The Protestant nap ethic; I love it.

Jesus Napped. You Should Nap. | Pastor Mark.

A recent NPR article gave several documented examples of Americans changing position on issues relative to how it reflected on their preferred candidate, sometimes even completely flipping the percentages of Republicans and Democrats who believed a certain way.  The article goes on to consider one possible explanation for this, that negative information about the party or person someone is loyal to is inconsistent with their loyalties to that person and this inconsistency is unsettling to them and so to resolve the inconsistency they reject the negative information.

One example is whether or not the president has influence on the price of gas (i.e. whether he should be blamed when the price rises); when Bush was in office 2/3 of Republicans said no and 2/3 of Democrats said yes, currently with Obama in office the numbers are exactly reversed.

I have a different, if parallel explanation; 2/3 of American voters do not think.  They are not interested in finding truth, what genuine thinking is about, but rather, in confirming their own biases.  Thinking for them, is a security blanket, it is Mother whispering that they have been right all along.  The truth has no use if it does not reaffirm what they already believe.

Partisan Psychology: Why Do People Choose Political Loyalties Over Facts? : Its All Politics : NPR.

Why Are Physicists Hating On Philosophy? : 13.7: Cosmos And Culture : NPR.

Fanfare for the Comma Man – NYTimes.com.

Hannibal Lecters Guide To The Goldberg Variations : Deceptive Cadence : NPR.

Intellectuals and Politics – NYTimes.com.

Just found John Piper’s new book, “Think”.  I got it as a free audio download which I have included a link to below.  So far I am very impressed.  Check it out!

Think – Desiring God.

“Think” free audio download!

Presidents Obama and Chavez and Secretary of State Clinton are all among the throngs of politicians around the world calling for the reinstatement of ousted Honduran president Zelaya.  The rallying cry is that Zelaya is the democratically elected president and that reinstating him would restore constitutionality to Honduras.  This is not only gross patronization to the Hondurans but is also beyond stupid.

Zelaya was ousted by the military, on orders of the Supreme Court and with the Congress accepting his resignation (if he wrote it or not is not the issue, Congress no longer recognizes him as the president) and swearing in the constitutionally next in line and Zelaya ally as the new president.  Oh and also the people don’t seem too upset; in a country of 7 million, 200 have shown up to protest.

So the only way I can see of reinstating Zelaya would be to invade Honduras, kill soldiers defending their homeland from foreign aggression, arrest the Supreme Court Justices, arrest most of the members of Congress,  execute the top military brass, and install Zelaya as president and enforce his rule (his military is dead at this point so it will have to be done by foreign troops) on a population that does not want him.  And this is what is referred to as “restoring the constitutionality”.  If you know of any other way to do it feel free to comment.

This video is interesting and entertaining to say the least.  The producers certainly take a position but it is tough not to take a position on this issue; that American education is based on the Prussian model is undisputed.

“It is nothing short of a miracle that the modern methods of intruction have not yet entirely strangled the holy curiosity of inquiry.” – Albert Einstein

“Drop out of school before your mind rots from exposure to our mundane educational system… go to the library and educate yourself if you’ve got any guts.” – Frank Zappa

Via here