Capacity of good and evil

"The capacity of people for good makes democracy desirable; their capacity for evil makes democracy necessary." So it means, in a sense, that the potential level of good that people can be makes democracy desirable. It makes sense, the good we may see in other people and in ourselves is very appealing to sway towards a democracy, a order of power to the people. And the evil we see in others is also a strive to have a democracy, so the power is not corrupted or abused by individuals. This statement is basically saying because of the potential good and evil in a person, the power must be distributed to all. So yes I do agree with this statement, its simply logical. It is not that easy, but using this as a goal or type of "mission statement" can't hurt.

Iceland, where Journalists could run free....

Here is a different slant on connecting and communication laws that could affect people. You can read the full article in the NY Times Business section, B3 - where I got the majority of the article. I found it interesting....

A banking scandal nearly bankrupted the tiny island nation more than a year ago, but Iceland is considering a new vision: to become a haven for journalists and publishers by offering some of the most aggressive protections for free speech and investigative journalism in the world.

The “Icelandic Modern Media Initiative”, would be a single piece of legislation with provisions gathered from around the world.

“Iceland could become an ideal environment for Internet-based international media and publishers to register their services, start-ups, data centers and human rights organizations,” reports Icelands' Web site; which explains the proposal and answers questions about it. “It could be a lever for the economy and create new work employment opportunities.”

comm tech is overrated

When people complain about having to pay for "communication technology," is what I believe pointless. Shouldn't we as people be able to communicate with other people freely and free of charge? Oh wait we already do that, paying for phones hundreds on the dollar, phone plans with unlimited this and that, apps, mail, computers, etc. So what if companies don't want certain software/hardware on their products? We get charged for everything else, it should be "second nature." If one really needs alternative forms of communication, they should not expect it to be free. Is there really a necessity to have so many different ways to communicate?

The Fight is on for Free Speech... Again

I'm a fan of anything with the word "free" in front of it; free backrubs, free tire rotations, free coffee... Heck, I can't even count how many times I've picked up something completely unnecessary from the side of the road just because, hey, it's free! I'm also a big fan of social networking applications, especially the free ones. So when I read how skype, the insanely popular free Internet face to face network was experiencing discrimination from a huge number of mobile phone providers, needless to say I was pretty miffed. While mobile phone companies are opposing this technology as a matter of simple economics, what they really need to do is integrate their technology and incorporate the novel idea of video chat into their own networks. Otherwise, people will turn back to the old standby: Searchin' for the free stuff!

Education could help connections with people and employers!

I can see that the debate over the Prop 209 Initiative has a great deal of validity from both the opposition and the supporters of the original initiative.

This initiative could have a huge impact on people's ability to form connections with others, by threatening the ability of corporations to recruit educated minorities and women. Education builds self-esteem, character and brings opportunity to move yourself and your family into a better way of life. When you feel better about yourself, you connect better. California employers who have affirmative action programs in place to diversify their workforce find that they have a substantial economic advantage in the global marketplace over those who do not. Being able to pool from educated minorities and women will help keep Americans employed.

Tiny bit of History: Supporters of Proposition 209 contended that existing affirmative action programs led public employers and universities to reject applicants based on their race, and that Proposition 209 would "restore and recreate the historic Civil Rights Act." While Hundreds of students at U.C. Berkeley protested against the implementation of Proposition 209. Opponents of Proposition 209 argued that it would end affirmative action practices of tutoring, mentoring, outreach and recruitment of women and minorities in California universities and businesses. Immediately after passage of Proposition 209, students held demonstrations and walk-outs in protest at several universities including U.C. Berkeley, U.C. Santa Cruz, and San Francisco State University.

Connections With Others

In the New York Times last week they had an article called "Changing a Culture By Removing Walls". The advertising company, Gray Group rearranged their office space in order to promote more open collaboration. Collaboration between employees increased greatly. By removing cubicles from their building they noticed a lot more office interaction and they decreased the amount of space they occupied by 20 floors. Employees now see each other right across a desk. I believe that this was a very good concept. People who work here will be able to socialize more often and will think work is a little more fun.

