In secret, behind locked gates, our Nation's Oldest City dumped a landfill in a lake (Old City Reservoir), while emitting sewage in our rivers and salt marsh. Organized citizens exposed and defeated pollution, racism and cronyism. We elected a new Mayor. We're transforming our City -- advanced citizenship. Ask questions. Make disclosures. Demand answers. Be involved. Expect democracy. Report and expose corruption. Smile! Help enact a St. Augustine National Park and Seashore. We shall overcome!
Sunday, April 24, 2022
IN HAEC VERBA: MISSION STATEMENT OF COMMON GOOD INSTITUTE, INC., Corporate-funded non-profit
Mellifluous if misleading malarkey from COMMON GOOD INSTITUTE, INC. Its $108,000/year Executive Director, MATTHEW BROWM, is the Chair of St. Augustine Port, Waterway and Beach District, seeking to retaliate against Port ZCommissioner Sandy Flowers in retaliation for her protected activity, while denying public comment before voting on agenda items, violating F.S. 286.0114.
Funded by corporations, with two (2) lawyers from 1,112 lawyer corporate law firm COVINGTON & BURLING, this dodgy non-profit wants to erase your Seventh Amendment right to jury trials in medical malpractice cases.
Pressure for change is building. Broad alienation and pent-up frustration are reflected in the crazy political rhetoric. But where’s the coherent vision of what the change should be?
Join us to restore core principles of good government and a free society.
If our common sense principles strike a deep chord, help us activate the untapped energy of other Americans.
Principles for Good Governance
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PRINCIPLE ONE
Govern for Goals
Government must focus on results, not red tape. Simplify most law into legal principles, such as in the Constitution, so that public servants have responsibility to get the job done.
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PRINCIPLE TWO
Honor Human Responsibility
Nothing works unless a person makes it work. Bureaucracy fails because it suffocates human initiative with central dictates. Bureaucracy demeans people, preventing us from acting on our perceptions, values and common sense. Giving people the freedom to make a difference is essential for our fulfillment and self-respect.
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PRINCIPLE THREE
Everyone Is Accountable
Any broken link in the chain of accountability disables democracy. Officials must be accountable for results. Only then can political leaders also be accountable. Accountability is the currency of a free society. Unless there’s accountability all around, officials and citizens soon find themselves tangled in red tape dictating daily choices. That’s why accountability is essential to restoring meaning and honor to public service.
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PRINCIPLE FOUR
Reboot Regulation
Too few government programs work as intended. Many are obsolete. Most squander public and private resources with bureaucratic micromanagement. They need to be repealed or re-built, to stop waste and to replace red tape with accountability. Rebooting old programs will release vast public resources for current needs, such as infrastructure, climate change, income stagnation, and reducing the deficit. Campaign rules should also be rebooted; almost any changes that disrupt existing political structures will be useful.
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PRINCIPLE FIVE
Restore Government Back to the People
Responsibility works for communities as well as individuals: Give local organizations more control and ownership of public services. Just as planning for pandemics requires national competence, coping with a spreading pandemic requires local leadership and adaptability.
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PRINCIPLE SIX
Enforce Boundaries on Lawsuits
Sue-for-anything justice has infected the culture with debilitating defensiveness. Instead of striding towards our goals, Americans tiptoe on eggshells because any disagreement or accident can erupt into a years-long legal ordeal. Responsibility is the only cure here as well: Judges must take responsibility to act as gatekeepers, drawing boundaries of reasonable claims as a matter of law. Create expert health courts to restore trust in patient relations.
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PRINCIPLE SEVEN
Restore the Moral Basis of Public Choices
Public trust is essential to a healthy culture. This requires officials to adhere to basic moral values—especially truthfulness, the golden rule and stewardship for the future. All laws, programs and rights must be justified for the common good. Every public dollar involves a moral choice. No one should have rights superior to anyone else.
We will succeed because our principles are grounded in a truth known to all Americans: Nothing works unless a person takes responsibility to make it work. America’s strength comes from individual initiative. We aim to overhaul Washington to reclaim this strength.
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