12. December 9, 2016

Practice for December 9, 2016

1. “We the Civic People of the United States” seems appropriate for this journey to ultimately establish the totality: We the People of the United States.
2. We need your commitment to iteratively collaborate. The people’s vote--the President-elect Donald Trump’s success---inspired a letter, which I signed and mailed on December 2, 2016. Without making assumptions about his hopes and vision, I described a possible civic culture, “civic” referring to appreciative human connections for private-liberty in this place and asked Trump to collaborate with us. The achievable future culture features 1) use of the preamble by at least 2/3 of the people, 2) civic-morality based on the discovered, indisputable-facts-of-reality rather than social-morality as temporal majority-opinion, 3) individual-independence through fidelity, 4) public-integrity, 5) overarching civic culture which comforts every real-no-harm private interest, 6) the assertion that 2/3 of the people already contribute to Security (but have not had the words and phrases with which to appreciate and comfort each other) and 7) government according to statutory law that nudges the dissident 1/3 to iteratively collaborate for a civic culture. If Mr. Trump becomes interested in a possible civic culture, I anticipate listing contacts for the people who created the current words and phrases, like “civic” and “public-integrity.” Our acknowledgements page lists contributors, but I do not know if people I list would elect inclusion for this purpose. If you would like to endorse a civic culture as collaborated for in this work, please let me know: name, address, phone number, and email address.
3. Please read “And now Security." (Note 3). It would promote possible better-future in the USA.
4. The animated movie “Zootopia,” perhaps expresses two civic morals: good-will to all who are appreciative with nevertheless necessary law enforcement.
5. I express a purpose: public-integrity as private-liberty-with-civic-morality. I explain in the essay, “A civic culture.” Also Note 3.
6. Readers may be interested in recent posts: libertylawsite (Note 4), quora.com (Note 5), and The Advocate (Note 6). In that effort I try to appreciate, comfort, and motivate civic people.
7. I need your help. What can be done to inspire 2/3 of the people in every demographic to appreciate each other for civic safety and security offered despite a conflicted world? That would include 2/3 of each: politicians, clergy, fishermen, shipbuilders, lawyers, judges, writers for the media, journalists, singers, machinists, farmers and the rest of neighbors a civic people need---2/3 of every group or person. If you have a civic issue you would like to present for collaboration at a library meeting, please do so.
8. In the awakening to Alinsky-Marxist organizers---AMO, we are at a turning point toward addressing the consequences of private behavior, IMO. Just as people may earn a living in order to have the freedom to live with the liberty to make choices, each person may iteratively collaborate for justice.
9. Many writers for the media and a few journalists have written opinion about the harm done by the Electoral College. It turns out a chemical engineer can understand it by reading about it. (Note 7). Through the apportionment process, California has 697,000 citizens per Representative vs 194,000 in Wyoming. To put it another way, a citizen's vote in California has less Electoral-College weight and congressional representative weight than a citizen's vote in Wyoming: A presidential candidate needs to care about the preferences of citizens in Wyoming, too. The USA’s statutory, republican form of government prevents the misery of socialist-democracy that is suffered in Europe.
10. Sometimes a timely slogan becomes a future distraction.Patrick Henry's famous liberty statement was noble and still pertinent. But in 2016 domestic Security or justice, the people's responsibility, is failing liberty.

Notes:
1. Synonymous expression of “private-liberty” by Dona Bean, my sister, in conversation on December 6, 2016.

2. See “9/15/16 Presentation text,” at promotethepreamble.blogspot.com .

3. Online at promotethepreamble.blogspot.com.

4. Online at libertylawsite.org/2016/10/24/obstacles-to-raising-children-a-first-time-fathers-reflections/#comment-1484997 and libertylawsite.org/book-review/politics-according-to-c-s-lewis/ on opinion vs the-objective-truth and libertylawsite.org/2016/11/21/defining-liberty-properly/#comment-1496369  on majority opinion vs The Facts.

5. Online at quora.com/Does-something-being-subjectively-true-make-it-less-true/answer/Phil-Beaver-1 on opinion defeating the-objective-truth and quora.com/What-is-the-chronological-order-of-Socrates-Plato-and-Aristotle-What-were-their-major-contributions/answer/Phil-Beaver-1?prompt_topic_bio=1 on Agathon perhaps most important and quora.com/What-lesser-known-facts-shape-who-influences-decision-making-at-the-highest-levels-of-society/answer/Phil-Beaver-1 on the soul-controversy and https://www.quora.com/Do-you-think-that-the-AOC-should-have-been-revised-or-replaced-1/answer/Phil-Beaver-1 on replacing the Articles of Confederation.

6. On dialogues on race online at theadvocate.com/article_856a0d1c-9f9b-11e6-a0b7-1f38cd3d3ce9.html?sr_source=lift_amplify . Also on Trump protests at theadvocate.com/new_orleans/news/education/article_c0658e14-aab8-11e6-af69-bbbf1c693679.html and on public appreciation more appropriate than love theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/opinion/letters/article_eff32a6a-b00d-11e6-a0eb-bfae24f07c85.html?sr_source=lift_amplify

7. Online at en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_congressional_apportionment and at en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electoral_College_(United_States) .

