Clipmarks | akarra's Pops

Political Correctness and St. George

Tue, 06 May 2008 01:55:45 GMT

clipped by: publicola85
clipper's remarks: Awesome blog about British officials canceling holiday in honor of St. George!

Clip Source: blue-dot-blues.blogspot.com

British officials cancelled plans for a St. George's Day parade on the grounds that it might be offensive to area Muslims - who hadn't even complained.

Tags: st. george, british, english, politics

Civil Religion and Modernity: Machiavelli and Locke

Thu, 08 May 2008 05:02:23 GMT

clipped by: publicola85
clipper's remarks: A great piece about the necessity of civil religion in the modern state.

Clip Source: federalistnowandforever.wordpress.com

Civil religion was a vital part of ancient life, religion and politics were joined harmoniously. With the dawn of Christianity, a religion whose focus is not on the state primarily but on the afterlife, the world slowly began to change. Religion was often used to divide rather than unify the commonwealth. Modernity’s problem with Christianity came at the dawn of the Reformation, where Christianity was used to pull people apart and start wars between nations who share ethnic, cultural and religious ties. America is the shinning product of modern thought; the brain child of men such as Niccolo Machiavelli and John Locke.

Tags: religion, civil, locke, machiavelli

John Adam's Letter to Samuel Adams in 1790

Mon, 05 May 2008 04:12:07 GMT

clipped by: publicola85
clipper's remarks: This is a great observation of the letter John Adams sent to his cousin Samuel Adams about the best way to maintain the American republic.

Clip Source: federalistnowandforever.wordpress.com

Secondly, the people are the worst protectors of their own liberty: Thus a regime based on the power of the people would appear as the most unable to protect liberty. How republic can maintain liberty is discussed later by Adams through the implementation of two exterior checks. For now Adams argues that government must cultivate knowledge and benevolence as a method of maintaining liberty and piety within the people.

Tags: republic, virtue, benevolence, knowledge, government

John Locke's First Treatise Chapter I

Mon, 05 May 2008 04:04:47 GMT

clipped by: publicola85
clipper's remarks: An interesting perspective on the first chapter of John Locke's First Treatise on Government

Clip Source: federalistnowandforever.wordpress.com

Authors of the generation in which Locke is writing, and the previous generations are said by him to have “flatter[ed] princes with an Opinion” this opinion being that despite the laws which constituted their authority, and are to govern under, they have absolute power under the title of Divine Right. They are not restrained by “Oaths and Promises” because their authority does not come from those, whom they govern, or from the laws but rather from God Himself.

Tags: government, politics, movies, john locke, england, enlightenment, liberal, conservative

Reflection of ABC Family's Greek Season 1

Mon, 05 May 2008 04:08:03 GMT

clipped by: publicola85
clipper's remarks: This is a spectacular observation on the events of Season One of the new ABC Family hit show: Greek!

Clip Source: federalistnowandforever.wordpress.com

All the events of Season 1 bring up an interesting question, Rusty wants to change who he is and it is not clear whether or not college is the place to do it. Casey wants to be successful within the Greek system; she is concerned with her public image. At the end of Season 1 Rusty doesn’t appear to have changed that much and Casey, after being appointed interim President doesn’t appear to only care about her public image.

Tags: greek, abc, family, fraternity, sorority, college, christian, conservative, sex

Further Examination of ABC Family’s Greek: Relationships Part 1

Mon, 05 May 2008 09:19:37 GMT

clipped by: publicola85
clipper's remarks: A great perspective on ABC Family's Greek and the relationship within the show!

Clip Source: federalistnowandforever.wordpress.com

Relationships, human nature is based on the desire for relationships with our fellow humans whether they be sexual, familial, brotherly, platonic or other. Humans are by nature social political animals which means we crave to be with others of our kind. The one aspect of ABC Family’s hit television show Greek that is best representative of real life is the desire for relationship.

Tags: greek, politics, relationship, sex, movies, tv, abc

Travis County and Convication

Tue, 06 May 2008 01:57:24 GMT

clipped by: publicola85
clipper's remarks: An amazing post about Travis County's elimination of the "prior conviction" question on job applications.

Clip Source: blue-dot-blues.blogspot.com

I think it's vital for an employer to know what a potential employee's past contains. If that means 'fessing up to a conviction for writing hot checks, for instance, so be it. And we all know, that prior conviction question is used to determine how honest an employee is (all disclosed convictions will show up in a background check), and is a first-glance qualifier.

