Galt's Gulch

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    Posted by Zenphamy 7 years, 12 months ago
    "As we mark the 25th anniversary of the Soviet Union’s demise, let’s not forget the victims of communism. Let’s not forget that even though systems based on mistaken or malicious ideas like the Soviet Union will eventually collapse on their own, they can inflict decades of horror on the world and be followed by something as bad without the right ideas and values. But for this moment, let’s just celebrate that 25 years ago, a terrible tyranny was swept into the dustbin of history!",
    but not delude ourselves of the current state of our own nation as near 1/2 of our population favors state-ism and rule by centralized experts of regulation while they fear individualism and unfettered freedom.
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    • Posted by DrEdwardHudgins 7 years, 12 months ago
      The battle is ongoing. The frontline is here.
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      • Posted by term2 7 years, 12 months ago
        I have decided that it IS a war, and the people who supported Hillary have defined themselves as the enemy and I have stopped having anything to do with them as soon as I find out how they voted.
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        • Posted by $ allosaur 7 years, 12 months ago
          The domestic enemy you write of mentally operate under the delusion that somehow Americans can do communism so much better than the Russians did and everyone else who's tried it. Free stuff, free stuff, free stuff, free stuff, free stuff . . .
          They prefer to call it socialism because the word has somehow like the name Bernie Sanders has come to have a warm and fuzzy feel to it.
          Yeah, snowflakes, go hug a mama bear and see what happens.
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          • Posted by blackswan 7 years, 12 months ago
            TANSTAAFL!!!!!

            For all of those from the nether regions, it means,"THERE AIN'T NO SUCH THING AS A FREE LUNCH!!!!! (or a "free" anything). NOTHING IS "FREE." This statement is so obvious that anyone who believes anything is "free" is lying to himself, to hide the truth that he's a thief.
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          • Posted by term2 7 years, 12 months ago
            Sanders let his guard down when he vehemently trashed Trump with an anger that I had not seen before out of him. He is one of the evil ones deep down.
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    • Posted by term2 7 years, 12 months ago
      Look at what Obamacare has done to normal everyday people. They cant afford to actually use the Obamacare they paid for because of the high deductibles. It seems to me that Obama gave a gift to the insurance companies, and the extra money is going there somehow.
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  • Posted by Dobrien 7 years, 12 months ago
    Hi DrEdwardHudgins,
    Two earth shaking events share the same anniversary. 2004 Tsunami and The collapse of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republic.

    35 years and younger in The USA probably know nothing of the USSR. Hence the popularity of Bernie Sanders openly Socialistic stance.

    It makes me wonder what of the evils that, form of government hammered and abused on the "people ".
    Are the school children in this country taught about the USSR ?
    I would love your essay .Plus The very important historical proof that disaster awaits the people When altruism and collectivism becomes The philosophy .
    Teach and discuss this daily in all grade schools.
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    • Posted by DrEdwardHudgins 7 years, 12 months ago
      Right on the mark about the need for school children to be taught about communism's history. I became interested in politics in junior high, studying about the Soviet Union & Nazi Germany. Horrible regime. Today, ignorant kids become Bernie Sanders supporters and mourn Fidel Castro.
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      • Posted by term2 7 years, 12 months ago
        Bernie Sanders had this grandfatherly image at the start of the campaign. he appeared to be honest and believe in what he was saying. That was until he got worked over by the hildebeast. One would think he would have come out against her big time (I sure would have). But instead I happened to see one of his speeches where he went after Trump with such a vicious energy that showed the real evil in the hearts of these socialists. When they dont get their way, they turn violent in words and even in actions, while they go after non believers as intolerant, racist, zenophobic, and violent.

        Then I saw hildebeast call half the population "deplorable"- a blatantly stupid remark to make in a political situation. But, I think it came from the heart and she blurted it out before she thought about what she was admitting.

        I bet the scene on election night in the hillary camp was a sight to see. I imagine that Hillary herself went nuts over losing.

        And then there were the riots after the election.

        My conclusion is that the statist liberals are just evil to the core, and would prefer to see anyone who does not agree with them just die off quickly.

        Francisco in AS was right about it being a war and how we need to take sides.

        Trump has my support to drain the swamp of these people and get them out of the government.
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        • Posted by LibertyBelle 7 years, 12 months ago
          I strongly suspect that Obama's remark that he
          could have beaten Trump was meant to needle, not
          Trump,but Hillary Clinton. (But who can get inside
          his head?)
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          • Posted by term2 7 years, 12 months ago
            He is trying to undermine Trump's victory and secure his legacy. Its sick.

            His legacy is a failed Obamacare, lines in the sand that he doesnt defend after drawing them, letting in unvetted syrians, and presiding over extreme violence among his own people all over and increasing racial hatred. Not to mention doubling the national debt for very minimal gain. And resetting Russian relations to the worst they have been in a long time.
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  • Posted by Temlakos 7 years, 12 months ago
    From the article, these three points:

    First, ideas have consequences.

