Quote from: Eðo Grischun on July 09, 2021, 03:25:19 AM
Indeed.  The only bit I'm not sure about anymore is when exactly our first session begins because the Ziu timetable is a bit different than it used to be.

It corresponds when the Cosa convenes. The national government may decide to use the first Clark however it chooses, but the EX is from formation to dissolution. So it's already in session. We just need to pick the officers.

I would like to thank the Secretary of State for running a smooth election.  No easy feat.

Congratulations to the parties and elected officials.

As some of you may know, I served as a Commissioner on the Electoral Commission.  There are three ballots I voted to invalidate.  I am working to prepare a summary, based entirely on public information, to explain why I would have invalidated those ballots.  This is not meant to cast aspersions on any individual or body, and only facts that can be verified from already-existing public record will be used (i.e. nothing learned in confidence will be included).  Further, there will be no mention on whether the EC deliberated on the issues or, if so, the nature of those deliberations. My hope is that the Ziu will use this as a chance to find some ways to remedy potential issues with ballot casting and the verification process.

-V

Looks like we three make up the Estats Xhenerais. I'll post something more formal in the next few days. 

Quote from: xpb on May 25, 2021, 01:49:27 PM

The King lives.  To my knowledge he has neither renounced not lost his citizenship.

Thus it is incumbent upon those who wish to remove him to make that effort under existing law, not to move the goalposts

(Sorry about previous typos from phone entry)

Generally, I've become loath to weigh in on these public debates.  When I do, it is sparingly but no less than a short novel.  In keeping with that tradition, I submit the following for you to scroll passed:

I find the quoted post to be illogical and confounding and antithetical to democratic principles and our Organic Law.  (While the claim appears to cast aspersions, I will attribute such to a poorly thought-out comment in lieu of a malicious implication.)

I digress. The Talossan State, and the entirety of its authority, stems from a single predicate—that certain individuals did "ordain and establish, by and through the consent of the People, as the supreme law of our Realm, this . . . Organic Law[.]"  The most important clause in the quoted text, and, in my estimation, the preamble itself, is "by and through the consent of the People".  For even the Organic Law at the outset recognizes that its absolute authority stems from the People's consent to be governed, and that the People limned that consent through the Organic Law, which continues to exist only because the People accept its validity.  In other words, the Organic Law is, by definition, law onto itself—it is the Law that the People authorized.  Acting within the confines of the Organic Law is, by definition, to act within existing law.

We ought not to confuse that because the Organic Law may permit a specific occurrence under its present wording, then no such other method is permissible.  This is a folly.  The Organic Law, for all of its rules and limitations or other issues, carries with it the mechanism for change—the amendment process.  To utilize that mechanism, even if there already exist a possible avenue, is, by definition, acting "under existing law" because the amendment process is "existing law."  To suggest that seeking to use this mechanism because something is already provided for in the Organic Law as "acting outside of existing law" is an anathema.  You do not have to like how your political opponents play the game, but the rules are there for everyone to use.  If the rules are already written, and your opponent uses a less obvious strategy, they did not change the goalpost, you simply did not read the rulebook.  Ultimately, no matter what the Organic Law may say about an issue, the only thing that matters, in this context, is how can that be changed.  So let us embark on that a bit.

Article XII of the Organic Law has five sections that set forth how the amendment process may be utilized.   Any changes to the Organic Law must follow two consecutive, overarching phases: (1) the legislative process to become a proposed amendment; and (2) the referendum process for ratification (i.e. promulgation).  Each phase carries general rules with explicit exceptions. 

First, under the general rules, a proposed amendment to the Organic Law must receive (1) two-thirds support of the Cosa; (2) simple majority support of the Senate; and (3) royal assent as set forth.  Although these rules each carry specifically enumerated exceptions, we concern ourselves only with the second prong.  An act, meeting the other criteria, must carry two-thirds support in the Senate if it were to amend (1) the amendment process; (2) the Organic articles regarding the election to and composition of the Senate; or (3) those articles speaking to the territorial subdivisions (with some other caveats to this part).   This is operative.  None of these exceptions mention or allude to a proposed amendment that would modify or amend any article related to the King or the Crown directly.  Such proposed amendments are subject to the most minimal procedure. 

Assuming, arguendo, that the foregoing is satisfied, we turn to the second phase.  The proposed amendment must be then ratified by a simple majority of the People no later than the next general election.  To this general rule, we have two exceptions—(1) if such modifies the representation of provinces in the Senate, then a majority of voters in the impacted province must also support the amendment; or (2) a proposed amendment modifying any or part of the Covenants of Rights and Freedoms requires two-thirds majority of voters participating in the referendum.  Again, there lacks any mention or allusion to an amendment involving the King.  This is terribly informative—at the end of the day, when the dust settles, it will always come down to one simple precept—the People consent to this State existing under this Organic Law, and any changes to that consent must be accompanied by their approval.  That consent carries with it the means by which such changes may be proposed and adopted.  These rules surrounding those changes (i.e. amendments) are, by default, "existing law."  To suggest that something more is needed, that the amendment process is of no concern or not enough simply because the King is involved, is itself to ignore the "existing law" and to "move the goalposts" beyond what the Organic Law contemplated, and what the People contemplated upon adopting same. 

