On the BorderLine http://www.ontheborderline.net Tu ne cede malis sed contra audentior ito. Defending the constitution from government intrusion where ever it may be lurking. Wed, 10 Mar 2010 16:19:05 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.1 en hourly 1 In retrospect: Were Tiger Woods’ transgressions “selfish”? http://www.ontheborderline.net/retrospect-tiger-woods-transgressions-selfish/ http://www.ontheborderline.net/retrospect-tiger-woods-transgressions-selfish/#comments Wed, 10 Mar 2010 15:06:37 +0000 bildanielson http://www.ontheborderline.net/?p=6689 In retrospect: Were Tiger Woods transgressions selfish?

In short, NO!

I think this is an important discussion because all across the land, and particularly in Christian circles-although not exclusively-Tiger Woods’ moral transgressions are routinely referred to as selfish, immoral acts. As if “selfish” behavior is logically tied to, or the equivalent of, immoral behavior. The reality is that this is truly non-thinking confusion and could not be further from the truth.

In a reply to a very well-written article by Penn State undergrad Rituparna Basu out at the UnderCurrent, I make the distinction thusly:

Do not confuse hedonism with selfishness.. The key here is to clearly understand that all of the measurable, tangible, real accomplishments of individuals such as Tiger Woods were due to his application of rational self-interest, aka selfishness. The degree Tiger applied himself to the real world; to the physics of golf ball flight, to the biomechanical and physiological aspects of athletic training, and the intellectual discipline necessary for mental focus resulted in the professional accomplishments we all marvel over and that he publicly and, to my understanding, privately laid out as long term, rational, goals.

To the extent he engaged in the pursuit of irrational, non life-serving, values by essentially engaging in hedonism-the mere emotional act of doing whatever makes one “happy” at the spur of the moment-was not selfish and clearly had life threatening consequences that were/are inconsistent with his rational self-interested goals. One ought not confuse merely instant gratification regardless the consequence with meaningful and thoughtful pursuit of long range goals that actually are life-sustaining and not personally destructive.

While the immediate consequence of lying, cheating, or stealing might be pleasurable to a human’s senses the long range consequences are almost always life threatening (life includes the concept of individual liberty, e.g. if you are jailed for theft). Therefore, lying, cheating, and stealing are not life sustaining actions and cannot be considered “selfish” actions.

I think an appropriate reference here to Ayn Rand is useful: “To take “whatever makes one happy” as a guide to action means: to be guided by nothing but one’s emotional whims. Emotions are not tools of cognition. . . . This is the fallacy inherent in hedonism–in any variant of ethical hedonism, personal or social, individual or collective. “Happiness” can properly be the purpose of ethics, but not the standard. The task of ethics is to define man’s proper code of values and thus to give him the means of achieving happiness. To declare, as the ethical hedonists do, that “the proper value is whatever gives you pleasure” is to declare that “the proper value is whatever you happen to value”–which is an act of intellectual and philosophical abdication, an act which merely proclaims the futility of ethics and invites all men to play it deuces wild.” (Ayn Rand, The Virtue of Selfishness, “The Objectivist Ethics”.)

So, the answer to Rituparna’s question of whether these men’s actions can be considered selfish is very straightforward: NO.

In retrospect: Were Tiger Woods transgressions selfish?

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]]> http://www.ontheborderline.net/retrospect-tiger-woods-transgressions-selfish/feed/ 0 Diana Hsieh on Hope and Change… http://www.ontheborderline.net/dr-hsieh-hope-change/ http://www.ontheborderline.net/dr-hsieh-hope-change/#comments Wed, 10 Mar 2010 03:15:43 +0000 Flashy http://www.ontheborderline.net/?p=6687 Diana Hsieh on Hope and Change...

Diana Hsieh (NoodleFood), who has a PHD in Philosophy from the University of Colorado, discusses how we ought to beware the buzz words of the statists who would take your liberty away using with catch phrases such as, “it’s for the children”, “upholding moral standards”, or “protecting us from harm.”

Dr. Hsieh’s videocast is a pleasing diversion from the gobbledygook all around us!

Diana Hsieh on Hope and Change...

