03 March 2012
Gentle
2 Timothy 2
23 Don’t have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments, because you know they produce quarrels.
And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful.
Opponents must be gently instructed, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will.
Also
Titus 3
and
I Peter 3
02 March 2012
Hypothesis
word of the day
noun
a supposition or proposed explanation made on the basis of limited evidence as a starting point for further investigation
• Philosophy a proposition made as a basis for reasoning, without any assumption of its truth.
New Oxford American Dictionary
a proposition, or set of propositions, set forth as an explanation for the occurrence of some specified group of phenomena, either asserted merely as a provisional conjecture to guide investigation (working hypothesis) or accepted as highly probable in the light of established facts.
a proposition assumed as a premise in an argument.
the antecedent of a conditional proposition.
a mere assumption or guess.
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
A hypothesis is a tentative statement that proposes a possible explanation to some phenomenon or event. A useful hypothesis is a testable statement which may include a prediction. A hypotheses should not be confused with a theory. Theories are general explanations based on a large amount of data. For example, the theory of evolution applies to all living things and is based on wide range of observations. However, there are many things about evolution that are not fully understood such as gaps in the fossil record. Many hypotheses have been proposed and tested.
Writing hypotheses
Hypothesis
k12 explanation
noun
a supposition or proposed explanation made on the basis of limited evidence as a starting point for further investigation
• Philosophy a proposition made as a basis for reasoning, without any assumption of its truth.
New Oxford American Dictionary
a proposition, or set of propositions, set forth as an explanation for the occurrence of some specified group of phenomena, either asserted merely as a provisional conjecture to guide investigation (working hypothesis) or accepted as highly probable in the light of established facts.
a proposition assumed as a premise in an argument.
the antecedent of a conditional proposition.
a mere assumption or guess.
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
A hypothesis is a tentative statement that proposes a possible explanation to some phenomenon or event. A useful hypothesis is a testable statement which may include a prediction. A hypotheses should not be confused with a theory. Theories are general explanations based on a large amount of data. For example, the theory of evolution applies to all living things and is based on wide range of observations. However, there are many things about evolution that are not fully understood such as gaps in the fossil record. Many hypotheses have been proposed and tested.
Writing hypotheses
Hypothesis
k12 explanation
Honest moment
People might find it rude to interrupt...
If I don't ask questions, or respond during a conversation
it usually means I've stopped listening.
Not that I'm being rude...though, yes, it is rude.
I have to be engaged to receive information.
If I don't ask questions, or respond during a conversation
it usually means I've stopped listening.
Not that I'm being rude...though, yes, it is rude.
I have to be engaged to receive information.
Deep thought
Joseph Campbell
"My definition of a devil is a god who has not been recognized. That is to say, it is a power in you to which you have not given expression, and you push it back. And then, like all repressed energy, it builds up and becomes completely dangerous to the position you’re trying to hold."
Joseph Campbell, An Open Life, p.28-29
"My definition of a devil is a god who has not been recognized. That is to say, it is a power in you to which you have not given expression, and you push it back. And then, like all repressed energy, it builds up and becomes completely dangerous to the position you’re trying to hold."
Joseph Campbell, An Open Life, p.28-29
Deep Thought
“When it comes to the teaching of the master, you [must] go extremely critical,” he says.
“You’ve got to be doubting, doubting, questioning, questioning, questioning.”
In other words, don’t forget to use your brain.
“God has given intellect to human being[s], right. For what? To think.”
How Spiritual Gurus Exert Political Influence in India | PRI's The World
“You’ve got to be doubting, doubting, questioning, questioning, questioning.”
In other words, don’t forget to use your brain.
“God has given intellect to human being[s], right. For what? To think.”
How Spiritual Gurus Exert Political Influence in India | PRI's The World
The 10 Signs of Intellectual Honesty
October 20th, 2008 by Mike Gene
When it comes to just about any topic, it seems as if the public discourse on the internet is dominated by rhetoric and propaganda. People are either selling products or ideology. In fact, just because someone may come across as calm and knowledgeable does not mean you should let your guard down and trust what they say. What you need to look for is a track record of intellectual honesty. Let me therefore propose 10 signs of intellectual honesty.
1. Do not overstate the power of your argument.
One’s sense of conviction should be in proportion to the level of clear evidence assessable by most. If someone portrays their opponents as being either stupid or dishonest for disagreeing, intellectual dishonesty is probably in play. Intellectual honesty is most often associated with humility, not arrogance.
2. Show a willingness to publicly acknowledge that reasonable alternative viewpoints exist.
The alternative views do not have to be treated as equally valid or powerful, but rarely is it the case that one and only one viewpoint has a complete monopoly on reason and evidence.
3. Be willing to publicly acknowledge and question one’s own assumptions and biases.
All of us rely on assumptions when applying our world view to make sense of the data about the world. And all of us bring various biases to the table.
4. Be willing to publicly acknowledge where your argument is weak.
Almost all arguments have weak spots, but those who are trying to sell an ideology will have great difficulty with this point and would rather obscure or downplay any weak points.
5. Be willing to publicly acknowledge when you are wrong.
Those selling an ideology likewise have great difficulty admitting to being wrong, as this undercuts the rhetoric and image that is being sold. You get small points for admitting to being wrong on trivial matters and big points for admitting to being wrong on substantive points. You lose big points for failing to admit being wrong on something trivial.
6. Demonstrate consistency.
A clear sign of intellectual dishonesty is when someone extensively relies on double standards. Typically, an excessively high standard is applied to the perceived opponent(s), while a very low standard is applied to the ideologues’ allies.
7. Address the argument instead of attacking the person making the argument.
Ad hominem arguments are a clear sign of intellectual dishonesty. However, often times, the dishonesty is more subtle. For example, someone might make a token effort at debunking an argument and then turn significant attention to the person making the argument, relying on stereotypes, guilt-by-association, and innocent-sounding gotcha questions.
8. When addressing an argument, do not misrepresent it.
A common tactic of the intellectually dishonest is to portray their opponent’s argument in straw man terms. In politics, this is called spin. Typically, such tactics eschew quoting the person in context, but instead rely heavily on out-of-context quotes, paraphrasing and impression. When addressing an argument, one should shows signs of having made a serious effort to first understand the argument and then accurately represent it in its strongest form.
9. Show a commitment to critical thinking.
‘Nuff said.
10. Be willing to publicly acknowledge when a point or criticism is good.
If someone is unable or unwilling to admit when their opponent raises a good point or makes a good criticism, it demonstrates an unwillingness to participate in the give-and-take that characterizes an honest exchange.
While no one is perfect, and even those who strive for intellectual honesty can have a bad day, simply be on the look out for how many and how often these criteria apply to someone. In the arena of public discourse, it is not intelligence or knowledge that matters most – it is whether you can trust the intelligence or knowledge of another. After all, intelligence and knowledge can sometimes be the best tools of an intellectually dishonest approach.
Originally posted November 2008
On intellectual honesty
Honesty in the acquisition, analysis, and transmission of ideas.
debate tactics This article is fishy. I'll leave it up to the reader to find the dishonesty.
Intellectual honesty is an applied method of problem solving in academia, characterized by an unbiased, honest attitude, which can be demonstrated in a number of different ways:
One's personal beliefs do not interfere with the pursuit of truth;
Relevant facts and information are not purposefully omitted even when such things may contradict one's hypothesis;
Facts are presented in an unbiased manner, and not twisted to give misleading impressions or to support one view over another;
References are acknowledged where possible, and plagiarism is avoided
When it comes to just about any topic, it seems as if the public discourse on the internet is dominated by rhetoric and propaganda. People are either selling products or ideology. In fact, just because someone may come across as calm and knowledgeable does not mean you should let your guard down and trust what they say. What you need to look for is a track record of intellectual honesty. Let me therefore propose 10 signs of intellectual honesty.
1. Do not overstate the power of your argument.
One’s sense of conviction should be in proportion to the level of clear evidence assessable by most. If someone portrays their opponents as being either stupid or dishonest for disagreeing, intellectual dishonesty is probably in play. Intellectual honesty is most often associated with humility, not arrogance.
2. Show a willingness to publicly acknowledge that reasonable alternative viewpoints exist.
The alternative views do not have to be treated as equally valid or powerful, but rarely is it the case that one and only one viewpoint has a complete monopoly on reason and evidence.
3. Be willing to publicly acknowledge and question one’s own assumptions and biases.
All of us rely on assumptions when applying our world view to make sense of the data about the world. And all of us bring various biases to the table.
4. Be willing to publicly acknowledge where your argument is weak.
Almost all arguments have weak spots, but those who are trying to sell an ideology will have great difficulty with this point and would rather obscure or downplay any weak points.
5. Be willing to publicly acknowledge when you are wrong.
Those selling an ideology likewise have great difficulty admitting to being wrong, as this undercuts the rhetoric and image that is being sold. You get small points for admitting to being wrong on trivial matters and big points for admitting to being wrong on substantive points. You lose big points for failing to admit being wrong on something trivial.
6. Demonstrate consistency.
A clear sign of intellectual dishonesty is when someone extensively relies on double standards. Typically, an excessively high standard is applied to the perceived opponent(s), while a very low standard is applied to the ideologues’ allies.
7. Address the argument instead of attacking the person making the argument.
Ad hominem arguments are a clear sign of intellectual dishonesty. However, often times, the dishonesty is more subtle. For example, someone might make a token effort at debunking an argument and then turn significant attention to the person making the argument, relying on stereotypes, guilt-by-association, and innocent-sounding gotcha questions.
8. When addressing an argument, do not misrepresent it.
A common tactic of the intellectually dishonest is to portray their opponent’s argument in straw man terms. In politics, this is called spin. Typically, such tactics eschew quoting the person in context, but instead rely heavily on out-of-context quotes, paraphrasing and impression. When addressing an argument, one should shows signs of having made a serious effort to first understand the argument and then accurately represent it in its strongest form.
9. Show a commitment to critical thinking.
‘Nuff said.
10. Be willing to publicly acknowledge when a point or criticism is good.
If someone is unable or unwilling to admit when their opponent raises a good point or makes a good criticism, it demonstrates an unwillingness to participate in the give-and-take that characterizes an honest exchange.
While no one is perfect, and even those who strive for intellectual honesty can have a bad day, simply be on the look out for how many and how often these criteria apply to someone. In the arena of public discourse, it is not intelligence or knowledge that matters most – it is whether you can trust the intelligence or knowledge of another. After all, intelligence and knowledge can sometimes be the best tools of an intellectually dishonest approach.
Originally posted November 2008
On intellectual honesty
Honesty in the acquisition, analysis, and transmission of ideas.
debate tactics This article is fishy. I'll leave it up to the reader to find the dishonesty.
Intellectual honesty is an applied method of problem solving in academia, characterized by an unbiased, honest attitude, which can be demonstrated in a number of different ways:
One's personal beliefs do not interfere with the pursuit of truth;
Relevant facts and information are not purposefully omitted even when such things may contradict one's hypothesis;
Facts are presented in an unbiased manner, and not twisted to give misleading impressions or to support one view over another;
References are acknowledged where possible, and plagiarism is avoided
01 March 2012
Deep Thought
It is a good morning exercise for a research scientist to discard a pet hypothesis every day before breakfast. It keeps him young.
-Lorenz, Konrad
originally posted March 2011
-Lorenz, Konrad
originally posted March 2011
29 February 2012
Authority
Word of the day
noun
1 the power or right to give orders, make decisions, and enforce obedience
• [ often with infinitive ] the right to act in a specified way, delegated from one person or organization to another
• official permission; sanction
2 (often authorities) a person or organization having power or control in a particular, typically political or administrative, sphere
New Oxford American Dictionary
the power to determine, adjudicate, or otherwise settle issues or disputes;
jurisdiction;
the right to control, command, or determine.
a power or right delegated or given;
a person or body of persons in whom authority is vested, as a governmental agency.
Usually, authorities. persons having the legal power to make and enforce the law; government
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
You hold a belief
What gives you the authority to impose that belief on others?
noun
1 the power or right to give orders, make decisions, and enforce obedience
• [ often with infinitive ] the right to act in a specified way, delegated from one person or organization to another
• official permission; sanction
2 (often authorities) a person or organization having power or control in a particular, typically political or administrative, sphere
New Oxford American Dictionary
the power to determine, adjudicate, or otherwise settle issues or disputes;
jurisdiction;
the right to control, command, or determine.
a power or right delegated or given;
a person or body of persons in whom authority is vested, as a governmental agency.
Usually, authorities. persons having the legal power to make and enforce the law; government
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
You hold a belief
What gives you the authority to impose that belief on others?
My motto
Liberty consists in the freedom to do everything which injures no one else;
hence the exercise of the natural rights of each man has no limits except those which assure to the other members of the society the enjoyment of the same rights.
These limits can only be determined by law.
Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen
hence the exercise of the natural rights of each man has no limits except those which assure to the other members of the society the enjoyment of the same rights.
These limits can only be determined by law.
Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen
Life
Finding out what you want
Learning how to get it
With minimal damage to yourself or others
and accept the consequences of your actions
Learning how to get it
With minimal damage to yourself or others
and accept the consequences of your actions
UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS
In the exercise of his rights and freedoms, everyone shall be subject only to such limitations as are determined by law solely for the purpose of securing due recognition and respect for the rights and freedoms of others and of meeting the just requirements of morality, public order and the general welfare in a democratic society.
United Nations
United Nations
28 February 2012
Hazards of a mixed economy
If the government gives people money to purchase things in the market, The market will take advantage. The market will increase prices, knowing that the government has provided a steady stream of money.
This is the problem with government assistance programs. The military. And government contractors.
When the government provides funds for services, they need to ensure market prices are reasonable
This is the problem with government assistance programs. The military. And government contractors.
When the government provides funds for services, they need to ensure market prices are reasonable
Skeptic
Word of the day
noun
a person who questions the validity or authenticity of something purporting to be factual.
a person who maintains a doubting attitude, as toward values, plans, statements, or the character of others.
a person who doubts the truth of a religion, especially Christianity, or of important elements of it.
( initial capital letter ) Philosophy .
a.
a member of a philosophical school of ancient Greece, the earliest group of which consisted of Pyrrho and his followers, who maintained that real knowledge of things is impossible.
b.
any later thinker who doubts or questions the possibility of real knowledge of any kind.
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
a person inclined to question or doubt all accepted opinions.
• a person who doubts the truth of Christianity and other religions; an atheist or agnostic.
Philosophy an ancient or modern philosopher who denies the possibility of knowledge, or even rational belief, in some sphere.
The leading ancient skeptic was Pyrrho, whose followers at the Academy vigorously opposed Stoicism. Modern skeptics have held diverse views: the most extreme have doubted whether any knowledge at all of the external world is possible (see solipsism), while others have questioned the existence of objects beyond our experience of them.
New Oxford American Dictionary
noun
a person who questions the validity or authenticity of something purporting to be factual.
a person who maintains a doubting attitude, as toward values, plans, statements, or the character of others.
a person who doubts the truth of a religion, especially Christianity, or of important elements of it.
( initial capital letter ) Philosophy .
a.
a member of a philosophical school of ancient Greece, the earliest group of which consisted of Pyrrho and his followers, who maintained that real knowledge of things is impossible.
b.
any later thinker who doubts or questions the possibility of real knowledge of any kind.
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
a person inclined to question or doubt all accepted opinions.
• a person who doubts the truth of Christianity and other religions; an atheist or agnostic.
Philosophy an ancient or modern philosopher who denies the possibility of knowledge, or even rational belief, in some sphere.
The leading ancient skeptic was Pyrrho, whose followers at the Academy vigorously opposed Stoicism. Modern skeptics have held diverse views: the most extreme have doubted whether any knowledge at all of the external world is possible (see solipsism), while others have questioned the existence of objects beyond our experience of them.
New Oxford American Dictionary
27 February 2012
Popular Basis of Political Authority
On similar ground it may be proved that no society can make a perpetual constitution, or even a perpetual law. The earth belongs always to the living generation. They may manage it then, and what proceeds from it, as they please, during their usufruct. They are masters too of their own persons, and consequently may govern them as they please. But persons and property make the sum of the objects of government. The constitution and the laws of their predecessors extinguished then in their natural course with those who gave them being. This could preserve that being till it ceased to be itself, and no longer. Every constitution then, and every law, naturally expires at the end of 19 years. If it be enforced longer, it is an act of force, and not of right.--It may be said that the succeeding generation exercising in fact the power of repeal, this leaves them as free as if the constitution or law has been expressly limited to 19 years only. In the first place, this objection admits the right, in proposing an equivalent. But the power of repeal is not an equivalent. It might be indeed if every form of government were so perfectly contrived that the will of the majority could always be obtained fairly and without impediment. But this is true of no form. The people cannot assemble themselves. Their representation is unequal and vicious. Various checks are opposed to every legislative proposition. Factions get possession of the public councils. Bribery corrupts them. Personal interests lead them astray from the general interests of their constituents: and other impediments arise so as to prove to every practical man that a law of limited duration is much more manageable than one which needs a repeal.
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson
Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen
Approved by the National Assembly of France, August 26, 1789
The representatives of the French people, organized as a National Assembly, believing that the ignorance, neglect, or contempt of the rights of man are the sole cause of public calamities and of the corruption of governments, have determined to set forth in a solemn declaration the natural, unalienable, and sacred rights of man, in order that this declaration, being constantly before all the members of the Social body, shall remind them continually of their rights and duties; in order that the acts of the legislative power, as well as those of the executive power, may be compared at any moment with the objects and purposes of all political institutions and may thus be more respected, and, lastly, in order that the grievances of the citizens, based hereafter upon simple and incontestable principles, shall tend to the maintenance of the constitution and redound to the happiness of all. Therefore the National Assembly recognizes and proclaims, in the presence and under the auspices of the Supreme Being, the following rights of man and of the citizen:
Articles:
1. Men are born and remain free and equal in rights. Social distinctions may be founded only upon the general good.
2. The aim of all political association is the preservation of the natural and imprescriptible rights of man. These rights are liberty, property, security, and resistance to oppression.
3. The principle of all sovereignty resides essentially in the nation. No body nor individual may exercise any authority which does not proceed directly from the nation.
4. Liberty consists in the freedom to do everything which injures no one else; hence the exercise of the natural rights of each man has no limits except those which assure to the other members of the society the enjoyment of the same rights. These limits can only be determined by law.
5. Law can only prohibit such actions as are hurtful to society. Nothing may be prevented which is not forbidden by law, and no one may be forced to do anything not provided for by law.
6. Law is the expression of the general will. Every citizen has a right to participate personally, or through his representative, in its foundation. It must be the same for all, whether it protects or punishes. All citizens, being equal in the eyes of the law, are equally eligible to all dignities and to all public positions and occupations, according to their abilities, and without distinction except that of their virtues and talents.
7. No person shall be accused, arrested, or imprisoned except in the cases and according to the forms prescribed by law. Any one soliciting, transmitting, executing, or causing to be executed, any arbitrary order, shall be punished. But any citizen summoned or arrested in virtue of the law shall submit without delay, as resistance constitutes an offense.
8. The law shall provide for such punishments only as are strictly and obviously necessary, and no one shall suffer punishment except it be legally inflicted in virtue of a law passed and promulgated before the commission of the offense.
9. As all persons are held innocent until they shall have been declared guilty, if arrest shall be deemed indispensable, all harshness not essential to the securing of the prisoner's person shall be severely repressed by law.
10. No one shall be disquieted on account of his opinions, including his religious views, provided their manifestation does not disturb the public order established by law.
11. The free communication of ideas and opinions is one of the most precious of the rights of man. Every citizen may, accordingly, speak, write, and print with freedom, but shall be responsible for such abuses of this freedom as shall be defined by law.
12. The security of the rights of man and of the citizen requires public military forces. These forces are, therefore, established for the good of all and not for the personal advantage of those to whom they shall be intrusted.
13. A common contribution is essential for the maintenance of the public forces and for the cost of administration. This should be equitably distributed among all the citizens in proportion to their means.
14. All the citizens have a right to decide, either personally or by their representatives, as to the necessity of the public contribution; to grant this freely; to know to what uses it is put; and to fix the proportion, the mode of assessment and of collection and the duration of the taxes.
15. Society has the right to require of every public agent an account of his administration.
16. A society in which the observance of the law is not assured, nor the separation of powers defined, has no constitution at all.
17. Since property is an inviolable and sacred right, no one shall be deprived thereof except where public necessity, legally determined, shall clearly demand it, and then only on condition that the owner shall have been previously and equitably indemnified.
A cow based economics lesson
SOCIALISM
You have 2 cows.
You give one to your neighbor.
COMMUNISM
You have 2 cows.
The State takes both and gives you some milk.
FASCISM
You have 2 cows.
The State takes both and sells you some milk.
NAZISM
You have 2 cows.
The State takes both and shoots you.
BUREAUCRATISM
You have 2 cows.
The State takes both, shoots one, milks the other, and then throws the milk away.
TRADITIONAL CAPITALISM
You have two cows.
You sell one and buy a bull.
Your herd multiplies, and the economy grows.
You sell them and retire on the income.
ROYAL BANK OF SCOTLAND (VENTURE) CAPITALISM
You have two cows.
You sell three of them to your publicly listed company, using letters of credit opened by your brother-in-law at the bank, then execute a debt/equity swap with an associated general offer so that you get all four cows back, with a tax exemption for five cows.
The milk rights of the six cows are transferred via an intermediary to a Cayman Island Company secretly owned by the majority shareholder who sells the rights to all seven cows back to your listed company.
The annual report says the company owns eight cows, with an option on one more.
You sell one cow to buy a new president of the United States , leaving you with nine cows.
No balance sheet provided with the release.
The public then buys your bull.
SURREALISM
You have two giraffes.
The government requires you to take harmonica lessons.
AN AMERICAN CORPORATION
You have two cows.
You sell one, and force the other to produce the milk of four cows.
Later, you hire a consultant to analyze why the cow has dropped dead.
A FRENCH CORPORATION
You have two cows.
You go on strike, organize a riot, and block the roads, because you
want three cows.
A JAPANESE CORPORATION
You have two cows.
You redesign them so they are one-tenth the size of an ordinary cow and produce twenty times the milk.
You then create a clever cow cartoon image called a Cowkimona and market it worldwide.
AN ITALIAN CORPORATION
You have two cows, but you don't know where they are.
You decide to have lunch.
A SWISS CORPORATION
You have 5000 cows. None of them belong to you.
You charge the owners for storing them.
A CHINESE CORPORATION
You have two cows.
You have 300 people milking them.
You claim that you have full employment, and high bovine productivity.
You arrest the newsman who reported the real situation.
AN INDIAN CORPORATION
You have two cows.
You worship them.
A BRITISH CORPORATION
You have two cows.
Both are mad.
AN IRAQI CORPORATION
Everyone thinks you have lots of cows.
You tell them that you have none.
No-one believes you, so they bomb the ** out of you and invade your country.
You still have no cows, but at least you are now a Democracy.
AN AUSTRALIAN CORPORATION
You have two cows.
Business seems pretty good.
You close the office and go for a few beers to celebrate.
A NEW ZEALAND CORPORATION
You have two cows.
The one on the left looks very attractive.
I got this from the internets
24 February 2012
letter to my representatives
The military should create a combat course that is available to all military members and has the same standards for everyone.
It should teach and test all skills, physical and mental, needed to fight in all armed conflicts.
If a person, male or female, can pass this course, then they should be allowed to serve in all direct combat roles.
It should teach and test all skills, physical and mental, needed to fight in all armed conflicts.
If a person, male or female, can pass this course, then they should be allowed to serve in all direct combat roles.
21 February 2012
letter to my representatives
Please replace current health care legislation with a simple public option for health care. Open up medicare and medicaid to everyone who cannot afford private insurance or insurance through their employer.
Or open up the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program to all who can't afford their own health care.
Charge a reduced, affordable premium based on individual income. Meaning, the public option premium would have to be far cheaper than private competitors.
This comes with a not-so-simple caveat. A thorough investigation into rising health care costs.
Don't let taxpayers get ripped off by health care fraud, waste, and abuse.
Or open up the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program to all who can't afford their own health care.
Charge a reduced, affordable premium based on individual income. Meaning, the public option premium would have to be far cheaper than private competitors.
This comes with a not-so-simple caveat. A thorough investigation into rising health care costs.
Don't let taxpayers get ripped off by health care fraud, waste, and abuse.
Entitlement
word of the day
noun
the fact of having a right to something
• the amount to which a person has a right
New Oxford American Dictionary
the right to guaranteed benefits under a government program, as Social Security or unemployment
Entitle
to give (a person or thing) a title, right, or claim to something; furnish with grounds for laying claim
Random House Dictionary
There's a difference between what you are inherently allowed to do and what people are supposed to do for you or give you.
There is a big difference between rights that are given to you by law and intrinsic rights
The issue is, if someone is given something, should everyone else be given the same thing.
Should everyone have the same access to all entitlements?
Article iv section 2
The Citizens of each State shall be entitled to all Privileges and Immunities of Citizens in the several States.
14th amendment
All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.
noun
the fact of having a right to something
• the amount to which a person has a right
New Oxford American Dictionary
the right to guaranteed benefits under a government program, as Social Security or unemployment
Entitle
to give (a person or thing) a title, right, or claim to something; furnish with grounds for laying claim
Random House Dictionary
There's a difference between what you are inherently allowed to do and what people are supposed to do for you or give you.
There is a big difference between rights that are given to you by law and intrinsic rights
The issue is, if someone is given something, should everyone else be given the same thing.
Should everyone have the same access to all entitlements?
Article iv section 2
The Citizens of each State shall be entitled to all Privileges and Immunities of Citizens in the several States.
14th amendment
All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.
