Mar 27
smcke0wn commented on Yes, There Will Be a Third Atlas Shrugged Movie.
Now, now - facts matter. The far-too-long monologue is "only" 25 pages, not 70.
Feb 6
smcke0wn commented on Bill Would Require Every High School Student in Idaho to Read Atlas Shrugged.
I'm an Objectivist, which is to say I am all down for as many people as possible learning how to be rational and living life rationally. (There are some political stances that usually follow through on this, but they are not the same ones the good people of Idaho think they are.)
I'm also a writer, and an avid reader. I've read this book four times... and if I were assigned it in high school, and worse yet had to pass a test on it to graduate, I wouldn't have blown my brains out. I certainly wouldn't have gotten a damn thing out of it, and would have reached for the Cliffs Notes like everyone else.
This is the wrong Ayn Rand novel to push into high school required reading... the 'right' one would be Anthem. It's short, and works over simpler concepts (and doesn't have twenty-five-page speeches). But 'introducing the concepts of rational thought, self-reliance and self-empowerment' wasn't what the sponsors wanted, they wanted to mandate their own misreadings of Atlas Shrugged as justification for Republican douchebaggery.
They don't want better children, they want more Republican voters, and their reading of Atlas Shrugged is comparable to Christian Fundamentalists' reading of the Bible (with all that made-up shit about Jesus going on about the gays just so Jerry Falwell can con rubes out of their dollars). The people who want to make Atlas Shrugged their bible have rather missed the point of the thing.
(For the curious, I'm a libertarian who usually votes Democrat, and spent the last year at Occupy Wall Street. A contradiction wrapped around a riddle wrapped around a Paul Ryan joke, I know. It's possible there is more to this book than the rough liberal treatment gives it, but considering what the conservatives do with it, I entirely understand and say 'have at it,' because they need to be knocked down seven or twelve pegs before we can even deal with these assholes.)
More...
I'm also a writer, and an avid reader. I've read this book four times... and if I were assigned it in high school, and worse yet had to pass a test on it to graduate, I wouldn't have blown my brains out. I certainly wouldn't have gotten a damn thing out of it, and would have reached for the Cliffs Notes like everyone else.
This is the wrong Ayn Rand novel to push into high school required reading... the 'right' one would be Anthem. It's short, and works over simpler concepts (and doesn't have twenty-five-page speeches). But 'introducing the concepts of rational thought, self-reliance and self-empowerment' wasn't what the sponsors wanted, they wanted to mandate their own misreadings of Atlas Shrugged as justification for Republican douchebaggery.
They don't want better children, they want more Republican voters, and their reading of Atlas Shrugged is comparable to Christian Fundamentalists' reading of the Bible (with all that made-up shit about Jesus going on about the gays just so Jerry Falwell can con rubes out of their dollars). The people who want to make Atlas Shrugged their bible have rather missed the point of the thing.
(For the curious, I'm a libertarian who usually votes Democrat, and spent the last year at Occupy Wall Street. A contradiction wrapped around a riddle wrapped around a Paul Ryan joke, I know. It's possible there is more to this book than the rough liberal treatment gives it, but considering what the conservatives do with it, I entirely understand and say 'have at it,' because they need to be knocked down seven or twelve pegs before we can even deal with these assholes.)
Jan 21
smcke0wn commented on Mitt Romney Is Having the Most Awkward Day Ever.
Or you can follow @President_Mitt on Twitter, for the LOL's. ;)
Dec 11, 2012
smcke0wn commented on Mass Shooting at Portland Mall—At Least Two People Dead.
Restart the clock, it's officially Too Soon To Talk About Gun Control again...
Sep 13, 2011
smcke0wn commented on SL Letter of the Day: Can He Dump the Bitch(es), Make the Switch?.
Sorry, HELP, you're going to have to lift your own luggage for a while.
Sep 8, 2011
smcke0wn commented on Are You There God? It's Me, Rick Perry.
Perhaps instead it should be readily apparent that Texas should rush through gay marriage legistlation. It is, after all, a cause-and-effect relationship, isn't it?
Aug 1, 2011
smcke0wn commented on Some Nerds Are Racist; Others Are Principled.
Larry from Larry's Comics: Worst. Comic Book Guy. Ever.
Jul 29, 2011
smcke0wn commented on Rand Paul Is the King of the Hobbits.
Like Tom Bombadil, that section got cut out of the movies.
Jul 21, 2011
smcke0wn commented on Rick Santorum Whines About Dan Savage for Pocket Change.
We definitely need to make "GGGoon Squad" shirts exist.
Jul 20, 2011
smcke0wn commented on Rick Santorum Whines About Dan Savage for Pocket Change.
Um, Mr. Would-Be President-Guy, why do your kids have to Google your name anyway? Don't they know who their father is already? What, they have to look it up?
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