Fight the Amoral Fight

It is the last day of January! That means I have to change the blog, LOL
Where does the time go?
Don't answer that ;)

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Karen - I definitely think that as long as sport is low-pressure it's really good for even little kids to get involved. They learn physical skills, improving strength and coordination, and also (hopefully) teamwork. Plus, it's fun! :)
I am concerned about summer, too. A winter like this could mean another cold and gray summer and much whining from this corner ;)

Bogon - Oh, now I get you, I think. You mean regular real-time polling of the populace. I don't like that idea at all, sorry to say. Popular polls don't tell us anything about the thinking in the general population (not saying that regular voting does, either, btw). Polls need to be random and controlled and statistically analyzed to be of any use, imo, and are suspect even so.

One would think that, if the poll goes out to everyone, you'd get a random response that would stand in for all, but I think that the results of popular polls are limited by who cares about the issue, who sees the poll, who is willing to answer a poll (many don't, on principle), whether they vote honestly or for the purpose of skewing the poll (there is a blogger who has been known to notify his readers of stupid polls for that express purpose), and whether it is worded in such a way that folks are all clear on its meaning (and get the same meaning), among other things. Way too much selection bias in those polls, along with great potential for misunderstandings.

Then, too, there is the issue of majority rule on issues that ought not be decided that way, as Booker points out in that video.

So, maybe we wouldn't put civil rights issues, or criminal issues, in such poll. What, then? Tax plans? Trade agreements? Military aid to Egypt? FDA regulations?

Representatives, in theory, have time to sort these things out - study details, consider consequences, consult experts, and so forth. That's their job. The rest of us have our own jobs to do which preclude acquiring deep understanding of most issues.

So, that's me riffing on your brainstorm, which generated many random thoughts to be put to pixels - most of which have been removed. How good am I? lol

Maybe I'm still not understanding - that would hardly be unusual! LOL
Do you have an example of what sorts of things should be put to a quick poll? And how that would help keep politicians honest?

And I would like to hear what others think!
Would Bogon's idea work and make a positive difference?

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If anyone is interested enough to answer the questions or to comment on what an idiot I am ... or, you know, whatever ... I'll move them to the February blog. When I create a February blog, that is ;)

Guess I'm feeling the idiot, despite having been quite productive and unusually clever as I went about my business today and yesterday (if I do say so myself!).
Also, my nightmare did not come true, LOL

Oh, I know why, I guess. I went lurking about the wublogs this morning - very enjoyable, lots of laughs and thoughts, happiness for tod's pup - all that and more - and found I had nothing to contribute. So my idiocy is specific to wu. Ah, well. I made up for it here. In number of words, anyway :-/

Happy (late) Tuesday!

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Okay I see LC has weighed in (about time, too, sez I) and I'll have to come back for that!

IMHO the answer starts major with campaign finance reforms.

There it is. Truth.

LC - thanks for bringing that anlysis of the perils of electronic voting. I like the comparison to shopping online because I think many folks don't know how dangerous that really is. I will note that I do a lot of shopping online, anyway.

I saw Elizabeth Warren on tv a few days ago talking about the Citizens United decision and the possibility of an amendment to fix that. I guess the consensus is that that is the only way to do so and yet she seems reluctant to consider that option. Apparently, she and Scott Brown signed some sort of pledge to donate to charity some amount of money if outside interests spent ad money in their own favor, or something, and asked that interest groups not do that. She seems to think that politicians have control over that, individually, or can exert influence, and should. This is, of course, not true. The whole enterprise has taken on a life of its own - and there is a ton of money to be made.

It now occurs to me that we already have rapid response capabilities. We can call or email our elected officials at any time, on any matter.

Ylee - thanks! I'm feeling less idiotic today ;)
And thanks for chiming in!

Bogon - well, good! LOL
Stay ever vigilant - we are all depending on each other to do so. That's what kinda sucks about Democracy.

The weird thing is, it's difficult to catch election fraud even now. It's also hard to follow election fraud stories because they take so long to play out, and even reporters get tired of following them.
I was just searching for an old story of election problems here in my little town and found only one story from about halfway through the saga. It was years before that all ended (with a bit of a whimper, as it happens) though it was big news here while it was going on and people do remember.

The good news is, most of the folks in charge of vote-counting and other election-related work are just like the rest of us - good people who take their jobs seriously and work to do those jobs well.

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I know. It's February. This blog is named for January. Tough! ;)

I've got warm days coming up and am trying to get caught up on inside work so I can play in the sun. Can you blame me?

Happy Wednesday!