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  Open Up Presidential Debates to Third Parties

  For far too long in this country, politics (and debates in general) has been run by the two major parties – Democrats and Republicans. While both of these parties are close to the center of the political spectrum and represent a lot of people, there are others out there with other ideas. Yes, we have third parties, but they haven't won an election (or even been competitive) in decades. Part of the reason they aren't more ...more »

  For far too long in this country, politics (and debates in general) has been run by the two major parties – Democrats and Republicans. While both of these parties are close to the center of the political spectrum and represent a lot of people, there are others out there with other ideas. Yes, we have third parties, but they haven't won an election (or even been competitive) in decades. Part of the reason they aren't more competitive is that no one knows about them. People in this country have grown up know Republicans and Democrats.. and if you're not one of those two, you don't really matter. If you want to vote, you pretty much have to choose the lesser of two evils.

  Also, third parties are very hard to get started. The third party laws in many states are so insane they are nearly impossible (but that's a different issue). If third parties were allowed to contribute to televised national debates, awareness would drastically increase. Instead of being forced to choose the lesser of two evils, people would actually have a broadly publicized candidate for whom to vote.

  In the end, the issue comes down to equality. We say we're ALL equal, but then we turn around and say if you're not a Democrat or Republican, you're screwed. Open up the process and make it easier for third parties to participate!

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  36 comments for Idea: Open Up Presidential Debates to Third Parties

  Submitted by dudemanfellabra 3 years ago

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  Ask Federal Agencies to Adopt the Core Principles for Public Engagement

  Over the past several months, experts in public dialogue, facilitation and collaborative decision-making worked together to develop 7 "Core Principles for Public Engagement." The authors and editors of these principles have spent years creating and honing innovative techniques that help people talk constructively about difficult issues that effect their lives--issues like health care, crime, and conflict between ethnic ...more »

  Over the past several months, experts in public dialogue, facilitation and collaborative decision-making worked together to develop 7 "Core Principles for Public Engagement." The authors and editors of these principles have spent years creating and honing innovative techniques that help people talk constructively about difficult issues that effect their lives--issues like health care, crime, and conflict between ethnic groups.

  We consider these 7 principles to be the fundamental components of quality public engagement, and we propose that federal agencies adopt these principles to guide their public engagement work.

  Engaging people around the issues that affect their lives and their country is a key component of a strong democratic society. Effective public engagement goes beyond public relations and information-sharing by providing ways for people with a variety of viewpoints to grapple with issues together and come up with creative solutions.

  - The Core Principles for Public Engagement -

  These seven recommendations reflect the common beliefs and understandings of those working in the fields of public engagement, conflict resolution, and collaboration. In practice, people apply these and additional principles in many different ways.

  1. Careful Planning and Preparation

  Through adequate and inclusive planning, ensure that the design, organization, and convening of the process serve both a clearly defined purpose and the needs of the participants.

  2. Inclusion and Demographic Diversity

  Equitably incorporate diverse people, voices, ideas, and information to lay the groundwork for quality outcomes and democratic legitimacy.

  3. Collaboration and Shared Purpose

  Support and encourage participants, government and community institutions, and others to work together to advance the common good.

  4. Openness and Learning

  Help all involved listen to each other, explore new ideas unconstrained by predetermined outcomes, learn and apply information in ways that generate new options, and rigorously evaluate public engagement activities for effectiveness.

  5. Transparency and Trust

  Be clear and open about the process, and provide a public record of the organizers, sponsors, outcomes, and range of views and ideas expressed.

  6. Impact and Action

  Ensure each participatory effort has real potential to make a difference, and that participants are aware of that potential.

  7. Sustained Engagement and Participatory Culture

  Promote a culture of participation with programs and institutions that support ongoing quality public engagement.

  –

  More details about each of these principles, info about who took part in creating them and how, and a growing list of endorsements can all be found at www.thataway.org/pep . Also feel free to email me (Sandy Heierbacher, Director of the National Coalition for Dialogue & Deliberation) at sandy@thataway.org if you have questions or want to get involved.

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  27 comments for Idea: Ask Federal Agencies to Adopt the Core Principles for Public Engagement

  Submitted by sandy 4 years ago

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  Use Randomly Selected Citizen Deliberative Councils to tap the collective wisdom of We the People

  Ad hoc, randomly selected, well-informed citizen deliberative councils like Citizens Juries, Citizen Assemblies, and Consensus Conferences have been used hundreds of times around the world to provide policy guidance to public officials and the citizenry. The U.S. lags far behind in their use. These similar approaches all enable a microcosm of a country or community to generate informed public judgment about specific ...more »

  Ad hoc, randomly selected, well-informed citizen deliberative councils like Citizens Juries, Citizen Assemblies, and Consensus Conferences have been used hundreds of times around the world to provide policy guidance to public officials and the citizenry. The U.S. lags far behind in their use.

  These similar approaches all enable a microcosm of a country or community to generate informed public judgment about specific issues.

  They are not legislatures. They are temporary councils, more like juries, but they deliberate on public issues rather than private guilt, and they are far more actively engaged in becoming informed than any jury can be. They get professional help in hearing each other and creatively deliberating.

  As with juries, random selection (a) creates greater diversity than one finds in a legislature, (b) makes it much harder for corrupting influences to skew the results, and (c) levels the conversation with an assumption that all participants are peers. Also like a jury, a citizen deliberative council disbands as soon as it completes its work.

  These councils can be used for any number of purposes -- to recommend solutions, to evaluate proposed legislation or ballot initiatives, to evaluate the performance of public officials or interview politicians seeking election, and more. They are useful wherever a dependable, informed, reflective non-partisan (or "transpartisan") "voice of the whole" is desired. Their recommendations can be advisory, or a mandate, or they can be put to a vote by the electorate.

  A related process, a citizens' Wisdom Council, could serve as an annual "state of the union address" by a group of randomly selected citizens officially convened for the purpose. They would not be assigned an issue to deliberate, but would have a creative conversation for several days and come to consensus conclusions they would then share with the country. Whatever they came up with would certainly stimulate much discussion!

  The point I would like to raise in this proposal for discussion is that randomly selected councils of citizens can, under the right conditions, generate far wiser recommendations than vast dialogue and deliberation programs involving thousands or millions of people. Random selection -- sortition -- was the foundation of Athenian Democracy. Well designed microcosms can be more demographically representative of a whole community than a self-selected group or an elected legislature -- although all three forms have their democratic roles. Perhaps most important in these times of tight budgets, government resources -- organizational, informational and facilitation -- can be more focused, resulting in higher quality outcomes at less cost.

  This approach can also complement broader community or national dialogues. The special outcomes of citizen deliberative councils can be fed into the more broadly participative dialogues and deliberations proposed here by others. The outcomes of citizen deliberative councils add a totally new voice -- the voice of the whole -- to the usually partisan public discourse we think of as democracy.

  For more information on this approach and links to the various related practices, see http://www.co-intelligence.org/CDCUsesAndPotency.html.

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  29 comments for Idea: Use Randomly Selected Citizen Deliberative Councils to tap the collective wisdom of We the People

  Submitted by cii 3 years ago

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  4. Convene the American Public in National Discussions of One Million People or More on the Issues of Highest Public Concern

  A healthy democracy needs the capacity to involve its citizens in key decisions. Government cannot be left to leaders, experts, and pundits with the public only weighing in on election day. People from all walks of life should be encouraged to wrestle with tough questions, seek common ground, and develop and articulate their views. President Obama should call for regular national discussions of one million Americans ...more »

  A healthy democracy needs the capacity to involve its citizens in key decisions. Government cannot be left to leaders, experts, and pundits with the public only weighing in on election day. People from all walks of life should be encouraged to wrestle with tough questions, seek common ground, and develop and articulate their views.

