Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.

Forbes Magazine has an interview with Progressive Insurance chairman Peter Lewis. Our marijuana laws are outdated, ineffective and stupid. I’m not alone in thinking this: Half of Americans believe we should stop punishing people for using marijuana. And not coincidentally, more than half of Americans have used marijuana themselves. I am one of those Americans,…

To all those who say that it is not the mission of the Churches to end the injustice of the War On Drugs I have a question/answer. Abortion

Tyler Cowen and Bryan Caplan share lists.  Very interesting.  As for myself,  I am a pessimist regarding my willingness to compile such a list.

Commenter Randy suggested I do some etymological research. So I did. And found something very interesting. In 1936, Sara Benetowa, later Known as Sula Benet, an etymologist from the Institute of Anthropological Sciences, in Warsaw wrote a treatise, “Tracing One Word Through Different Languages.” This was a study on the word Cannabis, based on a…

Via HotAir, an interesting essay from Marcelo Gleiser: However, there is a huge difference between simple life and complex life. Contrary to what many believe, evolution doesn’t lead to complex life forms: evolution leads to well-adapted life forms. I agree.  People tend to underestimate the power of the weak anthropic principle — no matter how…

This is a piece I wrote in 2006 before I was a regular at Classical Values. The links are still good and the “news” could be very helpful to those who need it. ==== I wrote an article about a year ago on how marijuana helps those suffering from diabetes and more recently how it…

Smoke Pot. Lose weight? It sounds unbelievable. In fact the researchers who did the study found it unbelievable too. Marijuana smokers are less likely to be obese than nonsmokers, according to a recent study. The study found that roughly a third of those who smoke at least three times a week are less likely to…

They sing some English about 2 minutes in. Intercourse and Conception had this to say about the band. Orphaned Land is an Israeli band whose performances feature Middle Eastern Metal with a bit of religious iconography thrown in. Israeli metal? Well Gene Simmons of KISS led the way. Sort of. Cross Posted at Power and…

If you are annoyed by being told what to do, you probably wouldn’t want to live in what the Public Policy people call “high density housing.” Environmentalists want people to live in high-density, high-rise housing, and they want them crammed into buses and street cars. This is of course to save the environment from what…

Lloyd’s of London is pulling cash from European banks. First it was US money markets; then it was various European industrial concerns (which somehow double down as banks); then it was China; now the bank runs shift to insurance institutions when, as Bloomberg reports, Lloyd’s of London has decided to pull peripheral Euro bank deposits.…

I like Bryan Caplan, whose stuff I have read along with Arnold Kling’s at Econlib. But probably because I’m not an economist, I simply don’t read him enough to have a “favorite Bryan Caplan syllogism” as Megan McArdle does. Nevertheless, McArdle’s favorite Bryan Caplan syllogism is already my favorite: 1.  Something must be done 2.  This…

Eric tipped me to the fact that Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP) has a Blogspot blog. Here is a link to a topic they are covering. ONE DRUG ARREST EVERY 19 SECONDS IN THE U.S.

Gary Johnson will be in the next debate. Gary Johnson, the Republican presidential candidate who has labored in obscurity, is about to get his moment in the spotlight—for one night, at least. Johnson will be included in Thursday’s Fox News debate in Orlando, the first time he will share a stage with his eight rivals—over…

I am a regular reader of Michael Yon’s excellent reports on the war in Afghanistan, two of which were linked today by Glenn Reynolds. One of the things I find tiresome about the ongoing war against the Taliban is not simply that it drags on, but the way it is being funded. There doesn’t seem…

Yesterday I wrote a semi-amusing piece about the Drug Cartels “petitioning Congress” to keep the Drug War going. It featured my favorite Police Detective, Howard Wooldridge. All in good fun to make a serious point. Well this morning Eric sent me a link to this story. Whistle-blowers allege corruption, cartel ties. Two former law enforcement…

Are all libertarians socially liberal? I have never for a moment thought so. But there is a debate going on among libertarians right now, and I enjoyed this video: Part of the confusion comes from people who want to defeat libertarian arguments by smearing libertarians as atheistic hedonists who sport tattoos, piercings, and funny haircuts…

Everyone is looking for some one to blame these days. Presidents are very useful in this regard. Some blame Bush II, Some blame Obama I. I blame Nixon. I blame him for ramping up the Drug War that has cost the Federal Government at minimum $1 trillion so far. With no end in sight. If…

I knew the narrator Peter Coyote back in the day. Patients Out Of Time – medicalcannabis.com Patients Out of Time is pleased to be a contributer to Len Richmond’s important new film, “What If Cannabis Cured Cancer“, which features video of Raphael Mechoulam, PhD and Robert Melamede, PhD from our 2004 National Clinical Conference on…

I have been cruising various pro gun sites over the last few months. “Gun Walker” stories. “Gun Runner” stories. “Fast and Furious” stories. Tons of electrons spilled (and that is a whole lot of electrons). Other than this site and JPFO I have yet to see any other sites connect the dots (thank you Eric,…

Eric in The high cost of illegal American appetites, left several links to an organization called LEAP. There is another anti-prohibition police organization called COPs that deserves your support. Retired Detective Howard Wooldrige of COPs was going around Capitol Hill last week with the following message: I visited all 435 House offices this week. Taking…