20 February 2012
Letter to my representatives
I'm writing to ask you to support S. 2081
Senator Burr's (R-N.C) proposal is exactly the kind of legislation I am looking for. Hopefully legislation like this could be extended to all government benefit programs.
Senator Burr's (R-N.C) proposal is exactly the kind of legislation I am looking for. Hopefully legislation like this could be extended to all government benefit programs.
19 February 2012
Deep Thought
We are a series of personal mythologies
Inspired by ttbook.org
Stories of you
More reason to live in the present
Because the past is myth
Inspired by ttbook.org
Stories of you
More reason to live in the present
Because the past is myth
Deep Thought
It's more important to learn something than to prove something
-NPR
KUOW2
I don't know when it started (probably when I discovered the internet) but everytime I get into an argument with someone, I always research the topic afterwards.
For a while, it was just to find more and better ways to prove my point
Sometimes it still is about that...
Now, it's more about learning.
updated March 2012
-NPR
KUOW2
I don't know when it started (probably when I discovered the internet) but everytime I get into an argument with someone, I always research the topic afterwards.
For a while, it was just to find more and better ways to prove my point
Sometimes it still is about that...
Now, it's more about learning.
updated March 2012
Vulnerable
Word of the day
adj
susceptible to physical or emotional attack or harm
...how is it that we are asked to be vulnerable in relationships?
adj
susceptible to physical or emotional attack or harm
...how is it that we are asked to be vulnerable in relationships?
What every American (or everyone period) should have
A job that provides them with a living wage.
A wage that allows them to afford healthy food, a safe home, an adequate education, adequate health care, and transportation
A wage that allows them to afford healthy food, a safe home, an adequate education, adequate health care, and transportation
16 February 2012
The problem with democracy
First problem, USA is not a democracy
It is a republic
People are naturally biased.
People are going to vote their own interests
or their own fantasies
They believe their interests are what is best for others
Or they don't give a fuck about other people
when people vote on an issue
They don't necessarily go the way of equality, freedom, and justice for all
It is a republic
People are naturally biased.
People are going to vote their own interests
or their own fantasies
They believe their interests are what is best for others
Or they don't give a fuck about other people
when people vote on an issue
They don't necessarily go the way of equality, freedom, and justice for all
Deep Horoscope
In the animated film The Lion King, two of the central characters are a talking meerkat named Timon and a talking warthog named Pumbaa. Their actions are often heroic. They help the star of the tale, Simba, rise to his rightful role as king. The human actors who provided the voices for Timon and Pumbaa, Nathan Lane and Ernie Sabella, originally auditioned for the lesser roles of hyenas. They set their sights too low. Fortunately fate conspired to give them more than what they asked for. Don't start out as they did, Gemini. Aim high right from the beginning -- not for the bit part or the minor role but rather for the catalyst who actually gets things done.
How much do you want to know about your life? How far do you dare to go in your quest for self-mastery?
*
SACRED ADVERTISEMENT
The New York Times ran a story about philosopher Nick Bostrom, who believes there's a significant chance our world is actually a computer simulation. In his scenario, you and I are living in a version of The Matrix. Our "brains" are merely webs of computer circuits created by our post-human descendants, who are studying "ancestor simulations" of their past. I bring this to your attention because I'd like to invite you to find out, one way or another, whether Bostrom is correct.
Make it your intention to cultivate a talent for knowing what's real and what's not. Develop a knack for escaping what's illusory and gravitating toward what's authentic. If you do these simple things, I bet you will earn a big reward: a chronic, low-key, blissful sense of union with pretty much everything that's appealing to you.
Bonus: Even if you do find out that we're living in The Matrix, you could become a messiah with resemblances to the character that Keanu Reeves played in the film trilogy. He could fly.
How much do you want to know about your life? How far do you dare to go in your quest for self-mastery?
*
SACRED ADVERTISEMENT
The New York Times ran a story about philosopher Nick Bostrom, who believes there's a significant chance our world is actually a computer simulation. In his scenario, you and I are living in a version of The Matrix. Our "brains" are merely webs of computer circuits created by our post-human descendants, who are studying "ancestor simulations" of their past. I bring this to your attention because I'd like to invite you to find out, one way or another, whether Bostrom is correct.
Make it your intention to cultivate a talent for knowing what's real and what's not. Develop a knack for escaping what's illusory and gravitating toward what's authentic. If you do these simple things, I bet you will earn a big reward: a chronic, low-key, blissful sense of union with pretty much everything that's appealing to you.
Bonus: Even if you do find out that we're living in The Matrix, you could become a messiah with resemblances to the character that Keanu Reeves played in the film trilogy. He could fly.
Relations
How hard is it to be honest about what you want and what you're willing to give?
Assuming you know
Or maybe we always want more
But are too afraid to ask
Or too afraid of the responsibility that goes along with it
too afraid of rejection
vulnerability is a bitch
Assuming you know
Or maybe we always want more
But are too afraid to ask
Or too afraid of the responsibility that goes along with it
too afraid of rejection
vulnerability is a bitch
15 February 2012
Letter to my "Representatives"
I agree that the debt is out of control. I know that there are wasteful, fraudulent, and abused government programs that need to be scrutinized.
I agree that the government is sometimes inefficient.
I have no problem with budget cuts.
My problem is with irresponsible cuts. There are people who rely on these services. What alternatives do they have?
Shouldn't you make sure there are private services that are truly affordable and viable before you cut a government program?
Shouldn't you advertise these private services to the people as a better alternative so they don't feel like the rug has been snatched?
Wouldn't it be better to turn a program over to a private non-profit instead of just getting rid of it or cutting it to the point where it is more ineffective?
Responsible budget cuts are not contracting. It is not responsible for the government to pay a contractor to do work. That leads to fraud, waste, and abuse.
It is not responsible to just cut funding or completely cut a program.
It's not responsible just assuming that charities, churches, and non profits will take up the slack.
It's calling out to private enterprises. Determining if they can support all clients and services and ensuring that they can provide better services.
Make it easier for compassionate individuals to build businesses that cater to those who will suffer when government programs are cut.
I agree that the government is sometimes inefficient.
I have no problem with budget cuts.
My problem is with irresponsible cuts. There are people who rely on these services. What alternatives do they have?
Shouldn't you make sure there are private services that are truly affordable and viable before you cut a government program?
Shouldn't you advertise these private services to the people as a better alternative so they don't feel like the rug has been snatched?
Wouldn't it be better to turn a program over to a private non-profit instead of just getting rid of it or cutting it to the point where it is more ineffective?
Responsible budget cuts are not contracting. It is not responsible for the government to pay a contractor to do work. That leads to fraud, waste, and abuse.
It is not responsible to just cut funding or completely cut a program.
It's not responsible just assuming that charities, churches, and non profits will take up the slack.
It's calling out to private enterprises. Determining if they can support all clients and services and ensuring that they can provide better services.
Make it easier for compassionate individuals to build businesses that cater to those who will suffer when government programs are cut.
09 February 2012
Deep Horoscope
I've ghostwritten a personal ad for you to give to your Valentine or potential Valentine: "I'm looking for a free yet disciplined spirit I can roll down hills with on sunny days and solve thorny puzzles with when the skies are cloudy. Can you see the absurd in the serious and the serious in the absurd? Are you a curious chameleon always working to sharpen your communication skills? Might you be attracted to a sweet-talking wise-ass who's evolving into a holy goofball? Emotional baggage is expected, of course, but please make sure yours is organized and well-packed. Let's create the most unpredictably intriguing versions of beauty and truth that anyone ever imagined."
*
SACRED ADVERTISEMENT
Borrowing the words of poet Elizabeth Barrett Browning, I've prepared a love note for you to use as your own. Feel free to give it to the person whose destiny needs to be woven more closely together with yours. "I love you not only for what you are, but for what I am when I am with you. I love you not only for what you have made of yourself, but for what you are making of me. I love you for the part of me that you bring out."
*
SACRED ADVERTISEMENT
Borrowing the words of poet Elizabeth Barrett Browning, I've prepared a love note for you to use as your own. Feel free to give it to the person whose destiny needs to be woven more closely together with yours. "I love you not only for what you are, but for what I am when I am with you. I love you not only for what you have made of yourself, but for what you are making of me. I love you for the part of me that you bring out."
07 February 2012
Letter I sent to my representatives
I propose replacing all government assistance programs with community service programs.
This means anyone who is in need of assistance (TANF, housing, childcare, food, medical, education, utilities, etc.) would have to provide at least 10 hours of community service work per week to receive benefits.
The person should be allowed to decide what sort of community service work they will do. If they can not decide, the state can provide options amongst institutions that have a need for volunteer work. I emphasize having the person choose what work they will do instead of the state placing them into positions. The government would communicate with the business/institution to track the hours of service.
This includes all government loan programs. Especially student loans. I believe former students could erase their student loan debt if the government took over their loan in exchange for volunteer work.
I think this would lead to people gaining more skills and experience to become more valuable workers. This would allow people to negotiate for better jobs and better wages so they will not need government assistance.
This means anyone who is in need of assistance (TANF, housing, childcare, food, medical, education, utilities, etc.) would have to provide at least 10 hours of community service work per week to receive benefits.
The person should be allowed to decide what sort of community service work they will do. If they can not decide, the state can provide options amongst institutions that have a need for volunteer work. I emphasize having the person choose what work they will do instead of the state placing them into positions. The government would communicate with the business/institution to track the hours of service.
This includes all government loan programs. Especially student loans. I believe former students could erase their student loan debt if the government took over their loan in exchange for volunteer work.
I think this would lead to people gaining more skills and experience to become more valuable workers. This would allow people to negotiate for better jobs and better wages so they will not need government assistance.
05 February 2012
Union evolution
What if unions became worker cooperatives or collectives
Workers would own and run collective, with profits or benefits shared among them.
They would contract their workers out to corporations
They negotiate the wage and benefits of the workers in the contract.
They would not be direct employees of the company
Or they would advertise for work
"Worker cooperatives are business entities that are owned and controlled by their members, the people who work in them.
The two central characteristics of worker coopratives are:
(1) workers invest in and own the business and
(2) decision-making is democratic, generally adhering to the principle of one worker-one vote.
The international worker cooperative federation CICOPA established some basic standards for worker cooperatives in the World Declaration on Cooperative Worker Ownership (also known as the Oslo Declaration) at a meeting in Oslo, Norway in 2003. The US Federation of Worker Cooperatives uses this document to determine worker cooperative status."
oslo declaration
shareable
www.usworkers.coop
www.american.coop
workplace democracy
Workers would own and run collective, with profits or benefits shared among them.
They would contract their workers out to corporations
They negotiate the wage and benefits of the workers in the contract.
They would not be direct employees of the company
Or they would advertise for work
"Worker cooperatives are business entities that are owned and controlled by their members, the people who work in them.
The two central characteristics of worker coopratives are:
(1) workers invest in and own the business and
(2) decision-making is democratic, generally adhering to the principle of one worker-one vote.
The international worker cooperative federation CICOPA established some basic standards for worker cooperatives in the World Declaration on Cooperative Worker Ownership (also known as the Oslo Declaration) at a meeting in Oslo, Norway in 2003. The US Federation of Worker Cooperatives uses this document to determine worker cooperative status."
oslo declaration
shareable
www.usworkers.coop
www.american.coop
workplace democracy
Welfare
Word of the day
n
statutory procedure or social effort designed to promote the basic physical and material well-being of people in need:
the protection of rights to education, housing, and welfare.
• financial support given for this purpose.
concept of government in which the state plays a key role in the protection and promotion of the economic and social well-being of its citizens. It is based on the principles of equality of opportunity, equitable distribution of wealth, and public responsibility for those unable to avail themselves of the minimal provisions for a good life. The general term may cover a variety of forms of economic and social organization.
A fundamental feature of the welfare state is social insurance, a provision common to most advanced industrialized countries (e.g., National Insurance in the United Kingdom and Social Security in the United States). Such insurance is usually financed by compulsory contributions and is intended to provide benefits to persons and families during periods of greatest need. It is widely recognized, however, that in practice these cash benefits fall considerably short of the levels intended by the designers of the plans.
The welfare state also usually includes public provision of basic education, health services, and housing (in some cases at low cost or without charge). In these respects the welfare state is considerably more extensive in western European countries than in the United States, featuring in many cases comprehensive health coverage and provision of state-subsidized tertiary education.
The modern use of the term is associated with the comprehensive measures of social insurance adopted in 1948 by Great Britain on the basis of the report on Social Insurance and Allied Services (1942) by Sir William (later Lord) Beveridge. In the 20th century, as the earlier concept of the passive laissez-faire state was gradually abandoned, almost all states sought to provide at least some of the measures of social insurance associated with the welfare state. Thus, in the United States the New Deal of Pres. Franklin D. Roosevelt, the Fair Deal of Pres. Harry S. Truman, and a large part of the domestic programs of later presidents were based on welfare state principles. In its more thoroughgoing form, the welfare state provides state aid for the individual in almost all phases of life—“from the cradle to the grave”—as exemplified in the Netherlands and the Social Democratic governments of the Scandinavian countries. Many less-developed countries have the establishment of some form of welfare state as their goal.