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]]> http://www.ontheborderline.net/dr-hsieh-hope-change/feed/ 0 Senatar McCain http://www.ontheborderline.net/senatar-mccain/ http://www.ontheborderline.net/senatar-mccain/#comments Sun, 07 Mar 2010 15:09:55 +0000 Flashy http://www.ontheborderline.net/?p=6686 Senatar McCain

senatar Senatar McCain

Senatar McCain

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]]> http://www.ontheborderline.net/senatar-mccain/feed/ 0 Governmentspeak: Jobless Recovery http://www.ontheborderline.net/governmentspeak-jobless-recovery/ http://www.ontheborderline.net/governmentspeak-jobless-recovery/#comments Fri, 05 Mar 2010 18:56:28 +0000 Flashy http://www.ontheborderline.net/?p=6683 Governmentspeak: Jobless Recovery

So, what is a “jobless recovery”? Does it stand to reason that you can have an entire economy the size of the United States’ undergo an economic recovery without creating jobs? That, according to some, we simply have a flat job market while other data are showing the economy has recovered?

What sort of convoluted nonsense is this? It’s governmentspeak and don’t believe a word of it!

If the economy were actually, truly, recovering to the point of sustained growth in real GDP (meaning you must take government expenditures out) you would see a net increase in jobs created in the private sector in a significant and sustained way. The fact is, you don’t see this.

Point being here is that this idea of a “jobless recovery” is simply an oxymoron.

Governmentspeak: Jobless Recovery

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]]> http://www.ontheborderline.net/governmentspeak-jobless-recovery/feed/ 0 Only in Washington… http://www.ontheborderline.net/washington/ http://www.ontheborderline.net/washington/#comments Fri, 05 Mar 2010 02:52:57 +0000 Flashy http://www.ontheborderline.net/?p=6682 Only in Washington...

can you spend for six years, and use tax revenues over ten years, and call this a balanced government program…

So, let me see how this would work in my household. I get to buy a brand new Chevy Tahoe and finance it over six years. To prove my creditworthiness I can use ten years of income to make the six year payments work out… on paper.

Paul Ryan has the dope on this, nice work Paul..!

Only in Washington...

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]]> http://www.ontheborderline.net/washington/feed/ 0 Required Reading.. Obama’s plan is NOT moral! http://www.ontheborderline.net/required-reading-obamas-plan-moral/ http://www.ontheborderline.net/required-reading-obamas-plan-moral/#comments Thu, 04 Mar 2010 17:00:20 +0000 Flashy http://www.ontheborderline.net/?p=6681 Required Reading.. Obamas plan is NOT moral!

Written by Paul Hsieh, MD

President Obama has finally demanded an “up or down vote” on his health care plan. Republicans have already raised numerous economic and procedural objections, arguing that his plan relies on economic “smoke and mirrors” and that the president is now endorsing the same controversial “reconciliation” process that he denounced in 2005 as a senator as “the wrong place for policy changes.” Yet the president and his supporters remain committed to their goal of government-run “universal health care.” Why is that?

The key is Obama’s declaration, “I don’t know how this plays politically, but I know its right.” Ultimately, Obama and his liberal base believe that government-guaranteed health care is a “moral imperative” — i.e., “it’s right.” And that will also be the key to defeating it.

As Leonard Peikoff once wrote, “So long as people believe that socialized medicine is a noble plan, there is no way to fight it. You cannot stop a noble plan — not if it really is noble. The only way you can defeat it is to unmask it — to show that it is the very opposite of noble. Then at least you have a fighting chance.”

Hence, one must challenge ObamaCare not merely on the economic or procedural levels but on the moral level.

Full article at Pajamas Media

Required Reading.. Obamas plan is NOT moral!

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]]> http://www.ontheborderline.net/required-reading-obamas-plan-moral/feed/ 0 Utah Mystics… aka religious a-holes in elected office do irrational things. http://www.ontheborderline.net/utah-mystics-aka-religious-aholes-elected-office-irrational/ http://www.ontheborderline.net/utah-mystics-aka-religious-aholes-elected-office-irrational/#comments Wed, 03 Mar 2010 20:49:14 +0000 slimpickens http://www.ontheborderline.net/?p=6680 Utah Mystics... aka religious a holes in elected office do irrational things.

Utah Mystics... aka religious a holes in elected office do irrational things.

