In this episode we continue to examine equality politics by doing some thought experiments with favorite colors and ice cream preferences.We examine the second paragraph of the Declaration of Independence to define and describe basic human “negative rights.” We contrast these with the “positive rights” that statist politicians propose that ultimately result in tyranny.Defending the equality that we share as human beings and embracing the differences with which God has made us all unique as individuals helps us prosper.Attempting to make “equality” of outcome or possessions leads to poverty as we restrict what people have to offer in favor of the lowest common denominator.A good model of how this works is how the Apostle Paul describes the Christian church as
How Inequality Promotes Freedom and Prosperity
U.S. politics seem to be inundated with goals of closing “gaps” and making everyone “equal.” We should understand in what ways we are supposed to be “equal” and in what ways being “unequal” expresses the unique talents and skills with which God has designed us.We let professional sports and the Olympics teach us lessons about why diversity in gender, intellect, height, enthnicity, and other differences are something we should appreciate. Would pursuing coercive social goals of reducing “unfairness” and making us as “equal” as possible in outcomes result in crushing productivity and destroying useful talents?Sources Cited:“In an ethnic breakdown of sports, NBA takes lead for most diverse”https://globalsportmatters.com/culture/2018/12/12/in-an-ethnic-breakdown-of-sports-nba-takes-lead-for-most-diverse/“How One Kenyan Tribe Produces The World’s Best Runners”https://www.npr.org/sections/parallels/2013/11/01/241895965/how-one-kenyan-tribe-produces-the-worlds-best-runners*****Like what you hear? Donate to
Thanksgiving Day: 16 Did You Knows
Thanksgiving Day is a wonderful day of the year when you can thank God for all He has done for you while chowing down to your heart’s content.This episode is a short, light-hearted look at 16 fun (and sometimes weird) facts of trivia about a holiday steeped in American tradition.*****Like what you hear? Donate to Truthspresso and give a shot of support!*****
Chick-fil-A and the Fake News Machine
Yesterday, November 19, the Internet received a steady diet of news articles and outcries about how Chick-fil-A allegedly changed its stance on donating to “anti-LGBTQ” organizations.Let’s do what many have failed to do and separate fact from fiction. Is this another case of this year’s “fake news”?Sources:“Chick-fil-A will no longer donate to anti-LGBTQ organizations”https://www.cnn.com/2019/11/18/business/chick-fil-a-lgbtq-donations/index.html“Did Chick-fil-A Stop Donations to Groups Criticized as Anti-LGBT?”https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/chick-fil-a-anti-lgbt-donations/*****Like what you hear? Donate to Truthspresso and give a shot of support!*****
Why God Exists – Interview with Christian apologist and former atheist Tyler Vela
This is the second guest interview for Truthspresso!I interview Tyler Vela about the age-old topic: Does God exist?Tyler was raised an atheist until his atheist professor in a Metaphysics class in college discussed arguments for the existence of God. The challenge of the “moral argument” caused Tyler to investigate and eventually convert to Christianity.In this interview, we raise and answer various philosophical and presuppositional arguments about the existence of God.We also consider the issue of miracles and animals that talked in the Bible.We also examine the arguments about God’s existence from the claims of the Bible itself and how to define a “fool.”Tyler Vela studied Philosophy and English at Sonoma State University in California.He earned a Bachelor of Arts in
Disaggregating the Gender Wage Gap
According to many sources of reputable statistics (giving the benefit of the doubt), the average woman in the United States earns about 80 cents on the dollar of what the average man earns?But, once we start breaking down these large aggregates of averages down to different subsets, we can see more reasons for the numbers. What are the largest factors that make women in the average earn less?Disaggregating the data:Is age a factor?Why don’t greedy businesses hire only women and save on cheap labor?How much does marriage and family affect the dollars? (hint: a lot!)Questions to consider if trying to “close the gap” by social policy:What about biological differences?How do we handle the needs of children?Do geographical and demographical factors
Three Questions About the Gender Wage Gap
Does the average woman in the United States earn about 80 cents on the dollar of what the average man earns?Statistics don’t lie, right? There is admittedly truth to these statistics that we should consider.Before we assume too much, we need to ask these three questions to figure out how to interpret the data:What are the preferred college majors and jobs for the average man and woman?Not all college degrees and jobs are created equal. Do career choices naturally lead to a difference in salaries?What are the working preferences of the average man and woman?Do working preferences such as type of work and flexibility lead to lower pay? Is raw salary the only factor in a job that commands a
Abortion Fiction: Part 6 – Philosophies of Life to Eugenics
In this episode we conclude our series of episodes responding to John Iriving’s article in the New York Times. We demonstrate how Dr. Horatio Storer’s writings and campaigns influenced state legislatures to criminalize abortion by making the law consistent with advances in science and medicine. We see how the laws against abortion strengthened, but then began to scale back as the eugenics movement in the early twentieth century ranked the worth of one life against another. We examine some quotes from Margaret Sanger, the founder of abortion provider Planned Parenthood that show the strong eugenics mindset behind the origins of abortion as a means of population control and engineering.Sources Cited:“The Long, Cruel History of the Anti-Abortion Crusade”https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/23/opinion/anti-abortion-history.htmlMargaret Sanger, “High Lights
Abortion Fiction: Part 5 – Dr. Horatio Storer
This episode begins to demonstrate from American history in the 1800’s that the medical conspiracy that John Irving wants us to believe outlawed abortion was no conspiracy at all. It was simply the reconciliation of science and medicine with law. We look at the influence of Dr. Horatio Storer in shaping the landscape of abortion thought in the the 1850’s and 1860’s by doing what Mr. Irving seems to avoid: we actually his words instead of assuming a sinister motive.Sources Cited:“The Long, Cruel History of the Anti-Abortion Crusade”https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/23/opinion/anti-abortion-history.html“Report on Criminal Abortion”https://collections.nlm.nih.gov/ext/mhl/101218760/PDF/101218760.pdfWhy Not? A Book For Every Womanhttps://ia800207.us.archive.org/13/items/whynotabookfore00storgoog/whynotabookfore00storgoog.pdf“Dr. Horatio Storer (1830-1922)”https://thesexualityandsocialmedia.wordpress.com/2014/12/03/dr-horatio-r-storer-1830-1922/Silent No More Awareness Campaignhttps://www.silentnomoreawareness.org*****Like what you hear? Donate to Truthspresso and give a shot of support!*****
Abortion Fiction: Part 4 – A Medical Conspiracy?
In this episode we continue to respond to John Irving’s article from the New York Times that laments the fact that some people believe that babies in the womb should not be killed intentionally. We examine Mr. Irving’s strange assessment of abortion law in America in the 1800’s. Mr. Irving apparently believes that a bunch of doctors managed to conspire together for the selfish reason of wanting to control women’s “reproductive rights.” Allegedly getting abortion outlawed was part of their agenda to create a monopoly over health care. Somehow they managed to convince the governments in all states of the United States in a very brief time to grant them the power they desperately wanted.We use some basic common sense