The Greedy Capitalist

Neil Boortz at A&M

I went to hear Neil Boortz live for four hours this morning. He was generally right on everything he mentioned, though he lacked Rush’s smooth delivery. Although he’s known for being a libertarian, he correctly identified the threat presented by Islamic terrorism, and praised America’s military. Unfortunately, he rarely went beyond the concretes of particular events, and when he did so, the results were usually mixed. Still, he has good teachers, and he let off a few good lines this morning, such as “No free nation has ever existed that did not recognize property rights.”

Egypt won?

"30 Years Since Egypt’s Victory Over Israel:"

And if you liked that, :

Here is what actually happened:

Man

"Man" by Berton Braley

Random Quote..

A random prediction from sci-fi writer and futurist Robert Heinlein in 1950: "The cult of the phony in art will disappear. So-called modern art will be discussed only by psychiatrists."
In 1980: "One pay hope…While "fine" art continues to look like the work of retarded monkeys, commercial art grows steadily better."

Hey Kids!

Perhaps in response to the widespread ban of “Jewish” Barbie dolls in Muslim countries, an American company has created Razanne, a Muslim Barbie. Um...no comment.

In related news, a survey by a evangelical Christian group claims that that 81% of American's believe in some sort of an afterlife, and 90% are open to the possibility, but only .5% believe that they are headed for hell. 48% of the younger generation believes that it is possible to talk to the dead, and 18% believe that they will be reincarnated. I wonder how many of them watch John Edwards, the “biggest douche in the universe?" No comment on this either, other than a favorite quote of mine from Thoma's Paine's "The Age of Reason":

Comments on the GLBTA/YCT Service Fee Debate

The university-funded “Gay Lesbian and Transgender Alliance” debated with the self-funded “Young Conservatives” tonight. Here are the comments I posted at a local forum:

The GLBTA president is a typical leftist. His sole argument was: "Students are not capable of deciding which groups they should support, so their money should be forcibly taken from them for their own good. This is justified because the free flow of ideas and my freedom of speech is limited if I can't forcibly take other people's money to promote views they oppose."

The president of the YCT replied: “Students should be able to decide which groups they support by choosing which organizations their money will go towards.” (Of course if they do this, they might as well support them by paying dues.)

What he should have added:
The right to free speech is solely the right not to have the government forcibly stop you from presenting your views to others, not the "right" to force others to support your views. Governmental coercion is the only valid meaning of the word "censorship."

I disagree with the conservatives because I think that universities should be able to limit what students can and cannot say on campus and where they can say it. The function of a university is to educate, not to provide a forum for different political views. While school-sponsored events like "Muslim Awareness Week" and “Coming Out Week” are thinly veiled attempts to brainwash students with leftist multicultural garbage, their conservative versions (school-sponsored religious groups, strict visitation rules, etc) are no more justified at a public university. While I believe that all education should be private, I think that private schools should implement the same guidelines.

New Essays

It's been a few months since I added any essays to my site, so it's time for a new one: "Creativity, the Man-Made and the Metaphysically Given" (Let me know if you have a better title for it.) I also added my essay on sex. I wrote it several months ago, but was never satisfied with the results. (Though the conservatives at Texags seemed to like it.) However after 6000 words, I’ve gotten so sick of the topic that I slapped on a “work in progress” and uploaded it.

I’ve been lazy about writing essays lately – mostly because my blog allows me to jot down my thoughts without the formality of writing a self-contained and structured theme. It doesn’t help that I’m taking a full load of classes and working. However, I’ve almost finished my first round of exams, and will try to write a few editorials before the next deluge of class work hits.

Yesterday was the 20th anniversary of the Beirut suicide attacks that killed 241 Marines. How have our politicians commemorated the first victims in the terrorist’s war against America? By demanding that we open up trade with Cuba. Dictators of terrorist regimes don’t pose any threat to America…right?

