Saturday, August 29, 2009

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Russ Feingold: A Flexible Timetable To Bring Troops Home From Afghanistan Top
After nearly eight long years, we seem to be no closer to the end of the war in Afghanistan. In fact, given the current buildup of U.S. troops and the possibility that even more may be deploying soon, many Americans, and many Afghans, wonder what we hope to achieve--and when our service members will start to come home. More on Afghanistan
 
DJ AM's Death: Crack Found By Groin Top
Law enforcement sources tell TMZ when they found the body of DJ AM, a bag of crack was found around his groin area.
 
Magnificent Mozah: Qatar's Sheikha Shows Off Bold Colors, Belts And A Strong Silhouette (PHOTOS) Top
Qatar's Sheikha Mozah shines on the sartorial stage, mixing modesty with high fashion amidst a cast of other elegant first ladies. She made this year's Vanity Fair best-dressed list , wears a lot of Jean Paul Gaultier, and beat Carla Bruni in a floor-length gown HuffPost poll . The Sheikha's garments combine a strong and shapely silhouette, bold colors, and buttons and buckles. She always tops things off with exquisite jewelry, but (usually) avoids looking over-the-top. Peruse these photos of magnificent Sheikha Mozah: Follow HuffPost Style on Twitter and become a fan of HuffPost Style on Facebook ! More on Photo Galleries
 
Intimates Recall DJ AM's Struggle With Drugs Top
While questions still remain unanswered concerning Friday's death of Adam "DJ AM" Goldstein amid reports that police found drug paraphernalia at the scene, the celebrity DJ made no secret of his past drug addiction and stints in rehab. Even so, say friends, he was usually quick to reach out and help others who also were suffering. And while one pal says Goldstein seemed troubled of late after surviving a fiery plane crash last year that claimed the lives of two crewmembers and two passengers, others recall someone who was always a "consummate professional."
 
Terrance Dejuan McCoy: Man Ditches Woman On First Date, Steals Her Car Top
FERNDALE, Mich. — Police in Michigan say a first date went from bad to worse when a Detroit man skipped out on the restaurant bill, then stole his date's car. Police say 23-year-old Terrance Dejuan McCoy had dinner with a woman April 24 at Buffalo Wild Wings in the Detroit suburb of Ferndale. The woman says the two met a week earlier at a Detroit casino and she knew McCoy only as "Chris." The woman told police that McCoy said he left his wallet in her car and asked for keys. He then sped away in the 2000 Chevrolet Impala. The Daily Tribune of Royal Oak reports that police identified McCoy by a photo he'd sent to the woman's cell phone, and his phone number. McCoy is charged with unlawfully taking the car, a five-year felony. He waived a preliminary exam and was bound over for trial Thursday.
 
Kelly Preston Cancels Speech: 'Too Soon' To Talk About Jett's Death Top
LOS ANGELES — Kelly Preston is pulling out of the annual Women's Conference, where she was to break her silence about the death of her teenage son. The actress said in a statement Friday that she is "still deeply in the process of healing, and it's just too soon." Preston was set to participate in a panel on grief at the annual event hosted by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and First Lady Maria Shriver. Preston and her husband, John Travolta, have kept low profiles since their 16-year-old son, Jett, died following a seizure in January. The Women's Conference will be held Oct. 26-27 in Long Beach, Calif.
 
Noel Gallagher: I Quit Oasis Over "Verbal And Violent Intimidation" Top
LONDON — Oasis guitarist Noel Gallagher claims "verbal and violent intimidation" led to his decision to leave the "Britpop" band. In a letter to fans posted to the band's Web site Saturday, Gallagher also apologizes for having to cancel European concerts. The posting says "the level of verbal and violent intimidation towards me, my family, friends and comrades has become intolerable." Gallagher offers no details about what the intimidation was, and doesn't specify who was responsible. Gallagher also doesn't directly write about his brother Liam, the band's frontman, who he earlier said had forced his decision to quit. That statement said Gallagher couldn't work with Liam "a day longer." Oasis was a leading act in the "Britpop" explosion of the 1990s. ___ On the Net: http://www.oasisinet.com/
 
