Today, to celebrate the 40th anniversary of man’s landing on the Moon, I read Ayn Rand on “Apollo 11” (The Objectivist, September 1969). Here are some excerpts: The meaning of the sight [the launch] lay in the fact that when those dark-red wings of fire flared open, one knew that one was not looking at […]
Though they are decades old, the writings of Ayn Rand are still the one indispensable source for understanding today’s news. I have been re-reading The Virtue of Selfishness, a collection of essays (most of them by Ayn Rand), originally published in The Objectivist Newsletter in the early 1960s, on ethics. This passage is from “The […]
[This may be my last post for a while. I am taking a break from blogging in order to focus on another project.] In his news conference with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Monday, President Obama essentially endorsed the policy of Mutual Assured Destruction for America’s ongoing relations with Russia. My google search indicates that […]
The recent rooftop chanting of Iranian protestors reminded me of Estonia’s fight for freedom from the Soviet Union; the revolution was depicted in this wonderful and very moving documentary film, The Singing Revolution. The Estonians’ fight against the Soviets took the form of civil disobedience through singing. The Estonians were lucky: the Soviet Union was […]
It has been more than a month since my paper, “Past Longevity as Evidence for the Future,” appeared in Philosophy of Science. (Update, 6/29/2011: Read about my revised and expanded paper, now available online.) The most important parts of the paper present my own positive ideas on an objective means for using knowledge of the […]
Explain this contradiction. When he discusses Osama bin Laden and Al Qaeda, Obama talks about killing or capturing them. But when he discusses Ahmadinejad, Khamenei, and the Iranian government, Obama talks about “diplomacy” and “a good-faith effort to resolve differences,” and “a new beginning.” Even in this past Tuesday’s press conference, when he finally condemned […]
Yesterday, while thousands of Iranians were protesting, and some were being killed by Iran’s ruling tyranny, Obama was interviewed by Harry Smith of CBS News. Here is an excerpt: Smith: People in this country say you haven’t said enough, that you haven’t been forceful enough in your support for those people on the street — […]
President Obama spoke in Chicago Monday morning at the Annual Conference of the American Medical Association about his plan for health care in America. The first part of Obama’s speech was a fairly accurate litany of current problems: more than $2 trillion a year (which is roughly $7,000 per person) is spent by Americans on […]
The current rioting in Iran over Iran’s sham presidential election (in which all candidates were approved by the religious Guardian Council, ultimately selected by the religious Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei) provides a good window of opportunity for a military strike by the U.S. and Israel against Iran. Of course, this won’t happen. If any of […]
My friend Scott Soodek wrote this to me recently: I attended both of my daughter’s graduations this week. One got her Masters in Literacy from Hunter College (CUNY) and the other a BFA in Interior Design from Pratt Institute. The tone and content of the message from the speakers at each graduation was so contrasting, […]