  President Obama should call for regular national discussions of one million Americans or more on the issues of highest public concern, like foreign policy, energy, taxes, health care, and jobs. Every citizen should have a seat at the table. National Discussions could be one of the signature initiatives of the Open Government Directive that signals a new way of governing.

  National discussions will use a variety of methods to ensure that more than one million Americans can take part in a meaningful way. Some people will weigh in by participating in massive national town meetings that link gatherings around the country together by satellite, so that Americans in Buffalo can speak with Americans in San Jose, Boise, Birmingham and other communities around the nation. Others will host their own conversations in their homes, places of work or community centers. In small groups, they will wrestle with the challenges facing our nation and then submit their ideas over the Internet. Still others who cannot attend the national discussion in person will join the process online, where they will work with a small group in a virtual discussion space before registering their priorities.

  Each National Discussion will engage Americans from every walk of life and every corner of the nation. By providing so many people with a meaningful voice, we can help restore public trust in our governing institutions and energize the civic spirit of America.

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  25 comments for Idea: 4. Convene the American Public in National Discussions of One Million People or More on the Issues of Highest Public Concern

  Submitted by Unsubscribed User 4 years ago

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  Promise USA - National Network of Citizen Conversation

  What if Americans of all ages, races, backgrounds and beliefs could come together in a series of national conversations on topics of significant importance to the nation? What if we could create a listening and learning environment through structured conversations to lead us to better understand one another, establish common ground and transform ideas into action? What if all of us had a role in making this a reality? ...more »

  What if Americans of all ages, races, backgrounds and beliefs could come together in a series of national conversations on topics of significant importance to the nation?

  What if we could create a listening and learning environment through structured conversations to lead us to better understand one another, establish common ground and transform ideas into action?

  What if all of us had a role in making this a reality?

  Promise USA proposes a series of national conversations, initiated by the Obamas, which invite citizens to explore questions of importance to all.

  Until now, it was impossible to have a two-way Fireside Chat. Today, we have well-researched and documented dialogic methodologies that make it possible to engage citizens in a networked, real-time, face-to-face, national conversation. Our Promise USA Team is comprised of respected experts in large-scale conversation who will partner with many other dialogue and deliberation facilitators throughout the nation.

  What if we brought our collective expertise in conversational leadership forward to confront the challenges that the nation faces?

  Promise USA Conversations would begin with the President or First Lady posing the questions for national intergenerational conversations. These questions would enable citizens to focus on strengths and opportunities that inspire personal commitment and action.

  In venues as small as living rooms and as large as auditoriums or convention centers, people would be seated together at tables of four or five. These Promise USA Conversations would start with a question on a national issue. People would explore ideas for 30 minutes and then move to a new table to discuss a related question on a local level, concluding with a final round that brings the conversation to an individual level and encourages commitment to action. Ideas generated at tables and commitments to action would be shared and recorded across the nation.

  To generate momentum and urgency, President and First Lady would attend one of these conversations. After brief introductory remarks, broadcast nationwide to all locations, the President would pose a single question that engages groups in every venue in compelling conversation on topics such as education, health care, energy and the environment.

  Several “Citizen Conversations” would be scheduled throughout the year, with the President and First Lady beginning each subsequent event with a quick update on their learning and highlights of actions taken as a result of a previous Promise USA event.

  Having youth organizations such as the Girl Scouts facilitate the pilot conversations would enrich Promise USA. Other promising young people would be engaged to co-host subsequent conversations. Creating an intergenerational environment whenever possible will enliven the learning and allow community understanding to emerge. When people of all ages are invited into conversations that matter, people listen better, work harder to understand and consider the future with their heads and hearts.

  We have many thoughts about variations on this process and welcome your ideas and input.

  We promise to build on our experience as pioneers in large-scale change and community dialogue.

  We promise to quickly and efficiently engage as many Americans as possible in the work of changing this country.

  We promise to ignite social networks to spark a new way for communities and our nation to work together.

  We will activate grass roots youth movements such as the Girl Scouts, as we have in the past, to pilot the conversations across the country. We will invite other young people to co-host subsequent conversations.

  We will engage those working in the fields of dialogue and deliberation, large-scale change and Asset Based Community Development and use the power of self-organization to stimulate strength-based citizen action.

  We will scale the intergenerational conversations to exponentially increase the number of facilitators, conversations and citizens involved. By November 2012, a connected web of thousands of cities and towns across the land will be providing citizen perspectives and innovative solutions to our local and national challenges.

  We invite you, President and First Lady Obama, to join us with your sponsorship, leadership and presence.

  We invite you to attend at least the first Promise USA National Conversation.

  We invite you to provide a live or recorded update on your learning and highlights of actions taken as a result of the previous Promise USA event.

  Together, we will invite the American people to fulfill the promise of the USA: of the people, by the people, for the people.

  PROMISE USA TEAM

  CHRISTINE WHITNEY SANCHEZ has coordinated and facilitated some of the largest intergenerational conversations in the world. At the 2005 and 2008 Girl Scout National Conventions, she facilitated over thirteen thousand girls and adults in face-to-face dialogue. Christine is a social entrepreneur, consultant, coach, teacher and pioneer in blending collaborative methods, reflective practices and conscious leadership. Christine has collaborated with leaders from over eighty organizations and communities across four continents to transform culture and collaborative practices, to research and nurture self-organization and distributed leadership, to tap collective wisdom and to foster dynamic and sustainable collaboration. She has led and virtually coordinated dozens of corporate, government and nonprofit groups in delivering large-scale change events and has trained hundreds of facilitators around the world in strength-based approaches for self-organizing in their own communities. Christine holds a Master of Counseling degree from Arizona State University.

  JUANITA BROWN, PH.D with her partner, David Isaacs, is the co-founder of the World Café, a unique approach to large group dialogue, which is rapidly spreading throughout North America, Europe, Latin America, Africa, and Asia. The World Café is being used in a growing number of corporate, community, government, health, education, NGO and multi-stakeholder settings to engage “conversations that matter” across traditional boundaries. Juanita served as a Senior Affiliate at the MIT Sloan School's Organizational Learning Center, an Associate with the Norwegian Center for Leadership Development, a Research Affiliate with the Institute for the Future, and program faculty at the John F. Kennedy University School of Management, the California Institute of Integral Studies, Columbia University, and the University of Monterrey, Mexico. She is a Fellow of the World Business Academy and has been honored in the World's Who's Who of Business and Professional Women. She is the co-author of the “award winning book The World Café: Shaping our Futures Through Conversations that Matter, now being widely used to support civic engagement efforts both in the United States and abroad.

  DIANE OETTINGER brings over thirty years of experience assisting teams, groups and organizations to develop the leadership, culture and aligned systems that enable innovation and sustainable change. She has held senior leadership positions in the corporate arena, served as a change and leadership advisor to organizations across the private and non-profit sector, and is presently the Chief Learning Officer for the Girl Scouts of the USA. She has served as an executive coach to many organizational leaders, and has experience as executive education adjunct faculty. Diane combines these diverse perspectives and experiences to design and facilitate engagement-based programs that deliver results. She is a proud alumnus of Cornell University.

