Power Hour Episode 3: Earth Day with Onkar Ghate
From Alex Epstein over at VOICES for REASON:On Earth Day, we’re told that we should take stock of our impact on our environment. The assumption, of course, is that it’s bad—that we are, to use the common phrase “destroying the planet.”
On this month’s Power Hour—my podcast/Internet-radio-show on energy issues—I bring in philosopher Dr. Onkar Ghate, a senior colleague of mine at the Ayn Rand Center, to question this assumption, and many other assumptions about the relationship between human beings in our environment. Dr. Ghate discusses everything from the political, philosophical, and religious origins of modern environmentalists (the leaders of Earth Day) to the Japanese nuclear situation to how industrialization has positively impacted our environment to the danger of “moderate” environmentalist policies.
I’ve read a lot about environmentalism over the years, and I sincerely believe that Dr. Ghate’s explanations in this podcast are some of the best, clearest explanations of environmental issues available anywhere. Make sure you listen to this interview at least once before Earth Day.
For more information on Power Hour, as well as other commentary on energy issues subscribe to my newsletter “Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Energy” by sending an email.
Download “Power Hour with Alex Epstein,” Episode 3: Onkar Ghate
Richard Salsman at Forbes Columns
Richard Salsman has been busy as a bee writing illuminating editorials at Forbes, all worth reading...“U.S. Arms Its Islamic Enemies – Again,” March 31, 2011 The enemy of America’s enemy is not her friend, but her enemy, contrary to what liberals and conservatives believe“Libya Exposes Obama as Our Latest Neo-con President” March 23, 2011 He continues the obscene tradition of Democrat presidents – and Neo-Conservatives – who sacrifice American interests“Obama’s ‘Stimulus’ Precluded a Robust Recovery,” March 15, 2011 Stock prices bottomed two years ago, but Washignton’s so-called “stimulus” spending has precluded a more robust recovery“Bravo For George Buckley, A Righteous CEO,” March 2, 2011 CEOs are usually mealy-mouthed on public policy, but 3M’s CEO is right to name Obama as the ‘Robin Hood’ he really is“Ochlocracy and the Menace of Government Unions,” February 23, 2011 The right to “collective bargaining” should not include coercion against payers – as it has since 1935“Another Illiberal Democracy – in Egypt,” February 10, 2011 Democracy is no guarantor of genuine liberties or rights; indeed, far more often it brutally tramples them“The Actual State of the Union,” February 1, 2011 Presidents no longer bother to give objective assessments of America’s current and future state“Krugman, ‘Toxic Rhetoric’ and the Smear-Mongers,” January 20, 2011 Political programs – but not political “rhetoric” – can inflict violence; let’s start recognize the difference between the two.“New Congress, Same Old Leviathan,” January 11, 2011 Neither GOP control of Congress nor the arrival of 50 or so Tea-publicans will reduce federal spending in 2011-2012 “A Golden Decade of Government Failure,” January 4, 2011 The best investment asset of the past decade was gold – because government policies were a complete failure“A Well-Earned Capitalist Christmas,” December 23, 2010 The real meaning of Christmas – and all that we enjoy about it – is thoroughly pagan and capitalistic“The Virtue of Lower Tax Rates on the Rich,” December 15, 2010 The rich have a right to their earnings and deserve huge tax-rate cuts; they have no duty to create jobs or reduce deficits.“Where Have All the Capitalists Gone?” December 5, 2010 Almost everyone acknowledges that capitalism delivers the goods – but most people still claim it’s immoralFor a list of Richard Salsman's past Capitalism Magazine columns go here.Salsman: The U.S. Arms Its Islamic Enemies–Again
Richard Salsman holds nothing back in his gripping editorial The U.S. Arms Its Islamic Enemies–Again over at Forbes:Evidence grows with each passing week that in Libya the U.S. government and its allies are providing air cover and arms directly to its avowed enemies–including thugs from al Qaeda, Muslim Brotherhood, and Taliban–those who’ve devoted the past decade to slaughtering American soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan. Worse, top U.S. and U.K. officials now acknowledge this and condone it.Read the rest here.
[...] Who exactly are the “rebels” and why are the U.S. and its allies so eager to help them? In Iran in early 1979 the Carter administration couldn’t care less about the philosophy or aims of the Ayatollah Khomeini, but only that the pro-Western Shah of Iran be deposed; by March a “referendum” established an Islamic republic; by April scores of prominent Iranians were executed; by December the ruling mullahs declared Khomeini to be absolute ruler for life. Ever since, Iran has been a major sponsor of world-wide terrorism.
