The 42nd President of the United States of America: William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton

Are there any Presidents of the United States of America lacking in political controversy at any point in their career?

Yes, of course there are…
They’re the ones you can’t remember!


In our most recent years however, two Presidents stand out more that others, for their charismatic personality traits…President John F. Kennedy and of course, President Bill Clinton. Both gentlemen possess(ed) alluring and magnetic qualities that at times worked for them and then at other times worked against them.

In this photo you see a young and rather enthusiastic Bill Clinton shaking the hand of then President John F. Kennedy in the Rose Garden of the White House on July 24, 1963. At the time, Bill Clinton was then a delegate from Arkansas to the Boys Nation Convention. If the young Mr. Clinton was looking up to John F. Kennedy as the ideal President, then it would just go to figure that, later on in life, he would then follow suit. The only problem here is that, as our world has developed, so has media coverage to capture every little tidbit of anyone’s life that might prove to be interesting enough to sell copies. Though it is known that Kennedy was a womanizer, at the time… he was not scrutinized nearly as much as Clinton was later.

Unfortunately, from the onset of his Presidency, Bill Clinton was riddled with attacks from the American Party, preventing him from clearly focusing on the job at hand. And unfortunately for the American public, Bill Clinton’s private life (what ever privacy is afforded to a President of the United States of America), was often a less than desirable.

Monica Lewinsky at 22 years old was made famous for her sexual escapades in the oval office with President Bill Clinton in the mid to late 1990's, while she was an intern at the White House. Both she and President Clinton made their apologies publicly (more than once), but which ones were accepted? Or were they?

Stay tooned for further developments on the Clinton/Lewinsky scandal that rocked the nation!

Fallacies

Many of us use them, often without even consciously realizing it and or many of us just simply fall for them. But what are fallacies really? And why do we unintentionally get caught up in them?

A fallacy is a statement, belief, opinion or argument containing or based off of inncorrect or erroneous reasoning with invalid inferences that may seem or appear believable, thus they have a deceptive quality about them with a tendency to mislead individuals or groups.

There are many forms of fallacies... here are a few examples:

The "Slippery Slope" Fallacy assumes that in just taking one step... all is lost (at the bottom of a hill, so to speak).

The "Appeal to Probability" Fallacy assumes that because something may happen, enevitable it is going to happen and is where the principles of "Murphy's Law" comes from:

Murphy's law

THE PRIME AXIOM: In any field of scientific endeavor, anything that can go wrong, will.

2. If the possibility exists of several things going wrong, the one that will go wrong is the one that will do the most damage.

3. Everything will go wrong at one time.

3.1 That time is always when you least expect it.

4. If nothing can go wrong, something will.

5. Nothing is as easy as it looks.

6. Everything takes longer than you think.

7. Left to themselves, things always go from bad to worse.

8. Nature always sides with the hidden flaw.

9. Given the most inappropriate time for something to go wrong, that's when it will occur.

10. Mother Nature is a... biznich.

10.1 The universe is not indifferent to intelligence, it is actively hostile to it.

11. If everything seems to be going well, you have obviously overlookedsomething.

12. If in any problem you find yourself doing an immense amount of work, the answer can be obtained by simple inspection.

13. Never make anything simple and efficient when a way can be found to make it complex and wonderful.

14. If it doesn't fit, use a bigger hammer.

15. In an instrument or device characterized by a number of plus-or-minus errors, the total error will be the sum of all the errors adding in the same direction.

16. In any given calculation, the fault will never be placed if more than one person is involved.

16.1 In any given discovery, the credit will never be properly placed if more than one person is involved.

17. All warranty and guarantee clauses become invalid upon payment of the final invoice.

18. Murphy's Law: "If there are two or more ways to do something, and one of those ways can result in a catastrophe, then someone will do it."

Fallacies of The "Ad Hominem" (meaning, against the person) and the "Tu Quoque" (or, "you too!") focuses the attention on people instead of the evidence for the argument at hand.

The "Fallacy of Revelence", also known as a "Red Herring" takes place when someone successfully distracts others with information irrelevant to the current argument, as to be "thrown off track", so to speak.

