Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Swine flu? Silly me
Silly me, when I first heard news of a rampant swine flu, I thought they were talking about porkulus from Congress.
Inspiring news on Objectivism
Here's a post below on http://forums.4aynrandfans.com by a longtime Objectivist named Bill Bucko, who used to write for my Objectivist magazine Reality way back in 1993. What's as interesting as the strong interest in Ayn Rand's ideas is the high interest again in the best Founding Fathers' ideas:
__________________
Here's an update of Amazon's CLASSICS list, from http://www.amazon.com/gp/bestsellers/books...ref=pd_ts_b_nav :
The top 8 on the list:
some bizarre something or other
ATLAS SHRUGGED
Common Sense, The Rights of Man etc. by Thomas Paine
ATLAS SHRUGGED - Centennial edition
The Federalist Papers
Who Is Mark Twain?
ATLAS SHRUGGED - paperback
Fahrenheit 451
followed by
12. THE FOUNTAINHEAD
15. Cliff Notes to ATLAS SHRUGGED
47. THE VIRTUE OF SELFISHNESS
48. THE FOUNTAINHEAD - Centennial edition
64. The Anti-Federalist Papers and the Constitutional Convention Debates
70. ATLAS SHRUGGED - audio book
73. CAPITALISM: THE UNKNOWN IDEAL
As I pointed out in my report from the Troy Tea Party at http://forums.4aynrandfans.com/index.php?s...amp;#entry91982 , I found interest in Ayn Rand among participants was very high.
(And here's a post by James Paul on the list)
Not directly related to book sales but this weekend I participated in a 13-hour mountain bike race. I was taking a break while my team-mate was out on the course and overheard someone at the next campsite mention Ayn Rand and Atlas Shrugged. I wandered over and joined their conversation. None of them had read the book but they had heard some of the basics. I had a copy of AS in my truck with a lot of post-it notes stuck in various pages. I flipped through the book and shared some of the more central points. I almost felt like a street preacher. I ended up giving away my copy of the book, notes and all, and noticed the rider reading it under a lantern later that night.
__________________
Here's an update of Amazon's CLASSICS list, from http://www.amazon.com/gp/bestsellers/books...ref=pd_ts_b_nav :
The top 8 on the list:
some bizarre something or other
ATLAS SHRUGGED
Common Sense, The Rights of Man etc. by Thomas Paine
ATLAS SHRUGGED - Centennial edition
The Federalist Papers
Who Is Mark Twain?
ATLAS SHRUGGED - paperback
Fahrenheit 451
followed by
12. THE FOUNTAINHEAD
15. Cliff Notes to ATLAS SHRUGGED
47. THE VIRTUE OF SELFISHNESS
48. THE FOUNTAINHEAD - Centennial edition
64. The Anti-Federalist Papers and the Constitutional Convention Debates
70. ATLAS SHRUGGED - audio book
73. CAPITALISM: THE UNKNOWN IDEAL
As I pointed out in my report from the Troy Tea Party at http://forums.4aynrandfans.com/index.php?s...amp;#entry91982 , I found interest in Ayn Rand among participants was very high.
(And here's a post by James Paul on the list)
Not directly related to book sales but this weekend I participated in a 13-hour mountain bike race. I was taking a break while my team-mate was out on the course and overheard someone at the next campsite mention Ayn Rand and Atlas Shrugged. I wandered over and joined their conversation. None of them had read the book but they had heard some of the basics. I had a copy of AS in my truck with a lot of post-it notes stuck in various pages. I flipped through the book and shared some of the more central points. I almost felt like a street preacher. I ended up giving away my copy of the book, notes and all, and noticed the rider reading it under a lantern later that night.
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Achmed the dead terrorist
Check out this hilarious ventriloquist act. It's where I get the "Silence, I KILL you!" from:
Saturday, April 25, 2009
"Avoid breathing" to prevent mosquito bites
I found a great web site that lists facts about mosquitoes, how to prevent bites, how to treat them, and all that.
Mosquitoes are attracted to the CO2 that we exhale (perhaps we should tell the Lefties, so they can ban mosquitoes), so one of the preventive suggestions on the site is to "avoid breathing" -- apparently not a tongue-in-cheek comment.
Anyway, there's lots of good stuff on the site, which I looked up because skeeters fricking LOVE me. It's obviously a love-hate relationship, and I'm getting the bloody end of the deal. I evidently do many of the things that you're not supposed to do: eat bananas, sweat, have stinky feet when I wear sandals, stay out past dusk, wear fragrances (uhm, macho ones, of course) and BREATHE.
