Reading great books and discussing their ideas is entertaining and enlightening...
The Great Books Foundation was founded in 1947 with the goal of helping people think and discuss ideas through groups discussing books selected as "Great Books." Reading, discussion groups, talking with participants and what is gained from the discussions are the subject of this video.
Invest in yourself while seeking shelter from the storm:
This era of Great Disruption due to technology and the internet, economic difficulties, political divisiveness and social problems can be disturbing to even the most even keeled of us. The world at large is in chaos of one order or another and it is difficult to remember that we have little control over much of it. We do have control over how we observe it, engage with it, cope with it.
I'm reminded of the era between 1968 and 1974, when in the US everything seemed turned upside down with racial tensions, university student disruptions, the draft resistance movement, urban riots, Kent State Shootings and Watergate. There were times when it seemed society was hopelessly mired in social ills with no end in sight. Who knew that Deep Throat was feeding Woodward and Bernstein information that would ultimately bring down Nixon? That was the beginning of the end of scary times during which many of us felt this country was dead-ended. Nothing lasts forever, change always happens.
Where we go from here in this time period is not within my foresight, although I have some ideas of what could happen. This time healing and recovering is going to be a long and deep process for most of us. The best thing to do in times like these is seek shelter and stay out of the storm, while observing for change in the weather. Staying out of the social storm doesn't mean personally stopping though. Engage in self-improvement, take care of things you've been meaning to, prepare yourself by building a foundation out of methods that have stood the test of time.
These six items seem to be good on an agenda:
1. Take control of your life.
2. Invest in (formal and informal) education and your mind.
3. Improve and maintain your physical and mental health.
4. Build solid relationships with good people - people good for you and people you're good for.
5. Devote energy to your business or career and/or make plans if you currently don't have one.
6. Think positively, turn away from negativity and engage in good self-talk. __________________________________________________________________________________
My personal beliefs lean towards civil liberty, personal freedom and libertarian ideals with a tilt of objectivism and conservatism, along with a belief in the rule of law. I tend to listen to different sides of an issue and form my own independent opinion. Sometimes that's contrarian.
Arizona State Senate Bill 1070 the "Arizona Immigration Enforcement Law" has stirred national interest from support to outrage. Calls for boycotting Arizona are growing and conventions and meetings already cancelled. Media coverage is wide and international, from print to radio to televison to social media. One thing I think a lot of the media, political class and out-of-state tsk tsk tskers don't like to admit is that Arizona actually is representative of the vast majority of America. We're the 48th state and just a little more raw and have enough of open range left in us, that we haven't refined ourselves to the false pleasantries like so much of the rest of the country.
My opinions on topics are generally not limited to bullet points, I look at the whole target. I'm a broad thinker and view issues with the wide scope of the social, economic, political, legal and historical aspects around a topic and different elements that have an impact on the subject. That is true with this legislation.
Essentially I believe that the people and State of Arizona have the right to make decisions based on problems presented to it and that illegal immigration and border crossings have been a long standing unresolved problem. The Federal government has been more a part of the problem than the solution and we don't need more of that. We clearly need some type of plan for the illegal immigration and border problem in our state.
This particular Legislature is most likely one of the worst we have ever had and this piece of legislation is actually not the worst thing they've produced and are likely to produce. Our Governor inherited the job and was not fully prepared for it. They all could have done a much better job on major issues presented to them and are still working on.
To find out what I think about SB1070 in the larger context of the State of Arizona, watch this video blog.
"I am opposed to all forms of control...I am for the separation of state and economics."
In this segment of the interview a finger pointing Mike Wallace strikes an attitude common to most Liberals, that people who are achievers will by nature act in evil ways towards others taking a "devil take the hindmost, dog eat dog society and one of the main reasons for the growth of government controls is to fight robber barons...who perverted their use of power." Therefore it is up to good (liberal) people to lead in protecting people by government intervention and legislation. He speaks as if it is common sense and it never occurs to this mindset, that abuses of power inevitably fail when left to their own devices, since they are inherently evil. Achievement oriented people are smart enough to figure out ways to get people to follow (work) for them without force. Human nature will prevail and people won't work for "robber barons" if they are being abused and are not as weak willed and in need of the protection of government as people such as Wallace suggest. Liberals perpetuate the stereotype of weakness through fear in order to secure their own moral power. Ayn Rand deconstructs this notion in a firm logical, step by step, rational manner.
On labor and social welfare legislation:"It actually sprang out from the same source as the abuses, if by abuses you mean the legislation which originally had been established to help industrialists, which was already a breach of complete free enterprise...if then in reaction labor leaders get together to initiate legislation to help labor, that is only acting on the same principle, namely all parties agree that it is proper for the state to legislate in favor of one economic group over another. What I am saying is nobody should have the right to use, neither employers or employees, to use state compulsion and force."
