• Social Darwinism letter lacks humane approach 
Keith Morgan, Seacoast Online (Portsmouth, NH) Letter to the editor.Ayn Rand, Ron Paul, deregulation and "trickle down" theories are the wrong path. Globalization needs cooperation, not competition, to secure a humane future.     Share on Facebook

• • The price of Gandhigiri 
V. Kumar , Hindustan Times “Marxism is no cure and Communism creates a totalitarian State. Only the gospel of Rand will lead us to salvation,” [“R”] said. The Marxist replied in stronger words and much to my chagrin the debate took an ugly turn. I tried my best to convince them that both Marx and Rand had talked about liberating man, but in their own ways.     Share on Facebook

• The best of The Best American Series 2007 
Melanie Jones, Columbia Spectator (Columbia U, NY) The first section [in Best American Nonrequired Reading 2007, “Shorter Things That Belong Nowhere Else,” [....] begins with “Names of Horses Expected to Have Undistinguished Careers (For The Love Of God Run Faster, Ayn Rand’s Condescending Sigh)”.     Share on Facebook

• Renaissance man of Mabalacat 
Robby Tantingco, Sun.Star (Philippines) It was Jad [Dayrit] who introduced me to Ayn Rand's books. I remember spending one whole night discussing them with him. One whole night, as in 12 hours of nonstop talking.     Share on Facebook

• More than 20 years in the making 
Doug Noland, Asia Times It is [...] as ironic as it was predictable that Alan Greenspan - Ayn Rand "disciple" and free-market ideologue - championed monetary policies and a financial apparatus that will ensure the greatest government intrusion into our nation’s financial and economic affairs since the New Deal.     Share on Facebook

• • Self-reliance is key to success 
Steve Butler, Contra Costa Times (Walnut Creek, CA) Atlas Shrugged  The Fountainhead  The Rand books, "Atlas Shrugged" and "The Fountainhead," convey the message that lone individualists (today's entrepreneurs) bucking the system have to struggle against near-impossible odds. To the extent they succeed, there can be no greater hero.     Share on Facebook

• Even when the economy is tanking, readers still have compassion for children 
John Bogert, Daily Breeze (Los Angeles) Harry Komsky of Redondo Beach had this to say [...], "Over the years I have carried on an e-mail exchange with an ultra-liberal old college roommate. He encouraged me to see each new Michael Moore movie and sent me the editorial rantings of far left Ron Reagan. When I suggested that he read Ayn Rand or John Stossel, he refused."     Share on Facebook

• Book review: God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater by Kurt Vonnegut 
Jessica Schneider, The Moderate Voice Altruism  Ayn Rand used to state how altruism is one of the greatest evils. She simply did not believe others should be put before the Self. Yet in today’s narcissistic culture, one has to wonder if altruism is such a bad thing.     Share on Facebook

• Blips #64 
Gilles d'Aymery , Swans Last year, [John] Paulson of Paulson & Company made between three and four billion dollars according to The Wall Street Journal as the firm made [...] aggressive bets against subprime loans. [....] And have you noticed that former Federal Reserve Chair Alan Greenspan, who, willingly or not, masterminded the housing bubble and the subprime fiasco, an Ayn Rand admirer and follower, is a well-paid advisor to Paulson & Company? Can't you good people put two and two together?     Share on Facebook

• VanDamme Academy shows value of choice 
Jillian Melchior, School Reform News (The Heartland Institute) [School founder Lisa VanDamme] drew on the experience of highly educated friends and the educational philosophy of Ayn Rand to put together her curriculum.     Share on Facebook

• BB&T donates $1 million to Marshall 
George Hohmann, Daily Mail (Charleston, WV) Atlas Shrugged  Capitalism  The BB&T Charitable Foundation was expected to announce a $1 million gift to Marshall University's Lewis College of Business during a press conference today in Huntington. The contribution, to be made over 10 years, will establish "The BB&T Center for the Advancement of American Capitalism," Phyllis Arnold, president of BB&T Corp. in West Virginia, said in remarks prepared for delivery at the event. [....] Components of the center's curriculum will include: An upper-level course focusing on the principles outlined in author Ayn Rand's book, "Atlas Shrugged," and author Adam Smith's book, "The Wealth of Nations."     Share on Facebook

