Unless two things change, we are doomed. We have become a nation of wusses, despite the courage shown by the people who founded and settled this country, Additionally, we have developed an unhealthy obsession with money, which has become our ultimate value. Probably because I am so old, I am appalled that so many citizens support for president a person who is quite transparent about his values, few of which I admire. He is an extreme narcissist, which equates with total selfishness. For example, he was at Arlington National Cemetery with General Kelly at the grave of Kelly's son Lt. Robert Kelly, who was killed in Afghanistan, Trump said: "I don't get it. What was in it for them?" He and much of this country worships and *loves money as the ultimate value*, forgetting that the bible says that the *love of money *is the root of evil. Many of our politicians and officials, on both sides, are in it principally for the money, and that's how they vote, rather than what is best for our country. Words like character, integrity, honesty, empathy, self-sacrifice, and shame are absent from our political, business, and social lexicon. Selfishness is no longer a pejorative. At this rate, The US will have a very short life as the superpower. Perhaps it is time for us to take a step back and consider whether we want to continue down this path or make a change before it's too late.
On a larger note, I think that soon God will say "We gave the big brain a chance and they blew it, let's give the insects a shot." Cheers dan On Sun, Sep 3, 2023 at 12:00 PM <friam-requ...@redfish.com> wrote: > Send Friam mailing list submissions to > friam@redfish.com > > To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit > http://redfish.com/mailman/listinfo/friam_redfish.com > or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to > friam-requ...@redfish.com > > You can reach the person managing the list at > friam-ow...@redfish.com > > When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific > than "Re: Contents of Friam digest..." > Today's Topics: > > 1. Is the American political system broken? (Pieter Steenekamp) > 2. Re: Is the American political system broken? (Jochen Fromm) > > > > ---------- Forwarded message ---------- > From: Pieter Steenekamp <piet...@randcontrols.co.za> > To: The Friday Morning Applied Complexity Coffee Group <friam@redfish.com> > Cc: > Bcc: > Date: Sun, 3 Sep 2023 12:01:42 +0200 > Subject: [FRIAM] Is the American political system broken? > I'm not an American, but because America plays such a big role in the > world, I do follow what's happening over there. With the presidential > elections happening next year, I cringe at the prospect that it will be > another Trump vs. Biden affair. Can the leader of the world not do better? > > During the primaries of the last election, Andrew Yang intrigued me to no > end. He did not make it as a candidate for the Democratic Party and > subsequently formed a new party. He is now an outspoken critic of the > American political system and has some proposals on how to fix it. > > To educate myself I asked Bing AI to write three essays: > a) One for Andrew Yang's views > b) One against it > c) Lastly an objective review of the two views above > > Bing AI answered with: > I'm glad you're interested in learning more about Andrew Yang's view on > the American political system. I can help you write three essays based on > the information I found from the web. Here they are: > > a) Essay for Andrew Yang's view: > > Andrew Yang is a former presidential and mayoral candidate who has > recently launched a new political party called Forward (or FWD). Yang > believes that the American political system is broken and needs to be > reformed to reduce polarization, corruption, and dysfunction. He argues > that the current two-party system is outdated and does not represent the > interests of most Americans, who are increasingly dissatisfied with both > Democrats and Republicans. He also claims that the system is rigged by > special interests, lobbyists, and wealthy donors who influence the policies > and outcomes of elections. > > Yang's solution is to create a third party that is focused on moving the > country forward, rather than left or right. He proposes a set of reforms > that he thinks will improve the quality of democracy and governance in the > U.S. Some of these reforms include: > > - Implementing ranked-choice voting, which allows voters to rank > candidates in order of preference, rather than choosing only one. This > would encourage more diversity and competition in the political arena, and > reduce the spoiler effect and negative campaigning. > - Adopting open primaries, which allow voters to participate in any > party's primary election, regardless of their affiliation. This would > increase voter turnout and engagement, and give more voice and power to > independent and moderate voters. > - Enacting term limits for Congress, which would