Philosophy
In light of the upcoming VP debate tonight, here's one I've been thinking about.
The LA Times reports on a secondhand claim that Sarah Palin believes "that men and dinosaurs coexisted on an Earth created 6,000 years ago -- about 65 million years after scientists say most dinosaurs became extinct."
Let's make no claim about the veracity of the report. Maybe the music teacher misremembers, maybe Governor Palin has changed her mind...don't know. But if one were to hypothetically assign that belief to someone, would that disqualify the candidate from being qualified to hold the office? Would not believing something for which there is a great body of scientific evidence make one unfit for high office? If so, on what grounds?
What other sentences x might there be such that if candidate P believes (or fails to believe) x, P should not be in high office?
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Philosophy
Beliefs and Public Office
In light of the upcoming VP debate tonight, here's one I've been thinking about.
The LA Times reports on a secondhand claim that Sarah Palin believes "that men and dinosaurs coexisted on an Earth created 6,000 years ago -- about 65 million years after scientists say most dinosaurs became extinct."
Let's make no claim about the veracity of the report. Maybe the music teacher misremembers, maybe Governor Palin has changed her mind...don't know. But if one were to hypothetically assign that belief to someone, would that disqualify the candidate from being qualified to hold the office? Would not believing something for which there is a great body of scientific evidence make one unfit for high office? If so, on what grounds?
What other sentences x might there be such that if candidate P believes (or fails to believe) x, P should not be in high office?
- Cheating And Elections
If you cheat in a game and are caught, you lose. In forfeiting, your opponent wins. But in elections, it is different. If you break election laws, even ones that would have had a decisive effect on the election results, you pay a fine,...
- Palin, Sex, And Women
A couple of thoughts on Sarah Palin now that several weeks have past. The first comes from a piece by Tom Perrotta in Slate called "The Sexy Puritan" in which he discusses an archetype of political talking head, the sexy puritan of which Palin is only...
- The Mother Of All Gimmicks
Guest-post today from YKW: Not being a reporter, I have no personal knowledge of any of the following, but my own cynical view of the McCain Bailout stunt is a bit more conspiratorial than I've seen reported so far. Here are the facts: 1. McCain's...
- I Want To Be Sarah Palin?
One of the things I despise about politics is the hypocrisy and the double standards: it's okay for our group to do something, but if those from the other side of the isle do the same thing, then that very same thing is evil; or conversely, it's...
- "the Undefeated"...bo Flop
Trying to compete with the latest Harry Potter film? It probably just needed more sex and violence or maybe a wizard or two. "Sarah Palin documentary The Undefeated opens to poor reviews" Critics unimpressed, but distributor undeterred as film rolls...