Alfonso Jones

If someone had declared the sort of intentions and thoughts Schultz did, but "on the right," there would be no end to the howling and screaming about it. Imagine, for instance, if Rush Limbaugh had advocated voter fraud to ensure a particular electoral outcome... Bill P

Adam; Lenny has never been drinking buddies with anyone. That's hard to imagine (that he could be). Laughably so. Bill P

Very sadly, yes. Bill P

Don't get FoxNews here in Shanghai. HOpefully I"ll get access to this documentary (which Glenn Beck has been touting for some time now). Regards, Bill P

Jerry - I doubt Obama believes that. More likely, in my judgment, that is what he wants us to believe: First - - - it is anger and frustration among the voters Second - - - it is anger and frustration about the slow pace of change then Third - - - it is anger and frustration about the slow pace of the Obama administration in undoing all the bad things Bush did... Note that he doesn't even say "anger and frustration ABOUT WHAT THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION HAS DONE OR ATTEMPTED TO DO. The buck passes by here. Bill P

Thanks for the tips. I very much agree that the DK Eyewitness guides are among the best guides. Not the ideal ones to find cheap places to stay, etc... - - - but to find out the attractions with easy to use, accessible maps and diagrams - - they are ideal. Regards, Bill P

Greetings, fellow OL participants! I will be spending two months in Como, Italy (May and June 2010) later this year (life in academia can be tough at times...). I'm wondering if anyone on the list has spent much time there and has impressions on "must see" items, etc... Regards, Bill P

Bob - Caution is not inappropriate. But my sense is that if something happened to Brown at this point, the revulsion from the American public would be massive, compared to which the Tea Parties last summer would seem like a modest write-in campaign. Bill P

Adam - Think outside the box. Type outside the box. Bill P (smiling)

Syria is a perfect example of religious groups getting along with each other. It's not because of the government that it is like this at all. It's the people themselves. They are just naturally amazingly hospitable and kind people. To answer your question about political and religious freedom. You have religious freedom providing it doesn't interfere with the regime, ie you can't have a religious political party. Political freedom is very limited. EDIT: Sorry I forgot to add. No, there's nothing about Syria's political system that I'd like to use. I had to leave Syria because I couldn't stand idly by and not say anything about the system they have. Even seeing pictures of the president everywhere and people not up in arms about how it can contribute to a dictatorship made me want to beat everyone I could see with a stick. They just have no idea because they've been in that system for so long that they don't know anything different. So, this is your best ("perfect") example: A country with "very limited" political freedom. A country ruled by a religious party, but banning all OTHER religious parties. Looking at the article on Syria in WIkipedia: Syria has a poor record on human rights. The Assad government has been criticized for arresting democracy and human rights activists, censoring websites, detaining bloggers, and imposing travel bans. Arbitrary detention, torture, and disappearances are widespread.[48] Although Syria's constitution guarantees gender equality, critics say that personal status laws and the penal code discriminate against women and girls. Moreover, it also grants leniency for so-called "honor" crimes.[48] Recent arrests contrary to basic human rights include that of Muhannad Al-Hasani, a prominent lawyer and a courageous defender of Syrian prisoners of conscience. Prior to his arrest, Muhannad Al-Hassani had come under increasing pressure from the Syrian authorities because of his work as a lawyer and human rights defender, including his monitoring of Supreme State Security Court (SSSC), which is a special court that exists outside the ordinary criminal justice system to try those perceived as endangering the regime. Activists have called for personal intervention to secure the release of Muhannad Al-Hasani along with other political prisoners and prisoners of conscience in Syria.[49] Kareem Arabji, a 31 year old business consultant, wrote numerous articles under a pseudonym criticizing corruption and dictatorship in Syria. On June 7, 2007 Arabji was arrested by Syrian security forces and held incommunicado at the Palestine Branch of Military Intelligence in Damascus. He was charged with, "broadcasting false or exaggerated news which would affect the morale of the country."[50] Doesn't sound good - especially when it is your chosen example. Got a better one? Bill P