limit the number of terms > that members of the House and Senate can serve. This would reduce the > influence of career politicians and lobbyists, and encourage more fresh and > innovative ideas and perspectives. > - Creating a universal basic income (UBI), which would provide every > American adult with a monthly payment of $1,000, regardless of their income > or employment status. This would help alleviate poverty, inequality, and > insecurity, and boost the economy and consumer spending. > - Reforming the electoral college, which would either abolish or modify > the system that determines the winner of presidential elections based on > state-level votes, rather than popular votes. This would make every vote > count equally, and prevent scenarios where a candidate can win the > presidency without winning the majority of votes. > > Yang believes that these reforms will create a more responsive, > representative, and accountable political system that will serve the common > good of all Americans. He hopes that his new party will attract voters from > across the political spectrum who are looking for a positive and pragmatic > alternative to the status quo. > > b) Essay against Andrew Yang's view: > > Andrew Yang is a former presidential and mayoral candidate who has > recently launched a new political party called Forward (or FWD). Yang > claims that the American political system is broken and needs to be > reformed to reduce polarization, corruption, and dysfunction. However, his > view is misguided and unrealistic for several reasons. > > First, Yang's diagnosis of the problem is oversimplified and exaggerated. > He blames the two-party system for all the ills of American politics, but > ignores the fact that there are many other factors that contribute to the > challenges facing the country, such as social media, misinformation, > cultural differences, economic forces, global events, etc. He also fails to > acknowledge the benefits and achievements of the two-party system, such as > its stability, adaptability, accountability, and responsiveness to public > opinion. > > Second, Yang's solution is impractical and ineffective. He proposes a set > of reforms that he thinks will improve the quality of democracy and > governance in the U.S., but does not explain how he will implement them or > overcome the resistance from the existing parties and institutions. He also > does not address the potential drawbacks and unintended consequences of his > reforms, such as: > > - Ranked-choice voting could lead to more confusion and complexity for > voters and election officials, as well as more legal challenges and > disputes over vote counting and results. > - Open primaries could undermine party cohesion and identity, as well as > allow for strategic voting and manipulation by opposing parties or factions. > - Term limits for Congress could reduce institutional knowledge and > expertise, as well as increase dependence on staff and lobbyists. > - Universal basic income could create disincentives for work and > productivity, as well as increase government spending and debt. > - Reforming the electoral college could weaken federalism and state > sovereignty, as well as increase regional polarization and alienation. > > Yang's new party is unlikely to succeed or make a significant impact on > American politics. He faces many obstacles and challenges in building a > viable third party that can compete with the established parties, such as > fundraising, organizing, recruiting candidates, gaining media attention, > attracting voters, etc. He also risks splitting or diluting the vote of his > supporters or allies in other parties, which could benefit his opponents or > adversaries. > > Yang's view on the American political system is based on wishful thinking > and naive optimism. He does not offer a realistic or effective way to > address the complex and multifaceted issues facing the country. > > c) Objective review of the two views above: > > Andrew Yang is a former presidential and mayoral candidate who has > recently launched a new political party called Forward (or FWD). Yang has a > view that the American political system is broken and needs to be reformed > to reduce polarization, corruption, and dysfunction. He proposes a set of > reforms that he thinks will improve the quality of democracy and governance > in the U.S., such as ranked-choice voting, open primaries, term limits for > Congress, universal basic income, and reforming the electoral college. He > hopes that his new party will attract voters from across the political > spectrum who are looking for a positive and pragmatic alternative to the > status quo. > > However, Yang's view is not universally accepted or supported. There are > many arguments and counterarguments for and against his view and his > reforms. Some of the main points of contention are: > > - The causes and extent of the problem: Yang blames the two-party system > for