In other words, the Political Class acquiesces to the will of Industrialists, in total disregard of the principles they were elected under the US Constitution, to protect the interests of the people who elected them and instead protect the industrialists. This creates a conspiratorial system where the Industrialists were the originators of collectivism and socialism by making a social contract through legislation. In turn the pattern is repeated by other members of the Political Class to protect Labor, reinforcing the disregard of the reason they were elected. This pattern is clearly evident today and largely the reason for the current social, economic and political disruption we are currently undergoing.
"This country was made not by robber barons but by independent men, by industrialists who succeeded on sheer ability. I mean without political force, help or compulsion but...at the same time there were men, industrialists, who did use government power as a club to help them against competitors. THEY WERE THE ORIGINAL COLLECTIVISTS. Today the Liberals believe that the same compulsion should be used against the industrialists for the sake of workers, but the basic principle there is...SHOULD there be any compulsion, and the regulations are creating Robber Barons, THEY (government intervention) ARE CREATING CAPITALISTS WITH GOVERNMENT HELP, which is the WORST OF ALL ECONOMIC PHENOMENON."
The result is we do not have true capitalism today.
Hotel Facebook: You can check out but you can never leave...
Well...yes you can but there's a little trick to it:
HOW TO DELETE YOUR FACEBOOK ACCOUNT, NOT JUST "DEACTIVATE" IT
Do you want to delete your Facebook account and have only been able find that it appears they only allow you to "deactivate" your account? With that method everything is still preserved forever and ever until the end of data time? Well not so fast, maybe you really don't want to permanently delete your account...especially if you've just had a bad experience, prudence might dictate you wait a while. Then join the group "How to permanently delete your Facebook account" and you can get the latest instructions available on how to delete your account when you really are ready.
However...There are a lot of reasons why you probably should permanently delete your account, considering the fluid, ever-changing privacy policies and the creepy social engineering aspects of the site. The backlash is just beginning because one day...Zuckerberg may decide to go even further and display your "likes" and your personal information not only to the World of Facebook but to the Entire World! He will create a better world of his vision with your data!
SERIOUSLY:
Should you want to delete your account, here are the instructions, which must be followed to the letter of Facebook Law.
That will take you to the page Delete My Account with the message:
If you do not think you will use Facebook again and would like your account deleted, we can take care of this for you. Keep in mind that you will not be able to reactivate your account or retrieve any of the content or information you have added. If you would like your account deleted, then click "Submit."
My Disclaimer: In spite of a statement in the group's instructions (I've posted the necessary instructions here), I'm going to assume Facebook means YOU will not be able to retrieve any content or information but THEY will still be storing it. My tendency is to believe that the data is in some deep freeze storage somewhere but not really worth their digging up at this point in time.
If you want to delete your account, then follow instructions and click "Submit."
HERE IS THE IMPORTANT KEY TO SUCCESSFULLY DELETING YOUR ACCOUNT:
Pay attention to this part:Your account will only be deactivated for two weeks before it is deleted. If YOU DO NOT LOG IN during that time frame, then your account will be permanently deleted. REPEAT: Your profile is not deleted right away and you MUST NOT LOG IN to your account for AT LEAST TWO WEEKS.
If you log in it cancels the deletion request, so logging in to "check to see if it's deleted" defeats the purpose. If you want out, STAY OUT. Got that?
This is the official method and completes the process and it is not necessary to delete photos, comments, messages, items from your profile or anywhere in Facebook. If you have any questions about the deletion of your account, send email to info@facebook.com. Hopefully you won't get a template back from some intern telling you to sign in and send them secure email through Facebook. Don't fall for that one either.
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WARNING: THIS MESSAGE CONTAINS BLOCKED CONTENT Some content in this message has been reported as abusive by Facebook users
Freedom of Speech ("Free Speech") is the right to freely express in speech without limitation or censorship. It has a long history in Western civilization and in the United States is protected by the First Amendment of the Constitution. The United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights Article 19 refers to the "right of freedom and expression...regardless of frontiers." As a resolution it is not legally binding on all countries.
The term for free speech on the internet is more correctly freedom of information. There are no clear laws completely protecting freedom of expression on the internet and in the United States we tend to take our free speech and freedom of information for granted and many people make assumptions these rights are somehow "guaranteed" on the World Wide Web.
