tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-82484952011-11-22T15:20:35.825-07:00<center>(Philosophy, Politics and Economics from a Neocalvinist Minarchist)</center><br> <center>"Learn as much by writing as by reading." ~ Lord Acton</center>James Frank Solíshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17694957546165747971noreply@blogger.comBlogger9851100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8248495.post-64710891064887264332011-11-22T15:16:00.003-07:002011-11-22T15:20:35.836-07:00

Desert Spirituality for Reformed People (11)You greatly delude yourself...if you think that one thing is demanded from the layman and another from the monk.... Because all must rise to the same height.... ~ St. John ChrysostomAn acquaintance of mine is going through all the things her deceased parents left behind in their house. It's been a trying time for her, deciding what to keep and what not

James Frank Solíshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17694957546165747971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8248495.post-50707340799958406082011-10-12T12:28:00.007-06:002011-10-12T12:42:44.458-06:00

Desert Spirituality for Reformed People (10)You greatly delude yourself...if you think that one thing is demanded from the layman and another from the monk.... Because all must rise to the same height.... ~ St. John ChrysostomIn the battle against the passions (i.e., spiritual warfare) there are three tactical errors we can make, three approaches to Christian living that should tell us we have

James Frank Solíshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17694957546165747971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8248495.post-555784041674308642011-08-16T12:05:00.000-06:002011-08-16T10:20:48.200-06:00

Desert Spirituality for Reformed People (9) You greatly delude yourself...if you think that one thing is demanded from the layman and another from the monk.... Because all must rise to the same height.... ~ St. John Chrysostom Last time, I provided a brief resumé of the passions, with a view to discussing the battle against them. Now I want to discuss entering the arena of spiritual warfare. As

James Frank Solíshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17694957546165747971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8248495.post-37499582207427292672011-06-03T07:29:00.005-06:002011-06-06T06:49:03.648-06:00

Desert Spirituality for Reformed People (8)You greatly delude yourself...if you think that one thing is demanded from the layman and another from the monk.... Because all must rise to the same height.... ~ St. John ChrysostomLove is the goal of the Christian life. God calls us to enter into the love life of the Holy Trinity. But, for most of us, despite all that God has done for us something

James Frank Solíshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17694957546165747971noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8248495.post-47622149723374713872011-04-29T17:00:00.002-06:002011-04-29T17:14:12.463-06:00

The WalkYou greatly delude yourself...if you think that one thing is demanded from the layman and another from the monk.... Because all must rise to the same height.... ~ St. John ChrysostomThe last post was on the purpose, or end, of the monastic life. This post begins a look at the means employed by monastics in achieving that end: the monastic disciplines.For most of Protestant and Reformed

James Frank Solíshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17694957546165747971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8248495.post-18586064425135840142011-04-20T17:00:00.002-06:002011-04-29T17:11:23.807-06:00

Goal of the Monastic LifeYou greatly delude yourself...if you think that one thing is demanded from the layman and another from the monk.... Because all must rise to the same height.... ~ St. John ChrysostomWhat were the desert monastics up to? What was the purpose of their asceticism? Why so much emphasis on fasting, prayer, silence and meditations? Among those of us in the Reformed Communion,

James Frank Solíshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17694957546165747971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8248495.post-10463079236179198712011-04-11T10:12:00.000-06:002011-04-11T10:12:00.250-06:00

Sixteen months on YouTube, and still generating comments like it was posted yesterday.

James Frank Solíshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17694957546165747971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8248495.post-35182224818223205462011-04-05T12:10:00.000-06:002011-04-05T12:12:27.249-06:00

St. AnthonyYou greatly delude yourself...if you think that one thing is demanded from the layman and another from the monk.... Because all must rise to the same height.... ~ St. John ChrysostomIn my last post I mentioned that Pachomius had studied for a time with St. Anthony of Egypt. In this post I want to write a bit about St. Anthony.Anthony was not the first Christian monk; neither was he the

James Frank Solíshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17694957546165747971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8248495.post-34494826251491820022011-03-03T10:06:00.010-07:002011-04-05T12:25:14.551-06:00

PachomiusYou greatly delude yourself...if you think that one thing is demanded from the layman and another from the monk.... Because all must rise to the same height.... ~ St. John ChrysostomSaint Pakhom, also known as Pachomius, is recognized by most as the founder of Christian monasticism of the cenobitic type, the type of monasticism with which we are most familiar.Pachomius was born in

James Frank Solíshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17694957546165747971noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8248495.post-61558138829704962922011-02-23T07:10:00.004-07:002011-04-05T12:26:09.542-06:00

Theology of the DesertYou greatly delude yourself...if you think that one thing is demanded from the layman and another from the monk.... Because all must rise to the same height.... ~ St. John ChrysostomYou shall remember all the way which the LORD your God has led you in the wilderness these forty years, that He might humble you, testing you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would

James Frank Solíshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17694957546165747971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8248495.post-83324755637608299842011-02-18T07:10:00.001-07:002011-02-18T08:12:20.502-07:00

And it's never a good time to decrease the tax rate.

