Monthly Archives: May 2010

Remembering the Forgotten

Posted on Mon, 31 May, 2010 by pmjones

Each day we are safe because soldiers, sailors, airman, corpsmen, and policemen place themselves between us and evil. When these men have fallen or when their young bodies have been maimed forever in defense of our safety, the poignant moment … Continue reading →

Posted in Defense, Liberty | 1 Comment

Communists Are Worse Than Nazis, But Nobody Cares

Posted on Sat, 29 May, 2010 by pmjones

In the world’s collective consciousness, the word “Nazi” is synonymous with evil. It is widely understood that the Nazis’ ideology—nationalism, anti-Semitism, the autarkic ethnic state, the Führer principle—led directly to the furnaces of Auschwitz. It is not nearly as well … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics | 1 Comment

Systems and Stories

Posted on Sat, 29 May, 2010 by pmjones

Curiously the phrase ‘everything happens for a reason’ is used to talk about systems and stories, but the ‘reasons’ are in opposite temporal directions. In system thought it means everything is necessitated somehow by the previous state of the system, … Continue reading →

Posted in General, Religion | Leave a comment

The Limitations and Misuse of Logic

Posted on Wed, 26 May, 2010 by pmjones

Logical conclusions must be predicated on true premises. If the premises are unexamined, inaccurate, or false, then the logic is empty. This is one reason why using “logic” to argue for or against matters of politics and policy is frequently … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics, Smart | 1 Comment

The Privileged Call For “Limited” Dictatorship

Posted on Mon, 24 May, 2010 by pmjones

Every murderous totalitarian government of the 20th century began with some insulated group of faux-intellectuals congratulating each other on how smart they are, and fantasizing about how, if they could just install a dictatorship-for-a-day, they could right all the wrongs … Continue reading →

Posted in Government, Liberty | Leave a comment

Ayaan Hirsi Ali on Injustice of Female Genital Mutilation

Posted on Mon, 24 May, 2010 by pmjones

Horrifying that this would happen in America: The American Academy of Pediatrics recently put forward a proposal on female genital mutilation. They would like that American doctors be given permission to perform a ceremonial pinprick or “nick” on girls born … Continue reading →

Posted in Civil Rights, World War IV | Leave a comment

American Debt And Upcoming Austerity

Posted on Thu, 20 May, 2010 by pmjones

Following decades of welfare-state comfort and years of Keynesian stimulus spending, a panicky Europe is seeing the arrival of austerity politics. Resentful debtors such as Greece, Spain and Portugal are being forced into tax increases and spending cuts that are … Continue reading →

Posted in Collapse, Economics, Taxes | Leave a comment

It’s “Everybody Draw Mohammed” Day!

Posted on Thu, 20 May, 2010 by pmjones

Because *everybody* expects the Islamic Inquisition. via Zombie » The New Free Speech Movement.

Posted in Civil Rights | 1 Comment

Illegal Immigration + Gun-Friendly Laws = Very Low Crime

Posted on Thu, 20 May, 2010 by pmjones

Given that it’s nearly impossible for low-skilled immigrants to work in the United States legitimately, it’s safe to say that a significant percentage of El Paso’s foreign-born population is living here illegally. El Paso also has some of the laxer … Continue reading →

Posted in Civil Rights, Economics, Emergence, Government | Leave a comment

Impressions of Tea Partiers

Posted on Wed, 19 May, 2010 by pmjones

My guess is that the people in my audience had less formal education than my non-economist liberal friends, but they were more diverse and independent in their thinking. For these people, unlike my liberal friends, it is obvious why a … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics | 1 Comment