Slashdot Mirror
Ask Slashdot: What Planks Would You Want In a Platform of a Political Party?
An anonymous reader writes "I am the Technology Manager of the Justice Party (sorry, no relationship to the Avengers). We are currently working on our Platform (version 2.0) and I would be interested to know what people in the science and technology field would like to see in a platform of a political party. For example, we are considering planks that relate to Open Government (data) access, science and maths promotion, space industries, promotion of open source, dealing with SOPA/ CISPA laws, improvement in user privacy and much more. Give us your comments so we can help build a more tech-savvy America."
Cedar is best, but pine is cheaper. Hint: save yourself from the darkest side and take up carpentry. Do something meaningful with your life, seriously.
Proportional representation. Small factions will get represented too.
Separation of Church/Religion & State, be it whatever religion
I'd like to see vi become the official editor of the United States of America, and at the same time I would like to see Emacs declared an illegal tool only people of an evil doer persuasion would use and banned and hunted down. Start the War on Emacs and you'll have my vote. Thank you.
I want your policies to be constant. Plank Constants.
I should use this sig to advertise my book ISBN-13 : 978-1501515132.
1) strict term limits for congress
2) corporate money is not free speech...no place for it in politics
3) Single payer health care
4) increased minimum wage that is subsequently tied to inflation
5) Large scale infrastructure projects...LARGE. High speed trains, universal fiber broadband
6) a commitment to overhaul the national power grid or begin the the process of implementing a decentralized solution to replacing the grid
7) outlaw lobbyists
Years ago, local industry where I lived had a problem getting qualified workers with the right skills. Folks said, "Like what skills?"
Industry said, "CNC Machinists."
So, the local tech schools, colleges, industry and governments got together and created CNC programs and solved the problem. Now industry has has a steady flow of qualified workers, people who may not have the talents or inclination to be a white collar cube worker have a career path to a middle class life, government has an ever increasing tax base and the local community is thriving. (CT, Pratt & Whitney, Sikorsky Aircraft, etc... to name some names.)
Contrast with the tech industry:
"Waaa! We can't get qualified workers with the right skills!! Waaaaaaa"
The rest of us, "Like what?"
Tech industry,"Waaaaa! We can't get qualified workers we need more H1-Bs! Waaaaaaaaaa!"
I think they won't mention the skills or qualifications they need because we will all see that the Emperor Has No Clothes. We would see that in fact, every college and university in the US is producing folks with the right qualifications and that the tech industry is full of shit and made up the "lack of skills and qualifications" as an excuse for H1-Bs - to state the obvious.
The election system, as it currently exists, squeeze out third parties. Worse, however, is that if a third party does get a toehold, the main result is has on an election is to takes vote away from the major party that it's most similar to-- the "spoiler" effect. This is why in many cases third-party challengers are secretly funded by entities that oppose the platforms that the third party supports: the "divide and conquer" strategy.
So, overall, my desire for your party is that your platform should adopt all the planks that I hate. Probably your party will be irrelevant, in which case it doesn't matter what your platform is. If your party does get large enough to make a difference, that difference will manifest by your taking votes away from your politically closest competitors, so I want you to be as evil as possible.
Thus: I suggest you adopt a platform of explicit fascism.
http://www.geoffreylandis.com
I know I am a little too far down, but here goes.
1. Identity Fail.
"An anonymous reader writes "I am the Technology Manager of the Justice Party..."
Really?! For me you sunk your chances right there. Politics is about promoting yourself and hoping no bad $hit from your past sticks too badly. (Because there IS some, it's only a question of relativity!)
So "Anonymous Reader", for a party I've never heard of? Nope. Go away. I won't even begin to (oh wait, I am) open the can of worms on authenticity security for ... wait for it ... the *Technology Manager*... of a party?! Sales guys, I get. Tech Manager? Oh dear gawd.
2. Too F#$%$% Sick of "Hidden One Way Flow" data-slurps in politics. You want all our notes, but you won't stand to even log a Slashdot Username to respond to replies? And this for a *political party*? Screw that. I'll dignify you by saying you're not a complete fabrication by site Mgt. Let's assume you are real. Why So Sneaky?
Bye Bye.
My first Journal Entry ever, in 8 years! http://slashdot.org/journal/365947/aphelion-scifi-fantasy-horror-poetry-webzine
Don't know where you live, but AFAIK all states allow insurers to charge for insuring smokers. You are not paying for their habit. The insurance company has every incentive to offer healthy people the best rates they can.
