Commentary

Editor's Desk: Just Do It by Sherrie Gossett Feed Your Family on $10 Billion a Day by David Burge Coming up with the cash to keep Uncle Sam flush is a piece of cake—if you don't mind a little blood on your hands. Leader of the Geeks by Kira Newman He launched a start-up that helps developers build web applications faster. Now he's helping to draw millions in venture capital to the D.C. region. sidebar: Start it Up! A sampling of D.C. start-ups. Queen of the Triple Win How Lynda Weinman Launched a Revolution in Technology Education by Sherrie Gossett sidebar: Reflecting on Steve Jobs by Lynda Weinman Weinman, who in the mid-1980s spoke publicly on behalf of Apple about her use of its computers in creating animation for Star Trek V, reflects on the impact Steve Jobs made. The Problem Solver by Kira Newman A frustrated accountant sets out to cure small-business headaches. Theme Section: Winning: Succeeding and Thriving in Life I Can and I Will by David Kelley "I can" recognizes what is possible for us. "I will" takes responsibility for living. Loving the Doing by Ed Hudgins Optimal experience comes when high skills are challenged to their limit. Losing While Winning by William R Thomas Are you winning little or winning big? Living an Extraordinary Life by Sarah Perry It starts with hope, dreams, and a kick in the seat of the pants. The Chief Burger Flipper of Island Famous by Sarah Perry How a new grad went from busboy to restaurant owner and real estate developer. Trysts a poem

Mar 8, 2012

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Winter 2011 issue -- Did Jane Austen approve of slavery? In her novel Man­sfield Park, published in 1814, the wealthy pater-familias Thomas Bertram is mostly absent, because he is off tending to his plantation on Antigua—where the fields would have been worked by African slaves. Yet, when he is mentioned, and again once he returns to his home, he is a positive and respected figure. Slavery isn’t a problem in the novel. His slave-holding leaves no more moral stain than does his bank account.

Mar 7, 2012

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Sherrie GossetWinter 2011 issue -- When you are in need of surgery or medical treatment, who should decide what type of hospital you use? You? Or politi­cians and interest groups? Your health, pocketbook, and life may be at stake in such a decision.

Mar 7, 2012

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February 23, 2012 -- If backdated options affected something called “earnings,” and “investors care about earnings,” is that enough to show that backdated options were material information for investors to have—even without proof that the real earnings investors care about are the “earnings” affected by backdated options?

Feb 24, 2012

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"Tea parties." "Going Galt." You've probably seen a growing number of references to these in the media, online, and on signs at rallies reacting to new government spending and controls. The Boston Tea Party was a rebellion against excessive government. Today's "tea parties" say "no" to spending without limit and the government takeover of our lives.

Feb 10, 2012

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Edward Hudgins

Fall 2009 issue — The vision of the electric car is a totem to the Progressive movement. But is it a realistic vision?Progressive-inclined businesspeople are thick on the ground in Silicon Valley, a bastion of environmentalism. Since information technology can operate at a comfortable distance from the factories of energy producers, an entrepreneur can make millions in IT without ever deviating from his or her green creed.

Feb 6, 2012

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Sidebar article to: " Goddess Undeified ." a review of the book Goddess of the Market: Ayn Rand and the American Right, by Jennifer Burns.Fall 2009 issue -- Jennifer Burns summarizes the essential structure of Objectivism in one place in her biography, a single paragraph on page 148: “It was all adding up to one integrated system. Man was a rational creature who used his mind to survive. The rational faculty required independence and individuality to operate properly; therefore an ethic of selfishness was appropriate for rational men.”

Feb 6, 2012

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In the old days, circa 1900, American businessmen had to twist their minds into pretzels in order to pretend that some desired governmental intervention criminalizing rival companies was compatible with free enterprise. In the middle of the twentieth century, it was easier: Businessmen could portray governmental interventions criminalizing rivals as undoubted exceptions to free enterprise but as actions demanded by national security—and as actions targeting less patriotic rivals. Today, fifty years deep into the postmodernist era, I wonder if American businessmen can any longer distinguish between business activities aimed at out-competing rivals and governmental activities aimed at criminalizing them.

