Political Science

I didn't watch the Republican debates, but it sounds like it went about how I'd expect, only worse. As a libertarian, I'm interested in seeing how well Ron Paul does. I don't agree with everything he stands for, but I like his minimalist approach to government. He's one of the few successful politicians who can hear about a new problem in the world and not immediately … [Read more...] about Ron Paul Fumbles the Ball for the Libertarian Team

I'm listening to the audiobook of George Lakoff's Whose Freedom?: The Battle Over America's Most Important Idea, in which he contrasts the progressive and conservative ideas of freedom. Lakoff repeats over and over again that progressive morality is built on empathy, whereas conservative morality is based on discipline. That formulation makes a certain amount of sense, but it … [Read more...] about Whose Freedom? Counting the Cost

For reasons not worth explaining, I've been listening to the audiobook of George Lakoff's Whose Freedom?: The Battle Over America's Most Important Idea, which is about the conflict between progressives and conservatives over the idea of freedom. The book's subtitle is a bit misleading, although technically correct. I was expecting a book about different ideas of freedom. … [Read more...] about Whose Freedom? Models For Government.

Now that I've got some sleep, I have a few more thoughts on the State of the Union address. I'll be skipping around a bit. I liked some of the general fluff at the front: The rite of custom brings us together at a defining hour -- when decisions are hard and courage is needed. We enter the year 2007 with large endeavors underway, and others that are ours to begin. In all of … [Read more...] about State of the Union 2007 – Some Notes

I haven't seen it yet (I'll wait for the transcript and read along), but I'm predicting that the state of our union is strong, and we can make it even stronger. But that's just a guess. Update: Okay, now I've seen it, and I was close: ...the State of our Union is strong, our cause in the world is right, and tonight that cause goes on. That was near the end. The … [Read more...] about State of the Union 2007