April 13, 2017

Phil Beaver works to establish opinion when the-objective-truth has not been discovered. He seeks to refine his opinion by listening to other people’s experiences and observations. The comment box below invites readers to express facts, opinion, or concern, perhaps to share with people who may follow the blog.
Note:  I often connect words in a phrase with dashes in order to represent an idea. For example, frank-objectivity represents the idea of candidly expressing the-objective-truth despite possible error. In other words, the writer expresses his “belief,” knowing he could be in error. People may collaboratively approach the-objective-truth.

The Advocate:  See online at theadvocate.com/baton_rouge

Our Views. Both The Advocate and Edwards employ a tactic mastered by Barack Obama: Create wrongful objectives then accuse legislators of not offering a solution. Rather than use his administration to solve problems, Obama sewed conflict begging chaos. He is out and his AMO tactics are outed.

The Advocate may wake up to creating the good rather than proposing the bad. Perhaps Edwards would get fired up on reading a reformed The Advocate.

Probably not going to happen.

BTW, the Bible condones slavery and a lot of other bad ideas. Why do we tolerate the Bible in civic debate, after 228 years neglecting civic justice? The Bible is about saving mysteries rather than securing lives.

There’s no place for Bible-mystery in collaboration for public-integrity.

  

Today’s thought, Jeremiah 23:23-24. I thought it over and conclude that the influence I follow expects me to perfect my unique person. My plans and intentions don’t suffice: What is required is results.

Therefore, I work to understand the-objective-truth, use what has been discovered, and respect the bountiful unknowns. I behave this way for my hope and comfort and do not wish to impose my acceptance-that-I-do-not-know on other peaceful people.

Let every peaceful person maintain their own inspiration.

Letters

Crisis (Mayer). Random thoughts.

I think the chief problem is that peaceful citizens don’t appreciate each other. Rather than celebrate mutual civic-safety-&-security, many strive to change the other person’s private-motives-&-inspiration.

 

Women state-leaders (Mahoney). The Civil Rights Act of 1964 outlaws discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.

A government act that is grounded in the-objective-truth ought to nudge the people toward civic justice. Recall in my usage “civic” refers to mutual appreciation in public connections with another person more than cooperation with the city’s goals. The words race, color, religion, sex, and national origin are explicit. However, “discrimination” is controversial.
 
Without standards, it is impossible to prevent discrimination in public connections and transactions. This country was founded on resistance to Blackstone---or English common law, or Parliamentary rule---with the right to choose Protestant Christian faction rather than the king’s church. Independence was declared in order to secure rights: life, liberty, and property (assets in 2017).

 

From there, through the wonder of immigration, freedom of religion emerges a false bemusement even though the federal branches have not yet caught on: Civic justice comes from elsewhere.

In government, the standard that can assimilate the civil-rights-issues is broadly-defined-civic-safety-and-security, hereafter, civic-security. Civic-security both protects and requires the right to think, from which the personal preference for a religion or none may emerge. Pursuit of happiness becomes personal quest rather than “the overall good” beyond civic-security.

Civic-security is derived from the-objective-truth rather than dominant-opinion. Politics becomes voluntary iterative-collaboration for public-integrity rather than for arbitrary-power. But not everyone participates: There will always be dissidents for reasons the unwilling may or may not understand.

In a civic culture, people do not lie to each other so that responses are not based on a lie---so that the parties can communicate. The liars cannot communicate and thus isolate themselves. This culture exists now, but the participants are divided by race, color, religion, sex, and national origin. This division may be lessened by open-minded civic-individualism to establish public-integrity.

  

A better way of living may be established in the Louisiana legislature merely because the idea exists here: public-integrity is achievable.

Rich Lowry column. “Donald Trump’s statements about Russia during the past year and a half have often been stupid and shameful.”

Trump was negotiating appeal to Russia’s nobler motives. It was plain then, and is even more explicit now that Russia did not take the invitation.

Trump treats writers for the media the same way: Trump offers both honest and integrity. When the media respond with lies, Trump imagines alternate lies and proposes them to naïve writers. The process keeps the media bemused with lies about lies, while Trump works on his objective: civic-security in my words, safety & security in his words.

Voters in 84% of US counties were incredulous as Obama exposed “his own naiveté and weakness.” But make no mistake. He is working his AMO tactics more than ever. Be on guard.

James Gill column. Jeff Parish Sheriff Newell Normand, 84% of murders solved; FBI reports nationwide homicide clearance rates 60%; New Orleans in 2015, 35 %; New Orleans under Lt. Jimmie Turner, 19%.

 

Miriam Waltzer guest column. Waltzer seems to be unaware that the male body typically completes the wisdom-building portions of the brain at age 25. 

 

Thus, her suggestion that reform might be discernable in the late 30s makes sense for a person who was a criminal at 15. I’d call a person of that age “adolescent.” However, criminal possibility exists for children; criminality at age 5 begs parole after 30 years rather than 20.

 

One other point. Especially because the Supreme Court left options for the rarest cases, this seems like a decision that should stand indefinitely, especially if we reform our education system so as to help children transition to civic young adult rather than leave their future to chance. However, to change the language to “our judicial branch has spoken,” seems wrongful. Much of the judicial branch follows neither the preamble to the constitution for the USA, the articles of the constitution, nor the body of Supreme Court opinions. 

