Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.

I wish I could have made it to one Tea Party or another, but I couldn’t. (Have to say, two million is an impressive figure.) Instead, I went to the Detroit Zoo, where I didn’t get to see signs like this one: However, I did see signs like this: While the sign from the Tea…

EMC2 has gotten almost eight million dollars to do further experimentation on the Polywell Fusion concept. Energy Matter Conversion Corp., (EMC2)*, Santa Fe, N.M., is being awarded a $7,855,504 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for research, analysis, development, and testing in support of the Plan Plasma Fusion (Polywell) Project. Efforts under this Recovery Act award will validate the…

As regular readers of this blog know, I think drug laws — and I mean all drug laws, not just marijuana laws — suck. I have thought so for a long time, and I try to be consistent. I don’t care who the person is, when someone is facing drug charges, I defend him or…

Everyone is talking about apologies lately. Most of us hate to apologize. Me, I have a lot to apologize for — especially my role in the Columbine massacre, the Kennedy assassination, and other awful things. Usually, when most people apologize, it’s because they got caught, or else found it was politically expedient to apologize. Real…

Speaking of Republican political math, Larry Sabato has done a very detailed study of the 2010 congressional election, and concludes that there will be substantial Republican gains, but not enough to retake the House: After examining all 435 House races for 2010, the Crystal Ball projects that Republicans will gain between 20 and 30 seats.…

It’s very important to remember today, especially because so many people want to forget what happened eight years ago. And because it’s human nature to forget. I say this as someone who dislikes being repetitive, and while it’s tough to find anything new to say about 9/11, I did find a new (at least hitherto…

Every day I get a lot of emails from various right wing organizations, all of which seem to be telling me that the only alternative to Barack Obama is the far right. These organizations include the American Family Association, the Traditional Values Coalition, Richard Viguerie’s Conservative HQ, not to forget longtime emailer Matt Barber, who…

I find the ongoing story of the federal government’s campaign against an anti-pain activist to be horrifying. It’s bad enough that doctors are afraid to prescribe pain medication because the government is breathing down their necks. But now the government is going after people who are speaking up in defense of targeted doctors. OK, regular…

Stephen Green drunkblogged President Obama’s speech last night, so I didn’t have to. Here’s his final conclusion: I’m disgusted. And I need another drink. If I’m feeling up to it, I’ll post a little Oh I’m So Wise summary later tonight at VodkaPundit.com. Or possibly not. But here’s the short version: Obama will see a…

I originally wrote Desolation Row in January 2007. I also posted it at Classical Values then. It is a companion piece to one I posted here a few days ago:Decline and Fall. So that is why you are seeing it again here. Not to mention that I promised some one in the comments to Desolation…

That was CongressMAN Joe Wilson calling Obama a liar. So is Obama lying? During Barack Obama’s speech tonight, Obama said it was untrue that “the reforms I am proposing” cover illegal aliens. Someone in the audience, reportedly South Carolina Republican Rep. Joe Wilson, yelled out “liar.” Now this isn’t the British parliament, so I don’t…

The Obama healthcare speech transcript for those, like me, to impatient to sit and be read to (come on, the bandwidth is terrible). Well, 47 million uninsured has now become 30 million. So he’s getting closer to intellectual honesty. One is tempted to ask where those 17 million disappeared to (FEMA camps? lol) but one…

In the wake of news that current health care deform proposals would fine people up to $3800 for not carrying insurance, James Taranto asks: Why not apply this principle to other areas of social policy as well? For example, we could deal with the problem of homelessness by passing a law requiring everyone to have…

Obama supporter Camille Paglia thinks it’s too late for the coalition that elected him to repair the damage. Along with a tantalizingly accurate definition of that group of people I’ve called “THEY,” she asks some great questions: Why has the Democratic Party become so arrogantly detached from ordinary Americans? Though they claim to speak for…

So it appears Human Rights Watch is hiring Nazi paraphernalia collecting enthusiasts. Yep, you read that right. Ace on this wee problem: If the same dude is the Human Rights Watch Israel critic and the gonzo Nazi memorabilia collector… well, if you’re constantly going to dog Israel, you probably should find a different hobby. Kinda…

Bill Clinton is offering Mr. Obama some advice on health care reform. Former President Bill Clinton says those in his party should ignore any grief from Republicans on health care reform, because the GOP is just waiting for Democrats to “mess up.” Clinton told Esquire magazine that lawmakers should put together the best health care…

Here is a bit I did in December of 2006. It is especially relevant given Eric’s post on how the world is going to the dogs. === Commenter Karridine alerted me to this interesting piece by Orson Scott Card on the decline and fall of the Roman Empire. Card’s central thesis is that trade made…

Actually the butcher is at the meeting only in spirit as far as I can tell. But the baker is there and she unloads on her Congress Critter. For taxes. For Cap and Tax. For health care. For bank bail outs. And for the Congress Critter insulting her with the critter’s responses to her questioning…

This San Francisco Chronicle editorial reveals so much about the leftist mindset that I found it almost charming. Their position on Van Jones is not that there’s anything wrong with his thinking, but that the Obama administration is too busy to be bothered having to defend him: This administration has far too many pressing issues…

Will the Democratic Party be so stupid as to pass a health care reform bill? The other night a group of eager beaver policy wonks told me they would, and explained why. This morning I found virtually all of their arguments outlined here. Despite the fierce opposition that gripped the nation all summer, the bill…