Thursday, December 9, 2010
Blog 13 - Wikileaks One Week, Government Wanting Input the Next
Last week you wrote about Wikileaks and the loss of government information. This week the government is seeking information. President Obama promised in his campaign to be more open and transparent than previous administrations. Many feel that he has not met this promise. Many others feel that he is trying. Follow this link to the White House; read the statement and review the website (ExpertNet) for their objectives. Assume the role of a hypothetical participant. What would you submit to the President?
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Obama:
ReplyDeleteI feel that you are doing a very good job in office. Even though you haven't been in office that long you have still made many changes.I love the things you are trying to do as far as the school system goes. But I do dislike the fact that from previous talk shows i've seen you on, when someone asks you a question it seems as if you never have an answer. Like when you don't have the answer you try to go around the question. Even though there are positives and negatives, I do feel like the positives out weigh the bad. But my question to you is that considering the fact that people are really doubting you are you still confident in the promises you have made?
Dear Obama,
ReplyDeleteI do like the Expertnet idea alot! I also feel that you are doing better than people are giving you credit for. As far as the website goes, I do feel that not many people are going to respond to it. You should add a share feature to it enabling it to be seen world wide! Like try to get it on these social networks where mostly everyone is. Other than that it's a great concept. You are really doing good in office though. Thank you for trying to get the people more involved, This really makes a differece! As in people will start to trust the government more. So, again, thanks
@chasity, I do also feel that he is doing really well in office and at least he is trying to help the education system! As far as his promises...I think he still needs to work on those.
ReplyDeleteDear President Obama,
ReplyDeleteI think the Expertnet is a wonderful concept and a great way to stay in tune with the American people. It's almost like a reassurance in a way because it's letting us know that the government is still actually concerned about how we feel and our views on how this country is being ran. I feel that you have shown a tremendous improvement in fulfilling the rest of your promises and just being concerned about us (American People) period. If you look down the list of Presidents, you'll see that one who has put a consistent effort towards trying to stay connected to the people, that help get them in office, is one that's further on down the list. In other words, it hasn't happened in a while. However, I would suggest that you promote it in other ways as well like: television, radio, social networks, newspapers, etc, so that you may reach all spectrums of the U.S and the people within them. Overall, you're doing a great job and appreciate everything that you do for this country. Keep up the good work.
To President Obama:
ReplyDeleteFirst I would to take the opportunity to thank you for taking the time to listen to our fellow Americans. For making that connection between government and the people. I think the ExpertNet is a grat site. My only concern is that the site is secure from any outsider to try to slow down the progress of the United States.
As I was reading the fact Sheet on the Framework Agreement on Middle Class Tax Cuts and Unemployment Insurance. It stated you fought to secure a two-year increase of the full Child Tax Credit and Earned Income Tax Credit. "These provisions will, together, provide ongoing tax cuts to 12 million lower income families, with a total of 24 million children."( Quote from Site listed below)
With this you believe that by doing this it would cause the low income families to spend more and this would create more jobs. My question is if the low income families decided to save their money, because times are hard, than what is your next move to create jobs? About how many jobs are you expecting to gain? Personally I think that the idea is great if it works. It allows some financial relief to low income families .
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2010/12/07/fact-sheet-framework-agreement-middle-class-tax-cuts-and-unemployment-in
Mrs.Matherson couldn't remember did you want us to talk about the website or actually post a comment like we were already a member of the page. So I did a little of both.
Mr.President,
ReplyDeleteI feel as though you made many promises during the campaign that you have failed to keep. I suppose that all politicians do that though so I will cut you a little slack. Even though I do not agree with most of your values and morals I will say that you are trying. Reaching out to the people is a step in the right direction and I feel like this method (expertnet) will be much more effective than appearing on the Oprah show. Many of your supporters felt abandoned after you were elected but this website will hopefully show them that you still care about what the people want.
@ chasity- Maybe this website will help Obama give people the answers that they never get in person. This will give him time to think out his answer and he won't be put on the spot.
ReplyDeleteDear Mr. President,
ReplyDeleteFirst, I'd like to say I appreciate that you'd like to hear what your people are thinking and suggesting. I believe this will somewhat help the "sour" relationship between the government and the people. With that being said, I totally cosign with you on the ExpetNet idea. I think it is a great thing and if it keeps doing well, then it will be a great benefit in the years to come. Hopefully other presidents and their administrations will continue to do this. I'd also like to say you are doing a good job as president. People don't take into consideration the state that the country was in when you came. Those people wanted a miracle and that was just pure ignorance on their part because if they really knew they wouldn't be as "mad" as they are. So I say to you don't worry about what they say, just keep doing what you are doing.
