Following on from @Pronoun 's point about Iou, and I hope these changes aren't about IoU, rather they are an opportunity to ensure those who are postively dedicated to the region float to the top.

(Deep breath)

May I highlight an issue with the last election and the comment that 'democracy will weed out the poor candidates'.

The last del election was close. Depending on voting method it could have fallen 4 ways. (I'm getting to the point and it's not voting methods).

IoU has said on discord he invited friends to the Assembly to support his campaign. Then IoU 'lobbied' me to withdraw my candidacy in the last hours of the election. This is because he had worked out if I withdrew at the last moment, he would knock Tim out second place and run off against Tsu. I (IMO rightly) didn't and it was left the way it was. (Good decision or bad decision by me?)

The point is, Our democracy can be subverted by a well organised campaign and a good lobbying technique.

To me, it's sensible to have minimum involvement standards. This protects the keys to region and doesnt mean newer delegate candidates get excluded unnecessarily. Because we've expanded opportunities for 'newer' legislators to get more involved, there are more opportunities now than there were 6 months ago to make a difference. This doesn't though, imo, mean people need to have held an elected position (like the LC), we have had some interesting elected officials who wouldn't necessarily make good delegates ! But includes the long list of other activities we do.

Further, If I recall at that time there was a thought that iou and I were newer than the other candidates and we were both called populists (although I think IoU and I are quite different). Since then both of us are involved in different ways in the region at a deeper level.

I read the comments earlier on the CRS.
If the CRS is demoralised or disfunctional, it hasn't necessarily impinged on the ability of the region to look after itself and I think the CRS should be proud of itself and the work its done. These changes may well help invigorate it.

Check my links.....

SWAN 4 Life
https://www.nationstates.net/page=dispatch/id=1086117

(This post was last modified: 12-28-2018, 09:40 AM by Beepee.)

Reply

Beepee highlights something we all should start considering more deeply and more often:

We idealize “democracy” in a way that it is idealized in countries with hundreds of millions of citizens. Our small community size has a profound impact on the way democracy works, which is something we seldom consider in debates like these.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Reply

... is this a good time to revive my suggestion that delegate elections on the forum should be done via approval voting?

-tsunamy
[forum admin]

Reply

... is this a good time to revive my suggestion that delegate elections on the forum should be done via approval voting?

It is always/never (delete as appropriate) a good time for that discussion.

Founder of the Church of the South Pacific [Forum Thread] [Discord], a safe place to discuss spirituality for people of all faiths and none (currently looking for those interested in prayer and/or "home" groups);
And The Silicon Pens [Discord], a writer's group for the South Pacific and beyond!

Yahweo usenneo ir varleo, ihraneo jurlaweo hraseu seu, ir jiweveo arladi.

Salma 145:8

translate

The LORD is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love.
Psalm 145: 8

Reply

Plowed through this thread. New recap and open questions!

Recap:

• The CRS and LegComm are dissolved.
  
• The DC (Defense Council) is formed, consisting of high-influence high-endorsement nations.
  
• The CSI (Council on Security and Intelligence) is formed, consisting of trusted individuals with, ideally, experience in regional security.
  
• The DC's requirements are the mechanical requirements of the current CRS (maybe slightly adjusted to fit with the times), plus approval by the CSI.
  
• The DC tracks and looks after things like SWAN and enforces the endocap as per CSI recommendation.
  
• The Delegate must be a legislator and either on the DC or be otherwise eligible for DC, and must have and include a service record with their campaign.
  
• The CSI handles Legislator Applications.
  
• The Cabinet receives a general mandate for handling all appointments (and the assembly maintains its mandate to confirm all appointments)
  
• The CSI is split into junior and senior ranks to lower the barrier of entry whilst ensuring confidentiality
  
• The CSI will be chaired by a senior member
  
• The provision allowing SPSF to have an intelligence office will be removed.
  
• CRS responsibilities that will be transferred to CSI: Declaring a state of emergency, ordering border control action for security reasons, Parole Board, Issuing authority for proscriptions, appointing boder control officers,
  
• CRS responsibilities that will be transferred to DC: Delegacy succession, holding border control, ordering border control action for endorsement cap violations (in coop with CSI for high-influence nations),
  

Open Questions:

• What kind of service record do we want to require for the Delegacy?
  
• What do we want to do with the Legion of Honor Award Act? I'll be honest, while I'm willing to draft everything else, I'd most likely to just vote to repeal that thing in its entirety as part of an omnibus package if nobody else drafts the necessary changes to that law.
  
• Initial members of CSI (senior), CSI (junior), DC?
  
• Approval voting for Delegate? (relevant information)
  

Reply

This touches on @Beepee's Persona Non Grata bill as well as the general discussion on proscriptions; does the Cabinet retain its authority to issue proscriptions in these reforms?

Open Questions:

• What kind of service record do we want to require for the Delegacy?
  
• What do we want to do with the Legion of Honor Award Act? I'll be honest, while I'm willing to draft everything else, I'd most likely to just vote to repeal that thing in its entirety as part of an omnibus package if nobody else drafts the necessary changes to that law.
  
• Initial members of CSI (senior), CSI (junior), DC?
  
• Approval voting for Delegate? (relevant information)
  

With the exception of the TSP Legion of Honor Award Act, I think it would be appropriate to create separate threads to discuss each one as to do so in this thread will be chaotic.

In regards to the Legion of Honour Award Act, you are also welcome to open a repeal discussion for it. I don't believe it should be part of an omnibus package because it does not directly relate to security.

Reply

does the Cabinet retain its authority to issue proscriptions in these reforms?

The recap currently doesn't lay out changing the proscription system at all, as that can be done separately; all it does is transfer the old authority that the CRS has in that regard to the CSI.

Open Questions:

• What kind of service record do we want to require for the Delegacy?
  
• What do we want to do with the Legion of Honor Award Act? I'll be honest, while I'm willing to draft everything else, I'd most likely to just vote to repeal that thing in its entirety as part of an omnibus package if nobody else drafts the necessary changes to that law.
  
• Initial members of CSI (senior), CSI (junior), DC?
  
• Approval voting for Delegate? (relevant information)
  

With the exception of the TSP Legion of Honor Award Act, I think it would be appropriate to create separate threads to discuss each one as to do so in this thread will be chaotic.

That seems fair. I'll wait to see if anybody has issues with the current recap, and then spawn those threads.

In regards to the Legion of Honour Award Act, you are also welcome to open a repeal discussion for it. I don't believe it should be part of an omnibus package because it does not directly relate to security.

It shouldn't, sure, it's just that I really don't care to write the amendments to it that would be needed upon passage of this.

If somebody else will be willing to write those, sure.

Reply

... is this a good time to revive my suggestion that delegate elections on the forum should be done via approval voting?

If we can be sure that people understand how approval voting works, sure.

_{Minister of Media, Subversion and Sandwich Making}
^{Associate Justice of the High Court and Senior Moderator}

---

PREVIOUS ROLES

Former Delegate (x2.5)
Former Member of the Committee for State Security
Former Chief Justice of The High Court (x3)
Former Minister of Foreign Affairs (x2)
Former Chair of the Assembly (x3)
Former Minister of Security (x2)
Former Local Councillor (x2.5)
Former Forum Administrator
Former Minister of Media

Reply

... is this a good time to revive my suggestion that delegate elections on the forum should be done via approval voting?

If we can be sure that people understand how approval voting works, sure.

Has anyone created a handy guide before?

Reply

That can be created.

Reply