Brant, First of all, the 'sects' of Islam aren't even really sects because it is one group and the majority of Muslim scholars recognize each other group and therefore they are simply just schools of thought. Islam is already the most widely practiced religion in the world and if what you were saying was true, then there most certainly would be violence in every country between these groups. There simply isn't. I have lived in the Middle East and seen for myself in the places where Islam is the dominant religion. Syria was a perfect example. Christians and Muslims of all different schools of thought were living in peace with each other, like brothers and sisters. In other countries where there is violence the perpetrators are religious extremists like the Taliban in Afghanistan and Pakistan or it's because of political reasons where certain groups want power. Syria is a perfect example? How would you describe the extent of freedom there? Of political freedom? Of religious freedom? Bill P

Adam - I agree (Did I write something which suggested I thought it was a Republican victory?)! It is a loss for the Democrats, but that's not the same thing as a win for the Republicans. A point on which many will surely be confused. Bill P

Amazing, and something to be happy about!!! Perhaps Obamacare is really dead in the water... Bill P

Another excellent piece, Ed! Bill P

As far as I can tell he wasn't even in the top ten. --Brant I think that those who continue to insist that Kant was the "most evil man in history" are becoming quaint antiques. The word "evil" is devalued by such a statement. I understand Rand's intent - but it just doesn't reach. I wonder who they would list to fill out their top ten list! Perhaps some of those who split with Rand would make the list? Bill P

The attack on Barbara Branden's account in Passion of Ayn Rand continues to crumble. I wonder if the usual know-nothing crowd will now insist on date and time-stamped video of Frank in an inebriated state before they really acknowledge there is evidence. Reminiscent of all the angry denials of the AR-NB affair, before Peikoff acknowledged that Rand wrote about it in her journals. Sad, so very sad. Bill P

That picture may be a cause for E.D. Bill P

My viewpoint on the Stossel show on Atlas Shrugged: I think it represents a reasonable treatment at a popular level. Might I or someone else prefer to hear a detailed lecture on epistemology? Probably, for many of us. However, the show did illustrate the fact that there is a coherent, moral basis for capitalism and individual rights. Did that basis get laid out thoroughly and completely - of course not. But perhaps some people were intrigued to learn more. That may be what one can expect from a TV program of this length. Bill P

Leonid - Welcome to OL! Browse around, read - there are a lot of riches to explore! - and post as you interest drives you. Bill P

Predicted impact of all of this - - - not a ripple, other than to reduce Congressman Deal's credibility. Bill P

Ah....that explains alot. What poison do you prefer? I like a smoky, peaty scotch when i can afford it. I don't much like scotch whiskey. I tried it once and it tasted like scotch. I prefer an intermediately priced whiskey, but overall consumption is down after quitting completely for October and November last year. --Brant Make note to self - - - don't send Brant the bottle of Laphroaig I was planning on sending... Bill P

This would have been a slight bit more ironic if the product were toilet paper, but the US economy is clearly headed for the crapper. Bill P

That recurring theme of "Who is . . . " results in that question being asked twice in English, and once in Yiddish, in The Driver. Hardly the recurrence level of "Who is John Galt" in Atlas Shrugged. Bill P

Brant - This phenomenon of the most natural path to learn something being different from the logical structure is not unique to this context: 1) In the case of individual learning about mathematics - - - One doesn't learn about mathematics (broadly speaking) by beginning with a study of Peano's Axioms and moving from there to arithmetic based on integers, etc... (Or, in general, based on starting with the theoretical abstraction and then moving to the specific.) Long before Peano's Axioms, the student ie learning about 4 apples + 3 apples = 7 apples, and that the "same thing" works with oranges... 2) In the case of organizational learning: I have spent many years working with organizations large and small to help them make major improvements in organizational performance. A pattern I and many other consultants have learned is that organizations naturally (even with coaching at the executive and lower levels) tend to go through common and familiar stages of learning, in which they make "mistakes" which they outgrow as they learn. Efforts by advisors/consultants to prevent such mistakes tend to be futile -the best which can be usually done is to enable the organizations to learn quickly, minimize the impact of the natural mistakes, learn maximally from those mistakes, and stay on the improvement path. Bill P

Does anyone know if the Stossel show is available on the WWW? Bill P