Dear President Obama,
ReplyDeleteI feel that this ExpertNet plan is a good way to get in touch with the American people. So many times society feels as if they have no control over what really happens to our country, so giving them this opportunity to let them voice their oppinion is very encouraging. However, this must be taken seriously by you and your administration, this shouldn't be handled as if it is another cushy plan to make the American people feel that they can make a difference. However, overall I think this is a great plan if treated as such, and I commend you on applying it.
@courtney- your idea that the expertnet should be put on social sites, such as facebook, so more people get involved is a great idea, a lot of times the American public doesn't pay too much attention to things unless it's somewhere on facebook or twitter
ReplyDeleteDear Mr. President,
ReplyDeleteI feel as if the ExpertNet plan is a great idea to get closer to U.S. citizens. You can now see directly for yourself how the citizens feel and if others agree or disagree upon things and why. I think it would have been nice if this idea would have sparked up sooner, but I guess it's never too late. As long as this ExpertNet plan is organized well, I think it will be of great benefit in future decisions. I'm not sure if you will get like a diverse group of people with a lot of different opinions because some people will never hear of ExpertNet, but they will have an opinion too. So as other people have said, I think it needs to be publicized through social networks and various types of media.
@Merrill- I agree with how you stated that it would give citizens a voice of opinion since some people feel as if they have no say in anything that the government does.
ReplyDeletePresident Obama,
ReplyDeleteI would like to bring up the No Child Left Behind initiative. Though I am a student in high school and not a teacher, every teacher I know greatly disapproves of the program. The premise of ExpertNet is to “offer Americans increased opportunities to participate in policymaking and to provide their Government with the benefits of their collective expertise and information.” As such, there is no better place for a forum for teachers to organize and submit their ideas to revise the No Child Left Behind policies. The American educational system is so large a bureaucracy that it has become one of the least democratic systems of the United States. That leaves America in an unfortunate situation because the education system is one of the most, if not the most, critical institutions in securing our nation’s future. Education reform ideas should be heard and voted on by teachers themselves in a system similar to the free brainstorming website that the White House Open Government Initiative used in its three-phased online public consultation period (thumbs-up and thumbs down votes to create a rank-ordered list of proposals). By allowing the teachers themselves to influence and vote on ideas for revising the education system, the Open Government Initiative would obtain its objective of enabling citizen experts to influence government policies.
@ Megan. I apologize for sounding harsh, but is that all you would say if you could speak directly to the President? I mean, ExpertNet is a chance to submit new ideas for the government to use, and what you are saying, in summation, is that you are unhappy, you're cutting him slack, you like ExpertNet, and hopefully ExpertNet works. Government is difficult, but I think that ExpertNet is a forum asking for ideas for tangible policy changes. From your life, Megan, what specifically do you think the government should change and how?
ReplyDeletePresident Obama:
ReplyDeleteI think that allowing the populace to share ideas for government on a forum is a wonderful, if not logistically challenging idea. I would like to bring up America's issue with education. As other nations soar past us in education, our kids are falling behind and not getting the foundation that they need. I believe that No Child Left Behind is partly to blame for this. Our education system is now focused on testing to such a degree that critical and creative thinking is falling by the wayside. All education should not just be memorization and learning minute facts. Real education opens children's minds and gets them thinking. Further, the funding for our education system is abysmal. When teachers have to worry about how much paper they use and have to buy their own classroom supplies, there is a problem. No Child Left Behind needs to get looked at again and revised (or thrown out.) That would be the first step (a very important step) in overhauling our education system.
@ Merrill:
ReplyDeleteI agree. If the gov't treats ExpertNet as just a feel-good website that doesn't do much of anything, it will make people very mad very fast. If they are truly trying to give us a voice, then the gov't needs to take it seriously. For that matter, the American people need to take it seriously as well. If the American people just use the website as a dumping ground to bash the president or ask him for the impossible, the website will soon become totally useless.
dear obama,
ReplyDeleteI behind the expertnet wiki and think the principal behind it is awesome however my concern is how many people know about it and i doubt very few of us in this class had ever heard of this opportunity.How ever if they are really listening to these and were more public with this then i think the idea could never hurt.
