The multilayers of our present-day predicament have erupted in a perfect storm. One layer is the COVID pandemic keeping everyone at home, schools and camps closed, social distancing. Containing the virus requires following rules. Another layer is the protests of police brutality againstBlack peoplebringing people to the streets stretching the pandemic rules. In the deeper layers is the unrest of factions of society subjugated for so many generations by other factions of society deemed superior. Adding to the perfect storm, the coronavirus attacks the black faction at a vastly greater rate. And the virus is spiking in many states. Our country has been brought to its knees.

I cannot help but draw parallels between the macrocosm of society and the microcosm of the family.

As Trevor Noah of The Daily Show so eloquently described in his off-the-cuff FacebookLive event, society is a group of people who agree to a contract. There are rights and wrongs, written laws, and a constitution that bind that contract. As well as unspoken rights and wrongs that mature members of society agree to in order to get along.

In the microcosm, children are raised by the rules and agreements of a family structure. They mature under the authority of parents until they are ready to join into the contract of society.

Ideally, the principles and agreements of both the family and society are established for the good of all the people to be looked out for, cared for by those principles. This is what binds us and supports us unless they dont apply to all. Both the family and society have lived under double standards for a very, very long time. What is good for some is not good for all.

When some factions are not treated by the same standards as others, uprisings occur. In the family, teen rebellion both civil and violent; in society, protests and demonstrations both civil and violent. What we are seeing in the streets is an uprising of the people for whom the principles of society do not apply. Trevor Noah left us with the question, What if you lived in a society, whose principles you had agreed to, but those very principles neglected to care for you and protect you? How would you feel?

So too within a family. Children blindly trust they will be cared for and their needs met within their family. But when those in authority think their own needs are more important, children fall under the fear and control of manipulative rules of behavior the reward and punishment methods that have been used for ages leaving children feeling powerless and misunderstood. Many protest when age allows, and when the protest is loud enough, they become problems to society. Others submit, losing themselves and their sense of agency in the process.

When authority figures in society and in the family behave in the way they want their people to behave, when double standards disappear, they set an example that people want to follow. This is a democracy. This is a caring, connected family. The golden rule binds to build a strong structure.

The legitimacy and authenticity of society and family both depends on agreeing to a set of basic core principles of respect, trust, balance, fairness. With agreement comes the expectation that those principles apply to all. But when both the family and society live by a you do as I say or else principle, fear replaces respect and havoc will wreak at some point. Human beings can only be held down for so long.

When some respond to Black Lives Matter by saying all lives matter, they are missing the point. When parents respond to a childs out of control behavior with punitive tactics, they are missing the point. When society uses its principles to protect some and not others, society misses the point. The point is that those who are in revolt are screaming to matter. Because they feel invisible, rejected, unacceptable, powerless, and misunderstood the opposite of mattering.

Will we learn anything from this perfect storm, or will we just get tired and go back to the same old, same old?

Ask yourself, do you model behavior toward your children that you want them to mirror? What do you think will happen if you allow yourself to behave in ways you dont allow your children to behave? If you yell and threaten and punish, what do you think your children learn to do to get what they want?

We want our children to move into society with the standards of the golden rule. They will if they have been nurtured on it. We want the golden rule to apply to all factions of that society dont we?

Look for Bonnies new podcast, Tell Me About Your Kids, launching this week wherever you get podcasts.

Bonnie Harris is a parenting specialist who teaches and speaks internationally and at The River Center in Peterborough. Bonnie offers individual parent counseling, parenting workshops and professional trainings. To set up an in-person or online coaching session, email her at bh@bonnieharris.com. You can sign up for her email newsletter on her website, bonnieharris.com.

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ParentWise: What happened to the Golden Rule? - Monadnock Ledger Transcript

Many of us grew up learning the Bible's "Golden Rule." This tells us that we should do to others as we want them to do to us.

During this COVID-19 crisis, this means I should wear a mask to protect you from the virus, and you should extend the same protection to me and others. Wear your mask!

Countries such as Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, New Zealand and Australia immediately implemented many safeguards in January and February, including nearly universal wearing of masks. Taiwan, with a population of 24 million, has had only 447 infections and seven deaths since the outbreak.

Australia with a population slightly larger than Florida, has had fewer total infections in six months than Florida had recently in one day. Masks are not the only reason, but they have played a key role in limiting the spread of COVID-19 in these countries.

Contrary to the President's false assertions that 99% of cases are "totally harmless," and that "by April, you know, in theory, when it gets warmer, it miraculously goes away," between 15-20% of COVID cases require hospitalizations, with 3-5% of total cases resulting in death. Clearly this is not harmless! In addition, the pandemic is projected to last at least another year.

Wearing masks is not about "individual freedoms." It is about protecting our families and neighbors. Please, please wear a mask. Live the Golden Rule!

Paul Anderson

Wadena

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Your letters: Live the 'Golden Rule' - wear your face mask - Wadena Pioneer Journal

Brotherhood of man

In response to the letter by Mr. Karl T. Kimball: Now you have done it! You exposed that entire elusive Masonic secret, i.e., "Fatherhood of God and Brotherhood of Man." Now everyone knows. Of course, a few other things might go on behind doors. Things such as seeing to the welfare of widows, orphans and others that might be in distress. They also support the right to protest as shown by the meeting they broke up and passed through the downstairs barroom with the words, "Come on, boys, we are going to Boston Harbor for a Tea Party."

Albert Pike's "Morals and Dogma" is a long read, but it is all there and with lessons for all of us. Masonry was opposed to everything the Nazis stood for, and for that 200,000 of them perished in the Holocaust.

I thank Mr. Kimball for his enlightening letter. I don't get out much anymore, but when I do, I always wear my mask because "your life matters too."

DONAL B. WRIGHT

Cabot

Bully in White House

It's a wonder our POTUS can even find time to play golf these days what with all the time spent bullying, fabricating lies, and generally defaming honest, well-respected folks' character.

