And then we wouldn't get stories like this.

If every single other country that CAN afford universal health care, DOES have universal healthcare - and pays less percentage of the budget than the United States does - there's a problem here.

1 out of every 7 americans do not have health care.  46 million people. 

We can do better.

We've been hearing for awhile now - from me and others - do the practice, collect the research.  Peer to peer.  Yadda yada yada.

I am VERY interested - at this point fanatically - on getting this going. 

I've been tapdancing around this topic for a long time.  And a lot of the recent postings by Ryan are having me take a look at this again.

Here is a grouping of some relevant posts:

Integral Criticism:  The Solution is Easy
Is Self-Help A Sham?


For the next two months, I will be blogging - pretty consistently - on the following topic:

1. What would a results-based 3 month practice change project team look like?
2. What are the softwares out there these groups would use? Evalution software?  Results software?  Project software? Group task management software?
3.  What would be the operational requirements - both in social structure, tasks, expectations, steps, to take to have a group process project and evaluation.

There will be many questions about the following -

What is a good assessment for a 3 month/1 year project?
Depending on the project, should the assessment be self only, or peer? 
What online collaborative project will be utilized?
What tasks tracked? 
Will tracking be negative or positive?  (I did this list of things, I didn't do this list of things)
What is the baseline?

However - all of the above will be dependent on there being an online group  assessment/evaluation tool.

So I am going to spend some time researching some of the tools I find - and if anyone else finds other tools that are promising, please let me know.

Ryan asks - nay, demands! - share your projections!

I used to be much bigger about sharing openly, in my 20's.  There is both a certain beauty, and a certain innocence, in sharing "what is happening in me now".  However, I also discovered that sharing can sometimes be - simply embarrasing.  TMI is a phrase that was coined for a reason.

Now, I like to be embarrasing sometimes - this is also true.

For now, I'll go the easy way - share a projection I have, that gets across a "point I'd like to make", but also includes a shadow element, because in this case - DEFINITELY  I have 9 fingers pointing back at me, for every 1 figure pointed at that other guy.

I think there is a disease - in the blogosphere, and, in the world - called the "I Am Right" disease. 

People who are RIGHT - engage in propaganda and fallacious arguments, rather than dialogue - just because they are RIGHT.

People who are RIGHT, brook no argument, justify their position constantly, and - around being called wrong - react in all types of strange manners.

People who are RIGHT - especially combined with POWER - commit some of the worst crimes on this earth.

However - sometimes someone IS right.  If I say it's DAY and you say it's NIGHT - guess what?  There is a right answer and a wrong answer here.  Look outside.  (Yes, yes, the wise guy there in the back in Ireland is saying "it's night over here! nya nya nya!" - but that is beside the point.)

And especially for those on the cutting edge of something, they may be right, when other are wrong - for awhile.  (Galileo being the prime example.)

Integral "solves" this problem by saying "every perspective is valid - but my perspective is MORE INCLUSIVE than yours".

But guess what?  We are human.  Especially here in the "read what I have to write!" blogosphere, we can often be wrong, our perspective can often be off.  And what we are writing about - is NOT whether gravity exists, or whether it is day or night outside, or whether 2 plus 2 equals 4.  As such - the "truth" is not so clearcut all the time. 

I prefer to think of good analysis and commentary as using inquiry, intelligence, and analysis, combined with perseverance, openness, and honesty - and constantly re-discovering  the "truth" as more data and perspectives are considered.  

But that attitude gets lost in pissing matches of "I am Right"ness. 

So here is my request.  I would like everyone who both reads this blog and who has a blog - to point out one time (at least) where they were in obvious disagreement in the blogosphere - where YOU were wrong - and the OTHER person was right.  

So - in THIS particular game - the more "moral" and upstanding person is - refreshingly honest about saying - "Dude, I totally whiffed on that post!  Sometimes I'm an IDIOT!!".

Who's with me!!

Now, one would think - I would LEAD the way - and I will!

The other day, I posted that Cox Communications was blocking Craigslist.

Well, I totally totally whiffed on that post.  If you read a comment to the post, apparently,  it was the security software provided by Authentium, that had a glitch in the software driver. 

Sorry!  Sometimes I'm an idiot!!

Anyone else?

Also - I'll provide more, since of course I am less identified with the content of that post - this blog isn't called "Security Software".  But I'll need to time to find out when I've been wrong [editor - yeah, he needs time - since I guess he thinks it doesn't happen very much...].

Of course, feel free to help me out with that!!