ETHICS AND MORALITY. POLITICAL MYTHS- WHAT YOU MAY NOT KNOW. THE GUN CONTROL DEBATE. #1.

There is a BELIEF, PROMOTED INCESSANTLY BY THE NRA, THAT THOSE WHO ADVOCATE GUN CONTROL, WANT TO CONFISCATE ALL FIREARMS POSSESSED BY PRIVATE CITIZENS.  

HOWEVER, 

THIS WAS NEVER THE DESIRE OF THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION, NOR IS IT THE GOAL OF MOST PROGRESSIVE ORGANIZATIONS, WHO ARE SEEKING A MIDDLE GROUND THAT ALL SIDES OF THE GUN CONTROL DEBATE WOULD FIND ACCEPTABLE.

To accomplish this, a Compromise would the Most Essential Part of Establishing Guidelines that all sides could live with. 

This Means that each side of this CONTROVERSIAL ISSUE must be willing to give a little to the Opposition, Allowing at least part of Their Gun Control Agenda to be placed into Law.  This can be done BY UNDERSTANDING THE FOLLOWING:

REALIZING THAT EVEN IF THE SECOND AMENDMENT IS ONLY APPLIED TO SPECIFIC SECTIONS OF THE POPULATION, DOES NOT MEAN THAT THERE ARE NO OTHER CONSTITUTIONAL PROTECTIONS THAT CAN BE UTILIZED TO PREVENT GOVERNMENT CONFISCATION OF PERSONAL WEAPONS.

THAT OTHER RIGHTS, CONTAINED WITHIN THE BILL OF RIGHTS, ARE NOT WITHOUT LIMITATIONS. THESE GUIDELINES ARE USUALLY SET BY JUDICIAL REVIEW,  TO PREVENT ABUSE BY AN INDIVIDUAL OR GROUP WHO TARGET OTHER AMERICANS FOR UNWARRANTED PERSECUTION. (SPEECH, RELIGION, ASSEMBLY etc.)

HOWEVER, BEFORE WE LOOK AT OTHER RIGHTS, LET US LOOK AT THE SECOND AMENDMENT, AND SEE WHAT IT SAYS.

THE SECOND AMENDMENT READS AS FOLLOWS:

"A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."

The WORDING IS USUALLY INTERPRETED IN ONE OF THE FOLLOWING TWO WAYS:

-  THAT IT APPLIES TO ALL AMERICANS, IN THAT NO CITIZEN CAN BE DENIED AN OPPORTUNITY TO OWN OR CARRY A FIREARM.

OR...

-  THAT IT CAN ONLY BE APPLIED TO THE MILITIA, (NATIONAL GUARD IN TODAYS TERMS), AND GUARANTEES NOTHING TO ALL OTHER AMERICANS.

TO BE CONTINUED...

WORTHWHILE OR WORTHLESS- A CONSUMER GUIDE TO AVOIDING SCAMS AND SCOUNDRELS. MULTI- LEVEL MARKETING- JUST ANOTHER PYRAMID SCHEME. PT 2.

I think the best way of showing those who are not familiar with MLM Business Practices, is with an example, comparing it to more Traditional Jobs.

Here are a couple of examples of TRADITIONAL PAY\INCOME PLANS THAT YOU COULD FIND FOR A POSITION IN SALES:

BACKGROUND:  ACME INDUSTRIES IS INTRODUCING A NEW LINE OF BIRD BATHS. HOW CAN THEY MARKET AND SELL IT TO THE CONSUMER? 

ACME decides to increase its Sales Force, hiring new Employees who will sell Bird Baths Exclusively.  As an Inducement to attract top Sales People, the pay structure is as follows:

TRADITIONAL SCENARIO #1.

-  Pay is 100% COMMISSION.  Each Unit sold will earn the Salesperson 40% of the Tag or Sales Price.  The Birdbaths Retail for $1,000 Each, or $800.00 Wholesale.  About 80% of Leads are Provided by Company, with a 20% Cold Calls Quota each Employee is Responsible For.  

The Breakdown is as follows;

SOLD AT RETAIL =  $1,000.00

                               x 40%

                                      ------------

                                       $400.00 COMMISSION.

SOLD AT WHOLESALE=  $800.00

                                           x 40%

                                        -------------

                                          $320.00 COMMISSION.

So, if a Salesperson averages 2 Retail and 2 Wholesale items sold a Week, the pay would be:  2 x $400.00= $800.00  +   2 x $320.00= $640.00.

                                          TOTAL-  $1,440\Week.

TRADITIONAL  SCENARIO #2.

