Life, Liberty & The Pursuit of Happiness

Be scared!

by Reena Kapoor

Here is an excellent video The American Form of Government which provides a real civics education.  Besides providing more evidence for the fact that public education has failed (how many Americans know we were designed to be a Republic and not a Democracy) it also offers great illustration of why Democracy (which US was not designed to be) is often antithetical to liberty.  We should be scared! And while I hate the cynicism that has come upon my own thinking I am convinced USA has turned into a tyranny of the elite - an oligarchy - where the rest of us are ...well...not important.  Wall Street + Obama's henchmen, Obama + UAW + GM or Obamacare + AMA .....   The only thing that remains to be debated is how soon the police state will descend upon our everyday lives. 

A Lynch Mob! ... and the disengagement of private enterprise

by Rakinder Grover

A good article by David R. Kotok in The Big Picture compares the recent action in the House of Representatives with that of a lynch mob.  Besides the issues of the violation of the rule of law, the abrogation of contracts and property rights, that have been raised by some over the last few days, he also highlights the real and immediate risk of businesses becoming extremely cautious.  Careful, lest their profit seeking activity attract the ire of a populist lynch mob, private enterprise is likely to try and stay as far as it can from government. With the expanding scope of government, that is becoming increasingly harder to do, so the risk translates to a retrenchment of private enterprise unsure of the rules, risks and rewards.  This does not portend well for economic recovery, innovation and freedom in general.

Self Ownership - A Novel Idea?

by Anisha Kahai

Why is the simple philosophy of Liberty so hard for so many people to get? Isn't it the most natural, logical way to think? Here is an elegant attempt at making these ideas accessible.

The Europeanization of America?

By Anisha Kahai

Insightful piece in the WSJ on what's ahead if (or should I say when?) Obama becomes president. Pete Du Pont predicts that "...Mr. Obama will most likely be our most liberal public policy president since Franklin D. Roosevelt." Here is an excerpt from his article:

November's on my Mind

by Reena Kapoor

If you're like me you're simply disgusted with the choices you're faced with for the presidential election this November. How did it get this bad? And what does it say about us?  I go from cynicism that says, "yeah truly anyone can be president of this great nation..." to disgusted amusement over the panic, freaks like Sarah Palin can create among the democrats.

Reasoning with unreasonable people: Joe Nickell

by Anurag Wadehra

One of my recent find is the work of Joe Nickell. He is the preeminent investigator of paranormal phenomena, a real-life Scully of X-Files, who has looked into ghosts, crop-circles, UFOs and other such miracles. While there are many others who debunk paranormal phenomena, Nickell is unique in his approach on how he engages with the believers of such phenomena.

Two characteristics stand out: first, he listens actively to the most bizarre of claims with full attention to all details and second, he genuinely respects the folks baffled by these phenomena. He makes a simple point - IF (a big if) you care to change people's opinion, you have to listen to them with respect. This is a prerequisite. Only after that, can you hope to possibly persuade them away from their irrational beliefs.

Obama's Gift

by Reena Kapoor

Shelby Steele's cultural insights particularly about race are always thoughtful and his Wall Street Journal op-ed on Why Jesse Jackson Hates Obama is nothing less.  He points out why Obama's "post-racial" positioning has been such a hit and why Jesse Jackson resents that (see link to the video where he threatened to actually castrate Obama!). 

Obama is indeed a unique black leader in that he's chosen to not invoke white guilt (although that may change as November gets closer) and instead talk about "black responsibility". 

In God's name!

by Reena Kapoor

Sujit Saraf is an exceptional man for many reasons. He is a prolific playwright, the founder & artistic director of Naatak a San Francisco bay area theatre company, a published author and the owner of a piercing intellect that would have irrationalists of our day simply quake in fear.  In this brilliant piece Our Gods on Earth: A Rationalist's Dilemma in The Siliconeer he takes to task the plethora of godmen and godwomen that plague our culture. While many of the charlatans mentioned hail from India they seem to find a comfortable home in America; the parallels to the "debate" on intelligent design are not lost on Sujit either (Sam Harris, anyone?) 

The "right" to reach into another's pocket? Or a wish?

by Rakinder Grover

Walter William's recent article in The Freeman,The Pursuit of Happiness - Rights Versus Wishes, exposes the lack of a moral basis for the multitude of "rights" that many people seem to believe to be rights.  He describes an important element of rights:

True rights, such as those in our Constitution, or those considered to be natural or human rights, exist simultaneously among people. The exercise of a right by one person does not diminish those held by another. It imposes no obligations on another except those of non-interference.

Think for your life

by Reena Kapoor

Being intelligent, successful or even a scientist by profession does not preclude people from behaving like unquestioning sheep in many realms of life. A reasoning mind and evidence-based thinking can follow an orthogonal axis. That's because people often compartmentalize their lives; they may ask tough questions before making a financial investment decision yet will blindly sign a petition to ban water. 

To the degree that we buy into pronouncements and conclusions without evidence is the degree to which we are all susceptible to charlatans, religion and bad governance. There is no escape from reality except to grab it and deal with it using the only tool we have - rationality!  So next time ask your priest, your favorite politician and the guy who peddles a new medical cure for evidence for their claims. And while you're gauging the evidence keep one hand on your wallet. This is simple advice that delivers powerful innoculation from being taken for a ride!