Kat

I really like Ron Paul a lot, but I think he was dead wrong on this one. I thought nobody could be weaker in foreign policy than Obama and he just proved me wrong. I wish someone would enter the presidential race that I could actually vote for and is capable of beating Obama. Why is that so hard??? Who is John Galt? Kat

How a peace-loving groovy Beatle-freak like myself can be confused with a hawkish neocon is beyond me. I wish we could just do as John Lennon says and declare peace, but I'm more of a realist than a dreamer. Unfortunately, we are dealing with such extreme irrationality in both the Middle East and Washington so who knows what it is going to take to bring our troops home. We go into wars without a congressional declaration of war, no clear objectives and no exit strategy. Yes,we have to take out the evil bad guys who want to wipe the US and Israel off the face of the earth, but I think the only way to fight terrorists is to get them through intelligence and special ops or other black hat methods, not endless un-winnable wars. Now that OBL is out of the picture, we should bring the troops home. I'm not holding my breath though. Kat

When OBL was killed a lot of people were posting Martin Luther King Jr. quotes and such on facebook and it really annoyed me. Here is what I posted. Hopefully, some people checked their premises. "Osama bin Ladin was a truly evil fuck and I'm glad he is dead. MLK's words and Christian bromides do not apply to this situation. We needed CLOSURE. Sure there will be others to pick up the baton, but we had to take him down and there is no reason to feel guilty about it." That's my story and I'm sticking to it. Kat

http://www.thedailybell.com/2234/Tibor-Machan-Revisiting-Selfishness.html Revisiting Selfishness Monday, May 09, 2011 – by Dr. Tibor Machan Because I am always eager to do well for myself – have done this for as long as I can recall, starting with wanting to succeed in school, on the athletic field, in trying to be healthy and fit, and wanting to escape the brutal Soviets when I was only 14 – I always pay attention to people who denigrate selfishness. After all, I and most people I know well or even just a bit seem to me to be like me, are concerned to do well for themselves. None of them routinely wastes resources; none makes pointless sacrifices but tends, instead, to aim for good deals; and even those who are dedicated to helping their fellows pick and choose carefully – the reckless ones aren't receiving much aid, nor the vicious ones, only those who have shown some concern for themselves but have met with obstacles not easy to overcome. In other words, even in being generous and charitable, those who try to do well for themselves tend to receive more than those who are literally unselfish. So then why are so many who speak up about how we ought to act make a special effort to denigrate self-interested conduct? One could be cynical and give the answer that of course it is of possible benefit to people to urge others to be generous and charitable and not care for themselves but for others, instead, including those doing the urging. They are, after all, among these others whom they implore that they should look out for. So, then, is it a kind of perverse selfishness that may motivate people who preach unselfishness? Or there is the less cynical view that many people have a very narrow idea of themselves and all they seem to want to do is fulfill some momentary urges, not really enhance their lives properly. This may well be the view of selfishness that many condemn but it's a very impoverished idea of the human self that's involved here. Like the self of a drug addict or gluttonous person. Such people think of themselves as no more than a bundle of raw, irrational desires, never mind what ultimately would contribute to their lives, what would indeed be to their proper self-interest. Another idea is that the self for many people belongs in this earthly life and what they really want is happiness for eternity – everlasting salvation. But that is actually quite selfish since such folks give up something they see as not very important for something else that they consider all important, their eternal spiritual selves. And it is all a great bargain, if you think about it: you give up joys and pleasures for about 65 years of your earthly life so as to obtain bliss forever. Not a bad deal, me thinks. Now of course all this championing of selflessness or unselfishness and dissing of selfishness cannot be right. Nearly everyone tries to take decent care of himself or herself first. Then if there is time and stuff left, helping others can also become important. But only if those others are deserving and don't waste the help, won't squander it. For most even here a bit of pitching in to try to set negligent folks on the straight path will be OK but not if it is futile. Other people, after all, are not unfamiliar to us and their struggles often generate sympathy, even empathy. Up to a point, after which they are digging their own holes of self-defeat. In other words, one can be generous and charitable to a fault! And one shouldn't be. Another reason a proper measure of self-regard is to be applauded is that people tend to know much more about what will enhance their own lives, or they at least are in the best position to find out, than do their fellows. So helping people comes down too often to meddling in their affairs, even creating messes for them with all that butting in. Here is where quite apart from whether it is their proper job, politicians and bureaucrats make much more trouble than they and their cheerleaders admit. It is not easy to know what will make someone's life better, other than in some rare cases which amount to emergencies and very simple help. So urging people to be unselfish amounts, in many instances, to removing the best support they could get in their lives, namely, their own! The drive to besmirch proper selfishness is a misanthropic one. It shows disdain for people, promotes their sense of ineptitude. So I recommend that everyone follow the motto I have made up as my bumper sticker: "Assert yourself, thoughtfully!"

