Category Archives: Links

Mainly just a link or links with minimal comment.

Quote of the Day -Ayn Rand on Extremism

I am still reading Ayn Rand’s “Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal,” this time her essay on the art of the smear.  Once again I am struck at how situations she pointed out nearly 50 years ago are still present in our society today.  I am unsure whether this is hopeful,  if the same things are still being done then maybe we haven’t gone as far down this road as I might fear, or not.

This particular quote is referring to an interview given by New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller read more

Podcast Roundup for September 9th

There are a number of great podcasts that come out weekly that I get a lot of value out of.  Here are the links for the broadcasts from the past week.

Yaron Brook on Leonard Peikoff’s Podcast:

  • Does Israel have a right to exist?
  • The United Nations
  • Should you ever compromise principles for “the greater good”?
  • NSA
  • A person’s right to his body after death

Philosophy in Action with Dr. Diana Hsieh

  • The Value of a central
read more

Quote of the Day – End of Government Monopoly

I am taking a break from reading Ayn Rand’s “Captialism: The Unknown Ideal” and have started in on “The Myth of the Robber Barons” by Burt Folsom.  I have not read a great deal as yet, just the first couple of chapters, but it is fascinating reading.  The author gives a pretty complete picture of the big businessmen read more

A Perfect Example of Leftist Philosophy

I came across this little tidbit following a link from a Reason.com article about the absence of high profile Hollywood anti-war celebrities speaking out against President Obama’s proposed strikes against Syria.

I came across this quote and had to go back and reread it.  To me it perfectly sums up the leftist philosophy of altruism, or self-sacrifice.  Actor Ed Asner is quoted in the Hollywood Reporter as saying, in regards to President Obama:

I voted for him, but I’m not proud. He read more

Quote of the Day – Tariffs Do Not Help Domestic Industry

As I write this, I have actually finished reading “The Myth of the Robber Barons” but I have a lot of quotes built up that I think deserve to be shared.

When I read this quote, I could not help but think of the recent tariffs imposed on Chinese made solar panels.  This was done supposedly to help protect domestic solar panel producers against “dumping” done by Chinese companies that receive a large amount of support from their government.

First the quote:

One of the traditional read more

Yaron Brook on What True Selfishness Is

I wish this video had come out, or that I had seen it, a few days ago.  I wrote a somewhat lengthy post on the difference between Objectivism and “raw greed.”  In this video Yaron Brook explains essentially the same thing, selfish as opposed to self-destructive, but in much more detail, and likely making much more sense.

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Quote of the Day – Ayn Rand on “Public Interest”

In her essay “The Pull Peddlers” which is part of “Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal,” Ayn Rand discusses the phenomena of lobbying.  This is a very interesting essay and as applicable today as when it was written more than 50 years ago.

The first quote I want to share is her definition of lobbying:

“Lobbying” is the activity of attempting to influence legislation by privately influencing the legislators.  It is the result and creation of a mixed economy–of read more

Yaron Brook on Leonard Peikoff’s Podcast – Foreign Policy

I really enjoy listening to Leonard Peikoff’s podcasts,  both when Dr Peikoff covers philosophy and morality and when Dr Brook covers polics, economics, and foreign polocy.

This week Yaron Brook answers more questions on foreign policy on episode 285 of Leonard Peikoff’s podcast. Topics include:

Why does the United States not allow India to do what is necessary to protect itself from terrorists who gain support from Pakistan?
Muslims in the US and UK
Guantanamo Bay

At the end he recommended read more

Yaron Brook’s Presentation at the 2013 Steamboat Institute Freedom Conference

This is one of the best presentations I have watched from Yaron Brook.  As he himself described it on Twitter, he was on fire.

One great quote from the presentation:

Do you know the problem with the $80 billion sequester?  It was missing a 0.

http://www.youtube.com/v/tuLQjhDZNLc?autoplay=0