Christmas Lights

Many years ago, long before I met my best friends, I struggled to make ends meet. Over a year had passed since I was forced to leave my job. The condition for retaining it was to falisfy an accounting report. I refused.

Down to my last $500, I counted among my assets my $3.50 copy of Atlas Shrugged. In that remarkable treasure chest was this gem:

...and [Rearden] wondered whether someone could give him now the spark he needed, now when he felt unable ever to rise again. He asked himself who had started him and kept him going. Then he raised his head. Slowly, with the greatest effort of his life, he made his body rise until he was able to sit upright with only one hand pressed to the desk and a trembling arm to support him. He never asked that question again.

Driving home one cold night, still looking for full-time work, I saw Christmas lights on random homes, sparkling in the darkness. They reminded me of Miss Rand's gem, they reminded me to raise myself, to be my own spark.

That is how my casual appreciation of Christmas lights grew into a love for them. I loved how the world around me lifted my spirits simply through its own selfish joy in decorating its property.

I love it still. Merry Christmas!

Madison Against Religious Assessments

Currently, I'm reading the writings of James Madison. Knowing little of him, I decided to go straight to his own writings instead of a finding a biography. If you know a good biography to recommend, please do.

So far, I've found his prose generally hard to follow. At the same time, I've found the calibre of his thought worth the effort.

Today, I came across his opposition to an attempt in Virgina in 1785 to pass a bill "establishing a provision for teachers of the Christian religion". He didn't just call it a "dangerous abuse of power"; he showed why he reached that conclusion.

His opposition was addressed to the general assembly of the commonwealth of Virgina. Among the 15 points he made, here are some highlights, the best of his prose I've enjoyed so far:

Whilst we assert for ourselves a freedom to embrace, to profess and to observe the Religion which we believe to be of divine origin, we cannot deny an equal freedom to those minds who have not yet yielded to the evidence which has convinced us.

Look at that. Look at its total respect for the individual mind to reach its own conclusions at its own pace free from force on principle. Beautiful.

During almost fifteen centuries has the legal establishment of Christianity been on trial. What have been its fruits? More or less in all places, pride and indolence in the Clergy, ignorance and servility in the laity, in both, superstition, bigotry and persecution.

What influence in fact have ecclesiastical establishments had on Civil Society? In some instances they have been seen to erect a spiritual tyranny on the ruins of the Civil authority; in many instances they have been seen upholding the thrones of political tyranny: in no instance have they been seen the guardians of the liberties of the people.... A just government instituted to secure & perpetuate [liberty] needs them not.

[Emphasis added]

Instead of holding forth an Asylum to the persecuted [and oppressed of every Nation and Religion], it is itself a signal of persecution.... Distant as it may be in its present form from the Inquisition, it differs from it only in degree. The one is the first step, the other the last in the career of intolerance. The magnanimous sufferer under the cruel scourge in foreign Regions, must view the Bill as a Beacon on our Coast, warning him to seek some other haven, where liberty and philanthropy in their due extent, may offer a more certain repose from his Troubles.

I'm happy to say that I still have much more to read!

Comments

Administrative note:

I just activated the option that allows anyone to leave a comment. Evidently, by default, the blog template defaults to allow only registered bloggers to leave comments. Now, my non-blogging friends as well as any reasonable stranger can comment.

To combat spam, I chose an option that forces visitors to type in a verification word before publishing a comment.

The blog format gives me at least a couple of options for moderating comments. So, I've got my eye on things.

My Name is Nobody (1973)

This movie is one of my favorite Westerns. Check out IMDB for details.

Its spirit is refreshing. For example, the good is so strong it toys with hapless evil, having fun at its expense. More, the good drives the story while evil is just part of the background.

However, what really makes the movie stand out for me is this--its touch of reverence for heroes.

Jack Beauregard:You're sure trying hard to make a hero out of me.

Nobody: You're that already. You just need a special act, something that'll make your name a legend.

Jack Beauregard: What I don't understand is what difference it makes to you.

Nobody: If a man is a man, he needs someone to believe in.

Jack Beauregard: I've met all kinds in my life. Thieves and killers. Pimps and prostitutes. Con men and preachers. Even a few fellas that told the truth. The kind of man you're talking about, never.

Nobody: Maybe you've never met them. Or hardly ever. But they're the only ones who count.

Google Analytics

Apart from the nice comments my blog has received so far (thanks again, everyone!), I've been wondering how many visitors my blog receives. That is, how can I add a hit counter to my blog?

So, I did something radical -- I clicked the help button!

To Google's credit, I was able to get this far into the blogging experience without using help. Google has done an excellent job of making everything "intuitive".

Inside the help structure, I was able to find options for hit counters very quickly. Among the options, I chose Google Analytics. Why choose one of the other options when Google keeps hitting home runs? :^)

Speaking of home runs, Google Analytics didn't just provide me with a hit counter; it delivered a professional, thorough, easy-to-follow report structure! It's as if I paid money for this! Yet it's free! (At least for now.) For example, the analytics includes info on new and returning visitors. Nice.