Recently he bullied the profoundly ethical Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman to a point where Vindman understandably decided it was time to retire. We salute you, brave sir, for your service to our country. It is a sad day when a person of your character is driven off while a convicted criminal, Roger Stone, is given clemency.

Dr. Anthony Fauci is the latest target of Trump's ire, to the point that our president has mounted a smear campaign to soil the good doctor's name in an effort to make himself look good. Dr. Fauci' s popularity has Trump taking, out of context, things Dr. Fauci may or may not have said, or said months ago when scientists had much to learn of covid-19. Well, Dr. Fauci is the person I would trust with my life as opposed to trusting a pathological liar who openly denies the validity of science. Sorry to say, but wishing the pandemic away isn't really a plan!

On another topic, U.S. Education Secretary DeVos has done as much planning for opening up schools as her boss has for coping with the pandemic. There's nothing like getting help from our leaders.

KATHY HODNETT

Mountain Home

Follow Golden Rule

I continue to be amazed and saddened at the high level of refusal by some to wear masks in the effort to slow and someday stop the coronavirus. It just seems so sad that there are folks who object to doing something that to them must seem inconvenient and displeasing, especially if someone in authority asks or tells them to.

At the same time, I'm guessing that many of the protesters, if you asked them, would indicate that they were believers in religious matters, and that they endorsed what is known as the Golden Rule, which I believe says something along the lines of, "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you."

In other words, I will do my part to not give you the virus if I have it, and I hope you will do the same for me.

JACK W. HILL

Bismarck

Not just the symptoms

As a young man, I revered the Confederate flag. As a wiser and older man, I better understand the traitorous, destructive idea of preserving white supremacy that that flag represented. It was intended to destroy the United States of America.

Events of recent weeks including protests, riots, and looting are the result of a legacy we have inherited from our forefathers. My friends, relatives, and acquaintances on Facebook, in conversations, and in other forms of media want to talk about these unpleasant events instead of the underlying problems; 400 years of slavery, segregation, Jim Crow laws, job discrimination, and housing discrimination have left us with this problem.

No one is now a slave or slave owner, so many believe there is no problem. Talking about looters and rioting is not a discussion of how we make this country whole and not two societies. Time to discuss the problem and make it better. I have heard harsh words from Black leaders that hit me like a sharp needle. As much as I didn't want to hear those words, I needed a better understanding. Maybe we all need a slap in the face to wake us up.

Mr. Jack Mayberry wrote an opinion printed in Sunday's paper directed at the Black community regarding Black-on-Black crime. It stung a little like a slap in the face, but his words should be heard. Bottom line is we all need to wake up and start a dialogue on how we can make this one nation. Houston, we have a problem, and we should look for ways to solve it. Let's make that effort on how to make it better and not just discuss the symptoms.

BRUCE OWENS

Benton

Foreign-born genius

An article in the July 8 edition of the Democrat-Gazette talked about Peter Tsai, the scientist who invented the filtration material used in N95 respirators. The article described how this brilliant man has recently come out of retirement to volunteer his time, intelligence, and energy to engineer methods of decontaminating N95 masks so that they can be reused to help reduce shortages of that critical medical equipment. He also has investigated materials for homemade masks, and helped a group of researchers at the Oak Ridge National Lab researching ways to increase production of N95 masks.

Dr. Tsai was born in Taiwan, and he came to the United States in 1981 to obtain his doctoral degree, after which he stayed, enriching our country immeasurably.

A few days before this article appeared, President Trump's administration issued new policies that would have forced international students to leave the U.S. if their schools operate entirely online this fall. I am completely unable to conceive how kicking out foreign-born geniuses like Dr. Tsai could possibly help make America great again.

PATRICK STAIR

North Little Rock

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LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: Brotherhood of man | Bully in White House | Follow Golden Rule - Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

Dear Sir,

Every great religion on our planet teaches some version of the Golden Rule, that we should treat others as we ourselves wish to be treated. This ancient and universal concept underlies all of the progress that human societies have made over the millenia. A current obvious example of that concept is the obligation to others in our society to protect ourselves and them by wearing face coverings when we go out in the world.

We can all understand the basis of this concept. It comes from scientific study of the way the virus spreads and what it can do to our societies if we do not keep it under control. Less appreciated is the obvious corollary, that God is presently testing our societies to determine whether we are practicing His central spiritual concept. The extent to which we go out of our way to protect others is the extent to which Gods blessings of further progress in our cultures will come to us.

Jacqueline Osborne

Florence

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Be In the Right Spirit | Letters To Editor | courierjournal.net - courierjournal

Revolutions take time. Jrgen Klopps record in his first 19 or so games for Liverpool was not sparkling. But what he did do was lay the foundations for all the success that followed.

What Mikel Arteta is putting in place at Arsenal is similar in approach to what we saw in Klopps first 100 days in office. His teams playing style and how he wants the club to play moving forward is already well established (a major issue under Artetas predecessor Unai Emery). And just as importantly, the culture that Arteta believes will bring long-term success is already being put in place.

Artetas use of asymmetric formations has been well chronicled. At the time of writing, Arteta is using a three at the back system with a rotating five grid system in the final third. The system is about as adaptable as a modern system can get. Their current three-at-the-back system uses a fullback as one of the wider centre backs, allowing Arsenal to flit to a back four as and when they see fit (this is not only for prolonged periods say five, ten minutes but on a possession to possession basis). It also allows them to protect David Luizs, umm, specialised brand of defending.

But as much as Arteta is considered an innovative, progressive coach, the success or failure of his tenure will come down to off-the-pitch issues. When ownership insists on the club being self-sufficient (as Klopp is well aware) culture becomes even more important; you cannot mask mistakes with money. A rotten core will sink any club, but a rotten core at a club that demands to break even will crater the reputation of the manager (its easy to gorget now that Unai Emery was considered a brilliant mind across Europe for his work at Sevilla and Paris Saint-Germain).

Arsenals iffy recruitment strategy is a constant source of conversation and consternation. Is there too much agent involvement? Sure. Has the clubs once industry-defining data analysis department been pushed to the side? Absolutely. Is it salvageable? Yes.

