IR is the New AI

Artificial Intelligence, the ability of computers and software to research and consolidate incredible amounts of data and predictive analytics into a concise and clear response by making decisions or solving problems, is an incredible achievement for mankind. Though many fear this accomplishment of machine learning, I embrace it. Like all change which has the promise of good, if misused there is the potential for evil. This pair of opposites is the way technology has always worked. Yet, the so called “elites,” fearmongers, and those who look for problems to fix, like to abort creation before it has a chance to mature. I am not so naïve as to think human beings are not capable of doing evil. Just studying the 20th Century alone proves that man has a malevolent side. Yet, man also creates the aesthetic of beauty with art and architecture, with poetry, prose, and production. Just gaze at the fluid movement of a classic Greek sculpture like the Venus de Milo by Alexandros of Antioch or the magnificence of Michaelangelo’s David or the soaring faces of four monumental men carved by Gutzon Borglum on Mount Rushmore. The mind of man has always been the source of our wealth. Giant minds gathered in Philadelphia in 1776 to create a document for the ages. Thomas Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence manifests the exceptionalism of Americans who were first in recognizing the universal, equal natural rights of all men. Whether citizen or slave, sailor, or servant, the ideal that all men are created equal and that we are equally human is the pinnacle of modern man’s thought. No individual is more human than any other. No man has a right to have dominion over another. No other nation has ever abolished slavery in two generations from its founding. Our brethren in Europe, Asia, and Africa had eons of time to do the same. Government run by dictators, tyrants, and fools who did not or would not recognize these universal individual rights is the problem man has always faced. As human ingenuity and technology fuse even closer, it is still the individual that has inherent rights; rights from a creator not manufactured in a factory or given by the government to be controlled. Those worthies who read classic texts, wrote about timeless principles, and fused many of them together, prepared a nation to think and create a unique proposition; that individual rights are the new AI or as I see it, the new American Individualism. For the hundreds of years prior to the glorious creation of the United States of America, to the two-hundred and forty-eight years after, the world has benefited from knowing the principles this nation was founded upon. Our citizenship, our virtues, our morals, our ethics, and our choices have led to actions that have built a nation like no other. America is not perfect. We are flawed and have untold problems and opportunities. Yet the creation of America, with its grace, golden ideals, and grit have made American Individualism unique in the pantheon of human existence. There has been no other place like her and, most likely never will be. That is why she is worth preserving and defending. She, like the parchment her founders wrote upon, is fragile but she resides strongly in the hearts of her people. The moral concept of rights allows personal and intellectual property to flourish under the economic system of free market Capitalism. Collectivists have always tried to stamp out the flame of individualism under the auspices of the greater good. Yet, as Ayn Rand stated in Man’s Rights, “Individual rights are the means of subordinating society to moral law.” In other words, it is moral for individuals to trade value for value as perceived by the traders, not the intolerance of bureaucrats. There are those around us who clamor for someone to do something or create another law to impede freedom, or those who are waiting for a new type of leader to fix the problems we face. They should understand what defenders of rights know. The problem is not out there. The leader is not out there. The solution is not out there. The only thing that may save us from being defeated, is waiting for others to do what YOU must do to remain sovereign. Do something away from force and towards freedom that expands individual rights and concretizes the American individualism we are endowed with. How? We can do this by being better informed regarding the timeless freedom principles of Human Equality, Natural Rights, Government Secured Rights, Government by Consent, Limited Powers, Constitutional Government, Rule of Law, and Equal Protection of the Law. Knowing and using these ideas, one can help to persuade and influence in writing and speech, to protect individual rights. The historic default of man is not to take the proper course of action but to do what is expedient by using his natural inclination to take what is not his rather than trade and use his mind to advance his cause of Liberty. American Individualism articulates its ideas and persuades others to look forward. As Jefferson stated in his first inaugural address, “a wise and frugal government which shall restrain men from injuring one another, shall leave them otherwise free to regulate their own pursuits of industry, and improvement and shall not take from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned. This is the sum of good government; and necessary to close the circle of our felicities." https://kimmonson.com/featured_articles/ir-is-the-new-ai/

