tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-51459422012-01-19T10:07:24.627-08:00Gideonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02806423185226885594noreply@blogger.comBlogger3211100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145942.post-49059721479528430622012-01-19T10:05:00.000-08:002012-01-19T10:05:28.733-08:00

I spoke in support of Gary Johnson when he ran as a Republican but I cannot support his run within the Libertarian Party. In essence, I agree with Ari Armstrong recent post on The Objective Standard Blog, though of course my views on the Libertarian Party go back to the more detailed Peter Schwartz essay, which was reprinted in the excellent collection of essays The Voice of Reason. Of course the

Gideonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02806423185226885594noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145942.post-74802396554239487842011-09-25T11:46:00.000-07:002011-09-25T11:46:07.019-07:00

I have followed American presidential elections closely since 1988. I abstained in voting for a President in 1988 and 1992 because I wasn't a US citizen yet but I would have abstained even if I could vote. In 2000, I did think Al Gore deserved defeat and because I mistakenly trusted Bush on his no-nation building pledge, I voted for Bush in 2000. With considerably less excuse, but still thinking

Gideonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02806423185226885594noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145942.post-46535122313551436822011-03-10T20:23:00.000-08:002011-03-10T20:59:08.835-08:00

I very much enjoyed watching today's First Principles debate between Ayn Rand Institute President Yaron Brook and Demos President Miles Rapoport on "Government: What is its proper role?". The event was announced, advertised, and livestreamed on Facebook, yet another example of the many benefits of this at times maligned forum.As an aside, it is interesting to recall that back in the 1980s John

Gideonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02806423185226885594noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145942.post-21339316013591103982010-06-06T18:39:00.000-07:002010-06-06T19:16:41.440-07:00

I attended the Israel Solidarity Rally in Los Angeles today wearing a "Who is John Galt?" t-shirt and handed out Ayn Rand Center literature in the form of a still relevant Elan Journo article. This was my first rally in recent memory and certainly the first one I remember where I handed out literature. I had about 100 copies of the article to hand out and had 8 left when I departed. Most people

Gideonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02806423185226885594noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145942.post-9363317656152671442010-05-08T10:38:00.000-07:002010-05-08T11:48:20.902-07:00

Barry Rubin recently wrote a very important blog post entitled "What's Wrong--and Dangerously So--With U.S. Strategic Policy in the Middle East". In the post he praised two important articles highly critical of US strategy, which originated with the Bush administration and is now still substantially continued by the Obama administration. Echoing themes that are detailed in Elan Journo's Winning

Gideonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02806423185226885594noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145942.post-40974992289748529672010-04-30T07:59:00.000-07:002010-04-30T08:21:34.649-07:00

Blogger Gus van Horn has published an excellent op-ed at Pajamas Media on the topic of the recent Arizona law on illegal immigration. Gus writes:SB 1070 deserves only one fundamental criticism: It would fail to protect the individual rights of American citizens –even if it hermetically sealed our borders and the police never touched a single American hair in the process of enforcing it.

Gideonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02806423185226885594noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145942.post-55954427358534997552010-04-29T17:57:00.001-07:002010-04-29T18:11:26.503-07:00

Those new to Ayn Rand's philosophy of Objectivism are no doubt a bit mystified by the fact that there appear to be two rival "camps" that both claim to represent and promote Ayn Rand's ideas, namely the Ayn Rand Institute, still influenced by founder Leonard Peikoff, and what is now called The Atlas Society, whose senior intellectual is David Kelley. The dispute between the two sides is now over

Gideonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02806423185226885594noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145942.post-32937762918223700792010-04-27T08:14:00.000-07:002010-04-27T08:18:05.740-07:00

For the record, I really hate South Park, but the producers of the show, like everybody else in this country have the right to express themselves without intimidation, including about the subject of the alleged prophet Mohamed. That is why I support Everybody Draw Mohammed Day. See also Ari Armstrong's arguments for a further defense. Above is my entry.

Gideonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02806423185226885594noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145942.post-35463294008736145642010-03-24T15:58:00.000-07:002010-03-24T16:02:53.151-07:00

Last night I finished reading John David Lewis's excellent book Nothing Less Than Victory. I posted the following review at amazon:John David Lewis takes the reader through the important steps of six separate wars in ancient and modern times ranging from the Greeks and Romans to the U.S. Civil War and World War II. In each case he illustrates in detail the importance of moral ideas as the

Gideonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02806423185226885594noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145942.post-17022866007868139552010-03-17T14:26:00.000-07:002010-03-17T14:28:44.507-07:00

General Stanley McChrystal:The top U.S. commander in Afghanistan said Wednesday that it remains the goal of U.S. troops to capture Osama bin Laden alive and "bring him to justice."

Gideonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02806423185226885594noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145942.post-84972342371616791412010-03-10T17:41:00.000-08:002010-03-10T17:48:32.261-08:00

It seem Colorado has decided to make life more difficult for online retailers such Amazon.com. Let's help fight this new injustice before other states begin to copy it. Details can be found in the following links:Repeal the Amazon Tax.At Diana Hsieh's Noodlefood:Colorado Screws Amazon and its Affiliates.And at Ari Armstrong's blog Free Colorado:Stop the 'Amazon Tax!

Gideonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02806423185226885594noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145942.post-92135912871355592392010-02-12T15:26:00.000-08:002010-02-12T15:43:55.205-08:00

Andrew Bernstein has written a new book called Capitalism Unbound that, in his words:...offers a focused, essentialized, and condensed argument ideal for the layman who admires capitalism but lacking a succinct, accessible explanation of its moral and economic virtues.I have just finished reading it and I heartily agree. The book is an excellent shorter and updated presentation of

Gideonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02806423185226885594noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145942.post-72323249504397843652010-01-02T17:04:00.000-08:002010-01-02T17:28:28.780-08:00

Someone identified as "Curious" has posted a comment asking for my comment on an article by Justin Raimondo which is entitled "The Objectivist Death Cult". I'm afraid the limits of my tolerance do not extend to analyzing articles that refer to Objectivists as a "cult," never mind a "death cult."However, I realize the specific issue that he asks about is not obvious. I recommend you take a look

Gideonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02806423185226885594noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145942.post-37143427975322001812009-09-21T14:51:00.000-07:002009-09-21T14:55:11.215-07:00

I'm on twitter:@gidreichI think I'll use twitter to point out any interesting links I come across. I see many of these and don't usually want to write a complete blog post on them. I have two tweets so far.

Gideonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02806423185226885594noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145942.post-59822205273731266262009-09-19T09:36:00.000-07:002009-09-19T09:56:34.839-07:00

It seems that I wasn't the only one challenging Bill Whittle's recent depictions of the false alternative of conservative cynicism vs. leftist idealism as they derive from "constrained" vs. "unconstrained" visions of human nature (following the views expressed in Thomas Sowell's A Conflict of Visions). As a result, Whittle, to his credit, invited Onkar Ghate of the Ayn Rand Institute (hat-tip Ari

Gideonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02806423185226885594noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145942.post-25056861545892945472009-09-14T21:15:00.000-07:002009-09-14T21:22:50.277-07:00

In a highly recommended two part interview by Reut Cohen on PJTV, Elan Journo discusses his new book Winning the Unwinnable War.Part 1Part 2

Gideonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02806423185226885594noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145942.post-66146812922037554172009-09-10T10:19:00.000-07:002009-09-10T10:23:03.028-07:00

Despite the vaguely united opposition to Obama, important fundamental differences remain between the various different groups. For a reminder that Objectivists have a lot less in common with Conservatives than it sometimes seems look no further than Bill Whittle's latest video essay:A Tale of Two Revolutions: The War of Ideas & the Tragedy of the Unconstrained Vision

Gideonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02806423185226885594noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145942.post-54218155658328261492009-08-25T21:05:00.000-07:002009-08-25T21:11:51.573-07:00

Lately Barry Rubin has been my favorite (non-Objectivist) political analyst. For a good example of why I thoroughly enjoy his analysis, see his blog entry on Iran in which he compares Iran to Stalinist Russia. Here's an educational excerpt:The post-election trials of opposition activists in Tehran resemble the Soviet purge trials of the 1930s. They are one more sign that Iran is entering a new

Gideonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02806423185226885594noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145942.post-47830912364506766492009-08-25T20:58:00.000-07:002009-08-25T21:05:17.366-07:00

Am I the only one singularly unimpressed by the excerpts Salon posted of "enhanced interrogation" techniques (i.e., torture) and the fact that Cheney endorsed them? Here's a sample:Sometime between 28 December 2002 and 1 January 2003, the debriefer used an unloaded semi-automatic handgun as a prop to frighten Al-Nashiri into disclosing information. After discussing this plan with [blacked out]

Gideonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02806423185226885594noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145942.post-20604573434464441602009-08-19T10:32:00.000-07:002009-08-19T10:49:32.943-07:00

Diana West seems to be among the few Conservatives willing to openly speak ill of the recently deceased Robert Novak. That's a shame because his support for Hamas and his claim that they are "freedom fighters" shows quite clearly where his sympathies lay and what the relevant evaluation should be. Perhaps with the passage of time some of us forget what Hamas actually stands for. Let's remind

Gideonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02806423185226885594noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145942.post-90438419626044111852009-08-17T20:43:00.000-07:002009-08-17T20:59:08.208-07:00

Many people find the Middle East and its people difficult to understand (For an excellent introduction to the region listen to Scott Powell's The Islamist Entanglement). In particular one gets the sense that our former President George W. Bush was under the impression that there are no significant cultural differences between Iraqi Arabs and Americans (what our current President Barack H. Obama

Gideonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02806423185226885594noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145942.post-40743463721660150092009-08-15T13:16:00.000-07:002009-08-15T13:20:05.821-07:00

Peter Schiff, as usual, gets it right when it comes to the economic and political choices that Americans face:...I believe that we must restore the conditions that led to our economic preeminence. We must once again become the leader in economic freedom. This entails dismantling a significant portion of our federal and state governments, repealing countless unnecessary regulations, significantly

Gideonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02806423185226885594noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145942.post-4692297541838306462009-08-14T09:26:00.001-07:002009-08-14T09:35:19.727-07:00

Jerusalem Post columnist Caroline Glick has written an excellent, detailed op-ed piece of the results of the recent Fatah conference in Bethlehem. She highlights the utter corruption of the policies of the Obama administration with respect to the region. Here's a brief excerpt:FOR THE Obama administration, Fatah was supposed to be the poster child for moderate terrorists. Fatah was supposed to be

Gideonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02806423185226885594noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145942.post-20874125447460508672009-08-14T08:16:00.000-07:002009-08-14T08:55:14.705-07:00

Keith Lockitch has announced the publication of an important paper by him in the journal Energy & Environment. The paper is entitled "CLIMATE VULNERABILITY AND THE INDISPENSABLE VALUE OF INDUSTRIAL CAPITALISM" and is available online. The abstract is as follows:It is widely believed that man-made greenhouse gas emissions are increasing overall vulnerability to climate-related disasters, and that,

Gideonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02806423185226885594noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145942.post-18155189406104479602009-08-12T17:26:00.000-07:002009-08-12T19:14:22.482-07:00

In a review of this summer's OCON conference in Boston, the August issue of the Ayn Rand Institute's Impact includes a list of books by prominent Objectivist intellectuals that are expected to be published in the near future:Dr. [Gregory] Salmieri is coeditor (with Allan Gotthelf) of the forthcoming Ayn Rand:A Companion to Her Life and Thought, and is a contributor to a book on Objectivist

Gideonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02806423185226885594noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145942.post-16181086040781870472009-08-11T22:50:00.000-07:002009-08-11T23:00:25.681-07:00

One Conservative who did recognize the inadequacy of the Bush war is columnist Diana West. In her blog post "Was the Surge a Band-Aid?" she questions the conventional wisdom that Bush's strategy in Iraq was a great success:I have always feared that pumping additional troops into Iraq could achieve no more than stop-gap success because the strategic formula of the surge depended on triggering

Gideonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02806423185226885594noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145942.post-54906261003629281612009-08-10T17:03:00.000-07:002009-08-10T17:58:41.572-07:00

Conservatives frequently portray themselves as the pro-defense alternative to liberals. It goes without saying, that it is very difficult to regard the current liberal administration as in any way representing the national interest of the United States as far as security is concerned. But are the Conservatives really substantially better?In fact, Conservatives are frequently pragmatic and focused

Gideonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02806423185226885594noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145942.post-30386237686245848932009-08-09T15:35:00.001-07:002009-08-09T16:08:36.724-07:00

WARNING! CONTAINS SPOILERSThanks to a recent generous 40th birthday present of a blue ray disk of Casino Royal, I finally got around to watching this 2006 production of the 1953 book. I had actually listened to the audio version of the book just a few years ago. Compared to the Roger Moore and Sean Connery movies that I had grown up with, the book is very violent and James Bond is portrayed in a

Gideonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02806423185226885594noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145942.post-16059914765212049142009-08-08T11:49:00.000-07:002009-08-08T13:11:56.861-07:00

I have been blogging since 2003. Although in 2008 I had a high of 77 post, I have had only four posts so far this year. I aim to change that. I am setting myself a goal to make 2009 a new record for both quantity and quality of posts.Let me start out with a link to an interesting review featured today at Arts & Letters Daily. Helene Guldberg reviews the book Not a Chimp: The hunt to find the

Gideonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02806423185226885594noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145942.post-54997285252825178162009-04-14T11:06:00.000-07:002009-04-14T11:13:09.053-07:00

A fascinating and quite revealing short essay by Alan Wolfe is on the The New Republic website currently. It is entitled "A false distinction."Particularly instructive is this paragraph:The idea that liberalism comes in two forms assumes that the most fundamental question facing mankind is how much government intervenes into the economy. To me, perhaps because so little of the means of production

Gideonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02806423185226885594noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145942.post-70124403429352096442009-03-14T12:30:00.000-07:002009-03-14T12:35:09.203-07:00

Yaron Brook has an excellent column in today's Wall Street Journal which can be found here. The column is entitled "Is Rand Relevant?" and begins as follows:Ayn Rand died more than a quarter of a century ago, yet her name appears regularly in discussions of our current economic turmoil. Pundits including Rush Limbaugh and Rick Santelli urge listeners to read her books, and her magnum opus, "Atlas

Gideonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02806423185226885594noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145942.post-58025126428624212642009-01-30T07:56:00.000-08:002009-01-30T08:04:30.304-08:00

The Undercurrent (TU) is an independent, student-run Objectivist newspaper distributed twice a year at college campuses across America. TU is currently looking for distributors and donors for its Spring 2009 edition.If you would like to distribute, please visit http://the-undercurrent.com/order/ and buy your copies of TU today. If money is an issue, please email us at distributors@

Gideonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02806423185226885594noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145942.post-83124122159402017732009-01-18T18:41:00.001-08:002009-01-18T18:47:51.894-08:00

Barnes and Noble at The Grove in Los Angeles, California.

Gideonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02806423185226885594noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145942.post-44296991598296520802008-11-20T20:31:00.000-08:002008-11-20T20:41:53.191-08:00

With this somewhat presumptuous title, I am referring to efforts by many Objectivists to influence the internal soul-searching of the Republican party in light of their defeat in the 2008 U.S. elections. Efforts have ranged from Paul Hsieh's op-ed published in the Denver Post, to various letters to the editor. But while these worthwhile efforts serve a purpose beyond the nature of the Republican

Gideonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02806423185226885594noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145942.post-6829672715968675282008-10-29T08:27:00.000-07:002008-10-29T08:34:16.948-07:00

The Colorado based Pagosa Daily Post published my letter to the editor today in response to a rebuttal by one Steve Van Horn to Diana Hsieh's op-ed piece defending a woman's right to an abortion. The letter was only slightly edited from the original ("Man" was changed to "human being"). Here it is as the Post published it (go to the letters for 10/29/2008 and scroll down):Van Horn Opinion Misses

Gideonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02806423185226885594noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145942.post-22593733796116950422008-10-23T08:26:00.000-07:002008-10-23T08:28:57.908-07:00

Economist George Reisman has penned an excellent essay on the current crisis. It is entitled "The Myth that Laissez Faire is responsible for the Financial Crisis".

Gideonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02806423185226885594noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145942.post-63269864941319292602008-10-19T19:26:00.000-07:002008-10-19T20:09:33.506-07:00

I have just filled out and sealed my mail-in ballot. I thought I would share my choices and at least some of my reasons.PeoplePresident -- none of the above. I knew from early on that nothing could make me vote for McCain and while I played with the idea of voting from Obama, in the end, he just has so many bad positions that I could not stomach it. For a more intellectual defense of abstention,

Gideonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02806423185226885594noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145942.post-34079946946753770562008-10-04T16:32:00.000-07:002008-10-04T16:40:39.633-07:00

On September 29th after I heard the House had voted against the bailout bill, I sent the following letter to my Congressman John Campbell (California, 48th district) :Dear Congressman,I'm writing to say that I was heartened to hear the opposition of the House to the $700 billion dollar bailout plan. I strongly urge you to continue your opposition. Far from being a result of so-called "greedy

Gideonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02806423185226885594noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145942.post-10511418335861365392008-09-23T21:05:00.000-07:002008-09-23T21:31:49.980-07:00

The response to Nick Provenzo's blog post on Sarah Palin and abortion continues and has reached even more outrageous and offensive levels. It is now reported on Nick's blog Rule of Reason that Barbara Simpson, a right wing talk show host, has said the following:There was a day when someone would take somebody like this Provenzo guy out in an alley and beat him beyond whatever. He deserves it.As

Gideonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02806423185226885594noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145942.post-29047075705190186632008-09-17T20:53:00.000-07:002008-09-17T21:32:01.704-07:00

My friend Nick Provenzo has stirred up quite the controversy at his blog The Rule of Reason. Nick has written a perfectly reasonable, thoughtful article about the Palin's decision to give birth to a Down syndrome baby. For that he is now being unjustly insulted on the comments to the blog which number 115 as I'm writing this. Nick points out that:Given that Palin's decision is being celebrated in

Gideonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02806423185226885594noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145942.post-82277180680885106542008-09-12T13:45:00.001-07:002008-09-12T13:53:24.198-07:00

I have just read and have to highly recommend Alexander Marriot's excellent post on John McCain. Marriot's elegant and erudite post goes to the heart of McCain's claim to fame and shows that "the North Vietnamese Got the Last Laugh on McCain" as the posts title indicates. Here's an excerpt to wet your appetite but be sure to read the whole thing:...I will instead dedicate my analysis to John

Gideonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02806423185226885594noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145942.post-10295562007420069282008-09-12T12:01:00.000-07:002008-09-12T12:04:48.708-07:00

Yesterday the print edition of the Orange County Register published my letter to the editor in support of Craig Biddle's column from September 10 that McCain, Obama are soul mates. It can be found here (second letter from top):http://www.ocregister.com/articles/sex-mccain-sept-2152867-government-obamaorhttp://tinyurl.com/4n8hycIt was edited only slightly: Craig Biddle's op-ed correctly

Gideonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02806423185226885594noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145942.post-55336627842139739092008-09-10T11:36:00.000-07:002008-09-10T11:57:10.568-07:00

Tomorrow it will be seven years since the that murderous day, 9/11/2001. It is a sad statement on the state of the culture that for the most part the misnamed "war on terror" has receded from the headlines. This despite the fact that the perpetrators of that atrocity have not been destroyed, and more importantly the overall enemy, namely totalitarian Islam or Islamism, is still alive and getting

Gideonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02806423185226885594noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145942.post-43836989715167817612008-09-08T20:05:00.000-07:002008-09-08T20:09:42.371-07:00

For some time now I've read the student publication The Undercurrent online and enjoyed it very much. At the request of the publication's distribution manager Guy Barnett I'm posting the following announcement:The Undercurrent (TU) is an independent, student-run Objectivist newsletter distributed twice a year to college campuses across America. TU is currently looking for distributors and donors

Gideonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02806423185226885594noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145942.post-29631956080951803212008-09-06T16:47:00.000-07:002008-09-06T17:31:37.599-07:00

After an absence of three months, George Reisman returns to blogging with two posts. In the brief, more recent post, he shows that Sarah Palin and Barack Obama have much the same approach when it comes to economics. After illustrating how their equivalent policies are wrong headed, Reisman declares:Obama and Palin are both obviously ignorant of economics. John McCain, who picked Palin to be his

Gideonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02806423185226885594noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145942.post-52000521174369853052008-09-05T22:41:00.000-07:002008-09-05T23:05:10.113-07:00

On his website, Andrew Bernstein has just announced the release date of his new book Objectivism in One Lesson. The book will be available starting September 16, 2008. Dr. Bernstein describes its purpose as follows:Ayn Rand wrote many non-fiction books and essays, as well, but no comprehensive theoretical presentation of her philosophy. The definitive treatment of her thought is

Gideonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02806423185226885594noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145942.post-74031217832805394632008-09-04T22:26:00.000-07:002008-09-05T23:08:53.285-07:00

Craig Biddle, editor of The Objective Standard has just announced the contents of the upcoming fall issue. With articles and reviews by Biddle, Tara Smith, Eric Daniels, and John Lewis, among others, this promises to be a particularly good issue. I also have it on good authority that this issue should be available in many Barnes & Noble bookstores so look for it there.Two essays from the fall

Gideonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02806423185226885594noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145942.post-82701723590636515112008-08-23T22:13:00.000-07:002008-08-24T18:03:42.929-07:00

This is the conclusion of my criticisms of Dennis Prager's article on what would happen in the absence of God. In Part I, I criticized Prager's attempts to conclude that morality and meaning would suffer if there were no God. In Part II, I denied that a world without God somehow means that man has no free will. In Part III, I attacked the claim that the absence of God necessarily leads to some

Gideonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02806423185226885594noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145942.post-65498691902696536572008-08-21T20:28:00.000-07:002008-08-24T18:08:25.123-07:00

In this post I thought I would tackle Prager's claims that without God there is a cultural deterioration in terms of art, language, and the equation of the value of animals with people (I'll leave "hubris" for another post). I happen to agree that all these are indeed disturbing aspects in today's world but I would put the blame not on the absence of God but the general irrationality of the

Gideonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02806423185226885594noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145942.post-55110525206302053962008-08-20T20:32:00.000-07:002008-08-24T18:06:20.462-07:00

Since I'm a little tired tonight, I'll leave most of Prager's remaining points for my next installment, and confine myself to Prager's claim that "if there is no God, the human being has no free will." According to Prager's eighth point:Only if one posits human creation by a Creator that transcends genes and environment who implanted the ability to transcend genes and environment can humans have

Gideonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02806423185226885594noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145942.post-10688395852137504762008-08-19T23:58:00.000-07:002008-08-24T18:05:12.577-07:00

