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BaalChatzaf Newbie

BaalChatzaf

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7 hours ago, jts said:

Did Ayn Rand herself achieve Galt's Gulch?

 

Like everyone in Galt's Gulch she smoked like a chimney and died from lung cancer (we don't know about her AS characters because she never wrote of their old age).  She put fire  at her fingertips and shit in her lungs. I guess she emulated her idol  at least in her smoking habits.   The inside of Galt's house which absorbed years of tobacco smoke must have smelled like a garbage dump.   I assume the inside of her apartment where she spent many years thinking and smoking smelled the same.

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william.scherk
william.scherk

Trump's True Truth Social account re-Truths a definition of Trump Derangement Syndrome:  

9thdoctor
9thdoctor

That's what it says at the top of the page.  Your point?  It's not like this thread has devolved into a medley of cat videos.  Yet.  

Ellen Stuttle
Ellen Stuttle

It is intriguing.  I've been fairly obsessed for about a year with thinking about details.  I find microbiology fascinating. I wouldn't be wise, however, to talk about details.  The schemers are

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william.scherk Mentor

william.scherk

Posted
Posted (edited)

From earlier today, FBI director Comey says what he can say ...

Spoiler

Dang autoplay. See video at http://thehill.com/policy/national-security/324754-comey-fbi-investigating-possible-collusion-between-trump-team-moscow

... which isn't a great deal.

 

Edited by william.scherk
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moralist Newbie

moralist

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Posted
8 hours ago, jts said:

Did Ayn Rand herself achieve Galt's Gulch?

 

I don't know. All I know is that I did.

It exists within my own personal sphere of influence, that is everyone with whom I personally transact business. For I'm the one who sets the moral tone and that is what determines the propriety of the transaction. It's very much like the specific fixed rules regarding business transactions in the Gulch.

The defining characteristic of these business transactions is that they are ALL win/win. Both parties involved are better off for the transaction. There are no victims because there is no predation. Just ethical equitable value for value exchanges between peers.

In this way Galt's Gulch literally becomes manifested in America... and I operate outside of and independent from the corrupt debt based economic system, because no one who doesn't live by the ethical values of the Gulch will ever get in. They already have their own rotten system which matches their own rotten values, so I simply leave them alone to get exactly what they deserve.

 

Greg

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moralist Newbie

moralist

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2 hours ago, BaalChatzaf said:

Like everyone in Galt's Gulch she smoked like a chimney and died from lung cancer (we don't know about her AS characters because she never wrote of their old age).  She put fire  at her fingertips and shit in her lungs. I guess she emulated her idol  at least in her smoking habits.   The inside of Galt's house which absorbed years of tobacco smoke must have smelled like a garbage dump.   I assume the inside of her apartment where she spent many years thinking and smoking smelled the same.

I'm different from you, Bob... in that I'm able to enjoy the value of Ayn Rand's ideas and ideals in my own life...

... while you never will.

 

Greg

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william.scherk Mentor

william.scherk

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Serenity now!

It seems like every day is Grand Hoopla day.  Today, a senior administration official (rumoured to be Mr ALL-CAPS) strikes back at, well, the wall of coverage of Comey's sworn testimony. Considering how little Comey's position allowed him to say, there is a lot of feeding on small chunks of chum. What do they call that in the animal world?

Which calls for a small selection from Memeorandum.com

Quote

share.png Stephen Collinson / CNN:

Trump's wiretapping accusation comes to a head at Comey hearing  — Two weeks ago, President Donald Trump accused President Barack Obama of wiretapping him during the campaign  —  (CNN)The bizarre saga of President Donald Trump's claims that he was wiretapped by President Barack Obama …
–
Discussion:

 

 
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Michael Stuart Kelly Grand Master

Michael Stuart Kelly

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Posted
40 minutes ago, william.scherk said:

Serenity now!

William,

I can't tell if you are being ironic against the anti-Trumpers or doubly-ironic against the Trumpers--or both.

