I saw the most extraordinary thing yesterday during lunch. It was a CNN piece on a Libyan man who was fighting against Ghaddafi’s forces. He and his friends were trying to get into some government barracks and he realized they had no chance. So he, a humble oil worker, husband, and father, loaded his car up with a…
The Republican Response to the SoTU
So I saw Obama’s SOTU speech last night. I have been avoiding political news for the most part lately, so it was interesting to see what he had to say. I liked it, basically, but that’s not what got my attention. What forced me to write this was the Republican response. The guy who gave it is evidently…
The Simple Barrier to the Rich Being Willing to Pay More Taxes
Waste and irrationality. I think many among the rich would be far more willing to pay a larger portion in taxes if they believed it would help. They don’t believe it would, and I don’t either. San Francisco and California in general are good examples of this. We pay top-end taxes yet San Francisco is riddled with potholes,…
Disappointing Liberals
So I had one of my posts make the front page of Reddit on Friday. I ended up taking around 30,000 hits to the site and the ensuing conversation has been both maddening and enlightening. The post was on the topic of education, and the basic premise was that the problem with American kids doing poorly in school…
Free Market Fanboys
I was reading the blogroll over at Overcoming Bias and, naturally, encountered quite a number of economics-focused blogs. What struck me was how overtly anti-Obama and anti-regulation they were. One after another they kept railing against regulation and government intervention designed to control human greed and stupidity. The answer was always the same: Let the market work! I…
What did liberals do that was so offensive to the Republicans? I’ll tell you what they did …
Liberals got women the right to vote. Liberals got African-Americans the right to vote. Liberals created Social Security and lifted millions ……of elderly people out of poverty. Liberals ended segregation. Liberals passed the Civil Rights Act. Liberals passed the Voting Rights Act. Liberals created Medicare. Liberals passed the Clean Air Act. Liberals created the Clean Water Act. What…
Huxley vs. Orwell: Whose Dystopia is Winning?
I posted here an absolutely brilliant and terrifying political cartoon. It’s about the way in which America (the West?) will fall. Will it be due to direct government prohibition of everything we enjoy (Orwell), or will it be due to the population becoming so overwhelmingly stupid that they cease to even think about anything worthwhile, like history, literature,…
Possibly the Most Important Political Cartoon, Ever
I tried to avoid hyperbole in this title. I failed. Take in this cartoon and you’ll see why. In short, this shows that it’s not the keeping of information from curious people that we have to worry about, it’s the inundation of information upon stupid people that’s much more dangerous. The risk is not that we’ll be unable…
The Mexican Immigration Solution: Make U.S. Immigration Policy Match Mexico’s
So perhaps you’ve heard the story of evil America trying to enact a draconian immigration policy towards Mexico. It’s the policy that does things like: Be able to confirm people are here legally if they do things like, say…look exactly like a Mexican citizen and speaking zero English…in a border state…hanging out in a known day-worker area. (not…
How to Tell if Someone is a True Libertarian
If you want to know if someone is a true libertarian–as opposed to a religious demagogue in disguise–ask them what their positions are on drug, gambling, prostitution, and alternative marriage. In short, if they’re against these things on moral grounds, and, importantly, want them to be illegal–they are outright fakes. The giveaway isn’t that they believe these things…
The Worst Mistake People Make in Political Arguments
The worst mistake people make in political arguments is assuming that the other side is not trying to do the right thing. This simple oversight makes productive conversation nearly impossible. The only way to have a real discussion is to realize that both parties think they are doing good, and that the question is one of perspective on…
Liberal and Conservative
Conservatives long for the world of Leave it to Beaver, Christmas Story, and Babe Ruth. A world of everyone looking the same, talking the same, eating the same foods, and enjoying the same sports. Everyone loves Jesus, America, Baseball, and tries to work hard so he can be rich and enjoy well-deserved luxury. A core belief of this…
My Political Philosophy in Two Sentences
I’m not a liberal because I believe it is necessary to implement a number of cold and non-liberal policies to achieve the liberal ideal. I am not a conservative because I seek the liberal ideal. ::
A Simple Technique for Successfully Debating the Ignorant
What follows is my new method of addressing someone who doesn’t create sound arguments during a debate, i.e. those backed by fact, data, or some type of objective evidence. Once you suspect that you’re arguing with someone like this, directly probe to see if they have any evidence whatsoever to support themselves. If they can’t offer any–and especially…
No, It’s Not Just “Those People” Who Current Healthcare is Failing
62% of bankruptcies are from medical bills. Most medical debtors are well educated and middle class. Three quarters of those who filed bankruptcy had health insurance. 62% of bankruptcies are from medical bills. Most medical debtors are well educated and middle class. Three quarters of those who filed bankruptcy had health insurance. 62% of bankruptcies are from medical…
