Author Archives: jackpelham

New Definition of “Liberalism”

Posted on November 9, 2012 by jackpelham

I don’t normally like to get into discussions about “conservatism” or “liberalism” because not only do I find those words troublingly undefined, but I find those who use them to be far too cavalier for my taste—bantering about without really … Continue reading →

Posted in Character, Politics | 3 Comments

Where Have All the Inventors Gone?

Posted on November 9, 2012 by jackpelham

NOTE: The following thoughts were posted in response to someone at DailyPaul.com asking the question posed by the title of this page. To your question, where have all the inventors gone?, I have no statistics to offer, and I have … Continue reading →

Posted in Economy, Politics | Leave a comment

Entitlement is Unnatural

Posted on November 8, 2012 by jackpelham

If we were to observe nature at work, and if we were willing to anthropomorphize the cosmos, as if it had human qualities, what might we say that the cosmos “owes” to new humans who are born into it? For … Continue reading →

Posted in Character, Politics | Leave a comment

On the Quarrelling in the Ron Paul / Liberty Movement

Posted on November 4, 2012 by jackpelham

What follows is an essay I posted in response to a participant’s complaint at DailyPaul.com.  The complaint was about quarreling amongst Liberty Movement people.

Posted in Character, Politics, Ron Paul | Leave a comment

The Irony of Solving Puzzles About Which Hardly Anyone Cares

Posted on November 3, 2012 by jackpelham

“Eureka!  I’ve got it!” “Ah, so that’s the answer!” “Holy Cow!  We’ve been wrong all along!” “OK, I think I’ve finally got it figured out.” These kinds of moments are fairly common in my house.  Between Kay’s studies and my … Continue reading →

Posted in Ambitions, Character | Leave a comment

On the Foolishness of Single-Issue Voting

Posted on October 28, 2012 by jackpelham

I have long been a critic of LO2ERS, which is my preferred shorthand for Lesser-Of-2–Evils voteRS. My primary concern is that they typically congratulate themselves after having “held their noses” and picked the candidate they consider to be the “lesser … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics | Leave a comment

Observation on the Fitted Sheet

Posted on October 28, 2012 by jackpelham

I observe that a properly-folded fitted should should approximate the shape of a basketball.

Posted in Humor | Leave a comment

Pelham’s Law of Cognitive Error

Posted on October 14, 2012 by jackpelham

Pelham’s Law of Cognitive Error:  “I am most likely wrong about many things.” Cognitive science has solidly identified certain traits of human behavior by which people operate habitually at a sub-optimal level.  We make frequent cognitive errors, some of which … Continue reading →

Posted in Character, Pelham's Laws, Philosophy, Politics, Religion, Science | Leave a comment

Ideas I Can’t Afford to Have

Posted on October 12, 2012 by jackpelham

I have ideas.  Lots and lots of ideas. And I’m getting better at it all the time.  I used to think that having ideas was something of a gift, but now I realize that an idea is practically worthless if … Continue reading →

Posted in Ambitions | Leave a comment

Go ahead, turn the page

Posted on October 8, 2012 by jackpelham

Go ahead Turn the page Dance the dance Rage the rage Speak the speech Seize the day Spell it out Lead the way Dare the sky Dare the sea Dare the you Dare the me Cry the cry Sing the … Continue reading →

Posted in Poetry | Leave a comment