Your high premiums have more to do with soaring costs on the care delivery end, which have more to do with ever more expensive techniques being invented and used with no cost-benefit analysis. Hell, they don't even do benefit-benefit analysis (drugs are not compared to eachother to determine if the new one is even worth prescribing).
education (ok to leave some children behind).
health (self care, health care, genetics, stem cells...)
energy (simply burning fossil fuels is stupid)
space (for starters, industry & mining would be better done off planet)
values: throw in a large dose of personal responsibility.
These are the things that matter, policy that improves them is a win.
Everything else is noise.
Note to moderators: If you feel the urge to moderate this, please do not hit the 'Funny' button. As ridiculous as it sounds, I am being completely serious:
I would like to see a Brony political party.
The planks of such a party would be the same as those that keep Equestria running well: The Elements of Harmony. Each of the elements are concepts that we need very badly in American politics right now:
Honesty -- Transparency and accountability should be a cornerstone of any government.
Kindness -- The purpose of government should be to help the poor and disadvantaged. The rich do not need help.
Loyalty -- Politicians should be loyal to their constituents and to America, not to corporate lobbies or foreign investors.
Generosity -- Liberal use of government power is good when such intervention is requested. Be generous and quick to help those who ask for it, but do not interfere with industries or states unless absolutely necessary.
Laughter -- A political candidate and party should be able to laugh at themselves. Not a consideration for governing, but it would help immensely with the dreadful campaign season.
I would *love* to see the Elements of Harmony adopted by a political party. I feel they are well thought-out principles for a just and harmonious society, and out current political system has gotten very far from any harmonious ideal.
Genocide Man -- Life is funny. Death is funnier. Mass murder can be hilarious.
The article is submitted by "anonymous reader" claiming to be the technology manager for the Justice Party, yet links to a web site that identifies the National Technology Manager by name.
Just one of those little daily oddities I notice.
Number One Priority (and of most benefit to small parties like yours): Replace first past the post voting for selecting our representatives (because we are a representative republic) with something more effective in terms of game theory. I think instant run-off would work best for the American people given our history and what we are most likely to understand and adopt readily.
What's the impact on tech policy?
At the most fundamental level, tech policy should be data driven, and there is no more fundamental data than that provided by the voters. If we implement a voting system which will optimize the decisions made by members of the republic - instead of discounting a majority of the input - we have the framework to begin implementing data-driven policy in every other aspect. Otherwise - first past the post mathematically favors two opposing policies neither of which the majority of voters truly approve (rather we pick the lesser-of-evils). With a superior voting system, the constituents can indirectly favor their own tech policy (and you might get a good statistician to do some nice post-hock voting analysis to separate out the variables and tell you exactly what the people want for tech).
If you're asking for some direct policy advice - I'll post that elsewhere
Exactly. Take your platform, and burn it to the ground.
I want politicians who, when faced with legislation they support or not, will release a statement saying why it's a good or bad idea. Not a buzzword-filled piece about patriotism and inherent rights, but how the particular legislation helps or hinders your particular goals.
I want politicians who will vote however they feel is right, rather than how their party tells them to.
I want politicians who will act in support of not just their own constituents, but for all the neighboring regions as well, especially in regard to business incentives.
I want politicians who honestly care more about making the world better than about the day-to-day drama of American politics.
I also want a pony.
You do not have a moral or legal right to do absolutely anything you want.
Who ever claimed that is wrong. Descriminatory pricing for some things are being removed, but not politically unpopular "choices" like smoking.
Most of the supposed increase in premiums from Obamacare are from disallowing declining to insure those with preexisting conditions or writing those conditions out a plan. But many of the people who cannot afford care and are uninsured are just showing up at hospitals once the illness gets bad enough, so you are already paying for them, and the law would actually attempt to stop them from freeloading.
The way the law is supposed to prevent this from causing premium increases is by forcing people to buy insurance preemptively rather than waiting until they are already sick. The preexisting condition part of the bill turns into a total disaster if the mandate goes away. (There are some alternatives, but TBH they don't solve the problem of people walking into hospitals uninsured. You either have to decide to let people die, or find some way to force people to pay for the services they are recieving.)
All laws must consist of the following:
1) A clear purpose
2) What means are to be employed to achieve that purpose
3) A list of criteria can be independently evaluated to see if it was a success
4) A timeline for evaluating those criteria and repealing the law if it was not successful
I realize this won't work in all cases, but it should help in most.
