tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11250715.post164662314586831829..comments2024-03-26T09:25:02.198-04:00Comments on Hey Jenny Slater.: Atlas sucked.Astronaut Mike Dexterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01498197770701096363noreply@blogger.comBlogger57125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11250715.post-39087239984201611562009-03-23T16:38:00.000-04:002009-03-23T16:38:00.000-04:00Actually, I thought Atlas Shrugged was an enjoyabl...Actually, I thought Atlas Shrugged was an enjoyable book... not necessarily a GOOD book, but an enjoyable one. Sure, the main characters were all one-dimensional (and all the SAME dimension) and totally not believable. Sure, the plot was - well - lacking. On the other hand, I found that the 1,088 pages went remarkably quickly for me, so it wasn't excruciatingly written.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16437750433283509380noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11250715.post-40381924200458556412009-03-22T22:00:00.000-04:002009-03-22T22:00:00.000-04:00I honestly believe that most of you in American to...I honestly believe that most of you in American today have forgotten or were never made to read or study the Constitution of the United States. Article II. Section 2. Does not state that the President of the United States has the Power to make Law. Kings and Dictators have that singularity power. Article I., Section 8. defines who has the "Power" to lay and collect taxes, Duties.... and the General Welfare of the United States.<BR/><BR/>When and how you people came to the conclusion that ALL of the problems with America for the last 50 years rests at the feet of President's past & present is beyond me.<BR/><BR/>Congress, BOTH Houses and BOTH Parties are at fault here. We do not have a Government of the People, by the People & "for" the People. It has perished from the Earth. Tell me the last time when a sitting Representative or Senator held a town hall meeting to discuss what he or she should do on "our" behalf concerning any topic?<BR/><BR/>Well? <BR/><BR/>http://freepressisdead.blogspot.com/lee coleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09463466384504405079noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11250715.post-17248492385368773042009-03-22T19:15:00.000-04:002009-03-22T19:15:00.000-04:00I must confess that I think of Ayn Rand whenever I...I must confess that I think of Ayn Rand whenever I play Bioshock. It's like the the postscript to Atlas Shrugged.Eran Cantrellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12271074823811934545noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11250715.post-51396843999848884042009-03-22T13:35:00.000-04:002009-03-22T13:35:00.000-04:00Boowhahahahha That was hilarious and hit the nail ...Boowhahahahha That was hilarious and hit the nail on the head. Awesome post. AS deep as a kiddie pool. Just brilliant.Dave Idhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05858380791818667026noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11250715.post-52109656914359479922009-03-22T08:57:00.000-04:002009-03-22T08:57:00.000-04:00This article got farked? Who did you blow?(Just tr...This article got farked? Who did you blow?<BR/><BR/>(Just trading ad hominem for ad hominem. Your first two paragraphs contain no actual information.)John Kuschhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06628226871652126242noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11250715.post-9581380144760202492009-03-22T01:02:00.000-04:002009-03-22T01:02:00.000-04:00It seems a paradox that the conservatives, neo-con...It seems a paradox that the conservatives, neo-cons, and anti-government movement since Reagan-groups who share Rand's vision- have turned our existence into the very world of Atlas Shrugged where nothing works, the government is incompetant and corrupt, and the trains won't run on time. As to the question of who is John Galt,I think it must be Alan Greenspan.mickeyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09625145231642442464noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11250715.post-25513513881048864342009-03-21T19:21:00.000-04:002009-03-21T19:21:00.000-04:00I actually enjoyed "Atlas Shrugged" in my youth. ...I actually enjoyed "Atlas Shrugged" in my youth. It was almost SciFi. Does no one remember the almost magical metal developed and produced by the hero. The technology used to hide the John Galts of the world. To me the book was about rewarding those that actually made the lives of others better. But that's not how the rich get rich today. They get rich on paper. They do nothing and produce nothing. They gamble in a fixed game.Last Redoubthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00780097333662638051noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11250715.post-57467145453396328312009-03-21T18:43:00.000-04:002009-03-21T18:43:00.000-04:00the premise of atlas shrugged, that a man has crea...the premise of atlas shrugged, that a man has created a perpetual motion machine but will not share it because he won't be properly compensated for it, is the worst sort of "deus ex machina" device of twentieth century literature.