Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.

America has an industrial strength system for producing criminals. Senator Jim Webb is not happy about it. America’s criminal justice system has deteriorated to the point that it is a national disgrace. Its irregularities and inequities cut against the notion that we are a society founded on fundamental fairness. Our failure to address this problem…

Reflecting on the merging of government with big business and the “too big to fail” meme, Jonah Goldberg recalls a vintage if chilling Hillarism: Hillary Clinton’s health-care plan required working with large corporations and other firms. It was little guys for whom she had nothing but contempt. When warned her plan would crush smaller businesses,…

Agora Financials has something interesting to say about Polywell Fusion. “Polywell fusion technology could be the biggest monkey wrench in the history of markets,” writes our technology adviser Patrick Cox. If you’re unfamiliar (we certainly were), fusion is often tagged as one potential “fuel of the future.” Instead of splitting atoms, like the nuclear fission…

H/T Commenter Wes from Four Times As Much Cross Posted at Power and Control

It came as amazing news to me, but via Clayton Cramer I learned something interesting: we are still making stuff in America (besides worthless mortgages). I lost the circular level that I use for manufacturing ScopeRoller caster assemblies, so I had to buy a new one. I found a Empire Bullseye Circular Level at Home…

Now if only we had a few more like him in the US. H/T National Review Cross Posted at Power and Control

I just learned from Dr. Helen that Amy Alkon “The Advice Goddess” needs some readers. You can start here. If you want to do more, Amy has a book Free Advice. Read it. Cross Posted at Power and Control

A nice graphic to go with my previous post Four Times As Much. The graphic was originally done by The Washington Post. H/T Instapundit Cross Posted at Power and Control

It seems that the Government of Mr. Obama has plans to run up a debt four times as big as George Bush did. President Barack Obama’s budget would produce $9.3 trillion in deficits over the next decade, more than four times the deficits of Republican George W. Bush’s presidency, congressional auditors said Friday. The new…

Hey everybody, I’m still alive but I’ve been offline for an extended period, and I just wanted readers to know that while I’ve been unable to blog since last Thursday, the current crisis is almost under control, and hopefully I will be back to something resembling blogging this weekend. I miss the blog, and all…

Cold fusion is back in the news. If cold fusion can be made to work, it could power the world cheaply on a virtually limitless supply of seawater. But scientists don’t even know if it’s possible. Now a new study has produced evidence for the existence of low-energy nuclear reactions (LENR), the new name for…

You can see it coming. The next big bubble. Marijuana. Why do I say that? Because there are courses available at Marijuana University on how to profit from the coming boom in quasi legal marijuana. Under a microscope, it’s easy to tell really good marijuana from schwag. Look for trichomes. On the best pot, they…

A little Tea Party Music maestro. Goddamn, well I declare, have you seen the like? Their walls are built of cannonballs, their motto is Don’t tread on me. Come hear Uncle John’s Band playing To the tide, come with me, or go alone. Cross Posted at Power and Control

This is exactly what is wrong with the Republican Party. Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley criticized the Obama administration Thursday for moving to loosen restrictions on medical marijuana. At a gathering to discuss health care reform, the Iowa lawmaker criticized the Justice Department’s new policy of targeting California’s medical marijuana distributors only if they violate both…

Some people think this is torture. Last week, the Daily News reported that the board had introduced a proposal to ban genital waxing in New Jersey’s spas and salons, something the board claimed was already illegal but never spelled out in the regulations. The board cited public safety as a main issue, saying that two…

Click for larger view A picture is worth 1,000 words sometimes. Sometimes it is worth a trillion dollars. This one could be worth even more if it explains global temperatures better than the IPPC’s computer extrapolations. This graph is the work of Syun-Ichi Akasofu who has a few words on climate. Akasofu is one of…

guy on internet had something interesting to say in response to Welfare For The Rich. All consumption-based tax credits are “for the rich,” or at least the not-poor. You have to buy them, while whatever poor people buy a disproportionate lot of gets “sin” taxed at above the highest marginal income-tax rate. That’s not all…

It looks like we not only have Welfare for the Rich. We have another case of the same welfare. Want a $50,000 electric sports car? Have we got a deal for you. When Tesla formally announced the Model S Sedan last June, the MSRP bandied was about $60,000 for the all-electric sedan. In its newsletter…

Are you in the market for a new car this year? I thought not. But if you are Mr. Obama has a deal for you. Los Angeles (myFOXla.com) – President Barack Obama announced today in Pomona that his administration will help put a million plug-in hybrids on the road by 2015 and offer $7,500 tax…

It seems the Most Inexperienced President Ever™ is having one or two problems with his first two months in office. For all his articulateness and gift for oratory, this president seems to be spending his time in the Oval Office walking into walls. He has botched up more things in two months in office than…