This was proposed by Erin last week and I really liked the idea.

In an effort to boost positive and good debate on the issues while becoming more active, we are now offfering specific topics to be covered by certain people. This is how it would work. Say you choose Iraq to be your topic. Well, throughout the day you would find at least 5 stories in the news and post them on the board in an effort to boost our knowledge on the issue and raise debate. Right now you may choose your own topic, but we may assign later on. Here are just a handful of topics that can be choosen:

Iraq
Civil Liberties
Civil Rights
Terrorism
Economics
Social Security/Medicare
The Democratic Party
The Republican Party/Bush Admin
The Environment
Education
Rumors/Political Windmill
2008 Election
Divisive Issues: God, gays, death penalty, ect.
Technology
The Media

If you have a specific topic that is not on this list that you want to take on, please post it and you can start covering it then.

Hopefully we can get this going tomorrow if everyone sees this. So please, once you choose a topic, please post it here, then tomorrow, surf the web on various news sites and post at least 5 intersting and factual stories on your topic. Please make sure you post them in the appropriate board too (ie: Economy in Domestic Issues).

Thanks ;)

Sounds good! :clap:

It's a great idea, Chris and Erin, but . . . five stories a day? I don't think most of us have time to do that day after day. It sounds daunting to me, unless you allow for duplicates. Personally, I think a couple of stories a day, or even one a day, would be plenty. How 'bout if we say a minimum of one or two stories a day?

And I guess if I have my druthers, I'll take "Divisive Issues." Right up my alley! :lol:

Yes, five on one subject might be a bit much and too much for people to keep up with comment-wise. I would like the civil liberties beat.

Sounds like a very good idea, but like EM said, I think 5 stories could be a little too much for one day.

Five stories a day is not too much to ask. I think most people here make 5 posts a day, at least.

Five POSTS a day is one thing. Five STORIES a day is another. I don't have the time to scour the internet looking for five stories a day on a subject. I have daily radiation therapy, two kids to take care of, a husband, a dog, a cat, and let's not forget the fish, a house to clean, groceries to get, gardens to tend, writing to do, meetings to attend, and oh, yeah, I have to reserve some time for myself. We're all busy, Chris. We give a lot of time to this board because it's something we care about, but if I have to spend hours each day looking for five stories on a subject, there's lots of other stuff that won't get done. There might be some days when I can easily get five or even more stories, but most days, I suspect that won't be the case. I think it's too much, and I can't go along with it.

Also, if each of us posts five stories each day, our membership will be overwhelmed. That's too much for people to respond to, IMO. What's wrong with one or two stories a day per person?

Two posts a day is fine. I just thought five would be easy enough. All you have to do is go to Google News and type in your subject and you get numerous topics there. However, I can see how five could be troublesome for some people. Two is fine. However, everyone must committ and follow through daily.

Thanks

Uh, are we gonna get spanked if we don't? :?:

Hey, just funnin' ya, Chris. When are we starting? Also, there may be days when I can't fulfill this obligation, but I'll do my best.

Well, I've started my quest for controversial news, and look what I found! Just as a joke, I'm posting this. Stay tuned for more serious stuff . . . (but who says we can't have some fun, too?) . . .

Here's another one, called "Shark Attack." Then, I'm outta here 'til later . . .

We can start today or Monday. So you are doing controversial news? That is cool. Peace out and take care.

Are they kidding?

AWESOME :lol: :clap: :lol: :clap: But GROSS.

Isn't there something missing from that long list?????? :?:

AL GORE

Discussing Al Gore is understood here. I think everyone knows why we are here.

I think we should make it neat and clean and start on Monday, like a diet. :D

Also, can we have weekends off?

Sure. Start Monday so it will be fresh and also we can disban on weekends.

I wonder if the section on Civil Liberties could be extracted from Domestic Issues as there are many subjects under this heading and articles may not show up as unread on the main page. Especially if there are going to be more articles posted then they would not get lost in the layers. Just a thought. Also a separate section for the War in Iraq would be good too.

I'll do what I can but I have been "under the weather" lately...also I attract "trolls" like a "lightening rod"(they hate me and you know why)...but you all keep up the GOOD work until I can pick myself up, dust myself off, and start over(how many times have I done THAT! LOL!) :Y:

The LPOTUS will be pleased as punch! :clap:


I also have a new nickname for Mr. Gore...I affectionately refer to him as Tennessee Tuxedo! LOL!

TENNESEE TUXEDO! TENNESEE TUXEDO! T! T! T! :wub: :wub: :wub: :wub:

Take care of yourself earthmother, and remember I am a missionary! LOL! :good:

As a staunch atheist, I can't be swayed, Paraclete. The only missionary work I'll allow to be done on me is in a certain position that goes by that name. :o :lol:

Remember, our new posting system starts today. My topic is the environment.

Would it be possible to have a separate category on the index page for this, Chris? Something called BlogSpot or something like that, and then we'd each have our own thread within that where we post our topic? That would make it so people know where to look to find this. Don't know if it's possible or not.

I don't think that is possible.

Okay, here's another thought. I think having new stories every day won't give people enough time to debate an issue. I'd rather see each topic up on the board for a few days before we move on to another topic. For one thing, I think we're going to begin running out of topics rather quickly if we post new ones each day, and for another, not everyone checks in every day. Leaving topics up for a few days would give more people a chance to respond. And if we get a particularly hot topic, sometimes discussions on those can go on for many days.

For example, I've posted my stories for today (about whether English should be the official language of the U.S.). I think it would be good to let people discuss it for today and tomorrow and then post a new topic Wednesday. Just my opinion.

Here's my latest thought on all this. Obviously some topics are going to be "hotter" than others. What do you think about this: Leave it to the judgment of the person who's topic it is as to whether to post a new topic or not on any given day. For example, without realizing it, I apparently picked a doozy with my first topic about whether English should be made the official language of the U.S. We've been debating actively for three days now. I'm thinking it'll probably begin to fizzle out tomorrow. So it would make sense to post a new topic tomorrow or Friday. That way we give people the opportunity to exhaust a subject before introducing something new. (Also, it makes it a little easier on us so we don't have to be hunting for new topics every day.) Sound okay?