<div dir="ltr">Yes, after watching last night's Town Hall in BC, let's not invite them--they will come anyway.<br></div><div class="gmail_extra"><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Wed, Aug 3, 2016 at 3:25 PM, Laurel L. Russwurm <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:laurel.l@russwurm.org" target="_blank">laurel.l@russwurm.org</a>></span> wrote:<br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">
  
    
  
  <div bgcolor="#FFFFFF" text="#000000">
    <div>Non aligned voter? <br><div><div class="h5">
      <br>
      On 08/01/2016 03:27 PM, Sharon Sommerville wrote:<br>
    </div></div></div><div><div class="h5">
    <blockquote type="cite">
      <div dir="ltr">Hello All,
        <div><br>
        </div>
        <div>I took some deliberate time off over the past few days, to
          re-charge and have not been a part of this discussion but it
          is Monday afternoon and time to get back at.</div>
        <div><br>
        </div>
        <div>First, so many thanks to Paul for taking this on, we would
          not have something cooking with the library if he hadn't. 
          Thank you Paul.</div>
        <div><br>
        </div>
        <div>The format needs to honour both the need for even
          handedness by the library and our work to promote PR.  Our
          power point presentation was designed to be as fair as is
          possible given our mandate ( it was put together by a
          multipartisan committee - 2 Liberals, 1 NDP, 1 Conservative
          and 1 non aligned voter) and with additional adaptation could
          be more so. Specifically, the last slide which calls for PR
          could be removed.</div>
        <div><br>
        </div>
        <div>My personal preference would be to deliver our presentation
          followed by a robust Q & A and discussion. We could invite
          a number of folks that represent as spectrum political views
          to participate in the Q & A. I am not keen to organize a
          panel and invite someone from Keep Voting Simple as they will
          be getting lots of media attention due to the interest of the
          <span>MSM</span> to
          encourage controversy but to maintain the educational focus on
          electoral systems in general  & promote dialogue in the
          community. </div>
        <div><br>
        </div>
        <div>Thoughts?</div>
        <div><br>
        </div>
        <div>Kind regards,</div>
        <div>Sharon</div>
      </div>
      <div class="gmail_extra"><br>
        <div class="gmail_quote">On Fri, Jul 29, 2016 at 6:47 PM,
          arthurd23 arthurd23 <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:arthurd23@bell.net" target="_blank"></a><a href="mailto:arthurd23@bell.net" target="_blank">arthurd23@bell.net</a>></span> wrote:<br>
          <blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">
            <div>
              <p>Bob, you're correct but to the majority of voters,
                voting in FPTP is simple and therefore preferred.</p>
              <p>Their concern is not fairness or democracy.</p>
              <p>Paul, your comments on other pros os FPTP are valid if
                democracy is not important.</p>
              <p>My stance is that FPTP is not democratic unless the
                purpose of democracy is to eliminate fair representation
                for most Canadians.</p>
              <p>Unfortunately, for some Canadians, that is a pro for
                FPTP. In any discussion Fairvote would not need to call
                it a pro.</p>
              <p>The geographic balance that FPTP can provide can also
                be provided and even enhanced in a system such as MMP
                where the non-constituency MPs can be awarded with
                adjustments for geographic and diversity factors
                considered.</p>
              <p>Dave</p>
              <div>
                <div>
                  <blockquote type="cite">
                    <p>---------- Original Message ----------<br>
                      From: Bob Jonkman <<a href="mailto:bjonkman@sobac.com" target="_blank">bjonkman@sobac.com</a>><br>
                      Date: July 29, 2016 at 12:39 PM<br>
                      <br>
                      <br>
                      -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----<br>
                      Hash: SHA1<br>
                      <br>
                      Dave Arthur wrote:<br>
                      > The only pro for FPTP that I am aware of is
                      that it is simple.<br>
                      <br>
                      But it's not. Try to explain how 39% of the vote
                      results in 54% of the<br>
                      seats in parliament. Why 57% of the votes cast in
                      Kitchener<br>
                      South-Hespeler did not contribute to sending
                      anyone to parliament.<br>
                      That Elizabeth May does not represent 600,000
                      voters across Canada,<br>
                      but only 104,000 people in Saanich-Gulf Islands
                      (and maybe only the<br>
                      37,000 people who voted for her).<br>
                      <br>
                      While it is simple to fill in an FPTP ballot, the
                      election results are<br>
                      baffling. And it is just as simple to fill in an
                      MMP ballot (Two X<br>
                      marks! Twice as hard!) or an STV ballot (counting
                      from 1 to 5 is<br>
                      pretty simple), and the election results from any
                      proportional system<br>
                      are much easier to understand.<br>
                      <br>
                      - --Bob.<br>
                      <br>
                      <br>
                      <br>
                      On 07/29/16 08:25, arthurd23 arthurd23 wrote:<br>
                      > Thanks Paul.<br>
                      > <br>
                      > If we attempt to be impartial, it shouldn't
                      be difficult to have PR<br>
                      > pros vastly outnumber FPTP and AV pros.<br>
                      > <br>
                      > The only pro for FPTP that I am aware of is
                      that it is simple. Are<br>
                      > there any others?<br>
                      > <br>
                      > The only advantage of AV is that the winning
                      candidate accumulates<br>
