The Truth About GOP Hero Ayn Rand - ThinkProgressVideo

[WillyT]

Run time: 03:30 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7zwO88nRH8   Posted on YouTube: April 18, 2011 By YouTube Member: ThinkProgressVideo Views on YouTube: 302   Posted on DU: April 19, 2011 By DU Member: WillyT Views on DU: 20975

 

During her lifetime, Rand advocated “the virtue of selfishness,” declared altruism to be “evil,” opposed Medicare and all forms of government support for the middle-class and the poor, and condemned Christianity for advocating love and compassion for the less fortunate.

Rand also dismissed the feminist movement as a “false” and “phony” issue, said a female commander in chief would be “unspeakable,” characterized Arabs as “almost totally primitive savages,” and called government efforts to aid the handicapped and educate “subnormal children” an attempt to “bring everybody to the level of the handicapped.”

From: http://thinkprogress.org/2011/04/18/truth-about-ayn-rand/

:kick:

[Grassy Knoll]

1. No wonder they love her. n/t

[Enthusiast]

32. Yeah. There are many

philosophies out there but, as far as I know, only this one advocates selfishness as a sort of virtue. No wonder these assholes love her. They just want an excuse to be selfish. And boy are they ever selfish.

[reformist2]

103. Ayn Rand has the ability to tear the GOP apart.

The more she's a subject of debate and discussion, the better it will be for Democrats.

[Enthusiast]

181. Oh yeah.

She rails against the teachings of Christ. That alone should alienate a fair portion of Republicans. But only if this becomes widely known.

[2banon]

2. Creepy, ghastly soul.

First I've seen an interview with her.. I wonder she was from?

[Youth Uprising]

37. She kind of reminds me of this guy...

[Somawas]

50. She was Russian.

[PatSeg]

72. Ayn Rand was a Russian Jew

Her family lived through the Russian Revolution and had everything taken from them. Her strong anti-socialist sentiments were a result of the suffering she and her family endured in Russia. Being Jewish made survival in Russia even more difficult.

The suppression of the individual in favor of the many obviously had a profound effect on her. Certainly not everyone would embrace such extreme views under the circumstances, but one can see how she came to those beliefs. It seems to me that she also had some serious psychological problems which may or may not have been the result of her very traumatic early life.

This is in no way a defense of Rand or her philosophy, but a rather an attempt to understand how she became the person she was.


Edit to add: Helen Mirren played Rand in "The Passion of Ayn Rand" which focused more on her irrational, controlling personality than her philosophy. Its been a while since I've seen it, but as I recall it was very good.

[Mark D.]

83. Good Points

But the main driver that allowed that to take hold was her being a sociopath. She's been 'diagnosed'
as that by many sources. People need to understand the inherent inability they have to care at all.
Her shifty eyes = paranoia. This hypocrite said nobody should get Medicare, but went on it herself.
Sociopaths have no large voices in politics, in thriving social democracies you could find in Europe.
America became a unique experiment in allowing them that voice ever since Reagan's presidency.
She opened the door for it. She and her followers ARE socialists. Market socialism - for the rich.

[2banon]

87. My High School English Lit Teacher gave to me Fountain Head in 1968

Senior year in 1968, I had written an essay on the criminalization of Marijuana. I'm certain it was terribly written and failed to articulate key points in any cogent or even coherant manner. However I received an A and she then gave me the Fountain Head as a personal gift, suggesting that I would really enjoy it.

Naturally I did read it and found it somewhat interesting but the main theory seemed puzzeling to me. I was trying to flesh out why altruism and philanthrophy was so evil, as it seemed humanatarian to me. It seemed to me that she had equated those ideals with corruption.. one and the same. that was my take away at the time. I wasn't interested in reading Atlas Shrugged although I often saw copies laying around shelves and coffee tables along side of Tolkeins works. I don't recall any discussion of either Fountain Head or Atlas Shrugged until now.

[PatSeg]

91. When I was 20

an acquaintance recommended Fountain Head to me. Though I found aspects of it very interesting, I was also exploring Eastern philosophies and religions at the same time. Oh I remember Tolkein books being very popular as well. I guess it was part of an era, but it certainly was an odd mix of literature and philosophies.

We were all so earnest and sure of ourselves, and ironically most of us were super liberal as well. How Ayn Rand fit into all that is still a mystery to me. Guess it has to do with youth.

[Athena66]

155. Speaking of youth

I read both The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged when I was about twelve years old, and loved them. By the time I entered high school, I had come to the conclusion that Ayn Rand was totally full of horse manure. I really think that her books appeal mainly to those who are emotionally and intellectually at about the 12-year-old level.

[PatSeg]

156. I hear that a lot

It definitely seems to be a maturity issue. In the grand scheme of things, Rand must have affected me for about 5 minutes.

[2banon]

160. Weren't you smart! n/t

[2banon]

159. bit of paradox, isn't it?

I could see that the more positive aspects of libertarian thinking underpinning at least some of the narrative (as I remember it now 40 plus years later) might have struck a certain chord with us in our youth, and considering the times, there was alot of exploring of ideas that were not considered mainstream, in fact very anti-establishment.

[PatSeg]

162. I was trying to think of how to put it in words

and I think you captured it quite well. The libertarian aspects were definitely appealing, as was anything "anti-establishment". There is still a libertarian side to me today, the side that doesn't want the government telling me who I can marry and what I can do with my body, but not the idea that we must all fend for ourselves, sink or swim. There is a delicate balance between personal freedoms and social responsibility.

[2banon]

164. Me too. We're Socialist Libertarian's

I've been trying explain that's who many of us American Leftist are. And now that this entire subject comes-up, and I look back at why my views have formed as they have, is due in large part to the anti-establishment/anti-authority ideology of the day.. Now we grow up, and we mature, and we refine our views, understanding not everything is black and white but shades of gray and there are nuances of this and that aspect of all manner of living in a society that once was a democratic society or at least pretended to be to some degree. I could go on, but fear i will ramble and have no more time for this, this evening. However you have sparked an idea, and I thank you for that too! :hi:

[PatSeg]

165. And I thank you as well

There are certain words and ideas I've avoided the last few years, because they have taken on a negative meaning. It is not always easy to explain them in the current political environment. However, even Bill Maher called himself a libertarian until recently and now he has backed off that tag.

You really did explain what was in my head beautifully. I look forward to future encounters! :toast:

[PatSeg]

88. Yes, a socipath and a narcissist

though I suppose they go hand-in-hand.

Someone summed it up nicely in an Amazon comment: "...it is awfully hard to tell a devout Objectivist from a narcissistic, manipulative sociopath. I wonder why. (Hint: it was hard to tell Rand from one too.)"

http://www.amazon.com/Therapist-Ellen-Plasil/dp/0312903634/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1303234593&sr=1-1

[Green_Lantern]

104. isn't that just an adhom attack?

