Philosophy of Life from one person's perspective. What do you think?

1. 85

   tsmogposted 8 months ago

   Copy/Pasted from Facebook comes the following;
   
   BY AGE 40  YOU SHOULD BE SMART ENOUGH TO REALIZE THIS:
   
   1. Someone makes 10x more than you do in a 9-5 job because they have more "leverage" with their work.
   2. Distraction is the greatest killer of success. It stunts and destroys your brain.
   3. You shouldn't take advice from people who are not where you want to be in life.
   4. No one is coming to save your problems. Your life's 100% your responsibility.
   5. You don't need 100 self-help books, all you need is action and self discipline.
   6. Unless you went to college to learn a specific skill (ie. doctor, engineer, lawyer), you can make more money in the next 90 days just learning sales.
   7. No one cares about you. So stop being shy, go out and create your chances.
   8. If you find someone smarter than you, work with them, don't compete.
   9. Smoking has 0 benefit in your life. This habit will only slow your thinking and lower your focus.
   10. Comfort is the worst addiction and cheap ticket to depression.
   11. Don't tell people more than they need to know, respect your privacy.
   12. Avoid alcohol at all cost. Nothing worse than losing your senses and acting a fool.
   13. Keep your standards high and don't settle for something because it's available.
   14. The family you create is more important than the family you come from.
   15. Train yourself to take nothing personally to save yourself from 99.99% of mental problems.
   
   Do you think this person learned these from the UHK (University of Hard Knocks)?
   
   Are they true today?
   
   Do you agree with some more than others? Or, all? Or, none?
   
   Thoughts to kick about . . .
   
   

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2. 69

   abwilliamsposted 8 months ago

   Some I agree with, not all.
   If #7 were true and absolutely no one cared, then rule out #12, because alcohol will fill that void.
   With no love and a personal relationship with alcohol, #15, becomes your #1 priority.

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   1. 85

      tsmogposted 8 months agoin reply to this

      Thanks, AB for the contribution. However, you gave food for thought and I am still thinking about it today.
      
      I don't know about #7 myself. It seems like it conflated two different scenarios. I can see it with the work or formal education environment, but not the social environment inclusive of family or intimate friendships.
      
      Besides, that what the heck doe the person mean with, "create your own chances." Does that mean opportunities or luck?
      
      I will ponder more . . .

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3. 82

   Brenda Arledgeposted 8 months ago

   Only with some of them...
   You definitely have to mske your own way in the world ...no one can do that for you.
   The family you create is important, but no one should forget where they came from.
   
   Smoking...I was a smoker for many years and honestly I think it helped me to focus .
   
   It does not hurt to read self help books...the more knowledge we gain the better.
   
   I imagine thus person simply read it somewhere and posted it...because the hard knocks school would teach you to keep it private.

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      tsmogposted 8 months agoin reply to this

      Thanks for the comment Brenda!
      
      I go along with the observations you made.
      
      Family history is important as I see it.
      
      Smoking . . . well I could write a book about that ha-ha I'm currently a smoker that sometime in the short future will be embarking on stop smoking. So, currently my feelings and thoughts are mixed.
      
      As far as self help books the way I see it my curriculum text books in school are in fact self help books. Yet, I go along with the person's second part . . . " all you need is action and self discipline.", except strike out, "all". I am thinking of the idiom, "The road to hell is paved with good intentions" In other words, those self help books (School books included) offer direction.

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4. 92

   Nathanvilleposted 8 months ago

   Some to some degree or another; but a lot not much or not at all e.g. I don’t agree with #4 “No one is coming to save your problems. Your life's 100% your responsibility.”
   
   All through life, even to this day; I rely on others and I frequently help others.  For example I have a couple of friends who frequently contact me for ‘help and advice’, and in return when I need help and advice they return the favour.

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   1. 85

      tsmogposted 8 months agoin reply to this

      Thanks for the insight, Arthur. In full 100% agreement with your view on #4. As an example this OP Post is seeking, "Help and advice", right?
      
      Yet, with thought, I can go along with the second part of #4, "Your life's 100% your responsibility." to an extent. I will ponder some more.

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      1. 92

         Nathanvilleposted 8 months agoin reply to this

         With family and friends in particular, you look out for each other, and you take care of each other; and then on a wider scale, charitable causes looks out for those who need help - and so does Governments, especially more so in nanny States (like Britain).  So, your parents, family, friends, charities and government's (especially in nanny States) have a responsibility for your life - without such help, many, many people would drown.
         
         On the flip side; people who don't pull their weight to help themselves gets little help and respect from others and society as a whole, from those who are willing to offer support when needed.

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         1. 85

            tsmogposted 8 months agoin reply to this

            Good insight, as I see it, Arthur.
            
