Clarity re: LA

"Civil disobedience" has an honorable reputation as the expression of a sincere conscience.

It could describe the action of Rosa Parks, for instance, who defied a particular unjust local law . .  without violating other laws. Unfortunately, the term is often used today to describe a protest against certain laws while using lawless violence and looting. 

That's different. That's not civil disobedience. To violate the law against destroying your neighbor's property is not justified or legitimate. The Los Angeles rioting supposedly to protest immigration law was in no way civil, and in many cases not even the sincere expression of conscience.

Build things

"America won't exist if we don't build things." This author founded and runs a manufacturing startup, and he says we must restore our country's capacity to "build things," to manufacture. We must re-build our industrial base, in his theory, because every great power rose to prominence "by building the strongest industrial base of their time."

We could lose our strength. It could happen if we get too comfortable with our success and start to off-shore everything. 

Wait . . that sounds like the present day. As an example, we in the U.S. made five ships last year, while China made 1,000 ships. We lead the world in pharmaceutical R&D but we imported 88% of the active ingredients. "Submarine production has slowed drastically," a reflection of our lack of skilled workers (yesterday's post).

Jobs in the trades can yield a good living. Not everyone must go to college or university.

from The Free Press

Trades shortage

Last week Pennsylvania Energy and Innovation Summit brought together leaders in AI, energy and government. 

Mike Rowe ("Dirty Jobs" show), known as an advocate for the skilled trades, was on one of the panels and had plenty to say. Apparently he predicted the trades shortage 17 years ago, and it's really serious now. Yesterday's post showed that affordable housing is harder to find and more expensive because of it.

His points: 

• Taking shop class out of high school was a shortsighted, "harebrained" idea
• "We've been telling kids for 15 years to learn to code. Well, AI is coming for the coders.  It's not coming for the welders or the steamfitters . ."
• "We need 500,000 electricians in the next couple years. Not hyperbole!"
• Companies building nuclear subs for the Navy are short 80k to 90k skilled workers now
• His foundation awards trade school scholarships

"America is lending money [for college] it doesn't have -- to kids who can't pay it back -- to train them for jobs which no longer exist. That's nuts."

Construction skill

We in the U.S. need more workers in the skilled trades. While artificial intelligence certainly will eliminate many office type jobs, it will never eliminate the demand for electricians, plumbers, carpenters, HVAC and other hands-on jobs.

A crisis in the housing sector illustrates the point. Lack of skilled labor is making housing less affordable. In fact, the National Association of Homebuilders (photo) study concluded that this shortage is impacting the single family home building sector by $10.8 billion per year. Time required to build new homes is about two months longer.

The shortage in skilled trades (not just construction) is why Marvin Ellison is investing millions in training for them (yesterday's video).

It's one big factor why first-time home buyers are having a harder time getting into that first home.

from Forbes

$4/hour to CEO

Lowe's CEO and Chairman, Marvin Ellison, has quite a story. His experience should be an inspiration to everybody.

As a $4/hour part-time employee when he began working at Target, an entry level job, he drew attention to himself by taking tough assignments that no one else wanted. He learned how to make himself valuable to his employer and rose through the ranks to the position of Director.

Results - not prestigious education - got him to the executive level at Lowe's. 

His advice: be a problem solver, think through your path to success, and take every opportunity to educate yourself.

Golf #1

What is it like to reach the absolute top in your chosen field? Scottie Scheffler is there, rated the best golfer in the world.  

“Is it great to be able to win tournaments and to accomplish the things I have in the game of golf? Yeah, it brings tears to my eyes just to think about, because I've literally worked my entire life to be good at this sport."

But it lasts just a few minutes. "You win it, you celebrate, get to hug my family, my sister's there, it's such an amazing moment. Then it's like, OK, what are we going to eat for dinner? Life goes on.”

"I love the challenge. I love being able to play this game for a living. It's one of the greatest joys of my life, but does it fill the deepest wants and desires of my heart? Absolutely not.”

He loves his golf career. But it's third priority after faith and family. There's a lot of love in this man's life.

from Golf Week

Brain on AI - 2

(cont'd from yesterday's post)

Those teachers saw it happening. It makes sense. Now we know it's happening and even have an early name for it: cognitive debt – the decline in brain function manifesting in “diminished critical inquiry, increased vulnerability to manipulation,” and “decreased creativity.”

