Pope Francis invokes God's Garden

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Wednesday July 01, 2015 · 8:38 AM PDT

2015/07/01 · 08:38

Pope Francis's recent encyclical on Climate Change harks to an earlier thinker, one who is not well known in the English speaking world, but one who re-introduced vital concepts in Europe of the early middle ages with the intent of creating order (and sustainability) based on a universal purpose. He proposed his ideas in the Cura Reipublicae et Sorte Principantis. This translates to About the administration of the public interest and the role of the ruler. In the year 1350 this was no small title.

Poll

17 votes Show Results

Van Leyden prescribes a dictatorial power to oversee the public good. Our world is large and made up of sovereign nations who owe each other as much, or as little, as they care to owe. Who or what should enforce greenhouse gas reductions?

17 votes Vote Now!

Van Leyden prescribes a dictatorial power to oversee the public good. Our world is large and made up of sovereign nations who owe each other as much, or as little, as they care to owe. Who or what should enforce greenhouse gas reductions?

The Pope

1 vote

The Secretary General of the United Nations

4 votes

Security Council (of the UN)

4 votes

United States

0 votes

Small European country (say Norway)

0 votes

International Treaties

8 votes

Nobody or Nothing

0 votes

America's First Civil-Rights Lawyer (Conclusion)

governance4us

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Thursday March 05, 2015 · 11:22 AM PST

2015/03/05 · 11:22

The Anglo-Dutch war was a turning point for the two nations as well. Separated by the sliver of water once called the “Narrow Sea”, the two peoples were more alike and akin than any other two nations in Europe. Of course there had been occasional quarrels as happens between close relatives. Cromwell had energetically built up his navy while the Dutch had weakened theirs in part to weaken the monarchical ambitions of the Prince of Orange. The war was fought entirely at sea – another novelty.

governance4us

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Saturday February 28, 2015 · 5:18 AM PST

2015/02/28 · 05:18

By the end of June, the “Remonstrance of New Netherland” was complete. The eighty-four pages included a compilation of the opinions of the people, a history of Dutch discovery and development, the legitimacy of the Dutch claims to its American territory, and his vision for the future.

governance4us

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Friday February 20, 2015 · 6:38 PM PST

2015/02/20 · 18:38

A young, recently unemployed lawyer walked into town. News traveled fast in the small colony. Adriaen must have been well aware of the troubles between the Governor and the colonists. In October 1643, Adriaen attended a clandestine meeting of the activists . They had learned to go underground after Governor Kieft started to arrest opponents at will. Adriaen was tickled with the prospect of taking on this interesting case.

governance4us

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Monday February 09, 2015 · 7:38 AM PST

2015/02/09 · 07:38

In 1638, Adriaen van der Donck entered the University of Leyden to study law. The school was then the center of enlightened thinking in Europe. In the Republic, it was the center of religious freedom and the city enjoyed complete freedom of expression and the press. A major influence on Adriaen’s thinking were likely the philosophies of Hugo Grotius, often described as the father of modern international law. René Descartes, who taught at Leyden, published his Discourse on Method there in 1637. Even Isaac Newton chose to publish his Discourses and Mathematical Demonstrations Concerning Two Sciences at Leyden in 1638.

governance4us

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Monday February 02, 2015 · 12:51 PM PST

2015/02/02 · 12:51

In March 1651, Virginia governor William Berkeley, declared, “…we can only feare the Londoners, who would faine bring us to the same poverty, wherein the Dutch found and relieved us …” He was referring to the 1650 Act of Navigation that forbade any ships other than British vessels from trading with the North American colonies (see Early Modern Virginia: Considering the Old Dominion, a collection of essays edited by D. Bradburn and J.C. Coombs).

governance4us

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Monday January 12, 2015 · 2:21 PM PST

2015/01/12 · 14:21

It appears that the pervading view in our country has it that Magna Carta was the starting point for the civil liberties we now enjoy. The origin of this notion is somewhat obscure. It stems neither from our Founding Fathers nor from the 17th century colonists who laid the foundations of our country.