Sophia A. Nelson: What About Joan Kennedy: Doesn't She Deserve an Honorable Mention Too? Top
As I sat over the past 48hrs or so and watched the media coverage of the extraordinary life of Senator Edward M. Kennedy--something struck me as being unfair: What about the former Mrs. Edward Kennedy--Joan Bennett Kennedy? I don't mean any disrespect whatsoever toward the current Mrs. Ted Kennedy, but I was a bit put off today at the Memorial service in the Boston Church that no-one in their eulogy mentioned that Joan was there for the late Senator and her children through the "worst of times". The first wife usually is. The challenge for me in all of this is not that Vicky Reggie Kennedy did not deserve all of the kudos she got for "saving Ted's life' --she does, but that the first wife, Joan Bennett (who was quietly present at the Memorial services today) deserves a litte R-E-S-P-E-C-T too. Let us not forget that like Ethel and Jackie before her, she was there through the 1st Senate campaign, the airplane crash that landed her husband bed-ridden (as she campaigned for him all through Massachusetts and helped him win an impressive victor), the horrific death of JFK, the tragic death of RFK, the stroke of Joseph P. Kennedy Sr., Chappaquidick, the womanizing, the drinking, the challenges to the health of their children, the 1980 campaign against Carter, and on and on. Joan is probably the most unfortunate of all the Kennedy wives, because at least Jackie and Ethel (for all they endured) are loved and revered in our political and social pop culture. The images of the two young grieving widows are indelibly etched in our American conscience forever. But what about Joan? Where does she fit into all of this? I think she deserves an encore--she was loyal--she was faithful--she endured--she supported--she loved--she gave--she suffered--she wept--she was humiliated at times--broken at times--yet, through it all she gets little of the credit for being the woman in the "arena" with the Lion of the Senate. In the final analysis--I admire Ted Kennedy's life story--for all of his flaws and weaknesses--failings--he understood well the concept of perseverence and of "moving forward" no matter what cards life may deal us. As for Joan, I just felt that someone today needed to say "thank you" Joan for being the wind beneath Ted's wings for the first part of his life's journey. Thank you for your brave battle with alcoholism and for your love of your children. Lastly, thank you for having the class and grace to sit through a Memorial Service today in honor of your late husband--a service that had to be hard for you as you once loved this man and gave him three (3) children. It could not have been easy to listen to another woman get all of the praise and kudos--and be called "the love of Ted's life" after you were so loyal and true. So I say thank you Joan Kennedy for all you did. May God grant you peace and joy in the twilight years of your life.
 