  NANCY MARGULIES began developing her visual recording technique in 1984 and is a pioneer in graphic facilitation. She has worked with corporations and educational groups worldwide and facilitated workshops in Australia, New Zealand, Israel, Switzerland, Turkey, South Africa and India. Her books on visual recording have been translated into five languages. She is on the online faculty of the Bainbridge Graduate Institute, a Green MNA program in sustainability and social justice and is a visual facilitator for the online dialogues at The Global Dialogue Center. Nancy is currently collaborating on a book about building healthy communities with Meg Wheatley. She worked with President Clinton and the Cabinet visually recording strategic planning meetings in which the President, Vice President and each Cabinet Secretary presented their top strategies for the coming year. She did the same for other senior policy meetings including the USDA.

  REUBEN SANCHEZ brings twenty-seven years providing consultation, training, facilitation, organizational development, and coaching with clients in manufacturing, mental health, medicine, and educational settings. He developed start-up Employee Assistance operations in Latin America for a multinational manufacturing corporation. He has built his success on his ability to establish relationships of trust and collaboration to achieve personal goals and objectives that benefit the community or organization he serves. Reuben’s first language was Spanish and he was the first child in his family to be born in the United States. As founder of ShapeShifter Productions, he applies his artistic abilities in creative ways that keep him thinking outside the box. Reuben holds a Master of Counseling degree from Arizona State University.

  DAVID ISAACS is a co-founder of the World Café is President of Clearing Communications, an organizational and communications strategy company working with senior executives in the United States and abroad. David has collaborated with a wide range of corporate clients and has served as adjunct faculty at the California Institute for Integral Studies and the University of San Antonio Business School's executive MBA Program. His not-for-profit work has included hosting World Cafe dialogues with the Shambhala Institute, Society for Organizational Learning, and the Alliance for Transforming the Lives of Children. David co-authored The World Café: Shaping our Futures Through Conversations that Matter.

  JIM MYRACLE focuses on partnering with organizations to build the leadership, processes and cultures necessary to support adaptive strategies and innovation. He has extensive experience in new product development, strategic planning, and change initiatives, and has evolved an inclusive, inquiry-based approach to planning that energizes organizational understanding and commitment. Prior to co-founding TMT Associates, he spent 22 years in the corporate sector, holding senior leadership positions in New Product Development, New Technology, Quality Systems, and Strategic Planning. Jim holds a degree in Mechanical Engineering from The Catholic University of America, and has been awarded seven U.S. patents.

  EMMETT MILLER, M.D. is best known for his seminal work in the field of holistic health and Mind-Body Medicine, especially his invention of the relaxation/guided imagery cassette in 1970, soon after receiving his M.D. from The Albert Einstein College of Medicine. He is also an accomplished musician, scientist, mathematician and living systems specialist. His chief contributions have been his discoveries of how thoughts, emotions, and mental images can be guided to have a profound impact on illnesses, wellness, and performance. Dr. Miller is a trainer, coach, speaker, and tireless worker in the service of planetary transformation. His most recent books include: Deep Healing; The Essence of Mind-Body Medicine, presenting tools for self-healing and optimal performance, and Our Culture on the Couch; Seven Steps to Global Healing, presenting perspectives on the use of Self-awareness and social networking to awaken the leader within and transform our lives and our world.

  For more information, please contact:

  Christine Whitney Sanchez

  480.759.0262

  cwhitneysanchez@gmail.com

  You can download a PDF of this proposal at www.christinewhitneysanchez.com

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  24 comments for Idea: Promise USA - National Network of Citizen Conversation

  Submitted by Christine Whitney Sanchez 3 years ago

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  Public Financing for All Federal Offices, Ban All Corporate Lobbying

  Most financing for federal political campaigns comes from the top 2% of individuals and corporations and elected officials nearly always reflect those who have given them big money. Public financing would take that element out of the public process and make officials more accountable to the public at large. Maine and Arizona already have public financing and it has worked very well. All corporate lobbying should be ...more »

  Most financing for federal political campaigns comes from the top 2% of individuals and corporations and elected officials nearly always reflect those who have given them big money. Public financing would take that element out of the public process and make officials more accountable to the public at large. Maine and Arizona already have public financing and it has worked very well.

  All corporate lobbying should be prohibited on a similar principle of financing by the wealthiest coroporations and industries. Politcal votes then represent those corporate interests rather than the broader public.

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  4 comments for Idea: Public Financing for All Federal Offices, Ban All Corporate Lobbying

  Submitted by davidwseattle 3 years ago

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  Develop and Implement a National Strategy for Sustainability

  I would suggest that the best way to strengthen our democracy and promote efficiency and effectiveness, while making government more transparent, participatory, and collaborative, would be for the Obama Administration to lead the American People in Developing and Implementing a National Strategy for Sustainability. It is commonly recognized that those of us in the United States are not living sustainably today. With ...more »

  I would suggest that the best way to strengthen our democracy and promote efficiency and effectiveness, while making government more transparent, participatory, and collaborative, would be for the Obama Administration to lead the American People in Developing and Implementing a National Strategy for Sustainability.

  It is commonly recognized that those of us in the United States are not living sustainably today. With only 5% of the world’s population, we consume 1/4 of the natural resources. Since 1940, Americans alone have used more of the earth’s mineral resources than all previous humans put together. We still only recycle about 15% of our waste; use 120 pounds of natural resources per person per day; and greenhouse gas emissions rose 13 percent in the US between 1990 and 2003 according to the EPA’s 2007 Report on the Environment. Meanwhile humanity uses 30% more of the earth’s bio-capacity than can be sustained. At this rate, we’ll need two planets to live on to meet everyone's needs by 2030.

  Fortunately, millions of Americans are already doing what we can to change the situation and to contribute to creating a more sustainable future. Now our federal government needs to lead the people in creating a Sustainable America.

  GOVERNMENT COMMITMENT

  The US agreed to create a National Strategy for Sustainability during the UN Rio Earth Summit Conference in 1992 and then again at the World Summit on Sustainable Development in 2002. The US is one of the few Developed Countries that has not already developed, much less implemented, a National Strategy Plan. The Obama Administration should thus invite all Americans to join it in developing and implementing our National Strategy for Sustainability, beginning with a review of the reports and recommendations from the President’s Council on Sustainable Development that were developed during the Clinton years. See: See: http://clinton5.nara.gov/PCSD

  The National Strategy could encourage such things as green building practices; transitioning to renewable energy; protecting and restoring the natural environment; limiting toxic chemicals; investing in all types of green jobs; adopting sustainable business practices; educating for sustainable development; ensuring that all people’s basic human needs can be met; and integrating the work of artists, engineers, educators, and restoration scientists on infrastructure, restoration, and other sustainable community projects; etc.

  (This recommendation and description of the National Strategy for Sustainability is rather long as it is meant to introduce the idea to key people within the Obama Administration. If you want to know more about it please continue reading, however if not but you still like the idea please vote for it now.)

  There is already a lot of interest and support for this idea of creating a National Strategy for Sustainability. In December I entered a proposal urging the Obama Administration to develop and implement a National Strategy for Sustainability in Change.org’s Ideas for Change in America web voting competition. It made it in the Top Ten out of more than 7800 Ideas entered and 600,000 votes cast and was in first place within the category of Environmental Conservation.

  GOALS, GUIDELINES, AND PRINCIPLES

  The development of a National Strategy for Sustainability ought to be based upon an agreed set of guidelines and principles, such as those developed by the OECD, beginning with a participatory and collaborative process (see: http://www.oecd.org/DATAOECD/34/10/2669958.PDF page 73). Coordinated and cooperative action is needed and the federal government needs to lead the way. The Strategy should include an Action Plan, authorizing legislation, and a significant budget and appropriations. An Office of Sustainability ought to be established, along with inter-agency working group(s) and a cabinet level committee on sustainability. Each state could be required to issue an annual report on sustainability.

