The
Rational Argumentator
Issue CCVIII
September 20-27, 2009
An Open Letter to the Sigma Chi Fraternity at Hillsdale College, Urging a Continuation of the Jail and Bail Opt-Out List:
G. Stolyarov II
September 20, 2009
This open letter is addressed to Mr. James Bild of the Hillsdale College chapter of the Sigma Chi fraternity. Mr. Stolyarov wrote the letter after Mr. Bild refused to allow the continuation of the Jail and Bail Opt-Out List that proved so successful in minimizing campus tensions during the Sigma Chi fraternity’s Derby Days fundraising events.
Art
Fractal Cherry:
G. Stolyarov II
September 23, 2009
This digital artwork was created by Mr. Stolyarov in Apophysis, a free program that facilitates deliberate manipulation of randomly generated fractals into intelligible shapes. This cherry is Mr. Stolyarov’s first work of fractal art and adds a new aspect to his esthetic style of Abstract Orderism. Fractal art is based on the idea of the spontaneous order - which is pivotal in economics, culture, and human civilization itself. Now, using computer technology, spontaneous orders can be harnessed in individual art works as well.
Economics
Trade Wars and Protectionism Are Not Free Trade:
Ron Paul
September 24, 2009
Two weeks ago, both the administration and the Fed announced with straight faces that the recession was over and the signs of economic recovery were clear. Then last week, the President made a stunning decision that signals the administration’s determination to repeat the mistakes of the Great Depression. Much like the Smoot-Hawley Tariffs that set off a global trade war and effectively doomed us to ten more years of economic misery, Obama’s decision to enact steep tariffs on Chinese imported tires could spark a trade war with the single most important trading partner we have, writes Rep. Ron Paul. Not only does China manufacture a whole host of products that end up on American store shelves; the Chinese are also still buying United States Treasury debt.
Why on Earth is Health Such a Low Priority?:
Bradley Doucet
September 27, 2009
Something only rarely addressed during the acrimonious debate on health care is why we take such poor care of our health. Many of us in the developed world eat too much, smoke too much, or drink too much. Combine that with a tendency to sleep and exercise too little, and you have a partial explanation of rising health care costs. Bradley Doucet explores this issue from the perspectives of ethics and economics.
Why on Earth are So Many Americans Uninsured?:
Bradley Doucet
September 27, 2009
That dreaded statistic was in the news again: 46 million Americans have no health insurance. Like many scary numbers the press serves up every day, this one needs to be examined with a skeptical eye. In reality, writes Bradley Doucet, the situation is not quite as bad as it is made to appear.
Films
The Film Noir Moment:
Jeffrey Tucker
September 24, 2009
Film Noir is not riding any wave of popularity so it is the perfect time to anticipate a trend. These movies from the 1940s are not only brilliant and beautiful but also entertaining in their own right. They look completely different to us now from what they must have looked like then, and Jeffrey Tucker does not mean merely to inspire a sentimentalism for days gone by. Mr. Tucker believes that it is in the writings of Mises, Hazlitt, and Rand that we discover the secrets to understanding the strange world of film noir. It is a feast for the eyes and ears, a look at how dramatically and sweepingly different our times are in so many ways, and yet how the themes of corruption, deception, and lies are persistent wherever public and private violence against person and property rears its ugly head.
Politics
Protest of the Producers:
Edward Hudgins
September 20, 2009
The past week saw two conflicting kinds of political consciousness that point to what is right and what is wrong with our culture today, writes Dr. Edward Hudgins. Protests against the policies of Obama and Congress will certainly continue and intensify as the 2010 elections loom. Those who want to effect a deeper social change and to reinforce the moral foundations of a free society should not only raise their own and potential allies’ understanding of the benefits and hazards of particular policies; they should also foster in themselves and others their own self-consciousness as producers and creators.
President Obama Continues to Spread Untruths: Energy Advocate Responds to UN Speech:
Marita Noon
September 24, 2009
On September 22, 2009, in his speech before the UN, President Obama based all his comments on the belief that the science on Climate Change is settled. Marita Noon writes that nothing could be further than the truth—though policy in Washington, D.C., is continuing as if it is settled.
Conservation Easements are a Sustainable Development Land Grab:
Clarice Ryan
September 27, 2009
One of the prime targets of the Sustainability movement is the acquisition and control of private property of this country and the natural resources contained. The Conservation Easement provides the tools, techniques, and motivations to legally wrest the land from its owners and transfer it to the federal government, supposedly preserving it for future generations. Clarice Ryan explains.
Science
Adapting to Climate Change Through Technology:
Paul Driessen
September 20, 2009
Dr. Norman Borlaug – the father of the Green Agricultural Revolution – died last weekend. Norman was a friend of Paul Driessen, and they talked on a pretty regular basis. Their last conversation centered on catastrophic climate change – so Mr. Driessen thought it would be fitting to incorporate that discussion and other vignettes about his life and philosophy into a tribute to him and his work.
"Books constitute capital. A library book lasts as long as a house, for hundreds of years. It is not, then, an article of mere consumption but fairly of capital, and often in the case of professional men, setting out in life, it is their only capital."
~ Thomas Jefferson