If there's one thing it's hard to resist blogging about, it's Dennis Prager's incessant arguments against atheism. For some reason, I tend to take these essays personally. Perhaps it's because at various points in my life I have struggled with the issue of religion so that I take these arguments very seriously.Prager's latest effort against secularism is entitled "If there is no God" and he lists

Gideonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02806423185226885594noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145942.post-9560500561454676802008-07-15T19:00:00.000-07:002008-07-17T22:08:56.811-07:00

Thanks to Roderick Fitts, guest blogger at Noodlefood, for bringing the availability of the January 2008 issue of the Social Philosophy and Policy journal to my attention. That particular issue focused on the subject of "Objectivism, Subjectivism, and Relativism in Ethics" and featured numerous esssays of which I have read four that interested me.Tara Smith's The Importance of the Subject in

Gideonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02806423185226885594noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145942.post-83487585521934408322008-07-13T13:42:00.000-07:002008-07-17T22:09:31.684-07:00

This past Friday I received the Summer 2008 issue of The Objective Standard (TOS) in the mail. I finished it last night. All right, actually I had started reading it some time earlier online, since approximately Mid-June a little after Craig Biddle, the editor and publisher, announced the forthcoming issue. At that time I read Property Rights and the Crisis of the Electric Grid by Raymond C.

Gideonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02806423185226885594noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145942.post-52601969705770872052008-07-01T20:18:00.001-07:002008-07-17T22:10:18.152-07:00

Scott Powell presented his tenth and last lecture in the Islamic Entanglement series (you can still enroll in individual lectures or the whole course -- check it out) last Wednesday. The lecture summarized the previous ten and in light of what was presented suggested what we can expect for the future. Not entirely surprisingly, Scott does not view the future with much optimism. Not much can be

Gideonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02806423185226885594noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145942.post-63084575018554732512008-06-22T19:20:00.000-07:002008-07-17T22:10:38.699-07:00

Scott Powell's most recent Islamist Entanglement lecture, his ninth, focused on Israel. I have to admit that as far as the historical details Scott mentioned I didn't expect to be particularly surprised and I wasn't. This is no fault of Scott's but simply due to the fact that I happened to have a reasonably good knowledge of Israeli history, particularly early Zionist history before the founding

Gideonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02806423185226885594noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145942.post-88869267215927469332008-06-20T19:50:00.000-07:002008-07-17T22:11:19.273-07:00

I have started reading four new books.How to Read the Bible: A Guide to Scripture Then and Now by James L. KugelNo, I've not become religious again (God forbid!). But regardless of any religious sentiment I might have, I have for some time had a strong curiousity to establish in my mind exactly how I should regard all the various biblical stories that I learned as a child. Of course, I have long

Gideonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02806423185226885594noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145942.post-91730582236746421452008-06-20T19:36:00.000-07:002008-07-17T22:11:42.482-07:00

Anybody who has checked this blog lately has noticed two things. First, that there have been few posts lately, and second, that the look has changed. I'm not sure if I will be able to increase the frequency of my posts. Lately, other activities have taken priority over blog posts. At this point I hope to keep it going at least at the present rate. In addition, I have changed the look of the blog

Gideonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02806423185226885594noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145942.post-70020355184740860962008-06-08T19:42:00.000-07:002008-07-17T22:12:05.126-07:00

I last wrote about what I was reading in March of this year. Here's an update of how my reading is going presently. First a review of the books I mentioned in my last post.Capitalism: A Treatise on Economics by George Reisman. I'm now over 550 pages into it and still enjoying it although at moment it is not exactly my highest priority.The History of the Middle Ages by Victor Duruy. I don't think

Gideonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02806423185226885594noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145942.post-35526916801459055882008-06-08T12:02:00.000-07:002008-07-17T22:12:30.808-07:00

Hat-tip Luboš Motl:Smartkit I/O Game -- No Instructions. You have to figure out what the goal is and how to reach it. Took me about half an hour.Chinese IQ River Test Comments and Instructions by Luboš Motl:The Japanese employers use this test to hire employees in the IT sector. You should get all the people to the other side of the river. Either learn Chinese (in which the game above is written)

Gideonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02806423185226885594noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145942.post-38250058622089705332008-06-07T13:13:00.000-07:002008-07-17T22:13:44.584-07:00

Unlike some of the other countries that Scott Powell has lectured on in his Islamist Entanglement series, Saudi Arabia was never occupied by Western Powers. While it did face threats from the Ottoman empire, the West was content to let the Saudis rule in Arabia, as long as access to oil was provided. The Saudis had their own agenda. Born of an alliance between Wahabi Islamist elements and the

Gideonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02806423185226885594noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145942.post-28526119907546105632008-05-27T21:34:00.000-07:002008-07-17T22:14:12.704-07:00

I finally got a chance to listen to Scott Powell's latest Islamist Entanglement lecture which focused on Iraq. The key to understanding Iraq seems to be that for most of history there was no such thing. Unlike Egypt or Iran, Iraq does not have a unifying history, race, or even religion. For much of its recent history the area now occupied by the state of Iraq was made up of three separate

Gideonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02806423185226885594noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145942.post-32130014797013568442008-05-07T20:12:00.000-07:002008-05-07T20:33:43.385-07:00

IranScott Powell's Islamist Entanglement lectures (also available as individual lectures) help set the historical context for an understanding of the Middle East and last week's lecture on Iran was no different. Beginning briefly with ancient Persia, Scott traces the development what became Iran as part of the various Islamic empires. Important in this regard is that most of Iran, unlike much of

Gideonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02806423185226885594noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145942.post-26393897668377370522008-05-03T16:48:00.000-07:002008-05-03T16:52:59.098-07:00

The truth about Hamas and what to do about itAs usual, Caroline Glick puts it best:The simple truths that the media, Jimmy Carter, the Bush administration, and the Olmert-Livni-Barak government are all unwilling to acknowledge are that Hamas is a genocidal terror group sworn to Israel's destruction and that it represents the will of the majority of Palestinians who elected it to office in 2006

Gideonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02806423185226885594noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145942.post-80634364974067454562008-05-03T09:50:00.000-07:002008-05-03T09:55:05.314-07:00

What it takes to be Homeschool ParentWith all the frequent negative portrayals and comments about homeschooling in the media, it's nice to see a very accurate, positive portrayal for a change. Check it out here!

Gideonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02806423185226885594noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145942.post-64923503664586728382008-05-01T18:37:00.000-07:002008-05-01T19:00:26.053-07:00

Update on Ascent of ManI have now watched eleven of the thirteen episodes of the documentary series Ascent of Man, hosted by Jacob Bronowski. For the most part I have very much enjoyed the show. Bronowski is a passionate, engaging presenter and the content is mostly very rational and at times profound. Nevertheless, at times the presentation suffers from Bronowski's unwillingness to apply the

Gideonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02806423185226885594noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145942.post-6399353404707277452008-04-24T21:35:00.000-07:002008-04-24T21:59:22.487-07:00

Afghanistan -- The Highway of ConquestLast week's Islamist Entanglement lecture was about Afghanistan. It is difficult not to feel sorry for Afghanistan -- after all, until the 18th century it was not really so much a country as a place that had been conquered numerous times over the centuries, by empires from the East, West, North and South, earning it the description as "highway of conquest".

Gideonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02806423185226885594noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145942.post-69133222007369980832008-04-22T18:45:00.000-07:002008-04-22T18:53:52.045-07:00

Glick on Obama & ClintonCaroline Glick has another good essay in the Jerusalem Post comparing Clinton and Obama. My favorite passage is the following:THERE ARE two reasons that a deterrence model will be as ineffective in curbing Iranian aggression as Obama's appeasement model. First, as last week's 25th anniversary of the Iranian-sponsored bombing of the US embassy in Beirut recalled, Iran has

Gideonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02806423185226885594noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145942.post-62178598951775164462008-04-15T13:32:00.000-07:002008-04-15T13:40:05.950-07:00

Lewis on Codevilla's WarHistorian John David Lewis has released an excellent review of the second edition of War: Ends and Means by Angelo Codevilla and the late Paul Seabury in the Michigan War Studies Review. I had read the first edition many years ago and enjoyed it -- it lays out some important truths in this difficult topic, truths that even most of today's intellectuals, both left and right

Gideonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02806423185226885594noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145942.post-53505042355876394522008-04-11T09:22:00.000-07:002008-04-11T09:36:42.037-07:00

Why Ahmadinejad is smiling...As usual, Caroline Glick has some of the best analysis of what to make of recent events in the Middle East. Here are a few exerpts:And the fact is that the Sunni states are aligned with most of Iran's policies. They keep Iraq at arm's length and loudly criticize US operations in the country. They continue to back Hamas and ostracize Israel. And they have taken no

Gideonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02806423185226885594noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145942.post-9782942192089447372008-04-09T12:37:00.000-07:002008-04-09T13:07:24.664-07:00

EgyptThe most recent lecture of Scott Powell's Islamist Entanglement series focused on the history of Egypt. Despite the fact that Egypt had not been an independent country for many centuries, Egypt follows a path somewhat parallel to Turkey's. Its first (unsuccessful) period of westernization started while still under Ottoman rule early in the nineteenth century under the leadership of Muhammed

Gideonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02806423185226885594noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145942.post-46391285129836647542008-04-08T13:09:00.001-07:002008-04-08T13:19:23.919-07:00

General Petraeus on Iranian Acts of War in Iraq"Acts of war" is my description but how else should one interpret what Iran is doing. From Gen Petraeus opening remarks to the Senate Armed Services Committee Hearing (all emphasis below added):...Recently, of course, some militia elements became active again. Though a Sadr stand-down resolved the situation to a degree, the flare-up also highlighted

Gideonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02806423185226885594noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145942.post-15590244374275176462008-04-07T12:06:00.000-07:002008-04-07T12:16:24.613-07:00

Why Palestinian statehood is not in our interestI hope to write my review of Scott Powell's latest Islamist Entanglement lecture on Egypt as soon as I get a chance to listen to it. In the meanwhile, Elan Journo of the Ayn Rand Institute has written an excellent op-ed on the topic of how the present administration has been acting against our interests in pursuing the creation of a Palestinian

Gideonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02806423185226885594noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145942.post-32088613587340125752008-04-04T14:33:00.000-07:002008-04-04T14:41:03.224-07:00

Around the web...Caroline Glick points out the latest outrage at the UN -- its attack on freedom of speechThe Undercurrent, an Objectivist student publication, has released its spring issue.The Ayn Rand Institute has created a new Atlas Shrugged web site

Gideonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02806423185226885594noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145942.post-83285696785330385522008-04-02T15:24:00.000-07:002008-04-02T15:36:42.229-07:00

Nanotechnology successBack when I was in High School I read Engines of Creation by K. Eric Drexler. The book describes the potential of nanotechnology -- a technology that would involve the use of molecular sized machines in fields as diverse as manufacturing, medicine, and space travel. Since its original publication date in the late 1980s numerous advances have been made. A recent exciting

Gideonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02806423185226885594noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145942.post-58190412659437130302008-04-01T14:13:00.000-07:002008-04-01T14:17:46.566-07:00

And now for something completely different...No, not Monty Python, Chuck Norris and Bruce Lee. When I was somewhat younger I was an avid fan of Bruce Lee and I very much enjoyed Norris's reminiscing about his late friend.

Gideonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02806423185226885594noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145942.post-25232841442028591862008-03-31T10:24:00.000-07:002008-03-31T10:53:54.520-07:00

We continue to refuse to winThe Long War Journal reports on the situation in Iraq that after taking heavy casualties Sadr has ordered his followers to "end all armed activities." I'm not clear yet on the response of US and Iraqi forces but I strongly suspect that, much like the recent war Israel fought with Hezbollah in Lebanon, this will leave Sadr free to recover and to fight another day. The

Gideonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02806423185226885594noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145942.post-90371013630516650282008-03-28T11:23:00.000-07:002008-03-28T11:53:27.455-07:00

Bush, McCain, and why Republicans are not worth voting forJohn McCain recently gave a major foreign policy speech. Here are some instructive excerpts:President Harry Truman once said of America, "God has created us and brought us to our present position of power and strength for some great purpose." In his time, that purpose was to contain Communism and build the structures of peace and

Gideonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02806423185226885594noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145942.post-79374556782976215562008-03-27T12:16:00.000-07:002008-03-27T12:22:48.967-07:00

California Homeschooling Case to be Re-heardAccording to the Home School Legal Defense Association, the Court of Appeals has agreed to re-hear the recent court case threatening homeschooling in California:On March 25, the California Court of Appeal granted a motion for rehearing in the In re Rachel L. case—the controversial decision which purported to ban all homeschooling in that state unless

Gideonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02806423185226885594noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145942.post-36309195549004649112008-03-25T15:29:00.000-07:002008-03-25T15:43:29.385-07:00

Around the WebScott Powell's posting on his blog today elaborates on what I discussed yesterday with respect to his view on Turkey, its history and its prospectsGeorge Reisman analyzes our current "financial house of cards" and suggests that the only long term solution is a return to the gold standardA new post on the We Stand FIRM blog by Lin Zinser demonstrates that it is the free market that

Gideonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02806423185226885594noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145942.post-90054659740293835362008-03-24T13:08:00.000-07:002008-03-24T14:02:58.814-07:00

From Ottoman Empire to Modern TurkeyLast Wednesday Scott Powell continued his stimulating Islamist Entanglement lecture series with a fascinating lecture on the history of the Ottoman Empire and Turkey. It is not too late to join -- all lectures are digitally recorded and with lectures only once every two weeks it should be easy to catch up -- there have only been three so far. Be sure to mention

Gideonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02806423185226885594noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145942.post-70462625819928283822008-03-21T08:02:00.000-07:002008-03-21T08:05:02.501-07:00

Yaron Brook in ForbesOnce again the Ayn Rand Institute's Yaron Brook has published an important article in Forbes Magazine. Dr. Brook attacks the notion of campaign finance laws as a "War On Free Political Speech".

Gideonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02806423185226885594noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145942.post-55777218012062360702008-03-18T13:19:00.000-07:002008-03-18T14:07:27.339-07:00

Al-Qaeda and Iraq: Reality vs. the MediaHat-tip: The Weekly Standard.The New York Times reported on March 14 that Study Finds No Qaeda-Hussein Tie.From the actual report:Saddam's interest in, and support for, non-Iraqi non-state actors was spread across a wide variety of revolutionary, liberation, nationalist, and Islamic terrorist organizations. For years, Saddam maintained training camps for

Gideonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02806423185226885594noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145942.post-51684655452911971342008-03-17T13:40:00.000-07:002008-03-17T13:47:42.128-07:00

Tentative RecommendationThanks to Netflix, I've watched the first two epidodes of the 1972 documentary series Ascent of Man. I have to say I'm much impressed with the tone of reverence the creator of the series, Dr. Jacob Bronowski expresses for man's mind and his achievements. I expect I will encounter some philosophical points of disagreement with Dr. Bronowski but so far his approach to the

Gideonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02806423185226885594noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145942.post-40993805871227834492008-03-17T13:35:00.000-07:002008-03-18T09:04:17.291-07:00

Unpublished (see below) Letter to the L.A. Times on HomeschoolingIn response to the a rather nasty op-ed on 3/13 in the Los Angeles Times, I wrote the following letter to the editor. Today, letters in response to the op-ed were published and mine was not among them.Re: Coombs & Shaffer Regulating Homeschoolers 3/13/2008As a secular homeschooler I strongly resent Professors Coombs & Shafffer's

Gideonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02806423185226885594noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145942.post-37326151092284564482008-03-17T11:56:00.000-07:002008-03-17T12:05:33.309-07:00

Scott Powell on the Truman Doctrine and the Cold War Scott Powell, author of the highly recommended Islamist Entanglement series, reviews some points from the most recent lecture in the aforementioned series, in which he covered the actions and goals of the U.S. in the Middle East. Scott makes some points sure to be controversial in some circles:The Truman Doctrine was a blanket commitment to

Gideonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02806423185226885594noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145942.post-82411445849967503922008-03-14T14:48:00.000-07:002008-03-14T15:03:26.404-07:00

The latest on the Middle EastTo get a deeper understanding of the Middle East and its relationship to the West, sign up for Scott Powell's Islamist Entanglement lecture series. But in the meanwhile there's the inimitable Caroline Glick. Her latest column is up on her website. Here's a long excerpt:In a radio interview this week, Michael Leiter, the director of the US National Counter-Terrorism

Gideonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02806423185226885594noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145942.post-25694489965695575852008-03-13T12:00:00.000-07:002008-03-13T12:23:14.722-07:00

What I'm reading these daysI am presently working my way through 6 books.Capitalism: A Treatise on Economics by George Reisman. I have tried a couple of times in the past to get through this gigantic book. I'm now about a quarter in and am hopeful I will finish it this time. All the other books are second priority to this one.The History of the Middle Ages by Victor Duruy. A nineteenth century

Gideonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02806423185226885594noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145942.post-33093200777296842882008-03-12T12:35:00.000-07:002008-03-12T12:45:23.703-07:00