            To 'help' me stay focused I am posting #4 next;
            
            "4. No one is coming to save your problems. Your life's 100% your responsibility."
            
            First, the thought that was conjured is with the second sentence, "Your life's 100% your responsibility",  that being "exclaiming, subtly asking, or crying out . . . help" is a person's responsibility. In other words, "No one is coming to save your problems" (Note: Probably meant is save you from your problems) pretty much because they don't know you need 'help'. I say that in general as there always are exceptions.
            
            Your last paragraph offers much food for thought. Again, the first thought conjured, which may be compare/contrast with the UK, is that 'help' has two routes - freely given without cost, perhaps only gratitude as in 'thanks', and the other route is at a cost of some kind usually financially or some such as in a trade of some sort or bartering like values be they what they are.
            
            In the case of the latter at times the cost is prohibitive and not 'worth' it. Although that being the case, the person in fact did carry their weight to help themself, they just ran into a wall or an impasse.
            
            Consider the above is just a thought experiment, not a concrete resolute 'belief'.

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            1. 92

               Nathanvilleposted 8 months agoin reply to this

               Yep, absolutely, I concur with everything you say – absolutely.
               
               Yep, most certainly - unless you ask for help, people will often be unaware that you need help (crystal balls is a rare commodity!).
               
               Where you said “….compare/contrast with the UK, is that 'help' has two routes - freely given without cost….” and so on….
               
               The example of a contrast with the USA and UK that sprang to my mind, is Citizens Advice:
               
               Citizens Advice, founded in 1939, is a charity that provides free help (assistance) and advice to assist people with legal, debt, consumer, housing and other problems in the UK e.g. if you have debts that you can't pay, Citizens Advice will negotiate with your creditors on your behalf.
               
               Citizens Advice is a ‘Free service’, that provides ‘Confidentiality’, ‘Impartiality’ and ‘Independence’
               
               The twin aims of the Citizens Advice service are "to provide the advice people need for the problems they face" and secondly "to improve the policies and principles that affect people's lives"
               
               Statistically, 40% of the British public use Citizens Advice sometime during their lifetime.
               
               Although Citizens Advice is a charity, it gets 60% of its funding from Government.   In fact Citizens Advice has a peculiar relationship with Government in that although it is dependent upon Government for funding, it also acts as a high-profile critic of government policy.
               
               Organisations modelled on Citizens Advice have been created in Australia, New Zealand, Spain, and Gibraltar; but not surprisingly, not in the USA.
               
               What is Citizens Advice https://youtu.be/TNo26iPlvMk
               
               How can Citizens Advice help with debt? https://youtu.be/05MNUQgyOeo

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                  tsmogposted 8 months agoin reply to this

                  Thanks and interesting information!
                  
                  Citizens Advice, yes, is something I don't 'think' is available here. I did a cursory look not seeing anything. I mean that in the sense of a centralized organization.
                  
                  However, there are plenty of charities offering free services. You just have to find them. Debt probably is not in the realm as far as doing any negotiating. As a matter of fact next is the landing page of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on the topic of debt relief. They are an official U.S. governmental agency.
                  
                  What is a debt relief program and how do I know if I should use one? (Aug 28, 2023)
                  https://www.consumerfinance.gov/ask-cfp … e-en-1457/
                  
                  "Debt relief or settlement companies are companies that say they can renegotiate, settle, or in some way change the terms of a person's debt to a creditor or debt collector. Dealing with these companies can be risky."
                  
                  In that article they offer a link for information on not-for-profit Credit 'Counseling'. The link follows next.
                  
                  What is credit counseling? (Aug 2, 2023)
                  https://www.consumerfinance.gov/ask-cfp … g-en-1451/
                  
                  "Credit counseling organizations can advise you on your money and debts, help you with a budget, develop debt management plans, and offer money management workshops."
                  
                  Unfortunately, how many will discover those two when looking for help while in many cases they are in desperation.
                  
                  As an aside, what is your view that Citizens Advice for its conception was influenced by the socialism of Labour party in the early 1900's? As far as that goes is the UK a Socialist Democratic nation?

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                     Nathanvilleposted 8 months agoin reply to this

                     Thanks for the feedback and links.  Wow – it’s quite a mind field in America if you get into serious debt; with plenty of risks if you seek help from a ‘debt relief or settlement company’ – from your links it seems obvious that seeking help from a ‘not-for-profit’ Credit Counselling service in America is by far the best option.  But as you say “….how many will discover those…..when looking for help while in many cases they are in desperation.”
                     
                     While in contrast, in the UK ‘Citizens Advice’ is a completely free service, is well established, has a good reputation, and is well known to everyone – So it’s become second nature for Brits to think of Citizens Advice first, when most needed.
                     
