The Golden Rule encourages us to treat others with respect, kindness and fairness. It is advanced by the concepts of compassion and empathy.

It is hard to imagine but there was a recent time when we looked forward to renting videotapes.

Yeah, I pretty much dated myself. Each tape had a sticker affixed that said, Please be kind and rewind

It was not a requirement, but a hope that one would be mindful of the next viewers desire to enjoy the same experience. The sticker was in essence a visual appeal to the renter to be considerate of others.

The Golden Rule is the moral principle and practice of treating other people as one's self would prefer to be treated. It is considered to be one of Jesus' most profound and impactful teachings. He taught in Matthew 7:12 Do to others whatever you would like them to do to you. This is the essence of all that is taught in the law and the prophets.

The Golden Rule encourages us to treat others with respect, kindness and fairness. It is advanced by the concepts of compassion and empathy. Its basic principle is that you would extend yourself to others as you want to be done to you. Kindness is a virtue that is embraced by many cultures and religions.

Kindness is the ability to display concern for others without expecting praise, recognition or reward.

I also believe that within the Golden Rule, we should treat others as they wish to be treated. I try not to presume to know what is best for someone, especially if their approach is not the same as mine; I try to honor and respect their preference.

In third grade at Mary Haddow Elementary School, a classmate untied my shoe in a failed attempt to be funny. However it was not known, but my younger sister tied my shoes for me daily!

Raising my hand in horror yet without shame, upon being acknowledged I said, "Mrs. Phifer, Anthony untied my shoes and I don't know how to tie them!"

I don't remember her immediate response but we were then given classwork to complete independently. It was then she took me to a private area and observed my unsuccessful attempts to tie. She quickly realized that I was left-handed trying to tie like I was right-handed!

It was not on her lesson plans for the day or within the curriculum to teach ME a skill others had already mastered in kindergarten! Without judgment or scorn, she taught me how to complete this once difficult task!

Recently I recalled the impact of that episode several times on the same day yet on different occasions. While I have long acknowledged this act to her directly, I felt led to further express my appreciation in a tangible way.

My Granny often said, "Give me my flowers while I can smell them!" It is a blessing that Mrs. Phifer still lives within walking blocks of my home. As an educator, she lived among the students she taught. Hence, I arrived at her home with a floral arrangement unannounced!

It was Lewis/Louie standing at her door, but she kept addressing me as "Rev. Macklin" After excusing myself for the impromptu visit, I shared my appreciation for that impactful teaching moment.

She recalled the moment as well, saying "I was not going to let him do that to you again! This act also effectively took away the power of the bully. I remain grateful for her intentional response of kindness. Four decades later I still vividly recall her single act of empathy.

We have been bombarded in the midst of this pandemic with a series of unnatural disasters the human acts or inactions which cause harm or aggravate circumstances which are in our control. Even the wearing of face masks to protect others has become a contentious act for some.

The Golden Rule is reinforced and stated in the Old Testament as well. Leviticus 19:18 admonishes, Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your people but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD. While we can debate the justification or gross injustice of any one conflict, I am disheartened when I think of the devastation created by wars motivated by racial or religious hatred.

The local and national news has reported numerous examples of inhumane domestic aggression and insensitivity with increasing episodes of violence, racial strife, sexual harassment, civil unrest, marginalization of victims and intimidation.These behaviors demean the victim and damage our civic life. Flashes of aggression in word and deed can be life-changing.

We all become less when these offenses are perpetrated. I contend that preventing conflict should be one of the most important human aspirations.

Be kind especially to unkind people they need it the most. Kind words can heal the heart and mind. Luke 6:35 directs us to Love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great."

Pope Francis said it well, Let us learn to live with kindness, to love everyone, even when they do not love us. The true reward of being good to others is spreading some joy and offering hope.

John Wesley once said, Do all the good you can. By all the means you can. In all the ways you can. In all the places you can. At all the times you can. To all the people you can. As long as ever you can.