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I heard back from Duncan. Don't forget to pledge. There is not much time left and it is an all or nothing thing. He needs to reach this goal to move forward. Show that you are interested in getting out the ideas that have influenced us all so much. Kat

Steve, I take it you're not dancing and don't care for a drink. Suit yourself. I don't like these seemingly endless wars either, but I do like to see evil lose. Score one for the USA. Cheers! Kat

Ding-Dong he's gone. All analysis aside, I say we raise a toast and do a happy dance! Kat

The link accepts credit and debit cards. I don't see a paypal option. If you would like to mail a check, please print off this form (the link is located under the progress bar on my page) and mail to the Autism speaks address at the bottom of the form. Donations are tax deductible to the fullest extent allowed by law. 501c3 Tax Id #20-2329938 Autism Speaks, 5455 Wilshire Blvd, Ste 2250, Los Angeles, CA 90036-4272 thanks!!! Kat

Just an update on the walk. I want to thank Angie and Mark for their very generous donations. They have been the largest contributors to my walk so far! I am so grateful for the outpouring of support I have received. It's amazing how generous "selfish" people can be. ((Big Group Hug)) On behalf of my son Sean, we are participating in Walk Now for Autism Speaks. The walk will be held at Soldier Field in a couple weeks. By raising money to fund essential research and heighten public awareness, we can help children and adults with autism make their lives more manageable and help solve the puzzle that surrounds autism. We’re participating in Walk Now for Autism Speaks to help make a brighter future for people affected by autism. Please donate to Walk Now for Autism Speaks. Here’s my link. http://www.walknowforautismspeaks.org/chicago/katdaddy Check out my video here. http://myvideo.autismspeaks.org/movie.php?key=cc60a1350603a9a2ea76f068cb0ba907322201112_1259 You really can make a difference. Thanks so much for your kind support. Kat

I don't believe it is tax deductible. Generally, you would see that on the website or the email receipt you get. From what I understand this is independent of the Atlas Society or any other non-profit organization. They are trying to get support to make a movie and the end product would probably be better if there were a profit motive IMHO. Kat

Here is a recording of the event. It starts about 8 minutes in. <object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" height="300" width="400" id="clip_embed_player_flash" data="http://www.justin.tv/widgets/archive_embed_player.swf" bgcolor="#000000"><param name="movie" value="http://www.justin.tv/widgets/archive_embed_player.swf" /><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always" /><param name="allowNetworking" value="all" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><param name="flashvars" value="auto_play=false&start_volume=25&title=Does Ayn Rand help or hinder the cause of liberty?&channel=affchicago&archive_id=284647650" /></object><br /><a href="http://www.justin.tv/affchicago#r=-rid-&s=em" class="trk" style="padding:2px 0px 4px; display:block; width: 320px; font-weight:normal; font-size:10px; text-decoration:underline; text-align:center;">Watch live video from AFF Chicago on Justin.tv</a> It was a pretty good talk and a pleasure to see Marsha and John again. I think Marsha came out ahead, although Heather was pretty good, and very at ease in front of an audience. Her big issue was that Rand was an atheist and "closest totalitarian." and attacked Rand personally as a hater rather than sticking to the ideas. Christian bias rather than rational argument.... her biggest complaint being that Rand turned Judeo-Christian values on its head. Marsha defended the philosophy quite well.