                     As regards your last paragraph:
                     
                     Yep, looking at its history; the conception of Citizens Advice was very much influenced by the socialism of the Labour Party – The creation of Citizens Advice in 1939 is linked to the emergence of a fledgling social welfare service and the outbreak of World War II (troubling times) – but the concept dates back to an obscure ‘Report’ (apparently called the Betterton Report on Public Assistance” published by the Labour Party in 1924.
                     
                     Yep, in all but name the UK is essentially a ‘Socialist Democratic nation’.  Although we do currently have a politically right-wing Conservative/Capitalist Government in power, they are saddled with a plethora of socialist leaning legislation e.g. the NHS & Welfare State etc.; and although in power, the Conservatives can’t easily change those laws to any great extent for two main reasons:-
                     
                     1.    If such changes are not in their ‘Election Manifesto’ the House of Lords are likely to block any such adverse changes to the laws – as happened in 2012.
                     
                     2.    A lot of the socialist leaning legislation is popular with Conservative voters; so to put such proposals in their Election Manifesto (in order to push it through the House of Lords) would be political suicide for the Conservative Party.
                     
                     Also, there is currently a major rift in right-wing politics in Britain, which may well see the demise of the Conservative Party in the forthcoming General Election and see left wing governments in power in Britain for years to come e.g. by splitting the vote on the right – A similar scenario to what happened to the Liberal Party in 1945, from which they have never recovered.
                     
                     In summary, the Conservative Party is a broad church with right wing politicians ranging from the hard-right (nationalism) to the soft-right (liberalism).  The split in recent years between the two sides within the Conservative Party has manifested itself into a breakaway hard-right-wing political party calling themselves ‘Reform UK’; and the Reform UK Party is a real threat to the Conservative Party because it is gaining popularity from hard-right-wing voters, and under the ‘1st past the post voting system’ threatens letting left-wing parties win seats because of a split in the vote on the right.
                     
                     Latest Voting Intentions (26th March) for the UK General Election later this year is:-
                     
                     •    Labour = 40%
                     •    Conservatives = 21%
                     •    Reform UK = 16%
                     •    Liberal Democrats = 10%
                     •    Green Party = 8%
                     
                     To win an overall majority, a political party needs to win at least 316 seats; currently the Conservatives have 365 seats (a 49 seat majority in Parliament).
                     
                     It’s predicted by political analysts that by splitting the vote on the right, the Reform UK party could cost the Conservative losing around 96 seats to the left e.g. Labour and Liberal Democrats – and with the Conservatives already poor performance in the polls, the best estimate is that in the forthcoming General Election the Conservatives may only win 113 seats (which would be the lowest number of seats the Conservatives have ever had in the whole history of Parliament under a democratic system.
                     
                     https://www.theguardian.com/politics/ng … rmer-sunak
                     
                     Reform UK’s threat to the Conservatives:  https://youtu.be/FmEQmtPHiE0

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                        tsmogposted 8 months agoin reply to this

                        Thanks for the info! I took note of " 2. A lot of the socialist leaning legislation is popular with Conservative voters . . ." In my mind that means the conservatives to an extent have to tip-toe sort to speak.
                        
                        Believe it or not "As of November 2022, there were at least 53 distinct ballot-qualified political parties in the United States. There were 209 state-level parties.[1] Some parties are recognized in multiple states. For example, both the Democratic Party and the Republican Party are recognized in all 50 states and Washington, D.C. These two parties account for more than half of the 209 total state-level parties.[2][3][4] Three minor parties were recognized in more than 10 states as of November 2022:
                        
                        ** Libertarian Party: 39 states
                        ** Green Party: 27 states[5]
                        ** Constitution Party: 15 states[6]
                        
                        For the 2020 presidential/general election there were four notable candidates on the ballot.
                        
                        ** Joe Biden, Democrat = 51.3% of vote
                        ** Donald Trump, Republican = 46.9% of vote
                        ** Jo Jorgensen, Libertarian = 1.2% of vote
                        ** Howie Hawkins, Green = 0.3%
                        
                        There were others, but they were at 0.1% or less of vote.
                        
                        Presidential candidates, 2020 by Ballotpedia (Scroll about 1/4 of the way down to see the list. Notice there is a Socialist Worker Party candidate, Alyson Kennedy, with a total of 6,791 votes.)
                        https://ballotpedia.org/Presidential_candidates,_2020
                        
                        I am pretty sure you know the president is not determined by the popular vote. It is determined by the electoral college. Usually the electoral college will represent the popular vote, but not always. For instance, for 2016 Trump didn't win the popular vote, but did win the electoral college.
                        
