The Sharon Statement v2.0 (SDH 2024 v1 Revision)

For some odd reason,  I was recently self-motivated to consider rewriting the 1964 Sharon Statement, which has been central to my political and economic thinking since I first read it in 1986.

I used a few Grammarly and Google Docs linguistic and grammar suggestions, plus some of my values and ideas on how I currently see the world in 2024.

Comments, thoughts, etc., welcome.

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The Sharon Statement v2.0 (SDH 2024 v1 Revision)

The original version was approved by Young Americans for Freedom (YAF) in 1964 (pdf).

Americans are responsible for affirming certain eternal truths in this time of moral and political crises. 

We, as Americans, believe: 

  1. That foremost among the transcendent values is the individual’s use of his God-given free will, whence derives our right to be free from the restrictions of arbitrary force; 
  2. That liberty is indivisible and that political freedom cannot long exist without economic freedom; 
  3. That the purpose of government is to protect those freedoms through the preservation of laws, the provision of national defense, and the administration of justice; 
  4. That when government ventures beyond these rightful functions, it accumulates power, which tends to diminish freedom and liberty; 
  5. That the Constitution of the United States is the best arrangement yet devised for empowering the government to fulfill its proper role while restraining it from the concentration and abuse of power; 
  6. The genius of the Constitution — the division of powers — is summed up in the clause that reserves primacy to the states or to the people in those spheres not specifically delegated to the Federal government; 
  7. That the market economy, allocating resources by the free play of supply and demand, is the single economic system compatible with the requirements of personal freedom and constitutional government, and that it is at the same time the most productive supplier of human needs; 
  8. That when government interferes with the work of the market economy, it tends to reduce the moral and physical strength of the United States; that when it takes from one person to bestow on another, it diminishes the incentive of the first, the integrity of the second, and the moral autonomy of both; 
  9. That we will be free only so long as the freedoms of Americans are secure and that history shows periods of freedom are rare and can exist only when free Americans concertedly defend their rights against all enemies; 
  10. That the forces of international Communism Authoritarianism are, at present, the greatest single threat to these liberties; 
  11. Americans should stress victory over, rather than coexistence with, this menace. 

This criterion must judge any decision: Does it serve the just interests of Americans?

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I am lumping the following into Authoritarianism (in no particular order): communism, Nazism, fascism, socialism, monarchies, dictatorships, military juntas, dynasties, regimes, totalitarianism, terrorism, and single-party states (where only one political party is allowed).

 


Recommended: Adam Smith Podcasts From Freakonomics.com

Kirkcaldy_High_Street_Adam_Smith_Plaque

I learned a lot about Adam Smith that I didn't know about in this three part podcast from Freakonomics.com: Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3.

Here are a few examples:


Thoughts & Tips For February 2021

Red-blurThis photo is part of my Blurry collection.

CURRENT HAPPENINGS

January seemed to be on cruise-control here at our home.  All is good health-wise and no major COVID-19 impacts.  One super great blessing is that Christy's school where she teaches has been able to hold classes since September with no major issues.

Suite-dude

The attack on the Capital was horrific. It is shocking to me that so many in the Senate and the House are so supportive of the Cult of Trump. I'm not confident much will change with the impending Impeachment #2.

The kids are back in school, and we are back to juggling spaces, times for video calls, etc.  But we are getting pretty good at that!

LOOK FORWARD TO

Conrad is turning twenty-two this month and seems to be enjoying SDSU. He and a friend did a fun video recently called "The Shed" (YouTube)!

It looks like Christy and I are going to be headed back to The Oaks (our photos from our 1st trip) in April which should be a great retreat as we celebrate our 27th Wedding Anniversary.

I am going to be Dungeon Mastering (DMing) for my Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) group two little side adventures over the next month or so. One is an "epic" battle and another is going to be a "snatch-&-grab."

TECHNOLOGY, TIPS, & SUGGESTIONS

Here is a great visualization of the Pomodoro Technique for breaking up focused work into time slices that I've found to be pretty effective especially when working a big project:

The_pomodoro-technique

I also ran across this graphic on tips for camera settings that I've saved off in Google Keep for easy access:

Photo-Cheat-Sheet

This article -- "Comic-Con 2019: Former CIA agents explain 6 ways to conduct and evade surveillance" -- has some technology tips worth reading from a perspective of how to be more private and secure with your phones and devices.

QUOTE I'M THINKING ABOUT

“If you don’t like something change it; if you can’t change it, change the way you think about it. - Mary Engelbreit


The California Representatives That Supported Election Fraud Claims

Representatives-california-who-voted-against-2020-election-results

The above California House of Representative Members all voted on January 7, 2021 to challenge the legitimate election of Joe Biden as President of the United States of America. (ABC7) (NYT) (TheVerge)

By the end of the day on January 7, 2021 the U.S. Capital was attacked by terrorists in an attempted insurrection to keep Donald Trump in office.

