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Van

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Everything posted by Van

  1. Hmm... I think that might depend on how the bank represented themselves. If they advertised that they were safe and sound, low risk (typical of a Bank, rather than a higher risk stock speculation) - and weren't, then they wouldn't they be the ones initiating force - acquiring the customers deposit through fradulent means? Wouldn't the Gov then be doing proper policing oversight?
  2. It used to be, our paper money used to have printed on them "redeemable on demand" in a defined weight of silver or gold, depending on the note, and coins used to actually be a specific weight of silver or gold - now it's all only make believe. I wish Greenspan would re-read his own essay. From Francisco's "Money Speech" in Atlas Shrugged: "Whenever destroyers appear among men, they start by destroying money, for money is men's protection and the base of a moral existence. Destroyers seize gold and leave to its owners a counterfeit pile of paper. " It's one of the best summarizations of what Money is and why; you can read the whole speech online at Capitalism Magazine How right you are.
  3. Congrat's, you've got a big jump on me! In ninth grade my GrandMa, a sweet but flaming Hollywood Liberal, gave me "The Fountainhead" because at the time I was interested in Architecture. I'm embarrassed to say that it mostly bounced off of me, except to plant the idea that you should think for yourself, and cling to what you see as the Truth. I re-read it again in my late twenties (44 and counting now), and in quick succession everything else Rand wrote (starting with "Philosophy:Who Needs It", and still re-reading them all), and it became a major tool in reshaping my life. Some of these book suggestions I read between my first and second reading of Ayn Rand, and all of them since I began reading her again - it's amazing what more you are able to get out of a book when you re-read it with other books ideas squirlled away in your head. If you don't already, I'd suggest, assuming the books are yours, that you read with a pencil and scribble all over the margins - argue with the author, and write the "what the...?" questions that pop into your head - you'll really enjoy those notes the next time you thumb through the book. This may be more than you're looking for, but to give you a bit of a mix, all of which are first and foremost enjoyable reads, and then also provide worthwhile food for thought, I'd recommend: Isacc Asimov's "Foundation" series are excellent Science Fiction adventure stories which are very much Idea driven. "Less Than Words Can Say", by Richard Mitchel (this and his other books - all excellent - are available to download free online http://www.sourcetext.com/sharetext/ug.html as Word.doc's or pdf's - the operator has said the suggested fee's are very optional) an excellent and enjoyable book on the significance of thinking. He focuses on how sloppy thinking shows up first in peoples language [hopefully quick blog post's are kind of excused from this], and then how the implications of accepting and acting on others thoughts without properly considering their premises for yourself, can and does cause havoc in action. With the previous point in mind, I recommend Emerson's essays(available for free download on line through Gutenberg.org) and C.S. Lewis's "Screwtape Letters", and Plato's Socratic dialogues(available for free download on line through Gutenberg.org) - all three of which you should be forewarned have high saturations of mystical influence, and sometimes downright bad ideas, but taken as eloquent food for thought, they all will provide you with fascinating ideas which will challenge and help you to clarify your own thinking. If you keep in mind Rand's advice of being sure to trace all abstractions down to their physical roots in reality, taking especial note of those ideas whose foundations don't seem to come any closer to bedrock than the 13th floor, these will help you to gain a truly satisfying grasp on what you believe, and who you are and will become. At the risk of incuring the head banging "duh" factor, Rand's "Philosophy: Who needs it", and the "Romantic Manifesto" are very readable and well worth your time, and Harry Binswanger's "The Ayn Rand Lexicon" is a BIG help when you're trying to puzzle out questions and concepts spinning around in your head. If you can get ahold of the audio recordings of Homer's The Odyessey & The Illiad, they are unexpectedly enthralling. Edith Hamilton's "The Greek Way" and Irving Babbitt's "Literature and the American College" are well written in their own right, and help to gain a wider perspective on our (precarious?) place in time. Sophocles' "Oedipus" plays are well written plays and need to be looked at not only as straight forward ideas in action, but more broadly as Poetic forms as well which use conceptual images (the Sphinx, and it's riddle...) which can be mined for reams worth of more thoughts than the few sentences they take up in the play itself [Freuds interpretations of Oedipus are mostly worthless, except as in a philosphical "C.S.I" autopsy type of approach ], Rafael Sabatini's "Scaramouche" is an excellent adventure story set about the French Revolution, Baroness Orczy's "The Scarlet Pimpernel", Alexander Dumas' "The Three Musketers" (all available for free download on line through Gutenberg.org). Enjoy the challenge of shaping your own Soul -
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