Since I just set this up, my hit counter shows zero. So, the jury's still out on the delivery part. I'll write a follow up post on this after I receive at least 1 comment. That comment should show up as a stat somewhere in Google's analytics.

Jefferson-The DNA Myth

Here's a 200 year old smear resurrected as a modern myth masquerading as science -- Thomas Jefferson had a decades long affair with slave Sally Hemings.

How did this myth get started and why? What gave this myth "legs"; that is, what factors led so many people to accept it as if it were a hard fact?

It's a long story.

Fortunately, a concise, objective analysis is available from The Intellectual Activist (TIA) at www.tiadaily.com.

You can buy the issue containing the article -- "The Anti-Jefferson Revolution: Academic Irrationalism and the Sally Hemings Controversy" -- for a few dollars. If you value justice and the freedom Jefferson helped bestow on America, you have an opportunity to put your money where your ideas are. I urge you to buy and digest this intellectual ammunition.

Here, I will comment on what has led so many good people to accept the myth as if it were hard fact. It's the alleged DNA evidence. Scan the internet and you'll find many references to it. The trouble is this -- there is no DNA evidence linking Thomas Jefferson to Sally Hemings.

The TIA article reports "the available genetic evidence could not prove that Thomas Jefferson fathered Eston Hemings, but it did prove that a Jefferson rather than a Carr fathered him." [Emphasis added] "Demanding proof of a negative, Foster [author of a 11/5/98 British scientific journal Nature on the DNA analysis] argued, 'in the abscence of historical evidence' to support paternity by another Jefferson, that 'Thomas Jefferson, rather than one of the Carr brothers, was the father of Eston Hemings Jefferson, and that Thomas Woodson was not Thomas Jefferson's son.' For his 'historical evidence,' the retired pathologist relied upon the original Callender article, Fawn Brodie's Freudian psychobiography, and Joe Ellis's American Sphinx."

Callender is the man who started the smear in the 18th century. In the 20th, the smear was dressed up under the guise of pseudo-science. However, lipstick on a pig does not change its nature.

Jefferson once wrote the following: "Fix reason firmly in her seat, and call to her tribunal every fact, every opinion. Question with boldness even the existence of a God; because, if there be one, he must more approve of the homage of reason, than that of blindfolded fear."

If ever there was a challenge to the best within you, this is it. Apply this powerful advice to the case at hand ... as well as to the rest of your ideas and values.

Thanksgiving

About 15 years ago, I sent a friend the Thanksgiving greeting shown below. As much as it meant to me then, it means even more now. I'm proud to say I've lived up to my own vision of what can and ought to be possible to a passionately rational man. Here's to the best within each of us.



Commemorating Thanksgiving, a recent TV newscast presented a reminder of how small the ship was that brought to this country its first settlers. It showed the great degree of risk and peril the new world travelers accepted for their values. That particular thread of civilization's progress seemed so precarious.

It reminded me of other historical threads of progress that also seemed precarious. For example, consider Aristotle's escape from the fate that took the life of Socrates, the revival of the influence of Aristotle by Acquinas, and Ayn Rand's escape from the Soviet Union.

Rather than finding this daunting, I found it inspiring. It moved me to think about what we're doing, how we're working to spread Rand's ideas in the midst of so much opposition, how the current cultural context is so precarious.

The TV newscast emphasized the role of chance in history. I saw the subservience of chance to the power of ideas and free will. I saw the courage of the new world travelers in their willingness to put their reason to a supreme test from within a small ship on high seas to reach unsettled land. And then, after that death defying feat, start from scratch to build a new world!

The sea of obstacles is apparently always vast. However, the power of reason can tame that sea and chart a course through it all. In this and all that it entails, I count my blessings.

Happy Thanksgiving.

KICASS vs KISS

A common acronym tossed around by technicians is KISS -- keep it simple, stupid. While I respect the spirit in which it's said (i.e., don't overcomplicate things), I never liked how it ends.

Truly stupid techs relish overcomplicating things. They are afflicted with the notion that their Rube Golberg (www.rube-goldberg.com) constructs make them "sophisticated", not realizing the nature of its tacit confession.

At the same time, techs must watch out for oversimplifying a process that is legitimately complicated. The key is to be aware of the role of interconnecting parts, the cogs in the machinery of a logical chain. Each piece ought to be a simple as possible, conforming to a well-designed whole.

So, my version of the KISS idea is KICASS -- keep it clear and stay smart. Clarity is emphasized over simplicity, clarity of vision guiding the simplicity of elements conforming to the design which, in turn, conforms to the reality to which it ought to be anchored.

So, KICASS everyone!

Casino Royale

This Bond fan loves the new Casino Royale movie! It kicked ass!

Going in, I was skeptical of the new actor in the role. Yet he (or perhaps the movie's good direction) won me over.

