Random Thoughts on Various Subjects

1. ATLAS SHRUGGED, PART 1

I had planned to go see this flick last night with my girlfriend. I expected bad reviews from the likes of Roger Ebert and other leftard types, but I had to rethink completely when libertarians like Kurt Loder also panned the movie. I decided to wait for the DVD and save my cash.

The problem with the movie is the source material. I think the greatest libertarian work of fiction is 1984 even though Orwell was not a libertarian. I think V for Vendetta is better. Atlas and Ayn Rand always took themselves too seriously. This is why her characters are wooden, the dialogue overdone into speeches on philosophy, and the plots more soap opera than cinema.

Good art is in the eye of the beholder, so I think there will be those who love the film and those who hate it. I read the novel, and I liked the ideas in the book. I enjoyed reading it, but I didn't get the same satisfaction as I did when I read 1984 or The Count of Monte Cristo.

This novel should have been turned into a miniseries for TV, and they should have hijacked the project and changed it into something better. If Ayn Rand had possessed a sense of humor, this novel would work well as devastating satire on our modern age. But she lacked this sense of humor. Ayn wanted to be taken seriously which is why the novel fails as literature.

I am a writer, so I know that not everything turns out great. When I write something, I feel like I am rolling the dice. Sometimes, I win. Other times, I want to scrape my chips back into my pocket and go home.

I will wait and see what the box office does on this one. If it makes money, I will shut my mouth.

2. THE BUDGET AND TAXES

Boehner is a sell out. No surprise there. The Democrats want zero cuts. No surprise there either. Obama is calling for raising taxes on the wealthy. This does not shock me. The only true believers are the tea party Republicans in the House, but they are outnumbered.

In order for things to change for the better, they must first get as bad as they can possibly can. No meaningful cuts will ever be made until the USA goes into default on its debts. In the interim, you are going to see inflation and higher taxes. Eventually, the whole thing will collapse as it is happening in Europe. We need this collapse. People rarely learn from reason. They need the leather strap of hardship and experience across their asses to ever get the message. This nation is going to get that lesson, and it is going to sting like a bitch.

3. THE DONALD

I think I would vote for Donald Duck before I voted for Donald Trump.

4. THE CIVIL WAR

There are two myths about the Civil War. The first myth is that the South fought for states' rights. The reality is that Southerners fought to preserve slavery. The second myth is that the North fought to end slavery. This is not true. The North didn't care for the most part. The North fought to end states' rights and succeeded.

I have no problem with demonizing the South in that conflict because much of it is deserved. I do have a problem with elevating the North into some kind of moral champion or turning Lincoln into a saint. These guys were as racist as Southerners and seemed largely intent on keeping their tax slaves in chains. History is written by the winners, so the North gets to say how great they were. But it isn't true. The aftermath of the war shows this as Northerners exhibited as much racism as the Southerners. Today, racism is more rampant in northern and western cities with cops going after blacks in a way that is virtually Jim Crowesque. This is why blacks are coming back to the South. Things are better here. Southerners feel guilt while the rest of the country doesn't.

I can only speak for myself, but I find more in common with black people than I do with whites from the North. The most irritating people I find here in SC are Massholes and Connecticut Yankees who I wish would go back North. This is because Yankees are overbearing people who feel they have a moral right to set everyone straight. This is usually done through zoning regulations. Between the union lovers and the big government busybodies, Yankees are annoying as fuck. It feels good to punch one in the face.

5. BARRY BONDS

I think Barry Bonds is an asshole. I think he used steroids. I do not think he should go to jail. The government needs to stay out of sports. As for sports, I don't see them winning their war on PEDs.

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