Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.
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After We Vote
One of the greatest things about our country is what happens after we vote. Rarely is there any large shouting about unfairness – calls of “they stole the election.” Most commonly the prevailing attitude among those who continue to be active after the vote is summed up by the question that Jesse asked, “So now…
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The Government Hammer
My father-in-law is known for saying, “When you have a hammer everything looks like a nail.” Thomas Sowell talks about political crises created by Political “Solutions.” Government laws and policies, especially the Community Reinvestment Act, pressured lenders to invest in people and places where they would not invest otherwise. Government also created the temporarily very…
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Missing the Mark
I was gone for most of yesterday so today I saw the mail I got yesterday including a voucher mailing “Who’s opinion do you trust?” On the pro-voucher side they list four prominent state and national Republicans and on the anti-voucher side they list four prominent national Democrats. I looked at the list of Republicans…
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What is Our Narrative?
I found it interesting to read what Michael Barone had to say about politicians who were successful as they presented a narrative of where the country was an what it needed to move forward. Of our current parties and candidates he says: Neither party is presenting a narrative, as the Roosevelts and Reagan did, that…
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Help Me Brainstorm
I ran into one of the candidates for city council today who happens to work in the same building I do. We took a few minutes to talk (politics naturally) and as we talked we realized that both of us have a similar desire to accomplish two things here in Lehi – we want to…
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Endorsements for Lehi City Council
The Daily Herald had an editorial today on what to look for in a candidate. I liked the criteria they listed: Candidates to be wary of: Have that “deer in the headlights look” Spout too many cliches Have too much experience – What worked in 1987 or even 1997 might be as outmoded as a…
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Get Vouchers Right Next Time
It’s not often that I get to see Utah featured in a nationally syndicated column about a positive policy debate. Usually when Utah makes the national news it’s for things like a mine disaster, raging wildfires, or polygamy. Today John Stossel wrote about the voucher issue in Utah. Naturally he is in favor of vouchers…
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Put Virtual Politics on the Ground
I have been thinking about the words of Tom Friedman when he wrote about what he calls Generation Q. I am impressed because they are so much more optimistic and idealistic than they should be. I am baffled because they are so much less radical and politically engaged than they need to be. . .…
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Congress – Do Something
A month into the fiscal year and Congress has not presented an appropriations bill for the President to sign because they don’t care enough about making things work when there are accusations to be flung, fights to pick (like SCHIP), and post offices to be named. The New York Times takes issue with the fact…
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Real Life Choose Your Own Adventure
I was surprised by the news that JK Rowling announced that Dumbledore was gay. At first I was annoyed that she would take the time to insert something into the story that was never apparent in any of the books. It sounded like she was going back and writing an alternate ending after everyone had…
Got any book recommendations?