December 28, 2017

Phil Beaver seeks to collaborate on the-objective-truth, which can only be discovered. The comment box below invites readers to write.

Note 1:  I often dash words in phrases in order to express and preserve an idea. For example, frank-objectivity represents the idea of candidly expressing the-objective-truth despite possible error.
 Note 2: It is important to note "civic" refers to citizens who collaborate for the people more than for the city.

A personal paraphrase of the June 21, 1788 preamble:  We the civic citizens of nine of the thirteen United States commit-to and trust-in the purpose and goals stated herein --- integrity, justice, collaboration, defense, prosperity, liberty, and perpetuity --- and to cultivate limited services by the USA. Composing their own paraphrase, citizens may consider the actual preamble and perceive whether they are willing or dissident toward its principles.   

Our Views (Dec 28)

The Advocate seems hell bent to increase my taxes! Shame on The Advocate.

I want the state to reduce spending. I hope Legislators listen to me and convince Gov. John Bel Edwards to stop spending, because it’s the right thing to do when you don’t have the money and are obligated to the people of Louisiana rather than special interests.

Shame on The Advocate for the opinion that Gov. Edwards cannot be blamed. He’ been a stubborn tax and spend legislator for six special sessions and has announced the same attitude as a threat for the future.

Today’s thought, G.E. Dean (Matthew 26:75 CJB)

“Then Peter remembered the word Jesus had spoken: “Before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times.” And he went outside and wept bitterly.”

Dean says, “Peter was broken about his sin. Are we?”

Peter might have been aware of John 6:39, “This is the will of the One who sent me: that I should not lose any of all those he has given me.” Perhaps on John’s ideas Peter doubted both antinomianism and the goodness of his origins.

We did not control the ovum and the spermatozoon from which we came. We were conceived by a man and a woman who by evidence were bound in monogamy and dedicated to the children they might conceive. We have done the work to understand the-objective-truth and thereby admit that we do not know what we do not know. Yet, we live according to the-discovered-objective-truth.

Why should we accept anyone’s doubts about our origins, where the person is ancient like Matthew and John or living, like Dean. Why should be doubt whatever is responsible for our physical and psychological power and authority as an authentic human? Knowing that we don’t know, why should we act now for the inevitable termination of what we did not begin?

Some people choose to doubt their origins. I choose to trust-in and commit-to my destiny, untainted by what I do not know.

    

Letters

State services are going to be pushed back to the states (Knight) (theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/opinion/letters/article_bbdd6cca-e6cd-11e7-b719-e73caac85d4f.html)

For the past seven decades or so, the states have treated the federal government as a money tree, and political regimes have cooperated.

It seems the Trump administration will push programs back to the states. Thus, get ready for some earnest pleas for money from state and local governments. If most citizens are like me---do not want to pay more taxes, the states may have to stop spending money they never had.

The consequence may be that by the end of the Trump administration the federal debt will have stopped climbing by $ 0.7 trillion per year and be ready to revers and pay off the debt.

If my hope becomes reality, the “wealth transfer” will come from elimination of waste. Each of us may do our part by exercising the authority both to work for personal living needs and to collaborate for mutual freedom.

Begging woe (Defelice) (theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/opinion/letters/article_eb3ec66a-e6cf-11e7-ad52-57b8eeeaf45a.html)

I agree. Also, I think the media are begging woe and a reckoning is due.

The Louisiana constitution defends free expression better that the First Amendment does. It clarifies that the speaker may be held responsible for consequences. Thus, someone who yells “Fire!” inciting injuries may be held liable.

The media have the opportunity to volunteer responsibility in order to preserve freedom. The media operates as “Anything is permissible as long as the-objective-truth has not been discovered.” They may be backlogging lawsuits that will start to appear and then avalanche.

To Matthew White: That's outrageous! Calling a Beaver "sanctimonious ferret." With beavers, construction, fidelity and monogamy are neither choices nor opinion: It's just the way things happily are.

Separation of church and state (Purrington) (theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/opinion/letters/article_621b07d4-e6cc-11e7-be2e-533304815ceb.html)

Purrington expresses typical confusion of Christianity with civic morality. Also, after 230 years failure, the USA still needs to separate church and state.

Christianity is about believing your personal, favored afterdeath. Civic morality is about taking the personal authority to responsibly live (and let live) in freedom. In other words, in civic morality, each person has the mutual freedom to both live morally and accept afterdeath, whether the individual expects dust, reincarnation, life or something else. I am comfortable-with and am preparing-for dust. In other words, I want to die in fidelity to what and whom I know (not much or many). What a Christian or other religion, ancient or modern, knows does not impact my afterdeath.

To put it another way, in civic morality, one person does not attempt to impose on another a belief in a specific afterdeath. What’s important in life is appreciating the other person for civic morality while not questioning or even considering their belief regarding the afterdeath.