In Afghanistan in the 1980s the Reagan administration and a CIA (then led by today’s Pentagon chief, Robert Gates) helped finance and train al Qaeda, the Taliban and Osama bin Laden in their fight against the invading Soviets (who withdrew in 1989). The U.S. also backed Iraq in its eight-year war against Iran, which failed, yet emboldened Saddam Hussein, and the U.S. fought him later. In the 1990s Afghanistan became a haven for terrorism, which led to the devastation of Sept. 11. In the decade since the U.S. has spent thousands of lives and hundreds of billions of dollars ensuring “regime change” in Iraq and Afghanistan, which now have Islamic constitutions and are far closer in theocracy and practice to Iran than ever before.
[...] Rebellion is applauded for its own sake. Western cheerleaders claim anything is better than the status quo. Hope! Change! Democracy! The voice of the People is the voice of … Allah! The grim facts become clearer after the dust settles and new leaders and rules take irreversible hold–more fundamentally Islamic than before, closer to Iran than before, more anti-American than before–with the help of the U.S. government.
Thanks solely to the U.S., Iraq’s constitution ensures a “democratic, federal, representative, parliamentary republic” where “Islam is the state religion and a basic foundation for the country’s laws” and “no law may contradict the established provisions of Islam.” Is this why Americans must go to war in the Middle East? The official name of Afghanistan, where the U.S. has fought for a decade, like the failed Soviets, and Obama has boosted U.S. troops to 130,000, is” “the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan.” Is this why Americans must fight in the region? [The U.S. Arms Its Islamic Enemies–Again - Richard M. Salsman - The Capitalist - Forbes]
A Mangled Movie Adaption: Scott Holleran on the Atlas Shrugged Movie
Scott Holleran on the Atlas Shrugged, Part 1 movie adaption:The mystery of the movie is why the mind is going on strike (if and when it is), and what lies at the root of what destroys, and moves, the world. And, in depicting a novel which brilliantly deconstructs and dramatizes altruism, the idea that one has a moral obligation to help others, Atlas Shrugged, Part 1 reduces her radical rejection of this idea to a line about “stupid altruistic urges” which doesn’t come close to Ayn Rand’s philosophy, let alone express her bold, exalted alternative: the virtue of selfishness.Read the full review at his blog.
So, the first movie adaptation of Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged is lacking; the script appears to have many fingerprints and some serious problems, the production apparently faced enormous challenges of rights, budget, and schedule and libertarians appear to have held more sway over the movie than Objectivists, leaving the world’s foremost authority on Ayn Rand’s ideas and work, Leonard Peikoff, out of the loop. But A is A and the fact that this movie was made, is, in today’s tragically disintegrating culture, an achievement. Atlas Shrugged, Part 1 ultimately does not have reverence for the 1957 novel, but it’s as though it doesn’t know how, or why, and it tries. If we lived in a society in which Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged was understood, accepted, and applied to everyday lives, we wouldn’t be stuck in the sludge that surrounds us, and a mangled movie adaptation would not feel like an accomplishment. But we are and it does, and that’s that, so see the independent, low-budget film version known as Atlas Shrugged, Part 1 for what it is, and know that you are catching a mere glimpse of something deeper, more mysterious and meaningful, which portrays man at his best. See the movie, but only if you read the book.
No Nathaniel Taggart: Amtrak CEO Takes Car After Getting Stuck on the Train
From the Daily Caller:Today’s the big day for Amtrak’s Wilmington train station. It is being renamed in honor of Vice President and former Delaware Senator Joe Biden following major renovations made possible with stimulus funds. One problem: the CEO of Amtrak got stuck on the train.Reports ABC News Deputy Political Director & Political Reporter Michael Falcone :
[...] A subsequent tweet from Falcone noted, “BAD sign: Amtrak CEO Joe Boardman just got OFF the train to take a car to Wilmington.”No this isn't a scene from Ayn Rand's best selling novel Atlas Shrugged, but it could be.
“Amtrak CEO abandoned his own train to make ribbon cutting ceremony for Joe Biden station in Wilmington,” Falcone reported. “When I told Amtrak CEO Joe Boardman it was a bad sign he was ditching the stranded Acela, he chuckled.” [Amtrak CEO Ditches broken train to travel by car to ribbon cutting of Wilmington's Joe Biden station | The Daily Caller]