Saturday, June 19, 2010

“Democrats' Attempt to 'Buy Off' NRA Shows Bankruptcy of 'Disclose Act,' says CCRKBA - PR-USA.net” plus 3 more

Philosophy - Bing News

“Democrats' Attempt to 'Buy Off' NRA Shows Bankruptcy of 'Disclose Act,' says CCRKBA - PR-USA.net” plus 3 more

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Democrats' Attempt to 'Buy Off' NRA Shows Bankruptcy of 'Disclose Act,' says CCRKBA - PR-USA.net

Posted: 18 Jun 2010 09:29 PM PDT

 This week's highly-publicized effort to exempt the National Rifle Association from the effects of the "Disclose Act," H.R. 5175 shows how fundamentally bankrupt the legislation and its underlying philosophy is, the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms said today.

"The attempt by Democrats to essentially buy off the NRA with a tailor-made exemption should be proof enough that the entire measure is morally, if not legally, repugnant and should be rejected by Congress," said CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb. "The exemption clause, if it were to be formally adopted as an amendment to the bill, is probably unconstitutional. We think that is reason enough for Congress to stop H.R. 5175 in its tracks."

The proposed exemption would only apply to the NRA, while essentially sacrificing the First Amendment rights of other effective grassroots gun rights organizations due to their smaller membership numbers.

"This proposed exemption is unconscionable," Gottlieb said, "but it reveals the desperation of its sponsors to pass legislation that would still silence organizations critical of how the Democrat leadership has mismanaged things on Capitol Hill. We are today urging our 650,000 members and supporters to tell their congressional representatives to derail the Disclose Act altogether.

"Congressional anti-gunners like nothing better than to drive wedges between effective gun rights organizations," he continued, "and this week's events prove they can still accomplish that. We are astonished that anybody on Capitol Hill would imagine for a heartbeat that they could buy off one gun rights group at the expense of all the others. To think they could actually get away with such smarmy Chicago-style politics suggests that the Democrat leadership in Congress has not only lost its moral compass, they've lost their minds.

"While it is disappointing that the NRA might have accepted the exemption," Gottlieb said, "it is despicable that the offer was ever made in the first place. If pro-gun Democrats want to shield the NRA from the effects of H.R. 5175, they should simply vote against the entire bill instead of trying to carve out a special exemption. They have insulted and infuriated millions of gun owners who are represented by smaller grassroots organizations, and they need to hear that loud and clear."

With more than 650,000 members and supporters nationwide, the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms (www.ccrkba.org) is one of the nation's premier gun rights organizations. As a non-profit organization, the Citizens Committee is dedicated to preserving firearms freedoms through active lobbying of elected officials and facilitating grass-roots organization of gun rights activists in local communities throughout the United States.

Source: Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms

Visual Artist William Kentridge to Receive Inamori Foundation's 26th Annual Kyoto ... - Forbes

Posted: 18 Jun 2010 12:29 AM PDT


BusinessWire - The non-profit Inamori Foundation (President: Dr. Kazuo Inamori) today announced that Mr. William Kentridge will receive its 26th annual Kyoto Prize in Arts and Philosophy. Mr. Kentridge, 55, will receive the award for his originality as an artist whose wide-ranging activities encompass drawing, animation, stage direction and writing.

Mr. Kentridge's Work

In the late 1980s, Mr. Kentridge began creating his signature animated films known as "drawings in motion." These works reflect the history and social circumstances of South Africa, where he lives and works. One of his early creations, a series of films featuring the character Soho Eckstein, tells the pains inflicted by the history of his home country. This series drew worldwide attention as an artistic expression resonating with postcolonial criticism.

Using a simple technique that he himself calls "stone-age filmmaking" -- namely, the laborious process of filming, frame by frame, a series of ceaselessly changing charcoal and pastel drawings -- Mr. Kentridge has injected the traditional technique of drawing into diverse media, including animation, video projection and stage set design. In so doing, he has created a new contemporary vehicle of artistic expression within which various media fuse together in multiple ways. Although his works deal with the history and social circumstances of a specific geographic area, they have acquired universality. His deep insights and profound reflections on the nature of human existence provide opportunities to consider fundamental issues that could face any individual in the world.