I doubt they are all just sociopaths

[bloom]

132. The philosophy is essentially the same as sociopathic ideas

In a way - it is even worse because as a group of people support it - the people feel even more adamant and justified in those thoughts.

If people can't say that bad is bad and that good is good - then what can people say? Can people say Hitler was bad? If someone agrees with the views of Hitler, can you not say that it is bad. It's basically the same thing.

[Green_Lantern]

134. not the Hitler card..

Rand supported genocide?

[bloom]

140. What is up with supporting Rand?

Sure people (ie Rand) can throw in a few good ideas - but if you can't see the problem with Rand - then you have more problems than what we are going to be able to address in this thread.



on Genocide by Ayn Rand:

There is no principle by which genocide—a crime against a group of men—can be regarded as morally different from (or worse than) a crime against an individual: the difference is only quantitative, not moral. It can be easily demonstrated that Communism means and requires the extermination—the genocide, if you wish—of a particular human species: the men of ability.

The Objectivist Calendar, June 1978.

http://aynrandlexicon.com/lexicon/genocide.html

[HankyDubs]

136. no.

an ad hominem would be if I said you are wrong because you are a sociopath. Simply stating that a person is a sociopath is not ad hominem. In certain cases ad hominems are not fallacious. For instance, if I were to assert that your argument is based on the fact that you will benefit financially or in some other way. So it is an ad hominem to assert that an oil billionaire's arguments against environmental legislation cannot be taken at face value, but in that case the ad hominem is not fallacious.

[fascisthunter]

146. she revered a serial killer

[glinda]

166. At least not at first but possibly after being around them they become that crazy.

[2banon]

84. This explains a lot!

Interesting that this cause and extremist effect hasn't been pointed out before, I appreciate that information. I had no idea there was earlier film, with Helen Mirren playing Rand. Wow! that one has to be good. I'll netflix it! Thanks again.. :hi:

[PatSeg]

94. Helen Mirren was outstanding

and her portrayal of Ayn Rand was quite disturbing. Of course it was written by the wife of Rand's younger lover, so I suppose it was a bit biased. Still it gave me a more well rounded picture of her. I think the woman had serious psychological problems.

[BanzaiBonnie]

76. What was wrong with her eyes?

Why the darting movement of her eyes? Was she looking down at something to read from? Or could she not hold eye contact withan other person?

[liberation]

89. Ayn Rand was a speed freak, her brain must have been mush by the time that interview was conducted

... that, and there is also the fact that she was nucking futs. She was a narcissist and a sociopath, so there was obviously some underlying psychiatric issues going on in that lady's head, and the eye movement could very well be a tell tale (lack of capacity for eye contact and eye movement all over the place can sometimes be a symptom of certain mental conditions).

[glinda]

167. Was she a speed freak? She reminds me of Bachman's traits actually.

Maybe that is why they love her so much?

[fascisthunter]

145. I Noticed that too.... speed maybe?

[freedom fighter jh]

107. .

[Keith Bee]

152. Did you see those shifty eyes?

Pure evil

[Danse]

3. Terrific Video

I wrote an article on Ayn Rand and the philosophy of libertarianism a few months ago. Entitled "Ayn Rand in Uganda" it was published on Dissident Voice and sparked a lively debate with a host of libertarians/Randians.

Link is here --

http://dissidentvoice.org/2010/03/ayn-rand-in-uganda-2/

Since I'm new here I cannot start new threads, but if anyone else wants to post it as a headline please feel free.

[Grassy Knoll]

5. Go to the top of this page and find post (Pic of pencil)

then find general discussion and you can post it there.
and welcome :hi:

[chillspike]

10. Danse, are you sharing an article?

What did we tell you about sharing? It rewards the weak. Let the freeloaders search for their own articles. ;D

[freshwest]

18. Thank you, Danse and welcome to DU. That is a great article and I'll share it.

[EnviroBat]

59. Danse, that was extremely well-written and I can look back on this day

as one in which I learned something...

Thanks!

[freshwest]

128. Yes, it showed great depth, very inspiring!

[nolabear]

67. Danse, beautifully done. I've shared this on FB and elsewhere.

Rand does indeed exhibit all the symptoms of sociopathy, but with a pen instead of a sword. Those eho follow her suffer from the erroneous conviction that they are among the Supermen, when in fact they are, in her world, beneath notice.

[Pacifist Patriot]

78. Great Article

[BobbyBoring]

106. Wow Danse! Welcome to DU

Great article!

[glinda]

168. Welcome and great article!

[juxtaposed]

4. do we need more? push is coming to shove- They have a movie now.

I say push back twice as hard! But, then again I'm just a union man...

[freshwest]

19. You're in good company. Make yourself at home!

[Stargleamer]

6. This hypocrite applied for Medicare. . .

gawd, even her thoughts on Jim Crow laws are dubious (I believe she opposed anything that takes away the right of a business owner to do what he or she wants, including the right to serve non-whites).

Of course republicans love Ayn Rand, as her ideas are in agreement with what they want to further--making this country more and more plutocratic.

[freshwest]

20. And took Social Security. Like Teapartiers, figured she was owed it.

[Green_Lantern]

105. if you are forced to pay into SS then you better believe you

Should expect to get money back from it.

I support SS but I think it sounds like you think SS is just some handout when the people collecting it are simply getting money back from FICA.

[freshwest]

127. "I support SS but I think it sounds like you think SS is just some handout "

You need to think again. You are going to have enough trouble figuring out what you think before you can tell me what I think.

There was nothing in my post to say that I think it's a handout.

Have you got a problem with me for not liking Rand, a woman whose dehumanizing of those on SS is still being parroted to us by those who are actively seeking to destroy it now?

You can check my opinion of SS here:

http://www.ssa.gov/history/paine4.html

Or not. Good bye.

[Green_Lantern]

130. you did indeed imply it was a hand out...

You specifically said "Tea partiers think they should get SS like they are owed it."

You do seem to forget that they paid into the system like everyone else.

Now...if they got welfare, you'd have a point.

[freshwest]

142. One last time:

'You specifically said "Tea partiers think they should get SS like they are owed it."'

Everyone who pays in is owed it technically, but there is more to it. A lot who didn't pay in are owed it as well, just in different forms. Everyone is owed the means to live.

However, the Ayn Rand loving Tea Partiers make distinctions between what they *think they are owed* and what those they consider *unworthy* are owed, which in their mind, is nothing. That's what I was pointing out.

'You do seem to forget that they paid into the system like everyone else.'

I forget nothing of the kind. By saying they are owed it, of course we know they are owed it in that term. Just like everyone else, which I already said. If you read the pamphlet by Paine, you would see my opinion, which is much deeper than these semantics here.

'Now...if they got welfare, you'd have a point.'

