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THE PHILADELPHIA PLAN: Common
Sense + New Ideas
FREE SPEECH - LET'S TALK!
Fundamentally, "free
speech" depends on 1) easy access to information, 2) meaningful public debate, 3)
a fair
press, and 4) grassroots communications networks.
1) Easy Access To Information: We need government to
be as open and transparent as possible so that we can monitor their
activities; which means, for example, that we should be able
to track down, ONLINE, where every taxpayer dollar is spent and to whom. We
should not be required to file a FOI (Freedom Of Information) or RTK (Right
To Know) to obtain public information most of which should already be online.
2) Meaningful Public Debate: Our
government bodies (executive and legislative, their departments and
committees) should hold regular public meetings (at least monthly) and allow public comments as required under the US
Constitution and PA Sunshine Act (see below).
3) A Fair Press: Private,
commercial, and public media outlets, that are awarded "free access" to
our airwaves, should be required to report on all sides of an issue and give
"equal time or opportunity" to both major political parties.
It should be noted that many of the
press are non-profits, which means that they are indirectly taxpayer
funded...which should be banned.
See Economics
4) Grassroots Communications Networks:
For practical and political reasons, the political parties and their
committee persons are vitally important to society, as they can serve as our modern day
Minute Men, our on-the-ground grassroots communications networks in times of
peace, war, and emergencies.
See Committee Person
MEANINGFUL PUBLIC DEBATE - Philadelphia City Government is in
systemic
violation of the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and the
Pennsylvania Sunshine Act, and therefore, we support the
following:
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That City
Council, at their official weekly public "stated" meeting, allow public comments
for at least 2 minutes on any subject that may concern
that government body, and NOT restrict public comments to
"agenda items only", per federal and state laws,
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That ALL City
Council Committees and City Departments hold an official public
in-person or hybrid meeting at least once a month,
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That at City
Council Meetings, all
proposed legislation (bills & resolutions), communications from
the Mayor & others, plus invited guests including the Mayor,
should be listed on the Agenda; and that no voting should
be allowed on legislation that was introduced that same day,
unless it is a true emergency where there is an imminent
life-threatening danger to others,
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That at City
Council Meetings, all
congratulatory resolutions and street name-changes are scheduled
for a separate meeting, as they interfere with
the serious atmosphere necessary to carrying out "the peoples'
business",
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NEW IDEA!
And, that every elected city official and
department home webpage publish a
"comment section" that can be read by the public
and can be used by any Philadelphia resident who registers and
includes their name and address for public display (in order to
stop bots). This unique suggestion will, hopefully, encourage an improvement in government affairs.
See:
Attorney George Bochetto's 2024 letter to City Council
detailing most of these violations
See: Proposals to Make
Philadelphia Public Meetings
Legal Under The Sunshine Act!
WHAT CAN YOU DO?
CONTACT your political reps regarding
our "FREE SPEECH" issues.
PROPOSE
'PRO BONO'
ATTORNEYS to sue Philadelphia City Council & Gov't for
violations of the Sunshine Act.
JOIN OUR
MEETUPS
AT CITY COUNCIL MEETINGS to provide moral and physical support for our fellow colleagues and our
agenda. Not all City Council
committees meet monthly, although they should, in order to give the public
an opportunity to "air their grievances". Nor do all City Departments meeting monthly, or
at all, as in the case of Parks and Recreation, who have "community
outreach" events, which do not meet the legal standard as "public meetings",
and as such, have resulted in lawsuits. Here are some City Council
Committees and Departments that
do meet:
Philadelphia City Council
"26" Standing-Committees
Check meetings
CALENDAR - type name of committee in search
Philadelphia City
Government "126"
City Departments
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