Since I probably won't stop any of the above "bad" things, I will probably have to eat lots of garlic, slather myself with certain oils, start a bat colony at my house, use Skin So Soft by Avon (SILENCE, I KILL YOU!), wear a Bounce fabric softener in my belt, and rub myself with vinegar.
And never ever ever expect any woman in the world to come 100 feet from me!
Yeah, like THAT will be different!
Mosquitoes are attracted to the CO2 that we exhale (perhaps we should tell the Lefties, so they can ban mosquitoes), so one of the preventive suggestions on the site is to "avoid breathing" -- apparently not a tongue-in-cheek comment.
Anyway, there's lots of good stuff on the site, which I looked up because skeeters fricking LOVE me. It's obviously a love-hate relationship, and I'm getting the bloody end of the deal. I evidently do many of the things that you're not supposed to do: eat bananas, sweat, have stinky feet when I wear sandals, stay out past dusk, wear fragrances (uhm, macho ones, of course) and BREATHE.
Since I probably won't stop any of the above "bad" things, I will probably have to eat lots of garlic, slather myself with certain oils, start a bat colony at my house, use Skin So Soft by Avon (SILENCE, I KILL YOU!), wear a Bounce fabric softener in my belt, and rub myself with vinegar.
And never ever ever expect any woman in the world to come 100 feet from me!
Yeah, like THAT will be different!
Wow! Frumpy little Brit stuns talent audience
Here's a piece from YouTube on a middle-aged woman whom the audience was laughing at before she sang.
But not after ...
Delightful!
But not after ...
Delightful!
Time to separate the words "illegal" and "drugs"
I wrote a letter (below) to the Wall Street Journal today after it had the courage to print opposing viewpoints prominently in its "Weekend Journal" section today titled: "Drugs: To legalize or not."
______________________________
Steven Duke’s column on the necessity of legalizing drugs is spot-on – outside of its glaring omission of the primary reason for legalizing drugs: human beings have a natural right as rational animals to ingest anything they wish.
All of us who do or did drugs (as I did as a youth) know that you can acquire any drug any time, usually within minutes or hours of the desire. The only thing that ever changes is price, which, like all commodities, depends upon availability and demand. Each and every American knows somebody in his or her circle of friends who sells at least small amounts of drugs – whether that American may be cognizant of that fact or not.
But it is underground and it is lethal to many, as Mr. Duke says. Let’s bring it above-ground to the light of day and stop burying police officers and others below ground in a futile attempt at regulating human behavior.
I commend the WSJ for having the courage to bring this subject up in a major, public way. Now, let’s start talking rationally.
______________________________
Steven Duke’s column on the necessity of legalizing drugs is spot-on – outside of its glaring omission of the primary reason for legalizing drugs: human beings have a natural right as rational animals to ingest anything they wish.
All of us who do or did drugs (as I did as a youth) know that you can acquire any drug any time, usually within minutes or hours of the desire. The only thing that ever changes is price, which, like all commodities, depends upon availability and demand. Each and every American knows somebody in his or her circle of friends who sells at least small amounts of drugs – whether that American may be cognizant of that fact or not.
But it is underground and it is lethal to many, as Mr. Duke says. Let’s bring it above-ground to the light of day and stop burying police officers and others below ground in a futile attempt at regulating human behavior.
I commend the WSJ for having the courage to bring this subject up in a major, public way. Now, let’s start talking rationally.
In defense of my dearest Shakespeare
The Wall Street Journal today printed five blistering rebuttals to Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens' ponderous musings about the authorship of Shakespeare's sublime works.
I'm proud to say that my letter was among those five, and I'm even prouder to say that the other four were witty, exacting and ridiculing of Stevens to the extent that I was -- and in areas that I couldn't cover because of lack of space. They made our case rounded and withering, provoking any candid observer to wonder at the mental faculties of one of the most powerful men in America -- a man who, arguably, makes more decisions upon the state of liberty than anyone outside his eight peers.
Thank you, my beloved Shakespeare, for provoking such commentary 400 years hence. We, your devoted, will not let injustice trample afoot upon your sweet grave. We have cursed he who tried to move thy bones.
I'm proud to say that my letter was among those five, and I'm even prouder to say that the other four were witty, exacting and ridiculing of Stevens to the extent that I was -- and in areas that I couldn't cover because of lack of space. They made our case rounded and withering, provoking any candid observer to wonder at the mental faculties of one of the most powerful men in America -- a man who, arguably, makes more decisions upon the state of liberty than anyone outside his eight peers.
Thank you, my beloved Shakespeare, for provoking such commentary 400 years hence. We, your devoted, will not let injustice trample afoot upon your sweet grave. We have cursed he who tried to move thy bones.
