Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.

In a Washington Examiner piece about Washington’s job killing machine, Hugh Hewitt gives an example of how the Endangered Species Act is being manipulated to thwart oil exploration: …in Texas, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service presides over the dunes sagebrush lizard’s crawl toward protected status under the Endangered Species Act, which will quickly affect…

I know a lot of folks like to compare Obama to Jimmy Carter these days. But compare Jimmy Carter’s failed hostage rescue attempt Operation Eagle Claw with Obama’s successful killing of Osama. Of course in these matters one must not only be good but also lucky. Now if only economics worked that way as well.…

Last night I was furious about noisy fireworks (which included visible mortars) which erupted in the neighborhood at midnight. Coco is extremely sensitive to that noise and it is one of the few things that gets her really freaked out. What irritated me to no end was that there was absolutely no occasion which might…

No. No one has dropped a bomb on Fukushima. Not a Big One (nuclear). Not even a big Small One. What we have (and it is devastating) is an Information Bomb. And it is wrecking Japanese complacency about ongoing efforts at Fukushima. I’m going to quote excerpts from the report. But you should read the…

This morning I saw a tantalizing bit of news that does not fit any of the convenient political narratives. If the allegations here are true, then Barack Obama’s birth was illegitimate: Concerns about Obama’s [Barack Obama, Sr.] personal life while he had been studying in the U.S. had been raised previously, according to the INS…

Finally there is some news about Polywell Fusion progress. From recovery.gov here is the essential news. Projects and Jobs Information Project Title Federal Contract Project Status More than 50% Completed Final Project Report Submitted No Project Activities Description Other Scientific and Technical Consulting Services Quarterly Activities/Project Description As of 1Q/2011, the WB-8 device operates as…

Earlier Glenn linked an article titled “You’re not as kinky as you think” (with the equally reassuring subtitle “Massive Internet study finds that we’re all sexual deviants”) which didn’t so much remind me that I wasn’t as kinky as I thought, so much as it served as a reminder that if we stopped being so…

A Facebook “dislike” button is being called the most wanted product in 2011: Recently Facebook added “Questions” to their impressive list of features for the popular social networking website, today we thought we would look at other features which could be added, it seems to us as though a dislike button is what people really…

A Facebook “dislike” button is being called the most wanted product in 2011: Recently Facebook added “Questions” to their impressive list of features for the popular social networking website, today we thought we would look at other features which could be added, it seems to us as though a dislike button is what people really…

This is a story I have been meaning to get to for over a week. I’ve been lazy. But with the “China’s Rise America’s Fall” stories being so prevalent these days I thought some counter balance was in order. And what are the riots about? Inflation and wages. Yesterday we reported news that has so…

Hardly does a day go by in which I am not reminded of the blurring of the distinction between facts (often wistfully known as “the truth”) and opinions. On the rare days I am not reminded, it is only because I haven’t been as attentive to online content as I “should” be. As it often…

President Barack Obama’s appearance Wednesday in the White House briefing room to present a documented rebuttal of suspicions that he was not born on U.S. soil was more than just a surprise. It was a decisive new turn in the centuries-long American history of political accusation and innuendo. By directly and coolly engaging a debate…

I should have been online last night but I wasn’t. I went out and saw a play. And now I’m really, really sorry! Because yesterday was a real milestone (well, sort of…) in the ongoing Birther drama and I missed it until this morning. Barack Obama has apparently released a copy of his so-called “long…

It has been a few days since my last round up and there have been some “events”. But first a couple of videos of critical importance. Radiation Safety has this report: Radiation in the #1 building is at highest levels since the crisis They don’t even know the source of the newly-elevated readings From the…

I’m in the habit of doing things like melting butter in the microwave in my pyrex measuring cups.    Now I wonder if it’s safe after seeing this over at Instapundit  http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2011-03/gray-matter-cant-take-heat And speaking of that, have there been any changes to hair dye?  I’m perfectly willing to admit that perhaps my hair is getting more…

This email was forwarded to me but it was written by Eric Odom, a libertarian Tea Party activist, and I thought I would share it with readers here. It’s long, so I’m putting the text in the extended area, lest people read it and mistake it for one of my posts. As to whether Odom…

The question is on the minds of several commentators, and it is a good one. I think the answer is an obvious “YES.” I don’t think libertarian Republicans should be wringing their hands over this, because not only is it an indication that libertarianism is alive and well in the party, it also means Ron…

plutosdad at my post A Radiation Safety Expert Says – Tokyo Uh Oh left a link to the following post which I am going to repeat (most of it) here. I have no idea if these people are legit. But the idea is a good one. ==== This morning, my friend Sean Bonner e-mailed me…