Toolboxnj

Yes. I've been sickened by the whole trial as well. He was a terrible character, but you need more to send a man to his death. Was watching FoxNews as well, and they called this jury "the anti-OJ" jury as if they looked for guilt where it didn't exist. Unfortunatly, you're right though. Peterson did nothing to help his cause at all.

Those at MoveOn.org, Noam Chomsky, Howard Zinn and other assorted "intellectuals".. also most of the NEA.

Ugh, I got home early just to watch the 11pm broadcast. Yaron Brook > Peterson

Bill O'Reilly takes pretty much every antithetical postition to Objectivism, but he's still a great host. Dr. Brook was on O'Reilly this summer and was given his say so I guess we cannot complain all that much. I still watch O'Reilly and listen to his radio show for some reason. Perhaps for the entertainment value more than anything. He's probably the most wishy-washy guy on radio, at least. He takes traditionally conservative positions and then a couple "token" liberal positions (not to mention his slight anti-corparatism, ambivalence toward the death penalty and call for government involvement in the "flu vaccine crisis" which was no more than an election ploy from the Democrats) in an attempt to be "fair and balanced". It's pathetic. There's nothing I can't stand more than a closet conservative (or authoritarian fascist, to be extreme about it) who is always bashing the "leftist media". Well, what the heck is he? He covers his agenda up with these "token" liberal issues so he can say to his detractors "hey, I agree with you on this one issue!" when they say he's a conservative. The latest horrific use of Image Theory from the Right (connecting present issues to unrelated events, mostly in foreign policy) is calling for the tightening of immigration laws for terrorist-related issues. Every conservative on the radio has been calling for the tightening and using the 9/11 attacks to justify their position, using the death of 3000 Americans to push their agenda. But, I'm rambling and perhaps even wrong. TB =)

Naomi Klein is also a force behind the anti-corparate rag AdBusters, which is celebrated by those in the New Left (there is a thread about AdBusters somewhere on the forum, I think in the Ethics section). What writers forget is that the consumer and the worker are one in the same. Without production, there is no consumption. So, by attack business you are, in essence, attacking the consumer because someone has to manfacture the product or provide the service in the first place.

I totally agree with BurgessLau and I'll add to it. There is a HUGE difference in making an honest mistake and actually evading truth. If there is an internal contradiction on your part, it is best to step back, look at things objectively (lower case o) and correct the issue. I've learned that my greatest contradictions have been in relationships with friends and girlfriends. So, I've taken the time to step back and look at my actions, however painful it is, and learn from my mistakes.

Yeah, I bought Sing the Sorrow from B&N today and it's probably the best new thing that's come out of my car stereo in a long time I knew some of the songs from XM, but to really hear it from CD is something else. Looks like I have to invest in a new genre now I'll take some of your suggestions as well. Hopefully I can find them used on ebay or amazon, since I'm saving my shekels

I'm getting AFI's Sing the Sorrow tomorrow at the store. I get 30% off music/videos this weekend, so I'm gonna pick it up. I've been kinda reluctant to go for the whole pop-punk thing because of the whole Blink-182 label

1. Aristotle (100%) Click here for info 2. Ayn Rand (92%) Click here for info 3. Nietzsche (88%) Click here for info 4. Aquinas (81%) Click here for info 5. David Hume (79%) Click here for info 6. Thomas Hobbes (78%) Click here for info 7. Cynics (73%) Click here for info 8. Epicureans (69%) Click here for info 9. Plato (65%) Click here for info 10. Jeremy Bentham (64%) Click here for info 11. John Stuart Mill (62%) Click here for info 12. Jean-Paul Sartre (59%) Click here for info 13. Spinoza (58%) Click here for info 14. Stoics (58%) Click here for info 15. St. Augustine (43%) Click here for info 16. Ockham (41%) Click here for info 17. Nel Noddings (33%) Click here for info 18. Kant (32%) Click here for info 19. Prescriptivism (22%) Click here for info

Interestingly, I read in an article today in my local paper that people are moving from the suburbs and back to the cities where they work. This is true in the New Jersey area, which is sandwiched by Philly and NYC. There's just too much traffic and commuting, and it costs a fortune to take mass transit. And yes, these eco-terrorists are evil individuals, akin to their brethren in the Middle East.

