SPOILER ALERT!!!

Atlas Shrugged is a novel by Ayn Rand, first published in 1957 in the United States. This was Rand’s fourth, longest and last novel, and she considered it her magnum opus in the realm of fiction writing. As indicated by its working title, The Strike, the book explores a dystopian United States where leading innovators, ranging from industrialists to artists, refuse to be exploited by society.

As the novel opens, protagonist Dagny Taggart, executive of Taggart Transcontinental, a giant railroad company originally pioneered by her grandfather, attempts to keep the company alive during difficult economic times marked by collectivism and statism. While Dagny runs the company from behind the scenes, her brother, James Taggart, the railroad’s President, is peripherally aware of the company’s troubles but will not make any difficult choices, preferring to avoid responsibility for any actions while watching his company go under. As this unfolds, Dagny is disappointed to discover that Francisco d’Anconia, a true genius and her only childhood friend, first love, and king of the copper industry, appears to have become a worthless playboy who is destroying his family’s monopoly, which has made him into one of the richest and most powerful men in the world. Read the rest of this entry »

I have been following Alfonzo Rachel on YouTube for more than two years now. He’s the guy who used to film himself in front a white wall of his apartment while he ranted about political issues. Since then, he has moved up in the world and will soon be exclusively on PajamasTV. While his videos may look different than they did a year ago (even better, that is), the substance of his messages remain phenomenal.

Zo, as he is often called, has a real gift in presenting conservative principles in a very entertaining way. His choppy, line-by-line rants are filled with fantastic insights mingled with humor. Despite his jokes and satire, he is unmistakably intelligent. His video rants leave conservatives shouting “Amen!” and liberals scratching their heads, trying to think of a good comeback. Read the rest of this entry »

I have made several attempts to read Jonah Goldberg’s Liberal Fascism since I purchased it last summer. I believe I have read the introduction alone at least four times now. It is a very dry book which reads like a Wikipedia article without the benefit of links to other articles to help the reader better understand what is being talked about. Even though I would rate the presentation lower on the scale, the substance of the book is another story.

This is not a book for beginners. If Glenn Beck’s Common Sense is the first step in learning about politics, governing concepts, and America, Liberal Fascism would be at least step three, if not four or five. Goldberg writes about such things as nationalism, communism, nazism, fascism, and so on without any clear definitions of those terms. There are also many names and historical events which he uses to make his case. I found myself doing quite a bit of external research even though I felt I had a fairly good understanding of most of what he mentions in the book. In other words, be prepared to read beyond the 400 pages of this book. Read the rest of this entry »

I finished reading Love Must Be Tough by Dr. James Dobson last evening. If you have been paying attention, I have reviewed several chapters of this book individually already. There is a very specific lesson being taught in this book which I found to be common sense yet still profitable to hear someone address. To be quite honest, the major lesson of the book can be learned by the end of chapter five without much need to read further. He begins to reiterate his point after chapter five and apply it to much more specific situations, primarily cases where adultery has taken place. This is why my chapter-by-chapter reviews ceased. Read the rest of this entry »

I have been listening to Glenn Beck’s radio program for almost two years now. At first I was drawn, not only to his politics, but also his satire and entertainment value. Over time, I believe Beck has grown to see a bigger picture which has caused his satire to slow and his passion to rise. It seems that many of his monologues now have a much darker tone. I have come to believe that Beck has a certain gift of prophecy. That doesn’t mean he is able to predict future events, but he does have the insight to discern likely consequences of our government’s actions. Because he has such a great love for this country and a firm belief in the founding principles, this has caused him to be quite concerned. Read the rest of this entry »