:)

At any rate, it is amazing how much anti-Trump journalists and pundits are jumping the gun and salivating over their imagined Trump demise (this time over a parsed statement from Comey). 

You would think after losing and looking foolish so many times doing precisely this gun-jumping, they would learn that Trump always has an ace up his sleeve as he plays dumb (with bluster) and goads people to bet their farms.

(Did I just use two non-related cliché metaphors in a hoaky way?... Dayaamm! :) ) 

Definition of insanity--doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.

I had to learn that lesson the hard way in Narcotics Anonymous and let go of the insanity of wanting my will over reality. Just looking at these people's behavior, I can tell they have this touch of insanity deeply ingrained in their brains. Some are bullshitting of course, but some, poor things, actually believe what they are writing while forgetting what they recently wrote time after time.

Michael

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william.scherk Mentor

william.scherk

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Posted (edited)

Forgive me for over-sampling Brad Jaffy, enemy of the American people. He has a sense of humour and is taking the air out of a few gasbags today ... I still stand by the Grand Hoopla viewpoint. At this juncture, does any of this matter? I mean Russia Russia Russia, three, three, three scandals in one.

 

Grand hoopla north of the border? Not so much**, although lengthy portions of questions and answers are being played on at least the CBC's 24 hour news channel. 

Did anyone else find the testimony somewhere between not all that interesting and "already knew that"?  

_____________________________

** Good lord, our 24/7 news channel switched to live from the White House, the Press Secretary's briefing. I put it on pause. I am making a wager with myself on whether Spicer can skate confidently past the 'debunking' by the President's subordinates. I think he can skillfully put this to bed, and then I don't.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX [late-breaking truncquote  discovered during spelk-chequing.

31 minutes ago, Michael Stuart Kelly said:
1 hour ago, william.scherk said:

Serenity now!

William,

I can't tell if you are being ironic against the anti-Trumpers or doubly-ironic against the Trumpers--or both.

Hoopla is not serene, so the best place not to have hoopla is within the White House.  Hoopla outside the White House is a given, not least since traditional news media found themselves cast as adversaries.

Grand Hoopla is for me a function of the intensity of interest among the fourth estate -- itself a gargantuan monster of self-interest -- on top of the now normalized enemy operations. It is when headlines scream for days on the same ugly rumour or fact, fed by stone-walling and tergiversations at the top.  

The thing I take out of the kerfuffle since the ''Tapp" tweets ... is that those tweets were consequential.

The tweets were the subject of sworn testimony by administration officials today. But they have also been rocks and gravel in the White House spin machine since they first appeared. These are second-order effects of having to defend the tweets, leading to questions about headlines caused by the second-order effects -- like the Napolitano hearsay quote blunder.  The consequences of all the effects should go back to source, the angry and uninformed tweeter himself.  He put this ball on the field on March the freaking 4th.

If either you or I could peel back the hoopla, and peer directly into the White House, its meetings and memos and conversations, we could see if the words "Comey" and "rat bastard" and similar were uttered today, we could get a feel for how the administration 'feels' about the weeks wasted trying to put out its own fire.  

America's hoopla machine is still talking about an overblown accusation that hasn't yet found any support in the real world, with high officers of the state explaining what they can explain, to a White House that takes no corrections (pause).  Live-paused on CBC. Of interest to all nations with interests in the USA. 

Is that an own-goal, or a cunning design, or something else?  I am sure/unsure Spicer can empty the gravel from the spinner and put this side-scandal to bed.

]

Edited by william.scherk
[Breaking] comment during the editing period.
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Michael Stuart Kelly Grand Master

Michael Stuart Kelly

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Posted

I just remembered something from back when I was a kid. I was watching TV and a person (I don't recall who) was explaining how comedy works (or at least one kind of comedy).

He said sometimes a person sets up an expectation against reality, recognizes that it is against reality, everyone knows that reality will win in the end, and even then, it's hilarious when it happens. He demonstrated.

