Wherefore, honest men and wise men should be sought for diligently, and good men and wise men ye should observe to uphold; (D&C 98:10)

Monday, December 21, 2020

All Men Are Created Equal, Therefore...

From the video lecture "The Separation of Powers" of Introduction to the Constitution course from Hillsdale College. 


All men are created equal.

Therefore, they may be governed only with their consent.

Therefore, the majority will be sovereign.

Therefore, the majority will be the most dangerous thing. 


Where is the sovereign of USA in the government? It is outside of Government. It only gets to exercise its voice and power every 2 years. 

Tuesday, September 8, 2020

Proof We can have a Civil and Productive Conversation about Blacks in America

This is proof that we can have a civil and productive conversation about blacks in America. It is long. If you are willing to give the first 23 minutes a listen you will hear a selection of deep thinkers that are largely agreed on many points. 
https://youtu.be/pHGt733yw3g

I was willing to watch this video because of my previous experience with Bret Weinstein, Glen C. Loury, John McWhorter, and Coleman Hughes.

Glen Addresses these three questions at 25:42

Welfare - Racially defined welfare is a terrible idea. We must address the ability to generate welfare. It will sap us of dignity. 

Affirmative Action is a fraud 

Crime - So many black people breaking the law.  

Following are the bios of those on the round-table from the YouTube description.  

Glenn C. Loury is Merton P. Stoltz Professor of Economics at Brown University. He holds the B.A. in Mathematics (Northwestern) and the Ph.D. in Economics (M.I.T). As an economic theorist he has published widely and lectured throughout the world on his research. He is also among America’s leading critics writing on racial inequality. He has been elected as a Distinguished Fellow of the American Economics Association, as a member of the American Philosophical Society and of the U.S. Council on Foreign relations, and as a Fellow of the Econometric Society and of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

@GlennLoury on Twitter


After spending a year as a Bartley fellow at the Wall Street Journal, Chloé Valdary developed The Theory of Enchantment, an innovative framework for social emotional learning (SEL), character development, and interpersonal growth that uses pop culture as an educational tool in the classroom and beyond.  Chloé has trained around the world, including in South Africa, The Netherlands, Germany, and Israel. Her clients have included high school and college students, government agencies, business teams, + many more. She has also lectured in universities across America, including Harvard and Georgetown. Her work has been covered in Psychology Today Magazine and her writings have appeared in the New York Times and the Wall St Journal.

@cvaldary on Twitter


Kmele Foster is a co-founder at Freethink and serves as a lead Producer. His projects have included shows about the intersection of culture and revolution ("Pop Revolution"), fractious political debates (“Crossing the Divide”), and world-changing innovation (“Challengers,” “ Super Human"). Kmele is a regular contributor to various national outlets and co-hosts a syndicated media commentary podcast, The Fifth Column. In addition to his work in media and commentary, Kmele has previously helmed ventures in the technology, communications, and consumer goods industries.

@kmele on Twitter


Thomas Chatterton Williams is the author of Losing My Cool and Self-Portrait in Black and White. He is a contributing writer at the New York Times Magazine, a contributing editor at the American Scholar and a 2019 New America Fellow. His work has appeared in the New Yorker, the London Review of Books, Harper’s and elsewhere, and has been collected in The Best American Essays and The Best American Travel Writing. He has received support from Yaddo, MacDowell and The American Academy in Berlin. He lives in Paris with his wife and children.

@thomaschattwill on Twitter


John Wood Jr. is a national leader for Braver Angels, a former nominee for congress, former Vice-Chairman of the Republican Party of Los Angeles County, musical artist and a noted writer and speaker on subjects including racial and political reconciliation.

@JohnRWoodJr on Twitter


John McWhorter is a contributing writer at The Atlantic. He is a professor of linguistics at Columbia University, hosts the podcast Lexicon Valley, and is the author, most recently, of Words on the Move. 

@JohnHMcWhorter on Twitter 


Coleman Hughes is a fellow at the Manhattan Institute and a contributing editor at City Journal, where his writing focuses on race, public policy, and applied ethics. Coleman’s writing has been featured in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, National Review, Quillette, The City Journal and The Spectator. He has appeared on many podcasts, including The Rubin Report, Making Sense with Sam Harris, and The Glenn Show.

