• • • Media manipulation: Why some ideas are more visible than others 
,
Alan Greenspan  |Atlas Shrugged  |Egoism  | Greenspan’s role in [the financial crisis] is well-documented. Not as widely known was his service as a loyal member of the Ayn Rand Cult that advocated a philosophy of “objectivism”, which translated into aggressive opposition to all regulation and social safety nets, Medicare, Medicaid, even public schools and public hospitals. His “mistake” was actually a core value in his belief system. Writer (and illegal immigrant) Ayn Rand’s paean to selfishness in books like Atlas Shrugged popularised the ideology that today drives the Tea Party, almost all of the Republicans’ candidates, and even the extreme austerity movement in Europe and parts of the US.  

• In Florida, Romney could lead Republicans out of the wilderness 
,
That [Ron Paul is] running at all suggests an incredible realignment of the stars and planets so that voters who are to the extreme right of the Strom Thurmond and Ayn Rand have a fantastic shot at taking hold of the heart of the Republican Party. [....] What liberals don’t see is that Paul’s platforms are rooted in pre-modernity.