He brought out a comedian (also don't recall who). This comedian claimed he could walk on water and he could prove it. So the TV studio set up a huge water tank--one the size of a small swimming pool and it had a clear glass side. That way the public could see inside the tank. They put a small plank--not very long--going out into the water. The comedian claimed he would walk that plank, then continue walking on water until he got to the other side of the tank. He also said that if anyone else did this, they would sink. 

They made the big Hollywood build up, taking their good old sweet time while teasing the audience with questions and suspense. Once the comedian reached the top of the tank and gestured to the audience, he gingerly stepped out on the plank. Pause. He stepped a little further. Pause. He carefully stepped some more. And so on. Finally, he took a big breath and confidently walked out onto the water.

He sank, of course, and it was one of the funniest things I have ever seen.

:) 

The comedian said he was distracted and wanted to do it again. This time it would work. So he did it all again with the same result. And this time it was even funnier.

:) 

This is what this whole media circus reminds me of right now. 

We all know the media is going to sink. It always has with President Trump. That's... er... why he's president and not someone else the media wanted. :) And it's been that way all the way to the presidency.

Right now I'm watching the media go charging out on that plank again. Let's see if it can walk on water this time around.

:)

(Why am I thinking about Lucy, Charlie and a football? :) )

Michael

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Peter Veteran

Peter

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Posted

jts wrote: Did Ayn Rand herself achieve Galt's Gulch? end quote

Ba’al responded: I assume the inside of her apartment where she spent many years thinking and smoking smelled the same. end quote

Yeah, the pall of smoke must have been bad but according to BB she gave it up cold turkey when diagnosed with lung disease. She had creatures too. The ones you call, felinus domesticus, The cats! Bob. Don’t forget the cats!

I like cats but I would never have one in the city or an indoor male tom even if it were fixed. Or a dog either, but I enjoy watching three wary, but half tame, gray foxes. If the animals can’t go outside to prowl and do their business I would not accept one as a gift. They “direct” your life if they are not free to roam.

If we go on a trip I put my two cats outside with a pile of Purina dry in a mound under my shed’s roof with the usual two tubs of water. How long the food lasts, I don’t know. It has always disappeared when we return.

Peter

From: BB To: atlantis Subject: ATL: Was Ayn Rand ever wrong? To Ellen Moore. Date: Tue, 5 Jun 2001 11:05:03 EDT.

To Ellen Moore:

To date, you never have said -- and have denied it when an instance was raised -- that Ayn Rand made a mistake. I want to ask you about the following:

Ayn Rand smoked a great deal, and for many years. And she announced often, publicly as well as privately, that there was insufficient evidence to prove that smoking caused cancer or any other disease. Many Objectivist students across the country felt safe in continuing to smoke because of her convincing arguments against statistical "proof." Then, when she was diagnosed with lung cancer, she stopped smoking at once, finally convinced that the evidence was sufficient. Her doctor did not have to tell her to stop; she did it before he could raise the subject.

When she was well, and back at work, friends said to her that she really should tell people that she had changed her mind, that now she was convinced that smoking was indeed dangerous to life. She flatly refused to do so. The reasons is not relevant; I can think of no reason good enough to warrant her silence when the results could be the death of some of the people who had accepted her original arguments and therefore had continued smoking.

For those of you who wish to know her so-called reason, it was her horror of announcing that she had cancer, because she believed that any serious illness resulted at least in part from "wrong premises." She could not bring herself to inform her students that she had any wrong premises, since she had so often told them and countless others that she had none, and had believed it herself. No matter how long and how hard her friends tried to persuade her, she refused. And she spent months, probably years, trying to discover the wrong premises that had resulted in her cancer.

