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I meant it is unfortunate that the author of the article decided to word the sentence the way he did, especially when other sources who quoted the same interview didn't word the reference to Ayn Rand the same way. Almost everthing that CNN prints is a "disservice" to Objectivism. This particular article in my opinion is not one of them. I understand your opinion, but I cannot see where you are coming from at all. I have a hard time seeing how even a complete smear of Objectivism by CNN would hurt the philosophy. Can you explain how it could?

So what? The benefits resulting from the mentioning of Ayn Rand in a front page article on CNN far outweighs the negative consequences inflicted by the unfortunate wording you stated above. Anyone who is turned on to Ayn Rand as a result of this exposure will soon learn her true feelings about the Libertarian movement. Secondly, this article may cause a few Libertarians, whom are unfamiliar with Ayn Rand, to read her arguments against Libertarians. On a separate note, intellectualammo, I would appreciate it if you would lighten up on the condesending tone conveyed in your post. How are new found Ayn Rand readers supposed to feel welcome on this board when replies to their statements are condesending? PS. How does one use the spell check feature on this board? Is there one to be found? Cheers, Dustin.

Yes sir, that is exactly what I am typing about. This is great for Objectivism because it will help bring more attention to the philosophy and get Atlas Shrugged in more readers hands.

http://money.cnn.com/2006/03/10/news/newsm...dex.htm?cnn=yes I think this is probably very good publicity for Objectivism. Especially since many people are all glossy eyed over Greenspan right now. I think this is a very good thing. I bet sales of Atlas Shrugged increase substantially. *Sorry for any spelling mistakes. I can't seem to find the spellcheck button on this forum and I didn't have much time for this post, because I'm at work. Cheers, Dustin.

Personally I agree with gnarg, why talk about colonizing other countries/planets when we have a perfectly good country right here in the USA. This country is ripe for change. Plus this country is ours, I'm not ready to concede it already and I'm not sure why others are. The founding fathers had a much tougher situation to overcome in my opinion. I think in my lifetime there will be change for the better, in fact I'm sure it will happen. It might get worse before it gets better, but I'm sure we can set things right. I've never failed at obtaining a goal I've set my mind to, I have no reason to believe I can't obtain this one. Edit: I missed the word "could" in a previous statement which changed the meaning and rendered my response unnecessary

Here is some more questions: What is the layout of the room? (staircase, peoples positions, windows, walls, ect.) Was the staircase dark or lit? If lit by what? What time of day was it? Where did this take place? (geographical) When did it take place? (as specific as you can give) By the way, welcome to the site!

Perfect quote for the occasion. In the name of the best within you, do not sacrifice this world to those who are its worst. In the name of the values that keep you alive, do not let your vision of man be distorted by the ugly, the cowardly, the mindless in those who have never achieved his title. Do not lose your knowledge that man's proper estate is an upright posture, an intransigent mind and a step that travels unlimited roads. Do not let your fire go out, spark by irreplaceable spark, in the hopeless swamps of the approximate, the not-quite, the not-yet, the not-at-all. Do not let the hero in your soul perish, in lonely frustration for the life you deserved, but have never been able to reach. Check your road and the nature of your battle. The world you desired can be won, it exists, it is real, it is possible, it's yours.--Ayn Rand (taken from the header of this site)

Lets hope those two fingers aren't the peace sign.

I totally agree with you. We need to start putting a plan together. Time is running out.

Has anyone thought about the Ayn Rand Institute's solution for the problem? They feel that getting Ayn Rand's books into schools at a higher rate would interest more potential New Intellectuals into learning Objectivism. These now Actual New Intellectuals would either go into the private sector, become successful and fight the battle on the private front-- or join ARI's mission of writing books/Op-Eds/ect to get the ideas into the mainstream. I agree. Getting Ayn Rand's books into the mainstream IS the answer. Isn't it her books that got all of us here to begin with? I think it is her books, and the ones that future Objectivists will write, that are our greatest weapon. Look how good this weapon has worked on us-- years of propaganda were blown away by one book.

That would be horrible, but like Eric said, who is the alternative from the Republicans? They seem to be moving towards the middle also, and even agenda-wise they are looking more like Democrats everyday. Personally I think if Condi Rice ran for the republicans, Sen. Clinton wouldn't have a chance.

Eric Mathis, I agree with your comments. However I think you might be reading too deep into my comments. I'm not saying I'm happy with the way things are going. I'm also not saying the country will prosper from the collapse of either of the parties. What I am saying is that I think it is absolutely crucial that Objectivists push their ideas into the mainstream if one of the parties were to collapse. Failure to do so would only further confirm, to the non-thinking, public that there is no alternative to the liberal/conservative ideas. To summarize: If one of the parties collapses and leaves a single "victor". It would be logical that the ends of that parties agenda would be approached at a more rapid rate. In other words, collapse into dictatorship wouldn't be far off. Now this whole theory is based on the assumption that one party is collapsing, which you may disagree with. In my opinion, I think the democrats are collapsing.

Sure, although I'm not quite sure what point you are trying to make in relation to the entire context of my post.

