Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.

Getting an email like this only adds insult to injury. Over the last few days, we’ve seen conservatives in South Carolina – and across the country – unify behind our bold campaign of ideas. With support from great conservatives like Rick Perry, Sarah Palin, Michael Reagan, 100 Tea Party leaders, and millions of proud Americans…

A Ron Paul guy I am not. But I certainly agree with what he said today after the TSA detained his son Rand who had refused a patdown search: Republican presidential candidate and Texas Rep. Ron Paul issued a sharply-worded statement in reaction to the detention of his son, Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, by Transportation…

It looks like the Iranians are having no more luck fighting the culture wars than American Conservatives are having fighting theirs. When American businesswoman Ruth Handler first launched Barbie back in 1959, she probably didn’t expect the dolls to become as controversial as they are popular. In an apparent effort to shut out Western culture,…

I’m in a bad place right now and I am taking things too hard. Last night I was apoplectic over the apparent inevitability of Newt Gingrich’s candidacy, and it really, really hurts. That’s because I am a Republican, and even though I am a libertarian Republican, I think of myself as a loyal person. For…

Better than wiping! (Whether it’s as good as melting. or just another meltdown format, who knows?)

A few days ago I predicted that the ABC smear via the ex would “backfire,” and it has. Gingrich trailed Romney by double digits just days ago. But that changed quickly after Gingrich’s performance in Thursday’s night CNN Southern Republican debate. The former House speaker was able to turn his biggest liability — accusations by…

Commenter Filbert left this link in a comment. From it I gleaned this interesting tit (British English) bit. This is in reference to the so called anti-piracy bill and how Hollywood feels about being dropped like a hot potatoe (Dan Quail spelling). Several moguls, in response, ”sent back word saying ‘Fuck You’ basically,” one insider…

“There ought to be a law” – the rallying cry of statists everywhere.

Sorry I haven’t gotten a post up today, but I have spend most of the day batting a virus in vain. I’m hardly a novice and I know enough to have good anti-virus and to not download things, but last night a mere click to a contaminated website (a mom and pop business in the…

The conventional wisdom is that the ABC hit piece (which I suspect was deliberately leaked to Drudge) featuring a much-hyped interview with Newt Gingrich’s angry ex-wife Marianne is an attempt to derail the man’s candidacy, or even put the coffin’s nail in it. I think it’s just the opposite. ABC is surely savvy enough to…

While the issue hasn’t come up in the presidential debates, and many ordinary citizens don’t know about it, there is broad online opposition to the odious SOPA/PIPA legislation pending before both houses of Congress. I’m glad to see Google’s logo blacked out in protest, and even more delighted to see the Wikipedia shutdown. I have…

What stood out about the debate last night was seeing Romney having to defend what he did when he was at Bain. Gingrich is of course still going after him, and while I already agreed with Glenn’s assessment that the Gingrich attacks are helping Romney, what was remarkable last night was seeing Romney in a…

I just realized that my tape dispenser (which had belonged my parents) is so old and bulbous-looking that it might very well be considered collectible! Alongside the stapler, they both look especially… “vintage.” Even the box of staples (which I use because they are staples) seems vintage, and it has the same Swingline model stapler…

I love peanuts, and peanut butter. However, between .04% and .06% of the humans in this country are allergic to the stuff. (2.3% are allergic to seafood, which I also love.) While I feel sorry for those who suffer from such an allergy, I was a bit puzzled by the angry reaction of parents to…

Gerard Vanderleun gets it. The issue is not Romney, but Obama. HT Glenn. (I can’t believe we are having to debate such obvious stuff.)  

I think it was very nice of Newt (via his “super PAC”) to do this: “This is a story of greed, of playing the system for a quick buck, a group of corporate raiders led by Mitt Romney more ruthless than Wall Street. For tens of thousands of Americans, the suffering began when Mitt Romney…

I’m not sure whether I should let Coco see this ad: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-4bm5NxqPY And if you like the Gingrich ad, you’ll love the way Rachel Maddow has taken it and run with it. I’m also glad I’m not running for president. I say this not as an endorsement of Romney (who does strike me as a…

Eric has written a wonderful post on liberty. I’d like to quote the heart of the piece and then add a few words of my own. …if there is one lesson I have learned from freedom, it’s that there are risks and downsides, and you have to take the good and the bad. Economies do…

The Other McCain at The American Spectator is worried about the future of the Republican Party. Why? Ron Paul. There are many mysteries to the phenomenon that is Ron Paul. How is it, for example, that a 76-year-old with a reedy voice – his appearance and manner not remotely “presidential” by the usual standards of…

A lot of people were surprised by this NASA video. More here, and here, and here. I’m been saying keep an eye on Rossi for a while.  Skepticism still very warranted, but starting to look more and more like maybe there’s some there there. (Just for fun, I also ordered a small home e-cat from…