governance4us

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Friday January 02, 2015 · 11:49 AM PST

2015/01/02 · 11:49

This year the Magna Carta, a failed treaty between medieval combatants, is 800 years old. Especially in America it is seen as the foundation of liberty in the Anglo-Saxon world. But, is that view justified?

governance4us

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Wednesday December 17, 2014 · 9:29 AM PST

2014/12/17 · 09:29

In the Absence of a Common Foe

With the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991 the United States lost a significant portion of the glue that held it together. We witness the unraveling in the dysfunction of our federal government with the election of ever more extreme members of Congress. These developments are not new. One strong parallel is found in the history of the Dutch Republic of the 17th century. Then, as now, the main issue was that of states’ rights versus central control and it manifested itself as a culture war. It nearly tore the country apart.

governance4us

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Thursday December 11, 2008 · 6:33 AM PST

2008/12/11 · 06:33

If the allegations are correct then Governor Blagojevich did nothing wrong. As a matter of fact, he did exactly what the state’s modern day patricians expected of him. His problem, and that of the patricians, is that not everyone subscribes to our legacy system of government.

America is schizophrenic. It has two personalities. They know of one another but they don’t understand and therefore loath each other. Chicago FBI chief Robert Grant expressed his loathing. Blagojevich dismissed the allegations as if they were frivolous and continued to go about his business much the same way he had done the last three years while under investigation by the FBI. Obviously the loathing is reciprocal.

The real problem is that some structures of America’s system of government are legacies and that others have evolved in reaction to modern needs. And now they conflict.

governance4us

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Saturday November 29, 2008 · 7:33 AM PST

2008/11/29 · 07:33

In 1665 an English fleet moved in to take New Amsterdam, the capital of the Dutch North American colony. The governor called the citizens to arms but they refused. For a generation the governors of the New Netherlands had denied the citizens constitutional rights that were guaranteed by the Dutch Republic. There was a conflict of interest. The governor was also the director of the Dutch West India Company that had de facto control of the colony. Apathy and resentment had weakened the city and with it the colony fell in English hands. For more on this click here.
The citizens of the District of Columbia also have their constitutional rights denied and, to their credit, do not appear to have become apathetic. But, that may just be a matter of time.

Poll

23 votes Show Results

How should this issue be resolved?

23 votes Vote Now!

How should this issue be resolved?

No change, leave it exactly the way it is

1 vote

Carve out the Federal Triangle and give the rest back to Maryland (Arlington was returned to VA in 1846)

6 votes

Give DC's one representative full voting rights in the U.S. House of Reps

5 votes

Extend statehood to DC giving it one U.S. Rep and two U.S. Senators

11 votes

Other (please explain in comments)

0 votes

Proportional Representation

governance4us

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Thursday November 27, 2008 · 9:50 AM PST

2008/11/27 · 09:50

Representatives to the US House are elected through a system of first past the post in a district. Some say that this leaves many people disenfranchized since they have no representation in Congress if their candidate loses with as much as 49.9% of the vote. Furthermore, congressional redistricting and jerrimandering can create "safe" seats with as little as 55% of the vote.
If a state's congressional delegation was elected not by district but statewide, or even nationally, the representation of the electorate would be proportional. In a state with 10 representatives 57% of the vote would yield five or six seats while the balance would go to the other party or parties. Proportional representation would allow more parties to field candidates which may lead to more nuanced choices of policy positions.
In much of Europe the party ranks the candidates in lists. This assures that votes for candidates that do not make it are not lost and are added to other party candidates instead. In the US such "at large" candidates run as individuals and thus weaken the party pool.
What do you think?

Poll

46 votes Show Results

How should representatives to the US House be elected?

46 votes Vote Now!

How should representatives to the US House be elected?

State district. First past the post. (The way it is now)

17 votes

State, individuals state wide

9 votes

State, party lists

16 votes

National, party lists

4 votes

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Pope Francis invokes God's Garden

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