"welfare state." Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online Library Edition.
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 2012. Web. 5 Feb. 2012.
.
The basic concerns of social welfare—poverty, disability and disease, the dependent young and elderly—are as old as society itself. The laws of survival once severely limited the means by which these concerns could be addressed; to share another's burden meant to weaken one's own standing in the fierce struggle of daily existence. As societies developed, however, with their patterns of dependence between members, there arose more systematic responses to the factors that rendered individuals, and thus society at large, vulnerable.
Religion and philosophy have tended to provide frameworks for the conduct of social welfare. The edicts of the Buddhist emperor Asoka in India, the sociopolitical doctrines of ancient Greece and Rome, and the simple rules of the early Christian communities are only a few examples of systems that addressed social needs. The Elizabethan Poor Laws in England, which sought relief of paupers through care services and workhouses administered at the parish level, provided precedents for many modern legislative responses to poverty. In Victorian times a more stringent legal view of poverty as a moral failing was met with the rise of humanitarianism and a proliferation of social reformers. The social charities and philanthropic societies founded by these pioneers formed the basis for many of today's welfare services.
Because perceived needs and the ability to address them determine each society's range of welfare services, there exists no universal vocabulary of social welfare. In some countries a distinction is drawn between “social services,” denoting programs, such as health care and education, that serve the general population, and “welfare services,” denoting aid directed to vulnerable groups, such as the poor, the disabled, or the delinquent. According to another classification, remedial services address the basic needs of individuals in acute or chronic distress; preventive services seek to reduce the pressures and obstacles that cause such distress; and supportive services attempt, through educational, health, employment, and other programs, to maintain and improve the functioning of individuals in society. Social welfare services originated as emergency measures that were to be applied when all else failed. However, they are now generally regarded as a necessary function in any society and a means not only of rescuing the endangered but also of fostering a society's ongoing, corporate well-being.
"social service." Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online Library Edition.
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 2012. Web. 5 Feb. 2012.
.
n
statutory procedure or social effort designed to promote the basic physical and material well-being of people in need:
the protection of rights to education, housing, and welfare.
• financial support given for this purpose.
concept of government in which the state plays a key role in the protection and promotion of the economic and social well-being of its citizens. It is based on the principles of equality of opportunity, equitable distribution of wealth, and public responsibility for those unable to avail themselves of the minimal provisions for a good life. The general term may cover a variety of forms of economic and social organization.
A fundamental feature of the welfare state is social insurance, a provision common to most advanced industrialized countries (e.g., National Insurance in the United Kingdom and Social Security in the United States). Such insurance is usually financed by compulsory contributions and is intended to provide benefits to persons and families during periods of greatest need. It is widely recognized, however, that in practice these cash benefits fall considerably short of the levels intended by the designers of the plans.
The welfare state also usually includes public provision of basic education, health services, and housing (in some cases at low cost or without charge). In these respects the welfare state is considerably more extensive in western European countries than in the United States, featuring in many cases comprehensive health coverage and provision of state-subsidized tertiary education.
The modern use of the term is associated with the comprehensive measures of social insurance adopted in 1948 by Great Britain on the basis of the report on Social Insurance and Allied Services (1942) by Sir William (later Lord) Beveridge. In the 20th century, as the earlier concept of the passive laissez-faire state was gradually abandoned, almost all states sought to provide at least some of the measures of social insurance associated with the welfare state. Thus, in the United States the New Deal of Pres. Franklin D. Roosevelt, the Fair Deal of Pres. Harry S. Truman, and a large part of the domestic programs of later presidents were based on welfare state principles. In its more thoroughgoing form, the welfare state provides state aid for the individual in almost all phases of life—“from the cradle to the grave”—as exemplified in the Netherlands and the Social Democratic governments of the Scandinavian countries. Many less-developed countries have the establishment of some form of welfare state as their goal.
"welfare state." Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online Library Edition.
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 2012. Web. 5 Feb. 2012.
The basic concerns of social welfare—poverty, disability and disease, the dependent young and elderly—are as old as society itself. The laws of survival once severely limited the means by which these concerns could be addressed; to share another's burden meant to weaken one's own standing in the fierce struggle of daily existence. As societies developed, however, with their patterns of dependence between members, there arose more systematic responses to the factors that rendered individuals, and thus society at large, vulnerable.
Religion and philosophy have tended to provide frameworks for the conduct of social welfare. The edicts of the Buddhist emperor Asoka in India, the sociopolitical doctrines of ancient Greece and Rome, and the simple rules of the early Christian communities are only a few examples of systems that addressed social needs. The Elizabethan Poor Laws in England, which sought relief of paupers through care services and workhouses administered at the parish level, provided precedents for many modern legislative responses to poverty. In Victorian times a more stringent legal view of poverty as a moral failing was met with the rise of humanitarianism and a proliferation of social reformers. The social charities and philanthropic societies founded by these pioneers formed the basis for many of today's welfare services.
Because perceived needs and the ability to address them determine each society's range of welfare services, there exists no universal vocabulary of social welfare. In some countries a distinction is drawn between “social services,” denoting programs, such as health care and education, that serve the general population, and “welfare services,” denoting aid directed to vulnerable groups, such as the poor, the disabled, or the delinquent. According to another classification, remedial services address the basic needs of individuals in acute or chronic distress; preventive services seek to reduce the pressures and obstacles that cause such distress; and supportive services attempt, through educational, health, employment, and other programs, to maintain and improve the functioning of individuals in society. Social welfare services originated as emergency measures that were to be applied when all else failed. However, they are now generally regarded as a necessary function in any society and a means not only of rescuing the endangered but also of fostering a society's ongoing, corporate well-being.
"social service." Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online Library Edition.
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 2012. Web. 5 Feb. 2012.
Enslavement
I've seen people who want to highlight the fact that white people in America were enslaved too. As if people didn't know that. As if this fact invalidates racism. I want people to look further and ask some questions.
Throughout history, what was the common denominator of the people who enslaved others? Or rather, What traits did slave owners share? What method did they use to enslave people? Who allowed them to enslave people?
Who were the first people who were enslaved after America was 'discovered'? Why did they choose to kidnap people from another country and use them as labor? What was their justification? What methods did they use to enslave their fellow Europeans? Why did they stop using Europeans as slaves in the antebellum South? What did free citizens do in regards to the enslavement of other human beings?
What happened when slaves rebelled or escaped?
Hopefully those questions will spark other questions...
Then I want you to realize that slavery is still being practiced in the world, including in America. It never stopped. Many races are being forced into labor, beaten, being sexually assaulted/raped, and murdered. This includes children.
American citizens (including children) are being kidnapped from their homes and are being used as prostitutes.
I can't say that history will repeat itself because it's just being perpetuated. They call it human trafficking now.
Throughout history, what was the common denominator of the people who enslaved others? Or rather, What traits did slave owners share? What method did they use to enslave people? Who allowed them to enslave people?
Who were the first people who were enslaved after America was 'discovered'? Why did they choose to kidnap people from another country and use them as labor? What was their justification? What methods did they use to enslave their fellow Europeans? Why did they stop using Europeans as slaves in the antebellum South? What did free citizens do in regards to the enslavement of other human beings?
What happened when slaves rebelled or escaped?
Hopefully those questions will spark other questions...
Then I want you to realize that slavery is still being practiced in the world, including in America. It never stopped. Many races are being forced into labor, beaten, being sexually assaulted/raped, and murdered. This includes children.
American citizens (including children) are being kidnapped from their homes and are being used as prostitutes.
I can't say that history will repeat itself because it's just being perpetuated. They call it human trafficking now.
Bare Economics
What do I need
Food,
shelter,
transportation,
education,
health care
How am I going to get it
make it myself,
make it with others,
buy it from someone else,
get someone else to do it for me
If I provide something (including labor)
do I give it for free,
trade it for the price it cost to develop that commodity,
trade it for an equivalent commodity (determined by the negotiating parties),
trade it for the price of living,
trade it for a profit
If I get capital from others to create something
do I get it for free
do I pay it back in a lump sum
do I pay it back in installments
do I pay it back with interest
do I allow them to get a portion of the profits of my creation
If I pay for something
do I allow the creator to set the price
do I set the price
do I pay for what it cost to make the product
If I get something
keep it to myself,
share it with others,
get only as much as I need at the time,
get enough to save some for later,
get some for now and throw away the rest
Food,
shelter,
transportation,
education,
health care
How am I going to get it
make it myself,
make it with others,
buy it from someone else,
get someone else to do it for me
If I provide something (including labor)
do I give it for free,
trade it for the price it cost to develop that commodity,
trade it for an equivalent commodity (determined by the negotiating parties),
trade it for the price of living,
trade it for a profit
If I get capital from others to create something
do I get it for free
do I pay it back in a lump sum
do I pay it back in installments
do I pay it back with interest
do I allow them to get a portion of the profits of my creation
If I pay for something
do I allow the creator to set the price
do I set the price
do I pay for what it cost to make the product
If I get something
keep it to myself,
share it with others,
get only as much as I need at the time,
get enough to save some for later,
get some for now and throw away the rest
04 February 2012
Deep Thought
Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it.
Do not believe in anything simply because it is spoken and rumored by many.
Do not believe in anything simply because it is found written in your religious books.
Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of your teachers and elders.
Do not believe in traditions because they have been handed down for many generations.
But after observation and analysis,
when you find that anything agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all,
then accept it and live up to it.
-Buddha
Read more: beliefnet
Do not believe in anything simply because it is spoken and rumored by many.
Do not believe in anything simply because it is found written in your religious books.
Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of your teachers and elders.
Do not believe in traditions because they have been handed down for many generations.
But after observation and analysis,
when you find that anything agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all,
then accept it and live up to it.
-Buddha
Read more: beliefnet
All men are created equal
That phrase has been trampled on Because the very people who wrote it, didn't believe in it themselves
Hypocrites have a way of undermining an ideology, No matter how right or true it is.
Especially when their livelihoods were supported by inequality. They made their living by 'proving' that all men were not created equal.
They used the phrase to procure their own freedom then used religion and science to deny other people freedom.
And now they use the phrase mockingly. Knowing that they are taking advantage of a system that has been built to ensure people are not equal.
Hypocrites have a way of undermining an ideology, No matter how right or true it is.
Especially when their livelihoods were supported by inequality. They made their living by 'proving' that all men were not created equal.
They used the phrase to procure their own freedom then used religion and science to deny other people freedom.
And now they use the phrase mockingly. Knowing that they are taking advantage of a system that has been built to ensure people are not equal.
03 February 2012
Jesus really wasn't a fan of wealth
Matthew 19
21 Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”
22 When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth.
23 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly I tell you, it is hard for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of heaven.
24 Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.”
25 When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and asked, “Who then can be saved?”
26 Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
27 Peter answered him, “We have left everything to follow you! What then will there be for us?”
28 Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
29 And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife[e] or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life.
30 But many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first.
Mark 10 (retelling of matthew 19)
Luke 6
24 “But woe to you who are rich,
for you have already received your comfort.
25 Woe to you who are well fed now,
for you will go hungry.
Woe to you who laugh now,
for you will mourn and weep.
26 Woe to you when everyone speaks well of you,
for that is how their ancestors treated the false prophets.
27 “But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,
28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.
29 If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn to them the other also. If someone takes your coat, do not withhold your shirt from them.
30 Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back.
31 Do to others as you would have them do to you.
32 “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them.
33 And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that.
34 And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, expecting to be repaid in full.
35 But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked.
36 Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.
Luke 12
13 Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.”
14 Jesus replied, “Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?”
15 Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.”
16 And he told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest.
17 He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’
18 “Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain.
19 And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”’
20 “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’
21 “This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.”
Luke 14
12 Then Jesus said to his host, “When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or sisters, your relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid.
13 But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind,
14 and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”
Luke 16
19 “There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day.
20 At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores
21 and longing to eat what fell from the rich man’s table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores.
22 “The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried.
23 In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side.
24 So he called to him, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.’
25 “But Abraham replied, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony.
26 And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been set in place, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.’
27 “He answered, ‘Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my family,
28 for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.’
29 “Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.’
30 “‘No, father Abraham,’ he said, ‘but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’
31 “He said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’”
Luke 18 (retelling of Matthew 19)
And it continues after Jesus
2 Corinthians 8
9 For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.
I'll note that James really crapped on them.
James 1
10 But the rich should take pride in their humiliation—since they will pass away like a wild flower.
11 For the sun rises with scorching heat and withers the plant; its blossom falls and its beauty is destroyed. In the same way, the rich will fade away even while they go about their business.
James 2
5 Listen, my dear brothers and sisters: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him?
6 But you have dishonored the poor. Is it not the rich who are exploiting you? Are they not the ones who are dragging you into court?