all the ills of American politics, but others point out that there are > many other factors that contribute to the challenges facing the country, > such as social media, misinformation, cultural differences, economic > forces, global events, etc. They also argue that the two-party system has > some benefits and achievements, such as its stability, adaptability, > accountability, and responsiveness to public opinion. > - The feasibility and effectiveness of the solution: Yang proposes a set > of reforms that he thinks will improve the quality of democracy and > governance in the U.S., but others question how he will implement them or > overcome the resistance from the existing parties and institutions. They > also warn of the potential drawbacks and unintended consequences of his > reforms, such as confusion, complexity, legal challenges, party > fragmentation, strategic voting, loss of institutional knowledge, > dependence on staff and lobbyists, disincentives for work, increased > government spending and debt, weakened federalism and state sovereignty, > increased regional polarization and alienation, etc. > - The viability and impact of the new party: Yang hopes that his new party > will succeed or make a significant impact on American politics, but others > doubt his ability to build a viable third party that can compete with the > established parties. They cite the many obstacles and challenges he faces > in fundraising, organizing, recruiting candidates, gaining media attention, > attracting voters, etc. They also caution that he risks splitting or > diluting the vote of his supporters or allies in other parties, which could > benefit his opponents or adversaries. > > In conclusion, Andrew Yang's view on the American political system is a > controversial and contentious one. There are pros and cons to his view and > his reforms. There are also uncertainties and risks to his new party. The > debate over his view is likely to continue as he pursues his political > aspirations. > > Source: Conversation with Bing, 2023/09/03 > (1) Andrew Yang's Forward Political Party Views, Explained - Market > Realist. > https://marketrealist.com/economy-and-politics/andrew-yang-political-party-explained/ > . > (2) What does Andrew Yang believe? Where the candidate stands on 5 issues > - PBS. > https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/what-does-andrew-yang-believe-where-the-candidate-stands-on-5-issues > . > (3) Andrew Yang’s Disjointed Plan to Reform American Democracy. > https://newrepublic.com/article/153888/andrew-yangs-disjointed-plan-reform-american-democracy > . > (4) Andrew Yang’s Third-Party Aspirations | The New Yorker. > https://www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a/andrew-yangs-third-party-aspirations > . > > > > ---------- Forwarded message ---------- > From: Jochen Fromm <j...@cas-group.net> > To: The Friday Morning Applied Complexity Coffee Group <friam@redfish.com> > Cc: > Bcc: > Date: Sun, 03 Sep 2023 16:43:22 +0200 > Subject: Re: [FRIAM] Is the American political system broken? > To me it looks as if the long period of presidential primaries is a 200 > year old legacy from the time of the founding fathers which had neither > cars nor planes nor mass media. Traveling by horse carriage from state to > state took weeks. Today the world has changed, but the process is still the > same. The result is an endless mud fight spectacle over several months > where sometimes the biggest pig wins, not the best candidate. > https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_presidential_primary > > Gerrymandering is clearly sign of a rigged and broken system. > https://act.represent.us/sign/gerrymandering > > Propaganda channels like Fox News which are not sending fair and balanced > news are another symptom for a broken system too. > > https://www.inquirer.com/opinion/editorials/fox-news-libel-dominion-propaganda-murdoch-carlson-hannity-20230302.html > > From my side of the pond first cracks and signs are visible, but the > system is not completely broken yet, or is it? :-/ > > -J. > > > -------- Original message -------- > From: Pieter Steenekamp <piet...@randcontrols.co.za> > Date: 9/3/23 12:03 PM (GMT+01:00) > To: The Friday Morning Applied Complexity Coffee Group <friam@redfish.com> > > Subject: [FRIAM] Is the American political system broken? > > I'm not an American, but because America plays such a big role in the > world, I do follow what's happening over there. With the presidential > elections happening next year, I cringe at the prospect that it will be > another Trump vs. Biden affair. Can the leader of the world not do better? > > During the primaries of the last election, Andrew Yang intrigued me to no > end. He did not make it as a candidate for the Democratic Party and > subsequently formed a new party. He is now an outspoken critic of the > American political system and has some proposals on how to fix it. > > To educate myself