OpenGov - Open Government Brainstorm

Comments (9)

1. 

   a.klassykat

   Isn't this supposed to be the media's job? You know... in the few minutes they have between covering octomom, Britney Spears and John &Kate + 8.

   3 years ago

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2. 

   agkaiser1

   The posted idea is that we be our own reporters on Congress.

   The diseased media that serves only the corporate masters who own it is that which we must displace with truth!

   Many of the committee meetings are broadcast on C-Span3. While 1 concentrates on the House and C-Span2 on the Senate, both do committees during slack times. I think the "citizen oversight teams" are not only a good idea, they're also do-able.

   agkaiser.org

   3 years ago

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3. 

   jewal

   I like the concept but then would we have oversight teams to monitor the oversight teams? You know, power corrupts. Maybe my thinking is too small to see how this would work in reality. Wish we could, though.

   3 years ago

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4. 

   chloe_658

   Since the media is not trustworthy these days because they only work for promoting the radical left they cannot be used.

   I think this is a good idea, but the government should NOT be allowed to pick these people or organizations. The state governors themselves should pick two or four people, two democrat and two republicans or how ever many are needed, just make sure it is equal in party members.

   Reasoning for this is I know Obama would pick an extremely corrupt special interest group such as ACORN or ACLU or some left wing radical people to do this and that would just be criminal.

   3 years ago

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5. 

   lpr300 Idea Submitter

   if everyone served 2 years in government in some capacity, we would all benefit.

   limit the term for these teams. there are still many many ethical people who believe character and public service should be established in our country again.

   ethics should never be optional.

   yet until we demand better people serve us in WA. DC and stop voting for those who are not dedicated to benefitting our country instead of lining their pockets, we will have greedy corrupt politicians who lie, cheat and steal.

   we need to expect more and expect better. and fire those who deserve to be fired when they do not live up to expectations.

   after all, they are our employees. we just need to remind them of that fact.

   3 years ago

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6. 

   Mike Liveright

   I like the idea of having Citizens interact with the government and have voted for Post/Read the Bill type ideas as well as trying to Continue and expand this site, but am voting against this as it does not define sufficient details as to how it would work.

   3 years ago

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7. 

   lindatift

   The concept seems right but I just do not see a way to pick these citizens that would do justice to the process. I think the only way this would work is if the citizen picks themselve. Think of who you elect for office now. It is the best looking person, or the one who has the most funding for their campaign, or the guy you went to school with. If more people got involved with their government an their own and reported what they learn on a county,city,state forum then maybe government would be looked upon in all it favorable and unfavorable light of day honesty and the people themselves would be making the decissions for their communities,states,and federal government.

   3 years ago

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8. 

   geblack

   Historically I believe our representative democracy was necessary and will continue to be necessary to funnel ideas from the people through their representatives into the flow of governement decision making.

   Increasingly the ability for those ideas to be gathered directly from the people rather than through lobbyists or groups whose voices, while being louder and perhaps more demanding, do not truly represent the majority is becoming more available.

   In light of this increasing capacity for the people to be more involved in direct communication with their representatives at a local, state and federal level, I believe it to be our duty as Americans to lead the way in incorporating our democratic values into these new forms of communication by formalizing ways to communicate directly with our representatives, have them communicate directly to us, and provide forums to discuss the ideas and performance of those who purportedly represent our best interests.

   This initiative that is being undertaken is a strong first step but will require that the information be organized, mandated, and widely distributed in order for public participation in government to succeed.

   Ultimately I believe that each layer of government should provide, aligned with the represented district, a place where communication with their government representative can be publicly posted. Where that representative would also be responsible for journaling actions being taken on behalf of their constituents, reporting voting results and justification for those results, and where questions and comments can be posted concerning those actions.

   These public forums would be similar to past forums on which our democracy is based but rather than be in open air they would be in open Internet form. I believe they can be somewhat self governing in the ability for the consituents to sort out the chaff from the wheat and stifle or censor the individuals who would attempt to detract or undermine legitimate participation.

   This would be a very bold initiative indeed but would solidify and extend our postion in the world as leaders of democracy, true democracy with representative responsibility.

   3 years ago

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9. 

   Robert Gabrielsky

   This is a good idea, but we don't need President Obama's permission to do it, so I don't see the point of addressing this to the Executive Branch. Same goes for many of the other proposals on this site.

   3 years ago

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