                      > 50% support when you include enough second
                      place and third place<br>
                      > supporters who don't really favour the
                      winning candidate.<br>
                      > <br>
                      > PR has by far the most pros.<br>
                      > <br>
                      > Dave<br>
                      > <br>
                      >> ---------- Original Message ----------
                      From: Paul Nijjar<br>
                      >> <<a href="mailto:paul_nijjar@yahoo.ca" target="_blank">paul_nijjar@yahoo.ca</a>>
                      Date: July 29, 2016 at 3:18 AM<br>
                      >> <br>
                      >> <br>
                      >> <br>
                      >> (CCing to fvc-wat-disc. I do not know
                      whether it will get<br>
                      >> through because I do not know if the
                      mailing list has been<br>
                      >> configured to work with Yahoo. But I will
                      try.)<br>
                      >> <br>
                      >> Okay, we are booked for a presentation at
                      the Kitchener Public <br>
                      >> Library.<br>
                      >> <br>
                      >> I talked with the programming manager at
                      the KPL over the phone<br>
                      >> today. She said that if I got a blurb to
                      her by tomorrow then it<br>
                      >> could be included in the In Touch
                      magazine. I just sent that<br>
                      >> blurb to her now (unfortunately in
                      addition to being lazy my<br>
                      >> stomach started acting up this evening,
                      and I have spent a lot of<br>
                      >> time lying low). Here is the blurb:<br>
                      >> <br>
                      >> ----<br>
                      >> <br>
                      >> Prime Minister Trudeau has promised to
                      make "every vote count"<br>
                      >> in future elections, and the process of
                      electoral reform is<br>
                      >> currently underway. Why might the current
                      electoral system<br>
                      >> benefit from reform? What electoral
                      reforms are being considered?<br>
                      >> What are their advantages and
                      disadvantages? How is this<br>
                      >> electoral reform process structured? How
                      can we participate in<br>
                      >> this process? Representatives from Fair
                      Vote Canada will address<br>
                      >> these issues and take your questions.<br>
                      >> <br>
                      >> ----<br>
                      >> <br>
                      >> I also made a bunch of other promises and
                      decisions that the<br>
                      >> Executive might not like. Here is a
                      summary:<br>
                      >> <br>
                      >> - The event will be held at the central
                      branch of the library on <br>
                      >> Thursday, Sept 8, from 7:00pm-8:30pm. (We
                      also had the option of <br>
                      >> Sept 1 or Sept 22, and I may have made
                      the wrong choice.)<br>
                      >> <br>
                      >> - We were originally booked for Meeting
                      Room A, which holds 60<br>
                      >> people. I implied that we could get over
                      60 people to the event,<br>
                      >> so we are rebooked for a bigger room
                      (maybe the auditorium? It is<br>
                      >> not clear). Now we have to keep that
                      promise. If only 20 people<br>
                      >> show up we will look pretty bad.<br>
                      >> <br>
                      >> - It sounds as if the KPL is more
                      interested in a discussion of <br>
                      >> different electoral systems, as well as
                      non-electoral system<br>
                      >> options including mandatory voting and
                      electronic voting.<br>
                      >> However, we should still cover the
                      electoral reform process (the<br>
                      >> committee, Monsef's five principles, etc)<br>
                      >> <br>
                      >> - This is a part that will be
                      contentious: the KPL wants this <br>
                      >> presentation to lean towards
                      impartiality, with an honest<br>
                      >> discussion of pros in cons. They are not
                      interested in having us<br>
                      >> advocate for one electoral system in
                      particular, because they do<br>
                      >> not want to come across as being partisan
                      in this issue. I warned<br>
                      >> the KPL that FVC tends to be unkind to
                      FPTP and AV, but promised<br>
                      >> that I would try to steer the direction
                      of the presentation more<br>
                      >> towards public information (Here is what
                      is happening! Here are<br>
                      >> our options! Here are the advantages and
                      disadvantages of each!)<br>
                      >> and less towards sermonizing
                      (Proportional Representation is<br>
                      >> amazing and you are a stupidhead if you
                      don't support it!). I<br>
                      >> have not seen Byron's presentation in a
                      while, but I think that<br>
                      >> it is reasonably close to something that
                      will make the KPL<br>
                      >> happy.<br>
                      >> <br>
                      >> - The current format is looking like a
                      45-minute presentation<br>
                      >> followed by abundant Q&A. This format
                      is not set in stone. In<br>
                      >> particular, if we wanted to put together
                      a panel (with some<br>
                      >> representatives from Keep Voting Simple?)
