The earth is flat? Truth is tricky.

On a non-political subject, I just read an amazing article from BBC news. It is about people who still think that the earth is flat. Of course, the article is fun to read just for face value, but it quickly lead me to think about a conversation we had on Traci's blog.

The general agreement in the discussion was that talking to people about controversial subjects is tricky because people confuse opinions and truth. More specifically, people sometimes mistake their opinion for the truth. That can be aggravating alone, but I also find the opposite true. Sometimes people claim that a truth (which they might not like) is just somebody else's opinion. I wanted to express that point in the discussion, but I couldn't think of a good example that wouldn't (possibly) stir up controversy. I would personally argue that this is the root of the evolution controversy, and very likely, some other modern issues.

Hopefully, nobody I know would argue that the earth is not spherical, but if you met somebody who did, how would you discuss 'truth' with them?

Paris Hilton for President

Thanks to my wonderful wife, always on the lookout for celebrity related info, for showing me this video from Paris:

See more funny videos at Funny or Die

It's in response to this ad from the McCain camp:



What's weird is that the Paris video is so much better than the McCain one. She does a great job of making fun of McCain being old and how he's dumb enough to try to compare her and Barack. Why is it that her spoof video contains more policy information than ads from either campaign? Both groups would be smart to talk to the people that helped her plan that response.

What country do I live in?

This weekend government agents walked into a library, demanded to take some computers and didn't have any court documents allowing the seizure. Where do I live? I'll give you some hints. I don't live in a dictatorship (officially). The 4th amendment of my constitution says:

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

Figured it out yet? A couple more clues.... the people who have the power to fix this blatant misuse of power (my country supposedly has a legislative branch to check powers) don't do anything but go along for the ride.

In case you are thinking, "a library is a public place, maybe it's ok to take property from a public place without a warrant." Our government (it's one founded on freedom by the way) doesn't bother trying to be so subtle. The "war on terror" also involves taking the personal property of Americans because they choose to travel. How far can they go before people start to notice?