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Into the Wild.

I'd say I'm like 80% questioner, 15% answerer, and 5% totally baffled.

Let's say someone in America wanted to hold a viewing of this movie and invite Wilders over for it. Do you believe the U.S. government would do what the U.K. government has now done to Wilders? Would this actually be possible?

Self-destruction is immoral. When getting high, on pot or whatever, becomes a person's top value as opposed to one's own life, he has surrendered his rational pursuit of goals to his emotional whims. Can't get much more non-Objectivist than that. In response to RationalBiker's post- I agree. I don't think there are many people who try shooting heroin and just walk away from it with no difficulties. There might be a few exceptions, but that's my take on it.

Drugs aren't the only things people get addicted to. Overeating, sex, porn, gambling, tv, internet, video games, etc. can mess a person's life up, too. Doesn't mean any of those activities, including drug use, are inherently evil. It's the overuse of such things that's dangerous. Recreation is great, in fact necessary, in order to live a good life, but not when it starts to hinder one's ability to make something of his or herself. However, some of the commonly referred to hard drugs do seem to create a physiological dependence in the user, so if one was to use them, he should know what he might be getting into.

Aren't there already laws prohibiting animal cruelty and neglect?

I thought this was neat. http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2009/...ederal-bailout/

http://www.easportsactive.com/home.action I just got a Wii and wanted to buy Wii Fit, but after hearing about EA Sports Active, I think I'm going to hold off on buying Wii Fit to see how this product turns out. It sounds like a real potential competitor and it's supposed to be cheaper.

As well as gay marriage and separation of church and state. Maybe privacy rights as well. Does anyone remember Ayn Rand stating somewhere in "Censorship: Local and Express" that the Supreme Court is like the voice of philosophy in America?

I've been doing this ever since I was a child. My dad used to think that it was some sort of nervous pacing. Glad to here I'm not alone.

Yes, I've read The Fountainhead, The Virtue of Selfishness, Introduction to Objectivist Epistemology, and Philosophy: Who Needs It. Obviously this is a gross violation of our rights. It's just so hard to believe that something like this is really happening here.

The only other questions I could ask would be about how far the government should be allowed to intrude in on our civil liberties. I'd like to see what others here might have to say about this particular topic.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/conte...8080103030.html Is this a violation of our rights or is this practice reasonable?

Thank you all for your responses. It really means alot to me. I'm wondering though whether I should try to get professional help. I really don't want any doctor trying to push drugs on me, and maybe if I learn more about desensitization therapy I can do it on my own, which is what I would prefer. As far as I know, I have never been in any situation where a tornado actually developed where I was at. But like I said, I've had this phobia as long as I can remember, but when I was like 4 or 5, I don't think I knew what a tornado was, so I was probably just scared of the storm itself. Probably later when I found out what a tornado was, the fear went in that direction.

I have a phobia of thuderstorms. I've had it as long as I can remember. Usually I'm frightened that a tornado will develop. I know that the odds of dying or being severly injured during a storm or even a tornado are very low, but that knowledge almost never overrides the intense fear I sometimes experience. I've went to counseling, been prescribed drugs like paxil and xanax, but they only had at minimal effect at best. Over the last few years, I've come to use alcohol to drown out the horrible feeling I experience, because I've found that works better than anything else I've tried. However, because of my family's history of alcoholism, and my problems with alcohol, I really do not want to use this method anymore. But I'm afraid that if I tried counseling again, it still wouldn't be effective. Anyone got any ideas on what I should maybe try to?

Last year I discovered just how funny Carlin's stand-up routine has been all these DECADES, which was only a few months after I had first read anything by Ayn Rand. I can see how some of Carlin's political sentiments were probably, uh, maybe Marxist? Like some of the stuff from Life is Worth Losing. But I still think he's right on many socio-political issues, and at the very least he was exceptionally funny and talented, which is very difficult to find at any point in history. R.I.P George

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/QuitToLive/st...5063&page=1 Almost everyone I know around me smokes, and I have smoked for nearly ten years. I haven't had a single cigarette for over a month now. I didn't use patches, gums, pills, hypnosis, or any other kind of therapy. I didn't quit with anyone because I believe a person's addiction is his or her own, and that person who's addicted has to do it on their own regardless of what kind of help or support they receive. I wanted to quit, and I came to understand that even though I might have intense cravings for a particular drug, no drug can force me to take it. I alone make the decision to use a drug or not. Any thoughts on this, anyone?

favorite music: nine inch nails radiohead ratm portishead massive attack modest mouse my bloody valentine aphex twin tool david bowie velvet underground pixies nirvana dj shadow el-p tv on the radio other stuff as well(not a band)

Is The Ayn Rand Institute justified in their opposititon toward David Kelley and The Atlas Society, or is toleration and openess to other ideas and philosophies, which is what The Atlas Society advocates, the proper and correct way to go?