  The overall goal of the National Strategy for Sustainability ought to be to make as rapid a transition to full sustainability as is feasibly possible. A system of metrics and indicators is needed along with a Visioning and Planning Process which encourages the participation of the American People in determining our common future. In fact, the Administration ought to support civil society in playing a leading role in developing an independent multi-stakeholder process that fully involves all serious and committed contributors in driving the development of the National Strategy for Sustainability.

  The National Academy of Public Administration and the National Academy of Sciences are two Congressionally chartered, non-profit, non-partisan institutions that provide an example of the type of entity that could be established with the mandate to lead the process of developing and implementing a National Strategy, which would include but also go well beyond government participation and activities.

  GLOBAL RESPONSIBILITY AND PARTICIPATION

  At the global level, preparations and consultations have already begun again at the United Nations for the 20th Anniversary of the Earth Summit Conference which will most likely be held again in Brazil in 2012. The US is going to look pretty foolish if we are one of the only developed countries that is not yet implementing a Sustainability Strategy and Plan. In addition, the federal government ought to be developing a process to encourage multi-stakeholder input and participation in the preparatory process for the Summit; and the effort to create a US Strategy could provide a good means for doing so.

  The United Nations is also completing a ten year Marrakech Process to develop a Global Framework of Action on Sustainable Consumption and Production; and our federal government has just begun to participate actively in this process within the last year or two, though it did host a North American consultation in Washington DC in November of 2008. (http://esa.un.org/marrakechprocess) The Obama Administration should thus integrate the development of a National Framework on Sustainable Consumption and Production with our National Strategy for Sustainability and ensure that both are integrated as well with the Global Framework.

  EDUCATION FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

  We are also now half way through the UN Decade on Education for Sustainable Development and UNESCO recently held it’s five year review conference for the Decade in Bonn (http://www.desd.org). In the US the US Partnership for Education on Sustainable Development has been leading the organizing effort (www.uspartnership.org); but unfortunately the federal government has provided very little leadership to date in engaging our country in this global process.

  The US Partnership developed a series of recommendations, in partnership with the Working Group for Sustainable Change, which we submitted to the Obama Administration and Transition Teams for how the US could strengthen its involvement and promote Education for Sustainable Development. These recommendations should be considered both by the Department of Education and as we work on developing and implementing both the National Strategy and the Ten Year Framework on Sustainable Consumption and Production. (see: http://change.gov/open_government/entry/us_partnership_on_education_for_sustainable_development/)

  STRENGTHENING AND RENEWING PARTNERSHIP INITIATIVES

  During the run up to the World Summit on Sustainable Development in 2002 several hundred UN Partnership Initiatives were also developed. Both the Bush and Obama Administrations have taken quite an interest in many of these Partnership Initiatives. They provide an excellent means for implementing sustainability programs and policies both in the US and around the world. Unfortunately, most of them remain rather under-capitalized and need much more funding to be able to fulfill the great promise and urgent role that they could provide. As a part of the development of the National Strategy for Sustainability the federal government should thus review these Partnership Initiatives and determine what could be done in the US and by our government to strengthen them; and the US citizenry should be invited to participate actively in this review process as well. (See: http://www.usda.gov/oce/sustainable/partnerships.htm and http://www.sdp.gov/usgweb.)

  The STAR Community Index is a new framework for improving the livability and sustainability of U.S. communities. ICLEI-Local Governments for Sustainability USA, the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) and the Center for American Progress (CAP) have established a partnership to develop STAR with the goal of launching this tool in January 2010. (see: http://www.iclei-usa.org/programs/sustainability/star-community-index) The STAR website states that, “there is a pressing need for a national framework to guide sustainable community initiatives. Many local governments have already developed frameworks, while others are seeking a framework that can be adapted to reflect local conditions. These frameworks offer a vast diversity in the structure and focus making it very difficult to compare the progress of one locality to another and reducing the opportunity to leverage change and share lessons learned.”

  A similar situation exists but the need is perhaps even more pronounced within the business community, educational institutions, and particularly within and among state governments. The development of a National Strategy should thus incorporate and promote the development of the STAR Community Index and support the development of similar such initiatives for businesses, educational institutions, rural communities, and state governments.

  THE PRESIDENT’S MEMORANDUM ON TRANSPARENCY AND OPEN GOVERNMENT

  As one of his first acts in office President Obama issued a Memorandum on Transparency and Open Government in which he outlined three principles for his administration: transparency, participation, and collaboration. The Memorandum states that, “Collaboration actively engages Americans in the work of their Government. Executive departments and agencies should use innovative tools, methods, and systems to cooperate among themselves, across all levels of Government, and with nonprofit organizations, businesses, and individuals in the private sector.”

  There could probably be no better way to engage the American people in the work of our government, at all levels, than to develop and begin to implement a National Strategy for Sustainability. Non-profit organizations, businesses, individuals, educators, and government employees at all levels are already doing what they can to contribute to creating a sustainable future; and we would welcome the opportunity, if provided by the federal government, to provide our expertise on how our country can do so as well.

  SHARING THE EXPERTISE OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE WITH GOVERNMENT

  The Memorandum goes on to state that, “Knowledge is widely dispersed in society, and public officials benefit from having access to that dispersed knowledge. Executive departments and agencies should offer Americans increased opportunities to participate in policymaking and to provide their Government with the benefits of their collective expertise and information.” Again, the development of a National Strategy and a Ten Year Framework on Sustainable Consumption and Production would provide an excellent vehicle to enable the American people to share our collective expertise and information with government departments and agencies.

  This would now include a multitude of initiatives that have been developed or are now springing up such as: the ABA’s Model Sustainability Policy and Implementation Guidelines for Law Organizations, the Environmental Law Institute, the US Green Building Council’s LEED Program, National Ski Areas Association’s Sustainable Slopes Environmental Charter, California Sustainable Winegrowing Alliance, AIGA Center for Sustainable Design, Green-Blue Institute’s Design Competitions, various Standards and Certification Schemes, and a great number of business consultants specializing in sustainable development.

  Then there is the PlugIn Hybrid Electric Vehicle Partnership, ICLEI’s Star Community Index, SustainLane’s Sustainable Development knowledge base for State and Local Government officials, Sustainable Land Development International, the Bioneers, BioMimicry Guild, Zero Waste Alliance, Center for a New American Dream, Lowell Center for Sustainable Production, North American Sustainable Consumption Alliance, US Citizens Network for Sustainable Development, Sustainable Communities Network, etc. These are just a few examples of the many people and initiatives, showing just a bit of the breadth of the movement, that would eagerly embrace the opportunity to share their knowledge and information with government at all levels.

  OVERCOMING POLICY IMPEDIMENTS AND EMBRACING COLLABORATION

  Now I would like to respond to two questions raised as a part of this Open Government Dialogue process. We’ve been asked, “What policy impediments to innovation in government currently exist?”

  There is currently a lack of coordination of activities within and among agencies at all levels of government; lack of a coordinated approach toward dealing effectively with a host of urgent problems that must be solved to create a more sustainable future; coordinated means by which all stakeholders can contribute effectively to providing common solutions that could be replicated throughout our society; etc. These problems could all be solved through an effect effort to develop and implement a National Strategy for Sustainability.

  “What is the best way to change the culture of government to embrace collaboration?”