Fascism is Upon Us, and Other Thoughts About Our Future
We’ll start with a couple of definitions:: Facism (Wikipedia) Comprises a radical and authoritarian nationalist political ideology and a corporatist economic i deology. Fascists believe that nations and/or races are in perpetual conflict whereby only the strong can survive by being healthy, vital, and by asserting themselves in conflict against the weak. Fascists advocate the creation of a…
Conservative Cognitive Dissonance on Public Healthcare
There’s a saying in atheism circles that aims to show Christian hypocrisy related to how they dismiss all the thousands of gods that have existed previously, yet fail to understand how atheists dismiss theirs: I contend that we are both atheists. I just believe in one fewer god than you do. When you understand why you dismiss all…
A Highly Concise Summary of “Atlas Shrugged”
Here’s a clean little summary of Ayn Rand’s book, Atlas Shrugged, from this Wall Street Journal article: Politicians invariably respond to crises — that in most cases they themselves created — by spawning new government programs, laws and regulations. These, in turn, generate more havoc and poverty, which inspires the politicians to create more programs . . .…
The Republicans Have Deliberately Chosen to Campaign on Emotion Rather Than Issues
It’s not that their logical arguments are slightly more emotional than democratic logical arguments; they’re actually purposely avoiding logic altogether. Emotion is simply far more effective on their base than reason. Here’s a quote to this effect from McCain’s campaign manager: This election is not about issues. This election is about a composite view of what people take…
Facism: “I Don’t Think That Word Means What You Think It Means.”
Many, especially in the blogsphere, are fond of saying, “This country is becoming fascist.” Or, “We’re on a path to fascism.” That sounds cool, and it certainly will get some attention, but I wonder if most using the word “fascism” actually know what it means. A Little About Facism First a test. What’s the difference between Facism and…
China is Turning Africa Into a Colony: This is Something We Should Be Talking About
It’s no secret that most native Chinese see Africans, and blacks in general, as inferior. The dynamics of that sentiment are numerous and I won’t go into them, but China itself seems to be building policy around that general concept. The approach seems to be, “Africa isn’t doing anything with all that land, so we will. Nobody there…
Thoughts on Freedom, Equality and Socialism
Perhaps it’s really the conservatives who believe most in equality. Is that why they get so upset when people speak of welfare programs? Because they assume everyone is like them in ability and that any failure must be a conscious choice? No, not most of them. That would be too easy. This doesn’t account for environmental disadvantages (or…
My Respect for Christopher Hitchens Just Went Up Quite a Bit
One of my favorite writers is Christopher Hitchens. I came to know him through his latest book on religion, titled “God Is Not Great“. His writing in that book is purely spectacular; I’ve never seen anyone with such a firm mastery of English. Anyway, Hitchens is a character. He recently attained his American citizenship and is, and think…
Contemplating My Support for Obama
My support for Obama has been wavering somewhat in recent weeks. He seems to have sacrificed his positions on the FISA bill, public financing, and a few other issues. The most important of these is his tough talk on Iran when he’s around a crowd that wants to hear it. In short, he’s looking more and more like…
The Logical Solution to the Civil Union vs. Marriage Debate
The answer is so simple that it may temporarily disorient you. Civil unions are a government function Marriage is a church function In other words, civil unions declare that two people are unified according to the government, e.g. taxes, insurance, power of attorney, etc., while marriage declares two people united within a specific religious context (God does or…
Power Structures Use Diversions to Maintain Control
I’ve been reading a good bit of cheesy conspiracy theory material recently. One concept keeps coming up, though, regardless of the legitimacy of the conspiracy text: The powerful keep the masses concerned with the trivial so that they won’t use their numbers to oppose them. I firmly believe that the powerful do desire this to happen, but I’m…
Our Government Isn’t Failing Us. Our People Are.
Excerpts from an article about Obama. This is what happens when you interview “average” Americans. Of Obama, Duser said: “I’m not crazy about voting for a colored guy, but that’s not why I don’t support Obama. I’m not prejudiced. I just like Hillary.” A couple tables over, Jean Fetterman, a foster grandparent, said of Clinton: “Oh, I love…
A Logical Approach to the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) and One World Government [NWO] Conspiracy
Let me just say that I am highly resistant to conspiracy theories in general. I think most of them are the product of too much time and abject stupidity. That being said I also realize that there have been real events that would have fallen into that category, to a cynic like myself, if they had been proposed…
“They see but one thing: we have come and we have stolen their country.”
