Imperial Decree #208: Dissolution Of The Landsraad

[Kaiseress Semisa I]

Since my recent attempts of creating activity within the Landsraad have gone unheeded, I feel I am forced to take this course of action.As of this moment, the Landsraad--as you know it--is no more. The Landsraad no longer has any governing procedures for itself, nor does it hold any official power. In three days time, the Landsraad will be recreated as a new political body, and shall be rebuilt from the ground up.I fully expect a proposal from each subdivision (Elwynn, Kildare, Naudia'Diva, and the soon to be created subdivisions--there are two of you) as to how the Landsraad should be recreated. These proposals should be sent to my email at shasta#shireroth,org . Individual proposals (which are independent of the subdivision proposals) should be posted in the Front Gate for discussion.Proposals will not be accepted after 2pm PST (which is GMT-8) in three days' time (that is to say: 2pm PST on December 14th).Subdivisions that do not have a proposal to my email address within three days' time shall not be allowed a part in the restructuring of the Landsraad, as they shall have been deemed "uncaring". Likewise, those who are not Greater Nobility but still show some interest in the rebirth of the Landsraad shall be granted say (but not voting power) in the recreation.And for those of you who are democratically inclined, I would remind you now that this is a feudal society, not a democratic one: we have nobles for a reason, and the Landsraad should be a means for their use. "Everyone gets a vote" proposals will be promptly ignored, as will "Let's just not have a Landsraad" proposals. We are recreating a voting body within noble Shireroth, which is the only way to get around the Kaiser's absolute power, not starting up a revolution. I expect maturity, logic, and reason to be within the recreation process, and anyone displaying otherwise will be promptly removed from the process.Yes, this is harsh, but I feel that it needs to be done for the betterment of Shireroth's future.I will personally be presiding over the restructure, and I will also eventually do the final recreation of the Landsraad myself, through Imperial Decree. All powers vested in the Landsraad are thereby mine in the interim, and I will wield them as I feel necessary.Now, hop to it. You've got a lot of work ahead of you. By my hand,Her Niftiness, The Resurrector: Semisa, First of the Name, Kaiseress of Shireroth, Protector of Comstokia, Overlord of the Duchies of Naudia'Diva, Elwynn, and Kildare, Thane of the Shirelands, Keeper of the Apollo Legacy, Grand Master of the Orders of the Dragon, Griffin, Phoenix, and Chimera, Wielder of Vengeance, Bearer of the Celestial Barrier, Countess of Shirekeep, Knight of the Dragon, Arsonirathius of Delvenus, Knight Companion of the Most Magnificent Imperial Order of the Sovereign Viking Crown, Princess of Hvalafell, Priestess of Cedrism, and Lady of the Golden Mango Throne.Edited by: Kaiseress Semisa I  at: 12/11/05 14:55

[UEC]

Uses:Quote:The Kaiser has the power to dismiss and recall to session the Landsraad at anytime. -Article II. Section B.Violates:Quote:The Landsraad may set its own rules for voting percentages and procedures without outside interference. -Article II. Section AUses AND Violates:Quote:The Kaiser may make any decree regarding the operation, behavior, functions or policy of Shireroth, as well as any actions he/she deems fit as long as they do not violate this Charter. -Article I. Section B E. Metzler (UEC)Count of Monty CriscoFounder of the MCS"Never use a BOO/\/\ist as a diplomat" -- GSJoin ShirerothEdited by: UEC  at: 12/11/05 18:37

[Harvey the Blue]

It's probably too early to say this, but might this be a sign that people are getting sort of fed up with the system? There are only so many ways you can run a "some people vote and others don't" government. Perhaps I'm highly underestimating people out there, but I can't really think of any way to make the body fresh and new without burying it in needless new complications and red tape. Harvey SteffkeSai'Kar's Memories LiveJournal - ranting about Shirerothian issues since fall 2004.

[Kaiseress Semisa I]

Perhaps. If that is the case, we'll cross that bridge when we come to it.

