Bill Moyer's Journal--last show

Bill Moyer's Journal's last show was 4-30-10. His first guest was Jim Hightower. He is the publisher of Hightower Lowdown. (www.hightowerlowdown.org/) Mr. Hightower is a populist. He is not a liberal, he is a populist.--one of his favorite quotes from a friend is, "Everybody does better when everybody does better". The discussion centered on America today. How the rich have taken over our country at the expense of the workers. They discussed the existence today of a Plutonomy, which is how the wealthy uses their wealth to have government do their bidding. Grassroots politics is at the heart, not corporations being allowed to have the same privileges as a person, being allowed to give money to political entities at will. Populists are people helping people, think of co-ops in the farming community. They are not necessarily desireous of making government bigger, only helping the greater good. It is very apparent that Corporations through their lobbyists now control unions, supply, you name it and have help from our government. Congressmen are receiving excessive funding from the lobbyists for their votes that will help Corporations make more money at the expense of the lower classes and for the upper classes.

The New Secessionists

In the Monday, April 26, 2010 edition of Commondreams.org (it is in your resources area of this blog) there is an article called: The New Secessionists. This article indicates there are as many as two dozen states, but it specifically mentions: Texas, Hawaii, Alaska, and Vermont.
The article does not mention Hawaii'and Alaska's movements, mainly because they have been vocal for years, but it does discuss Texas and Vermont. You might want to take a look to see why these states are upset.

Be Able to consider ethical issues thoughtfully.

11. Be able to consider ethical issues thoughtfully.

In starting to explain this item, references need to be discussed. In writing this blog, I have no idea what you know, what you do not know. I will write this portion as if you know about the concept of ethics. I will help somewhat, but the following reference can help:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethics I realize wikipedia is not the greatest source, however, in this case it covers the subject in 19 pages, enough for a better understanding. Wikipedia also gives a pretty complete Notes and References area for further research.

Ethics is not a course in most high school curriculums. It is however a subject touched on to receive a college degree. Ethics can not only be read about, it must be discussed in a classroom- like setting with a moderator that can help direct the discussion.

"Ethics (also known as moral philosophy) is a branch of philosophy which seeks to address questions about morality; that is, about concepts such as good and bad, the noble and the ignoble, right and wrong, justice and virtue."(Wikipedia)

Examples:

What do you do about the "prisoners" in Guantanamo?

What about abortion?

What about the death penalty?

Do we close the border?

Do the ends justify the means?

If you have been watching TV news lately, you have seen groups that have gathered together to support pieces of legislation, or not support that legislation. People in these support groups have made an ethical decision based on their "frame of reference" about that particular decision and are willing to get in a crowd to voice their opinion, or mail/call their Congressman about the way they feel about "pending " legislation. This is what an educated citizen does. He follows current events, watches TV news, reads periodicals, listens to radio talk shows, WHATEVER HE HAS TIME FOR AND THE DESIRE TO STRENGTHEN HIS FEELING FOR A PARTICULAR SUBJECT.

People who have had religious upbringing usually have been involved with moral discussions. They attempt to follow what their church leadership has already sorted out for them. As you grow older and start thinking for yourself, you will be stronger for having the church up-bringing, however, you must be able to keep an open enough mind to alter some of these learnings if new data is presented. How you value the data in your specific instance will determine your actions.

Perhaps the most polarizing issue in America today is abortion. How do you feel about that issue?

There are two main items to this discussion: Do you feel the woman should have control over her own body? OR, Do you feel the "fetus" has rights and should be protected by the state? If you have not made up your mind, you need to; the reason, in the new book, The Nine, Inside the Secret World of the Supreme Court by Jeffrey Toobin, he brings out that there are two kinds of appeals that are being brought to the Court today, in a 50/50 ratio, Abortion Issues and All others. As you can see, abortion is a very important ethical issue.

Please, anytime you discuss ethical issues, start with your frame of reference and an open mind. Starting with your frame of reference and a closed mind does nothing to help the greater good.

#10 Be able to conceptualize a problem and solve it.