In the post-Arsene Wenger years, the club moved to a transfer committee model, but the coach still has plenty of input. Under Emery, it was often tough to see how the players he had asked for would fit into his style one that chopped and changed on a month to month basis. Under Arteta, the underlying skills hes looking for are self-evident: athleticism and technical ability. In nerdy terms, he wants players who can press, non-stop, without the ball and players who are press resistant with it.

Its a similar simple-on-paper approach to Liverpools strategy under Klopp and sporting director Michael Edwards: the system and culture come above signing world-class players. In having the correct system and culture for the right players to shine, they will become world-class players. Rinse. Repeat.

Replicating Liverpools success in the transfer market is damn near impossible, though. The club hasnt missed once. As in, not at all; there is not a single miss.

Its a phenomenal record, one that is nigh-on impossible for Arsenal match, particularly with an approach based more on contacts that on-the-ground scouting. Theyve already had misses.

But there is one element Arsenal can and are looking to copy: the no bleep heads policy.

Culture was one of the big stresses of Klopps early years. He wanted talent, yes, but more than anything he wanted dedicated professionals. He wanted players who loved football, who loved to win. Klopp was quick to make clear players who didnt bring the right attitude or intensity every day would be jettisoned from the club -- the everyday part being the crucial piece of the puzzle.

Mamadou Sakho was bounced once Klopp deemed the player did not fit into his two-word culture. Sakho acts as a tidy pivot point of when Klopps policy was at its most evident. There was a player in there (a rotational piece if nothing else), but his style on and off the pitch (mostly off) did not jive with Klopps methods.

Arteta is chartering the same path. Already, he has challenged players. Dani Ceballos, on loan from Real Madrid, and Ainsley Maitland-Niles, an academy graduate, were both questioned by Arteta early on. Are these guys really up for the fight? Do they want to be here? Do they want to earn their place? Both responded with the kind of bleep you attitude that gets coaches excited; they proved they wanted to be more than passengers.

Rather than the early obvious candidates, its Matto Guendouzi who has offered Arteta his Sakho moment. When we look back at Artetas reign, whenever it is that a look back takes place, the Guendouzi saga will be a defining moment. Young, talented, and a complete wildcard, Guendozi received a bunch of time from Arteta in the early days. But the relationship between the player and his manager and the player and his teammates has soured.

Guendouzi was always a funky fit in Artetas style: A manager who lives for structure despite the pretense of a free-flowing style; a player who excels out of structure, who is happy to just make stuff happen.

According to reports, Guendozi bombed a bridge-the-gap meeting with club hierarchy last week after a string of not-so-great events. He is now training away from the first team and will be sold this summer.

Ruthless. But that is what building a culture in a modern sports environment takes. If the coach needs to dump a valuable club asset in order to get his message across, so be it. Coaches dont java the time to get young players onside anymore -- move them on, bring in players with complete buy-in.

The success or failure of Artetas tenure will likely come down to recruitment: finding the right personalities and talent and stylistic fits. That aspect is never, ever easy. But Arteta and the club have started to institute the kind of policy that can make a tricky market that little bit easier.

On Monday, they will see Liverpool, the runaway champions, as a manifestation of those principles, on and off the pitch. Klopp laid that foundation in the early days; Arteta and Arsenal are just at the start of their journey.

There are reports that Jurgen Klopp will make a decent number of changes tonight, but I'm going with the strongest possible first-team: Alisson; Trent Alexander-Arnold, Joe Gomez, Virgil van Dijk, Andy Robertson; Fabinho, Naby Keita, Gini Wijnaldum; Mo Salah, Roberto Firmino, Sadio Man.

We need to talk about Bobby. Joel Rabinowitz's piece yesterday is the best summation you will read on the Firmino performing/under-performing debate. Give it your time.

Release the Ox!

Barney Ronay's commentary on all things sport and culture is always necessary reading. This on Man City, Uefa, and that CAS decision is extra good.

We will tape the latest edition of the Liverpool.com podcast tomorrow. If you haven't already, you can catch it on the Blood Red channel wherever you get your podcasts or on YouTube. Questions, comments feedback all welcome on Twitter.

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Arsenal have already copied Jrgen Klopp's golden rule at Liverpool, with intent to rival them - Liverpool.com

Published 2:24pm EDT, Sunday, July 19, 2020

Thirty-five years ago, I was living in an apartment a short walk from my college campus. My car was a 1965 Plymouth Valiant that had been given to me for free. It was beat up but dependable. A friend came from Boston to stay with me for a couple of months until he found his own place. Since I could walk to campus, he used my car to get to his job the next town over. In the two years I drove that car, I was never stopped by the police. He drove it two months and was pulled over five times. Im white. Hes Black.

I am ashamed that I let 35 years go by without speaking out against this injustice. I marched in the June 5 New Haven rally for racial justice, carrying a sign that read White Silence Enables Violence. I know that my silence over the years has contributed to the injustice faced by people of color. If I were Black or brown (or trans or a woman) I certainly would have experienced injustice. As a large, white, professional man usually wearing a suit and tie, I have never felt threatened by authority. Watching the injustice of George Floyds death has finally woken me from my silence. If I were born Black, that could have been me dead on the street.

If you believe in the golden rule to do unto others as you would have them do unto you ask yourself: what would a Black or brown or trans person or woman want a white person to do? If the answer is to stand up against injustice, then do it. Do it now. Its been years, decades, even centuries of injustice in America. How long before you take a stand against what you know is wrong. Ask yourself: what is the right thing to do? And then do it.

James Stirling

Bethany

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Letter: Time to stand against injustice - New Haven Register

(EDITORS NOTE: First in a series on the reopening of West Texas A&M University in the midst of COVID-19.)

In the coming weeks, I will address a number of issues regarding our return to campusthings such as residential life, classroom and community gatherings, scheduling of classes, flexibility required in a changing environment, intercollegiate athletics and why we believe staying open is important.

