C-SPAN 2 to show excerpts of the "Atlas 50th" on Sat., Oct. 13


Bidinotto

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A late reminder:

A portion of the "Atlas 50th Celebration" in Washington, DC, hosted by The Atlas Society, will be shown on C-SPAN 2's "Book TV" Saturday, Oct. 13, starting at noon Eastern time.

The program schedule is posted here.

This broadcast will show only a portion of the day's festivities -- three of the four panels (alas, not the panel that I moderated, which featured Ed Younkins, Ed Snider of Comcast Spectacor, and Rob Bradley, Jr., all of whom were simply outstanding). Nor will the broadcast show luncheon speaker Charles Murray, nor the Cato reception with Barbara Branden and Nathaniel Branden, nor the evening banquet featuring keynoter John Stossel, nor the Atlas Shrugged movie panel. (What was C-SPAN thinking???)

For all of the rest, you'll have to buy the forthcoming DVD. For now, set your VCRs, TIVOs, and whatnot to record nearly 4 hours of fine speakers discussing many aspects of Rand's masterpiece.

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A late reminder:

A portion of the "Atlas 50th Celebration" in Washington, DC, hosted by The Atlas Society, will be shown on C-SPAN 2's "Book TV" Saturday, Oct. 13, starting at noon Eastern time.

The program schedule is posted here.

This broadcast will show only a portion of the day's festivities -- three of the four panels (alas, not the panel that I moderated, which featured Ed Younkins, Ed Snider of Comcast Spectacor, and Rob Bradley, Jr., all of whom were simply outstanding). Nor will the broadcast show luncheon speaker Charles Murray, nor the Cato reception with Barbara Branden and Nathaniel Branden, nor the evening banquet featuring keynoter John Stossel, nor the Atlas Shrugged movie panel. (What was C-SPAN thinking???)

For all of the rest, you'll have to buy the forthcoming DVD. For now, set your VCRs, TIVOs, and whatnot to record nearly 4 hours of fine speakers discussing many aspects of Rand's masterpiece.

Thank you. Just set the recorder. My Master's Thesis was "An Aristotelian Analysis of the Objectivist Movement".

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That's a fascinating thesis title. Who let you do that one?

Ahh, and there in lies the tale. My thesis "advisor" was an extreme left wing professor. The worst aspect of his rigid personality was that he was a rabid B.F. Skinner behavioralist. In the presentation conference, wherein, just he and I were in the room, he declared that Ayn Rand was a Fascist and her body of work could never be a movement.

I was twenty-two and had read Atlas at the age of twelve. Attended NBI in the early sixties. Pardon my use of words we all know and may use, but I stated that he could utilize the rolled up copy of my thesis as an anal probe and I would not be submitting the thesis. I left teaching there two years later.

However, I have slept well since that day and would not trade his slack jawed look for any piece of paper he could have "helped" me get.

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Hahahaha. Good for you, Selene!

You lasted longer in higher education than I did. And I've never looked back with regret.

I think that the subtle, personal effect that Atlas has upon a rational person is completely transforming. Particularly the concept of "the sanction of the victim". A current example of this occured just tonight on Bill Maher's HBO show which is outrageously funny. He was sandwiched between Joy Behar of the View and some non descript, confused and irrational socialist. The socialist consistently self destructed at the rational first principle questions that were posed by Carlson, who states clearly that he is a libertarian.

The socialist's bottom line "argument" was that republicans/Bush/capitalists want to kill poor children. He, the knee jerk socialist, stated that the issue was about being bi-partisan[which may be a new DSM sexual disability soon-just joking]. Thankfully, Tucker refused to be guilty for asking the primary question which is:

by what right does the state act to force all americans to be insured for their health?

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Hahahaha. Good for you, Selene!

You lasted longer in higher education than I did. And I've never looked back with regret.

I think that the subtle, personal effect that Atlas has upon a rational person is completely transforming. Particularly the concept of "the sanction of the victim". A current example of this occured just tonight on Bill Maher's HBO show which is outrageously funny. He was sandwiched between Joy Behar of the View and some non descript, confused and irrational socialist. The socialist consistently self destructed at the rational first principle questions that were posed by Carlson, who states clearly that he is a libertarian.

