Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand (reread, finished)
The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood (finished)
Anarchy, State, and Utopia by Robert Nozick (currently reading)
Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov
A Theory of Justice by John Rawls
Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh
More will follow if I have the time.
Despite the grammatical errors, that is a pretty awesome quote from my new favorite Facebook group, Capitalism Gives Me a Boner.
Cell biology – probably my most interesting class
American studies – OK. The professor is awesome
Genetics- I hate this class.
Philosophy- widely varies. Some readings are interesting (there was this one really good one about how hard it is to justify induction.) Some are completely horrible (ie. the one about “the human body as phenomenon.”)
Bio lab – Meh.
Cell biology lab – I hate this more than anything else I’ve taken in high school or college. That includes Civics.
Penn and Teller: Bullshit! is a pretty awesome show. They examine things that they think are bullshit. Liberal (ie. PETA), conservative (ie. the Bible), and other (ie. alternative “medicine”). The videos are on youtube.
I’ve had enough of a break for now. I’d really rather go back to Vandy.
I haven’t updated in a while. So I’ll make a post about what I’d do if I were elected President for eight years. Fortunately, I’m not actually running, so I can be as radical as I want.
Social Issues
Abortion – I think that women have the right to an abortion, at least in the early stages of pregnancy. Once the fetus has a fully functioning nervous system, it gets more complicated. I would propose a constitutional amendment securing that right. This would have to be done quickly, because I also want to appoint strict constructionists to the Supreme Court (who would overturn Roe v. Wade)
Drugs – As President, I couldn’t legalize them, but I could decriminalize them (ie. order the law enforcement agencies to stop arresting drug dealers/users.) This would not only legalize victimless “crimes”, but would save a bit of money.
Gay Marriage – I’m for it. In general, this isn’t a federal issue. Honestly, it’s not even a very important issue. However, I’m actually more liberal on this one than most Democrats. See, states are normally required to give “full faith and credit” to contracts in other states. For political reasons, gay marriage is not included in this. I wouldn’t make it a deciding factor is the Supreme Court justices I appoint, but I would hope that they would force other states to recognize gay marriages.
Taxes
I do not like them on a train, I do not like them on a plane. Especially when they’re used for income redistribution (which is a total violation of rights). If the money was only being used for the necessary functions of a government (police, courts, military, etc.) then I’d have no problems with a progressive income tax.
First, I’d make the Bush tax cuts permanent. Then I’d cut the corporate tax rate by at least 10%. If I can cut down spending enough, I might eliminate the capital gains tax. If I can really cut down spending, I might reduce marginal taxes to Reaganesque levels.
Health Care
The U.S. has the worst health-care system in the industrialized world (with the possible exception of Britain’s completely socialized version.) It’s basically this bureaucratic nightmare created by restrictions and subsidy programs. Before Medicare and Medicaid, health care in the US was actually pretty good. Anyone who thinks that the US has a free market system now, please do some research.
Step 1 involves increasing competition among health insurance firms, and allowing more individual choice. This would ideally involve letting people purchase insurance policies across state lines, removing requirements on what insurance companies have to cover, and giving people tax credits to purchase insurance individually rather than through their employer. Also, repeal EMTALA. It just shifts costs onto hospitals and the insured.
Step 2 involves getting rid of Medicare and Medicaid. I think the best solution would be to give people on those programs vouchers so they could buy private insurance, then eventually phase those out so that the government isn’t buying anyone’s insurance.
Foreign Policy
Iraq- Start negotiating with Iraqi government for a timed withdrawal immediately. Ideally, all of the troops could be taken out within four years.
Iran- Not a threat. Still, make sure that they don’t acquire nuclear weapons.
Free trade – The greatest thing since toilet paper. Expand it throughout the world.
I’ll post more later.
Merry (late) Christmas and Happy New Year!
My New Year’s Resolution (well, one of them, anyway)? Get a 3.5 at least one semester (or Summer Session).
I’m in Chaffin Place 214Bb. Matt is in 214Aa. So, different rooms, same apartment (stretching the word slightly). I wonder if I’ll have a roommate. I move in this Saturday afternoon, so that should be fun.
Oh, and I want a bow tie. Yeah.
I hate global warming so much. Seriously, it’s felt like early September these last few days.
This is really weird. I checked the books for my American Studies class, and all of them are about the 40s-60s. There’s one on Hiroshima, Brown v. Board of Education, two nuclear apocalypse scenarios, an anti-Communist spy-type novel, and one more that I can’t remember. I thought the class would be more about American ideals, demographics, artistic styles, etc. Oh, and I didn’t know that American history started in 1945. Or ended in the sixties.
At one point, I was supporting Mitt Romney. And then he said he’d vote for a Constitutional amendment banning abortion. So now I’m voting for Ron Paul. Who, I think, actually has a better shot than the polls are making out (i.e. most people don’t vote in primaries, but Paul’s supporters are pretty die-hard.) He still probably won’t win the nomination. It’ll be Giuliani, or, God forbid, Mike Huckabee. Oh, well. Whatevs.
Trent is incredibly needy. Like a tick; mostly not doing any harm, but parasitic and annoying. It’s interesting how he seems to think that we (the family) owe him favors just by virtue of his existence. His reasoning for why we should drive him around: he needs it.
I got the classes I signed up for, exactly as I wanted them. Awesome. Still waiting on that housing assignment, though.
Don’t buy me Christmas presents, I probably won’t be able to return the favor.
Trent keeps snorting coke in the bathroom. It’s kind of awkward to listen to.
I’m looking forward to Philosophy. I’ve been reading up some stuff on Wikipedia (and I still have no idea what the hell Hegel’s talking about.) I think I’m most interested in metaphysics and ethics, but we’ll see.
I have one more day of work. Next Wednesday. Then I’m completely free.
2girls1cup and the BME Pain Olympics are sick, sick videos. There’s this thing where people will try to trick you into watching them unsuspectingly. Consider yourself warned.
I need to know when to quit work (and believe me, I look forward to it). So, if you will, please post the date you come back from school. I lost The Brothers Karamazov. I have no idea where it is. So now I’m rereading I Am Charlotte Simmons (for the third time, I think). It’s awesome, of course. Tom Wolfe should write a new novel. Also, I’ve been going to bookstores and reading pieces of The Bell Curve. Oh, and I’ve been reading lots of Ayn Rand, too.
Sarah, please notify me when you find out what classes you got.
The courses I requested.
BSCI 201: Intro to Cell Biology MWF 10:10-11:00
BSCI 210: Principles of Genetics TR 8:10-9:25
PHIL 100W: Intro to Philosophy MWF 12:10-1:00
AMER 100: Intro to American Studies MWF 11:10-12:00
BSCI 202: Cell Biology Lab R 1:10-4:00
BSCI 111B: Intro Bio Lab T 1:10-4:00
Infornography 