Will Boyd: We Are Not Beavers - The Cost of Creating Slack Water

The George Buchanan Forum

#Politics #Religion #Christianity #News #George Buchanan Forum

24:42

Episode Notes [01:14] Unexpected Email from Employer [05:49] The Deferred Resignation Program [06:34] Initial Reactions and Concerns [08:01] Evaluating the Offer [08:21] Enhanced Standards of Conduct [08:55] Personal Reflections and Concerns [12:21] Seeking Advice and Making a Decision [13:01] Option One: Do Not Resign [14:56] Option Two: Resign [16:44] Insights from Conversations [21:30] Making The Decision [23:51] Final Thoughts and Gratitude Resources Mentioned Sebastian Junger The Soul of Shame by Curt Thompson Donald Trump Elon Musk Steve Bannon Russell Vought Derek Sivers Sumner Crenshaw Brian Fretwell at Finding Good Chad Littlefield The Thought Leaders Practice by Matt Church Simon Cowell Beauty Pill Producer Ben Ford Questions Asked Is it legitimate, and can it be trusted? How are you feeling? What questions come to your mind? Where does your mind go? Are you seeking safety? Would this have been an adrenaline rush as you raced to send the resignation response? What an "enhanced standard" regarding loyalty and trustworthiness was? What are these new "enhanced standards?" Are they beyond what my Constitutional oath requires? If I don't resign, how bright will the target on my back glow? My leadership has supported all my work, but would termination direction come from higher up the chain of command? What would you recommend if we talked over coffee? What questions would you ask? How would you use listening? How would you use silence? How is this scenario playing out in your mind and body? What is coming to the surface for you? How might that influence what you are about to say to me? What are the chances of my name popping on a list and getting fired? How about the chances of being part of an official Reduction in Force and early retirement? Would the administration make a better offer? What do I know about the pending job market? What did I expect the workplace to be like and did I want to be there as the contractions took place? Will the administration pay me through the end of September or will they renege? Can I sufficiently build the Curated Questions business to transition by 1 October? - Do I have the faith or confidence to step into this future as a sole practitioner and grow Curated Questions into all I envisioned? Was this purpose calling? What would I expect the job market to look like at the end of summer if I hadn't developed the income streams to maintain our lifestyle? What is your recommendation? Did it change from your initial recommendation? Where in your body are you feeling the uncertainty? Are you processing this scenario in parallel with your decision as if you had received the email? What additional questions should I have considered? Who else should I have consulted with? How would you have changed my risk rating? What is the correct length of the pregnant pause before making an important announcement? What processes would you use in my circumstance, and what would be different? What questions are at the top of your list to get to a decision? Who would be the members of your pantheon you would counsel with to gain clarity? Apart from the heady analysis, what other key practices would you include in your journey through a similar situation?…

about a year ago 32:47

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The free-running Snake and Clearwater Rivers once provided significant natural assets to mankind: beauty, clean water, fish, recreation, transportation, inspiration, waterfowl, solace. Many of these assets are now compromised. Since the four lower Snake River dams were finished in 1976, return rates for salmon to Lower Granite Lock and Dam have consistently fallen below 2%. Dam construction transformed the free-flowing river into a series of slack water “lakes” running over one hundred miles from Tri-Cities, WA to Lewiston, ID. The low flow, increased temperature, and high nutrient load in these lakes significantly limit juvenile salmon’s ability to migrate to sea and mature salmon’s ability to spawn. Snake River salmon and steelhead currently require significant ecological subsidy to prevent complete failure. Removal of the four lower Snake River dams and select others including Dworshak would restore these natural assets and eliminate the need for billions of tax-payer dollars earmarked for salmon restoration and dam maintenance annually.

George Buchanan was a late 16th-century Scottish Reformed thinker who used Scripture, history, and the natural law to argue for the restraint of civil rulers, the resistance to tyranny, and the freedom of Christian citizens. Like its namesake, the George Buchanan Forum is a community of liberty-minded Christians seeking to integrate theology, political theory, economics, and history.

Learn more at... https://www.tgbf.org

38 episodes

The George Buchanan Forum

Will Boyd: We Are Not Beavers - The Cost of Creating Slack Water

The George Buchanan Forum

published about a year ago

MP3•Episode home

Learn more at... https://www.tgbf.org

38 episodes

#Politics #Religion #Christianity #News #George Buchanan Forum

All episodes

The George Buchanan Forum

1
Jonathan McIntosh: Figuratively Speaking: the Old Testament, Natural Law, and Libertarianism 27:24

6 weeks ago27:24

27:24

According to the natural law tradition of St. Thomas Aquinas, the Old Testament civil law wasn’t merely political, but was also “figurative” or symbolic in nature. Yet in his actual interpretation of the judicial precepts, Aquinas treats them almost entirely as political, an error that results in an overly broad and (ironically) theonomic understanding of the general equity principle of Old Testament civil law. In this paper, I critique Aquinas’s account, and argue that a narrower, libertarian interpretation of the general equity of the judicial precepts (along the lines of the Non-Aggression Principle) is able to more consistently appreciate their biblically figurative character. George Buchanan was a late 16th-century Scottish Reformed thinker who used Scripture, history, and the natural law to argue for the restraint of civil rulers, the resistance to tyranny, and the freedom of Christian citizens. Like its namesake, the George Buchanan Forum is a community of liberty-minded Christians seeking to integrate theology, political theory, economics, and history. Learn more at... https://www.tgbf.org…