The fear and reward of ‘Standing in the Gap’

By Bradley Beck | Special Contributor The almost empty Town Hall meeting room was soon to be filled with an angry mob. I was, to say the least, anxious. I arrived early so I could sign up to speak first, and get it over with. Just prior to me addressing the Town Council, a representative from Coloradans for Responsible Energy Development (CRED) asked if I would present the 300-plus signed petitions of my neighbors who were opposed to an upcoming fracking moratorium proposal in my town. This Town of Erie meeting 10 years ago was to consider banning new oil and gas development in our community. I could not sit on the sideline. Too much was at stake. The Town Trustees were under intense pressure from anti-energy development activists. It was an issue I was ready and willing to address. Energy production jobs were important to the local economy of our little town and to the livelihoods of thousands of individuals who worked in the energy sector in Colorado. Many were my friends. They lived in my community and had families to support. Energy was important to the lifestyle of my neighbors and myself – from heating a home on a minus-20 degree winter day to keeping food cool and fresh in a refrigerator on a sizzling 100-degree summer day. I approached the lectern first and made my three-minute presentation. Add to my trepidation a photographer in the room from a major newspaper. Following my speech, there were applause and jeers, but whatever I said got a positive reaction from the Town Trustees, someof whom were acquaintances. Why did I “stand in the gap”? Because it was the moral thing to do. I had skin in this game, as I worked at a spray paint company and our products were sourced from by-products of oil and gas. I felt certain that by showing up and speaking, I made a difference in how the vote went concerning the moratorium. It was over. Or, so I thought. The following day on my drive to work in Boulder, I nearly ran off the road as I caught a glimpse of a photograph of myself “above the fold” in the sidewalk newsstand of the Daily Camera. I grabbed a handful of quarters and bought the newspapers in the rack, so no one else coming into my work would see my picture. It didn’t work. When I arrived, lying on my desk was the front page of the same paper with a sticky note attached by my former boss. It read, “What’s this about?” I felt like Astro from the Jetsons, “Ruh Roh”. I was somewhat challenged by someone who wanted our company to lay low and not make any disturbances, less we wake the noisy few around us. I was even more determined to ruffle a few feathers. I did not always have this feeling of fortitude. I was more a “go along to get along” person. However, by reading, studying and associating with people who knew information I did not, I felt informed and emboldened. Seven years earlier, I received a phone call from my friend Don Beezley, who informed me he was going to run for Colorado House District 33, where he and I both lived. “Congratulations, Don,” I said. He replied, “Thanks, and I want you to be my financial guy for the campaign.” I continued, “Don, I know nothing about campaign finance.” With humor Don continued, “That’s OK. I mess up, you go to jail. It’s all good”. We both laughed, as I asked, ”When do you need to know?” His reply was, “Tomorrow”. “Ruh Roh”. I agreed to take on the task, but only if we hired a real campaign accounting firm to keep me out of jail. We did and thus began a journey in which we out-worked, out-walked and outwitted the incumbent opponent. Our campaign won that race by 217 votes. It was a squeaker, yet Don stood in the gap for two years slowing down the opposition craziness, and his own party at times. Don’s principles and integrity made my decision to work with him on his campaign an easy yes. Often, it’s the first follower who helps the leader make things happen. In this instance, I was “standing in the gap”. These two personal stories demonstrate how one or just a few people can make a difference. I don’t know if you have the fortitude or the desire to “stand in the gap”. However, I do know it can be done by ordinary people, who know they must do something to make a positive difference in defending the rights of the smallest minority there is, the individual. Here’s my challenge. Are you willing to “stand in the gap”? As Sam Parker reminds us in his book, “212”: “At 211 degrees, water is hot. At 212 degrees, it boils. And with boiling water, comes steam. And with steam, you can power a train”. Bradley Beck is a husband, father, GrandBrad, Distinguished Toastmaster, Optimist, and 360 Guy. He’s a special contributor to Rocky Mountain Voice. https://rockymountainvoice.com/2024/02/the-fear-and-reward-of-standing-in-the-gap/

