April 27, 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. “Our Views” comes on the opinion page. Readers might expect The Advocate to publish opinion without either tiptoeing around the impossible “political correctness” or fostering distractions from reality.

 

Baton Rouge suffers a public-morality divide that emerges from two cultures: vigilantism vs constitutionalism. Vigilantism is “law enforcement undertaken without legal authority by a self-appointed group of people.” Constitutionalism is “adherence to or government according to constitutional principles.”

Vigilantes operate on raw power and appreciate no persons, as we observe when the Council on Aging victimizes a citizen and elected officials defend the vigilante culture.

Dialogues on racism obfuscates a deeper problem: Elected officials fostering vigilantism vs constitutionalism. Religion, which is often cited, is also ruinous to public-integrity.

The COA tax should be rescinded as unconstitutional.

To William Bonin: I don't know where you live, but seemingly casual tunnel-view about events in my hometown exacerbates the problem. 

 

Your skin-color-views seem more erroneous than those of the 1861 CSA, because you could be informed by Rev. Jeremiah Wright, Jr., twice a military veteran.

 
A Metro Councilperson told the offending COA director during a council meeting: "God knew when he chose you that you would make errors in this process, like we all do. But that's why he went to the cross…." as though olive-skinned Jesus is in control. See theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/news/article_d06a8a8c-1fcd-11e7-a5e1-73e1d41c748f.html .

 
There is no place for religion or religious vigilantism in public-integrity. Your focus on skin-color exacerbates the problem, much as skin-color error did in 1861.

Our Views, April 26. To Elaine O Coyle: JTM’s first URL has historical data on Page 2 that shows 3% increase in violent crime in 1/5 years since Prop 47, reduced penalties. Not promising: crime did not decrease. However, Fox’s 50% seems wrong. But there’s more serious concern.

  

Here’s an August, 2015 opinion that uptick is due to desperation among the poor: latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-domanick-los-angeles-rising-crime-20150827-story.html .

The disparity of incomes concerns me, just . I looked up the data yesterday, and the highest paid job in the US pay $270 K mean compared to $20 K mean for the lowest job. Perhaps it takes $45 K to live. So 13.5 persons are supposed to accept 0.44 % of the cost to live so that one person can be paid six times the cost of living.

I stand by the principle that freedom from oppression offers the liberty to earn personal pursuit of happiness. However, distribution of GDP in the USA has become oppressive for the lowest jobs the public needs to fill. For voluntary public-integrity, we need to resolve this problem.

It is a massive problem, far beyond my comprehension (just as Gov. Edwards’ neglect of 2016-flood victims is beyond my understanding). Risk-reward is a factor. For example, do you redistribute the incomes of top entertainment stars? Top CEO’s? Top entrepreneurs?

Neither communism nor socialism works, and free-enterprise must be fostered rather than discouraged but risk-rewards are dubious. Unlimited conception of children does not work, until such time as we are colonizing other planets. More robots are coming. These are concerns I think about.

  

However, my most urgent concern is for the victim of American free-enterprise: the adult who works 8 hours, 5 days, 52 weeks to earn a living performing a service the public wants but having to settle for 44% of the cost of living less excess income to invest for retirement.

  

Today’s thought, Psalms 106:36. David, about 3070 years ago, was reviewing the history of the Jews from the parting of the Red Sea (perhaps 3225 years ago) to the Babylonian captivity and commenting. 

 

David refers to a practice as “a snare” and Dean calls it a “sin.” I prefer error. When I discover an error I commit to myself that I will not repeat it.

 

(Sometimes I first share my thought with MWW to confirm that my action was an error. Rarely, I disagree. When I agreed and did it anyway I suffered misery and loss. I work hard to prevent repetition of error.)

Letters

La museum board (MacDonald). To Elaine O Coyle: I agree with you. MacDonald is evasive at least.

I'm sticking with Nungesser. He's a controversial action man, but I think he is honest and his opponents represent themselves as alibies for strange agenda.

Sentencing reform (Tracy). To Debra Sheehan: The object is to protect the public from criminals.

 

Exerts know that 85% of problems come from management (the legislature, administration and judiciary) rather than first responders (police and DA’s).

