http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3441314,00.html

One of my favorite paintings...

In her 1971 essay “Don’t Let It Go,” Ayn Rand wrote: “A nation’s political trends are the equivalent of a man’s course of action and are determined by its culture.

I realize I've been unusually quiet as of late. Please accept my apologies. I've been busy making arrangements for my relocation to Washington, D.C. I'll be making the move during the first week of July (and I'm very much looking forward to spending the 4th of July in D.C.).

When I joined SOLO over a year ago, I found it to be absolutely wonderful, especially because of its capacity to act as an Objectivist meeting ground and debate forum – and because of the incredible amounts of potential it had to expand in that capacity.  Linz’s policy – say what you will and be evaluated on the merits – encouraged an environment where ideas were able to get a fair hearing and be discussed in-depth. 

Just wondering if anyone is going to be in Washington, D.C., on Monday, April 30. I'll be there for the better part of the day and have the afternoon free.

I know a lot of folks out there are skeptical about the rise of the religious Right in America.  However, as one who is convinced that it does pose a real threat, I tend to take the religious nutters quite seriously.  As yet another example of religion in American politics, I present the following from the Salt Lake Tribune:

I really would rather not do this, but I think it is necessary.  I have been silent for far too long and I can no longer sit quietly while good, honest people are being accused – unfairly – of dishonesty.

The New Orleans Saints beat the Philadelphia Eagles this evening, 27-24. And, as one commentator has aptly observed: "Every once in awhile, sports can lift us to heights we never dreamed possible."

I've been informed by the webmasters that the SOLO Store is almost ready to launch. While SOLO Staff will be picking and choosing some material, we'd also like to hear from you. What recommendations do you have? If you have any Books, CDs, Movies, Video games and the like that you'd like to see made available via SOLO, let us know.

I know you’ve all been anxiously awaiting more details regarding SOLOC5. The following should give you a good starting point to begin making plans.

Jeff Jacoby, of the Boston Globe, provides a few snapshots from the global jihad.  The following is from his November 1 commentary

"Australia's foremost Muslim cleric triggers an uproar when he likens women who don't wear an Islamic headscarf to "uncovered meat" and blames them for attracting sexual predators. "If you take out uncovered meat and place it outside on the street, or in the garden or the park . . . and the cats come and eat it," says Sheik Taj al-Din Hilali, "whose fault is it, the cats' or the uncovered meat? If [the woman] was in her room, in her home, in her headscarf, no problem would have occurred."

SOLO STORE
I’m pleased to announce that SOLO now has an Amazon Associates account. As an initial step, Ross has placed a “Featured Book” on the right sidebar. It clicks thru to Amazon and is tracked to SOLO. Shortly, we’ll have an actual SOLO Store up and running. Once the webmasters complete their “magic,” you’ll be able to buy all your Objectivist-related books, CD’s, and DVD’s via the store – expanding your personal collections and contributing to SOLO’s development at the same time.

A report jointly released by the World Wildlife Fund and the Global Footprint Network states that human development poses an unacceptable risk to the earth’s natural environment.

Quite a bit has been going on behind the scenes this last month.

I’m happy to announce that we’re making great progress in regards to SOLOC5. While we haven’t nailed down all the details yet, I want you to be aware that we’re planning on having SOLOC5 in beautiful San Diego sometime during the month of February. When we get details more finalized, I’ll be sure to let you all know.

Back in February, Thomas Bowden (a senior ARI writer) observed: "The essential value of spectator sports lies in their capacity to illustrate, in a dramatic way, the process of human goal-achievement. They do this by making the process shorter, simpler, and more visually exciting than it is in daily life--and by giving us heroes to admire."

Thanks to Ross and Julian, our excellent webmasters, SOLO now has an updated Contributions page. For a look, click on the button on the top right corner labelled "contribute." The new page provides you with multiple options, allowing you to contribute as you see fit to SOLO's continued improvement. As you may or may not know, SOLO operates almost entirely on contributions from its members - so if you have enjoyed participating on SOLO, I'd like to encourage you to make a contribution. And I thank those of you who already have.

In recent days, a number of conspiracy theorists have reared their ugly heads on SOLO. They believe all manner of incredible things. Regardless of my low opinion of them, I just wanted to let all the conspiracy nut-jobs out there know this: you've got some great company.

