50 votes
I disagreeim interested in knowing all the government knows about me and why should an open government be allowed to hide any of this from any person, a more informed citizen is one who can trust there government right?if you have nothing to hide they should open the process for all to benifit
49 votes
I disagreeWhy the fear? Show us the long form and what passport Obama used when he traveled to Indonesia while in college. Why the secrecy and fear?
49 votes
I disagreeI believe the Administrators of this site should acknowledge every individual, authentic post -- rather than judging and deleting "duplicates". HOWEVER, POSTERS should cast a vote ALSO for the highest-rated RELATED POSTS which they agree with in order to consolidate the votes in a manner reflective of the ACTUAL POPULARITY OF THE IDEA. OTHERWISE, the abundance of VOTES spread-out through individual posts are NEVER TALLIED ...more »
I believe the Administrators of this site should acknowledge every individual, authentic post -- rather than judging and deleting "duplicates".
HOWEVER, POSTERS should cast a vote ALSO for the highest-rated RELATED POSTS which they agree with in order to consolidate the votes in a manner reflective of the ACTUAL POPULARITY OF THE IDEA.
OTHERWISE, the abundance of VOTES spread-out through individual posts are NEVER TALLIED TOGETHER.
SPECIFICALLY: The highest-rated posts regarding Obama's Constitutional Eligibility For Office are to be found at the top of the left side panel on this page, under the category of "Transparency".
Please search by selecting a category, then clicking on the "Top Rated" button in the upper right of the page to combine your vote with the highest rated posts to achieve a top-ranking as THE PRIMARY ISSUE OF IMPORTANCE.
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48 votes
I disagreeProblem: Minimal advance public notice of Open Government Dialogue and the brief period allowed for comments mean that many Americans will be precluded from participating. Proposed solution: To get the full benefit of citizens' experiences, wisdom and ingenuity, Open Government Dialogue should be repeated - next time with plenty of public notice and a generous response time - at least as much as provided under standard ...more »
Problem: Minimal advance public notice of Open Government Dialogue and the brief period allowed for comments mean that many Americans will be precluded from participating.
Proposed solution: To get the full benefit of citizens' experiences, wisdom and ingenuity, Open Government Dialogue should be repeated - next time with plenty of public notice and a generous response time - at least as much as provided under standard rulemaking.
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47 votes
I disagreeMr. Obama: Since you have taken office, I have witnessed you and members of your administration teasing and mocking americans who had different ideas of what you as our government should be doing. As our president, isn't it your job to not just hear, but to LISTEN to every citizen, even when they don't agree with you? Is it the policy of your administration that when a citizen does not agree with or doesn't like ...more »
Mr. Obama:
Since you have taken office, I have witnessed you and members of your administration teasing and mocking americans who had different ideas of what you as our government should be doing. As our president, isn't it your job to not just hear, but to LISTEN to every citizen, even when they don't agree with you? Is it the policy of your administration that when a citizen does not agree with or doesn't like your ideology that they become someone who isn't worthy of yours or your staff's time? Someone undeserving of respect or common courtesy?
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44 votes
I disagreewww.stateofgracedocument.com WHAT IS IT? The State of Grace Document is a new way to build, sustain and transition business and personal relationships with trust and respect. You personally write it along with those involved, preferably at the beginning of the relationship. It captures what draws each individual to the situation, your personal preferences and expectations; and it provides a path back to peace if the ...more »
WHAT IS IT?
The State of Grace Document is a new way to build, sustain and transition business and personal relationships with trust and respect. You personally write it along with those involved, preferably at the beginning of the relationship. It captures what draws each individual to the situation, your personal preferences and expectations; and it provides a path back to peace if the need arises. It is often being used to replace or enhance traditional legal contracts.
THE 5 COMPONENTS OF A STATE OF GRACE DOCUMENT
1. The Story of Us — Share what draws you to these people and this situation.
2. Interaction Styles and Warning Signs — The “blueprint of me,” how I work best, what I look like on a good day/bad day, and what I might need that I couldn’t ask for in the moment.
3. Expectations — Core values and non-negotiables, the structure you need to create and sustain this relationship.
4. Questions to Return to Peace — A tool to return to peace if the need arises, makes the difficult times shorter and easier.
