This ball on the bench is prickly like a lot of people.
Say or do something that rubs them the wrong way and you got a sharp aching thorn in your side.
Hence the saying about handling them with “kid gloves” made from fine soft kid leather.
Handle tactfully and with special consideration or else get stung badly and suffer the pain and consequences. 😉
(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
Does anyone get this sign from the Pro-Life rally last week?
Pro-Life is Pro-Hate
But equating Pro-Life with hate doesn’t add up.
It actually seems the opposite that if you want to sanctify and protect life that you are loving people, not hating.
Sometimes to make a point, people will just say anything.
It’s related to “gaslighting” where they want to manipulate you into questioning your own beliefs, values, and sanity.
Perhaps, throwing around terms like hate just dilutes the real meaning of it similar to making other false accusations against people.
We need to argue the issues, and not attack each other. 😉
(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
I love this saying from one of my colleagues in the National Security field about the Middle East:
If you aren’t invited for dinner, you’re likely on the menu!
Oh how true it is.
It reminds me of a mother-in-law joke my father used to tell about this guy telling his friend:
Yeah, we had my mother-in-law for dinner. And boy was she good!
Anyway, no one can tell a joke like he did.
Last thing you want to be is on the menu. 😉
(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
I saw this and thought this was a clean version of “Never get into a pissing contest.” 😉
(Credit Video: Andy Blumenthal)
I thought this was a funny saying that my friend told me.
I’d agree with you but then we’d both be wrong!
He said that he actually liked it so much that he got a sign with it and put it in his office.
As they say, “Two wrongs don’t make right.”
If you think something is wrong, hold your ground–otherwise no one will be right. 😉
(Source Graphic: Andy Blumenthal)
This is sort of what I feel happened with North Korea and the U.S. at the Summit in Vietnam this week.
We went into this thinking that the enticement of moving from war to prosperity, like with Vietnam, would set the stage for North Korea to see that truly, peace is the answer!
But when there is no real trust between the people negotiating, then you get a lot of gesturing, but no real determination to make a commitment–like getting rid of those crazy nukes!
For now from North Korea’s perspective, “one in the nukes is worth two in the prosperity”…and they aren’t going to disarm so easily and give away what they consider their ace in the hole.
High hopes, lots of drama, confusion and blame, and ultimately a big let down.
If North Korea would give up their nukes, and Iran would give up their pursuit of nukes…WOW, WOW, WOW, oh what a world that would be. 😉
(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
So this shutdown has really been an education in political dysfunction, bickering, and childish behavior.
But when President Trump yesterday went on the air and provided a compromise solution whereby he gets funding for a 200 mile border wall/barrier and the Democrats get money for humanitarian relief at the border, high-tech sensors, and years of protection for 700,000 children that came to this country illegally (DACA) and another 300,000 for immigrants from designated countries that prevent their sage return (TPS)–it seems like everybody would come out a winner!
That’s negotiation. That’s compromise. That’s diplomacy.
When President Trump did this, I thought he really won the day, especially when the Democrats rejected his proposals and offered nothing in return or as an alternative.
Even if the other side disagrees with the solution, they can and should offer what their version of a compromise/agreement would be and so on between the parties–this way, they can negotiate until both sides get to the magical compromise that everyone can agree to and live with.
What I learned from this is that regardless of your political leanings, the side that shows flexibility and compromise and the desire to get something done, is the side that wins the argument, period.
Those that want it all or are simply obstructionist and haters are the big losers in the debate.
(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
Our nation is increasingly polarized with little to no tolerance of others wants, thinking, or actions.
– First under Obama.
– Then with the election between Hillary and Trump.
– And now over Judge Kavanaugh.
The result has been some of the worst behaviors seen since the Civil War–with not only disrespect, restrictions on freedom of expression, but even threats and actual violence!
This nation is no longer the UNITED States, but much more like the DIVIDED States.
And that just plays into our enemies hands and could lead us to eventually lose our very democracy to totalitarianism, dictatorship, and tyranny.
So now may be a good time to review for yourself how many biases are driving your thought processes and behaviors and creating dangerous fundamentalists and extremists all around us instead of thoughtful dialogue, negotiation, and compromise.
Here are 20 biases that may be affecting you more than you realize:
– Do you overestimate the importance of the information you have or feel good about (Anchoring, Availability, and Choice-Supportive Biases)?
– Do you seek out and perceive information that simply validates your preconceptions (Information,
Confirmation, and Selective Perception Bias)?
– Do you overemphasize information that is more recent or recognizable (Recency and Salience Biases)?
– Are you ignoring information that doesn’t “fit your script” (Ostrich Effect/Omission and Conservatism Bias)?
– Are you tied up in the groupthink of your peers (Bandwagon Effect)?
– Do you see patterns in random events or conspiracies that don’t exist (Clustering Illusion)?
– Are you overconfident in your thought process and conclusions (Overconfidence Bias)?
– Do you tend to overvalue the usefulness or success of something, but not recognize its limitations or failures (Pro-Innovation and Survivorship Bias)?
– Do you fail to take risks because you prefer certainty (Zero-Risk Bias)?
– Does your thinking something will happen actually cause it to happen (Placebo Effect)?
– Do you use the ends to justify the means (Outcome Bias)?
– Do you judge people by their race, class, gender, religion, sexual preferences, or national origin (Stereotyping)?
– Do you fail to recognize your own biases (Blind-Spot Bias)?
Perhaps if more people would open their minds to information and engage in genuine thinking and critical thinking, rather than a lot of fake news and hype, we would be a far better and stronger nation. 😉
(Source Graphic: Business Insider)
Sometimes things happen that we don’t agree with or like.
We may even get blamed for them when we didn’t do anything wrong.
At times like these, there comes up inside of us a strong visceral feeling to speak up and out–to right the wrongs!
There are times when we can, but there are also times when it may be better to hold our tongue for another day.
In the olden times, people that spoke out, often had their tongue cut right out in front of them–no questions asked.
These days, thank G-d, most people may not be that cruel, but still people get punished for speaking truth to power–when the power is tone deaf or possibly even behaving more as brutal dictators than as benevolent leaders.
The problem for the average Joe is that there is no point in losing your tongue or even your head by acting rashly or imprudently.
Better to wait and plan for the right moment to be effective and stand with integrity for your ideals and what you know in your heart is right.
Maybe even at times, we have to fall on our swords until we can make a strong and convincing case and change both hearts and minds to betterment.
The point is not only to do what’s right, but to make things right in the world around us.
Swords too often can come out swinging wildly, unless we carefully sharpen them and practice our lunges and cuts, and work to repair the wrongs in the world as soldiers of righteousness. 😉
(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
So I like this quote by Carl von Clausewitz:
“War is an extension of politics by other means.”
There is diplomacy and then there is war!
– Diplomacy is soft power–talking, persuading, negotiating, and compromise.
– War is hard power–fighting/combat using kinetic or cyber-based means.
When diplomacy fails, then war is what’s left to compel the enemy to come around to your way of thinking and do your will.
As they say, there’s the easy way or the hard way–that’s the dual before the duel.
Either way it gets to resolution. 😉
(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
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