[PASSED] Commend Texas

[Goddess Relief Office]

Commend Texas
A resolution to recognize outstanding contribution by a nation or region.
Category: Commendation | Nominee: Texas | Proposed by: Travancore-Cochin

Description:
The Security Council,

ACKNOWLEDGING the existence of the region of Texas since 2003;

RECALLING that the region's members have been very active in the World Assembly and its predecessor;

APPLAUDING the region for its creation of the NSSuite which includes the NSDossier, a highly effective tool for deriving demographic statistics over a wide range of variables; NSHistory, a repository of historical records of nations and regions; and NSStatistics, which provides vital information about internationally prevalent social conditions.

PRAISING the leaders of Texas for holding 'Texas Breakfasts' daily in furtherance of their close-knit relations;

NOTING that these leaders also hold weekly chat sessions, which serves as an example of their commitment to peace and dialogue;

NOTING FURTHER that the region has a democratic form of government in place, as laid out in its Constitution, and that it has had stable governments throughout its existence, as evidenced by the long reign of NewTexas, their current President;

APPRECIATING the region's conduct of diplomacy in a mature manner, as evidenced by the 16 active alliances to which it is a party;

FURTHER APPRECIATING its upholding of The Triumvirate alliance formed between itself, Wysteria and The Heartland since the beginning of NationStates;

RECOGNIZING that the region hosts a defender army, the Texas Defense Force (TDF), which is the oldest functional defender army in the world;

OPINING that the region is a role-model worth emulating;

HEREBY commends Texas.

Current Draft

Commend Texas
A resolution to recognize outstanding contribution by a nation or region.
Category: Commendation | Nominee: Texas | Proposed by: Travancore-Cochin

Description:
The Security Council,

ACKNOWLEDGING the existence of the region of Texas since the early days of NationStates;

RECALLING that Texas is home to many nations that are/were authors of NSWA and NSUN resolutions;

PRAISING the region and its delegate for their active participation in resolution voting, having voted 487 resolutions continuously and not missing a single resolution in 2,700+ days;

APPLAUDING the region for its creation of the NSSuite which includes the NSDossier, a highly effective tool for deriving demographic statistics over a wide range of variables; NSHistory, a repository of historical records of nations and regions; and NSStatistics, which provides vital information about internationally prevalent social conditions.

PRAISING the leaders of Texas for holding 'Texas Breakfasts' daily in furtherance of their close-knit relations;

NOTING that these leaders also hold weekly chat sessions, which serves as an example of their commitment to peace and dialogue;

FURTHER NOTING that the region has a democratic form of government in place, as laid out in its Constitution, allowing the election of all government office holders including the office of the President of Texas;

APPRECIATING the region's conduct of diplomacy in a mature manner, as evidenced by the 16 active alliances to which it is a party;

FURTHER APPRECIATING its upholding of The Triumvirate alliance formed between itself, Wysteria and The Heartland since the beginning of NationStates;

RECOGNIZING that the region hosts a defender army, the Texas Defense Force (TDF), which is the oldest functional defender army in the world;

BELIEVING that the region is a role-model worth emulating;

HEREBY commends Texas.

Written by Trav-Coch. He's a little busy at the moment so I thought I'll bring it to discussion.



Just some explanation:

RECALLING that the region's members have been very active in the World Assembly and its predecessor;

"Predecessor" refers to the United Nations, which existed before WA came into being. Some examples of the resolutions that can be attributed to Texans include: GA #2 Rights and Duties of WA States (by Frisbeeteria), GA #32 Veterans Reform Act (by Studly penguins, repealed), GA #49 Stem Cells For Greater Health (Studly penguins), GA #54 Dignified End of Life Choices (Studly penguins), UN#236 Free Trade of Durable Goods (by IronFelix aka Old Dixieland with Antartic Oasis), UN#237 Protection of Orphans Act (by IronFelix aka Old Dixieland with Antartic Oasis), UN#233 Abolition of Forced Labour (by IronFelix aka Old Dixieland with Antartic Oasis), UN#230 Fairness and Equality Act (by SchutteGod aka NoTVandNoBeer), UN#219 Accessible Family Planning (by Karmicaria aka The Rose of Texas）, UN#198 Emigration Rights (by Kivistan UN Bordello), UN#188 Repeal "World Heritage List" (by Kivistan UN Bordello), UN#189 Repeal "Due Process" (by Karmicaria aka The Rose of Texa）, UN#178 Outlaw Necrophilia (by Karmicaria aka The Rose of Texa）, UN#49 Rights and Duties of UN States (by Frisbeeteria), UN#50 UN Space Consortium (by Rixtex), UN#94 Right to Self-Protection (by Texan Hotrodders)....etc.