Due to my extensive difficulties and lack of ability to upload a video for your convenience, I invite you to go to the link below to view information regarding "Red Herrings". Enjoy!
http://www.veoh.com/browse/videos/category/animation/watch/v6353774YmDfQ5cW

Do we seriously believe this turkey is really wishing us a happy thankgiving? Doubt it.

The good , the bad and the UGLY of Walmart

There are many pitfalls to capitalism here in America and Wal-Mart seems to be a prime example of just that. Founded in 1962 by Sam Walton (Arkansas), Wal-Mart probably seemed like a good idea at the time, with the best of intentions of providing a one stop shopping experience for the convenience of its customers at low prices because the could buy in bulk and in turn, then pass along a discount to its loyal customers, while still receiving a suitable profit margin. Wal-Mart then became incorporated in 1969 and listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 1972. Now that Wal-Mart (which also owns and operates Sam’s Club) is considered the largest private employer and the largest grocery retailer in the U.S., many people have asked… “What went wrong and why won’t anyone fix it”?

For many years now there have been numerous complaints about Wal-Mart’s taking over small town business’, leaving despair and destruction in its wake. Wal-Mart’s point of view is that it creates jobs for people in these smaller communities and provides economic relief with their lower prices. However, many would disagree, stating that putting people out of business not only hurts them financially, but emotionally, socially and physically as well (considering the working conditions). Wal-Mart has been known for hiring many part-time employees, therefore not needing to provide for the expense of healthcare.

I had never really paid much attention to the information above, because I do not live in a small rural community, however, I do remember when Wal-Mart first came to Van Nuys, CA followed by nearby Porter Ranch, CA. It was not long after their existence that I did witness an array of small business’ close, such as long time neighborhood family owned hardware stores and several up-scale pharmacies with gift stores attached, to name a few.

Another concern people have with Wal-Mart is their insatiable appetite. If they can demolish and take over one business to the next…what’s stopping them from a complete monopoly?

The point of this political cartoon is the giant shark has eaten up other business' and left them for ruble (the signs, that you can not see in this figure are "Hardware", "Clothing", "Groceries" and "Drug Stores".

Though I have learned much from the film “The High Cost of Low Prices”, I am in the unfortunate position to merely appreciate and value the discounts I receive from shopping there. I would like to see more being done from a legal standpoint to curtail the common practices of racism, sexism and out-sourcing for “slave labor” wages and conditions, negative ecological contributions and most of all their superior mindset that allows them to set/regulate and or be above any other laws, by which everyone else seems to be accountable to. But, I don’t think it can be done individually by the little people. There are legal actions and various committees currently working on this, however, nothing as of yet has diminished Wal-Mart’s executive practices.

To think critically or to not think critically, that is the question!

According to Wikipedia:
-Critical thinking is purposeful and reflective judgment about what to believe or what to do in response to observations, experience, verbal or written expressions, or arguments.
-Critical thinking may involve determining the meaning and significance of what is observed or expressed, or, concerning a given inference or argument, determining whether there is adequate justification to accept the conclusion as true.
-Critical thinking gives due consideration to the evidence, the context of judgment, the relevant criteria for making the judgment well, the applicable methods or techniques for forming the judgment, and the applicable theoretical constructs for understanding the nature of the problem and the question at hand. Critical thinking employs not only logic but broad intellectual criteria such as clarity, credibility, accuracy, precision, relevance, depth, breadth, significance and fairness.
Unfortunately, today's upper division's education has lost its personal touch of the most basic human thought process, known as critical thinking and is instead geared toward standardized testing and electrical accommodations. Testing comprehension via scan trons measures one's ability to regurgitate memorized vocabulary and learned information, and or teaches the process of basic elimination. For various reasons institutions have done away with hand written responses that would prove one's knowledge and ability to apply learned information through critical thinking concepts and skills.