Even when things seem to be in disarray, God still finds a way to show love and kindness. As we are made in His image, we have the ability to do the same to others.

The world is demanding us to be kind especially under the pressure given the climate in this country and the extraordinary pressure we are all under. We all need to give each other a lot more mercy! We have been through some challenging times where we must constantly reassess, recalculate and readjust things differently in real-time.

The late Rev Lonnie Kwajo Asim Simon, the pastor emeritus of the New Bethel Baptist Church and was recognized in the community as The Peoples Pastor for his stalwart advocacy for humanity. He was an accomplished author and poet in his own right. However he would frequently conclude public gathering with a recitation by Charles Meigs entitled Others

Lord help me live from day to dayIn such a self-forgetful wayThat even when I kneel to prayMy prayer shall be for Others.

Help me in all the work I doTo ever be sincere and trueAnd know that all I do for youMust needs be done for Others.

Let self be crucified and slainAnd buried deep; and all in vainMay efforts be to rise againUnless to live for Others.

And when my work on earth is doneAnd my new work in heavens begunMay I forget the crown Ive wonWhile thinking still of Others.

Others, Lord, yes othersLet this my motto beHelp me to live for othersThat I may live like Thee.

We must embrace kindness as a lifestyle so that in the event of conflict, kindness would ebb naturally from us instead of forced politeness or attempting to be nice without being offensive. Proverbs 16:23-24 From a wise mind comes wise speech; the words of the wise are persuasive. Kind words are like honey sweet to the soul and healthy for the body.I contend the best medicine for the world today is kindness so please administer a generous dose often!

I honor the legacy of civil rights icons Reverend C. T. Vivian and the honorable U.S. Rep. John Lewis who passed away within hours of each other. These men were central figures in the early struggles of Americas Civil Rights Movement. These agents of change used their platforms to show the world how it could be better using the approach of non-violence. Both valiantly faced while experiencing violent bigotry as they walked alongside Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. for the cause of equality.

They displayed the essence of the Golden Rule during a time when it was not extended to them. As Congressman Lewis stood earlier this year, battling terminal cancer, on the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Bloody Sunday he issued a challenge to the conscience of America to get in good trouble, necessary trouble Remember it is always your choice whether to be an instrument of peace or a tool of torture. Choose wisely and keep fighting the good faith!

Rev. Lewis W. Macklin II is the lead pastor of Holy Trinity Missionary Baptist Church, chaplain for the Youngstown Police Department and coordinator of the Mahoning Valley African American Male Wellness Walk. He resides in Youngstown with Dorothy, his partner in marriage and ministry. They share the love and joy of 5 children and 6 grandchildren.

All biblical references cited are New Living Translation unless otherwise noted.

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KEEPING THE FAITH | How to embrace kindness as a lifestyle - Mahoning Matters

Economy improves with masks

What the president and Gov. Kevin Stitt do not realize is that the economy will not improve until everyone is masked.

I will not shop for pleasure until everyone is wearing a mask. I order online the necessities and do without other things.

MaryEmma Bristow, Tulsa

According to legend, Emperor Nero fiddled while Rome burned. Today, President Donald Trump fumbles while America fails.

Trump is the gift that keeps on giving to Russia and China. He and his wrecking crew of Republican enablers preside over our crumbling decline and fall.

If Trump gets a second term in office, we can say goodbye to America and hello to Trumpdumpfistan.

Andrew Shead, Tulsa

In Acts 24:1-8, a trial lawyer and evil accuser named Tertullus proceeded to bring false charges against apostle Paul. Tertullus called him a pet, an agitator and ringleader.

He also accused Paul of belonging to a sect and attempting to profane the temple.

Ever since Donald Trump was elected president by the democratic process, the liberal media has continually dumped prejudicial terms upon him.

