K-Mac

I just can't believe anyone was foolish enough to hold on to those bonds this long. What did they expect? That with the government involved all would go well? LOL!

Yikes! This guy sounds like a piece of work! As far as restitution goes, it's usually a condition of probation or parole...if they don't get a job and make the monthly payments, it's off to jail for them. (Although this may not work in your situation, it could be worth asking or pressing charges. It never hurts to ask.)

Why is it my (or anyone else's) responsibility to pay for your health care? Health care is NOT a right. You have a right to pursue happiness, not a right to force me to provide it to you. You need to read this and this. In a laissez faire capitalist society, people and businesses would be more prosperous, health care would be affordable and accessible, and insurance could be tailor made for each client. In addition, charities would receive the funds they need to help the few who are genuinely in need and family members and friends could afford to help their family members or friends in genuine need. Humans are creative and necessity is the mother of invention. I have no doubt, that when left to themselves, free men would be quite capable of coming up with solutions to their problems. We don't need a nanny government to take care of us. It never has and they never will. And finally, if Canadian health care is so great, why are your government officials coming here for care? A mastectomy and reconstruction is unusual or difficult to get in Canada?! If it's one of the more treatable forms, why can't it be taken care of in Canada? You mean in that whole country up there, no doctors could treat this for her or perform those routine procedures?!

No one can be expected to be an expert in everything; however, the government sure as hell isn't an expert (much less efficient or effective) at ANYTHING. If I had a sick child, I would consult with the experts (you know, those things called doctors), explore and learn about the drugs that are out there (I can read, learn and use rational judgment), and between me, my spouse and the professionals involved, I'm sure we could come up with something. Furthermore, drug companies have no incentive to kill their customers. They do have incentive to cure them. It's called profits.

Thankfully! Kissing has been outlawed in Egypt too, D'kian...what's wrong with those people?! lol!

Gee, I'm glad I don't have to come into contact with any Mexicans on a daily basis. They sound dangerous!

Ooo, meteorology! I'm fascinated by weather. Nothing more exciting than watching a thunderstorm develop. My favorite weather map (thanks to Qwertz for sharing it with me awhile back) http://radar.weather.gov/ridge/Conus/full_loop.php Welcome to the forum!

Can you file criminal charges against the person? If so, perhaps you can get some of your money back in the form of restitution. If any credit card fraud was involved, that's usually easy to get out of since cardholders are not made to pay for fraudulent charges, but you may have to file criminal charges first. (You probably already know all of this, but I thought I would throw it out there just in case.) Scamming people is completely contradictory to Objectivism, and so is mysticism for that matter. I hope you will continue to study the philosophy, but from reliable sources, such as ARI and those affiliated with it, and Rand herself. I wish you the best. What you've been through sounds like it's awful.

I agree with you for the most part, but let's say the thief sneaking out in scenario two has a gun that you can't see and once he realizes your awake, plans to use it? That's why in Texas, you can shoot after dark even if they're trying to escape. And you're right about the unknowns...there are so many. While I was being robbed, they counted down two minutes until they had to be out of the apartment. (I guess they knew that's how long it would take for police to arrive...and sure enough, cops were there about one minute after they left.) For me and my boyfriend at the time, it felt like 2 hours. In addition, we had no idea what their plans were or if they had weapons other than the baseball bat and lead pipe they had hovering over us. So when a person chooses to assault someone or trespass on their property or take their stuff, that person leaves himself open to a lot of misinterpretation, and frankly, I don't feel sorry for that person when someone decides to shoot first and try to find out what they were up to later.

I'm not particularly worried or freaking out; however, the advice being given to prevent infection is every-day type preventative measures, so it's not a big deal to take precautions. Personally, I find strains like this more scary because they kill healthy people in their 20s and 30s. The flu that normally kills thousands each winter, is killing those with weakened immune systems, the young, the elderly, the already sick, etc. Since I'm 30-something and have not had the flu, I'm not as concerned with the normal bug that goes around every winter. I am more concerned about a rare strain that kills people like me.

I suppose that would be true with socialized medicine.

I like, I like!

I said... " (assuming they're not violating anyone's rights.)" If you go into a building spraying toxic gas on people, I would say that's a rights violation. If a grocery store owner tells his employee to shoot you when you come in to shop, that's obviously not okay either. Second hand smoke, if as deadly as the claims make it out to be (and that's a huge IF in my book), takes years and years to kill someone. By putting yourself in the presence of smokers, you voluntarily subject yourself to that potential threat.