7 Are they not the ones who are blaspheming the noble name of him to whom you belong?
James 5
1 Now listen, you rich people, weep and wail because of the misery that is coming on you.
2 Your wealth has rotted, and moths have eaten your clothes.
3 Your gold and silver are corroded. Their corrosion will testify against you and eat your flesh like fire. You have hoarded wealth in the last days.
4 Look! The wages you failed to pay the workers who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty.
5 You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence. You have fattened yourselves in the day of slaughter.
6 You have condemned and murdered the innocent one, who was not opposing you.
1 Timothy 6
17 Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.
18 Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share.
Revelation 3
17 You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.
21 Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”
22 When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth.
23 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly I tell you, it is hard for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of heaven.
24 Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.”
25 When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and asked, “Who then can be saved?”
26 Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
27 Peter answered him, “We have left everything to follow you! What then will there be for us?”
28 Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
29 And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife[e] or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life.
30 But many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first.
Mark 10 (retelling of matthew 19)
Luke 6
24 “But woe to you who are rich,
for you have already received your comfort.
25 Woe to you who are well fed now,
for you will go hungry.
Woe to you who laugh now,
for you will mourn and weep.
26 Woe to you when everyone speaks well of you,
for that is how their ancestors treated the false prophets.
27 “But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,
28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.
29 If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn to them the other also. If someone takes your coat, do not withhold your shirt from them.
30 Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back.
31 Do to others as you would have them do to you.
32 “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them.
33 And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that.
34 And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, expecting to be repaid in full.
35 But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked.
36 Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.
Luke 12
13 Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.”
14 Jesus replied, “Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?”
15 Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.”
16 And he told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest.
17 He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’
18 “Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain.
19 And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”’
20 “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’
21 “This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.”
Luke 14
12 Then Jesus said to his host, “When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or sisters, your relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid.
13 But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind,
14 and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”
Luke 16
19 “There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day.
20 At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores
21 and longing to eat what fell from the rich man’s table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores.
22 “The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried.
23 In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side.
24 So he called to him, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.’
25 “But Abraham replied, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony.
26 And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been set in place, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.’
27 “He answered, ‘Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my family,
28 for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.’
29 “Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.’
30 “‘No, father Abraham,’ he said, ‘but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’
31 “He said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’”
Luke 18 (retelling of Matthew 19)
And it continues after Jesus
2 Corinthians 8
9 For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.
I'll note that James really crapped on them.
James 1
10 But the rich should take pride in their humiliation—since they will pass away like a wild flower.
11 For the sun rises with scorching heat and withers the plant; its blossom falls and its beauty is destroyed. In the same way, the rich will fade away even while they go about their business.
James 2
5 Listen, my dear brothers and sisters: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him?
6 But you have dishonored the poor. Is it not the rich who are exploiting you? Are they not the ones who are dragging you into court?
7 Are they not the ones who are blaspheming the noble name of him to whom you belong?
James 5
1 Now listen, you rich people, weep and wail because of the misery that is coming on you.
2 Your wealth has rotted, and moths have eaten your clothes.
3 Your gold and silver are corroded. Their corrosion will testify against you and eat your flesh like fire. You have hoarded wealth in the last days.
4 Look! The wages you failed to pay the workers who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty.
5 You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence. You have fattened yourselves in the day of slaughter.
6 You have condemned and murdered the innocent one, who was not opposing you.
1 Timothy 6
17 Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.
18 Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share.
Revelation 3
17 You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.
Every life is a Lesson
More powerful than sitting in a classroom listening to a teacher.
or reading a text book
Listen to the story of a stranger, a friend, an enemy.
Know that your experiences, and those of the people around you, only amount to a grade school education. Anecdotes do not make an expert. There is always more. There are more stories, more lessons to be learned.
Know that statistics only tell a partial story, a poor, clouded story.
Know that the daily news has an agenda
One needs to learn another's needs, dreams, goals, struggles, suffering, joy.
This knowledge is needed for compassion.
Wisdom is fed by paying attention to life. Paying attention to the stories of others.
Compassion asks what are you going through and what can I do to help.
Listen always.
I encourage everyone to tell their stories. Know and Share their histories.
I almost think everyone has an obligation
Not for the purposes of competition or blame. Not to participate in Oppression olympics.
People should tell their stories to promote unity
To show others that they are not alone. To create kinship
to realize that we are more alike than we are different
To realize that other people share your suffering and your joy.
This is why I love NPR. I haven't known a media outlet that allowed so many people from so many different backgrounds to tell their own story. If anyone knows of anything that compares, please let me know.
or reading a text book
Listen to the story of a stranger, a friend, an enemy.
Know that your experiences, and those of the people around you, only amount to a grade school education. Anecdotes do not make an expert. There is always more. There are more stories, more lessons to be learned.
Know that statistics only tell a partial story, a poor, clouded story.
Know that the daily news has an agenda
One needs to learn another's needs, dreams, goals, struggles, suffering, joy.
This knowledge is needed for compassion.
Wisdom is fed by paying attention to life. Paying attention to the stories of others.
Compassion asks what are you going through and what can I do to help.
Listen always.
I encourage everyone to tell their stories. Know and Share their histories.
I almost think everyone has an obligation
Not for the purposes of competition or blame. Not to participate in Oppression olympics.
People should tell their stories to promote unity
To show others that they are not alone. To create kinship
to realize that we are more alike than we are different
To realize that other people share your suffering and your joy.
This is why I love NPR. I haven't known a media outlet that allowed so many people from so many different backgrounds to tell their own story. If anyone knows of anything that compares, please let me know.
Evolution in short
Your point in life is to make sure your genes survive for as long as possible in your environment
This means reproducing so your genes can live on when you die.
There are various ways you can ensure the survival of your genes
You can compete with the other beings to acquire resources
or you can cooperate with other beings to share resources
While all this is happening, your genes are changing
Mutations happen because of the environment (or by chance?)
All beings are genetically different
variation
These mutations either help you survive in your environment or make it harder.
The mutations that help you survive, logically will be promoted
natural selection
"Back in Darwin's day, a contemporary of his (Herbert Spencer) invented a sound bite for natural selection: he called it 'survival of the fittest,' with 'fit' meaning best adapted-not necessarily the biggest and strongest. Correctly understood, though, natural selection is survival of the fit enough. It is not, in fact, only the individuals who are most perfectly suited to the environment that survive; reproduction, after all, is a matter of degree...
As long as an individual reproduces at all, it is fit, even if some are fitter than others."
Evolution vs. creationism: an introduction
By Eugenie Carol Scott
This means reproducing so your genes can live on when you die.
There are various ways you can ensure the survival of your genes
You can compete with the other beings to acquire resources
or you can cooperate with other beings to share resources
While all this is happening, your genes are changing
Mutations happen because of the environment (or by chance?)
All beings are genetically different
variation
These mutations either help you survive in your environment or make it harder.
The mutations that help you survive, logically will be promoted
natural selection
"Back in Darwin's day, a contemporary of his (Herbert Spencer) invented a sound bite for natural selection: he called it 'survival of the fittest,' with 'fit' meaning best adapted-not necessarily the biggest and strongest. Correctly understood, though, natural selection is survival of the fit enough. It is not, in fact, only the individuals who are most perfectly suited to the environment that survive; reproduction, after all, is a matter of degree...
As long as an individual reproduces at all, it is fit, even if some are fitter than others."
Evolution vs. creationism: an introduction
By Eugenie Carol Scott
02 February 2012
Generosity
2 Corinthians 9
6 Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.
7 Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.
8 And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.
9 As it is written:
“They have freely scattered their gifts to the poor;
their righteousness endures forever."
10 Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness.
11 You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.
12 This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of the Lord’s people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God.
13 Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves, others will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else.
14 And in their prayers for you their hearts will go out to you, because of the surpassing grace God has given you.
15 Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!
6 Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.
7 Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.
8 And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.
9 As it is written:
“They have freely scattered their gifts to the poor;
their righteousness endures forever."
10 Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness.
11 You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.
12 This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of the Lord’s people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God.
13 Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves, others will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else.
14 And in their prayers for you their hearts will go out to you, because of the surpassing grace God has given you.
15 Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!
Deep Thought
It is important that when pursing our own self-interest we should be “wise selfish” and not “foolish selfish”. Being foolish selfish means pursuing our own interests in a narrow, shortsighted way. Being wise selfish means taking a broader view and recognizing that our own long-term individual interest lies in the welfare of everyone. Being wise selfish means being compassionate.
Dalai Lama
Dalai Lama
Individual vs collective
This speaks to what it takes for all to reach their potential.
This is a lesson in balance.
Two things are extremely important.
One needs to learn what they can provide for themselves and what they need from others
Learn what they can give to others and what they should keep for themselves.
If you aren't currently using it, should you hold on to it if someone else needs it?
People need support In order to Reach their full potential. We need each other.
Interdependence
Wisdom from the Dalai Lama says compassion is the best way to serve your own self interests.
This is a lesson in balance.
Two things are extremely important.
One needs to learn what they can provide for themselves and what they need from others
Learn what they can give to others and what they should keep for themselves.
If you aren't currently using it, should you hold on to it if someone else needs it?
People need support In order to Reach their full potential. We need each other.
Interdependence
Wisdom from the Dalai Lama says compassion is the best way to serve your own self interests.
Deep Horoscope
"If Mark Twain had had Twitter," says humorist Andy Borowitz, "he would have been amazing at it. But he probably wouldn't have gotten around to writing Huckleberry Finn." I think you're facing a comparable choice, Gemini. You can either get a lot of little things done that will serve your short-term aims, or else you can at least partially withdraw from the day-to-day give-and-take so as to devote yourself with more focus to a long-range goal. I'm not here to tell you which way to go; I just want to make sure you know the nature of the decision before you.
*
SACRED ADVERTISEMENT
One of my favorite memories is gazing into my daughter Zoe's face just moments after her complicated birth. She had been through a heroic ordeal that scared the hell out of me, and yet she looked calm, beatific, and amused.
"She's part-Buddha and part-elf," I thought to myself as I held her in my arms. Gazing back at me, her shiny face blended two states I had never before witnessed together in anyone, let alone in an infant: elegant compassion and playful serenity. This revelation imprinted me like a blood oath and has informed my life and my work ever since.
Do you have a comparable memory? A time when a key to your destiny was suddenly laid bare? A turning point when you got a gift that has fueled your quest for years? Revisit that breakthrough. Then ask life for another one.
*
01 February 2012
Deep Thought
The very purpose of spirituality is self-discipline. Rather than criticizing others, we should evaluate and criticize ourselves. Ask yourself, what am I doing about my anger, my attachment, my pride, my jealousy? These are the things we should check in our day to day lives.
Dalai Lama
Dalai Lama
31 January 2012
Living Wages
A company sets it's prices based on what they paid to create the product and what they want as profit. A company will rarely charge less than the production cost. Even when they compete with other companies, they will still make a profit. Inflation and ridiculous markups ensure that companies make a profit.
Bartering is all but dead in this country. I can not go into a store and make them give me a product for less than what they paid to make it. They're always going to make some sort of profit. Even with discounts and coupons.
Here's what's fucked up. A company puts out a job notice. They're the ones who need the workers. Yet they're the one's who set the price of labor. Shouldn't it be the other way around? They're the customers and the product is labor. The laborer should be setting the price.
For more skilled workers this is the case. Sort of. The Employer sets a price and the prospective employee negotiates that price. If they're good, they get what they want.
I think that workers should be the lead in setting their wages and benefits, not businesses. Even with competition from other workers
Workers should look at their costs of living, look at the hours they are willing to work, look at the difficulty of the work they are willing to do, look at the costs of their education, look at their goals. They factor all this into to price they will set for their labor.
Unskilled laborers should not feel like they have no negotiating power. We found this out when Mexican labor dropped in agriculture.
In today's economy, most employers complain that the job applicants aren't qualified. This means more leverage for those who are qualified.
I hate the fact that unskilled laborers are made to think that their labor isn't valuable because some inflated sense of labor competition.
What sucks is that when businesses compete they still make a profit. When people compete, their wages drop or remain stagnant while inflation and costs of living goes up.
It leads me to believe (warning: conspiracy trip) that businesses have more solidarity than we think.
Companies do give away products for free; but not at the expense of their profits. They do it because they can afford to.
Where in the world are people taught how to put a real value on their labor?
Workers should not be settling for a minimum wage. They should be negotiating a living wage for themselves
Bartering is all but dead in this country. I can not go into a store and make them give me a product for less than what they paid to make it. They're always going to make some sort of profit. Even with discounts and coupons.
Here's what's fucked up. A company puts out a job notice. They're the ones who need the workers. Yet they're the one's who set the price of labor. Shouldn't it be the other way around? They're the customers and the product is labor. The laborer should be setting the price.
For more skilled workers this is the case. Sort of. The Employer sets a price and the prospective employee negotiates that price. If they're good, they get what they want.
I think that workers should be the lead in setting their wages and benefits, not businesses. Even with competition from other workers
Workers should look at their costs of living, look at the hours they are willing to work, look at the difficulty of the work they are willing to do, look at the costs of their education, look at their goals. They factor all this into to price they will set for their labor.
