Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.

There was a TORNADO WARNING for Rockford, Illinois that expired a few minutes ago. As I was heading to the basement I stuck my head out the door and heard the roar. It kind of sounded like continuous thunder. Scared the hell out of me. And I don’t scare easy. All has passed now –…

Gun Control: The theory that a woman found dead in the alley, raped and strangled with her own pantyhose, is somehow morally superior to a woman explaining to the police how her attacker got that fatal bullet wound. Inspired by Why The Constitution Matters: Woman Shoots, Kills Would-Be Rapist Cross Posted at Power and Control

It was hard to ignore the hubbub over yesterday’s Rapture, but the date came and went and I’m still here. Whether that means I was left behind I don’t know, but as I speculated about the possibilities on Facebook, I now feel that I owe the world an explanation. Normally I avoid boring people with…

This has got to be totally ironic – in a very good way. Commenter accordingtohoyt who is our very own Sarah had this to say about the linked article which discusses Obama’s betrayal of the Jews: I’m almost at the point where I can think about this without foaming at the mouth. I can’t even…

Megan notes Kevin Drum’s amazing ignorance on tax matters: [Drum]During the 50s, top marginal rates were around 90%, and if high tax rates on the rich harm the economy then the tax rates of the 50s should have literally brought the United States to its knees. But even with heroic efforts, you can’t make the…

I’m not going to talk about the end of the world, except sideways and stiltedly. Of course I don’t expect the world to end today. I don’t expect the world to end ANY day. One day the world will end for me, of course. One day the world will end for each of us. But…

Three things I love about a Herman Cain candidacy: 1)  Most importantly, he’s someone who could lead blacks away from the welfare state policies that have been so devastating to black communities, and demonstrate that entrepeneurship and personal responsibility are the universal paths to success, not identity politics, statism, and “community organizing.” 2) He instantly…

A tidbit I saw at Cafe Hayek helps answer a couple of vexing questions: Why does the left hammer away so relentlessly at large corporations? And why are the latter so quick to “cave” in response to demands? A major reason is that capitalists don’t like capitalism: Capitalists tend not to like capitalism. Milton Friedman…

Watch the latest video at video.foxnews.com Thanks to Hill Buzz for the above video. “All the Jews that voted for Obama need to have their heads examined.” Says Rev. Manning in November 2008. Thanks to Patriot Action Network for that video. Israel is not taking Obama’s Middle East Speech well. When reached via cell phone…

The brutal SWAT Team killing of a Marine veteran in Arizona has made me think along some very paranoid (for me, at least) lines. A growing number of ordinary Americans see SWAT Team excesses and the militarization of police as a bad thing, and, if they don’t see it as an argument against the war…

Institute for Justice – Policing For Profit You can download Policing for Profit [pdf] H/T Jccarlton at Talk Polywell who says: “There are people who do, for a variety of reasons, legitimately use cash for transactions. Or people who just don’t trust banks. In any case, without probable cause these guys have no business confiscating…

Reuters describes Guineans as divided over what is being called a “sex scandal” in a sub-headline: Residents of the West African state of Guinea were bemused to find their small country thrust into the spotlight by a sex scandal at the top of the International Monetary Fund — and divided over how to react. Excuse…

The Economist has an article up which is basically a long apologia for Dominique Strauss-Kahn based on the superior European attitudes towards sex. As those of you who read here often may know I’m somewhat of a libertine by American standards. None the less I thought a warning for our European friends was in order.…

Clarence Dupnik Pima County Sheriff You can read the full report at: Is this how we repay our veterans? The motherfuckers in this story are not just Law ENFORCERS. It is the American people who want to hurt people who have bad personal habits. What kind of fucked up shit is that? Especially when you…

Even though I have read similar stories until I am numb, this is the sort of thing I still have trouble believing is happening routinely in the United States. A 26-year-old former Marine, who served two tours in Iraq, with no criminal record, was at home with his wife and four year old son when…

While I am not an advocate of open borders myself, as a libertarian I can certainly understand the argument. What I cannot understand is under what theory people who have crossed whatever border into the United States would become entitled to anything at all, whether money, food, clothing, shelter, education, or medical care — to…

Princeton University’s Cornel West is complaining bitterly about Barack Obama (whom he once supported): Cornel West, a Princeton University professor and leading black intellectual, is harshly criticizing President Obama, a candidate he once supported but now calls “a black mascot of Wall Street oligarchs and a black puppet of corporate plutocrats.” West apparently believes that…

The video is not directly applicable to the subject at hand. It does feature one of the premier researchers in the field, Dr. Raphael Mechoulam, who’s work I discussed in a 2006 article PTSD and the Endocannabinoid System. So what about the FDA? PTSD is an extremely difficult medical condition to treat, and it currently…

May I suggest a visit to the YouTube page this video came from to watch more videos? Also the Forclosure Diaries home page. The video was suggested in the comments to You Have Got to be KIDDING – Nancy Jacobini’s Home was Broken Into AGAIN. The question is: why would the banks be doing this?…

What is it that makes Americans see movie actors as social and even political role models? I have long wondered, and Roger L. Simon’s post (“Sex Slaves for He But Not for Thee, The Perverted Politics of the Redgrave Family“) caused commenters to ask similar questions. The feudal Japanese placed actors in the same class…