Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.

In an earlier email exchange with Sarah, I made a shocking conspiracy claim, which I decided to post here in the hope that someone can show me how wrong I am. Noting that a friend had loved him when he was New Mexico GGovernor, Sarah asked me whether I think Gary Johnson has a prayer.…

Behold the New Iraq, exporting oil AND democracy, and set to become one of the richest countries in the world — at five times current levels they would be looking at about $25B per month in windfall wealth, in a country of ~25 million.  (Worth noting: no democracy has ever failed at that level of…

A little bio of the radiation safety expert. I am a licensed medical dosimetrist from the U.S. currently living in the Philippines. Given the recent extraordinary events unfolding in Japan, i’ve decided to express, to the best of my ability, the dangers associated with the nuclear powerplant crises in Fukushima and how it may affect…

I like Frank Chu. He’s not only refreshing, but he’s a sort of political warning post. It’s what can happen if you stick to your principles despite what most of us consider reality. In Zombie’s typically humorous coverage of a recent Obama fundraiser in San Francisco, (“Obama Visits the S(lush) F(und) Bay Area”), he said…

I’m having a discussion over at Zero Hedge with Crockett. We are looking at Ron Paul’s idea of Foreign Policy. Needless to say – I’m not a fan. Way ahead of you Crockett, my man. I already make my world conform to my desires. And I’m not unhappy with the results. International politics is a…

The latest black on white attack in a McDonalds has gone bigtime viral, and as it just seethes with Culture War subtexts, I find myself unable to ignore it as I perhaps should. (Alas. Sometimes I think that what Trotsky said* about ignoring war applies to ignoring the Culture War.) Drudge has been linking the…

What is pain, and why is it considered a question of morality in the minds of so many people? To most linear, logical thinkers (and engineering types like my esteemed co-blogger M. Simon) the question will seem ridiculous, as it strikes such people as self-apparent that pain has nothing to do with morality. Pain is…

This link was forwarded to me by a literary-agent-friend.  Is this one of Coco’s relatives? (Thank you to Michael Kabongo of the Onyxhawke agency!)

I found this funny and kinda sweet. The Few, The Proud, the Britney Spears Fans in the Marines!

Back in November, I lamented that this sort of thing would be happening more and more: Federal agents also allege that Transportation Safety Administration Officer Thomas Gordon Jr. of Philadelphia, who routinely searched airline passengers, uploaded explicit pictures of young girls to an Internet site on which he also posted a photograph of himself in…

Yes. It has been a few days since my last update. The news from nuclear Japan is just so depressing. So let me have at it in no particular order. Evacuation Zone Widened The government on Friday added some towns outside a 20-kilometer radius of the crisis-hit Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant to the list…

A long, and quite well-researched piece at leftie Salon.com thoroughly debunks Trig Trutherism for all the left-of-center world to see. Not that this nonsense ever needed debunking in the minds of reasonable, sane, or rational people. The problem is that these theories are more emotion driven than fact driven, and debunking them with rational arguments…

In what is intended as a scary headline, the left wing People for the American Way proclaims that “the Religious Right and the Corporate Right are Joining Forces to Fight Environmental Protection.” I see that as a classic example of coalition politics. In the name of environmental protection, some of the remaining vestiges of freedom…

Earlier I wrote a post about the Michigan State Police searching cell phones with intrusive scanning devices. In a Popular Mechanics piece, Glenn Reynolds warns that “it’s the bigger picture that’s truly worrisome”: The combination of smartphones loaded with data about you and law enforcement devices that can easily extract that information means that a…

Yes, we are being tyrannized by a blundering but very dangerous Obamasaurus Rex who is “flailing around in a world in which he doesn’t fit.” Fortunately, Sarah has documented the habits of this beast in great post at Pajamas Media. Don’t miss “Jurassic President.”  It’s wonderful. We are very proud of Sarah.

For the last couple of days, the fight over Terry Jones (the Koran-burning minister) and his efforts to hold a rally in front of a Dearborn mosque have occupied the front pages of the Detroit Free Press. As a First Amendment literalist, I see this as a simple matter of free speech. Jones has every…

I like to kid around and slough the feeling off with humor in posts like these, but I have a serious (at least, to the extent it is possible for me to ever be really serious) confession to make. I’m feeling so burned out by politics that I am genuinely worried. It is too far…

Yesterday I lamented my plight over what feels like an obligation to blog about the real issues (whatever they are) in the election ahead. Well, today I thought I would steel myself, buckle down, and attempt to come to terms with the truth involving one of the most serious issues in the election. An issue…

The first mate bought me a box of Fruit Roll-Ups™ the other day which is how I learned that General Mills is running a promotion that is giving laptops to kids without cash in places like Haiti. Helping to educate In 2010, Fruit Snacks partnered with One Laptop Per Child, a nonprofit organization whose mission…

What’s goin’ on with that election thing? Let’s see. Trump is accused by the Club for Growth of abusing eminent domain, Sarah Palin defended Trump on the birther issue, Michele Bachmann thinks the birther issue is settled by the state of Hawaii’s certification (which it is legally, even as a new WorldNetDaily book will doubtless…