The socialist's bottom line "argument" was that republicans/Bush/capitalists want to kill poor children. He, the knee jerk socialist, stated that the issue was about being bi-partisan[which may be a new DSM sexual disability soon-just joking]. Thankfully, Tucker refused to be guilty for asking the primary question which is:

by what right does the state act to force all americans to be insured for their health?

-Atlas Shrugged- contains many useful and potent memes. One does not have to buy the Objectivst Package in the entirety (which includes Rand's dislike of Bethoven) to come away with useful ideas. I never became an Objectivist, but I did profit from reading -Atlas Shrugged-. I thought the idea of bringing the country to its knees by going on strike was way, way cool, even if impractical. The principle is sound. One must withdraw one's approval and sanction. It is the power of No!!!!!. One does not have to be an Objectivist to see that this is a valid principle and can even be an effective tactic. If thine enemy requires thy co-operation, don't co-operate. He may be able to kill you, but he can't destroy you as a volitional being.

If you saw the motion picture -V for Vendetta- you will see in the final scene that Chancellor Sutler's regime is brought down by a non-violent refusal of the population to accept its rule any longer. Folks by the millions donned their Guy Fawkes mask and marched and refused to submit. The army backed down. They had neither the spleen nor the bullets to wipe out the population. Sometimes the Big No works. Parliement was blown up, at long last, but little blood was spilled.

Ba'al Chatzaf

Edited by BaalChatzaf
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Hahahaha. Good for you, Selene!

You lasted longer in higher education than I did. And I've never looked back with regret.

I think that the subtle, personal effect that Atlas has upon a rational person is completely transforming. Particularly the concept of "the sanction of the victim". A current example of this occured just tonight on Bill Maher's HBO show which is outrageously funny. He was sandwiched between Joy Behar of the View and some non descript, confused and irrational socialist. The socialist consistently self destructed at the rational first principle questions that were posed by Carlson, who states clearly that he is a libertarian.

The socialist's bottom line "argument" was that republicans/Bush/capitalists want to kill poor children. He, the knee jerk socialist, stated that the issue was about being bi-partisan[which may be a new DSM sexual disability soon-just joking]. Thankfully, Tucker refused to be guilty for asking the primary question which is:

by what right does the state act to force all americans to be insured for their health?

-Atlas Shrugged- contains many useful and potent memes. One does not have to buy the Objectivst Package in the entirety (which includes Rand's dislike of Bethoven) to come away with useful ideas. I never became an Objectivist, but I did profit from reading -Atlas Shrugged-. I thought the idea of bringing the country to its knees by going on strike was way, way cool, even if impractical. The principle is sound. One must withdraw one's approval and sanction. It is the power of No!!!!!. One does not have to be an Objectivist to see that this is a valid principle and can even be an effective tactic. If thine enemy requires thy co-operation, don't co-operate. He may be able to kill you, but he can't destroy you as a volitional being.

If you saw the motion picture -V for Vendetta- you will see in the final scene that Chancellor Sutler's regime is brought down by a non-violent refusal of the population to accept its rule any longer. Folks by the millions donned their Guy Fawkes mask and marched and refused to submit. The army backed down. They had neither the spleen nor the bullets to wipe out the population. Sometimes the Big No works. Parliement was blown up, at long last, but little blood was spilled.

Ba'al Chatzaf

Yes, precisely. Vendetta is a fine movie thematicly and some damn good graphics. This theme has been beautifully woven through many American and Foreign films. Rollerball with James Caan was powerful. Meet John Doe with Cooper. The Grapes of Wrath with Fonda. The Last Castle with Redford. A recent billiant Foreign film The Lives of Others which is a very real view of the lives of citizens under the savage Stazi in East Germany. I considered accepting Objectivism as a total basic philosophical system when I went to NBI. However, when I lived through and bore personal witness to internal structural purges by the existing Keepers of the Flame, I understood that the "organization" was making an instinctive internal correction which would hamper its ability to be as effective as I desired it to be. Therefore, since I was not, nor ever would be a "true believer", as Hoffer uses the term, I took all the wisdom that I learned from Rand and others at NBI and proceeded forward in the political world. My statements to the sad disillusioned friends that I had at NBI about discovering that their "towering idols" had clay feet with a lot of mud on them was to check their premises. Did a Randian axiom that you knew to be true change because of her personal behavior? Clearly, the answer is no.