Whether a person likes him or not, any reasonable, fair-minded person would have to admit that the constant barrage of hateful speech on Trump has not been equitable. Our president was never given a fair shake from the outset and never even given a chance.

It reminds me of the scripture, They hated me for no reason at all (John 15:25).

Ive been documenting the liberal press comments regarding the president and have come up with the liberals own Tertullusan list.

Socialist liberals really dont believe in democracy anyway, just anarchy.

These people refer to the president as arrogant, divisive, domineering, ignorant and narcissistic.

I would be extremely careful who I made false accusations about. These things seem to have a way of boomeranging on individuals, coming back through people you once trusted and that you thought loved and respected you.

Guy Burnett, Jr., Owasso

Personal freedom is subordinate to the communitys well-being.

For example, as a community, we set aside personal freedom (to drive anywhere we wish) by agreeing to drive on the right side of the road because it decreases accidents.

Similarly, in a sort of two-way street of cooperation, you could think of wearing face coverings as an extension of the Golden Rule.

During this pandemic we wear face coverings to protect other people against the chance that we are contagious but dont know it.

To accept the fact that we could unknowingly be contagious requires some humility.

The Tulsa City Council deserves credit for affirming a new norm designed for the benefit of all.

John and Linda Fields, Bixby

As a health care professional, I review the epidemiology of COVID-19 on a daily basis.

It is now obvious that the rate of new infections is spiraling out of control in our area, threatening to overload the capacity of our hospitals to treat the patients who become critically ill from the virus.

I relish my freedom and personal liberties as do all Americans. That being said, all current scientific studies support the fact that the wearing of mask in public dramatically reduces the rate of new COVID-19 infections in as little as four to six weeks.

By slowing the rate of new cases, we buy more time for new avenues of treatment for those infected and we buy time for an eventual vaccine. I realize there are individuals who cannot wear masks for various reasons, but for the vast majority, masks are a viable option.

As it pertains to the pandemic, it is time for all Americans to put our political ideologies aside, stop the finger-pointing and stop dwelling in hindsight as to what should have been done.

Our best hope is to move forward as one nation against our common enemy, COVID-19. Growing up, my parents provided me with a road map for life that can serve us well during this pandemic: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you, the Golden Rule.

Wearing a mask in public is a show of compassion not a sign of weakness.

Justen Brent Smith D.D.S., Sperry

To mask or not to mask, that is the question.

I have heard I should wear a mask to protect the great unmasked multitudes. Malarky!

I wear a mask to protect me. I have no desire to inhale whatever has been spewed into the air by all those unmasked people.

I can only protect me and so, reluctantly, I wear a mask. It comes off as soon as I am out of the store or building.

There is no herd immunity, but we definitely have herd illness. My mask will help me stay out of that herd.

I appreciate the statistic showing the number of recoveries. That makes the virus seem less of a death threat.

I was astonished it took the World Health Organization so long to acknowledge the virus is airborne.

Donna Schoeni, Grove

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Letters to the Editor for Friday, July 24, 2020 - Tulsa World

Zachary Elliott, Special to Valley News

Being the first one off the elevator, my mother-in-law didnt see the cord from the vacuum stretching across the hotel floor. As she stepped out, she tripped in front of a crowd of vacationers. She hit the ground with as much grace as possible while breaking her wrist. It was a painful and embarrassing ordeal.

Later as she recounted the incident, what shocked her most was that only one person stopped to help. Several people were exiting the elevator, and a handful of people were waiting to get on. All of them witnessed a grandmother hit the ground. Most people gasped, but only one stopped to help the poor woman lying on the ground. It was the classic situation of, Ive fallen and no one will help me up.

With such a lack of compassion and love for their neighbor, one has to wonder what kind of world people are living in. Have they become so self-centered and so busy that they dont have the heart, time or concern for a person, created in Gods image, to help them in their time of need? I hope not.

