Step 1:  Identify a Political Problem in Need of Being Repaired


The most major obstacle to identifying a problem is not knowing that the problem exists in the first place. Mainstream media outlets frequently go to great lengths to limit or censor the information they present in order to protect the activities and long-term agendas of a few controlling individuals and groups. The alternative media generally does not have as extreme of limitations, however it is frequently overlooked as "not being as credible" by the general public due to it's often surprising subject matter. However, most of the major alternative media outlets do carefully check their facts and often rely on research and mainstream news information which has been buried or looked over.

Following are some of the best sources of alternative news and information speaking about important political topics which are frequently suppressed by the mainstream media.



Sample Problem:  Identifying the problem of the use of fraudulent election machines by the United States Government

Many resources exist for identifying the problem of the use of fraudulent election machines by the United States Government, including a variety of films and websites speaking about the issue. Following are some informative video clips speaking about the subject:

Step 2:  Identify an Ideal Goal State with the Problem Repaired


What would be considered a most optimum "goal state" for any issue is open to debate, and therefore it would make sense that such a goal state should be discussed and debated with as many individuals as possible for the purpose of comparing and contrasting all available viewpoints in order to derive the most accurate and effective solution for any particular issue.

Numerous sources of information exist in order to help formulate an ideal goal state as a solution to any political problem in question, including searching the internet, libraries, documentary films, and consultation with individuals who have particular areas of expertise.



Sample Problem:  Identifying an ideal goal state for the problem of the use of fraudulent election machines by the United States Government

Of the most important issues of corruption in the United States Government, the problem of the use of fraudulent voting machines is perhaps the easiest to fix, as the problem involves only the use of machines which can easily be replaced, as well as a wealth of available experts who could formulate a more viable alternative.

Through searching the internet for information about the use of fraudulent voting machines being used by the United States Government, much important information can be found.


Following is an illustration from The Washington Post:




The above diagram from The Washington Post describes the corrupt lack of regulations associated with the use of voting machines, by comparing the policies associated with the use of electronic voting machines with those of the use of Las Vegas slot machines. This chart also serves to show solutions which need to be implemented if the use of electronic voting machines is to continue.

Another good source of information are the films "Votergate," and the recent HBO special "Hacking Democracy," which describe many of the problems associated with the frequently used Diebold voting machines, as well as showing how such machines have been used fraudulently in the recent past.







From the above information, it can be concluded that the use of electronic voting machines is intentionally not appropriately regulated, and that the Diebold company is intentionally manufacturing voting machines for the purpose of allowing fraudulent altering of votes cast on their machines. Therefore an ideal goal state for a bill to be introduced into Congress should include a plan of eliminating the Diebold company from any future government contracts, and bringing criminal charges against certain individuals associated with the company.

Also, if electronic voting machines are still to be used, they should be regulated in a manner which ensures that they cannot be tampered with. It also may be necessary to eliminate the use of electronic voting machines altogether by replacing them with a reliable and more basic system of paper ballots.  In order to formulate a plan for the specifics of what system to replace the machines with, it would be a matter of consultation with individuals who are experts on such matters.

Also, whether it is decided that the electronic voting machines need to be replaced with more tamper-proof machines along with increased regulation, or if the electronic voting machines are to be replaced altogether with a system of paper ballots, it would be a matter of consultation with individuals who are familiar with the legal structure of how elections are held state-by-state in order to formulate a plan of legislation for implementing such requirements as the states needing certified methods of collecting votes in elections.

Step 3:  Implement a Process of Reaching the Ideal Goal State Through Legislation


Once a problem has been identified and an ideal goal state with the problem removed has been identified, it is then a matter of creating enough public interest in the subject to get an appropriate bill introduced into the Senate, as well as creating enough public pressure to force politicians who otherwise would not support the changes to sign that bill into law.

