From a press release by the New Zealand Libertarianz:
RMA Surely Don’t Impress Shania Much
“Shania Twain’s proposed home doesn’t impress Queenstown’s busybodies, but their personal views should not be the business of law,” says Libertarianz spokesman to deregulate the environment, Peter Cresswell. “Unfortunately the RMA has given them that power. It doesn’t say to property owners ‘Come on Over,’ instead it screams ‘I’m Gonna Getcha Good’!”
“The Resource Management Act (RMA) has given unelected power to busybodies who now consider they have rights over other people’s property,” says Cresswell. “It seems nothing will allow Twain’s house past Andrew Henderson, the planning stickybeak from CivicCorp who rejected the application and Julian Haworth, head busybody from the Upper Clutha Environmental Society, who between them have decided that ‘the complex would not be in harmony with the surrounding landscape,’ and ‘man-made mounds to screen the house’ were ‘not appropriate.'”
“I guess even a camouflage net wouldn’t have satisfied these meddling arseholes,” says Cresswell. “Remind me again how the RMA is “permissive” as Owen McShane has called it, and “far-sighted environmental legislation” as Nick Smith has described it. The RMA is neither,” says Cresswell. “It has destroyed property rights in this country, and it is time that the RMA itself were now destroyed.”
As author Ayn Rand once observed, when the productive have to ask permission from the unproductive in order to produce, then you may know your culture is doomed. “Time to put a stake through the heart of the RMA,” concludes Cresswell.
The Libertarianz advocate abolition of the RMA, replacing it with common law protection of property rights and the environment.
Author: s1e2t3u4p5
Ed Hudgins Reviews Revenge of the Sith
In an e-mail op-ed for the Objectivist Center, Ed Hudgins provides this review of the new Revenge of the Sith movie. I’ve not seen the movie, but the review makes some interesting points.
With Revenge of the Sith George Lucas faced the same problem as did the classical Greek playwrights. Their audiences already knew the stories and myths on which their dramas were based. Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides had to make their plays interesting, enlightening or instructive, usually by offering lessons about hubris, unchecked emotions or moral failing.
While the Greeks were not keen on happy endings, Lucas has already given one with the first Star Wars trilogy and we know what to expect in the prequels. We know that Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker becomes Darth Vader, apprentice to the evil emperor; that Vader’s son Luke joins the rebellion; that the Empire is overthrown by pro-Republic heroes; that Vader saves Luke from the emperor, abandons the Dark Side of the Force, and before dying, is redeemed.
To make the prequels interesting Lucas offers us political and moral lessons, but with mixed results.
In Sith Lucas continues the story of the fall of the Republic. Chancellor Palpatine — secretly the evil Sith Lord Darth Sidious — accumulates power in the name of fighting a long war against separatists — a war that he himself is secretly behind. Curiously, we are told that the Senate of the Republic is corrupt and in the text crawl that starts every Star Wars film we’re told that in the war “There are heroes on both sides.” Lucas seems to be backing away from the clear-cut black-and-white, good-vs.-evil themes that so characterized the original trilogy. As he obscures that distinction he also obscures his theme.
Continue reading “Ed Hudgins Reviews Revenge of the Sith”
Pro-Democracy Movement In Cuba Assembles Today
The battle for men’s minds is still alive in Cuba.
From MSNBC: Defying Castro, activists plan open-air meeting.
Today the Assembly for the Promotion of a Civil Society in Cuba meets. It is an effort to re-unite the fractured pro-democracy movement that Castro?s regime all but demolished in 2003.
Approximately 500 people have been invited to attend the Assembly to Promote Civil Society in Cuba, representing over 300 groups on the island opposed to the Castro government including illegal political parties, human rights organizations and independent libraries.
Castro has wasted no time in trying to stifle the resurgence of this movement, using his usual intimidation tactics to keep the delegates away from the meeting. There are reports that several delegates have been arrested and detained. But they still have hope and the movement is growing. They have not given up and hopefully never will. Even under the suffocating weight of Castro’s regime, the heroes are struggling on? and gaining ground.
Elizardo Sanchez, a longtime activist in the movement:
Times have changed, though. ?Twenty years ago, there were less than 10 of us involved in open political action. Today, there are thousands standing up to this totalitarian government.?
As one Cuban-American blogger (BabaluBlog) put it:
This civil society assembly is one thing Castro cannot stand for. It’s too subversive, too contrary to his twisted values of oppression, ruin and indignity. Free men and women associating freely to decide for themselves how they will live their lives is too much for his tyranny to handle? this is the power of the human spirit.
For more information see Accion Democratica Cubana.
Viva Cuba Libre!
Anti-Life Opposition to Stem Cell Research
An incisive new Op-Ed from David Holcberg and Alex Epstein, writing for the Ayn Rand Institute, begins:
In the name of the sanctity of human life and the inviolability of rights, embryonic stem cell research must be allowed to proceed unimpeded.