I do not think Western Civilization is lost either. I personally think there is a crucial period of time coming very soon. Now you might call me crazy but I think the two party system in this country has come to a final showdown. Has anyone seen the Liberals this frantic before? Something is up. It seems the conservatives have started making in roads with the minority vote. My numbers might be off slightly but I think Bush picked up something like 5-8% of the African American vote last election. Remember Gore barely won the popular vote in 2000 with 90% of the African American vote. That number is shrinking and it has the liberals nuts-- or more nuts then usual . If the republicans gain more of the minority vote this election, I think the democrats might be severely damaged. If this happens I think it is absolutely crucial that a second "option" materializes or it will be disastrous. Now I'm not saying lets go out and form a political party. We all see how far public perception is from our ideas, and how the modern political machine has ended campaigns, such as Goldwater and Libertarians (not that their ideas are perfect, just similar in some ways to ours). However I do think it is the absolutely crucial that we get our ideas into the mainstream and present a valid alternative to the status quo. Feel free to rip my theory apart. I'm interested in your thoughts.

Thanks Zak, I think I will enjoy it here. As far as hobbies, not really, chances are if you were to find me on any given day at any given time, I would be doing one of four things: Working, thinking/reading/writing about philosophy, school, or sleeping (not very often). On some rare occasions you might find me playing paintball or playing with my XBOX, but they are too rare to call hobbies I think.

Hi JMeganSnow, thanks for the welcome! Middlesex, NJ isn't that bad I guess. Unfortunately, you can't throw a stone without hitting a progressive around here. Although that might be considered beneficial if you enjoy throwing stones . All jokes aside though, it isn't that bad. Not many people worth talking to, but that is evened out by the close proximity of NYC and the great opportunities to produce. Plus I'm one of those people that can thoroughly enjoy life even while being alone for long periods of time. I just sometimes wish I had someone to have good conversations with. How is Ohio treating you?

Indeed, BurgessLau. Unfortunately most of the people I've met that are my age from New Jersey have severely damaged their sense of life and seem to follow some form of nihilism or pragmatism. I hate being around people who are miserable and are clearly the cause of their own misery. But hey, this forum seems like a great place to start looking. Anyway I have previously purchased The Ayn Rand Lexicon and I enjoy looking up all the different terms I encounter in life. It is a great encyclopedia of life.

Good point, BurgessLau. You are right my UPL is happiness. Perhaps I should attempt to better explain my CPL. My CPL is, as you correctly stated, to create and run a successful software company. However I find that this may at some point in the near future become impossible, considering the current path of the United States. Therefore I find it absolutely crucial to the success of my business that I also work towards reversing the trend into today's society. I think you will find I am right on par with your vision of proper implementation of the required education process. I indeed plan on fighting the philosophical battle within my CPL and I agree the battles will come to me. I also agree that I do need training from a professional Objectivist intellectual, that is why I plan on applying for Ayn Rand Institute's Objectivist Academic Center (OAC) courses and obtaining the highest "degree" it allows. This I plan on doing after or possibly while, depending on the financial situation, I obtain my CIS and MBA-- which I am currently pursuing. Does this effectively address your points? Thank you for replying. I think I will enjoy the content here.

Greetings to all! Dustin is the name, producing is the game. I'm what society calls a workaholic. If ambition had an image in the dictionary it would include my picture. Anyway, how did I get here? Quite simple actually, I'm looking for people like me and this is where my logic has landed me. A while back my grandfather, a practicing Objectivist, turned me on to Atlas Shrugged. Upon reading the book, I felt like someone was reading my thoughts out loud, but with uncanny precision and accuracy. It changed my life. Suddenly all the things I knew I hated but never linked together had been discovered to be based on a single principle, Altruism. Suddenly, in that single moment everything changed. Now like Orwell’s 1984 gone horribly wrong, I pick up on Altruism's "subliminal" messages everywhere, and it is driving me insane (not literally). The logical ends of this horrible principle are clear and now strange as it seems the world has become somewhat predictable. Hope that doesn't sound crazy, it wasn't meant that way. What I mean is now the outcome of daily events make incredible sense and don't surprise me as often. My feelings are now predictable and controllable-- and this is a great thing. I now understand why I love to think and work, and I see the flaws of all those that don't. Now that I've got that off my chest, lets move on. I'm a software developer, one of the best I might add , and am slowly working myself up the industrial ladder. I'm in the process of creating my own business (we approach investors in July) and I also work closely with a, soon to be huge, small business. Things are going great and I'm so happy of all I've been able to create so far. However there is one thing lacking in my life-- people. Where are they? Why haven't we risen up and claimed what is ours yet? What are the problems that need to be solved? How can I help? I'm surrounded by "friends" who I don't understand and whom can't understand me. To be honest, I'm lonely, while surrounded by people (as strange as that sounds). I've been thinking about these things a lot lately. I've finally figured out my purpose and it includes finishing what the US founding fathers started. My first step is to build my companies up to enormous wealth. Upon gaining those values, I plan on working close together with ARI to help accomplish their goals. I've studied their vision and it looks fairly accurate, however I do have a few suggestions. I'm also very interested in OAC, because I think it is crucial in being successful in my first step. I need to be able to avoid the mistakes of other companies and defend my rights, instead of appeasement. Anyway to make a long story short, I'm here, sorry I'm late. What is the game plan? PS. Is there any good rock music out there? One of the consequences of being "awakened" is, all the rock artists I used to listen to have been ruined. Same with TV, most movies, and radio in NJ. PSS. I wrote this under the influence of the "productiveness high" (Had a great day at work yesterday), so I probably sounded scatter brained. The large coffee didn't help either. Haha