Finally, when you guys use the term "meme", I am assuming it is not used in complimentary way!

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Yes, precisely. Vendetta is a fine movie thematicly and some damn good graphics. This theme has been beautifully woven through many American and Foreign films. Rollerball with James Caan was powerful. Meet John Doe with Cooper. The Grapes of Wrath with Fonda. The Last Castle with Redford. A recent billiant Foreign film The Lives of Others which is a very real view of the lives of citizens under the savage Stazi in East Germany.

Not Stazi but Stasi (STAatsSIcherheit=state security)

Finally, when you guys use the term "meme", I am assuming it is not used in complimentary way!

It is a neutral term, just like "idea".

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Here is a head's up.

At the end of the CSPAN broadcast, the VO announcer said "For more information, go to "aynrand.org." I don't know if TAS had the intention of advertising ARI in that manner. I think it would have been more appropriate to send the viewers to the TAS site since the event was a TAS event.

This might be a detail to include on the error check list for the DVD before releasing it.

I am indebted to Kitten for noticing this. She was walking through the room at the time when the announcer made his statement and came out with, "Nooooooooooooooooooo. What's that?"

Michael

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Yes, precisely. Vendetta is a fine movie thematicly and some damn good graphics. This theme has been beautifully woven through many American and Foreign films. Rollerball with James Caan was powerful. Meet John Doe with Cooper. The Grapes of Wrath with Fonda. The Last Castle with Redford. A recent billiant Foreign film The Lives of Others which is a very real view of the lives of citizens under the savage Stazi in East Germany.

Not Stazi but Stasi (STAatsSIcherheit=state security)

Finally, when you guys use the term "meme", I am assuming it is not used in complimentary way!

It is a neutral term, just like "idea".

Ahh, thanks. Related to the enthymeme used by Aristotle to mean an argument from probabilities. Got it.

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Here is a head's up.

At the end of the CSPAN broadcast, the VO announcer said "For more information, go to "aynrand.org." I don't know if TAS had the intention of advertising ARI in that manner. I think it would have been more appropriate to send the viewers to the TAS site since the event was a TAS event.

This might be a detail to include on the error check list for the DVD before releasing it.

I am indebted to Kitten for noticing this. She was walking through the room at the time when the announcer made his statement and came out with, "Nooooooooooooooooooo. What's that?"

Michael

Exactly, I was not happy to see the link either.

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Well, C-SPAN misspelled David Kelley's name ("Kelly"), and they put up a link to the wrong organization. Not a very efficient crew.

But this event wasn't about some kind of competition. It was about Ayn Rand and her great novel. Besides, The Atlas Society name was plastered all over the place, as were the names of our speakers -- and most importantly, the word about Rand's novel and its importance.

So, not bad. Not bad at all.

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Well, C-SPAN misspelled David Kelley's name ("Kelly"), and they put up a link to the wrong organization. Not a very efficient crew.

But this event wasn't about some kind of competition. It was about Ayn Rand and her great novel. Besides, The Atlas Society name was plastered all over the place, as were the names of our speakers -- and most importantly, the word about Rand's novel and its importance.

So, not bad. Not bad at all.

I meant no criticism. It was so refreshing to hear three and one half hours of rational conversation that actually dealt with central issues to each of us as individuals.

I recently signed on to this forum and it has been a delight.

Moreover, at least the Atlas Society is addressing the major frustration that I have had for thirty odd years with the "Keepers of the Flame" and their self destructive behavior with the Libertarian Party and any political/electoral action. I remember how strongly Ayn came out for Goldwater. I was an one of the original organizers of the New York State campaign for Barry. I lived in Queens County in New York City. I was 17, attending NBI and in my second year at Queens College.

The electoral debacle of 1964, especially in local State Assembly, Senate, Congressional and Counselmanic races was devastating. There was no longer any effective non-Democratic Party in my county. I have never understood the "we are not getting our hands dirty" attitude of the Objectivist "faithful" that took over. Even the God's of Greek Mythology would come down from Olympus occassionally.

However, it appears that you guys are finally on the right track. This is an immense opportunity to geometrically increase the spread of our ideas. I was glad to hear that the gentleman from ARI attended the meetings with libertarians and "the downfallen angels"!