5. Long-Term Timeframe — How long you’re willing to go before you make peace. An agreement of no outright harm, a willingness to keep an open window if the unimaginable happens.
WHO'S USING IT AND WHEN
The State of Grace Document is currently being used in communities, corporations, small businesses, non-profits, government agencies, churches, families, schools, between boards of directors, project teams, coalitions, business partners, couples, friends, siblings, etc. in countries around the world. Because it is a framework upon which to share the “blueprint of me” with others, it can be used within any relationship situation that exists, and with as many people as are involved. It creates effortless communication and easy day-to-day interactions that reduce stress and enhance overall emotional and physical health. People around the globe say it is an idea whose time has come.
Visit the website (www.StateOfGraceDocument.com) to download sample Documents and learn to create your own.
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40 votes
I disagreeIn launching the Office of Public Engagement, the President said, "This office will seek to engage as many Americans as possible in the difficult work of changing this country, through meetings and conversations with groups and individuals held in Washington and across the country." The key word is "work." The Administration has an opportunity to redefine citizens as people who work on public problems; the government ...more »
In launching the Office of Public Engagement, the President said, "This office will seek to engage as many Americans as possible in the difficult work of changing this country, through meetings and conversations with groups and individuals held in Washington and across the country."
The key word is "work." The Administration has an opportunity to redefine citizens as people who work on public problems; the government is an institution that helps them do that. The Administration can thereby revive the New Deal's conception of citizenship in our time of economic crisis.
Rhetoric of "public work" will be much more powerful and resonant than language about "transparency, participation, and collaboration." The OPE has promised to "allow ordinary Americans to offer their stories and ideas regarding issues that concern them and share their views on important topics such as health care, energy and education." But I am skeptical that people (including me) are motivated to discuss issues--or are adequately informed about issues--if their only opportunity is to "offer stories" and "share views." Work is motivating and educational. It can draw a broad cross-section of Americans, whereas only specialists usually want to provide opinions and ideas.
The President has signed the Kennedy Serve America Act, which will triple the size of AmeriCorps. AmeriCorps' members work on public problems. But it remains to be seen whether they will gain serious responsibilities so that they can develop skills of analysis, leadership and deliberation. A great opportunity is to enlist them in organizing and facilitating public conversations about policy. That would require coordination between the White House Office of Public Engagement and the Corporation for National and Community Service.
The President has signed legislation to spend more than $200 billion in stimulus funds in areas like health care, infrastructure, and energy. That money will pay the salaries of public and private sector workers. They need to be treated as "active citizens" and invited to participate in discussions of policies and public priorities so that they can combine their labor with civic participation.
The imminent retirement of roughly one million federal employees offers an opportunity to rethink public service so that jobs in the public sector become more rewarding and creative—to flatten hierarchies and promote collaboration, including partnerships between the government and community groups.
Last summer, candidate Obama said, "I will ask for your service and your active citizenship when I am President of the United States. This will not be a call issued in one speech or one program—-this will be a central cause of my presidency." Active citizenship includes expressing your views about issues, but it also requires service and work. That combination is essential.
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38 votes
I disagreeThe President is hiding the true costs of his programs. He mostly touts the phantom "savings" his proposals will supposedly reap as a benefit. Please communicate the true costs of increased energy taxes, taxes to pay for healthcare, and the like. Should also include the estimated jobs and lives lost as a result of the poor being unable to heat their homes and the rationing of healthcare, etc;...in addition ...more »
The President is hiding the true costs of his programs.
He mostly touts the phantom "savings" his proposals will supposedly reap as a benefit.
Please communicate the true costs of increased energy taxes, taxes to pay for healthcare, and the like.
Should also include the estimated jobs and lives lost as a result of the poor being unable to heat their homes and the rationing of healthcare, etc;...in addition to the true monetary costs.
