Europeans Love Obama

A collection of European opinions on the US presidential race included a number of gems, such as:

In France, the center-left Libération says the new leader of the French Socialist Party should be someone with Obama's profile: "The French Left seeks a charismatic leader, age 46, of mixed race, to deliver a message of hope and unity. At a time when American Democrats are discovering their new hero, it would be a good time for the Socialist Party and their friends to find a Barack Obama to end their internal quarrels."

There were several in this vein, which is as creepy as the UN is incompetent:

An editorial in the Brussels-based, center-right De Standaard articulates a view shared by many Europeans: "American presidential elections are not 'home affairs'. American decisions have repercussions all over the globe…. Hence, the world should be given the right to vote."

latest installment of photoshop-politics:

Open Letter - Atlas Shrugged Good for US Students

For about 5 years now a close friend and I have asked ourselves what could be done to turn the trajectory of America from socialism to a society that lifts up individual freedoms and doesn't grow the government into an inevitable oppressor. Our most common answer is to find a way to have the majority of US citizens either read Atlas Shrugged, or discuss its underlying ideas enough to see the dangers of collectivism and the value of individualism. We dreamed of having a Bill Gates size foundation that could purchase a book for every college freshman each year. So, when I saw the letter to America's students below, I wanted to paste the whole letter here. If you are Bradley Thompson or a publisher that can claim copyright concerns for this article, let me know and I'll just use quotes. Otherwise, I want others to read this, and hope they pass it along to young people they know. --Uly

An Open Letter to America's Students
Column by C. Bradley Thompson - Feb 4, 2008

This letter is addressed to all young people who’ve read or are about to read Ayn Rand’s epic novel, Atlas Shrugged.

I’ve taught Atlas Shrugged for fifteen years during which time I’ve witnessed many remarkable things.

For example, some 95 percent of my students report that Atlas Shrugged is the best book they’ve ever read. No book that I’ve taught comes remotely close to fostering a more robust exchange of ideas in the classroom.

My students typically come to class after pulling an all-nighter debating Atlas with their friends, and then they pepper me with dozens of questions.

Whether one agrees or disagrees with Ayn Rand’s ideas, few can deny that this is what the college experience is supposed to be like.

During those few weeks each year when I teach Atlas Shrugged, I’ve seen hundreds of students become intellectually engaged in ways they weren’t before reading this extraordinary book.

The comment I hear most often from students goes something like this: “Atlas Shrugged sums up everything that I’ve always admired and believed but could never put into words.”

Ayn Rand’s novel speaks to many students’ deepest values and aspirations: it appeals to their sense of justice, integrity, honesty, and independence, and it appeals to their desire to live in a world where achievement and heroism are rewarded.

To enter the world of Atlas Shrugged is to experience a world radically different from today’s. Many of you will find this world exhilarating, and it just might change your life forever.

I know many other professors who teach Atlas Shrugged, and their experiences with students mirror my own. Sadly, though, some of your professors may react rather differently when they learn that you’re reading Atlas Shrugged. They may condescendingly sneer and say something like this: “Oh yes, Atlas Shrugged is for teenagers. Don’t worry, you’ll get over it.”

Occasionally the reaction is worse. Over the years, I have personally witnessed both liberal and conservative professors become psychologically unbuttoned when they learn that students are reading Ayn Rand in my classes. A few professors even attempted to bully my students to prevent them from discussing Rand’s ideas.

Amusingly, one conservative colleague sent his students into my class to try and intimidate me, as young communists once did against their professors in Mao’s China.

Why do these professors become viscerally angry at the mention of Ayn Rand’s name? Why do they slander and smear her without actually engaging her ideas? Clearly, there is something they fear in Rand’s philosophy, something they don’t want you to read.

What is it?

That many liberals fear the influence of Ayn Rand’s ideas is not surprising. Atlas Shrugged is, arguably, the most powerful critique of socialism ever written. But why would a conservative professor fear the prospect that Rand might be taught in a college classroom?

Religious conservatives don’t like Ayn Rand because she chose Athens over Jerusalem, reason over revelation, and pragmatic conservatives don’t like her because she was a moral absolutist. But there’s usually something more that bothers conservatives.

Ayn Rand believed that the United States was the most moral society in history, but she also believed that its founding principles had never been properly defended. She therefore set out to secure America’s basic values and principles — e.g., rugged individualism, limited government and capitalism.

Unlike many conservatives, Rand didn’t rely on faith, tradition, or folksy speeches to defend America. Instead, she thought those principles philosophically demonstrable.

The reason that some conservatives fear Ayn Rand is that, ultimately, they can’t defend America philosophically.