Kennedy carried to Arlington, laid beside brothers Top
WASHINGTON — Sen. Edward M. Kennedy was laid to rest alongside slain brothers John and Robert on hallowed ground at Arlington National Cemetery on Saturday evening, celebrated for "the dream he kept alive" across the decades since their deaths. Crowds lined the streets of two cities on a day that marked the end of a political era – outside Kennedy's funeral in rainy Boston, and later in the day in humid, late-summer Washington. With flags over the Capitol flying at half-staff in his memory, his hearse stopped outside the Senate where he served for 47 years. "Go now, to your place of rest. And meet the Lord, your God," said the Rev. Daniel Coughlin, the House chaplain. A few miles away, Kennedy's freshly excavated gravesite was on a gently sloping Virginia hillside, flanked by a pair of maple trees. His brother Robert, killed in 1968 while running for president, lies 100 feet away. It is another 100 to the eternal flame that has burned since 1963 for John F. Kennedy, president when he was assassinated. The youngest brother died Tuesday at 77, more than a year after he was diagnosed with a brain tumor. An oak cross, painted white, marked the head of his grave, and a flat marble footstone bore the simple inscription, "Edward Moore Kennedy 1932-2009." In Boston, one son, Patrick, wept quietly as another, Teddy Jr., spoke from the pulpit of the Basilica of Our Lady of Perpetual Help. Teddy Jr. recalled the day years ago, shortly after losing a leg to cancer, that he slipped walking up an icy driveway as he headed out to go sledding. "I started to cry and I said, `I'll never be able to climb up that hill.'" "And he lifted me up in his strong, gentle arms and said something I will never forget. He said, `I know you can do it. There is nothing that you can't do.'" Rain beat down steadily as Kennedy's coffin was borne by a military honor guard into the Catholic church, and again when it was brought back out for the flight to Washington and the military cemetery just across the Potomac River from Washington. In life, the senator had visited the burial ground often to mourn his brothers, killed in their 40s, more than a generation ago, by assassins' bullets. "He was given a gift of time that his brothers were not. And he used that time to touch as many lives and right as many wrongs as the years would allow," Obama said in a eulogy that also gently made mention of Kennedy's "personal failings and setbacks." As a member of the Senate, Kennedy was a "veritable force of nature," the president said. But more than that, the "baby of the family who became its patriarch, the restless dreamer who became its rock." Those left behind to mourn "grieve his passing with the memories he gave, the good he did, the dream he kept alive" Obama said inside the packed church. Hundreds lined nearby sidewalks, ignoring the rain, as the funeral procession passed. "I said to myself this morning, 'No matter what the weather, I'm going, I don't care if I have to swim," said Lillian Bennett, 59, who added she was a longtime Kennedy supporter and determined to get as close as she could to the invitation-only funeral. "The Mass of Christian burial weaves together memory and hope," said the Rev. Mark R. Hession, parish priest at the church in a working class neighborhood of Boston. There was plenty of both in a two-hour service filled with references to Kennedy's political accomplishments and personal recollections of his private life. Cellist Yo-Yo Ma and tenor Placido Domingo provided musical grace notes. Kennedy's widow, Vicki, his sole surviving sibling, Jean, and Robert Kennedy's widow, Ethel, carefully arranged the cloth funeral pall atop the coffin. Like others, Teddy Jr., touched on his father's legacy. "He answered Uncle Joe's call to patriotism, Uncle Jack's call to public service and Bobby's determination to seek a newer world. Unlike them, he lived to be a grandfather," he said. Joseph Kennedy Jr. died in World War II, John F. Kennedy was the nation's 35th president when he was assassinated in 1963 and Sen. Robert F. Kennedy was killed five years later as he campaigned for the presidency. Saturday's events marked the end of four days of public and private mourning meant to emphasize Kennedy's 47 years in the Senate from Massachusetts, his standing as the foremost liberal Democrat of the late 20th century yet a legislator who courted compromise with Republicans, a family man and last heir to a dynasty that began in the years after World War II. Thousands of mourners filed past his flag-draped coffin earlier in the week when Kennedy lay in repose at the John F. Kennedy Library in Boston. Republicans and Democrats alike recalled his political career in a bipartisan evening of laughter-filled speechmaking on Friday. Even the church had special meaning for the family. Kennedy prayed there daily several years ago during his daughter Kara's successful battle with lung cancer. ___ David Espo reported from Washington. AP writer Karen Testa contributed from Boston.
 
Only 4% Of Israelis Say Obama Is "Pro-Israel" Top
Only 4 percent of Israelis believe President Barack Obama's Mideast policies are "pro-Israel," according to a Smith Research poll this week. The number was 6 percent two months ago. Thirty-five percent believe Obama's policies are balanced, while 51 percent say they are more pro-Palestine, according to the study. The figures come in the midst of Obama's attempt to broker peace between Israel and Palestine as well as his efforts to repair the fissure between Islam and the West by reaching out to Arab and Middle Eastern countries. Two months ago, 88 percent of Israelis said the policies of President George Bush, Obama's predecessor, were "pro-Israel." While Obama has hardly altered US policies toward Israel, he has broken from tradition by taking a strong stance against Israel's building of permanent settlements in the West Bank, a region recognized globally as part of the Palestinian territories. Obama has said that the settlements " have to be stopped " in order to achieve peace in the region. When the Israeli government refused to comply, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton reaffirmed that the Obama administration is "very clear" that settlement growth needs to be halted, "intends to press that point." Obama, who overwhelmingly won the votes of American Jews in 2008, has since come under criticism from Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and members of the Republican party, which are likely to have impacted Obama's popularity in Israel. Earlier this month, the Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported that Netanyahu called senior White House officials Rahm Emanuel and David Axelrod "self-hating Jews," which Haaretz said was a sign of Netanyahu's "paranoia." This summer, lone Jewish GOP Congressman Eric Cantor labeled Obama's Mid-East policy "dangerous" and "misguided," and later echoed this criticism during a trip to Israel. More on Israel
 