If I were an Arab leader, I would never sign an agreement with Israel. It is normal; we have taken their country. It is true God promised it to us, but how could that interest them? Our God is not theirs. There has been anti-Semitism, the Nazis, Hitler, Auschwitz, but was that their fault? They see but one…
An Oversimplification of the Subprime Morgage Crisis
I’m not an economist, but I read a lot. Here’s what happened: greed + stupidity. Greed on the part of the lenders, i.e. taking advantage of people who can’t read finance terms, and stupidity on the part of…people who can’t read finance terms. Here’s how it plays out: Greedy, immoral people loan stupid amounts of money to people…
Leave an Outlet Free
I was put in an especially difficult business situation recently. My company, represented by myself, and another company (a massive superpower) were working the same project for the same client. The massive company had designed a network for this mutual client, and I was brought in to evaluate the security of said design. I found it unsatisfactory. They…
Ron Paul’s Flaws as Seen by One Die-Hard Supporter
First off, let me just say that I am a serious Ron Paul supporter. I’ve blogged about him, spammed promoted him to friends and family, and even put a Ron Paul 2008 bumper sticker on my car (I don’t do bumper stickers). I’ve been resisting the call to write this piece for some time now, but I can…
Ron Paul is Seriously Flawed as a Candidate; We’re Just So in Love With Him That We’re Not Paying Attention
First off, let me just say that I am a serious Ron Paul supporter. I’ve blogged about him, spammed promoted him to friends and family, and even put a Ron Paul 2008 bumper sticker on my car (I don’t do bumper stickers). I’ve been resisting the call to write this piece for some time now, but I can…
An Alternative View of the Israeli/Palestinian Conflict
Here’s an alternate way of viewing the issue — one that isn’t heard very often. Israel = Palestine. They are the same. All of the land belongs to both groups of people. The Israelis cannot throw out a group of people who lived there before Israel was formed, and the Arabs cannot ask the Jews to leave for…
5 Ron Paul Quotes That Scare Me
Those of you who read this site know that I’ve been heavily promoting Ron Paul as a candidate for President in 2008. Until today all of my posts about him have been positive. But alas, I am not a fanboy. I heap praise when I like something, and I call attention when I see something that doesn’t look…
The Primary Law of Intelligent Immigration Policy
First, answer two questions: What is our country? What defines it? What parts could not be removed without it becoming something different? If a country has not identified what it truly is, it will have no way of knowing if it has lost itself. Do we have the cohesion and political strength to defend this identity? Are we…
A Real Solution To The Israeli/Palestinian Conflict
I’ve been thinking about this issue heavily for over a decade (since going to the Middle East while in the military), and I’ve always had a bit of cognitive dissonance concerning my opinions on the matter. Last week, however, I was presented the actual answer, and it was strikingly elegant. I was shown this new perspective by a…
Liberals and Conservatives: An Amazingly Accurate Oversimplification
Simply stated, liberals have a better vision of what the world should look like, but are generally incapable of developing policies consistent with getting us there. This is becaue their approach to problem-solving is based on the their ideals, and is therefore impotent in a reality governed by primal instincts. Conservatives, on the other hand, are rather efficient…
You Are Wrong About President Bush
President Bush isn’t the hateful warmonger people make him out to be. I agree that he’s hurting the United States to an obscene degree (as well as the world as a whole) but it’s not because he’s evil. Allow me to explain. Requirements For Evil First off we have to decide whether evil lies in the intent or…
My Response To A “Bush Is Great” Email
On Sep 11, 2006, at 11:42 PM, David wrote: I’m still believing that Bush is giving us the best response of the recent and present presidential choices in this matter, and feel he’s done more to thwart attacks on the USA and promote some semblance of stability in the mideast than any of his opponents would have done.…
Liberals and Conservatives: Taking a Step Back
This is a very old post that I no longer agree with, but it’s still worth reading. One thing that interests me about politics is trying to get to the core of various belief systems. What does it mean to be liberal, or conservative? I am not sure exactly, but since I don’t call myself one or the…
How I’d Save The United States
I’ve been experiencing growing frustration with social/political issues lately, and each time I get to thinking about various problems that this country faces, I try and hash out what could be done to turn things around. Thrown together haphazardly below is a list of a few of these ideas. I recognize most of the difficulties with these solutions,…