James Frank Solíshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17694957546165747971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8248495.post-39335827070855763652011-02-08T12:11:00.013-07:002011-04-05T12:27:00.169-06:00

The Rise of the Monastic Movement"You greatly delude yourself...if you think that one thing is demanded from the layman and another from the monk.... Because all must rise to the same height...." ~ St. John ChrysostomIn my previous posting, I wrote, briefly, about the legitimacy of monasticism, suggesting that whatever its abuses, it is still worth trying to understand. I also suggested the

James Frank Solíshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17694957546165747971noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8248495.post-79143968236790147292011-01-31T12:25:00.006-07:002011-04-05T12:27:33.373-06:00

"You greatly delude yourself...if you think that one thing is demanded from the layman and another from the monk.... Because all must rise to the same height...." ~ St. John ChrysostomIntroduction: Legitimacy of Monastic LifeWith this posting I begin a new series, as the title suggests, on desert spirituality, with a view to relating it to the Christian walk of reformed Christians. I am also

James Frank Solíshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17694957546165747971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8248495.post-58281606691816431682010-12-07T15:06:00.004-07:002010-12-07T15:19:02.789-07:00

That is how E. J. Dionne E. J. Dionne saw it:[T]here are Republicans in Congress whose top priority is to force through legislation making the Bush-era tax cuts for the best-off Americans permanent, thus expanding the deficit by about $700 billion over the next decade.So on the one hand, we have to cut, cut, cut because fiscal catastrophe is looming. On the other, we have to make the problem

James Frank Solíshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17694957546165747971noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8248495.post-75470556375409666502010-11-29T20:07:00.003-07:002010-11-29T20:17:24.752-07:00

according to Nat Hentoff, quoting Paul Krugman, who came out and said on This Week that we would need "death panels". Krugman clarifies, here, but Hentoff thinks he's canting. So do I.

James Frank Solíshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17694957546165747971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8248495.post-30075430113952298112010-11-29T10:10:00.004-07:002010-11-29T10:30:53.733-07:00

and it's probably a good thing, too.The desire for such a protest is, at least to me, understandable. I am no fan of the new measures. In fact, I haven't been a fan of many of the other measures, all of which exclude--for politically correct reasons--the one measure which frankly makes the most sense, profiling. Like Charles Krauthammer recently put it:We pretend that we go through this nonsense

James Frank Solíshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17694957546165747971noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8248495.post-29050825167264750252010-11-09T12:24:00.000-07:002010-11-09T12:24:04.701-07:00

At least they don't want in our bedrooms.Until they can say they have found a connection between the environment (or something) and what goes on in there.

James Frank Solíshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17694957546165747971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8248495.post-68438507083183026262010-11-04T07:45:00.000-06:002010-11-04T08:47:30.758-06:00

Need more soup? Just add water.

James Frank Solíshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17694957546165747971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8248495.post-78943042670202091572010-10-28T12:07:00.006-06:002010-10-28T12:21:10.274-06:00

The following was posted to my Facebook page as a response to a similar piece by one of my friends. The original is re-printed below, for purposes of authorial attribution and needful context.Juan gets up at 6 a.m. and fills his coffeepot with water to prepare his morning coffee. The water is as clean and good as it was when his ancestors pumped it up from wells they dug themsleves without the

James Frank Solíshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17694957546165747971noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8248495.post-75389632413273167622010-10-11T12:14:00.000-06:002010-10-11T12:15:50.286-06:00

Hugh Hewitt was recently concerned with the President’s description, speaking in New Mexico (28 September), of why he was a Christian and what it meant to be a Christian. Question and answer are split between the two following videos, beginning at about 6:20 into the first posted video. Obama refers to a passage in Genesis and tacitly asserts that it conveys the notion that we are

James Frank Solíshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17694957546165747971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8248495.post-14084672105512928432010-09-17T21:37:00.000-06:002010-09-17T21:38:13.138-06:00

Breath-taking.That's what Michael Gallagher calls Inés Sainz, recently, and persistently, in the news for objecting to being harassed by Jets. Apparently, some of the Jets had difficulty buying her as a serious sports journalist. More apparently, this guy isn't buying her as a journalist, either:My favorite sideline reporter Inés Sainz was nice enough to pose in some bikinis for Esquire Mexico.

James Frank Solíshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17694957546165747971noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8248495.post-52714916077113349832010-09-10T15:15:00.000-06:002010-09-10T15:43:10.924-06:00

Michael Daly thinks Rush Limbaugh and others bear some (if not all) responsibility for Michael Enright's attack on cab driver, Ahmed Sharif. Never mind that Enright has a history of bizarre, drunken behavior, for which Limbaugh and others cannot be responsible. Last year, he was arrested in an apartment building while ranting about dead Marines. Residents hid in their apartments as Enright

James Frank Solíshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17694957546165747971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8248495.post-41533566986813608732010-09-07T10:28:00.003-06:002010-09-07T10:38:47.241-06:00

...and burn copies of their holy books.Not too sure that, after doing this (assuming they are serious about it) they will be able to claim to be those who pray for their enemies (Matthew 5.44) and seek to overcome evil with good (Romans 12.21).Morons.

James Frank Solíshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17694957546165747971noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8248495.post-58383556445602546112010-08-25T15:04:00.003-06:002010-08-25T15:11:30.313-06:00

I've been asked, via email and personal conversations, about the decrease in blogging activity. The short answer is, I've been working my through a required reading list, several, in fact, and for different purposes. (For one thing, I'm several issues behind in Faith and Philosophy. I have to leave it at that.Also, I've been involved elsewhere in on-line discussions on topics such as Arizona SB

James Frank Solíshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17694957546165747971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8248495.post-52072315425093217542010-07-23T12:03:00.002-06:002010-07-23T12:08:16.561-06:00

"We won’t know the full results of what we have done until the very institutions we have created, the regulations we have suggested and provided for are actually tested." ~ Sen. Chris DoddIn remarks delivered 13 July 2010, His Beatitude spoke, with reference to the recently signed financial reform bill of the end of an "era of irresponsibility". One must simply smile in order to avoid pulling out

James Frank Solíshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17694957546165747971noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8248495.post-9246913442242962172010-07-02T10:14:00.000-06:002010-07-02T10:19:05.855-06:00

[The President of the United States]shall take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed.... ~ U. S. Constitution, Art. I, section 3.Many people (including people on the right) are angry with the President for not issuing an Executive Order suspending enforcement of the Jones Act. Think of it: The President of the United States, constitutionally charged to see that the laws are faithfully

James Frank Solíshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17694957546165747971noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8248495.post-78516282695906977182010-06-28T12:25:00.000-06:002010-06-28T12:26:47.536-06:00

George Will on questions for Elean Kagan, here and here.Very, very excellent questions.