                        The Electoral College Explained in Under 5 Minutes by wyzant (Oct 21, 2020)
                        https://www.wyzant.com/blog/the-elector … gIOCvD_BwE
                        
                        Generally speaking, with studies and polls there are three designations that are tracked. Those are:
                        (Note: the percentage is by Gallup Poll for Feb 20, 2024)
                        
                        ** Republicans = 28%
                        ** Democrats = 30%
                        ** Independents = 42%
                        
                        First, Independents in this case and most usually is not the official Independent Party. Independents are those who do not desire to declare themselves as a Republican or Democrat. However, studies share that somewhere around 81% of them have a party lean.
                        
                        For instance, I am an independent voter. In California that is officially known as a 'No Party Preference'.
                        
                        Speculatively, the independent voters are the wildcard voters. At least the 19% that don't have a lean. They are crucial to campaigning strategy. That is more so in the swing states for the electoral college tally. A swing state is a state that doesn't have a clear tradition of voting Republican or Democrat.
                        
                        For instance California is distinctly a 'blue state' or Democrat/liberal. Texas is distinctly a 'red state' or Republican/conservative.
                        
                        Take a peek at the following link for states traditional voting or if a swing state.
                        
                        2024 Presidential Election Interactive Map by 270toWin. Key is to win the electoral college you need a minimum of 270 electoral college votes to win the presidency. I am sure you can see the importance of winning swing states.
                        https://www.270towin.com/

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                        1. 92

                           Nathanvilleposted 8 months agoin reply to this

                           Yeah, most certainly; in British politics, political parties (including the Conservative Party) have to, as you said “tip-toe”, so as not to alienate one side or the other of their ‘broad-based supporters (voters)’ so as to not lose too much of their support base from either being too soft or too hard with their political policies.
                           
                           The definition used in British politics is ‘soft & hard’ e.g. voters in any political party who lean towards the centre of politics (Liberalism) are called ‘soft’, and voters who lean strongly towards the extremes (extreme left or extreme right) are called ‘hard’ (each political party has its own broad spread of both types of voters) e.g. we don’t get such a stark divide between different political party voters in Britain like you see in American Politics these days (The divide between Republican vs Democrats, and “never the twain shall meet”).
                           
                           In British politics, the old saying “You can please some of the people all of the time, you can please all of the people some of the time, but you can’t please all of the people all of the time” holds very true.
                           
                           Thanks for the links:  It took a couple of reads of your post and a coffee break to get clear in my mind the ‘language differences’ between American and British – Namely:
                           
                           •    What you call ‘Independent’ (No Party Preference) voter in America is what we call ‘floating voters’ in the UK.
                           
                           •    What we call ‘Independent’ in the UK, is truly ‘Independent’ in every sense of the word e.g. no leaning, preference, support or connection with any political party (big or small).
                           
                           In the House of Lords, out of the 791 politicians in the House of Lords, 222 are Independent:-
                           
                           The politicians currently in the House of Lords, by political party:
                           
                           •    Conservatives = 278
                           •    Independent politicians = 222
                           •    Labour = 174
                           •    Liberal Democrats = 80
                           •    Bishops = 25
                           •    Other political parties = 12
                           
                           I have heard before that there are multiple parties in American Elections; it’s just a shame that the Electoral College and electoral system in general disenfranchise minor parties from winning – thus creating what is essential a two-party system, which in my view is less democratic?  E.g. 98.2% of the popular vote and 100% of the Electoral votes in the 2020 Presidential Election was for either Republican or Democrats – No scope for minor parties to have any real influence in American politics.
                           
                           In the UK the political parties who will be putting up candidates in all 650 seats will be:-
                           
                           •    Conservatives
                           •    Labour
                           •    Liberal Democrats
                           •    Green Party
                           •    Reform UK
                           
                           Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland have their own political parties e.g. the SNP (Scottish National Party – a socialist party) holds 43 of the 59 Scottish Seats; and neither Labour nor the Conservative hold any seats in Northern Ireland; they are all won by Irish political parties.
                           
                           The current political makeup of politicians in the House of Commons is as follows:-
                           
                           •    Conservatives = 348
                           •    Labour = 200
                           •    Scottish National Party = 43
                           •    Independent MPs (truly independent in every sense of the word) = 16
                           •    Liberal Democrats = 15
                           •    Small politic parties (9 different political parties in total) = 26
                           
                           Like, as you describe for America, we also have in the UK the ‘safe seats’ and ‘marginal seats’ (swing seats); and elections are won and lost predominately by what happens in the marginal seats.
                           
                           In Bristol, where I live, all four Constituency seats are currently classified as ‘Safe’ Labour Seats – but there is growing speculation that the Green Party might just win one or two of the Bristol seats in this year’s General Election.

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                           1. 85

                              tsmogposted 8 months agoin reply to this

                              Thanks for the info!
                              