I asked Bing AI to write three essays: > a) One for Andrew Yang's views > b) One against it > c) Lastly an objective review of the two views above > > Bing AI answered with: > I'm glad you're interested in learning more about Andrew Yang's view on > the American political system. I can help you write three essays based on > the information I found from the web. Here they are: > > a) Essay for Andrew Yang's view: > > Andrew Yang is a former presidential and mayoral candidate who has > recently launched a new political party called Forward (or FWD). Yang > believes that the American political system is broken and needs to be > reformed to reduce polarization, corruption, and dysfunction. He argues > that the current two-party system is outdated and does not represent the > interests of most Americans, who are increasingly dissatisfied with both > Democrats and Republicans. He also claims that the system is rigged by > special interests, lobbyists, and wealthy donors who influence the policies > and outcomes of elections. > > Yang's solution is to create a third party that is focused on moving the > country forward, rather than left or right. He proposes a set of reforms > that he thinks will improve the quality of democracy and governance in the > U.S. Some of these reforms include: > > - Implementing ranked-choice voting, which allows voters to rank > candidates in order of preference, rather than choosing only one. This > would encourage more diversity and competition in the political arena, and > reduce the spoiler effect and negative campaigning. > - Adopting open primaries, which allow voters to participate in any > party's primary election, regardless of their affiliation. This would > increase voter turnout and engagement, and give more voice and power to > independent and moderate voters. > - Enacting term limits for Congress, which would limit the number of terms > that members of the House and Senate can serve. This would reduce the > influence of career politicians and lobbyists, and encourage more fresh and > innovative ideas and perspectives. > - Creating a universal basic income (UBI), which would provide every > American adult with a monthly payment of $1,000, regardless of their income > or employment status. This would help alleviate poverty, inequality, and > insecurity, and boost the economy and consumer spending. > - Reforming the electoral college, which would either abolish or modify > the system that determines the winner of presidential elections based on > state-level votes, rather than popular votes. This would make every vote > count equally, and prevent scenarios where a candidate can win the > presidency without winning the majority of votes. > > Yang believes that these reforms will create a more responsive, > representative, and accountable political system that will serve the common > good of all Americans. He hopes that his new party will attract voters from > across the political spectrum who are looking for a positive and pragmatic > alternative to the status quo. > > b) Essay against Andrew Yang's view: > > Andrew Yang is a former presidential and mayoral candidate who has > recently launched a new political party called Forward (or FWD). Yang > claims that the American political system is broken and needs to be > reformed to reduce polarization, corruption, and dysfunction. However, his > view is misguided and unrealistic for several reasons. > > First, Yang's diagnosis of the problem is oversimplified and exaggerated. > He blames the two-party system for all the ills of American politics, but > ignores the fact that there are many other factors that contribute to the > challenges facing the country, such as social media, misinformation, > cultural differences, economic forces, global events, etc. He also fails to > acknowledge the benefits and achievements of the two-party system, such as > its stability, adaptability, accountability, and responsiveness to public > opinion. > > Second, Yang's solution is impractical and ineffective. He proposes a set > of reforms that he thinks will improve the quality of democracy and > governance in the U.S., but does not explain how he will implement them or > overcome the resistance from the existing parties and institutions. He also > does not address the potential drawbacks and unintended consequences of his > reforms, such as: > > - Ranked-choice voting could lead to more confusion and complexity for > voters and election officials, as well as more legal challenges and > disputes over vote counting and results. > - Open primaries could undermine party cohesion and identity, as well as > allow for strategic voting and manipulation by opposing parties or factions. > - Term limits for Congress could reduce institutional knowledge and > expertise, as well as increase dependence on staff and lobbyists. > - Universal basic income could create disincentives for work and > productivity, as well as increase government