Mr. President,
ReplyDeleteFrom what I’ve read, ExpertNet seems like a great way for the American public to easily provide any thoughts or ideas that they want our government to hear about but don’t really have any other way of getting into contact with the Administration. Maybe this will encourage more to people become more educated about what is going on in our government today and around the world as well. However, how do we know that whatever might be posted will not be ignored? It seems that in the past, the administration hasn’t really cared about what the public wanted to say. For example, numerous polls suggested that more than half of the population didn’t agree with the current version of Health Care Reform and it was pushed through anyway as quickly as possible with hardly any consideration. The same thing happened with the Stimulus Bill also. So as long as this is something that the Administration is serious about and not just a way of making the public think they are being heard, I am all for it.
Dear President Obama,
ReplyDeleteI think the ExpertNet is a great idea. ExpertNet is a great way for the government to gather ideas from the American public, and also gather ideas for future generations to come. I think you are doing a great job in office and you are really trying to make a mark on American people. I believe you will be forever remembered in history.
My boy Obama,
ReplyDeleteWhat's up guy? This ExpertNet thing is going to take you to the top shawty. Letting the American people have a voice in government is a great idea. But man, lets be realistic; I'm not sure that any of these suggestions will be anymore than suggestions. Shoutout to you though for getting us one step closer to helping shape our government, past our ability to vote. I'm interested in seeing how this works. I'm sure you'll make us proud with the results of this though. By the way, are we still hoopin on this weekend? Let me know something!
@John i agree with you completely. It's a good idea, but we'll just have to see if it's actually effective.
ReplyDeleteI can’t think of anything I would say to the president as a member of Expert Net so I would just like to comment on the idea of it.
ReplyDeleteMr. President,
Expert Net sounds like a great way to get the people’s input on how they think the government should be run and gives the people a chance to voice their opinions and ideas. However, how do we know that these suggestions are actually being heard? You said at the beginning of the campaign that you would make this administration more open to us and let us in on what is happening, but we haven’t seen any proof of that yet. So what I am saying is, if this is a serious way for people to be heard, then this is definitely a good method to make your administration more transparent.
Dear President Obama,
ReplyDeleteI believe ExpertNet is an amazing way of reaching out to the American public and getting some feedback. But one thing I'd like to advise you to remember when dealing with people and they're beliefs and ideas is you should remember that you can't please everyone. I hope that you act with this in mind. Although you have accomplished much in your term thus far it seems that one thing keeping you from going the next step is that you're always trying to please everyone which simply just can't happen. Especially in this society. Mr. Obama please just do what you feel is best and moral for the country and rememeber everyone won't be satisfied with every move you make so don't expect them to be.
Dear President Obama,
ReplyDeleteI, as a high school student, would like to bring to your attention the issues that I have with the education system. The biggest issue I have is with the No Child Left Behind Act. I understand that it was initially brought up to help the students that need the extra push and assistance to do better in school, but I'm not sure if you realize the effect it has had on the other students that don't need quite as much help. I myself have suffered immensely in my education because it seems that school is no longer about actually learning, but instead about memorization solely for the purpose of passing tests. It is making school too easy to just do what is necessary to get by. To me, knowledge is about growth and development, but through the NCLB Act all that seems to be happening is people staying the same and not putting forth the effort to WANT to succeed in enriching themselves.
I would also like to comment that I think the blog is an excellent way for the public to tell you how we are feeling. The government can't be run without listening to the people and still be a democracy. Please continue to use this method to let the people's voice ring free.
@Amani I agree that ExpertNet is a good way for the president to get a good overall view of the people.
ReplyDelete@ Ben
ReplyDeleteYour advice to the president is very wise. It does seem that he tries to please everyone, thus not really getting much done. He needs to use his expert presidential judgement and get things done for the better.
President Obama,
ReplyDeleteI would like to start off by saying that I think you are doing a great job for a president who has inherited America in such an unfavorable economic condition. You said at the beginning of your time in office that you wish this administration to be more transparent than those previously, and I thank you for that promise, however I think it might be a little more than you can chew. The federal government, especially the white house, has been run for its entire life under an opaque scope, and it is folly to think that one administration can completely change the way Washington is used to working: under the peoples noses. I also applaud your attempts to win over the public eye by airing on talk shows and even cameoing on certain television programs, but I feel that many Americans, especially those with little patience with the utterance of your very name, may see these actions as a way for you to put on a front, almost the exact opposite effect of its intention I'm sure.