Baseball has always been an integral aspect of my life. For years, I've lived and breathed baseball. There are few things comparable to the excitement I feel when Spring Training starts, the smell of freshly cut grass, the blue skies, the cracking sound bats make when smacking baseballs. And there are few things as exciting as watching the playoff race take off as the season winds down. Of course, every baseball fan has his heroes, and I have my share of them - from Andre Dawson and Ryne Sandberg to Darryl Strawberry (who could have been) and Ken Griffey Jr. But, of them all, one of my favorites has always been Frank Thomas.

This morning, groggy-eyed and mug of coffee in hand, I turned on my computer to check out the news. And what do I find? A headline stating: "Iran Inaugurates New Atomic Project." Now, this was not a wholly unexpected event, but still, the fact that it comes just days before the U.N. deadline to halt uranium enrichment strikes me as being such a slap in the face to the West that it cannot be ignored. For some time now, Iran has engaged in a policy of poking and prodding the West, testing our resolve and our commitment to our own policies. Iran has discovered, no doubt, that we've become so morally confused that we no longer know what to do when someone stands up in blatant defiance against us. I'm not a fear-monger and I'm certainly not afraid of Iran - but I am deeply concerned (as I've stated a billion times) that unless we do something, Iran is just going to keep poking and prodding until it decides that it is time to take the next step: power-packed punches.

The great prizefighter Jack Dempsey was once asked, “When you are about to hit a man, do you aim for his chin or his nose?”

“Neither,” Dempsey replied. “I aim for the back of his head.”

SOLO needs a self-motivated, reliable, and internet savvy individual to join the team as a website promoter.

The position is extremely important to enhancing SOLO’s web presence. As a part of the team, the website promoter will play an integral role in advancing SOLO’s long and short term goals. The position requires only a minimal time commitment, regular internet access, and a willingness/ability to complete assigned tasks within set deadlines.

In light of the recent fiasco revolving around log-in issues, I wanted to ensure that we appropriately address the problem so as to avoid any confusion in the future.

It seems that some people have problems logging in to SOLO from time to time. I’m not sure if this is a problem related to the site’s design or if it is related to the internet browsers individual members are using.

At the Lord Mayor’s banquet in 1954, Winston Churchill declared: “For I myself am an optimist – it does not seem to be much use being anything else.”  Our world, fraught with the evils of pessimism and appeasement, stands on the brink - it may slide inexorably towards darkness or rise up in glory.  The result will be determined by whether individuals choose to think rationally and act or not. 

I generally loathe the National Review, in part because of its religious mumbo-jumbo. However, Michael Leeden recently posted a fairly good article on the subject of the Middle East situation...Here's an excerpt from it:

Andrei Codrescu, the famed New Orleans author, once wrote: "It's so hot in Louisiana now that if you met an alligator he wouldn't even lift his head to scare you." Every time I read that line I'm convinced he must have written it in July. There's nothing quite like July in New Orleans. A sauna-like heat crawls over your body, dragging you into a slumberous haze. And if you're not used to it, you stay inside dreading the moment when you will be forced to head out into the vaporous mystery that is New Orleans.

Inspired by Jason's posting of his trip to China, I thought I'd post some of my own pics from my time in Sri Lanka last year. I spent 2 and a half months working in Colombo and Kandy on judicial reform projects - easily the most memorable time of my life. Sri Lanka, as you may or may not be aware, has suffered from a 20+ year long civil conflict, which - despite a ceasefire - is currently spiraling backwards into what could very well become a state of all out war...again. I hope this doesn't happen, as "the Resplendent Isle" is truly a captivating place.

I'm heading off to Amsterdam for the month of July...is anyone going to be there then, or know of any like-minded folks over there?

Recently a study was done exploring the efficacy of prayer. I've included the Reuters report about it to provide a contextual backdrop. Following the media's presentation of this study, the J-List, a discussion group of which I am a part, entered into a debate about it. I, being the opinionated person I am, joined in and began an interesting debate with a fellow J-Lister named Lynn. Here is part of that discussion (preceeded by the news article) for your perusal:

CHICAGO (Reuters) - A study of more than 1,800 patients who underwent heart bypass surgery has failed to show that prayers specially organized for their recovery had any impact, researchers said on Thursday.