I end with this: These are the rules. This is the existing law. This is the goal post. The supposition that those arguing for the Compromise are somehow not adhering to "existing law" or that they seek to "move the goalposts" is a mere projection and utterly without merit to the text of the Organic Law and the source of its authority. 

I, Viteu Marcianüs, hereby claim my right to be seated in the next Grand Session of the Estats Xhenerais.

Councillors of the Eleventh Grand Session of the Estats Xhenerais of the United Provinces of Vuode and Dandenburg and all adult citizens of these United Provinces:

It has long been the tradition of our province that Article III, Section 3 of the Constitution of the United Provinces of Vuode and Dandenburg operates above any other provision in that "Grand Sessions of the Estats Xhenerais are instantly convened and dissolved with those of the national Ziu."   Moreover, that any adult citizen of the United Provinces claimed their constitutional right to sit as Councillor in the Grand Session of the Estats Xhenerais, provided such occured during a national election and through publicly announcing the requisite declaration, according to Article III, Sections 2 and 5, has always served as the basis of, and been recognized as constitutionally permissive for, the composition of the Estats Xhenerais.  In sum, the referenced-provisions have, through practice, obviated the role of the Cunstaval or other ceremonial circumstance, such as swearing in each member or dissolving each Grand Session, otherwise set forth in our great constitution, and any required oath or swearing in is widely accepted as implicit in the assumption of responsibility in claiming one's seat as Councillor. 

Against that backdrop, and in strict adherence to the traditions of these United Provinces in applying their constitution, let it hereby be known that the Eleventh Grand Session of the Estats Xhenerais was dissolved with the national Ziu, and that, from this point onward and in this thread, any adult citizen of these United Provinces may lay claim to their seat as Councillor in the Twelfth Grand Session of the Estats Xhenerais by making the public declaration set forth in Article III, Section 5 of the Constitution of the United Provinces of Vuode and Dandenburg, which is:

"I, [NAME], hereby claim my right to be seated in the next Grand Session of the Estats Xhenerais"

And let it be known that having made such declaration, and in accord with the all other provisions therewith, upon the conclusion of the national election, all adult citizens of these United Provinces having laid such claim, be recognized through operation of law as Councillors to the Twelfth Session of the Estats Xhenerais, and that such having been deemed immediately commenced.   

May all adult citizens of these United Provinces come forth and lay claim to constitutional seat as Councillor in the Twelfth Grand Session of the Estats Xehenrais of the United Provinces of Vuode and Dandenburg.

Quote from: Marcel Eðo Pairescu Tafial on May 17, 2021, 11:46:56 AM

Quote from: Viteu on May 17, 2021, 11:33:44 AM
I have looked but is there a way to change the display time to an individual's time zone (i.e. mine should be eastern)? I cannot find the setting anywhere.

Profile > Modify Profile > Look and Layout > Time Offset.

Theres no way of setting a timezone as far as I know, instead you have to add the time offset relative to GTA Time. Maybe clicking on auto-detect will help.

Thank you! Not the most intuitive but it fixed it.

I have looked but is there a way to change the display time to an individual's time zone (i.e. mine should be eastern)? I cannot find the setting anywhere.

Quote from: xpb on May 14, 2021, 04:15:08 PM

You. Lost. The. Vote.

The fact that there is even a compromise is, per se, a compromise.

Quote from: Tric'hard Lenxheir on May 11, 2021, 07:38:04 PM
I have a lot to learn. I am not even sure how i will vote in the upcoming election. Not really sure how i feel on the issues or how each party leans on the issues. I see that every citizen may claim a seat in the Vuodean government but i don't feel qualified to do so at this point. Thank you for the link it will be helpful.

Meh, don't be so modest. Etho wrote Vuode's constitution several years back. I think he'll agree when i say that the intent was so every person in Vuode, regardless of their perceived qualification, can have a voice in its governance.  We're a small province that guards its autonomy fiercely.  Your input is just as valid as any other citizen. 

At minimum, I'd say, claim your seat in the Estats Xhenerias.  I don't think anything has actually happened there in years. We have about one statute (maybe two) regarding senate elections.  Although we're always hopeful for more. Also, national party lines tend to break down in Vuode.  So if we are in opposite parties nationally, that doesn't necessarily mean we wouldn't be political allies locally (or vice versa!).

Because I'm in an oddly good mood:

ithoughtclassicallatinalsodidnthaveaspacebetweenwordsoranyothergrammaticalmarkersbuticouldbewrongbutwhoknowsthenagainiamahorribleproofreaderformyownworksoperhapsthatwouldcoverupmytyposyesokayimsoldonclassicallatin

Quote from: Baron Alexandreu Davinescu on May 12, 2021, 05:02:01 PM

Quote from: Marcel Eðo Pairescu Tafial on May 12, 2021, 02:42:16 PM

Quote from: Baron Alexandreu Davinescu on May 12, 2021, 02:36:24 PM
Well, let's see... How many diacritics are there to remember? Like six or eight or something like that? If I understand correctly, the cedilla is barely used, right?

