May 3, 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 (No officer indictment). I commend The Advocate for a well stated assessment of events and appeal for consensus rather than conflict. Baton Rouge may consent for good behavior.

Consensus means general agreement. The question is, on what ideas can most Baton Rouge citizens agree? I would like to offer the preamble and good behavior to establish public-integrity. I will recount events which can be verified with the Internet or the library.

First, as Frank B. Stewart, Jr. states on Page 7A, consequences of slavery date from before the pyramids, perhaps 4600 years ago. Further, as a global commodity, European countries bought slaves from African chiefs for colonization in places including this land. Now, the USA is in a continuing struggle to overcome the consequences of slavery, especially African slavery. Every citizen is involved in the reform and may collaborate or not.

Second, the colonists who perceived that England was enslaving them, by taking taxes and tariffs from colonists for use by homeland-citizens, appealed for relief. The home-landers had no idea the freedom from oppression the colonists had experienced and the liberty to pursue both personal and colonial happiness colonists were practicing. The colonists changed their style to “states” and “the people” and rebelled, knowing that once they established independence they would be morally bound to free the slaves.

Third, with strategy and military power from France, the people won the decisive battle of Yorktown, VA in 1781, and in 1783 negotiated the Treaty of Paris that names thirteen free and independent states, citing each one: New York, Georgia . . . etc. After four years, the states realized they could not survive without a nation, and on June 21, 1788, nine of thirteen states ratified the constitution for the USA and its preamble, the greatest civic sentence ever written. “Civic” refers to citizens of humankind in their time and place: people who collaborate for broadly-defined-civic-safety & security for living so that each person may pursue the happiness he or she perceives. Notice that the previous sentence separates people who want good behavior from people who choose the bad.

Fourth, the preamble, which introduces the constitution drafted in Philadelphia and signed by 2/3 of the representatives of the thirteen states, was intended for every willing person in the land. My paraphrase is: willing persons in our state want to achieve the goals stated herein and therefore authorize and establish the USA. The important element in the future success---of the wonderful promise that is stated in the preamble---is the willing person. Others are dissidents for reasons they may or may not understand. Some are criminals, and when their crimes are discovered and they are convicted, they are constrained by enforcement of statutory justice.

No one can convince anyone that their God is not all powerful. Even the convicte criminal may legitimately make that claim. However, as both Abraham Lincoln (1861) and Alvin Plantinga (2017) inform us, God granted humans the psychological power to choose either good behavior or evil. Therefore, civic justice is the responsibility of willing people rather than God. In the USA, the people grant the monopoly on force to law enforcement and the military.

Thus, the consensus I hope Baton Rouge will reach is that God leaves it to a willing people to iteratively-collaborate to discover the civic justice on which good behavior can be discerned from evil. Every person may appreciate good behavior in every circumstance.

I trust The Advocate will continue to encourage Baton Rouge to reach consensus rather than conflict over civic behavior.

  

Today’s thought, Hebrews 12:6. Paul had some very bad ideas about marriage and women, which I assert when such verses are referenced. Maybe Paul also slighted slavery.

My desire to understand Jeremiah Wright (rather than fake media) inspired me to hear him speak at Southern University in Feb 2015. See nola.com/opinions/index.ssf/2015/02/jeremiah_wright_tells_a_southe.html. Wright’s speech, “Trust God not [the people],” opened my mind to black power, Nation of Islam, black church, black liberation theology, and black vigilantism. I doubt black Christianity exists but don’t think it matters beyond identifying impediments to public-integrity.

I am far from understanding, but have the clue that one theology asserts Christian elites, mostly “whitie” have used prejudicial interpretation of the Bible to oppress blacks since before the Bible was canonized (ca. 400 AD). Wright implies an interpretation of the Bible that posits that white church is Satan and the only way “whitie” can save his soul is to help black Americans become masters and whites. I don’t know.

Today’s Dean-focus helps me perceive that Paul’s writing is among the Bible’s worst in this regard. Just imagine being a child or grandchild of a slave in a plantation Sunday school and reading Paul’s message, “For whom the Lord loves he chastens, and whips every son whom he receives.” The descent might respond, “No God I want would whip my ancestor!”

Each Bible student faces interpretations that demand a choice. Phil Beaver doesn’t trust threats or coercion or force. I am committed to the-objective-truth most of which is undiscovered and some is understood. For all I know, when my body, mind, and person stop functioning, my soul will be judged. I don’t think so, but am prepared but will not share more about it, because it is not a matter for civic collaboration. However, safety & security is a civic topic, and God’s people are divided by personally choosing either good civic behavior or evil.

  

Letters

Legislators should not oppose the people’s first responders (Montgomery). To

Civil service (Sullivan). Not only does civil service protect experienced workers, it protects the people from tyrants.

Anyone who attempts to weaken the Civil Service Commission without support of the people expresses tyranny.

I wrote to my State Senator to oppose SB 247.

  

Revenue task force (Nelson). To Pascanal Petreoff: Edwards showed how true to his own committee he is. He derailed the task force work with his sales tax on steroids---the corporate revenue tax.

Sadow (Roniger). To Scuddy LeBlanc: Sadow’s column asked the question, “How did judges and attorneys squander $6 million in one year?”

I imagine Roniger hides what he knows about the money.

   

Froma Harrop column, “Robots?”. Harrop is an amusing phenomenon. Give her a speculation in a AI magazine and she goes wild against the administration.

I guess she realizes we stopped worrying about global warming because we think its more important to worry about and write about child abuse, national deficit, jobs, and turning education upside down so that it focuses on students rather than adult satisfactions.

The Advocate represents itself as an alien-liberal-democrat by publishing Harrop-amusement so often. How about a little more common sense.