At the very least, this behavior should not be the case for the one who professes to be a follower of Christ. As Christians, its their Christ-like duty and privilege to love our neighbor as we love ourselves, even when its inconvenient, according to Matthew 22:39.

If Christians lose sight of what Jesus said was his second most important command, then they are really no better than animals. They are the ones who are to fulfill the golden rule of do to others whatever you would like them to do to you, from Matthew 7:12.

This life goal is precisely the example that Jesus modeled while he was on the earth. He came not to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many, in Mark 10:45.

And it is precisely the life he calls us to live out. As he said in the parable of the good Samaritan, Go and do likewise, in Luke 10:37.

Now here is where it gets serious. Jesus also said that when we love our neighbor, and our enemy for that matter, we are actually showing love toward him. Think of that!

While speaking on loving people, Jesus said, Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me, in Matthew 25:40.

Now, this statement changes everything.

I think its time we took a new perspective on helping people. In our culture of self-convenience, its time for the church, the people of God, to rise up and show the world how its done. The church knows that Greater love has no one than this: to lay down ones life for ones friends, from John 15:13.

It can no longer be inconvenient, uncomfortable or too costly. Its actually mandatory for anyone who professes the name of Christ. Christians are his people, and as such, they are to live like their master.

Zachary Elliott is the lead pastor of Fusion Christian Church in Temecula. For more information, visit https://www.fusionchristianchurch.com, https://fourminutefaithbuilder.com or find them on Instagram.

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I've fallen and no one will help me up - Valley News

The golden rule is one rule that has universal application and endorsed by all the great world religions, as shown in their sacred books as follows:

Christianity: Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets (Matt. 7:12)

Confucianism: Do not do to others what you would not like yourself. Then there will be no resentment against you, either in the family or in the state. (Analects 12:2)

Buddhism: Hurt not others in ways that you yourself would find hurtful (Udana-Varga 5,1)

Hinduism: This is the sum of duty; do naught onto others what you would not have them do unto you. (Mahabharata 5,1517)

Islam: No one of you is a believer until he desires for his brother that which he desires for himself. (Sunnah, 40 Hadith of an-Nawawi 13)

Judaism: What is hateful to you, do not do to your fellowman. This is the entire Law; all the rest is commentary. (Talmud, Shabbat 3id)

Taoism: Regard your neighbours gain as your gain, and your neighbours loss as your own loss. (Tai Shang Kan Yin Pien)

Zoroastrianism: That nature alone is good which refrains from doing another whatsoever is not good for itself. (Dadisten-I-dinik, 94,5)

Philosophers like Socrates and Aristotle also upheld the Golden Rule:Socrates (436-338 BC): Do not do unto others what angers you if done to you by others.Aristotle (384-322 BC) We should behave toward friends as we would wish friends to behave toward us.

However, unfortunately, out of selfishness and evil heart, many people do not only fail to live up to it, but also go further to act wickedly towards their neighbours. People in some of these religions even kill others ritually and religiously (in the name of religion like the Boko Haram). It should not be so with Christians because Christianity is built on love, even for the unbelievers and enemies! This love is to be in practical terms Love in Action.

The Ven. Dr. Princewill Onyinyechukwu Ireoba is the Rector, Ibru International Ecumenical Centre, Agbarha-Otor, Delta State.

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Love in action the Golden Rule: Meditation for 6th Sunday after Trinity - Guardian

In this Thursday, Jan. 28, 2016, file photo, a couple pauses to watch a colorful sunset while walking their dog in a park, in Portland, Maine. Start saving for retirement in a Registered Retirement Savings Plan as soon as possible. Make sure you're saving at least 10 per cent of your income. Don't spend more than a third of each pay check on housing but don't rent forever either. Those well-known maxims may have worked for previous generations, but many of them don't make sense for young people today, experts say.

