Free Republic

Excerpts from a letter of Ayn Rand to Leonard Read, the founder of the Foundation for Economic Education, February 28, 1946 -- "The Free Market", 2001 No. 1You imply that the cause of the world’s troubles lies solely in the people’s ignorance of economics and that the way to cure the world is to teach it the proper economic knowledge. This is not true – therefore your program will not work. You cannot hope to effect a cure by starting with a wrong diagnosis. The root of the whole modern disaster is philosophical and moral. People are not embracing collectivism...

Senators to Unveil the ‘Ex-Patriot Act’ to Respond to Facebook’s Saverin’s Tax ‘Scheme’ Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., has a status update for Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin: Stop attempting to dodge your taxes by renouncing your U.S. citizenship or never come to back to the U.S. again. In September 2011, Saverin relinquished his U.S. citizenship before the company announced its planned initial public offering of stock, which will debut this week. The move was likely a financial one, as he owns an estimated 4 percent of Facebook and stands to make $4 billion when the company goes public. Saverin would reap...

Yesterday, Ryan claimed that Ayn Rand's philosophy "reduces human interactions down to mere contracts and it is antithetical to my worldview." But in 2005, Ryan said, "The reason I got involved in public service, by and large, if I had to credit one thinker, one person, it would be Ayn Rand," and in 2003, he claimed that he gave out copies of Atlas Shrugged as Christmas presents. And those two examples are really only the tip of the Rand-love iceberg. Is this how you impress Mitt Romney? By proving that you can flip-flop as egregiously as

An embryo has no rights. Rights do not pertain to a potential, only to an actual being. A child cannot acquire any rights until it is born. The living take precedence over the not-yet-living (or the unborn). Abortion is a moral right—which should be left to the sole discretion of the woman involved; morally, nothing other than her wish in the matter is to be considered. Who can conceivably have the right to dictate to her what disposition she is to make of the functions of her own body?

Atlas Shrugged Part 2 Fully Cast with Shooting to Begin Today (Beverly Hills, CA) - April 2nd, 2012 - Either-Or Productions announced today that the film adaptation of Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged, Part 2, “Either Or” has been fully cast and principal photography has begun. Based on Ayn Rand’s (Feb. 2 1905 - Mar. 6 1982) 1957 novel, ATLAS SHRUGGED PART II: EITHER OR is set in a near future dystopian United States with a global economy on the brink of collapse and brilliant creators, from artists to industrialists, mysteriously disappearing at the hands of the unknown. Starring in the...

I just finished watching the DVD of "Atlas Shrugged - Part 1". I was prepared to dislike the film but was pleasantly surprised that the producers chose to portray the book relatively accurately. They made some upgrades, such as placing the story in late 2016 versus the mid-50s when the book was actually written. Aside from contemporary items like diesel trains, cell phones and modern automobiles, though, the film held up. I was very surprised that the producers chose to portray the rot, decay and corruption of our present-day society as accurately as they did. The actor portraying politician Wesley...

Yaron Brook was with us again for another exploration into why the individual is supreme, and why we need thousands of people to constantly communicate the message that collectivism is always a path to authoritarianism and impoverishment. Ideas have the power to reshape generations. This is why the current debate of individual rights and the proper role of the state is essential to everyone's future. Key to the debate is the understanding that the concept of the individual being free to pursue his own personal happiness and fulfillment will result in the economic elevation of the entire society. The elimination...

I ask this because since I saw the documentary Ayn Rand & the Prophecy of Atlas Shrugged I can't stop envisioning John Galt whistle Maggie's Farm as he leaves the Twentieth Century Motor Company. In the documentary the following passage is read aloud: Dr Ferris to Hank Rearden in Atlas Shrugged Chapter III White Blackmail "The only power any government has is the power to crack down on criminals. Well, when there aren't enough criminals, one makes them. One declares so many things to be a crime that it becomes impossible for men to live without breaking laws. Who wants...

In the summer of 1921, a young Ayn Rand saw Moscow for the first time. “I remember standing on a square,” she would later recall. “And it suddenly struck me. . . . ‘How enormous it is, and how many people, and it’s just one city’ . . . . I suddenly had the concrete sense of how many large cities there were in the world—and I had to address all of them. All of those numbers had to hear of me, and of what I was going to say. And the feeling was marvelously solemn.” Today, on the 107th...