Tiller's Rule: Never use a word in written form that you've only heard and never read. You will end up looking foolish.
you're a worse freeloader than any smoker.
Smokers pay a higher premium, so calling us 'freeloaders' is complete bullshit.
On the contrary, fat motherfuckers are the largest (no pun intended, but noted and appreciated) burden on the healthcare system, and they are not required to pay a higher premium because they made the decision to be grotesquely obese slobs. You wanna talk freeloaders? Start with the worst offenders.
An enigma, wrapped in a riddle, shrouded in bacon and cheese
Is this really how political parties get started? Shouldn't the platform come before the party? If you don't already know what needs to be done differently, then why are creating a new party? This makes it sound like you found a large, under-served demographic and decided to cash in on their passion. At best, this sounds really backwards; at worst, it sounds downright dubious. How about you tell us what your party stands for, and we'll tell you if we agree and where you could stand to change. At the very least, you should lurk more. I'm all for a viable third party, especially one that embraces the tech community, but surely you understand why this looks deceitful. It's like asking a girl in a chat room how old she is and she asks how old you want her to be.
It's all well and good to say you are for science and education.
But what does support for any of those things mean in terms of how you plan to help them?
Are you going to use government to prop up science through specific winner companies, or to promote private research with X-Prize like rewards that spur private research?
Are you going to support space by building government controlled space vehicles or attempt to reduce regulation around private space exploration to allow more risk for a greater range of discovery?
Basically, you as a party have to decide before anything else what role government has in our lives, as overseer or gardener.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
Representational democracy was partially meant to solve the problems surrounding the tyranny of the majority (coined by John Adams) by electing rational minds to temper swings in public sentiment.
It seems to me that popular votes are inconsistent and disruptive to the proper functioning of government. Just look at state ballot initiatives. Florida's state constitution, for instance, was recently modified to cover treatment of farm animals and slot machines. Imagine a US Amendment declaring killing kittens illegal. Such votes threaten to remove the tiered system of laws which is so useful for determining which laws are invalid.
Of course, representational democracy depends upon people electing reasonable people. Perhaps much larger houses are needed to push elections to a more local level. Part of the problem is that people don't know how much of an ass their representatives are.
Restore the vote by eliminating gerrymandering.
Restore the courts by eliminating plea bargains by prosecutors. (Defendants can still plead guilty and ask for mercy from the court, not from the prosecutors.)
Restore accountability in government by reducing government immunity from lawsuits. Those who enforce the law should not be immune from it. Police officers who lie under oath should be jailed. Destruction of evidence, including failure to collect exculpatory evidence, and the failure of prosecutors to reveal potentially exculpatory evidence as required by the Constitution, should also not be prevented by governmental immunity and should result in prison time for any detectives and prosecutors involved.
//TODO: Think of witty sig statement
Not only do you pay higher premiums but over your shortened lifetimes you end up needing LESS healthcare, not more. But don't expect the rabid anti-smoking lobby to stop spreading lies.
P.S. If you are a smoker, try vaping instead. Get yourself a good ego-c, not the crap they sell at walmart, some high strength liquid and be sure to exhale through your nose (you don't absorb it as much in your lungs.) If you still have cravings consider adding an antidepressant, since one of the reasons why tobacco is so addictive (whereas straight nicotine is only mildly addictive) are the MAOIs and other neurotrasmitter-affecting chemicals present.
I think there's something to this, but I think it should be an annual hunting trip. The kids will actually have to kill something, clean it and eat it. Might even have the side benefit of helping people understand that meat doesn't originate in the grocery store.
Unfortunately, no political party position is complete without addressing money. You need to decide whether to tax your way out of this hole, or cut your way out. (or both, but aggressively, not half heartedly)
First plank? Cut the deficit all the way to negative. ASAP. That means now, not planning on it several decades out. Real reform hurts, but it will hurt more if we don't address the problem. Can you imagine the US declaring bankruptcy? That's where we're headed. (or the equvalent, anyway) And that's not just the federal government. Many of the states are insolvent right now too. Even some of the big ones (California).
Real deficit cuts are not decreasing the planned growth of deficits! Grab both the Rs and Ds and slap them with this during campaigning.
Second, start spending the money we've got wisely. We're like a leaky sieve. For instance, there's a constant drumbeat of "we've got to support the schools and teachers!" In reality? Almost all the money get's lost between tax payers and the classrooms. Setting more money aside for schools almost never results in increased learning. But cuts? Those go straight to the gullet.