NK Nukes

Steve sent me two interesting stories about nuclear proliferation in North Korea and the Middle East. I don't think there's any better way to sum up the matter than this.

In other news, a new poll says that 59% of Palestinians would support terrorist bombings of Israel even if Israel pulled out of West Band and Gaza, and a Palestinian state were formed.

Jews don't support Islamic terrorism? No way!

Why Not?

"Why Not?" by Berton Braley

If you haven't done so recently, check out the spiffy new look of the ObjectivismOnline forum.

Mail Call

I got an email today from “HotSexyYellaFella31”: For some freakish reason I have gotten at least a dozen of such emails from various “str8” men. Normally I just delete them, but I’m going to make an example out of this “kid.” A few points:

• If you are propositioning random men for gay sex, you may be “str8” but are definitely not straight.
• My website states quite clearly that I am interested exclusively in the female sex.
• In case you missed that, it states even more clearly that I am a 23 year old graduate student, which is probably a good sign that I won’t be picking up any “confused” 17-year olds anytime soon.
• If “HotSexyYellaFella31” is indeed 17, then he probably needs a good grounding and a psychiatrist. I suspect however that he is an adult looking for vulnerable minors, in which case he probably needs a cop.
• I don’t care if you the Olson twins and you just turned 18, I absolutely refuse to talk to anyone who thinks that ”wit” “u” and “r” are legitimate words.
• Parents, please check your kid's email.

judge raps out dismissal...

Here is the actual ruling handed down by a judge in the Eminem defamation case, quoted verbatim:

Monkeys’ brains move robotic arms: researchers at Duke have conducted experiments in which monkeys learned to operate a robot arm using only their brain signals.

In response to Yahoo's refusal to delete a listserv run by "banned separatists," the Indian government forced Indian ISP’s to ban the entire Yahoo Groups community. The easily circumvented ban is one of many instances of censorship in India and Pakistan. I’m curious as to whether the site is still being blocked. Perhaps some readers in India could enlighten me...

Music news...

Winamp 5 is in beta. I have just two words to describe it: GET IT

In other news, iTunes is now available for Windows. I was not particularly impressed with it. On the plus side, $1 per song is a lot cheaper than buying CD’s, especially since you only pay for the songs you like. On the downside, the iTunes software is not very powerful and does not support WMA. With my very limited student budget, I’m still waiting for an unlimited subscription model, even one that doesn’t allow songs to be stored locally.

What I’d really like, is music that plays in surround sound to justify the 5.1 speaker system I bought…

More loony Brits...

Terrorists can have serious moral goals, says Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams. Furthermore,

A nation protecting its self-interest? God forbid!
In related news, here is an interesting story on Shirin Ebadi, the winner of this year's Nobel Peace Prize: "Why the Mullahs Fear Her"

"The Real Iraq"

Amir Taheri writes on "The Real Iraq": "a first-hand account of an Iraq that is rapidly moving forward in nearly every aspect of life - political, economic and cultural. And a people that, while understandably skeptical after decades of tyranny, is nonetheless hopeful - and grateful for their liberation."

Has America already lost the space race?

China has successfully flown its first “taikonaut.” According to Glenn Reynolds, China’s space program represents a new outward focus that’s an improvement over, say, preparing for WWIII or invading Taiwan. I’m more inclined to think that it’s an attempt by the Communist leadership to show the relevance of the Party in response to the growing influence of businessmen. As Americans should know well, nothing justifies billions of dollars of government waste and useless bureaucratic jobs like a space program.

While China is rushing ahead with its space program, NASA’s fleet of 1980’s era space shuttles is still grounded with little hope for change due to an entrenched bureaucracy that cares more about their jobs than innovation. Our best hope in space is a private initiative run by amateurs – currently waiting for FAA approval to launch their flight-tested space vehicle. What’s the federal government’s response to this dilemma? To ban model rocketry of course. Clueless politicians claim the rockets fuels are a “high explosive” that private citizens cannot be trusted with. Did you ever notice how, unlike real high explosives, the rockets don’t just blow up on take off? Anyone inspired by the awesome movie October Sky should keep their dreams to themselves these days: not only is the rocket fuel illegal, but launching a model rocket requires FAA approval.