Generosity

There is an old story about the lion, the wolf, and the dog. A lion seized upon a doe and was about to have it as a meal. As he was standing over his prize, a wolf stepped up to him, and impudently claimed to get halves. No! said the lion, you are too apt to take what is not your due. I therefore shall never have anything to do with you. In a commanding tone he said, “I insist on your immediate departure out of my sight.” A poor honest dog who happened to be passing by heard what was going on. He modestly withdrew, intending to go about another way upon which the lion kindly invited him to come forward and partake with him of the feast to which his modesty had given him so good a title. The lion was generous with his catch with the dog who recognized his modesty. The lion did not have to share, yet out of benevolence offered the dog some of his meal. The wolf, like the government, often demands and takes what is not theirs by the monopoly of force. Perhaps you have experienced where people left to their own devices are generous with what they produce or acquire through persistence and determination. For some, it is a good feeling they receive by investing in their fellow man or community out of benevolence or charity. For others it’s part of who they are, and the philanthropy built into their business. This is one reason profit is good for business and society. People earn money and can decide to give that money away after their needs are met. They can invest in their philanthropic endeavors. resQ coffees in Longmont, CO is a prime example of this. One morning Lynn was driving down to her coffee bean roasting business, resQ, when she saw the Liberty Toastmasters sign in front of the building where the club was meeting. A few minutes later she appeared with a carafe of uniquely roasted coffee along with cups, cream, stirrers, sugar, coffee tops, and mints; all delivered without expectation of payment and done with delight in giving. When I asked Lynn why she donates to so many other organizations she responded, “Giving is who we are. It’s part of our belief in investing in others.” Lynn, like many people, is authentic and sincere in her giving. People like Lynn, with their conviction and action, are rewarded enough by their generosity, unlike the wolf who commanded by force. Lynn and her company resQ are benevolent. They reap the rewards of giving because they want to, not because they must. It also makes for good business. I am now a customer of resQ coffees. My friend Terri presented a speech at a club contest titled, “People Just Give You Money?” Her speech was about her work at the Colorado Horse Rescue in Longmont, CO. It is a non-profit that started out as a shelter and rehabilitation facility that cared for abused and neglected horses. Today the organization also rehomes horses and educates equine enthusiasts. Terri says, “Think of giving to a non-profit as an investment in your beliefs. You invest, and they do the service that you believe needs to be done. Of course, you can’t invest until you’ve earned capital yourself.” When she is asked, “do people just give you money?” she replies, “No. People invest in a service that they see as important.” Terri understands the generosity of her donors and why they voluntarily give to her organization. Generosity is not just about giving money. For many, it is investing their time in their community service or service clubs. These organizations such as Rotary, Lions, Kiwanis, and my personal favorite, Optimist International, are resources in their community focusing on local needs and take action to fill those needs. As an example, my service club the Optimist Club of Erie is known as “The Friend of Youth.” We focus all our efforts on providing youth in our town with scholarships, school programs, and support. The community can invest by participating in those events and our members invest their time in constructing and executing them. As volunteers we are generous with our time because we see an opportunity to be part of the fabric of our community. The more we do ourselves, the less we need government to intercede in areas where they need not tread. In Dr. Thomas Krannawitter’s book, “An Introduction to Citizenship for New Americans” he explains, the American people must pursue their civic virtues of self-restraint, self-assertion, civic