Comments on Stonekettle Station: NPR, Ayn Rand, And The Zombies From Outer Space

To Mike B: I used to teach logic and critical thin...

2012-02-21T19:00:32.608-09:00

To Mike B: I used to teach logic and critical thinking. One of the texts we used was Rand's book on the virtue's of capitalism. The task was to identify at least one logical error or fallacy on any random page of the book! It was incredibly easy. There were always several at least. She clearly couldn't grasp even the simplest axioms of formal logic if they got in the way of her demented and plain crazy beliefs.

Of Richard Halley's symphony: 'Only a fai...

2012-02-04T07:36:32.005-09:00

Of Richard Halley's symphony:

'Only a faint echo within the sounds spoke of that from which the music had escaped, but spoke in laughing astonishment at the discovery that there was no ugliness or pain , and there never had had to be.'

I like that too. (My italics.)

No mysticism, no force, isn't that what Rand c...

2012-01-28T01:23:17.007-09:00

No mysticism, no force, isn't that what Rand comes down to? I like that.

Predictable to the bitter end I see.

2012-01-25T06:07:59.674-09:00

Predictable to the bitter end I see.

As Pangolin said, I think I've described he...

2012-01-24T23:28:42.901-09:00
As Pangolin said, I think I've described her so-called philosophy pretty accurately. And

And keep telling yourself that sweety. She's been dead for almost thirty years now and she's still kicking your sorry backsides

Not one person - not one - who sneers at Ayn R...

2012-01-24T06:20:09.613-09:00
Not one person - not one - who sneers at Ayn Rand has the guts to actually describe her philosophy accurately.

Says the drive-by anonymous commenter anonymously.

As Pangolin said, I think I've described her so-called philosophy pretty accurately. And every miserable anonymous zombie who comments here only manages to confirm that I'm right.

Oooh, can I answer this anon? I believe i found th...

2012-01-23T23:53:50.762-09:00
Oooh, can I answer this anon? I believe i found the accurate description of Ayn Rand's philosophy upthread posted by another anon.

More than 'I got mine, fuck you,' she wasn't shy about taking what was yours (like husbands) if she wanted them, either.....

If that isn't Objectivism in a nutshell nothing is.

v-word: croodwar, AI is sick of this shit

You know what is amusing about this? Not one pers...

2012-01-23T23:47:12.772-09:00
You know what is amusing about this? Not one person - not one - who sneers at Ayn Rand has the guts to actually describe her philosophy accurately.

The louder you shriek and the worse your insults, the more you confirm that you have no arguments against her. That little worm gnawing at the back of your brain you mentioned? That's the knowledge that she's right.

Another anonymous commenter who uses "statist...

2012-01-14T18:40:08.094-09:00
Another anonymous commenter who uses "statist" as an insult. Wonderful. You know what we need around here? Some anarchy. Yeah.

No wonder I own plenty of firearms.

Why? Because you actually think that I would come to take your stuff? Don't flatter yourself.

And you're not the only one who owns firearms. And after twenty years in the military I damned well know how to use them. Fortunately, it doesn't take firearms to fend off folks like you, anonymous. Now, go away and live in your little fantasy land.

Thank goodness Ayn Rand was able to offer her work...

2012-01-14T18:32:42.723-09:00
Thank goodness Ayn Rand was able to offer her work to a receptive and appreciative public. I looked in vain for a single comment that used logic as a basis for contradiction. Nothing. Rand gave me a rash? No wonder I own plenty of firearms. This is a wonderful blog if one is looking for collectivist and statist springboards, seasoned with a hefty dose of immaturity.

To be fair, in Kim Stanley Robinson’s works it di...

2012-01-04T13:10:48.888-09:00
To be fair, in Kim Stanley Robinson’s works it didn't actually all go without conflict. Quite the contrary, he describes a system in precarious balance, which is destined to be overtaken by corporatist zealots at the end of the trilogy and pretty hard fought to begin with.

Yes, because those are the only two options, Ayn R...

2012-01-02T18:35:41.673-09:00
Yes, because those are the only two options, Ayn Rand or Socialism!

Nice Fallacy of the False Dichotomy there, Robby.

