Comments on: EDGE: Conservatives And ‘Atlas Shrugged’

By: TennesseeVolunteer

TennesseeVolunteer — Sat, 16 May 2009 12:22:56 +0000

I read the book two years ago and it helped me to understand the wonders of capitalism and helped further shape my personal principles.
Patriots would never ‘Go Galt’ because we have responsibilities to others (family, friends, community, Country, our descendants)
However, capital is definitely going galt. Investors won’t invest, the stock market has trillions waiting on the sideline for this class of fools to finally act like adults. And the natural tendency of any thinking adult is to become very conservative with spending when they feel like their financial security is at risk.
What I do believe is this administration has gotten their mulligan and the gloves are now coming off from all sides. after he makes a complete fool of himself in Egypt and Dresden, the firestorm of patriotic fervor is going to begin his inevitable fall. As Rudyard Kipling said in “If” my brothers, “HOLD ON”.

By: falconfixer

falconfixer — Sat, 16 May 2009 09:10:25 +0000

The “author” of this “piece” (as in piece of crap) proceeds from a false assumption. (several in fact, but I’ll only point out a couple) First, he assumes that a conservative MUST agree with EVERY opinion of a writer since they chose to read them. This is patently untrue, since nearly every rational person takes an eclectic view on the books and authors they read. Second, he assumes that ALL conservatives are literalists, who cannot see that SOME of the ideas in a book apply to today’s situations while others do not. There are a lot of other problems in this “person’s” “logic”, but I am not much of a typist, so I will sign off for now.

By: raton

raton — Sat, 16 May 2009 07:19:26 +0000

uh, someone wrote me this commment about the Dame some times ago

“It appears that this “philosophical Dame” is the muse of the capitalist elite. ”

Nah… Ayn Rand is more of a schoolchild thing, the kind of thing some kids in college take very seriously – like Marcuse albeit less violent.

The ‘capitalist elite’ is too busy lobbying the government to gain special contracts and advantages over their competitors, and also fooling their boards into giving them more pay to bother about ‘absolute’ self-reliance. ‘Self-reliance’ is good for the workers they fire – that is all.

By: AtlasShruggedChangedMyLife

AtlasShruggedChangedMyLife — Sat, 16 May 2009 07:04:08 +0000

This article is ridiculous. Atlas Shrugged is a prophetic vision of our future as either an immoral mixed capitalist or socialist society. Laissez faire capitalism is the only moral economic system. These ideas will change your life!

From Atlas Shrugged:
“So you think that money is the root of all evil?” said Francisco d’Anconia. “Have you ever asked what is the root of money? Money is a tool of exchange, which can’t exist unless there are goods produced and men able to produce them. Money is the material shape of the principle that men who wish to deal with one another must deal by trade and give value for value. Money is not the tool of the moochers, who claim your product by tears, or of the looters, who take it from you by force. Money is made possible only by the men who produce. Is this what you consider evil?

“When you accept money in payment for your effort, you do so only on the conviction that you will exchange it for the product of the effort of others. It is not the moochers or the looters who give value to money. Not an ocean of tears not all the guns in the world can transform those pieces of paper in your wallet into the bread you will need to survive tomorrow. Those pieces of paper, which should have been gold, are a token of honor–your claim upon the energy of the men who produce. Your wallet is your statement of hope that somewhere in the world around you there are men who will not default on that moral principle which is the root of money, Is this what you consider evil?

“Have you ever looked for the root of production? Take a look at an electric generator and dare tell yourself that it was created by the muscular effort of unthinking brutes. Try to grow a seed of wheat without the knowledge left to you by men who had to discover it for the first time. Try to obtain your food by means of nothing but physical motions–and you’ll learn that man’s mind is the root of all the goods produced and of all the wealth that has ever existed on earth.

“But you say that money is made by the strong at the expense of the weak? What strength do you mean? It is not the strength of guns or muscles. Wealth is the product of man’s capacity to think. Then is money made by the man who invents a motor at the expense of those who did not invent it? Is money made by the intelligent at the expense of the fools? By the able at the expense of the incompetent? By the ambitious at the expense of the lazy? Money is made–before it can be looted or mooched–made by the effort of every honest man, each to the extent of his ability. An honest man is one who knows that he can’t consume more than he has produced.’

By: Sully

Sully — Sat, 16 May 2009 04:31:40 +0000

Let’s all thank the nice Liberal for telling us (again) what to read and what to think about it… and never mind that he did so in such a turgid and tedious way.

By: Roland

Roland — Sat, 16 May 2009 02:25:15 +0000

Is Galupo the word for ostrich in some obscure African dialect

By: Ty

Ty — Sat, 16 May 2009 02:13:25 +0000

For what it’s worth, I just purchased and started reading “Atlas Shrugged” this week.

By: mike3481

mike3481 — Sat, 16 May 2009 00:46:10 +0000

Scott Galupo is an idiot.

Disastrous Government meddling in the economy always begins with the formation of a Central Banking system.

In our case that would be the RE-ESTABLISMENT of the Central Bank, aka the Federal Reserve in 1913.

Then the economy just spirals out of control when politician’s meddling mess it up to the breaking point.

In our case it took nearly a century, 4 major Wars, 1 Depression and multiple recessions. All but the Wars wouldn’t have happened if we didn’t have a Central Bank.

A Central Bank issues money with debt (interest) attached to it. During the Carter Presidency that debt (interest) was almost 20% per year.

Start thinking of that debt (interest)as a TAX ON YOUR WEALTH (INCOME)! Because in the end it’s the same thing. Your wealth being confiscated, by the Federal Government whose trying to inflate their way out of a budget shortfall caused by deficit spending.

Pres. Carter and the Dems in Congress back then didn’t come anywhere close to the deficit spending we’re seeing now and in ’79 & ’80 interest rates were through the roof.

The rocket engine of inflation is warming up and by 2011 or 2012 WE WILL SEE INTEREST RATES OF 20+ %.

There is simply no way that can not happen…

By: Tim Roesch

Tim Roesch — Sat, 16 May 2009 00:43:36 +0000

I have long said that the worst we could do, as the ACCDF is not shooting up the White House but detaching from the society (either going to succeeding states or succeeding ourselves). What better way to destroy it all, burn it down, then to retreat in good order, let the cities go up in flames then have the program, smarts and strength to rebuild.

I mean, so Obama is out of the picture. The framework that empowered him would still be there. Pelosi and the system that supported and elected her would still be there.

It’s harsh but what else is there?
Sure, I am going to try my hardest to be elected governor of MA but then what? There’s a whole system that needs to be pulled out by the roots and burned.

That is where the hard work will be.
As I tell my students, hitting someone is easy. Not hitting them is the hard part.
Think about it.

By: LCpl. Alexander

LCpl. Alexander — Sat, 16 May 2009 00:23:39 +0000

Yes, we should do what the democrats think it best we do….is the writer pelosi in disguise?