No, I wouldn't, and neither would you. Yet their leader and promoter of Ayn Rand, Rush Limbaugh calls SS a form of welfare, just as Greenspan does, another follower. That's the Randian game, who's *worthy,* according to sociopaths. Government is not as judgmental as these greedy, pontificating loud mouths.

People have needs. But for the luck of the draw, we are the same. We will all get old and need help if we live that long, or earlier if we are unemployed or disabled.

And children who never had a chance to pay into the system may be born disabled. Their support is welfare in every sense of the word. They are not less human because our humanity is not defined by our ability to work or being born wealthy.

The idea that only those able to fight wars or gain riches in some other way are worthy is the mentality of the third reich. They called anyone not able to go and fight 'worthless mouths' and the Randians call all who aren't useful in that way 'parasites.'

The Randians believe none of those groups deserve either SS or welfare. They believe they should die and leave more for the Supermen. Anyone romancing the rotting corpse of Ayn Rand needs to be given whatever wake up call possible, to make them question their twisted value system.

EOD.

[liberation]

90. She was a hypocrite from day 1: she and her family got in the US via asylum

had the policies she was championing been applied to her case, she should have been left to dry back in her beloved Russia. There was also the issue that her actual vocation was as a play writer for Hollywood, a role in which she bombed miserably. So technically, she should have been left with no medicare, social security, so that she would have been forced to live on the streets due to her lack of talent. After all, she should have been consistent by applying her own principles to herself. Alas...

[spicegal]

7. Am wondering how many taped interviews can be dug up on

this woman. Definitely don't see much Christian love goin on there. Talk about an intellectual arrogant elitist.

[freshwest]

21. On the youtube page of the OP, there are a lot of the right side.

[BanzaiBonnie]

77. She said, "very few people deserve love..."

I very much doubt she was capable of loving. She seems to have been scewed to the sociopathic. And her interest in, and modeling the the protagonist in one of her books, after the sadistic killer, pretty much confirms that.

[Spiderzumbie]

8. I was just thinking...............

I was just thinking...... What if (In a Randian Utopia) in the individual's venture into achieving all he can be, he locks another who also wishes to stride into utopia in chains to work for him, so the latter can be instead enslaved to the very Individualist who wishes to throw away the chains of oppressive government? Couldn't the Individualist easily hold and increase inhumane labor just as a totalitarian government's work camp could to its citizens, as he could to the workers he employs?

[jonthebru]

11. BINGO!

And it follows that the upwardly mobile person below attacks and fights and conflicts with the "powers that be" above. Its not like those in control will welcome others as equals or anything. There are so many holes in this ideology that the rising tide would not float any boats.

[freshwest]

22. Not sure what you're thinking, but it ain't all govt's; corporations are doing this now.

[tclambert]

49. Isn't that how corporations work?

Offshore those pesky "good" jobs (ones with living wages and decent benefits) to nations that allow slave labor. When a slave gets old enough to no longer have the strength or health to continue working, the corporation generously grants the slave his freedom. He's then perfectly free to starve, or freeze to death, or die of an easily treatable disease.

[HolyCity2012]

9. Ayn Rand, Secret Socialist

Ayn Rand was not only a schlock novelist, she was also the progenitor of a sweeping "moral philosophy" that justifies the privilege of the wealthy and demonizes not only the slothful, undeserving poor but the lackluster middle-classes as well.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=385x549578

[freshwest]

23. Woohoo! Thanks so much for that link.

[MedicalAdmin]

137. It's like scientology, but with republicans....

[jimlup]

12. I wonder how many of the rank and file realize how anti christian she was

I also wonder if the bosses will be able to quiet her other extremism - she was anti-war.

[Enthusiast]

33. Her philosophy could be a cause for war. nt

[Pharaoh]

51. The Christian right

are not Christian, they go against everything Jesus preached, they are hypocrites.

[ooglymoogly]

13. Self loathing at its pinnacle.

A philosophy that is no more than an excuse for the dumbest and most brutish of minds. It is the simpleton's excuse for the most heinous crimes; calling all that is evil virtue. This woman must be the queen of hell, for that is what she tried to bring to fruition on this earth and she just may have succeeded.

[ReggieVeggie]

14. what a piece of work n/t

[RowdyRacer]

15. I read "Atlas Shrugged"...

the whole, stinking thing. The plot is so implausible, anyone who considers it to be a blueprint for society has obviously not read it.

[uncle ray]

60. when you get to the sci-fi anti-matter gun shit it's hard to take any of it serious.

[EnviroBat]

63. I tried to read it, I really did...

I found it so mind-numbingly boring, and over blown with un-necessary detail, and self-aggrandizement, that I took it to a bon-fire and tossed it in. YouTube video featuring ceremonious dedication to the Tea Party to follow...

[democracy1st]

16. K & R

[MsPithy]

17. Kind of reminds me of Orly Taitz, only with worse hair.

And, talk about being "shifty eyed!" Now I know what that expression means.

[closeupready]

31. Yes, I noticed her shifty eyes, as well.

It's as though she views the world outside herself as if she were a caged animal. Very creepy mannerism.

[scott_d]

48. I Think You Nailed It

I have read a couple of good biographies of Ayn Rand and I think you understand her well. She seems to have been an anti-social personality from the get go. This tendency was compounded first by her Jewish family's position in virulently anti-Semitic Tsarist Russia and then during the Revolution when the Reds saw her as "Bourgeoisie" and while the Whites saw her as a loathsome minority. Furthermore, once in the United States she never really got to know and understand the United States, living an isolated life among a group of non-religious conservative intellectuals. Rand's life was spent creating an ideology that rationalized the fears and traumas of her life.

I find her to be a very provocative and fascinating character but not one who should be given a lot of credibility nor whose ideas can serve as a model for a functional society.

[FailureToCommunicate]

56. Well put...and welcome!

[geardaddy]

58. She was addicted to methamphetamine

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2010/07/31/889245/-Ayn-Rand,-was-a-devout-drug-addled,-Atheist

[glinda]

169. Is that part of the Ayn Cult thing because I swear Palin, Bachman and a few others are speed freaks.

I am not stating this in jest either.

[geardaddy]

182. You know Glinda, now that you mention it

They really seem like it. Especially BS Bachmann.

:hi:

[glinda]

188. I know someone who is a huge fan of hers and has money. He gave me a lecture

about "There is no real free market and nothing will change until these crooks are out". He claims to be an "Independent" but is a hard core Tea I think and goes on and on about Bachman. He also talks a lot about profit.
:hi:

[uncle ray]

61. she was a speed freak.

[Quixote1818]

24. The ironic thing is the wealthy business interests have most Reps thinking these are Christian

teachings and yet she despised the altruistic teachings of Jesus with a passion. Up becomes down and down becomes up in the GOP world. As long as it suits their needs.