knowledge, and self-reliance. “Political freedom requires limited government – that is, a government that for the most part leaves people alone, while ensuring that their rights are secured. But limited government is risky. When people are left alone, they might be tempted to violate the rights of others, or live irresponsibly, depending on others with money and resources to care for them.” People and organizations that provide a service or fill a need do not tend to not violate rights, rather to make their community a better place. People have all sorts of reasons for being generous with their time, treasure, and talent. If they do their giving without the coercion of force, they are moral and decent in their pursuits. Once someone or a society has an “impudent claim to go halves” and are “too apt to take what is not their due” they become a society that is corrupt, immoral, and evil. As Johann Wolfgang von Goethe once stated, “Generosity wins favor for everyone. Especially when it is accompanied by modesty.” Bradley is a Husband, Father, GrandBrad, Toastmaster-DTM, Optimist & 360 Guy. He lives in Boulder County. https://kimmonson.com/featured_articles/generosity/?vgo_ee=hm3HHFeYEZDfQjEARd5DLO2B9RGN%2BlsTZNCCsvypdCH%2F6CPdtqVEW9vU%3AkhF7X99PiF4z3OBthDE%2FYYY18zBiUZHl

Reflections

A dog was carrying a piece of meat in his mouth to eat at home. On his way he had to cross a plank lying across a running brook. As he crossed, he looked down and saw his reflection in the water beneath. Reacting as if it was another dog with a piece of meat, the dog snapped at the reflection in the water and by doing so opened his mouth and the meat fell out, dropping into the water never to be seen again. There are many morals to this old story such as, “If you covet, you may lose all.” Or “It is very foolish to be greedy.” The moral I like best is, “beware lest you lose the real thing by grasping at its reflection.” Our ideas of a good life are often a reflection of our culture, the influence of others in our social groups or our consumption of siloed media. I feel a sense of loss for the younger generations who live in the era of computers, gaming, and Artificial Intelligence, who never experienced the analog world. The joy of playing hide and seek outside, the journey of one’s mind writing in cursive and sending a letter in the mail and then waiting for a reply. The pleasure of listening to an album on a record player and reading the liner notes. The discussion of ideas that took place at the dinner table with family, rather than the mindless scrolling on smart phones. Reading a hardcover book and smelling the ink of the pages waft in the air as you turn them. Or finding a treasured old tome with musky pages and imbibing the prudence of the past. I enjoy the innovation that technology has brought for the betterment of life. Better medicine, better information, better transportation, better communication, better opportunities. Yet, there is something about the virtue of the past that I hold passionately onto. Our nature as humans does not change. That is the one constant we find as we look back in history and see the humanity of our ancestors through story, song, and sagacity. Those that think human nature changes are like the dog snapping at its reflection. The end of the year is a good time for reflection. It is a time when we bend back our thoughts and intentions and ruminate on the actions we did and did not take. I think about how dedicated I was to uphold the positive philosophy of the past while embracing the nutrients of the new year. Did I make a positive progression towards my intention? Did I make the right choices to advance the one or two classic ideas I wanted to implement that would help me succeed and thrive? Or was I too busy trying to gather up someone else’s reflection of who and what I should be? Jimmy Buffett had a lyric in a song he sang that goes, “only time will tell.” Perhaps, that is the only thing we can be judged on. Did we do what was best for the advancement of the good, the true, and the beautiful? Or were we wrapped up in ruling others rather than taking stock on what we could do best as individuals to advance ourselves, and thereby humanity. In advance of the Jewish New Year Rosh Ha Shanna, literally meaning head of the new year, Jews reflect, and repent for their transgressions. The shofar, a ram’s horn made into a musical instrument, is blown as a symbolic “wake up call” from slumber. The sound reminds one to examine and conduct oneself so they may be written into the “Book of Life” for the coming year. As you enter this New Year, it’s an opportune time to start your own personal “wake-up call” and make an old tradition new again. Give yourself the gift of doing those things that brought humanity to the dance. I am committing to opening each day with a mantra, prayer, or time to listen to my own