Mobile Home Killing: 7 Found Slain In Georgia Top
BRUNSWICK, Ga. — Seven people were found slain and two critically injured Saturday at a mobile home park built on the grounds of a historic plantation in southeastern Georgia, police said. Glynn County Police Chief Matt Doering called it the worst mass slaying in his 25 years of police work in this coastal Georgia county. He wouldn't say how the victims died. "This is a record for us. We've never had such an incident with so many victims," Doering told reporters. "It's not a scene that I would want anybody to see." A family member called 911 at about 8 a.m. Saturday after discovering the bodies inside a dingy mobile home shaded by large, moss-draped oaks with an old boat in the front yard. At an afternoon news conference, Doering declined to say whether police believe the killer was among the dead or remained at large. No arrests had been made. Investigators were interviewing neighbors about whether they saw or heard anything unusual Saturday morning. The two injured victims were taken to a Savannah hospital 60 miles away and were in critical condition, Doering said. By early Saturday evening, four of the seven bodies had been removed from the crime scene. Some of the victims had been tentatively identified, but Doering would not release any names or ages. "I really don't know the ages," Doering said. "There were some older-aged victims and we believe there were some in their teens." Located a few miles north of the port city of Brunswick, the mobile home park consists of about 100 spaces and is nestled among centuries-old live oak trees near the center of New Hope Plantation, according to the plantation's Web site. The 1,100 acre tract is all that remains of a Crown grant made in 1763 to Henry Laurens, who later succeeded John Hancock as president of the Continental Congress in 1777. Laurens obtained control of the South Altamaha river lands and named it New Hope Plantation, according to the plantation's Web site. Lisa Vizcaino, who has lived at New Hope for three years, said the management works hard to keep troublemakers out of the mobile home park and that it tends to be quiet. "New Hope isn't rundown or trashy at all," Vizcaino said. "It's the kind of place where you can actually leave your keys in the car and not worry about anything." Vizcaino said she didn't know the victims and heard nothing unusual when she woke up at 7 a.m. Saturday morning. After word of the slayings spread, she said, the park was quieter than usual. "Everybody had pretty much stayed in their houses," Vizcaino said. "Normally you would see kids outside, but everybody's been pretty much on lockdown."
 
