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	<title>Reason and Capitalism &#187; Philosophy</title>
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	<link>http://www.shaunconnell.com</link>
	<description>The personal website of Shaun Connell.</description>
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		<title>An Example of Bad Journalism</title>
		<link>http://www.shaunconnell.com/an-example-of-bad-journalism/</link>
		<comments>http://www.shaunconnell.com/an-example-of-bad-journalism/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 26 Mar 2008 00:09:39 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Shaun Connell</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Philosophy]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.shaunconnell.com/?p=155</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[This is the worst case of journalism I&#8217;ve ever seen. The purpose of the article is obvious: paint Wal-Mart as big, greedy, evil and naughty-naughty. Let&#8217;s analyze what actually is going on.
The contract with Wal-Mart and the lady was that Wal-Mart doesn&#8217;t have to pay for your medical expenses if you get someone else to pay them. That makes sense. The CNN report calls that the &#8220;fine print&#8221;. BS. That&#8217;s not &#8220;fine print&#8221; that&#8217;s obvious. You don&#8217;t need to have medical expenses paid for twice.
The only reasoning given in this case for the lady (yes, I would say that this reporter tried everything in her power to flex a little influence for the &#8220;underdog&#8221; in this situation, regardless of the facts or contracts) is that &#8220;In 2007, the retail giant reported net sales in the third quarter of $90 billion.&#8221;
Read that again. Wal-Mart is a &#8220;Giant&#8221;. Understood &#8212; yet loaded ...


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		<slash:comments>7</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Why I&#8217;m a Capitalist</title>
		<link>http://www.shaunconnell.com/why-im-a-capitalist/</link>
		<comments>http://www.shaunconnell.com/why-im-a-capitalist/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 21 Mar 2008 21:30:58 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Shaun Connell</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Capitalism]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Philosophy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Politics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[capitalism]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[election]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[free markets]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[freedom]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[politics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[socialism]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.shaunconnell.com/?p=153</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[A couple of months ago, I was with a group of radical anti-capitalists. They thought that government was the answer to life, the universe and everything. They thought that businessmen secretly cheat on their wives and beat their children, whereas the poor starving individual was heroically beaten down by the brutal financial leaders. Maybe I&#8217;m stretching it a bit. But when I announced to them that I was a capitalist, they just gave me a blank stare.
&#8220;Why on earth?&#8220;, was the simple question.
Here&#8217;s a paraphrase of what my answer was. First I defined capitalism as being a simple idea. It&#8217;s where the government leaves the corporate world alone, and doesn&#8217;t try to do business work in a senate committee with people who have never done business. Capitalism is economic freedom.
There are six reasons I like capitalism. They are as follows:
6. I like big business
Restrictive economic policies target big business. No, ...


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		<slash:comments>112</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>My Last Words</title>
		<link>http://www.shaunconnell.com/my-last-words/</link>
		<comments>http://www.shaunconnell.com/my-last-words/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 19 Mar 2008 22:44:57 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Shaun Connell</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Philosophy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Random]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Religion]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.shaunconnell.com/?p=150</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[So the other day I was thinking about what I would say if I knew that I could write one letter, or a note, to the whole world, and know that they&#8217;d read it.
Well, there&#8217;s so much that I want to say about all of the important things that make life what it is. Something tells me that the &#8220;Christian&#8221; last letter would be to say something about living for God, but I know that it&#8217;ll take a hey of a lot more than this note to convince anyone of anything like that. I know the &#8220;freedom&#8221; loving letter would be something along the lines of asking for a defense of social and economic liberty, but that&#8217;d take even longer than talking about religion.
So when it comes right down to it, I guess there really isn&#8217;t any cliche statement that needs to be said that can be said in just ...


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		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Total Makeover?</title>
		<link>http://www.shaunconnell.com/total-makeover/</link>
		<comments>http://www.shaunconnell.com/total-makeover/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 08 Mar 2008 01:33:25 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Shaun Connell</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Capitalism]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Philosophy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Politics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Random]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Religion]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.shaunconnell.com/?p=130</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[As many of you know, I love blogging about Making Money Online &#8212; it&#8217;s a great hobby and part-time job for me. I&#8217;ve bought a lap-top and some other cool stuff with my income generated through my blogs. I&#8217;m the main author and operator of Reason and Capitalism, Rebirth of Freedom, 


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		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Government and Morality</title>
		<link>http://www.shaunconnell.com/government-and-morality/</link>
		<comments>http://www.shaunconnell.com/government-and-morality/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 05 Mar 2008 16:32:21 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Shaun Connell</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Philosophy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Politics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Religion]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[conservative philosophy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[government]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[government and morality]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[morality]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[political theory]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.shaunconnell.com/?p=129</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I present a challenge to any Christian who believes that governments have more of a right to use violence than everyday citizens. I want you to point out a verse, somewhere in the New Testament, that gives government an /exclusive/ right that the citizenry don&#8217;t have. Then tell me exactly what that is, from the Bible.
Be careful. If you are conservative, your entire political philosophy rests on this. Otherwise, you have a lot of explaining to do.
&#8220;There is in all a strong disposition to believe that anything lawful is also legitimate. This belief is so widespread that many persons have erroneously held that things are &#8216;just&#8217; because the law makes them so.&#8221;
-Frederic Bastiat


