Washington 2017: The U.S. Political RP: IC [CLOSED]

[Dentali]

Hazelelponi's Office, Russell Senate Office Building

"You want a veteran signing off on it for you." Hazelelponi nodded. "I get it. I can support that."

Fowler had actually not known she was a veteran but he wasn't going to admit that "it's not just that but it certainly helps"

[Prolieum]

Hazelelponi's Office, Russell Senate Office Building

"We'll have to decide on the exact construction of the bills, but I'm glad we could work together on this." She pondered for a moment. "I know it's not entirely orthodox, but we could put these together into one single bill. It'd give us a stronger focus to work with, and each part would help provide cover for the other. She offered.

[Dentali]

Hazelelponi's Office, Russell Senate Office Building

"We'll have to decide on the exact construction of the bills, but I'm glad we could work together on this." She pondered for a moment. "I know it's not entirely orthodox, but we could put these together into one single bill. It'd give us a stronger focus to work with, and each part would help provide cover for the other. She offered.

"I understand the intention and the sentiment but I'd rather it not be a single bill. The two are separate topics although related."

[Main Nation Ministry]

January 2nd, 2017

Taylor Cox

After taking a shower in 9 PM at night with some yellow soap to clean himself, Cox got on a bathrobe and went downstairs to the living room to see what's on PBS to see that Nova was on showing a segment of the Fukushima nuclear crisis with the volume low, since Velma was sleeping in her bedroom.

Velma Salazar

Around 7:30 PM, I was brushing my teeth in the bathroom, though Cox was the late bird to head to bed. While I was heading downstairs to turn off the TV showing a Christmas special on animals still airing after X-mas, Cox happened to immediately turned off the TV in a bit of a haste. I got surprised, because even though Cox and I celebrated Christmas, he did it in a way that appeared that he loathed the holiday in a way. "Stress from the holidays?" I asked him, as he scratched his head.

"Just from the typical political work back at work. Just checking on some holiday fundraisers." Cox said in response. "Don't stay up too long, you wake Karen and I."
"Yeah, including the whole neighborhood, I bet." Cox did a bit of a snide joke in response.

Karen Salazar

Cox was already dry enough to head to bed with Velma, but sticked around to watch an episode of The Undersea World Of Jacques Cousteau. Until Karen popped out from behind the couch to scare him. "Karen! Now is not the best time of noises." Cox said to Karen. "Cox, listen. We hadn't forgotten about your little "relationship" with that film business happening. We had a deal, you know. If you want to save your career from me, you gotta let me adjust some things. Ok?" Velma said in a quiet tone, though Cox said nothing in response. Karen kisses below Cox's left ear and went off to bed.

Cox turned off all of the lights, including the TV in the living room. He took a flashlight with him to the bedroom, where he gripped it as hard as possible while positioning his head at the door.

[Prolieum]

Hazelelponi's Office, Russell Senate Office Building

"They don't have to be identical topics to be in a uniform bill." Hazelelponi points out. "The germane standard wouldn't be a restriction here, and the two could be put together-"Improving Underserved Modes of Education", or something else, I don't care about the title."

[Prolieum]

Governor's Mansion, Concord, New Hampshire

For Irina Kuznetsov, it was all over.

She had won. She was back in the Bridges House, the only real house she'd lived in in her adult life. A victory, and a decisive one as well. She had strong allies in the legislature, good friends, well-connected to her. Many of them, by that connection, had pulled through.

But it still was not enough.

The 'Progressive' insurgency had done its work, the Republican wave had done the rest. Resistant as it was, the General Court facing her, in its parts, was now red, and ready to take advantage of that palette swap.

Her legacy was not going to survive the next two years.

It was ironic, almost, that now that she had the funds, had the resources necessary to truly make her plans work, to fuel her healthcare system, bring it to life, that it would now be disassembled. It never should have made it this far anyways. It was a miracle, a fluke, unbelievable that it had ever gotten as far as it did-it never should have survived. It was a monster of Frankenstein, really, a mish-mash and hodgepodge, something that never would have lasted the long term, was primed perfectly for collapse, and even now seemed trapped in a spiral. It had been contorted so badly just to survive its birth that it never would have made it past its infancy.

Now she had the resources to make it grow, make it healthy, but she did not have the votes, not anymore. The chosen representatives of the state were already sharpening their knives to dissect it. She had run against an idiot for Governor, dispatched him with ease. Sadly, that stupidity was not enough to fully destroy his down-ballot, as any glance at the papers coming by would show.

She felt over the pencil in her hand. This, she still had. She could still shut down a repeal, shut down a replacement, stop it where it lay-but it wouldn't matter. Keep change from happening as long as she could, her successor would simply lower the barricades. The will was still there. She could only pin her hopes on a resurgence of her own party, and there was no hope there. She had long since lost hers.

