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On-line 'book'

by paul spencer Wed Mar 25th, 2009 at 01:52:23 PM EST

I've taken the policy/program elements of my 'presidential campaign' web-site, updated them and enlarged the scope, to try to create an organic plan for progressive politics in the U.S.A. It's called "You Can't Change a Plan, Unless You Have a Plan", and it's located at changeaplan

It is a very 'bare-bones' web-site at this point, but I've been hanging fire on publicizing it with intentions of fancying it up a bit. If I wait much longer, I'll have to update the whole thing again, and the point is to get other folks to help create and maintain the 'plan'. So - best that I put it out there now, plain as it is.

I think that the 'call' is self-explanatory, though the method is not. I will have to work that out, but in the final analysis, a la Jerome on ET, it's my web-site, and I will moderate - except more so than is practiced at ET.

For now I'll 'advertise' via diaries on the likely blogs and send e-mails to my friends and comrades. After that, I'm going to try a 'form letter' sent to e-mail addresses of blog commenters who show a left-progressive tendency.  

This might seem to be a limiting perspective, but, per The Shock Doctrine, I'm seeing things in much more of an 'either, or' context nowadays. In other words I think that we have to have a well-defined option available to folks to enable them to choose, when the shocks prescribe radical change to some threshold level of the public.

I lifted redstar's Solidarity piece in toto with his permission and placed it in the "Philosophy" section, right after "Sustainability". I have no doubt that there could be much more said about both subjects, but my initial take is that I've been too verbose in nearly every section, so I'm working on the 'Concise' part of "Clear, Concise, and Congruent". (No doubt I should work on the other two strictures, as well.)

At any rate I'm introducing this to ET first for the usual reasons: best analysts and critics on the www.  

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On-line 'book' | 2 comments (2 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden)
Re: On-line 'book' (none / 1)
I had a similar idea at one time, and thought that a formal forum was the way to go. (I don't know if that link will work for you. It's a deep-link, and works fine for me at the moment.)

My thought was to gather some people with some expertise, have them submit position papers, debate the positions, debate the language, and to vote on everything. All of which could be done inside the phpBB forum app itself. (Which is free, btw.) The idea was to have a formalized process, with informed debate, the end result being a political platform.

I have a strong feeling that this kind online think tank will become a regular part of policy debate in the future. It has the advantages of transparency, leaves a permanent public record, it's inclusive, and with the right mix of people, that perfection one strives for in postal chess. Moderation is absolutely necessary.

Good luck with the book. If I ever develop any expertise in foreign policy, I'll look you up.

"It Can't Be Just About Us"
--Frank Schnittger, ETian Extraordinaire

by papicek (papi_cek_at_hotmail_dot_com) on Fri Mar 27th, 2009 at 01:47:02 AM EST
Re: On-line 'book' (none / 1)
Nope. The link brings you to the login page. I think persistent cookies might be the culprit.

"It Can't Be Just About Us"
--Frank Schnittger, ETian Extraordinaire
by papicek (papi_cek_at_hotmail_dot_com) on Fri Mar 27th, 2009 at 10:32:54 AM EST
[ Parent ]
On-line 'book' | 2 comments (2 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden)


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