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Index for this page...(Be aware some links below may have expired.)
All The Following Items Were Posted On March 1, 2006 1. Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) British philosopher of Neo-Realism
Read about Bertrand Russell in The Radical Academy. 2. Albert Einstein (1879-1955) German physicist and philosopher
Read about Albert Einstein in The Radical Academy. 3. Epictetus (c. 60-110 A.D.) Ancient Greek Stoic philosopher
Read about Epictetus in The Radical Academy. 4. Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778) French philosopher of Romanticism
Read about Jean-Jacques Rousseau in The Radical Academy. 5. Francis Bacon (1561-1626) English philosopher of Empiricism
Read about Francis Bacon in The Radical Academy. 6. Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882) American philosopher of Transcendentalism
Read about Ralph Waldo Emerson in The Radical Academy. 7. Michel De Montaigne (1533-1592) French philosopher of Illuminism
Read about Michel De Montaigne in The Radical Academy. 8. Louis Brandeis (1856-1941) Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court
Read about Louis Brandeis in The Radical Academy. 9. Saint Augustine (354 - 430) Medieval Christian philosopher
Read about Saint Augustine in The Radical Academy.
FOR THE RECORD 1. The Regulation That Nobody Can See A federal appeals court has upheld a government regulation that requires passengers to show ID before boarding a commercial airplane. The only problem is, the court refused to reveal exactly what the regulation requires -- or even to allow anyone to see a copy of it. The case in question was filed by John Gilmore, a longtime libertarian and co-founder of the Electronic Frontier Foundation. Gilmore had declined to show a government-issued identification card or submit to an enhanced search in July 2002 while trying to fly from Oakland to Washington, DC. At the time, Gilmore was told by an airport security agent that a Transportation Security Administration (TSA) directive required passengers to show identification before boarding an airplane. When he asked to see the directive, Gilmore was told it was transmitted orally, and was not available in writing. Gilmore filed suit in federal court. He argued that the requirement to show an ID violated the Fourth Amendment's protection against illegal search and infringed on his right to travel freely. Gilmore's attorneys requested a copy of the TSA directive, but were told by the government that it was "Sensitive Security Information." Gilmore added to his lawsuit the complaint that such a secret regulation was unconstitutionally vague and violated his right to due process. During the first round of hearings in court, government lawyers "refused to confirm or deny a federal law or regulation requiring IDs at airports even exists," according to the Associated Press. When the lower court ruled against Gilmore, he appealed. On January 26, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected Gilmore's arguments. It said the identification policy did not violate the Fourth Amendment because passengers were free to walk away rather than show an ID or be searched. The judges also ruled that all airline passengers are informed about the ID rule, so it does not violate any Constitutional due-process provisions. Oddly, however, Gilmore still hasn't seen the regulation that inspired him to file the lawsuit. The U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals judges reviewed the government's regulation in private, saying they could not disclose its contents in court for security reasons. During the appeal court hearings in December, one of Gilmore's attorneys, James Harrison, had noted, "This is America. We do not have secret laws." Except, apparently, we do. And three judges on the Circuit Court of Appeals think that's perfectly okay. In a more libertarian America, it's easy to imagine that most commercial airlines *would* require passengers to show ID before boarding -- both as a security measure and to maintain an accurate list of passengers in case of an accident. The airlines wouldn't need to be secretive about such a policy; customers would be notified that identification is required in order to do business with the airline. Potential passengers would be free to accept or reject such a requirement, or shop for an airline with different policies. But that's not how the Kafkaesque U.S. government works. In today's America, politicians and bureaucrats write regulations that citizens can't see. Government lawyers decline to confirm or deny the existence of such regulations. And judges rule on the constitutionality of such secret regulations -- while refusing to allow the citizens affected by them to read them. In the long run, doesn't a government that allows secret laws sound a lot more alarming than the possibility that John Gilmore might take a trip without showing an ID card? -- Comment by Bill Winter (Editor of Liberator Online). Sources:
