[quote:13vnzffb]First, please register your thoughts in the above poll. Once it became evident to all that CARE is not proposing anything substantive and popular that hasn't already been done, the party leader Michel Manen began criticizing the RA for meeting so soon before the election.[/quote:13vnzffb]
That is your personal opinion. And I didn't "just begin". This has been my position all along.
[quote:13vnzffb]That's right. Criticizing the RA for taking time out of an election campaign to do its job and pass bills which had been waiting for a long time, and may or may not have been picked up by the next RA.[/quote:13vnzffb]
That's an indictment of the RA's management and prioritising of its case load and of its signal failure to focus on issues actually important to the majority of our citizens - not to mention a blatant misuse of its powers which allowed its members to make the adoption of this bill a central plank in their debate arguments against an opponent who had advanced an agenda based exactly on the principles behind this "stalled" legislation:
[quote:13vnzffb]Justice Soothsayer: A good example is the kind of citizen consultation in the legislative process that Michel mentioned earlier. We did that, in the discussions about the judiciary, and, just this morning... the RA passed a bill setting up a structure for future commissions whenever they are needed. It was a bill that passed unanimously, but only after thorough discussion about the policies (not the personalities) involved, and with amendments offered and adopted by both sides. So when others might talk about grand plans, we've actually implemented them. And CDS is better for it.[/quote:13vnzffb]
[quote:13vnzffb]
But you know, it seems to me there are several other "traditions" broken recently, and not just in order to serve the public. We've had quite a few "traditions" about political campaigning broken by CARE, and in my view these haven't served the public at large one bit. In recruiting hapless citizens (and noncitizens) as group members, in lying about accomplishments, in avoiding clear questions, in spending larger amounts of money than we've ever seen spent (that video project wasn't a freebie).[/quote:13vnzffb]
You seem to take a very disparaging and unflattering view of your fellow citizens if you think that they are so "hapless" as to be "recruited" in such an easy manner - as opposed to giving them credit for having made an informed decision after being clearly explained the current issues and being given the opportunity to voice their own opinions and concerns. If they would have been indeed so "led down the garden path" nothind would have stopped them from resigning their CARE membership and joining another faction. Indeed, some actually did so: TOPGenosse decided to leave CARE becaause he was not certain he wished to be a CARE activist, and Blinbling sunsequently decided to join the Simplicity Party. Nothing stopped all other 14 CARE members who are still part of the CARE faction to do the same, had they felt so "happless" as you claim.
CARE has offered a detailed and specfic Policy Platform and asked all questions posed to it. I am the only faction leader who gave a lengthy and detailed interview to a reporter (as it happens, your alt ...) and answered all questions asked of him, no matter how biased or unfair, until the reporter no longer had anything to ask. The fact that you disagree with our answers, or utterly fail to undertsand why we refuse to have only our leaders draft specific Bills before engaging in specific and detailed public consultation with not only our members, but the CDS citizens at large, shows that you have no comprehesion of the core of our agenda focusing on absolute inclusion, deep diversity, the force of the best argument, openness, accountability, and active citizen participation. And it is not CARE who lied about its accomplishments - they have been reported and publicised and commented on not only by members of opponent factions in the CDS, but also by independent SL news organizations, which described CARE’s leading-edge video campaign ad as “a uniquely emblematic link: a machinima-based YouTube election ad for a virtual world political party†and stated that “n a crowded field of people claiming they were the first to do something in Second Life, Michel Manen has a pretty good claim: he was the first to create a video advertisement for an inworld political party." The free publicity this entirely positive video has brought to the CDS and its builders and creatives has been largely acknowledged by all, including those favoring or belonging to opposing factions, and is evidenced by the fact that the video in quesion has been watched 646 time iRL in less than 6 days.
CARE is reaching out to more citizens and non-citizens than ever before, is opening up and democratising our electoral and decision-making process, is re-energising citizens who usually do not participate in the forums and in-world meetings (and limited to about 15 or so out of the 70-odd citizens of the CDS) and is revolutionising our entire process of governance, in accordance with iths motto of "Democracy, Prosperity, Diversity in a Fair and Sustainable CDS" - and doing so with a positive, uplifiting, vision-focused campaign entirely free of negative, underhanded, personally destructive attacks on its opponent factions or its members. The fact that you resent this and try by any and all means avaialabe to undermine our standing and credibility will not fool those "hapless" citizens whose faculties of judgement and discernment you underestimate and disrespect so much with your gratuitous and ill-considered comments.
[quote:13vnzffb]
Bear in mind, I was not a member of this last RA session, and no one in my party was either. There are plenty of things to improve on from what we experienced over these last six months. But fulfilling a Constitutional obligation (to meet each month) and doing it in order to not leave the next RA with a backlog of bills is not something I think should be a point of contention. 
) [/quote:13vnzffb]
Neither CARE nor I claimed that the RA should violate any of this constitutional obligations- but inasfar as I know, a month has 30 days - not 14, and the RA could have -and did- meet during that 30-day period before the two weeks preceding the election period and had no need to do so (twice!) and adopt major pieces of legislation in order to satisfy its constitutional duties.
