Every once in awhile, you hear of an idea so blindingly obvious and inarguably wise that you wonder why in God’s name it’s still a notion and not a reality.

That happened to me this morning when I heard about the Taxpayer Receipt, the brainchild of the folks at Third Way.

In a brief and readable policy paper, David Kendall and Jim Kessler propose “providing each taxpayer with a receipt that shows them exactly how their money is spent to the penny.”  That’s it.

Well, why aren't we doing it?

Showing up: the power of presence. There's a well-known saying that 90% of success in life comes from just showing up. It's a cliché because it's true. Digital and other remote communications are efficient and helpful, but there's much to be said for being there, face-to-face with others. I coined the term Management by Flying Around to reflect the work of CEOs of the vanguard companies in my book SuperCorp. Instead of ruling from headquarters, they go out to the field, meet major customers, and press the flesh with government officials.

Rosabeth Moss Kanter suggests five ways we can ideas of the ground. Follow the link to find out about the power of voice, the power of partnering, the power of values, and the power of persistence.

1. America missed a golden opportunity to showcase its Constitutional freedoms. The instinctive response of Americans should have been the same as President Obama's: Muslims have every right to build there. Where one religion can build a church, so can all religions.

2. The First Amendment comes down to this: "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." It does not come down to: "The First Amendment gives me the right to shout the N-word 11 times on the radio to an

inoffensive black woman, and when you attack me for saying it, you are in violation of my First Amendment rights."

Here's the first two poins from Roger Ebert's post about the mosque proposed in New York City. If only we were all capable of analysis and discourse at this level. Follow the link for the rest of the post.

Now, I don't care what your political persuasion, this is not a good state of affairs. A Republican Party that keeps practicing addition by subtraction only serves to polarize the national political debate, make every issue a black/white wedge issue, dampen down the capacity of elected officials who might want to get something, and drive more and more average Americans out of the political process.
If it is a conscious strategy, it is cynical beyond words.
If it is a death-wish, those of us who believe that politics and government are essential to our capacity to create and deliver a positive future can only hope that the process moves rapidly to its logical conclusion, and that at some point a more reasonable, moderate, and thoughtful Republican Party can be re-born.

After cataloging the people Republicans have alienated, Alan Webber provides this analysis and some history, too.

Here's what happens as a result of security theater at the Orlando airport:

• You wait in line at least twenty minutes
• There's a scrum of pushing and shoving
• The staff are unhappy and not afraid to share it
• An unreasonable workload leads to fatigue and errors
• People miss their flights

Here's what doesn't happen:

• Security is not increased
• Peace of mind is not enhanced

Godin starts with a longtime feeling of mine, restates it eloquently, and drives to a wider conclusion: "Think about how much you could get done if you didn't have to pay a tax to amplify or mollify your fear..."