The George Buchanan Forum

1
Nathan Stenzel: Preambles to Politics - Reformed & Roman Catholic Views of Human Constitution 27:15

6 weeks ago27:15

27:15

Behind Roman Catholic and Reformed debates over soteriology, or the doctrine of salvation, lie conflicting views of man’s pre-fall nature. The donum superadditum, or “superadded gift,” is the Roman Catholic doctrine that when Adam was created, he had to be given a special, supernatural grace just to harmonize his spiritual and bodily natures. The Reformed theologians rejected this idea, believing it implied a degrading view of man’s original, unfallen nature, and taught instead that man’s original righteousness, while created by God, was not alien but integral to his natural state. But aside from its implications for the doctrine of salvation, what might be the political and social ramifications of these divergent anthropologies? This paper will examine early modern Reformed and Roman Catholic views of the image of God and the donum superadditum, attending to the ways in which these competing visions imply different notions of the naturalness of political society. George Buchanan was a late 16th-century Scottish Reformed thinker who used Scripture, history, and the natural law to argue for the restraint of civil rulers, the resistance to tyranny, and the freedom of Christian citizens. Like its namesake, the George Buchanan Forum is a community of liberty-minded Christians seeking to integrate theology, political theory, economics, and history. Learn more at... https://www.tgbf.org…

The George Buchanan Forum

1
Will Boyd: We Are Not Beavers - The Cost of Creating Slack Water 32:47

6 weeks ago32:47

32:47

The George Buchanan Forum

1
George Harrell: Re-enchanting History in an Age of Woke Ideologies and Christian Nationalisms 32:30

6 weeks ago32:30

32:30

Through historical narratives like the 1619 Project and critiques of the “post-war consensus,” both the post-liberal Left and Right seek to find meaning in our past while dismantling our national myths. This raises a critical question for Christians: are the historical methods employed by these political identities defensible? Or is there a more historically Christian approach to understanding and remembering the communal past? George Buchanan was a late 16th-century Scottish Reformed thinker who used Scripture, history, and the natural law to argue for the restraint of civil rulers, the resistance to tyranny, and the freedom of Christian citizens. Like its namesake, the George Buchanan Forum is a community of liberty-minded Christians seeking to integrate theology, political theory, economics, and history. Learn more at... https://www.tgbf.org…

The George Buchanan Forum

1
Jeremy Bunch: Burning the Land Slowly 30:02

46 weeks ago30:02

30:02

This talk will help define the increasingly popular term 'regenerative agriculture,' and will explore how it intersects with critical elements of food production sustainability, which is foundational to civilization itself. The systems we have built to produce and distribute food, and just about anything else for that manner, extract and consume finite resources, while at the same time our agricultural systems do not maximize constant or infinite resources. In response to this challenge, we have turned to technology. But the technology simply props up those unsustainable systems. The world has seen this folly before. George Buchanan was a late 16th-century Scottish Reformed thinker who used Scripture, history, and the natural law to argue for the restraint of civil rulers, the resistance to tyranny, and the freedom of Christian citizens. Like its namesake, the George Buchanan Forum is a community of liberty-minded Christians seeking to integrate theology, political theory, economics, and history. Learn more at... https://www.tgbf.org https://www.facebook.com/TheGeorgeBuchananForum…

The George Buchanan Forum

1
George Harrell: Peter Zeihan & The Myth of the Pax Americana 32:06

46 weeks ago32:06

32:06

Contrary to the post-Cold War, triumphalist narrative, after WWII the United States did not altruistically transcend power politics and become the world’s stabilizing umpire. Geopolitics was never turned off as Peter Zeihan claimed, nor did history end as Francis Fukuyama predicted. Instead, it was a period of brutal business as usual, and we are just now becoming aware of the cost. George Buchanan was a late 16th-century Scottish Reformed thinker who used Scripture, history, and the natural law to argue for the restraint of civil rulers, the resistance to tyranny, and the freedom of Christian citizens. Like its namesake, the George Buchanan Forum is a community of liberty-minded Christians seeking to integrate theology, political theory, economics, and history. Learn more at... https://www.tgbf.org https://www.facebook.com/TheGeorgeBuchananForum…