Underlying his works and activities is a determination to examine universal issues confronting modern people. He accomplishes this by traveling back through the history of visual expression, persistently questioning such issues as the ways in which people may build a relationship with the world, the ambiguities of goodwill and oppression, and the conflicting and ambivalent disposition of the individual. While remaining in the remote country of South Africa, Mr. Kentridge continues to make a great impact on contemporary art in Western society. His world, full of sharp intelligence and profound poetry, exerts great influence on other artists -- and provides individuals worldwide with courage and hope that their attempts and practices may still be effective and fundamental, even amid the stagnation of our contemporary society, swirling with political and social unrest.

Other 2010 Kyoto Prize Laureates

In addition to Mr. Kentridge, this year's Kyoto Prize laureates include:

-- In "Advanced Technology:" Dr. Shinya Yamanaka (citizenship: Japan), 47, a medical scientist, senior investigator at the Gladstone Institute of Cardiovascular Disease in San Francisco; professor at Kyoto University; and director of CiRA, Kyoto University's Center for iPS Cell Research and Application, who pioneered a technology for producing induced pluripotent (iPS) stem cells without the use of embryos; and

-- In "Basic Sciences:" Dr. Laszlo Lovasz (citizenship: Hungary and U.S.), 62, director of the Mathematical Institute at Eotvos Lorand University in Budapest, and president of the International Mathematics Union, who has provided a link among numerous branches of the mathematical sciences in terms of algorithms through his advanced research on discrete structures.

About the Inamori Foundation and the Kyoto Prize

As Japan's highest private award for global achievement, the Kyoto Prize honors significant contributions to the betterment of society. Each Kyoto Prize laureate will be presented with a diploma, a 20-karat-gold Kyoto Prize medal, and a cash gift totaling 50 million yen (approximately US$550,000) during a week of ceremonies beginning November 9, 2010, in Kyoto. The laureates will reconvene in San Diego, Calif., April 4-6, 2011, for the tenth annual Kyoto Prize Symposium.

The non-profit Inamori Foundation was established in 1984 by Dr. Kazuo Inamori, founder and chairman emeritus of Kyocera (NYSE:KYO) and KDDI Corporation. The Kyoto Prize was founded in 1985, in line with Dr. Inamori's belief that a human being has no higher calling than to strive for the greater good of society, and that the future of humanity can be assured only when there is a balance between our scientific progress and our spiritual depth. An emblematic feature of the Kyoto Prize is that it is presented not only in recognition of outstanding achievements, but also in honor of the excellent personal characteristics that have shaped those achievements. The laureates are selected through a strict and impartial process considering candidates recommended from around the world. As of the 25th Kyoto Prize ceremony (November 10, 2009), the Kyoto Prize has been awarded to 81 individuals and one foundation -- collectively representing 13 nations. Individual laureates range from scientists, engineers and researchers to philosophers, painters, architects, sculptors, musicians and film directors. The United States has produced the most recipients (33), followed by Japan (13), the United Kingdom (12), and France (8).

For more information and/or photos, visit: www.kyotoprize.org.

SOURCE: Inamori Foundation

Alarus Agency Stephanie Kellems, Phone: 619-235-4542 Cell: 619-347-2715 E-mail: skellems@alarus.biz or Leila Henry Cell: 619-368-7428 E-mail: leila@alarus.biz

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Pump Jacks' Fisher takes philosophical approach to life, baseball and his future - Longview News-Journal

Posted: 19 Jun 2010 11:19 AM PDT

K ILGORE — Zac Fisher is a baseball player, and a philosophical person. It's reflected in his major at New Mexico State, which naturally is philosophy.

Yet philosophy is more than just theories for Fisher, who is also applying his baseball trade with the East Texas Pump Jacks this summer. It's application. Some proof is a constant reminder on the plastic band around his wrist, which has the slogan, "Pass It On."

"It's about making the pitcher throw more pitches. It's grinding it out," Fisher said. "It's about making the pitcher throw 10, 12 pitches. If I don't get a hit, I can set it up so the next batter will get a hit."

That has happened with the Pump Jacks, and this past spring with New Mexico State, but at an unusually successful level, the next batter will be trying to drive Fisher home.

Fisher has been brilliant with his bat in his first dozen games as a Pump Jack. He is batting .425, second in the Texas Collegiate League to teammate Matt Carvutto, who has a white-hot average of .541.

Going into Friday's games, Fisher leads the TCL in RBIs (11), walks (13), total bases (25) and doubles (5). The Pump Jacks begin a four-game homestand at 7:05 p.m. tonight, playing the McKinney Marshals at Driller Park in Kilgore.