<BR/><BR/>furthermore the most successful socialist institution in history is the N.F.L.; revenue sharing, the salary cap, and the worst team gets the first round draft pick.Pete Morrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11856257828149406279noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11250715.post-86516772498310174702009-03-21T16:34:00.000-04:002009-03-21T16:34:00.000-04:00The problem with Rand is two fold, in my view. Fir...The problem with Rand is two fold, in my view. First, critical to Atlas, there are no heroes. They don't exist in anywhere near the magnitude she proposes. The self-interest of the hero is not inherently aligned with the rest of us. <BR/><BR/>In her view the hero is the one with all the capital and innovation. And hence the second problem, critical to reality, her notion of hero is not in fact departing from society, refusing to play along. It's exactly the opposite. Her oligopoly-financed capitalists are in cahoots with the government. They're in and around government having formed a plutocracy to defraud us.<BR/><BR/>http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/21/business/21bank.html?_r=1&hp<BR/><BR/>This is the Paulson program, with some eye candy attached to it, most notably the involvement of the FDIC, which matters not one wit in practice for the plan Geithner proposes is functionally equivalent. It proposes non-recourse loans to create a (diplomatically speaking) fuckton of moral hazard.<BR/><BR/>The transparency of this unethical plan should demonstrate to anyone paying attention how similar Republicans and Democrats are when it comes to team vs. principles. <BR/><BR/>It's a disgusting, awful mess.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08113635193513490349noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11250715.post-50124908636339134612009-03-21T14:31:00.000-04:002009-03-21T14:31:00.000-04:00So much potential, yet, so much fail. If you're go...So much potential, yet, so much fail. If you're going to attempt a serious political critique, try not to whine so much. You're a breathing form of Ellsworth Toohey. Good day.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18119058367351289395noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11250715.post-68507508371363739802009-03-21T13:32:00.000-04:002009-03-21T13:32:00.000-04:00"There are two novels that can change a bookish fo..."There are two novels that can change a bookish fourteen-year old's life: The Lord of the Rings and Atlas Shrugged. One is a childish fantasy that often engenders a lifelong obsession with its unbelievable heroes, leading to an emotionally stunted, socially crippled adulthood, unable to deal with the real world. The other, of course, involves orcs." - Bob Roberts<BR/>http://kfmonkey.blogspot.com/2009/03/ephemera-2009-7.html<BR/><BR/>Teehee.Doug Sharphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00553640078466554739noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11250715.post-84955499881039270352009-03-21T13:26:00.000-04:002009-03-21T13:26:00.000-04:00Why does "Virtue of Selfishness" not get discussed...Why does "Virtue of Selfishness" not get discussed more? It seems like it would be easier to attack her ideas by way of her non-fiction, where the argument wouldn't be derailed by her storytelling. Of course, it may just seem that way to me beacuse I'm a nitwit...eudemonisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12785120743867532620noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11250715.post-48858667647546333302009-03-21T13:14:00.000-04:002009-03-21T13:14:00.000-04:00To chrisfrmatl: Socialism is traditionally defined...To chrisfrmatl: <BR/><BR/>Socialism is traditionally defined as government ownership of industry, but in practice it does not actually require it. Partial control of industry through regulation is often considered a form of socialism.<BR/><BR/>Many times, governments control business where free enterprise cannot or WILL not provide the market with a product at an affordable price <I>(e.g. post office, police, telephone companies in small countries)</I>. In countries such as Canada or England, they are called <B>"Crown Corporations"</B>, which <I>is</I> a term you might want to look up.