2010 Posts

I try to limit the Blue Snake Blog posts that are introduced on the homepage. Any more than a dozen or so and it gets crowded and is slower to load. When that happens the older posts are moved to this page - at least for 2010.

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... 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... 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... 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... 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's not an easy matter to say... 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.... Continues here: Patriotism and Flag Worship

Radical Forgiveness - April 12, 2010

To truly forgive is to engage in radical forgiveness. What does that mean? It has to do with the recognition of error or sin as entirely human and even universal. This is what Jesus meant when He said that "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." ...Many people think that forgiveness is some kind of generosity toward sinners. People sin, and we see it as... Continues here... Forgiveness

Overcoming Negativity - April 6, 2010

Want to improve your quality of life? Overcoming negativity in your thinking is one of the most important steps you can take. The following is a slightly different perspective... The Negative Voices Within... There are negative identities or thought processes in us that have no interest in our lives or well being. They seek only to perpetuate themselves. They can do that only to the extent that we give them life through our attention to them and identification with them. In other words we feed these identities within our minds and they take control of us. You can take this as a metaphorical understanding or however it makes sense to you. It can certainly be described in many other ways, but it is something you can see the truth of if you watch your mind in action.... For example... Continues here: The Negative Voices Within

A Radical Budget Proposal - March 28, 2010

How to balance a budget? What are the priorities that should be in the U.S. Federal budget? Here are the official projected budget figures for fiscal year 2010 (I gathered this information in early 2010), followed by a budget that I would aim for in a few years, if it was up to me. You'll notice that entire agencies disappear... Continues here: My Budget Proposal

Fascist Health Care - March 15, 2010

The various health care plans being debated at the moment are full of crap, of course. Even those who are in favor of passage of this or that bill understand that they come at the price of pork to get votes. To some extent this is... Continues here: Obama's Health Care Plan

Biblical Evil - March 11, 2010

Anyone who has read much of the Old Testament - and has a bit of love in their hearts - can understand why the word evil is used to describe some of the ideas found there. The god whose word this is supposed to be commands, demands and suggests the most horrible things. Here are a few examples, along with my commentary. The bible quotes that follow are... Continues here: Evil Bible Quotes

Do We Have Patriotic Duties? - March 01, 2010

Patriotic duties? You probably don't realize your own arrogance in telling me what I should do for you. What's that you say? You aren't telling me to do anything for you? Well, actually, you're doing precisely that if you claim I have some duty to "our" country. You might respond to this by saying "You do owe something to your country, but I'm not asking something of you for myself." Really? What is a country if not.. Continues here: Patriotic Nonsense