  The Obama Administration could develop an open and participatory process welcoming all Americans to join in developing and implementing a National Strategy for Sustainability, including such stakeholders as municipal and state government, the business community, educational leaders and students, civil society, etc. The effectiveness of such partnership processes has been demonstrated time and again through collaborations such as the US Partnership on Education for Sustainable Development, the National Council on Science and the Environment, the President’s Council on Sustainable Development, the National Academy of Sciences Board on Sustainable Development/Report, the National Summit on Sustainable Development, UN Commission on Sustainable Development processes, UN Partnership Initiatives for Sustainable Development, etc.

  ACHIEVING A SUSTAINABLE AMERICA

  Finally, Law Professor John Dernbach’s latest book, Agenda for a Sustainable America starts with a simple but powerful premise: “Sustainable development would make the United States more livable, healthy, secure, and prosperous. Policies that promote sustainability would reduce risks to our national security, improve our economic efficiency and productivity, enhance our health and communities, improve the lives of the poorest among us, and foster greater human wellbeing in other countries. And it would achieve these things while protecting and restoring the environment for our generation and for generations that follow.”

  Now those are goals that would be worth striving for as we develop and begin to implement our National Strategy for Sustainability.

  For more information please contact:

  Rob Wheeler

  Campaign for a Sustainable America

  Robineagle @ worldcitizen.org

  Robwheeler22 @ gmail.com

  717-264-5036

  Citizens Network for Sustainable Development

  www.citnet.org

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  12 comments for Idea: Develop and Implement a National Strategy for Sustainability

  Submitted by Rob Wheeler 3 years ago

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  Have a national vote on the legalization of marijuana!

  I think we need to let the people decide on this issue. Bring it to a national vote so that it's not a bunch of politicians deciding what is good for us based on irrational fears and personal gains.

  3 comments for Idea: Have a national vote on the legalization of marijuana!

  Submitted by copleykj 3 years ago

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  A RADICAL IDEA: Let's stop spending what we don't have

  Stop the bailouts, corporate subsidies, the money-printing, the insane borrowing.

  I know, probably too radical.

  6 comments for Idea: A RADICAL IDEA: Let's stop spending what we don't have

  Submitted by danny1dotcom 3 years ago

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  Enforce and respect our laws: Legal immigration only

  If we are to preserve our environment we have to take note of the size of the growing human footprint on Earth and especially in our country. We need a national population policy. Bringing more consumers to our country hurts our environment. Allowing more and more unauthorized persons inside our borders threatens the integrity of all our laws, our sovereignty as a nation and our personal safety.

  Add your comment for Idea: Enforce and respect our laws: Legal immigration only

  Submitted by lindahuhnphoto 3 years ago

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  Constitution

  Hey I have a novel idea why doesn't the Fed get back to doing what is enumerated in the Constitution and stay out of the states sovereignty. In addition quit trying to be a dictatorship.

  3 comments for Idea: Constitution

  Submitted by Jeff 3 years ago

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  Create an Open Government project directory and knowledge base

  The basic idea is to make sure that any important information about past, current or upcoming government projects or programs in the areas of transparency, participation and collaboration is captured and shared in a timely manner and easily accessible to anyone interested in or affected by these projects/programs. The project directory would contain project briefs, contact information, key performance indicators, lessons ...more »

  The basic idea is to make sure that any important information about past, current or upcoming government projects or programs in the areas of transparency, participation and collaboration is captured and shared in a timely manner and easily accessible to anyone interested in or affected by these projects/programs.

  The project directory would contain project briefs, contact information, key performance indicators, lessons learned, media coverage, citizen feedback etc.

  The knowledge base could include information on key people and organizations, tools, metrics, case studies etc. as well as checklists, how-tos and other best practices.

  This information would benefit everyone involved (citizens, government, research, media, vendors etc.) by helping design better projects/programs as well as increase the likelihood of project/program success.

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  10 comments for Idea: Create an Open Government project directory and knowledge base

  Submitted by Tim Bonnemann 3 years ago

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  We the people demand single payer universal health care S 703 get enacted into law.

  PLEASE, IF YOU VOTE THIS STRATEGY UP THEN PLEASE SIGN THESE PETITIONS LISTED ON THIS PAGE. IF YOU DON'T SIGN THE PETITIONS THEN YOU DEFEAT THE PURPOSE OF THIS STRATEGY. TELL OTHERS TO SIGN THE PETITION. EACH SIGNATURE APPEARS A VOTE FOR SINGLE PAYER HEALTH CARE, RAISING THE MINIMUM WAGE, EMPLOYEE FREE CHOICE ACT, AND THE WOMEN'S FREEDOM OF CHOICE ACT. Congress and the President must enact S 703 single payer universal ...more »

  PLEASE, IF YOU VOTE THIS STRATEGY UP THEN PLEASE SIGN THESE PETITIONS LISTED ON THIS PAGE. IF YOU DON'T SIGN THE PETITIONS THEN YOU DEFEAT THE PURPOSE OF THIS STRATEGY. TELL OTHERS TO SIGN THE PETITION. EACH SIGNATURE APPEARS A VOTE FOR SINGLE PAYER HEALTH CARE, RAISING THE MINIMUM WAGE, EMPLOYEE FREE CHOICE ACT, AND THE WOMEN'S FREEDOM OF CHOICE ACT.

  Congress and the President must

  enact S 703 single payer universal

  health care and set up a new

  prescription drug benefit in

  Medicare Part B covering 80% of the

  cost of all drugs with no extra

  monthly premiums, no extra yearly

  deductible, no means tests, no

  coverage gaps, and remove the means

  test for Medicare Part B and until

  that happens, I refuse to buy ANYTHING

  from Republican contributor Rite Aid

  Pharmacies and American Express

  Corporation, 2 contributors to

  conservative officeholders in the GOP

  and the Democratic Party.

  I have seen and spoke to a lot of well meaning Democrats wanting to make change in Washington and they issue petitions that do not include a boycott of the friends of those who would block progressive action and legislation. Such Democrats unnecessarily tie their left hand behind their backs. I urge people to consider boycotting the friends of those conservatives in congress in order to force them to sit up and take notice and capitulate to our demands. In our country money appears an important factor in getting action done. We need to go on a purchasing strike against the friends of regressives in order to force them to cooperate with us. It appears peaceful and legal in an atmosphere of legalized bribery in congress. We need to take back control over our purchases and how the profits get spent especially how they get used for legalized bribery in congress. We indirectly fund conservatives in congress through our purchases. We need to set conditions for our purchases through targeted boycotts.

  If you don't like a particular TV program, you call their sponsors and tell them you will boycott them until the program either goes off the air or changes to your liking. This works similar with political parties, politicians and their sponsors (campaign contributors).

  If you have a blog please post this on your blog. I want to get at least 100,000 people to sign these petitions, the first one which you can demand single payer health care and a fix to the Medicare prescription drug benefit.

  Doctors and nurses, please get those who see you for medical treatment to sign this petition and also tell them not to do business with Republican contributor Rite Aid Pharmacies. If a person cannot stop buying medications from Rite Aid then at least tell them to not buy consumer items from Rite Aid Pharmacies. The person can still sign the petition.

  Since Senator Baucus still blocks any notion of enacting S 703, if you will, please in your personal comments indicate that you will also boycott one of his contributors American Express Corporation. The main target remains Rite Aid Pharmacies. The petition letter does go to Senator Baucus too, so he will get the message.

  May I ask you for a favor? Can you get 1 new person to sign this petition each week? I hope you can do this. If every person gets just 1 new person to sign this each week, we can double the amount of signers every week. Thank you for signing this petition.

  I have included the email address for the Rite Aid Board of directors as a recipient of your email too.

  COPY AND PASTE THESE URLS AS I COULD NOT CREATE LINKS IN THIS MESSAGE. THANK YOU.