11. November 9, 2016

Practice for November 9, 2016

1. Please read “And now Security,” at promotethepreamble.blogspot.com.
2. A friend suggested I request a salesman to promote this work. Please volunteer or suggest someone.
3. I now express public-integrity as private-liberty-with-civic-morality. I explain in the essay, “A civic culture,” promotethepreamble.blogspot.com. I realized insufficiency after William Bonin asked, “What is private integrity?”
4. I continue to comment on libertylawsite (Note 1), quora.com (Note 2), forums for the courses I took (Note 3), the newspaper (Note 4), and book reviews (Note 5). Each of these contacts are pertinent to this work.
5. I reviewed LSU President F. King Alexander’s October 3-4 symposium “Moment or Movement?” on cipbr.blogspot.com. I was not impressed. Sensation Don Lemon, who used urban jargon to provoke giggles, seemed un-civic. But the LSU music performance was unforgettably beautiful.
6. After I completed training for a volunteer service, the supervisors opined that an engineer cannot contend with the uncertainties needed to improve a wounded life. I doubt the decision, but happily am less ignorant.
7. I finished P. M. Forni’s book, Choosing Civility, 2002. I highly recommend it, but plan to write a counter argument for choosing civicallity, meaning behave for civic morality, keeping civil morality private: civility is a matter of opinion. Like Alexis de Tocqueville, who visited America and expressed opinion, Forni came to America and expresses opinion. My opinions differ in both cases, and my opinion has standing for me.
8. I need your help. I perceive American exceptionalism is achievable by this generation. From 1607, European colonists successively experienced freedom from the oppression they would have suffered had they stayed in their colonizing countries; liberty to live according to personal preferences despite harsh realities; and the will to declare independence from the kingdom that proposed to burden them. At that point, 1774, they changed style from European colonist to American statesman. Thirteen years later, willing people in twelve independent states proposed a nation of Americans. The delegates of twelve states iteratively collaborated to design a suitable system of governance of the people in their states. The goals and purpose are stated in the preamble, a civic sentence to be adopted by willing citizens. Since then, most citizens have either neglected or never considered the preamble. Application of that civic agreement could have emancipated the slaves, prevented the Civil War, and established equity already. What can be done to inspire 2/3 of the people in every demographic faction to choose to be an American---to iteratively collaborate for each willing-American’s freedom from coercion, liberty to live privately in civic safety and security despite this conflicted world?
9. In conjunction with the above plea, I spoke to a black couple about how most African-Americans or blacks may be motivated to choose, “I am an American.” (See Note 7.) One said, “I am not black,” and my brain imagined, “I am a person,” before the other said, “I am brown.” In a subsequent conversation, four of us imagined a tee shirt:

               I am a person.
               I am an American.
               Let’s talk.
Perhaps the shirt would be mosaic in pattern and color.
_________
Note 1. Online at libertylawsite.org/2016/10/24/obstacles-to-raising-children-a-first-time-fathers-reflections/#comment-1484997 and libertylawsite.org/book-review/politics-according-to-c-s-lewis/

Note 2. Online at quora.com/Why-does-our-society-value-life-more-that-freedom-from-suffering/answer/Phil-Beaver-1

Note 3. Online at facebook.com/groups/classicalsociologicaltheory/1698670853793134/?comment_id=1699249907068562&notif_t=like&notif_id=1478124359269304

Note 4. Online at theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/news/alton_sterling/article_d83be3b0-9f9d-11e6-aa2b-b30cc9ee8cf6.html#utm_source=theadvocate.com&utm_campaign=%2Fnewsletters%2Fbaton-rouge-daily-news%2F%3Fnew&utm_medium=email&utm_content=read%20more and theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/news/politics/elections/article_3997c820-a144-11e6-b395-af3de819c4ec.html

Note 5. Online at amazon.com/review/R3JK0QBUY1QWIV/ref=cm_cr_rev_detup_redir?_encoding=UTF8&asin=0814771149&cdForum=FxJJTWMO7XIAKY&cdPage=1&cdThread=Tx28S45RCZ3PNCJ&newContentID=Mx1E8BI77MN3L33&newContentNum=3&store=books#Mx2XERQY54G3YDE

Note 6. Online at urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Slip+It .

Note 7. On October 4, 2016 at LSU, Dr. Norman C. Francis spoke at “Moment or Movement?”, and I took notes. I think he said, “I am an American. I want America to continue to be great. I choose to be here.”

Note 8. The religion-politics-partnership was identified 500 years ago in sarcasm by Nicolo Machiavelli. See online at constitution.org/mac/prince11.htm

10. October 9, 2016

Practice for October 9, 2016

1. On September 6, private-liberty-with-civic-morality, in context, became private-integrity. Events before now had to happen for private-integrity to be articulated as a cultural possibility.
   • Today, “private-liberty” became “personal-liberty.” Private-integrity as personal-liberty-with-civic-morality is without redundancy.
   • The concept seems possible, perhaps only through US history.
     • 1607-1765 colonists enjoyed freedom from homeland oppressions they could not have experienced had they lived the lives they left behind.
     • Freedom gave them the liberty to pursue the life they wanted.
     • Harsh adversities not existent in their homelands motivated them to act with fidelity to the-indisputable-facts-of-reality.
       1. About 40%---patriots---demanded from England broadly-defined-civic-safety-and-security.
          • Without civic response from their fellow English subjects, they declared war for independence.
          • They fought for vaguely articulated civic morality instead of the traditional social order.
     • Patriots created a nation founded on freedom, leaving it to the future people to cultivate liberty and establish civic integrity.
       1. Civic integrity is not possible without private integrity among the majority
       2. Neither the government nor religion can establish private integrity
     • Past generations have left it to us to establish private-integrity as personal-liberty-with-civic-morality.
     • At least 65% of members of each factional group must participate if broadly-defined-civic-safety-and-security, or a civic culture, will be established by the people.
     • I discussed the noble idea private integrity in this context in the shade of a fir tree, and the wife immediately mentioned “fidelity.” I grinned back at her husband, and he wrote her reference, and I now own P. M. Forni, Choosing Civility, 2002. I am grateful.
       1. So far, the book seems about conforming to civilization, or the social force/coercion a person lives in, without yielding to rivalry.
       2. I feel certain the constant study of this book will help me express civic justice as mutual consideration among people living the same years in the same places---not unlike choosing civility for now.
   • Ongoing collaboration is appreciated.
     • “Civic” is beginning to be accepted in the discussion of force and coercion imposed by “social” or “civil.” For example, Jim Engster agreed on October 3 that “civic justice” seems conversationally less restricting than “social justice.”
     • So far, our usage “private liberty,” or “personal liberty,” in context seems promising. (Note 1)
     • I am studying “privacy.”
     • Both politics and religion seem powerfully against private-integrity, but willing people can establish broadly-defined-civic-safety-and-security.
2. September 15 was unattended beyond three past participants.
   • Lack of focus has been a problem.
   • Phil does not effectively promote A Civic People.
3. Phil’s civic-service training is almost complete.
   • Performance may soon take priority.
4. Baton Rouge is divided between momentum for civic morality and focus on the factional past.
   • Metro Council perhaps notices iterative collaboration.
   • I posted on cipbr.blogspot.com “Child incentives brief.” There were 7 of 613 blog views. The idea is to coach children from infancy to young adults on a path toward private-integrity.
5. Our comments on libertylaw (Note 2) were acknowledged by our nemesis.
6. We learned a new urban acronym: SJW (Note 3) which represents “Social Justice Warriors,” or people who post opposition to views without much thought, by, for example, cutting and pasting comments from elsewhere.
7. I attended F. King Alexander’s October 3-4 symposium “Moment or Movement.” I hoped to witness balanced, free-speech, but alas did not.
   • I hoped to learn opinions about James Meredith’s recent statement, “Duty and responsibility are . . .  the part the black race has failed to pay any attention to." (Note 4)
   • A balanced opinion came from Congressman Garret Graves, but people I talked to did not perceive the balance.
   • I was very happy to see Baton Rouge DA Hillar Moore there twice. Activists who threaten officials are wrong.
   • I met some organizers and cited the risks Alinsky-Marxist organizers (AMO) create for disciples: impassioned civic violence and destruction with personal risk to the disciples.
   • I experienced significant appreciation for my work (not necessarily agreement).
   • I am working on a review of the experience to post on the blog and perhaps send with cover letter to President Alexander.