Mary Lyon: To This Partisan Irish Catholic, More Change We Can Believe In Top
Watching the pageantry accompanying the passing of Senator Ted Kennedy was striking, touching something way deeper in my heart than I expected. Okay, full disclosure here - Irish Catholic, went to the schools, went to Mass, did the Missal thing, the Confession thing, the Rosary thing, learned the prayers and the hymns and when you stood up and when you sat down and when you genuflected. All my male Irish Catholic elders wound up looking pouchy and potato-like, with thick, full heads of white hair just like Teddy's. Their wakes were perhaps a little rowdier than his. I could identify with this. Even when my father veered off into Reaganism, it wasn't all "IGMFU" (I Got Mine and the other two initials tell you the rest). He still carried that same deep sense of obligation to remember where you came from, look after those less fortunate, and to stand up to racism and discrimination. For several days now, I've been trying to put my finger on exactly what it is that has moved me so deeply about the end of this era in American politics and history. I never met Senator Kennedy. In my days as a reporter, I interviewed several of the members of the next generation of his illustrious family, but never anyone at his level. I was a little girl when I witnessed another even littler girl and her still littler brother frolic in that big mansion where the President lives. It was the first time I could even minimally identify with anything about Washington, DC realities, long before I understood much about politics or any of its major national players. Everything before Ted's brother John and his family ascended was vaguely about the stewardship of benign elderly grandparents - never about anyone who reminded me of my parents or myself. Maybe that was it. The Kennedy family was loaded with vibrant young-ish adults who kind of looked like my mom and dad, and lots of kids only a little younger than I was. Something to latch onto. As I grew, learned, observed conditions in my country that I did not like, and searched for ways to change and improve those conditions, I came to appreciate the mission of the Kennedy family. I learned that matriarch Rose Kennedy infused her babies' bottles with the moral nutritional supplement summed up by - "of those to whom much is given, much is expected." Translated to my own children's baby food decades later, that would become "much blessed, much obligated." No matter how many or how few words, the idea behind such slogans was always the same. You gave back. You helped someone who couldn't help themselves. If you had more, you thus had more to share. If you were positioned such that you could afford to offer assistance, then you were morally bound to do so. Raised in Catholic schools, we studied The Beatitudes and the mission of Christ on earth. Nowhere did The Savior ever measure your worth based on your politics or your wealth or position or connections or your race, age, nationality, fitness, sexuality, religion or lack thereof. When a poor person asked Him for help, He never sneered back to stop mooching off the system and go get a job, and there was never a litmus test applied to gauge the merit of the querant. It always seemed to me that He meant for us to follow that example. Something else for which I came to appreciate the Kennedys. Maybe I came to revere Ted Kennedy's work all the more because unlike his brothers, he had time and many years to make a difference, large and small, and a terrific and powerful podium from which to do so. He never hesitated to use his stature or gifts for good, to help somebody. But I was accustomed to admiring him from a distance for his legislative achievements or his efforts to inspire and uplift. This week, on the other hand, I was touched in a far more personal and intimate way. I've learned over the past several decades to be relentlessly and sometimes ruthlessly partisan. I don't like Republicans and conservatives because of what I understand of their world view - that the haves should be protected and helped, their interests looked after above all else, and the have-nots should maybe hope the haves gain so much that perhaps many more crumbs from their overladen table will fall to the needy below. That no one should feel obligated to chip in, or share, to support and sustain the America we've all built. That this government - you know, the one that's "of the people, by the people, and for the people," is somehow bad. That the status quo is sacrosanct. To try to change or question it, or dare to call for improvements, is impractical, too soon, too much, even unpatriotic, and certainly too expensive. However, watching Ted Kennedy's tribute-cum-wake at the JFK Library, I found myself changing. It was a time to embrace people . People I saw there, even those not of my own philosophical tribe. People - not enemies. To celebrate what we shared - even with those we might perceive as unwilling to share. I never , for example, thought I would hold warm feelings toward GOP Senator Orrin Hatch because I couldn't disagree with him more on so many issues - many of which are deeply personal and important to me. But the figure who shared his memories of his friend Ted, wiping at his nose and laughing with flustered embarrassment at his emotional public display, could only be described as dear. I will never think of Orrin Hatch the same way again. He will always be, in essence, dear to me for what his recollections of Ted Kennedy brought out from within him. The next day, with the funeral Mass, there he was again, sitting next to his ideological brother-in-conservative-arms, John McCain, respectful and quiet. They felt compelled to be there, too, to offer support and love, to stand with the grieving mourners and family members and help carry their burden. Regardless my opinion of what they stand for politically, my feelings for them have expanded to make room for more compassion. It's the compassion I rightfully should feel as a liberal. I saw the very fellow against whom I've spent more than eight years railing, and his wife Laura, sitting in the second row, near the Democrat who was at times much decried and abandoned by those of his own party, as well as the opponents whose loathing of him was never a secret. But there they all sat, together, all for the same reason. The elegance of that tableau, in which bitter foes joined to share a respect, love, and a salute for one remarkable and staggeringly memorable man, all politics aside, might be that man's most significant legacy of all. I still don't like Republicans and conservatives. But now I don't see them necessarily as villains. This week has shown me their humanity. Sad that it takes such a week to do so. I needed that reminder, though. We all did, and do, particularly now when America is far angrier and more virulently and hideously divided than ever. Many by now have remarked about how the Kennedys, Ted in particular, changed things. He continued to do that even after he died - with all those divergent individuals, and also with me. That was the best of him. As we carry on without him - our "National Uncle," hopefully that best of him will leaven the best of us. More on Ted Kennedy
 
David Paterson's Got A Bone To Pick Top
New York's beleaguered governor talks candidly with Lloyd Grove about: •His critics: "In the middle of World War II, if we had a country full of people like people are suggesting I do, we'd be living under Nazi rule right now." •A racially charged spat with New York media over a BET party: "It was designed to make me look not serious, and all the stereotypical, you know, classless aspects often attributed to African Americans" •His abysmal ratings: 30 percent approvals are "an improvement." •His Senate appointment brawl with Caroline Kennedy •The veto that "still haunts" him
 