The civic agreement that is offered in the preamble to the constitution for the USA, might help clarify the exclusion of religion from civic morality. No phrase in the preamble implies religion, theism, or Christianity as a qualification for the agreement. The agreement does not express interest in an individual’s personal preferences such as religion or none. The authority of each individual to collaborate for mutual, comprehensive safety and security for themselves, their children, their grandchildren, and beyond into perpetuity is offered. On this agreement, inhabitants are divided into two associations: the civically moral and the dissidents.

In the 230 years since the preamble was created, the inhabitants in this land have changed from 5% of 80% free residents able to vote and 99% of them factional-Protestant. The demographic is now 100% able to vote and only 14% in the traditional factional-Protestant associations. Religious morality has no chance of establishing civic integrity or statutory justice. A view of religious distribution between Republicans, Democrats and Independents is shown graphically at pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2016/02/23/u-s-religious-groups-and-their-political-leanings. The religious factionization of America is both amazing and wonderful.

Note that the entries are arranged by increasing difference: % Republican less % Democrat. The arrangement would be almost the same if based on declining % Republican were it not for some outstanding Independent associations, like Jehovah’s Witness at 75% Independent. The cluster of 4 above and 3 below “All US Adults,” is interesting, especially the closeness of “Catholic.”

The last entries are also notable. Traditional black associations are 90% Democrats. Some black associations think skin color is pertinent to theism, and thus, might be more racial than religious. Unitarian Universalist (UU) seems intolerant of Republicans and especially Independents at the lowest in the table, 2%. While their US identity emerged from Christianity, I am not certain UU would call themselves “Christian.” Also, they seem to condemn history’s slave-buyers but exonerate the slave-sellers. One is automatic oppressor and the other is automatic victim.

It seems public conversations would be empowered by the term “factional Christianity.” Thereby, writers might be less inclined to generalizations like “[is it] possible to be a Christian and a Republican at the same time?”

To JT McQuitty: As always, reading your posts is rewarding.

The first reference reminds me that the bell curve promises extremes beyond 2 sigma both above and below. The art of social sciences is to choose a mirage, design experiments that include the variables that create the mirage, manage the experiments so as to emphasize the red variable, conduct the experiments, gather the data, interpret the statistics and present the statistical views that favor the mirage. According to social science, it is untenable that Donald J. Trump is president of the USA, and social science is working on the proof.

While W.B. Shockley seems beyond several sigma negative, Albert Einstein was perhaps as much positive. Einstein gave us the first principle that that civic people don’t lie so that they can communicate. See Einstein’s essay at samharris.org/blog/item/my-friend-einstein.

The second post reminds me of a realization I expressed at a recent library meeting. The USA’s focus on skin color matters isolates us from global competition for civic morality, which is founded on STEM rather than social sciences and other religious pursuits. The Congressional Black Caucus has contributed to America’s regression during the past five decades.
 

Fortunately, most citizens understand the American dream: transitioning through the two to three decades required to establish personal authority so as to enter young adulthood with the preparation and intention to discover and keep fidelity to responsibility for freedom. 

  

Columns. (The fiction/non-fiction comments gallery for readers)

  

Alabama (Froma Harrop) (creators.com/read/froma-harrop/12/17/alabama-was-a-win-and-not-just-for-democrats)

I voted against David Vitter for governor for civic moral reasons and am very disappointed in my vote for John Bel Edwards. Next time, I will give more serious consideration to a Libertarian vote.

I have always opposed Roy Moore’s defiance of separation of church and state. Four of the Ten Commandments are religious ideas and may oppose civic morality, in other words, collaboration for mutual comprehensive safety and security.

  

However, I wanted the people of Alabama to decide. Despite all the outside influences, I think they did decide. We’ll see how it turns out.

However, I think the overall election process has been helped:  Political parties are on notice that they need to offer candidates the people may vote for.

One serious problem that needs to be fleshed out, though, is the right to vote. Each citizens should claim the authority to vote for the candidate whose platform will help them responsibly achieve their personal dreams rather than someone who requires subjugation to their cause.

  

Trump’s accomplishments (Byron York) jewishworldreview.com/1217/york122017.php3

I appreciate York’s continual support for President Trump’s accomplishments.

However, I think it takes hubris to continue to advise him to change. If the president operated in a world of polished people, polish might be in order. In fact the brutes in the swamp can begin to behave with polish anytime they perceive an advantage. I such a culture, President Trump’s polish might come out from under his defenses.

I have written before that it seems to me anytime someone honestly decides that integrity will serve them, they may discover Trump’s integrity. However, Trump continually shows that he appreciates Matthew 7:6.

Journalism (Jules Witcover) baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/oped/bs-ed-op-1226-witcover-graham-20171220-story.html

I don’t often go to the movies. However, I’d like to understand journalism in this world of writers for the press or just for money. I cannot name a journalist. No one seems to want a responsible and free press let alone a free and responsible press.

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