Maybe I'll make up a little cheatsheet for myself. I used too many different computers for changing keyboard layouts, I think.

If you mean for Talossan, then we can count them all. (On that note, no, Ç shows up quite often.)

Whats important is that its not the diacritics themselves that get codepoints in this case, but rather the letter with that diacritic together, theye precomposed. Which means:

Umlaut/Diaeresis: Ää Ëë Ïï Öö Üü
Acute accent: Áá Éé Íí Óó Úú
Grave accent: Àà Èè Ìì Òò Ùù
Ring accent: Åå
Breve accent: Ăă

Consonants: Þþ Ðð Çç

In total 40 separate codepoints (not counting obsolete diacritics like circumflexes) you'd need to memerise for Talossan. Installing a new keyboard layout would definitely be easier.

That's... a lot.  So yeah, it looks like you're right.

Here's a full list from my old bookmark folder for altcodes: https://fsymbols.com/keyboard/windows/alt-codes/

Don't know if anyone else has had this issue but Chrome has a weird bug that comes up for me from time to time when I attempt to use the unicode (e.g. alt+0252 ü)--a new window opens and the prior window refreshes.  This can be frustrating if you're typing something, like, oh I don't know, Marcianüs, in a long post and suddenly it's gone.  The other downside to the alt+unicode method is the limitation of not having a number pad on a laptop. 

I use the alt+Unicode on my work computer for obvious reasons, but for my personal machines, I use an app called "HoldKey" https://www.holdkey.eu/, which enables Windows machines to have the same function Mac OS X has (and cell phone users) of holding down the letter and selecting the accent.  It has a trial version, but it's only a few dollars and well worth it. 

How does one change the text above the avatar? Like if I wanted to change "Justice" to "Judge"?

Quote from: Tric'hard Lenxheir on May 08, 2021, 10:53:32 AM
New to Vuode and wondering, are there any provincial elections that i should be aware of? I am trying to get up to speed on all of the governmental workings of Talossa and Vuode. Thank you

Welcome. Vuode doesn't have an election per se. During the general election, a thread can be started for anyone to claim a seat in the Estates General. It's that simple

Is this really an argument we care to have in the grand scheme of things? Like, my republican leanings are not secret, but this seems to really be nonissue.

The Organic Law references peerage twice, and one is rather passing:

Article II.6: The King may grant titles of nobility and confer awards and decorations.

Article III.2: Except as otherwise provided in this Organic Law, any Talossan eligible to vote may be elected or appointed to the Senäts, but only for his or her own province. No Senator, even though elected or appointed to the Senäts, may actually vote his seat until he has been a citizen for one year, or served for six months as Seneschál or Secretary of State, or received an order of knighthood from the King.

Article II only says the King can grant a title, not that anything actually comes with it except that it could grant someone under the age of 14 the right to vote if they are a knight under article III.  I really don't see this as an issue here.

Now statute—

Lex.F.1 puts members of the nobility and knighthood above others in the Table of Precedence, but ultimately what that means is unclear. So, okay, nobles and knights get introduced before regular citizens.

Lex.F.40.1 is more on point.  This creates the Dynastic Orders (those given by the Crown as a personal gift without advice of the government) and National Orders (those created by statue or tradition and granted on the advice of Government). So Dynastic Orders are given to the individual and really just stems from the King's inherent ability to say "ohh look, I made a peerage club; these people I like can be in it."  National Orders are those created by the Ziu and require the advice of Government before granting, so the King cannot just grant peerage for those Orders.

Lex.L.5 creates the Royal College of Arms to, among other things, advise and support the King in the warding of all such arm and titles of honour and nobility. No special privileges here.

Lex.L.7 does something with the privy councilors issuing a letter to the king, the purpose of which I cannot glean, and I don't know the history offhand. But this also appears to be ceremonial.

In fairness, as I see it, the only thing peerage gets you is to go Okay, so in fairness, the only thing peerage gets you is, definitively, in the never chance that we have an order of precedence, the King's club would be introduced before a regular citizen. Oh, and maybe in a circumstance where a 12-year-old has done awesome service and granted knighthood, and is voted as a senator, the ability to vote in the Senate.

That's it; that's all that follows. Something similar for decorations but those don't carry peerage. 

So okay, the most this will do is (1) prevent the King from unilaterally ensuring someone who is not 14 can vote if elected to the Senate, and (2) prevent the nobility and knights from being introduced as group eight in the Table of Precedence.

Honestly, if we're going to keep the King, I have no issue with the arrangement of peerage. Not to mention, say we do abolish the Organic and statutory authority of the King to grant peerage unilaterally, he could still set up a peerage without the consent of the Government, those peers just wouldn't be able to vote early in the Senate if elected or take precedence in the Table. But there would be nothing stopping the Monarch from issuing his own peerage. Frankly, much like the current arrangment, those that care will be honored, and those who don't will move on.

This seems an awfully minor argument to have and, as we are seeing, is being used to distract from the historic compromise.

So I offer one simple question—why, as a republican, do I actually care about this?