February 4, 2017

Phil Beaver works to establish opinion when the-indisputable-facts-of-reality have not been discovered. He seeks to refine his opinion by learning other people’s experiences and observations. The comment box below invites sharing facts, opinion, or concern. (I read, write, and listen to establish my opinion as I pursue the-objective-truth.)
Note:  I often connect words in a phrase with the dash in order to represent an idea. For example, frank-objectivity represents the idea of candidly expressing the-objective-truth without addressing possible error or attempting to balance the expression.

The Advocate:

Our Views. Part of the problem is that the Louisiana legislature and administration cannot be trusted with tax money. So far, special sessions have shown no thought toward actual spending-reform and fiscal responsibility.

 

Earlier, I objected lamely to Gov. Edwards’ visit to advance a Vatican-Edwards-partnership that does not put Louisiana citizens first. I expressed concern about the coyotaje industry. Since then, I read this thought by Ian Lovett, writer for the Wall Street Journal, Jan. 31, 2017, Page A5: “The church largely depends on Hispanic immigration to buoy its U.S. numbers.” The WSJ article lessens the lameness of my concern, IMO.

 

In February, 2015, at Southern University, Jeremiah Wright informed the crowd not to trust government but to trust black-liberation-theology. History, and moreover current events, show that neither government nor God takes responsibility for public-integrity. I think neither Edwards nor Mayor Broome have considered the evidence and admitted to themselves, "The people don't need what I offer."

 

Abraham Lincoln said “ultimate justice” must come from a civic people. I work to establish a voluntary culture: We the Civic People. Thereby, dissidents, by public example, may be more motivated to establish We the People. A civic people use the preamble to the constitution for the USA to guide public connections and transactions.

Today’s Thought. Today, Dean represents “the Lord,” rather than “God.”Hmmm.

But Dean’s word, “fornication” may be obsolete. CNN’s Don Lemon, speaking at F. King Alexander’s symposium “Moment or Movement?” said youth happily try to “slip it in” and some front-row ladies boisterously giggled. I tried to ask Lemon, but could not reach him to talk.

For a review of the symposium google "Moment or movement," and look for the URL with my pic.

Environmentalists fantasies (Bowman and Bowman). I appreciate the Bowmans' objection to “arguably”---such lame, attempted political correctness.

 

I suppose they are cloistered---never suffer the fear of 18-wheeler oil tankers in front, behind, and beside. I feel it too, but react to my wife, who yells, “Slow down and get out of this trap.” True, with a pipeline, I-10 trucker-profits would lessen. But then, we save money and are safer.

 

Without unexpected innovation, renewables can't possibly substitute for fossil fuels in my remaining lifetime (my aim in good health is 2065).

 

Environmentalists: consider not straining so hard to preserve utility costs and safety risks. Relax and enjoy the benefits of free-enterprise: pipeline operators reduce public costs and liabilities of trucking.

The police speak (Shields). What a gift to the people! Thank you, Officer Donovan Livaccari. You are opposing Mayor Landrieu’s proposed 17% increased risk to policemen’s civil rights due to criminals arrested by returned without conviction. 

 

I read into your message that you are restricted from complaining that Mayor Landrieu wants to reduce Orleans Parish District Attorney Leon Cannizzaro’s budget $600,000 or 4%, while spending $40 million to enrich surveillance vendors’ pockets.
 
Also, we appreciate the data: Cannizzaro accepts 90% and convicts 90%, compared to 50% and 50% in the past. That’s 81 per 100 now vs 25 in the past, or 56 more incarcerations now vs 2.24 criminals recycled to risk the lives of first responders and the public for each incarceration.

 

The 2015 reportable crimes totaled 18983 (http://www.nola.gov/getattachment/86272c26-cb13-4573-8daa-8f19c4cfcf47/2015-Year-End-UCR-Citywide/ ). If there was 81% conviction, that’s 15,376 convictions and 3,607 freed. At 25%, there’d be 4,746 convictions and 14,237 freed.