Note 1. Personal liberty and individual liberty, but not “private liberty,” were used by John Locke in Two Treatises of Government, 1690.

Note 2. Online at libertylawsite.org/2016/09/30/politics-ideological-disciplines-and-factual-inquiry/#comment-1478828

Note 3. Online at quora.com/Why-do-social-justice-warriors-think-that-they-can-defend-things-they-dont-understand?__nsrc__=4

Note 4. Online at abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/civil-rights-marchers-us-address-inequality-40832483 or at http://www.concordmonitor.com/Civil-rights-marchers-U-S-still-needs-to-address-inequality-3635924.

9. September 9, 2016

Practice for September 9, 2016

1. Starting on June 21, 2014, our purpose was to persuade most citizens to use the literal, civic preamble to the constitution for the USA rather than either falsely label it “secular” or lamely refer to “we, the people.” In iterative collaboration in the meetings participants added physics-based ethics rather than dominant opinion for establishing civic morality. “The-indisputable-facts-of-reality,” helps offset the thought-gap from physics to morality. Many of you recognize that a great deal of this effort is reducing my ignorance so as to unlock the goal, recently stated with five words: private-liberty-with-civic-morality.
   • Evidence for the human-physics or brain-physics links to trustworthiness has been talked about since July, 2011: please spend twenty minutes to listen to Paul Zak. (Note 1) It’s his theory and he emphasizes “love.”

In civic connections, I prefer “appreciation” rather than “love,” which often must be mutual. (Comments would be appreciated.)

• I wrote an essay to explain private-liberty-with-civic-morality, focusing on the phrase “private liberty.” The study and posting the essay motivated the title, “Private integrity.” Perhaps private integrity, understood in this context, is sufficient to express private-liberty-with-civic-morality.
  • Now, I am studying “privacy.” I will post an essay, and then study “private integrity,” so as to understand other usage.
  • Collaboration in such studies would be appreciated.
• If you have not read the text that accompanies the text-logo each month, please read it this month, so that in the future you can occasionally detect the revisions.
• BFsF, Hector and Mari Presedo, with Cynthia’s cheer, convinced me that “god-power” and “ineluctable” are mind closers rather than openers, so, drug by the heels with head knocking the pot holes, I am purging those and several other phrases and words from essays.

1. Colin Kaepernick’s struggle with reaction to civic performance of “The Star Spangled Banner,” is complicated. The performance by all means should be by willing participants, much like this work. A dissident should be granted the appreciation, “Hey, what concerns you, my friend?”
   • Particularly this person is,
     • Biracial and adopted. (Note 2)
     • Perhaps conflicted by unjust civilization versus private integrity.
     • He’s not the first to object to racism. For example, Thomas Paine objected. (Note 3) Every 2016 person could consider Paine’s courageous letter and ask their mirror---their person, “How might I acquire clear thinking within my conflicted civilization?”
     • I recall Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf (Note 4), born Chris Jackson in 1969, who seems to have chosen private integrity despite his civilization’s coercion. He expressed welcomed talent on other shores. Perhaps beyond race his case involved religious choice---a privacy unjustly made a public issue by the civilization.
   • Generally, America’s national anthem stands for first principles, but what are the principles? Perhaps:
     • Past recognition by formerly loyal, colonial subjects, that they had discovered private liberty they never could have imagined had they not become colonials, and therefore, they must revolt and become independent states.
     • Acceptance that the people in their independent states must authorize a limited yet permanent national government rather than a weak confederation of states.
     • Celebration two generations later that national freedom can be maintained if there is courageous military vigilance.
     • Commitment to end the woe slavery wrought. “Key was considered a decent master, and publicly criticized slavery's cruelties . . . he often volunteered to defend the downtrodden sons and daughters of Africa.” (Note 5)
       1. Perhaps in sympathy without remorse, Key’s poetry draws attention to mercenary slaves hoping to kill masters: “No refuge could save the hireling and slave.”
       2. But, were “hireling” and “slave” the same? Or were the “hirelings” Germans, as in the Revolutionary War?
       3. Expressing reality does not reflect bias.
     • Expression of humility and appreciation in the religious words the poet chose, the objective truth remaining universal.
2. September 15 is nearly here. See the announcement. (Note 6)
   • Perhaps preamble-writing will emerge.
   • Phil was accepted into a civic-service program with training session 9/15 night. Others will lead the Constitution Day celebration and discussion.
3. If I accepted that both government and religion will keep a civic people from emerging, I would simply stop this work. However, I think now is the time, Baton Rouge is the place, and the civic people of Baton Rouge know themselves.
   • Therefore, I have reformed from writing emails to the Metro Council members only and also post the messages on cipbr.blogspot.com so that there is public transparency in promoting iterative collaboration.
   • In conjunction with this dream, I now see Baton Rouge as the place to start our child-incentives program, and I am searching for a way to fund perhaps $100 million/year.
     • Any ideas would be appreciated.
     • Soon, I will post on cipbr.blogspot.com an existing, brief description of the program with objectives and methods.
4. I think our comments for a libertylaw post (Note 7) express our work more explicitly than anything written so far. Also, find the history of posts there by searching with “Phil Beaver.”