Education despot wants your children in "school" all year
The learning- and morally impaired (aka politicians) want your kids and mine in their propaganda camps all year to "compete with the Chinese and Indians." The despots got more cash from Obama Dead Eyes and have their swords at the ready to force parents to force their children into the enforced mental-labor camps year-round.
Here's the story (note how the lascivious lapdogs known as "journalists" refer to this mafioso): "The lanky former college basketball player and father of two speaks quickly, with remarkable energy in the face of daunting challenges."
Which got me to thinking: He wouldn't have so much energy if his testicles were removed, right?
If the despot had pulled out his shriveled dick, the media mavens would've pronounced it a thing of extraordinary proportion and striking in features (after they sucked him off, of course).
It may be about time for a revolution, but I'm in a bit of a quandary. Do I castrate the journalists first (assuming they still have balls, of course) or pursue the politicians?*
Ah, decisions, decisions!
* To all liberals who can't pull themselves away from reading this most erudite blog, the above references to castration were a joke -- kinda, sorta.
Here's the story (note how the lascivious lapdogs known as "journalists" refer to this mafioso): "The lanky former college basketball player and father of two speaks quickly, with remarkable energy in the face of daunting challenges."
Which got me to thinking: He wouldn't have so much energy if his testicles were removed, right?
If the despot had pulled out his shriveled dick, the media mavens would've pronounced it a thing of extraordinary proportion and striking in features (after they sucked him off, of course).
It may be about time for a revolution, but I'm in a bit of a quandary. Do I castrate the journalists first (assuming they still have balls, of course) or pursue the politicians?*
Ah, decisions, decisions!
* To all liberals who can't pull themselves away from reading this most erudite blog, the above references to castration were a joke -- kinda, sorta.
Sunday, April 19, 2009
The Collectivist Threat and Capitalist Promise
The following is a terrific piece from an Objectivist who spoke at the Chicago Tea Party on April 15 and who is a regular contributor on Fox News:
___________________________
The Collectivist Threat and Capitalist Promise
By Jonathan Hoenig
Delivered at Chicago's Tax Day Tea Party Protest , April 15, 2009
Federal Plaza, Chicago IL
What an honor to be with you today! I'm the finance guy here, so let me clue you in on some truly frightening numbers. The US Government has pledged, promised or spent an unfathomable amount of your money over the last year. The total amount, as calculated by Bloomberg, is over $12.8 trillion dollars, which amounts to $42,105 for every man, woman and child living in America today.
It is 14 times the total amount of currency in circulation and approaches the entire GDP for 2008. It's enough to pay off every home mortgage in the country and still have two trillion to spare. To put it in perspective, twelve trillion is the number twelve followed by twelve zeros. To those who solely blame President Obama, remember that it was the Bush administration that expanded the federal budget by $1 trillion, passed the disastrous Sarbanes Oxley regulation and the Medicare Prescription Drug Program. Bush added more than $4 trillion to the national debt, a 70% increase.
It was Bush's administration who got the entire bailout orgy started. You might recall him telling CNN that "I've abandoned free-market principles to save the free-market system". If that's not doublespeak, I don't know what is.
But today's protests, being held in over 500 cities nationwide, aren't simply about taxes, rather the philosophy behind those taxes.
It has been described as socialism, fascism or communism. In various contexts, all are true, but let's refine it. From loans to the automakers to the bailouts for the banks, the taxation, spending and control, the primary philosophy that's powering the country now is collectivism.
Collectivism holds that the individual has no rights. Your life and the product of your labor now belongs to the group. If the group wants a bailout, heath care, green cars, low mortgage rates, a job, an education - anything at all, it now becomes your responsibility to provide it, whether you want to or not. You see it in taxes that take money from people who've earned it and give it to those who have not. You see it in the language itself. Phrases like "we're all in it together", "I am my brother's keeper" and "shared sacrifice" all speak to the same idea: you are here to serve. And unlike charity of volunteerism, the "will of the people" is implemented by force, not by voluntary trade.
This is a profoundly un-American ideal. From the original Boston Tea Party came the Declaration of Independence which put forth the morality of individual rights. In this country, you are born free, not with a duty to serve the King but with a moral right to live your own life. "Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" refers to your life, your liberty and your happiness. You do not owe society a thing.
For socialists, collectivists, and others who support a high tax, high spending, government controlled economy, sacrifice is an absolute. You're expected to sacrifice for your neighbor, your government, for AIG or Citigroup, or deadbeat homeowners or poorly run municipalities, whomever the geniuses in Washington decide deserves your money.