Unskilled laborers should not feel like they have no negotiating power. We found this out when Mexican labor dropped in agriculture.
In today's economy, most employers complain that the job applicants aren't qualified. This means more leverage for those who are qualified.
I hate the fact that unskilled laborers are made to think that their labor isn't valuable because some inflated sense of labor competition.
What sucks is that when businesses compete they still make a profit. When people compete, their wages drop or remain stagnant while inflation and costs of living goes up.
It leads me to believe (warning: conspiracy trip) that businesses have more solidarity than we think.
Companies do give away products for free; but not at the expense of their profits. They do it because they can afford to.
Where in the world are people taught how to put a real value on their labor?
Workers should not be settling for a minimum wage. They should be negotiating a living wage for themselves
A Note to the Wealthy
You don't have anything I want
There is nothing about you that I want to emulate.
I am disgusted that you could justify your abundance while people, especially children, are homeless or in danger of losing their homes
While people don't know where or how they'll get there next meal
while people can't afford health care
while people can't afford an education
while people can't find jobs that will give them a living wage.
I'm disgusted by the lies
You acknowledge that you have the power to make things better by calling yourself a 'job creator'
but you're not interested in creating jobs. You're interested in creating profit. And you know that jobs take away from your profit.
You lie about regulations and taxes. Knowing that you make more than enough to provide job that people can live off of.
I'm angered by your condescension. The idea that people want to take from others or want handouts instead of wanting to earn their living.
I'm most disturbed by the fact that you can call yourself Christians.
So I'm not jealous or envious.
I have a home
I can eat at any hour of the day
I have money to pursue further education
I have good health insurance.
The difference between you and I is that I give a fuck about other people
I care about people who can't do anything for me
I give to those who can not benefit me
There is nothing about you that I want to emulate.
I am disgusted that you could justify your abundance while people, especially children, are homeless or in danger of losing their homes
While people don't know where or how they'll get there next meal
while people can't afford health care
while people can't afford an education
while people can't find jobs that will give them a living wage.
I'm disgusted by the lies
You acknowledge that you have the power to make things better by calling yourself a 'job creator'
but you're not interested in creating jobs. You're interested in creating profit. And you know that jobs take away from your profit.
You lie about regulations and taxes. Knowing that you make more than enough to provide job that people can live off of.
I'm angered by your condescension. The idea that people want to take from others or want handouts instead of wanting to earn their living.
I'm most disturbed by the fact that you can call yourself Christians.
So I'm not jealous or envious.
I have a home
I can eat at any hour of the day
I have money to pursue further education
I have good health insurance.
The difference between you and I is that I give a fuck about other people
I care about people who can't do anything for me
I give to those who can not benefit me
A term for Sexuality
The one problem I have with giving women who only want to have sex with women another label is that 'bisexual' is a word describing one's sexuality. It's clearly a sexual term. Not one describing someone's romantic or love interests.
Bisexual is in the same family as homosexual or heterosexual. Strictly terms for one's sexuality
So technically, realistically, and honestly, a woman who likes having sex with men and women, regardless of her romantic leanings or who she falls in love with, is correct to call herself bisexual.
Maybe it's a woman's nature to be adverse to a term that only describes one's sexuality, but, bisexual is just that.
I think the we're hitting a wall because, in the QUILTBAG, Bisexual is one of two labels that is strictly about sexuality. The other being asexual.
asexualty
I don't know of any QUILTBAGs that identify as homosexual or heterosexual. They usually call themselves gay or lesbian. Even heterosexuals are called straight.
Gay, lesbian, and straight are terms that describe more than sexuality, those terms are about love and lifestyle and everything else.
So really, homosexual, heterosexual, and bisexual are fair terms to describe one's sexual orientation or attraction.
They aren't very good at describing one's identity. Gay, lesbian, straight are more oft used for that. So this leaves out bisexuals.
Queer isn't a word everyone wants to use due to it's history, so I can see why women who are attracted to women and men would rather identify as gay or straight. Because those terms are about more than just sexuality.
I'm queer because it's the best description of me overall (sexuality excluded). I identify as indifferent or equal opportunity if people push.
Maybe it is all in a word. I'll make this assumption that is in line with the statistics. If you asked someone straight out, more people would confess to their sexual behavior. People would be honest if asked 'Have you had sex with men and women'. They would also be honest about their attractions; 'are you attracted to men and women'.
If you asked someone their identity, the answers are so subjective they don't completely match up with their behavior or attraction. This is true of straight, gay, and bisexual people. And they aren't being dishonest. Identity is not the same for everyone. Identity is about more than who you want to screw or who you have screwed. So you're not going to get the answer you want based on your understanding of identity. You're going to get the answer based on their understanding of identity
Bisexual is in the same family as homosexual or heterosexual. Strictly terms for one's sexuality
So technically, realistically, and honestly, a woman who likes having sex with men and women, regardless of her romantic leanings or who she falls in love with, is correct to call herself bisexual.
Maybe it's a woman's nature to be adverse to a term that only describes one's sexuality, but, bisexual is just that.
I think the we're hitting a wall because, in the QUILTBAG, Bisexual is one of two labels that is strictly about sexuality. The other being asexual.
asexualty
I don't know of any QUILTBAGs that identify as homosexual or heterosexual. They usually call themselves gay or lesbian. Even heterosexuals are called straight.
Gay, lesbian, and straight are terms that describe more than sexuality, those terms are about love and lifestyle and everything else.
So really, homosexual, heterosexual, and bisexual are fair terms to describe one's sexual orientation or attraction.
They aren't very good at describing one's identity. Gay, lesbian, straight are more oft used for that. So this leaves out bisexuals.
Queer isn't a word everyone wants to use due to it's history, so I can see why women who are attracted to women and men would rather identify as gay or straight. Because those terms are about more than just sexuality.
I'm queer because it's the best description of me overall (sexuality excluded). I identify as indifferent or equal opportunity if people push.
Maybe it is all in a word. I'll make this assumption that is in line with the statistics. If you asked someone straight out, more people would confess to their sexual behavior. People would be honest if asked 'Have you had sex with men and women'. They would also be honest about their attractions; 'are you attracted to men and women'.
If you asked someone their identity, the answers are so subjective they don't completely match up with their behavior or attraction. This is true of straight, gay, and bisexual people. And they aren't being dishonest. Identity is not the same for everyone. Identity is about more than who you want to screw or who you have screwed. So you're not going to get the answer you want based on your understanding of identity. You're going to get the answer based on their understanding of identity
30 January 2012
Identity, Behavior, Attraction
Identity, behavior, attraction, and orientation are not the same. People have always, will always make distinctions between the three.
What do straight people call men who have sex with men and women? Gay. What do people call women who are in a relationship with other women? Lesbians. Then people get offended when that person tells them they were bisexual in the first place.
national health report
In the cdc report.
Table 5. in women aged 15-44.
12.5(0.8)% have had same sex contact with another woman.
The highest was women aged 20-24 at 15.8(1.8)%
Table 11. in women aged 18-44.
83.3(1.1)% were only attracted to the opposite sex and 0.8(0.2)% were only attracted to the same sex. 0.7(0.1)% weren't sure.
The rest (15.3%) were attracted to both in some degree.
In women aged 20-24.
only 77.6(2.3)% were only attracted to the opposite sex and 0.8(0.3)% were only attracted to the same sex. 0.4(0.2)% weren't sure.
The rest (21.2%) were attracted to both in some degree
Table 12. in women aged 18-44.
93.7(0.5)% identified as heterosexual, 1.1(0.2)% identified as lesbian, gay, or homosexual.
3.5(0.3)% identified as bisexual, 0.6(0.1)% as something else, and 1.1 (0.2)% didn't report.
In women aged 20-24.
6.3 (1.1)% identified as bisexual
Table 14. in women aged 18-44.
4.6(0.6)% of women who said they were only attracted to the opposite sex still had sexual contact with the same sex.
9.0(0.7)% of Women who identified as heterosexual still had sexual contact with the same sex.
Even this study is skewed because same sex behavior For females, includes oral sex or any sexual experience,
For males, includes oral or anal sex with male partners.
This study, the most comprehensive and the one with the highest sample size (56,032), shows a discrepancy in identity and attraction.
how many people are lgbt
how students identify
discrepancies in adolescents
a study done in Quebec of 1,951 students
Twelve percent of adolescents (n=237) endorsed at least one measure of nonexclusive heterosexuality.
A total of 3.4% reported gay/lesbian or bisexual (GLB) identity (another 3.4% were unsure), 9.0% reported same-gender attraction, and 4.0% same-gender behavior.
There was no consistent pattern of overlap between the three measures, and no single dimension effectively captured this population.
The question about attraction identified 71%; identity identified 52%; and behavior only 31%.
In raw numbers, more heterosexually identified students reported same-gender attraction (n=95) or same-gender behavior (n=33) than GLB-identified students (n=44 and 29, respectively).
And other experts see a distinction too.
"...I use the term "sexual orientation" to mean a consistent, enduring pattern of sexual desire for individuals of the same sex, the other sex, or both sexes, regardless of whether this pattern of desire is manifested in sexual behavior. A woman can have a lesbian orientation but never have a same-sex relationship, just as she can have a heterosexual orientation and still pursue multiple samesex affairs. Most scientists consider desire, not behavior, the marker of sexual orientation. "Sexual identity" refers to a culturally organized conception of the self, usually "lesbian/gay," "bisexual," or "heterosexual." As with sexual orientation, we cannot presume that these identities correspond to particular patterns of behavior. Nor can we presume that they correspond to particular patterns of desire. Because sexual identities represent self-concepts, they depend on individuals' own notions about the most important aspects of their sexual selves. These notions, as we will see, can vary quite a bit from individual to individual. Moreover, some people—particularly women—reject conventional lesbian/gay/bisexual identity labels in favor of alternative labels such as "queer," "questioning," or "pansexual." Others reject all identity labels in order to make room for a broad range of sexual possibilities, as well as to acknowledge the fact that all labels are somewhat arbitrary"- Lisa Diamond
Reading is Fundamental
29 January 2012
Queer
Word of the day
Adj
Strange
Odd
Homosexual
informal usu. offensive (esp. of a man)
differing from the normal or usual in a way regarded as odd or strange
suspicious, dubious, or shady
faint, giddy, or queasy
informal , taboo homosexual
informal odd or unbalanced mentally; eccentric or slightly mad
slang worthless or counterfeit
1508, "strange, peculiar, eccentric," from Scottish, perhaps from Low Ger. (Brunswick dialect) queer "oblique, off-center," related to Ger. quer "oblique, perverse, odd," from O.H.G. twerh "oblique," from PIE base *twerk- "to turn, twist, wind" (related to thwart). The verb
Synonyms
unconventional, curious, freakish, eccentric, weird. strange.
Originally pejorative for gay, now being reclaimed by some gay men, lesbians, bisexuals and transgendered persons as a self-affirming umbrella term. Caution: still extremely offensive when used as an epithet.
Queer has traditionally meant odd or unusual, though modern use often pertains to LGBT (gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, intersex and non-normative heterosexual) people.
Its usage is considered controversial and underwent substantial changes over the course of the 20th century with some LGBT people reclaiming the term as a means of self-empowerment.
The term is still considered by some to be offensive and derisive, and by others as a re-appropriated term used to describe a sexual orientation and/or gender identity or gender expression that does not conform to heteronormative society.
In contemporary usage, some use queer as an inclusive, unifying sociopolitical, self-affirming umbrella term for people who are gay, lesbian, bisexual, pansexual, transgender, transsexual, intersexual, genderqueer, or of any other non-heterosexual sexuality, sexual anatomy, or gender identity.
It can also include asexual and autosexual people, as well as gender normative heterosexuals whose sexual orientations or activities place them outside the heterosexual-defined mainstream (e.g. BDSM practitioners or polyamorous persons). Queer in this sense (depending on how broadly it is defined) is commonly used as a synonym for such terms as LGBT.
aglbical
urban dictionary
dictionary
Adj
Strange
Odd
Homosexual
informal usu. offensive (esp. of a man)
differing from the normal or usual in a way regarded as odd or strange
suspicious, dubious, or shady
faint, giddy, or queasy
informal , taboo homosexual
informal odd or unbalanced mentally; eccentric or slightly mad
slang worthless or counterfeit
1508, "strange, peculiar, eccentric," from Scottish, perhaps from Low Ger. (Brunswick dialect) queer "oblique, off-center," related to Ger. quer "oblique, perverse, odd," from O.H.G. twerh "oblique," from PIE base *twerk- "to turn, twist, wind" (related to thwart). The verb
Synonyms
unconventional, curious, freakish, eccentric, weird. strange.
Originally pejorative for gay, now being reclaimed by some gay men, lesbians, bisexuals and transgendered persons as a self-affirming umbrella term. Caution: still extremely offensive when used as an epithet.
Queer has traditionally meant odd or unusual, though modern use often pertains to LGBT (gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, intersex and non-normative heterosexual) people.
