Ms. Blair,

Your comments about Kathleen Touchstone’s book deserve a blog entry of their own.

You quote a flyer from University Press of America advertising her book.  (I received an identical flyer in the mail a couple of weeks ago.)

Lindsay Blair's recent post deserves a detailed reply, so I'm going to make a separate blog entry out of it.

Ms. Blair,

You’ve made some strong statements.

Mel Smith, comedian from "Alas Smith and Jones" fame has defied the Scottish smoking ban, that prohibits him depicting Winston Churchill in a play smoking a cigar!

"Smith, who is a cigar smoker off-stage, criticised the law banning smoking in public places. He said: 'It would have delighted Adolf Hitler. Congratulations, Scotland.' He suggested that the audience could be warned before the show: 'A third of a Romeo y Julieta will be smoked during this performance. If you find that offensive, f*** off.'"

My understanding of the Objectivist approach to law is that laws and government exist to secure the rights of individuals. The only way in which someone could infringe upon another’s rights is by initiating an act which violates the consent of another. We call this ‘initiation of force’ (IOF), and for the purposes of definition, IOF is taken to also include acts which aren’t necessarily physically coercive, such as various forms of theft and fraud. IOF is always immoral. Retaliatory acts of force, on the other hand, are of course moral: they are merely acts of self defense.

Auckland Libertarian Tim Wikiriwhi and I attended the anti-Israel rally in Auckland with a different message: that Hezbollah are terrorists, that Israel is fighting a war of self defense, and that civilian casualties are Hezbollah's moral responsibility because they are the aggressors.

"Edward Cline's Literary Achievement" by Nicholas Provenzo.

Read it here.

Bloody good article from former tory MP Michael Portillo, writing about the current Israel-Lebanon war and Tony Blair. Blair is frustratingly "bad-good" to use an Orwellian term. You just can't pin the bastard down - suddenly he's risen to the occasion once again on the issue - and is doing a good job (but for how long?).

SOLOists—as you'll see, we've put up a new logo. This is Glenn Jameson's design, though if anyone has an issue with the red, blame me.

If the blue strip at the bottom is not flush, hit Control + Refresh, or Shift + Refresh.

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. 

A poster on Objectivist Living thinks that someday I'll look around SOLO P and wonder why I'm hanging out with these people, implying I should be hanging out with a more congenial crowd. Another: certainly not with the likes of Lindsay Perigo who could crush me like a bug just by checking a box. They don't get it.

OK you Kiwi's, I've had some wonderful Sauvignon Blancs from New Zealand, but I've yet to drink any New Zealand reds. In fact, I haven't found any for sale in the wine shops I frequent. I'm tiring of Australian Shiraz; Can anyone suggest a good red wine from New Zealand (available in the States) that pares well with barbecued lamb tenderloins?

This is the site of Sonus Faber, Italian loudspeaker builders.

Sonus Faber

Let the main page load and you'll hear a lovely piece. Can anyone ID it for me? Or suggest similar?

What did I do on my summer vacation you ask. I went to Galt’s Gulch, i.e., Ouray, Colorado. Since I drove, that means I had to find a way to use 36 hours of driving time for something more than watching white lines go by. So I took my IPod, filled with more music than I could listen to in two weeks, but, I also took Leonard Peikoff with me. Specifically, Volume Two of his The History of Philosophy, Kant to the Present. I got both volumes about 11 years ago and although I have listened to all 48 tapes at least twice, it has been a while since my last listening, so I decided now was the time, at least for Volume Two.

I'm interested in why people get so upset at vulgar language. There are times when it is inappropriate (for instance, I know it would upset my grandma and I don't want to upset her, so I don't use it), but for times when I do want to say something ugly or do want to upset someone, why is the vulgarity of the language the focus rather than the sentiment? Why do so many people think it is wrong to call someone "Saddam's cocksucker", for example, but not wrong to feel huge amounts of anger and disgust at that person but express it politely? Basically, what are your opinions on vulgarity?

I am organising a counter-protest in support of Israel, to coincide with the anti-Israel protest in Auckland, New Zealand this Saturday.

With all the sheeple (well, all the productive sheeple who actually own their own property) in Auckland ranting about steep rates increases, I thought the time was ripe to point out that it's their own bloody fault ...

