Quick Roundup 328
Monday, May 19, 2008
Obama's Altruism
If he gets elected, no one can say he didn't warn us:
Pitching his message to Oregon's environmentally-conscious voters, Obama called on the United States to "lead by example" on global warming, and develop new technologies at home which could be exported to developing countries.Political candidates have long expressed sentiments that mean, "You have no right to use your own property for your own enjoyment," but I do not recall anyone ever putting such demands for human self-sacrifice so explicitly in terms of their consequences.
"We can't drive our SUVs and eat as much as we want and keep our homes on 72 degrees at all times ... and then just expect that other countries are going to say OK," Obama said.
"That's not leadership. That's not going to happen," he added. [bold added]
And speaking of SUVs, ...
... I do appreciate their value as annoyances to the global warming alarmist crowd, and I fully support the right of anyone who wants one to own one, but I have never really liked them myself.
So I was glad to see that my favorite "High Life Man" commercial has finally made it to YouTube! The whole series of these commercials, directed by Errol Morris, is indexed here. Which is your favorite?
Military Field Research Finds Use for Korans
This news story shows that the American sense of life is alive and well, but that even in the military, our leaders are succumbing to leftism:
An American soldier used a Quran, the Islamic holy book, for target practice in a predominantly Sunni area west of Baghdad, prompting an apology from the U.S. military, a spokesman said Sunday.Were it not for the incitements contained in that book, our boys would have no need to be over there (although they would be done by now were they properly unleashed). We owe no apology to anyone who takes those rantings seriously.
Roundups Galore
Rational Jenn posted the latest Objectivist Roundup last week, and Bo has posted a huge roundup of posts from submariner bloggers.
Also, it's not in roundup form, but Rational Jenn found three neat quizzes. My answers? 10/10, Rubik's Cube ("You are engaging and popular. People are drawn to your colorful personality.As much as they try, people can't stay away from you. And while you seem easy to understand, people can't figure out what direction you're coming from."), and Ham Sandwich:
You are quiet, understated, and a great comfort to all of your friends.No time to fiddle with HTML today....
Over time, you have proven yourself as loyal and steadfast.
And you are by no means boring. You do well in any situation - from fancy to laid back.
Your best friend: The Turkey Sandwich
Your mortal enemy: The Grilled Cheese Sandwich
Diana Hsieh on Marriage
I found this short post on the right to marry very insightful since it rather efficiently touched on many of the aspects of that question that I have seen make discussions on the topic difficult.
Joe Kellard's Writings
Fans of Joe Kellard, who blogs at The American Individualist, will be happy to know that he now also has a blog devoted to his professional writings.
-- CAV
4 comments:
That attitude of Obama's may provide a good opportunity for intellectual activism. Many Americans are very concrete-bound thinkers, and they have difficulty connecting abstract ideas like environmentalism to their concrete effects. Often, when those concrete effects are felt, they have a strong sense-of-life rejection.
A recent example of this happened at Stanford, when the university introduced low-flow shower heads into the dormitories and the students rebelled. There was a similar reaction to the recent proposal floated in California to allow government bureaucrats to override the thermostat settings in people's homes. Now we have Obama essentially implying that such will become federal policy in his administration.
This quote of his seems to be getting a fair amount of play on the net. We should be making the point, as you did, that these objectionable concrete policies are the goal and consequence of environmentalist ideas. Since people don't see the connection on their own, we need to point it out for them at every opportunity.
Excellent point.
"Since people don't see the connection on their own, we need to point it out for them at every opportunity."
You reminded me, by chance, of the fact that I was reading from The Ayn Rand Column yesterday.
In one of her pieces, she was ripping JFK a new one for, essentially, urging his audience NOT to make such connections. Obama reminds me, in bad ways, of (what little I know of) JFK.
It says something about where our culture is that "today's JFK" isn't even having to ask/demand of most people that they not think to hard about the implications of what he says.
Gus,
Thank you for making mention of my new blog.
Joseph Kellard
You're welcome, Joseph!
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