@coldxman on Twitter 

Wednesday, August 26, 2020

Voting and Healing

Update 2020-10-03 

The following pretty much mirrors my thoughts about Trump from a friend's FB Post.

I'm just going to come out and say it:  I don't like Trump as a person.  I have a visceral negative reaction to him.  He reminds me of the bullies I knew in elementary school and middle school when I was harassed relentlessly because I was a nerd and my mom was a teacher at the school.  I have seen video of Trump speaking at rallies, and he appears more charming and funny in that setting, but overall, no, I don't like Trump.  But I am still voting for him.  Logic tells me that I don't like most politicians, so I can't trust my visceral dislike of Trump.  At the end of the day, I like about half of Trump's policies, and I cannot find any policies that Biden supports that I like.   Trump is generally more free market oriented and more against foreign wars than Biden is. And of course he is more likely to appoint conservative judges to the federal courts.  The greatest threat to the United States right now -- by far -- is the radical left that Biden and the Democrats are encouraging to riot and loot, and Trump is opposed to the greatest threat to America and may actually do something about that threat.  So, yes, I will vote for Trump even though I don't like him.

--------------------
2020-08-26

I did not vote for Trump in 2016. It was the first time in my life I had not voted for the Republican nominee in the general Presidential election. For months I have concluded that having Trump would be better than Biden. Trump has been better than I expected for extracting or at least not worsening the wars around the world, for nominating judges that I am sure are better than what Hillary would have. 

I also believe that "Trump's egoism, narcissism, nativism, and all around contemptuousness is eroding the moral fabric of the conservative right" as said by Jeffrey Thayne. There is a part of me that thinks that Trump losing might be better in the long run for America. There is an equal part of me that disagrees with this. 

It comes down to whether I vote for someone I agree with, or do I compromise; bending farther than I have ever done to vote for someone that seems to currently have their personal ambitions aligned at least partly with myself. 

I also want to emphasize that whoever is elected is far less important than personal change in my own life, in my influence with my family, friends and community including voting for the school board, city council, and state government. And it is in that order. 

I hope that we all can be willing to have conversations with those we disagree in good faith. I hope for hope and healing and a firm resolution to do the right thing. 

The extended quote from Jeffrey Thayne:

"We are entering into an unusually contentious election year. 

Both major candidates have their sore spots. I believe that abortion is the silent, slow-burn holocaust of our generation, and so I cannot in good conscience support Biden and Kamala (who actively pursued and prosecuted pro-life activists with an ideological vengeance). I believe that Trump's egoism, narcissism, nativism, and all around contemptuousness is eroding the moral fabric of the conservative right, so I cannot in good conscience support him either.

In short, for many people, there are no good options. And that means, this election year, we must be especially generous with those who stack their political priorities a bit differently than we do. We must extend grace towards those who wade through the many shades of gray and come out the other side with different conclusions than we do.

Articulate your beliefs and principles, but this year, above all others, we need Peacemakers. This doesn't mean relinquishing our deeply held beliefs and convictions, or relaxing our values. But it does mean not letting the passion of our convictions overcome our humanity, nor letting our tribal grievances set our hearts at war with friends, neighbors, and family.

I worry about the contention that is souring the hearts of many, and it's only going to get worse. I've seen multiple friends, in various threads on social media, argue that God will hold us accountable for voting for the wrong candidate (Trump in some threads, Biden in others). That much may be true. But He will also hold us accountable for how we treat our friends and neighbors. And above all, our position will be most perilous if we stand before Him with a heart full of pride, believing ourselves morally superior to others because of our tribal banner-waving and virtue signalling.

Let us be both full of conviction and yet also humble and filled with the pure love of Christ. Let us not judge others for sinning differently than we do -- and for navigating a particularly confusing political landscape a little differently than we would."

Copied from my FB post


Tuesday, August 11, 2020

Americans Are Growing Less Willing To Beg for Permission To Make a Living

 I like this article "Americans Are Growing Less Willing To Beg for Permission To Make a Living"

Officials claim doing business is a revocable “privilege,” but many Americans see it as a right that they’ll exercise with or without licenses and permits.

J.D. Tuccille | 8.10.2020 8:00 AM, Reason.com

Wednesday, July 22, 2020

News Sources and Media Bias

I have a friend that likes this media bias chart. I am going to try using it as a guide. 
From https://www.allsides.com/media-bias/media-bias-chart