she also votes. sigh

And I'd lay odds that her response to such would be something along the lines of, "The micro-aggression of your cis-hetero-normative, patriarchal privilege has created a hostile environment, I'm SWATing you."

Wrapping paper... you never know what's inside.

D'Anconia blew up his mine so that they could not get the wealth derived from his mind. He was leaving it as he found it - like Ellis Wyatt did. They were "letting nature take its course" but also returning the changes they had made to their natural conditions.

Galt was the destroyer because he was taking away the great minds upon which the economy depended. Not feeding your enemies is not the same thing as attacking and destroying your enemies - although it might ultimately have the same result.

If we don't win the world then what is the alternative? Just going on our way. Shrugging? And isn't that the ultimate destruction?

She is kind of hot though. :)

It feels like we are in a lifeboat with these collectivists who are drilling holes in the bottom of the boat and we are trying to patch them up. I would agree that there are lot of others in the lifeboat who are wondering whether to help bore the holes or to patch them. Its much easier to bore a hole than it is to patch it, however. In AS, the hole-patchers lost out in the end and finally gave up and looked for another lifeboat to jump into !! I am about at that point I think.

wood, consider copying and pasting this to Huufpost on the article. Let us know, and we'll go like the comment.

yes, but we are in there for all those young libertarians who read and loved AS but haven't yet focused. help them focus. she conflates arguments, distorts premises, and her ultimate goal is to reach those 20 somethings who want to know more about Objectivism but are intimidated. why do you think those articles are up on HP 3x a week. they are engaing in battle. do we put down our sword?

I love it, too. "NGO speak".

Since almost by definition most college grads have never been exposed to Reason, it stands to, well, reason, that they would need their own language. I'm sure there's an equivalent "UN speak" (even when they're speaking English), and no doubt "Presidential Press Secretary Speak"...etc.

Commenting to Huffington is like talking to a blank wall. They are so far off the mark.

There may have only been a few who cast aside King George, but they were remarkably well organized via the Freemasons.

NGO speak. I like that. I have noticed that middle management revels in PC-speak (which I will now call "NGO speak"). If you talk with the owners/presidents/CEO's of the company you tend to get plainspeak.

Jan, speakin' plain

I will discuss such questions gladly with honest seekers, but eventually most of such conversations end with "Just read the book."

You are always welcome to be an anomaly! (I have spent most of my life in that category...)

It is an uphill battle to get a positive connotation on 'selfishness'. I personally find it more productive to undermine the case of being 'non-judgmental'. Since I tend to be personally xenophilic, it is pretty easy for me to deflate a lot of the common assertions that go with being judgmental.

Jan

I had to sell my own biofuels company rather than support the looters, so I get it. You cannot imagine how badly I want to start up my own 3D printing company. Three of my colleagues started their own company last month, and I am withholding my 3D printing of metals project from that company for now. It is eating me up inside, seeing this missed opportunity pass by.

JBrenner says, "I am leaning toward letting people come to their conclusions on their own."

I came to Objectivism about 50 years ago through the influence of a college friend. I pestered him with lame questions concerning the periphery of the philosophy until he finally refused to talk to me any more. "Go read Atlas shrugged," he said. "There is no point in my discussing Rand with you any longer."

As for an Atlantis, we must seek to be as wise as those who cast aside King George. There were really rather few of them.

That's when you know you are dealing with someone with a true mental disorder. At that point, all you can do is walk away.

"My reason. That's what it's for."

I'm 39, so I just made it. :)

This reminds me of what Rand says about the world "selfishness". It often is presented as selfish-and-cheating/stealing, so she purposely used the word in the title of Virtue of Selfishness to make a distinction between self interest and using force.

Similarly, there's judging people and trying to make them follow your judgments, which are completely different.

LB: Would
you
mind
not
formatting
posts
like
this?

When I tell the Left things like that, they reply that all cronyists are Republicans. How do you argue with someone whose head is that far up where the sun don't shine?

They tried to destroy their own creations rather than let looters benefit from them. Except for Ragnar (and I doubt he could operate successfully in the real world without owning a carrier group, because that's what would be sent after him).

Mostly agree. Radley Balko's articles on the justice system are worth looking at, but I gave up when HuffPo limited commenting to FaceBook members.

Fortunately, Balko is starting to publish in other places again.

Did anyone look up the BYM website and Ms. Wager? It is a non-profit and every few words, the phrase "socially conscious" is used. For someone already drawn to such organizations, it would take quite a while for them to understand the writings of Ayn Rand - if ever. I am sure she is brain dead to such topics as UN Agenda 21, and how it would ban private property ownership, as not sustainable. She seems clueless that the companies with the negative tax liabilities, were huge contributors to the Obama campaigns, and are joined at the hip with him. Crony capitalism, at its finest. Nowhere do I see any mention of the companies being short changed by the poor academic preparation of the future workers, or of the millions donated to failing school programs by corporations, to look good. This gal seems to have no sense of personal responsibility, and does not seem to desire freedom for students. The right to succeed or fail on their own merit and ambition seems lost to her.

Indeed. Great discussion. Which leads me to a budding thought in my mind that has been on the increase because of the discussions here in the gulch. When I really poured through and devoured everything of Ayn Rand that I could get my hands on, I was young and coming out of the liberal Massachusetts education system. Thanks to the latter, I was woefully ignorant of the Constitution and the principles embodied therein. My willing self education of such matters came much later after moving to the west and jumping into politics.

I have been under the old impression that Ayn Rand didn't weigh in that much on the U.S. Constitution and what would be proper government form. It seemed that to me back then her emphasis was in framing a personal philosophy and a basis of morality for conducting one's life. Government plays a big role in her novels, but also seemed somewhat peripheral to the main theses. This now doesn't make total sense to me and some premise checking I believe is called for.

I am now thinking of going back and examining this perception with what I now have gained over the years. Looking forward to it. I did re-read Anthem recently and what a refreshing experience!

I think this is a very correct analysis. It has been astonishing to me over the years to see some of the vitriol aimed at Ayn Rand, usually to the detriment of the critic. This appears to just be a more "lofty" approach. But hey, bring it on, it just continues to let her work shine for those willing to look and listen.