  Sign the petition at

  HTTP://BIT.LY/single_payer

  and the email will go out right away to GOP minority leaders and to Rite Aid Corporation.

  After you sign this petition sign these too.

  HTTP://BIT.LY/single_payer_baucus

  which you can petition Max Baucus for S 703 and his campaign contributor American Express Corporation who gave him over $50,000 for his campaigns for senate.

  Also sign these petitions.

  HTTP://BIT.LY/EFCA

  HTTP://BIT.LY/10_an_hour_min_wage

  HTTP://BIT.LY/norm_coleman_concede

  HTTP://BIT.LY/women_freedom_of_choice_act

  IMPORTANT NOTE: To encourage people to recruit others to sign this petition, just click on the Invite friends button on that page and you can send this to other people by their email or by other social networks. The top recruiters appear on this page.

  So please get as many people to sign these petitions. Thank you.

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  46 comments for Idea: We the people demand single payer universal health care S 703 get enacted into law.

  Submitted by info 3 years ago

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  Teaching citizens how to facilitate and experience true dialogue

  Engage facilitators to teach neighborhood and organizational representatives how to facilitate short-form dialogue processes / methods. There is an existing network of Obama neighborhood organizers - add in other representatives from local nonprofits, businesses, local government, faith communities and other organizations. To this group, teach proven dialogue methods for engaging conversation and discussion - forms ...more »

  Engage facilitators to teach neighborhood and organizational representatives how to facilitate short-form dialogue processes / methods.

  There is an existing network of Obama neighborhood organizers - add in other representatives from local nonprofits, businesses, local government, faith communities and other organizations.

  To this group, teach proven dialogue methods for engaging conversation and discussion - forms of dialogue which can engage a group in 3 hours or less. Only certain forms work for this but they work very well. These trainings are best done over time to teach a skill, allow practice of the skill, return to share experiences and best practices, apply again: action learning.

  Dialogue tools help individuals understand across differences, share experiences, listen for common threads in someone else's viewpoint, combine diverse ideas or cultural ways of looking at things to solve problems, gather data to see a full-systems perspective on an issue or opportunity, engage people, foster collaboration, and tap into rich knowledge and cultural diversity in the process.

  Use professional facilitators who are skilled in these particular methods and who also understand how to teach. They can be the mentors to the community facilitators as a community of learning and practice is fostered.

  Invitation is essential - invite across organization, region, age, ability, experience, culture, class - the key is to identify and train people who set ego aside in service to the group and its work - who invite and engage rather than direct.

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  11 comments for Idea: Teaching citizens how to facilitate and experience true dialogue

  Submitted by lisaheft 3 years ago

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  Grassroots Leadership on Civic Participation

  While the three components of the Memorandum on Transparency and Open Government are intertwined, it seems that there are specific constituencies that are better suited to take the lead in helping to implement positive change in each of these areas. The federal government can model the transparency and collaboration principles by testing and implementing new technologies, sharing best practices, and setting higher standards ...more »

  While the three components of the Memorandum on Transparency and Open Government are intertwined, it seems that there are specific constituencies that are better suited to take the lead in helping to implement positive change in each of these areas. The federal government can model the transparency and collaboration principles by testing and implementing new technologies, sharing best practices, and setting higher standards for all offices and agencies. This information can flow downward to state and local governments for implementation.

  Research Component

  In the area of participation, we need to look to the grassroots – to those who are already engaged in our democracy. We need to understand what individuals and organizations are already doing to help safeguard our democracy. Are these replicable? What can be done to engage others? How do we foster and support civic engagement? How do make active and informed participation in government a priority to busy families?

  Monitoring & Convening Component

  Trusted community organizations, such as the League of Women Voters, have been on the “frontlines” acting as government watchdogs for decades by monitoring government meetings, performing FOIA audits, and convening town hall meetings on “hot topics.” What can be learned from this group and others like it?

  Starting Point

  Citizens feel most attached to their local government. This is the level of government that they relate to on a daily basis; from school funding to zoning issues, local government impacts our lives. It only seems logical that any efforts to bolster citizen participation would start with this level of government.

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  4 comments for Idea: Grassroots Leadership on Civic Participation

  Submitted by kmcfarland 3 years ago

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  Outlaw ALL political contributions

  Every campaign finance reform bill that has ever existed has done nothing more than limit the amount of the bribes that public officials are legally allowed to accept. It's got to stop. Make it illegal for anyone to contribute anything to a political candidate, period. Also make it illegal for political candidates to use their own money for their campaign. All political campaigns will be paid for entirely by the government, ...more »

  Every campaign finance reform bill that has ever existed has done nothing more than limit the amount of the bribes that public officials are legally allowed to accept. It's got to stop. Make it illegal for anyone to contribute anything to a political candidate, period. Also make it illegal for political candidates to use their own money for their campaign. All political campaigns will be paid for entirely by the government, with each candidate receiving the exact same amount. Freed from the burden of fundraising, politicians can actually focus on doing their jobs.

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  7 comments for Idea: Outlaw ALL political contributions

  Submitted by Michael Dare 3 years ago

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  From Bottom Up: Increasing the quality and quantity of local citizenry engagement with critical public issues and the governmen

  Opening the Government and improving public engagement has many aspects being addressed by many and especially by those of us interested in improving the quality dialogue in the citizenry and promoting new ideas for deliberative democracy. One aspect not getting much attention as yet is getting beyond just increasing citizen input to the governing process to also increasing the quality of citizen understanding of the ...more »

  Opening the Government and improving public engagement has many aspects being addressed by many and especially by those of us interested in improving the quality dialogue in the citizenry and promoting new ideas for deliberative democracy. One aspect not getting much attention as yet is getting beyond just increasing citizen input to the governing process to also increasing the quality of citizen understanding of the major issues.

  We Americans are relatively ignorant about the world outside our borders and to some extent outside our regional localities as well. Many are one issue oriented and often ‘my backyard’ focused. Public engagement and opening the government should perhaps simultaneously address the quality and quantity of participation and collaboration with the government along with the desired ‘opening’ of the governing structure to more effective engagement.

  Here are some basic concepts we might follow in this direction. 1) Rather than ‘one-off’ or occasional encounters, programs to improve dialogue and citizen participation should be sustaining so that those participating can maintain interest and grow in the quality and quantity of their contributions.

  2) We must have real and sustaining diversity in the programs—the ‘reds and the blues’, the ‘farmers and the cowboys’ (remembering Oklahoma), the military and the pacifists, etc. 3) And, we must engage the local citizen with the professional advocates of differing policy choices (those at home engaging in the vigorous policy dialogue generated by our leading think tanks on all sides of the issues). Reading only from our textbooks or our condensed issue handbooks is not the same as listening to the debates live or virtually live and then reflecting with their neighbors on what they hear—especially with those of opposing viewpoints.

  In addition to organizing the open government and public engagement from Washington and the Federal Government out (that is, top-down), let’s also work from the bottom up. How many colleges and community colleges with multiple numbers of political science and government teachers do we have in the US? How many high schools with teachers of social studies do we have? How many local branches of the American Legion, the Veterans for Foreign Wars, the League of Women Voters, the NRA, and others do we have?

  Is there not some way to engage our local leaders in active, sustained dialogue that will both generate new, increased and informed interest in public policy issues and also significantly increase the quality of understanding and resulting engagement in the public dialogue?