[UEC]

See above post by me.. stupid EZboard botched it. E. Metzler (UEC)Count of Monty CriscoFounder of the MCS"Never use a BOO/\/\ist as a diplomat" -- GSJoin Shireroth

[Ryan]

Make a proposal? Ok...Using Mr. Peabody's Wayback Machine we travel back to the year 2000, when I ran Audentior under the name of Atlantis and proposed a system called Imperial Democracy.Absolute monarch. Nuff' saidElected vice-monarch to counter-balance the absolutism. Nominated from among the general populace, narrowed to three candidates, put in place by popular election.Landsraad becomes a majority rules forum of elected representatives from each region. Say, for example, divide Shireroth into four generalised regions - north, south, east and west. Regions nominate and elect their own representative to the Landsraad from among the residents of their particular region. Thus you have a four-man legislature that is popularily elected, retain the monarchy intact, and keep the bureaucracy short and simple.Of course, you could do it so each duchy elects one rep and so forth.That's my suggestion for the suggestion box. Useless art is simply tolerated vandalism. I am a vandal.

[Kaiseress Semisa I]

Your first Violation is invalid, since there is no Landsraad to violate.

[H4773r]

*raises hand* may i suggest a system i came accross in my travels? it was a wide and spacious land with great ties to the sea known as pirate cove. the pirate king CAD was in a similar bind to your own, kaiseress. his admirals, not unlike your dukes and other ruling peoples, would go out and about on mercanary missions and raiding tours at sea, and therefore would not be accessable for many days, even months, at a time.so, his solution was that instead of revamping and making new admirals at every juncture he apointed temp admirals until the real one showed up again. if the new admiral had served dutifully and exemplary the ships underneath him would decree a new admiral.... well, long story short.... without undermining the pyramids of power the people have say over local officials if no one else steps in and so does the head of the government and it ensures a say from every sector, promptly.hope that helps, if not, im only a tourist, sorry. *sets hawaiian shirt aflame with his zippo* ooh, been hangin out with too many boo/\/\ists. Here's a site with a little more about me.http://www.geocities.com/t3h_h4773r/H4773r.html

[Hypatia Agnesi]

Your Imperial Highness,I highly protest.I agree with Erik's reading of the law, which, I might add, is partly drawn from the IMPERIAL CHARTER, not the Lawbook, and therefore you technically need to reissue the charter in order to change the Landsraad's rules. This rebuilding is not currently whithin your power, but you may change the Charter to make it so.Here is the pertinent excerpt from the Charter:Quote:Article A: Powers of the Landsraad.1. The Landsraad shall be vested, through the good grace of the Kaiser, with the legislative powers of Shireroth. The Landsraad may set its own rules for voting percentages and procedures, without outside interference. Any bill, act, measure, dictate, statement or order passed or issued by the Landsraad may be vetoed by the Kaiser for any reason. The Landsraad is vested with Judiciary powers second only to the Kaiser. The Landsraad may take no action that violates this constitution.Article B: Sessions of the Landsraad.1. The Kaiser has the power to dismiss and recall to session* the Landsraad at anytime. Should the Kaiser die or abdicate the throne, the Landsraad shall be automatically called to session. The Landsraad may dismiss itself from Session at any time, unless there is no Steward or Kaiser in power.I have zero problem with you dissolving this session of the Landsraad. In fact, I expected Eoin to do it himself after the feudalism change. However, I do not agree with your rebuilding of the Landsraad. We are supposed to set our own rules, as laid out in the Charter, and those rules are kept in the Procedures. The Kaiser is not supposed to mess with them.Moreover, I do not feel that mere inactivity is a sign that the Landsraad has died or anything of the sort. Legislative inactivity is sometimes a sign that nothing is pressing for the Landsraad's attention, and therefore excessive legislation would merely get us in trouble. Certainly there are areas that need cleaning up and fine-tuning, but this is the wrong way to go about it. I, for one, actually like the current system as it is, and if you insist on doing away with the Landsraad in violation of the Imperial Charter, I will simply submit the following message as my proposal: "Your Highness, I humbly request that you reinstate the previous system. Change nothing."I plead for your reconsideration and fairness on this matter.Duchess Hypatia AngesiPraetor((And in a fully candid comment, I say back off of the Landsraad. Seriously, take a step back and let us do what we should be doing instead of trying to force us into it. I, the Praetor and perhaps the single other person who should be overseeing these changes closely, am only now able to give this more of my attention now that finals are over, and suddenly you want to rip the Landsraad down and rebuild it. I say this is the WRONG WAY to make the changes you want made.))* And another thing, dismissing a session of the Landsraad is a very different thing from dissolving it entirely. The latter is not within your power currently. *throws grenade for the hell of it*BO0O0O0O0/\/\!!!!!!Edited by: Hypatia Agnesi at: 12/12/05 0:53