2. Gay Controversy Over "End of the Spear" In an apparent case of the Christian community eating itself alive, a new controversy has developed concerning the casting of a gay activist in the new film, "End of the Spear." The film, produced by the openly evangelical film company Every Tribe Entertainment, tells the real-life story of five American Christian missionaries killed in 1956 by an indigenous Ecuadorian tribe. The missionaries' families eventually forgave and befriended the tribe, and converted them to Christianity. As it turns out, the film's lead (playing one of the missionaries) is Chad Allen, a gay activist. And according to the New York Times, over 100 pastors across the country have signed a letter addressed to Every Tribe Entertainment expressing disappointment over the casting of Allen. Indeed, some evangelicals have decided to boycott the film, and Every Tribe has apparently even received some threats. At a time when there are so few openly Christian films in the marketplace, it's unfortunate that that some in the Christian community would boycott or denounce a film on this basis. It probably hasn't even occurred to some of these Christian activists that the denouncing and boycotting of "End of the Spear" has given Allen's activism more publicity than it otherwise would've received - indeed, we hadn't even heard of Allen until this story appeared. Ultimately what Allen does off-camera has nothing to do with "End of the Spear," and it would be best if Christian activists take what victories they can get in the world of film and not endlessly dissect those that make the films - searching for ideological perfection where they'll never find it. The ardently left-wing Tilda Swinton recently appeared in Walden Media's "Chronicles of Narnia" - and gave the best performance in that film (indeed, one of the best performances all year). Should Walden have waved Swinton aside, and cast someone more ideologically pure? We don't think so. -- Comment by Jason Apuzzo and Govindini Murty (NewsMax columnists, filmmakers, and co-directors of the Liberty Film Festival). 3. Driving Under The Influence -- Oregon Style Only an Oregonian could think of this ... Recently a routine police patrol parked outside a bar in Canby, Oregon. After last call the officer noticed a man leaving the bar so intoxicated that he could barely walk. The man stumbled around the parking lot for a few minutes, with the officer quietly observing. After what seemed an eternity and trying his keys on five different vehicles, the man managed to find his car which he fell into. He sat there for a few minutes as a number of other patrons left the bar and drove off. Finally he started the car, switched the wipers on and off (it was a fine, dry summer night) -- flicked the blinkers on, then off a couple of times, honked the horn and then switched on the lights. He moved the vehicle forward a few inches, reversed a little and then remained still for a few more minutes as some more of the other patron vehicles left. At last, the parking lot empty, he pulled out of the parking lot and started to drive slowly down the road. The police officer, having patiently waited all this time, now started up the patrol car, put on the flashing lights, and promptly pulled the man over and carried out a breathalyzer test. To his amazement the breathalyzer indicated no evidence of the man having consumed any alcohol at all! Dumbfounded, the officer said, "I'll have to ask you to accompany me to the police station. This breath alyzer equipment must be broken." I doubt it," said the truly proud Oregonian. "Tonight I'm the designated decoy." -- Sent to us by one of our visitors in Oregon. "Let us remember that revolutions do not always establish freedom. Our own free institutions were not the offspring of our revolution. They existed before." -- Millard Fillmore, 13th president of the United States (1850-1853) COUNSELING CORNER: A Poor-Man's Security System 1. Go to a second-hand store, buy a pair of men's used work boots - a really big pair. 2. Put them outside your front door on top of a copy of Guns and Ammo magazine. 3. Put a dog dish beside it. A really big dog dish. 4. Leave a note on your front door that says something like:
A LITTLE OF THIS & A LITTLE OF THAT A Little Wisdom: The difference between a hypocrite and a wise man is that one states his beliefs while the other lives them. A Little Advice: If at first you don't succeed, destroy all evidence that you tried. A Little Question: If a turtle doesn't have a shell, is he homeless or naked? A Little Put-Down: Sometimes I need what only you can provide: your absence. A Little Proverb: A peacock who sits on his tail is just another turkey. A Little Reflection: Experience is a wonderful thing. It enables you to recognize a mistake when you make it again. A Little Observation: As long as there are tests, there will be prayer in public schools. A Little Quote: "Blessed is the man who, having nothing to say, abstains from giving words in evidence of the fact." -- George Elliot. A Little Prayer: May the forces of evil become lost and confused on the way to your house. A Little Definition: Archeologist - Someone whose career lies in ruins. A Little Quip: Wrinkled was not one of the things I wanted to be when I grew up! A Little Webbie: The faulty interface lies between the chair and the keyboard.