• • Getting serious over a farce 
Teri Sforza, Orange County Register (CA) Ayn Rand Institute  Atlas Shrugged  Yaron Brook  On Niv Brook and his play, Mr. Wade is Dead."This play is a crazy farce, very physical, fun, cartoony," [director Liz] Shipman says. [....] But that ending. She just doesn't feel it's in keeping with what comes before it. She wants Brook to change it. Does she know she's dealing with a rugged individualist? The Ayn Rand Foundation director's son? A kid who has "Atlas Shrugged" on his dorm room bookshelf? Architect Howard Roark, for those of you who remember "The Fountainhead," opts to struggle in obscurity rather than compromise his vision.     Share on Facebook

• Fascinating tales, floor plans in L.A. ‘Houses’ 
Scott Eyman, Palm Beach Post (FL) The Fountainhead  On the two-volume Houses of Los Angeles.The house of the director Josef von Sternberg was designed by Richard Neutra, was surrounded by a moat and looks like it was made out of aluminum! The house was later purchased by Ayn Rand, and it figures that the author of The Fountainhead would be happy there.     Share on Facebook

• • The biggest jailbreak in history 
John Maxwell, Jamaica Observer Capitalism  What American capitalism has accomplished would have confounded Adam Smith and astonished even Karl Marx: it destroyed its own working class. For the new-rich, capitalism was a no-risk game where governments had a duty to come to the rescue of those involved in unfortunate accidents, like Enron or the sub-prime mortgage debacle. Mr Alan Greenspan who keeps Ayn Rand at his bedside, had always delivered when necessary [...]. The problem, of course, was that there were too many balls in the air and little or no certitude about how many capitalists could dance on the head of a peon. Ayn Rand, from beyond the grave, advised self-love and selfishness as the only virtues.     Share on Facebook

• Paul’s candidacy wakes up believers 
Graeme Zielinski, Express-News (San Antonio, TX) [Ron] Paul has said he was drawn to politics by the writings of such libertarians as Friedrich Hayek and Ayn Rand.     Share on Facebook

• Famous pen names 
Nancy R. Callahan, BellaOnline Many writers publish under nom de plumes instead of their birth names, for a variety of reasons. For instance, Józef Teodor Konrad Korzeniowski and Alisa Zinov'yevna Rosenbaum anglicized their names to Joseph Conrad (1857-1924) and Ayn Rand (1905–1982).     Share on Facebook

• Economic stimulus no overnight job 
Paul Heise, Daily News (Lebanon, PA) Capitalism  The story of how the failures of the Fed got us into this fix is short and well-understood. The fault belongs to the 18-year tenure of Alan Greenspan as chairman of the Federal Reserve. Greenspan, the premier disciple of Ayn Rand and her libertarian economics, watched approvingly as financial markets were freed of regulation and inevitably spun out of control.     Share on Facebook

• Clearly, some are different 
Hank Stuever, Washington Post On the Clear registered traveler ID card.It's the "Lexus lane" syndrome over and over, where special people buy special access to get ahead of the losers. And yet, hasn't this been the essential human narrative all along? Me before you. People becoming Clear is simply another chapter in the self-deterministic struggle. Ayn Rand would totally have one.     Share on Facebook

• No meds for this depression 
waldopaper, OpEdNews Sorry, I read Ayn Rand in high school and found it wanting.     Share on Facebook

• BB&T gives $1 million to MU College of Business 
Huntingtonnews.net (Huntington, WV) Atlas Shrugged  Capitalism  The BB&T Charitable Foundation announced on Thursday, Jan. 24, 2008, a contribution of $1 million to establish The BB&T Center for the Advancement of American Capitalism at the Lewis College of Business at Marshall University. B&T West Virginia Group/State President Phyllis Arnold said a key component of the BB&T Center will be to provide students with a solid grounding in the workings of capitalism and free market forces. Components of the Center’s curriculum include but are not limited to: An upper level course focusing on the principles set forth in Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged and Adam Smith’s The Wealth of Nations.     Share on Facebook