Yesterday’s Thoughts

Showing all posts in 'Politics'

January 11, 2009

Lifelong Learning Self-Knowing Health Nut

Apparently 1 out of 53K or so. I’m not quite one of a kind, but getting there. I took the 43 Things Personality Quiz and found out I’m a Lifelong Learning Self-Knowing Health Nut

September 28, 2008

The best minds

Words of wisdom from government employee Ronald Reagan: The best minds are not in government. If any were, business would hire them away. Ronald Reagan 40th president of US (1911 – 2004) The Quotations Page.

April 27, 2008

Clay Shirky on Cognitive Surplus

As someone who has definitely expended too much of my life on the watching of Gilligan’s Island, this is heartening news. Shirky argues that there has been a cognitive surplus in the developed world and for the past 50 years we have been soaking up that surplus with situation comedies and that now we are [...]

November 24, 2007

Two Sides to the Story

Is it any wonder communication fails? Her version of the story: R: I thought of something else you should get at the store. L: Ok. R. Hum. L: I’m getting a pad. L: What was it? R: What was it? L: What was what? L: What you wanted to me to get? R: I thought [...]

July 10, 2007

Gut Reasoning

Reasoning, when we do it, is mostly to find justification for what we already believe. Jonathan Haidt, a social psychologist at the University of Virginia, in here.

February 21, 2007

Hillary Clinton Tells Me to Take a Hike

Senator Clinton has decided that she is not going to apologize for her vote in 2002 authorizing the use of military force in Iraq. If the most important thing to any of you is choosing someone who did not cast that vote or has said his vote was a mistake, then there are others to [...]

January 29, 2007

How Decent?

Gina Cobb believes that the President is gracious and decent. In his prepared speeches, he makes a conscious choice to speak as kindly of his rivals as is humanly possible. His graciousness is more noticeable when the vitriol from his rivals reaches its apex — or at a time when his approval rating seems to [...]

January 23, 2007

Presidential Oath of Office

The oath the president takes when assuming the office is prescribed in the United States Constitution, Article II, Section I I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the [...]

January 18, 2007

The Authoritarians

Bob Altemeyer is releasing his book, The Authoritarians in installments on his web site, a new chapter every week. This seems like an important book. I didn’t pay too much attention to John Dean’s book, Conservatives Without Conscience when it appeared last year, and still haven’t, but apparently Dean based in book on Altemeyer’s work [...]

January 12, 2007

How can we have democracy in Iraq

If we can’t have democracy in the US? Charles D. Stimson, the deputy assistant secretary of defense for detainee affairs is complaining about the law firms that are representing, or attempting to represent Guantánamo detainees. According to the New York Times, Mr. Stimson appeared on Federal News Radio earlier this week questioning the role of [...]