A Mind ArousedFurther cultivating a life that requires my presence... Paying attention... Attempting to wed simplicity and clarity with chaos while resisting the mischief of the powers and principalities.Global Warming- June 22, 2008 Don Surber asks, "What does global warming causeAnswer: Everything."Read the comments and check out this link for a "complete list of things caused by global warming."http:rpc.technorati.comrpcpinghttp://jrament.blogspot.com/2008/06/global-warming.html The Egalitarian Fantasy- June 18, 2008 Keith Burgess Jackson has a wonderful quote from John Kekes on the subject of egalitarianism, which I quote in full:It is natural to wonder what reasons Rawls and Dworkin have offered in defense of these absurd egalitarian claims. The scarcely believable answer is that they have offered none. Dworkin says that my arguments are constructed against the background of assumptions about what equality requires in principle. . . . My arguments enforce rather than construct a basic design of justice,...http://jrament.blogspot.com/2008/06/egalitarian-fantasy.html "The Great Seduction"- June 10, 2008 In today's New York Times, columnist David Brooks has a column on the country's biggest seduction - taking on massive debt - by its citizens and by its government:The people who created this country built a moral structure around money. The Puritan legacy inhibited luxury and self-indulgence. Benjamin Franklin spread a practical gospel that emphasized hard work, temperance and frugality. Millions of parents, preachers, newspaper editors and teachers expounded the message. The result was quite...http://jrament.blogspot.com/2008/06/great-seuction.html Two Movies- June 9, 2008 I watched two obscure foreign and fascinating movies (via Netflix) this past week. The first was the Lives of Others, which the New York Times, in its review, said: "A terrible sadness lies at the heart of 'The Lives of Others' a reckoning of lives and talents wasted by a state with no good reason to exist apart from the maintenance of its own power." It made me think of where we're headed...The second was Zwartboek, (Black Book), which I thought was pretty terrific in a strange way. Rolling..http://jrament.blogspot.com/2008/06/two-movies.html Dirty Harry- June 6, 2008 "Clint Eastwood talks... about race, euthanasia, politicians, capital punishment - and how he really feels about the 'fascist' role that made him famous." - Via Drudge.http:rpc.technorati.comrpcpinghttp://jrament.blogspot.com/2008/06/dirty-harry.html We Americans Are Whiney Spoiled Brats- June 4, 2008 Check out the post from Carpe Diem, regarding how Americans compare to the rest of the world in income. There is even a link called the Global Rich List where you can see where you individually stand. Also, I liked the first comment:While the obvious argument is that the "mileau" in which you have to pay your bills is relevant (hence the concept of "purchasing power parity"), I still agree with the general premise -- 98% of the people complaining these days about how much they make or how much..http://jrament.blogspot.com/2008/06/we-americans-are-whiney-spoiled-brats.html What In The World Is Going On- June 2, 2008 This has been floating around in e-mails lately and my brother-in-law sent it to me. The link reprints the entire speech to CEO's in Davos, Switzerland several weeks ago by Herbert Meyer at the World Economic Forum. In it, he covers "four major transformations that are shaping political, economic and world events" and the implications of those transformations.Read the whole thing but I found the section (3) on "Shifting Demographies of Western Civilization" the most interesting:Shifting...http://jrament.blogspot.com/2008/06/what-in-world-is-going-on.html |