                              Relative to the make-up of the House of Commons is that Congress is the House of Representatives and Senate at the Federal level.. The House of Representatives members are by state based on population for how many each state can have. They are Districts.
                              
                              They are elected by a popular vote. Naturally, the party affiliation of each representative representing a District can vary. In other words, each state may have representatives from both the Republican and Democrat party or, even, Independents.
                              
                              Today, in the House of Representatives, 118th Congress, there are only Democrats (213) and Republicans (218) and, today, 4 vacancies. However, in the Senate there are 3 independents. Republicans are 49. Democrats are 48.
                              
                              For the Senate each state gets two. They are elected by popular vote.
                              
                              Current independent and minor party federal and state officeholders by Ballotpedia
                              https://ballotpedia.org/Current_indepen … iceholders
                              
                              For me, in Escondido, I am in the 48th Congressional District for California. My House of Representative member is a Republican, Darrell Issa. Both of the Senators for California, today, are Democrats. However this coming general election in Nov will be a neck-n-neck race between Republicans and Democrats for a Senate seat to be filled.
                              
                              For my state, California, we discover; "The California State Legislature is a two-house (bicameral) body composed of an Assembly, whose 80 members are elected to two-year terms; and a Senate, whose 40 members are elected for four-year terms."
                              
                              For me in Escondido my State Assemblyperson is Republican. My State Senator is Republican. However, for context, the state of California traditionally votes 'Blue' with the presidential election. In other words, vote for the Democrat Party based on the majority of votes. So, seen for me my representatives at the state level run counter to the trend.
                              
                              Just to add, the Mayor of Escondido is a Republican. He has an interesting life story you may enjoy reading about. For instance, he was once homeless.
                              
                              Escondido’s Mayor Used to Live on the Street Behind a 7-Eleven by Voice of San Diego (May 24, 2023)
                              https://voiceofsandiego.org/2023/05/24/ … s-efforts/

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                                 Nathanvilleposted 8 months agoin reply to this

                                 Thanks for the links; the read about your Mayor was fascinating – a real ‘from rags to riches’ story.
                                 
                                 It took me a while to work out the significance of your first link; then it dawned on me that the list of ‘Independent’ state officeholders equates to ‘County Councils’ in the UK e.g. Local Government.  In the UK there are 217 main (upper-tier) Local Governments; each one operating similar in some respects to how States are governed in America.
                                 
                                 In the UK Local Governments are called ‘Councils’ and elected local politicians in local government are called ‘Councillors’.
                                 
                                 In England, the number of Councillors (elected local government politicians) by political parties is:-
                                 
                                 •    Labour = 5,609
                                 •    Conservatives = 5,395
                                 •    Liberal Democrats = 2,804
                                 •    Independents (and small parties) = 1,638
                                 •    Green Party = 757
                                 
                                 In local government in the UK, one third of the seats are elected each May every year e.g. a three year cycle; and this year the prediction is that the Conservatives will lose about half of the 1,000 of their councillors who come up for re-election in the local elections on 2nd May e.g. an expected loss of about 500 seats in local government.
                                 
                                 Turning back to your local mayor, with his fascinating history; we are about to lose our Bristol Mayor e.g. in 2022 the people of Bristol in a local referendum voted 59% in favour of abolishing the Bristol Mayor (when his term of Office ends this May).  This event came about primarily because since 2022 the Greens have had a slim majority over Labour in the Bristol Council (local government), but with a Labour Mayor – causing friction between Labour and the Greens, as the Mayor was siding with Labour rather than Greens on policies.  Hence the Green party forced through the referendum in Council, and the people of Bristol made their democratic decision on the matter.
                                 
                                 The current elected local government politicians (councillors) in Bristol are (36 seats required for overall/majority control):-
                                 
                                 •    Green Party = 24
                                 •    Labour = 23
                                 •    Conservatives = 14
                                 •    Liberal Democrats = 5
                                 •    Local Community Party = 2
                                 •    Independents = 2
                                 
                                 Although in local government in the USA (State Government), from you link it seems that there is scope for small parties and independent politicians; it’s a shame that that is not so for Federal Government e.g. none in the House of Representatives, and only three in the Senate.
                                 
                                 Yes, I learnt a lot on how politicians are elected to the House of Representatives and the Senate during the controversial Trump presidential election in 2016. 
                                 
                                 The big difference between how politicians are elected to the House of Representatives in the USA compared to the House of Commons in the UK, is that the seats (Constituencies) in the UK are not by the UK equivalent of “state based on population for how many each state can have” – The UK is simply divided into 650 roughly equal parts, called constituencies (seats), with each seat average around 70,000 voters:  And periodically the Boundary Commission will make slight changes to the boundaries to reflect shifts in the population e.g. part of the Boundary in my Constituency is changing for the next General Election – There’s currently four constituencies in Bristol.
                                 