Note 1. Online at ted.com/talks/paul_zak_trust_morality_and_oxytocin?language=en

Note 2. Online at en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colin_Kaepernick#Early_life_and_high_school

Note 3. Thomas Paine, “African Slavery in America,” 1775, constitution.org/tp/afri.htm.

Note 4. Online at en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahmoud_Abdul-Rauf

Note 5. Online at en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_Scott_Key#Slavery_and_American_Colonization_Society .

Note 6. Online at theadvocate.com/calendar/#/details/Third-Annual-Constitution-Day-Celebration/2531273/2016-09-15T19

Note 7. Online at libertylawsite.org/2016/08/17/freedom-and-the-natural-law-a-conversation-with-john-lawrence-hill/#respond

8. August 9, 2016

Practice for August 9, 2016

1. In three non-fiction writing courses, a refrain was, “Write for your audience.” Thank you for reading these monthly reports.
   • One friend tells me a civic culture may exist centuries from now. From this experience, I think iterative collaboration could make civic peace happen in very short time: Everyone wants civic safety and security.
2. Reading Max Weber⁽¹⁾, who wrote about Protestant ethics and capitalism:
   • With Louisiana French-Catholic spouse and friends, diverse neighbors, and the people, I am loathe to either agree with Weber or expand to “Christian ethics” to explain the free-enterprise economic system.
   • Hence, I write, for collaborative thought, “god-power and capitalism” and ask:Can a civic culture accomplish the wholesome prosperity that neither god-power nor governments provide? By “wholesome” I mean dominantly shared economic and civic integrity. "God-power means "the power of a god" used for political power.
   • Would an overarching culture of real-no-harm private liberty with civic morality (RNH-PLwCM) empower most persons so that, approaching the end of a full life, he or she may have attained psychological maturity, or self-discovery? ⁽²⁾
   • “The power of god” in a believer’s life is ubiquitously discussed, but controversy is evident with phrases like “Egyptian power of god.” When someone persuades people to use the power of a god for political dominance, ⁽³⁾ a new phrase seems needed, and “god-power” seems adequate. God-power is expected to empower domination rather than unity. "God-power" springs directly from church-based “black power.”
   • Crediting Protestantism with the free-enterprise economic system seems like 17^th-18^th century religious propaganda. Working hard & smart and investing brings financial security for living but only imagines favorable afterdeath. ACP keeps precious religious thoughts private so as to collaborate on civic issues without religious imposition or force.
   • A biased god-power seems to describe Jeremiah Wright’s political work, and I don’t think I would have had the above line of thought without hearing him speak. ⁽⁴⁾ He advocates god-power over government—I think anarchy. We work to establish ACP.
3. Baton Rouge is tight-chested with pain over deaths, misery and losses resulting from criminal behavior, followed by evil, affecting eight police and two criminals and their loved ones.
   • An armed felon violently defied police duty and authority. Alinsky-Marxist organizers (AMO) tacitly claim some people have civic antinomianism—exemption from both civic morality and the law by a god-power they call “black power”. An activity has consequences, and the first consequence of AMO is violence, whether physical or psychological. ACP does not yield to brute force and never has.
   • We reported to our representatives and imagined conspiracy by visitors to Baton Rouge—the Nation of Islam, SCLC, and others (see below). A conspiracy was also indicated in the youth arrests during the last Earth Day event. ⁽⁵⁾ We imagine a law-suit cottage-industry.There are old posts about the buildup to the summer of 2016:
     • The Advocate could earn a Pulitzer Prize ed 7/23/15
     • Open Letter to Baton Rouge Leaders ed 8/15/15,” in the folder, “My Views,” at A Civic People of Baton Rouge .
   • Mayor Kip Holden, under AMO orders to resign, tried nobly to lead a community perhaps he experienced not ever following him.
   • The media say Gov John Bel Edwards did a great job. I think he and others denied the civil rights, moreover civil responsibility and authority, of Howie Lake II and Blane Salamoni. I especially feel for them, their families, and their loved ones, who are denied the public sympathy extended to everyone else involved. We, the citizens, sent Lake and Salamoni to an unexpectedly arrogant, criminal event! Shame on everyone who convicted them without indictment.
   • Now, it seems the official and popular Louisiana response is to pray for god-power. However, god-power is diverse and unreliable--ruinous. For example, in President Obama's god-power, America's "original sin" is slavery; but ancient African chiefs traded their "commodity" for millennia, and 17th and 18th century foreign countries colonized this land using slave labor of all colors. Civic morality is delivered by ACP.
   • Consider a hypothetical “more erroneous religious belief” ⁽⁶⁾ that suggests in the USA red-skinned masters over slaves of all other skin-colors:
     • Since people are made in god-image, each person has a god-image. For example, red-god for a native person. ⁽⁷⁾
     • Since the god-word, the Bible, ⁽⁸⁾ suggests slavery is a god-institution that benefits both slave and master, each person’s god-image represents the intended master, while other god-images reflect slaves. Therefore, masters must be decided on some other basis--not skin color.
     • Since non-red-skinned people are immigrants, perhaps the natives would emerge slave-masters in America.
     • If everyone alive descended from a woman who lived in Africa some 140,000 years ago, Africans, who existed during human evolution, might perceive that claims about god-image do not reference skin-color.
     • Regardless, a native's religion is precious for him or her, as anyone’s RNH beliefs are personally precious: It’s alright if a red person's god is red.
     • With an overarching civic culture (that’s RNH culture) each person’s images and hopes respecting their god is precious and is not a subject for civic collaboration.
   • The ACLU, Alinsky-Marxist organizers (AMO), and others need to know the Louisiana Constitution, Article I, Paragraph 7 respecting responsibility: “Every person may speak, write, and publish his sentiments on any subject, but is responsible for abuse of that freedom.” You can’t yell “fire,” in a crowded place, for example.
     • The First Amendment’s freedom of speech does not override this responsibility consideration.
   • I wrote anew to the Metro Council, asking them to
     • use iterative collaboration
     • not interfere with police management (e.g., residency)
     • create a protest-ordinance⁽⁹⁾ that prevents free-roaming
     • The mayoral race looms large, and I perceive only competitive god-power candidates. Somebody scream!
   • Again, suffering each slain, injured and vulnerable officer remains unspeakable pain. Shame to the media and politicians, only one side of their story seems prominent and the civic duty seems suppressed by “antinomian lives matter,” for example, with a Rep. Edward C. “Ted” James II bias: WAFB’s show “Where do we go from here?” ⁽¹⁰⁾
4. Plans are underway for September 15. See the announcement at theadvocate.com/calendar/#/details/Third-Annual-Constitution-Day-Celebration/2531273/2016-09-15T19 .
   • I hope for gradual interest in reform for civic morality using the indisputable facts of reality rather than dominant opinion about reality (opinion yields to discovery to reform civic morality or law).
   • Yet, even seemingly positive conversations have no follow-up. One person said, “Civic morality sounds like a human idea: I want god-power (spoken “God Power” as though the speaker had civic supremacy). Anyone who would like to change the prevalent civil perception that American security is in the hands of god-power, please invite someone to the meeting and to enter the preamble-writing contest. Justice comes from people⁽¹¹⁾ rather than their gods.
   • With the United Nations announcing that Internet access is a human right, ⁽¹²⁾ bringing their list of rights well above 100, the preamble remains a civic agreement willing adults among 300 million people could cultivate so as to coordinate civic morality. The preamble’s simplicity seems essential to establishment of ACP.
   • We have room for 25, expect 0-1 but would like to move to Tiger Stadium, because of viral interest in RNH-personal-liberty with civic morality (in my dream). At current enthusiasm, I’ll never see ACP.
   • For people who are interested in the preamble-writing contest, there’s a scholarly review of the preamble. ⁽¹³⁾
5. Each person's RNH beliefs are precious to ACP. People seem reluctant to consider the ACP message:Civic safety and security are required for freedom of private thought (especially religious beliefs, or conscience). Please suggest softer words.
   • Please ask one someone to send an email to join the MailChimp list. The reason ACP is not widely known is that I only send messages to people who have, in conversation, agreed to be on the list, excepting the Metro Council members, whom I hope to keep informed.
   • I work to iteratively collaborate the theory rather than promote. Please understand that, and help expand interest if possible.
6. Other discussions have led to
   • The essay titled, “Theory of ACP,” has controversial ideas, such as a hierarchy of fidelity starting with the indisputable⁽¹⁴⁾ facts of reality, ⁽¹⁵⁾ as the guide to a life worth living. ⁽¹⁶⁾ Thus, it questions the administrative state’s opinion-based “dignity and equality.” Here’s a sentence that expresses ACP’s goal:by promoting the indisputable facts of reality ACP helps lessen “cognitive limitations and psychological biases that lead people to make choices that cause self-harm.” ⁽¹⁷⁾ It also suggests a new field of study for me: behavioral economics.
   • I met an LSU student, Zachary, who suggested “association” for one phrase below, completing an emerging statement of promising path for a person’s brief chance at life, from infancy until near-death, as follows:
     • Detachment from mom, 3-6 years old
     • Discovering personal autonomy, 8-12
     • Adopting collaborative association, 10-15
     • Choosing a vehicle for economic living, 16-22, career discovery
     • Appreciative bonding, perhaps marriage and perhaps family
     • Fidelity to fellow humans in civic prosperity
     • Self-discovery or psychological maturity