[the_chinuk]

25. Funny Those Tea Partiers Think They Have Something In Common With John Galt …

What really got me, reading all of these, is that Tea Partiers have been willing participants in the marketing of Atlas Shat, wearing those "Who Is John Galt?" T-shirts and all.

And then it really "got" me … John Galt would sooner take a shit on these people than do anything for them. But still they idolize him, because they've been convinced that they are Just Like Him. They see themselves as Taggart and Reardon, but they're really the assholes that Taggart and Reardon and Galt left behind.

Of course the proceeding statement asks you to believe that Rand had a point other than the one that ugly proto-Supercuts hairdo covered, but only for the sake of argument. The real point is that the average-Tea-Partying-Joe is so devoid of critical thinking skills they shouldn't be trusted … well, with anything really.

And, now more than ever, praise of Ayn Rand should be taken as a manifest and potentially fatal character flaw. An Objectivist is someone who thinks that Western man, if only he were unfettered, wouldn't be an asshole anymore … and just to be safe, will become a bigger asshole than ever just to make sure you don't test them.

If an Objectivist promised me something, I'd get in in writing and notarized … and I still wouldn't trust 'em.

[Quixote1818]

26. I think all the Ayn Rand worship could be used in political campaigns to question if

these Republicans really do believe in Jesus or if they really just believe in $ and loving themselves more than Jesus?

[the_chinuk]

29. Well, being Mormon did scare people away from Mitt. It could prove a winnower.

[Johonny]

52. I think their modern Christianity

melds Ayn Rand and the Bible. Just look at how many of the modern American Megachurches operate. They spend more time talking about making money than they do anything in the bible.

[glinda]

170. That is an interesting observation on Mega-Churches.Do they really sit around and talk about money?

[the_chinuk]

183. Not in so many words. But …

… the modern strain of "megachurches" in America sprouted from the "word-faith", or "name-it-and-claim-it" school of thought, which holds that the way to prosperity is to plant a faithful seed with your local pastor which will be redeemed in favor of temporal wealth Real Soon Now. It appears to inform a lot of what they do. If you've ever heard of "prosperity theology", this is where we got it, and many of these "churches" are lousy with it.

If you turn on the Trinity Broadcasting System, you'll see, soon enough, a televised pastor exhorting you to plant a seed with them in hopes of getting real-world riches in a little while.

[glinda]

187. Is this different from Dominionist think about rich = heaven?

[tclambert]

54. Isn't John Galt the guy from "Atlas Shrugged" who shortly after that story developed kidney disease

and lost all his money because his insurance company refused to cover his dialysis and kidney transplant because they said he already had the kidney disease when he last switched insurance plans, and thus wasn't covered due to having a "pre-existing condition?" Since he had refused to join a union, or a church, or make friends with any lesser humans, or sign up for any "socialist" government aid program, he had no one to provide him any help. He lost his home, went bankrupt, ended up living under an overpass, unable to afford his anti-rejection meds, eventually died of pneumonia, and his body, the parts scattered by hungry coyotes, wasn't found for three weeks.

Isn't that who John Galt is?

[classof56]

73. Ah, now we know!

Thanks for the update.

:yourock:

[glinda]

171. LMAO

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

[NewJeffCT]

70. The teabaggers think they're the ones that will be stepping on the little people

A few years back, there was a survey that stated that 18% of Americans thing they are in the top 1% of income earners. I'm guessing a lot of teabaggers are in that 18% who think they're the ones that will lord over the little people.

[October]

112. Enjoyed your post

Especially...

"An Objectivist is someone who thinks that Western man, if only he were unfettered, wouldn't be an asshole anymore...and just to be safe, will become a bigger asshole than ever just make sure you don't test them."

The twisted logic of the Teabaggers and other FOLLOWERS of the GOP is mind-boggling. Their ignorance of irony never ceases to amaze me.

[Presidentcokedupfratboy]

27. She is the epitome

of today's awful GOPologist party.

[glinda]

172. Your name is funny....

[chollybocker]

28. The person I'd least like to have a beer with.

[BobTheSubgenius]

30. Windows is so broken that I can't keep a sound driver loaded, so I can't hear this, but...

...did this touch on her major admiration for "The best and strongest expression of a real man's psychology I have heard," referring to William Hickman? Hickman, a man who kidnapped and murdered a 12 year old girl, wired her eyes open, cut off her legs and stuffed her hollowed-out torso with towels, totally captivated the charming Ms Rand's imagination.

Truly one of her shining moments. I really used to dislike her; now, I find her one of the most contemptible human beings whose words I have had the displeasure - however briefly - of reading.

I actually have more sympathy for Ted Kaczynski, and I totally stand by that statement.

[MessiahRp]

92. It didn't touch on that.

It just shows an interviewer asking her about why she disagrees with loving and caring for one another and puts her on the spot about her feelings about Christianity.

Does anyone know if there is a comprehensive Ayn Rand site that has things like this video, the love she had for the serial killer, her usage of Medicare/Social Security, etc all in one place? Like an ultimate Rand debunking site?

Rp

[PatrynXX]

34. one could take her for

Leni Refenstahl (sp) except Rand is far creepier. Hell I gotta deal with that dumb book in dads office. Right next to the revisionism of McCarthy. (Blacklisted by History??) Whats a church going man doing with an anti Christian , pro fascist book? BONG. you see what you want to see you hear what you want to hear. Ahh. hello sarah palin. 9 people show up and she sees 900.

Oh wonder what would have happened if she was hear today and met some free thinking pornstars. Catfight?? You betcha. And she'd come out the loser.

[closeupready]

53. I saw that film biography of Riefenstahl years ago; despite her many flaws, she had personal charm.

Rand, as you can see here, absolutely does not. She even resembles what one could imagine as Gollum's sister (Gollum of Lord of the Rings).

[Turbineguy]

35. I am reminded of

the story where the 9/11 hijackers told the plane passengers, "Don't do anything stupid!"

[craigmatic]

36. For a party of wannabe bible thumpers they sure look up to some evil fucks.

Nobody deserves love and altruism is evil. That bitch was a fascist.

[XanaDUer]

38. Finally, someone told conservoes how to pronounce "Ayn"

they're so intellectshual and all...

[humanityisfree]

39. this is a strange "interview"

I would love to see more video, hear more audio of Ayn Rand. She acts so strange in this piece - I feel sorry for her. They way her eyes dart around and the brevity of her answers. Also - how do these conservatives reconcile her anti-religion stance. They just cherry pick her ideas and positions?
This is interesting - lets see what other video / historical documentation that reverberates in todays world to post and disseminate about Ms. Rand - get people thinking

[liberation]

93. Check youtube there are a few more interviews with Ayn Rand

She really was that creepy. You should not be too surprised that her professed followers (Greenspan, the Pauls, the teabaggers, etc) are creeps too.