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		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Be a Savior</title>
		<link>http://www.shaunconnell.com/be-a-savior/</link>
		<comments>http://www.shaunconnell.com/be-a-savior/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 04 Mar 2008 21:04:32 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Shaun Connell</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Random]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Religion]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[lyrics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[my chemical romance lyrics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[welcome to the black parade lyrics]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.shaunconnell.com/?p=128</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I have really strange taste in music. I like Irish Punk, classic rock, classical music period, heavy, and pretty much everything in between. The following song by My Chemical Romance is one of my favorites. It&#8217;s about a man who&#8217;s on his deathbed, and is thinking back on his favorite memory, when his father took him to a parade, and asked him to use his life to help others. The first lyrics are simply incredible.
Welcome To The Black Parade Lyrics
When I was a young boy,
My father took me into the city
To see a marching band.
He said,
&#8220;Son when you grow up, will you be the saviour of the broken,
The beaten and the damned?&#8221;
He said
&#8220;Will you defeat them, your demons, and all the non believers, the plans that they have made?&#8221;
Because one day I leave you,
A phantom to lead you in the summer,
To join the black parade.&#8221;
When I was a young boy,
My ...


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		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Dying Professor&#8217;s Last Lecture</title>
		<link>http://www.shaunconnell.com/dying-professors-last-lecture/</link>
		<comments>http://www.shaunconnell.com/dying-professors-last-lecture/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 03 Mar 2008 07:40:55 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Shaun Connell</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Philosophy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Random]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Dying Professor's Last Lecture]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.shaunconnell.com/?p=127</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[This is long, but it&#8217;s incredibly amazing. You need to watch it. A professor discovered that he only had a few months to live, and is prepared to deliver his last lecture. He doesn&#8217;t pout, or whine &#8212; he says he wants to have fun with the rest of his time on earth. Incredibly encouraging. Incredibly inspiring. It&#8217;s no wonder, because he&#8217;s an incredible man.
 


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		</item>
		<item>
		<title>The Church is Lame</title>
		<link>http://www.shaunconnell.com/the-church-is-lame/</link>
		<comments>http://www.shaunconnell.com/the-church-is-lame/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 29 Feb 2008 18:43:00 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Shaun Connell</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Religion]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[american church]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[church]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[church sucks]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[modern church]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.shaunconnell.com/?p=125</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Warning: Random Rant Following.
I&#8217;m currently reading the book &#8220;Starving Jesus&#8221;, written by the guys at XXXChurch.com. These guys aren&#8217;t afraid of doing the right thing, even if it offends someone, or makes them go &#8220;omgosh! they talked about porn/sex/booze&#8221;. The book has been incredible so far, and the honesty that they write with is simply amazing.
For example, they didn&#8217;t go to church for years though they were in full-time ministry. I can completely understand, given that so many aspects of the church are random, irrational and unbiblical. Church has become a cult of tradition rather than a group of believers. Shame on it. At one point in the first chapter, the guys literally say, &#8220;Church sucks!&#8221; Dead on.
I&#8217;m probably going to write more about this at Rational Christianity, but I just wanted to rant a bit. The church is afraid of talking about sex, about porn, about movie content, about ...


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		<item>
		<title>Salvation</title>
		<link>http://www.shaunconnell.com/salvation/</link>
		<comments>http://www.shaunconnell.com/salvation/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 18 Feb 2008 23:00:29 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Shaun Connell</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Random]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Religion]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.shaunconnell.com/?p=122</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I woke up, startled, felt feverish. It was only three in the morning. The darkness was more potent than usual and I couldn&#8217;t see a thing. He was talking to me again. But I didn&#8217;t believe in the voices in my soul, because I knew they weren&#8217;t real.
Good God!, I screamed at those who didn&#8217;t exist. Why do you haunt me? Why can I not live on the basis of the rational truth? I felt the universe chuckle, as though this was a cosmic-wide joke. I knew what reality was saying to me, that I had no point, and that empty feeling didn&#8217;t exist, and that I was the happiest man in the world. It was a joke, and reality was laughing.
I didn&#8217;t lay back because there was no use in trying to sleep. I can never fall asleep again after waking up in the middle of the night. Sitting ...


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		</item>
		<item>
		<title>The Philosophy of Rational Happiness</title>
		<link>http://www.shaunconnell.com/the-philosophy-of-rational-happiness/</link>
		<comments>http://www.shaunconnell.com/the-philosophy-of-rational-happiness/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 11 Feb 2008 06:55:59 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Shaun Connell</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Philosophy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Religion]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[happiness philosophy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[meaning of life]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[meaning of philosophy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[philosophy of happiness]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.shaunconnell.com/?p=120</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I believe that there is a universal reality that we are all apart of. Reality does not exist because we perceive, we perceive because reality exists. In order to understand reality we must use at least two basic means of reason &#8212; logic and sense. The two should never contradict and should be used to compliment each other.
Our purpose in life is that which we choose. I&#8217;m a Christian existentialist. At first this sounds contradictory, but given some thought it reasons out perfectly. I believe that man should find his purpose in life, and act accordingly. How to determine one&#8217;s purpose? Happiness.
Happiness is the emotional response to the achievement of one&#8217;s values. People who win the lottery experience at least temporary happiness because they valued the lottery.* People who love others achieve happiness through treating others as though they love them. It is not wrong to achieve one


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