New Ideas and Different Perspectives

Though The Blue Snake website consists of my own new ideas and different perspectives, I'm not posting my email address. My name is Bishop Ateo, and I'm not ashamed of my radical, unpatriotic, blasphemous and non-conventional way of looking at the world. I'm comfortable with whatever I've written - at least at the time I wrote it. But due to my other websites and blogs, I already get my fill of complaints from the offended and emails from people hoping to save my soul.

My most provocative writings will be found here, and I just don't want to deal with more negative feedback. If you disagree with a thought, create a blog and say what you have to say. If you're too offended by my views, stop reading. I don't force my opinions on anyone, and nobody is forced to be here, so I feel free to write whatever I like.

Recent Ideas, Perspectives, Thoughts and Opinions

More on the Meaning of Property Rights - August 17, 2010

...we allow for the taking of what is "ours." This seems to negate the concept of property rights. It doesn't if we see them as a matter of what is best for people - starting with what is best for the individual owner - but not excluding the interests of others. We seek our personal interests as individuals, but a government seeks (we hope) to serve the interests of everyone, or at least the people within it's jurisdiction. Thus we balance property rights of the individual against what is best for... Continues here: Meaning of Property Rights

A Radical Look at Defending Ourselves - August 2, 2010

We have many differing ideas about what makes a good national defense strategy, but they often don't reference the more basic values. In other words, arguments are made as to how to defend the country without asking the important questions about what is being defended and why. This is how we arrive at the nonsense of defending our "freedoms" by attacking freedom through warrantless wiretaps, and suspending the rights for anyone accused of being an "enemy combatant." ...I have a different take on the whole matter... Continues here: National Defense

Sand Castles and Property Rights - July 21, 2010

To understand property rights, we need only imagine children at a public beach, what they do, and how they might interact with each other. If a child were to simply scratch a line in the sand around an acre of beach, and claim that it is his, the other children would probably ignore his claim - and rightfully so. A person doesn't gain the right to something just by drawing a line around it, despite the fact that this is how some countries have been created or expanded in the past. On the other hand, what if a child spends an hour carefully constructing an intricate sand castle? If we were to observe this, we would... Continues here: Property Rights

Fuzzy Thinking - July 7, 2010

We are not perfect thinkers, and so all engage in fuzzy thinking. Well, at least I am not perfect, and I think it is a safe assumption that this is true of all the rest of you. That's okay. We don't really have the time to think carefully and fully about everything, and intuition can handle many of the decisions we need to make.

On the other hand, when the decisions are very important to us personally, or when the thoughts affect others in important ways, we would do well to at least recognize the fuzziness in our analysis - or our entire lack of analysis. I was reminded of this on... Continues here: Fuzzy Thinking

Obama and Gays in the Military - June 24, 2010

For some reason gays seem to think Obama is their friend in Washington despite the fact that he made it clear during his campaign that he was against gay marriage. Now he has hesitated to integrate the military despite the fact that many of the top generals are in favor of letting gays serve openly. Essentially requiring gay recruits to lie about their sexual orientation is bad policy. It makes them subject to ... Continues here: Gays in the Military

Our Choice to Mourn - Jun 14, 2010

We might agree that mourning a loss, if not strictly necessary, is at least normal. We suffer when we lose a job we have had for years... We lose sleep over the loss of a major part of our invested retirement funds when the market crashes... On the other hand, when a friend or family member dies, we not only suffer the feelings of loss, but we are under pressure to suffer more - as though this proves love for the departed. The truth is that... Continues here: Mourning

My Thoughts on Memorial Day - May 31, 2010

It is Memorial Day, and the nonsense is all over the television. According to the cultural tradition, all soldiers should be honored as they all somehow protect our freedom. Interestingly, though, as I approach almost fifty years of age, I cannot think of a war in my lifetime that protected my freedom or sought to preserve my rights. Vietnam was lost and we lost no freedom, but did lose the lives of 50,000 men and women. Iraq was never a threat to us. Afghanistan was... Continues here: Memorial Day Nonsense

A Necessary Evil? - Saturday, May 29, 2010

The basic concept of a necessary evil is that sometimes we have to do evil in order to do good. A simple example would be the killing of a dictator, which saves thousands of people from torture and death. Do evil to do good, the theory goes. I don't accept the premise. Here is my own statement on the matter:

If it is evil it isn't necessary, and if it is truly necessary it can't be evil.

To understand this we have to ask what what the concepts of evil and necessary refer to. The latter is pretty straightforward. Most definitions say... Continues here: Is There a Necessary Evil?

Judge or Criminal? - Monday, May 10, 2010

Sometimes it is hard to escape the impression that criminal court judges are the criminals in some cases. Specifically, I am referring to those judges who are willing to enforce any law, no matter their personal judgment of its validity. Sadly this seems to be all of those who rule over courtrooms. Now, it is not an easy matter to say when a judge is... Continues here... Criminal Court Judges

Is Human Survival Important? - Monday, May 3, 2010

Why do we care about human survival? I'm not referring to the fact that we want ourselves and others to stay alive and be well, but the idea that the human race needs to go on forever. I was watching a program put together with the help of Steven Hawking, and he brought up the fact that our planet is likely to be damaged beyond repair at some point, whether by ourselves or outside factors. He suggested that this made it important for us to move into space... Continues here: Survival of the Human Race

Piss on the Flag - April 20, 2010

That title sums up my attitude toward national flags, including the American flag, but I would probably not urinate on them in reality. Doing so would simply offend people rather than change minds. I don't want to be offensive just to get attention or to insult other's beliefs. However, in the right context, meaning here on this site full of relatively radical ideas, the offensive title catches attention and invites you to read what I have to say, without my throwing it in your face. If you are too offended after all, you can close the page.

When I was a child, I watched as a young boy threw the American flag on the ground in front of his father. This didn't mean anything to the boy, who hadn't yet been poisoned by sacred symbols and patriotism. His father, however, immediately turned red, violently grabbed his son, and shook him while screaming about.... Continues here: Patriotism and Flag Worship

Other Pages of New Ideas and Different Perspectives

More on the Meaning of Property Rights - What are the limits to ownership?
The Blue Snake in the Sky? - Where the name of the site came from, and what it is about.
National Defense Strategy - A radical new look.
A Definition of Property Rights - And more on the origin.
Sand Castles and Property Rights - How do we own things?
Fuzzy Thinking - Two examples of cultural ideas based on fuzzy though processes.
Obama, Politics, and Gays in the Military - A desire to discriminate or just political cowardice?
Mourning a Loss - How much should we suffer over the death of a loved one?
Memorial Day Nonsense - What are we honoring?
Necessary Evil? - Is there any truth to the concept?
Are Criminal Court Judges the Criminals? - More often than we might think.
Is Human Survival Important? - We want to survive, but why the human race?
Piss on the Flag - At least metaphorically.
The American Flag is not My Flag - Why no flag deserves our loyalty.
Radical Forgiveness - It isn't a gift to the sinner.
Overcoming Negativity - The how and why of dealing with the dark side of your mind.
A Radical Budget Proposal - Eliminate this 100 billion, add that 400 billion - and balance it all!
Health Care Plan - Give the corporations their profits or go to jail.
Evil Bible Quotes - Some truly loathsome excerpts fro the Old Testament - and my commentary.
More Offensive Bible Quotes
Stupid Bible Quotes
Patriotic Nonsense