Ok then all (or most of) you lot above, you love t...

2012-01-02T12:58:41.508-09:00
Ok then all (or most of) you lot above, you love the government so much, you carry on doing what they tell you. (I used to be a socialist, till I got a job in a government dept - that cured me.)

I enjoyed this essay so much. I haven't laughe...

2011-12-28T07:34:06.880-09:00
I enjoyed this essay so much. I haven't laughed so hard in weeks. Awesome writing.
That said, I love Atlas Shrugged. It is such an interesting book and makes me think about a lot of things whenever I read it. I read it again just this past year.
I don't like Rand personally, she was a paranoid hypocrite with major delusions of granduer and her "philosophy" has major holes in it and is certainly not a workable system nor one I would want to live under. But I can separate the book from the author and all of that baggage, and as it stands on it's own, it was and is a very interesting piece of literature.
Again, great essay, very enjoyable to read.

I enjoyed this essay so much. I haven't laughe...

2011-12-28T07:32:51.195-09:00
I enjoyed this essay so much. I haven't laughed so hard in weeks. Awesome writing.
That said, I love Atlas Shrugged. It is such an interesting book and makes me think about a lot of things whenever I read it. I read it again just this past year.
I don't like Rand personally, she was a paranoid hypocrite with major delusions of granduer and her "philosophy" has major holes in it and is certainly not a workable system nor one I would want to live under. But I can separate the book from the author and all of that baggage, and as it stands on it's own, it was and is a very interesting piece of literature.
Again, great essay, very enjoyable to read.

I enjoy reading Atlas Shrugged. I read it again t...

2011-12-28T07:28:18.360-09:00
I enjoy reading Atlas Shrugged. I read it again this past year. Because it is an awesome work of fiction that makes me think. That said, I also agree and understand that Ayn Rand was a paranoid hypocrite and her "philosophysical theory" has a lot of holes and it is not a system I would want to live under.
I found this essay very enjoyable to read, I haven't laughed so hard for days.

Just stumbled on this via Butterflies and Wheel...

2011-12-25T14:07:24.262-09:00
Just stumbled on this via Butterflies and Wheels. Brillant, bettered only by Andrew Corsello's takedown in GQ a while back:

http://www.gq.com/entertainment/books/200911/ayn-rand-dick-books-fountainhead?currentPage=1

"goddamn, the experience of being 19 years old and reading Ayn Rand! The crystal-shivering-at-the-breaking-pitch intensity of it! Not just for that 19-year-old, but for everybody unfortunate enough to be caught in his psychic blast radius. Is "experience" even the right word for The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged? Ayn Rand's idolization of Mickey Spillane and cigarettes and capitalism—an experience? Her tentacular contempt for Shakespeare and Beethoven and Karl Marx and facial hair and government and "subnormal" children and the poor and the Baby Jesus and the U.N. and homosexuals and "simpering" social workers and French Impressionism and a thousand other things the flesh is heir to: experience?

Does a 19-year-old "experience" the likes of "She looked at the lone straight shaft of the Taggart Building rising in the distance—and…understood: these people hated Jim because they envied him"? (The lone straight shaft—get it?) Please. Ayn Rand is an imbuing. A transfiguring, even."

And gets better from there. No, really.

Well, if you're talking about those who are in...

2011-12-22T07:21:58.933-09:00
Well, if you're talking about those who are in government this five minutes, then you overlooked Eric Cantor.

Greenspan is no longer in government. If he was, I...

2011-12-21T18:29:52.201-09:00
Greenspan is no longer in government. If he was, I would have phrased the sentence differently.

"Now here’s the really ironic part, Rand’s bi...

2011-12-21T13:54:52.416-09:00
"Now here’s the really ironic part, Rand’s biggest fans in government are, without exception, full frontal whole hog Jesus freaks."

Who knew that Alan Greenspan (a charter member of Rand's inner circle) had converted to Christianity?

Think you went a tad overboard on that one.

Nathan, in my defense: 1) I forgot I was holding...

2011-12-17T10:09:14.356-09:00
Nathan, in my defense:

1) I forgot I was holding the escargot tongs when I attempted to pinch that waitress.

