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About cinnamaz

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  • Birthday 08/13/2001

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  • Location Flagstaff, AZ
  • Interests Writing, reading, hiking, camping.
  1. Lately I've been bothered by what I might consider really bad human behavior (cheating, stealing, lying, etc.), and keep hearing that as long as person(s) behaving badly are doing as they want, then it's OK because being an Objectivist means "anything goes." This can't possibly be true... can it?! But then I pick up my copy of The Fountainhead and the synopsis reads... "tells of... Dominique Francon, the exquisitely beautiful woman who loved Roark passionately, but married his worst enemy..." So, I'm wondering, does this mean that it's true that being an Objectivist means "anything goes"? Or why didn't Francon marry Roark instead of torturing them both AND the husband she married? Is it somehow noble to hurt ourselves and others like that? Is Francon an Objectivist? I'm afraid to read to find out. This stops me cold. So far I've clung to the idea that as an Objectivist, I am self-interested. Not destructive/self-destructive. (Although, wow, I fall short on that, too!) Please, I need specific references, if available, to either refute or support this ideology. Where does the hurtful behavior stop? I need to know, from the scholarly perspective. Where does Ayn Rand specifically state that bad/hurtful/dishonest behavior is not OK? Where does she state that it is sometimes OK? Or is it always OK? Thanks much...
  2. Did this ever make a go of it?
  3. Ann Coulter to Campaign and Vote for Hillary

    Huh?! And I just bought all her books (Ann's). Will I have to take them back?!
  4. Happy Birthday to Tedd

    Happy birthday, Tedd! Last time I was to Kansas City it was to visit a company that bought eggs in the shell, cracked them, and packaged the contents for food industries. It was the coolest thing I've ever seen. You know people are smart when they can build machines to do that. :-) Anyway, hope you had a great day!
  5. Happy Birthday to Alexander Marriott

    Happy birthday, Alexander! (Yes, I'm catching up! Does anyone do Sunshine Clubs, anymore?? I need someone to help keep me on track.)
  6. Happy Birthday to Tom Hall

    Hey, Tom! Happy birthday (belated)! Quite some interesting posts you've had. If you sign in again, I have some private comments for you. Take care!
  7. Happy Birthday to ashleyshrugged

    Hey, happy birthday Ashley! (Not too belated, I hope.) How lucky that you share the same month with Ayn Rand. How cool. Take care!
  8. Recipes From Ancient Greece and Rome

    Sounds tempting. Especially the "mild debauchery"! Just kidding. I've often complained that a typical history lesson (or results of my geneological efforts, for that matter) tell statistics but not stories. I want to know who people were. Know what I mean? OK, so Uncle Irv was born Feb. 6, 1902, or whenever... but who was he? What was he like? What did he eat? How did he party? Etc. etc. etc. I thought the best class on mythology I ever had was given by a lady from Greece... because it wasn't just the "facts" (in mythology?) that were handed down, but her own experiences on the islands, etc. Her descriptions of the terrain, the forests, and her own activities there made the gods and goddesses come alive. Very magical. Anyway, I might have to look this up. Thanks for sharing.
  9. Climate Debate Daily

    Has anyone also seen or heard of "Mine Your Own Business" (www.mineyourownbusiness.ORG)? Quite thought-provoking, as well. It allows people with attitudes against mining and industry to speak for themselves.
  10. Happy Birthday to Ayn Rand

    For a moment, I thought Ifatart did the drawing! Very nice work at your website, Ifatart. And, yes... happy birthday Ayn Rand! I look forward to re-reading BB's favorite passages. What an inspiration those are. :-)
  11. Education Horror Story

