Over the years I had heard of a number of ways of conducting elections and counting the votes, including Instant Runoff Voting (IRV), Condorcet, Range Voting and others. I really had no idea what this was all about except that there is an organization called the Center for Voting and Democracy which for years has advocated IRV and been successful at getting this method used in several cities throughout the United States.
Yesterday I had a conversation with someone who has a great deal of
interest in the mathematics of political representation and
apportionment. After speaking with this person and thinking about the topic it seemed reasonable that there probably was a lot more to it than I had previously believed. Indeed there is and there is some material on the web discussing a lot of complicated mathematical formulas for "counting the votes" all of which have a profound effect on the type of government we have and how much democracy we experience.
One of the reason I've started this blog and hope to promote it is that I believe that the political process in the United States has become out of reach of "We the People." I'm beginning to think that "We the People" were never really meant to be included, but it sure sounds nice as a platitude.
I am over the next few days going to try to find some scholarly, peer-reviewed articles discussing some of the complex mathematical theories pertaining to the subjects of apportionment and representation in the political sphere. I will list those articles on this blog, with proper MLA style citations so that people can easily find them. The more such information is available on the web, the better. Because many of these articles are likely to be available only through academic libraries, I may need help from one of you dear readers to help me attach the pdf file to a blog post or find another way to make the information generally available because "We the People" need the information in order to take back our country back from the professional hacks who currently do the bidding of the elites in charge.
Additionally, I'm going to be searching for accredited colleges and universities that offer degrees in areas relating to the mathematics of political science or political mathematics or any similar area. It is important the "We the People" gain access to this material.
I'm also hoping that I can interest Khan Academy and Coursera in making classes available for free on their sites.
I am looking for collaborators, commentators, writers and kibitzers. Please let me know.
Sunday, October 28, 2012
Thursday, October 25, 2012
How can "We the People" Take Our Country Back?
I think it is really important that "We the People" learn how to operate in today's highly professionalized political world. One idea that I have is that it would be useful to post information about degree programs in areas such as practical politics, campaign management, lobbying and similar topics. I want to encourage people to make comments and suggestions as well as add content to this blog. I'd love to see a blogroll of similar content.
It seems to me that the professional staffers, lobbyists, operatives, financiers and bundlers are literally strangling our system. The elected officeholders are really pawns in a highly sophisticated con game that many of them don't even know how to navigate. It takes several terms in office to learn the ropes. The biggest advantage for the operatives is the number of newly elected freshmen officeholders who can be more easily manipulated, that is a major problem with term limits.
It seems to me that the professional staffers, lobbyists, operatives, financiers and bundlers are literally strangling our system. The elected officeholders are really pawns in a highly sophisticated con game that many of them don't even know how to navigate. It takes several terms in office to learn the ropes. The biggest advantage for the operatives is the number of newly elected freshmen officeholders who can be more easily manipulated, that is a major problem with term limits.
Monday, October 8, 2012
Masters Degree Programs in Political Campaigning and Political Management
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University of Florida
234 Anderson Hall
P.O. Box 117325
Gainesville, FL 32611-7325
Ph: (352) 392-0262
Fax: (352) 392-8127
The first one
listed has a combined JD/Master of Applied Politics degree.
Ray C Bliss Institute of Applied Politics
The University
of Akron
Akron, OH 44325-1914
Phone: 330-972-5182
Fax: 330-972-5479
Political Campaigning Program
University of Florida
Department of Political Science
University of Florida
234 Anderson Hall
P.O. Box 117325
Gainesville, FL 32611-7325
Ph: (352) 392-0262
Fax: (352) 392-8127
Dr. Costas Panagopoulos
Director
Elections & Campaign Management Program
Director
Elections & Campaign Management Program
phone: (718) 817-3967
Graduate Program
in Public Affairs and Practical Politics
2130 Fulton Street
San Francisco, CA 94117-1080
(415) 422-5555
Center for Congressional and Presidential Studies – American University
(202) 885-3491
ccps@american.edu
ccps@american.edu
4400 Massachusetts Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20016
Washington, DC 20016
Degrees, Majors, Minors
and Certificates
Campaign Management
Institute
Public Affairs and
Advocacy Institute
C-Span Video Series:
BA Degrees in Political Science with a Political Leadership course
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University of Montana – Missoula, MT
McConnell Center at University of Louisville (as in Mitch)
http://louisville.edu/mcconnellcenter
Wright State University
College of Liberal Arts
163 Millett Hall
(937) 775-2225
www.wright.edu/cola
163 Millett Hall
(937) 775-2225
www.wright.edu/cola
Wright State has both a Major and a
Minor that are worth looking into.
Welcome to this blog. I want to shine the light on opportunities for people to learn about educational opportunities in "professional politics" with the idea that citizens will use these opportunities to take back our country from the very professionals these programs aim to train. The academy can be a very clubby, secret place.
I will be posting information as I come across it. I really hope that those of you who see this blog will make comments and post other avenues where citizens can learn how to compete with the pros in the political arena. I also want to encourage people to become writers and bloggers on Educational Opportunities In Politics. I'd like this to be truly a grassroots effort.
I will be posting information as I come across it. I really hope that those of you who see this blog will make comments and post other avenues where citizens can learn how to compete with the pros in the political arena. I also want to encourage people to become writers and bloggers on Educational Opportunities In Politics. I'd like this to be truly a grassroots effort.
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