                      then that would be okay<br>
                      >> with the KPL too.<br>
                      >> <br>
                      >> Managing Q&A is going to be tricky,
                      because events like this<br>
                      >> attract people who like to ramble instead
                      of asking questions.<br>
                      >> Maybe written questions are the way to
                      go?<br>
                      >> <br>
                      >> - The KPL can provide a projector. We
                      will provide laptops and<br>
                      >> other equipment.<br>
                      >> <br>
                      >> - We are allowed to have a booth outside
                      the presentation if we<br>
                      >> want. (The KPL told us they will not give
                      us their registration<br>
                      >> list, but that's fine and we were not
                      expecting that anyways.) I<br>
                      >> am guessing we could invite LeadNow and
                      other groups (Keep Voting<br>
                      >> Simple?) to have booths as well, but I do
                      not know for sure.<br>
                      >> <br>
                      >> <br>
                      >> Next Steps ----------<br>
                      >> <br>
                      >> - Figure out what format the presentation
                      will take. It seems to<br>
                      >> me that Byron's presentation is adaptable
                      if we use a<br>
                      >> presentation. If we want to put together
                      a panel then FVC can be<br>
                      >> less even-handed, but the other
                      panellists might be better at<br>
                      >> convincing people than we are.<br>
                      >> <br>
                      >> - Figure out who will present. My guess
                      is that the natural<br>
                      >> choice is Byron or Sean, since they have
                      done this presentation<br>
                      >> before. There might be other good
                      presenters available as well. I<br>
                      >> am also open to doing the presenting in
                      the worst case. (Really?<br>
                      >> I am too anxious to staff a booth but I
                      can present to a big<br>
                      >> audience? I guess my ego is really that
                      huge.)<br>
                      >> <br>
                      >> - Work towards getting a good turnout,
                      especially amongst people<br>
                      >> who are not already voting nerds. KPL
                      marketing will definitely<br>
                      >> help but we have work to do as well:<br>
                      >> <br>
                      >> + If FVC makes some tweets or Facebook
                      posts, can the rest of us <br>
                      >> retweet/like/promote those items? (Sean
                      says that Anita has a<br>
                      >> good social network, so maybe we can
                      exploit that.) + Can we<br>
                      >> personally invite friends, family and
                      enemies to attend the <br>
                      >> presentation? + We should let LeadNow
                      know that this presentation<br>
                      >> is happening. I can probably email Sylvie
                      if she is not already<br>
                      >> on this list. + We can let people know
                      this is happening via the<br>
                      >> announcement list.<br>
                      >> <br>
                      >> I am sure there are other promotional
                      ideas as well. We should<br>
                      >> not rest on our laurels about this.<br>
                      >> <br>
                      >> - We should not stop here. Having one
                      prominent organization<br>
                      >> agree to host a talk is good leverage for
                      convincing others. We<br>
                      >> should reach out to the libraries again.
                      It would also be great<br>
                      >> to hit up service clubs (Rotarians, Lions
                      Club), co-ops (we have<br>
                      >> had good success with housing co-ops in
                      the past), church groups,<br>
                      >> and maybe even the remaining electoral
                      district associations<br>
                      >> (even the Conservatives!).<br>
                      >> <br>
                      >> <br>
                      >> <br>
                      >> <br>
                      >>
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                      >> <br>
                      > <br>
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                      > <br>
                      - -- <br>
                      <br>
                      <br>
                      - --<br>
                      Bob Jonkman <<a href="mailto:bjonkman@sobac.com" target="_blank">bjonkman@sobac.com</a>>
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    </div></div><span class="HOEnZb"><font color="#888888"><div>-- <br>
      <a href="http://laurel.russwurm.org/blogs/" target="_blank">Laurel L. Russwurm,
        Author</a> § <a href="http://about.me/laurelrusswurm" target="_blank">about.me</a>
      § <a href="http://libreleft.com" target="_blank">Libreleft Books</a>
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<br></blockquote></div><br><br clear="all"><br>-- <br><div class="gmail_signature" data-smartmail="gmail_signature"><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-size:10px;background-color:transparent;font-style:normal"><span><font color="#888888"><font size="1"><span style="font-family:tahoma,new york,times,serif"><span style="line-height:10.909090995788574px">No other Western democratic country concentrates as much political power </span></span></font><font size="1"><span style="font-family:tahoma,new york,times,serif"><span style="line-height:10.909090995788574px">in the hands of one person as Canada does with her Prime Minister. </span></span></font></font></span></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>
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