This section discusses methods for raising public awareness about issues and drawing public interest toward the legislative process of the issues being fixed, by examining potential blockages of the processes of communication and legislation, as well as ways of circumventing those blockages.

Quick jump to parts of this step ..   Media Issues in Raising Awareness of an Issue Activist Issues in Raising Awareness of an Issue distraction activism  |   activist communication style   |   activist group infiltration word of mouth activism  |   many underestimate their capabilities Legislative Issues in Getting a Bill Enacted how a bill becomes a law  |   corrupt politician loyalties lack of public knowledge about congress  |  sample problem solution

Activist Issues in Raising Awareness of an Issue

There are common blockages to the general activist population's effectiveness as well as the general public's "word of mouth" activist activity, but such blockages can be circumvented and effectiveness can be accelerated.


The problem of "Distraction Activism" and the importance of activists shifting focus

One of the most common blockages of activist effectiveness occurs from activists focusing on communicating only mainstream and relatively superficial issues, while ignoring or even unintentionally supporting the root causes of the problems due to lack of awareness or fear of speaking about issues which are more disturbing and initially not as commonly spoken about.  This could be compared to a paramedic arriving on the scene of an accident and administering bandages even though what really is needed is a tourniquet.

Distraction Activism is particularly ineffective because when activists focus only on "safe" and mainstream issues, the public gets the impression that those issues represent the extent of the most extreme problems that society is facing and thus they are not moved to action.

The mainstream media usually does it's best to block issues from becoming "mainstream" if public knowledge of those issues could result in an actual threat to the true corrupt agendas of government or special interest groups, and this fact serves as an indicator of the ineffectiveness of activists committing too much of their resources to communicating issues which the mainstream media currently covers in depth.

Once way for activists to counter the effects of Distraction Activism while also enabling a continuation of communication about the more mainstream causes is for those activists to first become more informed about the full extent of the issues, and then to divide their activism efforts to ensure that they are also addressing the more fundamental and less frequently discussed topics. For example, assuming that 80% of the total activist population currently speaks only about the more mainstream issues, if 50% of those activists became more informed about the more fundamental and less discussed issues, and started to devote half of their resources to those issues, it would result in an initial 20% jump in total activist activity for those neglected issues. Also the new activist activity would be dispersed throughout entire activist population, which would encourage other activists to learn more about those issues as well. The total initial effect of the 20% jump would be astronomical, as the fundamental issues are usually more important than the mainstream issues and more likely to move people to action and encourage newcomers to become activists at a much higher rate.

Many activists are aware of many of the more fundamental issues, yet fail to act on those topics out of reasons including fear of appearing to be "extremist." Everyone has their own style of communication, and in fact it is potentially the ones who are currently the most worried about appearing to be "extremist" who could make the most effective difference when communicating about the more fundamental issues. Every activist who "breaks the mold" of what a stereotype may be for an activist who speaks about a particular issue paves the way for many more to get involved who happen to identify with that activist over any particular stereotype, thus helping to break down such stereotypes.






The influence of individual activist communication style on the effectiveness of ideas being communicated








The problem of activist groups being infiltrated in attempts to reduce their effectiveness

Many cases exists of activist groups being infiltrated by individuals associated with special interest groups and members of law enforcement organizations for such purposes as spying on their members, creating dissent within the groups, and attempting to discredit the activities of the groups through the infiltrator's behavior.  The best way to counter this possibility is for all members of a group to be aware of such a possibility and to have discrimination and follow strict standards and protocols.












The importance of the general public's "word of mouth" activist activity

The general public's "word of mouth" activist activity is one of the most effective means of knowledge being propagated about any particular topic, and there is usually a threshold of public knowledge which must be reached before truly effective political change can take place.  In order to reach this threshold, public interest must be jump-started by effective activist and media activity, and many blockages exist to reaching this threshold. Following is a list of some of the more common blockages and methods for countering them:

Countering the indifference of individual citizens - Many citizens tend to be indifferent to information about corruption in government and the suffering of others because they are comfortable themselves and do not realize how they are personally affected by corruption in government. A way to counter such indifference is to make citizens aware of how they are affected by current government corruptions and how they will increasingly be affected by corruption in the future.