In listening to newscasts, prognosticators, public health officials and legislative bodies, reading the AAUP essay, "Professors: Protecting lives, promoting education and principles for reopening campus," and many others views on the impact of COVID-19, it appears that there may be a coming fall, rather than an autumn, at the start of school.

We should look forward to a coming autumn, influenced by factors unknown only six months ago. An autumn not plunged into a dark abyss of fear and trepidation, but focused on the opportunity to tutor and guide students, to study and generate ideas through scholarly and creative work and a passion for serving the diverse communities that universities are charged to nurture. This is not a Pollyanna-ish longing for days of old. They are gone forever. No news in this: It was true last year and the year before that, and the year before that, ad nauseum. The past is past. We must learn, focus and progress to something better.

At the end of May, I polled university leaders, faculty, staff and students asking what they thought the responsibilities of their respective constituencies were as the campus reopened. For full text, see Individual Responsibility and COVID-19, located on the WT COVID-19 information webpage (wtamu.edu/coronavirus).

Two things occurred in this process. First, everyone seemed to appreciate the opportunity to participate in defining a shared view. Universally, people seem to appreciate reflecting and responding to the questions regarding personal and public responsibility in these challenging times.

I suggested that "Circumstances require all to reflect on fundamental notions of public and private responsibility, corporate citizenship, reminiscent of Tocquevilles precarious balance of personal liberty and good citizenship. However, nothing that has happened since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic diminishes the burden of self-determination and personal responsibility." Community bonding in times of achievement, strife or tragedy may help emphasize this simple fact: What is important for one is important for all.

What has been, is and will forever be important for all, is this simple and inarguable postulate endorsed by over 140 world religions, made known to me personally in the Gospel of Luke 6:31, "Do to others as you would have them do to you." Nearly every person and world religious group, from Agnosticism to Zoroastrianism, knows "The Golden Rule" as the reciprocity dictum.

Universities best remember this injunction always, but particularly now, given the uncertainties of the times, the suffering of so many and the lack of future clarity. The concept is critically important in effectively working with each other on campus and for our students, their families and the extended communities we serve.

How do we assist the campus in sharing the power of personal responsibility as we return in the autumn? How should we behave toward our students? Or they to us? In essence, we owe each and all full exercise of the Golden Rule. Now and always. Thats not paternalism or being overly protective, but human decency.

Administrative perspective reinforced "WT 125: From the Panhandle to the World" and its primary underlying presupposition, the "Duty of Citizenship"encouraging and sustaining individual responsibility to the region, the state and the country.

Faculty stated the following: "As the student-faculty relationship remains at the core of the institution, we must together in that partnership practice the behaviors that will allow the maximization of our physical, intellectual, and emotional health."

Staff recognized their crucial role in campus culture: "Just as our leaders were proactive in protecting students, staff, and faculty to ensure our health and safety, we must reciprocate by showing the same commitment to our students, fellow staff, and the community by taking all required measures seriously and responsibly."

Students communicated clearly: "The West Texas A&M University Student Government will demonstrate an example of selfless and noble citizenship by ensuring the safety of self and others while allowing students to maintain civil liberties and freedom."

I am humbled and proud of West Texas A&M University. Administration, faculty, staff and students were engaged in generating a future view guided by selflessness and welcoming to all. To the best of our collective abilities, we will live the Golden Rule in everything that we do and say, and we will treat all with dignity and respect. Fears, trepidations, concerns and emotional well-being of all will become our fears, trepidations, concerns and emotional well-being. We will be respectful of the leadership of the nation, state, our local communities and The Texas A&M University System.

For me, this means we will not fear the future but find strength in working together to overcome current challenges.

What lies before us is not a fall but an autumn.

New World. New Way. Always WT.

Walter V. Wendler is President of West Texas A&M University. His weekly columns are available at http://walterwendler.com/.

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Wendler: Strength of working together overcomes fear - Amarillo.com

By now, defense attorneys are well aware of the Reptile Theory, a deposition and trial tactic adopted and advocated by plaintiff attorneys around the country based upon David Ball's and Don C. Keenans book, Reptile: The 2009 Manual Of The Plaintiff's Revolution. The Reptile Theory, the goal of which is to achieve exceptionally large verdicts, is a re-envisioning of the universally prohibited golden rule argument that asks jurors to step into the plaintiffs shoes and perceive the defendants conduct at issue as a threat to their own personal safety.

The association of the Reptile Theory with reptiles is itself based upon a false, pseudoscientific premise of the triune brainthe notion that underneath the more advanced mammalian neocortex and the paleomammalian limbic system, humans have a primal brain structure, leftover from our evolutionary past, where survival instincts reside and emotional reactions to perceived threats occur. The Triune Brain theory roughly alleges that over the course of vertebrate evolution, new, more complex brain structures developed over the top of older structures that controlled more primal, survival-oriented behaviorsthe reptile brain.

However, triune brain model, which arrived on the scene in the 1960s, has been debunked and is no longer part of current neuroscience orthodoxy. A recent commentary by Joseph Cesario, David J. Johnson and Heather L. Eisten, entitled Your Brain Is Not an Onion With a Tiny Reptile Inside, published in May 2020 by in Current Directions in Psychological Science, explains the flaws inherent in the triune brain model, stating that [t]his belief, although widely shared and stated as fact in psychology textbooks, lacks any foundation in evolutionary biology,

The authors explain that the appeal of the triune brain model lies in its simplicity:

Perhaps mistaken ideas about brain evolution persist because they fit with the human experience: We do sometimes feel overwhelmed with uncontrollable emotions and even use animalistic terms to describe these states. These ideas are also consistent with such traditional views of human nature as rationality battling emotionThey are also simple ideas that can be distilled to a single paragraph in an introductory textbook as a nod to biological roots of human behavior. Nevertheless, they lack any foundation in our understanding of neurobiology or evolution and should be abandoned by psychological scientists.

In one of our previous blog posts, we discussed particular strategies for defense attorneys to use in when filing motions in limine to challenge the use of Reptile tactics at trial. When challenging the use of Reptile tactics in motion practice, one should focus on explaining the tactic as a mere repackaging of prohibited Golden Rule arguments and should avoid getting bogged down explaining in detail the pseudoscience of Reptile.