Everything was falling apart. There was now the threat of a downgrade to the credit rating of the state, her years of papering-over, of tricks and loopholes in her budget finally catching up with her. She'd had an excellent run. The finish line, though, would have been better-placed a little farther forward.

In the end, she was resigned to what she knew must happen. She would not make herself a wall, end it in obstinacy. She would be on the operating table, there to participate in the killing of her child, hoping to save what she could, to make it as painless as possible. Maybe some fragments, some core pieces could be retained. Perhaps by cooperating, she could keep all that she had made from being swept away.

The tumble in the current had started on that stage. She never dared to think it would sweep all the way through her home.

[Dentali]

Hazelelponi's Office, Russell Senate Office Building

"They don't have to be identical topics to be in a uniform bill." Hazelelponi points out. "The germane standard wouldn't be a restriction here, and the two could be put together-"Improving Underserved Modes of Education", or something else, I don't care about the title."

"I'm sorry but I'd rather the two get separate attention discussion and attention. I don't want one part to overshadow the other. It's just not something I'm comfortable with."

[Prolieum]

Hazelelponi's Office, Russell Senate Office Building

"I suppose if that's the most important thing for you." She sat silently for a moment. "So, what's up next?"

[Dentali]

Hazelelponi's Office, Russell Senate Office Building

"I suppose if that's the most important thing for you." She sat silently for a moment. "So, what's up next?"

"Well i'd love to tackle the two state solution but id on't know how much we could do about it. Besides that we have mental health, the border, opioids, human trafficking, and the VA."

"Firstly I'd like to invite you to a panel im creating on the drug war, its an open discussion and debate, really just meant to raise awareness before proposing solutions."

"Let's tackle the border, im not too crazy about it but frankly i've been getting a lot of flak from the tea party recently and proposing tougher border measures would help with that."

[Prolieum]

Hazelelponi's Office, Russell Senate Office Building

"I'm not necessarily the best panelist..." Hazelelponi started, hesitant. "But, I think I could try it, join."

"The border I can talk about. I think the two things we need to talk about are the parts besides the physical barrier. You can talk about ideas on that, but no matter what you need there,you need to make sure you've got the sea border, and that's where the focus on the Coast Guard is. What's really important though, is surveillance. Any barrier can get breached, which means you need eyes on it. Cameras are something, but weather and maintenance are problems. UAVs are the answer. Not combat ones, but smaller unmanned UAVs are perfect for the monitor job, and with good patterning, for corking the drug flowpoints as well."

[Dentali]

Hazelelponi's Office, Russell Senate Office Building

"I'm not necessarily the best panelist..." Hazelelponi started, hesitant. "But, I think I could try it, join."

"The border I can talk about. I think the two things we need to talk about are the parts besides the physical barrier. You can talk about ideas on that, but no matter what you need there,you need to make sure you've got the sea border, and that's where the focus on the Coast Guard is. What's really important though, is surveillance. Any barrier can get breached, which means you need eyes on it. Cameras are something, but weather and maintenance are problems. UAVs are the answer. Not combat ones, but smaller unmanned UAVs are perfect for the monitor job, and with good patterning, for corking the drug flowpoints as well."

"I'm good with all that, but I also want to make sure we are taking a look at visas. People overstay, that's the number form of illegal immigration. We need to look at how our system is being exploited and formulate a plan to get out the criminals already in the country."

[Argentarino]

Anthony Conti
11:30 AM Saturday, January 7th, 2017
Jackson, Mississippi

Anthony and Alexander Conti were dressed comfortably in their suits, as the January weather in Jackson was in the low 70s at this time, helping set up the space in front of the State Legislature for the protest and subsequent press conference. Anthony had spoken to Senator Fowler - a recent development, as all Members of Congress were sworn in on January 3rd - last evening at the hotel to set everything up. Despite their first meeting being a bumpy one, Conti had steadily begun to respect Fowler. Perhaps his attitude needed improving, but Conti could see a potential partner in him, at a time when many of his colleagues had lost their seats to the Progressives or the Republicans. Now, gathered on the steps of the Legislature, in Governor Williams's own backyard, were a couple hundred LGBTQ and allied residents, activists, representatives from advocacy groups, several representatives of different faith groups, some folks from the ACLU and Lambda Legal, and, of course, some media. The showing was a comfortable one, and so far, there had been assurances that nothing would be stirred up against them by hooligans or Williams fanatics. They also had it going for them that Jackson was a heavily Democratic leaning city, so they also had some support - and visible representation - of city officials who supported their cause. Today was going to be a good day...

