Philly to Bloggers: Pay Up

by PerlStalker | 7:36 pm, August 23, 2010

The City of Philadelphia is demanding that any blogger who makes even the slightest amount of money pay a $50 annual (or $300 lifetime) fee. That’s a pretty high number given how little most bloggers actually make off of their sites.

The Philadelphia…

No More Secrecy in Colorado Supreme Court judicial hiring

by CTBC Director | 4:11 pm, August 23, 2010

“What’s good for the goose is good for the gander…”
We find ourselves in rare agreement with the Denver Post’s editorial board, as they seek greater transparency in the hiring process for government officials, calling for “No More Secrecy in Aurora hiring.”
But if “closed-door meetings to interview city manager candidates” is “disheartening” to the Denver Post [...]

Stop Criticizing President Obama for Playing Golf

by David Kopel | 1:38 pm, August 23, 2010

(David Kopel) In this polarized period of American politics, many people on the Right have been taking cheap shots at President Obama because he plays golf so much.
These golf-related criticisms are at least factually accurate, in contrast to the lies that Michael Moore told about George Bush supposedly vacationing much of the time. However, the criticisms of President [...]

Colorado Ranks #5 in Non-Teaching School Employees Per Student

by Eddie | 12:22 pm, August 23, 2010

So this morning I ran across an interesting posting from Mark Tapscott of the Washington Examiner, based on a little research “to see which states have the public school districts with the most top-heavy bureaucracies.” As Tapscott explains, he took U.S. Census Bureau data to build a table and find out which states have the [...]

Bad eggs = more government.

by David K. Williams, Jr. | 9:08 am, August 23, 2010

“You never want a serious crisis to go to waste.” –Rahm EmanuelRahm wasn’t thinking big enough. A crisis doesn’t have to be serious to take advantage of it.Obama’s Food and Drug Administration Commissioner, Margaret Hamburg, is taking advantage of…

“Don’t say the “the law will reduce costs and deficit.”

by Brian Schwartz | 6:00 am, August 23, 2010

“Don’t say the “the law will reduce costs and deficit.” This is the last line on the final slide of a presentation given during a conference call organized by Families USA, a strong supporter of the health control legislation, HR 3590. Reports Ben Smith at Politico: Key White House allies are dramatically shifting their attempts [...]

Thoughts on atheism

by Rossputin | 5:59 am, August 23, 2010

H/T Christoper Sanders

Over at Slate.com (not surprisingly), Ron Rosenbaum wrote a piece entitled The Agnostic Manifesto which aims to lay out difference between Rosenbaum’s self-proclaimed agnosticism and my view on such matters, atheism.

It’s an interesting article, worth a read, but I think it doth protest too much.

My response to Rosenbaum (posted as a comment on the Slate web site) is as follows:

————-

One of my favorite maxims when it comes to the world of deep thought, such as that which Ron Rosenbaum tries to inhabit with this article, is that ideas are not responsible for the people who believe them.

So it is with the “New Atheists”, not least people like Richard Dawkins who try to convert from a career in science to a career in preaching to the rest of us about their atheism.

Perhaps it is this rather unappealing know-it-all aspect of Dawkins and his ilk which causes Rosenbaum, with some good reason, to want to disassociate himself from them.

However, despite the media attention given to the Dawkins/Hitchens crowd or to small groups (or even single) atheists who sue every time they find a quasi-religious symbol on government property, there are plenty of atheists (including me) who don’t believe in god simply because we find the prospect untenable, our thinking much along the lines of Occam’s Razor.

While I can’t say I know for a metaphysical absolute certainty that there is no supreme being, I do not buy the logic that just because science doesn’t have all the answers yet (and admittedly may never have them all), therefore we must suddenly leap to the conclusion or at least measurable possibility that there is a supreme being, something for which I and many others can find not a shred of evidence.

I don’t see a logical path to conclude that it’s more likely for Jesus to have been the son of god than for the right answer being held by the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster or that Douglas Adams was right when he told us in the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy that the answer to the ultimate question of life, the universe, and everything is 42.

Of course science doesn’t have all the answers.  And most likely it never will.  Two basic points to make. First, science has more answers with each passing year and (except for scientists corrupted by the primarily-political “global warming” movement) science is open for discussion and correction, unlike theism.  Some people argue that the fact that science needs correction from time to time is its fatal flaw. That, of course, is a ridiculous claim insofar as whether it damages the fundamental importance and value of science to explaining the world in and around us.  Furthermore, even religions find tenets of their belief systems occasionally “reinterpreted” by those faiths’ leaders, though not in a way which questions their fundamental belief in their god, prophet, or whomever.