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34 votes
I disagreeUnfortunately President Obama has not kept his promise about ear marks/pork and transparency and has allowed thousands upon thousands of these to pass without even knowing what he was signing. He said he would go line by line and yet hasn't done it yet and has spent trillions of our dollars so far without anything to show for it. There has been no stop in people losing their jobs or homes, but by golly that new nature ...more »
Unfortunately President Obama has not kept his promise about ear marks/pork and transparency and has allowed thousands upon thousands of these to pass without even knowing what he was signing. He said he would go line by line and yet hasn't done it yet and has spent trillions of our dollars so far without anything to show for it. There has been no stop in people losing their jobs or homes, but by golly that new nature park in Iowa or Idaho is being tended to and that airport of John Murtha's who has more employees than passengers is getting billions, too bad about the poor. I believe that President Obama needs to go back and listen to his campaign promises about transparency, ear marks, lobbyists, etc...because so far he has not kept one single promise and I am really afraid that we are going to have sky high taxes on everything, even though he said he would not raise taxes. Why should I believe him, he's lied about everything else. If the president would just keep his promises then the transparency issue is solved.
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32 votes
I disagreeWe need a mass movement for economic change. We need to counter the perpetual propaganda from the commercial media to sell us on the image of an ideal competitive capitalism that becomes, realistically, a Fascist state in the name of democracy, serving the needs of monopoly capital and finance for profit. Money talks loudest where the rate of profit is highest, and media professionals are prostitutes creating cultural ...more »
We need a mass movement for economic change. We need to counter the perpetual propaganda from the commercial media to sell us on the image of an ideal competitive capitalism that becomes, realistically, a Fascist state in the name of democracy, serving the needs of monopoly capital and finance for profit. Money talks loudest where the rate of profit is highest, and media professionals are prostitutes creating cultural ambiance for pay.
The ideal stable system should automatically adjust to a rate of profit that is zero, discounting for inflation and the costs of replacement and risk. With a growing population and developing technology capital should increase accordingly.
But investment for profit doesn't work that way. The real wealth that is created for use, consumer goods and capital goods used for production, does not have the volatility of the investment-for-profit market. We are all both consumers and investors. Our savings, of wealth we will need in the future, is entrusted to banks and investment funds that are driven by the profit motive, using other people's money.
Wealth that is skimmed from the consumer economy into the investment market bids up the price of existing capital investment according to the prospect of profit from owning that equity, instead of investing in new capital. And then the rising stock price demands a higher rate of profit over production, to maintain a competitive rate of profit over investment. Thus the whole economy competes with the most profitable, and least legitimate, businesses for access to investment capital. War production, usurious lending, speculative investment, monopoly markets, Ponzi schemes, and political manipulation to plunder public resources drive the profit rate throughout the economy.
But that's a dead-end street. The private profit at any price fanatics drive a bubble of real wealth, taken from the consumer economy by people who need to save for the future and by capitalists who drive wages down, into investments that have value only from the prospect of profit at an unsustainable rate. When the low wage economy can't support the going rate of profit from loans and retail sales the whole economy stalls out. Resale value of foreclosed property drops and the bubble bursts; the profiteers grab what they can of existing wealth and run. Plants are closed and workers are unemployed because their products can't be sold for the expected profit. The federal "bailout" subsidy is used, at best, to continue an unworkable system, and at worst to pay off a few profiteers and eliminate competitors.
When value that is created for use is priced out of reach of consumers because of unemployment and low wages, and a profit margin demanded by the investment market, the whole economy stalls and investments for profit are worthless. Insiders and profiteers who know what's coming can grab and get out but people who need their savings for future use are left with nothing. Government regulation of financial institutions, and bankruptcy laws, have been aimed at protecting investors against cheating by other profiteers, but we need the regulators to manage the economic system so that it is sustainable for everyone's benefit.
The "expanding economy" measured by stock market prices is not a measure of the consumer economy, but only of the effectiveness of skimming wealth out of that economy. The idea is used to justify profit as a virtue but real expansion is limited by the realities of ecology and resources and population density. The real virtue is sustainability and profit should be regulated for that purpose.
We must wean ourselves away from the private-profit-at-any-price propaganda and recognize the value of public services like education and health care. Since Ben Franklin we don't expect the owner whose house is on fire to pay for the fire brigade, likewise people disabled by sickness should not have to pay to get well. Those are services we all might need, well equipped as only a public service can be. We need to appreciate the value of capital invested in not-for-profit applications and public services that are available to everyone. Also consumer- and employee-owned businesses that exist for purposes other than profit.