Nonetheless, this papers commentary on the erroneous oversimplification of human brain anatomy suggests another way to think of Reptile. At its essence, Reptile oversimplifies and misrepresents the standard of care in a negligence action by framing legal duties as a combination of ill-defined safety rules that a defendant either did or did not follow. But the circumstances that led to litigation are likely nuanced and not reducible to an oversimplified list of binary choices, and the safety rules do not necessarily accurately or fairly reflect the legal standard of care.

Thinking of Reptile Theory as a reductio ad absurdum logical fallacy, given the facts of the case, can therefore help attorneys challenge the use of this tactic as an impermissible reframing of the standard of care.

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Debunking the Plaintiffs Reptile Theory: Why Science Says the Triune Brain Model is Wrong - JD Supra

I would certainly classify my broad view of the stock market today as bearish. I do not buy into recent into the recent rally weve seen from March lows. Also, I expect well see significant further downside on the horizon in the coming quarters.

That said, there are varying levels of every perspective. In this article, Im going to consider the potential outcome of a 1930s-style depression and one asset class that could potentially save investors portfolios in such a worst-case scenario.

Plenty of gold bugs are having a field day with various marketing interventions of late. Central bank and government stimulus measures and money printing associated with said measures inherently boosts the price of gold.

This is because an increase in the money supply and the associated inflation that follows is bullish for commodities based in U.S. dollars. I believe we could see a scenario in which the U.S. dollar depreciates relative to other global currencies amid such measures, providing a bullish background for gold to appreciate.

In this context, one can see why increasing ones holdings in precious metals right now could be beneficial in a serious downturn. Companies producing a stable store of value other than U.S. dollars, namely gold producers, would benefit from both the safety/hedge trade. Also, they would benefit from the deflationary/inflationary trade related to the economic fallout of follow from such a recession

Barrick Gold(TSX:ABX)(NYSE:GOLD) has been a top pick of mine for many reasons. This Canada-based gold producer is among the largest in the world, providing investors with a high degree of relative safety. The companys operations are well diversified globally. They include many large mines, spreading the individual mine risk many single mine producers otherwise have.

Barrick has one of the better balance sheets of its peers. This is despite a rather large debt load that looks onerous on its face. The companys cash flow generation has only increased as the price of precious metals continues to rise. This provides much more balance sheet room than many investors factor in.

With a low cost of production and one of the highest production volumes in the sector, I recommend Barrick as a one top stock pick for those looking for a core portfolio holding in this sector.

Barrick pays a small but meaningful dividend, giving the stock inherent upside on owning bullion on this basis alone. Further, the operational leverage Barrick provides to the commodity price of gold means investors can benefit to a greater degree from a rise in gold prices from owning Barrick stock relative to futures or bullion on their own.

In this current environment, I would encourage investors to investigate companies like Barrick, particularly investors who are bullish on gold, as I am.

Fool contributor Chris MacDonald has no position in any of the stocks mentioned.

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Save Your Portfolio and Create Wealth With This Golden Rule - The Motley Fool Canada

For decades in Huntsville, the name Charlie Grainger was equally ubiquitous and behind-the-scenes.

While Wernher von Braun at NASA and the Army Missile Command were creating the smoke and fire that made Redstone Arsenal famous, Grainger was walking the back halls of Capitol Hill, lobbying for the money to make it all happen.

As an executive at Teledyne Brown Engineering, Grainger fought the backroom fights in favor of Huntsvilles space program and for a national missile defense system, now one of Redstone Arsenals bread and butter programs.

We won the fight for missile defense, Grainger said. That was my primary interest over the years.

The backstory of those backroom negotiations are part of Graingers new book, My Journey Through a Changing South.

Grainger, now 83 and living in Sandy Springs, Georgia, with Mary, his wife of 52 years, looks back in his memoir on his rise from a barefooted country boy to newspaperman to state legislator to Capitol Hill lobbyist.

He was born in rural Lawrence County, then spent his later childhood and teens as a plucky newspaper carrier and savings bond salesman in Sheffield. At 13, he met President Harry Truman when he was invited to the White House to be honored for his bond sales.

Graingers life has been full of such brushes with history, as well as brushes with death. He nearly died twice during infancy, nearly drowned as a teenager, then escaped death as a young man while flying on a small plane, says the summary of his book on Amazon.com.

He began his working career as a journalist, starting as a reporter for The Birmingham News and later editor of The Valley Voice in Tuscumbia.

While reporting for The Birmingham News in 1961, he witnessed an angry mob that beat up Black Freedom Riders at the Montgomery Bus Depot and was nearly beaten himself, he said.

As editor of The Valley Voice, he got to meet President John F. Kennedy not long before his assassination in 1963. Grainger and other Alabama editors were invited to the White House for a luncheon to discuss solving racial problems in the South.

Four days later the presidents office asked him to help coordinate a visit by President Kennedy to Muscle Shoals to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Tennessee Valley Authority.

President Kennedy had the most charisma of any man I had ever met, Grainger recalled.

Grainger would later work with business leaders in Huntsville to establish equal employment policies that the federal government required if NASA was going to do its historic work here.

He sees echoes of that turbulent time in the 1960s in todays ongoing movement for social justice.

Im for working together, down the line, said Grainger. Thats always been my thing, practice the Golden Rule. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

Though much of his career was spent working behind the scenes with politicians to get things done, he stepped into the public arena briefly when he served in the State Legislature from 1968-1970.

Before retiring in 2017, Grainger would serve many years as the director of Cummings Research Park, then as a private economic development consultant.

He was among the generation that stoked the fire that would see Huntsville grow from a small cotton and watercress town, to The Rocket City, and now diversifying into a burgeoning automobile manufacturing center.

Hes looking forward to watching that fire continue to burn hot.

Well be a leader if we go to Mars, and I think we will, he said.