The only thing you are born with is the capacity to learn. After that, it all depends on your environment and interests at a young age. For instance, my parents divorced when I was six years old, and my mother took no more from my father than what belonged to her. We were living on the meager child support, which amounted to about $10k/yr for my sister and I. We had hard times, but my mother never took a dime of welfare money because she said she'd be ashamed of it. Instead, she learned a trade and worked from the home; today that little basement business turned into a nice sized corparation. It's the determination that children learn from their parents at a young age that has a profound influence. These experiences could be positive like mine, or negative. For instance, if your father was always coming home drunk or with other women, one might turn to Objectivism to learn what values are or the meaning of love. I had always been raised on "conservative" values. By "conservative" I don't mean politically, but I understood that happiness wasn't whimical and there were consquences for my actions. So, when I picked up AS this summer, I knew exactly what Ayn Rand was saying about morality.. that I didn't have to return to morality, but to discover the true definition (somewhat based on altruism at the time thanks to being raised a Catholic.. we can't all be perfect ) So, to sum up: 1/ You are born with the capacity to learn 2/ Your parents are important in shaping your outlook on life, whether positive or negative 3/ You need some kind of values system as a prerequisite, even if they are religious in nature

I've never heard of those two. If it's good driving music, I'll surely give it a listen. I drive about 70 miles a day, so music makes the ride more enjoyable. From what I've heard I really enjoy The Killers. On XM they give em good airtime, so whenever the reciever finds one of their songs I give it a good listen. We could all relate to Mr. Brightside, eh?

It's really good. I usually don't listen to softer alt rock in the car (favoring bands like Muse, Idlewild, Smile Empty Soul, etc that are a bit louder), but this CD is an exception. It starts with a brisk pace, shorter catchy songs and then you hit the meat of the disc with Spitting Games and Run. The CD stays strong with a couple awesome songs in terms of vocals. As a bonus, it was only $8.99 in my local shop.

I read this in class on Tuesday and got sick to my stomach. It's an opinion column in my university newspaper. Here's the first page; you'll just have to enter your e-mail address to get the rest. Harvest of too much Thinking of writing a responce, but I worry it'll sound too much like Peikoff.

From what I understand, economics departments are the "least-leftist" parts of the university. For example, Walter Williams is from George Mason Univerity in North VA and that's a top economics dept in the country.

Too funny! It's amazing how far the government will go to regulate private property.

I found this PDF at Acadamia.org and throughly enjoyed it. It goes into the first government subsidy of a steamboat business and how the individual businessman wins out without government money. Enjoy -> http://www.academia.org/pdf/folsom_transcript.pdf

I hope it isn't a "copy" because I bid on it before I read this.

Bingo. You took the words out of my mouth.

I don't believe Ayn Rand says much about music because it's what you make of it. I enjoy listening to the bands that are the base of modern music today. Joy Division, although dour and gothic, is the inspiriation for many bands through the 1980s. Ian Curtis' lyrics are poetic, poignant reminders of the depressed soul. I would actually recommend JD's live albums, not the studio ones, at first. They are probably the best live band I've ever heard with so much raw emotion. Nirvana would have to be another band, bridging the gap between the 1980s and 90s. Metallica, pre-black album is awesome with magnum opus "...And Justice for All" which is a masterpiece. Other more modern albums would include Snow Patrol's debut (quick, but emotional.. wonderful vocals) and some new-metal like Crossfade, although they are nowhere near the 3 groups above. XM radio is great for music. There are so many channels, and commerical free. I couldn't live without it! It's only $10 a month, so only $.33 a day and well worth it. Go from CD-quality classical to alt. rock with a simple hit of the button.

Thank you so much, I really appriciate it. I found some of Branden's books on self-esteem and I'm going to poke through them as well. Maybe there's another underlying factor that I'm not quite conscious of. I'll also explore your recommendations. TB

I've lately been having some problems with relationships, mostly with friends and potential girlfriends. O'ism has helped out emormously, especially the whole value for value concept which has worked out well. I love Francisco's speech, but I was hoping an O'ist author (maybe Branden) expanded on the whole love/sex part of Rand's philosophy. Can anyone recommend a book/tape that I can purchase? Thanks TB

Declaration of Independence Banned at Calif School Now, I recognize that it was the ideas of the Enlightenment, and not Christianity that made America great. But, this goes too far. Personally, I think it's horrific to take the Declearation of Independence out of the classroom because of its reference to God. I have a feeling it's not the references to God that the nihilists are after, but what's in bold.

I know David Frum wrote about the Arafat/AIDS connection. Might be something at www.nationalreview.com in their search (dunno if you have to pay for it). There's also something in a blog I know of. http://moderncrusader.blogspot.com/2004/11...dying-from.html http://moderncrusader.blogspot.com/2004/11...es-to-aids.html It's a blog by a religious fundie, but a good source none-the-less.

I dont know. If Hillary Clinton ever read Ayn Rand she'd probably have a coronary. The conservatives that I've met have been part of my activist group, ProtestWarrior and also a guy at my workplace. They are all secular, non-religous conservatives, which I guess would be a libertarian leaning conservative.