Now is the time. We will never be in a better position to explosively assert our ideas. Great job on the conference. I will be attending next year.

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Selene, I'm delighted that you enjoyed what you saw. Believe me, there was a LOT more (and, in my opinion, even better stuff) that didn't make it onto C-SPAN. It was an amazing event.

Still, even excerpted, I'm glad it convinced to you attend our future events. The only challenge for us is to try to figure out how to top this one!

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I'm pleased that three of the panels from last Saturday's event were broadcast on C-SPAN 2. Alas, C-SPAN2/Book TV is not available from the rinky-dink cable company in this corner of South Carolina. I was hoping to see the third panel (with Fred Smith et al.) because I left the event in the middle of the afternoon.

I can't entirely agree with Dragonfly about memes (according to Richard Dawkins, the word "meme" is a contraction of "mimeme"). Many use the term pejoratively, to refer to bad ideas that somehow catch on despite their evident badness. Dawkins does this himself, though not all the time. (The deeper problem, IMHO, is that the meme doctrine is poor cognitive science... but that's a topic for a different thread.)

Robert Campbell

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Selene, I'm delighted that you enjoyed what you saw. Believe me, there was a LOT more (and, in my opinion, even better stuff) that didn't make it onto C-SPAN. It was an amazing event.

Still, even excerpted, I'm glad it convinced to you attend our future events. The only challenge for us is to try to figure out how to top this one!

I was already going to go to the next one after coming across your website two weeks ago. However, I will tell you with certainty that I have some time tested ideas for "workshops", forums etc. I would really like to see a well crafted debate proposition between one of the directors of Atlas and the gentleman who is running ARI, Dr. Yaron Brook.

Furthermore, since I was a debate judge, I would be glad to be one of the three judges. It would be a debate, not the anti-intellectual press conferences that the "mainstream media" covers. I'm sure it is completely apparent to any semi-conscious observer of the "main stream media" that it now a tiny electronic backwater in the electronic information river.

I would also like to work with anyone else to craft a "workshop" on local political campaigns. A utilitarian workshop to elect one member to the local school board of every member of nationwide. Also, to look at local town counsels, community planning boards. In essence utilize some of the brilliant organizing concepts of the left to aid and accelerate their collapse. Additionally, the first go round election will be building the election district force that will only build month by month.

I thought your panels were excellent. The questions were well thought out. The audience was amply sprinkled with bright eyed, intense young people. It was a highly marketable image.

Finally, for many of us who labored in the wilderness for the last 50 years, it has been 49 for me. I read Atlas in 1958 at the age of 12. It confirmed every first principle that I believed in and it gave me a cohesive framework to develope and hone my mind that lasts to this day.

It is the best and most important book that I have ever read. Whenever I had to decide between my basic values and what appeared to be the easier path or the more financially rewarding path I was able to reflect with seriousness and make a rational conclusion. Her ideas/memes lead to paths much less traveled, but worth every step.

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I have to say, if you didn't see the entire event -- including Panel #3 (the business panel with Rob Bradley, Ed Younkins, Ed Snider, and Yours Truly), and the presentations by Charles Murray, John Stossel, Barbara Branden, Nathaniel Branden, and the movie director/producers, you missed out on about 80% of the value of the event.

Regardless, when the DVD set becomes available, I have a couple words of advice: GET IT.

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I have to say, if you didn't see the entire event -- including Panel #3 (the business panel with Rob Bradley, Ed Younkins, Ed Snider, and Yours Truly), and the presentations by Charles Murray, John Stossel, Barbara Branden, Nathaniel Branden, and the movie director/producers, you missed out on about 80% of the value of the event.

Regardless, when the DVD set becomes available, I have a couple words of advice: GET IT.

It would have been nice to shake the Branden's hands again. I had a good deal of respect for them. I still recommend Breaking Free to numerous young people and a few older folks who I think may still not comprehend how "stuck" they are in old tracks and tapes that control their lives negatively.

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  • 2 months later...

Book TV is having three of the Atlas 50th panel on Dec 29th beginning at noon EST. I would suggest you can find all information on the schedule at Booktv.org. TAS has all of the events of the Atlas 50th on a DVD for only $39.95. This includes the Charles Murray luncheon talk, the John Stossel dinner talk, and the Atlas Shrugged movie panel.

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