NEWS AND VIEWS

At Georgia College - A Teach-In: "Events in Ferguson, Missouri"

(The following news is from Gregg Kaufman, Gregg.kaufman@gcsu.edu at Georgia College.)

A standing room only crowd of nearly 150 students, faculty, staff, and community citizens attended a teach-in that addressed the events in Ferguson, MO and the related issues of race, class, and inequity in American society. Panelists representing a variety of academic disciplines and campus safety spoke, after which audience members asked questions.

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August 26, 2014 - Join an Online Forum about Immigration Policy in America

(This invitation is from Bill Corbett, williamgcorbett@verizon.net , of the National Issues Forums of Northern Virginia, and organizer of this upcoming, online forum.)

Join the Online Forum

I'm writing today about a new experiment to involve more people in political life, an online National Issues Forum.

It takes place Tuesday August 26 at 7:30 pm to 9:30 pm EDT.  All you need to participate is a web browser and the willingness to use chat for conversation.

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"The best two hours of the semester..."

The following guest bloggers, Emerson Murphy, Stuart Watts, Pierre-Emmanuel Thomas, Jill Bolak, Xan Hall, and Colden Franklin share their insights and experiences using deliberation to engage some difficult public issues during coursework with professor Gregg Kaufman, M.Div. Th.M.  at Georgia College in Milledgeville, Georgia.

by Emerson Murphy
November 25, 2013

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Guest Post by Neil Wollman, Ph.D, Bentley University - "Facing Gridlock, A Bold Proposal for Democracy"

I hope that the piece below will lead to good dialogue, political efforts, and finally to implementation of the suggested policy change. It is by projects such as the National Issues Forums (NIF) that we will have a public informed enough to make the proposed citizen initiative/referendum system work well. As a matter of fact, if citizens engage in such dialogue, maybe they have a right to more direct say in governmental decision making! It is encouraging that Congressman Jared Polis of Colorado recently decided to promote the establishment of a commission to study the feasibility of national initiatives. It is a good first step, but it will require informed  public discussion. See more information on citizens’ initiatives and direct democracy at

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Bob Daley: 50 Years with the National Press Club

Bob Daley, a long time veteran of public engagement work, and a journalist, was featured in a Dayton Daily News article on January 16, 2013. The following is excerpted from the article:

Bob Daley became a copy boy for the Dayton Journal-Herald when reporters wrote stories with manual typewriters and pasted copies of stories with flour and water. Throughout the years, Daley has been a copy boy, political reporter, press secretary, assistant to the governor, and director of public affairs. He's also always retained his membership with the National Press Club. A few months ago, the Washington Twp. man was honored for his 50-year membership with the National Press Club.

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