Countering the distraction of individual citizens created by an excess of available entertainment programming - It is easy for individuals to be distracted from important information by the wealth of entertainment options available for them to choose from. This could be counteracted by important information increasingly being integrated into entertainment programming itself, such as through communication by entertainers such as comedians and talk show hosts. Celebrity endorsements help to spread the word about important issues.

Countering individual citizen's fears of knowing the truth - Citizen's individual fears of knowing the truth is an important reason for information being communicated to either be packaged and presented in as neutral of a manner as possible without additional unnecessary taste-specific layers which exclude portions of the potential audience, or for the information to be presented in a manner tailored to the taste of certain neglected demographics which previously have not been effectively communicated with.






Many people underestimate the extent of the difference that every individual person is capable of making

As an example of the relative differences in effectiveness between only voting and engaging in activist activity, in a voting population of 60 million citizens, when a citizen casts a vote they will make 1/60 millionth of a difference (assuming that the voting machines are not tampered with.) By contrast, if the same citizen starts to engage in activist communication, they could make a much bigger difference which could be unlimited in it's size depending on the methods of the activist.  Many activists are personally responsible for informing millions of people through creation and distribution of documentary films, for example.  Even if a citizen does not plan on creating documentary films, any sort of activist activity does a great deal of good by informing others and encouraging them to communicate such important information as well.






Legislative Issues for Getting a Bill Enacted

A Summary of The Process of how a Bill Becomes a Law



Every bill starts out as an idea which is sponsored by a Senator who introduces the idea as a bill. A bill can be introduced into either the Senate or the House of Representatives. The Senate is made up of two elected Senators from each state, and the House of Representatives is made up of over 435 elected representatives, the number coming from each state being determined based on the population of that state.
Once the bill is introduced, it will be sent to a committee of pre-selected members of Congress which specialize in one issue, such as Agriculture, Energy, and Banking. Once the bill is debated, modified, and approved by a particular committee, it can continue to the full house.

View a directory of House Committees  |  View a directory of Senate Committees

Once the bill is approved by a committee, it is then introduced into either the full House of Representatives or Senate where the members may discuss, debate, and then vote on the bill. If more than half of the Senators approve the bill, then the bill goes to the other house of Congress. If the bill is not approved, it can either be sent back to the committee or it can be abandoned.

Once the bill has passed one particular house of Congress, it is sent to the other house where the same process of approval by committee, debate and vote by the full house takes place. If more than half of those Senators vote in favor of the bill, it passes and is then sent to the President to sign. If the president signs the bill, it becomes a law. If the President vetoes the bill, it is sent back to Congress where the bill can be either changed to suit the President's liking, or the veto can be overridden by two-thirds of both Houses of Senate.








Issues with politicians being loyal to financial backers such as special interest groups and political action committees

The corrupting influence of Lobbyists, Political Action Committees, and Earmarks

Members of Congress often rely on taking money from lobbyists and political action committees (PACs). This is a problem because politicians are then indebted for favors to those organizations who have contributed to their campaigns.

Some politicians pledge not to accept money from lobbyists and PACs, however this puts those politicians at a disadvantage due to the fact that it deprives them from campaigning resources which their competitors collect, and public knowledge of the corrupting effects of lobbyist and PAC contributions is not widespread enough to translate into enough votes to offset the competitor's advantage. Also, many politicians accept money from dishonest means yet still attempt to win votes by making campaign claims of not doing so.


"Earmarks" allow members of Congress to decide who gets money which is spent by the United States Government, and often members of Congress divert such money intended for the public's benefit to political donors and "pork-barrel" projects.