Office 2003

So I finally installed Microsoft Office 2003. I disliked the new interface at first, but after a few days, it’s grown on me. I can’t say there is anything objectively better about all the new icons – more like the latest fad in UI design. You can be sure that in a few months, all the new software will be sportin’ the new “shiny” icons. What Windows really needs, is SVG icon support. There aren’t that many new features I found all that useful, except SPAM filtering and the new Outlook 2003 layout, which is very neat with two monitors. Unfortunately, my server-side SPAM filter thinks all mail from Outlook 2003 is forged.

In related news, it seems that spammers are either using my account to send spam or faking my return address in their spam, so I’ve been getting hundreds of bounced emails and “unsubscribe requests” daily for the last few weeks. I’m not sure what I can do about the forged return address, but for now, I’ve disabled my wildcard email addresses so that only [email protected] will receive email. Whatever the case, it’s clear that my domain was singled out by spammer(s).

More wackiness from the Vatican

Why is the church peddling a lie that could expose millions of people to AIDS? Well, at least the Catholic Church is consistent. The Church is merely taking its view that the human body is dirty and sex sinful to its natural conclusion and evading any evidence to the contrary. It ignored child molesters, because it is simply unconceivable that a pure and chaste priest would ever succumb to the lower pleasures of sex. Now it opposes condoms because sex is a reproductive duty that cannot be allowed to mix with pleasure. It doesn’t make exceptions for married couples either: it opposes condoms both as a means of contraception and as a barrier between an AIDS infected husband and his wife. Sex is for reproduction, period.

In related news, the Pope is favored to win the Nobel Peace Prize. Considering its history of recognizing terrorists as “peacemakers” I think it’s appropriate.

Do you like the layout of my website? Would you like to get a blog of your own, or to upgrade an existing one? If so, you can use my template and/or domain names for your own website. If your website is dedicated to promoting ideas I support, I might just help you for free, and if not, a little motivation should the trick. One Objectivist club is already using my template, and I haven't heard too many complaints so far.

My Wish List

As my 23rd birthday approached, several people asked me what I’d like to get. I understand that my unusual intellectual persuasions make finding a suitable present somewhat difficult, especially for my family. So, purely out of an altruistic concern for easing your present-searching efforts, I spent several hours laboring to create an Amazon.com wish list of the books and gadgets I’d like to get.

I also made a list of my favorite novels and non-fiction books, sorted by my recommended reading order for anyone interested in reaching my level of intellectual nirvana :-) It's not meant to be a definite guide by any means, just a list of what I consider essential reading for any rational, well-rounded, new intellectual geek.

Didn't Jesus eat fish?

Disney joins forces with pro-fish activists: "Fish are friends, not food!"
My favorite part:

I'm too lazy to write a blog today, so go read someone else's rantings:
Fixed Earth.com: "The earth is not moving: over 400 years of deception exposed! The Bible told the truth all along! "
Allah is in Da House: "Your Jew mind-reading powers are strong indeed, tasty infidel."

Getting ready for class this morning, I considered dressing up for the today’s business fair. I was about to put on my Sunday best when I happened to glance at the window and saw a torrential flood coming down outside. I suddenly felt very fortunate that I could be completely ignorant of the nasty weather outside while in my home. Unfortunately, I still had to walk a mile to class, and as I got completely soaked while walking barefoot across campus, I thanked the gods of industry that I didn’t have to freeze to death in some leaky shack or cave every time it rained as those damn “back to nature” environmentalists would have us do. Admittedly, I enjoyed walking barefoot across the flooded grass on campus, but only because I knew that I had clean and warm clothes waiting for me at home.

