Hello!


Alexander Pack

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Greetings all! My name is Alexander Pack as the username says; I mostly go with "Alex" day-to-day, but it's not a big deal.

I stumbled upon this fantastic forum a number of months ago, but was initially hesitant to make a posting account. It's been a long time since I last participated in an online community, but the bigger reason I hesitated was out of a kind of respect/intimidation. Such an overwhelming majority of the posters here truly think critically and have personality, as apart from other forums about Ayn Rand's ideas I've visited. I've learned and been spurned to learn more about so much from the short time I've been lurking, and so I've realized I can't just be frightened of posting! It's silly.

I'm currently in my 2nd year as an undergraduate philosophy major at Temple University. I plan on going to law school afterwards, but I'm still weighing what I could pursue after that. It's in my profile elsewhere somewhere, but my interest in philosophy was spurred at the age of 15 when a close friend and mentor recommended I read Atlas Shrugged. It was awesome - AS put words to things I had always known but couldn't articulate, and made me reflect a lot on my actions. Unfortunately, as a troubled teen I too often rationalized it and did not fully grasp (grok?) the various points being made, and I straddled the line into petty moralizng and outright evasion for a while. Over time, though, I've recognized and appreciated more and more the relationship between my willful choices, my passions, and my happiness, and I feel like I'm on a real upward trend. Even in the past six months, various things I've read here from the contradictions within Rand's work to o-ists Peikoff/ARI events never mentioned (and much more) have affected and really challenged my perspective on things. It's great!

I'd have written more but I have to run out and do some tasks before its too late. Looking forward to posting!

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Michael: Thanks, I'll find my way around! There's just so much to read...

daunce: I'm not a big follower of sports, but to avoid dashing your hopes I can offer just defaulting to my family's preference for the Red Wings (family is from Detroit area). I had no idea about the Flyers' owner, huh, that's funny.

Reidy: Thanks! Previous to finding this forum I visited objectivism online, and before that I mostly looking at blogs and things like The Objective Standard. Actually, it's more accurate to say "forum" because I can't even recall if or what the other ones were. While on OO, I saw someone post a link of a thread from here to there, and I liked the quality of the thread here more right away.

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Or read PDS's posts, they are shorter.

It is true that my posts are often called the Monadnock Valley of OL.

Unfortunately, I am the only one who says this. :laugh:

That's a summer resort.

Summer is over.

I noticed the seasonal change.

Don't worry. Spring is coming (after winter). And after spring, summer and rationality (I hope and prey), when the utilities get restarted.

--Brant

a male Cruella de Ville

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Yeah, I saw you looking down. Sneering at bacon. At first I thought it was Marotta because he doesn't like to eat anything but now I know it was you.

When you cross Lake Ontario on the last flotilla out after the Final Shutdown, I will be waiting. With a big smile and my two tall, strong sons and various cousins. You will love it here.

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Yeah, I saw you looking down. Sneering at bacon. At first I thought it was Marotta because he doesn't like to eat anything but now I know it was you.

When you cross Lake Ontario on the last flotilla out after the Final Shutdown, I will be waiting. With a big smile and my two tall, strong sons and various cousins. You will love it here.

Was he naked with dyed red hair...lock your bedroom door babes...

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Of course they are all naked when they look down on your values! That is why you can hardly tell them apart.

Apparently you are not as worldly as you sometimes claim to be...I have never seen a single naked woman who I could not distinguish from all the others...

Perhaps, you have a different "lens" when you make your views.

In all the gym shower rooms and locker rooms that I have been in, there are clear differences between individuals.

Maybe I need to have my eyes checked...

A...

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.This is Alex's Welcome thread and you are just making a spectacle of yourself as usual. Get back into the wagon and pour the coffee.

As you know, my duty on the welcome wagon also allows me to introduce our new member to the irreverant thread drift which dances through crude and erotic areas.

A...

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Well, if his mother thinks he is mature enough to handle it I am sure she is right. And you know I don't take cream or sugar and you have not pointed out the excellent scholarship of Boydstun, Smith etc among the many attractions of the site.

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I mean, read both. Brant is just so mean about my highest values sometimes.

I look down on your "highest values." (Italics added by a biped.)

--Brant

but you already knew that

That you are a biped?

I used to be so good at this, but now everyone is getting the best of me.

--Brant

nuts!

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I used to be so good at this, but now everyone is getting the best of me.

--Brant

nuts!