This is wrong. The Founding Father's view of government was that its scope was limited and clearly defined.
Is the purpose of government to own and run a car company? An insurance firm? A bank? A mortgage company? Of course not. We've become one of the state-owned basket case European economies we used to make fun of in this country.
This country was the once land of "rugged individualism."
"Individualism" is a term you might hear a lot. Fundamentally, what it means is that the individual, not the group, is what is important and valuable. Individuals have rights, groups do not, because groups after all, are only collections of individuals.
You want to help a needy deserving homeowner? Fine. Write them a check. Charity is a perfectly legitimate thing -- but government doesn't own you, nor does your neighbor, the needy, the children or anybody else. In America, there are no masters, there are no slaves.
In recent decades, and certainly over the past year, we've moved away from rugged individualism and toward a collectivist society that forces everyone to sacrifice for the group.
In a political context, individual rights means free market capitalism. AIG never cost me a dime until Tim Geithner put my hard earned savings into it. The financial crisis can be directly traced not from capitalism, but from a collectivist, interventionist government. The Federal Reserve, Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae, the Community Reinvestment Act, Sarbanes-Oxley, not to mention the $12 trillion bailout and stimulus efforts are not mechanisms of the free market.
Tax Day Tea Party Protests are rallies against taxes, yes, but even more so against collectivism, that immoral notion your life, your energy, your wealth are Washington's property.
Look around at this incredible city. It wasn't a bailout that created the most prosperous country in the history of human civilization, but a society that limited the role of government and protected the individual rights of each citizen to live his own life.
A return to that philosophy is our only hope.
___
Jonathan Hoenig is managing member at Capitalistpig Hedge Fund LLC
___________________________
The Collectivist Threat and Capitalist Promise
By Jonathan Hoenig
Delivered at Chicago's Tax Day Tea Party Protest , April 15, 2009
Federal Plaza, Chicago IL
What an honor to be with you today! I'm the finance guy here, so let me clue you in on some truly frightening numbers. The US Government has pledged, promised or spent an unfathomable amount of your money over the last year. The total amount, as calculated by Bloomberg, is over $12.8 trillion dollars, which amounts to $42,105 for every man, woman and child living in America today.
It is 14 times the total amount of currency in circulation and approaches the entire GDP for 2008. It's enough to pay off every home mortgage in the country and still have two trillion to spare. To put it in perspective, twelve trillion is the number twelve followed by twelve zeros. To those who solely blame President Obama, remember that it was the Bush administration that expanded the federal budget by $1 trillion, passed the disastrous Sarbanes Oxley regulation and the Medicare Prescription Drug Program. Bush added more than $4 trillion to the national debt, a 70% increase.
It was Bush's administration who got the entire bailout orgy started. You might recall him telling CNN that "I've abandoned free-market principles to save the free-market system". If that's not doublespeak, I don't know what is.
But today's protests, being held in over 500 cities nationwide, aren't simply about taxes, rather the philosophy behind those taxes.
It has been described as socialism, fascism or communism. In various contexts, all are true, but let's refine it. From loans to the automakers to the bailouts for the banks, the taxation, spending and control, the primary philosophy that's powering the country now is collectivism.
Collectivism holds that the individual has no rights. Your life and the product of your labor now belongs to the group. If the group wants a bailout, heath care, green cars, low mortgage rates, a job, an education - anything at all, it now becomes your responsibility to provide it, whether you want to or not. You see it in taxes that take money from people who've earned it and give it to those who have not. You see it in the language itself. Phrases like "we're all in it together", "I am my brother's keeper" and "shared sacrifice" all speak to the same idea: you are here to serve. And unlike charity of volunteerism, the "will of the people" is implemented by force, not by voluntary trade.
This is a profoundly un-American ideal. From the original Boston Tea Party came the Declaration of Independence which put forth the morality of individual rights. In this country, you are born free, not with a duty to serve the King but with a moral right to live your own life. "Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" refers to your life, your liberty and your happiness. You do not owe society a thing.
For socialists, collectivists, and others who support a high tax, high spending, government controlled economy, sacrifice is an absolute. You're expected to sacrifice for your neighbor, your government, for AIG or Citigroup, or deadbeat homeowners or poorly run municipalities, whomever the geniuses in Washington decide deserves your money.
This is wrong. The Founding Father's view of government was that its scope was limited and clearly defined.
Is the purpose of government to own and run a car company? An insurance firm? A bank? A mortgage company? Of course not. We've become one of the state-owned basket case European economies we used to make fun of in this country.
This country was the once land of "rugged individualism."
