Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.

According to this news article the Texas Republicans are considering endorsing ‘Ex-Gay Therapy’. In recent years, ex-gay therapy has been a fringe issue that even conservatives who oppose LGBT marriage rights tend to be reluctant to publicly support. Last summer, the founder of one of the the biggest ex-gay therapy operations in the country, Exodus…

ATT Internet sucks big time. I still have no Internet service, and while I was told they’d be here between 4 & 8 today, and I waited for them, no one arrived. A supervisor told me they have an “emergency” with copper wire networking, but this is ridiculous. I hate to yell and scream, but it…

Indiegogo is featuring Solar Roads, a project to turn solar cells into pavement. They authors of this idea have collected $1.9 million in project funds from credulous supporters. Meanwhile my project to revolutionize software development languishes. I probably need to retarget my campaign towards some kind of “green” theme. And it certainly wouldn’t hurt to…

No internet at home! This really  sucks, and I can’t post easily from my phone. According to ATT, the problem is at their end, and they won’t be able to fix it until Thursday. Ugh!

You may remember my recent post about a drug raid that burned a 19 month old baby with an incendiary grenade. Recent reports say there is a 50% chance the baby will not pull through. Well, there is even more to the story. It seems that the task force involved has a recent (2009) reputation…

In terms of opinions about foods, there is so much damn noise it’s tough to know where to begin: Paleo, vegan, gluten-free — the only certainty about health trends is their reversal Yeah and, No food trend is more powerful, and potentially dangerous, than one that targets health and diet. Yeah and, Health trends are…

Amy Morgan left this comment on Rockford for Safe Access. I was diagnosed with Lungs Cancer and was told by the Doctor that the cancer was in the last stage. My Doctor told me i have few months to live, but he told me about the Hemp Oil and said it’s going to do a…

As you may or may not know, the US House of Reps passed a funding bill that defunded DEA raids on legal medical marijuana and hemp in states where they are legal (22 so far for med pot IIRC). If this passes the Senate and the President signs it that will make it difficult for…

I found this Salon “analysis” of mass murder very entertaining — especially the rhetorical question in the title itself: Why is it always a white guy: The roots of modern, violent rage The LAX shooter, once again, is reported to be a white male. Here’s why they’re always first to violence To drive home the…

Elon Musk has found a sure fire way to make money. Get men with guns (government) to mandate your product. Health care (Obamacare), windmills, and solar cells are just the start. Musk’s latest venture? A very large battery factory. Musk is already making money from the zero-emissions laws. This year, the laws require that 1%…

Cops in Geogia burned a 19 month old baby with a pyrotechnic grenade in a drug raid that has so far ( 3 days later) turned up no drugs – (this link has a picture of the burned baby – it will make you furious or retch. Or both). Habersham County, Georgia, Sheriff Joey Terrell…

Leave it to a drag queen to have some balls. “RuPaul’s Drag Race,” the reality-competition show RuPaul hosts on Logo, came under fire this past season for using “She-Mail” to describe messages from the host. (“Shemale” is considered a derogatory term for transgender people.) And RuPaul also courted controversy by remarking on Marc Maron’s podcast…

While my brain probably won’t live long for my having such opinions, I think this is so fucked up as to defy analysis: Five teenagers charged with murder over death of 17-year-old girl who took synthetic LSD as police trace drug supply chain First, the drug involved is not “synthetic LSD.” It is not chemically similar…

Apropos Eric’s recent post and a suggestion from Michael Totten on Facebook

I am lucky enough to have my Middle School drinking fountain, which I found at a neighbor’s yard sale when I lived on the East Coast, and thought I recognized because I remembered the words on the foundry casting — “HAWS DRINKING FAUCET CO., BERKELEY, CA.” After plunking down my five bucks, I asked the…

Coco has a new boyfriend. He’s a huge 9 month old puppy named George, and he is going to be one big bruiser. They almost look related, so it was love at first sight. Coco wanted to go home with him.

Hope everyone had fun. And be sure to remember.    

A word now used mainly by certain members the race it was originally intended to degrade has turned into a monster — the use of which can have devastating consequences. A Tennessee man who was accused of using a racial slur on a receipt at a Red Lobster restaurant last year is suing the restaurant…

That’s what pro-Drug War prosecutors are saying about a billboard near the El Paso border which is widely seen as a threat by the drug cartels: Two frightening incidents of vandalism in El Paso near the Mexican border in Texas have been interpreted as warnings from drug cartels. In both instances, a mannequin wearing a…

From Reason. Police entered a back yard in Mobile, Alabama, encountered a dog, and shot it. A Tehachapi, California, officer saw a dog run toward him while he was performing routine code enforcement checks. “He just pulled out his gun and boom, boom, boom,” reported a witness. An officer responding to a complaint about a…