---

The first half hour of the rally consisted of chants and speeches from the activist groups and religious representatives - they made it very clear that Governor Williams did not have their support - and then, Senator Conti was introduced by a local, pro-LGBT Baptist minister. He shook the minister's hand, smiled at the protesters, and began to speak:

"My friends, thank you for coming out here today. But honestly, what a great day to come out here for: the sun is shining, the weather is much better here than back up north in Maryland at the moment, and of course, the people here bring a smile to my face. I couldn't ask for a greater show of Southern hospitality, and this just comes to show that Jackson, Mississippi is still fighting the good fight. I wasn't at all shocked when Governor Williams issued his Executive Order." He paused and allowed the crowd to boo loudly. "Yes, that was shameful. Governor Williams thinks he is above the rule of law. He believes that he can ignore the will of the Supreme Court of the United States, which, in two landmark decisions two years ago, confirmed that love is love, that same-sex relationships are legal and valid, and that we have equal rights in this country!"

"Governor Williams is allowed his personal opinions, as wrong and crude as they are. But he doesn't have the right to ignore the law. He doesn't have the right to discriminate against same-sex couples who wish to affirm their love in the eyes of the law. His Executive Order runs counter to the United States Constitution, and thankfully, the ACLU and Lambda Legal have begun the process of suing the Williams Administration for violating the law and ignoring the Supreme Court's decision. But my friends, this is just the beginning. With Congress and the White House shaping out the way it is, our rights have the potential of being rolled back. Rolled back by those who disagree with the basis that we exist, that we love who we love, that we are human and equal to them. We've come a long way. Yes, we like to say that equality under the law has always been a part of America's political system. But that isn't, and hasn't always, been the case. Never forget, that there was a time when black people were owned, were viewed as nothing more than living, breathing property. There was a time when they couldn't vote. And then, there was a time when they couldn't marry someone they loved...if they were white. For centuries, this country has slowly been making progress, to fulfill that solemn pledge to ensure equality under the law. Now, once again, we must fight back. Not like how the Confederates decided to fight, not through treason or violent insurrection. I mean, we must fight back in elections, in the federal, state and local governments. We must fight back in speaking truth to power. We must fight back, and fight hard, by protecting our rights and liberties from those who would, once again, push us back into the closet. And it is with this goal in mind, to ensure equality under the law, to protect our right to marry the man or woman we love, to live without fear, that Senator Zachary Fowler of Vermont and I, a Republican and a Democrat, have decided to join forces. We have our disagreements, and will continue to do so. But we agree, that at the very least, the United States Constitution must be protected in this case. The ruling has been made, and Governor Williams spits upon the very Constitution that he claims to value, by pushing through his Executive Orders. And so, without further ado, it is my pleasure to introduce the Senator from Vermont, Zachary Fowler."

[Prolieum]

Hazelelponi's Office, Russell Senate Office Building

She nods. "I agree, visas need to be overhauled. We definitely need better monitoring there. I would say that it's definitely most important to plug the hole right now with entries and then start working on exits once we're secure, so we don't end up just bailing endlessly."

[Dentali]

Hazelelponi's Office, Russell Senate Office Building

She nods. "I agree, visas need to be overhauled. We definitely need better monitoring there. I would say that it's definitely most important to plug the hole right now with entries and then start working on exits once we're secure, so we don't end up just bailing endlessly."

"I couldn't agree more, I just wanted to make sure we were on the same page"

[Dentali]

[/align]
Senator Zachary Fowler
11:30 AM Saturday, January 7th, 2017
Jackson, Mississippi



Fowler stood with his wife Taylor Johnson-Fowler, he thought of a time when interracial marriage was illegal throughout the nation. How long till Williams disregarded that supreme court ruling?

Fowler kissed his wife before going up the the microphone and addressing the crowd

“It was John Adams who said ‘we are a nation of laws, not men’ that is a principle one which our nation was founded. We stood against tyranny and oppression, on the belief that men were created equal by god, by nature, and under the law. All men are fallible and it is for that reason Congress was given the sacred charge to make laws, and to give oversight to the rule of law. The Supreme Court of the United States rules on those laws and they must be respected and honored.”

“The Constitution's promises liberty to all within its reach, rights to dignity and autonomy, right to choose religious beliefs and personal philosophy. Most importantly that one man had no right to press their beliefs on another. These are rights that Williams has tread on with his Executive Order and abuse of power.”

“What we have here is Governor Williams striking a blow against the Constitution, the Supreme Court and the Law Abiding Citizens of this country. This was not a brave act, this was a cowardly one done not through the constitutional process, not through the course of law but through the will of one man acting above the law. Williams did not even send this measure through his state legislature, giving his people a say in taking this unprecedented and illegal action.”

