The New Bill of Rights

Just perusing jim.com for some reading material and I found this. Funny and spot on.

Here is Amendment I, click here to read the rest.

Congress shall make no law establishing religion, but shall act as if it did; and shall make no laws abridging the freedom of speech, unless such speech can be construed as “commercial speech” or “irresponsible speech” or “offensive speech;” or shall abridge the right of the people to peaceably assemble where and when permitted; or shall abridge the right to petition the government for a redress of grievances, under proper procedures.

It shall be unlawful to cry “Fire!” in a theater occupied by three or more persons, unless such persons shall belong to a class declared Protected by one or more divisions of Federal, State or Local government, in which case the number of persons shall be one or more.

Ron Paul, a cure for apathy?

I have enjoyed watching these recent videos, what a breath of fresh air to see this guy answer questions. He is open, honest, and articulate.

Meet The Press 12/23/07 – Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, An accurate analysis of this very hostile interview here.

Franklin Pierce Law Center 12/19/07 – Part 1

Glenn Beck 12/18/07 – Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7

Note, Ron Paul talks a lot about the dangers of “Central Banking”. Mises.org has a free documentary about the Federal Reserve system which can be found here. Scroll down to Money, Banking and the Federal Reserve. This is nice primer on the the topic. If you have six hours (you don’t but it is worth it anyway) watch Commanding Heights, this information is very relevant to the sort of things Dr. Paul is talking about. If you don’t already have a basic understanding of monetary issues and how they relate to govt. growth and ultimately control then you won’t understand Ron Paul.

Who is and isn’t a modern day Fascist?

I am working on developing a better sense as to what is and isn’t characteristic of fascism which according to many is alive and well today. I found this helpful diagram by Ryan W. McMaken which illustrates Fascism. Be sure to visit the link for an explanation. While you are at it, I suggest reading the first few pages of Gene Edward Veith’s book Modern Fascism which are available for free viewing at Amazon.com. In addition Gene’s blog can be found here.

Two Reasons Airfares are on the Rise

1. The Chinese are buying our planes, fewer planes = less supply = higher prices.
2. In order to improve customer service governments are fining airlines and pocketing the money.

Somewhat unrelated but…I have just finished the second episode of three from a PBS documentary called Commanding Heights. Each episode is 2 hours in length I highly recommend this, it is simply fascinating. Please go to the link to learn more

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

MIT Whizzkid suggests program to subsidize inheritances for the poor.

Here is another reason to read Biblical Economics. Psalms 13:22 says “A good man leaveth an inheritance to his children’s children: and the wealth of the sinner is laid up for the just.” Leaveth means leave for those of you in Rio Linda.

Ivan Werning, a 33 year old tenured whizzkid economics theorist from MIT ran some numbers because that’s what economics theorists do as you know and he came up with this.

His paper shows that the transmission of wealth should be regulated to prevent an accumulation of luck—that children should essentially be insured against the family into which they are born.In a follow-up paper, entitled “Progressive Estate Taxation,” also written with Farhi, Werning discovered that the best approach would be to encourage parents to leave bequests to their children, and that government should, through subsidies, help the poor pass on money to their heirs.

Huh?

Well read R.C.’s book if you get a chance, because these ideas are just about as bad as it gets. There is a chapter which discusses the difference between “equality” and “equity”. The Bible is usually speaking in terms of equity while the world usually speaks in terms of equality. It is a very important distinction to make when thinking about these issues.

The 33 Questions You’re Not Suppose to Ask

I thought this was an excellent interview (scroll down to ‘The 33 Questions’) or click here to begin streaming.

Jeffrey Tucker interviews bestselling author and Mises Institute Senior Fellow, Dr. Thomas E. Woods, Jr. They discuss his recent blockbuster “33 Questions About American History You’re Not Supposed to Ask.” Recorded at the Mises Institute, 24 August 2007. [46:33] Streaming Windows Media Video

This blog entry by the author (How to Get an Education for Free) is also worth reading. I have been working through materials from Mises for about a week.

One of the greatest unsung resources on the web is Mises.org, the website of the Ludwig von Mises Institute (where I am a resident scholar). Want to learn economics, history, philosophy, and more — but in an entertaining way? Do you believe in the principles of a free society? Then this is the place for you.

Read whole books — many fully searchable — online. Listen to hundreds of hours of audio (and view a great deal of video as well). Spice up your morning commute by downloading full-course seminars onto your iPod. Sign up to receive the Daily Article and begin your economic education one day at a time.