Ellen, my question is: Do you think Ayn Rand was wrong not to tell her students her new conclusion about smoking? Barbara

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Peter Veteran

Peter

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Posted

Michael wrote in two separate instances: You would think after losing and looking foolish so many times doing precisely this gun-jumping, they would learn that Trump always has an ace up his sleeve as he plays dumb (with bluster) and goads people to bet their farms . . . . We all know the media is going to sink. It always has with President Trump. That's... er... why he's president and not someone else the media wanted. :) And it's been that way all the way to the presidency. end quote

Just you wait Henry Higgins, just you wait . . . for the first real crisis or catastrophe. I bet the Fascist left already has their horror stories written with blanks to fill in the actual time and place. The vivid red text will jump up on the TV screen: “We break into your usual broadcast to inform you that California just had a 5.2 earthquake centered on Pasadena . . . and it is very, very bad. President Trump has already failed to call out the National Guard or to declare it a catastrophe. How long can this go on?”

Peter     

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Michael Stuart Kelly Grand Master

Michael Stuart Kelly

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Posted
2 hours ago, william.scherk said:

America's hoopla machine is still talking about an overblown accusation that hasn't yet found any support in the real world, with high officers of the state explaining what they can explain, to a White House that takes no corrections (pause).  Live-paused on CBC.

William,

You mean the constant accusation of a Trump-Russia connection?

:evil:  :) 

Michael

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william.scherk Mentor

william.scherk

Posted
Posted
3 hours ago, william.scherk said:

America's hoopla machine is still talking about an overblown accusation that hasn't yet found any support in the real world, with high officers of the state explaining what they can explain, to a White House that takes no corrections [...]

Is that an own-goal, or a cunning design, or something else?  I am sure/unsure Spicer can empty the gravel from the spinner and put this side-scandal to bed.

Michael's question is about the three-ring scandal Russia Russia Russia. The first scandal is that the Russians attempted to interfere with the US election. That is on the Russians. The second is whether Russia attempted to sway policy choices of the Republicans. That is the fiddly bits about Manafort and Page and the meetings with the Ambassador -- it is about the shadowy worlds of influence and nudging and winking.  To whatever degree the Russians found a friendly ear for big change in US policy, that is on the folks involved.  Notably, the most 'suspect' of the Trump orbit were canned, if only recently.

The third scandal is the perception that Trump may ''owe" something to Russia, in the sense of  policy changes more favourable to Putin's goals.  That is on Trump, for avoiding talking about his Russia policy. The White House has been so busy with Tweet consequences that it has made zero time to state its policies regarding Russia.  It is left to other officials (like UN Ambassador Haley) to give Russia the stink-eye. From the White House policy pipe, nothing to see, nothing to fasten upon. Which, of course, leads to ... continuing attention to Russia-Benghazi kabuki, and more hoopla.

I don't rank the congressional investigations as scandals, because they will probably end up being unhelpful in explaining Russian policy. All they might get at is the actual timeline of horse-trading among the various interests once hoping to influence Trump.

Also not particularly scandalous are the Menschist inquiries (and even deeper gopher-holes) which are already on the other side of Alice's gateway, having 'proved' to themselves a grand conspiracy, a conspiracy so grand it can hardly be described in a paragraph.  The latest Russienghazi orgasms are over the weird Sebastian Gorka, who advises Trump on something or other, and likes to dress up like Granddaddy.

I don't think in the end the not-scandals do anything but temporarily hobble Trump -- if he actually wishes to turn the ship of state hard and appease Russian interests.  And I don't think he has any intention of doing anything like that  ... 

Despite the Manafort connection, and the edge-of-nowhereville Carter Page whoopsie, I don't believe any of the accessory scandalettes mean much for policy.

About the only interesting things that might come out of Benghazi-style never-ending inquiry are some nuts and bolts. Who ended up owning the 20% privatization of Rosneft?  What 'diplomatic' and 'business' agents of Russia are actual agents hoping to get a word in for the Boss?  Who was craftily sneaking in the Ukraine resolution?  What about those bizarre 'documents' like Manafort's daughters "leaked" texting material? And so on. Sand and shells, sticks and dirt.  Holes, Alice, property, lawsuits, air-movements, propinquity.

