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http://m.theweek.com/article/index/267720/america-is-running-out-of-jobs-its-time-for-a-universal-basic-income This article calling for "universal base income" is another example to me that the culture is changing in a bad way. I have never seen so many collectivist mention Marxism openly than in recent months. Anyone else see this uptick in journalism-news articles?

I am glad to return to this forum which I have not seen in years. Hello to all! I am in Canada, specifically, Ontario. I work with groups who are not objectivist's but do understand the importance of freedom and individual rights. One such group is CANACE (Canadians for Charter Equality) working to repair Canada's "two tier" legal system, whereby some favored groups get favored treatment beyond Canadian treatment. Actually, it is much more than two tiers. It is a whole rapacious mob of various treatments pressure groups receive, all the while citizens get their rights stripped each year while being expected to pay for the charades. Now, my focus. Alberta (a western province of Canada) had a flood, citizens in a small town named High River were evacuated. As citizens were gone to higher ground, Canada's police took it upon themselves to search for possible missing persons who might not have made it up to higher ground. As they did this, they also took it upon themselves to confiscate (without warrants) rifles and guns of citizens in the homes they broke into. This act by the police was completely immoral, not to mention illegal. As Canadian tradition has it, people complain, but rarely DO anything about their frustrations. The below letter is a guide for any Canadians in western Canada who might see this to use as a possible guide - if you are outraged at illegal police activity. If you wish to contact me also, you can easily find me by typing my name: Ted Harlson. Open Letter to the People of High River: I am writing regarding the fact that the RCMP entered people's homes and removed guns. While I do not own a gun, I am outraged that police believe they have the authority to steal property from people - unless they had people's consent then it was illegal. In Caledonia, Ontario the police have repeatedly violated people's rights. As a result, my organization has filed criminal charges against senior OPP officers. To date, the courts have ordered 3 of the highest ranking officers in the province to be criminally charged - Commissioner Julian Fantino for threatening elected officials, Deputy Commissioner Chris Lewis for obstructing justice and Chief Supt. Ron Gentle on a charge of obstructing justice. In fact, our cases are now law across Canada as they are being quoted by judges in every province. Canada is the only country in the world that allows average citizens to charge government officials - in fact, our laws were changed in 2002 (under a Liberal government) to strengthen citizens' authority because parliament believed this ability to hold government officials accountable, via the laying of criminal charges, was the last line of defence in a democracy. No police officer is permitted to violate the Criminal Code and no officer is required to obey any order that causes him to violate the Criminal Code. Any senior officer who gave such an order has automatically committed a crime. Until average citizens step forward to hold police and government officials accountable there will be no end to such abuse by those in authority. Anyone interested in learning how to lay criminal charges against the officers (and/or their superiors who ordered them to do so) who removed property from homes can contact me at [email protected] Freedom isn't free - someone has to pay the price to ensure our rights are respected by authorities. Gary McHale Executive Director of CANACE Canadian Advocates for Charter Equality

Here is a great clip from an MSNBC discussion panel where the host S.E. Cupp calls out Obama's recent "you didn't build that" speech. http://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2012/07/17/se_cupp_to_msnbc_panel_obama_is_a_collectivist.html Better yet she states it precisely as collectivism and throws in a relevant Ayn Rand quote. Definately refreshing and gutsy.

I am here seeking intelligent discussion. On the spectrum of individualism to collectivism, I lean toward collectivism. On the spectrum of objectivism to relativism, I lean toward relativism. I am a fervent atheist and anti-militarist. I read Atlas Shrugged (AS) in the summer of 2011 and was fascinated. Saddened by the state of public discourse, which has been debased ever since the polar opposites of Goldwater and Reagan taught self-styled conservatives that they can achieve their objectives better through misdirection and bombast than through reason and civility, I am thrilled to find a community like this one. Rather than talking to the converted at Daily Kos, here I can test my assumptions and see other perspectives. At least at first, I probably will not comment on others’ posts, but rather will start a series of threads laying out what seem to me to be the faults or inadequacies of objectivism. I look forward to reasoned responses. By way of background, I was born in Southern California in 1963 to a Catholic mother and agnostic father. I was raised Catholic and participated in Boy Scouts, which largely shaped my father’s moral code. Before I was 10 years old, I began questioning Christianity and theism in general … first on logical grounds and later on moral grounds, disagreeing with teachings on sexuality and other issues. Later, as an adult, I tried evangelical Christianity and studied the Bible more closely. This cemented my atheism as I was appalled by the Bible’s sanction of genocide and other atrocities. My own moral code was nonetheless strongly influenced by the teachings of Jesus, including his skepticism of wealth, his rejection of violence and his emphasis on altruism. Driven by reason and justice rather than mysticism or fear, I was naturally drawn to communist ideals. I went to Berkeley in the early 1980’s, where I studied impractical humanities and protested Reagan’s illegal wars in Central America. Over time, I came to realize that true communism is impossible outside of a small community setting. As Ayn Rand showed clearly with AS’s Twentieth Century Motor Company, it creates harmful incentives and is inherently prone to corruption. As a youth, although I appreciated the idealism in the maxim “from each according to his ability, to each according to his need”, I realized that it pessimistically assumed there would be no surplus created. My view at the time was that the surplus should, in theory, be distributed in proportion to the extent to which each person achieves his potential. Obviously, this could only be theory since it would require godlike insight to implement and therefore is certain to be applied incompetently or corruptly. I came to understand that capitalism was a powerful engine of prosperity that harnesses human nature (what I believe objectivists call egoism) and realistic incentives. However, I continue to believe that capitalism must be tempered by fairness and redistribution is necessary to reduce the major roles played by luck and happenstance. While there is no perfect and incorruptible system to do this, I believe multiparty democracy is better suited to the task in the long run than any alternative. After a few years doing computer programming, in the early 1990’s, I first went to Columbia University where I got a law degree (JD) and then went to New York University for a masters in taxation (LLM). I practice international corporate tax law at a major accounting firm, having worked for the IRS for several years. Given my radical and progressive roots, my practice paradoxically includes helping companies move intellectual property offshore. I am able to do this with a clear conscience since I do not believe in the corporate tax, which is economically distortive and has an unknown incidence. From a tax policy perspective, I believe in a strongly progressive tax on individual income or consumption. My name, Swerve of Shore, comes from the first line of Finnegan’s Wake by James Joyce. For professional reasons, I cannot share my real name at this time – perhaps, when I retire.