James Frank Solíshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17694957546165747971noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8248495.post-61906361602433657572010-06-28T06:52:00.001-06:002010-06-28T06:56:15.252-06:00

For those who receive updates via RSS feed, something like Google Reader, or Facebook, please do me a favor. Head over to www.deviantscholar.com. I have a new layout, thanks to the skills of my graphic designer little girl. Let me know what you think.Do me another favor. If you want a layout of your own, visit www.christyjanssen.com and contact Christy to get one of your own. And if you

James Frank Solíshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17694957546165747971noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8248495.post-26494372834378676672010-06-25T15:08:00.007-06:002010-06-25T15:18:40.894-06:00

These people -- it's never satisfactory for them just to warn parents, and (HORRORS!) let parents decide whether to buy their children Happy Meals which include toys. Of course, they have warned parents; but parents (darn them!) insist on buying Happy Meals for their children. Since the parents won't stop buying, the only alternative is to make McDonald's stop selling the offending product, the

James Frank Solíshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17694957546165747971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8248495.post-31707654064181630522010-06-23T20:37:00.008-06:002010-06-23T21:10:15.793-06:00

If a judge blocks a moratorium on off-shore drilling it presents a set of simple legal questions:(1) Does the President of the United States have the Constitutional authority to stop off-shore drilling? (And, if so, in which article or amendment are we to look for this authority?)(2) If the POTUS does have this authority, then under what circumstances is he legally authorized to do so?(3) Do the

James Frank Solíshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17694957546165747971noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8248495.post-80669038759534592062010-06-22T15:16:00.000-06:002010-06-22T15:33:32.662-06:00

Once upon a time many thought generals criticizing presidents was good for democracy. Now, it's a threat to civilian control of the military.

James Frank Solíshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17694957546165747971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8248495.post-8390733995457424582010-06-22T15:07:00.005-06:002010-06-23T10:13:25.622-06:00

The welfare of humanity is always the alibi of tyrants. ~ Albert CamusIt is easy to believe the story that the purpose of the $20 billions in "escrow" taken from BP is to make sure that BP meets its liability. But this is due to ignorance. The fact is, BP is already in process of meeting its liabilities. Soon after the spill, BP announced that it would pay all justifiable claims resulting from

James Frank Solíshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17694957546165747971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8248495.post-31148514975214376552010-06-16T15:08:00.001-06:002010-06-16T15:31:06.696-06:00

Governments never lie about anything, especially inflation

James Frank Solíshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17694957546165747971noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8248495.post-45130451126186102202010-06-16T12:30:00.000-06:002010-06-16T12:32:02.444-06:00

When I was growing up, table talk could be a boring experience because most of the talk, dominated as it was by my parents, usually involved business, especially finance. I've learned to be grateful for it, especially when listening to politicians.Of course, it's also the reason I think people like Nancy Pelosi are ignorant. Not because I don't like her policies. Quite the contrary, in fact. I

James Frank Solíshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17694957546165747971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8248495.post-30434207224473464232010-06-10T15:04:00.004-06:002010-06-10T16:05:57.000-06:00

Some are offended at the President's use of the word 'ass'. Frankly I don't find it offensive at all. It's one of my own favorite words, as, for example if I were to say something like, "The POTUS is an ass." But never mind that just now.It's not even offensive to me that he is looking for assess to kick. What is offensive is the general direction he's looking for this ass. This is a man who

James Frank Solíshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17694957546165747971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8248495.post-51778016088237263422010-06-04T10:06:00.004-06:002010-06-10T12:26:56.229-06:00

This video has been making the rounds on Facebook:Since she loves the word so much, let her hear from it:Hear the Word of the LORD, you who cant love for The Word. "This is what the LORD Almighty says: Reform your ways and your actions, and I will let you live in prosperity. But do not trust in deceptive words and say, 'This is the Word of the LORD, the Word of the LORD, the Word of the LORD!' If

James Frank Solíshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17694957546165747971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8248495.post-42892280880927159672010-06-03T10:15:00.000-06:002010-06-03T10:16:23.404-06:00

This reminds me of something I was saying here. It may be that, as Eland puts it, "Tea Partiers are right-wing Obama-haters rather than liberty-lovers. And like their icon Sarah Palin, they seem proudly ignorant of history." But they probably can more easily be transformed into the sort of liberty lovers Eland and I would like than leftists can be.

James Frank Solíshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17694957546165747971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8248495.post-86940851903693366102010-05-28T16:47:00.000-06:002010-05-28T16:49:11.156-06:00

In this interview with Mike Rosen, oilman Paul Teague explains the technical aspects of the oil spill -- and not just British Petroleum. Yeah, like the news media, who are largely so ignorant of off-shore drilling that they can't properly report on it. The number of lawsuits coming out of this, he says, is going to be huge.