Some interesting & provocative articles on other websites: Scientists are split on the different ways men and women think: An academic row has erupted after one of the world's leading scientific journals refused to publish an article which claims that men and women think differently. Peter Lawrence, a biologist and fellow of the Royal Society, accused Science of being "gutless" after it explained that its decision was because the piece did not offer "a strategy on how to deal with the gender issue". Love Thy Enemy - The Twilight of Freedom of Speech, by Onkar Ghate: To fathom our government's contemptible treatment of a handful of unbowed journalists, you must see the roots of that treatment in the moral ideal Christianity bequeathed the West. In the face of the intimidation and murder of European authors, film makers and politicians by Islamic militants, a few European newspapers have the courage to defend their freedom of speech: they publish twelve cartoons to test whether it's still possible to criticize Islam. Fallaci Beheaded, by Robert Spencer: A disgraceful art exhibit in Milan has illustrated once again the deep affinity between the Left and the forces of the global jihad. In these days of Muslims the world over calling for the deaths of those who have "insulted Islam," anyone who wants to see Oriana Fallaci beheaded need look no further than the Galleria Luciano Inga-Pin in Milan, which is exhibiting Giuseppe Veneziano's "American Beauty" from January 19 through March 18. Modern Day Silly Talk, by Walter Williams: Corruption of language is pervasive, much of it, methinks, for political purposes. When I was young, there were bums, vagabonds, tramps and hobos. Today, they've disappeared to be replaced by homeless people. Also, during my youth, we played cowboys and Indians; now it's cowboys and Native Americans. Paternity fraud rampant in U.S. - 30% of those named as fathers bilked of child support unjustly: More than three years ago, a Maine district court judge ruled that Geoffrey Fisher no longer had to pay child support for a child that wasn't his. But that didn't stop the state from revoking Fisher's driver's license and coming after him for thousands of dollars it says he owes in back payments. Death Sentence for a Whistleblower?, by Joel Mowbray: By the end of the month, Bureau of Prisons employee Joe Mansour faces what could well be a death sentence. His crime? After being ignored by BOP higher-ups, he warned Congress and the public about the spread of radical Islam in the federal prisons - and his employers' inability to cope with the growing crisis. Religious Terrorism vs. Free Speech, by Leonard Peikoff: Muslim death threats against Danish cartoonists echo Khomeini's 1989 fatwa on Salman Rushdie -- a death threat renewed this month by Iran's mullahs. Combating such religious terrorism is a moral necessity. Cartoons, caricatures and civilisations, by Farhang Jahanpour: When Islam led the world in science and learning, it was self-confident and tolerant. By contrast, the present anger demonstrates a loss of self-confidence. In its heyday, Islam encouraged science, philosophy, literature, and arts, as well as theology. From Superpower to Tinhorn Dictatorship, by Paul Craig Roberts: America is headed for a soft dictatorship by the end of Bush's second term. Whether any American has civil rights will be decided by the discretionary power of federal officials. The public in general will tolerate the soft dictatorship as its discretionary powers will mainly be felt by those few who challenge it. The Magic Of Balance, by Steven Barnes: If we are to be successful salesmen, artists, leaders, teachers, or simply human beings, we must have a cosmology -- a world view. But we must also have an epistemology -- an understanding of the way we gather information, and a method to determine if our methods of gathering or correlation or extrapolation are accurate. Question Turns People into Philosophers, by Katherine Jones: Right beside other billboards, above the Beechhurst traffic, and below the pedestrians walking on the Stansbury Bridge, there hangs a question. The question. It's a program put on by the philosophy department at WVU designed to get people to think like a philosopher. Philosophy Department Calls on Kids to Answer the Mysteries of Life: At first glance, it's just like any other elevated walkway on a busy university campus. This one happens to connect West Virginia University's Personal Rapid Transit station to Stansbury Hall, the home of WVU Department of Philosophy. Dr. Sharon Ryan wants that walkway to link up some important thoughts and concepts, too. At the Root of Karol Wojtyla's Philosophy - A "Radically Empirical Anthropology," Congress Is Told: An international congress in Madrid reflected on the roots of Karol Wojtyla's thought and aimed to identify the sources of his personalist philosophy. The three-day congress, entitled "The Personalist Philosophy of Karol Wojtyla," was an initiative of the Spanish Association of Personalism to study the thought of the man who became Pope John Paul II. Catholic and Queer: DePaul University in Chicago recently announced that it's offering a new "Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgendered and Queer Studies" minor. That wouldn't normally turn heads (several universities have similar offerings), but DePaul is the nation's largest Roman Catholic university -- and the Vatican's official teaching is that homosexuality is "objectively disordered." Philosophy and doctrinal tensions - What happens when scripture and philosophy contradict?, by Danny Dowell: A great danger to Christianity today is the increased use of philosophy. Philosophy is a great tool, but it is dangerous when unchecked. This danger comes when Christians fail to realize when they are thinking philosophically instead of biblically. Philosophy disguised as biblical truth, however, may lead to doctrinal error.
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