 

Todd May guest column. Thank you. I will try to go to the Capitol tomorrow for NASA day.

Your column is my nomination for the Louisiana delight of the year, so far. You inspired me to look it up and wiki says MAF is 43 acres under roof. That inspired a satellite view on google maps.

Too bad I am not 14 years old; I'd be inspired to help establish space colonies. But I am inspired to help students.

I am anxious to see your displays and hear about them.

 

Clarence Page column “politicians”. Too fascinated with word jumbles. For example:  just when you think not, it’s the end of the world. How silly.

Charter denial (Page 1B). I’m glad repeated application does not impress the board, admitting that I am not privy to the facts of the applications.

BTW, it reminds me that repeated Alinsky-Marxist organization (AMO) does not overthrow statutory law; that media polls do not determine public opinion; public opinion does not change statutory law. Perhaps soon we’ll begin to see common-sense progress--- reversal of the damage done by democracy.

The USA is a representative republic with very complicated dilution of the individual vote.

Appeals court reversal (Page 1B). This seems to me a blatant abuse of the judicial process to me.

How can a case come to jury trial when the plaintiff has no standing?

The people need to amend the constitution so that a judge who advances a case like this must pay the accrued judicial costs.

Appeals court reversal (Page 1B). Mayor Broome led the way in thoughtlessly whining how unjust it is that the news came out prematurely, and she continued that bad leadership today.

Gov. Edwards said the fed did their part, but the leaker is at fault. What empowers leaks? Who gets paid?

The media are to blame. Everyone knew the agreement the department of justice (DOJ) had with Louisiana authorities and the Sterling family.

The constitution for the State of Louisiana has a great provision for freedom of expression that states that the agent of expression may be held responsible for bad consequences. Consider yelling “fire” in a crowded assembly.

Imagine the harm of a promise made and advertised for the whole world to know, then the press intervenes through a DOJ leaker for the newspaper’s profit. Freedom of the press needs to have a confrontation with public-integrity. 

President Trump is doing his part, by tweeting, emailing, press-conferencing and weakly address. We can do our part by speaking out against arbitrary freedom of the press, media lies, and fake reporting.

A civic people may do their part: in our own ways let the media know we are aware that they are not performing with public-integrity.

Online After the violent speeches from Sterling lawyers, I was glad to read another view: "The DOJ detailed explanation of what happened during the 90-second encounter between Salamoni and Officer Howie Lake II and Sterling notes that after an initial struggle Salamoni pulled out his gun and pointed it at Sterling's head in order to get him to place his hands on the hood of a car."

Sterling, who had, I recall, a rap sheet with 30 items, was accustomed to the police, and it would surprise me if they did not know him. His perhaps unusual behavior, with not responding to the gun threat, with not responding to stun gun, and the physical violence constitute a dot. About two years of build up with outside visitors touting "trust in God not government," black power, black theology, black vigilantes, etc. constitute another dot. The mysterious 911 call connects my conspiracy theory: Sterling was a drugged-up victim of a plot to create the Baton Rouge summer of 2016.

If so, it is indeed a travesty: the unintended deaths, Sterling and all the police, are awful products of vigilantism rather than civic protest.

What harm have Saul Alinsky and his followers wrought? See newenglishreview.org/DL_Adams/Saul_Alinsky_and_the_Rise_of_Amorality_in_American_Politics/ to meet some reported AMO priests.

Speech bill (Page 2A). I am glad to see this issue being addressed.

In public-integrity, it seems unjust to support speech that is certain to endanger the police called to protect incendiary expressions. For example, AMO protests should not have free access to a city. The organizers should be held responsible for incidental consequences.

Rewarding early graduation (Page 2A). I hope this bill dies.

Early graduation is its own reward to the student and late graduation has it costs to the state as well as to the student.

The system works unfairly, too. For example, being a cooperative engineering scholarship student gave me 1.75 years experience in chemical engineering (my three summers plus 1 year) but moved my graduation date out 1 year.

Salary curves reference years since graduation. The integration of the salary loss over my 35 year career amounted to about $150,000.

Ban paddling (Page 2A). A child is a person. Paddling a child without due process is tyranny. In due process, a disabled child could not be paddled. I support this bill.

Ca massacre (Page 5A). If there is DNA evidence, there should have been no plea bargaining. Trial, conviction, execution in three weeks if no new evidence.

Alvin Plantinga informed us that humans are so psychologically powerful that God allows them to choose good behavior or evil. Thus, civic morality is the responsibility of the people. When someone kills seven people, the killer’s life should be ended so that any reward due may be awarded---as best a civic people know.

Frank B. Stewart, Jr. open letter to Mayor Mitch Landrieu (Page 6A). A civic person has stated the case in a way only a clown or sociopath or worse could ignore. I don't know.

Confidante gets jail (Page 8A). Maybe the IRS will get involved.

Trump (Page 10A). Even after the negotiations end the President of the USA keeps trying to negotiate!

Financial oversight law (Page 12A). This is over my head, but I like the committee that is advising President Trump on financial matters.

Free school for 3 year-olds in NY (Page 13A). I prefer the child incentives program: cipbr.blogspot.com/2016/09/child-incentives-brief.html .

  

Other forums.

My sister, Dona Bean, informed me of a companion effort, at least I am a promoter of the preamble. 

See thedreyfussinitiative.org . Dreyfuss has been active for thirty years---since working on the 200^th centennial for the draft constitution for the USA.

I perceive that ratification day, June 21, 1788 is even more important than Constitution [draft] Day, September 17. If nine states had not ratified, there would be no USA under the amended draft, ratified on December 15, 1791 by ten states. 

One of the major 1788 contentions was the preamble’s subject. Patrick Henry and others wanted “We the States . . . “

I will learn more about Dreyfuss’ work.

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.