The time limit is drawing near and this is only half funded. I highly doubt that anyone in the mainstream or the Objectivist orthodoxy is going to back projects like this. We've seen it quite clearly with the Atlas Shrugged movie. I, for one, am tired of Nathaniel and Barbara being swept under the rug after standing by Ayn Rand's side for all those years promoting her message. This is an important documentary and I would love to see it made. In appreciation to Angie, Mark, Jonathan, Dragonfly and others who have so generously contributed to my autism walk, I am upping my contribution from $35 to $100. Please, if historical truth about Ayn Rand and commitment to telling the truth about the Objectivist movement is of value to you, please support this project by clicking the link or widget on my previous post. thanks! Kat

That gave me a chuckle too. Man, I hope my kid doesn't go into that line of work!

I went to the earlybird matinee and saw Atlas for a second time. I thoroughly enjoyed it and it seemed to flow better the second time. I kinda got used to little Jimmy Taggart but Owen Kellogg is still a major dweeb and that scene seemed totally forced, even Dagny's acting in that scene was off. I still think Joe the Plumber or a more blue collar type would be better for that part. That character has competence and confidence and that dweeb character made me want to cry. Anyone, even Hank's secretary would have made a better Owen Kellogg. Dweebman just didn't have the stuff. There weren't as many people at the earlybird show, just a couple dozen or so who applauded at the end. If it is still playing here next weekend, maybe I'll go again. I've still got a couple tokens to play Simpsons pinball and they are burning a hole in me pocket. There are some movies you can't see too many times. I've seen A Hard Days Night so many times, and when my daughter was younger, she thought I was Janet in the shadow cast of Rocky Horror. To her I was the coolest mom in the world... for like ten seconds. Go see Atlas again on the big screen. Kat

I received this email from Duncan. Thank you! By Duncan Scott We passed the $11,000 mark over the weekend! First off, a big thank you to everyone who's supported our project so far! We're so grateful for your pledges, and are encouraged by all the enthusiastic messages we've received. We have two weeks to go, and the momentum has been building in recent days -- we are confident that we'll reach our funding goal. Thanks for joining us on this exciting adventure, and hope you will take a moment right now to spread the word about our Kickstarter link to everyone you know! All the best, Duncan Please, help this movie get made. There is still a ways to go and not much time left. Kat

As excitement for the release of the new Atlas Shrugged film reaches a fever pitch in the lead up to its premiere, AFF-Chicago is asking a question that divides free marketeers every time it's raised: Does Ayn Rand help or hinder the message of liberty? Join us from 6-8 PM on Wednesday, April 27th to hear arguments from both sides. Many conservatives and libertarians read Rand's works in their formative years and credit Atlas Shrugged, The Fountainhead, or the philosophy of Objectivism with opening their eyes to the moral rationale for a society that respects the rights of individual above all else. For some, Rand was their first teacher on the ideals of liberty. On the other hand, some view Rand's teachings as overly-rigid, cold, and off-putting. Although Rand criticized religious faith vehemently, her followers sometimes appear cultish and doctrinaire. Should Rand be the first person read by people curious about liberty and free markets? The event will feature two spectacular panelists, each of whom has strong thoughts on Ayn Rand and her usefulness in broadening the movement for liberty. Heather Wilhelm is a columnist for RealClearPolitics and a member of AFF's Chicago committee. She penned a piece in the Wall Street Journal in December 2009 that asked, 'Is Ayn Rand Bad for the Market?' http://www.heatherwilhelm.com/wall-street-journal/is-ayn-rand-bad-for-the-market/ Marsha Familaro Enright is president of the Reason, Individualism, Freedom Institute, the Foundation for the College of the United States. She recently coauthored a column in the Daily Caller advocating on Rand's behalf entitled 'Can the free market be saved without Rand?' http://dailycaller.com/2010/02/16/can-the-free-market-be-saved-without-rand/ Where: Sullivan's Steakhouse, 415 N Dearborn, Chicago When: Wednesday, April 27th, 6-8 PM (debate begins at 7 PM) RSVP: chicago@americasfuture.org or on our Facebook event page Price: $10 per person (includes one drink ticket, payable at the door). Members get free admission. We hope you'll join us for this exciting event! Facebook event link: https://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=168267963226743&index=1

The flying purple people eater eyes his prey.