James Frank Solíshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17694957546165747971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8248495.post-4985155182794340402010-05-28T13:23:00.001-06:002010-05-28T13:24:28.981-06:00

Paul Krugman wants us to know we are not Greece. Denver radio talk show host, Mike Rosen says it's only a matter of time. It's the government spending, stupid.

James Frank Solíshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17694957546165747971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8248495.post-7851247958375542652010-05-28T12:56:00.000-06:002010-05-28T13:00:04.382-06:00

In honor of Ken Salazar, I'm thinking that my new nick-name for the executive branch of the unfederal government will be The Boot.

James Frank Solíshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17694957546165747971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8248495.post-76360900526270286182010-05-26T15:10:00.006-06:002010-05-26T15:22:20.312-06:00

In a recent column, Cal Thomas was rightly critical of National Day of Prayer activities. However, in the course of his column, he offers the following critcism:Judge Barbara Crabb, a U.S. district judge in Wisconsin, recently ruled it is unconstitutional for the government to endorse the National Day of Prayer. She did not rule prayer unconstitutional, which would be an entirely different matter

James Frank Solíshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17694957546165747971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8248495.post-66582899911139310902010-05-20T15:16:00.004-06:002010-05-21T10:15:09.316-06:00

I just finished listening to the oral arguments in the Citizens United case, something I've been wanting to get to for some time. One can't deny she knows the law. Of course, it's her view of the Constitution and its application that would be objectionable. But there were some disturbing elements in her arguments.From the transcript:GENERAL KAGAN: There the strongest justification is the

James Frank Solíshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17694957546165747971noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8248495.post-10247119989679627622010-05-18T15:00:00.007-06:002010-05-18T15:12:38.820-06:00

"The effects of false and pernicious propaganda cannot be neutralized except by a thorough training in the art of analyzing its techniques and seeing through its sophistries." ~ Aldous Huxley, "Brave New World Revisited"The nomination of Elena Kagan reminds me of a recent column by E. J. Dionne, on what it is marxists -- I mean, liberals -- need to do in the fight over the Supreme Court.He begins

James Frank Solíshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17694957546165747971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8248495.post-59024176343854039842010-04-28T12:22:00.005-06:002010-04-28T12:34:46.716-06:00

The furor over Arizona entails belief that it is a crime to be in the United States, but not in any single state, illegally, as well as that enforcement of immigration laws requires racial profiling when performed by state agents but not federal agents. Right. We all know how ethically up-standing the unfederal government is.Limbaugh thinks what bothers the Left about Arizona is the left's need

James Frank Solíshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17694957546165747971noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8248495.post-83980375225063790062010-04-23T12:26:00.004-06:002010-04-23T12:34:19.578-06:00

An update to this post: Reader AdamJ writes:Paulson paid Goldman 15 million, not the other way around. Which is why Goldman was trying to help keep Paulson involved in portfolio selection. And the SEC doesn't claim that Goldman wasn't betting on Abacus to fail or to succeed. I suspect Goldman only lost that 90 million because they couldn't find a buyer for the 45-50 tranche in time before

James Frank Solíshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17694957546165747971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8248495.post-4473457932207977152010-04-22T06:45:00.006-06:002010-04-22T07:33:07.128-06:00

Deserta faciunt et pacem appellantAs is well known, last week the Securities and Exchange Commission charged Goldman Sachs with fraud. Since then both Republicans and Democrats have been using the case to promote their respective. For Democrats, Goldman Sachs demonstrates the need for more financial regulation. For Republicans the case raises questions about the involvement of some members of His

James Frank Solíshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17694957546165747971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8248495.post-49307856405526160362010-04-21T10:05:00.001-06:002010-04-21T10:52:14.055-06:00

So here's E.J. Dionne to tell us who the TEA partiers are, and aren't. Quite simply: they don't believe what the rest of us good folk believe. Apparently, this makes their beliefs false, although Dionne doesn't quite say that. Citing a New York Times and CBS News poll, what he does say is, in relevant part, this:[The poll's] findings suggest that the Tea Party is essentially the reappearance of

James Frank Solíshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17694957546165747971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8248495.post-39016487490309104142010-04-15T15:07:00.004-06:002010-04-15T15:16:15.496-06:00

I for one don't share Paul Rahe's optimism about this being conservatism's finest hour. For one thing my convenient alliance with conservatism (both neo- and paleo-) has become more tenuous than ever; so I'm not really looking to be optimistic in the first place. Better informed is Mark Steyn. Secondly, I don't think conservatism has The Young People. (Hyacinth Girl and Five Feet of Fury feel the

James Frank Solíshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17694957546165747971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8248495.post-38614886564631678832010-04-06T12:33:00.003-06:002010-04-06T12:38:11.423-06:00

Rush Limbaugh irritates the Left with his references to the Regime, rather than the Administration:"I've never seen language like this in the American press, referring to an elected representative government, elected in a totally fair, democratic, American election -- we will have another one in November, we'll have another one for president in a couple years -- fair, free, and wonderful

James Frank Solíshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17694957546165747971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8248495.post-76284409736570062322010-03-19T14:30:00.002-06:002010-03-19T14:33:38.762-06:00

"It’s these tactics that have appalled a majority of Americans to the point that the Senate Bill has overwhelmingly been rejected by the American people. When we try to explain that to Speaker Pelosi’s Caucus, we are threatened with criminal sanctions. We are told to shut up or face federal agents. Such treatment may be acceptable in the former Soviet Union, but it’s repulsive in the country I

James Frank Solíshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17694957546165747971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8248495.post-85517192970540350212010-03-02T12:24:00.002-07:002010-03-02T12:27:57.608-07:00

disguised as a speech on economic history.