Second, given the tendency of the passage of time, not least of time on a geological scale, to damage information and given the inherent characteristic of singularities (such as black holes and the Big Bang) to prevent any access to data regarding matter in or created by (outright, or as a change in form) the singularity which existed prior to the singularity, it’s not just a guess that science will never have all the answers.  It’s a certainty that it won’t.

But again, that doesn’t mean we should jump to a faith-based solution to fill in those blanks; just because we don’t have the answer in scientific terms doesn’t mean there is one.

To me, the odds that we can explain so much without god means that it is vanishingly unlikely that we need god to explain what we haven’t figure out yet.  Again, Occam’s Razor guides the way.

Do I know for an absolute certainty that there is no supreme being? No. But my level of belief – and I admit that’s all we have on something we can never know for sure – is so certain that I consider myself an atheist rather than an agnostic.

Some agnostics, perhaps Rosenbaum included, are indeed just “weak tea atheists” who, understandably, don’t want to be associated with blow-hard self-promoting atheists whose primary motivations are either to seem so much smarter and more sophisticated than everyone else or simply to sell more books.  Some agnostics truly fit the definition of the word: they really just don’t know and do leave a measurable possibility for the existence of god.  It really doesn’t matter to me what people call themselves or why as long as they leave the rest of us alone.

In the meantime, I am a contented atheist, even if that means that theist and even agnostic friends say that I am, in my own way, a man of faith.  They may mean it as a jab, but I take no more offense at it than if someone tells me there’s at least some chance that 2+2=5.

Most atheists aren’t interested in proselytizing our lack of belief in god any more than the average non-Orthodox Jew (a heritage Rosenbaum and I share) is interested in doing so.  I am not responsible for Richard Dawkins just because we share some belief. I will not cave in to feeling a need to rename my view or abandon it just because people like him share it.  Perhaps Mr. Rosenbaum just needs a little better self-esteem and then he can just admit that he’s an atheist, and that being an atheist doesn’t mean one needs to be a self-righteous pompous ass, such as those “New Atheists” who give the rest of us “old atheists” a bad name.

Jonah Goldberg and "right" vs. "left."

by David K. Williams, Jr. | 12:30 am, August 23, 2010

In his excellent book “Liberal Fascism,” Jonah Goldberg writesThe popular conception that Hitler was a man of the right is grounded in a rich complex of assumptions and misconceptions about what constitutes left and right, terms that get increasingly s…

Betsy Markey – The Bailout Queen

by Lesley Hollywood | 10:50 pm, August 22, 2010

Fourth Congressional District Representative Betsy Markey has released her first TV ad in which she states: “Bailouts really offend me” followed later by “Bailout is just another word for cop-out, and here in Colorado that’s not how we do business”. Lesley Hollywood, director of the Northern Colorado Tea Party, tracked down a Markey staffer at a Windsor [...]

Aug 30th “Bonus” Meetup Instead of Labor Day

by redrocks | 10:25 pm, August 22, 2010

NOTE:  We’re swapping out the first Monday in September, Labor Day, for a “bonus” meetup, August 30th.  NO LABOR DAY (9/6) MEETUP! We will meet August 30th, then the following meetup will be the 3rd Monday in September, 9/20.
Black Liberty on the Rocks t-shirts will be available for $15 at the meeting – thank [...]

Generation Debt stuck paying our bills

by Kelly Maher | 8:03 pm, August 22, 2010

At the rally for a federal Balanced Budget Amendment in Denver’s City Park, a WhoSaidYouSaid videographer interviewed a young man who told it like it is: “I think it kind of sucks that I’m going to have to pay for all the debt that’s going on right now. And my kids are going to have to pay, too. “

33 miners still alive 17 days after mine collapse

by Rossputin | 6:39 pm, August 22, 2010

I have to say I really felt moved and happy to read this news story from Sunday afternoon:

33 trapped Chilean miners are alive after 17 days

 

RIP Rockin’ Reggie McDaniels

by completecolorado | 4:43 pm, August 22, 2010

In my 3 year tenure at 850 KOA, I was blessed to have so many wonderful friendships, and to know so many wonderful people.  I don’t know if Reggie McDaniel would have called me a friend, but without a doubt, I’m better because I knew him.
My memories of Reggie will be of a man that [...]

On the Border

by Al Maurer | 4:23 pm, August 22, 2010

I spend the latter half of this week with the Republican Study Committee of Colorado (RSCC) on a fact-finding trip to Arizona. On Wednesday the Colorado legislators met with Arizona legislators on a wide variety of issues. I joined the group on Thursday for discussions with ranchers and concerned citizens and to view for ourselves [...]