We feel the education system should coach children⁽¹⁸⁾ to take charge of their progress in the above life stages rather than “train our workers,” ⁽¹⁹⁾ which seems ignoble and nationally self-defeating.

• Priests and ministers interested in civic morality—safety and security for living rather than spiritual hopes, could become “civic practitioners,” now known as “social workers.” ⁽²⁰⁾
  • By substituting “civic” for “social” and sometimes “objective” for “subjective,” Max Weber’s definition of “sociology” helps⁽²¹⁾ express the difference between “civic” and “social.”
• Frequently on quora.com, I articulate that modern democracy is traditional mobocracy. Mobocracy conflicts with the indisputable facts of reality (TIFR). The 50% plus one vote dominates half the population for an election cycle. Dignity and equality is never attained for anyone: everyone is always in conflict.
  • Considering the recent evidence that democracy in Louisiana means government under diverse god-power--prayer by each camp to their deity, it occurs to me Louisiana might be better served by a republican form of government.
• We continue to appeal to media and state help to promote the preamble-writing contest.
  • The Lt. Gov.’s office, so far, does not perceive a connection.
  • Department of Education just received our request.
  • Your help would be appreciated.
• The demand for constituent respect expressed by elected officials should reform to their civic behavior that warrants appreciation.

1. Posts on www.quora.com/ are instructive. Here’s a 8/3/16 comparison

		Blog	ACP	Quora
		First post	Feb, 2014	April, 2016
		Months	30	4
		Number of posts	97	252
		Views	6850	27,100
		Followers	1	8
		Upvotes	1	104
		Views/month	206	6775
		Posts/month	3.2	63
		Views/post	70.6	107.5
		View ratio	1	1.5

On ACP, I seek to collaborate. On Quora, people question me.

1. I read few posts on the law blog www.libertylawsite.org/ yet had a second positive exchange. The other party brilliantly complained about my acronyms, yet talked. Find that one and other posts there by searching “Phil Beaver.”
2. The online-resource suggestions ACP listed in the past are posted in one file at A Civic People of Baton Rouge .
   • Any suggestions to add to the list of online resources would be welcomed.

Note 1. Thanks to JT McQuitty, who suggested that August Comte’s “physics” might relate to our usage. It relates but is incomplete. Past writers had not stated that science is a study and understanding what emerges from physics is the object, where physics is energy, mass and space-time or equal.