                                 Come the General Election, voters in each of the 650 seats (constituencies) will make their democratic choice as to who will represent them in the new Parliament - except for the speaker’s seat e.g. in the UK all the major political parties have a ‘gentlemen’s agreement’ that none of them will contest the ‘speaker’s constituency’, which means that in practice the speaker is elected unopposed, denying the 70,000 voters in that constituency a free and democratic choice!!!  See video below for an explanation:-
                                 
                                 Why Does Only One Place in the UK not have an MP? https://youtu.be/C3KkbZADCiM
                                 
                                 Of course, the biggest difference between our two ‘Legislative Chambers’ in the UK (House of Commons and House of Lords), and your two ‘Legislative Chambers’ in the USA (House of Representatives and the Senate) is the House of Lords:
                                 
                                 The politician in the House of Lords are NOT elected, not paid, and are either ‘life peers’, ‘hereditary peers’, or CofE Bishops.
                                 
                                 •    A life peer is an unelected politician appointed to the House of Lords for life.
                                 
                                 •    A hereditary peer is unelected politician who inherited the seat from his father, inheritances that goes back centuries, sometimes back to medieval Britain.
                                 
                                 Of the 791 unelected politicians in the House of Lords, 91 are hereditary peers, and 25 are CofE Bishops; my favourite hereditary peer was Lord Bath (7th Marquess of Bath), he was a Liberal Democrat in the House of Lords, and a very lovable character, liked by all, as the following short video shows.  Unfortunately he died from Covid during the pandemic, so now his title has been inherited by his eldest son (8th Marquess of Bath):  Bath is only 11 miles from where we live, so we quite frequently visit the city of Bath, and have on a number of occasions visited Longleat Safari Park set up by Lord Bath on his Estate in Bath in 1966.
                                 
                                 Lord Bath: https://youtu.be/BgrLhMS40I8

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                                 1. 85

                                    tsmogposted 8 months agoin reply to this

                                    Thanks, Arthur!
                                    
                                    I have a better grasp of the legislating body(s) of the Parliament as well as the councils.
                                    
                                    I should insert with states there also are counties and Louisiana they call them parishes. The influence of the French. Here in my county they have a County Board of Supervisors. I am in district 5 of the county and going along with my other representatives in the various governing agencies he is a Republican. 
                                    
                                    So it works out like this for me.
                                    
                                    ** City government - Mayor and city council
                                    
                                    ** County government - Board of Supervisors
                                    
                                    ** State government - Governor = executive, State Assembly & Senate = Legislators
                                    
                                    ** Federal government = President = executive, House of Representatives & Senate = Legislature, PLUS (+) the judiciary or Supreme Court, thus three equal branches of government as the Constitution provides for.
                                    
                                    How the legal system works is at the top is the Supreme Court
                                    
                                    Federal Court system
                                    
                                    State Court system
                                    
                                    Tribal Court system
                                    
                                    For info if curious link next
                                    How Courts Work by California Courts (Note: it goes into the three types. Also, judges can be appointed and elected.)
                                    https://www.courts.ca.gov/998.htm?rdeLocaleAttr=en

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                                       Nathanvilleposted 8 months agoin reply to this

                                       Yep, it’s a similar structure in the UK; as well as the 217 main (upper-tier) Councils (local governments), we also have District Councils and Parish Councils as lower-tier Councils as appropriate.  For example, in Bristol we just have the one level of local government; but 21 of the 217 main (upper-tier) Councils also have District Councils e.g. Oxfordshire, which has one County Council, with 5 District Councils under the control of the County Councils.  And in rural areas, as well as having County and District Councils, the local small isolated villages and towns will also have their own town and Parish (village) Councils.  If you every watched the ‘Vicar of Dibley’ (British TV Comedy Series) then that typifies a typical British Parish Council.  Or this real-life Parish Council meeting that went virial on the web a few years ago, because it’s a laugh: https://youtu.be/BujIT9NSDoM
                                       
                                       Thanks for the link on your California and Federal Court system; I read it a couple of times, and took a coffee break to let it sink in e.g. there are a number of fundamental differences between the American and British Justice system so it took away to get those differences clear in my head.
                                       
                                       First the similarity e.g. the separation of power between the Executive, the Legislature and the Judicial; as required by both the American and British Constitutions:
                                       
                                       In the UK:
                                       
                                       •    Executive = Government
                                       •    Legislature = Parliament (House of Commons & House of Lords)
                                       •    Judicial = Supreme Court & the European Court on Human Rights
                                       
                                       For simplicity I’ll just stick to the legal system in England and Wales, because although the court system in Northern Ireland is similar, Scotland has its own court system in Scotland.  And for those Commonwealth countries that still recognise the King as their Monarch, their court of final appeal is the Kings Privy Council.
                                       
