Ditto what hedo just said. (Thanks hedo! :))

They should be required reading before leaving the 8th grade. I'd say these books are more important than the work of Mark Twain!

Absolutely!!

That must be why Obama stakes his whole campaign on young people who are feeling "misunderstood."

That is unless one is talking about taking out Ben Laden.

I wouldn't say "can't be worse," just that all evidence says that he won't be worse.

Obama is more rational than Romney? Whew... oookay then.

The issue with Vietnam is that we didn't fully commit to winning it. It was the first media war and opponents of it realized they could undermine the government's war mandate by utilizing the brutal imagery.

I don't mean to pick on you, Guitarist, but your comments strike me as funny. In intelligent discussion, it is good practice to back up a claim after making it. The claim that Obama is more rational than Romney is, frankly, irrational. Just for kicks, I'd love to hear your reasoning behind that.

Your view is much more optimistic than mine. We'll be lucky to survive 4 more years. And I mean that literally.

a rogue country is like a murderer or thief. we do not have an obligation to bring them to justice, but we have the right to, Guitarist. go back and read again

There is not one position on the war in Iraq that is in line with objectivism. Rational people can disagree. Yes, reality would be the arbiter, but not all of us measure war in dollars and cents.

I'll start a new post with the 1964 Playboy interview with Rand which I think is on point with this thread of the discussion

What exactly makes you think Obama would ever start to cut costs?

Winning a war is more important than getting out of a war.

Well, I've been "studying" the political realm for decades and I've noticed the "political bs" factor has been around for as long or longer than I've been voting (50 or so years of voting, that is...) so if you're expecting a drastic change one way or the other This Time, I'd caution you to not get your hopes up too high.

As for reading Rand in high school, ask your son if there are any particular "right answers" to questions about the book in class... :)

name calling is not a logical argument. What is your point on Vietnam? Rand said it was our right to be there but not in our national interest, therefore she was against the Vietnam War. She was against the draft. This is consistent with Objectivism. Which part do you disagree with her?

It is ironic to complain that Rand was wrong on certain issues due to being overemotional and then hurl insults while storming out in a huff.

So, an author has to be exactly right on everything he or she says before you support them? Good luck on that one...

Of course, since I read Atlas in 1970 or so, even back then I could see her predictions begin to come true... when John Lindsay kept caving to the unions on every demand during every strike, I predicted that NYC would be bankrupted by that within five or so years.

It was... and the insights of Atlas made my prediction easy to make. Before Atlas, I probably would not have even noticed the process.

Then there was Gray Davis in CA...

Oh, and the equivalent of Directive 10-289 that the NY Legislature actually introduced during one of the many recessions "in order to help stabilize employment."

You don't need to make this stuff up... just notice it.


and if you're really gone out of here for those reasons.... "Bye!"