 

George Will column. That Randolph Bourne quote is objectionable for a civic culture---one wherein the people voluntarily collaborate for justice in public connections and transactions rather than to conform to a civilization designed by the state. 

 

I appreciate Will’s attention to Bourne: “. . . educational theorist John Dewey. Bourne was a student of Dewey at Columbia, but he rejected Dewey's idea of using the war to spread democracy.”

 

“Bourne was greatly influenced by Horace Kallen's 1915 essay "Democracy Versus the Melting-Pot" and argued, like Kallen, that Americanism ought not to be associated with Anglo-Saxonism. In his 1916 article "Trans-National America," Bourne argued that the US should accommodate immigrant cultures into a "cosmopolitan America," instead of forcing immigrants to assimilate to Anglophilic culture.” (Wikipedia) 

  

I tend to agree with this little bit by Bourne and want to read Kallen.

 

TOPS limits on college duration (Page 3B). With such common sense ideas, it is amazing that Board of Regents is so dysfunctional.

I think they could reform if their goal was to coach adolescents unto open-minded civic-independence rather than subjects of ivory-tower-liberal-democracy.

Liberal professors can't stand public-integrity. One recently, publicly chastised me to take some sociology courses, then tried to interrupt a civic conversation I was in after the meeting. It's really amazing how clouds affect white-tower people.

  

Flood recovery concerns (Page 1A). Why wasn’t the Larry Bankston affair discussed. We still don’t know who will manage the money and how much they graft from the federal allocation.

  

Metro-Council (Page 1A). The contrast could not be more explicit. Metro Councilwoman Barbara Freiberg says, “I am concerned about the audit and the action plan that comes from the audit.” (Thank you.) 

 

The black legislative caucus urges approval now, regardless of a history of local financial abuse by a nationally affiliated non-profit. It’s almost like black-caucus feels entitled to abuse the people.

 

One possibility is to call in federal election officials to recommend rules to 1) prevent a council from approving a tax vote on behalf of a non-profit with questionable operations, 2) prevent the tax plan from being biased against a civic faction such as home-owners, and 3) prevent a national non-profit group from interfering in local elections.

 

There are many civically-moral Democrats, and I resent reading “Democrat” to represent the seeming Alinsky-Marxist organized (AMO) council members who terminated the meeting. AMO uses civic disruptions that may escalate to violence, property damage, injury, even deaths. There ought to be a consequence when elected officials exemplify or incite AMO tactics for the moment, for the future, or for a movement. AMO purpose is conflict for the sake of power in chaos. Lastly, if the Democrats emerge the stronger party for public-integrity, I will gladly switch to Democrat, because I am not happy with the GOP; thank goodness President Trump defeated their presidential nominees.

 

I continually write to the Metro Council members and have written to the Mayor and some of her advisors that Baton Rouge can establish public-integrity, but that cannot happen when the leadership does not demonstrate integrity as both wholeness and civic-understanding.

 

One other point: The COA-supportive-crowd’s claim to be “taxpayers” is probably false. First, to legitimize that claim the COA taxation should be from sales-taxes rather than solely property tax. 

 

The COA offers nothing for me in my eight decade, and there is no moral justification for me to carry the load with no contribution by other citizens. Compare BREC and EBRP libraries, both with excellent services that do not exclude me. Then there’s CATS with strong bias against me, primarily due to poor management. 

 

Second, presenting the conflict as Metro Council vs taxpayer is false. COA civic immorality affects every citizen, including Metro Council members and the direct recipients of COA services.

  

Can’t trust the Associated Press (Page 1A). Vivian Salama and Josh Lederman spin this a Trump changing his mind rather than Russia deciding to rebuke Trump’s overtures to civic integrity.

 

Also, they press the mysterious Russian collusion with no evidence beyond the DNC’s failures to protect their information. And they invent new construct about Trump’s negotiating posture. 

Maybe the Associated Press’s ability to fabricate and pursue their phantasms “is coming to an end.”

 

Despite the Associated Press’s pretense---gloom and doom, Tillerson and the Russians planned working meetings to resolve disputes. 

 

Maybe the Associated Press will find a reliable medium from which to learn the news.

  

Can’t trust TNS (Page 4A). Brian Bennett spins Trump’s meeting with NATO as Trump reversal rather than NATO reform.

  

Post-flood aid plan (Page 6A). Of $11.1 million from the federal Dept of Housing and Urban Dev in 2016, Mayor Broome’s Office of Community Development’s Monika Gerhart says $5.2 million will go to the rental business, $3.5 to EBRP first time homeowners and $2.4 million, 21.6 % somewhere.

Wonder why Steve Hardy and The Advocate did not report on the $2.4 million.

Fearful lawmakers (Page 10A). I wouldn’t label it “fear.” It’s more like confronting AMO and their disruptive tactics.

Spicer apologies (Page 10A). It seems good to apologize for bad statements. Spicer must have a photographic memory without instant atrocity-relativity check. Atrocities ought not be happening.

Phil Beaver does not “know” the-indisputable-facts. 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, education non-profit. See online at promotethepreamble.blogspot.com.