DOGE: Transparency and Truth
Abstract: The US government has been the rope in a tug of war since the Declaration of Independence. Some of these contests were benign and other, like the Civil War, were lethal. DOGE is the wild card in today’s…
DOGE: Transparency vs Secrecy; Thieftaking vs Investigation
Abstract: Is DOGE a thief, a thieftaker (modern usage: bounty hunter) or a diversion? With all the contradictory reports and poor information, it is hard to tell what they are. Both judicial review and thieftaking are rooted in English Common…
DOGE: Change Agent or Wrecking Ball?
Abstract: In Mythology, Literature, and Mind Mapping, I discussed the power of myth in mind mapping since it is foundational to western literature. Myths and fairy tales also provide a powerful of symbols and keys that resonate throughout a culture.…
DOGE: How we Arrived at this Point
Abstract: A series of critical inflection points led us to the point where we currently are with a strong central government with several corrupt and potentially criminal acts. If it was not the federal government, elements of the central government…
DOGE: Efficiency vs. Effectiveness
Abstract: The “E” in DOGE stands for Efficiency. I think that is the wrong “E”. It should be effectiveness. Efficiency means we do things with the lowest resources as possible to achieve the desired outcome. We can be hyper-efficient and…
DOGE and Program Review and Assessment
Abstract: DOGE appears to be taking a short-term approach to change. Audits are rearward looking and point-in-time. While important, they will not systematically change the federal government. DOGE must be transparent and work with all stakeholders and other government agencies…
Part 4: Policy Development
We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity,…
Comparative Politics and Political Change: what Works and Why?
“A Republic, if you can keep it.” Bejamin Franklin. When I was in graduate school, I took a course on comparative political systems. The course readings seemed to favor the parliamentary system, and I took a bit of an…
Democracy: Is the US Defining the Right Target for National Security?
“What is liberty without wisdom and without virtue? It is the greatest of all possible evils, for it is folly, vice, and madness, without tuition or restraint.” –Edmund Burke “Next in importance to freedom and justice is popular education, without…
Politics and Candidate Types
Remember back to the distant past of 1991? The US had just won the Gulf War and President George H. W. Bush was riding high and looked unbeatable. None of the leading Democrats wanted to run against him and risk…
