Dear fellow colonials and members of the CDF:
In response to some concerns expressed by Admiral Alison Merritt, Commander of the 9th Fleet and head of
CDF Fleet Communications at a recent meeting of the various Fleet and Chapter Commanders chaired by Fleet
Admiral Nathan Gastineau, I am posting this comprehensive (and therefore very long smile )update on the
Colonial Council. I hope you will bear with me.
The Colonial Council, the Legislative Body of the CDF entrusted to create legislation for the organization
made up of representatives elected by the members from the various fleets, has been in operation since
February of this year.
We have been hard at work, and have been working closely with President Kathleen West and Vice-President
Joshua Andrews. (The president and the vice-president are actually full members of the Council, save for
the fact that they are non-voting members). It is through them that we remain in close coordination with
the Executive branch of the CDF. This Council has also been working hard to maintain an ongoing working
relationship with the Military Branch, through Fleet Admiral Gastineau as well as Admiral Merritt.
In any case, here is a précis of all that has been happening with the Council over the past four months:
ONE: The Council started work last February, and this was possible because of all the hard work that the
President and the Secretary of Justice had done to finish the fleet elections and to actually set up our
council forum (this is a Google forum, accessible to the council members).
TWO: Again, with great assistance from the President, we were able to define our working procedures (for
voting, etc.), nomenclature (among other things, we determined that the Legislative Branch should be
called the "Colonial Council," and that the elected representatives the various fleets be called
"councilors") and to establish three officer positions in the Council: Council Chair, Council Secretary
and Council Parliamentarian.
THREE: We have also confirmed the appointments of all current cabinet secretaries so as to help the
Executive Branch pursue its work unimpeded.
FOUR: We have also conducted elections within the Council, and have voted the people to fill the Council
officer positions. I have the honor of serving as the first chairman of the Council, while Daniel
Dreesbach of the 6th Fleet ably serves as Council Secretary and John Miller of the 5th Fleet is our
Council Parliamentarian.
FIVE: At the behest of the president, an "inaugural address" was transmitted to the CDF via the
Yahoogroups several months ago, both in voice-recording and printed-format versions, wherein the status of
the Council and its immediate objectives were discussed.
SIX: We have helped facilitate the active selection of additional representatives for the third and
eighth fleets (both fleets are short one representative each). Both of these actions were triggered by
the fleet members themselves, and unfortunately all we were empowered to do was to encourage this and
endorse it to the Executive Branch, since we are strictly a legislative body only. The Council is
actually awaiting an update regarding this matter. It must be noted that there are still fleets that
remain unrepresented on the Council, most notably the new fleets which includes our French contingent.
SEVEN: We have been working on the Articles of Colonization, or what we have come to call as the "AoC,"
and have established several workshops to do this. We have concluded work on one of these, and are about
to finish a couple more shortly. We have high hopes to finish the entire AoC within the month, allowing
us to submit it to the membership for ratification. Most notable of these workshops are those on (1) the
structure of the CDF, (2) the military, (3) the Legislative Branch, (4) the Executive Branch, (5) judicial
matters, (6) self-governance and due process, and (7) amendments to the AoC. We have also touched on
matters such as the definition of Colonies, and all the implications of the establishment of a colonial
civil structure.
EIGHT: In the Council's most recent discussions, one of the Prime Movers for the CDF Member's Manual,
Councilor Chris Wallace of the 5th Fleet, has identified several points in the manual that bears
improvement, enhancement or expansion. One of the major projects now being considered as a next-project
is a revamp of the manual to make it more universally applicable, more member-friendly, and more uniquely
BSG-like. However, this will have to remain in the back-burner until the Council is done with the AoC.
As you may realize, the Council work, especially work on the AoC, is going slow, largely because the
Council works by consensus and not via a top-down chain-of-command structure. Furthermore, we have been
working over the net only, plus the fact that all of the Councilors have very strong beliefs and
opinions. However, we as a council try very hard to come to a consensus on things, and besides some
rough spots, we are doing well, and work is progressing. Personally speaking, the hardest was
establishing our standard operating procedures, but once established, most of our work had gone acceptably
well.
In fact, to-date, we have logged 41 discussion threads, with an incredible 746 individual posts. This
represents a 216% increase in posts since the inaugural speech last March, which shows you how busy the
Council has been in so short a time.
The CDF website administrators have also been trying to assist by providing the Council a discussion forum
on the site dedicated to the Council. This CDF forum, which has been called the "council chambers," is
under beta test. It is my understanding that the administrators have also set up a similar forum for the
cabinet, called the "cabinet chamber," which is also, I believe, under testing, too. Hopefully, after the
Council becomes less preoccupied with work on the AoC, we will be able to migrate the Council Forum from
the present Google group to the CDF's Council Chambers forum.