Just Anti-social

We've loaded him with a lot of taxes
And rules and codes but there's something funny;
In spite of the way his burden waxes
The son-of-a-gun is making money!

Whenever he's given a boost to trade
We've taken an extra tribute off it,
But still the villain is undismayed,
The son-of-a-gun has shown a Profit!

We grind out daily a brand new grist
Of regulations by Profs. And scholars,
But the Rugged Individualist
Is still producing some surplus dollars!

We've frowned on personal, private gains,
As most immoral, and due for censure,
But the son-of-a-gun with Business Brains
Continues risking some new adventure!

In spite of Planners and New Deal sages
With Communistical dreams and yearnings,
This Capitalistic guy pays wages,
And Some of his stocks and bonds show earnings!

We've moved the bases, and changed the lines,
And altered the rules for every inning,
With added penalties, doubled fines,
But the son-of-a-gun insists on winning!

It's anti-social to fail to fail,
It makes our wonderful schemes look funny;
Rush the Traitor at once to jail,
For the son-of-a-gun is making money!.

"Just Anti-social" by Berton Braley

A whale of a story...

Environmentalists are trying to ban the Navy from using sonar because it's - get this - causing whales to die from the bends. There is no connection between the crucial tool of many naval vessels and whale death, but that didn’t stop environmental groups from protesting tests (which are costing the taxpayers $9 million) done in response to their claims.
While there is evidence that certain rare types of sonar harm marine life in close proximity, it is absolutely ridiculous to demand that our military give up a key part of our national defense for a few whales, and then protest tests done to verify those claims. This is just one example of how enviro-whackos don’t care for the facts, humans, or even whales, but merely want to destroy civilization – by wiping out the technology that makes it possible.

Bring 'Em On, Allah!

Cool shirts from Cox and Forkum: Bring 'Em On, Allah

Normally, firing someone is anything but a pleasant task, but...

The thinker

Back of the beating hammer
By which the steel is wrought,
Back of the workshop's clamor
The seeker may find the Thought,
The Thought that is ever master
Of iron and steam and steel,
That rises above disaster
And tramples it under heel!

The drudge may fret and tinker
Or labor with lusty blows,
But back of him stands the Thinker,
The clear-eyed man who knows;
For into each plow or saber,
Each piece and part and whole,
Must go the Brains of Labor,
Which gives the work a soul!

Back of the motors humming
Back of the belts that sing,
Back of the hammers drumming.
Back of the cranes that swing,
There is the eye which scans them
Watching through stress and strain
There is the Mind which plans them-
Back of the brawn, the Brain!

Might of the roaring boiler,
Force of the engine's thrust,
Strength of the sweating toiler-
Greatly in these we trust.
But back of them stands the Schemer,
The Thinker who drives things through;
Back of the Job-the Dreamer
Who's making the dream come true!

"The thinker", by Berton Braley

Bush Asserts Israel's Right to Defense

Used to the usual criticism from the White House whenever Israel took any steps to defend itself, I was surprised when Bush finally said something right.

Kennedy To Receive Bush Public Service Award

What they hell are they thinking giving that pathetic, ignorant, lying, traitorous, drunken commie who recently accused our president of “fraud” and “bribery” a "George Bush Award for Excellence in Public Service"??? Pathetic!

Update: Here is an editorial from the Wash Times. Nicholas at The Rule of Reason comments:

You will find some new links among the blogs on the right. They are all good reading -- sometimes informative, usually right, and always interesting. Let me know about any other websites you'd like to recommend.

In Praise of Sweatshops

My response to an ugly smear job:
In Praise of Sweatshops – In Response to Jonathan Steeds Editorial

Jonathan writes that sweatshops “represent the worst of capitalism.” In fact, sweatshops are a great example of the virtues of free trade and free markets. Consider what conditions the citizens of third world countries live in before the multinationals arrival. The great majority live in desperate conditions, with no jobs and no future to look forward to other than the backbreaking labor of subsidence farming. Healthcare is non-existent, children work almost from the time they can walk, and most die young from starvation or malnutrition.