<BR/><BR/>Whether a country is "socialist" is really a matter of degree. No one would call the George Putsch government "socialist", yet there were still fire departments, road construction, police, school boards, the post office and other facilities still "socialized" for the benefit of all. And nobody calls it socialism or welfare when corporations are given public money for research and development or bailouts, yet that's exactly what it is. Similarly, countries such as Sweden, Finland, England, Denmark, Canada and many others have policies that are very "socialist" yet their capitalist democracies are not labelled as such.<BR/><BR/>As will many other terms <I>(e.g. "terrorists")</I>, who the label is hung on depends heavily on who's doing the talking, and is not a matter of what the actual policies are.P Smithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09189073792866685624noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11250715.post-84741734246898506702009-03-21T12:52:00.000-04:002009-03-21T12:52:00.000-04:00Ayn Rand's books were and still are immensely popu...Ayn Rand's books were and still are immensely popular soft core porn for college girls. Anyone who takes the "philosophy" seriously is a nitwit.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09231028143278608912noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11250715.post-14838555912595912382009-03-21T12:33:00.000-04:002009-03-21T12:33:00.000-04:00First off, there is no such thing as a 'free' or '...First off, there is no such thing as a 'free' or 'private' market - think about how many laws and regulation are there to maintain current distribution of wealth and markets (under Bush or any other professed uber-capitalist)... in other words, the private market is always heavily regulated and relies on tons of political choices about distribution. <BR/><BR/>Secondly, only in America do you get this wierd capitalism vs. socialism argument where each idea is absurdly reduced to really really broad generalizations. Maybe this is just the fact that we live beneath the legacy of a country of people who dont travel, dont really read that deeply, watch way too much television, and so on. <BR/><BR/>Third, Obama is no more socialist than Bush is pro small government... Privatization, from the Enron debacle to government services in America, or abroad (think what happened in post Soviet Union era to Eastern and Central European countries), has not really proved to be a good thing for most people. Both Obama and Bush administration buy into the neoclassical economic idea of comparative advantage, which we are witnesses now first hand in the states is not really true in any way, shape or form. At the end of the day Obama's outrage over AIG bonuses, for instance, is just theater, just as Cheney's concern for following the rule of law is disingenuous at best (unless the rule of law means a super-presidential system staffed by energy ceos and military-industrial complex people). Invoking 'socialism' or 'capitalism' instead of thinking strategically about the distributional and pragmatic consequences of actions, is just an attempt to not have to think. <BR/><BR/>What I think this conversation is really about, is that most people realize that government has totally undergone regulatory capture by major financial interests, and no one really knows what to do about it short of violence which we dont want either... <BR/><BR/>Obama sucks in most ways financially, and Bush was pretty much an unmitigated disaster, and as 'developing' markets are growing it is just basic economics that the US lifestyle will go down to some extent... new situation, new context, for god's sake, could we stop thinking in a 1950s mindset and catch up to the current reality?aka, Markoff Chaneyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05736621315121066384noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11250715.post-53671015634814313602009-03-21T12:21:00.000-04:002009-03-21T12:21:00.000-04:00"Atlas Shrugged should be held up in backwaters ev..."Atlas Shrugged should be held up in backwaters everywhere as an argument against teaching women to read and write"<BR/><BR/>Thanks for the belly laugh Holly.<BR/>Very droll.Bluesbornhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02559455092277721670noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11250715.post-61625866880759312862009-03-21T12:06:00.000-04:002009-03-21T12:06:00.000-04:00I believe it was John Barth, author of The Sot-Wee...I believe it was John Barth, author of <I>The Sot-Weed Factor</I>, who said any story that can't be told in 819 pages or less isn't worth telling.just johnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15926924524186687425noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11250715.post-54536657786061615462009-03-21T11:32:00.000-04:002009-03-21T11:32:00.000-04:00And I have yet to hear an Obama come up with a bet...<I>And I have yet to hear an Obama come up with a better response to "He's a socialist" than "Nuh-uh."