#10. Be able to conceptualize a problem and solve it.
This is an item that is very complex, so much so, that it can not fit into this blog. I will try to put the "answer" in as small a space as possible, but I must give articles for you to read to gain the full meaning.
The idea of conceptualizing a problem is a very intellectual term. This is one reason that a democracy is made up of "educated citizens". An educated citizen has a "Frame of reference" that they continue to build throughout their lifetime. This must include organizational skills that helps the individual "see" that there is a problem that needs to be solved and possible avenues of attack towards solving said problem. When doing this, the citizen needs to remember "nothing is set in stone". The answer that is presented as a solution to the problem then needs to be discussed within the citizenry for strengths and weaknesses. The citizen needs to be able to work with other citizens, bringing their strengths to the discussion, yet being flexible enough to bend their position to coming up with a final solution. Learning the procedural ways that work in the political process is a strength that needs to be placed into their "Frame of Reference" so they can call upon items that further their solution to the representation for their consideration.
Resources:
Thinking Object-Oriented, http://jacwright.com/blog/19/thinking-object-oriended/
The Theory of Citizen Participation, http://www.uoregon.edu/~rgp/PPPM613/class10theory.htm
Why is Consumer Involvement needed? http://community.michiana.org/famconn/IIwhyisconsinvolvneeded

Congratulations President Obama for shepherding Health Care through the system

Congratulations to President Obama for perservering and leading the Health Care Reform Act through the trials and tribulations of the bill passing process.
Further congratulations should also go to the Leadership of Majority party in both houses of Congress for twisting enough arms and making things happen to insure a positive outcome.
But, perhaps the largest CONGRATULATIONS should be handed out to the educated citizenry of America. Your written, vocal and organizational skills supplied the pressure on Congress to realized YOU wanted this legislation passed. Congressmen started to realize they would be history in the next election if this bill was not passed and that message was backed up by your constant pressure.
The minority party in Congress is not looking at a very bright future. Their constant bickering, not really having worthwhile suggestions and their political disingenious discussions and statements.
Let us hope this "victory" will translate into good things for America.

#9. Be able to communicate and listen effectively.

#9 Be able to communicate and listen effectively.
An educated citizen needs to be able to speak effectively on the issues. Reading on the issues from available sources establishes a basis to start discussion on them. It is from several sources from radio/TV, print media that you start gaining working knowledge of those items that you may want to support.
It is in discussion with others that you practice how effectively you have grasped the main portions of the issues, and listening effectively to others for their point of view, that you had no frame of reference on that strengthens or weakens your belief.
When you listen to others, concentrate on what they are saying and follow their discussion. The best listeners "listen", they are not planning their next talking point and not even hearing what is being said. People who break into someone's discussion because their point is so much better are afraid if they do not get their point into the discussion, THEY will forget the point and not get their point into the discussion. Learning how to listen is an art, concentrate on the people talking. Your eyes and facial expressions give you away if you are only thinking about your next response. Listen to their response, let it settle into your frame of reference, settle accounts with your existing frame of reference and come back with intelligent questions or points about the issues. Listening makes you a more effective educated citizen.

#8 Be open-minded

#8. Be open-minded. Being open-minded means that when you see a problem, you view the problem without pre-conceived notions about its solution. Of course, you can never be entirely open-minded, you have a frame of reference that you have developed over the years. This is why you need to be selective about what you receive and keep in your frame of reference.
Now, how does that translate to your life. What you read, what you see, who you associate with, what kind of upbringing you have, many other items make up the way you look at life. If you were Adolph Hitler when he was growing up, he associated with Anti-Zionist in Vienna, and read racist material he discussed items of interest with only certain groups of people. All this helps to form the man he became.
What can you do to help keep an open mind:
Listen to all sides of the issue before you, not only one particular side. After you have done this, select your position based on your judgement of the situation.
Read/watch neutral based books and shows. Read the Christian Science Monitor instead of race-based, conservative only books, liberal only books, try to see all sides so you can make a neutral based decision. Don't only listen to one side on the radio/tv. Watch all the news channels, not only one. Perhaps CNN news attempts to be the most neutral, however, they have been charged with liberal leanings. Foxnews is accused with being conservative in their leaning. What do these terms mean? Conservative is usually associatied with the Republican party. It represents the beliefs that free enterprise should not be burdened with governmental regulations or infringing on their profits. They are strict constitutionalist in interpreting the constitution. Liberal people usually try to keep an open mind. They feel that government is necessary to help the less fortunate and to watch over free enterprise for wrong doings. Of course there is much more to these, however, as you develop your frame of reference please read both sides of the issue. I am leaving this open for your questions. Please comment with your specific questions and I will try to answer them to your satisfaction.