Fisher is continuing a good 2010 for himself. This past spring with New Mexico State, he batted .350 with 11 doubles and 33 RBIs. Despite playing in 38 of his team's 60 games, splitting time at catcher with Ben Harty and Jared Jordan, Fisher was a third-team selection on the Ping! Baseball Freshman All-America Team.

"I was real excited about it," said Fisher about the All-America honor. "I was splitting time, so it was really out of left field. I really feel honored."

Fisher batted .544 for A.B. Miller High School of Fontana, Calif. — which is 50 miles east of Los Angeles — in 2009. Fisher was selected in the 49th round of Major League Baseball's First-Year Player Draft last June, but he decided to go to with New Mexico State in hoping of improving his draft position in the future, perhaps after his junior season in 2012.

While the constant good numbers would not indicate a flaw with his swing, Fisher said there was. It would be corrected with help from New Mexico State assistant coach Gary Ward. Ward was the head coach at Oklahoma State from 1978 to 1996, leading the Cowboys to 10 appearances in the College World Series. Ward's son Rocky is New Mexico State's head coach.

"In high school, I was pushing my weight forward," Fisher said. "Coach Ward's hitting philosophy taught me to keep my weight back and I changed my swing during fall ball."

This adjustment helped Fisher avoid the struggles many freshmen have in collegiate baseball. One reason Fisher has avoided common early hitting struggles in the TCL — a wooden-bat league — is he worked with wooden bats on his own for the past two years.

Fisher said he has also worked with Pump Jack manager Ben Taylor with adjusting his swing for the TCL, mainly trying to make earlier contact with the ball so he is more likely to hit opposite-field hits.

"I'm most impressed with how quickly he picked up how we do things," Taylor said. "He's like a sponge."

Fisher is somewhat soft-spoken off the field in conversation, but Taylor said Fisher is very vocal on the field, whether it concerns calling pitches or in the dugout. Taylor said Fisher can also create volume with an off-field hobby.

"He plays bass guitar. It's very heavy metal. I think one of his favorite bands is Slayer," Taylor said. "He's kind of a renaissance man."

While with the Pump Jacks, Fisher lives with a host family in Longview. Fisher said the best early impression East Texas has made on him is the natural surroundings.

"I like the trees. In Fontana, we live near a mountain range and there are pine trees, but they're scattered," Fisher said. "Here, they're everywhere."

Fisher said he hopes his philosophy studies could help him with handling other baseball players, as he is considering becoming a baseball coach if professional baseball doesn't work out.

On the road to that degree, Fisher has studied the works of Rene Descartes and St. Anselm of Canterbury. Fisher said their views on religion have interested him, yet has also reinforced perhaps the most important philosophy in his life.

"They had theories on the existence of God, but I believe in God. I do everything for God," Fisher said. "You have to send your props upstairs."

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When dad's also your boss - Atlanta Journal Constitution

Posted: 19 Jun 2010 12:45 PM PDT

By Bo Emerson

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Life with father can be a challenge. Work with father can be even tougher.

But plenty of Americans are thankful today not just for their fathers, but for their bosses, who sometimes happen to be one and the same.

The filial and financial are often aligned. More than 80 percent of U.S. businesses are family owned or controlled, according to Torsten Pieper, assistant professor at Coles College of Business at Kennesaw State University and an expert of family businesses.

We talked with some Atlantans who work with and for their fathers, to see how they might celebrate Father's Day.

The Clevelands

In 1925, Ras Hitson Cleveland, an Atlantan with a third-grade education, began repairing electric fans and other appliances. His company grew.

Since then, four generations of Clevelands have been in charge of Cleveland Electric, an electrical contracting company that operates all over the state and has $150 million in annual sales. Jimmy Cleveland Jr., 71, a member of the third generation, is semi-retired as CEO, but remains chairman. Son John, 44, is president and chief operating officer; and younger son David, 38, is a project manager. Two fourth-generation cousins also work at the company.

All have had the experience of working for their fathers, and they refer to it as a privilege — and something of a sobering responsibility.

"It's kind of my position as the head to be a good steward of the resources that I've inherited and a good mentor for the rest of the family," Jimmy Cleveland said. "You don't want to be the one who messed it up. And, frankly, I wouldn't turn it over to them [his children] if I didn't think they could handle it."

"Dad always told us it's not going to be a free ride," David Cleveland said. "You've got to work your way up from the bottom, and wherever you're going to go, you're not going to get promotions just because you're a Cleveland. I think we all put a lot of pressure on ourselves to make sure we are performing at a level that we have earned our way."

