Everybody Draw Mohammed Day!!

As you have probably heard, Matt Stone and Trey Parker, the producers of South Park, got a death threat because they depicted Mohammed in one of their latest episodes. Muslims are forbidden from depicting any representation of Mohammed, because they believe it's disrespectful. In a free society, they are free to not draw Mohammed, but they are not free to impose their beliefs on others by the threat of force.

On that spirit, those of us who love freedom, and who will not stand for somebody trying to impose their views on us by force, are joining together on the first annual "Draw Mohammed Day". We are all going to draw Mohammed and post it by May 20th, in solidarity with Matt Stone, Trey Parker, the Danish Cartoonists, and everybody else who is being threatened by fanatics.

If this offends you, you are free to not look at it, there are plenty of things that I might find offensive, but I believe in the rights of other people to say whatever they want, even if it offends me. The price for living in a free society is that some people might do things that offend you. The alternative is slavery, whether it's communism, nazism, or shari'ah, I will stick with capitalism and freedom of expression thank you.

So, in solidarity with everybody who is exercising their right to free expression in a free capitalist country, here is my drawing of Mohammed:

And here is my girlfriend's drawing of Mohammed:

Normally I do not think about Mohammed, so I am not inclined to draw him. But if my freedom is threatened, then I'll spend the time and effort to draw him and stand for freedom. If you want us to stop drawing Mohammed, stop making a big deal about it and threatening people. Then we'll get bored and move to something more interesting, like math, physics, philosophy, or computer science.

"Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."
-- Benjamin Franklin

If fast food was treated like health care...

Health care is expensive, why? Because of government interference, and because of frivolous lawsuits, which makes the whole health care enterprise bureaucratic and expensive. Here is an excerpt from Hulu of one of my favorite shows, Sliders, where they end up in a world run by lawyers, where everybody is afraid of being sued. This is what happens when the protagonists of the show try to buy fast food...

I am acting in a movie, here is the trailer!

So I can now add actor to the list of the things I can claim to be besides math geek, software developer, real estate investor, model agent, rock band manager, and nightlife promoter. I am acting in a movie, Looking for Lucid, written and directed by Helen Peros and produced by Cornered Tumbleweed Productions. The trailer just came out, the movie should be ready by the summer of 2010. Here it is:

¿Que Tiene Que Decir La Filosofía Acerca De La Imigración?

Para mis amigos que piensan que la filosofía es algo abstracto que no tiene mucho que decir acerca de nuestras vidas y nuestros problemas cotidianos, aqui les va un artículo que escribió Craig Biddle acerca de la imigración. Es el mejor argumento que he visto hasta ahorita para que se legalize a todo mundo, se abran las fronteras, y eliminen por completo las restricciones a las personas que vienen a trabajar a Estados Unidos. El argumento de Craig Biddle funciona, y ofrece la solución mas sensata, porque es un argumento filosófico basado en el principio de derechos individuales, no en las emociones de los dos partidos que ahorita estan peleando el asunto y ofreciendo soluciones tontas. Léanlo, y pásenlo mas delante, y si les gusta su estilo, vengan a ver a Craig Biddle en su plática gratuita este 21 de Septiembre en el campus de Auraria!!

La filosofía en la que se basa este articulo es el Objetivismo, la filosofía de Ayn Rand. El Objetivismo está a favor la imigración porque está a favor de los derechos individuales como principio político, está a favor de los derechos individuales porque está a favor del egoismo racional como principio ético, y está a favor del egoismo racional porque está a favor de la razón como principio epistemológico. Si les interesa aprender mas acerca del Objetivismo vengan al Club Objetivista del Campus de Auraria, nos reunimos todos los martes de 6 a 7:30!!

An American's Creed, by Dean Alfange

A Brazilian friend of mine had a portion of this quoted in her orkut profile, I really liked it, so I looked it up.  It's an elegant quote, from a more civilized age...

  

An American's Creed, by Dean Alfange:

I do not choose to be a common man
It is my right to be uncommon...
If I can. I seek opportunity... Not security.

I do not wish to be a kept citizen,
Humbled and dulled by having the state to dream and build, to
Fail and succeed.

I refuse to barter incentive for a dole.
I prefer the challenges of life to the
Guaranteed existence; the thrill of
Fulfillment to the stale calm of utopia.

I will not trade freedom for beneficence
Nor my dignity for a hand out. I will
Never cower before any master nor bend
to any threat.

It is my heritage to stand erect,
proud, and unafraid; to think and act for
myself; enjoy the benefits of my
creations; and to face the world boldly
and say, "This I have done with my own hand,
I am a man. I am an American".

The new element, Governmentium (Gv)

Check out this press release for a discovery of far reaching implications!!  Thanks to my friend CJ for sending it to me!!

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The New Element, Governmentium (Gv)

Lawrence Livermore Laboratories has discovered the heaviest element yet known to science.

The new element, Governmentium (Gv), has one neutron, 25 assistant neutrons, 88 deputy neutrons, and 198 assistant deputy neutrons, giving it an atomic mass of 312.

These 312 particles are held together by forces called morons, which are surrounded by vast quantities of lepton-like particles called peons.

Since Governmentium has no electrons, it is inert; however, it can be detected, because it impedes every reaction with which it comes into contact. A tiny amount of Governmentium can cause a reaction that would normally take less than a second, to take from four days to four years to complete.

Governmentium has a normal half-life of 2- 6 years; It does not decay, but instead undergoes a reorganization in which a portion of the assistant neutrons and deputy neutrons exchange places.

In fact, Governmentium's mass will actually increase over time, since each reorganization will cause more morons to become neutrons forming isodopes.

This characteristic of moron promotion leads some scientists to believe that Governmentium is formed whenever morons reach a critical concentration. This hypothetical quantity is referred to as critical morass.

When catalyzed with money, Governmentium becomes Administratium, an element that radiates just as much energy as Governmentium since it has half as many peons but twice as many morons.

Dear Abby

Dear Abby,

My husband is a liar and a cheat.

He has cheated on me from the beginning, and, when I confront him, he denies everything.

What's worse, everyone knows that he cheats on me.

It is so humiliating.

Also, since he lost his job six years ago, he hasn't even looked for a new one.

All he does all day is smoke cigars, cruise around and shoot the bull with his buddies, while I have to work to pay the bills.

Since our daughter went away to college he doesn't even pretend to like me, and even hints that I may be a lesbian.

What should I do?

Signed: Clueless



Dear Clueless:

Grow up and dump him. Good grief woman!

You don't need him anymore!

You're a Senator from New York running for President of the United States.

Act like one.