    Hi, Michael - Sorry you had such a bad experience. It seems a LOT of weird things happen in the classroom(s). My husband is always promoting free enterprise to improve the quality of education.* I am amazed, too, that, almost without fail, when anything is said about this, that people take it to mean we are against education completely or that we don't care about those kids whose parents "wouldn't" send them to school if they didn't have to. In fact, we are not against education, at all!!! We are specifically against experiences like yours... which can't possibly, not seriously, represent "education" as we would like to know it. * And why do people believe that if there were no "public" schools, there would be no schools. Somebody please explain! ;-) This (the belief that if the government didn't provide a certain product or service, no one would seek it nor provide it) seems so prevalent in so many different aspects of daily life. The attitude seems almost impossible to get away from. Is there a reason for this? Besides needing a job (don't worry - I've been guilty too)? Because jobholders aren't the only people clinging to the idea of "public" education being the "only" education, either. Why is that (anyone)?!! It's a serious question. Yours... P.S. Anyway, Michael, do not be discouraged. We need people like you who DO know what they're doing to stay and persevere. And have fun.
  12. What does it mean to be an American?

    Outside the legal definition of one's immigration status or place of birth, what does it mean for one to embody the essence of America? What constitutes evidence of Americanness? Yes, it would have to be the idea of voluntary assimilation; that is, being voluntarily "united" and voluntarily "self-governed." The idea that I am united with these others who are not "like" me. I hear this echoed time and time again in the stories of the various ethnic groups around town... that they (and/or their ancestors) came to a decision at some point about being "Americans first." Celebration of whatever other heritage(s) of which they consist comes second to that. Thus, I believe what it means to embody the essence of America is to voluntarily embrace a common language (currently English, but it could be any) and a roughly common set of values for which individuals are internally compelled to unite. What constitutes evidence of Americanness then is probably the willingness to state, that before all else, I - am - an - American. The awesome paradox here is that... being an American means that I am probably much, much more.
  13. So, I've one more question, only because certain responses and other factors are bothering me so much, and then I'll shut up about this. So if "C" was your young, hot, cute, adorable girlfriend, and she was hanging out with her fabulous professor-friend "A," including her calling him by his first name only, making sure he's got her personal cell phone number ("just in case [he needs me]"), programming his office number into her cell phone, hugging him, stopping by his office every Tuesday or Thursday "just to chat," frequently checking in on him to see how he's doing at random other times, and even parking her Intrepid (or her Corolla, or Accord, or whatever??) next to his Tacoma... that wouldn't mean anything to you?? Just curious. I have a hard time believing girls like this don't know what's going on. Or that they should think you wouldn't. Ugh.
  14. Best Christmas presents (actual or desired)

    Wow, RayK. Your parents are swell. I am awaiting the return of my grandmother's clock. (Following my grandmother's death, another family member - outraged that my grandmother had left the clock with me, her supposedly 'favorite' granddaughter - walked straight into my house, took the clock off the wall, turned around, and walked straight out. But that family member never cared for my grandmother, so why care about my grandmother's clock??) Family members can be brutal. Thank goodness those are few. Thank goodness for your parents (and mine). My favorite Christmas/holiday gift(s) received? Family dinner. With no gifts.
  15. What is Integrity?

    There's a lot for me to read here (all your responses) and I'm deeply grateful for that. In the meantime, perhaps a little more focused question from me would be: If A is married to B, but lies to B in order to spend time with C... and C knows that A is married, but spends time with A in order to provide sympathy (for whatever conditions, real or imagined, that A has either relayed to C, or C imagines)... or more/whatever... is there ever a set of conditions in which others would agree that C is acting with integrity by being with A? No matter if A is lying to C, as well? Isn't C still culpable? Just by BEING there???!!! (I mean, have some brains that you're with a married person and your conversations, actions, and intents are already suspect.) I am trying to figure this out, as I am appalled by certain people's attitudes toward this on these dating sites. (That C is justified in any and all cases... that is, who cares what C does and especially with A?! But wow... doesn't anyone have a sense of propriety (integrity??) anymore?) Isn't C also harming A by not caring?! And is there ever a cause or justification for that????!!!!!! Doesn't B have reason to be angry with both?? Should B care that C is being lied to, as well???!! I don't think so. C has no purpose in being there in the first place, except to cause trouble. I think C is just as culpable and lacking in integrity as A. No matter what the imagined "justification."