Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.
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Happy 221st Birthday
221 years ago today the Constitution was signed. In honor of that, today is known as Constitution Day (and also known as Citizenship Day). Unfortunately, the Constitution is treated by many as an aging parent that may deserve our respect and admiration for a lifetime of accomplishment, but only receives our occasional grudging visit and…
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Three out of Four (ain’t bad)
What’s the point of having your own blog if you can’t toot your own horn occasionally? So this may be two weeks old, but I’m bored so I’ll share. At BlueOregon there have been a few "Punditology challenges" where they invite their readers to predict what will happen in the political world (for example, what…
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Rethinking the Electoral College
I have long been a staunch supporter of keeping the electoral college despite the weaknesses I see in having most states take a winner-take-all approach to their electoral college votes. The calls to abolish the current system in favor of a national popular vote have been growing for as long as I have been interested…
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Cultural Vacuum
I got thinking after Carl asked why I don’t talk about how the government should be focused on supporting the family. Carl is absolutely right that the no-such-thing-as-standard modern family is at the root of all of our social problems. What I have been realizing as I have thought about how we can support the…
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The Other Side of the Sentiment
As I was walking to the bus stop this morning I saw an image attached to the garage door of one of my neighbors. I’ve heard/seen that sentiment before, but with all my thinking about the flag and the meaning of patriotism lately it struck me differently. I appreciate the sentiment that we are not…
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Patriot Day
I appreciate the idea of Patriot Day as a way to mark our modern “day of infamy.” It is unfortunate that the event has been used so effectively to manipulate our politics. Once upon a time, America represented more to the world than simply a big bully who was allowed, because of might and wealth,…
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Bureaucracy in Action
If you’ve ever wondered why smaller government is better government just look at this: . . . the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture USDA tests about 1% {of slaughtered cattle} for BSE, or Mad Cow Disease. But Creekstone Farms wants to test 100% of the cattle they process, at their own expense. The USDA won’t let…
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Third District Debate
I enjoyed going to the debate at the Sutherland Institute between Jason Chaffetz and Bennion Spencer. A one-on-one debate between the candidates is much different to attend than a “meet the candidates” kind of affair for city council when six candidates are seeking three seats without any specific match-ups. Until now those were the only…
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IOUSA
With bailouts such as Bear Stearns and Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac there could not be a better time for the Peter G. Peterson Foundation to come along with the backing of $1 Billion (from Peter G. Peterson) and the insider expertise of David Walker (former Comptroller General of the United States) to help citizens and policy…
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Oh Goody – More Debt
This is not a compete surprise, but when I saw the news that the government is going to bailout Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac I was disappointed at that one more proof that we don’t really live in a free market. I might not be so disappointed if our government leaders were to approach this…
Got any book recommendations?