spending and debt. > - Reforming the electoral college could weaken federalism and state > sovereignty, as well as increase regional polarization and alienation. > > Yang's new party is unlikely to succeed or make a significant impact on > American politics. He faces many obstacles and challenges in building a > viable third party that can compete with the established parties, such as > fundraising, organizing, recruiting candidates, gaining media attention, > attracting voters, etc. He also risks splitting or diluting the vote of his > supporters or allies in other parties, which could benefit his opponents or > adversaries. > > Yang's view on the American political system is based on wishful thinking > and naive optimism. He does not offer a realistic or effective way to > address the complex and multifaceted issues facing the country. > > c) Objective review of the two views above: > > Andrew Yang is a former presidential and mayoral candidate who has > recently launched a new political party called Forward (or FWD). Yang has a > view that the American political system is broken and needs to be reformed > to reduce polarization, corruption, and dysfunction. He proposes a set of > reforms that he thinks will improve the quality of democracy and governance > in the U.S., such as ranked-choice voting, open primaries, term limits for > Congress, universal basic income, and reforming the electoral college. He > hopes that his new party will attract voters from across the political > spectrum who are looking for a positive and pragmatic alternative to the > status quo. > > However, Yang's view is not universally accepted or supported. There are > many arguments and counterarguments for and against his view and his > reforms. Some of the main points of contention are: > > - The causes and extent of the problem: Yang blames the two-party system > for all the ills of American politics, but others point out that there are > many other factors that contribute to the challenges facing the country, > such as social media, misinformation, cultural differences, economic > forces, global events, etc. They also argue that the two-party system has > some benefits and achievements, such as its stability, adaptability, > accountability, and responsiveness to public opinion. > - The feasibility and effectiveness of the solution: Yang proposes a set > of reforms that he thinks will improve the quality of democracy and > governance in the U.S., but others question how he will implement them or > overcome the resistance from the existing parties and institutions. They > also warn of the potential drawbacks and unintended consequences of his > reforms, such as confusion, complexity, legal challenges, party > fragmentation, strategic voting, loss of institutional knowledge, > dependence on staff and lobbyists, disincentives for work, increased > government spending and debt, weakened federalism and state sovereignty, > increased regional polarization and alienation, etc. > - The viability and impact of the new party: Yang hopes that his new party > will succeed or make a significant impact on American politics, but others > doubt his ability to build a viable third party that can compete with the > established parties. They cite the many obstacles and challenges he faces > in fundraising, organizing, recruiting candidates, gaining media attention, > attracting voters, etc. They also caution that he risks splitting or > diluting the vote of his supporters or allies in other parties, which could > benefit his opponents or adversaries. > > In conclusion, Andrew Yang's view on the American political system is a > controversial and contentious one. There are pros and cons to his view and > his reforms. There are also uncertainties and risks to his new party. The > debate over his view is likely to continue as he pursues his political > aspirations. > > Source: Conversation with Bing, 2023/09/03 > (1) Andrew Yang's Forward Political Party Views, Explained - Market > Realist. > https://marketrealist.com/economy-and-politics/andrew-yang-political-party-explained/ > . > (2) What does Andrew Yang believe? Where the candidate stands on 5 issues > - PBS. > https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/what-does-andrew-yang-believe-where-the-candidate-stands-on-5-issues > . > (3) Andrew Yang’s Disjointed Plan to Reform American Democracy. > https://newrepublic.com/article/153888/andrew-yangs-disjointed-plan-reform-american-democracy > . > (4) Andrew Yang’s Third-Party Aspirations | The New Yorker. > https://www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a/andrew-yangs-third-party-aspirations > . > _______________________________________________ > Friam mailing list > Friam@redfish.com > http://redfish.com/mailman/listinfo/friam_redfish.com > -- Daniel Marks, VMD 19 Norway Court Elkton, Maryland 21921 Phone (505) 670-85770 daniel...@gmail.coml
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