Category: culture
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Unalienable Rights
On the issues of gay rights, abortion rights, or womens rights I think that Ron Paul captures the truth with his repeated assertion that there is only one kind of rights – individual rights. These are the rights that were called unalienable rights in the Declaration of Independence. When individual rights are properly protected many…
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Candidate Questions vs President Questions
Thanks to Scott’s post on Presidential Qualifications I really got thinking about the difference between what we should look for in a president and what we often do look for in a candidate. Scott quoted three questions that Dr. Lawrence Lindsey suggested we should be asking to choose a good president: “Has the candidate faced…
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A New Birth of Freedom
How do we rekindle the flame of liberty in the heart of all American citizens? I have been thinking about that question. It continues to disturb me that high turnout in an election approaches 50% participation. That is evidence of the disengagement that indicates a passive (or absent) desire for freedom unlike the active desires…
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Second Guessing Good Works
I liked this story – Attorney offers to pay cab rides for people who have been drinking. Apparently this same attorney did the same thing last year too. Some people commenting on the story talk about all the free advertising that he receives through this. Surely had does receive the benefit of name recognition and…
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Liberty is the Priority
Much of what has gone wrong in Iraq since the overthrow of Saddam is a result of a culture that is very different from ours. As I thought about that recently it occurred to me that Iraq is typical of all (or virtually all) of the fighting that the U.S. has engaged in since the…
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Media Outlets Are Focused On Future Business
I’m not big on conspiracy theories nor do I subscribe to the belief that our elections are largely determined by the media so I don’t generally pay much attention to things like the dust-up between Huckabee and Romney. On the other hand I recognize that the media does have a good deal of influence on…
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More Is Not Always Better
In January I wrote my personal feelings about the value of all-day kindergarten. Today I learned a few things I didn’t know before. As a fan of irony I knew I would enjoy this when I read the opening: All-day kindergarten sounds like a great opportunity. The teacher really gets to know your child, and…
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Playoffs vs Bowl Games
Before the BCS pairings were even announced yesterday I heard people talking about how this year should be conclusive evidence that we need to have a playoff for the National Championship in NCAA Football. I disagree. I think that Mike Lopresti got it right (again): So ends an entirely captivating, wildly absorbing, deliciously unpredictable college…
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Anti-Materialism
From two very different sources today I was pointed toward two very similar views regarding our overly materialistic society. Misty Fowler linked to Winning the Rat Race by Quitting it: We are a country obsessed with consumption, which would be fine if we seemed to be fulfilled getting bigger TVs but having less time to…
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SEP Subsidies
A story this morning instantly made me think about the discussion that followed when I wrote about Funding Mass Transit back in July. This story is about a driver who chose to use biofuel in his vehicle: Bob Teixeira decided it was time to take a stand against U.S. dependence on foreign oil. So last…