Objectivist Round Up

Welcome to the May 19, 2011 edition of the Objectivist Round Up.  To start us off, here is a quote on living that is beautifully encompassing:

To live, man must hold three things as the supreme and ruling values of his life: Reason—Purpose—Self-esteem. Reason, as his only tool of knowledge—Purpose, as his choice of the happiness which that tool must proceed to achieve—Self-esteem, as his inviolate certainty that his mind is competent to think and his person is worthy of happiness, which means: is worthy of living.

-Galt's Speech, For the New Intellectual

Burgess Laughlin presents What is profane culture? posted at Making Progress, saying, "This is the last in a series of three posts sketching my preliminary understanding of democratic, sacred, and profane culture. What is the nature of each? What is their relationship? In particular, in this last post, in what ways does profane culture appear unwanted in the daily lives of even those rare individuals who have a sense of the sacred?"

Roberto Sarrionandia presents The Right to Quarantine posted at Roberto Sarrionandia, saying, "Is it right for the state to quarantine infectious individuals or control their immigration status? I argue, yes."

Andy Clarkson presents "Patterns" posted at The Charlotte Capitalist, saying, "Fifteen to twenty years ago, I caught the last five minutes of a movie on tv. It was filled with ideas, conflict, and passion -- it seemed like something from an Ayn Rand novel. For years I could not find the movie on tv or DVD.
That changed this morning -- I found Rod Serling's "Patterns". Here is my review."

Noah Stahl presents Atlas Shrugged: More than Meets the Eye posted at The Undercurrent Blog, saying, "Why should you read Atlas Shrugged? Because it could change your life."

Joshua Gregg presents Obama?s Energy Solution: More Government posted at Persona Non Grata, saying, "Dictating prices didn’t work for Stalin, Lenin, or Brezhnev; it wont work for Obama."

Hanah presents Caps for Sale posted at Charlie's Bookshelf, saying, "This is one of my all-time favorite children's books, and it has great lessons about work, tantrums, and emotional control."

Kelly Elmore presents Sex at ATLOSCon posted at Reepicheep's Coracle, saying, "This post is about the course "Sexual Ethics and Objectivism" that Jason Stotts will be giving at ATLOSCon. It includes comments from fans of his blog, my opinions about prudes (which I know you have been dying to hear), Jason's comments about why he chose to focus his writing and research on sex, and a slightly racy pun. Join us for ATLOSCon to hear his talk and to debate the ideas afterwards!"

Benjamin Skipper presents Heart Attack Grill posted at Musing Aloud, saying, "A restaurant emphasizing conventionally unhealthy foods is opening in Dallas, and yet despite its nature as a voluntary institution people are planning on protesting it. Why can't some people just tend to their own lives?"

C.W. presents The Downturn in Commodity Prices posted at Krazy Economy, saying, "What does the recent downturn of commodity prices mean. Here is a change to learn about economics."

Jonathan Akin presents Campus Media Response: Why it’s Wrong to Make the Net “Neutral” posted at The Undercurrent Blog, saying, "What does the essential nature of the internet mean for a consumer "right" to web access?"

Julia Campbell presents wilted spinach salad with tuna and bacon posted at the crankin' kitchen!, saying, "Warm bacon dressing tops a spinach and tuna salad."

Benjamin Skipper presents Feeling is Believing posted at Musing Aloud, saying, "I recently had a major realization about the nature of beliefs that will change how I view my self-improvement ventures, namely that there's two different types of beliefs. There's the belief you intellectually hold in your mind, and then there's the belief you hold subconsciously (emotionally). If both of these types don't line up, then difficulties in changing one's self will result."

Santiago and Kelly Valenzuela present Republicans - Not Serious About Immigration Reform, Not Serious About Free Markets posted at Mother of Exiles, saying, "Santiago writes up a great blog post about Republicans and immigration."

Diana Hsieh presents Christianity: Obey and Suffer... and Shut Your Mouth! posted at NoodleFood, saying, "Does Christianity offer help and solace to people suffering unjustly at the hands of others? Based on scripture, the answer is "no.""

