You are never dedicated to something you have complete confidence in. No one is fanatically shouting that the sun is going to rise tomorrow. They know it's going to rise tomorrow. When people are fanatically dedicated to political or religious faiths or any other kinds of dogmas or goals, it's always because these dogmas or goals are in doubt. -Robert M. Pirsig, author and philosopher (6 Sep 1928-2017
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Authorities in Rome have caught a thief after he got distracted mid- break-and-enter and sat down to read a book on The Iliad.
Authorities have suspended an Austrian surgeon’s license after allegations emerged she let her 13-year-old daughter help out (quite a bit) during an operation.
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Following a post-election review, the UK has announced it wil restrict the sale of some weapons to Israel, citing concerns they could be used in violation of international humanitarian law. The ban includes parts for fighter planes, helicopters, and drones.
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Authorities have suspended an Austrian surgeon’s license after allegations emerged she let her 13-year-old daughter help out (quite a bit) during an operation.
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Sheldon Richman on classical liberalism and democracy:
Sheldon Richman on classical liberalism and democracy:
'First, classical liberalism, or what we moderns call libertarianism, is not mainly about believing; it’s about respecting each individual’s person, property, and liberty, and particularly about the government’s respecting those things. It’s also about understanding that freedom leads to social cooperation (the division of labor and trade), peace, and prosperity. Economic theory and history show it.
Second, it’s democracy, not freedom, that requires faith in the absence of evidence. It’s a religion that holds that if we believe hard enough, tens of millions of us going to the temple polls to vote will make the right decisions. No one explains why it should work out that way. And it doesn’t. It’s a faith in magic, and magic is not real.
There is a glitch in the democratic religion: most voters are ignorant. Poll after poll shows that most people know little about the government and the economic process, which the government regulates. They are not only ignorant of basic economic theory, which the evaluation of candidates requires; they are also ignorant of basic indisputable political facts, such as who their so-called representatives are, how they vote, which party controls the Senate and House, and how much the government spends and borrows. How can they vote wisely?'
Second, it’s democracy, not freedom, that requires faith in the absence of evidence. It’s a religion that holds that if we believe hard enough, tens of millions of us going to the temple polls to vote will make the right decisions. No one explains why it should work out that way. And it doesn’t. It’s a faith in magic, and magic is not real.
There is a glitch in the democratic religion: most voters are ignorant. Poll after poll shows that most people know little about the government and the economic process, which the government regulates. They are not only ignorant of basic economic theory, which the evaluation of candidates requires; they are also ignorant of basic indisputable political facts, such as who their so-called representatives are, how they vote, which party controls the Senate and House, and how much the government spends and borrows. How can they vote wisely?'
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