Image Credit: THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP/Robert F. Bukaty

July 23, 2020 - 9:05 PM

Start saving for retirement in a Registered Retirement Savings Plan as soon as possible. Make sure you're saving at least 10 per cent of your income. Don't spend more than a third of each pay check on housing but don't rent forever either.

Those are some of the financial maxims younger generations hear from well-intentioned parents and other figures in their lives, but experts say that many of those go-to personal finance rules no longer apply.

"I think the biggest issue is that there was more, maybe, similarity in the experiences of previous generations ... (the) housing market was mostly affordable, people graduated with mostly not too much debt, jobs tended to be stable, many of them had pensions," said Liz Schieck, a certified financial planner with Toronto-based The New School of Finance, an advice-only financial planning and coaching firm.

That means that 30 years ago, there was a higher likelihood it would work out well when one friend gave another advice.

"The experiences are so diverse in the generations now," Schieck said, noting that financial advice from someone unfamiliar with the recipient's complete money situation should always be taken with a grain of salt.

One of the most common pieces of advice is to start saving for retirement with an RRSP, she said.

However, that vehicle may not be the best choice for them, she said, instead suggesting a Tax-Free Savings Account.

The federal government introduced the TFSA in 2009 for people 18 and over to save money without receiving a tax deduction or paying tax on money earned in the account through capital gains or other means. There's a yearly limit on deposits, and the lifetime contribution limit to date totals $58,000.

Unlike the RRSP, withdrawals don't incur a tax penalty, making it more flexible for millennials and Gen Z who may need to access some of their savings before their golden years, she said, whether for a home down payment, to go back to school ahead of a career change or even save for a vacation.

It can be more beneficial for people to save in a TFSA until they're in a higher tax bracket, she said.

"I think it's 100 per cent that most people from previous generations, they didn't have the TFSA," Schieck said, noting it has only existed for a little over a decade and many people in older generations weren't able to use it as part of their retirement planning in the long run.

The outdated "rules" can be interpreted afresh.

"I actually think that what most people mean is: start saving for the long term as soon as you can. And that's great advice."

Often though, the advice to save early and often comes along with other famous golden rules of personal finance: to tuck away 10 per cent of pay cheques and always take advantage of an employer-matched retirement savings plan.

"The 10 per cent is aspirational," said Janet Gray, a certified financial planner with Money Coaches Canada, an advice only financial planning and money coaching service.

"I don't think it's always fitting."

Younger generations may have more constraints within their budget than those before them, said Gray, including larger housing costs, monthly student debt repayments and more.

It's a good idea to find a sum of money to start tucking away regularly for the future to get into the habit, she said, but that can be as small as $25 a month to start.

When it comes to employer match programs where the employer matches what an employee saves for retirement up to a certain amount the advice is often not to leave so-called free money on the table, said Schieck.

However, that may not make sense for employees right away, she said, adding she's seen clients who save for retirement, but don't have enough left over for their monthly expenses and rack up thousands in credit card debt.

"It's not always possible," she said of utilizing such incentives, especially if, for example, new parents are paying some $2,000 a month for daycare costs. In those cases, it's OK to wait until those high-expense years pass and then start taking advantage of matching programs.

Older generations also like to bestow advice about housing. Many younger people are told to work towards home ownership over renting, and never to spend more than a third of their income on housing but neither of those is a realistic move these days, particularly for those living in big cities.

One often cited rule is a 50/30/20 split for how to spend income, said Schieck, with a 50 per cent cap on bills, 20 on savings and 30 for wants.

The New School of Finance raised the 50 per cent for bills, including housing, to 55 per cent when working with its clients, she said, as so many people struggle to keep their necessities under half of their income, especially in high-cost cities like Toronto.

Both women advise against buying a house at all costs, especially in expensive cities where a down payment can be tens if not hundreds of thousands of dollars.

"I think it's a good goal if it's workable for you... If someone can afford to buy a house and pay off their mortgage by the time they retire and they're not house poor during their life? Great," said Schieck.