Robbie Gennet: Who Isn't John Galt? Part 2 Top
Since the posting of my recent John Galt piece and all of it's ensuing commentary, I thought I would clarify a few things that may not have come across in the original article. Firstly, I am not anti-Capitalism; I am anti-greed and evil. This country has been built on Capitalism and there are a great many people who work hard, pay taxes and amass great fortunes, which is terrific for them and for the country. America has made it possible for people to rise from nothing and reach the highest of heights and it is part of what makes this a great country: opportunity. Capitalism offers opportunity to those who seek it and many of those people have great intentions, good hearts and solid ethics and morals. However, there have been far too many examples of evil and greedy people who will stop at nothing to rook, cheat and swindle as much as they can, giving a bad name to honest Capitalists and the system as a whole. This is why we have and need regulation and financial oversight. A couple of "Capitalist Pigs" and all of Wall Street can look like a trough, when in fact there are many honest and hard-working people who contribute positively to Wall Street and the economy. A few bad apples can tarnish undeserving reputations in any industry, but in an industry where you deal with peoples homes and life savings, you are hitting them where it hurts the most. The term "Wall Street" itself has been used recently as a scapegoat for a cadre of evil and greedy people who tanked whole banks and institutions (and almost the entire economy) in their greedy quest for more money, more money, more money. It is that drive- the "Panzer tank mentality" I spoke of -- which I am wholly against. I am totally behind the drive for success and I feel sorry for the good folks out there that can and do make "Wall Street" a positive economic force and have been maligned along with the bad apples. Partly it is the media to blame; they love a juicy scandal but have little interest or incentive in promoting positive stories. This is why you hear every detail of Bernie Madoff's ills and barely a peep about the financial planners and wealth managers who have done a sterling job steering their clients through the wreckage. Rand's Atlas / Fountainhead world was imaginary and it worked in black and white to elucidate her philosophical points. It was as much pro-Capitalism as it was anti-Communism/Socialism, a product of her Russian upbringing and direct experiences. But Rand's philosophies are only as good or bad in action as the moral and ethical underpinnings of the person practicing it. Objectivist ethics may be based on rational egoism but still are driven by good or evil impetuses. Though I used Bill Gates as an example of altruistic capitalism, one commenter pointed out that Gates has done wrong by Microsoft's labor force, which may be true. I'm not suggesting Bill Gates is perfect but let's be blunt: without his initial inspiration and act of creation, there wouldn't be a Microsoft labor force at all! Not to say that Gates or anyone should treat their employees less than fairly but it does bring up a valid point: There is a huge benefit to capitalism that most people don't mention, which is that a capitalist employs great numbers of people who in turn make a decent wage and pay taxes themselves. By creating tax-paying jobs and paying their own taxes, the capitalist helps make a stronger and more vibrant country. Bill Gates may not have started out as a capitalist but as of this writing, Microsoft employs roughly 60,000 people in the US and tens of thousands more abroad. Once those new Microsoft-branded stores open around the country, expect those numbers to rise even further. Capitalism creates jobs and employed people pay taxes, as do the corporations that hire them. This cannot be understated in its impact on our economy and the our country's workforce. There were those who posted about having to "share" their earnings with those who had "no hand in it at all" and they are truly living in a fictitious reality. To think you are unconnected to your fellow tax-paying citizens is a falsehood that should be dispelled when you drive along the tax-funded streets or need a tax-funded police car or fire crew to help you out of a jam. Maybe you got your start in a tax-funded public school, or got a tax-funded Pell Grant to go to college. Maybe you are now rich enough to not need tax-funded Medicare or your monthly tax-funded Social Security check, though you surely collect it anyway. Or maybe you invested everything with Madoff and have now been saved by that publicly-funded safety net. You know, the one that was meant for the "other people" until you needed it to survive. You cannot take for granted how much of the foundation of our society is funded by taxes even as you take umbrage with how your representatives collect and spend those taxes. If you want to live in a world with no taxes yet somehow keep the infrastructure and institutions that make America great, you are living in the wrong country. To the person who opined that creating art for one's own purpose is "artistic masturbation," you must not have a large record collection, if any at all. Almost every album you own is a product of "artistic masturbation" on some level. Yet you hope for one "gift" from an epic landscape, as if any of that art was made as a present to you. Most great art is self-indulgent work that is only great because it's truth, honesty and merit was up to the artist who created it, not a bunch of armchair critics expecting "gifts." You don't deserve the music and books on your shelves, including Douglas Adams. And to the person who doesn't know how I could "twist and pull any artistic moral goodness out