Offerings for a New Paradigm Politics
We are near the end of our summer fundraiser. Folks have donated $3274 toward our $15,000 target. Please join them in supporting …
Iceland: A multi-dimensional inspiration
According to articles in the links below (and elsewhere) Iceland crowdsourced its new constitution with mass participation and elected delegates to a Constituent Assembly made investors and bankers – not taxpayers – pay for the economic crash (it …
Must-read article on approaches to money in politics
The debate over corporate power and money in politics is beginning to generate some significant light – good analysis, integral thinking, creativity – as well as heat – passion, slogans, quick response. If both of these forces of nature can synerg…
Strategies to rein in corporate power?
There are many emerging strategies to counter corporate control of our political life (quite in addition to efforts to counter their control of our economic lives). Seeing this as a necessity if we are to have effectively empowered public wisdom, …
Can Congress overturn Citizens United without addressing corporate personhood?
This is a critical development: See http://bit.ly/xiMvYM. This article claims that Citizens United and other such recent decisions were NOT, in fact, based on a corporate personhood argument (see the pretty decisive excerpts below and other excerp…
Hopeful trends to build on in 2012
As the new year – the oddly fabled year of 2012 – is upon us, all sorts of people are making predictions, making wishes, making commitments (as well as making money, making trouble, making plans…). I like the approach of Sarah van Gelder, editor…
#Occupy Open Space Activities
Catalyzed by the meteoric rise of Occupy Wall Street into public notice and discourse, outsiders are connecting the dots between their pet issues and OWS’s focus on “the unchecked power of Wall Street speculators and corporations”. Many are urging…
Corporate election financing is more about power than free speech
The ACLU is considering reversing its support of the Supreme Court Ruling allowing unlimited campaign contributions by corporations. It has long maintained that government regulation of campaign contributions violates the free speech guarantees of…
Democracy in Crisis: Breakdown and Breakthrough
I’ll talk about democracy in a minute. But first a note about crises and evolution.Evolutionary science tells us that crises and catastrophes are cauldrons of co-creativity, generating new forms.Perhaps the most dramatic example is how the 70 heav…
California Democracy: Crisis meets opportunity
It seems the there’s a hot proposal in California to convene a constitutional convention in the form of a randomly selected citizen deliberative council — and to make the ability to do that, as needed, part of the law of the State. This would be …