I'm glad that some Objectivists are active in the tea parties. It is a great platform to get our ideas out there to people who have some common goals. Get involved and don't hand over the tea party to the social conservatives and keep speaking out for individual rights and a small fiscally responsible government. The Tea Party Patriots is also the group that sponsors the Chicago Tea Party and is a good group which includes a good amount of more libertarian types. Yaron Brook gave a wonderful speech at a recent Tea Party Patriots event. <iframe title="YouTube video player" width="425" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/d7fiagHwNJY" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> Keynote speech at the 4th of July Boston Tea Party event (in 2 parts) "Commit yourselves to becoming principled advocates for liberty. Commit yourselves to becoming principled advocates for individual rights, but most importantly, commit yourselves to making the most out of your life, for being the best you can be in your life, and for spreading that idea the idea of rational self-interest...The idea that you own your own life..." <iframe title="YouTube video player" width="560" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/q7pimsGUKfM" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> <iframe title="YouTube video player" width="560" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/5mYBQYbyGSU" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Celebrate Easter by sending Duncan Scott a money bomb! I've pledged and I'm looking forward to seeing this when it is released. Duncan Scott does wonderful work and I have his other DVDs also. This is a very important project on Ayn Rand and I hope he gets up enough funding for this to be completed. Sixteen days to go. Please make a generous donation to this project. <iframe frameborder="0" height="410px" src="http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1603241478/inside-the-mind-of-ayn-rand-a-new-feature-film/widget/video.html" width="480px"></iframe> <iframe frameborder="0" height="380px" src="http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1603241478/inside-the-mind-of-ayn-rand-a-new-feature-film/widget/card.html" width="220px"></iframe>

I don't understand LP's moral outrage over sharing a freakin' piece of cake. In my household parental authority trumps the kid's so-called property rights. If everyone had a piece of cake and there was one slice left, I might let the kid have it or tell him to share it with his brother if it was a big enough piece and they both really wanted more. It's just a piece of cake. There have been times, however, when the kids were smaller when they got a new toy, game or something cool and I discouraged sharing, saying it was their new special toy and they were not ready to share it at this point. Some of the other kids and parents didn't get it but others did and sometimes we would put the special things away when other kids were coming over and I remember another mom understood and started doing that too. They always share freely when they are ready. Sometimes they just need a period to feel ownership. My sharing when ready policy actually prevented a lot of problems and made the kids feel loved because they were not forced to share when they did not want to or were not ready to. Sharing feels better when it is given freely rather than forced upon you. Why feed resentment and sibling rivalry with misguided notions? I don't know if this is a good Objectivist parenting practice, but it did teach the kids that sharing was a choice and not an obligation. Kat

We decided to take my son along at the last minute because he really wanted to go having seen the trailer. He's a teenager but his autism makes him seem a bit younger. He loved the movie and was at the edge of his seat for a good portion of the movie. The love scene is pretty tame compared to the book so I didn't even bother covering little eyes. He did want to see the little gold atlas from the ads and was disappointed that character was not featured in the movie. Kat

I'm so glad that you like it now. After I saw it, I still kind of wondered why you gave it the thumbs down. because certainly it wasn't all that bad...Now we know that you saw a much different version. I guess one of the advantages of having this movie made independently is that the producers actually listened and made changes. Sure, we all probably wish it had some star power behind it and a few more of the rough edges were filed down, but it just didn't turn out that way. I'm glad Freedomworks and other tea party groups are supportive of it. I actually only expected lukewarm support from the tea party considering Rand's atheism... but that wasn't terribly evident in part 1. The fans demanded it and the number of theaters showing it was expanded. It is playing in my town, one of the most liberal areas of the country... Leningrad on the Lake. I hope the movie enjoys great success and part 2 comes out on schedule - April 15, 2012. Kat

I think I will go see it again tomorrow after the tea party. By then they should have had the time to fix the flaws in the movie, replaced the actors with people at least 10 years older (Jodie, you in?) and made it a half hour longer. Kat

Hellooooooo! I'm an atheist so I don't do religion. but if I were to choose one as a so-called thought experiment it would probably be Pagan, Buddhist, Unitarian or Secular Humanist. Just don't let Michael take me to a Baptist church. I get more than enough religion at Glenn Beck events. Kat