The George Buchanan Forum

1
Jonathan McIntosh: Why We Must Get Serious About Natural Rights 27:03

46 weeks ago27:03

27:03

Cherished by some while deplored by others, the concept of natural rights has had a deeply ambivalent legacy among conservative Christians. This presentation will give a definition and short history of the concept of natural rights, review some of the main objections to the idea, and conclude with a defense of the coherence and, indeed, inevitability of the doctrine of natural rights. George Buchanan was a late 16th-century Scottish Reformed thinker who used Scripture, history, and the natural law to argue for the restraint of civil rulers, the resistance to tyranny, and the freedom of Christian citizens. Like its namesake, the George Buchanan Forum is a community of liberty-minded Christians seeking to integrate theology, political theory, economics, and history. Learn more at... https://www.tgbf.org https://www.facebook.com/TheGeorgeBuchananForum…

The George Buchanan Forum

1
Tim Nadreau: Fascism By Any Other Name 33:50

46 weeks ago33:50

33:50

Monetary and fiscal policy have undergone dramatic changes since Covid-19, and movement towards Modern Monetary Theory has accelerated in the U.S.. Economics as a profession still views the theory as heterodox and has largely left it alone to “die on the vine” as it were. Because MMT is a bit of an intellectual curiosity and is politically advantageous to both the democrats and the republicans, it is gaining momentum in an applied context. Because conservatives and libertarians want to be left alone and to leave others alone, they have too often been apathetic to the weeds growing in their gardens. I argue that the inflation we have seen over the past few years will not be anomalous in the next two decades. It is the result of MMT slowly taking hold. This talk is designed to provide an overview of the primary assumptions of MMT and untangle the Gordian knot of truth and lies it so carefully weaves together. Finally, we will outline the ultimate consequences, intended or unintended, by such a philosophy of employment, money, and prices. George Buchanan was a late 16th-century Scottish Reformed thinker who used Scripture, history, and the natural law to argue for the restraint of civil rulers, the resistance to tyranny, and the freedom of Christian citizens. Like its namesake, the George Buchanan Forum is a community of liberty-minded Christians seeking to integrate theology, political theory, economics, and history. Learn more at... https://www.tgbf.org https://www.facebook.com/TheGeorgeBuchananForum…

The George Buchanan Forum

1
Jordan Dorney: Xenophon and Socratic Libertarianism 33:26

2 years ago33:26

33:26

Why does it seem so difficult for people to acquire, exercise, and establish political rule over others? Why can't human rulers get their human "herds" to obey them willingly like shepherds can with sheep? Why is everyone always revolting against the regime? Xenophon's Education of Cyrus begins with reflection on these questions apparently connected to the anthropological case for libertarianism. For Xenophon, the figure of Cyrus the Great would seem to resolve them decisively in favor of absolute tyranny: Cyrus makes it look so easy to conquer nations and subjugate individuals that not only does the regime itself seem natural but the tyrannical one most of all. Man looks made to be dominated, until even the greatest of kings proves inadequate to the task. Should we look for an even greater king with an even better art of kingship, or is this proof that man is born free and for freedom? This presentation introduces the political writings of the greatest student of Socrates not named Plato and attempts to provide a defense of natural liberty and a skeptical perspective toward attempts to subsume that liberty in or under political life.George Buchanan was a late 16th-century Scottish Reformed thinker who used Scripture, history, and the natural law to argue for the restraint of civil rulers, the resistance to tyranny, and the freedom of Christian citizens. Like its namesake, the George Buchanan Forum is a community of liberty-minded Christians seeking to integrate theology, political theory, economics, and history. Learn more at... https://www.tgbf.org https://www.facebook.com/TheGeorgeBuchananForum…

The George Buchanan Forum

1
Jonathan McIntosh: More Mere Than Mere Christendom 25:42

2 years ago25:42

25:42

For over a decade Pr. Douglas Wilson has been introducing the highly suggestive term Mere Christendom into contemporary Christian discourse as a way of describing what it is that Christians ought to be striving for politically. With the recent publication of his book by the same title, this is as opportune a time as any to ask: Just what is “Mere Christendom”? What appear to be its essential affirmations, denials, and insights? What have been some of the notable criticisms of it so far, and in what ways might these criticisms miss the mark? On the other hand, from a natural law libertarian point of view, what are some of its apparent ambiguities, tensions, and (as-yet) unanswered questions? This talk will address these questions and more.George Buchanan was a late 16th-century Scottish Reformed thinker who used Scripture, history, and the natural law to argue for the restraint of civil rulers, the resistance to tyranny, and the freedom of Christian citizens. Like its namesake, the George Buchanan Forum is a community of liberty-minded Christians seeking to integrate theology, political theory, economics, and history. Learn more at... https://www.tgbf.org https://www.facebook.com/TheGeorgeBuchananForum…