What happens when a significant number of people "farm out their own thinking to machines?"

This could be another deep divide between groups of people, just when we really need to unite in virtue and elevated purpose. It could wind up that one group will think through issues and make decisions; the other will follow whatever looks easy (image), happy to leave the thinking to others and to AI. 

 

No one will be forced into one group or the other. Every person will choose . . while they're young and in school. Will they choose the hard work of learning and understanding and skill-building? Some won't. Some will choose to let AI do it. 

 from "Your Brain on ChatGPT" 

Brain on AI

Yup, many students and employees choose to let AI do their work. You can see the obvious temptation.

A study has been done on the results of this trend. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) compared three groups writing an essay: one group of participants using their own brains, one using a search engine, one using AI to do it. 

Comparisons were made of brain activity with predictable results: "the cohort using AI showed large comparative decreases in neural brainwave activity, linguistic and thought development, and overall learning skills."

Historian and professor Niall Ferguson says: "the shortcuts that ChatGPT offers are a disaster for your neural development! You'll just be dumber."

from The Stream

(cont'd tomorrow)

Slavery legacy?

 (cont'd from yesterday's post)

"Abraham Lincoln freed the slaves," and he did that in 1863, 160+ years ago. But issues remained, and still remain today. 

According to our left-wing, America's unique slavery guilt is everlasting and unforgivable, deserving of contempt and punishment. 

This black author (photo) sees it differently. He teaches a course called "Legacy of Slavery" at University of Austin where he informs students--to their surprise--that slavery was never a "white person thing," that it was global and nearly unopposed until a couple centuries ago. It's news to them, and maybe it's news to you.

The experience of slavery throughout the world was never limited to the black race, and was never uniquely perpetrated by the white race. If you have any interest in understanding it, read his article.

To take this position in our current cultural moment shows courage.

from The Free Press

Slave owner

(cont'd from yesterday's post)

Yes, some of the American founders owned slaves as well. The author of the Declaration himself, Thomas Jefferson, was passionate about freedom and probably meant every word he wrote. He gave words to the principles of freedom, but he didn't live up to them as the owner of up to 600 slaves. 

We don't give him or the others a free pass on his hypocrisy. He knew it wasn't right and worried about it (image), but he couldn't summon the strength of character to walk away from the privilege he was born into according to the norms of his day.

But he and the other founders did have the courage to call out the right principles for their new nation. They gave us something to work toward. America and the world got better because of that.

Lots of slaves

It might surprise a lot of people to know that slavery has been practiced all over the world for thousands of years. Race was not the determining factor, as slaves were regularly made of all colors of captured humans.

Roman armies brought conquered peoples, including whites from northern Europe, to parade through Rome's streets and be sold for private use or the military (think Ben Hur). Plato, the ancient Greek, was at one time a slave.

Slave trading was an economic force in the Middle East, with big markets in Istanbul, Cairo, Baghdad. Barbary pirates of North Africa captured thousands, including American citizens. Indians of both North and South America kept slaves, as did the Chinese. 

Black tribes of Africa made slaves of their conquests. Some on the interior made raids in order to sell their captives to traders on the coast. Others went to the Middle East markets.

from The History of Slavery You Probably Weren't Taught in School

(cont'd tomorrow)

"Join or Die"

As Dr. Aram said in yesterday's video, "Join or Die" (image) was a political cartoon (the first?) created by Ben Franklin in 1754. Originally meant for the time of the French and Indian War, it went "viral" during the time of the Revolutionary War.

Its meaning is clear: if the American colonies would not unite, then they would all die. Only by uniting could they hope to survive.

Many years later in 1944, Judge Learned Hand would speak on "The Spirit of Liberty." He says we must be united by a spirit of liberty living in the hearts of the American people. Laws alone won't keep us free.

We don't seek unbridled liberty to do everything we want, but rather the liberty to seek what's true and good both for ourselves and for each other. As an example: free speech for me and free speech for thee as well.

It's still true. All of us Americans need to unite on this common value, not just seek to win. 

Yes, exceptional

Patriots come in different colors, in different religions, from different regions of the country, and they're even found in different political parties. If you are any sort of American patriot, you will enjoy these two patriots (who both live in the Northeast) talking about America.