Dr. Yaron Brook has led the Ayn Rand Institute for the past 11 years. He believes the most important debate of out time is not economic but philosophic: you are not your brother's keeper. Rather, your primary purpose is to the live the best life that you possibly can. This means being your own master and living on YOUR terms. You will be the most successful when you are the freest to pursue your goals and dreams. Unfortunately, this important debate is all but ignored during most political campaigns. Until we address this threshold issue, not much human progress will...

Ayn Rand and the Prophecy of Atlas Shrugged is a feature length documentary film that examines the resurging interest in Ayn Rand's epic and controversial 1957 novel and the validity of its dire prediction for America. Set in what Novelist and philosopher Rand called 'the day after tomorrow,' Atlas depicts an America in crisis, brought to her knees by a corrupt establishment of government regulators and businessmen with political pull. Despite critical scorn and continued derision from intellectuals on all sides of the ideological spectrum Atlas has remained a popular favorite and today sells more copies than it ever did....

I have grown cynical of party politics in mature democracies, including the most exciting democracy of all, the United States. In the middle of a spectrum exclusively defined by Republicans and Democrats, personality and style must be favored over platforms that few candidates are ever able to implement. So many people are bored by politics in the U.S. that half of the voters don’t bother to vote. This is not necessarily a bad thing. If politics does not affect the daily life of citizens, to the extent that most can choose to ignore it, then some wisdom has been found...

  Ayn Rand's HUAC TestimonySunday, October 19, 1947 By: Ayn Rand A Transcript of her Full Testimony [The following is the full and unedited transcript of Ayn Rand's testimony before the House Un-American Activities Committee on October 20, 1947, as reported in the official Government Printing Office record ("Hearings Regarding Communist Infiltration of the Motion Picture Industry"). The Committee's chairman was J. Parnell Thomas, and Robert Stripling was Chief Investigator.] The Chairman: Raise your right hand, please, Miss Rand. Do you solemnly swear the testimony you are about to give is the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the...

Former Speaker of the House is facing questions over whether he broke the law by announcing on Wednesday that he would appoint former United Nations Ambassador John Bolton as his Secretary of State if elected. Gingrich made his remarks at the Republican Jewish Coalition's Candidates Forum, saying he would first get Bolton to agree to change the State Department's culture of "appeasement." But Taegan Goddard at Political Wire notes that Gingrich may have run afoul of federal law barring a candidate from promising a political appointment for the purposes of personal political gain. Here's Title 18, Part I, Chapter 29,...

(Santa Monica), November 11, 2011 - Atlas Productions LLC announced today its plan to replace more than 100,000 title sheets appearing on the Atlas Shrugged Part 1 DVD and Blu-ray versions sold through major retail outlets. These retail versions were packaged with an inaccurate synopsis of Atlas Shrugged. Not affected were the “Special Edition” versions sold online at AtlasShruggedMovie.com. The 1957 novel, Atlas Shrugged, is known in philosophical and political circles for presenting a cogent argument advocating a society driven by rational self-interest. On the back of the film's retail DVD and Blu-ray however, the movie’s synopsis contradictorily states “AYN...

BT&T Bank Chairman John Allison will be on Freedom Watch with Judge Andrew Napolitano at 11pm Eastern.

Is the Tea Party on a mission from God? Or are its principles applicable to the religious and the non-religious alike?

TONIGHT -- Graham Beckel, who plays Ellis Wyatt in ATLAS SHRUGGED, will be on FREEDOM WATCH on FBN at 11pm Eastern http://www.foxbusiness.com/watch/show-schedule/index.html

Are you? DVD: http://www.atlasshruggedpart1.com/merchandise

The first venue for Atlas Shrugged in Canada has just been confirmed: Atlas will be showing at the AMC at Younge and Dundas in Toronto for October 28th. Showtimes have not yet been announced but, of course we'll make sure to post links for advanced ticket purchasing as soon as they become available. If you're in Canada and you're hoping Atlas visits your city, be sure to head on over to the Official Atlas Shrugged Movie web site and "Demand Atlas!"

The Coming Collapse: “We Can Buy Time, But We Can’t Change the Outcome” By Aaron Task | Daily Ticker – Fri, Sep 16, 2011 1:23 PM EDT The Ayn Rand Institute held its annual "Atlas Shrugged Revolution" dinner Thursday night in New York City. In attendance were a number of financial luminaries and hedge fund managers, including Peter Schiff of EuroPacific Capital, John Tamny of RealClearMarkets, Dmitry Balyasny of Balyasny Asset Management and Scott Schweighauser of Aurora Investment Management. The setting was the tony St. Regis Hotel on Fifth Avenue but there was nothing pleasant about the primary message coming...

