Civicwiki:Just the Facts Maam

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Welcome to Civicwiki!

CW is a project that seeks to bring objective thought to civic issues. It is a reaction to the political process as it has evolved from our country's beginnings into what it has become today - a process filled with rhetoric aimed at emotional reaction, unsupported assertion, fact presented out of context, one-sided half truths, fabrication presented as fact, all to serve political agendas. Too often the desire for political power trumps truth. Full disclosure is rare. We find this to be the case even on the part of so-called fact checkers. Too many commentators profit by demonizing people with whom they disagree to the increasing alienation of our society. Are we in danger of coming apart? CW would prefer political advocacy that places objective information above political agenda. We are not being Pollyannaish. We know that one web site won't cure these ills. We just want to push back by promoting honest discussion and presentation of civic issues. We have much to gain by such an endeavor. Only those who seek political power for the sake of power alone are threatened by fact.

CW has an agenda that we hope is acceptable to all - to establish an environment of anonymous civil discourse that helps CW readers become immune to misinformation. We want CW readers, armed with fact, to be able to see through the fog of political rhetoric. CW intends to pursue this agenda by making fact based discussion preeminent. I.e., let's ground ourselves in reality. Let's first present and agree on the facts. We can then either agree or disagree on what they mean. In doing so, we will better understand those with whom we differ, and be better informed and more understanding voters and political activists. It's a tall order that will require the contributions of many. We need an ever expanding group of contributors who agree with our mission. Hopefully, that will include you. Please visit CW often and, when you have something to contribute, give us the benefit of your thoughts - either by starting a new article, or by editing an existing article. We have provided instructions and tutorials for doing so.

There are rules for contributors and editors:

  • This site is for fact based analysis of civic issues.
  • Articles must start from factual information supported by reference to verifiable and credible sources.
  • This site is not for advocacy or attack of specific people. Mention of a current elected official or of a candidate for elected office should be avoided and will likely be removed. (More on this in instructions for editing and submitting content.)
  • The same goes for political parties and commonly recognized political groups, labels, and categories such as 'liberal', 'conservative', 'progressive', and 'Tea Party'. Use of labels has the potential to defeat the CW mission and may be removed.
  • Treat highly divisive social issues with caution and neutrality. A few issues are sufficiently emotional and divisive that they will generate more heat than light. While CW is not yet smart enough to say what should be off limits, time and experience will inform us.

Civicwiki starts from two simple premises:

  • Though it may it may at times be hard to find, the truth exists and does not contradict itself.
  • There is a core set of inalienable rights that apply to us all. All of us should be equal in our enjoyment of these rights. And this set of rights should not be violated or abridged by any person or group.

None of us are Dr. Spock. Let me (a contributor) digress briefly and explain. I had a friend, now gone, who was the smartest person I could claim as friend. He told me that he would go to medical school, become a psychiatrist, move to San Francisco, and help people deal with reality. And he did those things. He and I held in common a philosophy of life that we believed could be traced to fundamental factual premises and we discussed and debated it frequently - proud of our logic. One day he told me something that presented a bothersome challenge, but struck me as true - that, in spite of our devotion to logic, we would not free ourselves of emotional influence. CW does not require that we do so. We only require that the content of this site starts from a set of verifiable facts - and that we then seek the truth.


Come and help us pursue this mission.