[florida08]

40. she was truly a sociopath and nihilist

An anarchist believes in no ruling authority and that people should govern themselves. She wrote John Galt to be an anarcho capitalist. Yet she was very demanding of her followers

Anarcho-capitalism is an anarchist philosophy that is against the idea of political government and a compulsory economy, and for voluntary, economic government through free market capitalism mediated by supply and demand.

Anarcho-capitalists think that people can protect themselves without any government. Instead of stopping intrusion with laws, people could protect their own things, or agree to pay other people such as insurers, and private defenders to protect them through the marketplace. Anarcho-capitalists say that the government is a thief because it takes taxes away from people against their will, and keeps them from making unfettered agreements between themselves. This is completely consistent with Rand/Galt's beliefs.


Nathaniel Branden partner with Rand in selling her philosophy in "The Basics of Objectivism." He had an affair with Rand but left her for a younger model. Rand after that stripped him of all acknowledgement in all her writings. He was 19 when he met her. They had an 18 year long relationship. She was 24 years his senior. 1950-1968

Murray Rothbard (anarcho-capitalist) admired Rand's book 'Atlas Shrugged' and had a brief encounter with her. He wrote: "Capitalism is the fullest expression of anarchism, and anarchism is the fullest expression of capitalism."

They had a falling out and he wrote this:
http://www.lewrockwell.com/rothbard/rothbard23.html">The Sociology of the Ayn Rand Cult

-snip-

Rand cultists were required to sign a loyalty oath to Rand; essential to the loyalty oath was a declaration that the signer would henceforth never read any future works of the apostate and arch-heretic Branden. After the split, any Rand cultist seen carrying a book or writing by Branden was promptly excommunicated.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anarcho-capitalism#The_Austrian_School">Anarcho-Caplitalism

[florida08]

41. Rothbard was also against the Fed and American Imperialism

Rothbard believed the monopoly power of government over the issuance and distribution of money was inherently destructive and unethical. The belief derived from Ludwig von Mises and Friedrich Hayek's Austrian theory of the business cycle, which holds that undue credit expansion inevitably leads to a gross misallocation of capital resources, triggering unsustainable credit bubbles and, eventually, economic depressions. He therefore strongly opposed central banking and fractional reserve banking under a fiat money system, labeling it as "legalized counterfeiting" or a form of institutionalized embezzlement and therefore inherently fraudulent. He characterized the government-enforced prohibition on citizens using commodity currencies as legal tender a compulsory Ponzi scheme, a Ponzi scheme from which no citizen could escape.

He strongly advocated full reserve banking ("100 percent banking") and a voluntary, nongovernmental gold standard or, as a second best solution, free banking (which he also called "free market money").

In relation to the current central bank-managed fractional reserve fiat currency system, he stated the following:

Given this dismal monetary and banking situation, given a 39:1 pyramiding of checkable deposits and currency on top of gold, given a Fed unchecked and out of control, given a world of fiat moneys, how can we possibly return to a sound noninflationary market money? The objectives, after the discussion in this work, should be clear: (a) to return to a gold standard, a commodity standard unhampered by government intervention; (b) to abolish the Federal Reserve System and return to a system of free and competitive banking; (c) to separate the government from money; and (d) either to enforce 100 percent reserve banking on the commercial banks, or at least to arrive at a system where any bank, at the slightest hint of nonpayment of its demand liabilities, is forced quickly into bankruptcy and liquidation. While the outlawing of fractional reserve as fraud would be preferable if it could be enforced, the problems of enforcement, especially where banks can continually innovate in forms of credit, make free banking an attractive alternative.

Believing like Randolph Bourne that "war is the health of the state", Rothbard opposed aggressive foreign policy. He criticized imperialism and the rise of the American empire which needed war to sustain itself and to expand its global control. His dislike of U.S. imperialism even led him to eulogize and lament the CIA-assisted execution of Marxist revolutionary Che Guevara in 1967, proclaiming that "his enemy was our enemy".


Doesn't this sound like Ron Paul..

[EnviroBat]

74. I found this a truly disturbing passage in the artice by Murray Rothbard.

For many ex-cultists remain imbued with the Randian belief that every individual is armed with the means of spinning out all truths a priori from his own head – hence there is felt to be no need to learn the concrete facts about the real world, either about contemporary history or the laws of the social sciences. Armed with axiomatic first principles, many ex-Randians see no need of learning very much else

If this isn't the experience of dealing with a Tea Bagger, I don't know how else to describe it. No need for the facts, or the truth. Come to think of it, this is pretty much the philosophy of the entire right wing in general.

[florida08]

81. indeed

And when you think that many of the religious right believe they can bring on the end times and that nothing else matters it's terrifying. But cults are like that. They have given themselves over to the cult leader and everything be damned before they will acknowledge they were wrong We have so many examples of that in our history. Jim Jones, Heaven's Gate, John Birch, Washington DC's 'The Family' that Jeff Sharlet exposed. Seems people are drawn to extremisms to their own and our detriment.

[florida08]

82. with one caveat

Alan Greenspan did admit he was wrong about the markets regulating themselves..then went right back to excuses and his Rand cultism.

[liberation]

95. Technically he did admit he was wrong, but he did so in a way he painted himself the victim

like any good narcissistic sociopath, Mr. Greenspan is incapable of contemplating the prospect of he being incorrect, ever. So there must have been something or someone else that did screw up his flawless vision.

In fact I bet that to this day, Mr. Greenspan sees those millions of people unemployed and barely subsisting in this economy as the real assholes, who are victimizing him by making his master plan look bad.

[florida08]

117. exactly

[glinda]

173. So they rationalize being ignorant.

[Lint Head]

42. I have a tee shirt sentence for you.

Ayn Rand Hates Christ

That would provoke a teabagger or two.

[zbdent]

43. It really confuses me why the "in the backpocket of the Religious Right" GOP

makes such a hero of ATHEIST Ayn Rand ...

but then, I read this in your post ... "and condemned Christianity for advocating love and compassion for the less fortunate." That sounds like the main requirement of being a Republican ...

[scott_d]

46. She Condemned More Than Love And Compassion

In the novel Atlas Shrugged, Rand denounces the very concept of original sin. In her mind Adam and Eve were right to disobey God and eat the forbidden fruit, thus gaining freedom and discovering the joys of sexuality. The passages in mind are found in the later third of the book in the chapter in which the character John Galt takes over the air waves and delivers a lengthy speech which is a summation of Rand's philosophy. I can see Republicans not being upset about the denunciation of love and compassion as it is not a part of their interpretation of Christianity. However, in the speech Rand is basically singing the praises of Satan and rebellion against God. I think most readers of Atlas Shrugged simply skip the speech chapter.

