RC, AC, OC, JC, &c. 
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Brought up and then killed like some nameless Security Ensign on Captain Kirk's Enterprise, the Representative Council was definitely one of the odder bureaucratic misfirings of STF's 7-year history. In mid-December, WeBBsters of both fleets were urged to vote both for their ship's and their fleet's "RC Representative" in Message-of-the-Day blurbs. As the crud hit the fan, so to speak, many in STF Command voiced their disapproval of the RC proposal and by 16 December the offending MOTDs had been removed. The RC debate is an ongoing STF presence since at least 1994; it goes back to the question of how to check the President, who in STF holds massive amounts of power. 

History of the Councils 
GOVERNMENT ARCHIVES, MEMORY PRIME -- The question of how to check the President has been with STF ever since its inception. Earlier bodies included the Admirals' Council, Officers' Council, and Advisory Committee. The Admirals' Council was not dissimilar to the current IRC Command Cadre: business was conducted in private, it wasn't an official organ of the government, and it was squarely under the thumb of the President. The Admirals' Council -- sometimes called simply "The Admiralty" -- has now been replaced by the President's Cabinet. The Officers' Council -- OC -- was founded by former President Jim "The Big Cheese" Midyette as an advisory body. In 1994, President Phelps ("~Z~") rewrote the OC charter, making it a judicial body. After Phelps' term, Midyette regained control and returned the OC to its original advisory status, but in 1996, under the AWOL President Mike Cathcart, the OC mutated on its own to fill the power void. Veteran OC Representatives Mike Ballway and Randy McCullick permanently disbanded the OC in mid-1996, during the latter's term as President, after Dave Citro and Ken Marklan resigned due to bickering and political maneuvering in the OC. McCullick replaced the OC with the Advisory Committee (AC), which was a combination of the early OC and the late OC: it could not propose bills or run the club's day-to-day business, as the legislative OC could do, but it was not completely under the thumb of the President either (as the advisory OC was). The AC's one power of note was the ability to call for new elections. In early 1997, after his election as President, STF President Greg Hertzsch disbanded the AC without outlining a successor. Greg has hinted multiple times that he wishes to start a Representative Council, but the only RC facet upon which he insists is that the Representatives will be elected, with one from each fleet and each ship. 

Open warfare in the ED -or- here's what made the mess 
STF H.Q., SAN FRANCISCO-- Recent activity in the Engineering Department has resulted in the largest STF political controversy since Commodore Field's attempt to assassinate STF President Greg Hertzch with an exploding farm animal earlier this year.  Vice-President and EDir Owen Townes proposed a new type of propulsion system that was a mix of transwarp and the Wave Motion Engine proposed by former STF President Randy McCullick. Owen's move was criticized as plagiarstic and scientifically bankrupt, a discussion that degenerated into a side argument on the validity of the book The Physics of Star Trek.  At the same time, requests for specs for the Trinitron-class designs, prompted Owen to issue a demand for specs for all ships to be manually posted on the WeBB, on pain of invalidation of the class.  This brought another round of attacks on Mr. Townes for violation of the Despots-Anonymous Act. At one point, various members of the WeBB's leadership approached STF President Greg Hertzsch asking him to chastise the EDir, a favor that the Prez declined. In response to the attacks on his integrity, person, and refusal to follow through on campaign promises, Townes has opened a new "Engineering Department" Ship in OOC and appointed Jeff Field, Seamus Hughes, and Jean Flinois as AEDirs.  Any new technologies should be submitted here, and debate is open to all officers.  It is uncertain if further assassination attempts will be made. 

Things get ugly 
TOP-SECRET BUNKER #27, ZETA IX-- Following Greg's refusal to speak sternly to the sultan of ship specs, the WeBB leadership -- affectionately called the "Command Cadre" by some and the "Kitchen Cabinet" by others -- met on IRC and planned to use the Representative Council as a check against the Prez making unpopular moves. So far, so good. That night, however, after consulting the President but neither of the two highest-ranking members of the club, Mike Bourdaa acted on behalf of his Cadre comrades, posting the infamous RC MOTDs. Backlash centered around STF*Prodigy, specifically Commodores Mike Ballway and Aaron Holland, but also drew a negitive response from some parts of the WeBB. The RC plan was quickly retracted. STF President Greg Hertzsch has said that he would like to see the RC plan further fleshed out before it is re-proposed; supporters of Mike Ballway's proposed STF Charter have an alternate plan, the "Judiciary Council" (JC).  Open debate on the Charter and the differing Councils is now taking place in the OOC HQ area, and all STF members are encouraged to attend. 