“Take a look at this black belt I’m wearing people. You think anyone wants a roundhouse kick to the face while I'm wearin’ this bad boy?” It’s time for unemployed Americans to embrace capitalistic martial arts. It’s time to talk like Rex from Napoleon Dynamite. It’s time to give socialism a roundhouse kick to the face. If you aren’t already one of 14 million unemployed Americans, you’re probably concerned about joining them. The U.S. economy netted no new jobs in August. Zip. Zero. Zilch. Consequently, the number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits in the first full week of September...

A series of films about how humans have been colonized by the machines they have built. Although we don’t realize it, the way we see everything in the world today is through the eyes of the computers. It claims that computers have failed to liberate us and instead have distorted and simplified our view of the world around us. 1. Love and Power. This is the story of the dream that rose up in the 1990s that computers could create a new kind of stable world. They would bring about a new kind global capitalism free of all risk and...

It's the twilight, he thought. I hate the twilight...He glanced back. The white rectangle stood above the roofs, saying in immovable finality: September 2. Oh: Atlas Shrugged on DVD Nov. 19. Liberals hate it. That's all you need know.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wpzDdTrw5II Ayn Rand's response when asked about the topic of a female president.

While riding my motorcycle near Lake Winnipesaukee in Meredith, New Hampshire the other day, I passed an arcade center named Funspot. It is a very large enclosed building with arcade games, bowling, mini-golf and other games. The electronic sign out front advertised the games, upcoming events, etc. The following message flashed for a brief time: ATLAS HAS SHRUGGED immediately followed by: WHO IS JOHN GALT?? A web search indicated it has been doing that occasionally for quite some time, but it's the first time I've seen it. Note: The link is for the Funspot web page only.

If it had been a scene in “Atlas Shrugged,” the guy would have disappeared into the secrecy of Colorado with a shadowy figure who we would later learn to be John Galt. In real life, the story will probably be more complex. But I wonder how long it’s going to be before businesspeople really do start walking away and deciding it’s not worth doing business in America today. Or it it already happening and we just don’t know it? The man you see in the picture at the right is named Ronnie Bryant. He operates coal mines in Alabama. I’d...

Love for Ayn Rand goes unrequited. Libertarians love her, but she rejected them as "emotional hippies of the right." Conservatives love her, but she opposed Ronald Reagan, saying, "His likeliest motive for entering the Presidential race is power lust." Right-leaning Christians love her, but she was an atheist, an abortion supporter and a champion of the anti-Christian ideal that selfishness is a virtue. She also called religion a "sign of a psychological weakness." Her fans -- including Republican Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, talk radio's Rush Limbaugh and Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas -- would be crushed to learn she...

A favorite game among comic book geeks is to imagine–and argue about–which contemporary actors would play which superheroes and villains. Now with his new book I Am John Galt Donald Luskin has brought the game to Ayn Rand’s two towering works of fiction: The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged. And it makes for a splendid read indeed. Capitalists, libertarians and of course Objectivists, all those who believe in liberty and the power of free markets can all rejoice. There is plenty here for those sorts of people to agree on and enjoy. Here is a book that reveals Ayn Rand’s philosophical...

For nearly a decade Democrats have sought a religious wedge issue that could separate big chunks of white evangelical voters from their Republican home. Now they've found it, and are thrusting at the Social Darwinist/Ayn Rand underbelly of American conservatism. First, a bit of recent history: Democrats have not gained much white evangelical support on healthcare and environmentalism. In 2008 they successfully used guilt over segregation to elect the first African-American president, but that may not work again as concern over Obamanomics trumps the ghosts of generations past. Second, some late 19th-century history: Following the 1859 publication of Charles Darwin's...

With New York the latest state to allow gay marriage and others likely to follow, this issue will continue to consume public attention. Most conservatives strongly oppose such unions. I want to ask my conservative friends to take a quick logical trip: Help me—and you—understand your perspective. Your Limits on Government Let’s start with your views concerning government. Most of you believe that government should not jail consenting adults for engaging, in the privacy of their homes, in homosexual acts of which you, personally, disapprove. Most of you would not have the government bar such individuals from living together. Most...

