Saving Ryan's Privates

Over the course of the last week, you may have seen the following video starring Representative Paul Ryan (Chairman of the House Budget Committee) presenting his so-called "path to prosperity" for America.

If you're an ideological Republican (the kind easily mobilized by sound-bites instead of well-reasoned arguments, strong evidence and attention to detail), you may have creamed your pants...

Of course, painting a picture with broad strokes looks nice... until you start to look at it up close and realize that this plan is everything Republicans hated about Obamacare, plus $750 billion to fuck the poor. Maybe that's why they like it now? :)

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Ryan's Private Savings - Republican Deficit Plan
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But Jon Stewart has a simpler and more efficient plan to help ease our debt :)

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Ryan's Private Savings - Path to Prosperity
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I give up with these people...
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Sam Harris vs. William Lane Craig - Where Do Objective Moral Values Come From?

Whatever its perceived weaknesses (and the critics have been relentless on some technical points), Sam Harris' recent book, The Moral Landscape, has recently reinvigorated the discussion concerning the objectivity of moral values and obligations. To religious people, the answer seems obvious: if moral values are to count as objectively binding, they must be grounded in God's commands. After all, morality comes from God, doesn't it?

Philosophers since the time of Socrates have rejected this approach (known as divine command theory) on the grounds that, in the absence of any independent set of reasons, God's commands would turn out to be completely arbitrary, and hence objective perhaps -whatever that means- but certainly not moral.

The difficulty most philosophers have had upon such a realization, however, has been with figuring out what might be able to count as a positive objective standard for moral values. Sam Harris thinks that moral values can be grounded in science. William Lane Craig thinks moral values can only come from God. A fascinating and perplexing debate ensues in which Craig accuses Harris of defining morality into a tautology, while Harris accuses Craig of doing exactly the same thing. And they're both right. Go confirmation bias!

Now, while the discussion below provides lots of great food for thought worth pondering, it seems to me that by defining morality in their own particular ways (a move that's ultimately inescapable), both philosophers were probably preaching to their respective choirs, and that the chances either of them might have gained new supporters who didn't already agree with their take on the issue are probably nil.

I'd say the debate was very interesting, and even though I tend to lean more in Harris' direction, I'm not sure either speaker won the day on the basis of the relevant arguments alone...

Both managed to undermine each other's position rather well, but neither managed to overcome such blows once they were dealt, and both were more than happy to go off on tangents irrelevant to the main point of discussion while still managing to provide thought-provoking arguments.

I'd declare the debate a draw, with both participants seriously injured by the other. Perhaps it was an act of martyrdom undertaken for our sake :)

I'll be posting more interesting talks on this topic soon, but in the meantime, here is philosopher Peter Singer with some thoughts on the subject.
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Tim Minchin - Storm (animated movie)

You may have heard this awesome beat poem before, but now it's accompanied by some awesome animation, and since I already posted it before, I'll just repeat the previous introduction.

This is one of those really tough life dilemmas: totally hot chick you wouldn't mind doing at the drop of a hat, but whose sexy and curvaceous physical appeal is gradually overshadowed by the cringing sound of the repetitive, irrational, question-begging and empty clichés she spews one after another... What to do, what to do?

Tim Minchin found himself in just such a situation and, bless his soul, decided to take the high road... or maybe that's because his wife was in the same room :)

And for more, learn about the Enemies of Reason.

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Jon Stewart Nails Mike Huckabee

As you may recall from previous occasions, whenever Jon Stewart and Mike Huckabee have had a debate, their conversation has always been civil. I appreciate that, and while I disagree with Huckabee on most points, I respect a candidate who's able to engage in a respectful dialogue about differences of opinion.

Then again, I've always had the impression that Huckabee tailors his rhetoric with a perfectly good understanding of who the audience listening to him is. Yes, sly politician...

So, while he makes reasonable points to a liberal audience while talking to a progressive, he may go bat shit crazy while talking to what he would consider his more 'real' audience (like advocating the idea that the religious view of fundamentalist history distortionist David Barton be taught in public schools), but it's only a matter of time before someone like Jon Stewart calls him on his prestidigitation, and the result is some awesome ass kicking... in a civil manner, of course :)

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Exclusive - Mike Huckabee Extended Interview Pt. 1
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Here's part 2:

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Exclusive - Mike Huckabee Extended Interview Pt. 2
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And part 3:

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Exclusive - Mike Huckabee Extended Interview Pt. 3
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But don't worry, Mike Huckabee has the support and protection of Chuck Norris :)
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Peregrine Falcon - The Perfect Predator

Every couple of weeks, when walking through my neighborhood I encounter a rather disturbing picture somewhere on the sidewalk: a pair of dove wings (no body and no head) loosely connected by the bloody remains of some bone and cartilage. The epitome of cheeriness, I know...

There are a few possible culprits: hungry cats (they are, after all, insanely successful hunters), squirrels on meth (you would not believe how strung out they can get), or some sort of falcon.

Maybe I'll post a video of squirrels on drugs at some point in the future, but for now, here is a brief and beautiful introduction to the peregrine falcon.

I once read in a respectable math book that peregrine falcons fly in a golden spiral when attacking their prey, but I haven't been able to confirm that anywhere. Does anyone know if this is actually true?
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Philosophy Jam

I'm too busy to post any thoughtful entries at the time, so I'll just leave each of you to ponder what the hell the following philosophy jam is all about...

Warning: before you know it, this is going to be stuck in your head for days :)

And don't ask me what the footage had to do with the audio... I have no clue.
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Massive Snowstorm Leaves Thousands Without Access to Porn

So I guess that Mother Nature decided to fuck with everyone this April's Fools and snow on our parade.

Now, you may be thinking that since the internet is for porn (obviously!), a snowstorm is the perfect opportunity to stay home and watch porn all day without getting fired, but The Onion reports that the power outage that's about to ensue is going to make that just about impossible...

If I were you, I'd pay attention to Jesse Jane in more ways than one to figure out what to do :)

Do you have your porn kit ready? :)
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