Policies that affect people's ability to connect with others

The article in the New York Times, “Changing a Culture by Removing Walls” (Feb. 10, 2010, pg. B7), describes a working environment at advertising giant Grey Group, in New York. The 1200 employees who now occupy 6 floors instead of 26, have gone through a drastic transition. The business was nothing but offices and cubicles on all the floors, but today there lies nothing but open floor plans on the 6 occupied floors. All the walls from the offices and cubicles have been torn down for a new working environment. This has created a more open and collaborative working environment for the employees. This new haven of transparency has also created a faster environment and greater functionality. Of course without the privacy of the old walls, some liberties will cease, such as siestas and affairs.

Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness can be complex in nature!

The meaning of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness has a wide scope of meaning for me. As an American, I am watching these basic rights disappear.

For me the freedom to choose what, where, and how I want to live is a basic American right, our lives are being impacted more and more through Governmental controls, and now through Homeowners associations and CC&R's. I like having the freedom to choose what plants and flowers I want in my yard, the color I want my house to be, and to leave my car in the driveway all night long if I choose. I think the more people sign into these kinds of contracts; we are desensitizing ourselves to true freedom.

I also think it is our American right not to have our basic religious rights and freedoms in our society and in our schools taken away, which is what our founding fathers built this country on. All the little details contribute to the pursuit of happiness, because it pleases me to be who and what I want to be.

Attached are some links you may follow to see why CC&R's and Homeowner Associations have come about! Unfortunately, some people just can"t be civil. These videos are surveillance and so there is no sound.

Bad Neighbor #1 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gnclcp2L2XU

Bad neighbor cuts tape again #2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0vJSTEX27gA

Tree Cutting and Removal #3
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pnG2rlNclKI

Neighbor’s workers trespass #4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1TS2TxbHd9o

Neighbors bring dogs to poop and pee on the lawn #5
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wb4vC-8YbMU

Life, Liberty, & The Pursuit of Happiness

This to me is freedom of choice. It is freedom to make my own choices and decide what i want to do, and how i want to act. I have the right to be happy and to be happy i need the right to be able to make my own decisions without restrictions from a higher power. Within a certain limit of course. Freedom is the main idea here. This great country we live in allows us to be anyone we want to be and pick any career we want to do. I can't see how some people can live without these choices. Pursuing happiness seems like a natural instinct.

LIFE, LIBERTY, AND HAPPINESS

Life, liberty, and happiness...

This sounds, frankly, awesome, who does not strive for such a goal, whether or not their definition is different. I bet it is safe to assume that out of the three one is worthless without the other. I would like to live where I want to live, with the freedom I deserve, which in the end equals happiness. So, what I do not understand is how having a home, that one cannot even use for the better part of a year, is worth the money. This agreement between "land lords" and potential owners is supposedly well within legal bounds because there are signed contract agreements. But I do not understand how this is even worth the time and money. But I must give them the benefit of the doubt, people who may purchase these homes live in different circles, with cash up the wah-zoo. And these homes are recommended for people who need second or third homes. So maybe I do not understand how it might be worth it at all or what is even the point for allowing people to purchase the homes at all. This is something I do not understand, but theres no harm in getting to a financial status where I can see the light.

Andrew Lee

Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness

“Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness,” stated by Thomas Jefferson, is intended for, “We the People,” as certain unalienable rights, endowed by our creator, for U.S. citizens, and common ground for all mankind. Life, would be interpreted as the “right to live” and bears a certain quality to it, which can be denied by society. Liberty represents the right of freedoms, such as freedom of thought and freedom of behavior. However, sometimes these rights are violated and sometimes denied. Also, we might limit our right of freedoms to avoid consequences. The Pursuit of Happiness is a right and freedom intended for the people to strive for their own journey of personal happiness, with legal and reasonable limits.

Life, Liberty, and the "Pursuit"

One of the first things that comes to mind when approaching the subject of our constitution-granted natural rights is the oft repeated word "Freedom." While highly overused and overgeneralized, it still is the best way to describe our system. We have the 'freedom' to pursue almost any career or activity we want as long as it doesn't do direct harm to others. Freedom can be used to describe many aspects of our Democracy, but to me it means that we are granted options in our lifetime. We are provided with the option to continue schooling beyond high school, the option to drop out and work as a car salesman, the option to take your G.E. test and become a licensed alligator handler. Whatever option you decide to pursue, the government will generally protect your right to do so as long as it doesn't infringe on the rights and wellbeing of others. That is essential to the pursuit of happiness; the liberty to choose your own path in life.