    Second, evil ideas endure because their promulgators can easily dupe the moral degenerate.

    Third, one must fight bad ideas with good ideas. Good examples, while helpful, are not sufficient. (I would call examples necessary but not sufficient.) The Soviet Union, and the Comintern, endured so long because neither the United States nor the United Kingdom ever articulated a morally consistent counterpoint to them. Not until President Ronald W. Reagan, Prime Minister (later Baroness) Margaret Thatcher, and Pope John Paul II forged their alliance did something called "The West" articulate a vision of freedom and respect for life, liberty and property.
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    • Posted by DrEdwardHudgins 7 years, 12 months ago
      Very good points! I would say it is important to make principles and values real to people. There's always a temptation to get lost in abstract scholastic arguments. While these are necessary, ideas and philosophy must be communicated to real people in their actual contexts in the real world!
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      • Posted by Temlakos 7 years, 12 months ago
        You've hit it. That's why operational and conceptual definitions are so important to the physical sciences. In this case, we had the examples, but needed someone in recognized authority to explain the examples.
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  • Posted by chad 7 years, 12 months ago
    I have often wondered that more than the failure of a communist form of government, did we become enough like them that there wasn't much distinction between the two and no need for a wall in between? Democracy is a road to serfdom for the people will vote for slavery believing they will be the beneficiaries of the proposed enslavement of the workers and builders. I think far more than 1/2 the population favors state-ism, Ayn once pointed out the difference between Republican and Democrat was practically nil, they are two sides of the same coin the only difference would be in how we will get to a totalitarian state.
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    • Posted by DrEdwardHudgins 7 years, 12 months ago
      I have written the the West is experiencing a slow-motion version of the collapse that occurred in the communist world. The contradictions of government statist policies are producing economic, political, and social crises that cannot be mitigated by the same policies that caused them to begin with.
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  • Posted by $ Susanne 7 years, 12 months ago
    Um... I thought the dissolution of the USSR happened (and was celebrated) in June. At least it was when we were there 5 1/2 years ago, and they were celebrating the 20th. Maybe it was the formation of the Russian Federation... but it was a HUGE brouhaha, with speeches, fireworks, parties long through the short nights of late spring...
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  • Posted by $ Thoritsu 7 years, 12 months ago
    Nine years too late for Ayn to see it. Too bad. Would love to have read her commentary.
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    • Posted by term2 7 years, 12 months ago
      Russia would never have come back if it werent for the oil that they are selling. We should stop fighting stupid wars and develop alternative energy to replace oil, and in the meantime drive down the price of oil and let these socialist countries sink into the sunset
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      • Posted by $ Thoritsu 7 years, 12 months ago
        Now THAT is a tangible, supportable, excellent reason for alternative energy!
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        • Posted by term2 7 years, 12 months ago
          YES. we are supporting socialism by relying on oil that they are living off of. Not to mention the relatively useless arabs who feed off the oil and then do terror to further their "religion"
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          • Posted by $ Thoritsu 7 years, 12 months ago
            I wasn't as worried about supporting socialism as supporting islamic terrorism and Russia, socialism is certainly another thing to not support.

            I would argue that taking a $1 of oil profit from them is better than spending a $1 on military to deal with them.
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            • Posted by term2 7 years, 12 months ago
              theres got to be a lot of money hidden in the swamp that hopefully Trump will drain. He could start with 18B at year in foreign aid to Pakistan
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              • Posted by blackswan 7 years, 12 months ago
                Why stop with Pakistan?!? How about the UN, and all the countries whose worldview is 180 degrees from ours? Why support them in ANY way? Let them suffer the results of their own ideologies fully.
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                • Posted by term2 7 years, 12 months ago
                  I agree. The swamp is a lot larger than we really understand at this point. I never really liked the idea of the UN. People are tribal and countries are unto themselves really- and for good reason. There is no ONE WORLD, and probably shouldnt ever be. That would eliminate any chance of competition among governments to benefit their own citizens.
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  • Posted by $ Abaco 7 years, 12 months ago
    I remember it so well...seeing the tanks in Moscow on the tv. I was a young engineer working in the aerospace business. The end of the cold war resulted in a career change.
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  • Posted by CircuitGuy 7 years, 12 months ago
    Ideas #2 and #3 relate to dupes. I wonder how many people are truly duped. People benefiting from a gov't that violates people rights have a reason to claim to support it. People living under direct threat from that gov't have a strong reason to lie and say they support it. I wonder how many true dupes there are. I suspect if you took them and their families out of danger, most people would prefer a republic that respects people's rights. As the article says, we see people voting with their feet.
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    • Posted by term2 7 years, 12 months ago
      I think you are talking about the supporters of Hildebeast.... They want to tie themselves to the coat tails of crooked hillary so they can share in the spoils.
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