Book signing

Grainger will sign books Saturday, Aug. 8 at Below The Radar, 220 Holmes Ave. NE, from 6-8 p.m.

Shelly Haskins writes about points of pride statewide. Email your suggestions to shaskins@al.com, or tweet them to @Shelly_Haskins using #AlabamaProud

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Huntsville leaders book details brushes with history and death - AL.com

When Sheriff Kim Cole spoke last month during a rally to gather signatures for a ballot initiative, he didnt speak in favor or support of the initiative.

Rather, he took the opportunity to talk about where he felt the community was, and how theyre interacting with each other. He started it off with a story of his latest anniversary and ordering a drink to go with his order.

I said, No. Id like a glass of water. My wife smiled because she knew, he said during his 20-plus minute remarks at Ludingtons Waterfront Park. Even though its my anniversary and Im with my wife, if I were to have an alcoholic drink in a restaurant, someone would snap a photo and Id be labeled the county drunk because people dont like people for some unfortunate reason.

A lot of space in this column has been spent on trying to understand and encourage the understanding of the views of others even when some of us 100 percent disagree, including this writer. A lot of space in this column has been spent on how we treat each other trying to remember the Golden Rule of doing unto others as others would do unto us.

And yet, Cole saw a lot of the opposite once he issued a statement in mid-April on the deputies of the Mason County Sheriffs Office talking with subjects over alleged violations of executive orders ran than throwing the book at someone.

I had people wanting me dead. I had people telling me I hope you die before the election and if you do, know I wont be voting for you. I saw an ugly side of our community that Ive been here my whole life, Cole said that day. I was probably more sad than anything else at what I saw what our community was able to do and depths they were able to go to.

Sad is one way of putting it. Theres a whole lot of other ways of putting it. Cole related a story where his office received several calls during the shutdown, including one where his office was asked to do a temperature check on folks who were from the Detroit area who were using their property here in a fifth wheel.

We were asked to take the temperatures of the people to make sure they were healthy enough to live amongst us. That was embarrassing to me. Ive lived here my whole life, and were a better community than that. People who visit here deserve better, Cole said.

It appears many people want to create a confrontation between themselves and another person. Or, theyll create a confrontation between an entity such as law enforcement and another person because of some perceived slight or violation.

Its not just confrontational, either. Its the way people are not only dismissive of others without considering their thoughts or beliefs, but the awful comments that go along with them that are hurtful and belittling of those thoughts and beliefs. We see it from every political persuasion.

If anything, it appears that anyone who carries caring or compassion is thought of or even labeled as weak. Theyre being dismissed right away.

Because of those attitudes were seeing, its having a negative impact on our community. It weighed heavily enough on Cole where he admitted that he contemplated retiring as the sheriff, he said. But, he filed again with some resolve to do his part for a better community.

We need to, as a community, need to get our act together and turn it around. We need to stand together. Theres so much divisiveness in our community and our country. Its, quite frankly, pathetic, Cole said in June. (Someone) was telling me about an email she got from a gentleman whos name I wont say, but he knows better. Hes an educated man, and hes acting like a fool over this thing. He should be ashamed of himself.

Later, he said, I said we need to start acting like grown-ups, in a sense. I said we need to start working with our neighbor.

Clearly, Cole subscribes to the notion of having some caring and compassion for others. His brand of law enforcement is one where he wants to help those in trouble so perhaps they dont wind up in the situation again. And its not just his brand of law enforcement. Its a way of life.

So we can love our neighbors like we love ourselves. Weve lost that, he said in June.

We certainly have. It will take each and every one of us, though, to try to bring that level of caring and compassion to everyone we encounter friends, relatives, neighbors and the folks among us who come to enjoy our area with us. We can cordially disagree with one another, and debate and discuss issues affecting us all. We can be kind and polite and have a bit of Mason County Nice.

Thats how were supposed to interact with each other, isnt it?

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BOSSICK: Divisive community is here, but it doesn't have to be - shorelinemedia.net

I do not want to believe that Ibrahim Magu, the arrested, detained and still-undergoing-inquisition ex-acting chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), actually said all that has been attributed to him. If, however, he said all those, especially about going on hunger strike, about asking the Inspector-General of Police to help facilitate bail for him, then, he publicly confirms himself a daft, pitiably unintelligent and grossly unworthy of the assignment he was given in the first place.

See, I dont like it when humans who should display higher understanding and knowledge play the fool. It beats me why anyone in Magus shoes wouldnt read history, or even a bit of classical philosophy, to appreciate the impact of the golden rule in the affairs of humans. Thales, an ancient Greek philosopher, said, Avoid doing what you would blame others for doing.

Sextus, the Pythagorean, said, What you do not want to happen to you, do not do it yourself either.

Isocrates put it better: Do not do to others that which angers you when they do it to you. Isocrates lived between 436 and 338BC.

Seneca the Younger, who lived between 4BC and 65AD, and notable for his practice of Stoicism, authored an essay on slavery wherein he cautioned slave masters thus: Treat your inferior as you would wish your superior to treat you.

All the above are aspects of The Golden Rule Do unto others as you would have others do unto you which was in 1993 endorsed by 143 leaders of the worlds major faiths as part of the declaration towards a global ethic.

Magu is not aware of this and probably never read about it.

Whatever your powers, the Golden Rule demand that you be more circumspect in their usage because tables do turn. And turn they must. But in Magus world, the tables are static, thus, his crass display of brawn, instead of brain, in the expression of the powers of his office at thief catcher. No wonder many of those who had encountered him, and his boys, are reveling and gloating over his ordeal in the hands of the same government for which he abused accused persons rights, disrespected them, abused their dignity and made them look like common criminals even when the law he was enforcing said the accused was deemed innocent until proven guilty. Not just to be proven guilty, but, to be proved guilty beyond every reasonable doubt.

Magu had in the discharge of his powers practically told Nigerians that anyone that came before him was already guilty until proven otherwise. In other words, every invitation sent out by the commission to a Nigerian was one sent to someone who Magu and his boys had investigated, prosecuted and pronounced guilty without observance of the legal right to fair hearing. It was for this reason that many people dreaded an EFCC invitation. Somehow, he must have wondered why the courts existed, because he probably would have preferred that the commission had powers like those of the Roman Inquisition with capacity to do what was done to Giordano Bruno in 1600.