If the DA’s budget is cut 4%, that means14,761 convictions instead of 15,376 or 615 freed instead of 3,607, or a 17% increase in risk to the police.

 

Incidentally, reported crimes in 2015 were 5.8% less than in 2014, so 4% cut to the DA does not make sense.

Cal Thomas column. I also wonder why Trump excepted Saudi Arabia from the travel halt. But it seems to me you have the resources to establish an opinion. If not, why bring it up?

George Will column. IMO, Will leans left and does not share the facts of history. 

 

In the Declaration of Independence, patriots declared, in the phrase “all men are created equal,” that kings are human and the states could provide equal or better leaders. The states waged war on that principle. Furthermore their deist god would defeat the king’s protestant god. In the Treaty of Paris, the king recognized neither a nation nor a confederation of states but thirteen independent states, naming each one.

 

Four years later, delegates of 12 of the 13 states gathered to strengthen the Articles of Confederation, but debated forming a limited national government to serve the people in their states. Only 39 of 55 delegates or about 2/3 of states representatives signed the draft constitution. IMO, the signers are the founders and the ratifiers approved the draft---are not founders. After ratification, politicians took over and do not qualify as founders.

 

On June 21, 1788, nine of 13 states ratified the US Constitution with the provision that the 1^st Congress would add a bill of rights. On ratification day the nation of a civic people in their states was formed. The bill of rights was ratified on December 15, 1791 representing 14 states. However, the bill of rights was negotiated by politicians, not founders. IMO, the founders signed the draft on September 17, 1787.

 

Abraham Lincoln erroneously extolled the Declaration of Independence above the US Constitution. Lincoln erroneously, after Nevada statehood, influenced Congress to require subsequent new states to incorporate in their state constitutions the essence of the Declaration. Lincoln erroneously said “our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation” in 1776: A nation of the people rather than of states was specified in 1787, ratified in 1788 for modification, began operations in 1789, and was ratified by politicians in 1791.

 

Will: “The drama of American democracy derives from the tension between the natural rights of the individual and the constructed rights of the community to make such laws as the majority desires.” Will writes the traditional way of creating statutory law, which has brought us to today’s chaos. And cannot possibly suggest a remedy. There must be a higher standard than majority opinion.
 

In addressing the Ninth Amendment, Will quotes not “the Framers,” sentence but that of politicians in the 1^st Congress. Bork's “inkblot” statement reflected Alexander Hamilton in Federalist 84, “. . . aphorisms . . . in several of our State bills of rights . . would sound much better in a treatise of ethics than in a constitution of government.” But Scalia’s belief in majority rule is what bothers me the most. Much as I must reduce my ignorance by reading Finnis, I do not agree with the correction Will implies, perhaps liberal democracy.

A civic people may realize that most everyone wants broadly-defined-safety-and-security. They may also recognize that the preamble to the constitution for the USA is a civic contract that is neutral to religion rather than secular. A civic people may avoid competition for dominant opinion by iteratively collaborating to make best use of the-discovered-objective-truth. Best use means addressing the unknowns according to best fit to the interrelated discoveries. Individuals have equal opportunity to collaborate for a civic culture, but some are coached for it and some are dissidents.

Perhaps Neil Gorsuch will help a civic people emerge at last.

 

David Ignatius column.  Thank you for cogent opinions. I hope you err.

 

I noticed that Trump populated his inauguration prayers with five representative Christian factions and one Rabbi. But the next day, he reached beyond his preferences. My thought is that Trump featured the religions he felt most appreciate the constitution for the USA, and would neither fault the statement nor attribute it to anyone but Trump.

 

I agree with some of the ideas you attribute to Bannon. I especially dislike elites who teach that American mobility comes from faith, family, community and work, leaving out save & invest to build financial security. I perceive that such elites want to constrain the poor as consumers so as to preserve ownership for themselves. However, I very much like the fact that Trump has gathered around him the world’s best financial minds to help negotiate a possible better future for the world with America focused on its better future first. That seems anti-Bannon, and it would not surprise me to learn that Trump is smart enough to become president against all odds. Wait: that already happened.