James Frank Solíshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17694957546165747971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8248495.post-39271736826848681702010-02-19T15:10:00.006-07:002010-05-18T12:31:42.652-06:00

Razing the Servile State VIIThe churches and other religious institutions pronounce on many matters of politics; but monetary phenomena, such as paper money, central banks, dollarization, currency boards, and so on, are hardly mentioned at all. ~ Jörge Guido Hülsmann, The Ethics of Money Production.Some months ago, His Beatitude was on the Tonight Show (when Jay Leno was still there). During His

James Frank Solíshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17694957546165747971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8248495.post-30783501176469221312010-02-03T15:00:00.000-07:002010-02-03T15:14:52.960-07:00

as I was doing, below, and for which I was criticized by my old arch-nemesis, "Q":Just as the role of the state has transformed science and deformed it, the role of the state has been to deform education and learning. Compulsion and public tax support are the common destructive elements. The right-wing or tax-supported approach — the current matter of government aid to Lockheed, which developed

James Frank Solíshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17694957546165747971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8248495.post-57659089403931398292009-12-11T12:35:00.010-07:002009-12-18T14:53:05.167-07:00

Razing the Servile State VIWhenever I deny in conversation that we have collective duties (as I did here), I'm usually told, "Now, surely you agree that some things, like the education of our children, are so important as to be publicly funded." In fact, I don't. As I've said, we have no children; society has no children. The state has no children to educate. I have children; you have children.

James Frank Solíshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17694957546165747971noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8248495.post-65549379864699745182009-11-19T15:06:00.005-07:002009-11-30T22:03:56.750-07:00

Some historical perspective from Jefferey TuckerH/T: Instituto Juan de Mariana

James Frank Solíshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17694957546165747971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8248495.post-28401180920236745132009-11-17T12:22:00.003-07:002011-03-07T06:10:04.434-07:00

Razing the Servile State VAre we going to take the hands of the federal government completely off any effort to adjust the growing of national crops, and go right straight back to the old principle that every farmer is the lord of his own farm, and can do anything he wants, raise anything any old time, in any quantity, and sell any time he wants? ~ Franklin Delano RooseveltWe are one in the

James Frank Solíshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17694957546165747971noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8248495.post-37740215622227174822009-10-19T17:35:00.008-06:002009-11-19T12:26:32.230-07:00

(Razing the Servile State IV)[T]here is not in the British empire a man who more cordially loves a union with Great Britain than I do. But...I will cease to exist before I yield to a connection on such terms as the British Parliament propose.... ~ Thomas Jefferson.Habit is the most shameful disease because it makes us accept any misfortune, any pain, any death. Through habit we live with odious

James Frank Solíshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17694957546165747971noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8248495.post-66591214533225062162009-09-30T12:27:00.003-06:002009-09-30T12:31:14.656-06:00

That's how Garrison Keillor feels about those of us who think the present healthcare reform schemes are not the best course of action:[O]ne starts to wonder if the country wouldn’t be better off without them and if Republicans should be cut out of the health-care system entirely and simply provided with aspirin and hand sanitizer. Thirty-two percent of the population identifies with the

James Frank Solíshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17694957546165747971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8248495.post-55570468313388384002009-09-24T17:29:00.002-06:002009-09-24T17:29:00.787-06:00

"When I use a word," Humpty Dumpty said..., "it means just what I choose it to mean -- neither more nor less.""The question is," said Alice, "whether you can make words mean so many different things.""The question is," said Humpty Dumpty, "which is to be master -- that's all." -- Lewis Carroll, Through the Looking Glass (Ch. 6)I didn't know this (neither would I ever have guessed), but,

James Frank Solíshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17694957546165747971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8248495.post-3493286370503927642009-09-21T18:30:00.014-06:002009-09-21T18:40:43.321-06:00

Did the President of the United States knowingly utter a falsehood when he said that his healthcare plans would not cover those in the country illegally? Joe Wilson thought so, and said so. (If it was not so, then...uh...why did the loophole have to be removed? And why is Luis Gutierrez, of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, only now angry with the president? He wasn't angry before the

James Frank Solíshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17694957546165747971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8248495.post-50946840581873615502009-09-14T17:36:00.020-06:002009-10-09T15:13:11.206-06:00

As I've mentioned before, I vividly recall the day I took my first step toward embracing capitalism (well, capitalism lite, anyway, not laissez-faire):I was in Germany on a military exercise. During the course of this exercise, my tank platoon were just outside a small German village. As frequently happened, some of the local boys (in the 12-14 year range) came out to check out my tank. While

James Frank Solíshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17694957546165747971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8248495.post-14637498012207385992009-08-31T12:24:00.011-06:002009-08-31T12:36:04.799-06:00

A man said to the universe,"Sir, I exist.""However," replied the universe,"The fact has not created in me"A sense of obligation." -- Stephen CraneA perennial complaint during the Republican Captivity II was that myriads of college graduates were having to take low-paying, even minimum wage jobs. College graduates were "flipping burgers". Oh, the Charles Dickens of it all. That was bad news,

James Frank Solíshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17694957546165747971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8248495.post-65636850545053128872009-08-28T07:49:00.018-06:002009-08-28T12:45:14.749-06:00

Admirers of the late Edward Kennedy (R.I.P.), aware that a healthcare plan itself isn't very popular, now think we should, despite objections to a given plan, go ahead and support it now. Brian Williams has seen an email circulating, suggesting a heathcare reform bill, rather than flowers. The symbolism of a dead man, substituted for the substance of the lousy bill under discussion.Sure, it

