November 23, 2012 J. Max Wilson

A Lamentation

So many languages I want to learn; books that I want to read; poems I want to write; songs I want to compose; projects that I want work on; businesses I want to start; things I want to create; skills I want to develop; places I want to go; adventures that I want to have; amazing people I want to spend time with; thoughts I want to express; problems I want to fix; principles I want to prove; mysteries I want to understand; systems I want to revolutionize; revelations I want to receive…

Sometimes the feast is so overwhelming that I nearly starve to death. I am so anxious to partake of the fullness of life that it paralyzes me. Instead I waste my time in trivialities, picking at scabs, or worse, in sin. And I am left to rage at no one but myself. And the rage itself consumes an unforgiving minute that would have been better spent on so many languages I want to learn; books that I want to read; poems I want to write…

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November 2, 2012 J. Max Wilson

2012 Presidential Election Prognostications

Pan-American Map

Okay everyone, it’s time to make your Presidential Election Prognostications.

Between now and Tuesday before election polls start to close, post a comment here or on my social media with your predictions in roughly the following format:

Winner: 
Electoral Votes: Obama # / Romney #
Popular Vote: Obama % / Romney %
[Optional Link to electoral map of your prediction]
[Optional candidate for whom you will vote]

Continue reading →

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October 29, 2012 J. Max Wilson

Why Libertarians In Swing States Should Vote for Mitt Romney

To my libertarian friends: If you are not in a swing state, then by all means vote for Gary Johnson, or write in Ron Paul, or whichever candidate you believe the most qualified and most dedicated to true Constitutional principles.

However, to those of you in Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Michigan, Nevada, New Hampshire, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, or Wisconsin:

I think it would be wise for libertarian minded voters in swing states to vote for Mitt Romney, and then spend the next 4 to 8 years pushing him for more limited, constitutional government.

Now, some of my libertarian friends say they refuse to vote for the lesser of two evils. Continue reading →

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October 23, 2012 J. Max Wilson

Mormon Monuments at the U.S. Capitol and Smithsonian in Washington D.C.

Statue of Lady Freedom atop the U.S. Capitol BuildingMy family visited Washington D.C. for a vacation this October. We had a wonderful time exploring the National Monuments and Smithsonian Museums. There is so much to learn, think about, and do, and never enough time for all of it. It was also a great time to talk with our children about our country, its history, and its founding documents and principles.

I want to highlight a couple of unexpected encounters with Mormonism and LDS related ideas we had while there, with photos I took myself.

LDS visitors to Washington D.C. may be interested in going out of their way to see some of these Mormon monuments. And should Mitt Romney be successful in winning the election for President of the United States, interest in some of these may increase among those who are not members of the LDS church as well.

The U.S. Capitol Building is beautiful. The room where the House of Representatives used to meet from 1819 to 1857 is now the National Statuary Hall, where they display statues of prominent Americans. Each state of the Union is allowed to send two statues, of either bronze or marble, to be displayed at the Capitol, many in the statuary hall. Continue reading →

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October 18, 2012 J. Max Wilson

The Paradox of Representative Democracy

The paradox of representative democracy is that we elect representatives because we are collectively ignorant, but we can only evaluate and choose those representatives by the same ignorance.

[Video: Undecided Voters]

We elect representatives to get an in-depth understanding of the issues and make decisions on our behalf because most people don’t have time, resources, or ability to do it themselves; but it turns out that the same in-depth knowledge is needed in order to successfully evaluate and choose a good representative, which we are already by definition unqualified to do. Continue reading →

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