Conservatives don’t like the fact that Rand defends reason, objectivity, and certainty — and they won’t; they don’t like the fact that she defends rational self-interest, moral absolutism, and rationally grounded virtues — and they won’t; they don’t like the fact that she defends individual rights and capitalism — and they won’t.

And because they won’t defend these philosophical principles, they can’t defend America. That is conservatism’s dirty little secret.

Finally, these conservative professors hate Ayn Rand precisely because her novels appeal to the ideals of the young. Like you, Rand took ideas seriously.

She said that it’s critically important to live your life according to rationally demonstrable principles and that it’s important to be moral not just in theory but also in practice. Ayn Rand appeals to the young because her novels are full of productive heroes who accomplish great things against great odds.

It’s good to be young and to care about ideas and moral principles.

If you are a high school or a college student reading Atlas Shrugged for the first time, I hope you will do just one thing:

Don’t base your judgment of Atlas Shrugged on what your professors or I say or think — positively or negatively.

Instead, ask yourself — repeatedly — one question as you read Atlas Shrugged: Are Ayn Rand’s ideas true or not? And there is only one person who can answer this question: YOU!

Communist Faithful for Obama

Okay, this one's for those thinking, "Hey Ulysses, what's with all these posters pairing Obama with socialism/communism?" Well, the central reason I did it was because of his stated platform promises, and what direction those will take the US in, but here's a clue that I'm not off base:

Hat tip to the Glenn Beck website. They featured a video from a Houston local newscast. A straigtforward piece about the campaign and the doings of the candidates. In the beginning of it, they show a new Obama office being opened up in Houston. The screen shot below is from their office, with a small picture of Barack on the wall, and a huge flag glorifying Marxist rebel and authoritarian, Che Guevara.



From The Cult of Che, posted on Slate:

The cult of Ernesto Che Guevara is an episode in the moral callousness of our time. Che was a totalitarian. He achieved nothing but disaster. Many of the early leaders of the Cuban Revolution favored a democratic or democratic-socialist direction for the new Cuba. But Che was a mainstay of the hardline pro-Soviet faction, and his faction won. Che presided over the Cuban Revolution's first firing squads. He founded Cuba's "labor camp" system—the system that was eventually employed to incarcerate gays, dissidents, and AIDS victims. To get himself killed, and to get a lot of other people killed, was central to Che's imagination. In the famous essay in which he issued his ringing call for "two, three, many Vietnams," he also spoke about martyrdom and managed to compose a number of chilling phrases: "Hatred as an element of struggle; unbending hatred for the enemy, which pushes a human being beyond his natural limitations, making him into an effective, violent, selective, and cold-blooded killing machine. This is what our soldiers must become …"— and so on.

Remember, everyone says Obama isn't just a candidate, he's now a movement. A movement to what? Socialism, Collectivism, Nationalized industries, class envy and an assault on individual freedoms?

California Taxes Chase Away Wealth

Here's a good story from San Fran. California's taxes keep rising, and the wealthy have had enough and are establishing residence in lower tax states. What's the key lesson? Well, liberals in America often want more social programs funded by increased taxes on the rich. Even if you raise taxes across the board, liberals are upset that the rich weren't taxed at a higher rate. It's class envy, and incredibly stupid economics. Why? Because by and large people who have built wealth aren't that stupid. Higher taxes will drive them away, especially if they continue to see more and more freebies given out on their dime.

This story is a great example, and as taxes go up in the nation, we'll see more and more wealthy finding ways to shield their assets outside of the US. So, those liberals that figured they'd pay for socialized medicine, or free college for all, by taxing the rich, aren't going to get anything but put the country in a worse state. It's simple economics. Intelligent people will do what is in the best interest. Even highly charitable ones know that they can't contribute to the cause they care about if Uncle Sam is taking it all and wasting 50% on bureaucracy.

Millionaires cashing out of Bay Area - San Francisco Business Times:: "'You can still make a lot of money in California. The problem is, then you have to pay taxes on that money,' said Kennedy, who recently helped a California client with annual income of about $1 million save $96,000 annually by making their home in Jackson Hole, Wyo., their primary residence.
'Effectively, you have the state of California subsidizing their relocation through the tax savings,' Kennedy said. 'You can still tap into California's resources -- which includes a large, educated population -- while extricating yourself from the California tax system.'"

fifth installment...

Earning the Socialists' praise is not a good thing...

See the quote below from an article about how our enemies and competitors around the world are celebrating the Dems taking congress. When Socialists are going out of their way to praise the direction we are going, it is a sad, sad day for those who love freedom and value the rights of the individual.

BREITBART.COM - World Welcomes Shift in U.S. Politics:

"In an extraordinary joint statement, more than 200 Socialist members of the European Parliament hailed the American election results as 'the beginning of the end of a six-year nightmare for the world.' "