James Frank Solíshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17694957546165747971noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8248495.post-88626859542231386882009-08-25T15:13:00.000-06:002009-08-25T15:13:00.499-06:00

One of the ironies in this (aforementioned) article is the complaint that protesters against government-option healthcare coverage are hindering the so-called discussion about health care. It's ironic because there is already a bill. Actually, I'm using the word 'ironic' to be kind. It's actually dishonest. But I digress.Quite clearly, with the President's demand for a ready-to-sign bill, the

James Frank Solíshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17694957546165747971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8248495.post-13361126310536711512009-08-25T12:27:00.000-06:002009-08-25T12:22:43.325-06:00

Like suffering -- suffering can change a man. Or, the right woman.On the other hand, so can the right food. Like Volcano Nachos. I'm not a big fan of Taco Bell: I grew up eating as "food" what most of you people call Mexican food. But I do really like this commercial:Volcano Nachos...changes a man. Not since the days of the little chihuahuah, have I enjoyed a Taco Bell commercial.Pero, no quiero

James Frank Solíshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17694957546165747971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8248495.post-85230393180462715882009-08-19T15:17:00.000-06:002009-08-19T15:17:00.203-06:00

That, this time, according to Mike Lupica.Not a word in actual support of the plan. Not one word explaining wherein any complaints about the contents of the are false. More words about the moral turpitude of the protesters, as if it could not be true that (1) the protesters really are as immoral as Lupica and others say and (2) the plan is exactly what the protesters say it is.For present

James Frank Solíshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17694957546165747971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8248495.post-8909244661526562012009-08-14T17:23:00.000-06:002009-08-14T17:23:00.172-06:00

If I just had had enough time, this is what I would have written on the subject. Beautiful. There is a trajectory of socialism, regardless of the good intentions of many socialists.... [Y]ou take things such as health care, things that are traditionally understood as within the ambit of individual liberty and free choice; you move such things into the ambit of state responsibility as the welfare

James Frank Solíshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17694957546165747971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8248495.post-13453968780561745122009-08-13T12:24:00.002-06:002009-08-13T12:24:00.555-06:00

That's right. You'd have to be a socialist in order to be a Nazi. The word comes from the German name for the National Socialist German Workers' Party, Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei. We cannot expect that fact to hinder people like Nancy Pelosi from making assertions about her opponents like this, because she saw some swastikas:The question was about the legitimacy of the

James Frank Solíshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17694957546165747971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8248495.post-6309584329252353152009-08-13T10:50:00.004-06:002009-08-14T07:41:40.676-06:00

Let's have something clear. There is no need to be polite when the proposition to be debated is whether you will accept loss of freedom. No one denies the left's vision of healthcare reform results in losses of freedoms. We will debate a great many things, but not that.If Kondrake and Krauthammer had been in Sparta when the Persian emissaries arrived, they'd have urged Leonidas to discuss the

James Frank Solíshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17694957546165747971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8248495.post-9785926509399187832009-08-11T12:14:00.006-06:002009-08-11T12:32:25.842-06:00

At least, according to Chris Matthews and Cynthia Tucker. (H/T: Newsbusters.)These people clearly have no arguments in support of the plan itself. So they demonize opponents. There is, apparently, only a problem when some people yell; others may do so freely, so long as they can feign righteous indignation. But if being thought a racist or bigot by the likes of Chris Matthews (or un-American by

James Frank Solíshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17694957546165747971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8248495.post-11278575587287087142009-08-07T15:14:00.001-06:002009-09-25T13:00:17.942-06:00

Truth does not matter to the left. It never has. The left enjoy to pretend otherwise; but they are just pretending. This is why the left end up turning policy arguments into discussions of the moral failures of their opponents. That is to say, for the left, there is something immoral about disagreeing with the left. And this is odd, considering that the left also do not believe in morality.Take,

James Frank Solíshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17694957546165747971noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8248495.post-76897396271978097602009-08-05T07:42:00.000-06:002009-08-05T07:42:01.101-06:00

One "Married Jake" has a list of seven guys men are intimidated by. My personal sentiments are in italics.1. Anyone who plays the guitarI can't play the guitar. I can't do anything except for type and make guacamole. Ergo: I have always kept my women away from dudes with "axes."Well, I also can type and make guacamole; and I don't play the guitar either. I started to learn in my youth, but was

James Frank Solíshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17694957546165747971noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8248495.post-20048664507830809202009-08-04T17:42:00.005-06:002009-08-04T20:11:13.136-06:00

Fans of His Beatitude are upset over this:The poor dears.One fan wants us to know it is Batman, not the Joker who is the socialist. After all, the Joker is really some sort of anarchist, while Batman, according to this O-fan, is the one "who champions the cause of the people and believes in a society where everyone works together for the common good. I mean he’s basically Leon Trotsky in a cape

James Frank Solíshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17694957546165747971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8248495.post-30528872307186334592009-08-04T12:28:00.000-06:002009-08-04T12:30:19.016-06:00

Apparently, reporting your neighbor to the government is wrong only when a right-winger wants you to do it. The offense? Saying things about the healthcare reform plan that seem "fishy".

