As many of you know, those of you that have read my blogs that is, I have a pet peeve about the spread of false information on the Internet. Specifically, I hate when a person, trying to further their own cause, makes up a fact or statement that is totally untrue. It irks me to no end because I value the Internet for its intended purpose, the spread of knowledge. Knowledge to me is based on fact.
Recently I found a post on Facebook that makes the claim that Dianne Fienstein said "that when the gunman realizes no one else is armed then he will turn himself in, that is human nature." First she never made such a statement and the source of this was a now defunct satirical website. The problem is people believe she actually said this and spread it around. People use it to justify the 2nd amendment by using this to support their argument against gun control. People call Senator Fienstein stupid for saying this. Well let us examine the first part.
When you are debating an issue you want to do it in such a way that is logical and persuasive. The best way to make sure you stay logical and persuasive is to have a good foundation to your argument based on facts. "Facts" are true not made up. If during your argument someone sees your "facts" are false they will chip away your foundation and your whole argument will collapse. Even if only one part of your facts is false you damage your foundation. If you catch a person in a lie you find it hard to believe anything else they say; it's human nature. Why risk discrediting yourself with falsehoods if the issue is important to you. If somethings is important to you the treat it with care and respect. Verify your facts!
The second part. So you believe Senator Fienstein made the statement and she is stupid and you know better. First she did not make the statement so you cannot use it to say she is stupid. Second, you cannot justify knowing better because the statement wasn't made. How can you know better than she does? You don't know what she knows because she didn't say it. There is something to be said. Between the truth and a lie there is commonsense. Commonsense favors the truth, foolishness favors the lie.
Our society has become dependent on the Internet yet the Internet is fool of falsehoods and more are being generated everyday. Our we to base our society on lies? Do we base our lives on lies?
If we do then our foundation is weak and the coming collapse will be inevitable. Resist falsehood resist the lies. It would be sad indeed if something designed to better mankind by the sharing of knowledge instead brought about its destruction with ignorance.
Writing experience, my life as a Christian (I am nowhere near perfect), life in general.
Saturday, June 25, 2016
Thursday, June 16, 2016
My writing and Christian experience.: No "absolutists" for gun control or responsibility...
My writing and Christian experience.: No "absolutists" for gun control or responsibility...: A main problem with America today is our society has become absolutist. We are individuals that identify with certain groups. On both the in...
No "absolutists" for gun control or responsibility
A main problem with America today is our society has become absolutist. We are individuals that identify with certain groups. On both the individual and group level we feel that things have to be our way and no other way.
Democrats want it their way on issues and so do republicans.
Liberals say it has to be this way and no other way. Conservatives say the same thing.
Environmentalist say you cannot do anything that impacts the environment in anyway. Industrialist say progress before all else in nature.
One religion says you have to worship this way, another says that. Atheists say no religion at all.
Somewhere in all this tangled mess is reason which has been overshadowed by the "all or nothing " mentality our society has seemed to adopt. The few groups, yes there a few reasonable groups left, are ignored or drowned out by the squabbling of our selfish self obsessed society. Our priorities trump (lower case trump with no pun intended) our responsibilities to our society, to our fellow men and women.
We use our rights to take what we feel is ours and damned the rest. We feel the right to bear arms is a right to buy an arsenal to defend ourselves from our own government (that was not the intent of the second amendment. Only an idiot would establish a government that let its citizens rise up anytime they think the government did something wrong. Our Founding Fathers were not idiots.You don't like something then use your right to vote.) using the right to bear arms to defend family and loved ones is great. Do you need an assault rifle? If you do you probably need to move. For hunting? If you do you need to learn to shoot better. Kind of takes the Sportsmanship out of it. Give me a .12 gauge or a 30-30 and I'd bag as much as anyone else and in a more Sportsman like way.
I think most gun owners respect the law and in truth I think an AR-15 would be cool to have for sport shooting, I just don't think everyone needs one. Definitely not mentally unstable or someone who pops up on a terror watch list. But what about due process? Simple, guy goes to buy gun, guy is told he can't buy gun because he is on a watch list, guy is told to call the "why the heck am I on a terrorist watch list" hotline. Guy calls hotline complains straightens things out buys guns. Now if guy was a terrorist I don't think he'll want to call the hotline. A little inconvenience is better than nut job with AK blazing away.