Since the beginning of the internet in popular culture we have enjoyed most aspects of what we in the United States refer to as free speech but it has largely been by the graces of the companies that operate the backhaul networks of the internet, those who run the sites on the web and in the tradition of the originations of the internet. It is not an inherent right although there are legal precedents and organizations that work to protect it. Generally the Western World has looked kindly and turned the other way, since historically free speech is culturally and legally ingrained and also benefits commercial interests. The clearest example of a country that does censor the internet is China.
Individual websites are a different matter and through User Agreements, Terms of Use Agreements and Policy Statements, which users must agree to in order to use the site, content is controlled, maintained and distributed by the website owners and operators. Your personal information is used as they desire according to the agreement. As commercial enterprises this is their right if you agree. With the advance of the Social Web and people doing their social networking over the World Wide Web with an online identity (commonly referred to as a profile), the issue of free speech has surfaced many times and in many ways. What users should remember is that websites are governed by Terms of Service and it is the right of the operators to decide what is free speech and what is not and it is the users choice to agree to them or not. If you agree, then the terms apply, keeping in mind the website probably also has a disclaimer in the terms, that they may change those terms at any time without additional agreement.
In other words if you don't follow the Terms of Service to the satisfaction of the website, they can restrict your use or discontinue it completely. It is your choice to participate or not and follow their terms, since there is no inherent right to access a website with stated restrictions, agreed to by the user. Sometimes these decisions are arbitrary and unevenly and unfairly enforced. Social networking websites are a private enterprise, presumably with the intention of making money, with legal rights of their own and realistically users have little recourse in decisions.
The warning message at the beginning of this blog post is what I now receive when I attempt to post a URL from this website blog, on my Facebook profile, to be distributed on the Home Page News Feed. Essentially jrsnyderjr.com has been blocked by Facebook from posting blog post notifications, as has been my habit daily for a while now. It occurred yesterday after I posted "On Illegal Immigration | Unless you have lived in Arizona a long time..." and some unknown user(s) reported it as abusive from the News Feed. You can read the blog post to determine if it is abusive or not and make your own decision.
This is Facebook's right under their Terms of Service. Since my primary use of Facebook has been to remain connected with family and a small group of friends by sharing photos and posting my daily blog URL and not to play games, use applications or spend a lot of time socializing on the site, a primary reason for my being there is gone. My choice is to no longer be on the site, something I've been considering anyway.
To me Facebook is a thinly disguised social engineering site whose operators have become drunk with the power of millions of oblivious users, continuously adjusting the rules, being more free to use your private information for free. They're also fluidly adjusting what is acceptable to them as being allowed on their site and applying the rules unevenly. It is a one way street I don't trust. Their grandiose Facebook Principles of "Freedom to Share...One World...Common Welfare" coupled with their Statement of Rights and Responsibilities and Privacy Policy do not pass my smell test. In the past year a lot of issues have arisen with social websites, Facebook in particular, regarding sharing of our information through ever-changing policy. The arrogance of Mark Zuckerberg's statement in January that "the age of privacy is over" is enough for me. He is wrong.
The truth is the genie is out of the bottle. These sites already have our information and in the future what they do with it may well be out of our control now they have it. Their willingness to share with each other grows every day, Microsoft and Yahoo! being examples. Astoundingly, without blinking an eye, every indication is that more people are willing to divulge even more information about themselves than ever before. Read yesterday's NY Times article "For Web's New Wave, Sharing Details Is the Point." There is little thought about how long this information is stored and kept around and (mis)used in the future.
For those who do, that is their choice.
I've been thinking about this for some time now and my choice is not to participate any more than I already am...actually less. I am no longer on Facebook but I recognize they have my information stored. I do not wish to give up the enjoyment I gain from social networking online completely but sometimes...
it is just too much.
This era of Great Disruption due to technology and the internet, economic difficulties, political divisiveness and social problems can be disturbing to even the most even keeled of us. The world at large is in chaos of one order or another and it is difficult to remember that we have little control over much of it. We do have control over how we observe it, engage with it, cope with it.
Individual websites are a different matter and through User Agreements, Terms of Use Agreements and Policy Statements, which users must agree to in order to use the site, content is controlled, maintained and distributed by the website owners and operators. Your personal information is used as they desire according to the agreement. As commercial enterprises this is their right if you agree. With the advance of the Social Web and people doing their social networking over the World Wide Web with an online identity (commonly referred to as a profile), the issue of free speech has surfaced many times and in many ways. What users should remember is that websites are governed by Terms of Service and it is the right of the operators to decide what is free speech and what is not and it is the users choice to agree to them or not. If you agree, then the terms apply, keeping in mind the website probably also has a disclaimer in the terms, that they may change those terms at any time without additional agreement.
