Islam is not a religion of peace. It’s a religion of rage. We attempt to pacify it at our peril.
CULTURE
A nation’s culture is the sum of the intellectual achievements of individual men, which their fellow-citizens have accepted in whole or in part, and which have influenced the nation’s way of life. Since a culture is a complex battleground of different ideas and influences, to speak of a ‘culture’ is to speak only of the dominant ideas, always allowing for the existence of dissenters and exceptions. — AYN RAND
The Truth About President Kennedy
“I’d rather my children red than dead,” President Kennedy told a young White House virgin whom he had summoned for sex, during the so-called Cuban missile crisis, according to the New York Post‘s account of a new book, Once Upon a Secret: My Affair with President John...
Enlightenment and Reason Made America What It Is
Michael Ignatieff, formerly of the Kennedy School of Government at (surprise, surprise) Harvard, writes, “[Thomas] Jefferson airily assumed that [American] democracy would be carried on the wings of enlightenment, reason and science. No one argues that now.” Oh,...
Abraham Lincoln or the Progressives: Who was the real father of big government?
Abraham Lincoln is not, and nor was his Administration, any model for what today seems so objectionable in the modern welfare state.
The Pomodoro Technique: How a Kitchen Timer Can Help You Get More Done
When people complain about not getting things done, they almost always wish they had bigger blocks of time to do the work. A surprising solution to this problem is to plan your unstructured time using standard time blocks of 25 minutes. The method, called the Pomodoro...
Margaret Thatcher Movie, Iron Lady, is a Well Crafted Tale Worth Watching
I was more or less dragged to see The Iron Lady and was pleasantly surprised by the movie.
Occupy Wall Street: Biting The Hand That Feeds You
The Occupy movement, which claims to represent 99 percent of Americans, has been denouncing all things even remotely related to capitalism, including property rights. And this leads the movement’s supporters to the contradiction of denying rights to others while whining that their own rights are being violated.
How a Decision Log Can Help You Move from Scattered to Streamlined
Don't be embarrassed if you occasionally feel scattered. It's a normal transition state. For example, after you've finished a major project, you may feel somewhat scattered until you've figured out the next big thing to focus on. But don't let yourself remain...
“We Hate Crapitalism”
The latest gimmick of the Occupy Movement is “Stop Black Friday.” Apparently, the plan is to “occupy” the stores of major retailers and disrupt the busiest shopping day of the year. The website for this “occupation” suggests signs that state, “We don’t hate...
Captain America
Moves with action, excitement and solid American heroism.
Should Not The Government Support The Arts?
Ought the state to support the arts? There is certainly much to be said on both sides of this question. It may be said, in favor of the system of voting supplies for this purpose, that the arts enlarge, elevate, and harmonize the soul of a nation; that they divert it...
Achieve Your Lifetime Goals by Thinking About Them Every Year
"Change your smoke detector batteries when you change the clocks to or from Daylight Savings Time. Otherwise you'll forget." This little trick suggests a way to help you achieve some of the most important goals you'll ever set: your lifetime goals. Your lifetime goals...
Murder, Tulips and "Progressive" Taxes: The Chicago School of Ecobamics
Last Tuesday, we took the midnight train to Chicago. It's an easy ride, with a bedroom both ways -- except I get the top bunk, which feels like I'm stuffed in a 1942 troop train heading off to battle the Nazis. Getting up and down the ladder in cramped quarters gets...
Books: I Am John Galt
?This newly released book is by Donald Luskin and Andrew Greta. Mr. Luskin is Chief Investment Officer of an investment strategy company, TrendMacro. He's also well known as an author and a commentator on CNBC. He has recently had several op-eds published in the Wall...
Thomas Jefferson, The Establishment Clause & The Separation of Church and State
Some commentators question the validity of the separation of church and state, claiming “It’s not in the Constitution; so, we can disregard it.” But a brief look at man’s history underscores the need for such a separation.
The Secret to Doing Better Next Time
Did something go badly? A "discussion" with a spouse or coworker that ended in acrimony? A proposal that flopped? When something goes badly, you may be tempted to forget about it and just try to do better next time. But the secret to doing better lies in thinking more...
