Civil Arizona Advisory Council




Civil Arizona is an organization designed by Dr. Kenneth D. Pritsker that applies our Civil Accounting methodology to create objective Civil Surveys that can be used to conduct policy debates about critical issues facing the state.

We are currently recruiting members to serve on a Civil Arizona Advisory Council to monitor the fairness and objectivity of each step of our debate process. In addition, Civil Arizona is currently assembling a team of policy researchers and building a network of communication tools to effectively "Involve Arizonans in Policy Decisions".




Civil Nation Guiding Principles



Working Towards a Common Good



Sandra Day O'Conner

"We don't accomplish anything in this world alone ... and whatever
happens is the result of the weavings of individual threads from one to
another that creates something."


Civil Arizona helps create a common interest between individuals and groups to work together toward improving the quality of life for all Americans.




Fighting Corporate and Special Interests



George Will

"America needs a way for knowledgeable citizens to gain an equal
voice with corporate and special interest influences."


Civil Arizona builds a level playing field for citizens and corporations to compete in the public marketplace of ideas.




Involving Citizens in Policy Decisions



Elizabeth Dole

"The best public policy is made when you are listening to people
who are going to be impacted.
Then, once policy is determined, you call on them to help you sell it."


Civil Arizona invites citizen groups to participate in the development of policy alternatives and assists them in promoting their policy preferences.




Promoting Policy Positions



George Washington

"I want a system that allows everybody the
opportunity to promote their positions."


Civil Arizona publishes CIVILUTION newsletters and a CIVILUTION magazine to promote the policy preferences of specific citizen groups.




Encouraging the Best Politics



Adlai Stevenson

"Good government cannot exist side by side with bad politics.
The best politics is the best government."


Civil Arizona is designed to create the best politics by involving a wide variety of citizen groups in the systematic evaluation of different governmental policy solutions.




Advancing the Cause of Democracy



Aristotle

"If liberty and equality are in democracy, they will be best attained
when all persons alike share in the government to the utmost."


Civil Arizona uses the internet to enable a wide variety of people and organizations to share in the actual development of public policy.




Creating a Mathematical Policy Equation



Albert Einstein

"We have to divide up our time between our politics and our equations.
But to me, our equations are far more important as politics are only a
matter of present concern. A mathematical equation stands forever."


Civil Arizona applies Civil Accounting as a methodology to create a mathematical model capable of quantifying the performance of public policy decisions.




Constructing a New Policy Development Industry



Ralph Waldo Emerson

"Build a better mousetrap and the world will beat a path to your door."


Civil Arizona combines lobbying, internet communications, public relations and political networking to build a new policy development industry.




Earning a Reputation for Credibility



Warren Buffett

"It takes twenty years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin
it. If you think about that you will do things differently."


Civil Arizona is committed to earning a reputation for contributing to the improvement of the quality of America's public policy.




Managing an Innovative and Flexible Organization



Michael Porter

"To operate a virtual organization, there must be a well-defined skeleton to tie all the activities together."


Civil Arizona operates as a virtual organization using defined debate procedures
to coordinate defined functions in a individual state division structure.




Opening the Door to Discuss the Undiscussable



Harry S. Truman

"Once a government is committed to the principle of silencing the voice
of opposition, it has only one way to go, and that is down the path of
increasingly repressive measures."


Civil Arizona enables diverse leaders to present a range of policy alternatives, even the undiscussable alternatives, to be openly evaluated in the court of public opinion.




Building a Foundation for Long Term Success



Colin Powell

"There are no magic answers, no miraculous methods to
overcome the problems we face, just the familiar ones: honest search
for understanding, education, organization, action."


Civil Arizona embarks on the continual journey to improve America's political understanding, education, organization and action.




Trusting the American Citizen



Ronald Reagan

"I trust the wisdom of American citizens who
have first hand knowledge of the issues."


Civil Arizona offers citizen leaders with first hand knowledge of an issue the opportunity to communicate effectively with their political leaders.




Competing in the Marketplace of Ideas



John F. Kennedy

"For a nation that is afraid to let its people
judge the truth and falsehood in an open market
is a nation that is afraid of its people."