Transparency of the government is key in a true democratic government, and I hope that you and all of the future generations of presidents strive for it, but don't fool yourself into thinking that it is necessarily possible just yet. There are still too many people unwilling to accept your openness as president, or the legitimacy of your presidency at all, to win the general public over.
Best regards,
Julian
P.S. The new name of ExpertNet should be AskWashington
Yo Obama,
ReplyDeleteExpertNet is awesome. It gives the citizens of the U.S. a way to communicate with the government. This communication is valuable to a country. If its run correctly it has the potential to benefit so many aspects of society. However, it seems problematic. If you were to allow the all citizens to send in their tidbit, there would be massive amounts of information sent by the public daily. How do you process all of this information? I can't see how an organization can process all of this information. It would have to be "picked" through. If you were to only allow elicit expert participants to give input, how do you keep these participants from being corrupt and using their input as a power over the lesser people. Would it allow this "power" to an elicit group or class? Thats all i have to say for now Mr.Obama. Remember you're in the White House for everybody. Lets cut back on some government spending, the ridiculous stuff. Until next time, take it easy.
Mr. President,
ReplyDeleteI am a 17 year old high school student from Tuscaloosa, Alabama. I'm not well versed in government lingo or politics so this is full of errors and misunderstandings. That's actually one of the points I'd like to make is that so far since you've been in office I think you've done a pretty alright job of making the public more informed of what's happening. While anyone willing to take on the job of President is crazy, thank you for not turning out to be a Christ hating Muslim out to kill American values. Being in a public high school I have seen firsthand the good and the bad of education. I've seen students with nothing be presented with chances they'd never have if not in school. Also though I've seen the brightest kids over looked and stuck in lower level classrooms where their knowledge tends to go unchallenged. Things will not always go according to the rule book in life but that is just unacceptable. This is our future; the kids who are dropping out because they can't pass exams could be the shortage of doctors in the future. My main point in all of this is that education is scraping by and who knows for how long. Some serious second looks need to be taken at our systems and policies
Dear Mr. President,
ReplyDeleteI feel like you made many very exciting promises during your campaign that you have failed to keep. I do not blame you for it and i do not think you were lying, I just feel as if you had very unrealistic goals, and now it is starting to show. But i commend you for opening up the white house and letting the public have a large roll in your administration.
Regards,
Cortez
@ Mona- You said "how do we know these suggestions are being heard?" I couldn't agree with you more. There isn't any way to guarantee you're being heard. They can't read all of them.
ReplyDelete@ John
ReplyDeleteI would wholly agree that ExpertNet is too great an idea for it to have so little publicity and advocation. If this form of communication with the government were to become commonplace, think of all of the reform that could happen within a limited amount of time!! It's a perfect solution to one of our government's biggest problems, listening to ALL of the people. Also I really enjoyed taking your post and putting it through google translate a bunch.
Obama Love
I have metacognition, is behind this ExpertNet cool, but I worried a lot of people about what you know about it when I hear it also in our own some of the categories opportunity.How not hurt me with this idea more public thought that I had never heard of him, so I guess not.
Dear President Obama: What do you eat for breakfast? I"m just kidding. But really, what do you eat?
ReplyDeleteFor real this time:
ReplyDeleteMr President, since taking office do you have any regrets or things you wish you would have handled differently, primarily during your campaign and the months leading up to it. Since this story about Wikileaks has come to the front of the media, what would the best solution be for the general public? As far as your general presidency has been concerned I feel that there have been a few things that were promised during the campaign that we have yet to see. Also, I feel that you have contradicted several of the traditional points of the democratic party. Do you believe that the party system and the ideals of political parties are becoming obsolete?
Thanks for your time,
Hayden Thompson
Dear President Obama,
ReplyDeleteI think that your ExperNet plan is a great idea. It's another way for the American people to be aware of what is going on. You are also doing a good job keeping your promises that you made during your campaign. I understand that you haven't been in office long, so I personally am willing to wait and see what else you are planning to do. I also want to say that for the people who claim that you don't let the people know what is going on, I don't believe thats true. I've never known so much about the U.S. Government until now. And now that I do, it causes me to make better choices for my future and it makes me be more aware of what is going on in politics. I'm not going to take anymore of your time, but I felt the need to tell you these things. Keep up the good work.