Amy Mossoff presents Teaching Children Lessons posted at The Little Things, saying, "What does it mean to be a selfish parent? How are my interests aligned with my child's? And what does it mean to say that "having children makes us better people?" And how did I get to these questions just from watching TV commercials?"

Scott Connery presents World To End This Saturday! The Bible Guarantees it! posted at Rational Public Radio, saying, "Doomsday prophets are nothing new. Someone is always predicting that the end times are at hand. What is it about faith that makes religious people so gullible?"

Ari Armstrong presents Making the First Amendment Part of the Conversation posted at Free Colorado, saying, "In this TV segment I argue that campaign laws chill free speech. Also linked are several other videos and articles on the subject."

Jared Rhoads presents Reference Materials posted at The Lucidicus Project, saying, "We have added a new permanent fixture to the Lucidicus.org website: a collection of the key legal documents dealing with the various constitutional challenges to the health reform law. This page is relatively detailed but not exhaustive or overwhelming, and should be helpful to the average non-lawyer who is interested in following the progress of these cases."

Rational Jenn presents OGrownups Monthly Summary posted at Rational Jenn, saying, "Are you a parent, educator, loving aunt or uncle? Interested in talking to other Objectivists about the joys and struggles of raising children? Here's a look at the things we discussed in April on the OGrownups list. If the topics look interesting to you, I hope you'll join us."

Joshua Gregg presents The Morality of the Obama Doctrine posted at Persona Non Grata, saying, "President Obama on Thursday will elaborate his foreign policy philosophy only to expose his counter-productive altruistic morality that lies beneath."

Paul Hsieh presents WaiverMania posted at We Stand FIRM, saying, "The "politics of pull" are in full swing with the latest round of waivers granted from ObamaCare."

Paul Hsieh presents Massachusetts: The Canary in the Coal Mine for ObamaCare posted at NoodleFood, saying, "My latest OpEd at PajamasMedia was on the failed Massachusetts health care plan, published to coincide with Mitt Romney's health care speech last week defending his plan."

Gene Palmisano presents Misnomer of the Day posted at The Metaphysical Lunch, saying, "Be sure to visit the Anecdotal Objectivist at the bottom of the blog. I'm getting a handle on this podcast and content will come streaming. Thanks."

David C Lewis, RFA presents The Problem With Accumulation Theory | Twin Tier Financial posted at A Revolution In Financial Planning, saying, "I discuss the problems with the accumulation approach to financial planning--a problem which plagues most people, including those in the financial planning industry and makes long-term financial success impossible. I discuss the unspoken premise of this theory and its implications."


Edward Cline presents Geert Wilders Speaks Without Fear in Tennessee posted at The Rule of Reason, saying, "Instead of a comment on Geert Wilders, the Dutch politician being tried in The Netherlands for the “crime” of “hate speech,” it would be appropriate for him to speak for himself – in Tennessee. His references to the peril in which Christians have been placed by multiculturalism and political correctness apply equally to all non-Muslims, including Objectivists and atheists. His assertion that “our values” are based on the “Judeo-Christian heritage,” of course, we can disagree with. But in Saudi Arabia, Egypt, or Pakistan, such a statement would be a literal death sentence, carried out by the regime or by the mob, without the pretense of a trial."


Jason Stotts presents Are Your Genitals Normal? posted at Erosophia, saying, "Are your genitals normal?" [This post focuses on a brief, educational video with the theme of differences being normal.]

Beth Haynes presents Amicus Brief filed to FL v HHS posted at Black Ribbon Project, saying, "In my new role as Senior Health Policy Analyst for Docs 4 Patient Care, I was able to contribute behind the scenes in shaping an amicus brief to the FL v HHS court case against the constitutionality of the individual mandate. The point we argue is a small one, but should increase the Justices' comfort with ruling against the mandate,and even against the whole law."

Earl Parson presents ATLOSCON Architecture Talk posted at Creatures of Prometheus, saying, "I'll be presenting a talk on architecture at ATLOSCON - here's a brief description of what it's all about. Come join us for what's sure to be a great weekend!"

That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of objectivist round up
using our carnival submission form.
Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

Share
|

Technorati tags:

objectivist round up, blog carnival.