Thank God For…
Dr. Hurd: I was wondering why some people -- in fact, many people -- thank God (or Dog if you're dyslexic) for saving them from some calamity (such as a tornado, earthquake, tsunami, hurricane, flood, etc.), but they don't blame that same God for causing the disaster...
The Unfounded Assumption that Can Stop Logical Thinking in Its Tracks
Join me in the campaign to eliminate prejudice against messy thinking tactics. Floating in the back of many people's minds is the idea that "logical" means "neat." People sometimes hesitate to make a list unless they can write down the items in their proper order....
?Three Tips for Using Small Time Blocks for an Open-Ended Thinking Task
When you have a big question to think about, don't wait until you have 2 or 3 hours free to tackle it. There just aren't enough big blocks of time available to make that a practical strategy. Instead, I learn how to Velcro together smaller blocks of time--say 25...
Art Against Jihad: An Interview with Bosch Fawstin Creator of The Infidel and Pigman
In this wide-ranging and exclusive Capitalism Magazine interview, ex-Muslim artist extraordinaire Bosch Fawstin discusses: his new graphic novel series The Infidel and its' hero Pigman -- the Jihadist's Terrorist; the influence of Frank Miller, Alex Toth and Ayn Rand...
It’s the Electronic Age, But Don’t Forget Paper-Age Lessons
Here's some old-fashioned advice that may be just what you need to get out of a present-day thinking block: Spread out your notes all over your desk. That's right, your desk, not your computer screen. Yes, programs exist to move around words in many wonderful easy...
Differing Reactions to Ayn Rand’s Novel Atlas Shrugged
It’s hard to get your mind around this, but a lot of people are really put off by Atlas Shrugged.
Self-interest versus Selfishness
[On his show] Rush Limbaugh was speaking about the “invisible hand” described by Adam Smith. It is not out of benevolence, Rush said, that your grocer sells you food. It is the grocer’s self-interest–his desire to feed his family–that motivates him. But, Rush quickly...
Is America a Christian Nation?
Our strengths lie in the recognition of our universal individual rights, not in our differences.
Secretariat Movie Trumps The Social Network in Depicting Capitalism
While Social Network holds capitalism in contempt, Secretariat exhibits a thorough grasp of capitalism in practice.
Atlas Shrugged: Who Runs Taggart Transcontinental?
“That’s who runs Taggart Transcontinental,” said the engineer; the respect in his voice was genuine. “That’s the Vice-President in Charge of Operation.”
Goddess of the Market: Ayn Rand and the American Right by Jennifer Burns
Every great man nowadays has his disciples, and it is always Judas who writes the biography. . . . Formerly we used to canonise our heroes. The modern method is to vulgarise them. —Oscar Wilde, “The Critic as Artist” (1891) Ayn Rand (1905–1982) was a great novelist...
Don't Let Pressure Sabotage Your Thinking
Pressure can sabotage your thinking. By pressure, I mean an issue weighing on your mind as you try to concentrate on something else. Perhaps it's an imminent deadline or a desperate desire to do a fantastic job. Maybe it's a highly-charged emotional situation you...
Book Review of Andrew Bernstein’s “Capitalism Unbound: The Incontestable Moral Case for Individual Rights”
Andrew Bernstein’s Capitalism Unbound stunningly shows why and how the protection of individual rights gives rise to prosperity, and creates a nation of benevolently generous wealth holders.
Capitalism Unbound: The Truth About Capitalism
Andrew Bernstein’s Capitalism UnBound stunningly shows why and how the protection of individual rights gives rise to prosperity and creates a nation of benevolently generous wealth holders.
Playing Two Thinking Roles Can Ignite Your Thinking
Here's a surprisingly effective technique that can pry information loose from your brain and ignite your thinking when you're stalled: The "Q&A Technique." [1] Here's the technique: Write down a question you are puzzling over. ("How" and "Why"...
Motivation and Education
The basic principles of motivation are really quite simple: the teacher must identify the value of his course, design the curriculum accordingly, and name the value explicitly. If he does this properly, he can dispose of the pizzas, gold stars, and rulers, and enjoy the radiantly eager response of children who really grasp what they are learning and why.