Today's society is heavily based on the dependency of mechanical interpretations of choosing buttons one, two or three. Rarely are students responsible for their evaluation of deductive reasoning, logic or interpretation of even their own imaginations. Current generations may not understand:

Education’s purpose is to replace an empty mind with an open one.
~ Malcolm S. Forbes

According to BRAINCRAM the following are a few simple things that we all can do to help stimulate our critical thinking skills:

-Be informed – Read as much as you can on key subjects and read what different people think about those subjects. Having a variety of opinions to consider allows you to make a more informed decision about what YOU think.
-Avoid making an early decisions – Allow yourself the time to consider and don’t pre-judge any situation or idea. Think ‘vu ja de’ not ‘de ja vu’. Look at everything as though you have never seen it before.
-Be open to new ideas – Having a curious mind will allow you to ask questions more readily and be critical of those ideas read and hear.
-Be honest with yourself – People have prejudices and biases, we all do. They allow us to make rapid decisions without the effort of thinking too much. Being aware of these prejudices and biases can help you be more open to alternative views.
-Look for the truth value – Spin is endemic in the media. Look for the truth in the message and search for the reason a message is crafted in a particular way.
-Find the facts hidden in the opinion – Facts are facts no matter which way you look at them, opinions are different views of those facts. Find the facts and develop your own opinion.

The trouble with the world is that the stupid are cocksure and the intelligent are full of doubt.

~ Bertrand Russell

The trouble with most folks isn’t so much their ignorance, as knowing so many things that ain’t so.
~ Josh Billings

The great masses of the people…will more easily fall victims to a big lie than to a small one.
~ Adolf Hitler, Mein Kampf, 1933

Simple deduction, logic and reasoning at its finest. Way to go Arthur!

The Grove, Beverly Hills, CA

If you were to drive north on La Brea from the 10Fwy and turn west onto 3rd St. The Grove (shopping/entertainment center) and the famous Los Angeles Farmer's Market would be on your right. I took my daughter and two of her friends to experience The Grove for the first time two weeks ago to analyze public space and observe those there to utilize that space. My daughter and I were really excited to explore The Grove, being that were are great fans of The Americana shopping/entertainment center in Glendale, CA (which is the most recent completed project), of Developer/Owner Rick Caruso. His vision of this three story, (600,000 sq. ft.) shopping/entertainment center known simply as The Grove, opened for business in February 2002, complete with a central park and water fountain that dances to the music (like that of the Bellagio in Vegas), many high end stores, restaurants, a 14 screen movie theater and even an electric trolley that transports shoppers up and down the street between The Grove and The Farmers Market. At first glance, for my first experience, there was a lot to take in. I was quite pleased that there was plenty of economic self parking, though valet is offered as well. I parked on the third floor of the parking garage and upon my decent on the escalator, the first thing I noticed was how clean the grey carpet was on the floors in between escalator rides to the bottom, as apposed to simple concrete or tile flooring. At the bottom floor, however, more elaborate interior decor was visual. A beautiful large round wood table held a crystal vase of at least three feet tall filled with a beautiful arrangement of fresh star gazers that permeated the air, below an ornate crystal chandelier. There was attendants assisting those that chose valet parking next to a complementary concierge desk for anyone that needed help and or information. With parking to my left, a wall of art in front of me, the natural flow was to my right, that put me on a wide side walk with a view of water spraying many feet in the air, while being choreographed to the music of Michael Buble. To my left of the water fountain, I noticed a bridge that crossed the water to a partially shaded grassy area, including brass statues of children playing with various forms of water sources, like hoses and water cans that trickles water themselves. Surrounding this natural environment were plenty of high end stores and restaurants with storefronts reminiscent of an Italian piazza. There were tracks down the center of the street to my right for the electric trolley, though at the time of my visit, I did not see it running. Also not seen on my visit (because of the time of my visit), The grove offers a wide variety of entertainment experiences such as outdoor movies on summer evenings or falling snow on winter nights and a variety of weekend shows, etc...
I can appreciate that this complex would receive 20 million visitors annually (that's 6 million more than Disneyland each year), for its overall experience, but I do find there could always be room for improvement. For example, location. For those that do not live in the area, it is not conveniently located near a freeway, nor does it have many signs posted for directions in this already congested area of the Fairfax District in Los Angeles. And though the Farmer's Market offers many unique eateries, I would have liked to have seen some "middle of the road" shops and cafes to accommodate "in betweener's, such as myself" (like The Americana does). My daughter and I would like to take another visit there sometime, but overall, we prefer the simplicity and convenient location of the Americana over the Grove, in general.

Assignment 1 - Public Space

For my first assignment, I will be discussing the public space known as The Grove, located in the Los Angeles area.

Beginner Post

Aug. 31st, 2009

GoodMorning All!