Around the web...Scott Powell, who is currently offering the exciting Islamist Entanglement lecture series has posted a fascinating analysis of what we can expect from McCain and Obama about Iran and the implications for IsraelPrinciples in Practice, the blog of the Objective Standard, has posted Alex Epstein's excellent essay on the pernicious effects of the "Too Big to Bail" policies that

Gideonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02806423185226885594noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145942.post-63360235731813508282008-03-11T12:07:00.000-07:002008-03-11T12:20:43.906-07:00

California Resolution on HomeschoolingA resolution has been introduced in the California legislature by Assemblyman Joel Anderson to express support for homeschooling and call on the California Supreme Court to overturn the recent decision that implied that state-approved teaching credentials were required for parents who wish to homeschool their children. Here are some excerpts:WHEREAS, Home

Gideonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02806423185226885594noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145942.post-20702257598562849762008-03-10T10:02:00.000-07:002008-03-10T10:16:25.036-07:00

Ahmadinajad's visit to Iraq -- a different viewWriting in Frontpage Magazine, Amir Taheri presents a rather different view of Ahmadinajad's visit to Iraq, than Robert Scheer of The Nation described.Weeks of hard work by Iranian emissaries and pro-Iran elements in Iraq were supposed to ensure massive crowds thronging the streets of Baghdad and throwing flowers on the path of the visiting Iranian

Gideonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02806423185226885594noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145942.post-9857158230025832912008-03-09T17:45:00.000-07:002008-03-09T18:21:25.780-07:00

America and the Islamist EntanglementThere's still time to sign up for Scott Powell's excellent Islamist Entanglement lecture series. The second lecture was presented live this past Wednesday but all lectures are digitally recorded and can be listened to after the fact on the internet. Also, there are still eight live lectures remaining. Be sure to mention this website to Scott if I had a role in

Gideonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02806423185226885594noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145942.post-63812240741020282502008-03-09T17:14:00.000-07:002008-03-09T17:44:55.543-07:00

Israel, Gaza, and all that...I haven't written about Gaza for some time. However, an interesting recent column was brought to my attention via Daniel Pipes's blog. In the column a liberal Israeli commentator, Yossi Klein Halevi, admits that he and others who supported the "disengagement" were wrong on the Gaza withdrawal. He writes:...Israelis still felt so desperate to end the occupation that

Gideonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02806423185226885594noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145942.post-56885572914166308202008-03-07T11:27:00.000-08:002008-03-07T11:51:00.610-08:00

Requiring Parents to Provide an Education for their ChildIn a comment on my previous post on homeschooling, Burgess Laughlin issued a friendly challenge: Should the state require parents to provide any education? If so, what is the justification?Here is my answer to this challenge.The parents have the obligation to provide for the child. What does this mean? Well, the child is born helpless. It

Gideonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02806423185226885594noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145942.post-67591861824869559132008-03-06T21:50:00.000-08:002008-03-06T22:45:01.528-08:00

Thoughts on homeschoolingThe aforementioned California court case is now getting a lot of press. I think it is important to review the basic moral issues of homeschooling before one tackles the legal issues. This is my attempt to formulate the moral case for the right of parents to homeschool their children.Let's begin with the idea that parents as human beings have a right to life, liberty and

Gideonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02806423185226885594noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145942.post-61529690742837376982008-03-05T11:11:00.000-08:002008-03-05T12:45:14.437-08:00

Agreeing with The NationI find myself in the uncomfortable position of finding more and more articles on the left quite reasonable, at least in some of the major points they raise with respect to Iraq. In a column entitled Iraq's Iranian Lovefest, Robert Scheer points out the obvious that many seem to have missed:Are the media dumb or just out to lunch? Sorry to be intemperate, but how else can

Gideonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02806423185226885594noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145942.post-46902013038331974042008-03-04T08:13:00.000-08:002008-03-04T08:41:00.221-08:00

Homeschooling under attackAs some of my readers know, my wife and I decided some time ago to homeschool our kids and are quite happy with the results. Unfortunately, as a homeschooler, depending on where one lives, one is constantly worried about the government taking away your right to teach your kids as you see fit. A recent court case in California, which asserts that children have to be sent

Gideonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02806423185226885594noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145942.post-1436212581472913352008-03-03T15:25:00.000-08:002008-03-03T15:35:36.389-08:00

Preview of new Islamist Entaglement LectureScott Powell has posted a preview of Wednesday night's lecture in his Islamist Entaglement series.The lecture will focus on the history of the United States as it relates to the Middle East and comes on the heels of his previous lecture, the first in the series, on Great Britain which I blogged about here. I am very much looking forward to his upcoming

Gideonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02806423185226885594noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145942.post-6296448473692675002008-02-28T09:51:00.000-08:002008-02-28T09:54:31.391-08:00

More on McCain...by George Will in a new column.

Gideonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02806423185226885594noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145942.post-52922893266664194312008-02-27T12:55:00.000-08:002008-02-27T13:25:50.653-08:00

Around the web...Caroline Glick has written another excellent column reviewing a recent AEI report on Iran's activities in the Middle East. She writes:IN AN attempt to break through the post-Iraq invasion compartmentalization of Western discourse on Iran, the American Enterprise Institute published a 68-page report last week that sets out Iran's actions in Syria, Lebanon, the Palestinian

Gideonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02806423185226885594noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5145942.post-85659311190284582872008-02-25T14:26:00.000-08:002008-02-25T14:29:50.423-08:00

EuropismSpeaking of Scott Powell, check out the first part of a new series of posts of his on his Powell History Recommends blog. Scott discusses "Europism," a term he coined to identify an important feature of European history:Europism is rooted in the dismal historical record of European people living as separate, antagonistic tribal and national groups. From the earliest time of the barbarian

Gideonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02806423185226885594noreply@blogger.com0