James Frank Solíshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17694957546165747971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8248495.post-52166226423235579362009-07-28T15:10:00.002-06:002009-08-04T10:18:24.105-06:00

Limbaugh has made a lot of (legitimate) hay out of the rather tame verbal beating one Robert Broadus of Clinton, Maryland, gave to Senator Ben Cardin on the subject of healthcare.It is interesting to note, that in responding to Broadus, Cardin can only accuse him -- before the fact -- of being part of the cause of the healthcare problem. If you don't have healthcare insurance then, res ipsa

James Frank Solíshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17694957546165747971noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8248495.post-89896777958013934062009-07-27T12:17:00.000-06:002009-07-27T12:17:00.951-06:00

I know it's been going around a while, but it is funny. And I'm still just goofing off.As a bonus, here's an announcement from His Beatitude's teleprompter:

James Frank Solíshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17694957546165747971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8248495.post-11382916760271655682009-07-25T14:29:00.010-06:002009-07-25T14:42:13.172-06:00

Got this via email:Dear DiaryJust moved to Texas ! Now this is a state that knows how to live!!Beautiful sunny days and warm balmy evenings. What a place! It is beautiful. I've finally found my home. I love it here. June 14th:Really heating up. Got to 100 today. Not a problem. Live in an air-conditioned home and drive an air-conditioned car. What a pleasure to see the sun everyday like this. I'm

James Frank Solíshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17694957546165747971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8248495.post-86755049667031225752009-07-15T10:13:00.007-06:002009-10-19T17:43:09.046-06:00

(Razing the Servile State III)The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, until Shiloh comes, and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples. ~ Genesis 49.10In my previous posting on this subject, in which I sought to explain how a Christian's resistance to the state could be consistent with Romans 13, I made much of the notion of the consent of the

James Frank Solíshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17694957546165747971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8248495.post-82906660846349290772009-07-09T10:16:00.003-06:002009-07-09T10:24:27.189-06:00

This ain’t John McCain’s logrolling senatorial club any more. This is a deadly serious attempt to realize the vision of the 1960s and to fundamentally transform the United [Servile] States of America. This is the fusion of Communist dogma, high ideals, gangster tactics, and a stunning amount of self-loathing. For the first time in history, the patrician class is deliberately selling its own

James Frank Solíshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17694957546165747971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8248495.post-35861624526741934362009-06-30T17:19:00.001-06:002009-06-30T17:19:01.055-06:00

Think of any question regarding a matter of fact. Will it rain tomorrow? Does light really travel at 186,282.39705122 miles per second (in a vacuum)? Does caffeine stunt your growth?Normally, even in vehement disagreements over these matters, vitriol is minimal. But for some types of people, there are orthodox answers to certain questions. Deny the orthodox answers and boy are you in trouble. The

James Frank Solíshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17694957546165747971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8248495.post-64290202810195999172009-06-26T17:13:00.000-06:002009-06-26T17:13:00.731-06:00

A passage relevant to our times from Murray Rothbard, which I offer with a brief commentary:Marxists have correctly perceived that two sets of conditions are necessary for the victory of any program of radical social change; what they call the “objective” and the subjective” conditions. The subjective conditions are the existence of a self-conscious movement dedicated to the triumph of the

James Frank Solíshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17694957546165747971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8248495.post-23038755357753157402009-06-25T17:25:00.000-06:002009-06-25T17:25:01.267-06:00

And how I wish they would.My wife and I had a slight, and friendly, disagreement over breakfast this morning about the revelations of Mark Sanford's mysterious disappearance over the weekend. Her position generally agreed with what seems to be the majority report on the issue: that the governor's absence would have been a grave liability in the event of some crisis, blah, blah, blah. I mean even

James Frank Solíshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17694957546165747971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8248495.post-10200594541715918902009-06-19T17:52:00.008-06:002009-10-19T17:39:56.463-06:00

(Razing the Servile State II)We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. --That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of

James Frank Solíshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17694957546165747971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8248495.post-732390361193215982009-06-12T15:08:00.001-06:002009-09-25T13:22:36.143-06:00

[T]rends of evolution can change, and hitherto they almost always have changed. But they changed only because they met firm opposition. The prevailing trend toward...the servile state will certainly not be reversed if nobody has the courage to attack its underlying dogmas. ~ Ludwig von MisesMises was correct to identify courage as a necessary component in beating back the "servile state". (He'd

James Frank Solíshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17694957546165747971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8248495.post-20168241295512861152009-06-01T17:27:00.000-06:002009-06-01T12:37:14.560-06:00

Sotomayor, the story goes, should be called to account for this quote, making her, Rush Limbaugh's words, a reverse racist:I would hope that a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn't lived that life....That, apparently, is what passes as an attempt at borking. The quote is much less offensive (though

James Frank Solíshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17694957546165747971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8248495.post-2679167617360541982009-05-28T17:14:00.000-06:002009-05-28T17:14:00.152-06:00

As the in-fighting among Republicans continues, the moderates think conservatives should capitulate and permit the confirmation of Judge Sotomayor without a fight. This, because it will harm the party to be seen objecting to the appointment of a hispanic woman to the Supreme Court.Conservatives seem to think she should be borked for these offending remarks (among others):H/T: AlthouseMuch more

James Frank Solíshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17694957546165747971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8248495.post-56554675246645182532009-05-21T12:13:00.004-06:002009-05-21T12:16:49.864-06:00

Well, you can applaud the voters, but in the end they will be ignored.So, California voters have said "No" to new taxes. (According to the LA Times, this vote was an improper exercise of voter power.) On hearing the news yesterday morning, I was tempted to celebrate. I was listening to two bankers who have a brief (ten minutes) radio show talk about the California vote. One of the two is from

James Frank Solíshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17694957546165747971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8248495.post-49520468312374982452009-05-19T17:13:00.000-06:002009-05-19T17:13:00.464-06:00

In the bad old days of private slavery, the overseers used whips to keep those slaves in line. Now in the good old days of public slavery the overseer uses fiat regulation to keep us in line. In the bad old days, if the overseer had wanted a slave to drive less, he'd give the slave a whippin'. Now, when they want us to drive less they give us a regulation.There is a bit of common ground. In both

James Frank Solíshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17694957546165747971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8248495.post-3438019976983529282009-05-18T17:45:00.000-06:002009-05-18T17:45:00.635-06:00

There are some comments on His Beatitude's Notre Dame speech, posted here.To His Beatitude's certainty that there is some common ground shared by "pro-life" and "pro-choice" position, one "Lou Dignazio" offers this retort:The trouble with slavery was the idea that Blacks were not "human".The trouble with abortion is the idea that an unborn baby is not "human"There is no common ground here...

