Project 2029 PGV Markdown

Most of the markdown is standard, but there are a few bespoke extensions.

The main document is written in individual chapters using a markdown language. These are simple text files that can be edited in any text editor, like Notepad on Windows and TextEdit on Mac.

The key to the markdown language is that basic elements like headings and quotations are indicated by symbols at the beginning of the line. So, to make headings, subheadings, and quotes, you type:


        # A main heading
        ## A subheading at level 1
        ### A sub-subheading at level 2
        >> An inspirational quote

Using markdown is intended to avoid proprietary word processors, compatibility issues, and the increasing encroachment of AI; you can edit these with a simple text editor.

The full markdown language can do more than just headings (e.g. tables and lists). It is an industry standard and is described here.

There are a few special codes; these are unique to Project 2029.

References are inserted like this:


      This is a citation [@murphy_example_2020].
      This is another one [@murphy_example_2020; murphy_example2_2018].

For references to appear correctly, they must also be in the Zotero library, and they must be specified using a unique ID. The procedure for ensuring this is currently to send me (John Murphy) the reference and your preferred ID, which should be something simple but distinctive, like murphy_word_year. References appear as footnotes on the page where they occur, and in a reference list at the end of the book.

Any section in the text can be labeled and referred to later (cross-referenced). A label and reference look like this:


      #Chapter Title
      [LABEL:DemoChapter]
      As we saw in Chapter [XREF:OtherChapter]...

Note that this will show a chapter number, e.g. "Chapter 4", and this will be correct even if we add chapters or re-order them.

Principles, Facts, and Actions are special points of emphasis. They are marked clearly and stand out in the text, and they can also be automatically extracted (e.g. a list of the 'Actions' that Project 2029 PGV will undertake can be created from the text itself.) The format is:


        PRINCIPLE:::This is a foundational principle, e.g. No one should go bankrupt because of an illness.
        FACT:::Medical debt is substantial in our country.
        ACTION:::Forgive all medical debt.

These must:

Start at the beginning of the line.
All be typed on as a single line, with no paragraph break/carriage return.

Any of these can also be given a label for cross-referencing; this is done by inserting it between the second and third colon:


         PRINCIPLE::HealthCareIsARight:Health care is a human right.

Additionally, each ACTION can be given a descriptor; the descriptors are placed as 4-character codes between the first and second colon:


         ACTION:D1EO::Declare September 11th a new National Holiday

The codes and their meanings are:

D1EO	Day 1 Executive Order
LAWF	Federal Law
LAWS	State Law
HRUL	House Rule
SRUL	Senate Rule
APOL	Agency Policy
EACT	Executive Action
INTL	International Issue
MPOL	Military Policy
MACT	Military Action
BUDG	Budget
PRTY	Party Policies
AMND	Requires Constitutional Amendment

Annotations are inserted like this:


      # Here is a heading in the text
      :-:JTM: Here is a comment by JTM
      :-:KAT: Here is a comment by KAT

Annotations are intended to allow a limited number of individuals to insert their own commentary such that a special version of the book can be created with their annotations. This is mainly intended for candidates: candidate 'A' can produce a copy that includes points where she disagrees with the text, or add clarification about which of several possible positions she favors. Each candidate has a unique ID (e.g, 'JTM'); these annotations are added like this:

Most of the time when the full book is generated, these will not appear. A special version of the book can be generated, however, that includes comments by JTM, or KAT, or both.

FAQs

How does it go from markdown to pdf? I have a script that processes it using pandoc and LaTeX to assemble the individual markup chapters into a pdf in book format.