The George Buchanan Forum

1
George Harrell: A Conservative Rethinking of the French Revolution, Part 2 30:36

2 years ago30:36

30:36

The French Revolution has entered the popular imagination as a class conflict arising from Rousseau’s Enlightenment philosophy. However, if we analyze the French revolutions of 1789 and 1792 with a proper historical approach that appreciates the true nature of human action, we discover that the motivations behind these events were far more complex, and even conservative, than have been popularly portrayed. Understanding this affects how we compare and contrast the French Revolution with the American Revolution, and how we understand the broader role of ideology in social movements.George Buchanan was a late 16th-century Scottish Reformed thinker who used Scripture, history, and the natural law to argue for the restraint of civil rulers, the resistance to tyranny, and the freedom of Christian citizens. Like its namesake, the George Buchanan Forum is a community of liberty-minded Christians seeking to integrate theology, political theory, economics, and history. Learn more at... https://www.tgbf.org https://www.facebook.com/TheGeorgeBuchananForum…

The George Buchanan Forum

1
Brian Points: The Quibbling Rabble: The History and Future of US Housing Policy 32:13

2 years ago32:13

32:13

Believe it or not, land use policy and its array of offshoots form one of the most hotly contested political issues in the USA today. Topics such as comprehensive plans, conditional use permits, re-zoning, and variances are keeping some of your neighbors up at night. With materials and development costs skyrocketing, state and local elected officials are desperately looking for answers that can pull some of the authority away from the rabble that dispute development at every turn. The deep irony here is that the "local control" that Conservatives so deeply desire has led to policy resulting from a small group of citizens' narrowly defined self-interests. So, how should we change our collective thinking about land use? Should the federal government play a more active role to reinforce our fundamental rights? And, how can other lessons of economics provide us some guidance? George Buchanan was a late 16th-century Scottish Reformed thinker who used Scripture, history, and the natural law to argue for the restraint of civil rulers, the resistance to tyranny, and the freedom of Christian citizens. Like its namesake, the George Buchanan Forum is a community of liberty-minded Christians seeking to integrate theology, political theory, economics, and history. Learn more at... https://www.tgbf.org https://www.facebook.com/TheGeorgeBuchananForum…

The George Buchanan Forum

1
George Harrell: A Conservative Rethinking of the French Revolution 31:04

2 years ago31:04

31:04

The French Revolution has entered the popular imagination as a class conflict arising from Rousseau’s Enlightenment philosophy. However, if we analyze the French revolutions of 1789 and 1792 with a proper historical approach that appreciates the true nature of human action, we discover that the motivations behind these events were far more complex, and even conservative, than have been popularly portrayed. Understanding this affects how we compare and contrast the French Revolution with the American Revolution, and how we understand the broader role of ideology in social movements. George Buchanan was a late 16th-century Scottish Reformed thinker who used Scripture, history, and the natural law to argue for the restraint of civil rulers, the resistance to tyranny, and the freedom of Christian citizens. Like its namesake, the George Buchanan Forum is a community of liberty-minded Christians seeking to integrate theology, political theory, economics, and history. Learn more at https://www.tgbf.org/…

The George Buchanan Forum

1
Isaac Madsen: Antidote to Anecdote - Statistics As Crucial to the Mission of Tertiary Christian Education 32:48

2 years ago32:48

32:48

The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted an issue in tertiary Christian education. Many Christians are deficient in their understanding of statistics. Whereas a lack of understanding in specialized fields (e.g. soil science) results in an excusable knowledge gap, an inadequate understanding of statistics bars access to a great deal of knowledge which relies on data. Data is used to make inferences in the sciences and inform decisions in government and business. The means by which data is interpreted to usable information are statistical methods. In this way, statistics is not a string of disconnected numbers, but rather a set of techniques that when appropriately applied allows for a more accurate understanding of our world. It is not necessary for all Christians to understand the process by which data becomes information, but for those who wish to make claims regarding the excess mortality during pandemics, the efficacy of masks, etc... an understanding of statistics is essential. For this reason Christians who seek to shape culture through leadership in business, science, and government should have a rudimentary understanding of statistical methods. Tertiary education institutions seeking to cultivate such cultural leadership should carefully consider including statistical methods as core curriculum.George Buchanan was a late 16th-century Scottish Reformed thinker who used Scripture, history, and the natural law to argue for the restraint of civil rulers, the resistance to tyranny, and the freedom of Christian citizens. Like its namesake, the George Buchanan Forum is a community of liberty-minded Christians seeking to integrate theology, political theory, economics, and history. Learn more at https://www.tgbf.org/…

The George Buchanan Forum

1
Jonathan McIntosh: "I didn't agree to that!" - Consent and Other Theories of Political Obligation 27:23

2 years ago27:23