[BobbyBoring]

108. I guess for the same reasons they make heros out of

Traitors like Ollie North, and convicted scum bags like G Gordon Liddy.

There's something really wrong with these folks~

[wilt the stilt]

44. Paul Ryan-effin' jerk

this guy has never worked in the private sector. he even changed his wikipedia to look like he did. According to his new wiki- he worked for the family business- that the same as the private sector. he has never bought health insurance but he wants to give vouchers. this guy is a scumbag. how would he know what caapitalism is since he never participated in it. That is like lecturing about sex without ever getting laid.

[stuntcat]

45. THE example of why I am ashamed of my species

As great as some of us are, the selfish will win in the end, the planet and the wildlife will be raped and wiped out while Humans will still beat their chests with pride, letting the "winners" bask in glory.

And I don't even blame this tool or the people who idolize her, they are just doing what humans will do.

[LeftinOH]

47. I haven't read Atlas Shrugged; I've tried, but it always puts me to sleep. n/t

[glinda]

174. I read it years ago and it was not memorable.

[lumpy]

55. And we thought Hitler had bad ideas.

Rand was a "totally primative savage" the preditor type.

[GreenTea]

85. Hitler did as well-FASCISM is sickening & back-wards-Oppressive to ALL but a few, i.e. the wealthy

The republicans ideology & agenda is the same...corporate fascism.

[AlbertCat]

158. Hitler did as well-FASCISM is sickening & back-wards

Fascism was "invented" by Mussolini, not Hitler. But it still sux.

[NewJeffCT]

57. I'd love for somebody in the media to pull a "gotcha" on a GOPer

have them praise Ayn Rand up & down...

then, give them an 'anonymous' anti-Christian quote of Rand's and ask how they feel about it. When they condemn the quote, tell them it's from Ayn Rand.

isn't that what Fox does to Democrats?

[AlbertCat]

64. an 'anonymous' anti-Christian quote of Rand's

Good idea.

But this only plays into that thing about religion being the source of altruism. It is not.


Altruism is something that evolved as behavior in social animals. Of course, if Ayn's mommy had been a Randian, she would have left little baby Ayn on a street corner somewhere to fend for herself. After all, why should the mother share her time/food/shelter with some puking helpless baby who contributes nothing?

The point being that Rand "philosophy" is not only bunk, but biologically impossible.

Unless of course you are a bee or an ant. Ant Rand!

[scott_d]

75. Rand Despised Christianity For More Than Just Its Promotion Of Altruism

This is a good idea. I realize what I am asking but I suggest you read Ayn Rand. There are so many juicy quotes to mine. If you think Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens are harsh critics of religion you aint seen nuttin yet. Basically, Rand regarded religion as an insult to mankind and a crutch for the weak minded.

[glinda]

175. She was defeatist and definitely suffered from depression as well as other issues it seems.

[felix_numinous]

62. Ayn Rand was a vampire

or at least embodied the archetype of the vampire. They are charismatic, egotistical and demand complete approval and acquiescence to their will. In esoteric terms she embodies the left hand path, ruthless, cold and predatory. She used words like freedom and liberty to lure people, not to experience these concepts.

That the Ayn Rand phenomena is now coming out of the woodwork to be reexamined is very timely, since humankind's crisis now has to do with personal will and to what extent we are beholden to each other and to the planet. Her cult now exposed is also timely because of the many other cults now decimating the planet in the names of other egos--human cruelty is on the rise--because people once 'bitten' and indoctrinated into believing they are above everyone else, are the most dangerous animals on Earth. They are as addicted to their own superiority as to heroin.

This to me has less to do with her being agnostic and more to do with her insatiable attachment to the whims of her own ego. She has always always creeped me out on a fundamental level, and until now have never really taken a look at why this was so--and so my instincts were right on.

The Rand cult exposed now asks of us one crucial question--and I have yet to hear an adequate answer---What do we do as a country, as a human species, to keep these sociopathic cultist from destroying our planet and our country?? I think this is a matter of life and death for us.

[Greybnk48]

65. Wasn't she an anti-Christian atheist?

I could swear I read something by her years ago that was specifically anti-Christian.

[DCofVA]

66. I know this word is really over used but, in this case it really fits....

What a flaming Nazi! Her philosophy is all about the survival of the "fittest".

[DCofVA]

68. It is interesting that her name is so close to Aryan

[RZM]

126. You do know that she born to a Jewish family, right?

Her real name was Alisa Rosenbaum. I don't know a whole lot about her life, but I don't think there's much of a connection between 'Ayn' and 'Aryan.'

[Green_Lantern]

69. Rand has some good points and other silly points...

Like every philosopher. I just think it is wrong for building our economy on the every word she said.

[liberation]

98. Calling Ayn Rand a philosopher is like saying Sarah Palin is a scholar...

Yes, Rand did write a few books, and Palin went to a few universities. However....

[Green_Lantern]

102. I know she wrote fiction but her philosophy of Objectivism can't be

Just cast off as just some stupid 15 minute fad like Palin.

Agree with it or not, it influenced decades of libertarian and conservative thought.

Philosopher doesn't mean "only people who agree with me."

Objectivism is a philosophy.

[liberation]

109. I know exactly what a "philosopher" is that is why I said that Rand was a poor one

She wasn't even that original, most of her "philosophy" is nothing more than a poor repackaging of Nietzsche's superman. Where the German thought of poets, artists, philosophers et al as the maximum expression of humanity, the Russian ex-pat saw sociopathic business tycoons instead.

Nietzsche was a boring and pedantic with tedious rambling when explaining his philosophy. But at least he had a philosophy, which I don't particularly find agreeable (see I know the difference ;-) ). Rand is just boring with her 1000+ page treaties on vanity, she rambles all right... but she goes no where.


Ayn Rad was a fiction writer, and a bad one at that, but a serious philosopher she was not. In fact, objectivism as a philosophy is taken seriously mostly by people who do not know much about philosophy, since it is a derivative view really. It reflects poorly in our country's philosophical production, because honestly "fuck you I got mine" is not really that original of an idea/ethos.

[Green_Lantern]

113. I've read fountainhead but I didn't find

Writing to be as boring as you suggest.

I don't think she advocated corporatism though...in Fountainhead the villains were corporate types making deals with power hungry govt. officials.

The hero was not a sociopathic business tycoon.

What book were you reading?

[liberation]

119. Technically the hero in the fountainhead was a sociopathic rapist,

I have read a lot of her works actually, Atlas Shrugged, Philosophy who needs it? and yes even The Fountainhead.

I thought we were discussing her supposed "philosophy" though...

[Green_Lantern]

122. he is falsely accused of rape in the book for one thing..

And I didn't think there was much to say, other than your opinion that Objectivism isn't a philosophy is just your opinion.

