This historic interview of Ayn Rand conducted by Tom Snyder is timely. I don’t know the exact date of the broadcast but Ayn Rand is clearly approaching her later years which means it probably took place in the 1970′s. Plus, there are numerous references to Jimmy Carter in PART II, so go figure.
WARNING: These videos are guaranteed to piss off conservatives, liberals, libertarians, objectivists, religious people, atheists, right wingers, left wingers, business owners, union leaders and guys from Wisconsin. Enjoy!
Don’t forget to check out the John Stossel show which premieres tonight at 8 pm on the FOX Business Channel. You can always watch Bill O’Reilly at 11.
The show is called “Stossel” and the first show will feature Nick Gillespie of Reason.com discussing the relevance of Ayn Rand’s novel Atlas Shrugged, global warming and how to fix health care – from a free market perspective, no doubt.
“Barack Obama does not have Angelina Jolie’s seal of approval.”
“She hates him,” a source close to the U.N. goodwill ambassador, 34, tells the new issue of Us Weekly on newsstands now.”
“She’s into education and rehabilitation and thinks Obama is all about welfare and handouts. She thinks Obama is really a socialist in disguise,” adds the source.”
“But don’t expect to see the Salt actress rally against Democrats on Fox News like her staunch Republican father, Jon Voight.
“Angie isn’t Republican, but she thinks Obama is all smoke and mirrors,” the source says.”
“Any reason to believe this story might be true (apart from her patrilineage)? Why, yes: Not only did she famously call for the United States to stay put in Iraq in order to avert a humanitarian disaster but she was officially undecided on last year’s election until fairly late in the game. The seeds are there, people. They just need to be nurtured.”
Frankly this news isn’t surprising when you consider that Angelina Jolie is a long time fan of Ayn Rand. Jolie has been angling since as far back as 2006 to play Dagny Taggart in a film adaptation of Atlas Shrugged.
“Lionsgate has picked up worldwide distribution rights to “Atlas Shrugged” from Howard and Karen Baldwin (“Ray”), who will produce with John Aglialoro.”
“As for stars, book provides an ideal role for an actress in lead character Dagny Taggart, so it’s not a stretch to assume Rand enthusiast Angelina Jolie’s name has been brought up. Brad Pitt, also a fan, is rumored to be among the names suggested for lead male character John Galt.”
I have a feeling that if Ayn Rand was still alive, she would also say Obama is a socialist. I doubt however, she’d say he was disguising it.
Libertarians and conservatives are old political friends. Although there have been a few bumps in the road over the years, we should all give credit to President Obama for making us more solid than ever. Maybe that's what Obama meant when he said he was a "uniter."
With the introduction of Cap & Trade, ObamaCare and corporate bailouts, you can practically taste the surge of of interest in libertarian ideology in the air. It’s no accident that Tea Parties are springing up everywhere, Ayn Rand is more popular than ever and Glenn Beck’s ratings continue to rise.
“When Anne C. Heller set out five years ago to write a biography of Ayn Rand, she was intrigued by the fact that though Rand’s novels like “The Fountainhead” continued to sell well, the libertarian writer was barely spoken about. One near-Depression later, however, Rand’s anti-socialist beliefs championing individualism over collectivism are suddenly striking a chord with critics of the government’s recent nationalization of banking and other industries.”
“The Wall Street Journal: Ayn Rand has been invoked at town hall meetings across the country. Why are Rand’s fiercely libertarian ideas — and novels — back in the news?”
“Her sales and reputation bubble along under the radar quite consistently. But certain opinion makers like Glenn Beck rediscovered her because there’s a strange parallelism between her visions in “Atlas Shrugged” and the Obama administration — namely, government taking over private industries. In periods of economic downtown “Atlas Shrugged” strikes a chord in people who are afraid of economic collapse.”
This liberty driven zeitgeist hasn’t escaped Reason Magazine either. A well known Libertarian outlet, Reason is producing a video series on the suddenly increased relevance of Ayn Rand’s work.
Ed Morrissey of Hot Air wrote a great post on this subject today where he tied it all together in this brilliant quote:
“Who would have guessed that the era of Hope and Change would have produced Rand as a counter-cultural phenomenon?”
“Well, perhaps Rand herself would have foreseen it — and in fact she did, in Atlas Shrugged.”
Libertarians and conservatives are old political friends. Although there have been a few bumps in the road over the years, we should all give credit to President Obama for making us more solid than ever.
Maybe that’s what Obama meant when he said he was a “uniter.”
The producers of an upcoming film adaptation of Ayn Rand’s “Atlas Shrugged” are feeling very optimistic about their prospects.
“This couldn’t be more timely,” said Karen Baldwin, who along with husband Howard is producing, with film industry consultant John Logigian advising on the project. “It’s uncanny what Rand was able to predict — about the only things she didn’t anticipate are cell phones and the Internet.” Baldwin may be on to something — love it or hate it, “Shrugged” is seeing a resurgence, with book sales spiking as debates rage in Washington and around the country about the government’s role in a faltering free-market economy.”
If you have any doubt the timelieness of Atlas Shrugged, the article’s suggestion that sales for the book are way up is absolutely correct. In fact, last month it reached the top of Amazon’s best seller list.
Also consider the video below. It is an excerpt of a 1959 Ayn Rand interview conducted by Mike Wallace. In it they discuss welfare, socialism, the American Constitution, taxation, and much more. The interview is in black and white and Mike Wallace looks like he is about 25 years old but if you pay attention to the substance of the interview, you’d swear it took place last week.
Listen closely at 06:37 -- “They are creating capitalists with government help which is the worst of all economic phenomenon.”
“Barack Obama does not have Angelina Jolie’s seal of approval.”