breath. To write and read daily. To prepare and think thoughtfully to enable to create intentionally. To look to do something useful or thoughtful for someone else. To make someone smile each day. And to be intentional in what I do. Giving myself thirty days to make each of these things a habit can help make them repeatable. Focusing on my desire to make it a habit increases my chances of repeating the next day. As I look back on this year’s successes, I continue to build up my strengths and work on those things I wish to improve day by day. I am aware of the day’s news, yet I refuse to be dragged into the muck of the world. I can have a positive mindset and impact myself by demonstrating what is possible for me by working to be the best I can be. To slow down to speed up in the coming year and not let the illusion of others deflect my focus. The world advances sometimes for good, and sometime not, yet as Thomas Paine once stated, “The real man smiles in trouble, gathers strength from distress, and grows brave by reflection. Happy New Year! https://kimmonson.com/featured_articles/reflection/?vgo_ee=43w9SD5lCV9GFMr7P93KT2ZT9Ki4PETUjFfhFeWeMHlwyaDfuEs2OxOy%3AeaSS20nB6zVIdNglqKZlK%2Fx7N76HTLP1

Listen Before You Leap

“The Frogs and the Well,” is an old Aesop Fable in which two frogs lived together in a marsh. But one hot summer day the marsh dried up and they left it to look for another place to live, for frogs like damp places if they can get them. By and by they came to a deep well and one of them looked down into it and said to the other, “This looks like a nice cool place. Let us jump into it and settle here.” But the other, who had a wiser head on his shoulders replied, “Not so fast, my friend. Supposing this well dried up like the marsh, how should we get out again?” The moral of the story, listening to others’ ideas may be better than your own. I have struggled with the issue of listening for years. My first-grade report card stated that “Bradley is loquacious.” I always preferred talking to listening. My wife will heartly agree. A physician will use auscultation, the act of listening for sounds made by internal organs, such as the heart or lungs, to help diagnosis a patient’s health. This process of listening to body sounds derives from the Latin auscultare, to listen attentively. An auto mechanic will use their listening skills to identify and diagnose the root cause of a car problem to see if your vehicle has a fast idle, an increased idle speed that occurs for short periods of time after a cold engine starts to improve drivability and speed engine warm up;or detonation, a rapid, uncontrolled combustion of the air-fuel mixture in the cylinder that results in a hard, rattling sound. A male will listen to his female partner who will tell him about a problem or an issue she is having and more times than not, the male will try to find a solution to her problem because he’s internally wired differently than she is. She will be speaking, and he will be listening, yet she is not being heard. Unlike the physician and the auto mechanic, who are trying to fix a problem, the female partner may just wish to talk something through or explain something that is affecting her. She just wants someone to listen to her. Of course, I am writing in generalities compared to the first two examples, however, my experience confirms this. In my Roget’s Thesaurus I find the term hearing as a verb, a word that in syntax generally conveys an action such as, to listen, attend, lend an ear, bend an ear, tune in, give a hearing to, give audience to, prick up one’s ears, be all ears. Therefore, listening can be an active endeavor that requires the one receiving the words spoken to be attentive, open, and not respond. This is a skill that takes practice and repetition to master. Acknowledging this is a good first step, says my wife. As a member of Liberty Toastmasters, I practice and refine my listening skills. The roles of evaluator, general evaluator, grammarian, ah-counter, and the audience members help me learn to hear what a speaker says, and report back what I heard them say. In fact, only a third of the time in a Toastmasters meeting do members speak, yet it is known as the premiere “public speaking” organization. Perhaps it should be rebranded as the “premier listening” organization. Imagine if businesspeople, educators, politicians, media, and public policy influencers spent more time practicing the skill of listening to others rather than spouting off on ideas and issues they have an opinion about. Think how much richer our dialog could be listening to ideas based on principles and not opinions. Imagine civil dialogs and debates rather than uninformed diatribes and noise that divides. I once had the opportunity to hear Jonathan Haidt speak at CU Boulder. He is a social psychologist and co-founder of the Heterodox Academy which is