c (Poly Party for Progress and Prosperity)
Lemmy (The Scientific Axis)

You all should be receiving a Private Message from me after this post, detailing the matters that in my opinion need to be decided before we can have a definitive draft.

[Edit: Commissioner Crisler has been removed from this list because he excused himself, as Commissioner, from taking part in the Committee. Crisler, if you when you get back from vacation want a copy of what I've sent to committee members, I'll forward one to you.]

As I see it, there are three ways we can deliberate. There are threads such as this one, which are open to anyone. There are Private Messages, which are private. There is chat, which could be either, and which allows for much speedier communication but might leave some people out of the loop.

As it stands now, I think that in the interests of time all three of these options need to be made available. So, I will be on IRC on DalNet in the channel #smacdem for the rest of the day. If you need to install IRC, check out this thread , and for help on chatting with it, try here. If people want to use apolyton chat I can do that as well, but I consider IRC more reliable. I will also be reachable on Yahoo! Messenger under the name AdamTG.

Assuming we are able to communicate, the next thing that needs to be established is how to make decisions. I propose that the Committee make decisions whenever possible by consensus (i.e. unanimous consent). The reason for this is that probably not everyone will be able to attend today, and of those who do attend, a majority might be a small minority of the total population. Now, can I really expect P4, CDC and ACE to work together? Yes, I can. If we are to get the job of writing a draft constitution done, we have to come to a consensus while at the same time agreeing to disagree on matters of policy (rather than constitutional issues).

Committee members, I await your thoughts. Members of the public, feel free to respond as well.

[DeathByTheSword]

Finally on there way if you need some help I THINK I have some spare time to help just say so...

[Maniac]

As you volunteered yorself, sure, you may take over my place! I'll leave the dull constitution writing over to you... Btw, I didn't get any PM. Adam, did you send it to M@ni@c instead of Maniac?

[AdamTG02]

M@ni@c: I thought I had sent it to you (as Maniac), but it's possible I didn't. I can't figure out how to see who I sent a multiple-recipient PM to.

The PM is now going out to DBTS, and if you like I'll forward it to you as well.

[AdamTG02]

Pandemoniak, Lemmy, and I -- a bare quorum, assuming 1/3 is a quorum -- were able to agree on the respective roles of the Directors of Base Production and of Industry and Energy. Base Production decides what to produce in each base, places workers, and commands crawlers. Industry and Energy sets the Economy rate in consultation with Social Engineering and Science and Technology, and has discretion over all use of funds -- to hurry production, to mind control, or to trade to an enemy faction. Industry and Energy would also be responsible for petitioning Base Production for production- and energy-boosting facilities when needed.

Although this was agreed by three members of the committee, we are a minority of the whole. With that in mind, please give me your thoughts on this system.

Pandemoniak and I also discussed impeachment, and were unable to come to an agreement, as he favored judgement by an impartial court and I favored a 2/3 majority of the people. We both agreed to hear from other committee members on the issue.

As it is, we have come to some significant agreements. Given that fact, I am considering posting a draft tonight to give, not the committee's final report, but the present stage of deliberations. The issue of impeachment would not be addressed in this draft, as we were not able to come to a consensus on that issue.

We still have yet to hear from 5/8 of the Committee, so I don't want to go rushing into completion just yet. However, because a deadline was set for today I feel more comfortable presenting something.

Committee members and citizens, feel free to comment.