Why do so many Objectivists hate Ayn Rand?

I have always been bothered by people who say that they are going to do something—and then don’t do it.

I’m leaving on Friday morning to play poker in Laughlin and Las Vegas.

I felt compelled to criticize the Objectivist Center when I left. That was because I had worked there as the chief fundraiser for two years. I thought that I needed to give a full explanation to anyone who had donated to the organization while I was there in case they had been misled.

Although I was never a part of the great election debate I'm back too. I have finished my "sabbatical" and will post over the next few weeks on a few of the items I've been thinking about. Some, but not all of them are the ones I listed before I left.

I met Terry Goodkind for the first time in Las Vegas recently. I attended a book signing, a "meet & greet" and a private party.

The book signing was the only one he will do for his new book _Phantom_. About 300 people attended. They were mostly hardcore fans. I met the hardest core of the hardest core who call themselves "fantards." They were called this in internet flame wars and adopted it as an act of defiance. Terry spends some time talking to each person when he signs a book. He doesn't rush people through. So this took a long time, but was worthwhile for his fans. I had a nice conversation with him. In fact I had to cut it off myself because it was late and we were holding up the line.

I’ve heard a funny criticism of James Valliant’s The Passion of Ayn Rand’s Critics. That is that he is arguing like a prosecutor. That is funny when it is addressed to me because I was a prosecutor for 21 years. It is also funny when addressed to Valliant because he IS a prosecutor.

That has made me think about the validity of the way prosecutors argue in general, and its application to PARC. This is not intended as a review, but merely as a comment about one aspect of the book.

Various critics have referred to PARC as an “indictment” or a “brief.” It is neither. An indictment is a formal charging document. A brief is an appellate argument. PARC is neither of these in either the literal, or the metaphorical sense. The book is a closing argument on behalf of Ayn Rand against the charges made against her by Barbara and Nathaniel Branden.

The first time I met Nathaniel Branden was at the 1998 Summer Seminar of what was then called the Institute for Objectivist Studies. IOS later became The Objectivist Center. George H. Smith took me to an area of the common room in which Branden was talking to a few people. He introduced me to him.

I had recently read Judgment Day. At that point his revised version was about to be released as My Years with Ayn Rand. I asked Branden why he had to revise the book. He told me that he had made mistakes as to details, and that others had corrected him. He felt the need to make those corrections. I found out later that many of the corrections had come from Barbara Branden.

I think that the invitation of Barbara Branden to speak at The Objectivist Center summer seminar was inappropriate based on her recent conduct. I attempted to stop the invitation based upon judgment of her by the standards of David Kelley in _The Contested Legacy of Ayn Rand_. Although my views on judgment are far different than Kelley’s I was attempting to function within the context of the organization and its views.

I am no longer employed by, or affiliated with The Objectivist Center. Nor will I be attending their summer seminar. There are several exceptions to this. First I am technically a member of TOC under its rules until sometime in August due to previous donations. Second I wrote an article about Terry Goodkind which should appear in an upcoming issue of the magazine. (I wrote the article in October.) If there are any letters to the editor concerning the article I may reply. Finally I have agreed to answer questions from the center about work I did, as well as the location of files in my former office and on my computer. I have also agreed to forward any e-mail I receive regarding TOC to the appropriate person there. I have specifically not agreed to give any advice about any matter.