DavidMcK

Actually N.B. took back what he said in that essay (though I can't recall which book it was); he amended his position to state that if everyone is selfish all the time it can be the self-interest of fools. 'Honoring the Self' maybe?

Speaking of context dropping, notice that you used Afghanistan as your example and added 'etc.' to include Iraq, and everywhere else the U.S. is stationed. The Taliban in Afghanistan harbored the Al-Qaeda and we were attacked-the war in Afghanistan is justified out of self-defense. Ron Paul and galtgulch specifically stated Iraq.....please stop context dropping when discussing foreign policy.

Thanks Martin!

If we had a non-interventionist military policy we wouldn't have to worry about shedding muslim (or anyone else's) blood because there wouldn't be another 9/11.

I didn't know whether to laugh or cry when I scrolled through the schedule and abstracts of your link Roger, especially when one scholar claimed that: " Just as people can become addicted to heroin, they can become addicted to incentives. Looking at modern American society as it is gives us a picture of what people can be, but not of what they must be." Thus the desire to live your life is an addiction?

Mike, I also had your sentiment even during the campaign, but it went away when I had this thought: Isn't he like a Doctor presuming to perform surgery on a sick patient? And if he hasn't bothered to find out the first thing about medicine isn't he responsible for the things that he doesn't know that he could find out (by reading Atlas for example; or learning Bastiat's/Hazlitt's One Lesson). When you realize that you are the patient I think feeling sorry for him will start to dissipate very quickly!

Practices or procedure then.

One of the most important principles she used could be described as being dialectical- to refuse to accept a dichotomy just because it is presented to you on a silver platter, e.g. fascism vs. socialism. After refusing to automatically accept a dichotomy she would proceed to investigate the idea that maybe both or neither- searching for underlying similarities and differences. Then she would find the real either/or of the matter (whatever the issue was- political, moral etc.) and then proceed to work out the consequences and interrelatedness of the position she chose with respect to other wider principles. See Chris Sciabarra for more. (Also Barbara Branden). This is why there is such a strong impression of re-thinking everything and a fresh approach from scratch about so much in Objectivism.

The power to produce is very different from the power to destroy. Obviously; But what other power does a corporation have (in a lassez faire society) but the power to produce, and what other power does a state have except the power to destroy?

I wonder what kind of qualifying test is involved in becoming a member.

I know that there are some child's books on economics, I think one is called 'Whatever Happened to Penny Candy' or something very close to that.

Happy Birthdday Chris, from a fan.

I also recall in the same lecture or in 'Who is Ayn Rand' he liked to say that nobody plays the helpless game on a desert island.

Its important to remember that everything in a free economy has a function or it wouldn't exist-it would be a waste of resources and those that didn't waste resources would be the winners. If you think of all the stocks as just one big company (in order to understand what the stock market is for) buying and selling on a day to day basis might be money that doesn't go directly to the company but without the stock market and the capability to spread the risk of ownership to millions of people many of the companies who's stock is traded wouldn't exist. Its unlikely that Boeing (to take only one example) would or could be owned by a single individual since it takes billions of dollars to develop a new plane. By spreading the risk to many and then splitting the profits (if there are any) a much larger company is enabled. Arbritage helps provide liquidity as do the commodity traders, as well as getting prices in a better alignment with economic reality.

Thanks Galtgulch for reminding me of that commercial. I can remember when it came out....during a Super-Bowl commercial if my memory serves.

Michael, Out of curiosity, to help me understand where google gets revenue, how much money would they get paid per 1000 impressions? Just a ballpark figure if there is such a thing.

I realize from reading this that I've never really said much about my own circumstances. I've been on here for quite a while mostly reading. I've been recalled to NY about 16 months; I work at JFK with AMR (formerly at LGA); I was laid off for about 2 1/2 years. It is nice to be back in NY. I'm a mechanic for AA now in avionics. hmm what else? I love to read and listen to classical music. I'm interested in investing; trying to get richer so that I can have a piano and my own place to practice the piano in without bothering anyone. I live in Elmhurst. My favorite books are of course AR but I've gotten a great deal out of Nathaniel Branden's books and could still get more out of them. My favorite Objectivist book is Chris Sciabarra's AR The Russian Radical. I'm 54 unmarried. I could go on I suppose but this seems like enough.

"If we are in for a cold spell why are the icecaps melting, or do you not accept that?" http://www.dailytech.com/Article.aspx?newsid=13834 Sorry, I don't know how to use the quote thing but this set of posts made me curious enough to do some pleasant research and find out a little more about global warming/cooling. Also see: http://isthereglobalcooling.com/

Michael, I find your ideas about how to effect a change in the philosophy and attitudes in the Muslim world refreshing. Change is very difficult as we (libertarian/objectivist oriented people) are learning over here, and what I like about your ideas is the sense that change has to be grown naturally, out of the natural habitat of the world in which people live if I may put it that way. For some reason I am reminded of the first time that I realized that we may not be looking at the situation objectively is during the Iranian takeover of the American Embassy. I saw a sign on TV (I'm showing my age!) that said that America isn't being rational or words to that effect. They had mis-spelled a lot of words, and logically it didn't mean that the Iranian students were being rational, but I remember thinking that reason might be important to people who weren't raised in the West.

He knows a racist when he sees (or reads) one. Just because other people are irrational doesn't mean you have to meet such a point of view with your own counter-irrationality. The only rational position when there is an irrational religious war going on is to make sure you stay out of it and protect yourself.

"Thank god for small favors. Remind me again why this should bother anyone? Who granted whom unconditional self-rule in that territory, and who continued lobbing unprovked missiles at civilian targets. Thank god for small favors. " Ok I'll try to remind you why it should bother someone....25% of those 430 casulties are civilians about 107. These people aren't the same ones who launched the rockets into Israel. It is called being innocent of a crime and being killed. Does that remind you?

The reason there are more news reports about Palestinian casualties is because there are more of them. According to one web site there are 4 Israeli casulties and 430 Palestinians.

When I first read the first post I wondered 'Doesn't that name seem a little artistic?' Holden Kempf? A cross between Holden Caufield in Cacher in the Rye and Kempf- German for head I believe. I'll be happy to apologize if his driver's license shows up. (Actually kopf is head...kempf is 'struggle' as in 'Mein Kempf' sorry but it's been a long time since my college German.)

Thanks Galt, for putting numbers to my own sense that our military is way over-extended; well beyond any legitimate need for self defense. I too am non-interventionist which I always took to be part of the Objectivist idea (or at least mostly). War is just another program like SS or Medicare that is meant to raise taxes and exert control over the populace...it doesn't work any better than any other government program. Of course I exempt justifiable wars from this; wars in which we were attacked first (Afhanistan and Pearl Harbor).

"She longed for a "just war" (FHF) with the Soviet Union." Brant what does FHF stand for?