committed to advancing the principles of open inquiry, viewpoint diversity, and constructive disagreement to improve higher education and academic research. Haidt realizes that for him to have a beneficial debate, he needs an opposing argument with someone who can articulate ideas that can help him be a more critical thinker. Haidt co-wrote The Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas are Setting Up a Generation for Failure. In that book he says, “Education should not be intended to make people comfortable; it is meant to make people think.” Listening facilitates the opportunity to think and thereby act, more prudently. The next time you are looking to jump into a new well, think about the two frogs. https://kimmonson.com/featured_articles/listen-before-you-leap/?vgo_ee=zCdIUUMY0jPQ6Iv2PpAi8%2Fv3WtzLe1nyXQqDMrMFNX8nGv%2BOiZINbTnT%3AGQy1%2B1clEuOuGvxcz1C8%2F3yuZcDTkK81

A Climate Conversation

“The weather is here I wish you were beautiful.” These lyrics, sung by the great Jimmy Buffett, remind me of ugly, unsettling, uncomfortable conversations about climate change with friends and family. The lyrics, likely taken from a dive bar bathroom wall, seem humorous and prophetic at the same time. In conversations I’ll strive for clarity and truth based on reason and logic while my opposition usually argues to win the argument using emotion, propaganda, and utopian thinking. This is about to get interesting so let’s order some boat drinks. When I was growing up in the 1970’s I was indoctrinated with the idea that the planet was overburdened with people, pollution, and a puzzling array of end of the world problems. “Save the Earth” was the rallying cry. Earth Day Festivals were the rage and global cooling was the topic of the day. Being young and uninformed I bought into the narrative. In the 1980’s when I was starting my career and raising a family, I was too busy to notice the coalitions of activists, environmental groups, and experts who scared everyone with man-made global warming. As an aside, it seems we’ve not learned from history because the Wuhan lockdowns created the same “boogie man” scenario. Under the religion of science, the activist became alarmist, preaching that modern civilization is baking the planet into oblivion, yet that prediction proved wrong. The only burnt surfaces were the predictions of the end of the world that became toast and so the alarmists doubled down. A former vice president filmed a half-baked story and by omission lied about the information in the film he narrated. A misguided Swedish girl captivated a United Nations audience with her carnival performance claiming her youth had been stolen and Climate Change is an existential threat to existence. The current administration wants to ban every modern convenience from gas stoves, water heaters, and fans, forcing Americans to buy unethically manufactured batteries used in EV’s which are made from cobalt and lithium mined in the Congo where labor and environmental laws do not exist. Escaping to that tropical island Jimmy Buffett regales about and leaving the “Fruitcakes” to their own self destruction is looking better all the time. Even after reading dozens of books, articles, and attending debates and seminars with world-famous experts, I felt discouraged and dejected with the realization that the alarmists were louder, well organized, and using emotion while gaining more power to rule the world in their dystopian vision. That was until I had an opportunity to attend the film premier of a new documentary called A Climate Conversation narrated by my friend Kim Monson, radio talk show host of The Kim Monson Show on KLZ-560. The documentary featured Gregory Whitestone, a Geologist, author, and head of the CO2 Coalition, Walt Johnson, a Geophysicist and consultant, Ken Gregory, B.AppSc., P.Eng. and Friends of Science, and Ronald Stein, Founder and Ambassador for Energy and Infrastructures at PTS Advance. Like previous documentaries, such as FrackNation created by Phelim McAleer and Ann McElhinnery that addressed misinformation from environmental alarmists about the process of hydraulic fracturing, A Climate Conversation cuts through the rhetoric and propaganda and asks simple questions that often go unanswered by so-called environmental experts. This film is grounded in real science and free from pointing fingers, calling names, and using incomplete data. The film features actual scientists who are not beholden by politics, government, or special interests. These featured individuals unveil and examine a wider view with more information to explore, challenge, and ask more questions to find the truth. Questions the film explores are: Is it true that 97% of scientists agree that humans are the cause of global warming and climate change? (This number encounters strong trade winds with the actual statistic of less than 1% of scientists