The American Values Network, a left-wing group, with considerable funding by George Soros, has launched a media blitz under the banner "Ayn Rand vs. Jesus Christ."  As an Institute founded by Ayn Rand's heir and devoted to advancing her philosophy, Objectivism, we would like to respond.  Since this is an issue Rand faced repeatedly in her lifetime, our response is basically to let her speak for herself.The AVN campaign is right in saying that Rand opposes accepting any ideas on faith -- i.e., in the absence of rational evidence.  Reason, based on sensory observation, is man's only means of...

Clubhouse confidential: The Tribe's Orlando Cabrera prepared for his second-ever start at third base Wednesday night by reading "Atlas Shrugged," by Ayn Rand. "This is my bible," Cabrera said. "It's over 1,000 pages long." Cabrera's copy of Rand's 1957 novel is worn. The spine of the book is taped over to help hold it together. Cabrera said he reads it every year. "The book is about objectivism. It's about many things," Cabrera said. "It's about how to be successful in life. It's about how to live life now while you're still alive." The novel tells the story of a strike...

B.P. Terpstra Another week. Another shocker. Yes all is revealed in Bishop Edward S. Little’s post on Christianity Today, about how one anti-Christian philosopher prepared him to hear the gospel. Her name: Ayn Rand. The Bishop explains: Ayn Rand changed my life. When I embraced her philosophy, Objectivism, the conversion was far more dramatic than my decision, several years later, to follow Jesus Christ—more dramatic, but in the end transitory. Yet Rand, the novelist, philosopher, and uncompromising atheist, inadvertently opened a door for the gospel. I don't believe dead people spin in their graves, but if they did and she...

Rand changed my life. When I embraced her philosophy, Objectivism, the conversion was far more dramatic than my decision, several years later, to follow Jesus Christ—more dramatic, but in the end transitory. Yet Rand, the novelist, philosopher, and uncompromising atheist, inadvertently opened a door for the gospel. I don't believe dead people spin in their graves, but if they did and she could read these words, I imagine Rand would be twirling violently. As many have noted, Rand's ethic of rational self-interest is incompatible with the gospel, and leads to social as well as spiritual disaster. "Most observers see Rand...

"If some men are entitled by right to the products of the work of others, it means that those others are deprived of rights and condemned to slave labor. Any alleged 'right' of one man, which necessitates the violation of the rights of another, is not and cannot be a right. No man can have a right to impose an unchosen obligation , an unrewarded duty or an involuntary servitude on another man. There can be no such thing as the 'right to enslave.' " Ayn Rand, The Virtue of Selfishness -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The above quote from Ayn Rand's masterpiece, The...

The U.S. economy is crumbling. Businesses are collapsing in record numbers. Jobs have disappeared. Tax revenues are down dramatically. Coincidence? Everything happening today under Obama resembles the storyline of Ayn Rand’s famous book, Atlas Shrugged, one of the most popular books of all time, selling over 7 million copies. Now, under President Obama, Atlas Shrugged has come to life. Rand prophesized a country dominated by socialists, Marxists and statists, where looters, free loaders and poverty promoters live off the productive class. To rationalize the fleecing of innovative business owners and job creators, the looter class demonized the wealthy, just as...

"In this corner from Russia...weighing in at 108 lbs, she is the founder of modern Libertarianism. She is the scourge of the Authoritarian Left, and the author of the timeless classics 'Atlas Shrugged' and 'Anthem'.... fighting out of the Red, White, and Blue corner, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN....I GIVE YOU AYN RAND!" "In this corner from Hawaii, er, uh, Indonesia...Kenya, maybe ? 'Hell, we'll just call it 'Parts Unknown'...He's a socialist, he makes every Conservative scream while he's in Chris Matthews' naughtiest dreams...HE IS THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES.....LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, LET'S GIVE A LOUD FOURTH REICH 'SIEG HEIL!' FOR...

A progressive religious organization, American Values Network, has a new ad out attacking conservative leaders like Rush Limbaugh and Paul Ryan by criticizing their appreciation for Ayn Rand’s philosophical views. ... And, of course, the group has tied to George Soros. Stu pointed out that they received at least $800,000 from Soros.org, his website for the Open Society Institute.

Over the past few years, Anton LaVey and his book The Satanic Bible has grown increasingly popular, selling thousands of new copies. His impact has been especially pronounced in our nation’s capital. One U.S. senator has publicly confessed to being a fan of the The Satanic Bible while another calls it his “foundation book.” On the other side of Congress, a representative speaks highly of LaVey and recommends that his staffers read the book. A leading radio host called LaVey “brilliant” and quotations from the The Satanic Bible can be glimpsed on placards at political rallies. More recently, a respected...