Is this someone we know?

'Beyond the Words'

I am no fan of the British Monarchy, but this recollection from "the Times" of the late "Queen Mother" gives the impression that she was an incredibly clever and passionate women after all. She got Thatcher and Blair exactly right

Peter Linton, Libertarianz Firearms Deregulation Spokesman, was interviewed by NRA News this morning about the state of NZ firearms regulations, and specifically about Greg Carvell. NRA News is the NRA's nationally broadcast radio show.

Hey, I was thinking about some fundamental bad bad thing in Kant's system, and the latest bout led me to this thought: Wherever did Kant get or justify the notion that humans are empirically determined a la Newtonian mechanics? I mean, he's already staked out a notorious and bizarre anti-Aristotelian argument that we can be empirically determined and yet noumenally (intelligibly) free, but why pose the dichotomy to begin with? (I know, I know, Kant's all screwed up anyway, but what's the offered rationale for this?)

An individual who earns more money per week is obviously in a position to spend more in buying consumers’ goods than is an individual who earns less money per week. For example, a man who makes $1,000 per week has the ability to spend $1,000 per week, while a man who makes only $900 per week has the ability to spend only $900 per week. (For the sake of simplicity, we’re ignoring such possibilities as going into debt or using up savings, and assuming that the individuals both want to live within their incomes.)

I realize that this has nothing to do with Objectivism, but I thought I’d share my thoughts on Mel Gibson’s recent arrest.

Tiddlywink music: "Rand used this term to refer to lighthearted popular music that she enjoyed. According to Leonard Peikoff's description of it, "Tiddlywink music was basically turn-of-the-century popular music of which there is no equivalent today. Completely joyful, but unserious, unheavy, light-hearted, fast rhythms ...".

Hello All,

It's been almost two years now since I wrote this.  Kelly Meg and I have since moved in together and we're about to move to a new apartment in New York.  Life is Beautiful!

John Gagnon!

When this handsome fellow first showed up some months back, I somehow, quite uncharacteristically, managed to note that particular quality. But I quickly realised he wasn't just a pretty face. Impressively, for a young 'un, he wasn't a Saddamite, and appeared to have the same loathing of appeasement I did. Impressively, for a young 'un, he could spell, string sentences together, punctuate them properly, and express himself eloquently. He had intelligence, humour, style and KASS. He knew his Objectivism. He seemed to love SOLO. So, when Jason told me his new academic commitments precluded his continuing in the (almost-) top job, I thought I'd sound John out. I told him in part, "I thought of you 'cos you seem to be really in synch with the SOLO spirit and are philosophically a fellow-hard-ass.:-)"

The Ayn Rand Institute

Ayn Rand Institute Press Release
http://www.aynrand.org/
The Immoral Opposition to Cloning
July 31, 2006

IRVINE, CA--This month marks the tenth anniversary of the birth of Dolly the sheep, the world’s first cloned mammal. "That impressive scientific advance opened up a world of possible life-saving treatments--yet in the name of 'morality,' some perversely oppose cloning," said Yaron Brook, executive director of the Ayn Rand Institute.

OL is back online. It looks like all the threads and personal records have been deleted. Nothing in the sections on the Brandens, Kelley, Bidinotto et al. Perhaps you would like to add some content to help out MSK! LOL!

I've recently started listening to opera (well, specifically, selected parts of different operas, including La Traviata, Carmen, and Il Trovatore).

Has anyone here any "must hear" recommendations as far as opera goes?

Art imitates life. The Objectivist/Libertarian duel has an ominous parallel in the funny pages.

Marvel Comics is running a miniseries called CIVIL WAR, in which the heroes of the Marvel comics are divided over new legislation, born out of frustration over damage and deaths due to reckless behavior by superheroes in capturing supervilians, that requires all superpowered vigilantes to register with the government or else face prison time. The registration would require the masked heroes to reveal their secret identities which would put their friends and family in danger. The heroes are split over the issue of accountability versus civil liberties; some think that it's the right thing to do, others worry about the safety of their loved ones in the wake of inevitable retribution.

A news article from leading scientific Journal "Science", they are depressingly biased in favour of man-made Global Warming, reports on a "House Energy and Commerce Committee" hearing investigating the evidence for man-made climate change (esp. hockey stick).