galtgulch

I am not aware that Rearden ever chose to remain outside. I do not think that Galt ever had an appointment with Rearden to ask him to join the strike and to explain what the strikers were all about. The closest was the encounter with Ragnar which is one of my favorite scenes but even then the existence of the bar of gold was only a clue or a hint. Rearden didn't choose to remain outside, although we can only imagine that his love of his work, as was true of Dagny, would have made it difficult for him to give it up and walk away as others like Francisco did. I think that Galt and Dagny were smart enough to figure out a way to inform Rearden without revealing the existence or location of Galt's Gulch. Dagny might have killed two birds with one stone by sending Rearden a Dear John letter. Ouch! but inevitable. That would have replaced one pain with another. But at least he would have known she was alive. One fickle chick. If I were writing the book I would not have Dagny fall in love with Galt but remain in love with Rearden instead. Actually I sympathize with Francisco who was her first love. I have to read the book again. I wish that Francisco could have found a way to explain what he was doing or just that he was doing something so that Dagny would have understood that he was not the playboy he was presenting himself as. It cost Francisco too much to have to lose Dagny in the process. But that would have been another story altogether. I would have found a way for Eddy Willers to be admitted into the valley as well rather than let him die of dehydration in the desert. galt (no relation)

Can you imagine Hank getting a message with no return address from Dagny just saying that she is still exists? Aside from the authorities figuring out that Galt is somehow behind this which is a stretch, there is the utterly outlandish possibility that Rearden may have the impression that Dagny did die and that he is getting the message from the afterlife. I just said that for the sake of amusement. Only kidding! But I do think it is heartless not to inform Hank. If I were Dagny my reaction to the refusal would be to demand to be released immediately. How can Galt justify what is tantamount to kidnapping? After all Dagny is supposed to be in love with Hank not John Galt at that point. galt

"no man's need constitutes an obligation on the part of any other man to fulfill that need!" How can health care be free unless the one providing it chooses to ask for nothing in return? Since physicians must earn their living and have to pay for whatever others produce and offer on the market they must ask to be paid at least from time to time. galt

- Grant "In a psychological or emotional sense noone really does anything for purely altruistic reasons." Thanks for responding to my little grammatical issue. I do not think there is a conspiracy involved. I just believe that people are insensitive to the issue or were just not paying attention when the use of relative pronouns was taught as well as the distinction between living beings and inanimate objects. Regarding whether there could possibly be a truly altruistic person I did once meet a woman who was so utterly imbued with the notion of being unselfish and so determined to be other oriented that she literally never allowed herself to think in terms of "what do I want?" She lived with her married sister's family and just filled her days with doing things for her family with no wishes or dreams or career plans of her own. Sad. I did post a link to a video telephone called an Ojo created by WorldGate Communications www.wgate.com which is worth a look especially if you have a loved one who lives at a distance. WGAT stock closed at just $1.54 last Friday. I own a few shares because it has enormous upside potential, a few deals in the works with telecommunications companies, cables and telcos and VOIPS literally all over the world. Let me know if this sounds interesting. galt

<<<"I have no problem whatsoever accepting gifts from people that I am confident understand and value me as an individual. These people don't qualify just yet.">>> - Grant, I am not addressing the problem you present. I read it with interest but I have my own little hangup about a usage which prompted me to reply in order to draw your attention to it. It is where in the sentence above you use the word "that" after the word "people." I may be mistaken and your usage may be acceptable. I just happen to be sensitive to the issue and believe that it is proper grammatically to use the word "who or whom" when referring to a person and the word "that or which" when referring to a thing. It distresses me to use the word "that" which to my way of thinking should be reserved for things when referring to human beings. I apologize for the distraction. We live in a world where human beings rights to their own lives are not universally recognized as individuals and where they are sacrificed in one way or another which may explain my sensitivity to the issue. Enjoy your lunch! galt

I wonder if the Objectivist community is aware of the existence of the Ojo and the Shadow Ojo which are products created by WorldGate Communications and presently being marketed worldwide. The Ojo has a unique design which enables face to face encounters over broadband cable for a flat monthly rate of $14.95 with audio synchrony. No computor involved. Picture is 30 frames per second with no breakup or pixelization and flutter free with smooth motion on as little as 100 kilobytes per second data flow. Movie theater is just 24 fps. LCD screen is at eye level and adjustable. Power line transmission enables the Ojo to be used anywhere in your home by attaching your modem or router to a wall outlet with appropriate ethernet cable, (Netgear, Homeplug, etc) and the Ojo plugged into another wall outlet with another ethernet cable, with no degradation in picture or sound quality. It can be seen at www.wgate.com. The uncertainty of market success in unproven industry causes the stock price to be just $1.55 on Friday's close on Nasdaq. A child tried to pet a dog over the Ojo because the picture is so realistic! Grandparents love it because they can see their grandchildren daily. One can check on the condition of elder parent in a nursing home. Keep in touch with family while traveling on business. Endless uses especially with high travel costs. Ojo calls more like a visit. Can cover lens if desired. Price of Ojo coming down and likely to be even lower as holidays approach. Early adopters woke up to find the company had downloaded video messaging feature to their Ojo. Callers are invited to leave a video message, up to twenty minutes. New features can be downloaded in future. Cost was $799 now $399 for Ojo which has detachable cordless phone and a phone jack fo regular audio calls, with unique ring for audio or video calls. Shadow Ojo costs $299 dedicated to video with no cordless. Least expensive at online retailers like 101phones.com Ellen Degeneris gave audience two Ojos last week. Only 40M shares in float. I just want to make fellow Objectivists aware of this product as it is life enhancing if you have loved ones who live at a distance whom you would want to see more often. Admittedly i do own shares of stock in this company WGAT as well. Risk is high. Look for 15 product placements in prime time this Fall season on TV. First I know of Tuesday CSI at 8PM EST this coming week. The Ojo was used on Fox Show 24 in 2005 when Jack Bauer called Chloe to have Edgar move a satellite without attracting Driscoll's attention. Chloe called Edgar on the Ojo seen by 14.8M viewers who thought the Ojo was just a gadget for the show and not a product on the market. www.ojoworld.com has organized links including video clips of "24" use of the Ojo. Enjoy galt