Ten Commandments?

A good friend linked to an article titled "The Atheist Ten Commandments". I consider myself a "Damfino" rather than the usual labels of agnostic or atheist. Some folks differentiate between the two, but linguistically they are the same word, "a" meaning not or without, and "theist" and "gnostic" relating to "god", and in fact meaning without any of the three to five thousand gods currently being claimed by the earth's various cultures. I personally find the question, "To god, or not to god?" irrelevant. No one can know the unknowable, so what is really important here? Why should one try to be a good person? I reject the idea that we will be judged in some supernatural court after we die as a reason for requiring certain behaviors. Rather I think we are all on a search here, and anybody who claims to "know" is fooling themselves and wants to fool the rest of us as well. I profoundly disagree with the imposition of religious tenets upon others. That seems nothing short of evil to me. What we should be doing is coming together and discussing how we should live in order to give the most of us a leg up in "the pursuit of happiness".

With that in mind and pleading with you to understand that this is a work in progress, I have edited the linked "commandments" into what I call,

Goals of Living

1. Be open-minded and be willing to alter your understandings with new evidence.

2. Strive to understand what is most likely to be true, not to believe and justify what you wish to be true.

3. Know that the scientific method is the most reliable way of understanding the natural world. Learn to think critically and face the truths you discover with personal honesty.

4. Accept control over your own body and leave others' to their own choices. You are challenged to not become a burden to others by your actions.

5. Consider that religion has nothing whatsoever to do with being a good person or living a full and meaningful life. You may make your ideas and arguments known but you may not impose your beliefs on others.

6. Be mindful of the consequences of all your actions and recognize that you must take responsibility for them. Your quest for happiness should include doing the least damage, creating the most good, and helping others with their own quest for happiness.

7. Treat others as you would want them to treat you, and can reasonably expect them to want to be treated. Think about their perspective.

8. Accept the responsibility to consider others, including future generations.

9. Consider that here is no one correct way to live, but all good ways of living promote the well being of all other living things as well as ourselves.

10. Leave the world a better place than you found it.

I can certainly add more or condense what I've written. I'll read these again often and do just that when and if I can perceive any value in doing so. Please feel free to write your own versions.

There's Some Weird Things in the Morning Energy News Round Up

http://www.politico.com/morningenergy/1214/morningenergy16460.html

Hidden Gem in Spending Bill Bars EPA from Endangered Species Listing

That and other atrocities from your GOP held House of Reps:

http://www.politico.com/morningenergy/1214/morningenergy16420.html

Buzz for 12-12-14

Crucial Deadline Looms For The Uninsured

Ramsey wants to limit new Tenn. abortion laws

Sen. Kelsey, Rep. DeBerry File Bill Aimed at "Racial Profiling"

TN U.S. House delegation splits — 4 yes, 5 no — on $1.1 trillion budget bill

CPI Buzz for 12-9-14

How well run is the state of Tennessee?

Haslam says decision on Medicaid expansion close

TennCare Swells Under First Year Of Health Insurance Mandate

Obama To Visit Nashville For Speech On Immigration

Energy and Environment News?

The Morning Energy and Environment News is a new find for me. A lot of the things I care about, like a healthy world for me and my children, are front stage issues right now, like the polluters are winning by taking over the Attorney General offices in many states. In Louisiana Mary Landreau will not be missed by anyone and the Public Service Commission race was between a guy who claimed his opponent was back by Big Oil while the opponent claimed the other guy was backed by the Solar Industry. My god, could I just once get a candidate backed by the Solar Industry?


There's a lot more here:

http://www.politico.com/morningenergy/1214/morningenergy16366.html

CPI Buzz 12-4-14

Faced with road problems, Haslam weighs whether now is time for new taxes

Democrats Are Petrified of Defending Government—but They Need to Start

Tennesseans Are Wary Of The Words ‘Common Core’ And Some Abortion Restrictions, New Poll Finds

State Democrats Down But Not Out

CPI buzz for 12-3-14

Tennessee teachers pressure Gov. Haslam to provide 6 percent raises

 Womick says GOP behind attacks on Harwell

Tennessee Spends Millions to Save Emails for Lawsuits

Head of TN Dem Party has heart procedure

Crockett Buzz for 12-2-14

Elizabeth Lauten resigns: Why critics attack first daughters at their peril 

The news that Republican congressional aide Elizabeth Lauten quit her job Monday after her controversial Facebook post criticizing the Obama daughters isn't surprising, given the mass amount of coverage her post generated.
And if there's one area where most Americans – regardless of party loyalty – seem united, it's in agreeing that the children of sitting presidents should be off-limits for the sort of snide commentary their parents routinely get.
"Attack OBAMA for his policies.But CHILDREN ARE OFF LIMITS" read one typical Twitter post after Lauten's post went viral last week, and Tweeps piled on the rage – and demanded her dismissal – using the #ElizabethLauten hashtag. LINK

CPI Buzz for 12-1-14

Politics, it seems to me, for years, or all too long, has been concerned with right or left instead of right or wrong. ~Richard Armour

Nothing classy about Elizabeth Lauten’s criticism of the Obama girls...

Legislators get less than $2 daily increase in base pay, $10 bump in per diem...

Congress Raises Tax on Working Americans, Cuts it for Corporations...