I'm not going to defend its merits because I don't agree with it 100% enough to do so.

[liberation]

125. Well for what ti is worth...

Non consensual sexual violations which involve the unwilling parties (or victim) violently fighting off their assailants are usually what most of us define as "rape."

But, whatever I guess.

[Green_Lantern]

129. oh nice...people have debated whether or not that depicted rape or

Not for five centuries but only you have the ultimate understanding to interpret literature huh?

[liberation]

141. You're all over the place. Five centuries?

The Fountainhead was published in 1943 that is like 68 years...

Cheers.

BTW, the non-consensual sex (aka rape) scene is rather pivotal and directly addressed/described in the book. So I would recommend you actually read the book. Plus I thought you were not interesting in defending Rand and yet...

[fascisthunter]

147. wrong place

[ryan_cats]

131. Falsely accused of rape, are we talking the about the same book?

Falsely accused of rape, are we talking the about the same book?

He raped Dominique and the justification was that they both knew they wanted it, seriously. Try that defense in a rape trial. Then he avoided her for a week and when a job appeared from NYC, he was gone.

Is it possible for a woman to be a misogynist?

[Green_Lantern]

133. well...let's ask Dominique if she really wanted it...

Oh wait...she is a creation of Rand.

If Rand says Dominique was consenting in her mind how exactly can you tell Rand what her own character was thinking.

[ryan_cats]

138. I challenge anyone to read that passage and say it's not rape.

I challenge anyone to read that passage and say it's not rape. Lots of passionate sex scenes involve biting someone on the lip and drawing blood, how romantic???? Read it again. He avoided her for a week, then he abandoned her when a chance to design a building came up and didn't even tell her he was leaving. Great love scene.








Oh wait...she is a creation of Rand.

If Rand says Dominique was consenting in her mind how exactly can you tell Rand what her own character was thinking.

You realize that works both ways, yes?

[AlbertCat]

157. it influenced decades of libertarian and conservative thought.

And look where we are.....

[Carni]

71. Creepy ugly troll like creature

She reminds me of that ugly creature in the Harry Potter movies (Dobby? I think?)

BTW why is it that these WOMEN like her would spew their crap about feminism being wrong, while they were cavorting around expecting to be taken seriously as the head of a movement?

Isn't she herself negating the fact that she has any validity by saying women are inferior? If they are, then why would anyone want to hear her gibberish?

[janet118]

79. If a multi-national corporation were in human form, it would be Ayn Rand

She worshiped profit and power. She hated children and the weak. She was amoral and shameless. She treated all who were not rich and like-minded like vermin. She cared nothing for future generations or nature. She was a cold, selfish sociopath. She was not human. She was the corporate conscience personified.

I wonder if Rand Paul is named after her.

[glinda]

176. I also wondered that.

[katty]

80. Ayn was a fiction writer, charismatic and deeply emotionally disturbed

and ambitious to attain cult-status-which she did.

[defendandprotect]

86. "Hate one another" is morality -- who does the GOP worship next, Hitler?

I'd suggest that the "morality of capitalism" is beyond a cruel joke when we

look at the destruction of nature and the planet which it and its supporters have

brought to us --

Capitalism is suicidal -- and it will take us all along with it!!

"Survival of the fittest" as presented by Darwin had nothing to do with biceps and

violence --

Survival of the fittest is about the survival of species which COOPERATE WITH NATURE.

When we destroy nature, we are destroying ourselves!!


Thank you!!! Read the TEXT -- and watched the video --- !!


:)

[liberation]

96. Atlas Shrugged Part II "One Hour Later" By Bob the Angry Flower

Something tells me the Randians will not use this for their wankathon about their utopia.

[SleeplessinSoCal]

97. The clip should end with information about her collecting Social Security and Medicare.

[HolyCity2012]

99. yes, yes it should

"Ayn Rand, Secret Socialist"

Ayn Rand was not only a schlock novelist, she was also the progenitor of a sweeping "moral philosophy" that justifies the privilege of the wealthy and demonizes not only the slothful, undeserving poor but the lackluster middle-classes as well.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=385x549578

[WoodyD]

100. This kind of says it all

http://www.flickr.com/photos/woodyd/5635020281/in/photostream

[reformist2]

101. Any GOP Christian who loves Ayn Rand should be asked about John Galt's speech.

Sadly, I've actually read the 57-page speech. That speech is probably the most anti-Christian screed I have ever read. It actually attacks brotherly love, forgiveness, compassion and sacrifice as not only a morality for losers, but as actually immoral. Nietzsche has nothing on Ayn Rand. Any self-professed Christian who claims to love "Atlas Shrugged" is either a complete moron or has never actually read John Galt's speech.

[Danse]

110. Common sense

“"Individuality is impaired when each man decides to fend for himself. . . . The absolutely isolated individual has always been an illusion. The most esteemed personal qualities, such as independence, will to freedom, sympathy, and the sense of justice, are social as well as individual virtues. The fully developed individual is the consummation of a fully developed society."

-Horkheimer, The Eclipse of Reason, p. 135

[riverbendviewgal]

111. I read her 3 fiction novels

and The virtue of Selfishness. The more I read her, the more I found I did not agree with her cruel way of thinking.

Then I read Aldous Huxley's ISLAND and his BRAVE NEW WORLD. That was my way of thinking....and I am still thinking like that.

DUers are Huxley people. We are all in this boat together. We may be of different faiths or no faith but we all care for each other.

[Danse]

116. Island

Wow, someone else read Island?

You would think Huxley wrote only one book.

"Island" is particularly relevant for so-called
"Christian" nuts, because it suggests that sexuality
should not be repressed.

The horrors...I can barely fathom such a society,
whereby Republican legislators get whipped and
spanked in exchange for coooool dollars. Wait...
That's our society.

[liberation]

124. Well, there is that but also Huxley was actually a good writer...

... whereas Rand's prose could put a collective of hyperactive crackheads, tweaking meth on the side, to sleep.

Regardless of her message, she was just an awful writer. Her narrative style is just dreadful, she rambled on and on, it took her tens or hundreds of pages to make a simple point were a few paragraphs would have sufficed, she was just not that creative in her descriptions of events/people/situations, and most of her stories depend on totally non plausible or "childlike" expectations/descriptions of reality. She really was not a talented writer, at all. . I don't have to agree with every author I read, but I have an issue when I have to read a message which I not only disagree with but it is badly written. The only "redeeming" feature of Rand's works, it is that they present an "interesting" insight to the workings and how a sociopath views reality and the world. Once I grasped the context of Rand, her works became a bit of an amusement, but probably not in the sense she intended originally.

[doeriver]

114. Delta Brother-Lover and U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan: Gushing Over The Fountainhead

Just who is U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan trying to fool with his gushing over Ayn Rand's The Fountainhead...?