Magus EFCC lacked tact. It was crude. It lacked decorum and operated in a manner suggesting that Nigerias laws had been suspended just for it to uproot corruption from Nigeria. Corruption is a problem in Nigeria, as in almost every other country. The first military coup in Nigerias history was premised on corruption. The coupists talked about the ten percenters. Every subsequent coup followed the same narrative corruption. But to fight it, you dont only need tact, you also need intellect. The fact that EFCC is a government agency empowered by law to prosecute those found wanting for crimes that fall under its purview does not empower it to so brazenly disregard and abuse those aspects of the law that protects rights of the accused.

To understand my meaning, take a cursory look at the property forfeitures won by EFCC against Nigerians. Hardly any of the court proceedings observed the rule of fair hearing. Most of the forfeitures were won against persons who never appeared before the court. Some of the property owners are unknown to the commission. EFCCs style was simple! Isolate a property whose actual owner it was unable to find and tag it proceeds of corruption then go for forfeiture. By creating the problem of lack of fair hearing, EFCC opens the possibility of reclamation of those properties in the future. That is one effect of lack of tact and dearth of reasoning at the commission.

I am not a prophet, but I see the judiciary, post-2023, being inundated with suits for review of some forfeitures and even suing EFCC for trespass and rights violation. There are always two sides to a story. EFCC, under Magus supervision, did away with that maxim and went for a single-line story, those told by its investigators.

However, what Magu is now faced with is the same media he and his commission dished several Nigerians between 2015 and 2019. From the EFCCs pot, Nigerians were dished tales of discovery of abandoned cash. Some in pit latrines, in farmlands, in overhead water tanks, some in soak-away pits. Nigerians were also entertained to a gale to cash discoveries abandoned in shops, at airports, in hotel rooms, in estates, in motor parks. At a time, discovery of abandoned cash became a weekly relay. Nigerians were really entertained. But ask, what happened to all the abandoned cash? That was a mystique that was created to give EFCC a tag it did not really need. Now, it is obvious, from tales about Magus involvement with recovered loot, that such tales may have been created to place wool over watchful eyes.

Magu was given an assignment far above his capacity. He lacked both the moral, mental and psychological capacity to discharge the office. The only way he could execute it was to apply tactics that were incongruent with sensibility. But I do not blame him fully. He was sucked into the mindset that attended the arrival of the administration he served. It was a mindset of we versus them. For this reason, he created his team of boys who, like him, believed that pilfering the public purse and economic crime was a crime located in the southern part of his country. For this reason, Magus EFCC became deeply provincial and fought the corruption war with weapons that respect tribal marks and faith. He refused to see economic crime committed against the country in the mines of Zamfara State but saw clearly those committed in the oil fields of the delta region. His EFCC had evidence that led to conviction of some southern politicians but created a window for northern allies to trade in. Forget ex-Governors Jolly Tanko Nyame and Joshua Dariye. They were never counted for North. That mindset also created a feeling of entitlement in Magus little mind. Somehow, he started seeing things in his care differently. But do you blame him? No, he merely took a cue from what is already a norm in the government. Almost all of them feel entitled to dip their hands into public resources in their care, to make up for previous deprivations.

Finally, the mindset further created a problem where Magu, somehow, believed that, since the President, by his body language, wanted to put an end to corruption, whatever he did, including corrupting the process itself, was fine. That is why he is now being mocked.

Secretary to the Government of the Federation (as he then was), David Babachir Lawal, implied so when he told a reporter that the fight against corruption was skewed against PDP buffs because they were the ones in power and that we have never been in power. Now that the we are in power, Nigerians have seen clearly that the quest for change is not really about their society and its growth but about catapulting people chastised by poverty, hunger, disease, lack of shelter, etc, to positions where they feel entitled to help themselves with public resources to satisfy those wants, not just for themselves, but also, for unborn generations they are not even sure of.

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Magu and the Golden Rule test The Sun Nigeria - Daily Sun

The most exciting take on proactive, precision medicine with integrated wellness is making its global debut in Houston. Introduce yourself to Sydenham Clinic, a concept that boldly aims to redefine health care in the 21st century.

Named for 17th-century British physician/scientist Thomas Sydenham, the River Oaks clinic focuses on private health management a term well hear more and more in the decades to come.

Donning a mask and social-distancing, I took a tour just weeks after Sydenham unveiled its space and met three of the principals at the light-filled 5,600-square-foot clinic, which wraps around a courtyard. This avant-garde approach to medicine is backed by state-of-the-art science guided by chief medical officer Dr. Terry Rice, who brings 35 years of expertise to the post, including the medical directorship of MD Anderson Emergency Center.

Dr. Rice heads the Sydenham dream team assembled by CEO Aanchal Bhatia and managing partner Shaheed Kajani.

The clinic which Aanchal Bhatia believes is about 17 years ahead of mainstream treatments puts into practice individualized health programs based on a blend of genomics, sleep monitoring (with biofeedback Oura rings), hormonal evaluations, and physiological and cognitive assessments.

The focus is patient-tailored medicine. Individual plans are designed to precisely target genetic predispositions, take rigorous medical and wellness measurements, then create custom, curative approaches via nutrition, lifestyle and stress management, movement and fitness, and awareness of life balance.

The endgame is healthy longevity.

Personal experiences in the health care system led Bhatia a clinical psychologist by education and author of Your Doctor Is Not God: How to Be the CEO of Your Own Health to begin planning the Sydenham concept five years ago. She met Kajani, an international real estate executive who was a neighbor, in Houston. Together, they share a global, big-picture idea of the future of medicine, one mixed with altruism.

A Latin phrase (the translation of The Golden Rule) graces the clinic entrance. The goal for the coming decade, Bhatia says, is 150 clinics worldwide, each topping off at 1,000 members.