 

Before Arabs started getting my attention by blowing up American property abroad and then here, of course culminating with 9/11, I mostly related to Thomas Jefferson’s thought that it made no difference if a neighbor was a Mohammedan. However, I learned that Sunnis and Shiites are faced off against one another in wars. I do not want those wars here. Familiar with British, American, and Jewish compatibility, I find it difficult to associate with people who focus on hatred. These days the most despicable hatred I am aware of is the liberal democrat’s attitude toward civic Americans. Liberal-democratic writing and action is like kicking a gift horse in the teeth.

Dana Milbank column.  The only explanation I can imagine is the Milbank does not mind representing himself as a phantasm. We’ll see how it plays out.

$2 Billion more 7 months later (Page 1A). Edwards, traveled to the Vatican for Trump’s inauguration.
 
Edwards asks for money 7 months after the damage to people. Am I to think Louisiana citizens are number one in Edwards’ book?

 

School grades (Page 1A). Louisiana may consider Wisconsin's Act 10. Schools paid better teachers more. Learning increased. See Wall Street Journal, Jan 29, 2017, online at wsj.com/articles/scott-walkers-school-bonus-1485735556 . It’s an intrastate system, so comparisons are direct.

Iran (Page 1A). Thank you, Trump administration.

The Democrats need to approve the Trump cabinet; then start participating as citizens of the USA first and elected Democrats second. They are so hateful they cannot imagine how wonderful iterative-collaboration can be.

  

EU leaders (Page 9A). Overreacting to Twitter and without enough integrity to call Mr. President and talk.

 

House overturns rule (Page 10A). Thank you.

Hyde Amendment (Shields) Feb 2.

To Elaine O. Coyle: Also, some people in this forum work for public-integrity. I include you yet leave it to participants to know if integrity motivates them.

 

It is not easy to motivate the public to candidly address secret agenda, but I think learning and writing about the possibility draws the-objective-truth out. People begin to realize: Everybody knows what I'm thinking, so I might as well promote it and face a civic culture.

 

For example, I have been writing about black liberation theology since Jeremiah Wright spoke at Southern University on February, 21 2015. See nola.com/opinions/index.ssf/2015/02/jeremiah_wright_tells_a_southe.html. The Advocate (arguably :-) ) reported Wright’s visit. For 2 years I’ve been admitting my ignorance during the previous 55 years.

 

But, happily The Advocate published a minister expressing one black-liberation-theology on January 27, 2017, nearly two years later. See theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/entertainment_life/faith/article_5c93d0f8-e271-11e6-a2d3-f3a78dd096a1.html?sr_source=lift_amplify . On the same page is a report of an unconstitutional (Louisiana Constitution) religion-government-partnership-meeting featuring Mayor Broome. The above-mentioned minister opposed Broome's meeting.

 

To address liberation theology, I expose my ignorance of some 55 years duration, 45 years as black liberation. I think I represent the USA’s largest minority group, but liberation theology, while extant for 1700 years, does not appeal to me. I prefer individual-independence-with-civic-morality.

 

It will be interesting to learn whether or not Mayor Broome, publically driven by 1) her God and 2) the white-guilt-indoctrination called Dialogues on Race will have the integrity to address black-liberation-theology in Baton Rouge. Does Broome's God have skin? (Don't answer that.) Of special interest is possible 2015 buildup to present racial tensions imposed on BRPD, Chief Carl Dabadie, and a civic people of Baton Rouge Parish.

 

Broome has a unique opportunity to lead a civic people, I think 2/3 of citizens in most factions, but so far has skipped "the conversation.” She is not alone.

 Phil Beaver does not “know”. Phil trusts and is committed to the-objective-truth of which most is undiscovered and some is understood. Phil Beaver is agent for A Civic People of the United States, a Louisiana, an education non-profit. See online at promotethepreamble.blogspot.com.