Some are submitted by nations who has membership in both AO and Texas, but many are by independent Texans too.

APPLAUDING the region for its creation of the NSSuite which includes the NSDossier, a highly effective tool for deriving demographic statistics over a wide range of variables; NSHistory, a repository of historical records of nations and regions; and NSStatistics, which provides vital information about internationally prevalent social conditions.

NSDossier is a free tool created by Texas. It allows you to check your nation's statistic. It's one of the more highly used tools along with NSeconomy. Recently, additional tools such as NSStatistics and NSHistory were added. The former allows you to generate statistics of the entire game, while the latter is an archive of NS regional and national history. The site is at: http://nsdossier.texasregion.net/


The other clauses are self-explanatory.

Thoughts?


~GRO~

[Mahaj]

Commend Texas
A resolution to recognize outstanding contribution by a nation or region.
Category: Commendation | Nominee: Texas | Proposed by: Travancore-Cochin

Description:
The Security Council,

ACKNOWLEDGING the existence of the region of Texas since 2003;

RECALLING that the region's members have been very active in the World Assembly and its predecessor;

APPLAUDING the region for its creation of the NSSuite which includes the NSDossier, a highly effective tool for deriving demographic statistics over a wide range of variables; NSHistory, a repository of historical records of nations and regions; and NSStatistics, which provides vital information about internationally prevalent social conditions.

PRAISING the leaders of Texas for holding 'Texas Breakfasts' daily in furtherance of their close-knit relations;

NOTING that these leaders also hold weekly chat sessions, which serves as an example of their commitment to peace and dialogue;

NOTING FURTHER that the region has a democratic form of government in place, as laid out in its Constitution, and that it has had stable governments throughout its existence, as evidenced by the long reign of NewTexas, their current President;

APPRECIATING the region's conduct of diplomacy in a mature manner, as evidenced by the 16 active alliances to which it is a party;

FURTHER APPRECIATING its upholding of The Triumvirate alliance formed between itself, Wysteria and The Heartland since the beginning of NationStates;

RECOGNIZING that the region hosts a defender army, the Texas Defense Force (TDF), which is the oldest functional defender army in the world;

OPINING that the region is a role-model worth emulating;

HEREBY commends Texas.

Written by Trav-Coch. He's a little busy at the moment so I thought I'll bring it to discussion.

Thoughts?

RECALLING that the region's members have been very active in the World Assembly and its predecessor;

Recalling? I'd go with NOTING.

APPLAUDING the region for its creation of the NSSuite which includes the NSDossier, a highly effective tool for deriving demographic statistics over a wide range of variables; NSHistory, a repository of historical records of nations and regions; and NSStatistics, which provides vital information about internationally prevalent social conditions.

APPLAUDS

NOTING FURTHER that the region has a democratic form of government in place, as laid out in its Constitution, and that it has had stable governments throughout its existence, as evidenced by the long reign of NewTexas, their current President;

I'd rather have FURTHER NOTING.

other than that, its a good resolution. Quorum, at least, I'd say.

[Mousebumples]

I support it, and I'll try to see if I can come up with any other clauses to add, for whatever it's worth.

Further, if you want to expand the "passed legislation" line, I have a puppet in Texas (and have for years), so my passed legislation may qualify, depending on your requirements for "Texans."

[Ardchoilleans]

But ... but you can't commend them for Outlaw Necrophilia, a piece of legislation that should have been dealt with by local councils' health authorities, not the nations of the world in solemn conclave met ...

On the other hand, any region that sheltered HotRodia deserves all the praise we can give it. I shall go away to begin *cough*bullying*cough* persuading my Delegate with sweet reason and small bribes.

*eats cough lozenge*

-- Walter Arbuthnot, Engineer Primus of the Hermeneutical Order of the Shattered Fourth Rampart; Security Council delegate, Ardchoille.