ATLAS SHRUGGED PART II in theaters fall 2012

Don Luskin and Andrew Greta have written a new book, "I Am John Galt: Today's Heroic Innovators Building the World and the Villainous Parasites Destroying It". Below is a quote from the inside flap. I am John Galt introduces you to the real-life titans who've lived their lives like Rand's fictional heroes and the malefactors who've lived like her fictional villains. Steve Jobs: he reinvented computers, movies, music, and telephones—just because it was cool Paul Krugman: he corrupted economics and cheapened public discourse for the sake of partisan politics John Allison: he built one of America's strongest banks—by having 30,000...

To be clear, Atlas Shrugged may not win any Academy Awards. But that is not the point. The tale behind bringing Ayn Rand’s 1957 novel to the big screen is almost as long as the book itself. Loathed or loved, public sentiment is anything but neutral for Atlas Shrugged. In this first of possibly three installments, the year is 2016 and the national economy continues to spiral downward. As a result, commercial aviation is a recent memory and all traffic, freight and passenger, must move by rail. (It is ironic that in this alternate reality all rail traffic is still...

It is a movie that Hollywood refused to produce and distribute. It is a movie that many pundits within the media have been advising people not to bother with. This movie is the film portrayal of Ayn Rand’s bestselling novel Atlas Shrugged. This film is the first of a three part story that revolves around three main characters representing three main bodies of ideas. Henry Rearden, who owns a major steel company, Dagny Taggart, a railroad executive who believes in Rearden’s product so much, that she decides to use it to build her mainline railroad, and Paul Wyatt, an innovative...

I had the opportunity to see Atlas Shrugged, Part I on Saturday in the only theater in which it is being shown in Tampa, FL. It is running at Cinebistro, a specialty theater where you can enjoy a high-end meal and fine wine served at your seat, which is very similar to a first class airline seat. Admittedly, it is just the kind of venue that progressives might associate with an elitist gathering of selfish capitalists. However, the movie itself tells quite a different story than they might expect if their understanding of Rand is limited to her interviews with...

In the beginning it was a dream. I would own a restaurant in East Hampton. It would be a warm, beautiful place with great food and wonderful service. advertisement It would become one of the most popular restaurants in the Hamptons. It would be a place my entire family— my kids, their spouses, my grandkids and our friends—would enjoy scrumptious feasts where we would all sit and just revel in our love for good food and each other. Like I said, it was a dream. But then, it happened. In 1993 I was part of a group that bought a...

The relative box-office success of the independent film "Atlas Shrugged," based on the bestselling Ayn Rand novel that features the character John Galt, has reportedly surprised Hollywood insiders who took a pass on the script. It shouldn't have. The box-office results show that cinematic clashes between self-made industrialists and government bureaucrats fit this moment in American history snugly, addressing both tea party sentiments and polls that show growing pessimism about the direction of the country. QUIZ: How much do you know about the tea party? "Atlas Shrugged: Part I" (Parts II and III are reportedly in the planning stages) cost...

Lately, there have been duelling stories in the entertainment press about the future of ”Atlas Shrugged.” With disappointing box office returns, the producers have been asked if they will go ahead and complete the franchise and in one interview we’re being told there will be no trilogy and in another we’re being told that there will. To clear the air, I reached out via email and “Atlas” producers John Aglialoro and Harmon Kaslow were both good enough to respond with exclusive quotes that should help to calm fears of “Atlas” fans everywhere. Most surprising, though, was the revelation CNN, CNBC,...

The critics are "revitalizing me with their outrageousness," John Aglialoro, who spent $10 million of his own money on the film, tells THR. The man who says he spent $10 million of his own money to bring Atlas Shrugged: Part 1 to the big screen vowed Wednesday to go through with his plans to make the next two installments, even though critics hate the movie and business at movie theaters has fallen off a cliff. In fact, said John Aglialoro, the co-producer and financier, it's the monolithic view from critics that say the movie stinks that is motivating him to...

Twelve days after opening "Atlas Shrugged: Part 1," the producer of the Ayn Rand adaptation said Tuesday that he is reconsidering his plans to make Parts 2 and 3 because of scathing reviews and flagging box office returns for the film.