We realize that many of you feel that you have had very few updates from the Council, and consequently do
not feel the impact of the Council on day-to-day CDF life. My fellow councilors, I am sure, share my
sentiments, and I apologize for this failing.
Work in the Council is grueling work, where many an argument and differences in opinion break out, and
break out often, and the creation of colonial rules and laws require deep thought, thorough consideration
and a lot of consultation with the councilors. It is very hard work indeed. In fact, as some of you
know, we have had a recent resignation: Councilor Kennedy has asked leave of the Council due to pressures
and commitments he has in the real world, and he felt he could not devote sufficient time to council
matters. He had asked to be appointed as Secretary of Education instead. This would allow him to still
be of service to the CDF, but in a form and pace more compatible with his real-world commitments. And
because of his commitment to the CDF and his credentials, President West has accepted his application, and
the Council confirmed Secretary Kennedy's appointment. So, although the Council is short one councilor,
the CDF has at least gained one more cabinet member.
Council work is hard work: I often think a firefight with Cylon raiders is preferable over discussing the
fine points of Colonial Law with my fellow councilors smile . But consensus, though hard to come by, is
eventually achieved. And it is all attributable to the professionalism of your Fleet Representatives or
councilors. You should be proud of your councilors – I know I am.
The concerns of your fleet and chapter commanders are well taken, and I pledge that the Council shall
endeavor to update everyone more frequently and regularly about council matters. This I affirm and avow.
However, I also need your cooperation – please do consult with your fleet representatives/councilors in
order to update yourselves with council goings-on, or to bring up legislative concerns you may have, or
simply just to chat. If you do not know your councilor, do not hesitate to contact me at my email address
or at the official address of the Council Chair: cdf.councilchair@gmail.com. You can also contact the
Council Chair's executive assistant-bot at councilchair.staff@gmail.com. Furthermore, if you know for a
fact that your fleet is currently unrepresented, and are interested in finding out how to go about having
a councilor for your fleet, please contact President West at her official email address. Whether you are
a civilian or in the CDF military, know that you have representatives on the Council representing your
opinions and points of view. But your representatives need feedback from you. So please stay in touch
with your councilors.
Thank you for your time.
Sincerely yours,
Chairman Burt Gabot
Council Chair, 1st Colonial Council
onboard the Battlestar Kapangyarihan, 17th Fleet
In response to some concerns expressed by Admiral Alison Merritt, Commander of the 9th Fleet and head of
CDF Fleet Communications at a recent meeting of the various Fleet and Chapter Commanders chaired by Fleet
Admiral Nathan Gastineau, I am posting this comprehensive (and therefore very long smile )update on the
Colonial Council. I hope you will bear with me.
The Colonial Council, the Legislative Body of the CDF entrusted to create legislation for the organization
made up of representatives elected by the members from the various fleets, has been in operation since
February of this year.
We have been hard at work, and have been working closely with President Kathleen West and Vice-President
Joshua Andrews. (The president and the vice-president are actually full members of the Council, save for
the fact that they are non-voting members). It is through them that we remain in close coordination with
the Executive branch of the CDF. This Council has also been working hard to maintain an ongoing working
relationship with the Military Branch, through Fleet Admiral Gastineau as well as Admiral Merritt.
In any case, here is a précis of all that has been happening with the Council over the past four months:
ONE: The Council started work last February, and this was possible because of all the hard work that the
President and the Secretary of Justice had done to finish the fleet elections and to actually set up our
council forum (this is a Google forum, accessible to the council members).
TWO: Again, with great assistance from the President, we were able to define our working procedures (for
voting, etc.), nomenclature (among other things, we determined that the Legislative Branch should be
called the "Colonial Council," and that the elected representatives the various fleets be called
"councilors") and to establish three officer positions in the Council: Council Chair, Council Secretary
and Council Parliamentarian.
THREE: We have also confirmed the appointments of all current cabinet secretaries so as to help the
Executive Branch pursue its work unimpeded.
FOUR: We have also conducted elections within the Council, and have voted the people to fill the Council
officer positions. I have the honor of serving as the first chairman of the Council, while Daniel
Dreesbach of the 6th Fleet ably serves as Council Secretary and John Miller of the 5th Fleet is our
Council Parliamentarian.
FIVE: At the behest of the president, an "inaugural address" was transmitted to the CDF via the
Yahoogroups several months ago, both in voice-recording and printed-format versions, wherein the status of
the Council and its immediate objectives were discussed.
