Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.

As one of those who has not (yet) been driven crazy by the prospect of Barack Obama delivering a propaganda lecture to the children, I’m finding it a bit hard to figure out how I fit into this analysis that Glenn Reynolds linked earlier: The Silly Season ceases to be “silly” when what passes for…

As I’ve been swamped with Labor Day weekend business aggravated by a mechanical breakdown (try fixing a radiator leak when you’re in another state on a weekend with no tools wearing a suit!), I haven’t been able to keep up with the blogosphere. Normally, I trust Glenn Reynolds to keep up with the blogosphere for…

This article about lawmakers worried about 2010 repeats a meme whose popularity has really started to bother me: Their political fortunes next year are likely to hinge on whether the U.S. economy, in its longest and deepest recession since the Great Depression, improves and if Congress passes a significant healthcare reform bill. People keep talking…

There are few things in life I detest more than enthusiasm for government. And as my luck would have it, last night I ate dinner surrounded by people who feel exactly the opposite way. Young, enthusiastic, left-wing policy wonks, who are simply drooling over the prospect of implementing government programs. It was a sickening experience,…

I would like to apologize to the citizens and constitutional government of the Republic of Honduras for the actions of the Obama administration. Apparently the open hand will only be extended to those who clench their fists in rage at America. I would also like to take this opportunity to extend the middle finger of…

While he was talking primarily in the context of healthcare, Thomas Sowell recently praised Barack Obama’s skill as a magician. Just as magicians know that the secret of some of their tricks is to distract the audience, so politicians know that the secret of many political tricks is to distract the public with scapegoats. No…

And he’s not wearing a condom! At least, that’s the general theme of this anti-AIDS video that has upset a number of AIDS activists. Apparently, the objection is to showing an AIDS-infected Hitler is that it will portray AIDS sufferers in a negative light: The commercial was produced by the young Hamburg-based advertising agency das…

I was Googling “feynman lectures video” and came across this series on quantum electrodynamics. Very light on the math. Very heavy on the concepts. In the delightful Feynman way. I especially recommend the first lecture (about 78 minutes) where Feynman discusses the theory of light, the philosophy of physics, and Mayan Codexes. And as I…

It took me about a year to get around to it, but yesterday I finally visited the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn. There’s a lot I could say about it, but if I had to sum it up in a word, that word would be “INSPIRING.” Truly, Henry Ford was an inspirational genius on a…

The notion Republicans need to tone down their rhetoric to retake power took a beating today with the revelation Obama “green jobs” czar Van Jones not only signed a Truther petition, but organized Truther marches. Just think, today’s Birthers are tomorrow’s czars!

Over at Reason, Matt Welch spots Justin Raimondo geting huffy about ths guy: Quoth Raimondo: This was widely interpreted as a not-so-subtle threat to the President, personally. And I fail to see how it could be understood in any other way. To carry that sign in one hand, and a gun in the other, is…

Christianity has always been considered almost synonymous with charity. Yet in order for charity to be charity, it has to be voluntary, for absent free choice, it ceases to be charity and becomes a tax. Now, I’m no theologian, but even by the most cursory analysis, it would seem that Jesus was reminding his followers…

Not content with nail biting (their own) over the prospects of health care reform Democrat operatives have begun finger biting (other’s). It seems particular unfair to me – this finger tax. Couldn’t they just have asked for the shirt off his back? Or a twenty year lease on his first born? Well actually no one…

Dr. Helen’s headline “Health care for Clunkers” reminded me of the “care” they actually give the “clunkers” — many of which are perfectly good cars. The care? It’s called “pour in gunk to make the system lock up then gun the motor until it seizes” and it’s dictated by the federal bureaucracy which wants to…

It is being widely reported that mayhem occurred at a pro-Obamacare rally in Los Angeles area yesterday, but I’m having trouble figuring out what happened. According to most accounts, a MoveOn.org member punched an anti-Obamacare protester and the pro-Obamacare protester had a finger bitten off in the process. However, in these versions of the story,…

As companion to this brilliant must-read piece from Megan McArdle that lays out the libertarian philosophy on health care beautifully… But even after you get beyond that, the more “practical” considerations remain. If the government crowds out private health insurance for many people–a result that a number of analysts on both right and left think…

Yes. It is true. We are temporarily running out of peak oil. A lot of new oil has been discovered. BP is British Petroleum. BP has reopened the debate on when the “peak oil” supply will be reached by announcing a big new discovery in the Gulf of Mexico which some believe could be as…

Esquire Magazine has an interesting piece with the exciting (for me, at least) title of A Radical Solution to End the Drug War: Legalize Everything: One cop straight out of The Wire crunches the numbers with Esquire.com’s political columnist to discover that America’s prohibition of narcotics may be costing more lives than Mexico’s — and…

In my previous comparison of Ted Kennedy to Henry VIII, I touched on how unaccountability — a feature of both traditional royal prerogative and Kennedy family prerogative — can be buttressed by populism: Ted Kennedy does remind me of Henry VIII in one important sense. Both men believed in their ultimate unaccountability, and neither really…

I just voted “Yes” in a Facebook poll which asks, Would you vote for an openly gay candidate for president if you agreed with his or her other positions? So far, it seems to be winning handily. However, because I’m a contrarian, it almost makes me want to do a poll along the lines of…