Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.

I report you decide. I was reading some comments about Obama’s non-apology for his totally correct statement about values voters in Pennsylvania. The following comments seem a little off key to me. What do you think? USAF Sr. Airman April 11th, 2008 10:09 pm ET I’m from Pennsylvania. I lost my civilian job due to…

You go into these small towns in Pennsylvania and, like a lot of small towns in the Midwest, the jobs have been gone now for 25 years and nothing’s replaced them. And they fell through the Clinton administration, and the Bush administration, and each successive administration has said that somehow these communities are gonna regenerate…

WHO SAID THIS? “The cheek of every American must tingle with shame as he reads the silly, flat and dishwatery utterances of the man who has to be pointed out to intelligent foreigners as the President of the United States.” See if you can guess the name of the stupid president being derided. No, I’m…

I hate socialism. I abhor the welfare state. Seriously, I think it will eventually be the death of this country. Even more than that I detest identity politics. So, because the modern Democratic Party is built on both, I’m not a happy camper there (despite my current registration), and I never will be. Now, both…

Barry Obama takes a lesson from Obi-wan Kenobi. Too funny for words. So you will just have to click the link and watch the video. H/T Backyard Conservative Cross Posted at Power and Control

The following is a teensy tiny (barely 2 inches wide) sketch by Salvador Dal&iacute which appears in Bill Rose’s autobiography, Wine, Women and Words. I love Dal&iacute’s line drawings, and this one looks a lot better in a photograph than it does in the book, because you can see the detail. I don’t know exactly…

I was reading Alan Greenspan on the current economic crisis. A number of economic heavy hitters voiced their opinions and I couldn’t resist adding mine. I’m a layman in these matters so take my comment for what it is worth. It seems to me that what is being argued is what the proper judgment in…

Timothy Carney’s “Tax bandits will have plenty to celebrate this April 15” was a bit of a distraction from the election — although it was interesting to read that it’s a day when Americans become more conservative: WASHINGTON (Map, News) – You may celebrate Tax Day next week because you will finally be finished (you…

Sorry for the busy title, but Philadelphia Mayor Nutter has been a busy man. Not that he shouldn’t be busy. In the wake of a plague of random attacks — one fatal — on Philadelphia commuters, a lot of Philadelphians want something done. So what does Mayor Michael Nutter do? He “defiantly signs” unconstitutional gun…

Who is exhausted by Islam? The young in Iraq are exhausted by Islam. BAGHDAD — After almost five years of war, many young people in Iraq, exhausted by constant firsthand exposure to the violence of religious extremism, say they have grown disillusioned with religious leaders and skeptical of the faith that they preach. In two…

Freedom of speech is an American concept, so I don’t give it any value. — Dean Steacy, Canadian Human Rights Commission. Conservative and libertarian American bloggers should be very, very glad that angry leftists are pretty much limited to hurling accusations at those who disagree with them, but that they cannot haul their opponents in…

In Pennsylvania, massive Republican crossover registration has been altering the voter balance in several counties. Naturally, the Republican Party wants these crossover voters (including me) back. However, I’m not sure that accusing them of fraud is the best way to persuade them. Unfortunately, that’s what they are doing, if this news item is correct: HARRISBURG…

As I flipped through the radio dial the other day, I heard a conservative radio talk show host carrying on about what he seems to feel is a new form of immorality — men and women living together at college. Not as lovers, mind you. This, I could understand, would implicate sexual morality (even those…

Megan McArdle is discussing the failure (or lack thereof) of the media when it comes to the John Yoo memos on the legality of torture for American troops facing irregular combatants. The comments are extensive. With the usual Bush is Hitler slant. I have a little different opinion. When people don’t even know (so many…

This interview of Daphna Ziman by Roger L. Simon (which Glenn Reynolds linked) deeply disturbed me, as I worry it may be an indication that anti-Semitism is becoming mainstream, if not downright respectable. Daphna Ziman is an Israeli American who runs a charity for children and right after she was honored with an award from…

I pride myself on trying to be well dressed (at least when the occasion arises), but while I was looking at Zombietime’s latest post about Barack Obama’s visit to Billionaires Row in San Francisco, I saw a picture of a man who made me feel ashamed to wear a suit and tie: Underneath the picture…

I could almost swear that Glenn Greenwald does not like John Yoo: The fact that John Yoo is a Professor of Law at Berkeley and is treated as a respectable, serious expert by our media institutions, reflects the complete destruction over the last eight years of whatever moral authority the United States possessed. Comporting with…

Two hundred billion barrels of oil have been discovered in North Dakota. America is sitting on top of a super massive 200 billion barrel Oil Field that could potentially make America Energy Independent and until now has largely gone unnoticed. Thanks to new technology the Bakken Formation in North Dakota could boost America’s Oil reserves…