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A few words for Democracy

November 10th, 2008

Ohhhh Canada

With the Canadian Union election behind us, a brooding USA General election (which will set up everyone), plus a Vancouver Mayoral race in which the winner will preside over the 2010 Olympics and assay to gruntle the controversies around the development, democracy in action is watching the attention of everyone - or should be anyway.

I’ve in person got wind that policy is decided by those who "render up" and allow their opinions be heard - not by switching rocks but kinda by civilised discourse and personal expression to the policy makers.

Here are a few tools, events and ideas I’ve come up acress to facilitate constructively participate in the political process, while not sinking to the mud-catapulting which befalls when the issues cut to the core of who we are as a community.

Media Democracy Day- Address up!

This Saturday at SFU’s downtown campus come up "Speak for Ourselves" and learn about the decisive issues seting up the media - both in terms of content and delivery - at Media Democracy Day Vancouver 2008.

With mainstream piles up amalgamating local media into a generic mish-mash more centered on trading ad space than circulating decisive information, and Telcos (with the encouragement of the Union government) reducing their grip on the gates of what’s "satisfactory" there is enough to develop yourself some. 

Observed speakers will partake their opinions - including happyfrog columnist and co-founder of Greenpeace Rex Wyeler and Tyee’s main David Beers - and relevant panels will stage unlike perspectives on this active landscape from subject access to citizen journalism to copyright/incorrect.

At present Canvassing Grassroots Opinions

I’ve fancyed and chatted with Pedro from NowPolling.ca at many community events as he circulates the message that "Participation is the essence of Democracy".

Sign up for a detached account at NowPolling.ca and you can press in with your opinion on current issues of concern to the community on a local, provincal and Union level.

Hither’s how they line their work:

"This is a non-profit forum where anyone can record their opinions on a tolerant range of issues. You can opt your answers at present, and if you exchange your mind, you can devolve to exchange your vote anytime.

As far as we cognize, nowpolling.ca is the first in the world to allow for a ceaseless canvassing system which eases your popular right to participate in the political process."

Sign up for an detached NowPolling.ca account and figure how your opinions jibe with your fellow electors.

Fairer Voting

Despite the optimism I held from following the debates and CBC waging X Challenge debate (with a cameo by happyfrog pal Chris Livingstone of EPIC Sustainable Experiencing Expo), the results were a broken open left and a warm minority government for the Buttoned-down Party. Ugh.

During the election, many folks rallied for strategical voting for the environment in order to keep Conservatives from removing seats. While I fierily corroborate the environment, I in person don’t buy into strategical voting.

The solution which has come up out of the election with some vigor is relative representation. You can see more about this at Fairvote.ca but concisely, this stands for a House of Commons which shines the democratic vote kinda than the minority winner from the patchwork of ridings.

Hither’s Fairvote’s statement about the late election:

As common, the first-past-the-post system toyed havoc with voters’ intentions. The Fleeceable Party, westerly Liberals, the NDP and urban Conservatives were among the political victims. The Parliament voters assayed to produce would have calculated quite dissimilar from what the voting system moved over us. Learn the Middling Vote Canada press release.

The impetus for many to rally behind this is considering the Greens jump up to just diffident of 7% of the democratic vote still commence no seats while the NDP extended the Bloc Quebecois in the democratic vote but trailed in the seats.

Another interrelated idea is to vote for your 1st, 2nd and 3rd choice to shape a "run-off" in each riding with the last-placest candidate dismissed and the votes told until a candidate had over 50% of the vote kind of than the "first past the post" system at present.

Whichever way you sense, it is a prominent question for Canadians and there is a movement for a voting referendum to promote *more* democracy.

Voteabroad.org & Democrats Afield

Ex-pat BeccaJo explained in her post "Last chance to vote in the U.S.!" the process and importance of voting for Americans sleeping in the Large Lily-white North.

Cross-filing is the decisive first step. Next up, voting! If you are from the USA, you should have invited your ballot already - if not, mount up the phone to the county auditor in your last county of residence.

If you have invited it, fill up it out and catch it in the mail or knock off it off at the US Embassy. Unlike mailing from within the USA, you gotta pony up for an external air mail stamp.

For Demo-politicos searching bonding in Canada, study hanging up out with the Democrats Overseas in Vancouver or via email. They are probable to be hosting a results reckoning party for a magnanimous Nov. 4th.

CBC applying Twitter

Some netizens have remarked the newfangled happyfrog_ca Twitter account. Like many newfangled web apps, this is a bit unusual to explain at first - fundamentally 140 character mini-thoughts.

The late Oecumenical election supplyed a well example as CBC came after the chatter via Twitter as voters kept an eye on the Leader Debates and fluxed out a stream on corporate consciousness with their off the cuff, forthright reactions to the Q&A fluxed to OrmistonVotes Twitter account.

If you aren’t applying Twitter, it’s detached and fun. If you are, pursue happyfrog_ca and give attention to #vanvotes and other keywords (experienced as "hashtags" and when preceded with a # sign) to maintain a pulse on what the people are feeling/thinking/conveying right today - all in haiku-same length.

And Eventually, a By-Election

If you aren’t all voted out til now, gravid because there is a provincial by-election doing up. happyfrog pal Miss604 has an awful (as common) overview BC By-Elections for Vancouver-Burrard and Vancouver-Fairview.

Monte Paulsen paies the low-toned down in The Tyee’s The Hook political blog:

As if Vancouverites asked another fall election, Premier Gordon Campbell has phoned two provincial by-elections for October 29th in the Vancouver-Burrard and Vancouver-Fairview ridings.

Vancouver-Burrard became vacant in September after MLA Lorne Mayencourt, a B.C. Liberal, reconciled to run the Buttoned-down Party in the Oct. 14 Union election. 

Vancouver-Fairview turned vacant in July after MLA Gregor Robertson, a B.C. Modern Democrat, reconciled to range as Vision Vancouver’s mayoral candidate in the Nov. 15 civil election.

With some high-pitched-profile candidates in the mix, hopefully voter apathy and burnout will be foiled and the turnout will be high-pitched and mighty.

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