Real or fake stimulus spending items?

by Rossputin | 8:00 am, August 22, 2010

H/T Don Boudreaux

(It doesn’t hurt that the interviewer is easy on the eyes, but that doesn’t keep me from getting angry with our government every time I hear this sort of stuff…)

Happy 2nd Birthday to People’s Press Collective!

by T.L. James | 10:09 pm, August 21, 2010

PPC is now two years old. Thanks to all the bloggers, donors, readers, and commenters who helped to make this possible!

Liberty On Tour Meetup in Denver

by Chuck Moe | 10:52 am, August 21, 2010

The Liberty on Tour Denver-area meet-up will be held on Friday, August 27th at the Fox and Hound in the Burgundy room. They will be joining us from 7-10 pm. Their famous RV “MARV” will be in the parking lot where Pete and Adam will be happy to provide tours as well as interesting stories about where the motor home has been and the things it has seen. Having traveled around the country now twice, these two liberty activists have some very interesting stories to tell!

Democrats to awake Nov. 2 from an extreme dream

by Kelly Maher | 8:23 am, August 21, 2010

If U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., and The New York Times know what’s best for America, there’s really no need to put the Obama Administration record to the “extreme” test. Or is there?

One tentacle of the Leviathan is no better than another.

by David K. Williams, Jr. | 8:05 am, August 21, 2010

A friend argued that I could take my ideological “purity all the way to [my] economic prison.”She believes that my refusal to join the GOP will lead us to this metaphorical “prison.”She fails to see we are already incarcerated. I think most reasonable …

Colorado Cost of Government Day

by Ben DeGrow | 6:25 am, August 21, 2010

According to Americans for Tax Reform, today (Saturday, August 21) is Colorado’s official Cost of Government Day (the national Cost of Government Day was Thursday): This is the day on which the average American has earned enough gross income to pay off his or her share of the spending and regulatory burdens imposed by government [...]

It’s not “The Long Life-Expectancy State”

by Rossputin | 6:04 am, August 21, 2010

One of the best from my friend Don Boudreaux:

(Let me know if you’re not on Don’s e-mail list but would like to be.)

————

It’s entertaining to imagine what Mencken, puffing on his ever-present cigar, would say to Mr. DeMarco.

Don
http://www.cafehayek.com/
………………………………….

19 August 2010

Editor, Baltimore Sun

Dear Editor:

Vincent DeMarco thinks that among the justifications for Maryland’s ’sin taxes’ on cigarettes and alcohol is the fact that they “save lives” (Letters, August 19).

Let’s grant that these taxes do, in fact, extend Marylanders’ life-expectancies. So what? The lives of individuals are the property neither of any government nor of officious “public interest” groups such as the one that Mr. DeMarco leads. The life of each individual Marylander belongs to that individual. If he or she chooses to endure a higher statistical chance of dying sooner rather than later in order to enjoy smoking, drinking, hang-gliding, or gulping down gasoline it is no business of the state or of the likes of Mr. DeMarco and other busybodies.

Don’t forget that Maryland’s ringing motto is “The Free State” – not “The Long Life-Expectancy State.”

Sincerely,
Donald J. Boudreaux
Professor of Economics
George Mason University
Fairfax, VA 22030

Ed Perlmutter’s Bush-Bashing Overlooked in 7th CD Debate Coverage

by Ben DeGrow | 5:17 pm, August 20, 2010

Update, 8/21: Lynn Bartels’ story in today’s edition of the Post fills out a little bit more detail and gives more attention to both the major party candidates… including a lede that identifies Perlmutter’s Bush-bashing blameshifting (which makes the headline above obsolete). Guess the blog focus on the Libertarian candidate was supposed to be the [...]

In Obama’s Face – Republican Ad

by Mr. Bob | 3:13 pm, August 20, 2010

DMYR August GENERAL MEETING, feat. CO Victory Director Chuck Poplstein

by Brett Moore | 2:58 pm, August 20, 2010

[ August 24, 2010; 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm. ] Join DMYR Tuesday, August 24th for our July General Meeting. This month we are pleased to welcome fellow Young Republican and CO Victory Director, Chuck Poplstein. Chuck joined the Colorado Republican Committee in 2010 after serving as Victory Director for Missouri in 2008 where Republicans won the state for the McCain-Palin ticket.

The Colorado “Victory” campaign [...]

What Will You Do to Preserve Liberty?

by Jon Caldara | 2:27 pm, August 20, 2010

Here is an opportunity to be apart of something that will help you advance liberty and freedom in Colorado and around the country. The Leadership Program of the Rockies is an all encompassing training program that gives its students both the knowledge and the know-how to positively affect public policy in our state and [...]

