Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.

Along with thousands of others in Ann Arbor, my power is out. Which sucks. Fortunately, I have a small generator, which will keep the poor fish alive and let me check email. Here’s how it looks, purring along. It’s an older Honda, not terribly powerful, but pretty reliable. I have a transfer switch so I…

During my recent struggle over the question of white privilege (something I have of course acknowledged having, whether I like it or not), my thoughts turned to Aurora shooter James Eagan Holmes, whose alleged conversion to Islam — including strict adherence to Islamic dietary requirements and prayer five times a day — has been reported in the British…

Michigan Medical Marijuana Patient Refused Placement In Prison Medical Facility Despite Judge’s Recommendation. Late last week, 53-year-old Michigan medical marijuana patient Jerry Duval received a Justice Department order to surrender to federal authorities on June 11thto begin serving a 10-year prison sentence at the Federal Correctional Institution in Elkton, Ohio. Although Duval is a kidney-pancreas…

The Illinois Medical Marijuana House Bill HB1 has passed. The Illinois Senate needs a companion bill. Passage of HB1 by the House comes only a day after nearly 250 Illinois physicians pledged their support for legalizing medical marijuana in the state. Three physicians held a press conference Tuesday, calling on policymakers to push through legislation.…

An article at Salon.com expressed the hope that the bomber is a white man. The reasoning? If recent history is any guide, if the bomber ends up being a white anti-government extremist, white privilege will likely mean the attack is portrayed as just an isolated incident — one that has no bearing on any larger policy debates.…

The politics of abortion: Politics: women tend to be on the left. Men on the right. Women are 51% of the population. Men 49%. How do you think this issue will move the polity? And if it moves the polity in a direction where you can’t get what you want by politics maybe it might…

Commenter Frank makes a point I have made before but he makes it so much more eloquently than I ever did (and I have been told by more than one person that I have a way with words) that I think it bears repeating. The topic is abortion. ==== Neil: The problem is that we…

When you appeal to force and enforcers to solve your problem it is an admission of weakness or worse laziness. It is ALWAYS a Devil’s Bargain. I find it wise to be well acquainted with the Devil. Conversant with him even. But I never ask him for anything.

There’s an interesting article in the May issue of Reason titled “The End of Power“: Insurgents, fringe political parties, innovative start-ups, hackers, loosely organized activists, upstart citizen media outlets, leaderless young people in city squares, and charismatic individuals who seem to have “come from nowhere” are shaking up the old order. These are the micropowers:…

The above video is suitable for pre-med students. The above video is also suitable for pre-med students.

  Who in their right mind would outlaw an anti-aging drug that kills cancer and is found in mother’s milk? Dr. Robert Melamede Associate Professor at the University of Colorado in Colorado Springs, discussing cannabis/marijuana.  

From Naked Lunch I managed to keep up my habits performing cut-rate abortions in subway toilets. I even descended to hustling pregnant women in the public streets. It was positively unethical. The question of abortion has been with us for at least 2,500 years. No law yet passed has made it go away. However, with…

I’m seeing these headlines: Two explosions near finish line… COPS: 2 dead, 23 injured… ‘Somebody’s leg flew by my head’… ‘Like War Zone’… AFTERMATH FOOTAGE…**WARNING: Graphic** NY POST: Suspect questioned… Saudi national under guard at hospital… CBSNEWS: SAUDI WAS ACTING SUSPICIOUS… NBCNEWS: ‘YOUNG PERSON HERE ON STUDENT VISA’… Bombs were inside trash cans… WBZ-TV LIVE……

I’m a Usaian (read A Few Good Men if this term confuses you) – I believe in Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.  For humans, of course. But what is a human? The feeling that we need to answer this question and answer it definitely has been growing on me since before I wrote…

I’m delighted to see a showing (however slight it may be) of progress in the GOP. A bill introduced in Congress on Friday would fix the conflict between the federal government’s marijuana prohibition and state laws that allow medical or recreational use. California Republican Rep. Dana Rohrabacher said his bill, which has three Republican and…

The thought of illegal transactions with bit coin is interesting. But how is delivery handled?

When discussing the abortion question I believe we can’t just look at one thing. We have to look at a lot of things. A question then. Is economics a moral issue? Is it moral for the government to rob Peter to Pay Paul? The Catholic Church seems to think so. They are staunchly anti-abortion. Even…

I want to put “approves” in funky off-ASCII wiggletype. It’d emphasize just how… I have to say it. Titillated. I am. That the IRS has given me their stamp of approval. Without which, let’s face it, I’d be an incomplete human being. I feel like life is have worthing, but I know that can’t be write…

      Bob Dylan live.

Sarah Hoyt said something at her blog that I consider as brilliant as it is painfully obvious: You do not in fact have the right to stop people thinking thoughts you don’t like. As to why fewer and fewer people seem to understand this, I don’t know. It seems that especially in academia, thought police…