James Frank Solíshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17694957546165747971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8248495.post-26357656432958563472009-05-17T07:37:00.018-06:002009-05-17T13:15:59.772-06:00

"Wives, be in subjection unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ also is the head of the Church: being Himself the Savior of the body. But as the Church is subject to Christ, so let the wives also be to their husbands in everything." ~ Ephesians 5.22-24.It is a well known fact that the Scriptures teach submission of wives to husbands, an

James Frank Solíshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17694957546165747971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8248495.post-34167162625031835862009-05-15T17:22:00.001-06:002009-05-15T17:22:00.612-06:00

There are two elements of the Carrie Prejean matter that I found fascinating, from an ethical perspective. First, because she said she believed, on biblical grounds, that marriage should be between a man and a woman, she has received attention because of some photos taken while modeling. It is fascinating because her position is based on an explicit prohibition in Scripture. She is vilified, on

James Frank Solíshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17694957546165747971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8248495.post-76600087159896108262009-05-13T23:02:00.001-06:002009-05-13T23:03:45.880-06:00

I'm not on the His-Beatitude-is-not-a-natural-born-American bandwagon, but it is interesting to note something about his response to "quo warranto" requests that he prove his citizenship and, thus, his fitness for office.While he will release "torture" memos, and contemplate releasing "torture" photos, he won't take the simple measure of releasing his birth certificate:As Jerome Corsi, WND senior

James Frank Solíshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17694957546165747971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8248495.post-27727336437773559532009-05-13T10:13:00.000-06:002009-05-13T10:13:00.212-06:00

Ten thousand dead people have received stimulus checks.I bet a lot of them voted, too.

James Frank Solíshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17694957546165747971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8248495.post-24293171358555652352009-05-12T10:05:00.010-06:002009-05-12T10:14:10.370-06:00

There is a way of looking at the Messiah's economic plan, which should allay all our fears about the costs. It is an explicitly Marxist way of looking at it: Money isn't real.That's what someone should tell Rush Limbaugh. Maybe then, he'll stop worrying about the $1.8 trillion budget deficit and the $9 trillion dollar national debt. As the saying goes, "Freedom isn't free." And the best kind of

James Frank Solíshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17694957546165747971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8248495.post-53008476059372713272009-05-06T15:25:00.000-06:002009-05-06T15:25:00.513-06:00

Hip-hop is not torture, but that's something completely different.John Demjanjuk is supposed to be extradited to Germany. He objects to the extradition on the grounds that he is going to be tortured. German authorities say no, he's not going to be tortured.Now, the "torture" in this case is, according to Demjanjuk, the simple act of being transported to Germany at all, because his health is so

James Frank Solíshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17694957546165747971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8248495.post-68224459241582105512009-05-06T10:04:00.005-06:002009-05-06T10:15:00.615-06:00

Miguel Guanipa, here, describes "a federally sanctioned procedure that is performed on a daily basis in one of the most vibrant democracies on earth, and which has been in place for almost forty years." The procedure he describes is, in fact, part of the required curriculum at medical schools and executed by highly skilled, and highly compensated, professionals. It is also executed solely upon

James Frank Solíshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17694957546165747971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8248495.post-69758295143667764612009-05-04T17:27:00.000-06:002009-05-04T17:27:00.676-06:00

Mark C. Taylor, of Columbia University, argues that we should End the University as We Know It.David Koyzis, of Redeemer University College, has this to say of it: While he may be guilty of a certain degree of rhetorical overkill, I heartily approve of his emphasis on what might be called interdisciplinary renewal within the universityAnd quotes this passage from Taylor's article:There can be no

James Frank Solíshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17694957546165747971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8248495.post-73123524529409431442009-05-01T12:30:00.002-06:002009-05-01T12:33:36.168-06:00

Michelle Malkin's legal sources have compiled sketches of Obama’s top three likely picks and their records. She advises: "Gird your loins."Good advice. Wait til you get a load of them.Or, as Jim Carey said in "Mask": "Hold on to your lug nuts! It's time for an over-haul!"Here's a clip. The line I quoted is about 2 minutes and 30 seconds in.

James Frank Solíshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17694957546165747971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8248495.post-69343889963856729742009-05-01T10:54:00.001-06:002009-05-01T10:56:00.543-06:00

Michael Dorf thinks it is at least possible, citing a more detailed explanation, here. Fuller, subsequent discussion, here.

James Frank Solíshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17694957546165747971noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8248495.post-70642150802118734862009-04-30T15:26:00.007-06:002009-04-30T15:42:33.236-06:00

Clifford Thies thinks so and argues on three grounds: the inalienable right of secession, the international law of secession, and the US law of secession.Interesting article. And no, he isn't arguing that any state should secede, at least not yet. But I think it clear he believes the day will come, though not, perhaps in our life-time. I hope not. I don't mind belonging to a federal republic; but

James Frank Solíshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17694957546165747971noreply@blogger.com0