Now for Hollywood. Oh place of great hypocrites. The stars that pop up acting holier than thou calling for gun control when something goes down. Time to admit fault. How can you complain about gun culture when you make movies and stuff that glorify it? Freedom of Speech you say? Another deadly right if miss used. If I need to explain how media impacts culture then I guess...well actually how do you remember your lines? It is an influence that needs to be tempered. You complain about the gun industry making money on death but do you not do the same by making movies that glorify violence? (Remember the good old days when an action movie just had a nice car chase?)
Ok Hollywood I was not going to explain the impact on gun culture but I lied. You make people believe a gun is the "end all answer" when things don't go your way. There it is out in the open. A big elephant no one can ignore but it will be. Why? Just like the NRA you know guns mean big bucks.
In this time we can not be "absolutists" we need to work together. We need to wield our rights in a responsible way. Remember a gun is nothing unless someone with an idea picks it up. It is the idea that determines its use.
Democrats want it their way on issues and so do republicans.
Liberals say it has to be this way and no other way. Conservatives say the same thing.
Environmentalist say you cannot do anything that impacts the environment in anyway. Industrialist say progress before all else in nature.
One religion says you have to worship this way, another says that. Atheists say no religion at all.
Somewhere in all this tangled mess is reason which has been overshadowed by the "all or nothing " mentality our society has seemed to adopt. The few groups, yes there a few reasonable groups left, are ignored or drowned out by the squabbling of our selfish self obsessed society. Our priorities trump (lower case trump with no pun intended) our responsibilities to our society, to our fellow men and women.
We use our rights to take what we feel is ours and damned the rest. We feel the right to bear arms is a right to buy an arsenal to defend ourselves from our own government (that was not the intent of the second amendment. Only an idiot would establish a government that let its citizens rise up anytime they think the government did something wrong. Our Founding Fathers were not idiots.You don't like something then use your right to vote.) using the right to bear arms to defend family and loved ones is great. Do you need an assault rifle? If you do you probably need to move. For hunting? If you do you need to learn to shoot better. Kind of takes the Sportsmanship out of it. Give me a .12 gauge or a 30-30 and I'd bag as much as anyone else and in a more Sportsman like way.
I think most gun owners respect the law and in truth I think an AR-15 would be cool to have for sport shooting, I just don't think everyone needs one. Definitely not mentally unstable or someone who pops up on a terror watch list. But what about due process? Simple, guy goes to buy gun, guy is told he can't buy gun because he is on a watch list, guy is told to call the "why the heck am I on a terrorist watch list" hotline. Guy calls hotline complains straightens things out buys guns. Now if guy was a terrorist I don't think he'll want to call the hotline. A little inconvenience is better than nut job with AK blazing away.
Now for Hollywood. Oh place of great hypocrites. The stars that pop up acting holier than thou calling for gun control when something goes down. Time to admit fault. How can you complain about gun culture when you make movies and stuff that glorify it? Freedom of Speech you say? Another deadly right if miss used. If I need to explain how media impacts culture then I guess...well actually how do you remember your lines? It is an influence that needs to be tempered. You complain about the gun industry making money on death but do you not do the same by making movies that glorify violence? (Remember the good old days when an action movie just had a nice car chase?)
Ok Hollywood I was not going to explain the impact on gun culture but I lied. You make people believe a gun is the "end all answer" when things don't go your way. There it is out in the open. A big elephant no one can ignore but it will be. Why? Just like the NRA you know guns mean big bucks.
In this time we can not be "absolutists" we need to work together. We need to wield our rights in a responsible way. Remember a gun is nothing unless someone with an idea picks it up. It is the idea that determines its use.
Monday, June 6, 2016
Trump, a politically "roasted" duck if elected president!
Donald Trump has changed political parties so often it is ridiculous. Can you trust him to deliver what he promises? Personally, I say he is a used car salesman saying what it takes to make the sale. Remember if he gets in office you are stuck with the clunker you have been sold just like the GOP is now. There is one thing the GOP knows that you don't if Trump is elected but it is something I expect. If by chance Trump is elected the GOP gets the office. Why did I say GOP not Trump? Because the GOP will concede the nomination to win the election if they think they can gain the presidency, but in the long run Trump will not hold the office. Why do you think Ryan is backing him now? He has nothing to lose, but can make big gains. He could be the VP nominee, or remain the Speaker of the House. If you think the GOP is really behind Trump you would be quite wrong. You know how Trump likes to say he has things to use against people? (Funny he never releases stuff of any substance) well, I guarantee their our members of the GOP who do and they will use it after they get what they want. Let's just say Trump will end up getting a big impeachment wedgie. How you say? He hasn't done anything to be impeached or won't do anything to be impeached. Hasn't he? There is a good possibility the class action lawsuit could turn from a civil to a criminal matter. Why not? Others have been prosecuted for similar scams. Why would the GOP do that and hurt themselves? Will they? No, the real core of the GOP is tired of the Tea Party types and our coming to realize to be a viable party again they need to cut out the cancer. They also know not all of Trump's supporters will leave the GOP. They also know that many minorities that Trump has alienated from the GOP would return if Trump is impeached, especially if it is the GOP is the driving force. Hey we know the democrats would go along with impeachment and the GOP members of congress have control of both houses so no problems there. Pretty much you will be electing not a lame duck, but a roasted duck. Trump thinks he has things in the bag, Trump is in the bag, pressed, roasted, and ready for carving and he doesn't know it yet. The only question is who will do the final carving?
