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Showing posts with label Ayn Rand. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ayn Rand. Show all posts

Thursday, October 15, 2020

They Die

 


Monday, March 23, 2015

A Clinical Psychologist On Ayn Rand

Here's an interesting piece on Ayn Rand which posits the following.

A century later, Ayn Rand (1905-1982) helped make the United States into one of the most uncaring nations in the industrialized world, a neo-Dickensian society where healthcare is only for those who can afford it, and where young people are coerced into huge student-loan debt that cannot be discharged in bankruptcy.

Sadly, somewhat true. The entire piece is fantastic. Check it out!

Monday, January 05, 2015

Dick Cavett on Ayn Rand

From a recent interview with Dick Cavett...

 CAVETT: Oh, well, that’s so, too. You can piss away valuable hours of your life reading Ayn Rand—her wretched appeal to the young, her wretched writing, her wretched person. She was supposed to be on my show; I was kind of sorry she wasn’t, because I was kind of laying for her. I did not succumb, as a kid, to being enthused by Ayn Rand, and that sense of power, as every kid was at one time until they outgrew it. The old bag sent over a list of fifteen conditions for appearing with me, or for appearing with anyone, I guess. One of them was, “There will be no disagreeing with Ms. Rand’s philosophy.” 

GREEN: You’re kidding. 

CAVETT: No! I wrote at the bottom of the list, to be sent back to her, “There will be no Ms. Rand, either.”

No disagreeing with Ms. Rand's philosophy...gee, that sounds awfully familiar:)

The above quote kinda reminds me of another quote...

“There are two novels that can change a bookish fourteen-year old’s life: The Lord of the Rings and Atlas Shrugged. One is a childish fantasy that often engenders a lifelong obsession with its unbelievable heroes, leading to an emotionally stunted, socially crippled adulthood, unable to deal with the real world. The other, of course, involves orcs.” — [Kung Fu Monkey — Ephemera, blog post, March 19, 2009] John Rogers


Saturday, December 20, 2014

The "Power" of the Private Sector

The complete capitulation by theater owners and Sony to North Korea has left me somewhat puzzled. I thought that the private sector shit gold and any sort of government involvement inhibits from being all of the glory that they are entitled to be.

Yet here we have the president and the federal government once again riding to the rescue of sniveling buffoons just as we saw in 2008 when they collapsed the world economy. The first step will likely be some sort of counter cyber attack (which sounds really cool, btw) followed by some extra military exercises in the area. Yet I have to say that I'm very weary of North Korea and would like to see the president take a stronger stance with that stain of a country. They are a relic of a bygone time and, like Cuba, need to be brought into the 21st century and it's likely that it's going to have to be the hard way.

Obviously, this is a job for the federal government because it's quite clear that the private sector isn't up to it. I wonder what Ayn Rand's reaction would be...

Monday, December 15, 2014

Holy Crap!

I simply can't believe how many people hang out on Quora. I get between 150-200 hits a day on here...sometimes more if Nikto posts because he has a bigger following than I do. Being retired, he has more time to construct articles with nifty graphics!!

Yet, check out this question I posted about Ayn Rand on Quora. Nearly 60,000 people have viewed it with 73 answers. My answer alone has been viewed over 1200 times. Wow!

Wednesday, October 22, 2014

Saturday, February 01, 2014

Saturday, December 14, 2013

Who is John Galt?

Or, in this case, Jon Gault? 

Well, he is a man who is very grateful for the Affordable Care Act.

Some nights, when Jon Gault felt his worst, he wondered if he would live long enough to see his 17-year-old son go to college or to walk his daughter, now 8, down the aisle.

Although many have reported problems with the federal HealthCare.gov site, Gault says Washington’s site was surprisingly easy to navigate and he was quickly approved. The price came as a pleasant surprise also. Thanks to federal subsidies, Gault will not have to pay for his coverage.

“I went from being denied health insurance several years ago to actually having it now,” Gault says. 

“It’s kind of nice.”Many of his Republican friends have dismissed his newfound hope, and he has stopped trying to argue with them. They are not seeing the bigger picture, he says. It’s not about how much it will cost; it’s about those it will help. Everyone will benefit at least indirectly, because people they love and care about will benefit. 

As for him, he says he no longer has to choose between providing for his family or taking care of himself. 

Oh, the sweet, sweet irony!

Friday, November 08, 2013

Intellectually Bankrupt Indeed

I can't think of a better example of just how intellectually bankrupt and adolescent Ayn Rand followers (see: right wing blogsphere) are than the recent admission of plagiarism from Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky. The words "Rand" and "plagiarize" do seem to fit together in some sort of perfect way, don't they? Being a Randian isn't really all that deep nor intelligent (obviously, if they cut and paste from Wikipedia) and essentially can be summed up in one sentence.