It is widely known that embryonic stem cell research has the potential to revolutionize medicine and save millions of lives. Yet many Congressmen are frantically working to defeat a measure that would expand federal financing of this research. Why are they (and so many others) opposing embryonic stem cell research–and doing so under the banner of being “pro-life”?
The opponents of embryonic stem cell research claim that their position is rooted in “respect for human life.” They say that the embryos destroyed in the process of extracting stem cells are human beings with a right to life.
But embryos used in embryonic stem cell research are manifestly not human beings–not in any rational sense of the term. These embryos are smaller than a grain of sand, and consist of at most a few hundred undifferentiated cells. They have no body or body parts. They do not see, hear, feel, or think. While they have the potential to become human beings–if implanted in a woman’s uterus and brought to term–they are nowhere near actual human beings.
See the full article for more details.
Letter to Ayn Rand Gets Award from NJ Governor
A fascinating announcement via the Free State Project:
Lucille Davy, Special Counsel to the Acting Governor of New Jersey, Richard J. Codey, presented a Governor’s Proclamation to Ethan Nappen, State Finalist in the national reading-writing contest sponsored by the Library of Congress, Center for the Book. The contest is called Letters About Literature. After reading Anthem by Ayn Rand, Ethan composed a letter to the author as required by the contest rules. The Library of Congress received and judged over 50,000 entries. There were over 2,300 entries submitted from students across New Jersey. Ethan, who is in eighth grade, was one of 34 Level II (7th-8th grade) finalists.
New Jersey, which was just named the third most-indebted state in the U.S., is infamous for its overregulation of business, political corruption, erosion of personal freedom, distain for individual rights, aggressive enforcement of Malum Prohibitum laws, legal embrace of political correctness, and high taxation. Rand’s Anthem deals with a future society in which collectivism and the good of the State reign supreme over the individual and even the concept of individuality. It is therefore quite ironic that the Acting Governor of New Jersey “recognizes and commends” Ethan for an essay in praise of Ayn Rand’s philosophy of objectivism.
See the Free State Project’s original announcement for links to the winning letter, the governor’s proclamation, and a photo of the award ceremony.
'The Only Path to Tomorrow' by Ayn Rand (1944)
From William Dwyer:
I just received a hard-to-find copy of the January 1944 Reader’s Digest with an article by Ayn Rand entitled “The Only Path to Tomorrow.” The article is condensed from a project that Rand began in 1943 entitled “The Moral Basis of Individualism,” which she eventually abandoned.
I am taking the liberty here of transcribing the article, which is not very long, since it is virtually impossible to find a copy of it. I was very lucky to locate the January ’44 issue from an obscure book seller. You won’t find it on the internet.
The Only Path to Tomorrow
by Ayn Rand
by Ayn Rand
The greatest threat to mankind and civilization is the spread of the totalitarian philosophy. Its best ally is not the devotion of its followers but the confusion of its enemies. To fight it, we must understand it.
Totalitarianism is collectivism. Collectivism means the subjugation of the individual to a group – whether to a race, class or state does not matter. Collectivism holds that man must be chained to collective action and collective thought for the sake of what is called “the common good.”
Throughout history no tyrant ever rose to power except on the claim of representing “the common good.” Napoleon “served the common good” of France. Hitler is “serving the common good” of Germany. Horrors which no man would dare consider for his own selfish sake are perpetrated with a clear conscience by “altruists” who justify themselves by – the common good.
No tyrant has ever lasted long by force of arms alone. Men have been enslaved primarily by spiritual weapons. And the greatest of these is the collectivist doctrine that the supremacy of the state over the individual constitutes the common good. No dictator could rise if men held as a sacred faith the conviction that they have inalienable rights of which they cannot be deprived for any cause whatsoever, by any man whatsoever, neither by evildoer nor supposed benefactor.
Continue reading “'The Only Path to Tomorrow' by Ayn Rand (1944)”
Carnival of The Atlasphere
CALLING ALL BLOGGERS!
This is your chance to make your blog known to a larger audience of likeminded thinkers.
The Ayn Rand Meta-Blog will be posting a Carnival of the Atlasphere, modeled after the popular Carnival of the Capitalists.
Atlasphere member?s blogs will be listed along with a general description of the purpose of the blog and postings of interest to Atlasphere members. I want to highlight what Atlasphere bloggers are doing and thinking ? your ideas.
The Carnival will be published here, on the Ayn Rand Meta-Blog and for each blog listed, the blogger?s network profile will be linked.
I?m currently scouring the Atlasphere bloglisting for blogs to highlight in the upcoming Carnival but the list is long, so if you don?t want me to miss your blog and can?t wait to reach out to a larger audience, please drop me a line, tell me about your blog and your favorite postings.
For more information and to tell me about your blog please email:
carnival@theatlasphere.com
Cheers and Happy Blogging
$
Kay Nolte Smith's 'Chantecler' (by Rostand) in NYC
Forwarded by frequent Atlasphere columnist Michelle Fram Cohen. Note that it only runs through May 22nd!