</I><BR/><BR/>If you make the claim, don't demand that someone else do the legwork, lazy-ass conservative dipshit. I'm sick of you fucking leeches. All you fuckbags going Galt would be the best thing to happen to America.Dr. Squidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10638684475622149972noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11250715.post-4920512606813788982009-03-21T11:19:00.000-04:002009-03-21T11:19:00.000-04:00http://crooksandliars.com/david-neiwert/atlas-wank...http://crooksandliars.com/david-neiwert/atlas-wanked-fiction-fraud-52-years<BR/><BR/>nuff saidAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11250715.post-9292523242993292112009-03-15T14:28:00.000-04:002009-03-15T14:28:00.000-04:00I thought this was a football blog.Someone should ...I thought this was a football blog.<BR/><BR/>Someone should ask Mike Leach his thoughts on Ayn Rand. That would be solid bloggery.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03787259710303732803noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11250715.post-24102064237058466572009-03-12T15:52:00.000-04:002009-03-12T15:52:00.000-04:00Will -- I am sure you are not suggesting a return ...Will -- I am sure you are not suggesting a return to the top marginal tax rates that you cite (at least I hope). But, I feel compelled to state that the 50s - 70s boom for the US is more highly correlated to the lack of global competition. <BR/><BR/>China, USSR and Eastern Europe were non-participants on the global economic stage as they falsely chased after a Marxist utopia. Latin America was agrarian. India was trying to pull itself together after post-colonial rule and were socialist non-participants also. Western Europe was digging out and rebuilding after 2 continental wars that decimated their infrastructure, industries and a millions of lives. Japan was also rebuilding itself in the 1950s after being severely degraded after WWII. Lastly, we were also able to provide for much of our own energy needs in the 1950s & 60s.<BR/> <BR/>So, while the US suffered huge losses of life (500k) and treasure in WWII, it was small relative to those experienced in Europe and Asia and we emerged with a profound global competitive advantage that is likely never to be seen again. That competitive advantage has eroded through the transformation of previously closed economies of USSR, Eastern Europe, India and China, re-birth of Western Europe and the industrialization of Mexico, Viet Nam, South Korea, et al.ChicagoDawghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09967480095780163358noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11250715.post-81028196644535356702009-03-12T15:47:00.000-04:002009-03-12T15:47:00.000-04:00This comment has been removed by the author.ChicagoDawghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09967480095780163358noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11250715.post-25411483988348056602009-03-12T14:10:00.000-04:002009-03-12T14:10:00.000-04:00Josh-Obama can't even bring himself to propose a f...Josh-<BR/>Obama can't even bring himself to propose a full-on Single-Payer healthcare solution. <BR/>The latest proposal I've seen was similar to John Edwards' plan: create/expand the healthcare that Federal workers (Congressmen) get to all, and the private insurers either compete with that, or they die. Which sounds pretty capitalist to me. <BR/><BR/>And if the 90s boom can be attributed to Reagan's cuts...you wouldn't object to the post-WWII boom from the 50s to the 70s being the result of a top marginal rate between 92% and 70% would you? (Ah the fun of ribbing based on tax rates...I need to bring a flask to work...)Willhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10075308307848122779noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11250715.post-67014379533930310342009-03-12T11:44:00.000-04:002009-03-12T11:44:00.000-04:00chrisfrmatl -- Socialism is the public/govt owners...chrisfrmatl -- Socialism is the public/govt ownership and control of a given entity (be it property, goods, services). However, it is not to be confused with democracy or totalitarianism -- as you can have state ownership of these entities in democracies (see Western Europe). Also, there is a wide variance in the degree to which there may be socialism, where only a few institutions may be socialized (public education & Social Security) vs. the entire economy (N Korea, Cuba, USSR).<BR/>That is my un-googled definition, for whatever that is worth.ChicagoDawghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09967480095780163358noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11250715.post-17136416440012720542009-03-12T11:18:00.000-04:002009-03-12T11:18:00.000-04:00Socialize this and socialize that.. Could someone ...Socialize this and socialize that.. Could someone please give me a definition of socialism without googling it?chrisfrmatlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04324946904223227367noreply@blogger.com