of Ayn Rand," you are obviously not an artist. Of course you don't know, though hopefully my piece might enlighten you on the subject from an artists viewpoint. No twisting or pulling necessary. Ayn Rand herself could not have imagined or even intended the freedom her philosophy gives to artists and yet, it has an undeniable effect which I share with many in the artistic community, from poets to painters to photographers to musicians. This was the intended point of my original piece: Rand's influence on Artists. Her architect Howard Roarke is as positive a role model as any artist could find in real life and I'm thankful that Rand thought to create him. And as Roarke himself might posit: You, like everyone, are entitled to your own feelings, opinions and judgements. And we are entitled to completely ignore them. Someone else posted a comment that said while I grasped the quote "Do not sacrifice yourself to others," I missed the boat on the second half: "Do not sacrifice others to yourself." Does that mean do not trample on others in your own quest? Because that is what I inferred from it and I didn't miss it at all. Dick Cheney, however, missed an entire fleet of boats on this one. Lastly, I heard back from some of the Ayn Rand/Objectivist organizations, including goingjohngalt.org , and was glad to receive their feedback. One gentleman remarked that that word "capitalist" has been "ruined by people who think that money is more important than human rights and human dignity" and I think he is on the money, to coin a phrase. Again, I am not anti-capitalist, though a certain professor took me to task for the tone of my piece. Perhaps if I replaced every instance of the word "capitalism" with the word "greed" he might not have taken such offense. Capitalism without empathy can wreak horrible results, though no one is saying one has to be altruistic to be a "good" capitalist. There is a gray area between empathy and greed and certainly many examples all along that spectrum of capitalism. We hope for the best of humanity among capitalists while suffering from the worst of greed among them. For every group of people helped by Bill Gates charity, there are others in ruins from Bernie Madoff's greed. It must be hard for Objectivists to defend capitalism without simultaneously defending the Madoff's of the world but both Objectivism and capitalism are worth defending in the long run. Bernie Madoff is surely not. The professor who excoriated me for my tone pointed out that the same freedom/creativity accorded to the artist Roark in The Fountainhead is similarly granted to industrialists/businessmen in Atlas Shrugged , which is a valid point. He went on to say that I unfairly lauded that freedom when applied to the artist while not affording the same respect when applied to the capitalist. I see his point, but I still feel that the worst bad art can do is ruin your mood while the worst bad capitalism can do is ruin the world. So while I can appreciate the freedom/creativity for both artists and industrialists, the intrinsic fundamentals of good and evil applied to the worlds of art and capitalism produce vastly different results on the devastation scale. This same professor told me that "it doesn't seem to me that you've really *read* Ayn Rand, just taken away some vague, positive images. Go back, and see what the characters you like are really like." I have read and re-read both Atlas Shrugged and The Fountainhead and am secure in what I took away from them, both positive and negative. And I realize that her works do need to be re-read along the way because as our perspectives grow, so does our capacity to take even more from those books. Certainly the next time I read them, I will be much more aware of the capitalists and their philosophies; perhaps the next time you read them, you'll be more aware of artists and theirs. And if I may add: regarding the extreme nature of Howard Roarke's reactions -- blowing up buildings and whatnot- I understand the principles behind them but I think any rational human being sees Roarke's acts as being severe illustrations of his principles, not examples to follow in "real life." To finish, I will say that if my original piece felt like an anti-capitalist rant, it was not my intention and I apologize to the well-meaning and successful capitalists out there reaping their just rewards. But to those whose hearts are black with greed, whose souls lack conscience and whose bank accounts grow from the pain and suffering of others, may you rot in hell. The Madoffs and Stanfords of the world give a bad name to both humanity and capitalism and it is my hope that they endure whatever karmic blowback is headed their way. The issue is really the age-old good vs evil battle that has played out in every corner of the human race throughout history. Your intent and character drives your ambitions and actions and depending on whether it is based on good or evil purpose, the outcome will tell the tale. I hope I've cleared some things up, answered some questions and perhaps provoked some more. It is obvious that Ayn Rand incites a lot of dialog amongst people who have read her works and others who evidently have not. Whether you are an artist or a capitalist (or both) I hope you consider some of the viewpoints represented here and continue the dialog. Thanks for reading and responding. More on Financial Crisis
 
Toyota Accused Of Hiding Evidence In Hundreds Of Rollover Deaths (VIDEO) Top
A former attorney for Toyota has accused the automaker of illegally withholding evidence in hundreds of rollover death and injury cases, in a "ruthless conspiracy" to keep evidence "of its vehicles' structural shortcomings from becoming known."
 

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