Money in Politics? Guess Who Gets More of it.
I have written a lot of posts in the past on the topic of money in politics and why it is not, absent its use as outright bribes, a problem. (Check the list below for some of my posts on this topic.) In short, there is no evidence that the amount of money spent actually changes the outcome of an election and any attempts to limit spending in an election is a restriction on the freedom of speech. Such restrictions also serve to protect incumbents which is undoubtedly why so many politicians
[Video] Morality of War
Yaron Brook gives a passionate talk on applying the morality of Ayn Rand’s philosophy of Objectivism to the concept of war and how war should be fought. While no philosophy can properly specify tactics, the specific means and methods used in fighting a way, it can provide the basis for deciding from what pool of possibilities these tactics can be drawn from.
In the early part of the talk Yaron discusses “just war theory,” the theory that in part says a country should not go to
Solar Panel “Affection” – Humbug!
Smaller Power Projects Up 58 Percent
This was the headline for the second item that caught my eye in the December 17, 2014 edition of the Caledonian Record. (The other I commented on here.) According to the article, the majority of these new small power projects, defined as those being able to generate up to 150 kilowatts, have come from solar installations where individuals “take advantage of federal tax credits and the state’s growing affection for cleaner
Ayn Rand’s Ideas: An Introduction
An excellent introduction to major topics in Ayn Rand’s philosophy of Objectivism presented by Onkar Ghate from 2003. The video includes a Q&A session with Onkar Ghate and Yaron Brook. Topics include: Individualism vs Collectivism, What are rights?, Proper role of government, Egoism vs Altruism, Ethics, Mysticism vs Reason and more.
The Q&A session is particularly interesting. Many of the folks had challenging questions which resulted in some great answers. I was somewhat surprised
My Comment in Support of “Objecting to the ‘Season of Giving'”
This is a somewhat edited and greatly expanded version of a comment I posted to Peter Schwartz’s Washington Post article, “Objecting to the ‘season of giving’.” You can find my posted comment here. 2000 characters was just not enough space to get across fully what I wanted to say in support of his article in the face of the vast majority of comments that had been left. Or at least I didn’t have the time to make my comment that short.
I would like to thank Peter
Want Your Rights Respected, Respect Those of Others
Whenever a man is made to act without his own free, personal, individual, voluntary consent—his right has been violated. – Ayn Rand
While I generally try to not write immediately as things get me worked up, tonight I am making a bit of an exception. Just a few minutes ago a post appeared in my timeline showing an image of what is claimed to be thousands of #BlackLivesMatter protesters essentially
School Budget – Here We Go Again
Pre-K Drives School Draft Budget Up
That was one of the headlines in the local paper over an article detailing how the St. Johnsbury School directors have voted to approve a proposed $365,000 increase (about 2.3%) in the school budget with the bulk of the increase going to fund “universal prekindergarten.” This funding is to implement the program one year ahead of the date required (July 1, 2016) by Vermont’s recently passed universal pre-k mandate.
While prekindergarten has been getting a lot of press of late,
Single Payer Health Care – Shumlin Pulls the Plug
So this was the good news I came home to after going to see the final part of the Hobbit trilogy. (Excellent movie, by the way. Good action, loved Billy Connoly as Dain Ironfoot, and my god but Galadriel is revealed as a truly bad-ass elf lady.)
Governor Shumlin revealed that the plan to pay for Vermont’s single payer system would involve taxes that are, to use Shumlin’s word, enormous. Apparently the plan would have called for an 11.5% payroll tax (think your social security taxes,
[Video] Neoconservatives vs. America: A Critique of U.S. Foreign Policy Since 9/11
A great talk by Dr. Yaron Brook, given in 2005, in which he discusses the origin of neoconservatives (“leftists who have been mugged by reality”) and how the implementation of their policies after 9/11 have been contrary to actual American interests. The hour long talk is followed by nearly 90 minutes of Q&A with Yaron and Dr. Onkar Ghate.
One quote from Yaron Brook in answering a question about Iran:
When you go into Iran, there are two option. When, If. You go in there and after