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30 votes
I disagreeConsistent with national security, all agency actions, regulations, proposals, requests for comment, requests for information, requests for proposals, invitations for bids, newly signed contracts (and grants, cooperative agreements, loans, guarantees, etc), draft policies, draft procedures, minutes, agendae, rules and every other actual or proposed agency action should be easily searchable on Google, Yahoo, and other ...more »
Consistent with national security, all agency actions, regulations, proposals, requests for comment, requests for information, requests for proposals, invitations for bids, newly signed contracts (and grants, cooperative agreements, loans, guarantees, etc), draft policies, draft procedures, minutes, agendae, rules and every other actual or proposed agency action should be easily searchable on Google, Yahoo, and other search engines no matter how far into the depths of the agency data bases they are lodged.
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27 votes
I disagreeCreate a government sponsored wiki for social security information. I have 2 parents who are retirement age (both web savvy) yet they know nothing about their social security retirement options. Yes, they receive short letters in the mail with some basic information regarding their social security options, yet they still have a lot of unanswered questions which keep them from retirement. I am aware there are local social ...more »
Create a government sponsored wiki for social security information. I have 2 parents who are retirement age (both web savvy) yet they know nothing about their social security retirement options. Yes, they receive short letters in the mail with some basic information regarding their social security options, yet they still have a lot of unanswered questions which keep them from retirement. I am aware there are local social security offices, but they do not answer questions via telephone. Sharing the social security options online in wiki format would be very simple and effective.
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25 votes
I disagreeThere is a significant disparity in people’s ability to use this type of technology. While it may seem simple to us to use it, many people don’t consider using it. So those people will just not participate in efforts that require using this type of technology. Open Government include educating the public on using this technology. When large segments of the population don’t participate in an effort, the results may ...more »
There is a significant disparity in people’s ability to use this type of technology. While it may seem simple to us to use it, many people don’t consider using it. So those people will just not participate in efforts that require using this type of technology. Open Government include educating the public on using this technology. When large segments of the population don’t participate in an effort, the results may not reflect the views of the population.
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23 votes
I disagreeCivic intelligence is the term that refers to the collective intelligence of people as applied towards shared challenges in a fair and effective manner. Lacking a commonly used name, civic intelligence, though it already exists as a phenomenon, will not receive the attention it deserves. Civic intelligence in a general way measures how well a community, nation, or society responds. Civic intelligence can be intentionally ...more »
Civic intelligence is the term that refers to the collective intelligence of people as applied towards shared challenges in a fair and effective manner. Lacking a commonly used name, civic intelligence, though it already exists as a phenomenon, will not receive the attention it deserves. Civic intelligence in a general way measures how well a community, nation, or society responds.
Civic intelligence can be intentionally cultivated. What makes some societies smart? Why do some societies respond intelligently to shared challenges and some do not? What is the role of educational institutions, government, the media, etc.? Civic intelligence simply the next generation of democratic practice: Democracy as a way of promoting the collective thoughts and actions of citizens.
Civic intelligence is more of a theme than a precise recommendation. It represents a way to describe both how societies come to make decisions now but an idealized way to make better decisions in the future.
For more information, see the Civic Intelligence pattern (http://www.publicsphereproject.org/patterns/pattern.pl/public?pattern_id=1) from the Liberating Voices pattern language project (http://www.publicsphereproject.org/patterns/), an online collaborative effort to build a "pattern language" for bottom-up citizen-led information and communication initiatives.
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23 votes
I disagreeIn modern times one of the greatest moral challenges we face is how we deal with computer software and the great leaps of human innovation provided by it. Currently, technology and the innovation of it is one of our primary sources of GDP. Unfortunately, because the tech industry changes so rapidly and is so young there is a striking amount of disorganization, lack of stability, and more importantly outwardly unethical ...more »
In modern times one of the greatest moral challenges we face is how we deal with computer software and the great leaps of human innovation provided by it.