First is Bari Weiss whose story you've heard, and then it's Dr. Akhil Amar, a Yale professor who actually loves his country. Listen to him telling the story of how our Declaration got written (it wasn't only Thomas Jefferson), and how those words affected us and our history.

Spoiled

We're only 249 years old officially, but the USA definitely became that game-changer that monarchs of the world feared we would be. Many people were inspired to believe in liberty and self-governance after this dangerous idea spread and went "viral" (by the standards of that day).

Beyond political effects, though, the USA became hugely wealthy by global standards, wealthy beyond what the founders probably pictured. In fact, it may be said that Americans became "spoiled" by our success.

Immigrants think so, according to this black American:

"Black immigrants don't really respect . . people who are traditionally born in America. [Their experience was] to relentlessly eat, sleep, grind, hustle, go and get it, so when they finally get over into America and they see the opportunities that are presented [here], Nigerians, Jamaicans, any kind of immigrant come over here in this country [they] mop the floor with . . specifically black Americans . ."

Here's one of those immigrants, who disdains the "protests": Fayz 

Dangerous idea 2

(cont'd from yesterday's post) 

Most nations were created by war or one impressive individual, for people united in bloodline. But America was created on the basis of an idea stated in the Declaration: all people were created and endowed by their Creator with unalienable rights, and governments exercise rightful power only by the consent of those people.

This is the principle which Rev. Martin Luther King reminded the American people about, and the moral basis for his campaign of equal rights for black people. It's also the basis for the whole human rights movement of the last century in America.

The Declaration, though written by sadly imperfect people, codified the principle into American law. This is the reason and basis for America, not promotion of slavery as claimed by the 1619 Project. It's the principle we go back to all through our history, that people should be free and that they can rightfully oppose government that doesn't help them.

It made America different. Monarchs around the world knew that America could be a dangerous game-changer . . and she was.

Dangerous idea

"Europe was created by history. America was created by philosophy." Margaret Thatcher was right in this, that America was founded on ideas. Our founders didn't invent the ideas, but they organized a whole country based on them.

Here's just one more take on that day (July 4, 1776) when the congress of the United States of America declared itself separate from its colonizer, the British Empire:

"America has always been a dangerous idea." Dangerous to whom?

from The Free Press 

(cont'd tomorrow) 

No saddles

Thomas Jefferson was the primary writer of the Declaration of Independence, that document which told the world that the American people intended to cut their bonds to England and take their place among the sovereign nations. 

An invitation to Washington D.C. to celebrate the signing of that document was sent to him fifty years later, in 1826, but he couldn't go because of ill health. 

It's clear how passionate he still was about the people's liberty and rights in his reply to the invitation, and he's still right about this: human beings are not born with saddles on their backs so that some elites can ride them with spurs and reins.

Our founding

Hillsdale College was asked by the President to help celebrate America's 250th birthday next year by producing a video series about America's founding. It's a great story - worth remembering together.

Here's the president of Hillsdale introducing it. We'll feature those videos in future posts.

Sorry girls!

Girls in college sports have something big to celebrate: they will no longer have to compete against male bodies at University of Pennsylvania. 

A former U Penn student and swimmer says “As a former UPenn swimmer who had to compete against and share a locker room with a male athlete, I am deeply grateful to the . . Administration for refusing to back down on protecting women and girls and restoring our rightful accolades. I am also pleased that my alma mater has finally agreed to take not only the lawful path, but the honorable one."

In negotiations, U Penn agreed to these actions: 

• Formal apologies will go out to the girls who wrongfully lost wins and records. 
• Trans athlete Lia Thomas (photo) will be stripped of his accolades won in girls' sports. 
• U Penn will stop violating Title IX and use biology-based definitions of female and male. 

 from NY Post

Tesla did it

Tesla is celebrating something else in addition to the Fourth of July this week: its first delivery of a new car driven to the purchaser entirely by what they call "full self-driving," meaning no driver even in the car. 

It certainly drove itself completely and you can see it below. (Just not completely sure I understand their definition of FSD yet.)  

This weekend my son rented one, and it took the family home from church unaided by a driver. Looks like we're in a new car era, all right.

Congratulations to Team Tesla!