Here is some references on them:


Thoughts & Tips For September 2020

Paris-woodPhoto by Steve Holden. MORE LIKE THIS!

CURRENT EVENTS

No big change for us on the COVD-19 front.  We continue to be vigilant and focused: #wear_a_mask; #wash_your_hands, #social_distance, and #stay_home_if_sick.  The good news is that Christy's school as been able to go back to teaching kids in person with a host of safe guards which is a blessing and an answer to prayer.

Tour de France 2020. Who doesn't want to watch 4 to 5 hours nearly every day during September seeing some of the best athletes in the world do what most people would consider completely impossible? I am all in. I am watching via NBC Sports via YouTube TV.

Screenshot 2020-09-07 at 19.33.32

My candidate for President of the United States in 2020 is Jo Jorgensen (#letherspeak, #letherdebate). While I don't agree with everything she is advocating, she is in my humble opinion the best option for a President Of The United States who believes in and will fight for:

  • right to life, liberty, & the pursuit of happiness
  • right to keep & bear arms
  • right to live where you choose & how you chose
  • right to privacy
  • right to worship how, when, & where you choose
  • right to be treated equally under the law

OTHER THINGS THAT ARE GOING WELL

  • The PodCraft Beer Show just had episode 7 and next week is episode 8. I have had some super spectacular craft beers that have blown my palette away.  As a craft beer fan I have actually realized how much I've missed by not paying attention to the special releases that many breweries do and I had no clue how amazing they are.
  • I am still playing D&D every week or so with friends from high school.  It is frankly one of the best unattended consequences of COVID-19 for me.
  • I am still loving my water-proof MP3 player -- AfterShokz Black Diamond Xtrainerz.
  • We were able to camp at San Elijo State Beach in August which was awesome ...

Beach-2020

EXPERIMENTING WITH MEDITATION

The book "10% Happier: How I Tamed the Voice in My Head, Reduced Stress Without Losing My Edge, and Found a Self-Help That Actually Works"
By: Dan Harris (#meditation) got me to do a little experiment over the last month since finishing the book. I've been doing five minutes of unguided meditation using the Apple iOS app Oak from Kevin Rose before I stretch in the morning.  Nothing bad has happened (Ha Ha!) I actually now think a little "mind exercise" is a good thing. My monkey mind is strong! More updates as time goes on.

Screenshot 2020-09-07 at 20.33.57

If you are interested in guided meditations, then the only examples I've had experience with are Mike Foster's Guided Meditations. The Oak app has them but I haven't used them before.

TECHNOLOGY, TIPS, & SUGGESTIONS

I have just started using this new Google Chrome browser feature for organizing tabs.  So far it is an awesome new feature.

This what I've been listening to on Audible (you can try Audible for free for 30-days and get two free books if you want). Over the last month:

I am currently doing all my Audible listening on my cell phone Samsung Galaxy S10+.

I also managed to finish a few Kindle books (I am currently using a Kindle Paperwhite for nearly all my reading):

One of my "newer" (I've heard in the past that this isn't a word, but I still use it all the time) favorite bands is Lo Moon.  They opened last year for several shows that the CHVRCHES did, and I'm super impressed with them.  I recently bought their album Lo Moon on Amazon so I could load the MP3s on my AfterShokz Black Diamond Xtrainerz  as I really wanted to listen to them while swimming.  Other specific albums I listen to frequently while swimming are: CHVRCHES (Bones of What You Believe, Every Open Eye, Love Is Dead) and Maggie Rogers (Heard It In A Past Life).  I will also drag a lot of 80s New Wave to a folder for 'random' mode listening.

Def Con (the yearly hacker conference I've been going to since #18) was completely virtual this year.  A ton of solid cybersecurity content is readily available if you are interested.

QUOTE I'M THINKING ABOUT

"We are what we repeatedly do, therefore, excellence is not an act but a habit." - Aristotle


Newt Gingrich Outlines "Blunders" That Effect Us All

Newt Gingrich has some interesting thoughts on what happens when politicians with the right policy frameworks end up in within the DC Beltway for too long.  They have a hard time on implementation.

That part that resonated with me included:

He cited a series of blunders under Republican rule, from failures in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina to mismanagement of the war in Iraq. He said the immigration bill passed by his former colleagues in the House of Representatives is unrealistic and too harsh toward undocumented immigrants, called congressional efforts to regulate lobbying "much too weak" and said the government has squandered billions of dollars in Iraq.