Greg Cochran

I've just started reading The 10,000 Year Explosion.  I recommend it.  I'll have more to say about it when I've finished.

Ayn Rand

How about that?  Soon after writing that Ayn Rand post, I found this on the net.

It's for sale here.

Ayn Rand

I'm not a Randian.  My take is that she said a lot of accurate things, and had some very important insights.  Much the same way I feel about C. S. Lewis.  Both of them had a lot of wisdom, but neither had a unified field theory.  Having said that, I'll add that Atlas Shrugged should be required reading for everybody.  Interestingly, there's a surge in sales for the half-century old book, now that we're living in Obama's collectivist paradise.  Much like there's a run on candle sales when the electricity starts flickering.

Minarchy

I suppose I'm a minarchist, believing as I do that the government should be no bigger or more powerful than is absolutely necessary.  I do think that government is a necessary evil, "necessary" in the sense of inevitable rather than needful.  In other words, that it is inevitable that government will come into existence spontaneously willy-nilly, that being the nature of Man.  But some who think much as I do go further, and call for no government at all.  Here's the example of Joseph Sobran.

Sarah Palin yet again

How about that!  Sarah Palin Pac ads have started showing up on this blog.  For those of you who don't know, Google Ads does the deciding about what ads appear on what blogs.  So this blog must seem like a friendly place for Sarah.  And it is.  Now, Ron Paul is the one — I'd make him Emperor of the Universe if I could — but in practical terms, it's not much of a stretch to see Sarah getting nominated and elected next time, especially if our new AA Prez keeps up like he has been. Sarah for President, and Ron Paul for Éminence grise.  The Beauty and the Best.

WHAMS beware

If you're reading this blog, chances are you're a WHAM, and you're a target.  This is explained byt Paul Craig Roberts.

Human motivation

My wife and I were watching the movie Gandhi, the part early on where the clergyman tells Gandhi that "turn the other cheek" was meant metaphorically.  I mulled a moment, and said,

"All human beings are born with their own cultural heritage, and all human beings have desires.  Their attempt to reconcile those two things explains history."

My wife said that I'd said something profound, so I thought I'd better post it.