Social Issues

17-Nov-1997

Note first that these machines are partly funded by UW and partly by Federal funds. If you put a Federal nail in the siding of a house, they get to call the shots on the use of the house. It is highly improper to use these machines for personal profit or for politics.

If I state something innocuous, it may stand, but if the issue is contentious, I can't have it in my pages--that would be Federal funding of one side of a political debate, and improper. So long as what I write is non-partisan and non-controversial, I don't overstep the bounds. But if people take an interest in the ideas and start taking sides, I have to drop the pages. Seems odd, but what to do ? . . .

• Can we make elections more useful with None of the Above as a permanent candidate? Also examine a milder, non-binding NOTA proposal from Washington state. Their proposal adds more information to election returns, but does not change the outcome. Also see www.nota.org.

• Can we consider defense against non-human enemies to be part of a broader mission of DOD? Influenza epidemics killed more Americans than any of our wars. Public Safety subdivided into a War Department and an Epidemics Department . .. Note that this is limited to true contagious epidemics, not cancer etc.

• I assert that `enlightened self-interest' is rather rare, and that cities, states, and countries will fail to cohere if a sense of community is lacking. What inspires such a sense of community? A common challenge (colonization, war, natural disaster) can, and to some extent sports can too--provided there aren't already angry divisions. What things can we do to cultivate a sense of community?

• El Nino and solar cycles warn us that we can't rely on climate to stay the same. Study alternative food plants

• Why can't we use graduated property taxes?

• If the government is serious about adult eduction and continuing education, why not supply subsidized course materials, and offer tax breaks for people who take a correspondance or other course each year? (Deduct half the cost of the course [up to some reasonable amount]). Sure there'd be cheating and trivial `courses'--but it wouldn't be a great expense, and if it succeeds in bettering the education of citizens who might not otherwise be encouraged to learn then the project would seem worth it.

Back to JNB Home