 

Many of the people know this, too. It is imperative that the legislature, the governor, and the judges listen to the first responders for public safety.

  

Kathryn Jean Lopez column. The Christians may reform to voluntary public-integrity anytime they see the advantage: make the most of a lifetime so as to perfect hopes for the afterdeath, that vast time after body, mind, and person stopped functioning.

When you think about it, public collaboration about your God does not make sense. Each person has his or her God or none. What’s critical for living is public-security, which may be established by public-integrity.

Michael Barone column. I read the first line and the last line, then decide to read more or not.

Disparaging college graduates who chose Trump over Hillary moved me to another writer: I appreciate many college graduates and some not so much.

  

Eugene Robinson column. “He lied to us,” is a mistake. 

 

In the past, Mexico has made millions on the coyote business: agents for people entering Mexico’s southern border so as to reach America. 

 

Coyote service a tip of an iceberg compared to drug trade. Build the wall and the savings will start coming.

George Will column. If I catch Will's innuendo, Barack Obama fulfilled James Baldwin’s 1963 book, Fire Next Time. amazon.com/dp/B00EGMV00W/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1 . I doubt it.

The column has a caption, an introduction about Obama’s promise, chocolates with soft centers, lots about French candidates, and a quote from the Negro Spiritual referenced by Baldwin. 

 

Baldwin published in 1963, the key civil rights acts passed in 1964-5, and many communities burned in the late 1960’s and beyond.

 

Is Will predicting fire? I prefer writers who promote voluntary public-integrity.

 

Teacher acquitted (Page 2B). All this time I was unbelieving yet the reporting seemed to invite “where’s there’s smoke there’s fire”. 

 

With the way the media pitch for their business plan, I guess I need to change my attitude: “I don’t believe those lies; not for a minute.” 

 

Best wishes to a wounded person and family and a people.

Other forums.

 

libertylawsite.org/2017/04/26/this-is-your-brain-on-scientism/#comment-1538788  

Few essays and commentary excite me to want to know everything as this piece does, and I look forward to more. I want to read every book Weiner cited. 

I might march for voluntary public-integrity.

It seems the recent march advertised Social Sciences, which often start with a subjective premise, create subjective interviews or human-behavior testing, obtain subjective responses from selected persons, and subjectively consider the results. Weiner makes the case that subjective studies address consequence rather than cause. Social scientists convinced Hillary Clinton that she did not need to campaign for president.

“Science, is a tool,” says z9z99, and I add that the person using the tool is a student. The student has “inherent moral or ethical constraint,” preventing the kind of cruel studies z9z99 catalogued. The object of the study is discovery, rather than proof of an idea. More importantly, the study would comprehend the-objective-truth rather than any of truth, ultimate truth, absolute truth or other subjective conclusion. The-objective-truth exists, may be discovered, and does not respond to reason.

Appreciation for Greg Weiner’s essay emerges from the premise: “The problem with convening a March for Prudence is that the prudent—being otherwise occupied . . . ---would never attend.” I omitted “and believing public views should be mediated through representation,” because I do not agree. I think public statements should be freely expressed and neighbors as well as representatives who agree may take advantage.

Merriam-Webster online rates usage of “prudence” from reasoning, to shrewdness, to fiscal-conservative, to cautious. In that set of words, I see no demand for censorship or peer review. For example, once a person launches a satellite and videos the earth like a globe, flat-earth interests die.

I would march to draw public attention to a priority of fidelities: fidelity to the-objective-truth, to self, to immediate family, to extended family, to the people, to the nation, to the world, and to the universe, both respectively and collectively. Fidelity is not easy, but it seems to me that is the quest humankind is on. Human progress might accelerate with more appreciation for fidelity. Regardless, each person may benefit from practicing fidelity.

I think the possibilities to express these ideas have existed since Albert Einstein’s speech, “The Laws of Science and the Laws of Ethics,” 1941, online at samharris.org/blog/item/my-friend-einstein . Einstein’s single illustration of the message is that (perhaps prudent) humans do not lie so they can communicate rather than to satisfy an ideology.

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.