That's all I'll say for now. I don't want to trip into any spoilers.

Check it out. Please let me know what you think. Thumbs up? Thumbs down? You know my vote.

Cheers!

Precise Virtue

"When men reduce their virtues to the approximate, then evil acquires the force of an absolute; when loyalty to an unyielding purpose is dropped by the virtuous, it's picked up by the scoundrels--and you get the indecent spectacle of a cringing, bargaining traitorous good and a self-righteously uncompromising evil." John Galt, Atlas Shrugged

Consider this quote when you look at the world stage today, particularly at the West and its posture in relation to terrorists.

While considering the world as it is today, don't lose sight of the world as it can and ought to be. In the face of the cynic, assert the romantic.

How?

The answer in in Galt's observation. Specifically, don't let your virtue lapse into the approximate. Know precisely why you are good and why those you love are good. Embrace that knowledge as an integral, spiritual part of embracing those closest to you. Tell them how good they are and why.

That's an expression of love as well as an act of justice. The emotion is personal but the moral knowledge can be shared, one rational soul at a time. Therein lies the seed of the slow chain reaction that can and will change the world.

I'll end with the last line from Galt's speech. It echoes the quote above. "Fight with the radiant certainty and the absolute rectitude of knowing that yours is the morality of life and yours is the battle for any achievement, any value, any grandeur, any goodness, any joy that has ever existed on this earth." Don't let it go.

Dihydrogen Monoxide? Oh My!

Have you heard of the "dangers" of dihydrogen monoxide yet? If not, visit
http://www.snopes.com/science/dhmo.asp .

Guard your children! Save yourself! ;^)

The Real Lincoln

The Real Lincoln: A New Look at Abraham Lincoln, His Agenda, and an Unnecessary War by Thomas J. DiLorenzo

This book has altered my view of the American Civil War. For the first time in my life, I have sympathy for the Southern cause. No, not for slavery. That abomination had to end. The South's cause was states' rights. But their horrible contradiction was trying to apply states rights to deny others their rights. As such, it was properly doomed.

That said, that did not make the North's cause automatically just. Had the North declared, at the outset, that its mission was to free the slaves, then its cause would have been just. It would have had the moral right to crush the South by any means necessary.

But it didn't. In yet another horrible contradiction, it felt it had the right to deny others their rights. The Civil War was a cataclysmic orgy of abusing the rights of others.

The North's goal was to stop the South from seceding. The purpose behind that was not to "save the Union" but to crush opposition to Lincoln's goal -- to implement on a national level statist ambitions he had failed to accomplish on a state level for 3 decades. Standing in his way was the constitution -- on state level as well as national. More, the staunchest advocates of states' rights, tragically, were Southerners.

This and more is covered in DiLorenzo's book. I recommend it to anyone who is interested in a fresh perspective on the Civil War and its significant, tragic impact of American life and politics ever since.

I encourage and welcome comments on the book.

Span the globe at the click of a button

Check this out -- http://www.flashearth.com/

It's a fascinating accomplishment. It allows you to zoom in and out of any place on the planet.

Skype Rules!

If you are not already familiar with Skype, here's the deal. It's a way to talk to friends literally anywhere in the world for free!

How? I have no idea how, precisely. I just know that if you have a DSL or cable connection (much faster than dial-up) to the internet you can take advantage of this freebie by going to http://www.skype.com and downloading their free software. They'll spell out for you how to proceed from there.

Note: You'll also need to buy or find a microphone for your computer. They're cheap -- something like $10 or less. You'll get that value back with one free "phone" call to anyone in the world.

So far, I've used Skype to talk to my friend, Barry, in London and Istanbul. The sound quality is excellent -- his as well as Skype's. :^)

Don't forget the part about it being free. It fits right in with my "life is good" theme!

Portable Storage

Used my first portable storage unit, a 60 GB Maxtor OneTouch III. It's too small for what I need but the price was right for experimentation purposes.

This is cool technology -- simple, cheap and it works. That is, it's like a memory stick but much bigger. Like a memory stick, it's true plug and play. Just connect it to a USB port and go.

It doesn't even need a separate power supply. Evidently, the storage unit works off the PC's power. Amazing! Bless the capitalist men and women who made this possible!

Now that I see how well and easily this works, I'll buy a bigger unit to backup my PC, especially my treasured iPod music!

Atlas Shrugged Moment

All you other Atlas Shrugged fans will appreciate this image. I had to compress it by 50% to fit into this blog post but you get the idea.

Speaking of Atlas Shrugged, check out the place that inspired Galt's Gulch at www.ouraycolorado.com.

Hello World!

If you're familiar with computer programming, you'll recognize "Hello World!" as a common programmer's test. It's equivalent to an entertainer on stage tapping a mike while asking: "Is thing on?"

Anywho, here I am, dipping my toe into the blog ocean. The water feels fine.

My thanks to Barry and Meltem for setting a nice example for me to follow.

Cheers!