tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-936193158098732098.comments2011-02-22T08:41:56.107-06:00WEATHERING THE STORMSteve Sewallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02777997814869931008noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-936193158098732098.post-35326342941161344742011-02-18T08:09:00.015-06:002011-02-18T08:09:00.015-06:00This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.biahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11024225813322666729noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-936193158098732098.post-60122642190771213242009-12-21T11:45:08.248-06:002009-12-21T11:45:08.248-06:00Mr. Sewall! You were my headmaster in 83 at TJA. I...Mr. Sewall! You were my headmaster in 83 at TJA. I just started working as a research assistant for an educational psychologist and started thinking about my time at TJA, which was the best educational experience I had, not counting college and continuing ed, or maybe counting it! thank you for the inspiration, glad to see you're a web presence. Hope you're well, and I wonder, are you in touch with any former TJA teachers or students? Thanks for your time! Elise Abrams MillerElise A. Millerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04244523375465549967noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-936193158098732098.post-58558012857108484552009-04-02T07:38:00.000-05:002009-04-02T07:38:00.000-05:00I'd say the big challenge with protests today is t...I'd say the big challenge with protests today is the visual luggage from the past. Every world leader at the G20, rightly or wrongly, equates the sight of protests with disorder and the potential for violence. And that goes double for less involved citizens who might agree with protesters' arguments but be turned off by their methods.<BR/><BR/>If that's really the case, then protesters need to reconsider the medium of their message. Civic media offers lots of possibilities--consider all the creative uses of tools developed by the <A HREF="http://civic.mit.edu" REL="nofollow">folks I work with</A>--and it's just a matter of figuring out how to use those tools for effective protest.Andrew Whitacrehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10621623113319763276noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-936193158098732098.post-26542771593132932942009-04-01T12:25:00.000-05:002009-04-01T12:25:00.000-05:00If we were really civic minded we would hunt down ...If we were really civic minded we would hunt down all the bankers and Wall Street types that got us into this mess.Bob Kowatchhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00097826589871325556noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-936193158098732098.post-19482884515828263362009-01-02T09:38:00.000-06:002009-01-02T09:38:00.000-06:00Yosephus, I too admire Dean Baker and the Center f...Yosephus, I too admire Dean Baker and the Center for Public Policy, which advances the public interest by contrast with the narrower interests advanced by other think tanks. So the Center's work has civic value. <BR/><BR/>Yet to my mind the 'think tank' model of influencing public policy does NOT, in and of itself, qualify as civic media. <BR/><BR/>For my money, civic media happens only when the PUBLIC is DIRECTLY involved in a decision-making (problem-solving) process. I like to think of this process as a game of contestants searching for the best solution to a problem, with the game decided by a series of PUBLIC votes held over a period of weeks and months. As I keep saying, voter-driven, politically-themed reality TV is one sexy, high profile model for this great game of democracy.<BR/><BR/>That said, Dean Baker can play any number of roles in a civic media. He can be a source quoted by others, an expert interviewed by others, or a contestant himself, advancing his own best solution, say, to the financial crisis.<BR/><BR/>As for your "local community think tank": I like it. It got me thinking. Your think tanks could have any number of members. Members might all local or drawn from all over the world. <BR/><BR/>Here's my latest, hottest idea, hotter than the NCAA sweet sixteen. I give you this little taste of it right now, for free, right here on the Internet. <BR/><BR/>Imagine a website that invites the public to interact (via email, text messages, online comments and of course votes) with 16 competing teams or "local community think tanks" from all over the country (or from 16 high schools or 16 political science departments or 16 cities or 16 political parties) who are competing to find the BEST SOLUTION to any problem you can think of: the financial crisis, gangs and drugs, immigration, health care, the best way to beat a traffic ticket - you name it. <BR/><BR/>Now let's take this idea up a notch. <BR/><BR/>Imagine a contest of 16 of your local community think tanks competing to find the best solution to the Israel/Palestine situation, with four teams coming from Israel, four from Palestine, two from elsewhere in the Middle East, two from the United States and the last four from other parts of the world. <BR/><BR/>In any of these civic media contests, each team would have equal space on a single website that would allow teams to use other sites - social networking (My Space, Facebook) and streaming video (YouTube)- to present their research and to make the case for their solutions. <BR/><BR/>I have a treatment for this idea and am looking for investors and a producer.<BR/><BR/>Yosephus, what saist thou? Have your questions been answered to one tiny iota of your satisfaction? What remains to be discussed?Steve Sewallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02777997814869931008noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-936193158098732098.post-70418975776528548312009-01-02T07:28:00.000-06:002009-01-02T07:28:00.000-06:00How about we ask the question, "Does the 'think ta...How about we ask the question, "Does the 'think tank' model of influencing government policy qualify as civic media?" If not, is there some way it can be made to work as civic media? <BR/><BR/>That's my suggestion for the next topic, Steve. What brings it to mind is the work of Dean Baker and Mark Weisbrot over at the Center for Economic Policy Research. They started the center to add a progressive voice to the din of think-tank media, and they have really established themselves admirably. During the last eight years they've managed to cut through the neo-con Fox News-powered language barrier to bring some really good insights to the attention of policy makers.<BR/><BR/>Has this helped? Do we need more of it? In what ways is the think tank model limited? Can we establish local community think tanks? What would that mean?<BR/><BR/>All I've got is questions, at this point. But I'd like to know what people think about the think tank as a connection between the public and policy.yosephushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04964545357507707447noreply@blogger.com