2. Professor Orlando Patterson described psychological maturity as liberty from both external and internal constraints.

3. Adelle M. Banks, “John Lewis, ‘March’ team talk about faith and civil rights, August 2, 2016, RNS, online at http://religionnews.com/2016/08/02/john-lewis-march-team-talk-about-faith-and-civil-rights/

4. Jarvis DeBerry. “Jeremiah Wright tells a Southern University audience to put its faith in God, not government.” NOLA. February 21, 2015. Online: nola.com/opinions/index.ssf/2015/02/jeremiah_wright_tells_a_southe.html .

5. See http://www.wafb.com/story/31751799/brpd-launches-internal-investigation-after-series-of-violent-incidents-at-earth-day .

6. South Carolina Declaration of Secession, online at http://avalon.law.yale.edu/19th_century/csa_scarsec.asp .

7. Vine Deloria Jr. God is Red: A Native View of Religion. 30^th Anniv. Ed. 1973, 1992, 2003. Fulcrum Publishing. Golden, Colorado.

8. “Christianity and Slavery,” online at http://www.worldfuturefund.org/wffmaster/Reading/Religion/slavery.htm

9. Perhaps a picketing ordinance from Charleston, S. C., online at https://www.municode.com/library/sc/charleston/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=CICO_CH21OF_ARTIXOFINPUSAOF_S21-192INPUOBPOOFOR

10. Online at http://www.wafb.com/category/317253/where-do-we-go-from-here

11. Abraham Lincoln. First Inaugural Address. “Why should there not be a patient confidence in the ultimate justice of the people? Is there any better or equal hope in the world?”

12. See theguardian.com/technology/audio/2016/jul/29/internet-access-human-right-tech-podcast

13. See www.shestokas.com/constitution-educational-series/understanding-the-us-constitutions-preamble-2/

14. Thanks to Gordon for the modifier “indisputable.”

15. Kate Gladstone suggested “the facts of reality” as more understandable than physics--energy, mass, and space-time—as the basis for civic morality.

16. Plato, about 460 BC. See online: wikipedia.org/wiki/The_unexamined_life_is_not_worth_living

17. Ted Gayer and W. Kip Viscsi,“Resisting Abuses of Benefit-Cost Analysis,” National Affairs, No. 27, Spring 2016, Page 60.

18. See the essay, “Child incentive program 7/12/16,” on the blog, promotethepremble.blogspot.com.

19. Barack Obama. See https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2013/01/21/transcript-president-obama-2013-inaugural-address/.

20. See http://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/opinion/letters/article_cb562958-4872-11e6-8b20-773e1328a95d.html . My friend Brij Mohan proposes “practitioner” and I suggested “civic.”

21. Online:  marxists.org/reference/subject/philosophy/works/ge/weber.htm .

6 June 9, 2016

Practice for June 9, 2016

1. Plans for the Third annual Ratification Day celebration are complete. Please mark your calendar: Tuesday, June 21, 6:30 PM, Bluebonnet Branch Library, 9200 Bluebonnet Blvd. See more details online at theadvocate.com/calendar#/details/Third-Annual-Ratification-Day-Celebration/2329003/2016-06-21T18
   • Diana Dorroh organized us and got the final rules onto the blog for the personal preamble writing contest.
   • Ruth Finklea, Henry Soniat and I are judges.
   • One entry beat the June 14 deadline.