Our View: JC & IRC 
SNN CENTER, CHICAGO -- So far we've tried to keep our reporting on these issues, which are the most-politically-charged here in STF since the OC's disbanding, impartial and fair. The Editorial Staff at SNN, however, does believe strongly in favor of the Ballway/Garfield "Judiciary Council" model [oh, boy, that's a big surprise --Ed.]. In all seriousness, though, we do believe that overly-legislative models such as the OC and the RC would damage STF, just as the 1996 OC cost us one of our most respected Captains (Dave Citro of the Ark Angel), not to mention the then-EDir and CO of the Trinitron, Commodore Ken "Velos Larech" Marklan. STF has always been a club of roleplaying, not one of excessive government; the best approach to governing this club has always been the one that views government and elections as a necessary evil, not as a treat. There has never been a problem in our history, nor will there ever be one in our future, that could not be adequately handled by Presidential Edict. The only reason why we need a check on the Prez in the first place is in case our elected Prez begins to act contrary to the best interest of the club. Not since STF began electing its leader in 1992 have we found it necessary to impeach our President, but for security's sake it's best to have that bare minimum of protection. The JC, in tandem with the STF Charter, in our opinion, provides that without politicizing the STF experience (the Charter is obviously necessary for the JC, and also for the smooth operation of the RC, because it's hard to judge, or even legislate consistency, without laws.). 
On a related note, SNN officially condemns the concept of important policy decisions being made on IRC channels without consultation of the STF general membership.  SNN furthermore requests transcripts of all IRC meetings of any relivance be send to archivist and SNN Associate Editor Larry Garfield, so that the minutes of these meetings may be preserved for reference purposes by the entirety of STF.

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• Several midget actors quit the cast of "Jedi" only three days before signing on as extras in STF. Furthermore, they took with them their four-and-a-half foot tall furry costumes, which have also shown up on the the STF set.
• The "Star of Death" is intellectual property of LucasFilm Ltd., regardless of any pulsar it may be using.
• The "Force" is a patented mind-control device, under U.S. patent #6,342,128.
• The paradigm of the Overlords, according to LucasFilm informant Owen Ashcroft, is offensive to White-clad troopers everywhere, and cannot be tolerated.
• The You Do This And We'll Sue Act of 1965 forbids a starship from quoting a non-Star Trek movie for more than three lines, while the Alliance has quoted entire scenes.

War is fun 
DEEP SPACE 20, IGGY V-- Although the Crag War is the best-publicized war in STF, it is not the only; two other wars are currently active, and are taking a far greater toll on Starfleet resources.  The first started between the USS Alliance and the USS Ares around Stardate 97111.0. Alliance officers, possibly due to brain damage, began posting miscellaneous quotes on their MOTD as a way to lighten the mood and use up computing resources. It was less than two weeks later, as Alliance CO William Bligh tells it, that the USS Ares had stolen the MOTD along with the idea of quotes.  Captain Bligh immediately declared war on the Ares, whose CO, Brennan Thomson, returned the favor.  USS Independence Captain Colin Wyers has since joined the fray, declaring war on both ships.  The Alliance and Ares are currently neck-and-neck, with the lead changing daily; both ships now have over 50 pointless quotes, but those on the Alliance are better <g>. 

The other war involves the whole of Fleet Three.  Recently-appointed Brooklyn CO Seamus Hughes has challenged his fleetmates to a "let's see who can boast the most posts," relevant or not.  The Brooklyn and Outpost 42 are currently in the lead for sheer volume, while a more civilized introduction of the "number of crewmembers" qualifier to the tally puts Starbase 117 and Outpost 42 in the lead. 

MicroNews 
by Daffy Trump, SNN Society Editor  

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Fleet Three -- The Coreward Fleet  
by Seamus Hughes  

Fleet Four -- The "Unfourtunate" Fleet  
by Larry Garfield