Tags: crime, criminals, liberal, travis, austin, texas, application, employment

And Those Who Have Fallen Away From the Lord

Sat, 10 May 2008 08:01:39 GMT

clipped by: publicola85
clipper's remarks: A look at the issues of salvation and free will in Anne Rice's Interview with the Vampire.

Clip Source: federalistnowandforever.wordpress.com

In our modern world when we hear the word vampire people have a tendency to laugh it off as mere legend, myth. Yet for centuries Europeans feared vampires as though they were real. In the Middle Ages the Catholic Church developed an interest in demonic possession and witch craft resulting in the publication of Malleus Maleficarum by Heinrich Kramer & Jacob Sprenger. In the 18^th Century Europe was once again brought under the thrall of the Vampire as stories once again circulated throughout Europe. This cumulated when Dom Augustin Calmet, O.S.B. wrote Traitéi sur les apparitions des esprits et sur les vampires.

Tags: anne rice, interview with the vampire, books, english, vampires.

Classic Quotes by William Shakespeare

Wed, 23 Apr 2008 22:29:27 GMT

clipped by: carrerinyes

Clip Source: us.f555.mail.yahoo.com

This Day in History, April 23

April 23rd, 1616 marks the death of both William Shakespeare and Miguel de Cervantes.

Classic Quotes by William Shakespeare (1564-1616) English writer

A fool thinks himself to be wise, but a wise man knows himself to be a fool.

A jest's prosperity lies in the ear of him that hears it, Never in the tongue of him that makes it.

A peace is of the nature of a conquest; for then both parties nobly are subdued, and neither party loser.

Absence doth sharpen love, presence strengthens it; the one brings fuel, the other blows it till it burns clear.

Absence from those we love is self from self - a deadly banishment.

Alas, how love can trifle with itself!

Alas, poor Yorick! I knew him Horatio, a fellow of infinite jest, of most excellent fancy.

All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players: they have their exits and their entrances; and one man in his time plays many parts, his acts being seven ages.

And therefore is winged Cupid painted blind.

Further Reflections on ABC Family's Greek: Sexual Relationships

Tue, 06 May 2008 07:00:37 GMT

clipped by: publicola85
clipper's remarks: A great reflection on the last two relationships of ABC Family's Greek, those of the sexual and enemy nature.

Clip Source: federalistnowandforever.wordpress.com

The relationships which form after those of family and friends are those of sexual and enemies. They are the most difficult relationships to understand and to deal with though they are just as vital to who we are as humans as the others. Greek provides us with ample examples of both of the latter relationships just as it does the former. The relationships which form between males and females within the show on a sexual level are interconnected to those of the friendship and familial levels. For better or worse these relationship help to spur human passions and life to a level that the familial and friendship based relationships cannot.

Tags: greek, politics, sex, enemies, relationships

Political Philosophy with Cows

Thu, 08 May 2008 04:51:26 GMT

clipped by: publicola85
clipper's remarks: A great way to learn about different types of regimes using cows!

Clip Source: federalistnowandforever.wordpress.com

republicanism: You have two cows, you vote someone into office that will tax you and force you to sell one cow.

democracy: You have two cows, you vote to raise your own taxes that force you to sell one of the cows.

Lockeanism: The government gives you two cows, they then become your property.

Communism: You have two cows, out of the common good you give both for the use of the society.

Marxism: You have two cows, the government takes both and gives the milk away.

Socialism: You have two cows, the government takes one and sells it.

Fascism: You have two cows, the government takes both and shoots one while selling you the other.

Nazism: You have two cows, the government shoots you and takes the cows.

Tags: cows, government, politics, nazism, monarchy, democracy

Plato And Aristotle: Regimes

Thu, 08 May 2008 04:50:25 GMT

clipped by: publicola85
clipper's remarks: A great synopsis of the regime forms found in Plato's Republic and Aristotle's Politics

Clip Source: federalistnowandforever.wordpress.com

There might be some confusion concerning the nature of politics and the type of regimes. Today we tend to think of a number of regimes, although many of them are simply the same regime with a different title. We call the government in England a Constitutional Monarchy, yet it simply is a Monarchy. China we say is a Communist regime, yet really all the political form of Communism is Oligarchy. All the regimes currently in use today can be boiled down to a list of just a handful. These regimes were originally defined and stated by Plato and Aristotle, two classical Greek philosophers who concerned themselves heavily with the nature of the polis. To get an idea of what the regimes are, this essay will attempt to outline the various forms of government as laid down by both men. In order to deal with the two authors it will be prudent to describe Plato’s regimes first followed by Aristotle.