Feb 3, 2012

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Conrad Black’s book on his legal ordeal, A Matter of Principle, has now been published (it can be ordered from Amazon here ) and The New Criterion’s February issue has a review of it, “The persection of Lord Black,” by Andrew C. McCarthy.

Feb 2, 2012

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May 2003 -- On March 21, 2003, sophisticated weapons were assaulting the Baathist regime in Baghdad. And so was a simple one: the truth. One such strike occurred that day at about 1321 "Zulu" time (that is, Greenwich Mean Time). Gavin Hewitt, a BBC reporter with the U.S. Seventh Cavalry, which was scouting ahead of the U.S. advance to Baghdad, reported: We are deep into Southern Iraq, certainly well over 100 kilometres north from the border. We've been driving for over 11 hours.In the last few minutes we just crossed over the Basra-Baghdad highway.We've had several bizarre incidents in the last few minutes of drivers on the highway completely unaware that American armour may be this far north, stopping their vehicles in utter amazement as we crossed the highway.

Jan 30, 2012

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Sidebar article to: "Charms and Enchantments of Fantasy" (July/August 2003) The Lord of the Rings, by J.R.R. Tolkien A novel in three books: The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, and The Return of the King.

Jan 30, 2012

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In his State of the Union address, on January 24, President Obama said: "I’m asking my Attorney General to create a special unit of federal prosecutors and leading state attorney general [sic] to expand our investigations into the abusive lending and packaging of risky mortgages that led to the housing crisis. This new unit will hold accountable those who broke the law, speed assistance to homeowners, and help turn the page on an era of recklessness that hurt so many Americans.”

Jan 29, 2012

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Leftists often insist—and quite rightly—that it is foolish for America to try to impose its political system on countries with fundamentally different cultures. But will they speak out against the American government’s increasing attempts to impose our legal system on countries with fundamentally different cultures? Michael Volkov (background here ) points out at his blog “Corruption, Crime & Compliance” just how far the U.S. invasion has gone.

Jan 28, 2012

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Instapundit Glenn Reynolds has been looking back to the early days of his blog, 10 years ago, and this look back struck me as a particularly fruitful: How about compensation for defense expenditures when a person is found not guilty? Quoth Reynolds on January 5, 2002: “A lot of people like my idea of applying "loser pays" to the government -- though one lawyer who represents governments says it should work both ways.

Jan 23, 2012

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Each of us is an individual, yet each of is born of parents and shares the genes and customs of our family. Family ties are the model of duty and community in traditional thought.

Jan 21, 2012

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December 19, 2011 -- With the 2012 elections nearing, The Atlas Society is continuing to publish content designed to reveal the ideological clockwork behind movements and events shaping poltiics and culture. During this past week TAS published two new interactive webinars on key political movements.

Jan 11, 2012

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TBA

Jan 3, 2012

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The Atlas Society's core mission is to develop and promote Objectivism: the philosophy of reason, individualism, achievement, and freedom. We are directly involved with the development and promotion of the Atlas Shrugged movie trilogy and are planning a significant expansion of our operations. We are looking to fill these positions immediately!

Dec 28, 2011

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I The ice that grips the curb is white, With wavy snakes of gray-black stains. It glints in noon's uncertain light Made glassy hard in melting rains. Rain raps the air conditioner Set on my sill, but there is no Premonitory, onward stir Of tidings, no herald, in this slow Recurrence, insensate pace Of nature's inhuman patience. This day before Christmas we face No true unease; no reticence Inhibits our routine. We cock No ear to register a pitch Above the titter of the clock, No eye to fix on hues too rich To bear without ecstatic cry Of rude bliss or antiquated Dusty prance beneath the night sky. What coming, now, is awaited?

Dec 21, 2011

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