It's an election year and we have a lot going on this fall! We'd love to see you at any or all of our upcoming events:
Decision 2008: Candidate Meet and Greet
Wednesday, September 10 || 7-8:30 pm
This is a big election year, with 34 races on the Johnson County ballot! Come to our Candidate Meet and Greet event and meet the folks who want your vote. Refreshments provided. Co-sponsored by the League of Women Voters of Johnson County. No registration necessary.
Community Issues Forum: Health Care in America
Thursday, September 18 || 6:15-8:30 pm
Forty-seven million Americans lack health insurance while costs continue to spiral out of control for those who do have coverage. The nation spends more than any other country on health care, but many are still dissatisfied with what we have to show for it. Now it is time to face the difficult choices needed to make the U.S. health-care system function properly. Refreshments provided.
RSVP: Those who register will receive their discussion guide in advance. To register, fill out the online registration form or call (913) 495-2497 to register by phone. Space is limited.
Community Issues Forum: The Challenges of Immigration
Wednesday, September 24 || 6:15-8:30 pm
The United States has traditionally defined itself as a land of opportunity, a refuge from persecution, and a nation of immigrants. However, immigration has become a controversial topic with some people believing that immigration should be tightly controlled and others believing that amnesty and flexibility will enable more people to join in the American dream. Join us for a thoughtful, moderated discussion where we explore the issues and the values that affect it. Refreshments provided.
RSVP: Those who register will receive their discussion guide in advance. To register, fill out the online registration form or call (913) 495-2497 to register by phone. Space is limited.
Decision 2008: Judge Selection in Johnson County
Thursday, October 16 || 7:00-8:00 pm
The way we choose judges in Johnson County is up for reconsideration this election. Should we keep the current system, or change? Learn more about this important issue at this debate, co-sponsored by the League of Women Voters, and featuring Mr. Greg Musil, attorney with Shugart Thompson Kilroy, and chair and co-founder of Johnson Countians for Justice, and Mr. Dick Peckham, attorney-at-law, and Chairman, Kansas Judicial Review. Refreshments provided. No registration required.
For more information about any of these events, contact Lisa Louis at 913-495-2421.
So, Naples, Italy has a big trash problem: http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5jUBquxmgbA5mFsaFkg4YqZo40IIA. With no working landfill and no operational incinerators, the city is drowning in its own garbage. Some of it was scheduled to be sent to Hamburg, Germany for disposal, but that effort has run into a roadblock: the garbage contains radioactive waste.
It's a cautionary tale which reminds us that good planning is essential to keeping services like trash removal and recycling running smoothly. As it happens, planning for solid waste management and recycling is taking place right now in Kansas City and you can get involved.
Some of you may remember that we hosted a "Landfilled" meeting at the Central Resource Library in the Spring, to get community input on these issues. That was one meeting in a series of over 30 discussions in the Greater Kansas City area organized by One KC Voice. The second phase of this project is happening now - a series of workshops in which citizens can voice their recommendations on specific solid waste management issues based on the input from the initial discussions.
If you'd like to contribute your input, then visit http://www.onekcvoice.org/solid_waste/solidwaste_workshops.asp for more information. It's a great opportunity to help our community plan for a cleaner, healthier future.
28 people came out on Monday, March 24th, to discuss genetically modified foods and their impact. The group was diverse and conversation was lively!
The major values shared by all four groups were: a commitment to health and safety (two of the groups balanced this with an understanding of cost impact as well); a belief that there needs to be some kind of trusted, understandable labeling system; and a desire for more education on this new technology - how widely has it been adopted and in what ways, who the major players are, and what might be coming in the future.
Most participants were surprised to realize that 60-70% of all processed foods in the US already include genetically modified ingredients, and have for more than 10 years. We're thinking that a great follow-up would be a strictly educational or informational program on biotechnology and food, so watch this space for future developments!
One of the goals of community engagement is to elevate dialogue above the level we often see coming out of Washington and the media -- to encourage true communication and thinking outside the boxes that have been constructed for us by the partisan extremists on both ends of the spectrum.
Partisanship is the antithesis of dialogue. Partisanship requires loyalty to the positions of one's party above all else, and winning at all costs. Over the last 50 years, partisanship has increased dramatically among our elected officials. During Eisenhower's presidency, House Democrats and Republicans voted along party lines 70% of the time. Seem like a lot? Well, during George W. Bush's first term, the numbers were 85% for Democrats and 90% for Republicans. Quite a shift, and many (like the authors below) would say it's not a shift for the better.
I have two books to recommend on this topic. First, The Second Civil War, by Ronald Brownstein, is an in-depth chronicle of the development of extreme partisanship throughout the course of the 20th century. Today we have, in Brownstein's words: "a political environment marked by unstinting conflict between the parties and the virtual collapse of meaningful collaboration between them" (p. 7). In addition to his historical survey, Brownstein also examines the role of the media in intensifying partisan divisions and suggests some ways out of the mess.
The second book I'd like to recommend is Common Ground: How to Stop the Partisan War that Is Destroying America, by Cal Thomas and Bob Beckel. Authors of the USA Today column, "Common Ground", Thomas and Beckel are two men (one liberal, one conservative) who once actively participated in the partisanship game, but who have rejected that approach in favor of consensus-building and cooperation. They would like to see a rebirth of civility, and polarization "relegated to the fringe of national politics, where it belongs" (p. 11). Like Brownstein, they also offer some very specific suggestions for how to break the hold that partisanship now has on our political life.
Enjoy!