Jimmy Cleveland not only likes working with his children, he takes it as a compliment that two of his three sons chose to stay with the company. "They obviously have a choice to go somewhere else."

Before heading back to his part-time home in Jacksonville, the elder Cleveland said he's had an early Father's Day dinner with each of his three sons, including Robert Cleveland, 42, who left the business to work in the home health-care industry.

John Cleveland said what he's learned from his father is "do the right thing in work life and family life." David Cleveland said his father modeled the best qualities that he knows: "Hard work, honesty, ethics, treating people right and loving your family."

The McClatcheys

John B. McClatchey Sr. was teaching philosophy at a small college in North Carolina in 1977 when his father invited him to come to work at the family business, Southern Aluminum Finishing, founded in 1946.

Today McClatchey, 65, is poised to hand over the reigns to one of several family members in his generation. His three children — Eliza, 39, Carl, 36, and John, 33 — all work for the company and praise him, not just as a father, but as a manager.

Working for your father isn't as challenging as it might sound, said Carl McClatchey, comptroller with the company, who worked in bookkeeping at a variety of other businesses before joining the company in 2004.

"The topic dictates what mode he's in. If we're talking about something that's work-related, he's in work mode, and if we're talking about something dad-related, he's in dad mode."

The two have a common interest outside of work, in that Carl studied philosophy at the University of Georgia, leading to breakfast table chats about Kant and Camus. "He is very calm, very reasoned. He doesn't rush to judgment; his thought processes are always transparent and systematic," the son said. "I don't think he would have gone into philosophy if he had not had that demeanor in the first place."

Project manager Eliza McClatchey Evans said when they were growing up, "he has always let us make mistakes and then comforted us afterwards rather than be a 'helicopter parent.' I think he is the same way with employees; he is not a micromanager. It definitely lets you know he has faith in you, which feels good."

Training in philosophy is an unusual precursor to a career in aluminum, but that life has made the senior McClatchey more empathetic, both to customers and vendors, his children say.

"He feels a lot," sales manager John B. McClatchey Jr. said. "I think that transferred to me in sales. A lot of what I do is built on developing relationships."

Is it difficult to avoid the temptation to treat your adult children as if they're still children?

John B. McClatchey Sr. said switching between the fatherly and managerial hats isn't too challenging. "Usually, I only have trouble if a family member is disagreeing with another." He solves that problem by taking himself out of the equation. "If I want to step in, I don't."

The elder McClatchey responded by e-mail from Sweden, where he is visiting family. Father's Day will have to wait until he gets back, when the family plans to take in a Braves game.

The Wilsons

The CEO of Home Depot often stresses a back-to-basics philosophy, extolling the old days and the company's founding principles of customer care.

Chris Wilson, 30, the Northeast Georgia district manager at Home Depot, knows all about the "old days" because he learned them at his daddy's knee. His father, George Wilson, began working for Home Depot 28 years ago, and the Wilson bloodline runs Home Depot orange.

"I grew up in the store. I was there all the time," said the younger Wilson, who used to help his dad's boss put out flowers in the garden department when he was 6 years old. Everybody he knew worked at the big box chain, and he knew as a teenager he wanted to join the company.

His dad has never been his boss, but his dad's philosophy has always been the rule: put the customer first.

After stints at other stores, the son came to work at the Stone Mountain location where his father worked. Chris ran the garden department and his father ran flooring. "People always used to come to me and brag about my dad, about what a caring guy he was. ... And being at the same store with him made me work harder. I never wanted to disappoint him."

After Chris Wilson was promoted to assistant store manager in another store, his superiors sought out George to brag about Chris. "You have moments of pride," said the elder Wilson, 53. "We had the same district manager, and he'd come tell me how good a job my son was doing. I was so proud he was able to succeed in the business I was in myself."

George Wilson has remained happily at the assistant store manager level, now at the store in Monroe.

Chris has climbed the corporate ladder. The father is proud of his son — and his other two children, Jennifer, 28, who is going into teaching, and Ryan, 25, who is in the heating and cooling business.

Chris would like to move up the chain of command at Home Depot, but his short-term goal is to keep pushing performance. He jokes to his associates that they need to work hard to bring up that stock price so his dad can afford to retire.

Or at least take a day off. George Wilson may be working today, which means Father's Day could be a lunch-break get-together.

Somehow, the setting seems appropriate. "My dad, he always came home happy," Chris Wilson said. "And to friends and neighbors, I was always proud to say my dad's a manager at Home Depot."

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