[Ballotonia]

To what extent is NSSuite an accomplishment of the entire region of Texas, versus one by NewTexas in person?

Also, I take issue with this line: "NOTING FURTHER that the region has a democratic form of government in place, as laid out in its Constitution, and that it has had stable governments throughout its existence, as evidenced by the long reign of NewTexas, their current President;"

Since NewTexas is also the Founder, this raises the question of whether we're talking about a 'Father Knows Best Region' with little active democracy as the same person keeps getting elected over and over again (or are there no elections held at all?), and to which extent praising the democracy in the region Texas is really appropriate.

EDIT: I'm pondering whether a commendation of NewTexas personally wouldn't be more appropriate.

Ballotonia

[Mahaj]

To what extent is NSSuite an accomplishment of the entire region of Texas, versus one by NewTexas in person?

Also, I take issue with this line: "NOTING FURTHER that the region has a democratic form of government in place, as laid out in its Constitution, and that it has had stable governments throughout its existence, as evidenced by the long reign of NewTexas, their current President;"

Since NewTexas is also the Founder, this raises the question of whether we're talking about a 'Father Knows Best Region' with little active democracy as the same person keeps getting elected over and over again (or are there no elections held at all?), and to which extent praising the democracy in the region Texas is really appropriate.

EDIT: I'm pondering whether a commendation of NewTexas personally wouldn't be more appropriate.

Ballotonia

Agreed. I think perhaps we should Commend NewTexas instead.

[Mousebumples]

To what extent is NSSuite an accomplishment of the entire region of Texas, versus one by NewTexas in person?

Also, I take issue with this line: "NOTING FURTHER that the region has a democratic form of government in place, as laid out in its Constitution, and that it has had stable governments throughout its existence, as evidenced by the long reign of NewTexas, their current President;"

Since NewTexas is also the Founder, this raises the question of whether we're talking about a 'Father Knows Best Region' with little active democracy as the same person keeps getting elected over and over again (or are there no elections held at all?), and to which extent praising the democracy in the region Texas is really appropriate.

For the historical record:

I'm not sure if NewTexas is actually the individual who founded the region of Texas. Older regions (i.e. Canada) did not have the founder position specified. At some point, Max and/or Violet allowed these regions to apply to have someone denoted as the founder. Texas went through this process, and NewTexas was recognized as the founder. I am uncertain, however, if he actually was the founder of this region.

In other news, NewTexas told me once, probably almost a year ago, that he had voted on over 415 resolutions in a row as WA Delegate for Texas. If he's able/willing to give us an updated count on that front, that might be another notable (and impressive) detail to add to either a commendation of his individual actions or of Texas as a whole.

[Sedgistan]

To what extent is NSSuite an accomplishment of the entire region of Texas, versus one by NewTexas in person?

Texans do sometimes test the tools for NewTexas, but it is really his work, rather than that of the region. I think NSSuite alone is worthy of a separate commendation for NewTexas, though the region deserves recognition too.

Also, I take issue with this line: "NOTING FURTHER that the region has a democratic form of government in place, as laid out in its Constitution, and that it has had stable governments throughout its existence, as evidenced by the long reign of NewTexas, their current President;"

Since NewTexas is also the Founder, this raises the question of whether we're talking about a 'Father Knows Best Region' with little active democracy as the same person keeps getting elected over and over again (or are there no elections held at all?), and to which extent praising the democracy in the region Texas is really appropriate.

NewTexas was appointed founder at some point - he wasn't the original founder. Elections are held regularly, every two months, and Texans are allowed to challenge for the position of President. The fact that NewTexas hasn't been displaced is a demonstration of his inspirational leadership, rather than a sign that the region is non-democratic.

[Omigodtheykilledkenny]

Big Tex has repeatedly stated that he does not want Texas to be commended, but leave that aside for now.

"Weekly chat sessions" may also violate Rule 4, as regions in a simulation context do not have chatrooms.

[Mousebumples]

"Weekly chat sessions" may also violate Rule 4, as regions in a simulation context do not have chatrooms.