[Gryphon Avocatio]

2:00 pm pst is 22:00 gmt, James.Oh, and I agree with Hypatia and Erik.

[Kaiseress Semisa I]

((To be equally honest with you, Hypatia, I don't much give a damn with how you think the restructure should be done. I don't much give a damn about how anyone thinks the restructure should be done, because if I listen to everyone I'll never get anything done and the final product will be far inferior to what it potentially could have been.))I made attempts to begin changes, and they have gone untouched for the better part of a week by the entire nation. But the second I take it away, everyone in the nation finds something wrong with what I'm doing.If you're going to do it yourselves, do it already, or at least start so I know that my efforts have not been a total waste.(Oh, and I said GMT minus Edited by: Kaiseress Semisa I  at: 12/12/05 9:45

[david northworthy beckfor]

yes, I know not everyone was posting loads in the threads you started, but, like, some are on loa, and some are doing important last minute edumacation stuff...at least, I get the impression that people in america would have been doing that around this time..I know I am....and it's christmas, so people are busy trying not to end up with their life turning out like in one of them rubbish films that are allways shown this time of year...damn I'm gad I don't watch TV no more......they suck,.

[Hypatia Agnesi]

You know what? You don't have to like what I say, and you don't have to give a damn about what I or anyone else says, but if you're going to go about essentially yelling at people to move, being all heavy-handed, you should expect some resistance. Moreover, you can't expect the Landsraad to jump even within one week when you tell them to jump, because 1) we're online, and 2) as David said, many of us are/were on LoA and dealing with holiday stuff. I'm surprised you hadn't realized by now that trying to force Shirerithians into things is like herding cats.You're Kaiser, deal with it. *throws grenade for the hell of it*BO0O0O0O0/\/\!!!!!!

[Kaiseress Semisa I]

I AM dealing with it. In fact, I even took your words to heart (as you can see) and undid hat I had done so we could[/b] do it your

[Bill3000]