1. Realizing that the preamble was signed by representatives of only twelve of thirteen states, our goal is 65% rather than 70% of willing people involved in a civic people (ACP) by Constitution Day, 2017 (September 17). Still a huge goal.
2. We have a draft statement of purpose: A Civic People (ACP) uses physics to discover the facts of reality for moral living rather than to suffer governance based on dominant opinion. Comments would be appreciated.
3. The overall goal evolves, and lately has been, real-no-harm (RNH) private liberty with civic morality (PLwCM) and its corollary, private morality with civic liberty (PMwCL). After introduction, RNH is used in wrting separately from PLwCM, which intrinsically requires RNH. PMwCL, so far has not been needed. Thus, RNH is used as needed, and emphasis is on PLwCM. The three elements seem awkward yet effected two powerful thoughts—RNH and PLwCM; improvements would be welcomed.
4. So far, I must share that A Civic People of the United States (ACPUS) is not very popular in its home town (although there are daily, worldwide views of the blog’s infrequent posts). Here are some views of what is happening:
   • ACP blogs do not involve collaboration: no one comments on
     • A Civic People of the United States with 6200 views since 2/9/14
     • A Civic People of Baton Rouge with 315 views since 10/21/15
   • www.quora.com offers extensive collaboration, with 14,800 views and 75 upvotes since 12/28/15
   • Collaboration happens on http://www.libertylawsite.org since August, 2015
     • One person accused attention-seeking condescension attempt
   • Collaboration is slow but exists at http://theadvocate.com/news/opinion
5. ACP continues work to get semantics right, then be consistent yet alert to improvement. It is not an easy task, so help is welcomed (and ubiquitous per Item 5 b-d)
   • ACP typically uses “physics-based morality” (Note 1) as the bedrock for civic collaboration, leaving religious morals a private concern. (No one civically collaborates about their personal god or none—even though lots of people try to impose their god on the rest of the people.)
     • ACP defines physics not as a scientific study but as the object of study: mass, energy and space-time (x,y,z,t) from which everything emerges. ACP expresses explicit evidence rather than the details of how physics effects the elements of life. (See the physics of slavery, below.)
     • After the statement that the facts of reality are discovered through physics, use of “reality” seems effective public expression (Note 2).
     • “The facts of reality” seems explicit in competition with opinion if it is made clear that physics is used to discover the facts of reality.
     • Discovered physics does not negate the god hypothesis; however, some god theory does not conform to reality and therefore cannot be accepted as civic morality. RNH theories about gods are for believers; when there’s harm the theory may become civic concern.
   • morality expresses ACP’s collaboration whereas neither social morality nor religious morality could.
     • The preamble is a civic rather than secular sentence.
     • Civic connections (Note 3), both direct and indirect, are the RNH faction of ineluctable public encounters.
     • RNH factional cultures or persons (such as churches) work for their faction as well as for an overarching culture for PLwCM.
   • ACP realized on June 1, 2016, that the irony in Machiavelli, The Prince, Chapter XI (Note 4), is better represented as: The priest-politician partnership picks the people’s pocket; only a dreamer would resist.
   • ACP realized that Albert Einstein’s debates for science vs religion societies would have been more mind-opening as physics-based morality vs imagination-based dominance. (Note 5)
   • ACP realized that US Supreme Court majority opinions are opinion about existing opinion and therefore are not and never have been the bedrock the people can accept for civic morality. Discovered physics offers the bedrock for civic morality.
6. The significance of the Civil War: The intention for Ratification Day, 2014, was an 8-hour conference featuring discussion of four timelines of history respecting settlement of this land. We barely covered the preamble and one timeline. The timeline on slavery has proved instructive for recent events. It seems erroneous views from the past promote possibilities to increase misery and loss for present living. The facts of reality could help preserve life, and collaboration is requested.
   • 3800 years ago, Hammurabi’s code regarded slavery as an institution.
   • The physics of slavery was plain: chains, whips, brutality, and rape for slaves and burdens for masters.
   • 1700 years ago, men canonized the Catholic Bible including passages that condone slavery; for examples, Leviticus 25:44-46 and 1 Timothy 6:1-2. The could have, should have, excluded those passages and others.
   • 560 and 520 years ago, papal bulls granted monopolies on African-slave trade.
   • 500 years ago the Protestant reformation took hold but did not address apparent slavery affirmation in the Bible.
   • Consequences of erroneous Bible interpretation became the responsibility of the USA on June 21, 1788, draft-constitution ratification day, when slave-states ratio was 8:5.
     • By 1861, another fact of reality came into play: the physics of military power of slave states had reversed to 15:19.
     • The CSA fired on the Union with a states ratio 7 slave:27 slave & non-slave.
   • White Christians waged war with white Christians to resolve Bible opinion that seems to defy the physics of slavery, thereby ending African slavery in America. The path to that horrific event began with canonization 1700 years earlier. The nations that colonized the USA did not suffer and have not observed the resolution of physics vs scripture.
   • The slavery timeline is a very powerful illustration. The physics of slavery makes it clear that Bible interpretation should not support war to establish or maintain slavery. It follows from this and other examples that ACP should not have Bible interpretation or any other religious dogma imposed on them.
   • On the other hand, the facts of reality do not discourage Christians and other beleivers who in privacy are helped by the RNH use of their scriptures. RNH religious beliefs are not civic issues.
   • It is up to ACP to take advantage of the cultural diversity the USA possess but so far has never enjoyed. ACP wants to collaborate for that happy event.
     • History timelines are more instructive than textbooks about the events.
     • However, scholarly expertise could help.
     • Help will come only from willing scholars. In addition to being scholars, scholars should be civic citizens.
7. Excited by the statement that he wants to talk with constituents, even those who may oppose, I contacted Congressman Garret Graves’ office, asking that one of the staff become familiar with ACP. I sent an email with the “theory” on May 26.
   • With no response, on May 31, I attended Garret Graves’ public meeting.
     • The role of the Baptist minister was more than legislative prayer. The minister
       1. Reported leading a worship service for Congressmen.
       2. Reported Graves’ voting record according to the political-right.
       3. Prayed “in Jesus’ name.”
       4. Presented the impression/image the he is important—on par with a Congressman for our congressional district
     • The Christian-gestapo mood was more than I ever suffered under Senator Vitter’s regime. Perhaps the right is agitated on many fronts and look to their personal gods for the usual relief; personal posterity suffers.
     • Also, the USA may be experiencing historic clergy arrogance based on Greece v Galloway, 2014. Quoting the decision (opinion):
       1. "The prayer was intended to place town board members in a solemn and deliberative frame of mind, invoke divine guidance in town affairs, and follow a tradition practiced by Congress and dozens of state legislatures.”
       2. "If circumstances arise in which the pattern and practice of ceremonial, legislative prayer is alleged to be a means to coerce or intimidate others, the objection can be addressed in the regular course. But the showing has not been made here, where the prayers neither chastised dissenters nor attempted lengthy disquisition on religious dogma.”
       3. “That public proceeding becomes (whether intentionally or not) an instrument for dividing her from adherents to the community’s majority religion, and for altering the very nature of her relationship with her government. That is not the country we are, because that is not what our Constitution permits. Here, when a citizen stands before her government, whether to perform a service or request a benefit, her religious beliefs do not enter into the picture.”
       4. “I turn now to the narrow aspect of the principal dissent, and what we find here is that the principal dissent’s objection, in the end, is really quite niggling.” [Niggling means petty.]
     • My personal inquisition, niggling as it may have been, bears on the above tyranny by the USA
       1. In my late forties Sunday school, I was challenged to say “Jesus died on the cross to redeem me.” I answered, “The god I worship could have handled Pontus Pilate allowing Jesus to live.”

I withdrew from the Baptist brotherhood, because I do not belong. I do not attend Baptist worship.

1. However, if I attend a Congressman Graves public meeting I may have to submit to Baptist preaching.
2. I am alienated by legislative prayer and by the Court and by Congressman Graves’ Christian gestapo.
3. I am also alienated by the citizens who accept and promote this tyranny.
   • Quoting Abraham Lincoln, “Why should there not be a patient confidence in the ultimate justice of the people? Is there any better or equal hope in the world?” I sense that Congressman Graves represents the far right and there’ll be no help from him until 65% participation in ACP is happening.
4. The experience with Congressman Graves’ organization coincided with some more clergy arrogance and I posted “End clergy coalitions,” on  A Civic People of Baton Rouge .
5. I mentioned two-years’ work on the “Child incentive program,” and someone asked me to post it on promotethepreamble.blogspot.com .
   
   • I wonder if Charles Koch, who’s fed up with “a ‘rigged’ economy that leaves behind the poor,” would like the proposal. See http://bigstory.ap.org/article/c06e2891ffcd4119a403a8cd634b75b0/ap-interview-billionaire-koch-fed-politics-usual .
6. I continue to post on www.libertylawsite.org/ and can’t say that friends are being made.
7. However, posts on www.quora.com/ seem well received.
8. For people who are interested
   • The online-resource suggestions ACP listed in the past are posted in one file at A Civic People of Baton Rouge .
   • Any suggestions to add to the list of online resources would be welcomed.

