Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.
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Federalist No. 49
Federalist No. 49 really surprised me. The topic is keeping the proper balance of powers in check through the use of constitutional conventions when the balance of powers were out of bounds. I expected a favorable opinion from the paper. In theory I agree except that I keep thinking that the same people who were…
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Hillarycare and the Media
This post is not intended to mock or even evaluate the positions espoused by Hillary Clinton now or in the past. I chose the title to be short and to grab attention. The purpose of this post is to summarize and evaluate how the news media covered the issue of health care reform during the…
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Federalist Nos. 47 – 48
I had never really considered the interplay between the concept of separation of powers and the concept of checks and balances between branches of government. Here Madison explores the limits on the separation of powers (Federalist No. 47) and the necessity of robust checks and balances (Federalist No. 48). Having read these papers I have…
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Score One for Buttars
I was surprised this morning to see an article that showed Senator Buttars in a positive light. Eric Ethington and Elaine Ball, founders of the grass-roots, service-oriented Pride in Your Community, stopped Republican Sen. Chris Buttars in his driveway on Saturday morning to share some home-baked bread and conversation. Buttars invited Ball, Ethington and two…
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Inauguration Day
After reading/hearing news coverage of today’s activities I have come to a couple of conclusions. First, I have made a goal to attend a presidential inauguration – not just the parade, but the actual swearing-in ceremony with the inaugural address. I will not be picky about what president it is because for me it will…
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24 Hour News
James Fallows talks about what he calls the tyranny of technology – the way technology has changed news from having a daily news cycle, where organizations could take time to react and respond to news, to continuous coverage news where the responses and reactions must be nearly pre-planned. The tyranny here, as I interpret it,…
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I Call Theme
A link posted on KVNU’s For The People blog leading to this this WSJ article fired off my pattern recognition neurons. From the article: Whatever the cause, it is a dangerous beginning. Mr. Obama can currently afford to do some accommodating. But if he gets a reputation for getting rolled by the unruly mob, his…
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FOCA
My sister-in-law suggested that her generally apolitical blog was not the place to engage in a debate on abortion. She’s probably right, but such a debate fits just fine here. In many ways the debate on abortion is settled. An absolute ban on abortion is not likely to ever be a reality in this nation…
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Bad Journalistic Habits
James Fallows offers a list of habits in the world of journalism that impede the ability of reporters and news organizations to offer the socially beneficial coverage that they should be publishing. Although he lists 12 habits, they can really be grouped together as follows: Looking Where the Light Is, Being versus Doing, Measure What…
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What Journalism Could Offer
James Fallows offers a list of benefits that the journalist has the potential to offer consumers. I would like to share his list and see if there anything he left out of the list. Perspective – reporters and editors are forced to act as a filter when deciding what to investigate and publish out of…
Got any book recommendations?