-  Pay is $200.00 PER WEEK SALARY.  In addition,  20% COMMISSION on the Tag or Sales Price.  If we use the same  # of Items Sold per Week, it gives us:

SOLD AT RETAIL = 2 X $200.00= $400.00 COMMISSION.

SOLD AT WHOLESALE=  2 X $160.00=  $320.00 COMMISSION.

TOTAL-  $720.00\Week COMMISSION + $200.00\Week SALARY= $920.00\Week.

In the next part, we will look at the Pay Structure for a Typical MLM.

ETHICS AND MORALITY. HEALTH CARE. PT 5. UNIVERSAL HEALTH CARE- A PRACTICAL APPROACH.

The scenario from part 4 was, of course, a fictional example.

However, all you have to do is change the job description and plug in different numbers to find out that this can be applied to any full time employee who is down-sized to part time, to avoid being offered employer subsidized health care.

Ignoring or disagreeing with the result in the story does not answer the questions that it poses.

• All working Americans are, in essence, producers.  It might be a Cook who prepares X number of meals per day, or a Truck Driver who makes a certain number of deliveries during a scheduled shift.  This also holds true for white-collar jobs.  Teachers produce educated students during a school year and Doctors treat a certain number of patients each day.

• When an employee has their work hours cut and are now part-time, they can no longer produce the same results achieved during a full-time work week.
• This reduction in out-put must be justified, if the only reason was to avoid offering Medical Insurance.
• The bottom line is simply this; Is there a reasonable explanation in shifting any full-time employee or employees to part-time, in that it will  be more profitable because they do not have an employer based Health Care plan?

What the scenario does not address is the long term benefits of having an employee, who did not have medical insurance, into one that has it available if needed.  Here are a couple of more points that should be considered;

• Many employees come to work ill, because they cannot afford the double whammy of paying a Hospitable Bill and losing a days pay.  At least with medical insurance the financial hit would not be so bad.  By staying home and receiving proper care, they are not on the job possibly infecting co-workers.
• Now preventive and rehabilitative medical care is available.  Not only is sickness treated properly, but future illness can now be prevented and injuries can be treated and healed more efficiently.  Loss of work production is decreased, for there are fewer days missed.

What amazes me is the number of Americans,without medical insurance, who don't question their politicians motivation for trying to prevent Universal Health Care.  That is a question that Medical Science cannot answer.

THE BERMUDA TRIANGLE. CASE #1. USS CYCLOPS. PT 5.

The Disappearance of the CYCLOPS, While Tragic, was never considered to be an Exceptional Event, Unparalleled in Maritime History. The Loss of a Ship, without a Definitive Cause, is not an Extreme Rarity.  The Fate of Many Ships, Lost Through The Centuries, have never been Satisfactorily Explained.

The CYCLOPS did indeed Disappear, but like so many other MISSING SHIPS, PLANES, PEOPLE ETC., THERE JUST ISN'T ENOUGH EVIDENCE TO CONCLUDE THAT IT WAS CAUSED IN A PARTICULAR MANNER.  MOST LIKELY, IT WAS A SERIES OF INCIDENTS, COUPLED WITH CONDITIONS THAT DEVELOPED DURING THE VOYAGE, THAT LED TO THE DISASTER.

However, this does not Mean the Following,  A LINE OF REASONING OFTEN USED BY SUPPORTERS OF THE PARANORMAL AND PSEUDOSCIENCE:

SINCE THE EXACT CAUSE(S) IS UNKNOWN, WE CAN SPECULATE THAT MAYBE UFOS, CRYPTIDS, OTHER DIMENSIONS, THE LOST CITY OF ATLANTIS etc., are possible causes.

Yes, and Maybe it was the JOLLY GREEN GIANT, THE LIVING DEAD, SEA MONKEYS, THE FLYING DUTCHMAN... ON AD NAUSEAM.  THERE IS NO MORE REASON TO BELIEVE THAT THESE ARE TRUE, OR NOT TRUE, THAN THE USUAL FRINGE EXPLANATIONS TROTTED OUT BY THOSE PEDDLING THE PARANORMAL IN BOOKS, MAGAZINES, TV SHOWS, RADIO...

THE INABILITY TO PIN DOWN, WITH A DEGREE OF CERTAINTY, THE 

EXACT CAUSES, DOESN'T MEAN THEY DON'T EXIST.  WHY?

LOGIC, CRITICAL THINKING AND THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD DON'T 

WORK ON UNJUSTIFIED ASSUMPTIONS, BAD EVIDENCE, AND WILD 

SPECULATIONS WITH NO REASONABLE PLAUSIBILITY OF OCCURRENCE.

We'll look at the Some of the More Rational Explanations Regarding the Loss

of the CYCLOPS in the next Post.