Objectivist Round Up #194

Welcome to the 194th Objectivist Round Up!

Man—every man—is an end in himself, not the means to the ends of others. He must exist for his own sake, neither sacrificing himself to others nor sacrificing others to himself. The pursuit of his own rational self-interest and of his own happiness is the highest moral purpose of his life.

Ayn Rand, Introducing Objectivism, 1962

If you're new to Objectivism, please see The Ayn Rand Institute or the Ayn Rand Center for Individual Rights for more information. I'd recommend that you read her fiction and non-fiction and judge what she has to say for yourself.

Please enjoy this week's collection of posts written and submitted by bloggers animated by Objectivism.

Jared Rhoads presents Twead #9: Rollback posted at The Lucidicus Project, saying,

"Our latest twead is the new book, "Rollback," by Thomas Woods. Note: Woods, the author of the book covered here, is not an Objectivist."

Diana Hsieh presents Justice for Henry posted at NoodleFood, saying, “Katie Granju shares the story of her son's death -- and the local authorities' refusal to investigate it, despite compelling evidence of crimes committed against him.”

Edward Cline presents The Symbiosis Between Islam and Multiculturalism posted at The Rule of Reason, saying, “We begin with a brief description of the origins of multiculturalism by Lewis Loffin, in his article, “The Nazi Roots of Multiculturalism,” about the deleterious effects of multiculturalism.”

Jared Seehafer presents 'Virtual' Ayn Rand Lecture Coming to a Campus Near You on March 31st! posted at The Undercurrent Blog, saying, “On March 31st, Yaron Brook is giving an exciting lecture examining how ideas have shaped today's events. You can watch online or sign up to help run a local live event!”

Victoria Genther presents Enter Our Spring 2011 Distribution Story Contest! posted at The Undercurrent Blog, saying, “Enter The Undercurrent's Spring distribution contest and win up to a $75 Amazon gift card!”

Jim May presents Why Won't they Fight Me? posted at The New Clarion, saying, “apply my Road to Hell metaphor to the ongoing discussion of C. Bradley Thompson's book on neoconservatism.”

Hannah Eason presents - Words - Singler Pure: Capitalism and Sex in Basketball posted at Hannah, Writer, saying, “This blog answers the contention that money is the factor which makes professional sports less enjoyable than college sports.”

Andy Clarkson presents "The War Against The Jews Goes On" posted at The Charlotte Capitalist, saying, “In my post, "The Ultimate Cause of the Triumphs and Tragedies of Jewish Culture", I named the implicit acceptance of reason in Jewish culture as that ultimate cause. This article by former mayor Koch provides further evidence of this premise. In this case, the Jews were victims of Hitler's irrational hatred of reason. They were persecuted not for crimes against other humans, but for their use of reason in their careers.”

Ari Armstrong presents Stripper Welfare Illustrates Why Charity Should Be Voluntary posted at Free Colorado, saying, “When charity is voluntary, donors are more likely to ensure the funds are prudently used, and recipients are less likely to view the gift as an entitlement.”

John Drake presents Reading my kid's mind posted at Try Reason!, saying, “ A parenting success story. Sometimes, you have to know what your kids are thinking in order to help them. Especially when they are too young to tell you what they are thinking.”

Zip presents I Wish. posted at UNCOMMON SENSE, saying, “I imagine an Atlas Shrugged type collapse, a greatest depression, widespread social chaos spread across the entire planet. I see an unstoppable absolute and irretrievable end to the world as we know it and I think...”

Rational Jenn presents This is How I Fail posted at Rational Jenn, saying, “I've come a long way in my battle against the Perfectionism Monster, and I've just added a new tools to my arsenal: listing out my achievements so that I can remember to put my failures in perspective.”

Gene Palmisano presents Lets Not Forget Iran posted at The Metaphysical Lunch, saying, “Juxtapose Iran and Libya, then tell me which one deserves military intervention.”

Gene Palmisano presents Where are the Arabs? posted at The Metaphysical Lunch, saying, “The title speaks volumes.”

Edward Cline presents Caesar, God and Allah posted at The Rule of Reason, saying, “A friend asked why Islam could not separate mosque from state as Christianity, after centuries of turmoil, war, and persecution, was able to separate church from state, and consequently become less of a peril to our freedoms. The first thing to come to mind in the way of a device to illustrate why Islam cannot emulate Christianity was the answer Christ is attributed to have given, in Mark and Luke in the Bible, to Jews about why they should or should not pay Rome’s taxes.”

Benjamin Skipper presents Don't Be a Baby: Talking About Problems Constructively posted at Musing Aloud, saying, “Talking about your problems with other people may be soothing in its venting, but if you're not careful with your wording you could very easily lose your listeners.”

Scott Connery presents Islam Says: Get Raped and Go to Jail! posted at Rational Public Radio, saying, “Recently I've been struggling with the issue of moderate Muslims. Is it possible for Muslims to be moderate and yet still more or less adhere to their faith? The modernity and progress of some Muslim countries argues yes. The tale of Alicia Gali argues no.”

Julia Campbell presents pork chops with cherry rhubarb chutney + mustard greens + herbed roasted sweet potatoes posted at the crankin' kitchen!, saying, “This chutney is a great first usage of the season of rhubarb. The pork chops are also served alongside spicy mustard greens.”

Rachel Miner presents Mentors posted at The Playful Spirit, saying, “I share my initial steps in setting up mentors for my son. If you're up for loading the 40 second video, I don't think it's watchable without a smile.”

Roderick Fitts presents Induction and Reduction of “Sex is Metaphysical” posted at Inductive Quest, saying, “My induction that sex pertains to your view of yourself and of your world. This is the second-to-last induction of the "Objectivism Through Induction" course, so cheer me on as I soon begin to do these inductions by myself.”

Diana Hsieh presents New OList: OPeople posted at NoodleFood, saying, “OPeople is a new OList e-mail list for announcements of OList social events -- and, if enough funds are pledged, friendly off-topic chatter.”

Paul Hsieh presents The Next Stage in Massachusetts posted at We Stand FIRM, saying, “Massachusetts has been the "canary in the coal mine" for the national-level health care debate. New proposed laws in MA could be a foretaste of the what the rest of the country can expect unless ObamaCare is repealed.”

James Hughes presents The Light of the World posted at Temple of the Human Spirit, saying, “Take some time to reflect on the glorious achievement that is nuclear power, at a time when it is under attack from all sides.”

David Lewis presents The Myth Of Buy & Hold: Why Market Timing Matters posted at A Revolution In Financial Planning, saying, “I kill a sacred cow this week, but I try to do so in a humane manner. I discuss why I think you *must* time the market, even when you "buy and hold" investments.”

Stephen Bourque presents Yaron Brook at Babson College posted at One Reality, saying, “Why does society reject free markets and like the idea that the government will solve our problems? Yaron Brook asked—then answered—this question in an exhilarating speech, 'Capitalism without Guilt: The Moral Case for Freedom,' at Babson College Monday night.”

Edward Cline presents Obama’s “Humanitarian” War-Fighting Philosophy posted at The Rule of Reason, saying, “Humanitarians are famously but deceptively indiscriminate in their generosity and with the dispensing of largesse, whether the latter comes from their own wealth or from extorted taxpayer revenue. As long as the object of their charity is “in need” or “needy,” it matters not to the humanitarian. His measure of “need” is both the “virtue” of poverty, and a poverty of virtue.


Read.
Think.
Enjoy.


And join the Round Up next week at The Playful Spirit.