Sincerely,
Deja M. Hardy
I really liked Ben's and Madison's introductions for their letters to Pres. Obama. I also agreed with Julian's opening statement, "you are doing a great job for a president who has inherited America in such an unfavorable economic condition." And sorry for posting late Mrs. Matherson. Technology sucks.
ReplyDeletePresident Obama,
ReplyDeleteI think that the idea of launching a forum to reach out to Americans is a perfect idea. In reality, what better way to figure out what the people want than to incorporate it into something that most Americans use. Visiting social networks has become a part of our daily routines. Being able to add/post our thought as to what the government can do for us is an ideal plan for those that stay connected through computers and the internet.
My own concern that I would like to personally address is that of helping to fund educations. I believe that the government should invest more of its resources into furthering the educations of the younger generations (i.e. college tuition). I deem that it's so pointless to not help out with these costs when clearly there is plenty of going toward "lost causes" that should rightfully be going toward more important matters.
Mrs. Matherson: Sorry this is late. I was unable to post my response to the blog the first time I tried and in result have had to rewrite and try to post several times.
@Deja, I agree. Technology does SUCK!
ReplyDelete@Paris, your statement of "I believe this will somewhat help the "sour" relationship between the government and the people" is TOO true. The relationship is "sour" so to say because the People feel as though they don't have a voice in the way their country is being run. It's kind of like they make the rules, and we have to conform no matter how it affects us. Whether it be positive or negative.
@ Deja
ReplyDeleteI like the way you said you are willing to wait and give the president more time. Even though there hasn't been much progress made in the past couple of years, the problems were large and I guess it will take more time to see the results.
@ jessica- yeah that is basically what I am saying. I am not trying to be rude at all, but other people commented that they DID like Obama and thought that expertnet would be a good thing and you didn't have a problem with that. A lot of the things that I think he should change come down to my religious beliefs and I just didn't want to start that argument on here. I do not think that I could ask the President to change his entire way of thinking and values so yes that is what I would say to him.
ReplyDelete@ Ben I agree with you that if only experts get there opinion heard than who is listening to the small people ?
ReplyDeleteOne point i'd like to make about this new system. Obama is one man, not only are there not enough hours in a day to respond to the amount of messages sent but also with his busy agenda I seriously doubt it's going to be read firsthand. Not to say his staff isn't going to take it to heart and take action but just a thought.
ReplyDelete@ Jessica i like the fact that you brought up the no child left behind, i also feel that he his doing great on that considering the fact the he is concerned about our education.
ReplyDelete@madison- your right he is only one man, and with his bust schedule he may not be able to get to everybody's comments but the thought of letting people be able to write him is also a good idea.
@ Chasity-- "But my question to you is that considering the fact that people are really doubting you are you still confident in the promises you have made?" I think this is a very good point. If he isn't confident in his own ideas, then how will he be able to start listening to the opinions of others? He's going to need to back up his ideas with facts.
ReplyDeleteJennifer, I agree that this is a great way to get the people more involved, if it will be enforced. To me it seems like it would be very difficult to read all of the comments. However if it works this is also a good way to get the younger generation involved because they have been using the web to stay connected anyway.
ReplyDeletePresident Obama,
ReplyDeleteFirst, let me start by saying that you are doing a great job, and that you have accomplished great things in such a short amount of time. It frustrates me that people do not appreciate how much you have done considering the "mess" that the country was in that you inherited by taking office. I love the ExpertNet idea. This will show our government how the nation is from our point of view, as well as, give suggestions that we feel will help. I have great admiration for you, because you are taking actions towards your promises in you campaign. Several of our past presidents made promises during their campaign and never attempted to tackle them. I think that it is very important that the people and government are consistent with one another. I feel that this is one, of many, reason why some presidents have not been as successful as they could have been. One question I have is how do you plan improve the way you are portrayed by some people because you do not directly answer questions. Image is important because I personally want you reelected for a second term. Another question is what goals do you wish to accomplish during this term and how do u plan to accomplish them?
Thank you for your time,
Amber Burrell
@Erin, I too feel that our government needs to better fund our educational system, specifically college. I mean they need to fund better fund college students because we are the ones who are about to provide services for our country and contribute to our economy.
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