Tags: politics, republic, aristotle, plato, regimes, timocracy, aristocracy, oligarchy, democracy

Life, Birth Control and Responsibility

Thu, 08 May 2008 04:52:39 GMT

clipped by: publicola85
clipper's remarks: A great article about how to reform America away from birth control, abortion and how to make responsible adults out of our children.

Clip Source: federalistnowandforever.wordpress.com

What constitutes life? Does one need to be able to walk, talk, hear, or think? Does one need to do none of those? Let us assume for a moment that life is simply the act of being; anything that is, is in fact a live. A rock, while not alive itself, is made up of living organisms. Plants are the most simple of all life. Christianity argues that a thing must possess a soul in order to constitute life. That brings up another argument, what constitutes a soul? Aristotle debates this topic in On the Soul; he argues that there are three types of souls. Plants consist of a simple soul; plants have the sense of touch but not seeing, hearing, smelling or tasting. If you proscribe to the Christian stance, then it could follow that one must have the sense of touch to be a live.

Tags: birth control, sex, life, responsibility, government, divorce

The Environmentalists' Real Agenda

Thu, 24 Apr 2008 01:48:47 GMT

clipped by: bferman
clipper's remarks: As with so many other things, even environmentalism turns out to be all about money and power in the end.

Clip Source: www.ibdeditorials.com

The Environmentalists' Real Agenda

Ideologies: Once in a while the truth accidentally tumbles out on global warming activists' real agenda. That's exactly what happened at the U.N., when Bolivia's leader called for ending capitalism to save the planet.

Delivering the keynote address at the United Nations forum on Indigenous People on Monday, Bolivia's President Evo Morales told the adoring crowd that "if we want to save our planet earth, to save life, to save mankind, we have a duty to put an end to the capitalist system."

More conveniently, he also demanded that trillions of dollars from the West be diverted to places like Bolivia, "to repair the earth."

Seldom has the environmentalist agenda to end the capitalist system been laid out so plainly.

Romanticization of nature to promote state control hasn't had it this good since the days of Rousseau's noble savage. The only problem for environmental radicals, of course, is that sometimes the designated "savages" accidentally reveal the truth.

Tags: optional. separate by commas., global warming, environmentalist, climate change, politics, weather

How Government Regulation effects oil prices at the pump

Wed, 07 May 2008 15:33:20 GMT

clipped by: Eaglewings
clipper's remarks: As is usually the case with government intervention into private enterprise the unexpected results are usually far worse than the original problem congress set out to solve. Doesn't anybody study history anymore? It was not that long ago that the same ideas were floating around congress during the Carter years. Anyone remember the odd even gas days and the long lines at the pumps because of the government forced oil shortages of the 70's

Among other mistakes from that period, the government increased the taxes levied on domestic oil producers, as if that would somehow help.

The result was “reduced domestic oil production from between 3 and 6 percent, and increased oil imports from between 8 and 16 percent.”

The government also instituted price controls, which only served to create the notorious gas shortages of that era. Yes, price controls meant consumers could get cheaper gas — but only after waiting in long gas lines and only if stations didn’t run out first.

Clip Source: www.heritage.org

When it comes to soaring gasoline prices, we need a federal government that does less.

We need fewer restrictions on domestic oil drilling.

The only reason not to drill is the environmental concerns.

We also need less regulatory red tape affecting refineries and gasoline supplies.

It would be worthwhile to streamline the regulations that make it all but impossible to build a new refinery and more difficult and time-consuming to expand an existing one.

Simplifying or eliminating the federal requirements that dictate the recipe (actually a dozen different recipes) for fuel also would help.

Worst of all the federal requirements is the one requiring that corn-based ethanol be mixed into the gasoline supply. Not only does ethanol use raise the cost of driving, but diverting corn from food to fuel has raised food prices, as well.

Congress needs to start undoing the damage it has done. If it enacts more of the same instead, get ready for $4 or even $5 gas.

Tags: gas, fuel, energy, governement, price, control