Last I heard, "Atlas Shrugged" was #236 on the Amazon best seller list. That would be a sixty year old novel. Sounds like Rand's philosophy is not as absurd as Waffler wishes it were. Remember the "Equalization of Opportunities Act?" Sounds like a bill that could be introduced next week.

"The only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing."---Edmund Burke. These truths have been repeated throughout history and we all know them, but we rarely put them to good use.

The Stoics were a wise bunch. Marcus Aurelius, Epictetus...It is the Stoic philosophy that characterized Rome at the height of it's power just as it did at the height of our own power. Corruption of politics and people brought an end to Rome just as it will to us.

The crux of the problem is that people do what they FEEL is right regardless of whether it actually is or not. Now that is evil.

You can't argue with the truth of that statement. Dictators often use the big lie, but don't think they won't use the little lie though. Small lies repeated often enough are just as effective as the big lie.

Pride goeth before a fall.

In case you didn't notice, Judith, insurance company stocks were up today. You've been duped. I suppose it's all right with you, though, as long as you are just an accomplice to theft after the fact and get your crumbs from the table of lobbyists, bankers, and insurance executives. Maybe someone could wean you off of government goodies someday. Just remember, all of government's goodies are stolen goodies. Speaking of constant wars, have any ended lately?

I suppose it depends on what "progress" one is talking about. The growth of power in the hands of the few self-proclaimed elite is the bane of liberty, not it's boon; but it certainly may be the literal "end" of liberty.

Liberty to the flower is like the unfiltered sun and rain that allows it to grow and flourish with beauty. The beauty and fragrance of a flower is what enables it to be productive. Without liberty, nature cannot be productive.

How would we know? Maybe we should try liberty sometime to see how it actually works in practice.

Morality is born out of liberty as much as liberty is born out of morality. Morality is the choice to do good instead of evil, to choose charity over greed, and to choose right from wrong. Choices enforced at the point of a gun is not morality, it is enslavement. The only truly moral men must be free.

Bought with blood. Sold for trinkets.

The trick is in finding the men who are determined to be free.

Choose your principles. Live by them. Be responsible to them and you will be free. Liberty is not libertine, it is self control and self determination.

It's much better not to lose your freedom in the first place. Keeping your freedom requires your vigilance. Regaining your freedom requires someone's blood.

Of course most people don't want real, complete liberty. Absolute liberty means absolute responsibility. I know of few people who don't look for someone else to take the blame for their mistakes. It is the human condition from Adam and Eve to today. Passing the buck is not an admirable trait, but it is a human trait. It is our nature that we are slaves to in one respect or another, but nature does not predetermine outcome. If we choose to be responsible, the outcome will be freedom.

Dieu et Mon Droit!

Natural laws can never be broken without consequences. You may get away with it for a while, but the price will always have to be paid. From the law of supply/demand to the law of gravity; if you try to interfere with it, you will regret it. The natural law that the individual is by right free (not a perquisite granted by other men) likewise cannot be violated without consequences. If you want a slave prepare to be a made a slave yourself.

Dead people don't need health care. The troublesome are easily made dead by an amoral government: a government that can be persuaded that being a thief is acceptable is only a step away from being convinced murder is as well. Heil Obama, RBE.

"I'm the one we've been waiting for...I'll stop the oceans from rising...I'll heal the sick...I'll feed the poor....I'll pay your bills..." Barack Hussein Obama....Mmmm, Mmmm, Mmmm.

It costs nothing and takes little effort to run your mouth. Backing up what you say with work and treasure shows you really mean it. Backing it up with OTHER people's work and treasure means you're a thief.

Health care, Health care, Health care, Health care, Health care, Health care, Health care, Health care, Health care, Health care, Health care, Health care, Health care, Health care, Health care, Health care, Health care, Health care.....Barack Obama.

"If we can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people, under the pretence of taking care of them, they must become happy." --Thomas Jefferson

Taxation does "cure" one problem: that pesky freedom and liberty thing for which some people seem to have a fondness. It "cures" the lust the socialist elites have for control over every action in the minutest detail. It "solves" the utter unpredictability of freedom and self determination.

So, was it just that Galileo had to suffer house arrest and sanction because the majority believed something that was false? In fact I do know the truth. The truth is some people want to live at the expense of others. The truth is some people want to use the power of government to force people to buy something that should be left for them to choose to purchase or not. The truth is some people have been so addled with socialist elitism that they believe they know how to live others lives better than they do (the ignorant rubes!). The truth is they are tyrants and we all know what the tree of liberty needs to be watered with from time to time.