“Williams hides behind the term ‘states rights’. Now I believe in states rights, I believe government is best at the local level, but I believe there are times when no state can go alone. In World War 2 we fought as a country not as states, when we passed civil rights legislation we did it as a country, we we fought depression and recession as a country. We agree to abide and respect the laws set forth to govern us, you cannot simply pick and choose which laws apply to you. It is a recipe for anarchy and a lawless nation, a tyranny of one man’s will to impress upon others. And I refuse to let this state be a personal kingdom for Williams.”

“Williams believes in States Rights when it pleases him, but where are states rights and independence when 45% of Mississippi’s revenue is coming from the federal government. From the people of Vermont, Nebraska, California, New York and all states of the Union. It comes from individuals and families, and those Williams believes are not equal under the law. Where is Williams standing against the interference of the federal government when they help build schools and roads, when they help those in his state stuck in poverty? Williams only stands for the rights of states when it is convenient and benefits him, but has no problem asking for aid from the very people he has demonstrated utter disregard for.”

“So today I stand here not just to protect the rights of individuals to marry, but I stand here for law and order. I would remind Williams we have a legal process, if he wishes to make a case take it to court. But utter disregard for our laws, for our society, for the very foundations of our Republic is of most clear and imminent danger to the very fabric of our nation.”

“Thank you, God Bless and I promise you we shall overcome.”

[Prolieum]

Kingsley Residence, Baltimore, Maryland

January 2, 2017

New to D.C., and having spent the great majority of the last few weeks working for a smooth transition with American Dream, Kingsley hadn't given himself much time for moving in. His little apartment in the city was absent a computer-and most everything else outside the cot. He'd considered finding a library to stop at to look at what was on the memory stick, he finally chose to take the MARC back home to Baltimore, and take a look on his own device.

He read through it, puzzled over some of the parts of it, and finally typed out an emailed response as promised, starting off with the answer to the "Yes or No" that Zach had asked.

From: Mattias Kingslsey
To: Senator Fowler

---

Subject: Memory Stick Bill

---

Dear Senator Fowler,

No is my answer. Let me explain. In Section 1, you say "if sex is a bona fide occupational qualification that is reasonably necessary to the normal operation of that particular business or enterprise." that "Requires employers to recognize individuals in accordance with their gender identity". Now if sex is something that's important, they should go by what they actually are, not what they think they are. If you really need a man or woman for something, then it won't do you any good to get someone who isn't a man or woman but thinks they are.

That's my big problem.

Respectfully,

Mattias Kingsley

[Prolieum]

[Vaquas]

Office of the Mayor of Seattle
January 2, 2017

A delivery man carrying a large package marked "Fragile" stumbled his way into the lobby of the mayor of Seattle, getting the receptionist's attention and speaking gruffly.

"Package for Mayor Walton. From, eh"

His eyes strained down to the label.

"Bill Denver."

[Prolieum]

Hazelelponi's Office, Russell Senate Office Building

"Good, we're making progress." Hazelelponi smiles slightly. "What should we hit next?"

[Dentali]

Hazelelponi's Office, Russell Senate Office Building

"Good, we're making progress." Hazelelponi smiles slightly. "What should we hit next?"

"To be honest with Winslow the senate majority leader I'm going to have to rethink a few policies im pushing. I would rather just focus on this for now and get back to you at a later date. Unless you have something you'd wish to speak with me about?"

[Prolieum]

Hazelelponi's Office, Russell Senate Office Building

She nods, more to herself than to answer the last question.

"So, right now we have the home-schooling bill, and the GI education bill, and those will be separate, but we'll both co-sponsor on them, and then we'll be working together on a border security bill. Does that sum it up?"

[Dentali]

Hazelelponi's Office, Russell Senate Office Building

She nods, more to herself than to answer the last question.

"So, right now we have the home-schooling bill, and the GI education bill, and those will be separate, but we'll both co-sponsor on them, and then we'll be working together on a border security bill. Does that sum it up?"

"Plus the two bills of mine i'd like you to look at yes"

[Prolieum]

Hazelelponi's Office, Russell Senate Office Building

"Right, I've got a pen drive and a folder to look at." She glances around. "Well, I think we've had a productive time today."

[Dentali]

Hazelelponi's Office, Russell Senate Office Building

"Right, I've got a pen drive and a folder to look at." She glances around. "Well, I think we've had a productive time today."

"Me too, to be honest I have a reputation for being... prickly to put it nicely. Im glad despite our differences we can come together. If you need anything let me know and i'll help how I can." Fowler hands her contact info

[Prolieum]

Hazelelponi's Office, Russell Senate Office Building

Hazelelponi takes the card as best she can with her left hand. "My secretary can give you mine as you go." She explains.