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]]> http://www.ontheborderline.net/utah-mystics-aka-religious-aholes-elected-office-irrational/feed/ 0 A Snow Job http://www.ontheborderline.net/snow-job/ http://www.ontheborderline.net/snow-job/#comments Tue, 02 Mar 2010 06:19:46 +0000 Henry Patrick http://www.ontheborderline.net/?p=6679 A Snow Job

White house economic advisor Larry Summers stated in an interview with CNBC that the recent blizzards probably distorted the unemployment numbers due to be released on Friday morning. According to Summers, the mountain of accumulated snow halted construction projects and also temporarily closed many stores plus restaurants.

The White House reasoning quickly melts in the face of economic logic. Businesses make hiring or firing decisions based on the benefit that an employee brings to the table versus their cost. No doubt the weather kept people from eating out or shopping for a few days. But the dress that was not bought on Saturday because of the weather more than likely will be purchased after the roads have been plowed. The lobster whose life was saved by little snowflakes on Friday night will be boiled a week later for a delayed celebration.

The fact is that construction has hemorrhaged jobs for over a year. In a report authored by the Bureau of Labor Statistics and released at the beginning of February, the construction industry shed another 75,000 jobs, which was about the average monthly loss for the preceding 12 months. Currently, one out of four unemployed people came from construction.

Despite the rosier picture painted by the unemployment rate dipping under 10% the last three months, raw numbers show net additions to the jobless rolls. The White house has used the magical decline in the unemployment rate as proof of a successful economic plan.

Is Summers statement a preview of a disappointing jobs report? Many believe the actual unemployment rate hovers above 15% when individuals no longer actively looking for work are included. A bad jobs report could chill financial markets running on hope and stifle White House claims of success.

A Snow Job

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]]> http://www.ontheborderline.net/snow-job/feed/ 0 John Taylor Gatto speaks about schools and brainwashing http://www.ontheborderline.net/john-taylor-gatto-speaks-schools-brainwashing/ http://www.ontheborderline.net/john-taylor-gatto-speaks-schools-brainwashing/#comments Mon, 01 Mar 2010 20:39:27 +0000 Citizen Joe http://www.ontheborderline.net/?p=6678 John Taylor Gatto speaks about schools and brainwashing

John Taylor Gatto speaks about schools and brainwashing

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]]> http://www.ontheborderline.net/john-taylor-gatto-speaks-schools-brainwashing/feed/ 0 Jack Webb “Schools” Obama http://www.ontheborderline.net/jack-webb-schools-obama/ http://www.ontheborderline.net/jack-webb-schools-obama/#comments Fri, 26 Feb 2010 01:45:12 +0000 Citizen Joe http://www.ontheborderline.net/?p=6677 Jack Webb Schools Obama

Jack Webb Schools Obama

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]]> http://www.ontheborderline.net/jack-webb-schools-obama/feed/ 0 Knight to c2 http://www.ontheborderline.net/knight-c2/ http://www.ontheborderline.net/knight-c2/#comments Thu, 25 Feb 2010 03:41:45 +0000 Henry Patrick http://www.ontheborderline.net/?p=6675 Knight to c2

In chess a fork occurs when a piece moves into a position where it can simultaneously attack two or more opposing pieces. The knight, which can move in an L shaped pattern and four different directions, is the piece most commonly used to execute this type of attack. A fork usually results in the opposing player losing a major piece. High caliber players often take care to avoid moves that could leave an opening for two quality pieces like a Queen and a Bishop to be attacked at the same time.

In his aggression to flood the economy with fiat money and lower key interest rates to zero, Ben Bernanke may have moved his monetary pieces and the economy into a vulnerable position. The Federal Reserve faces two problems. While lower rates did little to boost an economy already flooded in debt, they did help chase money toward the stock market where indices have bounced approximately 60% from the lows made almost a year ago.

A dramatically inflated money supply creates the very real danger of rapid price increases across the economic landscape. At its very worse, inflation can destroy the currency as illustrated historically by the experience of the Weimar Republic. The Producer Price Index, which showed an annualized rise of 16%, sounded an alarm to put the brakes on the monetary printing presses.

The likely result of pulling back on the monetary reins will be much higher interest rates and siphoning money out of the stock market. On the other hand, if the Federal Reserve continues on its present course, then the odds of a currency crisis increase with each passing day.

It looks like Bernake is sure to lose a piece. He has to be careful not to put the country into checkmate.

