OpenGov - Open Government Brainstorm New Strategies and Techniques

Dear Barack: I am a person that, by my own efforts, overcame bipolar disorder via natural means in the late 1990's. In doing so, I learned how to properly treat both depression and bipolar disorder in most persons that are so afflicted. (My knowedge in these two regards is "world leading", and it has been world leading for over nine years.) In 2004, I taught my (then thirteen year old) son Willy how to cure himself... 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... more »

Use the current model that you are using for this brainstorming session to invite the general public to bring up, discuss, and vote on issues that are important. It could be sort of an electronic initiative process. Those issues brought up that have the highest number of supporters over a given amount of time could be further discussed and developed by the actual lawmakers. This invites the average citizen to voice... 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... more »

It would be great if President Obama and others would use the technique of MEDITATION as a strategy to bring people and their ideas closer together. Meditation is a powerful technique that can bring mental and physical relaxation. If President Obama would begin meetings with a short 5 minute meditation, it would help people clear their minds and enable future cooperation. This would lead to harmony. Thich Nhat Hanh... more »

Hold National Town Hall meetings which would be conducted according to Robert's Rules of Order. The President would call a national town hall meeting, set the agenda including the issues to be discussed and will determine the number of states, counties and cities to be involved and specify the date and time of these meetings. CONDUCTING TOWN HALLS A person representing the President and members of Congress from the... more »

Speaking into a vast beaureaucratic void is not a dialogue. There must be a response that the initial speaker can identify as elicited by what the speaker said. It has to be personal. Somebody heard me and is responding to what I said. Even if my comment is listed with many other similar comments and they are all responded to at once, as long as I can see my comment in there and the response does indeed address what... 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... more »

Many times, we are all caught up in the most publicized issues, we almost forget about the ones closest to our homes. In a speech during his campaign, Obama mentioned "As we learn that the struggles of the textile workers in Spartanburg are not so different than the plight of the dishwasher in Los Vegas...we will remember that there is something happening in America; that we are not as divided as our politics suggest."... more »

Each year have citizens register of their public participation duty by naming the issue that most interests them. Through a lottery system select a random sample of a few thousand citizens in places across the nation to deliberate a specific issue. Convene the random sample of citizens, place them in tables of ten with diverse people, supply them with neutral educational materials and let them deliberate a variety of... more »

Voting should not only be a right in this country, but it should be a right freely exercised by all citizens. I propose establishing voting days as general holidays so that every American worker has an equal opportunity to vote.

Having spoken to people in public office during the Bush administration who resigned for ethical reasons, they were by far the most qualified individuals to voice concerns and protest. Recognizing these people as the best people to add to the public discussion as well as the most likely individuals to form new national and grassroots organizations around real issues, I propose the creation of federal grant programs to... more »

The systems that are supposed to make our democracy the best in the world are failing us. That is why the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) was passed about 10 years ago, supposedly to fix certain problems. We now know that it was an utter boondoggle which pushed the country towards electronic voting, an outrageous "failure of the imagination." We need to take pride in the working of our democracy again and to do that... more »

Today, the best software is freely available on the Web...the Linux OS and GNU applications.

That said, any spending that occurs above and beyond what can be had, at high quality, for free, must be looked at with the utmost scrutiny.

Show me where I can run a search saying "How much did we spend on Desktop Software by the Federal Government in 2009" ?

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 »