From what I have been able to read from the http://paulryan.house.gov/Biography/">congressman's own official bio posted at the U.S. House of Representatives web site and other http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Ryan">websites, Ryan is himself is not a Rand-stylized, self-made hero type struggling within the complexities imposed upon the American "free market" (actualy, a "mixed capitalist economy") by unrepresented and unenriched Americans, but rather Rep. Ryan is actually an life-long political hack (at least during his adult years) who seemingly grew up during his early years as a privileged son of an attorney --- albeit, Ryan's father died of a heart attack at age 55 when Ryan himself was a 16 year old high school student --- who reportedly saved his http://www.wpri.org/WIInterest/Vol19No2/Schneider19.2.html">Social Security survivor's benefits following his father's deah in anticipation of paying his college tuition and Delta Tau Delta fraternity dues at Miami University...

And birth certificates aside, just where is verifiable employment experience of U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan with the "private sector", other that the oft-reported and extremely vague statements attributed to the many Ryan congressional campaign that Ryan was once employed as a "marketing consultant" within the "family business"? "Ski-bum" does not qualify as work experience for most job offerings within the U.S. economy...

I suspect that if Ayn Rand was alive today and writing a new book about U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan that she would properly be titling this new Paul biography "The Dickhead"...

[Johnny2X2X]

115. What is missed

I think often what is missed is what is at the core of her being and writing. That is the idea that some people are not only superior, but that because they are superior the rules do not apply to them and they can subsequently do as they please regardless of the consequences to society or to other individuals. It's why Raskolnikov killed that woman in Crime and Punishment, it's why the Nazi's thought they had a duty to subjugate the World. Because they were superior and were pursuing things worthy of rule breaking. The Nazi's thought they knew best and had the most efficient and effective methods for industry and governance, it was their duty to bring this order to the World. They as "Nitsche's Supermen" were duly bound to lead the human race because they were the only one's capable.

Rand and her psychosis in real life are not the issue to me. Sure she was disturbed and we can guess that is where she is coming from, but more important than that is to expose the theme of her writing. It's a theme that if followed leads to totalitarianism and disaster. People need to know this is the thought process that leads to horror and the end of freedom.

[glinda]

177. Good points. This makes it understandable why so many uber-Religious people fall into

line with the Teas and Libertarian crowd. All are rushing towards the cliff of making their version of what they think the NWO should look like, be it apocalyptic, Corp-run, etc.... They are tied together by a few common lines fed by the very few at the top that are the puppeteers.

[polichick]

118. Thom Hartmann covered this today - Republicans sure do love sociopaths!

[JDPriestly]

120. I have stated this here many times before.l

I read everything available by Ayn Rand when I was in college in the 1960s.

It is like so many utopian theories -- Marxism, Rousseau's ideas included.

She imagines a world in which certain realities exist. In her case, she imagines, for instance, that humans can survive without social support, without nurturance, that they can just hatch and take care of themselves.

Ayn Rand's theories work in the reality that she creates in her books. But of course that reality does not exist in the reality of our world. And her theories do not and cannot work in the reality of the world.

We are social creatures. We are interdependent. Jesus was right in his teachings.

A society built on Rand's theories would dissolve into chaos and end in everyone killing each other. No baby could survive without its mother's nurture. Ayn Rand is only possible in a world in which there are no babies, no families, and there is no love. It's immature nonsense.

[FarLeftFist]

121. Misery loves company...

And Rand found her sheeple.

[notadmblnd]

123. so they're followers of a Russian Athiest?

[harun]

144. For the first time in years they may actually stop being hypocrites. Remember "Compassionate

Conservatives"? Conservatism is backed so hard by the Corporate Media and our Corporate Politicians that now they can actually admit they are a bunch of Randian ego maniac self worshipping pigs, and be proud.

Maybe they will stop trying to pretend they have anything to do with Christianity or religion.

[glinda]

178. Maybe she is connected to the Koch's grandparents or something.

[bloom]

135. Alan Greenspan was a great fan/friend of Rands

Her ideas are screwing up our country through people like Greenspan and other followers.

[Dont call me Shirley]

139. Most of the...

Most of the upper class are either sociopaths or psychopaths.
It's no wonder these people stuck on Ayn like flies on sh*t;
she gave them green light to outwardly, unashamedly abuse
others. In order to abuse others you must have an innate
hatred toward them and she gave them the okay to openly
express their love of hatred, their utter glee in harming
others. This is the philosophy which now runs the world. I'm
just waiting for the day all the sociopaths and psychopaths
start turning on each other.

[GETPLANING]

143. She was also a supporter of abortion rights

Shocking, I know...

[bloom]

149. It is possible for obnoxious people to get something right. nt

[fascisthunter]

148. She's a sociopath and other sociopaths are attracted to her way of thinking

Not surprising, but expected.... that is, those who actually know about her. Others are ditto-head-dumb asses.

[glinda]

179. Forgot the psychology term for when more than two people share a psychological illness and band

together. There is a term for it that I used at DU before but forgot it. Darn!

[fascisthunter]

184. damn... right now I can't think of the term but yes,

there is such a thing.

[glinda]

186. There is a term for "two" and a term for "many".

[fascisthunter]

189. I believe the Terms are Mentioned in, "A Sociopath Next Door"

I'll have to read through it more.

[Corruption Winz]

150. She is obviously a erroneously-guided fool 9 out of 10 times..

But I will say I share her sentiments about church, God and the idea of loving your neighbors. While some deserve it, some don't. I can agree with that.

A broken clock is right twice a day. She's still a complete and utter fool.

[NICO9000]

151. Man, what a horrible creep she was

Was that Mike Wallace who interviewed her in those clips?

[Avant Guardian]

153. Explains a lot about the right, doesnt it?

[Keith Bee]

154. Ayn Rand, Orly Taitz:

Two batshitty, unattractive ninnies from the former USSR.

[fascisthunter]

185. she's another one

[abelenkpe]

161. There are very few of us worthy of love

What an f-ing beeyotch.

[regnaD kciN]

163. If there is anything that displays the utter mental bankruptcy of the right-wing...

...it's how many of these idiots openly declare themselves followers of fundamentalist Christianity, while simultaneously embracing the ideas of Ayn Rand. It isn't merely that her "philosophy" is utterly incompatible with the teachings of Christianity -- it's that she makes clear that the entire religion they hold is completely evil and must be exterminated for humankind to progress.

How can one claim to be a "Bible-believer" while still claiming Rand's ideas are "true"...? Cancel my previous thought -- they're not "idiots"; it's a lot deeper than that. To be able to hold two such completely contradictory (and mutually-hostile) world-views simultaneously strikes me as being a form of mental illness.

[glinda]

180. Nystagmus is a shifting eye condition that can be the result

later on in a person's life from neurological problems. Ya think?

[big lu]

190. K&R