Musings of a Patriot

Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.

  • “Free Market” Health Care

    The call for Lawyers to join health-reform efforts was a not so subtle reminder to me about how "free" our health care market is currently. We can’t really pretend that the cost of services or the services rendered are determined by patients and providers. In fact, they are not even determined by a combination of…

  • Blogging Full Time

    No, this is not an announcement that I will be blogging for a living. I have been doing a lot of reading lately. Besides any moral/religious reading (C. S. Lewis etc.) in the last month I have read: Atlas Shrugged Why We Whisper Lies My Teacher Told Me (with others on hold at the library)…

  • Support But Don’t Trust

    I am a strong supporter of our government. I obey the laws (even little ones like speed limits and seat belt laws) and pay my taxes without complaint and without seeking any tricks to minimize those taxes. Supporting the government, however, does not mean that I trust the government when they ask for expanded powers.…

  • Speaking My Native Language

    I have always tried to maintain a very civilized and respectful tone here when discussing issues that are sometimes charged with emotion in the public arena. I have been reading the book Why We Whisper and I began to recognize that my efforts to be civil had resulted in my speaking a dialect that is…

  • Post-Election Subjects

    There must be something about the conclusion of an election that brings up the subject of term limits. I wrote about it a couple of times a year ago and have said nothing about it since then. Now the Standard Examiner has an article saying that It’s time to reignite the debate over term limits.…

  • Laboratories of Democracy

    I have been thinking about the full faith and credit clause of the Constitution (FF&C) and how that has played out in some areas of public policy. Specifically I have been thinking about how some areas of policy allow for states to pick and choose what faith and credit they apply to the policies of…

  • Legislated Equality

    I have been thinking about the “equality” that we equate with the American dream – the one that we want our government to guarantee for us. This has lead me to consider the difference between equality of opportunity and equality of outcomes. I don’t think that many people would openly argue for equality of outcomes…

  • A Step Backwards in Utah

    Some people might think that Tuesday was a step backwards because Obama won. Others might consider it a step backwards because Chris Buttars won again. The real step backwards was that 59,000 fewer people voted in Utah this year than in 2004. That is not just lower percentage turnout, that’s lower numbers. Mark Thomas with…

  • Huntsman for Senate (2012)

    After receiving more than 75% of the vote on Tuesday Huntsman has to be considered the person most able to oust Orrin Hatch when he comes up for re-election. Huntsman said he hopes he can build "coalitions" with willing legislators from both political parties to achieve what he believes must be done. "Not running again…

  • An Illegal Constitutional Revision?

    Gay-rights advocates in California think that everyone else is an imbecile. They have decided to file a lawsuit claiming that Proposition 8 is "an illegal constitutional revision — not a more limited amendment." They expect that nobody will recognize that the California Constitution makes no distinction between an amendment and a revision. They also expect…

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