Timely exchange from the 55 year-old pages of Atlas Shrugged
“He didn't invent iron ore and blast furnaces, did he?”
“Who?”
“Rearden. He didn't invent smelting and chemistry and air compression. He couldn't have invented his Metal but for thousands and thousands of other people. His Metal! Why does he think it's his? Why does he think it's his invention? Everybody uses the work of everybody else. Nobody ever invents anything.”
She said, puzzled, “But the iron ore and all those other things were there all the time. Why didn't anybody else make that Metal, but Mr. Rearden did?”
‘Racist’ is the new ‘doody head.’ It’s overused. Overplayed. It doesn’t zing as much as it used to because it’s used out the wazoo. And guess what? White Liberals are the people who throw it around the most…I think Black people sometimes look up at a racist and just shake their head and walk away and go ‘I know this tired story, I’m moving on…’ White Liberals are the ones who camp out on it like they’re champions of the world, and it’s getting a little tired.
People don’t know this about me, but I’m not that political a person. I just don’t like the media. I just don’t like bullies. People say ‘Oh, you’re such a firebrand’ and I’m like ‘Give me an opinion that I have on any policy.’ The only reason I got into politics is because I saw how unfair our culture was, how the professors are aimed at conservatives, how the news media are aimed at conservatives, and how Hollywood is aimed at conservatives. All I want is balance so that we can go back to a point where people can have a fair and honest debate…
Andrew Breitbart
Andrew Breitbart takes podium, addresses media at disgraced Rep Anthony Weiner’s Press Conference
Such a baller.
Andrew Breitbart: Ain’t Got No Time For Shuckin’ and Jivin’
RIP.
Most Americans Still Have No Idea How Bad the U.S. Economy Is
Merry Christmas!
Hope Santa brings you a new pair of underwear.
You’ll need it after reading this…
(#44. Oy.)
The actor was taking a lunch break on Wednesday while shooting “Lincoln,” Steven Spielberg’s film about the life and times of the president.
Wow.
On “Civil Disobedience”
Civil disobedience may be justifiable, in some cases, when and if an individual disobeys a law in order to bring an issue to court, as a test case. Such an action involves respect for legality and a protest directed only at a particular law which the individual seeks an opportunity to prove to be unjust. The same is true of a group of individuals when and if the risks involved are their own.
But there is no justification, in a civilized society, for the kind of mass civil disobedience that involves the violation of the rights of others—regardless of whether the demonstrators’ goal is good or evil. The end does not justify the means. No one’s rights can be secured by the violation of the rights of others. Mass disobedience is an assault on the concept of rights: it is a mob’s defiance of legality as such.
The forcible occupation of another man’s property or the obstruction of a public thoroughfare is so blatant a violation of rights that an attempt to justify it becomes an abrogation of morality. An individual has no right to do a “sit-in” in the home or office of a person he disagrees with—and he does not acquire such a right by joining a gang. Rights are not a matter of numbers—and there can be no such thing, in law or in morality, as actions forbidden to an individual, but permitted to a mob.
The only power of a mob, as against an individual, is greater muscular strength—i.e., plain, brute physical force. The attempt to solve social problems by means of physical force is what a civilized society is established to prevent. The advocates of mass civil disobedience admit that their purpose is intimidation. A society that tolerates intimidation as a means of settling disputes—the physical intimidation of some men or groups by others—loses its moral right to exist as a social system, and its collapse does not take long to follow.
Politically, mass civil disobedience is appropriate only as a prelude to civil war—as the declaration of a total break with a country’s political institutions.
— Ayn Rand
“The Cashing-In: The Student ‘Rebellion’”
We get up at 12 and start to work at 1.
Take an hour for lunch and then at 2 we’re done.
Jolly good fun!
“Like Greece.”
— The Lady last night while we watched ‘The Wizard of Oz’ on TBS.
Reason #9,466,161,708 I love her.
From The Merry Old Land of Oz [iTunes link]
The Merry Old Land Of Oz from scenestirz.com on Vimeo.
Side note: I had never seen the digitally remastered version of the film. It looks AMAZING in HD. You can Rent or Buy it from iTunes here.
House Passes "Entrepreneur Access to Capital Act" Crowdfunding Bill
The U.S. House of Representatives this week passed a variety of measures intended to make it easier for small businesses to raise money. The most notable of the bills, which have had wide bipartisan support, would create an SEC exemption for crowdfunding.
The crowdfunding bill, called the Entrepreneur Access to Capital Act, would allow companies to give out equity stakes in exchange for investments of up to $2 million.
The stakes wouldn’t count against the SEC’s famous 500-shareholder rule. And individual investors would be capped at putting in $10,000 or 10 percent of their annual income.
This is very exciting.
The bill, sponsored by Rep. Patrick McHenry [R-NC10], passed 407-17, with 9 not voting.
You can view the bill here.
Just For Reference™, the 17 Naye votes, all Democrats, were:
Georgia:
GA-5 Lewis, John [D]
Illinois:
IL-9 Schakowsky, Janice [D]
Maryland:
MD-4 Edwards, Donna [D]
MD-7 Cummings, Elijah [D]
Massachusetts:
MA-1 Olver, John [D]
MA-6 Tierney, John [D]
MA-7 Markey, Edward [D]
MA-8 Capuano, Michael [D]
MA-9 Lynch, Stephen [D]
Michigan:
MI-5 Kildee, Dale [D]
MI-15 Dingell, John [D]
New York:
NY-5 Ackerman, Gary [D]
North Carolina:
NC-1 Butterfield, George [D]
NC-4 Price, David [D]
NC-12 Watt, Melvin [D]
NC-13 Miller, R. [D]
Ohio:
OH-10 Kucinich, Dennis [D]
The bill now has to pass the Senate before being signed into law.
(Source: allthingsd.com)
- # Entrepreneur Access to Capital Act
- # Politics
- # Entrepreneurship
- # Economy
- # Start-ups
- # Small Business
- # Crowd Funding
- # Investments
- # SEC
- # Economics
- # Economy
- # Government
- # Congress
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- # tcot
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- # Political Economy
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Infographic: The Obama Economy - By The Numbers
I mostly consider myself a libertarian and I was inspired to create the infographic out of a general frustration with the current economic environment. While I don’t solely blame President Obama for this, I do believe his policies have lengthened (and in many ways worsened) this downturn. Although the infographic is implicitly critical of President Obama, I wanted to avoid opinions and evaluate the hard numbers set against statements and promises he has made in the past.
— Web designer and developer John Ekdahl
Been making the rounds.
Empirically, pretty damning.
Recall:
If I don’t have this done in three years, then there’s going to be a one-term proposition.
— Barack Obama, 2009
Just For Reference™
Click through for the high-res version.
![[Infographic] The Obama Presidency - By The Numbers](http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6028/6196456311_6b68be17bb_o.png)
(Source: The Atlantic)