  A phenomenal number of professionals and organizations now exist, and more are appearing each year, with the strategy and competence to carry out this task. Many are in fact already doing the basics of what is suggested here. But a nation-wide and sustainable program is not yet on the table. Is it possible that something like Mayor Khai Degner’s Sustainability Summit (May 30, 2009, in Harrisonburg VA) using any of the methodologies like open space, world café, issues forums, sustained dialogue, or many others could be held regularly in virtually every county in the U S? Is it possible that Rotary Clubs, the Eagles, the Elks, the VFW, the American Legion and many other community organizations could be enticed to join in public dialogues about major policy issues? Is it possible that our political scientists and social studies teachers, and others as well, could actively join in to support and to assist such endeavors?

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  4 comments for Idea: From Bottom Up: Increasing the quality and quantity of local citizenry engagement with critical public issues and the governmen

  Submitted by Unsubscribed User 3 years ago

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  Make elections friendlier to third parties

  Reform elections so that, if no one gets 50% of the vote, the third party candidate can throw their support (votes) behind his or her choice. This way people would actually feel more free to vote for the candidate they really want, knowing that even if the candidate has virtually no chance of winning, the vote will ultimately be passed along to the most compatible of the front-runners, and it will not be a wasted vote, ...more »

  Reform elections so that, if no one gets 50% of the vote, the third party candidate can throw their support (votes) behind his or her choice. This way people would actually feel more free to vote for the candidate they really want, knowing that even if the candidate has virtually no chance of winning, the vote will ultimately be passed along to the most compatible of the front-runners, and it will not be a wasted vote, or create a spoiler situation where the less popular major candidate can win because the more popular perspective's supporters are split between more candidates. Ultimately, this may break the stranglehold the two parties have on our current system... which is why it will be nearly impossible to get any Democrats or Republicans to support this kind of idea... but it would be a big move toward a more open and democratic government.

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  3 comments for Idea: Make elections friendlier to third parties

  Submitted by scott 3 years ago

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  A "Plan B" when Congress doesn't Represent: Better and National Ballot Initiatives

  Few believe that torture, perpetual wars and debt, domestic spying, and impunity for their perpetrators represent America. Congress rolls over for them, and actively prevents the majority from even participating - such as keeping single-payer health care advocates from the current debate. Few know that ballot initiatives and referendums are the origin of most reform, such as women's suffrage (passed in 13 states before ...more »

  Few believe that torture, perpetual wars and debt, domestic spying, and impunity for their perpetrators represent America. Congress rolls over for them, and actively prevents the majority from even participating - such as keeping single-payer health care advocates from the current debate.

  Few know that ballot initiatives and referendums are the origin of most reform, such as women's suffrage (passed in 13 states before Congress went along), "Sunshine" laws, publicly financed elections (passed by initiative in 6 of 7 states having them), medical marijuana (in 9 of 13 states) and increasing minimum wages (in all 6 states that tried in 2006). See http://Vote.org/initiatives for more examples and references. The media have played up the problem initiatives.

  The Swiss have kept their Parliament representative and humble with NATIONAL ballot initiatives since 1848. One result of them voting 3-7 times a year is the highest news readership in the world. Empowerment brings responsible behavior. The Swiss call their system "co-determination" -it works for all relationships! The best project for better and national ballot initiatives is at http://Vote.org

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  21 comments for Idea: A "Plan B" when Congress doesn't Represent: Better and National Ballot Initiatives

  Submitted by evan 4 years ago

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  A national citizens' assembly to represent the people's wisdom

  A citizen's assembly (CA) is a randomly selected body of several hundred people, brought together to serve a single term on a single issue and then disbanded. The CA has three phases: 1. Intensive information gathering: participants get up to speed on the issue and have the opportunity to hear from a wide variety of witnesses who have relevant information. 2. Dialogue and deliberation: participants build trust first ...more »

  A citizen's assembly (CA) is a randomly selected body of several hundred people, brought together to serve a single term on a single issue and then disbanded. The CA has three phases:

  1. Intensive information gathering: participants get up to speed on the issue and have the opportunity to hear from a wide variety of witnesses who have relevant information.

  2. Dialogue and deliberation: participants build trust first and only then enter into a process of deliberation over the specific question(s) they are charged with.

  3. Vote: the CA is not required to be unanimous, but it may be considered void if it does not result in a strong majority in agreement.

  BACKGROUND

  We know how to create the conditions for good public participation:

  1. Get everyone in the room. (No, not 300 million of us -- a representative sample will do, best of all if it is randomly selected, with required attendance, as juries are.)

  2. Provide access to the best available information, including a range of experts, and allow participants to ask questions.

  3. Create the conditions for honest, productive discussion and have a facilitator to help the process. Let people share their stories and values first, before digging into differences and debates.

  4. Empower the group so that the outcome of their work actually matters.

  These four principles have emerged from thousands of experiments in innovative forms of participatory democracy, ranging from small citizen's juries to large deliberative polls, from year-long citizen's assemblies to electronically-enhanced town meetings that take a day or a weekend.

  When these conditions are satisfied, what we find is that:

  1. People are willing and able to do it -- they defy "expert" predictions about how the subject matter is "too complex" or the amount of background information too large.

  2. People generally like it -- in fact, they find it deeply fulfilling.

  3. The product is generally excellent.

  Any process that embodies these principles is likely to be a huge improvement on the status quo. The national citizen's assembly proposed here is likely to be better suited for large, complex issues than some of the other processes.

  FOR MORE INFO

  1. Citizen's Assembly on Electoral Reform (British Columbia) http://www.citizensassembly.bc.ca

  2. Future Directions for Public Deliberation (article by Levine, et al) http://services.bepress.com/jpd/vol1/iss1/art3/

  3. Deliberative Democracy in America (book by Ethan Leib, 2004)

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  12 comments for Idea: A national citizens' assembly to represent the people's wisdom

  Submitted by Unsubscribed User 4 years ago

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  Read the Constitution Out Loud in both Houses ANNUALLY

  Require mandatory attendance, require a session afterwords of applying what is heard to the last 12 months of legislation. Create an appropriate atmosphere of respect for the document which founded this great country!

  3 comments for Idea: Read the Constitution Out Loud in both Houses ANNUALLY

  Submitted by joe 3 years ago

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  Facilitate a We the People conversation that generates shared solutions to our most pressing issues

  Our current system is based on the idea that good collective decisions arise from a competition among self-interested parties. But increasingly we face collective problems that require a spirit of cooperation while embracing individual wisdom and expression. Implementing Wisdom Council processes at local, state, and national levels would facilitate a “We the People” conversation where all of us can identify, evolve, and ...more »

  Our current system is based on the idea that good collective decisions arise from a competition among self-interested parties. But increasingly we face collective problems that require a spirit of cooperation while embracing individual wisdom and expression. Implementing Wisdom Council processes at local, state, and national levels would facilitate a “We the People” conversation where all of us can identify, evolve, and co-create solutions to our most pressing issues in partnership with government.

  The Wisdom Council process is seemingly a lot like other citizen involvement processes. However, it offers the possibility of systemic change that all of us support in a way that is similar to our founding experience.

  Every four months a group of twelve citizens is randomly selected from a list of registered voters in the community (city, state, or nation). Each "Wisdom Council" gathers for three days or so, chooses the issue to address, and is "dynamically facilitated" (www.DynamicFacilitation.com) to achieve unanimous perspectives. Following their meeting, the Wisdom Council presents its conclusions to the community in a State of the Union-type ceremony. The "Wisdom Council" then disbands but everyone in the community is invited to visit about the results in face-to-face and web-based conversations, and through social networks and informal reflections.

