Philosophy

Love survives the absence of peace.

My political views were not so long ago described by a fellow community activist as, “to the left of libertarian.” I took it as a compliment. Contradictory to the common stereotype that libertarians are conservatives who like to get high, lefties and libertarians share much common ground. Or they used to. Leftyism used to be about personal freedom, non-violence, and making sure government “keeps its laws off my body”.

On any given day, the world is exactly six bullets away from being saved.

Quoted from: Vanderleun

Truth is not the halfway point between two untruths.

Quoted from: Ludwig von Mises

If the porkulus bill hasn’t snorted away all your oxygen this week, you might remember last weekend’s top catastrophe, “GDP contracts 3.8% as inventories limit downturn; Fourth quarter marks worst performance for U.S. economy in nearly 27 years.” I heard different version of the “worst since when” comparison, ranging from the 1980s to the ominous Great Depression.

The war we are fighting until victory or the bitter end is in its deepest sense a war between Christ and Marx.

Quoted from: Jospeh Goebbels

Velociman unleashes a fabulous rant against deserving targets:

This selfsame deceit manifests itself time and again in the Leftist philosophy. Those who cry "Peace!" the loudest are not for peace per se, they are merely the enemies of their own civilization. They cried Peace! when Reagan ousted communist thugs in Grenada, they shouted Peace! against the contras, they shouted Peace! against the Israelis in a stomach-curdling example of relativism.

Ridicule is man’s most potent weapon.

Quoted from: Saul Alinsky

I do not begrudge anyone a celebration. Frequently I lament the absence of joy in a world preoccupied with the notion that someone somewhere might be hurt by a flash of exuberance.

The trick is to choose carefully what one celebrates. Victories deserve parties. Conducting business does not. An inauguration is just business. Victory came on election night. Yesterday seems comparable to a newly-hired cubicle worker inviting all his pals over to watch him fill out his W-4.

It is true that there could have been no Obama presidency had Dr King and the movement he sprang from not existed, but that simple fact of history does not amount to a King benediction from the grave for Obama's moral character and political policies.

Indeed, Dr King's life and words are indelible evidence that he and Obama represent opposing moral and political camps.

A liberal will cut off your leg so he can hand you a crutch.

Quoted from: Jim Brown

Via: Newmark’s Door

Economic heavyweight John Maynard Keynes is often quoted for his observation, “In the long run, we’re all dead.” Keynes’s ‘long run’ arrived long ago, but his disproven theories march on. For our current rash of bailouts or spend-and-tax “stimulus programs”, blame Keynes.

Harvard economist Greg Mankiw directs a shotgun blast at Keynesian thinking:

Inconsistencies which appear at the verbal level turn out to be illusory when you progress to the actual science.

Quoted from: Blake Stacey

Via: Maggie’s Farm

I refer you directly to Theo Spark.

A princess in the righty blogosphere believes Obama was born in Hawai’i. Michelle Malkin made her name with her rhetoric more than her reason. She commits a standard ad hominem fallacy while exposing attorney Phillip Berg as a 9/11 Truther:

Charles Krauthammer rediscovers the foundation of economics:

In the old days -- from the Venetian Republic to, oh, the Bear Stearns rescue -- if you wanted to get rich, you did it the Warren Buffett way: You learned to read balance sheets. Today you learn to read political tea leaves. You don't anticipate Intel's third-quarter earnings; instead, you guess what side of the bed Henry Paulson will wake up on tomorrow.

I’m not sure how they’re connected, but I like both sentiments.

Excerpt A:

Americans are the most arrogant people in the world. And we're proud of it.

I’ve spent some time over the years investigating the philosophical concept of truth. Gandhi dedicated his life to the pursuit of truth. Christians believe the truth will set them free. But if we do not agree on what the truth is, how can we maintain a cooperative society?

From the archives at Maggie’s Farm:

Is the Word of God open to interpretation? Is there a “Living Gospel”? Some, like the oft-maligned Biblical Literalists, say the Bible is absolutely accurate. Modern Islamic theology holds that the Koran loses its divine nature when translated out of Arabic.

The Muslim view seems to echo St. Augustine:

If you believe what you like in the gospels, and reject what you don't like, it is not the gospel you believe, but yourself.

“The financial crisis is not the crisis of capitalism," according to Mr. Sarkozy. “It is the crisis of a system that has distanced itself from the most fundamental values of capitalism, which betrayed the spirit of capitalism.”

Capitalism has not led the world into “crisis”. Today’s troubles are a symptom of the perversion of capitalism through government policy.