I would expect it could be reworded in such a way that would be legal.

i.e. change: NOTING that these leaders also hold weekly chat sessions, which serves as an example of their commitment to peace and dialogue;

TO

NOTING that these leaders also hold weekly discussions that are open to all residents / weekly town hall meetings (to give it more of a political feel) / etc., which serves as an example of their commitment to peace and dialogue;

[Omigodtheykilledkenny]

Yeah, but that way is so dull (no offense) and nonspecific that readers will have no idea what the author is talking about. If there was a way to word it so that it's clear we're talking about Internet chats, but still didn't break the fourth wall... I'll have to think on it.

[Trecdom2]

stable governments throughout its existence, as evidenced by the long reign of NewTexas, their current President;"

Since NewTexas is also the Founder, this raises the question of whether we're talking about a 'Father Knows Best Region' with little active democracy as the same person keeps getting elected over and over again (or are there no elections held at all?), and to which extent praising the democracy in the region Texas is really appropriate.


Ballotonia

Texas holds regular elections for all positions including President of Texas, which NewTexas has held continuously. If the number of "no confidence" votes exceeds the number of votes for NewTexas then his position as leader of Texas would be questioned but that has yet to happen in the numerous free and open elections since late 2003.

[Evil Wolf]

In this thread: Defender back-patting.

[Goddess Relief Office]

Thanks for the comments. Let me try and respond to some of them:

Since NewTexas is also the Founder, this raises the question of whether we're talking about a 'Father Knows Best Region' with little active democracy as the same person keeps getting elected over and over again

As others have pointed out before me, the above assertion is incorrect. In fact, Texas is one of the more democratic regions out there. It held its first democratic election in the third quarter of 2003 and continues to do so. All seats, including the office of the President of Texas, are electable. The fact that NewTexas has never been replaced as delegate is due to his popularity and leadership rather than a lack of democracy.

Elections are held once every quarter and frequent reminders are made on the RMB about them when they occur. Texas is one of the few regions I know that allow the election process to go on for three entire weeks so as to enable the most number of nations to login and vote. Most regions only allow one or two weeks.

To what extent is NSSuite an accomplishment of the entire region of Texas, versus one by NewTexas in person?

Texans do sometimes test the tools for NewTexas, but it is really his work, rather than that of the region. I think NSSuite alone is worthy of a separate commendation for NewTexas, though the region deserves recognition too.

Like Sedge said, Texans do sometimes test the tools. Since the tool is made available on the Texas WFE and Texas website, I see it primarily as a tool by Texans. Since NewTexas himself is a member of Texas, attributing the accomplishment to the region or the nation makes little difference.

Big Tex has repeatedly stated that he does not want Texas to be commended, but leave that aside for now.

You probably caught him ranting at some of the more 'cheeseball' type commendations. The resolution author Trav-Coch and I have told NewTexas about this one since a few months ago and he expressed no objections to us proceeding.

"Weekly chat sessions" may also violate Rule 4, as regions in a simulation context do not have chatrooms.

I would expect it could be reworded in such a way that would be legal.

i.e. change: NOTING that these leaders also hold weekly chat sessions, which serves as an example of their commitment to peace and dialogue;
TO
NOTING that these leaders also hold weekly discussions that are open to all residents / weekly town hall meetings (to give it more of a political feel) / etc., which serves as an example of their commitment to peace and dialogue;

That would work. But on the other hand, we may not need to change the wording at all. If you think about it, "weekly chat sessions" is implicit in its meaning. It does not go out and explicitly say discussions are held on a chatroom. These weekly chat sessions can mean anything, including townhall meetings, or Texas barbeques for that matter (which they often hold).

Maybe a Mod can rule on this.

[Walabamba]

In this thread: Defender back-patting.

In this thread: Invader whining.

[Kalibarr]

In this thread: Defender back-patting.

In this thread: Invader whining.

Because any negative comment by a raider is obviously whining

[Unibot]

In this thread: Invader whining.

Because any negative comment by a raider is obviously whining

Just like any commendation to a defender is back-patting.

[Kalibarr]

Because any negative comment by a raider is obviously whining

Just like any commendation to a defender is back-patting.

I thought those were just part of the moderator conspiracy to eliminate raiding?


This post contains 25% of the recommended daily value of sarcasm

[Mousebumples]

On Topic:

In other news, NewTexas told me once, probably almost a year ago, that he had voted on over 415 resolutions in a row as WA Delegate for Texas. If he's able/willing to give us an updated count on that front, that might be another notable (and impressive) detail to add to either a commendation of his individual actions or of Texas as a whole.