Currently, technology and the innovation of it is one of our primary sources of GDP. Unfortunately, because the tech industry changes so rapidly and is so young there is a striking amount of disorganization, lack of stability, and more importantly outwardly unethical behavior. The patent and copyright systems are being egregiously misused forsaking all ethical moral for the sake of false personal securities and greed. It's a problem I'm sure has been discussed before in Washington, but is tough to settle on. On the one hand if you dig into patent and copyright law you ostracise a great portion of our money making companies, and on the other you don't do enough to create some order and the legal system gets used as a business strategy to cut out competitors and turn a profit. The latter, in my opinion, is morally reprehensible, and I'm sure there are more than a fair few American companies that do this all the time.
I propose we leave the industry largely to it's own, but have our government take a more active stance on role modeling the status quo rather than being guided by corporate lobbiests or less than ethical interests.
Step one, create a committee to oversee and encourage open standards in software engineering. This committee would be responsible for recommending and divvying out grants to students and colleges and corporations that would seek to create an open industry standards or engineering concepts to be used by the general public. The major deviation from current thinking would be that the research being done would be opened up fully to the public, anyone who so desires could add this knowledge/concept to a current product or system and be allowed to use, adapt, or, re-sell it needing only to properly credit the creator(s) and nothing more. Also, unlike the IEEE this is not simply a guideline for safe practices but rather a way of 'raising the bar' of software technology. For instance a basic internet browser, a basic operating system, or a basic word processing suite. These are basic computing tools that every computer should have the ability to run and use without hefty fees or crazy licenses. We've seen much industry collaboration in a few of these fields in recent years but I believe waiting for the current "top dogs" to get together and agree on anything is both unrealistic and likely counter intuitive.
Current industry driven open standards have largely suffered from competition that takes the shape of breaking the standard to shard and split a market into smaller devour-able segments.
Step two, use this committee to help first solve some of the government's own problems by adopting current standards to "steady the boat" as it were. Adopt national open standards for the integration of governmental databases (table formatting, communication protocols, etc), open standard for government web access, standard government document formatting, the standard form of medical databasing. In this way the government sets a guideline and rules to allow software vendors to compete using a standard guideline so that even if California and Texas have different legal database software, they'll still be able to instantaneously share that data. And even though Polk county and Austin County are in different states they'll be able to send a document via e-mail and both sides can open and edit the document. Finally, even though Washington High, and Beaverton High are in different states, the students will have been taught the same concepts on basic computer education and will have been educated using software that is of an open standard.
Step three, open the door to competition by creating government support for open binary standards. The German government has been funding development in the desktop interface "KDE" for years to great effect. This has resulted in tremendous cost savings for the government and has been of a great help to advantaging the underprivileged in their country. I don't think this is exactly the right route for America, but I do believe it can serve as a powerful example. Microsoft and other software manufacturers have flatly refused to offer decent documentation on their apis. Meaning, a software program made for a Windows PC can't run on a Mac or a Linux machine without great struggle. This is akin to developing a pencil that will only write on Microsoft paper. Simularly, Apple, and the open linux world can nearly be held to the same fault. Apple certainly, linux has simply taken an active stance in directly competing with Microsoft. The only technology that currently exists to bridge the operating system gap is Java. And it's only partly effective at that. I fully believe much research and money is worth the spending if it is spent finding a way to properly bridge operating systems. The immediate benefits to this on a governmental scale are tremendous, but on a public scale the benefits are at least tenfold. This one accomplishment breaks almost every closed system idea that currently plagues computers.
If we leave these accomplishments to the industry the overall drive will be to a market related end, not for the general good of our country. I believe it's imperative that the government take an active role in insuring that it's misuse and the abuse of the people are not as commonplace in the future.
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21 votes
I disagreeI am concerned about multiple sectors of our society creating new terminologies and having them become an almost language onto themselves so as to cover up their desire to become more complex and detached. Example: Proprietary, Confidential, or not for public disclosure, is really "SECRET of, by or from"; But, by using the terms proprietary, confidential, or not for public consumption or disclosure, institutions ...more »
I am concerned about multiple sectors of our society creating new terminologies and having them become an almost language onto themselves so as to cover up their desire to become more complex and detached.
