I believe I’ve talked about the following concept several times before, but I can’t find my posts or thread(s) on it, nor do I know if I even started a thread. Because of that, I’m starting a thread on this topic now. The basic concept is as follows:

1. 1. A group of people, preferably one that is preferably diverse in terms of their politics, ethnicity, gender, age, etc., meets periodically (maybe weekly, monthly, or quarterly), to receive, analyze, and discuss the most important information about current events and news.
   2. Preferably, a news agency (e.g., Start-Advertiser, Civil Beat, or even the Atlantic magazine) could oversee, lead, and facilitate these meetings, but a non-profit group (such as, the league of women’s voters, Common Cause, etc.) could also do so as well. The facilitators and leaders should represent different parts of the political spectrum, especially the left and right

Here’s another idea that I may not have mentioned before. Analyzing the functioning and effectiveness of the overall government and it’s different branches are functioning would be one category that would be discussed. This includes discussion about a) the ideal way the legislative, judicial, and executive branches should function. That is, participants would get a clear idea of the way each branch wold look like if they were functioning well–the ideal characteristics and behavior of each that indicates that each is functioning well; b) an analysis on the way each branch is functioning, and; c) the major problems the federal, state, and local governments need to address, the different approaches and specific solutions to these problems, including the ones that the different branches of government seem to be embracing. To summarize, attendees of this meetings will know what get an idea of the major challenges the country, state, and city faces, what solutions exist, what solutions seem to be embraced, if any, and the overall way the governments are functioning. I’m uncertain, and a little skeptical that large numbers of people would want this information–or least make an effort to attend these meetings–but I would want this information, and I would attend a face-to-face meeting to get it.

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