The multinationals that build factories in poor nations face many challenges: oppressive and unpredictable governments, long distances, language barriers, primitive roads, and labor activists back at home. They choose to do so because the lower marginal productivity of the workers in poor countries allows them to save on labor costs. The workers of the sweatshops choose to work there because they consider it better than the alternatives: the endless toil of subsistence farming, prostitution, or crime. They are free to quit or look for another job anytime, but they remain at the factories because they consider it their best alternative. Their pay and working conditions may seem low to us, but they are heavenly when compared to their life prior to the multinationals’ arrival.

All the efforts to ban, boycott, or otherwise shut down third world factories will do nothing but lead to the starvation and death of the very people the activists claim to protect. The best thing we can do to help citizens of third world countries is to support free trade and free markets to bring the wonderful benefits of capitalism to every poverty-ridden country in the world.

Robert Novak comments on the Plame scandal:

For humorous takes on the story, go here and here.

Pistol
By this leek, I will most horribly revenge:
I eat and eat, I swear--
Fluellen
Eat, I pray you: will you have some more sauce to
your leek? there is not enough leek to swear by.
Pistol
Quiet thy cudgel; thou dost see I eat.
Fluellen
Much good do you, scauld knave, heartily.
Nay, pray you, throw none away; the skin is good for your
broken coxcomb. When you take occasions to see leeks
hereafter, I pray you, mock at 'em; that is all.
Pistol
Good.
Fluellen
Ay, leeks is good: hold you, there is a groat to
heal your pate.
Pistol
Me a groat!

Anti-Islamists vs Islam

Daniel Pipes writes about the Anti-Islamists Muslims “who wish to live modern lives, unencumbered by burqas, fatwas and violent visions of jihad”:

I have a hard time imagining an “Anti-Islamist” version of Islam. Unlike other religions, virtually every nation with a sizable Muslim population has problems with violent fundamentalists who try to impose their dogma on the rest of the population. Fundamentalism is deeply embedded in Islam, historically, politically, and literally. The Q’uran is full of lines like:

Of course, the Christian Bible is also full of lines like:

So is violent fundamentalism and Islam inescapably intertwined? Yes – but so every other religion. Because it rests on faith, religion can spread by just one voluntary means: the willing self-abdication of its victim’s mind. Because religion is necessarily detached from reality, it is impossible to compromise or evaluate between two dogmas: one can only choose one or the other “on faith.” When an organized religion comes into conflict with a people who refuse to surrender their mind to it (usually because they have already done so to another faith), forceful conversion by military conquest is the only alternative. Historically, this is how every major organized religion came into power. (There are many peaceful minority religions and sects of course, but their non-violence is the reason why they remain minorities.)

Despite the bloodstained histories of all religions, Islam is the only religion (with the exception of the Marxist and green varieties) that remains violent on a large scale today. Understanding why requires a grasp of the philosophical development of the Western and Eastern worlds. In brief, the discovery of Aristotle by Thomas Aquinas provided the crucial influx of reason into the Western World following the reject of reason by the followers of Ahmed ibn Hanbal in eighth century Persia. From that point on, the Western world thrived and prospered while the Arab world descanted into the depths of fundamentalism, where it largely remains today. As it sank into obscurity, it posed little threat to the West. However, the rejection of reason by Kant and his followers led to the rise of Marxism, and its growing influence in both the West and then the East. Marxist ideology provided the foundation and the ammunition (both material and intellectual) for modern Islamic fundamentalism, and the oil revenues sustain it. Fundamentalist regimes like Iran were not only created with Soviet aid, but the 1979 revolution itself was largerly won with the help of Marxist groups. It was only the more persistent application of mass murder by Ayatollah “Islam is not the opiate of the masses” Khomeini that allowed him to implement his version of socialist slavery rather than the Soviet variety.