Example:
Proprietary, Confidential, or not for public disclosure, is really "SECRET of, by or from"; But, by using the terms proprietary, confidential, or not for public consumption or disclosure, institutions or entities and other persons in them make their unfouded and unfair denial of the information more publicly acceptable.
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21 votes
I disagreeIn cases where Federal managers have multiple discrimination (EEO) complaints and employee grievances filed against them, investigation by higher supervisory authorities should be triggered and a safe environment for employees to candidly and freely raise their concerns with individual managers should be created.
19 votes
I disagreeThe return on investment is poor for this Federal program. It costs a lot of money to provided lawyers to defend spying on Americans. Furthermore, there are costs for analysts, transcribers and computer systems needed to record American's phone calls. Then there are costs for data mining, writing reports, printing reports and eventually ignoring reports. If we the people actually benefited in any way, the costs would ...more »
The return on investment is poor for this Federal program. It costs a lot of money to provided lawyers to defend spying on Americans. Furthermore, there are costs for analysts, transcribers and computer systems needed to record American's phone calls. Then there are costs for data mining, writing reports, printing reports and eventually ignoring reports.
If we the people actually benefited in any way, the costs would be justified. Sadly, the warrantless wiretapping project has been a failure.
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18 votes
I disagreeAn additional open government principle might be: employ a diverse range of communications strategies to assure broad participation and effective engagement of diverse individuals, sectors and communities. This would include drawing on web-based tools, as well as other forms of media and information collection and exchange formats. It would also mean encouraging the use of diverse set of tools for meeting management, ...more »
An additional open government principle might be: employ a diverse range of communications strategies to assure broad participation and effective engagement of diverse individuals, sectors and communities.
This would include drawing on web-based tools, as well as other forms of media and information collection and exchange formats. It would also mean encouraging the use of diverse set of tools for meeting management, information display and analysis, and decision support technologies. Some commentors have already mentioned the need to integrate web-based outreach tools with face-to-face interactions. Not only are their language barriers and special needs populations to accommodate, but people have different learning and information processing styles that should be incorporated into communication strategies.
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17 votes
I disagreeOpinion Pool*: A group of individuals, randomly selected from the population as a whole are brought together and invited to share their opinions regarding a particular issue. Using a facilitated process which guarantees that every individual is heard and understood, the diverse ideas are allowed to build and develop together in new ways that emerge from the members of the group hearing one another. While recognizing ...more »
Opinion Pool*: A group of individuals, randomly selected from the population as a whole are brought together and invited to share their opinions regarding a particular issue.
Using a facilitated process which guarantees that every individual is heard and understood, the diverse ideas are allowed to build and develop together in new ways that emerge from the members of the group hearing one another. While recognizing and respecting the great differences that will undoubtedly exist in the group, the group is allowed to find agreement or discover new, mutually shared insights. Nothing is forced though, and whatever the conclusions are, they are then shared with the population as a whole.
Realizing that this small group of randomly selected individuals has represented the entire population everyone is encouraged to informally continue the discussion. A new capacity to think and act more cooperatively may emerge.
Periodically, new, randomly selected groups are brought together, sometimes with no particular issue pre-established, thus allowing the group to discover what are the truly important issues they share. Again the results are published, and everyone is encouraged to continue the discussion.
*The name Opinion Pool is relative; it is used only to highlight the inadequate nature of Opinion Polls; perhaps we would want to consider other, much more meaningful names.
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15 votes
I disagreeA foreign language teaching initiative in schools and business will most likely help the US benefit a great deal.
15 votes
I disagreeAs politics and world events change day to day the President is constantly forced to make new decisions regarding new issues each day. Of course the president does not make these choices alone, he makes them with his cabinet. But what about us? The American public should have an opportunity to influence the choices that the president makes. Each time the president has to make a decision on an issue he should put that ...more »
As politics and world events change day to day the President is constantly forced to make new decisions regarding new issues each day. Of course the president does not make these choices alone, he makes them with his cabinet. But what about us? The American public should have an opportunity to influence the choices that the president makes.
Each time the president has to make a decision on an issue he should put that issue on Whitehouse.gov with some background information relating to that issue. Then he should list different choices that he is considering for that specific issue and allow Americans to rate his choices. After rating each choice people should be given a space to explain why they chose their decisions. The President should take into consideration what the American public had to say and then make his decision.