Per New Texas (in a telegram that he hopefully doesn't mind my reposting here since it's relevant to the discussion at hand):

After the last vote, we have voted, as Delegate, on 487 UN/WA Resolutions. Every announcement is documented here: http://invisionfree.invalid.com/forums/Texas/in ... owforum=84. A few other fun facts: We have been delegate for 2786 days now - we missed 2 days in The Great Disk Drive crash 2194 days ago. It can be confirmed in NSHistory by viewing the Region: Texas. Texas was one of the first regions with an offsite forum. We did not found Texas, but were the last Founder appointed by Moderators (several months after they stopped proclaiming Founders) thanks to intense campaigning by Ineptia (a Game Mod at the time) and Nastic.

For those of you who weren't around 2100+ days ago, the Great Disk Drive Crash was, if I recall correctly, an April Fool's Prank where some of the endorsements were lost by various regional delegates that in some cases resulted in a change of delegacy within the region. Texas was one of those regions, for whatever that's worth.

It appears that NewTexas is happy to help supply additional facts, with regards to a regional commendation, should any further questions need answers. I always prefer fact-based C&C proposals myself ... Especially with threads that include all sorts of relevant details for my perusal.

[Ardchoille]

Maybe a Mod can rule on this.

*assumes Supreme Court Justice mode*

Harumph. It is my conclusion, and that of my honourable colleagues, that the phrase "weekly chat sessions" incontrovertibly denotes " sessions" (taken, under Charlesworth VII, (i),1892, to mean also "gatherings" or "comings-together") that occur at intervals of not more (but also not less) than one week, which is to say seven days, from 12.01am on the first day to 11.59pm on the last, apart, during which participants "chat", an informal usage which I am given to understand refers to formal or informal exchange of views, witticisms and similar statements, originally undertaken verbally and face-to-face, but in more recent parlance extending to written or cybernetic communications. We do not distinguish the possible content of such encounters from the usage "he had a little chat with him," which is taken to mean a gentle upbraiding resulting in an amendment of behaviour, and would willingly accept its inclusion in the phrase on which learned counsel for the Goddess Relief Office seeks enlightenment, which ... buuuuuut Iiiiii digreeesssssss ...

Sorry, ran out of batteries. I think that meant "weekly chat sessions" is okay. There's nothing about it that is automatically a reference to an online chatroom -- and, in any case, NationsStates being full of such quirky leaders, who's to say that the heads of nations don't get together in a chatroom to just, y'know, talk about nation management, regional politics, and why llamas are a cooler national animal than squirrels.

[Goddess Relief Office]

Updated version. (A clean copy is posted on top in my first post)

Description:
The Security Council,

ACKNOWLEDGING the existence of the region of Texas since 2003 since the early days of NationStates;

RECALLING that the region's members have been very active in the World Assembly and its predecessor Texas is home to many nations that are/were authors of NSWA and NSUN resolutions;

PRAISING the region and its delegate for their active participation in resolution voting, having voted 487 resolutions continuously and not missing a single resolution in 2,700+ days;

APPLAUDING the region for its creation of the NSSuite which includes the NSDossier, a highly effective tool for deriving demographic statistics over a wide range of variables; NSHistory, a repository of historical records of nations and regions; and NSStatistics, which provides vital information about internationally prevalent social conditions.

PRAISING the leaders of Texas for holding 'Texas Breakfasts' daily in furtherance of their close-knit relations;

NOTING that these leaders also hold weekly chat sessions, which serves as an example of their commitment to peace and dialogue;

NOTING FURTHER that the region has a democratic form of government in place, as laid out in its Constitution, and that it has had stable governments throughout its existence, as evidenced by the long reign of NewTexas, their current President;

FURTHER NOTING that the region has a democratic form of government in place, as laid out in its Constitution, allowing the election of all government office holders including the office of the President of Texas;

APPRECIATING the region's conduct of diplomacy in a mature manner, as evidenced by the 16 active alliances to which it is a party;

FURTHER APPRECIATING its upholding of The Triumvirate alliance formed between itself, Wysteria and The Heartland since the beginning of NationStates;

RECOGNIZING that the region hosts a defender army, the Texas Defense Force (TDF), which is the oldest functional defender army in the world;

OPINING BELIEVING that the region is a role-model worth emulating;

HEREBY commends Texas.