Open Letter to the Republican Party . . . Please Wake Up!!!!

by Nikki | 1:33 pm, August 20, 2010

This open letter from Tanne Blackburn to the Republican Party is a great illustration of the sentiment that is being expressed from all quarters… activists, experienced Republicans, candidates and conservatives across our state. It is past time for our “leadership” to wake up, represent their constituency and do their job. We are totally missing the [...]

A Physical Education Revolution?

by Eddie | 12:34 pm, August 20, 2010

Since Friday is here, time for some lighter fare… maybe as in having a lighter body weight? You don’t see me writing a lot about physical education — maybe because you typically can’t get P.E. credit for blogging or Legos. But maybe I could get credit for all the times I go crazy running around [...]

Dan Maes, Tambor Williams and all that is wrong with politics…

by David K. Williams, Jr. | 8:40 am, August 20, 2010

According to the Denver Post, Dan Maes, GOP nominee for Colorado Governor, is defending Tambor Williams as his choice for Lt. Governor. (See “Maes tries to ease supporters’ anxiety over running mate”).Williams has been criticized, among other things, f…

Leadership Program of the Rockies – apply now.

by David K. Williams, Jr. | 8:19 am, August 20, 2010

Even established, successful leaders can learn more and meet new, emerging leaders they otherwise would never know. The time and money invested in the program pays off quickly and the dividends last decades. Deadline for nominations and applications is…

Bennet campaign figures out that Bennet epitomizes elite insider

by Rossputin | 6:30 am, August 20, 2010

Appointed Senator Michael “Who?” Bennet, Ivy League-graduate multimillionaire preppy WASP extraordinaire, seems to be realizing (or at least his campaing staff are) that he has a problem relating to the average Coloradoan.

With his oddly-chosen shirts (does he want us to think he’s a farmer?) and even more odd choice of sport coat, Bennet looks like a man in desperate search of a personality.

Of course, being friends with a guy so universally perceived to be a detached narcissistic elitist pro-Muslim Marxist doesn’t help either:

To be sure, I have nothing against WASPs or Ivy Leaguers (I am one, as is Bennet’s opponent, Ken Buck) or multi-millionaires (I hope to be one) or even the so-called elite. But the combination is pretty hard to sell to Colorado voters, especially at a time when people are furious with rich, detached elitists.

So it was fairly amusing to receive an e-mail from Bennet’s wife, Susan Daggett, who, like Bennet, went to Yale Law School, talking about how she “wore (her) Chucks to the campaign office” and started “calling these shoes (her) ‘all-stars’ – and soon, everyone in the office was wearing theirs too.”  (You can see Bennet and Dagget’s wedding announcement in the NY Times for a Thurston Howell III-like description of their families, who I am sure are very nice and good people.)

Now I don’t doubt that Mrs. Bennet owns a pair of Converse Chuck Taylor All-Star shoes, and I don’t even doubt that she likes them.  They are, after all, pretty cool.

But getting an e-mail about it from the Bennet campaign, including their own little picture of a bunch of feet making a circle of varying color Chuck Taylors, is a lot more about trying to recast Bennet as “one of us” than it’s about the stated goal of “making things work, finding practical solutions, and being ready to move fast when necessary.”

Michael “Who” Bennet should be, and I presume will be, much less appealing than Ken Buck not just on issue after issue but also on personality.  Even if you were a person who isn’t Mr. Buck’s biggest fan, at least he seems “real”, at least as real as a potential senator is likely to be.  Bennet seems most like a political Walter Mitty, a metaphor defined at Dictionary.com as “A person, generally quite ordinary or ineffectual, who indulges in fantastic daydreams of personal triumphs.”

A perfect example of the “who am I and what do I believe?” personality of our appointed senator is seen in the following C-SPAN video (H/T WhoSaidYouSaid.com – click on this link if video does not appear in your browser just below.)

Bennet (and our other oh-so-admirable senator, Mark Udall) voted “No” on a particular amendment to a Senate bill. Then they hear Chuck Schumer vote “Aye” (at about 3:06:48 into the video clip). Then you can see Bennet (and Udall) scurry in from the top right of the screen (just to the left of the CSPAN “Live” logo and time) over to Schumer who says something to them. Then at 3:07:52, Bennet changes his vote to “Aye.” (And then a few seconds later, Udall changes his vote too.)

 

 

Sorry, Senator Bennet, having your wife wear cool shoes does not make you a man of the people.  Understanding the right way to vote because it’s the right way to vote would be a big step in the right direction, but you’re incapable of that as well.  So, while I appreciate the enthusiasm of your bride in trying to help you win your re-election, if there’s one thing the American people are wary of after the last 18 months, it’s a spineless Progressive in blank-slate sheep’s clothing.

 

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