Health is by choice, not by chance. Lets choose well, the CEO inscribes in a copy of her book. The clinics Concierge Program provides privileged access to esteemed institutions such as Johns Hopkins Hospital, Mayo Clinic and Cleveland Clinic via Texas Medical Concierge (another business Bhatia founded), as well as comprehensive medical-records management.

Sydenham has even tapped James Beard Award-nominated chef Monica Pope, pioneer of Houston food culture and the farm-to-table movement, as curative culinary director, and MD Anderson Cancer Center Integrative Medicine professor Dr. Alejandro Chaoul (founder/director of The Jung Centers Mind Body Spirit Institute) as mind body practices director.

With interiors designed by Lucinda Loya and art curated by Davis Cohen Art (an art advisory service led by husband-and-wife painter Joseph Cohen and curator/appraiser Lindsay Davis), Sydenham is the antithesis of an antiseptic, impersonal medical office. Its walls for example includes such heavy-hitters as painter Mark Flood, whos known and collected nationally and internationally; Floods a cult figure in the Texas art world, with a buzzy Contemporary Arts Museum Houston solo to his name in 2016.

Coming soon? A new podcast hosted by Bhatia and recorded at Sydenham Clinic titled Life Sutras.

Annual memberships at clinic from $10,000.Sydenham Clinic, 2621 Joanel Street, 713-629-6288. Find additional info here.

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New River Oaks Clinic Looks to Redefine Heath Care With Futuristic Practices and Top Doctors Your First Look at Sydenham Clinic - PaperCity Magazine

FROM THE SHAWANO-MENOMINEE COUNTIES HEALTH DEPARTMENT

Menominee, Shawano Once again it is time to get serious to stop the spread of COVID-19 in our community. In the last days and weeks, Wisconsin has seen an increase in COVID-19 cases. Shawano and Menominee Counties have been experiencing a similar trend and currently have high COVID-19 activity.

If we work together, we can stop, or at least slow the spread of COVID-19 in Shawano and Menominee Counties said Vicki Dantoin, Health Officer for Shawano-Menominee Counties Health Department. Thankfully, we have not experienced any deaths attributed to COVID-19 and we would like to keep it that way.

Our strategies and tools to keep away COVID are the same as they have been for a while. Below are some reminders of the important things we can do right now to protect ourselves, our families, and our community.

THERES NO PLACE LIKE HOME:Even though there is no Safer at Home order, the fact remains, you ARE safer at home. Stay home as much as possible. It is especially important that you stay home if you are sick, if someone in your household is sick, or if you have been in close contact with someone who is sick. Isolation (if you are diagnosed with COVID-19) is for at least 10 days. Quarantine (if you are exposed to someone with COVID-19) is at least 14 days after the last exposure. See additional resources below for further information on quarantine and isolation.

DANGER, STAY BACK SIX FEET:The virus that causes COVID-19 is spread mainly from person to person contact. Spread seems to happen mostly through respiratory droplets produced by an infected persons coughs, sneezes, speaking. Droplets then land in the eyes, noses, or mouths of people who are nearby. Spread is more likely if you are in close contact. So, remember your physical distancing. Avoid physical contact with others and stay 6 feet away from others to minimize your risks.

CANCELLED, THE PARTY NEAREST YOU:Since COVID-19 spreads most commonly from person to person contact, large gatherings are not advised at this time. Keeping gatherings at 10 people or less is best right now. The more people at a gathering, the higher the risks. If you must have some kind of gathering, avoid sharing food and use the other strategies and tools listed here today.

SET THE TREND AND WEAR A MASK MY FRIEND:Evidence continues to increase showing that wearing cloth face coverings can prevent spread of illness. Whether you are sick or well, wearing a face covering in public can help to protect yourself and others around you. It is especially important to wear a face covering if physical distancing is difficult.

NOW I KNOW MY ABCS, NEXT TIME WONT YOU SING WITH ME?:Handwashing is the most effective way to remove germs from your hands. Wash your hands regularly with soap and water for at least 20 seconds (the length of time it takes to sing the ABCs). If soap and water are not available, use an alcohol based hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol. Then, wash your hands as soon as you are able. Dont forget Cover your coughs and sneezes AND clean/sanitize frequently touched surfaces.

SNIFFLE, SNIFFLE, COUGH, COUGHDue to an increased number of cases, an important thing to remember right now is to be alert of how you are feeling. Always monitor yourself for symptoms. If you are feeling sick, stay home. Feel free to call your health care provider to ask about next steps. You may be asked to receive a COVID-19 test. If you experience serious illness or symptoms requiring immediate medical care, be sure to call 911.

TESTING 123 TESTINGIf you are tested for COVID-19, please stay home until you receive your results. See additional resources below for further information on quarantine and isolation related to testing. If your test results are positive, please stay home for at least 10 days from when your symptoms started (public health will contact you for further instructions). Testing is not automatically recommended for close contacts to people who test positive for COVID-19. If you are a close contact to someone who tested positive for COVID-19, you must continue to stay home for 14 days since last exposure regardless of your test results. If your test results are negative (and you are not a close contact to someone who has tested positive for COVID-19 see above), please do not return to normal activities until you are feeling better (without medication) for at least 24 hours.

THE GOLDEN RULE:It is not always clear which individuals will experience serious illness from COVID-19. There are some health conditions or factors that may lead to more serious illness, but there are also healthy people who have had serious illness from COVID-19. Please be kind and mindful of others that may be at higher risk.

The COVID-19 road has been long and difficult. Thank you for staying the course and helping us to stop and slow the spread of this illness. Together, we will make it through this ordeal. We wish you and yours safety and wellness at this time.

Additional Resources: Information on Isolation and Quarantine Wisconsin Department of Health Services Shawano-Menominee Counties Health Department Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Considerations for Events and Gatherings Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Information on Masks Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Cleaning and Disinfecting Your Home Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Testing Availability Wisconsin Department of Health Services Shawano-Menominee Counties Health Department

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STOP THE SPREAD OF COVID-19 - Antigo Times News