Knight to c2

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]]> http://www.ontheborderline.net/knight-c2/feed/ 0 The Great Lie of the Nanny State http://www.ontheborderline.net/great-lie-nanny-state/ http://www.ontheborderline.net/great-lie-nanny-state/#comments Wed, 24 Feb 2010 18:37:51 +0000 Citizen Joe http://www.ontheborderline.net/?p=6674 The Great Lie of the Nanny State

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]]> http://www.ontheborderline.net/great-lie-nanny-state/feed/ 0 Another Flawed Keynesian Approach http://www.ontheborderline.net/flawed-keynesian-legislation/ http://www.ontheborderline.net/flawed-keynesian-legislation/#comments Wed, 24 Feb 2010 05:37:24 +0000 Henry Patrick http://www.ontheborderline.net/?p=6673 Another Flawed Keynesian Approach

With the help of five Republicans in the US Senate, it appears the hurdle has been cleared for some form of a jobs bill to pass approval in Congress. Perhaps I am mistaken, but Congress already passed and the president signed a $750 billion spending bill to get people back to work. What is different about raiding an empty treasury of billions more this time to create jobs?

Architects of the legislation point to the tax credits available to businesses that increase their headcount. One idea is to give employers a tax-credit up to $5000 for each additional person hired. At first glance this may seem like a logical incentive. But as my economic students learn, two sides exist to transaction.

The tax credit will only reduce the marginal cost of a new employee for the first year. After the initial year the cost of the new hire will balloon by at least the amount of the tax credit. As any student passing a Principles of Economic realizes, cost is just one factor in the employment equation. The other side of the coin takes into account the revenue benefit that an employee brings to the table. Firms will retain or hire individuals as long as their additional benefit exceeds their additional cost. Without a significant pick up in demand, many firms will pass on expanding their payrolls.

Small business owners point to another flaw of the proposal in that tax-credits are realized at the end of the year. The cost of a new hire drains cash flow in the meantime. As one owner stated, cash flow is at the heart of staying in business. My creditors may not wait for the federal government to reimburse me.

It looks like another lesson in failed Keynesian economics.

Another Flawed Keynesian Approach

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]]> http://www.ontheborderline.net/flawed-keynesian-legislation/feed/ 0 Is It a Warning Shot? http://www.ontheborderline.net/warning-shot/ http://www.ontheborderline.net/warning-shot/#comments Tue, 23 Feb 2010 05:24:17 +0000 Henry Patrick http://www.ontheborderline.net/?p=6671 Is It a Warning Shot?

On a recent financial statement, Citibank notified customers that effective April 1, 2010 the institution reserves the right to require seven days notice before permitting withdrawals from all checking accounts. The bank later clarified that the restriction only applied to residents of Texas.

If I am a Citibank customer, living in Texas or not, then it may be prudent to take my money to another institution where the bank is going to let me have access to a checking account. The question being ignored by many reporting on this story is why Citibank has targeted Texas.

It must be remembered that the federal government owns about a third of Citibank. Furthermore, the folks in Texas and the state legislature have been raising their voices about nullification. Recently, bills have been introduced in the state house questioning the Constitutional authority of the federal government to regulate emissions, healthcare, and gun registration. Some of the largest Tea party gatherings have occurred in the Lone Star State.

With the Democrats running full speed ahead to pass nationalized healthcare and the President using the power of the EPA to mandate global warming regulation, a good chance exists that Texas may invoke its rights under the Ninth and Tenth Amendments to nullify any such intrusions from Washington D.C.

It only takes one spark to start a raging inferno. Montana and Tennessee have already passed what amounts to nullification legislation concerning gun and ammunition laws. In the last month Virginia legislation stated that the home to Jefferson and Madison would not be part of a healthcare plan that mandated citizens to buy insurance. Virginia also joined Alabama and Texas in filing suit against the EPA. Utah filed suit to reclaim land within its borders now controlled by the US government. Dozens of states are lined up to defy federal laws on marijuana and many more have pending resolutions declaring their Constitutional rights.

Could the Obama administration be using its bank to send the good people of Texas and the rest of the nation a message to stop making overtures for a fight or risk losing access to their money? I would not bet my checking account on it.

Is It a Warning Shot?

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]]> http://www.ontheborderline.net/warning-shot/feed/ 0 Glenn Beck at CPAC http://www.ontheborderline.net/glenn-beck-cpac/ http://www.ontheborderline.net/glenn-beck-cpac/#comments Sun, 21 Feb 2010 13:58:23 +0000 Citizen Joe http://www.ontheborderline.net/?p=6670 Glenn Beck at CPAC

Glenn Beck at CPAC

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