"But I would rather somebody rent forever than be house poor," she said, because people who take on too much in housing costs tend to forgo retirement savings or accumulate consumer debt.

Renting can still be a good financial decision, so long as people save for retirement as they won't accrue equity in their housing, she said.

Still, there's some advice that's held up from one generation to the next.

"Don't spend more than what you earn," said Gray, citing the dangers of carrying consumer debt. That piece of advice is especially important for millennials, who may have access to more debt instruments than their parents did.

Everyone should also work towards having a rainy day fund that can cover a very bare bones budget should any emergencies arise, she said.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 23, 2020.

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Experts say go-to personal finance rules younger generations hear from well-intentioned parents may no longer apply - iNFOnews

John McGee of Simsboro, Louisiana, began driving truck in 1985, buying his first one and going into business for himself six years later. He got his start hauling for a brother-in-laws logging business in the North-Central part of the state, where hes lived his entire life.

Then oil field work in his area started picking up around 2004 and he leased to an oil-services hauler. The company sold out in 2010. When he did that, I acquired some of his customer base the new company didnt want, McGee said. He got his authority and has been running John McGee Trucking ever since.

In 2013, McGee was still hauling full time himself and employed two operators. A few years later, he began to add trucks and tankers. The company nearly quadrupled annual revenues to almost $4M between 2016 and the present. McGee cleared a healthy 30% profit in 2019, though he has almost the same amount tied up in financed equipment and a new shop finished the early part of that year. The company now employs 16 full-time drivers.

John McGees equipment-procurement approach utilizes financing for the late-model power units with an autodraft for the payments and cash for the trailers in efforts to minimize debt. The power units are replaced on a five-year cycle.

Through it all, hes considered the Golden Rule to be the lynchpin of his success. As he puts it: Treat all people employees, customers, vendors as we wish to be treated.

Drivers are paid by the hour, with overtime. Schedules are somewhat staggered to serve what can be a 24/7 business.

Drivers at the fleet operate Mack daycabs, pulling mostly tankers with wastewaster from producing wells, doing generally as much site work as they do driving. A typical haul might be around 30 miles or so one-way, and McGee generally keeps drivers within a 125-mile, four-state radius around his home base. I decided early on in my career to try to be at home every night, he says, and hes structured his business to allow the same for his drivers.

With the finishing touches put on this 7,000-square-foot, two-bay shop in early 2019, John McGee Trucking realized a diversification opportunity when a chicken-feed mill came in across the street. McGee bought his first hopper bottom trailers this year with hopes of securing a stable grain contract with one of the mills suppliers.

The pre- and mid-pandemic downswing in oil prices on the world market didnt impact his midstream oil production customers like it did the completion side, where products are refined. Not yet, anyway, though he well knows oil field work largely depends on world markets. If production companies decide to go forward with projects, well probably expand with one or two trucks there over the next year.

John McGee

Hes got an eye out on diversification as a backstop, however. After the company finished building its 7,000-square-foot shop for more in-house maintenance about a year and a half ago, a chicken-feed mill started going up across the street. Earlier this year, McGee Trucking got its feet wet with a couple of hopper bottom trailers hauling grain for another customer. McGee characterizes the grain business as an awfully cutthroat one compared to what hes used to.

I turn down loads every day, he says. Nonetheless, with the mill scheduled for completion in early 2021, hes hopeful we can get a stable contract with one of their suppliers hauling grain.

Toward that end, he seeks to emphasize dependability and quality service. There are people still out here that appreciate quality, he says. Some can haul for a dollar a turn cheaper, but are they going to be reliable and dependable and safe? Some shippers do want more than just the cheapest price. We try to go over and above our competitors in that respect.

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Putting the Golden Rule to work at John McGee Trucking - Overdrive Magazine

Folks who hike regularly may be familiar with the advice to leave only footprints behind.