2) I never wear the bib on formal occasions upon which I'm attempting to show off my beautiful, beautiful nipples. And, contra to whatever you might have said, the face I drew on my chest and stomach, using my glorious man-nipples for eyes, looked exactly like Richard Milhous Nixon... if Richard Milhous Nixon had drunkenly drawn a crude face on his own chest and belly with his glorious man-nipples using nothing more than a broken hand-mirror and a half-tube of Constantly Cabernet he'd found dropped in a gutter outside a sleazy dive in the warehouse district. You simply have no appreciation for the finer things in this world.

I at least thank you for not mentioning what happened to the salad bar (in my defense, there was a line in the back of the restaurant). Also, "Nixon" says, "Hi."

Shouting. That helps. Thanks. Is there blood comi...

2011-12-17T08:43:57.624-09:00
Shouting. That helps. Thanks.

Is there blood coming out of my eye? It feels like there's blood coming out of my eye.

FUCK YOU AND THE HEADACHE YOU RODE IN ON! FRIENDS...

2011-12-17T08:05:34.728-09:00
FUCK YOU AND THE HEADACHE YOU RODE IN ON!

FRIENDSOFDIETRESEARCHER WAS HERE!

(It's got more crazyliciousness in all caps, dontcha think?)

Goddamnit, Nathan. I've got a splitting headac...

2011-12-17T08:01:46.032-09:00
Goddamnit, Nathan. I've got a splitting headache this morning and you're making me laugh. And every time I laugh sparks and pain shaped like those comic sans symbols for swear words shoot out of my ears. For the love of God, please stop, you're killing me.

FriendsOfDietResearcher say BRING BACK THE WAC...

2011-12-17T07:56:54.578-09:00
FriendsOfDietResearcher say BRING BACK THE WACK!

How the hell did I miss this? I want more and I DON'T approve of you putting an end to it. Granted, I didn't actually read much (OK, any) of what DietResearcher had to say, but in solidarity with DietResearcher, I'm gonna opine on it anyway! (Take that, MOFO's who disagree with me!) How dare you try to tell me I have to have any information to form an opinion!

And since I'm an equal opportunity arguer-guy, I've got this to say to DietResearcher...you don't know the half of Eric's mental defect. I had dinner with the guy recently and I swear, his table etiquette was atrocious. At one point, he used his escargot tongs to pinch the waitress as she passed by. And I don't want to add to any of the images that are already floating through the aether, but let's just say...his plastic bib was nowhere in evidence. EWWWWWWWWWW.

Anyway Jim, I'm starting up FriendsOfDietResearcher in an effort to bring him back! I won't be silenced until his return is secured!

DON'T TEST ME!

Comments on Stonekettle Station: NPR, Ayn Rand, And The Zombies From Outer Space

To Mike B: I used to teach logic and critical thin...

Of Richard Halley's symphony: 'Only a fai...

No mysticism, no force, isn't that what Rand c...

Predictable to the bitter end I see.

As Pangolin said, I think I've described he...

Not one person - not one - who sneers at Ayn R...

Oooh, can I answer this anon? I believe i found th...

You know what is amusing about this? Not one pers...

Another anonymous commenter who uses "statist...

Thank goodness Ayn Rand was able to offer her work...

To be fair, in Kim Stanley Robinson’s works it di...

Yes, because those are the only two options, Ayn R...

Ok then all (or most of) you lot above, you love t...

I enjoyed this essay so much. I haven't laughe...

I enjoyed this essay so much. I haven't laughe...

I enjoy reading Atlas Shrugged. I read it again t...

Just stumbled on this via Butterflies and Wheel...

Well, if you're talking about those who are in...

Greenspan is no longer in government. If he was, I...

"Now here’s the really ironic part, Rand’s bi...

Nathan, in my defense: 1) I forgot I was holding...

Shouting. That helps. Thanks. Is there blood comi...

FUCK YOU AND THE HEADACHE YOU RODE IN ON! FRIENDS...

Goddamnit, Nathan. I've got a splitting headac...

FriendsOfDietResearcher say BRING BACK THE WAC...