algernonsidney

TAS has become something like the Libertarian Party. It makes it possible for a few people to earn a living without having real jobs. It does very little outreach. It hardly publishes anything original. They put out a few articles, but it's nothing compared to other sites I go to.

I actually think Jim Peron's FR33MINDS is doing more than they are. As far as I know, Jim is a one-man band.

Nathan Crow said back in 1996 that it's just "social club." There isn't much evidence that it has changed.

Here's the article in which Jason Whitlock says that a lot of tattoos reflect insecurity. It's a funny article that deals with other issues, too:

http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/NFL-strip-club-vince-young-jason-whitlock-061710

There are a lot of different reasons for having tattoos, of course. I do wonder about these people who have tattoos all over though.

You mostly get what you give in life. That generally holds true even with good people....

This ain't like what you went through with the Randroids, either. You ran into some serious cult mentality issues. You won't find that here--not in reality--no matter how much the call to repeat the pain clamors.

I don't know exactly who a lot of them are. I can tell you that Don Heath is one person I will never forgive.

I was never a fan because I don't care for tattoos on women--why would such a beautiful young girl want to do that to herself? But I'm sure that was just her way of flaunting her rebellious spirit.

Consider the number of people who have tattoos nowadays, there is absolutely nothing rebellious about them. Tattoos seem to be a way for a person to say: "Hey, I'm rebellious," without actually doing anything rebellious. It's counterfeit individualism.

Sportswriter Jason Whitlock believes that tattoos reflect a great deal of insecurity on the part of the person who has them. I happen to agree with him. My own experience with tattooed people confirms this.

I wish Stossel had talked to me. I have known a bona fide welfare bum personally for over four years. This guy is on disability, even though he is pretty much able to work. He does absolutely nothing, except buy self-help courses and other baloney. He lives with his parents and in his 30's.

I find it interesting that people with little or no talent suddenly become more talented right after they die.

She had exactly one hit in America. Her voice sounded like she was singing with food in her mouth. Her lyrics were barely audible.

By the way, almost nobody cares about the Grammy Awards.

(DELETED FOR UNEXPECTED, UNUSUAL AND SERIOUS REASONS.)

Unfortunately, I think Jeff is right on the money here. The "self-deception" also explains why religion has survived for as long as it has. Some people have seen the bankruptcy of religion and have tried other things--Landmark Education, The Secret, and other baloney. And how many adults do you know who truly know how to have fun?

Incidentally, if you need chemicals to have fun, you don't know how to have fun. You will meet a lot of people who have this attitude, which tells me that a lot of people really are miserable.

Could you tell us a little more about yourself? Where are you about? How old are you about? Are you married? Single? With children?

The best "therapist" I have had is an acting coach here in Austin. I took classes from him and loved it. I think it helped because it synched the left and right hemispheres of my brain. It also got me "out of myself." Unfortunately, I also understand why so many people in the business end up using substances. If acting as a career was not basically a lottery ticket, I might consider it as a career.

Now the big question: where do you actually find a competent therapist? There are certainly plenty of worthless ones out there.

Nothing like good, positive vibes. Feel better now, Andre? After Chris performed his particular form of voodoo?

Nathaniel Branden wrote some good stuff about anxiety. But you have to buy them, now. He has a good mp3 that might help. I mastered that one, originally; it was down to cassette tape and I brought in some pretty good guys to clean up the recording. Long time ago. Worth the five bucks, for sure. It could only help.

People like you are the reason why I was disappointed that Andre came here looking for help. Your attitude has only proven me right.

Andre has gotten more sympathy here than I expected. But I knew that some people would just use this thread as an excuse to be self-righteous and malevolent. I experienced the same thing between the IOS seminar in 1995 and 1996, and I have never gotten over it.

Now the big question: where do you actually find a competent therapist? There are certainly plenty of worthless ones out there.

Andre,

I am sorry to see that you came here looking for sympathy. It looks like Michael is the only one capable of providing any so far, and I hope I can do that for you as well.

I came to the Objectivist movement back in 1995 with the same kind of questions. I got the same kind of self-righteous, pure hatred that you are getting now. Don't try to tell me that Objectivists are benevolent.

Asking Objectivists for help with a problem like this is asking a suicide bomber to rebuild the engine of your car. Of course, you didn't know this. Neither did I. It does make me wonder why still I bother coming here though.

Depression is not a choice. Michael's advice on doing something that makes you happy is good. You may find that somewhere or with some type of activity or with some type of person. It might be somewhere that you are not expecting to look as well.

I'm sending you my Facebook page.

I initially wanted to see this movie because I grew up about 40 miles from Weirton (where it was filmed). Weirton was an excellent choice because it still looks like 1979.

They got the cars and the music down perfectly. Some of the TV clips fit very well, too. The only historical error was when someone mentioned the Rubik's Cube (which was not out in 1979).

This movie worked because it used sci-fi as a plot device, instead of making the sci-fi the main character. It was just about a bunch of kids who wanted to make a movie and then get caught up in something that was much bigger than their own little world. It was a movie about friends and how they annoy and help each other.