But the endless stream of teapots left on Teapot Hill in Cultus Lake Provincial Park are the exception to that golden rule.

A recent batch of broken shards were removed from Teapot Hill recently by a concerned local hiker and artist who was saddened by what she found.

I filled my backpack with smashed teapots hiking back from Teapot Hill, wrote Sylvie Roussel-Janssens in a Facebook post.

She said shed never seen such a mess on the hugely popular trail. She couldnt get all the intact or broken teapots as she could only carry out what she could fit in her backpack, and there are so many up there.

Lets take care of our parks, she gently urged fellow trail users. It is our common responsibility.

Of course the teapots could have broken from the repeated cycle of freeze-and-thaw of winter, and not be smashed intentionally, but its hard to tell.

COVID or not, pick-up a bit of trash, Roussel-Janssens said. You can wash your hands later of course. It is too late for adults if they do not know that it is our job to do, but kids are watching.

A lot of them saw me and noticed.

READ MORE: Teapots disappearing from Teapot Hill

People hiding teapots all over Teapot Hill is actually a relatively new phenomenon, said Rob Wilson, area supervisor for BC Parks and Protected Areas in the South Fraser area, in an interview with the Progress.

The area was logged around 1940, and they built what was known as Road 918, now the Cultus Lake Horse Trail, and the trail that leads up to Teapot Hill. During road construction, an equipment operator walked over to the hill and found a single teapot. Thats how Teapot Hill got its name.

In the decades since, park users started placing teapots in various spots on Teapot Hill for fun, like on rocks or in trees. Some make it a point to seek them out every time they come.

The contractor who maintains Cultus Lake Provincial Park however has been dutifully removing teapots especially the broken ones, upon the request of park management for safety and environmental reasons.

READ MORE: Rocks and debris near boat launch

Do you have something to add to this story, or something else we should report on? Email: jfeinberg@theprogress.com

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City of ChilliwackHiking

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Broken teapots removed from Teapot Hill by concerned Chilliwack hiker - Chilliwack Progress

The players inside the NBA bubble in Orlando have provided us with an endless stream of content ever since they began to descend on Walt Disney World Resorts a couple of weeks ago. With all of the excitement (and the bitching and moaning) surrounding their accommodations, it was almost easy to forget the reason they were there in the first place.

Its a little harder to do that now with exhibition games officially underway, and with the season scheduled tp officially resume in about a week, well have real, actual basketball to entertain ourselves with in addition to the shenanigans that unfold on the campus.

As I mentioned, there were more than a few guys who had a hard time adjusting to the incredibly rough existence that is an all-expenses-paid stay at a resort in Florida. Sure, it might not be ideal, but as Steven Adams noted, there are certainly worse places you could find yourself.

I think one of the biggest adjustments players had to make stemmed from the fact that they were confronted with a rare situation where they cant just whip out a credit card to solve any problem they encounter, as some of the things that are cramping their style are simply out of their control.

As a result, there was only so much they could do to make their stay as comfortable as possible. However, J.R. Smith recently encountered an unfortunate situation and had no one to blame but himself, as he shared he made the fatal and classic error of looking at his suitcase and thinking, Yeah, I definitely packed enough socks and underwear before learning the hard way that wasnt the case.

Seven pairs of underwear?Seven??? Come on, J.R. Thats a rookie mistake and youve been in the NBA for 17 seasons. You always have to pack way more underwear than you think youll need. Its the golden rule of packing.

Luckily for him, as he mentioned in the video, the laundry system in the bubble looks like a Tesla factory for clean socks and seems to be pretty efficient.

Seriously though, if Im working at an underwear company right now, my number one priority is sending J.R. a care package full of boxers and briefs. He just put out a marketing opportunity on a silver platter.

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J.R. Smith Found Out He Didnt Pack Enough Underwear For The Bubble The Hard Way And Ive Never Related To An NBA Player More - BroBible

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

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

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

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

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

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

(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

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 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

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