Please. The Landsraad is slow, inefficient, and basically, a bunch of crap. I've seen other beurocratic systems do much better, and the Landsraad is roughly worthless right now. Fax, this decree wasn't a mistake at all.- The current quorum system only serves to enlongate votes dramatically. It has no purpose other than allowing everyone to have their say, but the point of this is that if a duchy is not willing to appoint an assistant- Lack of time limits, or time limits so long as to make them useless. Bills should be voted on a strict and fast time limit - otherwise, the voting. But the lack of time limits is most important in debate - with no time limit for a debate, it only serves to . A time limit for voting as a week is too slow - people are certainatly more active than that, and if not, they should be. LoAs are not an excuse, because as before, they can appoint Stewards.- Praetorship that is extremely slow - A praetor must be on top of things and close the topics when they need to be closed, and other management issues such as the actual updating of the . If the Praetor cannot do their job due to being on LoA, have an assistant Praetor to continue the job while the person is on LoA. A LoA is not an excuse to prevent the legislature to be running.- Debates. No limit of debate hurts the system, a lot. There have been many issues in the past which, while had been good ideas, never actually made it up to a vote because people had continously argued about it. This is akin to a filibuster, endless and pointless debate without substance over an issue people will have decided anyways. This is probably the biggest issue of the system - a debate limit must exist, and it must be very short. Even better is allowing debates and discussions to occur while there is voting.Simply put, Timed Democracy is a far superior system to what we have now. But note that the most important aspect of Timed Democracy was not the fact that it was a Democracy, but it was a system that was simple, efficient, and fast. Its methods can be placed in rather easily in a Republic. (And has done so far in the past quite easily, although a Republic is still inferior to a Democracy in terms of efficiency.) These methods include:Quote:1) No quorums.2) Optional debate period of two days. If not taken, debate occurs concurrently with voting.3) Voting lasts four days, and ends at a set time.4) Haste Voting Rules - the ability to pass a bill through the legislature in a very short amount of time (12 hours or so) for issues that are for an emergency, and will pass if the voting is unanimous/very high percentage.This efficient process works. Most importantly, it prevents issues such like ones we have now which allow a form of filibustering, by causing the debate to go endlessly up to when people forget about the issue altogether. It makes legislature pass or fail fast, and without a quorum, it encourages voters to become active if they want to vote on issues. It is simple enough for micronations that do not want legalese (which we don't) to have an efficient process that encourages people to vote and debate on issues, which those issues will be decided on quickly. Bill Dusch - Archon of Soloralism - Founder of TelikosCitizen of ShirerothBaron of AntyaProud to be Apollonianvar txtList = new Array()txtList[txtList.length]="'Whoa! You're in...college now? You got...older! I guess that's what happens when time passes, but still...' - Scott Siskind";txtList[txtList.length]="'The Hindenburg Uncertainty Principle, by contrast states that before you get on a blimp, you can never be certain whether it's going to catch on fire or not' - Scott Siskind";txtList[txtList.length]="'We.....are.....not....FANTASY!>?!POE' - Scott Siskind, on hearing Bill Dusch say that Shireroth's theme is percieved to be Fiction-Fantasy based";txtList[txtList.length]="'me to. well almost, we have to worship the living god, Bill3000.' - Hubert";txtList[txtList.length]="'Y'know what? I am never going to get out of micronations. I think I need to be assassinated or something.' - Jason Steffke";txtList[txtList.length]="'Bill, you are STILL young and stupid.' - Jason Steffke, Control of Destiny 1";txtList[txtList.length]="'I think we've gotta promote you. You now have slightly more diplomatic skills than a random rock.' - Sirithil nos Feanor, to Bill Dusch";txtList[txtList.length]="'Wow. I'm this close to admitting you're no longer young and stupid.' - Scott Siskind, to Bill";txtList[txtList.length]="'ow! I've been thrwappen! Now I have a sudden urge to enter politics...' - Gryphon the Pure, after being hit by a shard of Pure Mischief";txtList[txtList.length]="'No, you've changed too, Bill. Instead of being the fragmented, annoying and immature 16-year-old, you've graduated to being a well-spoken, annoying and immature 19-year-old. Congratulations.' - Ryan Caruso"; j=parseInt(Math.random()*txtList.length);j=(isNaN(j))?0:j;document.write(txtList[j]);

[RicLyon]

*applauds Bill*

[Hypatia Agnesi]

You know what? I wash my hands of the Landsraad issue entirely.I have been quite busy this quarter and do not anticipate being any less busy next quarter, and I'm sick of not being able to do my job at a pace that fits in with that. I have also not had the time or inspiration to make great deals of time in order to formulate reforms for the Landsraad.I wash my hands of the Landsraad by resigning as Praetor. I will of course still be able to speak in the Landsraad as a Duchess, but I refuse to feel the least responsible if some people feel our legislature is broken. *throws grenade for the hell of it*BO0O0O0O0/\/\!!!!!!

[UEC]

Fax... it doesn't matter if you disolve the Landsraad, all that does it dismiss it from session, the Body known as The Landsraad, still exsists, as it was created by the Charter. As such, while it may not be in session, it still exsists. This Decree is a violation of the Imperial Charter...(all the law I quoted was from the Charter as it is the ONLY law above the Kaiser...(despite being made by the Kaiser)) E. Metzler (UEC)Count of Monty CriscoFounder of the MCS"Never use a BOO/\/\ist as a diplomat" -- GSJoin Shireroth