Its usage is considered controversial and underwent substantial changes over the course of the 20th century with some LGBT people reclaiming the term as a means of self-empowerment.
The term is still considered by some to be offensive and derisive, and by others as a re-appropriated term used to describe a sexual orientation and/or gender identity or gender expression that does not conform to heteronormative society.
In contemporary usage, some use queer as an inclusive, unifying sociopolitical, self-affirming umbrella term for people who are gay, lesbian, bisexual, pansexual, transgender, transsexual, intersexual, genderqueer, or of any other non-heterosexual sexuality, sexual anatomy, or gender identity.
It can also include asexual and autosexual people, as well as gender normative heterosexuals whose sexual orientations or activities place them outside the heterosexual-defined mainstream (e.g. BDSM practitioners or polyamorous persons). Queer in this sense (depending on how broadly it is defined) is commonly used as a synonym for such terms as LGBT.
aglbical
urban dictionary
dictionary
28 January 2012
I love sex
Or at least the idea of sex.
When I was my own kind of devout christian, I wanted to save myself for marriage
Now I'm a queer kid, I learned that marriage wasn't necessary.
Though I still think love is
I think that sex is sacred. It holds spiritual power
And if it isn't sacred then it is definitely something that should be taken more seriously than it is
More powerful (and often dangerous) than we give it credit for.
Fosters attachment and masks love
Like a drug. Addiction
I'm affectionate. I love intimacy
But I've found that sex isn't worth the crap I have to put up with in order to get it regularly.
Maybe if I felt fully connected I'd think differently. But I haven't
I really just want to cuddle...maybe a little kiss here and there.
I love sex. I don't like having sex with people I don't want to be attached to. I don't like the feeling after having sex with someone I'm not attached to. Or having sex and getting attached to someone before it's really prudent
Disease and drama have no place in my life
So, bottom line. I don't have a problem with sex. I have a problem with people.
When I was my own kind of devout christian, I wanted to save myself for marriage
Now I'm a queer kid, I learned that marriage wasn't necessary.
Though I still think love is
I think that sex is sacred. It holds spiritual power
And if it isn't sacred then it is definitely something that should be taken more seriously than it is
More powerful (and often dangerous) than we give it credit for.
Fosters attachment and masks love
Like a drug. Addiction
I'm affectionate. I love intimacy
But I've found that sex isn't worth the crap I have to put up with in order to get it regularly.
Maybe if I felt fully connected I'd think differently. But I haven't
I really just want to cuddle...maybe a little kiss here and there.
I love sex. I don't like having sex with people I don't want to be attached to. I don't like the feeling after having sex with someone I'm not attached to. Or having sex and getting attached to someone before it's really prudent
Disease and drama have no place in my life
So, bottom line. I don't have a problem with sex. I have a problem with people.
26 January 2012
Deep Horoscope
In Bill Moyers' DVD The Language of Life, poet Naomi Shihab Nye is shown giving advice to aspiring young poets. She urges them to keep an open mind about where their creative urges might take them. Sometimes when you start a poem, she says, you think you want to go to church, but where you end up is at the dog races. I'll make that same point to you, Gemini. As you tune in to the looming call to adventure, don't be too sure you know what destination it has in mind for you. You might be inclined to assume it'll lead you toward a local bar for drinks when in fact it's nudging you in the direction of a wild frontier for a divine brouhaha.
It's not too late to hear my long-range, in-depth explorations of your destiny in 2012. What new influences will be headed your way in the coming months?
*
SACRED ADVERTISEMENT
According to Jewish legend, there are in each generation 36 righteous humans who prevent the rest of us from being destroyed. Through their extraordinary good deeds and their love of the divine spark, they save the world over and over again. They're not famous saints, though. They go about their business anonymously, and no one knows how crucial they are to our well-being.
Might you be one of the 36? As a temporary experiment, act as if you are.
It's not too late to hear my long-range, in-depth explorations of your destiny in 2012. What new influences will be headed your way in the coming months?
*
SACRED ADVERTISEMENT
According to Jewish legend, there are in each generation 36 righteous humans who prevent the rest of us from being destroyed. Through their extraordinary good deeds and their love of the divine spark, they save the world over and over again. They're not famous saints, though. They go about their business anonymously, and no one knows how crucial they are to our well-being.
Might you be one of the 36? As a temporary experiment, act as if you are.
20 January 2012
New System
Here's what bugs me (not about any one person in particular). When the government screws up, it's like there's a call for the apocalypse.
When businesses screw up, it's just a little mischief.
Businesses have run government since we were founded.
I really don't care about bailouts. I care about workers and consumers being exploited.
I care about people not having affordable housing, health care, education, and healthy food; and good jobs that provide those things.
Every American can have those things. This idea of scarce resources is bull. We have enough for everyone. It's either being hoarded or wasted.
Every economic system is better than the one before it. It's time for our economy to evolve into something better.
I don't care about any systems that are over 200 years old. Time has proven that they can't overcome human nature.
I think we are smart enough to come up with a new economic system that can provide what is needed for everyone without coercion.
When businesses screw up, it's just a little mischief.
Businesses have run government since we were founded.
I really don't care about bailouts. I care about workers and consumers being exploited.
I care about people not having affordable housing, health care, education, and healthy food; and good jobs that provide those things.
Every American can have those things. This idea of scarce resources is bull. We have enough for everyone. It's either being hoarded or wasted.
Every economic system is better than the one before it. It's time for our economy to evolve into something better.
I don't care about any systems that are over 200 years old. Time has proven that they can't overcome human nature.
I think we are smart enough to come up with a new economic system that can provide what is needed for everyone without coercion.
19 January 2012
Deep Horoscope
"It is respectable to have no illusions -- and safe -- and profitable and dull," said author Joseph Conrad. Taking our cue from his liberating derision, I propose that we protest the dullness of having no illusions. Let's decry the blah gray sterility that comes from entertaining no fantastic fantasies and unreasonable dreams. How boring it is to have such machine-like mental hygiene! For this one week, Gemini, I urge you to celebrate your crazy ideas. Treasure and adore your wacky beliefs. Study all those irrational and insane urges running around your mind to see what you can learn about your deep, dark unconsciousness. (P.S.: But I'm not saying you should act on any of those phantasms, at least not now. Simply be amused by them.)
What will be the story of your life in 2012?
*
SACRED ADVERTISEMENT
The iconoclastic physicist Jack Sarfatti proposes that all "creative thought by artists, craftsmen, and scientists involves the subconscious reception of ideas from the future, which literally create themselves."
Beauty and Truth Lab researcher Vimala Blavatsky puts a different spin on it. "Our future selves are constantly transmitting great ideas to us back through time," she says, "but most of us don't believe that's possible and consequently are not alert for it."
What do you think is the most pressing communiqué your future self is currently beaming your way?
*
The preceding oracle comes from my book, PRONOIA Is the Antidote for Paranoia: How the Whole World Is Conspiring to Shower You with Blessings.
18 January 2012
Abuse
Word of the day
noun
1 the improper use of something:
alcohol abuse | an abuse of public funds.
• unjust or corrupt practice:
protection against fraud and abuse
| human rights abuses.
2 cruel and violent treatment of a person or animal:
a black eye and other signs of physical abuse.
• violent treatment involving sexual assault, esp. on a repeated basis:
young people who have suffered sexual abuse.
3 insulting and offensive language:
waving his fists and hurling abuse at the driver.
verb [ with obj. ]
1 use (something) to bad effect or for a bad purpose; misuse:
the judge abused his power by imposing the fines.
• make excessive and habitual use of (alcohol or drugs, esp. illegal ones).
2 treat (a person or an animal) with cruelty or violence, esp. regularly or repeatedly:
riders who abuse their horses should be prosecuted.
• assault (someone, esp. a woman or child) sexually:
he was a depraved man who had abused his two young daughters | (as adj. abused)
: abused children.
• use or treat in such a way as to cause damage or harm:
he had been abusing his body for years.
3 speak in an insulting and offensive way to or about (someone):
the referee was abused by players from both teams.
New Oxford American Dictionary
noun
1 the improper use of something:
alcohol abuse | an abuse of public funds.
• unjust or corrupt practice:
protection against fraud and abuse
| human rights abuses.
2 cruel and violent treatment of a person or animal:
a black eye and other signs of physical abuse.
• violent treatment involving sexual assault, esp. on a repeated basis:
young people who have suffered sexual abuse.
3 insulting and offensive language:
waving his fists and hurling abuse at the driver.
verb [ with obj. ]
1 use (something) to bad effect or for a bad purpose; misuse:
the judge abused his power by imposing the fines.
• make excessive and habitual use of (alcohol or drugs, esp. illegal ones).
2 treat (a person or an animal) with cruelty or violence, esp. regularly or repeatedly:
riders who abuse their horses should be prosecuted.
• assault (someone, esp. a woman or child) sexually:
he was a depraved man who had abused his two young daughters | (as adj. abused)
: abused children.
• use or treat in such a way as to cause damage or harm:
he had been abusing his body for years.
3 speak in an insulting and offensive way to or about (someone):
the referee was abused by players from both teams.
New Oxford American Dictionary
Class in America
What is class in America
Owners of businesses
Managers
Skilled workers
unskilled workers
unemployed
Is it between those who don't receive a wage and don't have income from private sources.
Those who work for a wage.
Those who control other people's wages.
Those who don't receive a wage but have income from private sources
should we distinguish between the poor and working poor?
I don't think a monetary divide could be set.
Owners of businesses
Managers
Skilled workers
unskilled workers
unemployed
Is it between those who don't receive a wage and don't have income from private sources.
Those who work for a wage.
Those who control other people's wages.
Those who don't receive a wage but have income from private sources
should we distinguish between the poor and working poor?
I don't think a monetary divide could be set.
Right
Right
- that which is due every member... by virtue of just claim, fair principle and legal guarantee. A right can only be lost through due process of law.
Just Claim - A right each individual has to petition the organization on that which is not clear by law (written or practiced); i.e., request chit, formal written request, etc.
Fair Principle - A right each individual has to expect equal treatment by virtue of what others receive (i.e., pay, grade, position, etc.)
Legal Guarantee – That which is written and affirmed by higher authority (i.e., laws, contracts, policies, directives, position, etc.). Legal guarantee must be afforded all personnel under the principle of fairness, if not they have a just claim to petition the system.
18.
a just claim or title, whether legal, prescriptive, or moral
: You have a right to say what you please.
19.
Sometimes, rights. that which is due to anyone by just claim, legal guarantees, moral principles, etc.: women's rights; Freedom of speech is a right of all Americans.
23.
Sometimes, rights. the interest or ownership a person, group, or business has in property: He has a 50-percent right in a silver mine. The author controls the screen rights for the book.
25.
Finance.
a.
the privilege, usually preemptive, that accrues to the owners of the stock of a corporation to subscribe to additional shares of stock or securities convertible into stock at an advantageous price.
b.
Often, rights. the privilege of subscribing to a specified amount of a stock or bond issue, or the document certifying this privilege.
Does due process include a popular vote?
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.
rights only for Americans or universal.
Constitutional rights, human rights, universal rights, civil rights.
It is important to note the difference between "civil rights" and "civil liberties." The legal area known as "civil rights" has traditionally revolved around the basic right to be free from unequal treatment based on certain protected characteristics (race, gender, disability, etc.) in settings such as employment and housing. "Civil liberties" concern basic rights and freedoms that are guaranteed -- either explicitly identified in the Bill of Rights and the Constitution, or interpreted through the years by courts and lawmakers. Civil liberties include:
* Freedom of speech
* The right to privacy
* The right to be free from unreasonable searches of your home
* The right to a fair court trial
* The right to marry
* The right to vote
One way to consider the difference between "civil rights" and "civil liberties" is to look at 1) what right is affected, and 2) whose right is affected. For example, as an employee, you do not have the legal right to a promotion, mainly because getting a promotion is not a guaranteed "civil liberty." But, as a female employee you do have the legal right to be free from discrimination in being considered for that promotion -- you cannot legally be denied the promotion based on your gender (or race, or disability, etc.). By choosing not to promote a female worker solely because of the employee's gender, the employer has committed a civil rights violation and has engaged in unlawful employment discrimination based on sex or gender.
Privilege
1.
a right, immunity, or benefit enjoyed only by a person beyond the advantages of most: the privileges of the very rich.
2.
a special right, immunity, or exemption granted to persons in authority or office to free them from certain obligations or liabilities: the privilege of a senator to speak in Congress without danger of a libel suit.
3.
a grant to an individual, corporation, etc., of a special right or immunity, under certain conditions.
4.
the principle or condition of enjoying special rights or immunities.
5.
any of the rights common to all citizens under a modern constitutional government: We enjoy the privileges of a free people.
6.
an advantage or source of pleasure granted to a person: It's my privilege to be here.
activist judges and the judicial process
the judicial process starts with the people
citizens have to initiate the process
judges just don't pick various laws and decide they are not worthy of following
though, in their rulings, they can go beyond the scope of the trial.
