Law of Unintended Consequences

Found this cartoon on BartCop’s most recent rants, Vol. 2026. I think it exemplifies the “Law of Unintended Consequences” or what happens when you take actions without thinking it through. Is this what anyone really wants? Whether you like Hillary or not, do we want anyone in office with so much “unchecked power”? Or maybe, the current administration has a plan for never leaving office…and so are not worried about who will come next. Remember the “National Security and Homeland Security Presidential Directive” that grants sole authority to the president in the event of any catastrophic incident. I’m not saying that this is what they are planning, but it very conveniently sets the stage…

I have been baffled for some years as to why the Democrats are allowing the current administration to violate and dismantle our Constitution with its “Checks and Balances”…Perhaps they think they will reap the benefits when they come to power. That is assuming that they will have the chance at being in power…

I have become such a cynic.

Bad Telemarketer, Bad

I received an interesting phone call this weekend.

The phone rang, I answered it.

Me: “Hello.”

Him: “Ms. ****?”

Me: “Who is this?”

Him: “Wrong answer!” (in a tone very much like my drill sergeant used to use)

Me: “What do you mean? You called me, and I want to know who you are!” (indignant)

Him: “Don’t answer the phone if you don’t want to …”

Me: “Fine!”

I hung up. By the way, I will answer my phone whenever I (expletive) feel like it and if he doesn’t like it, too (expletive) bad! He has no business calling me and expecting anything from me.

At first, I was shocked. I could not believe a telemarketer would be so rude. After all, it is not enlightened self-interest to antagonize a potential customer.

Protect America Act of 2007

In my previous post “Boycott the Politicians”, I talked about refusing to donate any more money to the politicians until our Constitution was reinstated. Specifically, I focused on the “Protect America Act of 2007″ as an example of how our rights and freedoms are being violated.

Then, I became confused in reading the fact sheets (The Protect America Act 2007 and FISA Modernization) from “The White House“. I admit, I am not fluent in legalese. It all sounded to me that they were talking about spying on foreign targets that are “reasonably believed to be outside the U.S”. It did not sound like they were talking about spying on Americans who are here in the U.S.

But, there is more to the issue than what is spoken of in the documents.

Boycott the Politicians

Marc Perkel of “Marc Perkel Rantz” is proposing a novel idea – boycott the politicians! See his article “Democrats Need Punishment“. (Warning: He definitely uses adult language, but I feel it is warranted. I am so outraged myself, I want to use the same expletives.) No, boycotting is not a novel idea, but boycotting the policitians is one I have not heard of before. Ordinarily, we are told we can make a difference by our votes and by writing our congresspersons.

With all the doubt over the legitimacy of voting results, we cannot really rely on that anymore (if indeed we ever could). Our votes do not count if the election is fixed. I have read and heard about how the elections are fixed from so many sources that I have come to believe it is true. I have lost faith in our voting process.

I have written my congresspersons, and I know many of you have as well. It does not seem to be making that difference we were told it would. The same things keep happening. They continue to vote for bills and laws that take away our rights and liberties. They continue to dismantle our Constitution. They are ignoring “the people”. Yet, our country and government was founded on principles like “For the people, of the people, by the people”. They are supposed to work for us; they are supposed to listen to us.

Know Thyself

Knowing yourself is useful. When you know your strengths and weaknesses, you are in a position to utilize those strengths and work around the weaknesses. Everyone has both and if you don’t know them, you are at a disadvantage.

One of the multitudes of tools available to find out more about yourself is the Jung Personality Test. (To take the test, look for link at bottom of this post.) It is very similar to the Meyers-Briggs Personality Test. Tests like these are often used at workplaces in team building exercises. In fact, that is where I first came into contact with the Meyers-Briggs Test. It helped me and my team mates learn about ourselves and each other. We learned how we are alike and how we are different. We learned how that could all fit together to create a dynamic team as opposed to a conflicted one.

I Just Don’t Know

I thought I should clarify something. I have written a little about religion. I have stated I am no longer Christian. Many might assume that I am an athiest. I am not. I am agnostic.

Now, I have heard many say that agnostics are just fence sitters. That we are wimps afraid to declare. This is not true.

Not Cut Out For a Life of Crime

I was just now watching our local news (San Antonio KSAT channel 12).

They ran a story “Tables Turn On Robber Gunning For Cash“. Now there is a real idiot. If only all of our criminals were that stupid! Perhaps when he gets out of prison, he should get a job that doesn’t require a lot of thinking.

I applaud the clerk’s quick thinking and action! It just goes to show you that the average person like you and me can make a difference if we just stay alert. Not every situation like this will afford you an opportunity. Sometimes, there is nothing you can do. But sometimes, the jerks of the world make mistakes. We can take advantage of those mistakes. Just be careful not to take risks you don’t think you can handle. Know yourself. In making a practice of knowing ourselves, we stand a better chance of judging our abilities.  Be ready.

Anecdotal Evidence

Excerpt from Wikipedia:

Anecdotal evidence is an informal account of evidence in the form of an anecdote or hearsay. The term is often used in contrast to scientific evidence, such as evidence-based medicine, which are types of formal accounts. Anecdotal evidence is often unscientific because it cannot be investigated using the scientific method. Misuse of anecdotal evidence is a logical fallacy and is sometimes informally referred to as the “person who” fallacy (“I know a person who…”; “I know of a case where…” etc. Compare with hasty generalization). Anecdotal evidence is not necessarily typical; statistical evidence can more accurately determine how typical something is.When used in advertising or promotion of a product, service, or idea, anecdotal evidence is often called a testimonial and is banned in some jurisdictions. The term is also sometimes used in a legal context to describe certain kinds of testimony. Psychologists have found that people are more likely to remember notable examples than typical examples^[1].

I understand this to mean that anecdotal evidence does not prove something. I certainly have no argument with that. But does it mean we should dismiss it entirely? Often, I run into discussions where anecdotal evidence is simply discarded as meaningless.