All of this, all of this, can be swept away when the two presidents meet and forge a relationship.  Or as Trump negotiates a 'new deal' for his counterpart's country.  

Russia is still suffering under sanctions. Their economy is fucked. They actually have few friends on the world stage, stalwarts like Iran, Syria, North Korea, Uzbekistan.  So, Trump can invoke the Art of the Deal.  In almost every way, he represent the much bigger power. I would think he might want to read Putin the riot act.  Or at least say, you want sanction relief, solve your fucking Ukraine problem first. And fuck off with whining about NATO encirclement. Let's be frank. Poland would rather be with the USA, and the same goes for Ukraine, and if Montenegro wants to join NATO, they will, and you will still fuck off. And fuck off out of our elections. You were absolutely no fucking help to me in the end, so I might add a personal fuck off to my Twitter remarks.

 

We more or less know what Putinism wants from the USA, and for the USA, and for the Western alliances. I think Trump is shrewd enough to only accept a Russian deal that serves American interests. 

And if serving American interests means a Trump Tower in Moscow at the end of the day, that would be a win for everybody.

To take your mind off scandals and corruption and other flaky bullshit, a video of winter. It just so happens that the roads are Russian. It could happen anywhere with snow.

 

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Peter Veteran

Peter

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Posted

It’s going to be 85 in Orlando tomorrow but in the high 50’s here. I wonder how Mickey and his beloved wife Minnie, Donald, and Goofy are doing? I have been there in the summer and it was doggone hot but it was once a hundred at Williamsburg and Busch Gardens too. One year after visiting Williamsburg and being impressed, I started planting Crepe Myrtle and trimming them to be trees rather than bushes. They had an after dark ghost tour which was quite good. I like theme park shows but I have no wish to ride the rides.

William wrote: Also not particularly scandalous are the Menschist inquiries (and even deeper gopher-holes) which are already on the other side of Alice's gateway, having 'proved' to themselves a grand conspiracy, a conspiracy so grand it can hardly be described in a paragraph. end quote

Just a few more of those Alice through the looking glass stories and Trump will gain ten points in the polls and have a bigger “activist” cheering and groaning section at work places, and in other public areas.  

Fox news gets double the ratings of its nearest competitor, which means their reporting counters “the fake news channels” and the truth is resonating with much of America. President Trump has an effective “real news machine” to counter the left wing, totalitarian news outlets. The Prez has some critics on conservative Fox, but they are not irrational or vindictive. And Fox also brings in neo communist counter views for drama, but those trolls under the bridge are blasted out of their shadowy spots of misinformation and propaganda. And don’t forget Rush Limbaugh!

Peter

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william.scherk Mentor

william.scherk

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Posted

Compare and contrast ...

18_44_41-memeorandum.png

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BaalChatzaf Newbie

BaalChatzaf

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Posted
On 3/20/2017 at 7:13 PM, william.scherk said:

to take your mind off scandals and corruption and other flaky bullshit, a video of winter. It just so happens that the roads are Russian. It could happen anywhere with snow.

 

You would think the Russkies could do better "black ice"  driving than that.  The cars were clearly going too fast for the road conditions and when the brakes were applied the skidding happened.    Вождение было очень дерьмовым  (The driving was very shitty).

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Brant Gaede Enthusiast

Brant Gaede

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Each succeeding generation of American drivers drive better and safer. It's not only safer roads and equipment. We've been steeped in car culture for a hundred years. In terms of per miles driven fatalities, the US has been much safer than European countries. If it was as bad as 50-60 years ago we might be killing ourselves with vehicles at the rate of 200,000 a year (my speculation; it might be much higher.)

--Brant

beware of male high school students, car keys and whiskey

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Peter Veteran

Peter

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Posted

Hannity had a blockbuster revelation tonight.

FBI Director Comey? Did you wire - tap Trump Towers?   