  For example, a Wisdom Council could frame issues and generate solution strategies for other citizen involvement processes to explore, such as those mentioned in the idea proposals: “Use randomly selected Citizen Deliberative Councils to tap the collective wisdom of We the People” http://opengov.ideascale.com/akira/dtd/2971-4049, “A National Citizens’ Assembly to represent the people’s wisdom” http://opengov.ideascale.com/akira/dtd/2535-4049, and “a Citizen Councilor Network: Scalable, Manageable, and Measurable” http://opengov.ideascale.com/akira/dtd/2895-4049; or through Creative Insight Councils, which are similar to Wisdom Councils.

  The aim is to involve all of us in one, ongoing, collaborative conversation about the issues that matter most, where we talk creatively and, over time, reach intelligent, shared conclusions. That is, with the Wisdom Council process in place, we can speak in an empowered way as "We the People," establishing shared perspectives, a clear vision of what we want, and realistic strategies for change.

  The most important feature of the Wisdom Council process, which distinguishes it from other approaches where randomly selected citizens are gathered to address issues in the name of all, is in the quality of talking and thinking it facilitates. Some processes rely on deliberation where, for example, people are given the topic of health care, with proposed solution options and balanced information. They carefully weigh the options and vote on which they prefer. Other processes rely on dialogue, where, for example, people explore topic of racism, telling experiences, sharing values, and transforming their views. Still other processes focus on negotiation, or problem-solving, or consensus-building as the desired way of talking and thinking.

  The Wisdom Council process aims at “choice-creating,” where people identify and address the most pressing issues, think about them open-mindedly and open-heartedly, and seek shared outcomes that will work for everyone. Unlike our normal political decision-making processes, choice-creating relies on individual expression and uniqueness to explore the full complexity of issues and reach conclusions that work for all. Diversity is an asset. Dissonant or minority views can be safely expressed and heard, which in turn, allow us to generate more complete and innovative solutions.

  In our experience to date, people resonate with the work of the Wisdom Council. So when the Wisdom Council presents its conclusions at the end of three days, the usual reaction of the rest of the community is to concur, essentially saying “We think so, too!” Because the Wisdom Council is not given its topic but chooses its own, “the People” are in the driver’s seat. And the process is ongoing instead of being finished when the topic is completed.

  For more information: See the book, “Society’s Breakthrough! Releasing Essential Wisdom and Virtue in All the People” (www.SocetysBreakthrough.com) The Center for Wise Democracy (www.WiseDemocracy.org) is a non profit organization has many articles and videos, and has helped interested citizen groups learn about this process and experiment with it in Victoria BC, Oakland CA, Pleasantville NY and other cities. Arising from these experiments the government of the state of Vorarlberg in Austria is helping organize Wisdom Councils in that region, where citizens become involved in solving difficult problems. In 2010 a prominent nonprofit organization in the country of Armenia will begin the first national trial there.

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  8 comments for Idea: Facilitate a We the People conversation that generates shared solutions to our most pressing issues

  Submitted by deanna 3 years ago

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  New Strategies and Techniques »

  Public TRUST in Government Needs to be Restored

  An open and accessible government is critical to any healthy democracy. However, equally important is its citizenry’s trust in its government – in what is being shared and how it is being shared. If the public does not trust the information that it sees or reads (or the source providing it), then the efforts are fruitless. There has been a decline in public confidence in government at all levels (local, state & federal). ...more »

  An open and accessible government is critical to any healthy democracy. However, equally important is its citizenry’s trust in its government – in what is being shared and how it is being shared. If the public does not trust the information that it sees or reads (or the source providing it), then the efforts are fruitless.

  There has been a decline in public confidence in government at all levels (local, state & federal). When asked in a Public Strategies/Politico poll released in January 2009, 62 percent of respondents indicated that their confidence in the federal government had decreased in the previous 12 months, while 8 percent indicated that it had increased.

  Transparency in Rebuilding Understanding and Solutions Together (TRUST), a coordinated campaign to help restore public confidence, is needed. Components would include:

  1. Convening public conversations about how to define trust in government – i.e., what does it look like?

  2. Establishing and adhering to a set of principles to help promote civic engagement

  3. Providing federal, state and local government agencies with a set of best practices for citizen participation

  4. Educating the public about government accountability efforts

  5. Recognizing and rewarding agencies and citizens for their vital roles in keeping our democracy healthy, vibrant and strong

  Without addressing this core challenge, any reforms to government transparency are likely to be cast aside – perceived as “business as usual.” Building upon the record breaking participation in the 2008 elections, we have a once-in-a-generation opportunity now to implement the types of changes that are needed to restore public confidence, increase citizen participation and strengthen our democracy for all.

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  2 comments for Idea: Public TRUST in Government Needs to be Restored

  Submitted by kmcfarland 3 years ago

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  New Strategies and Techniques »

  Audit and End the Federal Reserve Banking System

  8.New Way to Fund the Central United States Government •Step 1) Abolish the Federal Reserve Bank. •Step 2) Prioritize all new currency creation to the United States Government. •Step 3) All interest on funds loaned out by the United States Government is the property of the Federal Government •Step 4) Interest on funds issued by the Federal Government could be used to: a.Pay down the National Debt b.Fund Medicare, ...more »

  8.New Way to Fund the Central United States Government

  •Step 1) Abolish the Federal Reserve Bank.

  •Step 2) Prioritize all new currency creation to the United States Government.

  •Step 3) All interest on funds loaned out by the United States Government is the property of the Federal Government

  •Step 4) Interest on funds issued by the Federal Government could be used to:

  a.Pay down the National Debt

  b.Fund Medicare, Social Security, single payer health care

  c.Replace federal withholding taxes; no more federal income tax system

  i. Decrease or eliminate federal income taxes on citizens

  ii. Maintain current levels of income taxes on corporations and businesses. The distinction between businesses and citizens is:

  1. Businesses are an artifice

  2. Citizens have innate rights.

  9.Federal Reserve Audit: Support H.R. 1207: Federal Reserve Transparency Act of 2009. Auditing the Federal Reserve Banks, in my opinion, would escalate the need to institute a Federal Constitutional Convention. An audit of this institution could reveal that USA is insolvent.

  •

  Under article 1, section 8, clause 5 of the Constitution – “Only congress has the power, to coin Money, regulate the Value thereof, and of foreign Coin, and fix the Standard of Weights and Measures.”

  •

  Force the Federal Reserve Banking Institution to pay taxes, they are a private institution and as such are required to declare their profits, losses, and pay taxes. To date, the Federal Reserve Bank has never paid a dime in taxes.

  •

  On June 4, 1963, President John F. Kennedy issued executive order number 11,110 to abolish the Federal Reserve and authorized the government to begin using its silver reserves to back a new United States currency notes. The currency was printed and some of it was issued. On November 22, 1963, President Kennedy was assassinated. Once President Linden Johnson was sworn in, he recalled all of the American silver notes in circulation and introduced legislation to remove even the silver from the coinage minted by the government. Allen Greenspan, former chairmen of the Federal Reserve, was once quoted as saying, “The Federal Reserve is an independent agency, and no other agency of government can overrule actions they we can take. So long as that is in place and there is no evidence of the administration or of congress is requesting that we do things other than what we do, then what the relationships means, does not matter.”

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  6 comments for Idea: Audit and End the Federal Reserve Banking System

  Submitted by kdtroxel 3 years ago

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  We are out of money!!!

  If I was broke...had no money at all and was in debt way over my head...I would never go to the bank to borrow money and give it to my neighbors so they could better themselves.

  Why in the hell are we we running this country any differently? This is just retarded to think that it could ever make sense what so ever!!!

  10 comments for Idea: We are out of money!!!

  Submitted by Big Rooster 3 years ago

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