The Golden Compass – An interview from Mars Hill Audio

I thought this interview from Mars Hill Audio was very interesting. If you are going to see the movie I suggest listening to this interview as a primer.

In 2000, MARS HILL AUDIO’s Ken Myers talked with literary critic Alan Jacobs about Pullman’s trilogy and the ideas it advances. In that interview, Jacobs explained exactly how Pullman pursues his project of undermining Christian belief, as well as some of the other disturbing tendencies of these creative books. Originally presented on the MARS HILL AUDIO Journal, a longer version of that interview is offered in this issue of Audition.

Biblical Economics – Follow The Money

My web statistics show a number of you finding this page from a search specifically for this book. After reading this book I suggest you go to mises.org and spend a lot of time there if you really want to expand your knowledge of economics. My original post is below.

I picked up Biblical Economics by R.C. Sproul Jr. while our family was on vacation. The church would benefit greatly from a better understanding of economics and R.C.’s book is a good starting point.

Recently I watched an interview with Richard Freeman (a Harvard labor economist) on YouTube. At one point he mentions that most of the economic growth of the last couple of decades has come from the increase of woman in the workforce. I heard it said someplace that the growth we have experienced since the dot com collapse has been largely due to a massive credit expansion (easy loans). I won’t go into detail but as a result of a change in our economic policies in 1946 the government now has a vested interest in continual economic expansion, i.e. it has a vested interest in seeing your wife and daughters in the work force.

As Christians we have an obligation to see and state the big picture. Consumerism is a problem but one we have because we have means by which to make it a problem. Those means by in large part have come by sending our wives to work, putting our children in state schools to be molded by the state and for the state all in order to continually expand the economy. I am not saying that economic expansion is always bad. It is bad when it is driven by an unbiblical economic system upon the backs of our wives and daughters and at the expense of our families.

My personal interest is not to expand the economy but to expand the Kingdom by raising up Godly seed and I am happy to credit R.C. with teaching me that. I highly recommend the resources of Highlands Study Center if you are interested in learning more. If you want to be encouraged that there are alternatives for our children please read my post on The Return of the Daughters.

Secularists have nothing to complain about…but that doesn’t stop them.

The truth is that secularists have nothing to complain about when it comes to political power. Their representation in American liberal political activity is disproportionately high, it is increasing, and it utterly dominates the political scene in many places. What secularists might legitimately complain about is the fact that liberal political leaders rarely acknowledge their contribution. To my knowledge, for example, Senator Clinton has never thanked the atheist community for what will no doubt prove to be energetic support for her presidential candidacy. Why is this? Nonbelievers might justifiably ask Mrs. Clinton and other Democratic leaders for the credit they truly deserve. – Arthur C. Brooks – Source

Caravaggio Inspires Another Idea

I am reading the book ‘Art: A New History‘ by Paul Johnson. I started in chapter 14 ‘New Realism of the 17′th Century’ which begins with the artist Caravaggio. I have only read a few chapters but so far I am impressed with Johnson’s writing abilities and I plan on purchasing a copy of the book (the copy I have is from the library).

Well on to my idea. You are going to need 15-20 large flat screen display panels and perhaps a few decent overhead projectors. This idea isn’t cheap. The displays will act as an important part of a virtual art gallery which can be set up anywhere you want. With a bit of drapery and lighting it won’t look half bad. Next you need to put together a series of lectures and presentations to go along with your mobile art gallery. Depending on how big you scale your operation you should be able to set up in a home, church or larger venue. You would want to spread out the displays so it feels like a gallery. Your guests would have time to peruse the art on display while enjoying food and drinks and then meet together for a short lecture on the artists or period of art on display. This could be repeated 4 or 5 times in an evening. I know my wife and I would love to do something like this. A few thoughts…

• You would need to look into copyright issues even if the work of art is very old, the image you download from the internet might be copyrighted. Most likely you will need to buy a higher resolution image than what you can find on the internet.
• I can think of many groups that would enjoy something like this. I am not sure they would pay much but you need to do something like this for the fun not the money. This would even be fun for kids and could perhaps be combined with some etiquette training.
• Ideally you would be able to play music from each display and each display would play the same music at the same time. This would be a very nice effect.
• You could also invite guest speakers from surrounding community who may have particular areas of expertise.
• You are must wear a black turtle neck if you want anyone to take you seriously.