Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.

  • A First Glance at the Bailout Bill

    I don’t claim to have read the full 102 page text of the bailout draft proposal yet, but I wanted to share my first reactions after jumping around to some of the sections that caught my interest. Section 110 – Executive compensation (p. 29) I like the idea of controls on executive compensation for participating…

  • Put in the Effort

    Maybe I’m just reacting to the tone of the article suggesting that Twitter is taking the place of blogging among elected officials in Utah (and elsewhere) but this quote by Ric Cantrell says it all: ”Maybe this is a sign of the times, but blogging got to be too tedious,” said Ric Cantrell, chief deputy…

  • Write In “No Confidence”

    Somewhere in the news yesterday I heard that voters are beginning to like Sarah Palin less as they get to know more about her. I thought that was interesting since I heard basically the same thing said about Barack Obama back in June or July. My own experience is that I am liking both Obama…

  • Economics 101 (Bush Edition)

    Wasn’t it so nice for our president to give the country a lesson in economics. He worked hard to reinforce the image of Washington knows best. Unfortunately his lesson left out a few details that are less than flattering for Washington. Let’s review the text of his speech. I’ll skip all the real fluff and…

  • Curbing Innovation

    When talking about a $700 Billion intervention it only makes sense that taxpayers and members of Congress would want that money to go where it’s needed rather than to propping up salaries of $50 Million/year to executives of failing companies. But Wall Street, its lobbyists and trade groups are waging a feverish lobbying campaign to…

  • Everyone Should Read This

    I’m not one to link and run, but sometimes there is really nothing to add. I think that everyone should read what Obi wan has to say about the bailout situation.

  • We Must Do Better

    There has been no shortage of opposition to the hastily proposed $700 Billion Gift Card (Chris Suellentrop provides a nice rundown) – unfortunately little of the real opposition comes from members of Congress. Our own Senator Bennett has flipped from being wary to being supportive because, as every elected official knows, foolish action is better…

  • A Managed Economy

    I try not to focus on political or economic issues on Sunday, but I had a hard time when I noticed the figure "$700 Billion" yesterday. I was particularly worried by this statement: . . . it would allow Treasury to act unilaterally: Its decisions could not be reviewed by any court or administrative body…

  • And Now For Some Good News . . .

    I’m sure there are many who would not see this as good news, but when I read about contracting credit in the lives of everyday people I was thrilled. Because I expect that many people would not share my positive outlook at this news, let me share why I think this is a good thing…

  • Something’s in the Air

    Some of the people I work with like to dabble in trading stocks. They keep tabs on the stock market and they like to talk about their experiences. Through all the turmoil of the last few months their comments have indicated a challenging, but not incomprehensible market situation – until today. Suddenly this morning everyone…

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