ALF, the eco-terrorist group responsible for a long string of attacks made a slight miscalculation it its latest scheme: “Mink eat each other after animal rights break-in.”

I can’t think of a more fantastic way to waste that much money than to spend in on “world health initiatives.” I mean sure, I don’t need more than $5 -10 billion for my personal expenses, but there are much better ways to fritter away one’s wealth than to enrich Africa’s dictators. If Bill Gates really wants to start a “world health initiative,” then he should go after the world’s primary killers: poverty and the oppressive regimes that keep their citizens mired in it. There is only one cure for this ailment, and while it can’t be fixed with any amount of money, it will generate enough wealth to fix all of Africa’s problems: capitalism.

The media is having a fit over Sharon's decision to build more settlements on the western side of Jerusalem. Fortunately, this decision shows that he is not totally whipped by the White House...yet.
Meanwhile, the terrorist group known as Hamas says Israel's fence "means the early failure of the road map project." Um, I think that "project" failed when you blew up hundreds of innocent people. If their goal was to be left alone by Israel, then the fence would be the best thing they could ask for. However their real objection to the fence is evident in their own objections: "the wall will not protect the Zionist entity and will not stop the strikes of resistance."

“Women In Islam: Oppression or Empowerment?”

This evening, I went to hear “Women In Islam: Oppression or Empowerment?” – a presentation given by the Muslim Students Association. It was part of an “Islam Awareness Week” that was highly promoted by the University. (Coming up next is “Coming Out Week,” organized by the “Gender Issues Education Services.”)
I was interested in hearing what kind of deception and evasion I would hear, and I was not disappointed. I’ll give an overview, and leave it up to you to judge the views presented.

The basic argument went like this: There is a media conspiracy to discredit Islam and secularize American Muslims by portraying Muslim women as oppressed and Islam as promoting violence. Any oppression that may go on in any country is due solely to that country’s culture, and not anything about Islam itself. The sole purpose of a woman covering herself is to prevent men from being overwhelmed by their “animal instincts” and either viewing the woman solely as a sexual object or harassing or raping her. An uncovered woman that is raped or assaulted by a man is to blame for enticing the man’s animal instincts, which he cannot control.

I asked three questions following the talk:
Q: Do women also have animal instincts, or just men?
A: Only men have animal instincts, or only men have urges that they cannot control. Hence, only women have to wear the full body covering.
Q: What is the Muslim view on freedom, and on religion's role in government?
A: “True” freedom is not freedom to act (“run around naked” was the example used) but freedom to think. The only way to be free to think is to worship Allah. Politics cannot exist without a religious basis, and a system of law called Sharia law is prescribed by the Koran.
[Food for thought: Can you think of any countries that enforce(d) Sharia law? Does “freedom to think” have any meaning if one can’t act on one’s thoughts?]
Q: What is the purpose of your life, and how does it relate to your happiness?
A: The sole purpose of my life is to serve Allah. I derive happiness from knowing that I serve Allah well.

The talk was accompanied by a slideshow of Muslim women from various countries, some of them participating in various vocations, some showing off various uh, fashions, and many participating in political protests. One slide I remember showed a woman holding an image of two hands shaking. One hand had the flag of Israel on the sleeve, and the other had the "Muslim world". Copious amounts of blood were coming from the Arab side, and the text said something about “America’s peace offering.” Another slide showed Bush and Blair with a “Wanted: Terrorist Masterminds” title. I made a recording of the talk, and will share it if you want to hear it for yourself, though the quality probably isn’t very good.

In other news, China now allows people to get married without permission from their employer. I suppose the next step would be to give liberty to all -- liberty to think about how much they love to serve China, as opposed to the liberty to publicly call the president a "terrorist mastermind."

A third spy has been caught at Guantanamo base. As Sean says,