                                       Now for the difference between the American/Californian Court System and the Court System in England and Wales:-
                                       
                                       CRIMINAL COURTS in England & Wales:
                                       1(a):   Magistrate Court – If the maximum penalty is 6 months prison, or
                                       
                                       1(b):    Crown Court – If the maximum penalty is 6 months or greater.
                                       
                                       2:    Court of Appeal
                                       
                                       3:    Supreme Court
                                       
                                       4:    European Court of Human Rights
                                       
                                       MAGISTRATE COURTS
                                       •    Magistrate Courts originated in England and Wales over 650 years ago.
                                       
                                       •    Magistrate Courts deal with all criminal cases where the maximum penalty is 6 months.
                                       
                                       •    Magistrate Courts don’t have judges; instead the defendant is judged by 3 unpaid local citizens, who have NO legal qualifications, and no legal training, and who are people selected from all walks of life who give their time voluntarily to make a positive difference to their local community.  New magistrates are appointed by a local Judge on the recommendations of a panel of 12 magistrates.
                                       
                                       •    Magistrate Courts deal with around 95% of all criminal cases in England and Wales.
                                       
                                       •    If the maximum sentence is 6 months, then a defendant can choose to be either judge by three magistrates in a Magistrates Court, or opt to be judge by a jury of 12 fellow citizens in a Crown Court.
                                       
                                       BECOMING A MAGISTRATE IN ENGLAND AND WALES: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.u … 010917.pdf
                                       
                                       CROWN COURT
                                       The Crown Court, which deals with all criminal cases where the maximum penalty is more than 6 months prison, is perhaps a little more like your ‘Trial Courts’ in California; except that in a Crown Court there is always a jury of 12 citizens, and unlike America neither the prosecution nor defence can vet the jury e.g. the jury is picked at random – And the other slight difference is that unlike America the Judge cannot direct the jury, the Judge can only advise the jury; and regardless to what the jury decides, the jury’s decision is final and binding – unless the case goes to ‘Appeal’.
                                       
                                       COURT OF APPEAL
                                       The Court of Appeal deals with appeals from both civil and criminal courts; and is presided over by just Judges, no jury.
                                       
                                       SUPREME COURT
                                       The Supreme Court deals with appeals from both civil and criminal courts – Routine appeals are normally heard by 5 Justices, but for issues of high importance the case is heard by 9 judges. 
                                       
                                       Unlike the USA, the Executive (Government) has no influence over the appointment of new Supreme Court Judges e.g. to maintain a true ‘Division of Power’; new Supreme Court Judges are appointed by an independent body.
                                       
                                       EUROPEAN COURT OF HUMAN RIGHTS
                                       Unlike the USA, in the UK the Supreme Court is NOT the Final court of Appeal; in the UK, the European Court of Human Rights, for both civil and criminal cases, is the ‘final court of appeal’; and decisions made in the European Court of Human Rights take precedence over British Law – to the annoyance of the UK Conservative Government who have now been stopped twice by the European Court of Human Rights within the last 18 months from sending our illegal immigrants to Rwanda on the grounds that such action would be illegal under International Law.
                                       
                                       You might be confused that the UK still comes under the jurisdiction of the European Court of Human Rights since the UK left the EU in 2021.  But, the European Court of Human Rights is NOT an EU institution, it’s a European Institution, and as such any European country not in the EU can choose whether they sign up to the European Court of Human Rights (obviously all EU member States are automatically signed up to this court). 
                                       
                                       Needless to say the Hard (extreme) right-wing Conservative MPs (politicians in the House of Commons) have been putting a lot of pressure on the Prime Minister (Conservative Government) to withdraw from the European Court of Human Rights; but (for whatever reason) so far both Boris Johnson, and now the current Conservative Prime Minister have decided that the UK should remain a member of the European Court of Human Rights.
                                       
                                       The European Court on Human Rights - how does it work?  https://youtu.be/yC1ndo8yX0w
                                       
                                       As you will see from the above video; 46 European countries (out of the 50 European countries including Russia ) belong to the European Court of European Rights; for obvious reasons Russia is one of the 4 European countries that are not members.
                                       
                                       CIVIL COURTS in England & Wales
                                       Instead of Magistrates courts its ‘Tribunals Courts’, and instead of Crown Courts, its County Courts; then from the Tribunal or County Courts it’s on the Court of Appeal; then the Supreme Court, and finally the European Court of Human Rights.

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                           Nathanvilleposted 8 months agoin reply to this

                           Yep, tip-toe they have to do; where you said “I took note of " 2. A lot of the socialist leaning legislation is popular with Conservative voters . . ." In my mind that means the conservatives to an extent have to tip-toe sort to speak.
                           
