"Is it too much to ask a hip-hop “musician” formed by the juvenile arrogance of a genre with almost zero positive contributions to popular culture to resist the easy prey of a humble and traditionally wholesome artist like Taylor Swift. Actually it is too much to ask, way too much."

Not a bad article but there is no reason to shit on hip-hop. It is a great form of music.

Despicable really.

I don't think brain chemistry conceives ideas.

I agree about the crucial importance of liberty and how it is necessary in order to respect volition.

Ayn did not think that man was the source of reality. Reality exists and man has the rational mind as a tool with which to mould reality into what he thinks is best.

"That's not true with Rand. She finds all "truth" as a product of the individual human ego."

No. It is not a product of the ego, it is found by logic and ration starting with the law of identity and understanding there are both physical and metaphysical Truths in this universe.

The irony being the tech diffusion from the United States private system which facilitates innovation is the reason socialized medicine has worked at all.

it's not much better north of the border, though there is some sanity in a few small circles of people going to the top...

Emotionally satisfying arguments are what you can expect out of a culture that places so much emphasize on how you feel and your sense of self worth. At some point bleeding hearts won out against meritocracy in the realm of child rearing and we will continue to reap the harvest that we have sown until we reverse the trend. Until then, fringe opinions that satisfy our often misguided intuition will continue to wreck havoc on an ever diminishing grasp of reality.

Ego defense mechanisms seem to work on a larger scale when groupthink is involved. I'm saddened to see so many people in denial about the state of the world and the inability to differentiate between what is real and what is ideal. Fairness has become a justification for any implication that on the surface seems to make things 'fair'.

I am happy to see a voice like Palin's. Indeed anyone who can understand simple philosophical syllogisms and logical fallacies is A-OK in my books.

Rome to America:

1. Keep taxes low
2. Watch military spending
3. Don't underestimate barbarians... outside and INSIDE the borders
4.Limit tenure, prevent nepotism and avoid crony capitalism
5.Find ways to unify the people with culture
6.Keep the checks and balances in the government... watch the executive branch

Edward Gibbon's "Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire" is a prophetic reminder of the direction of history.

I think we have a great society going... Unfortunately it seems cannibals are eating it from the inside out.

Great Post~