Everyone was good all over in this movie. And I always love the theme of the local policeman taking on the corrupt feds. It kept us intrigued by the mystery and the question of who the good guys and bad guys really were.

It was also pretty scary at times. Direction was excellent.

And unlike _ET_, it didn't try to be cute. Thank goodness for that.

Perhaps this does make journalists look a bunch of idiots.

Still, nobody did as good a job as a little six-year-old boy from Colorado back in 2009. Falcon Heene will forever be my personal hero for this reason alone. We need more "balloon boys."

The two most popular things on television are:

1. reality television

2. lawyer/cop shows like Law and Order

This was a combination of both. So was OJ.So was Natalee Holloway, even though it never went to trial.

And I cannot be sorry for an American male who doesn't need Viagra. You need to regroup and get back into the fight knowing that no light at the end of the tunnel only means there's not a train bearing down on you, not that there is no end.

I am not taking Viagra. However, I do take a supplement called Tribosten, which does increase my testosterone levels. It's not cheap, but worth every penny. About a month ago, I told a trainer that I suspected that my testosterone was low. I have not had it tested. But Tribosten is one of the very few supplements in which I have immediately noticed a difference.

At about 2pm yesterday afternoon, I pulled up to the gate in my neighborhood. I got a little too close and waited for the gate to open. Then, for some reason, I just let my foot off the brake. The car went into the gate. The gate opened enough for cars to get through, but was clearly stuck.

I pulled through and parked in the driveway of my condo, about 100 yards away. The temperature was over 100, and I had some turkey in the car. I went inside and placed the turkey in the refrigerator. Then, I walked back to the gate and looked around.

I knocked on the door that was closest the gate--there was no answer. I knocked on the door of another condo that was close by. A man answered. I told him what had happened and asked him if he was "in charge" of the gate. He told me to go to the condo by the pool. I went there and found the president of the neighborhood association.

I apologized. He told me that it happens "all the time." Apparently, however, I was the only person who had actually informed him of the accident though. It sounds like most people just hit and run. I gave him my name and my cell phone number. I was ready to pay whatever damages if necessary.

As I walked back to my condo, I started to get angry. I was mad at myself for the accident which I had caused. I was mad for another reason, too. I just said to myself: "I am sick and tired of being honest."

For me, reporting an accident that I had caused was an automatic reaction. I didn't even think about it. It was the right thing to do. It is how I would want people to behave if it had happened to me. My car did get hit by someone that we never found once.

The brutal truth is that this honesty has gotten me nothing in life. At the age of 40, I am still single with no kids. I also loathe my career. I make about enough money to support myself, and that's it. I do have a decent savings. Really, the two most important things in my life both totally suck.

What has this kind of honesty gotten me? It has gotten me absolutely nothing in my life. I look at honest and just say: "What's the point?" Why should I keep being honest? What has honesty ever done for me?

I can top that. Last year I was in a checkout line to buy a magazine at an independent bookstore when I spotted a sign asking us to sign a petition, write our congressman or what have you, promoting taxes on Amazon. I put the magazine back on the shelf and walked out, never to return.

And it's sad because it has often been the independent book stores that have taken principled stands. For example, a government issued a warrant to Tattered Cover in Denver to give them a list of books that a customer had purchsed. To their credit, Tattered Cover refused and took it all the way to the Supreme Court. They won and later revealed that the book purchased was a book about Japanese caligraphy (nothing illegal at all).

It was Borders who totally caved in on that issue of Free Inquiry which reprinted the Danish cartoons. I would like to believe that this is why Borders is in trouble.

Independent, local book stores are a treasure in so many ways.

I lost a lot of respect for our local book store here in Austin for the same reason. They are always complaining on their Facebook page about how Amazon avoids taxes, instead of working to reduce their own taxes. It is very telling when people will lobby to raise someone else's taxes, but do nothing to lower their own.

Frank Gifford has told the story of Reagan and Lennon quite a few times. They were both appearing on Monday Night Football. Gifford says that they were hugging each other.

http://www.mmbolding.com/Monday/MNFindex.htm

My comment was directed to George Smith:

"If you have a case, go to court. If you don't want to go to court, then I don't care to hear about it."

I only recently noticed this thread. Needless to say, nothing shocks me anymore.

This whole thing makes me think of all the women who claim they were raped, but never bother to report those rapes. I don't have much respect for such women. It seems that they just want the benefits of being a "victim" without having to do all the work. In some cases, I suspect they just want to smear someone.

If you have "overwhelming evidence," then take it to court. If you don't, then shut up.

If Gore really is concerned about over-population, he should set an example and commit suicide.

I'm certainly curious to hear what anyone local has to say about this. It seems that his ex-wife has said absolutely nothing. She should be celebrating. She is now free to succeed and prosper without the man that she no longer wanted in her life.

It looked like a good article. Then I saw the photo of the author's face. I have trouble taking anything he says seriously.

All this stuff was already underway when BO took office. High-tech was being "off-shored" as early as 2001.

I actually think this entire story is hilarious. It's almost as good as "Balloon Boy."