The Benefits of PeopleCount: You’ll Love Politics

This entry is part 3 of 3 in the series Wonderful Politics in 6 mo

With PeopleCount, you’ll love politics. You’ll love the experience. In the last two articles, we looked at how politics could be wonderful, and then we looked at the costs. Here, we’ll look at the benefits.

Your experience: Satisfied, Responsible, Confident about the future

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We could have Wonderful Politics, in Six Months

This entry is part 1 of 3 in the series Wonderful Politics in 6 mo

We can have wonderful politics, starting in 6 months.

Wonderful politics by design

Our government was designed, but not our political system. For a long time now, its purpose has been to enable powerful political groups to fight for control of America. That’s what it’s good for- fighting. Not just party against party, but candidate against candidate and even voter against voter.

But a new political system could have a new purpose: Continue reading

Toward a more Accurate Theory of Mind

It’s helpful to have a well-developed “Theory of Mind”. We should realize that people with different opinions have a whole world-view that justifies them. And we should get to know their world-views.

Angelos Sofocleous wrote an article:   The Need for an Expanded Theory of Mind in an Era of Increasing Polarisation.  In it, he recommends that we: “get outside our bubble and, possibly, visit the bubbles of others”.

But what does this mean? Should liberals get a group together and go to the next KKK lecture and understand their world? Should conservatives should go to a Robert Reich lecture? How much good would that really do? We should consider a systemic approach. Continue reading

What was the Purpose of the Womens March on Washington?

On Facebook, someone asked what the Womens March on Washington was for. Here’s my take.

Respect Women

Different people were there for different reasons. The core message that I received was: Respect Women. Mainly, end the adolescent disrespect that Trump displayed in his life and words in his life and in his campaign.

There was a lot of anti-Trump sentiment- but I don’t know if it was 20% or 99%. Another core message was feminism- that all people are equal and should be respected. There were also many messages of solidarity, support for between all minorities, including Muslims and immigrants.

A huge number of people, a small percentage

It was only a few million people (one estimate was about 4 million worldwide). The sizes of the crowds were staggering, filling maybe 10 football stadiums in Washington and 4-5 in L.A. plus many, many other places!

On the other hand, there were 60 million who voted for HRC, so the U.S. crowds could have been populated by about a 20th of Democrat voters. There are 240 or so million adults in the US, so it was maybe 1% of citizens. It could be dismissed as merely another out-of-touch liberal action.

Was there no goal?

Like Occupy, I heard and saw no sign of a designed goal. Trump and his friends can easily ignore it.

The upside: It gives progressives positive energy, camaraderie and vents frustration.

The downside: It took energy and it might lull the people who marched into thinking they made a powerful statement, so they need not be too wary.

What could the Womens March have accomplished?

If I had designed the march, I would have focused it on a particular goal. A great one would be passing the ERA. Apparently over 90% of Americans think we need something like it. And I would have made a way for non-demonstrators to participate. It could have united most of the country, but it didn’t.

Of course, the ideal way to unite the country would be to fund PeopleCount.org. If the participants of today’s march had each contributed $1…

How Trump can Benefit from the March #TrumpRights

January 21, 2017- An open letter about ways that Trump could benefit from today’s marches. (#TrumpRights)

President Trump,

First off, I hate your cabinet picks. Some of them are atrocious. Due to them, I see no reason to trust you and every reason to disrespect you.

Still, doing good is doing good. So I’ll give you two ways you could do good, easily and quickly.

1. Pass the E.R.A. (#TrumpRights)

Today’s marches were mostly about women’s rights and dignity.

While some of your campaign comments supported women, many of them did not. Obviously the pussy groping comments did not. But also the comments about beautiful women v.s. Rosanne Barr. Seeing the beauty in all women is a bit sexist (as opposed to seeing the beauty in all people.) But for a man to publicly judge some women as beautiful and others as not perpetuates the culture of adolescent males. While you have every right to prefer some women over others in your fantasies, voicing that crap should be far beneath any respectable public figure.

I suggest you bully the Republicans in Congress into passing the E.R.A. It was almost passed in the late 1970’s. It’s sure to pass today. A recent poll found that 94% of Americans want it. It’s written, it’s wanted, pass it.

2. Pass Resolutions on not-regulating women’s bodies

Women are asking for the same kind of dignity that men are granted. A big part of this is to stop trying to pass Federal laws about pregnancy, childbirth, birth control and other women’s health issues. Leave these to women and the people they choose to work with— such as their health professionals and their families.

Typically, idiots in the House and Senate broach these issues and then gradually are shamed into dropping them after a host of stupid statements.

Please have both houses pass resolutions that they will leave women’s health issues out of politics. Except for ensuring rights are guaranteed to all, including that health care services are available to all, Congress should steer away from regulating women’s health, just as it steers away from regulating men’s health.

3. Fully fund Planned Parenthood

Some teens and young adults have sex. There have always been teens and young adults having sex. There is a huge variety of cultures mixing in America. Many of these make it difficult for these people to have adequate access to pregnancy, family planning, parenting and related health care resources.

Planned parenthood has done an amazing job of filling this need and should be fully funded. It has prevented enormous suffering in America.

Please pressure the House and Senate to commit to fully fund Planned Parenthood for the next 20 years.

Reverse the damage done by your rhetoric

My best guess is that if you do these things, American women will forgive you for being such a jerk about women. Let’s face it, about women, you’ve behaved like a jerk. There are basically three types of jerks. Evil jerks rape or grab pussies. Plain jerks don’t actually do these things, but speak poorly and occasionally go a bit too far. Good jerks talk like this occasionally, but do good things. Aspire to be a good jerk.

Man-up to being a jerk, stop talking about women and do the things above. That won’t erase your past, but it’ll be a great start.