Objectivist Round Up

I am pleased to present the March 10, 2011 edition of the Objectivist Round Up.

To get us started, here is one my favorite quotes from Ayn Rand:

It is not in the nature of man—nor of any living entity—to start out by giving up, by spitting in one’s own face and damning existence; that requires a process of corruption, whose rapidity differs from man to man. Some give up at the first touch of pressure; some sell out; some run down by imperceptible degrees and lose their fire, never knowing when or how they lost it. Then all of these vanish in the vast swamp of their elders who tell them persistently that maturity consists of abandoning one’s mind; security, of abandoning one’s values; practicality, of losing self-esteem. Yet a few hold on and move on, knowing that that fire is not to be betrayed, learning how to give it shape, purpose and reality. But whatever their future, at the dawn of their lives, men seek a noble vision of man’s nature and of life’s potential.

--"Introduction to The Fountainhead," The Objectivist, March, 1968

One way to Hold Your Fire is to immerse yourself in the world of ideas.  And on that note, let's move on to the round up!

Edward Cline presents Somali Piracy: Another Islamic War Front posted at The Rule of Reason, saying, "On February 22nd, four Americans were executed by Somali pirates as a U.S. warship bore down on the yacht they had hijacked. The U.S. government and the military are not saying much about why the pirates killed the Americans, but it just might have something to do with the fact that the two retired couples were on a private missionary voyage around the world to distribute Bibles. But I suspect that if the pirates had instead found cartons of Playboy Magazine on the yacht, the Americans would have suffered the same fate. It would demonstrate the grip Islam has even on criminal Muslims."

Gene Palmisano presents Labor Extortion in a Socialist Democracy posted at The Metaphysical Lunch, saying, "Discard the altruistic hyperbole and the socialist labor rhetoric, then cut to the chase."

Kate Yoak presents Naps are required by law! posted at Parenting is..., saying, "I am dismayed at another instance of the government's reach into the private educational system."

Valery Publius presents Campus Media Response: Wisconsin Protestors: Fighting for the Privilege to Count Themselves as the “Public” posted at The Undercurrent Blog, saying, "When do 'collective rights' begin to usurp the rights of individuals?"

Alex Hrin presents Campus Media Response: Solar Energy: A Path to Prosperity? posted at The Undercurrent Blog, saying, "Would 'green' energy truly need such massive government subsidies if it could stand on its own as a viable energy source?"

Michael Labeit presents The Enviable Brilliance of the Swiss posted at Michael Labeit at EconomicPolicyJournal.com.

Rational Jenn presents Seven Things I Refuse to Feel Guilty About As a Parent posted at Rational Jenn, saying, "Here's to not accepting unearned guilt and feeling good about parenting decisions!"

Jared Rhoads presents Health Wonk Review: 3rd time hosting posted at The Lucidicus Project, saying, "Last week, we hosted the Health Wonk Review, which is a bi-weekly compendium of healthcare-related articles and entries from around the blogosphere. See what was submitted."

Rachel Miner presents Warm, zesty, yum! posted at The Playful Spirit, saying, "A fun activity that I shared with my mom... making homemade, crystalized ginger!"

The Undercurrent Editors present Introducing This Issue posted at The Undercurrent, saying, "The February edition of The Undercurrent is out now! Check it out today."

Edward Cline presents Mosques vs. Churches vs. Freedom posted at The Rule of Reason, saying, "The literature that recounts the evils of the political/theological ideology of Islam is vast, growing, and informative. Unfortunately much of it is wrongly premised and written by individuals of a religious bent who have yet to check their premises. They really have no reason to cast the first stone at Islam, when the stones thrown at them share a striking similarity to the stones they hurl back."

Kelly Elmore presents Things I Won't Feel Guilty About posted at Reepicheep's Coracle, saying, "I love this meme! Objectivist parents should be making selfish decisions about their parenting and not feeling guilty about those decisions. But in our culture of parental sacrifice and maternal guilt, especially, that can be hard. Here's the list of things I will not feel guilty about."

Ari Armstrong presents Guarantee to Unions the Same Rights the Rest of Us Have posted at Free Colorado, saying, "People have the right to associate freely, but no right to force their conditions on others."

Joshua John M. Lipana presents Capitalism Magazine - Senator Rand Paul’s Morality and the Welfare State posted at Capitalism Magazine, saying, "Sen. Paul is championing economic freedom while at the same time championing the morality that prevents it from existing."

Scott Connery presents Have You Abandoned Faith but Kept Christian Morality? posted at Rational Public Radio, saying, "Many atheists abandon their faith, but don't follow that decision through to it's logical conclusion. Many of them hold onto the morality of Altruism after the faith that it depended on is removed."

David C Lewis, RFA presents Induction In Life Insurance posted at A Revolution In Financial Planning, saying, "What is your date of death? Nobody knows, but life insurance companies can still predict your death--expressed as a probability--with amazing accuracy. I discuss how life insurance companies predict mortality and what I think the industry must have done to attain their amazing accuracy of predicting death rates."

Paul Hsieh presents Socialized Medicine in Theory and Practice posted at We Stand FIRM, saying, "My latest OpEd appeared in Liberty Ink Journal, on the difference between the theory vs. practice of socialized medicine."

Diana Hsieh presents SnowCon 2011: The Webcast! posted at NoodleFood, saying, "Most of the lectures and workshops of this weekend's Objectivist conference in Denver -- SnowCon -- will be broadcast live! Come join us ... virtually!"

Julia Campbell presents cajun stew posted at the crankin' kitchen!, saying, "A super yummy cajun stew in honor of Mardi Gras!"

Jared Rhoads presents Twead #8: Revolt! posted at The Lucidicus Project, saying, "Here we share notes and quotes from Dick Morris's new book, Revolt! Yes, this is the one that recently caused a stir on Peter Schiff's radio show."

Roderick Fitts presents Reduction of “the Initiation of Physical Force is Evil” posted at Inductive Quest, saying, "My reduction of the Objectivist principle that 'the initiation of physical force is evil.' Bullies and dictators beware!"

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