Notes:
1. The present status of this phrase evolved from past expressions by Mona Sevilla, Doug Johnson and other people.

2. We often express commercial gratitude for the phrase “the facts of reality” associated with “physics”. Contact copy editor Kate Gladstone at handwritingrepair@gmail.com, phone 518/482-6763.

3. Our awareness of “connections” came from Diana Dorroh.

4. Online:  http://www.constitution.org/mac/prince11.htm .

5. See Einstein’s essay in https://www.samharris.org/blog/item/my-friend-einstein .

7 July 9, 2016

Practice for July 9, 2016

1. The message ACP is getting, (with very low to no participation) is not good. With three of us in the June 21 meeting and no one willing to meet routinely, the chance of 65% participation by the people of Baton Rouge by September 17, 2017 seems non-existent, even though recent events highlight the need for ACP more than ever.
2. The Third annual Ratification Day celebration was successful, primarily because of collaboration with Joyce Goldner (a US history enthusiast and the only entrant in the writing contest) and Holly Beaver.
   • We appreciate Diana Dorroh, Ruth Finklea, and Henry Soniat for making the modern, personal-preamble-writing contest possible. We hope for more contestants for Constitution Day.
   • Goldner thought posting the PowerPoint presentation on the website could promote interest. It is posted.
   • Our only advertising was the online calendar at The Advocate. Requests for other media help went unanswered. I do not know if anyone who receives these messages promoted the contest. We’ll work harder for September 15. Help would be appreciated.
3. Other discussions have led to
   • The phrase “the indisputable facts of reality” (TIFR) as the basis for civic morality, where TIFR is discoverable through physics—energy, mass and space-time from which everything on earth emerges.
   • The phrase “precious privacy respecting personal pursuits,” is used to avoid controversies over spirituality and such. We appreciate J. T. McQuitty for suggesting a soft approach re Christianity.
   • A recent summary statement:A civic life may be established by willing people, using 1) the preamble to the constitution for the USA to coordinate civic collaboration, 2) the indisputable facts of reality to resolve civic issues, 3) precious privacy respecting personal pursuits, and 4) continual improvement of the constitution for the USA.
4. The annual report for A Civic People of the United States was accepted by the Secretary of State. Both Dennis Eilers and Hugh Finklea kindly agreed to serve as directors for another year. Perhaps during the coming year there’ll emerge members, officers and a board. We can start weekly or monthly meetings anytime someone wants to. As you may know, I am not going to make that happen, because I am dedicated to collaborating to improve the theory of ACP—reading and writing and taking courses and volunteering where I want to, all above and beyond living my life. (If you regard that as a blatant request for help with ACP, you are correct.)
5. Preparations for the third annual Constitution Day celebration are underway.
   • It will feature the articulation that modern democracy is mobocracy, as always, and that democracy conflicts with the indisputable facts of reality (TIFR):the 50% plus one vote dominates half the population for an election cycle. Conflict with TIFR has been obvious to some persons, but this writer did not heretofore articulate the conflict. The ills of mobocracy have been illustrated by three current events:
     • The Democratic Party staged a sit-in--an adolescent, Alinsky-Marxist, organized act by chronologically adult persons--just before Congress’s Independence Day recess. The perpetrators should be called home by ACP in their states.
     • Britain decided to leave the European Union on the vote of the people, and the perpetrator, David Cameron resigned. Thank goodness the ratified constitution for the USA did not specify mobocracy.
     • The primary elections produced major candidates for president of the USA neither one of whom fulfills the promises of James Madison’s Federalist 10. The system needs reform, and perhaps there’ll be reform in the conventions. But who is worthy? That’s the main problem: James Madison’s idea in Federalist 10 that patriots with integrity would rise up from the states has not happened in recent decades.
   • We are trying to get media and state help (three elected offices) to promote the preamble-writing contest. (My metro councilman did not understand the preamble, and Mayor Holden did not respond to email requests.) Any help would be appreciated.
     • Secretary of State has no funds but referred us
     • Lt. Gov.’s office does not respond to phone and email.
     • Department of Education has not responded.
     • Calls made to my state representatives.
6. Posts on www.quora.com/ seem well received. Here’s a comparison chart

		Blog	ACP	Quora
		First post	Feb, 2014	April, 2016
		Months	29	4
		Number of posts	96	235
		Views	6390	21,700
		Followers	1	8
		Upvotes	1	94
		Views/month	220	5425
		Posts/month	3.3	58.8
		Views/post	66.7	92.3
		View/post ratio	1	1.38

The nature of these efforts differs. On ACP, I seek to collaborate but get no response, while on Quora, based on my profile initially, and now on my performance, people direct questions to me and I answer them. My learning-rate ratio, Quora:ACP seems like 94:1.

1. I rarely read the two to three posts per week-day on the law blog www.libertylawsite.org/ yet had a first positive exchange. I do not feel the professors who use the blog have propriety as fellow citizens—they express that they are above the people, and that we cannot even understand them. I candidly express my opposition in the few posts I enter and have no friends there.
2. On theadvocate.com I expressed the opinion that the combination of carrying a gun and resisting the police risks both the citizen’s life and the policeman’s life and ACP does not condone the practice. This simple observation has not been expressed this week by the media or a politician or an official. I wish there had been attention to some of the old posts, such as “The Advocate could earn a Pulitzer Prize ed 7/23/15” and “Open Letter to Baton Rouge Leaders ed 8/15/15,” in the folder, “My Views,” at A Civic People of Baton Rouge . Those posts are part of continuing attempt to understand how to solve the dysfunction.

 

1. For people who are interested
   • There’s a scholarly review of the preamble at www.shestokas.com/constitution-educational-series/understanding-the-us-constitutions-preamble-2/ .
   • The online-resource suggestions ACP listed in the past are posted in one file at A Civic People of Baton Rouge .
   • Any suggestions to add to the list of online resources would be welcomed.