Then I would say you have a psychological disorder. I was robbed in my home several years ago. If I had owned a gun at that time, I would've shot him and kept shooting until he was dead. He was a large, loud, violent man that was obviously on drugs and had with a nervous partner with him. They kicked their way into my back door. Fortunately, neither of them touched me, but they threatened me and made me feel it was necessary to plead for my life. That's worthy of being shot to death, IMO. Fortunately, Texas law agrees. (I think Texas also allows you to shoot a robber if they're running away, but only at night, since your vision is impaired at night and it's hard to tell if the threat is really gone, or something to that effect.) Shooting a thief, that did not physically threaten you or cause you any bodily harm or injury (if you surprised a thief who thought no one was home, for example), in the back as they're running away is a bit much. If they harmed someone, I say fire away in an attempt to stop them. Current laws vary from state to state, but my above comments are based on either Texas law or what I think the laws should be.

I'm willing to bet there is at least one thread already about this subject, but here's the short answer... Property owners should be able to determine whether or not people can smoke on their property. It's a violation of their property rights for the government, you or anyone else to dictate what they do on their private property (assuming they're not violating anyone's rights.) If you are on private property and you don't want to be subjected to the smoking going on there, leave.

We have no problems with strong UV rays or enough sunshine here. The Front Range area of Colorado gets more than 300 days of sunshine per year and you better have on some sunscreen or you're toast!

Here's an interesting Pew Research Study on changes in religious affiliation, which is a follow up to this earlier study on the religious landscape of America. It looks like lots of people are looking for answers and aren't liking what they're finding. In addition, I think many families are simply looking for a sense of community by going to church. They are tired of not knowing their neighbors and not having anything social to do. We have the answer to both! First, we have the best philosophy for living and being happy. Second, through the formation of groups like Front Range Objectivism, North Texas Objectivist Society and the new Ohio Objectivist Society, we are offering people a chance to not only learn and have an intellectual conversation, but to meet new people and socialize. Even the atheist meeting group mentioned in the NY Times article above is an option for those who want to meet with like-minded people and have a "sense of community" without turning to the church or government.

Interesting article about atheism. I like the license plate idea..."In Reason We Trust"

I'm around 5500 feet. The humidity is extremely low here most of the time, so I've probably used more lotion since moving to CO nearly three years ago than I've used my entire life.

Neither is driving, but a lot of people suck at that too! I found some sanitizer that has aloe in it and it doesn't seem to be as bad as some others I've used. Washing your hands thoroughly and properly several times per day will dry your hands out as well. Of course, I'm in Colorado, so you have to use lotion all the time anyway.

I noticed the last time I was in my allergist's office, they had signs by the sinks that said studies have shown that hand washing is not very effective, and most people do it wrong, so they had alcohol-based hand sanitizer at each sink (as well as soap.) The nurses and doctors were using that before and after each patient. My husband stayed home from work today with something. Doesn't seem flu-like, seems more like bad spring allergies, so we're not freaking out or anything, but I did buy some hand sanitizer last night (which they were nearly out of) for us to keep at home and the office. It's cheap and I figure it can't hurt anything.

Recognizing conflict and changing habits can be tough, but at least you realize that's what you need to do...that's half the battle sometimes. I think you're onto something with creating and displaying your evening schedule of events. I hate to admit I watched it, but I watched one of those reality, nanny shows once and she made a poster that outlined the family's schedule, from the time they woke up to the time they went to sleep. It kept everyone on the same page and was simple enough that even the kiddos could look up there and see what was expected of them. The kids thrived on the routine, including consistent bed times, and the parents found some peace and time to enjoy each other. Anyway, if you try it, let me know how it goes. We're thinking of having a kiddo in the next year or two.

I never understand why some people, O'ist and non-O'ist alike, seem to think that we can guarantee people that their rights won't be violated, or that no bad in life will ever come to you. There are no such guarantees! There will be crazy people. There will be looters and moochers. There will be stupid people who never "get it." There will be murderers. There will be people and/or businesses that violate contracts. There will always be rights-violators mingling amongst free men. * HOWEVER, by having a moral government in place (a government that is authorized to use force to protect the rights of its citizens), the aforementioned crazy idiots can be punished for violating rights. * Although I believe that in an O'ist society, these people would be much fewer and farther between since there would be no reward for such behavior.

There's nothing wrong with being proud of your work, wanting to share it with people you value or asking for constructive criticism. There's also nothing wrong with valuing what others think, as long as those people are of value to you, and you admire and respect them.