Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.

Meet one of the newest members of my household (peeking from the inside of his secure PVC sewer pipe hiding place): It’s a young Jack Dempsey cichlid. I have a pair of them (each has his own piece of PVC, of course), in a tank with my Flowerhorn Trimac cichlid, which became too aggressive to…

Asking readers whether they have any ideas what the man might mean, Ann Althouse links a perplexing tidbit from former presidential hopeful Mark Sanford: I’m here because if you were to look at God’s laws, they’re in every instance designed to protect people from themselves. I think that that is the bottom line of God’s…

Until today I had never heard of Baby Dee. But a friend enlightened me after seeing her act, and I found this on YouTube. As Baby Dee explains in the above, s/he does not want to be called a “singer songwriter,” so I won’t. Your cultural mileage may vary.

Culturally illiterate I may be, but I grew up listening to Michael Jackson, whose brilliant career and tragic life ended with an apparently preventable death. In life, Jackson was hyped to the max, and I don’t doubt the same thing will happen in death. Considering the monstrous cap and trade scheme that is poised to…

The question of the day is: will Northern Lights replace Cabernet Sauvignon or Dos Equis? Mary is a 37-year-old, self-employed mother in Seattle who smokes pot several times a week. “It is relaxing, fun, and once in a while I self-medicate for cramps or headaches,” said Mary. She says she prefers smoking to drinking beer…

Speaking of my cultural illiteracy, I’m embarrassed to admit that until last night I had never heard of the Hygienic Dress League. However, I had my camera handy, and I took a picture: As it turns out, the “League” is all in the minds of the sign painters, who happen to be engaged in guerilla…

Regular readers know I can’t stand television, and I don’t watch network television programming at all. As I freely admitted in two recent posts, this makes me a cultural illiterate. For the life of me, I don’t know what programs are on, and if I hang out with television watchers and they discuss programs, I…

Via HotAir, Tom Friedman has a bold plan to end the theocratic state in Iran: put a $1 tax on U.S. gasoline! Sure, it will be a terrible burden on everyday Americans during the worst economic conditions in a generation, but surely the mullahs will embrace democratic reforms if they have slightly less money! Only…

Some of you may remember my article Defeated by Pornography where I discussed how modern technology was liquefying Islamic society. We can start with this amazing statistic: Up to 70% of files exchanged between Saudi teenagers’ mobile phones contain pornography, according to a study in the ultra-conservative Muslim kingdom. Well the Saudis are at it…

Pam Geller of Atlas Shrugs is doing an excellent job of keeping up to date on events in Iran. She has a report from a medical student. I only want to speak about what I have witnessed. I am a medical student. There was chaos at the trauma section in one of our main hospitals.…

If you look at my sidebar at Power and Control you will see that the logo for Regime Change Iran has been banned. The message reads in part: This page/domain banned b/c porn, warez, or topsite. If you own this site and feel the ban is in error visit imageshack.us go to “Contact Image Shack”…

I’ve been scratching my head over how to interpret some of the poll results at Real Clear Politics. President Obama Job Approval RCP Average Approve 60.0 Disapprove 33.0 But consider this poll, which reveals a majority of Americans think the country is headed in the wrong direction: Direction of Country RCP Average Right Direction 42.2…

Talk is cheap, and there’s not much I can say that would help the Iranian protesters. What I’d really like to do is something — anything — that goes beyond talk. In that regard, Glenn Reynolds linked a post by Eric S. Raymond which asked for help: I’ve spent the last seventeen hours living inside…

I was browsing Amazon and came across a book, Government Failure, which seems tailor made for current economic and political conditions. So, how about some reviews? This one gives the book 5 stars. The general thrust of the text is that, however well-intentioned, no government can sustain a vibrant and diverse welfare-state over the long-term.…

I’m glad to see that the once-timid media are finally showing real spine, and they are daring to demand answers to tough questions about pressing issues. At least, the most important pressing issues. Like whether the president smokes: “You just think it’s neat to ask me about my smoking,” he told the reporter, before conceding…

Depending on your point of view, it might or might not be a good thing that President Obama’s words should not be taken literally. First (via Glenn Reynolds), I read that the White House has gone on record as saying that Obama Health Care Promises Should Not Be Taken Literally: Less than 24 hours after…

I’m sorry to see that Ed McMahon has died. McMahon, 86, was a household name for 30 years as the announcer and sidekick to Johnny Carson on The Tonight Show. His trademark opening “Heeeeeere’s Johnny!” became part of the cultural lexicon, echoed most memorably by Jack Nicholson in 1980’s The Shining. He was one of…

Power Magazine whose mission is to cover Business and Technology for the Global Generation Industry reports on what Green Energy is doing to Spain. It is pretty ugly. Gabriel Calzada Álvarez, PhD, an economics professor at King Juan Carlos University in Madrid, completed Spain’s first comprehensive review of the long-term effects of Spain’s renewable energy…

I’m still fairly new to the Detroit area, and it’s easy to forget that Canada is just across the river — the nearest city being Windsor, Ontario. While I hate to think that my mind has been programmed by big media and political pundits, the fact is that when I hear about “illegal immigrants” and…

In an article discussing Mexico’s probable decriminalization of small amounts of drugs for personal use, the US Drug Enforcement Agency made its unhappiness known. Michele Leonhart, acting director of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, however, said in April that legalization “would be a failed law enforcement strategy for both the U.S. and Mexico.” How true.…