Here is an amended copy, taking into consideration feedback and input from all around.

First sentence: "since 2003" is replaced "since the early days of NationStates;" to ensure compliance with Rule 4.

Second sentence is re-written to clarify the role Texas members played in the NSWA and NSUN. Since Mousebumples's SC #19 Commend Antarctic Oasis had already sneaked in a line about NSUN after the implementation of Rule 4, I am going to infer that mention of 'NSUN' is legal under current rules.


Third sentence about Texas' voting record is newly added with input from NewTexas.

Fourth, fifth, sixth, remains unchanged.

Seventh sentence is re-written to clarify why Texas is democratic.

~GRO~

[Mousebumples]

Second sentence is re-written to clarify the role Texas members played in the NSWA and NSUN. Since Mousebumples's SC #19 Commend Antarctic Oasis had already sneaked in a line about NSUN after the implementation of Rule 4, I am going to infer that mention of 'NSUN' is legal under current rules.

For the record, SC#19 was written before R4 came into effect. However, I don't see how it would be illegal under R4. And it was ruled by mods at that time that a reference to NSUN is legal. So long as we don't try to pass a GA proposal to eradicate the WA and replace it with a new UN, etc., I'm sure.

I'll try to take a closer look at the wording of the proposal in question tomorrow. On first glance, it appears to be an overall improvement; however, the use of "are/were" in the second main line seems somewhat confusing. Perhaps something along the lines of, RECALLING that Texas has served as a home to authors of more than .... 50 (??? just guessing ... haven't actually done anything resembling a count) NSUN and NSWA resolutions, including notable contributions such as .... (pick one to three resolutions that are particularly noteworthy, in your opinion)

That's very rough, but that seems like a better alternative. It's still somewhat clunky, so I'll see if I can't think of a better alternative, yet. (And, certainly, feel free to rework that yourself! )

[Goddess Relief Office]

I didn't put a number on it because it's hard to 'count' them... in the sense that some were written by members of AO who were simultaneously in Texas. The question then arises: Do we count only those resolutions that were written by nations who had their WAs in Texas when they submitted them? Do we include them regardless of whether their main nation were in Texas? Should we ask those nations for their preference? And since many authors had already ceased to exist, the task of finding records and verifying the location of those nations at the time the resolutions were submitted becomes a substantial undertaking.

That is why I think it's sufficient to say Texas has served as a home to these authors.

p/s: I made those changes without talking to Travancore-Cochin and he might disagree with some of them.

[Travancore-Cochin]

This has now been submitted.

The Security Council,

ACKNOWLEDGING the existence of the region of Texas since the early days of NationStates;

RECALLING the fact that Texas is home to many nations that are/were authors of many World Assembly and NSUN resolutions;

PRAISING the region and its delegate for their active participation in the World Assembly, for having voted on 487 resolutions continuously and not missing a single resolution in over 2,700 days;

APPLAUDING the region for its creation of the NSSuite which includes the NSDossier, a highly effective tool for deriving demographic statistics over a wide range of variables; NSHistory, a repository of historical records of nations and regions; and NSStatistics, which provides vital information about internationally prevalent social conditions;

PRAISING the leaders of Texas for holding 'Texas Breakfasts' daily in furtherance of their close-knit relations;

NOTING that these leaders also hold weekly chat sessions, which serves as an example of their commitment to peace and dialogue;

FURTHER NOTING that the region has a democratic form of government in place, as laid out in its Constitution which allows for the election of all government officials, including the President of Texas;

APPRECIATING the region's conduct of diplomacy in a mature manner, as evidenced by the 16 active alliances to which it is a party;

FURTHER APPRECIATING its upholding of The Triumvirate alliance formed between itself, Wysteria and The Heartland since the beginning of NationStates;

RECOGNIZING that the region hosts a defender army, the Texas Defense Force (TDF), which is the oldest functional defender army in the world;

BELIEVING that the region is a role-model worth emulating;

HEREBY commends Texas.

Co-authored by Goddess Relief Office

[Sedgistan]

About time