Geez Brant, I know you were in the military...however, you need to come up with a different statement than the statement of General Mc Auliffe:

We got into Bastogne late on the night of 18 December, 1944. We were not well equipped, having just gotten out of combat in Holland. We were particularly short of winter clothing and footwear. On the 21st of December we became completely surrounded by Germans and our field hospital was overrun by a German attack. We had put the hospital in what would normally have been a safe place, but no place is safe when you are completely surrounded. At this time, we were not able to receive air resupply because the weather was absolutely frightful. It was very, very cold and snowy. Visibility was often measured in yards. Our lack of winter gear was partially offset by the citizens of Bastogne who gave us blankets and white linens that we used for camouflage.

While we were still surrounded, on the morning of December 22, a German surrender party, consisting of two officers and two NCOs, and carrying a white flag, approached our perimeter in the area of our Glider Regiment, the 327th. The party was taken to a nearby platoon command post. While the enlisted men were detained the officers were blind folded and taken to the command post of the 327th where they presented their surrender ultimatum.

The ultimatum in essence said the 101st's position was hopeless and that if we elected not to surrender a lot of bad things would happen.

The message was brought in to the Division Headquarters by Major Alvin Jones, the S-3, and Colonel Harper, the Regimental Commander. They brought the message to me, the G-3 and Paul Danahy, the G-2. My first reaction was that this was a German ruse, designed to get our men out of their fox holes. But be that as it might, we agreed that we needed to take the message up the line. We took it first to the acting Chief of Staff of the Division, Lt. Col. Ned Moore. With him, we took the message to the acting Division Commander General Tony McAuliffe. Moore told General McAuliffe that we had a German surrender ultimatum. The General's first reaction was that the Germans wanted to surrender to us. Col. Moore quickly disabused him of that notion and explained that the German's demanded our surrender. When McAuliffe heard that he laughed and said: "Us surrender? Aw, nuts!" the date was December 22nd, 1944

To the U.S.A. Commander of the encircled town of Bastogne.

The fortune of war is changing. This time the U.S.A. forces in and near Bastogne have been encircled by strong German armored units. More German armored units have crossed the river Our near Ortheuville, have taken Marche and reached St. Hubert by passing through Hompre-Sibret-Tillet. Libramont is in German hands.

There is only one possibility to save the encircled U.S.A. troops from total annihilation: that is the honorable surrender of the encircled town. In order to think it over a term of two hours will be granted beginning with the presentation of this note.

If this proposal should be rejected one German Artillery Corps and six heavy A. A. Battalions are ready to annihilate the U.S.A. troops in and near Bastogne. The order for firing will be given immediately after this two hours' term.

All the serious civilian losses caused by this artillery fire would not correspond with the well known American humanity.

The German Commander.

But then McAuliffe realized that some sort of reply was in order. He pondered for a few minutes and then told the staff, "Well I don't know what to tell them." He then asked the staff what they thought, and I spoke up, saying, "That first remark of yours would be hard to beat." McAuliffe said, "What do you mean?" I answered, "Sir, you said 'Nuts'." All members of the staff enthusiastically agreed, and McAuliffe decided to send that one word, "Nuts!" back to the Germans. McAuliffe then wrote down: "To the German Commander, "Nuts!" The American Commander."

McAuliffe then asked Col. Harper to deliver the message to the Germans. Harper took the typed message back to the company command post where the two German officers were detained. Harper then told the Germans that he had the American commanders reply. The German captain then asked,

"Is it written or verbal?" Harper responded that it was written and added, "I will place it in your hand."

nuts.JPG

General Anthony McAuliffe

taken on December 27th, 1944

The German major then asked, "Is the reply negative or affirmative? If it is the latter I will negotiate further."

At this time the Germans were acting in an arrogant and patronizing manner and Harper, who was starting to lose his temper, responded, "The reply is decidedly not affirmative." He then added that, "If you continue your foolish attack your losses will be tremendous."

Harper then put the German officers in a jeep and took them back to where the German enlisted men were detained. He then said to the German captain, "If you don't know what 'Nuts' means, in plain English it is the same as 'Go to Hell'. And I'll tell you something else, if you continue to attack we will kill every goddam German that tries to break into this city."

The German major and captain saluted very stiffly. The captain said, "We will kill many Americans. This is war." Harper then responded, "On your way Bud," he then said, "and good luck to you." Harper later told me he always regretted wishing them good luck.

You are still a hero in my mind and again, thank you for your service.

A...

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