agree that humans are causing any harm). What has been the history of the earth’s temperature and CO2 content? What is the cost of going carbon free by 2050? What is the availability of the materials needed to go carbon free? What are the implications of gaining access of those materials? Should we be concerned that the planet is warming? What are the dangerous levels of CO2? Can you trust climate models? Is human activity really the culprit? What, if anything, can be done to mitigate any adverse previous actions to make the planet a better place for the future? These questions are answered, and I came away from this film, as did the 300 plus people who attended the Colorado premier, more hopeful than ever. As the topic is explored it reveals the moral, social, and practical implications of the “miracle molecule” CO2 which will be seen and redeemed and no longer feared. Once you view this film, you’ll have a change in latitude and a change in attitude. See it online at https://www.aclimateconversation.com/

Which nation does not do what it’s supposed to do until it’s too late? Answer, ProcrastiNATION. A cute joke, yet a real issue, and it has become worse with America and Americans. Our elected representatives delay, deflect, and dilly-dally on almost every issue and we, the American people, have allowed them to do so. On any public policy at the federal, state, or local level politicians kick the can down the road and blame the bureaucracy they created for these festering problems. This reminds me of the story of an old man sitting in his rocking chair on the front porch on a hot summer’s day. His old hound dog is wagging his tail back and forth, yet his rhythm is off and every time the old man rocks back the dog’s tail is caught under the chair rails, and the dog HOWLS. A young man walking by hears and then sees where all the howling is coming from. He approaches the old man and asks why his dog doesn’t move as he rocks over the dog’s tail. The old man says, “I guess it doesn’t hurt bad enough yet.” Too many Americans howl and complain yet procrastinate about doing anything about the problems we face because they think the challenges are too overwhelming, or my favorite, “I don’t have time;” or “I don’t know enough about the problem.” All good examples of pointing a finger forward and not aware there are three fingers pointing back. The problem is not out there; the problem is us. We are ignorant, lazy, and not willing to fight for what our founders gave us. Which reminds me of another quip. What do you call a country full of lazy people? Answer, a procrastiNATION MISSION Laramie Energy’s mission is to maintain an excellent reputation as a Rockies oil and gas producer committed to environmental protection, safety, and regional community interests while prudently investing its capital in high potential unconventional oil and gas resource plays that will generate an above average return on investment. How do we get out of the morass of the fundamental issues we face, like keeping our nation free and prosperous? You, as a citizen, have a responsibility to be better informed and more active. I recently gave a speech on Civic Knowledge. I asked a simple question. What are the five liberties of the first amendment? Most of the audience could give two or three examples. Most could not give all five. In case you are curious, they are the freedom of religion, of speech, of the press, the right of the people to peaceably assemble, and the right to petition the government for a redress of grievances. Every American should be able to roll these five ideas off their tongues as easily as they know what is on Netflix. Sadly, they do not. If we are to remain a free and vibrant society, we must be engaged citizens. We must know the foundational ideas of citizenship, which are to be self-reliant, self-assertive, and have civic-knowledge and self-restraint. If these foundational ideas are not taught and practiced, the principles of human equality, natural rights, government by consent, limited powers, rule of law, and equal protection will mean nothing and the house of freedom, built by so many, will continue to rot away. Yet, I have hope a few good citizens can make a difference and stand at the vanguard of liberty. Their fortitude, prudence, temperance, and sense of justice will encourage others of character to stand up and stand firm on the bedrock of our Declaration of Independence. This is the apple of gold Abraham Lincoln spoke about in his “Fragments on the Constitution.” Yet he also warned, “…we must study, and understand the points of danger.” It is essential to start today to overcome the distractions we have faced and take action now. Do not procrastinate. https://kimmonson.com/featured_articles/procrastination/?vgo_ee=lONR%2B7Na63%2B0XxEpIEulhV2u82Bm7jXkAiHzIIjFKMjXhMMEWSY8mA3k%3AQgzaJHBItdVXpFoLLMWldRb4TDNdZzwQ