Third, stop the hidden tax. Inflation. The FED and other financial entities have been focused on a constant, steady inflation to "protect" the economy from the boogeyman of deflationary-spirals. The reality is: deflation is a symptom of the spirals, but isn't the primary cause. Healthy economies absorb deflation nicely. The real reason for constant inflation is to cause the stock market to be the safest place for people to store their cash. It's a money grab for the rich, and a way for the Federal government to shrink the value of the national debt.
I won't join Slashcott. OTOH, If Beta goes live, I just won't be back until it's fixed. Sorry Dice.
I would like you to base your policies around some coherent principles so that I can know if you are worth investigating further. When you make a post like you have just made, it sounds like you are just trying to taylor your policies to getting votes from a particular constituency. Your post does not deserve to be on Slashdot. If you had stated some core principals and how they apply to the use of technology in society, that would have been something worth reading, although it would still not be your place to advertise it here.
If you are serious about politics I would suggest you act with more decency, and stop polluting news sites with articles that are not news, but rather promoting your own agenda.
On one side, you have single payer.
On the other side, you have health insurance.
A public health care system operates on the incentive that they will try and do the most good for their budget. This means that they will attempt to pay for as much health care as possible, within their fixed budget.
The insurance system operates on the incentive that they want to make a profit. Therefore they will try and avoid paying for as much healthcare as possible. In addition, the vast bureaucracy they create to prop up their efforts to avoid payment has a vast cost.
Why the FUCK would you want to enter into a system that by design, will try it's level best to leave you sick, maimed or dead?
Financial reform. If what the banks did in 2008 wasn't illegal, it should have been. Glass-Steagal needs to come back. The tax burden on corporations (and people) needs to increase the larger they become. Money is unelected political power. It subverts democracy and encourages oligarchy. Offshore money parking needs to be illegal as well. If you want your money in the Isle of Mann, feel free to move there.
The USA's military is 7 times larger than the next largest military. We spend 18 percent of the budget on military expenditures. I'm all for reducing "entitlements" starting with the Army, Navy and Marines.
More money should go to research in AI and energy generation. The first problem is unrecognized by the mainstream press (What a shock), but the first country that develops useful, scalable, human-like AI rules the world. Seriously. The next big problem is energy. Like it or not, significant postive net energy from oil is going away. We need a replacement.
Controversial as this is, I'd give anyone with a medical, engineering or other technical degree earned in the USA a green card and two tax free years. We need the world's smart people here, not in India.
End rant.
Please do not read this sig. Thank you.
This is basically a slashvertisement for their political party, and they want to get more people involved, and "rally for the cause".
We're deeply entrenched into the two party system, and you're only kidding yourself if you think it will change any time soon. I think AC is simply pointing that out.
Thinking exactly that as I curiously clicked to go to their site, I noticed a sentence in there that is pushing for a direction I already don't care for, and what AC said came to mind. Without reading more into it, I am fairly certain at this point that this "party" they are forming is all about social justice. Social justice is based upon the idea that any time you succeed in favor of somebody else, that is a wrong that must be righted. What follows is a rant on social justice, and you might like my anecdote which favors the little guy:
Succeeding in favor of somebody else can range from being hired for a high paying job so the other guy needs to find somewhere else to work, or winning a race where you got the cash prize and the second place guy got nothing.
I like the idea that we are all equal by default and we should all have a fair chance, but the reality is that we aren't all equal. Last week I was on a team in a competition where we had to wire colored cables to a patch panel and some switches in a short amount of time, and the team that came in first won $1,000, whereas the other teams came out with nothing. I have keratoconus so it takes me a second to properly identify small numbers (though I can do it, eventually) and one of my other teammates is colorblind. All three of us wear glasses. These problems set us back, but we were offered no handicap favors.
We won, making us one out of 15 or so teams who competed. Statistically, we were probably the only team with debilitating eyesight issues, but we probably won because we did something smarter (I don't really know as I never met any of the competition.) Social justice says that what we did was inherently unfair because we became rich(er) at the expense of somebody else. Because we did something better, we have committed an injustice.
Social justice is bullshit. There, I said it. Like AC said, I'll go my way on this one. Though like you said, I also hope they go away. To me a society where everybody is exactly the same would be a dystopia. Maybe I'm biased because I have talents that people are willing to pay for (outside of that contest, too) but I still don't like the idea of it.
Careful with names containing L slashdot.org/~AiphaWolf_HK slashdot.org/~AlphaWoif_HK slashdot.org/~AiphaWoif_HK