Re: Member’s post 104109 of 3/9/24 Member wrote: The difference between a constitutional republic and a democracy is in the charter or constitution that protects the individual’s right to life and liberty against the whims of a majority. Some claim that the U.S. is a Representative Democracy in that the government is elected by citizens. From my
http://home/hbladmin/hbletter.com_EMPTY
February 2 was Randsday. As the creator of that holiday, I set up Randsday.com and put the following text on it. February 2nd is the birthday of Ayn Rand, the author of Atlas Shrugged and The Fountainhead. Ayn Rand developed and defended Objectivism, a philosophy that advocates “rational selfishness.” To celebrate Randsday, you do something not done on any
How many years, or how many decades are the Fox newscasters going to refer to the “crisis” on our borders? I guess as long as there’s a fear of foreigners to cater to. There can’t be a “crisis” that goes on for at least 10 years, as this one has (in 2014, a “crisis” was
I belatedly listened to Bari Weiss’ November 17th talk to the Federalist Society. Others on HBL have found fault with it, but those flaws are of no consequence compared to the two extraordinary virtues of the talk. But there is a prefatory virtue: she gives us a benchmark for the decline of Western civilization. After
Many people find it hard to comprehend the widespread approval being showered upon Hamas. How, they wonder, can the perpetrators of unspeakable atrocities, captured on video for all to see, elicit the sympathy of tens or hundreds of thousands in the civilized West? Isn’t the evil of Hamas—and all its Palestinian supporters—indisputable? Certainly, a growing
In ITOE and elsewhere, AR makes a point whose significance is massive, but is not easily available: Man is neither infallible nor omniscient; if he were, a discipline such as epistemology–the theory of knowledge–would not be necessary nor possible: his knowledge would be automatic, unquestionable and total. It’s easy to see why fallibility—the possibility of error—gives rise
“Miami Is Booming But Population Falls” is the (ungrammatical) headline in a front-page story of the August 1st Wall St. Journal. It opens thus: Miami, a global hot spot with ambitions to be a business and financial hub, is driving away more residents than it is attracting. Why? The reporters proceed to tell you: Surging housing
Here’s the updated slides for my OCON ’23 presentation on the philosophy of mathematics: Saving Math from Plato
Re: a member’s post of 6/8/23 The principle of government acting pre-emptively to prevent fraud, where there is no “probable cause,” is behind the regulatory state. Compare: – since some people might accept fraudulent coins, the government has to regulate coinage – since some people crossing the border will perform criminal acts, the government has to