Campaign Reform

If campaign reforms are not created by way of legislation, those candidates who attempt to voluntarily be ethical in their actions are put at a competitive disadvantage by not having the same campaign resources as their competitors have. Some states are now enacting "Clean Election" laws which eliminate the influence of special interest groups. The website publicampaign.org is a non-profit, non-partisan organization for the purpose of reforming and reducing the role of special interest money in state and federal elections.






Issues with the lack of public knowledge about the activities of Congress
Members of Congress escape accountability and take unethical liberties due to constituents not being aware of the true agendas of their representatives.

Lack of Mainstream Media Coverage About the Activities of Congress and Ways of Circumventing the Problem

Mainstream media outlets rarely mention the daily activities of Congress, such as reporting on the bills being discussed and voted on. This could be fixed by nightly news shows incorporating a quick daily segment about the activities of Congress and issues concerning upcoming bills. Media outlets would need to be pressured by activist activity to make such a change, as increased mainstream knowledge by the public about the daily activities of Congress would conflict with the agenda of those who influence the decisions of the media.

Lack of Transparency about the Activities of Members of Congress and ways of Circumventing the Problem

Even with potentially increased media and activist attention, much of the daily activities of members of Congress would remain a mystery. A solution to this problem is suggested by the website Change-Congress.org, which is to increase transparency of the actions of people in Congress by making the activities of it's members public through changes in the law and rules of Congress. This would involve making members of Congress be required to post weekly updates of their activities including campaign contributions, meetings with registered lobbyists, their latest earmark requests and significant changes to their personal wealth.






Sample Problem:  Planning and Implementing a process of reaching the ideal goal state for the problem of the use of fraudulent election machines by the United States Government

The topic of the use of fraudulent voting machines by the United States Government has been covered by the mainstream media over the past years, including being featured on numerous CNN news segments, news shows such as "20/20," as well as an HBO special "Hacking Democracy" which was aired last year. Public interest in the topic is increasing, however the problem of the use of the machines still has not been fixed.

A potential "guarantee" for proper legislation being enacted which reforms the use of fraudulent voting machines could be the idea of the creation of a multi part "reality show" on a major television network which would show the way Congress works, by following the process of a bill becoming a law using the example of a bill reforming the use of fraudulent voting machines by the United States Government.

The show could start by defining the issue of the current problem of the use of the fraudulent voting machines, and then explain how the proposed legislation was formulated and how it would eliminate the problem. Then the show would follow the passage of the Bill through each of the steps of the legislative process, including the approval process of the various committees followed by the debate and voting on the bill in both houses.

It would be important for the show to be "multi-part," with each episode aired soon after it has been taped, in order to generate increasing public interest and mainstream news attention about the progress of the bill leading up to the episodes concerning the actual voting on the bill. The show could include many interviews with individuals in Congress explaining why or why not they are voting for reform of the use of the current voting machines. Such media attention would help to force more congresspeople to vote against the corrupting influence of those they are indebted to through their acceptance of campaign contributions.

The show could also focus on a variety of other issues, such as the corrupting influence of Special Interest Groups and Political Action Committees, the abuse of "earmarks" by congresspeople, as well as the lack of transparency of the activities of members of Congress.

It would be important for the show to be aired on as mainstream of a television network as possible, such as ABC, NBC, or CBS, and it would be important for the show to have entertainment appeal for audiences who currently view such shows as "American Idol," "Survivor," and "The Apprentice." One way to accomplish such entertainment appeal would be to have an appropriately selected host which would be a familiar and likable presence, such as George Wendt who played "Norm" on the show Cheers. Mr. Wendt has already narrated the film "Votergate," and he would be a natural choice as the host for such a program.

Such a show would be very popular and generate large ratings, so the television networks would have incentive to be involved in the creation and presentation of it. Creation of the show may create conflicts of interests with politicians and groups who have influence over the content which the networks present, so it could be a matter of public activism by well-known entertainers to create a public demand for the show being created, which would draw even more attention to the show when it is finally aired.

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