Civil Arizona creates an internet marketplace of ideas where public policy can be evaluated in an open and honest manner.




Engaging the Best and Brightest



Plato

"Those who are too smart to engage in politics are
punished by being governed by those who are dumber."


Civil Arizona is committed to providing a voice to the policy experts in developing and implementing effective public policy.




Fighting the 24 Hour News Cycle



Thomas Friedman

"Public opinion polls are often just tests of political consultants'
ability to control the 24 hour news cycle."


Civil Arizona proactively involves citizen groups in policy development rather than having politicians react to manipulated public opinion polls.




Reaching a Broad General Audience



Alvin Toffler

"Americans are fascinated by the idea of
catching a glimpse of the future."


Civil Arizona offers an entertaining animated feature presentation (called Civil Scenarios) that presents predictions of the future if no policy changes occur.




Decoding the Public Policy News



Alan Greenspan

"I need help in understanding all of the
spin surrounding today's news stories."


Civil Arizona offers "The Policy Decoder" as a service that provides editorial commentary on the major policy news stories.




Reducing the Influence of Political Slogans



Edward R. Murrow

"Our major obligation is not to mistake slogans for solutions."


Civil Arizona proactively evaluates policy proposals as concrete pieces of legislation rather than reactively evaluating slogans created for public relations campaigns.




Organizing a Political Majority



Jesse Jackson

"In politics, an organized minority is a political majority."


Civil Arizona conducts internet policy debates and hosts stakeholder summits to facilitate the building of strong political coalitions.




Holding Politicians Accountable



John Gardner

"The citizen can bring our political and governmental
institutions back to life, make them responsive and accountable,
and keep them honest. No one else can."


Civil Arizona strengthens the political legitimacy of American citizen groups.




Making a Difference



Franklin Roosevelt

"Happiness is not in the mere possession of money; it lies in the joy of
achievement, in the thrill of creative effort."


Civil Arizona is designed to make a tangible contribution to American society.




Unleashing the Power of the Internet



Bill Gates

"The more complex our world becomes, the more we rely
on the electronic window to help us process it all.
And the greater the responsibility we shoulder to see that it is used as
fairly as it is fearlessly."


Civil Arizona fearlessly unleashes the power of the internet to involve people in a fair and objective debate about alternative public policy proposals.




Reaching a New Generation of Political Activists



Ruppert Murdock

"The internet can directly reach the 30 million
Americans interested in public policy."


Civil Arizona conducts policy debates with the goal of using internet technology to involve citizen activists in policy development.




Demanding Academic Rigor



John F. Kennedy

"Remember that our nation's first great leaders
were also our first great scholars."


Civil Arizona uses its proprietary technology, Civil Accounting, as an academic framework to categorize policy alternatives and measure policy performance.




Refusing to Take it Anymore



Howard Beale

"So I want you to get up now. I want all of you to get up out of your
chairs. I want you to get up right now and go to the window. Open it,
and stick your head out, and yell, I am as mad as hell and I am
not going to take it anymore."


Civil Arizona builds a new political machine that directly competes with the current institutional political process.




Reducing Skepticism about Politicians



Jon Stewart

"Americans are skeptical about what politicians do
and their motivations for doing it."


Civil Arizona asks politicians to present their policy preferences before they are elected so we can actually hold them accountable for their legislative decisions.




Involving Citizens as a Cause for Improved Citizenship



Charlie Rose

"Patriotism has less to do with a state
than it does with a state of mind."


Civil Arizona attempts to create a new sense of patriotism by creating a meaningful way for individuals and groups to participate in the policy development process.




Finding Common Ground for Policy Discussions



Oprah Winfrey

"What the United States needs most are United Notions."


Civil Arizona rediscovers the common interests between diverse groups to help build effective political coalitions.




Conducting Policy Debates in a Transparent Manner



Ted Turner

"America needs to bring together the hundreds of organizations
seeking improved policy transparency."


Civil Arizona invites policy activists to report on the transparency of our debates.