“No I did not.”

Gunther Toody (badge #1432 of the NYPD played by Joe E. Ross and Francis Muldoon badge #723 played by Fred Gwynn assigned to Patrol Car 54 in the fictional 53rd precinct of  The Bronx) did you wire-tap President Trump, or wire - tap Trump Towers?

“No. We did not, Senator.”    

Okay. But Director Comey, did you use electronic surveillance and not a *physical wire tap* to spy on the future President Trump?

What? Wait! Who told you to ask that? I refuse to answer on the grounds that it may incriminate me.

Bingo. It mattered about what the definition of is, is.

Peter    

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Peter Veteran

Peter

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I would prefer that the Republican’s version of Obamacare, not pass. I don’t want to see Trumpcare at all but rather free market health care. Right now no House Democrats are scheduled to vote for it and 22 republicans will not, which should squelch it for now. Back to the drawing board, Speaker Ryan.

Will this affect the rest of the Trump agenda? Who cares? He should not have pushed this monstrosity anyway. Bad move, you rhinosaurs.

Pterodactyl Peter

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Peter Veteran

Peter

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Posted

I see Trump’s “proposed budget” is slightly higher than former President Obama’s biggest budget. Is Trump upholding his campaign promise to drain the swamp and make America great again? Or does his budget enlarge the swamp and drive America deeper into the ditch of insolvency? I am sure there will be the counter argument that, this is Trump’s opening bid and if the House and Senate protest this flagrant expansion of government then he will lower his next bid. What *expectable* crap.

Is Trump a truly different, political animal or more of the same? His approval numbers should be dropping lower after this. Let’s see, 49 percent the Democrats vote NAY and 20 percent of the Republicans vote NAY. As Dionne Warwick sang, “Promises, Promises,” and if you don’t keep your promises thou shalt be scorned and look like the fool you are.

Peter        

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Marc Mentor

Marc

Posted
Posted
On March 20, 2017 at 0:05 PM, moralist said:

I'm different from you, Bob... in that I'm able to enjoy the value of Ayn Rand's ideas and ideals in my own life...

... while you never will.

 

Greg

OUCH ! 

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Marc Mentor

Marc

Posted
Posted
On March 18, 2017 at 5:04 PM, Michael Stuart Kelly said:

Look at how the world is caving to President Trump.

G20 - Protectionism OK. Climate Change out--no problem.

Bids are opening for the wall with Mexico amid some righteous competition. 

Germany came over to talk to President Trump because he wants Germany to pay it's share in arrears for NATO.

That's just in the headlines today.

It's almost like Ayn Rand projected in Atlas Shrugged. Once you tell people you aren't giving them free shit anymore, they start acting a lot more respectful. Oh, the fanatics and their toady mouthpieces in the press are snarky, but not everybody else who had their hand out. :) 

Michael

Dayam , we just had a budget here , folks be talking about Canada- US , Trudeau-Trump-Mulroney love fest . You forget about us up here MSK ???? 

We feeling the Trump love up here 

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william.scherk Mentor

william.scherk

Posted
Posted (edited)

The first stirrings of hoopla ...  hounds will be howling tonight.

Quote
share.png New York Times:
In Spectacular Defeat for Trump, Push to Repeal Health Law Fails  —  WASHINGTON — House Republican leaders, facing a revolt among conservatives and moderates in their ranks, pulled legislation to repeal the Affordable Care Act from consideration on the House floor Friday afternoon …
–
Discussion:
RELATED:

From Memeorandum.com this minute.

And from the multinational octopus and filter-feeding ad broker, Them:

Quote
 
 
Salon  - ‎2 hours ago‎
 
 
 
 
As if to solidify her status as part of a global far right movement, Le Pen met with Putin on Friday. "It's now the world of Putin, the world of Donald Trump," Le Pen says after meeting with Russian president pic.

 

Edited by william.scherk
Snatched from the jaws of Google.
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