After making his decision the president should go back and address the people he disagreed with and make it clear to them why he chose they way he did.
This would make the president more accountable for his actions and it would give the American public an opportunity to influence the White House.
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14 votes
I disagreeBuilding Citizen-based Geographic Stuctures for Citizen Empowerment Over Time See http://www.slideshare.net/drichardson78737/sector-planning-and-the-comprehensive-plan-b-9 In order to build a comprehensive approach to citizen-based communications, you have to build a process and structure for that dialogue that can build trust, and therefore citizen-based power, over time. Such rationals were promoted as part of ...more »
Building Citizen-based Geographic Stuctures for Citizen Empowerment Over Time
See http://www.slideshare.net/drichardson78737/sector-planning-and-the-comprehensive-plan-b-9
In order to build a comprehensive approach to citizen-based communications, you have to build a process and structure for that dialogue that can build trust, and therefore citizen-based power, over time. Such rationals were promoted as part of President Johnson's War on Poverty in the 1960s. Such a federal requirement in local program administration will do more to build community empowerment than the actual programs themselves. The above-referenced Power Point focuses on a municipal planning effort in Austin, Texas, that was not implemented. However, a similar structure has been implemented in the same locality with Austin Community College, of which I am a member of the Board of Trustees.
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12 votes
I disagreeObama's presidential campaign in 2008 effectively rallied unprecedented numbers of LGBT community members and allies who helped campaign for a new administration, hoping to secure the national recognition of important issues affecting LGBT peoples in America. Historically, societal problems against this community instigated by hate and misunderstanding, such as violence, sexual abuse, discrimination, and isolation, have ...more »
Obama's presidential campaign in 2008 effectively rallied unprecedented numbers of LGBT community members and allies who helped campaign for a new administration, hoping to secure the national recognition of important issues affecting LGBT peoples in America. Historically, societal problems against this community instigated by hate and misunderstanding, such as violence, sexual abuse, discrimination, and isolation, have been ignored by our government. However, as demonstrated by the large number of LGBT activists who helped campaign for our president, there is a growing movement for change as these issues are finally being discussed by our representatives.
Unfortunately, there currently appears to be a backwards trend in this policy. The website for Obama's campaign included an LGBT section with comments on Obama's support for our community, yet the current website (http://www.whitehouse.gov/issues/) does not adequately address these concerns. This is alarming. The people who helped elect our president, many of whom are LGBT youth who regularly access the internet, are once again feeling ignored by our executive branch. As a representative of such youth and all LGBT community members, I hereby request that the administration reintroduce an LGBT segment under the "issues" on the Obama website.
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10 votes
I disagreeWhat alternative models exist to improve the quality of decision-making and increase opportunities for citizen participation? o Successful businesses provide models for successful decision-making. o Prove that politicians are on the side of the people, that our participation and independent thinking is really sought. Show faith in the public Provide INFORMAION NOT PROPAGANDA giving FACTS not EMOTION to the public. ...more »
What alternative models exist to improve the quality of decision-making and increase opportunities for citizen participation?
o Successful businesses provide models for successful decision-making.
o Prove that politicians are on the side of the people, that our participation and independent thinking is really sought. Show faith in the public Provide INFORMAION NOT PROPAGANDA giving FACTS not EMOTION to the public.
o Media has long left performing as unbiased journalism and has become nothing short of a marketing effort to destroy America, ridiculing the opposition, not asking the tough questions, not encouraging the American people to take the facts and come to an informed conclusion
o Put an end to the Saul Olinsky methods.
o Provide a forum where citizens log in with their voter registration number and voice their wishes, vote, on issues being considered. Then, compare representatives’ and senators’ votes with those who they are supposed to represent. PUBLISH results in a readable fashion, noting disparities which include a required explanation from those who voted contrarily to the wishes of their constituency as to why they chose not to do the will of those who put them in office. Keep a tally of voting records that can be accessed with ease at election time. An accountable politician will be more apt to truly represent the will of the people as intended. Taxation without representation will be eliminated.
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