A real American hero with REAL solutions regarding government accountability

[whalerider]

October 'Wired Magazine' has a featured article highlighting the work of Ellen Miller. Never hear of her? Read on.

Ellen Miller, founder of the Sunlight Foundation has a goal...to tap some of the internets best-known thinkers in order to make Washington as user friendly as Google. She says, "Washington Politicians like the firewall they have erected. They will have to be dragged into the 21st century".

Here are some of her current projects with links and explanations of what they do:

Earmarkwatch.org- When politicians makes sausage, they don't skimp on the pork. More than 500 volunteers have pored through federal spending bills to created this database of KICKBACKS and BOONDOGGLES.

OpenCongress.org-This site summarizes bills in EVERYDAY language and monitors related news and blog coverage. Users can also follow a legislator's voting record AND submit comments on proposed laws.

Punch Clock Map-The next best thing to putting a bell on your senator, this Google map tracks the schedules of participating members of Congress. While only 9 of 535 members of Congress have agreed to this to date, now that you know about it, write some letters or editorials and pressure ALL of them to be accountable with their time and activities.

Here are a few things she is proposing:

Crowdsourced Legislation: Why should elected officials be the only ones who get to haggle over legislation? Drafts of Bills should be uploaded to wikis, where anyone could edit them before they get debated by the House or Senate.

One-Click Government-Sure, you can find Federal documents online, but good luck making any sense of them. Her suggestion: Build mashups that seamlessly link politicians, donor, and legislation to give a COMPLETE picture of how government works and WHO is doing what and when.

Constant Real-Time Video: Encourage phonecam-weilding citizens to attend government meetings and post the proceedings on You Tube. They've been keeping track and videotaping American citizens for years. Isn't it time we had the same privileges?

[THE eXchanger]

it also would be a good idea
to create a tax system that was linked to your vote
certain taxes, like land taxes, are necessary for services...
although income taxes, are illegal; the way they currently collect them/and, who gets them

it would be pretty hard, that way,
to manipulate the vote ...

or, a place online, where you can actually see
your name / and, where you entered your vote
in real time --that way; the voter fraud would stop

any ideas, what they plan to do to stop that this time around ???

i think that the VP carries way more weight than
the president / and, hopefully hillary doesn't end up there
that would spell another 4 years of horror/for america

[colesmommy1117]

Originally Posted by eXchanger

it also would be a good idea
to create a tax system that was linked to your vote
certain taxes, like land taxes, are necessary for services...
although income taxes, are illegal; the way they currently collect them/and, who gets them

it would be pretty hard, that way,
to manipulate the vote ...

or, a place online, where you can actually see
your name / and, where you entered your vote
in real time --that way; the voter fraud would stop

any ideas, what they plan to do to stop that this time around ???

i think that the VP carries way more weight than
the president / and, hopefully hillary doesn't end up there
that would spell another 4 years of horror/for america

being taxed to vote. that's a good one.

[Ampgod]

Just a quick rant ... (sorry, hahahha)

We need to stop looking for heros to worship and give our power to!
You be the solution. You have the power.
Presidents and non-translucent government must end.
We need to govern ourselves and stop playing the victim role.
Power should be spread equally to all people on earth.
Then we can rise together as one.

Peace,
Ampgod

[BeaTnik-BandiT]

Originally Posted by Ampgod

Just a quick rant ... (sorry, hahahha)

We need to stop looking for heros to worship and give our power to!
You be the solution. You have the power.
Presidents and non-translucent government must end.
We need to govern ourselves and stop playing the victim role.
Power should be spread equally to all people on earth.
Then we can rise together as one.

Peace,
Ampgod

I agree. Humanity has to get rid of victim mentality.

salute.

Originally Posted by whalerider

Crowdsourced Legislation: Why should elected officials be the only ones who get to haggle over legislation? Drafts of Bills should be uploaded to wikis, where anyone could edit them before they get debated by the House or Senate.

Impressive. These ideas should be implemented immediately.

[Phtha]

Originally Posted by Ampgod

Just a quick rant ... (sorry, hahahha)

We need to stop looking for heros to worship and give our power to!
You be the solution. You have the power.
Presidents and non-translucent government must end.
We need to govern ourselves and stop playing the victim role.
Power should be spread equally to all people on earth.
Then we can rise together as one.

Peace,
Ampgod

QFT.
Money, thus taxes, man made laws, which don't change peoples hearts, and all the rest needs to go!
The opposite is what causes every problem we face.