"Individualism" is a term you might hear a lot. Fundamentally, what it means is that the individual, not the group, is what is important and valuable. Individuals have rights, groups do not, because groups after all, are only collections of individuals.
You want to help a needy deserving homeowner? Fine. Write them a check. Charity is a perfectly legitimate thing -- but government doesn't own you, nor does your neighbor, the needy, the children or anybody else. In America, there are no masters, there are no slaves.
In recent decades, and certainly over the past year, we've moved away from rugged individualism and toward a collectivist society that forces everyone to sacrifice for the group.
In a political context, individual rights means free market capitalism. AIG never cost me a dime until Tim Geithner put my hard earned savings into it. The financial crisis can be directly traced not from capitalism, but from a collectivist, interventionist government. The Federal Reserve, Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae, the Community Reinvestment Act, Sarbanes-Oxley, not to mention the $12 trillion bailout and stimulus efforts are not mechanisms of the free market.
Tax Day Tea Party Protests are rallies against taxes, yes, but even more so against collectivism, that immoral notion your life, your energy, your wealth are Washington's property.
Look around at this incredible city. It wasn't a bailout that created the most prosperous country in the history of human civilization, but a society that limited the role of government and protected the individual rights of each citizen to live his own life.
A return to that philosophy is our only hope.
___
Jonathan Hoenig is managing member at Capitalistpig Hedge Fund LLC
Tea parties and brain enemas
If you've been watching TB (Lefties call it TV) coverage or reading rusepaper coverage of the Tea Parties, you've no doubt noticed how the Lefties pretend with dour countenance how the whole rebellion is Fox News ordained, and that we free-thinkers, by implication, don't have a revolutionary, independent-minded bone in our body and must be led by the nose into freedom rallies because, gosh darnit, stupid does what stupid says -- then you need a brain enema to cleanse yourself of Lotus-Lefty's offal.
Brain-enema preparation:
Grab a Lefty by his scrawny, pencil-dicked neck, turn him upside down (so that his ubiquitous frown becomes a smile) and, while he's screaming LIKE A LITTLE GIRL and kicking his feet LIKE A LITTLE GIRL, piss in his nostrils while making him recite the Declaration of Independence. (This is not officially the real preparation for a brain enema, strictly speaking, but it has the added benefit of making you smile, which can't be bad.)
Now, get a nice bottle of red, a cozy partner, a tube of KY (optional), a great movie (main character's got to have ATTITUDE), a photo of Nancy Pelosi and Obama Dead Eyes and Keith Oberman and Tom Brokaw, and then start the fun.
First off, grab the optional Lefty (I hope you didn't pass this up!), drag his scrawny ass outside and tie him to a tree upside down. Lube his mouth with copious (Get your mind out of the gutter! I didn't say "copulation") amounts of KY and stuff the photos of the four aforementioned rats into his mouth. Remind him that proper digestion requires at least 32 chews. We wouldn't want him to get heartburn. ... Silly me, Lefties don't have hearts. Ugh!
Then, grab your partner and take his/her fine ass over to the soft couch, open up the red, hit the start button -- and let the brain come awash in the sweet bliss of Lefty-free life.
(When making delicious coffee the following morning, don't forget to call animal control to pick up the piss-drenched rat by the tree in the morning.)
I love brain enemas.
Brain-enema preparation:
Grab a Lefty by his scrawny, pencil-dicked neck, turn him upside down (so that his ubiquitous frown becomes a smile) and, while he's screaming LIKE A LITTLE GIRL and kicking his feet LIKE A LITTLE GIRL, piss in his nostrils while making him recite the Declaration of Independence. (This is not officially the real preparation for a brain enema, strictly speaking, but it has the added benefit of making you smile, which can't be bad.)
Now, get a nice bottle of red, a cozy partner, a tube of KY (optional), a great movie (main character's got to have ATTITUDE), a photo of Nancy Pelosi and Obama Dead Eyes and Keith Oberman and Tom Brokaw, and then start the fun.
First off, grab the optional Lefty (I hope you didn't pass this up!), drag his scrawny ass outside and tie him to a tree upside down. Lube his mouth with copious (Get your mind out of the gutter! I didn't say "copulation") amounts of KY and stuff the photos of the four aforementioned rats into his mouth. Remind him that proper digestion requires at least 32 chews. We wouldn't want him to get heartburn. ... Silly me, Lefties don't have hearts. Ugh!
Then, grab your partner and take his/her fine ass over to the soft couch, open up the red, hit the start button -- and let the brain come awash in the sweet bliss of Lefty-free life.
(When making delicious coffee the following morning, don't forget to call animal control to pick up the piss-drenched rat by the tree in the morning.)
I love brain enemas.
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