Chantecler, by Edmond Rostand, author of Cyrano de Bergerac is an animal allegory about a rooster who believes that his song makes the sun rise. Adhesive Theater Project’s production will investigate the themes of inspiration, finding our place in society, and overcoming our greatest doubts and fears.
Not seen in New York since it’s original Broadway production in 1911, this fresh translation by Kay Nolte Smith brings back the poetry and vitality of the original French. So celebrate this year of the rooster with this king of the barnyard – Chantecler.
Performances:
April 29th to May 22nd, 2005:
8:00 pm – Tuesdays through Saturdays
2:00 pm – Saturday Matinees
5:00 pm – Sundays
Running time: 2 hr (includes 1 intermission)
At: Teatro LA TEA at Clemente Soto Valez Cultural Center
107 Suffolk Street, 2nd Floor, Manhattan, 10002
(Between Delancey and Rivington, Lower East Side)
See the full announcement for additional information.
The Rise of the Do-it-Yourself Economy
Here’s a development sure to appeal to fans of Atlas Shrugged-style industriousness:
It?s doubtful that Steve Jobs ever faced these kinds of interruptions. “Daddy, I want to take a picture,” says Owen Misterovich, motioning to a digital camera on his father?s desk. “Okay,” says Pat Misterovich, handing it to his 5-year-old son, who proceeds to snap a few self-portraits. Then it?s back to the work at hand: producing the next great MP3 music player. Only instead of the simple, elegant lines of the iPod, Misterovich?s device will look just like a Pez dispenser. Oh, and instead of working from a corporate campus in Cupertino, Calif., with nearly 12,000 employees, Misterovich is a stay-at-home dad, creating his Pez MP3 player from the basement of his Springfield, Mo., home.
Misterovich is the former head of IT at the University of Detroit Mercy. He has few of the engineering skills necessary to build a device like this, no marketing experience, and absolutely no corporate infrastructure. And yet he?s got two factories?one in China, one in the U.S.?vying to build the player. He has a small Austin company started by an ex-Apple engineer designing the innards. And on his blog, pezmp3.com, he uses prospective buyers?some 1,500 people have already expressed interest?as an R&D-center-meets-focus-group. What?s better, he asks, AAA batteries or Li-Ion? In come dozens of replies (“Go for the AAA with a USB NiMh recharger if possible,” suggests one reader). What?s a good slogan? Some 50 ideas roll in (one of the best: “Candy for your ears”). By the end of this month the first prototype should be in Misterovich?s hands. “I don?t know that this product could have come to life years ago,” he says. “I seriously doubt it. And if it did, it wouldn?t have come through a guy in his basement.”
It used to be that a tinkerer like Misterovich could, at best, hope to sell his idea to a big company. More likely, he?d entertain friends with his Pez-sized visions. But a number of factors are coming together to empower amateurs in a way never before possible, blurring the lines between those who make and those who take. Unlike the dot-com fortune hunters of the late 1990s, these do-it-yourselfers aren?t deluding themselves with oversized visions of what they might achieve. Instead, they?re simply finding a way?in this mass-produced, Wal-Mart world?to take power back, prove that they can make the products that they want to consume, have fun doing so, and, just maybe, make a few dollars.
See the full article, “The Amazing Rise of the Do-It-Yourself Economy” at Fortune. Thanks to InstaPundit for the link.
Atlas Spooned
A new phenomenon from New York has been attracting quite a bit of media attention lately. It?s called a Cuddle Party, and is described as a ?workshop/social event for adults to explore giving and receiving affectionate touch in a safe, non-sexual setting.?
As it turns out, the Cuddle Party?s creators, Reid Mihalko and Marcia Baczynski, consider themselves huge fans of Ayn Rand?s novels. So much so that they named their company “Atlas Spooned.” Asked what Atlas Shrugged means to them, the duo answers, ?It?s about integrity.?
When Atlasphere member and columnist Andrew Schwartz was introduced to Baczynski in September (through mutual friend Pete Lyons, yet another Atlasphere member) Schwartz found the concept so worthwhile that he decided to start hosting Cuddle Parties in Los Angeles.
?When I first heard about Cuddle Party on the internet, before meeting Marcia, I was pretty dismissive,? says Schwartz. ?I figured this was a way for immature adults to behave like immature college students.?
?But when I learned more about the structure of Cuddle Party, and subsequently attended an event myself, I became enthusiastically impressed with the way it teaches extremely mature communication and boundary-setting skills.?
And on the Rand connection? ?If you want to get Randian about it, Cuddle Party as a workshop is all about personal responsibility, self-assertion, and respect for others in the context of affectionate touch. It teaches unusually straightforward communication around asking for what one wants and saying ?no? clearly and plainly to what one doesn?t want.?
?Also,? Schwartz adds, ?it’s just plain fun.?
You can learn more about these events on the Los Angeles Cuddle Party site.