SIX: We have helped facilitate the active selection of additional representatives for the third and
eighth fleets (both fleets are short one representative each). Both of these actions were triggered by
the fleet members themselves, and unfortunately all we were empowered to do was to encourage this and
endorse it to the Executive Branch, since we are strictly a legislative body only. The Council is
actually awaiting an update regarding this matter. It must be noted that there are still fleets that
remain unrepresented on the Council, most notably the new fleets which includes our French contingent.
SEVEN: We have been working on the Articles of Colonization, or what we have come to call as the "AoC,"
and have established several workshops to do this. We have concluded work on one of these, and are about
to finish a couple more shortly. We have high hopes to finish the entire AoC within the month, allowing
us to submit it to the membership for ratification. Most notable of these workshops are those on (1) the
structure of the CDF, (2) the military, (3) the Legislative Branch, (4) the Executive Branch, (5) judicial
matters, (6) self-governance and due process, and (7) amendments to the AoC. We have also touched on
matters such as the definition of Colonies, and all the implications of the establishment of a colonial
civil structure.
EIGHT: In the Council's most recent discussions, one of the Prime Movers for the CDF Member's Manual,
Councilor Chris Wallace of the 5th Fleet, has identified several points in the manual that bears
improvement, enhancement or expansion. One of the major projects now being considered as a next-project
is a revamp of the manual to make it more universally applicable, more member-friendly, and more uniquely
BSG-like. However, this will have to remain in the back-burner until the Council is done with the AoC.
As you may realize, the Council work, especially work on the AoC, is going slow, largely because the
Council works by consensus and not via a top-down chain-of-command structure. Furthermore, we have been
working over the net only, plus the fact that all of the Councilors have very strong beliefs and
opinions. However, we as a council try very hard to come to a consensus on things, and besides some
rough spots, we are doing well, and work is progressing. Personally speaking, the hardest was
establishing our standard operating procedures, but once established, most of our work had gone acceptably
well.
In fact, to-date, we have logged 41 discussion threads, with an incredible 746 individual posts. This
represents a 216% increase in posts since the inaugural speech last March, which shows you how busy the
Council has been in so short a time.
The CDF website administrators have also been trying to assist by providing the Council a discussion forum
on the site dedicated to the Council. This CDF forum, which has been called the "council chambers," is
under beta test. It is my understanding that the administrators have also set up a similar forum for the
cabinet, called the "cabinet chamber," which is also, I believe, under testing, too. Hopefully, after the
Council becomes less preoccupied with work on the AoC, we will be able to migrate the Council Forum from
the present Google group to the CDF's Council Chambers forum.
We realize that many of you feel that you have had very few updates from the Council, and consequently do
not feel the impact of the Council on day-to-day CDF life. My fellow councilors, I am sure, share my
sentiments, and I apologize for this failing.
Work in the Council is grueling work, where many an argument and differences in opinion break out, and
break out often, and the creation of colonial rules and laws require deep thought, thorough consideration
and a lot of consultation with the councilors. It is very hard work indeed. In fact, as some of you
know, we have had a recent resignation: Councilor Kennedy has asked leave of the Council due to pressures
and commitments he has in the real world, and he felt he could not devote sufficient time to council
matters. He had asked to be appointed as Secretary of Education instead. This would allow him to still
be of service to the CDF, but in a form and pace more compatible with his real-world commitments. And
because of his commitment to the CDF and his credentials, President West has accepted his application, and
the Council confirmed Secretary Kennedy's appointment. So, although the Council is short one councilor,
the CDF has at least gained one more cabinet member.
Council work is hard work: I often think a firefight with Cylon raiders is preferable over discussing the
fine points of Colonial Law with my fellow councilors smile . But consensus, though hard to come by, is
eventually achieved. And it is all attributable to the professionalism of your Fleet Representatives or
councilors. You should be proud of your councilors – I know I am.
The concerns of your fleet and chapter commanders are well taken, and I pledge that the Council shall
endeavor to update everyone more frequently and regularly about council matters. This I affirm and avow.
However, I also need your cooperation – please do consult with your fleet representatives/councilors in
order to update yourselves with council goings-on, or to bring up legislative concerns you may have, or
simply just to chat. If you do not know your councilor, do not hesitate to contact me at my email address
or at the official address of the Council Chair: cdf.councilchair@gmail.com. You can also contact the
Council Chair's executive assistant-bot at councilchair.staff@gmail.com. Furthermore, if you know for a
fact that your fleet is currently unrepresented, and are interested in finding out how to go about having
a councilor for your fleet, please contact President West at her official email address. Whether you are
a civilian or in the CDF military, know that you have representatives on the Council representing your
opinions and points of view. But your representatives need feedback from you. So please stay in touch
with your councilors.
Thank you for your time.
Sincerely yours,
Chairman Burt Gabot
Council Chair, 1st Colonial Council
onboard the Battlestar Kapangyarihan, 17th Fleet
