Atef Nomination

[The Almighty Jesus Whale]

Piggy backing off of Sev's question, I thought the whole thing was a joke until this was posted, can you convince me why it is not?

Edit: Decided to flesh this out a bit more.

Can you reassure us you aren't being Marco Rubio/Ted Cruz?

Meaning you plan to use the atef as a springboard to Pharaoh and then cause the fiasco that occurred while you were last pharaoh only to leave?

I understand there were other factors at play there, but similar ones may very well arise in the future.

I don't want this to be misconstrued as joining the Atef would bar you from becoming Pharaoh.

[Cormac]

But, I'll bite. I'm not afraid to talk about the elephant in the room.

Personally, I have no problems trusting Cormac whatsoever. I might be remiss in my duties as a security scribe if I didn't ask this:

Cormac, you were tried, found guilty of, and served the lion's share of a sentence for treason against the OFO, specifically calling for its downfall, before being granted a pardon by this body. Why should we trust that you won't either a) coup the region yourself, or b) support the coup of the region by someone else?

I don't think I can adequately answer that question. I can say that I was the Pharaoh who successfully weathered the only true coup this region has ever endured, that I've committed four years to Osiris, that I have served twice as Pharaoh, that I was a co-founder of the Osiris Fraternal Order, and despite what occurred last year I still returned to Osiris after serving a lengthy sentence for treason instead of just throwing my hands up and calling it quits as so many others have.

But none of that is really a reason to trust me, even if it does speak to my prior dedication to Osiris. It's up to each Councilor to decide whether they can trust me. I'm not going to grovel for confirmation votes -- if I'm not confirmed, fine; we'll have one less Guardian than we could have and Osiris will be less secure because some Councilors are too paranoid for their own good. No skin off my nose. I'm doing this because Tim asked me, we badly need more Guardians, and I'm available, not because I'm desperate to be a Guardian. If the Deshret rejects my nomination because of my prior conduct, that would be understandable, if short-sighted.

Also, what do you see yourself bringing to the Atef? What do you think of your fellow-guardians-to-be?

Well, the first thing I would bring to the Atef is simply another person. We only have a maximum of four Guardians, reduced to three if one of them is serving as Vizier as is currently the case, or two if two of them are serving as both Pharaoh and Vizier as has occurred in the past. That isn't healthy and it leaves us less secure. Another thing I bring is game-side activity; I'll be tarting daily until I'm at the Guardian cap, and tarting as needed after that to ensure I remain at or near that cap. Finally, I also bring forum-side activity, which is something that is lacking among our Guardians with Joshua Bluteisen only able to be sporadically active and with neither Zaolat nor Revert being forum active. It will be good to have another Guardian besides JW who is active on the forum and able to act more effectively as a liaison between the Atef and the forum-side government.

The other Guardians are great. Revert is the longest resident of Osiris, is a NationStates moderator, and is obviously very committed to Osiris. Nobody can really question Zaolat's commitment to Osiris; he's been here since the beginning as well and was our first Pharaoh. Joshua Bluteisen has served with distinction as Pharaoh and Vizier, among other lesser offices, and has been a Guardian pretty much since the OFO's beginning. JW I didn't know very well before, but having gotten to know him a bit better lately, he seems great and, again, I think it's definitely positive that he is so forum active. And he is also the Guardian who's best about tarting, so that shows his dedication as well. We have an outstanding group of Guardians and it will be a privilege to join them if I'm confirmed, and I think I'll get along with each of them pretty well and we'll all be a force to be reckoned with in the event of a crisis.

Piggy backing off of Sev's question, I thought the whole thing was a joke until this was posted, can you convince me why it is not?

I really can't, beyond what I've already said. You can't convince someone to trust you if they already find you untrustworthy.

This does also speak to why Tim nominated me though, which is a question better addressed to him than to me. I accepted his nomination because he asked me to serve, we need more Guardians, and I'm available. Why I'm trustworthy to serve is really a better question for the Pharaoh who nominated me than it is for me.

Decided to flesh this out a bit more.

Can you reassure us you aren't being Marco Rubio/Ted Cruz?

Meaning you plan to use the atef as a springboard to Pharaoh and then cause the fiasco that occurred while you were last pharaoh only to leave?

I understand there were other factors at play there, but similar ones may very well arise in the future.

I don't want this to be misconstrued as joining the Atef would bar you from becoming Pharaoh.

I have no plans to run for Pharaoh next term, nor do I plan to run anytime in the foreseeable future, though I won't rule out ever running for Pharaoh again. If I wanted to run for Pharaoh, the Hedjet would be a better springboard, not the Atef. I've agreed to join the Atef because I'm too busy for raiding and basically too busy and burnt out for a high degree of NationStates gameplay activity in general, but I still plan to be around and active at least once or twice a day, which makes me a good candidate for Guardian, I think. I can't speak to why Tim nominated me, but he did know all of this because we talk on a regular basis, so that probably contributed to his decision.

If by "the fiasco" during my prior term as Pharaoh you are referring to the war with Lazarus, I will remind you that my entire Hedjet also supported that course of action, and the Deshret voted for the declaration of war. I'm willing to accept partial responsibility, maybe even the bulk of the responsibility, for that debacle, but I will not accept the blame as the sole and convenient scapegoat. Osiris decided on war with Lazarus. Osiris decided with my encouragement, certainly, but nonetheless, it was a group decision.

[The Almighty Jesus Whale]

Full support.

[Tim Stark]

Why I'm trustworthy to serve is really a better question for the Pharaoh who nominated me than it is for me.

I trust him, I know he's dedicated to Osiris, and I'm not too keen on the paranoia of "omg Cormac destruction" as some other members of the peanut gallery. I think Cormac aptly pointed out his Osiris CV which is enough more than enough reason to trust him.

Furthermore, as said, we need more Atef, and he's a good add.

[Andrew]

Why I'm trustworthy to serve is really a better question for the Pharaoh who nominated me than it is for me.

I trust him, I know he's dedicated to Osiris, and I'm not too keen on the paranoia of "omg Cormac destruction" as some other members of the peanut gallery. I think Cormac aptly pointed out his Osiris CV which is enough more than enough reason to trust him.

Furthermore, as said, we need more Atef, and he's a good add.

Basically this.

[Tomb]

I don't really feel strongly for or against this. But I'll vote Aye, if and when time comes for the confirmation vote.

[Revall]

Full Support

[Festavo]

Support

[Transdavisia]

I'm in support.

[The Almighty Jesus Whale]

I move to bring the nomination to a vote.