Trump business practices not good for the country!
In the last 30 years no major U.S. Corporation has filed for bankruptcy more than Trump's organization. 4 times companies under his brand / control filed for bankruptcy. No if the Trump organization were a publicly held company and not a privately held one Trump most likely Trump would have been removed as CEO. No board of directors would allow such failure.
The Trump Organization was not founded by Trump's grandmother and his father. So Trump had more than a loan from his dad to start he had the whole family business. Note too that the bankruptcies occurred on The Donald's watch.
We can not risk the government and our economy by letting a person who's track record includes 4 bankruptcies. It is one thing to suffer a business setback because of a down turn in a sector of the economy but to suffer 4 is indicative of a bad business model.
Trump can argue that bankruptcy is a common business practice but no business wants to go into bankruptcy once let alone multiple times it tends to make stock investors nervous. Trump had his Organization to fall back on because it is privately held by his family.
Oh if you want to make money using his programs then you better have millions to try. If you already have millions you would be better off having a diversified investment portfolio.
I know the saying is "You have to spend money to make money " but I have never met a financial planner ever recommend using your credit cards for investment purposes. The only people that I have heard saying to use credit cards for capital are the "get rich quick" real estate or other investment seminars. There is quite a difference from a corporation taking out a loan for an investment and a person using credit cards. The company will research and evaluate the risk and gains plus they will negotiate reasonable terms for the loan, a person using credit cards is really gambling with money that has a higher interest to payback. No in the old days a person could file for bankruptcy protection if things went bad and not have to pay off most debts but there credit is shot for a bit but laws have changed and you will still have to pay off a restructured debt plus lose your investment or sell it at a high loss.
Seeing how Trump's investment classes operated recommending the use of Credit cards for investment I would not trust that person to manage a lemonade stand.
Now some one may say "your poor while he is rich so he must know better". True, he is rich. It is true I am not. Here is something else that separates us. Trump's parents were rich, mine were not. Here is something else, Trump avoided the draft to work at his family business. I joined the Navy and served my country.
The Trump Organization was not founded by Trump's grandmother and his father. So Trump had more than a loan from his dad to start he had the whole family business. Note too that the bankruptcies occurred on The Donald's watch.
We can not risk the government and our economy by letting a person who's track record includes 4 bankruptcies. It is one thing to suffer a business setback because of a down turn in a sector of the economy but to suffer 4 is indicative of a bad business model.
Trump can argue that bankruptcy is a common business practice but no business wants to go into bankruptcy once let alone multiple times it tends to make stock investors nervous. Trump had his Organization to fall back on because it is privately held by his family.
Oh if you want to make money using his programs then you better have millions to try. If you already have millions you would be better off having a diversified investment portfolio.
I know the saying is "You have to spend money to make money " but I have never met a financial planner ever recommend using your credit cards for investment purposes. The only people that I have heard saying to use credit cards for capital are the "get rich quick" real estate or other investment seminars. There is quite a difference from a corporation taking out a loan for an investment and a person using credit cards. The company will research and evaluate the risk and gains plus they will negotiate reasonable terms for the loan, a person using credit cards is really gambling with money that has a higher interest to payback. No in the old days a person could file for bankruptcy protection if things went bad and not have to pay off most debts but there credit is shot for a bit but laws have changed and you will still have to pay off a restructured debt plus lose your investment or sell it at a high loss.
Seeing how Trump's investment classes operated recommending the use of Credit cards for investment I would not trust that person to manage a lemonade stand.
Now some one may say "your poor while he is rich so he must know better". True, he is rich. It is true I am not. Here is something else that separates us. Trump's parents were rich, mine were not. Here is something else, Trump avoided the draft to work at his family business. I joined the Navy and served my country.
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