                           The breaking news across all the British mainstream news media this morning is this ‘hot off the press’, news item (link below) e.g. the Conservatives are facing potentially their worst ever election defeat; even the Prime Minister is at risk of losing his seat in the General Election later this year.
                           
                           https://www.theguardian.com/politics/20 … arch-shows

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                              tsmogposted 8 months agoin reply to this

                              Thanks for the 'hot of the press' article, Arthur!
                              
                              The bottom line appears for both of our countries the next general election proves it will be exciting with a lot at stake!

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                                 Nathanvilleposted 8 months agoin reply to this

                                 Yep; the General Election will be a most exciting time: 
                                 
                                 Come the General Election I shall be laying on the sofa in front of the TV all night, with plenty of coffee and snacks – and a bottle of beer handy to celebrate when it becomes clear that the Conservatives have lost.
                                 
                                 On the day of the election, counting starts as soon as the polling stations close, which is at 10pm; and by 6am (when over 90% of the votes have been counted), if not sooner, I should have a clear picture of the scale of the Conservative’s defeat, Labour’s victory – Although, I am sure there will be a few surprise results (there always are), which adds to the excitement.
                                 
                                 I shall also be watching the Presidential Elections closely if it looks as if it might be a Democrat win!

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                                    tsmogposted 8 months agoin reply to this

                                    Yup, come November when the general election arrives will be exciting as has been the case in the past especially the modern era with TV and etc.
                                    
                                    Me, I will most likely sleep through most of it and check the internet when I awaken to my first cup of coffee at 4 am. Wait! I lied. I most usually watch TMZ Live at 4 am to get the scoop on the celebrity world with all the scandals, divorces, romances, and so on. They also have business and politics in the mix. It is a left leaning organization, but very enjoyable to watch. Entertaining in my view. I see the broadcast of the day before.
                                    
                                    TMZ Live
                                    https://www.tmz.com/watch/tmz-live/

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                                       Nathanvilleposted 8 months agoin reply to this

                                       Thanks for the link to TMZ Live; I browsed it last night, and again a couple times this morning – to try to get a feel for it e.g. we don’t really have anything like it (as such) in the UK; albeit we do have perhaps a dozen or so Live TV Chart shows that have some similarities, such as ‘Loose Women’ which is aired for an hour on ITV during the working week from 12:30pm to 1:30pm.  But perhaps the closest might be ‘Good Morning Britain’ which is aired on ITV during the working week (Monday to Friday) from 6am to 9am.
                                       
                                       Below is an excerpt from ‘Good Morning Britain’ when they were discussing “When Should You Let Children Drink Alcohol” e.g. in Britain children can legally drink alcohol at home from the age of 5:   https://youtu.be/pc-YN5P-9D8

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   Vlado - Val Karasposted 8 months ago

   I think the whole thing is a bunch of generalizations. It all depends on the individual cases, which include one's intelligence and emotional readiness for life challenges. While some folks may need help, others brave through life with a spirit of self-sufficiency. Likewise, some may find a treasure of guidance in self-help books, whereas others will readily sneer at them as a "psychobabble".
   We all have our psycho-physical individuality from which stems our particular life-story, and I even see much in the Latin maxim: "Si duo faciunt idem, non est idem" (if two do the same is not same).
   This is the typical error of psychology, which is trying to squeeze human complexity and uniqueness into some models of understanding -- resulting with a pretty low rate of success in therapy of any school of thought.
   Thus, we are talking more about something like "psycho-philosophy of life" than some reliable measures of personality traits. Philosophy will tolerate anything as potentially possible, even probable -- but leaving so much in the dark of misunderstanding and a liberal defining.
   Then, "happiness', or "success" turn out to be something different to different people. In extremes, a Tibetan monk will see both in something totally different than a financial wizard of Wall Street. And some poor devil of the Third world may be happier and overall healthier human specimen than a billionaire.
   As if I even have to say it after all this said so far: ALL IS SO RELATIVE.

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      tsmogposted 8 months agoin reply to this

      Thanks for contributing.

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   Vlado - Val Karasposted 8 months ago

   It's been a pleasure, Tim.

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   Venkatachari Mposted 8 months ago

   A good perception of life. I agree with most of the points. Points 1,3,6,13 and 14 are not 100% true. They depend upon other co-related circumstances. I think where I came from is as important as what I create.

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      tsmogposted 8 months agoin reply to this

      Thanks for weighing in, Venkat!
      
      Yes, circumstances as well as personal history offers perspective if those points hold true or not. I agree what we achieve or create is paramount. That and our perspective of that late in life. I know as a senior now I don't look at things the way I did at 40, which is what the person of those statements said should be known at that age.

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