Here's an interesting article from Boston concerning the Rational Basis argument.
the same sex marriage argument that justice scalia fears. google it
- that which is due every member... by virtue of just claim, fair principle and legal guarantee. A right can only be lost through due process of law.
Just Claim - A right each individual has to petition the organization on that which is not clear by law (written or practiced); i.e., request chit, formal written request, etc.
Fair Principle - A right each individual has to expect equal treatment by virtue of what others receive (i.e., pay, grade, position, etc.)
Legal Guarantee – That which is written and affirmed by higher authority (i.e., laws, contracts, policies, directives, position, etc.). Legal guarantee must be afforded all personnel under the principle of fairness, if not they have a just claim to petition the system.
18.
a just claim or title, whether legal, prescriptive, or moral
: You have a right to say what you please.
19.
Sometimes, rights. that which is due to anyone by just claim, legal guarantees, moral principles, etc.: women's rights; Freedom of speech is a right of all Americans.
23.
Sometimes, rights. the interest or ownership a person, group, or business has in property: He has a 50-percent right in a silver mine. The author controls the screen rights for the book.
25.
Finance.
a.
the privilege, usually preemptive, that accrues to the owners of the stock of a corporation to subscribe to additional shares of stock or securities convertible into stock at an advantageous price.
b.
Often, rights. the privilege of subscribing to a specified amount of a stock or bond issue, or the document certifying this privilege.
Does due process include a popular vote?
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.
rights only for Americans or universal.
Constitutional rights, human rights, universal rights, civil rights.
It is important to note the difference between "civil rights" and "civil liberties." The legal area known as "civil rights" has traditionally revolved around the basic right to be free from unequal treatment based on certain protected characteristics (race, gender, disability, etc.) in settings such as employment and housing. "Civil liberties" concern basic rights and freedoms that are guaranteed -- either explicitly identified in the Bill of Rights and the Constitution, or interpreted through the years by courts and lawmakers. Civil liberties include:
* Freedom of speech
* The right to privacy
* The right to be free from unreasonable searches of your home
* The right to a fair court trial
* The right to marry
* The right to vote
One way to consider the difference between "civil rights" and "civil liberties" is to look at 1) what right is affected, and 2) whose right is affected. For example, as an employee, you do not have the legal right to a promotion, mainly because getting a promotion is not a guaranteed "civil liberty." But, as a female employee you do have the legal right to be free from discrimination in being considered for that promotion -- you cannot legally be denied the promotion based on your gender (or race, or disability, etc.). By choosing not to promote a female worker solely because of the employee's gender, the employer has committed a civil rights violation and has engaged in unlawful employment discrimination based on sex or gender.
Privilege
1.
a right, immunity, or benefit enjoyed only by a person beyond the advantages of most: the privileges of the very rich.
2.
a special right, immunity, or exemption granted to persons in authority or office to free them from certain obligations or liabilities: the privilege of a senator to speak in Congress without danger of a libel suit.
3.
a grant to an individual, corporation, etc., of a special right or immunity, under certain conditions.
4.
the principle or condition of enjoying special rights or immunities.
5.
any of the rights common to all citizens under a modern constitutional government: We enjoy the privileges of a free people.
6.
an advantage or source of pleasure granted to a person: It's my privilege to be here.
activist judges and the judicial process
the judicial process starts with the people
citizens have to initiate the process
judges just don't pick various laws and decide they are not worthy of following
though, in their rulings, they can go beyond the scope of the trial.
Here's an interesting article from Boston concerning the Rational Basis argument.
the same sex marriage argument that justice scalia fears. google it
Realistic captialism
People say 'don't blame capitalism, blame crony capitalism'
Whatever they think capitalism is, doesn't exist.
Will never exist as long as there are a few (we call them elected officials) who make, enforce, and interpret the law.
Crony capitalism is the true capitalism
Whatever they think capitalism is, doesn't exist.
Will never exist as long as there are a few (we call them elected officials) who make, enforce, and interpret the law.
Crony capitalism is the true capitalism
17 January 2012
Waste
Word of the day
verb
1 [ with obj. ] use or expend carelessly, extravagantly, or to no purpose:
we can't afford to waste electricity | I don't use the car, so why should I waste precious money on it?
• (usu. be wasted on) bestow or expend on an unappreciative recipient:
her small talk was wasted on this guest.
• (usu. be wasted) fail to make full or good use of:
New Oxford American Dictionary
verb
1 [ with obj. ] use or expend carelessly, extravagantly, or to no purpose:
we can't afford to waste electricity | I don't use the car, so why should I waste precious money on it?
• (usu. be wasted on) bestow or expend on an unappreciative recipient:
her small talk was wasted on this guest.
• (usu. be wasted) fail to make full or good use of:
New Oxford American Dictionary
16 January 2012
Hitchens on King
“For years, I declined to fill in the form for my Senate press credential that asked me to state my 'race,' unless I was permitted to put 'human.' The form had to be completed under penalty of perjury, so I could not in conscience put 'white,' which is not even a color let alone a 'race,' and I sternly declined to put 'Caucasian,' which is an exploded term from a discredited ethnology. Surely the essential and unarguable core of King's campaign was the insistence that pigmentation was a false measure: a false measure of mankind (yes, mankind) and an inheritance from a time of great ignorance and stupidity and cruelty, when one drop of blood could make you 'black.”
― Christopher Hitchens
― Christopher Hitchens
Fraud
Word of the day
n
wrongful or criminal deception intended to result in financial or personal gain:
• a person or thing intended to deceive others, typically by unjustifiably claiming or being credited with accomplishments or qualities:
New Oxford American Dictionary
n
wrongful or criminal deception intended to result in financial or personal gain:
• a person or thing intended to deceive others, typically by unjustifiably claiming or being credited with accomplishments or qualities:
New Oxford American Dictionary
Consent of the governed
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed.
15 January 2012
The Purpose of Education
To save man from the morass of propaganda, in my opinion, is one of the chief aims of education. Education must enable one to sift and weigh evidence, to discern the true from the false, the real from the unreal, and the facts from the fiction.
The function of education, therefore, is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. But education which stops with efficiency may prove the greatest menace to society. The most dangerous criminal may be the man gifted with reason, but with no morals.
Intelligence plus character--that is the goal of true education.
Martin Luther King, Jr., The Purpose of Education
The function of education, therefore, is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. But education which stops with efficiency may prove the greatest menace to society. The most dangerous criminal may be the man gifted with reason, but with no morals.
Intelligence plus character--that is the goal of true education.
Martin Luther King, Jr., The Purpose of Education
The Constitution on Rights
Section 8 - Powers of Congress
To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries;
Amendment 1 - Freedom of Religion, Press, Expression. Ratified 12/15/1791
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
Amendment 2 - Right to Bear Arms. Ratified 12/15/1791
A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.
Amendment 4 - Search and Seizure. Ratified 12/15/1791.
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
Amendment 6 - Right to Speedy Trial, Confrontation of Witnesses. Ratified 12/15/1791.
In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defence.
Amendment 7 - Trial by Jury in Civil Cases. Ratified 12/15/1791.
In Suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise re-examined in any Court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law.
Amendment 9 - Construction of Constitution. Ratified 12/15/1791.
The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.
Amendment 14 - Citizenship Rights. Ratified 7/9/1868.
1. All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.
2. Representatives shall be apportioned among the several States according to their respective numbers, counting the whole number of persons in each State, excluding Indians not taxed. But when the right to vote at any election for the choice of electors for President and Vice-President of the United States, Representatives in Congress, the Executive and Judicial officers of a State, or the members of the Legislature thereof, is denied to any of the male inhabitants of such State, being twenty-one years of age, and citizens of the United States, or in any way abridged, except for participation in rebellion, or other crime, the basis of representation therein shall be reduced in the proportion which the number of such male citizens shall bear to the whole number of male citizens twenty-one years of age in such State.
3. No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice-President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any State, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any State legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. But Congress may by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such disability.
4. The validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by law, including debts incurred for payment of pensions and bounties for services in suppressing insurrection or rebellion, shall not be questioned. But neither the United States nor any State shall assume or pay any debt or obligation incurred in aid of insurrection or rebellion against the United States, or any claim for the loss or emancipation of any slave; but all such debts, obligations and claims shall be held illegal and void.
5. The Congress shall have power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article.
Amendment 15 - Race No Bar to Vote. Ratified 2/3/1870.
1. The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.
2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
Amendment 19 - Women's Suffrage. Ratified 8/18/1920.
The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.
Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
Amendment 24 - Poll Tax Barred. Ratified 1/23/1964.
1. The right of citizens of the United States to vote in any primary or other election for President or Vice President, for electors for President or Vice President, or for Senator or Representative in Congress, shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any State by reason of failure to pay any poll tax or other tax.
2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
Amendment 26 - Voting Age Set to 18 Years. Ratified 7/1/1971.
1. The right of citizens of the United States, who are eighteen years of age or older, to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of age.
2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries;
Amendment 1 - Freedom of Religion, Press, Expression. Ratified 12/15/1791
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
Amendment 2 - Right to Bear Arms. Ratified 12/15/1791
A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.
Amendment 4 - Search and Seizure. Ratified 12/15/1791.
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
Amendment 6 - Right to Speedy Trial, Confrontation of Witnesses. Ratified 12/15/1791.
In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defence.
Amendment 7 - Trial by Jury in Civil Cases. Ratified 12/15/1791.
In Suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise re-examined in any Court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law.
Amendment 9 - Construction of Constitution. Ratified 12/15/1791.
The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.
Amendment 14 - Citizenship Rights. Ratified 7/9/1868.
1. All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.
2. Representatives shall be apportioned among the several States according to their respective numbers, counting the whole number of persons in each State, excluding Indians not taxed. But when the right to vote at any election for the choice of electors for President and Vice-President of the United States, Representatives in Congress, the Executive and Judicial officers of a State, or the members of the Legislature thereof, is denied to any of the male inhabitants of such State, being twenty-one years of age, and citizens of the United States, or in any way abridged, except for participation in rebellion, or other crime, the basis of representation therein shall be reduced in the proportion which the number of such male citizens shall bear to the whole number of male citizens twenty-one years of age in such State.
3. No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice-President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any State, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any State legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. But Congress may by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such disability.
4. The validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by law, including debts incurred for payment of pensions and bounties for services in suppressing insurrection or rebellion, shall not be questioned. But neither the United States nor any State shall assume or pay any debt or obligation incurred in aid of insurrection or rebellion against the United States, or any claim for the loss or emancipation of any slave; but all such debts, obligations and claims shall be held illegal and void.
5. The Congress shall have power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article.
Amendment 15 - Race No Bar to Vote. Ratified 2/3/1870.
1. The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.
2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
Amendment 19 - Women's Suffrage. Ratified 8/18/1920.
The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.
Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
Amendment 24 - Poll Tax Barred. Ratified 1/23/1964.
1. The right of citizens of the United States to vote in any primary or other election for President or Vice President, for electors for President or Vice President, or for Senator or Representative in Congress, shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any State by reason of failure to pay any poll tax or other tax.
2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
Amendment 26 - Voting Age Set to 18 Years. Ratified 7/1/1971.
1. The right of citizens of the United States, who are eighteen years of age or older, to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of age.
2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
Human trafficking
word of the day
n
Trafficking in Persons
“Trafficking in persons” shall mean the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons, by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation.
Exploitation shall include, at a minimum, the exploitation of the prostitution of others or other forms of sexual exploitation, forced labour or services, slavery or practices similar to slavery, servitude or the removal of organs...
The definition of trafficking continues to be the subject of debate, and there is no conclusive or even commonly agreed upon definition globally, regionally or even nationally. This in itself is indicative of the degree of ideological contention which marks the discourse on trafficking and related issues. Absence of consensus on the definition has crucial implications on strategic planning and programme development since some of the definitions which inform concrete practice may be contradictory to each other. However, there are some basic elements of trafficking that are widely agreed upon, such as violence, deception, coercion, deprivations of freedom of movement, abuse of authority, debt bondage, forced labour and slavery-like practices, and other forms of exploitation or use of force.
UN
save the children
fbi
human trafficking
not for sale
n
Trafficking in Persons
“Trafficking in persons” shall mean the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons, by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation.
Exploitation shall include, at a minimum, the exploitation of the prostitution of others or other forms of sexual exploitation, forced labour or services, slavery or practices similar to slavery, servitude or the removal of organs...
The definition of trafficking continues to be the subject of debate, and there is no conclusive or even commonly agreed upon definition globally, regionally or even nationally. This in itself is indicative of the degree of ideological contention which marks the discourse on trafficking and related issues. Absence of consensus on the definition has crucial implications on strategic planning and programme development since some of the definitions which inform concrete practice may be contradictory to each other. However, there are some basic elements of trafficking that are widely agreed upon, such as violence, deception, coercion, deprivations of freedom of movement, abuse of authority, debt bondage, forced labour and slavery-like practices, and other forms of exploitation or use of force.
UN
save the children
fbi
human trafficking
not for sale
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