It's OK to be a douchebag.

Update: Apparently, it's OK to plagiarize as well. Breitbart.com has just hired Rand Paul. 

Monday, November 04, 2013

Good Words

"Philosopher-in-Chief for the intellectually bankrupt." ---Jonny Lee Miller as Sherlock Holmes on the CBS drama, "Elementary" (Season 2, Episode 3, "We Are Everyone.") on the subject of Ayn Rand.

Tuesday, October 01, 2013

Monday, April 08, 2013

And That's the End of the Whole Ayn Rand Business...

Hands down, the best and most accurate summation of Ayn Rand I have ever seen.

Saturday, February 23, 2013

Let It Happen

There are a whole lot of folks that are worried these days about the sequester. The cuts that are going to happen, they say, are going to be damaging to our country and Congress must reach a deal by March 1st. I say let it all happen.

In fact, let's see how our county does for a while when federal spending is significantly cut as it will be next Friday. We should operate with these new spending levels for at least six months to illustrate exactly what it means to make the cuts that the Right perpetually whines and cries over.  It's a big opportunity for the Ayn Rand worshipers out there to strut their stuff.

Let's see how a 16 trillion dollar economy does with minimal services. Have at it, people!

Saturday, February 09, 2013

A Perpetual Adolescent Power Fantasy

Bill requires all Idaho kids to read ‘Atlas Shrugged’

Fantastic! Now, it will be a law that young people have an indefinite adolescent power fantasy.

And doesn't this subvert the whole point of the book? Like I have been saying....most libertarians are closet fascists. Re-education camps are fine as long as we are doing it!

Sunday, January 13, 2013

Sunday, November 18, 2012

In today's world...indeed.

I've been meaning to point out this post over at The Moderate Voice for several months but lost track of it as election season heated up. The first paragraph grabbed me right away for obvious reasons.

There are myths proclaimed by some right-wing partisans and Ayn Rand acolytes that “rugged individualists” working alone have been responsible for America’s great accomplishments and that government is the enemy of progress. In their quest to reduce taxes, particularly for the wealthy, and cut the size of government, this myth has been promulgated by ideologues to gain support from the middle-class, needed to elect legislators who share their vision.

Yeah, and the American people recognized those myths for what they were 12 days ago.

Businesses could not function without the nation’s infrastructure (though it currently needs work). Building the interstate highway system, bridges and tunnels and maintaining them, was and is a federal concern. The integrity of America’s ports and airports, and air traffic control, all comes under the aegis of federal agencies. Products and people could not move if it were not for the government. Apportioning the broadcast spectrum for TV, radio, cell phone companies and so forth, insuring the safety of transmission lines, pipelines, and so forth, are all functions of the federal government. 

In short, they didn't build that. Not that the government isn't completely wonderful, though.

The federal government is inefficient in many of its operations, but its expansion has occurred during both Democratic and Republican administrations. Those who rail against the government should focus on fixing it and not just making it smaller so they can pay less in taxes. And the money saved should go to paying down the deficit. For different reasons, both the weak and strong among us need a robust federal government in today’s world. 

In today's world...indeed.


Monday, August 13, 2012

Yes, Please


Saturday, August 11, 2012

The Veep

Today, Mitt Romney chose Paul Ryan to be his vice president. Here are my initial thoughts.

By choosing Ryan, Romney has shown that he is essentially going to be a piss boy for the hard right. As Grover Norquist noted, all they really need is a guy to sign his name. I can't think of a more perfect way to illustrate a Romney presidency.

The "Ryan Budget" will now get an immense amount of scrutiny and I think that's a great thing. As is usually the case with the right, they thump their chest and issue loud declarations about how things like this will save us all before any serious analysis is done. Their emotions and beliefs kick in and they stop thinking. Well, now we get to critically examine the plan which means you can be certain his ideas for Medicare are going to be ripped to shreds.

How is Paul Ryan going to run as a Washington outsider? He's a 7 term congressmen. It will be interesting to see how that plays with the Tea Party crowd as he has never worked in the private sector.

And I'm still wondering why conservatives love Ryan so much...at least the Christian ones. As a card carrying member of the Rand Cult, that isn't really congruent. I want someone to ask him why he uses her as an ideological center-a woman who despises Christianity (and all religion for that matter) and is pro abortion.

People say the VP choice never really matters. Certainly that wasn't the CSS with Sarah Palin. I think the choice of Ryan will matter very, very much and perhaps moreso than Palin. How will this all play out?

Friday, June 08, 2012