•Rejection. And then what? 
Tim Wendel, USA Today I tell my [writing] students that sometimes the only thing you can do is wait for everybody and everything to catch up to what you have to offer. War and Peace, The Fountainhead, Watership Down and To Kill a Mockingbird are just a few of the blockbusters that publishers initially rejected. [....] Somewhere along the line, everybody gets rejected, or even humbled. The key is what happens next.     Share on Facebook

• •Your New Year’s resolution—value for value living 
Terry Brock, Business Journal of Milwaukee As you begin the New Year, think value for value living in all you do. Always demand value for value - never walk on others and don't let others walk on you. Think of Howard Roark's line from "The Fountainhead" -- "I will not sacrifice myself for others nor will I ask them to sacrifice their life for me." Good words of advice for the beginning of a New Year - or any other time in our lives.     Share on Facebook

•Growing self-absorption a dangerous trap 
Terry McDonald, Register-Guard (Eugene, OR) When I was young, I read Ayn Rand's books that described the virtue of selfishness, and I loved them. As I grew older, I came to recognize that I know of no virtue of selfishness. Self esteem? Yes. The value of self? Yes. The nihilistic insistence on fulfilling my needs? An emphatic no!     Share on Facebook

• • •Letters to the Editor 
Lucy Van Borssum, Galveston County Daily News (TX) Comments on Anthem from English II Pre-AP students of Dickinson High School.“Anthem” is important because it shows us what could happen when individualism and the power of making our own decision is taken away. - Xanthe Shirley     Share on Facebook

•A Christmas message for conservatives 
John Gizzi, Human Events Online Commentary on the failure of conservatives to help other conservatives get jobs in Washington.Another reason for [the] apparent “Don’t bother me when in need attitude” among conservatives could be a perverse interpretation of the Ayn Randian glorification of the individual. If one believes that individuality is sacrosanct, then it follows that the individual can and should make it on his or her own. Therefore, one in a position of influence concludes, “I should leave them alone—and they should leave them alone.” Such a conclusion denies the history of modern conservatism and powerful movements in general.     Share on Facebook

•Ines of My Soul 
Antonella Gambotto-Burke, The Australian Review of Ines of My Soul, a novel by Isabel Allende.Ayn Rand, perhaps, would have been better suited to the singularly angular obsessions of [protagonist Inez] Suarez: power, structure, will. But Allende? An artist of the "veil that separates this world from the next", she understands that nothing is so very serious, not even death.     Share on Facebook

•Christmas wish for Kentucky’s leaders 
Ronnie Ellis , Meadville Tribune (KY) A lot of politicians talk about family values and the Ten Commandments. That’s good, but I’d be more impressed if I saw them put into action. One party campaigns on Christian values and then governs by those of Ayn Rand or Charles Darwin.     Share on Facebook

•Treat homeless with the respect they deserve 
Shmuley Boteach, Jewish News Weekly (CA) I recently got into a debate with one of my producers on the set of my TLC series, “Shalom in the Home.” A subscriber to the extreme capitalism and “greed is good” values of social philosopher Ayn Rand, he said that he would never give money to a beggar on the street. “It encourages them to be dependent, and in that sense it hurts them and it hurts society. We get these lazy, unproductive people whom we have to support,” he said.     Share on Facebook

•Jolie is anything but a sheepish ‘50s homemaker 
Bob Thompson, National Post (Toronto) On actor Angelina Jolie.It's quite a mix [of roles] -- one that could also possibly include the lead in the movie version of Atlas Shrugged.     Share on Facebook

•Hayek would not have a bar of Howard 
Greg Lindsay, The Australian It is absurd to accuse Hayek, as [Kevin] Rudd does, of saying that "any form of altruism is dangerous". He never said that and he never believed it. [....] He argued that altruism was an important instinct in days long past when, to survive, people had to co-operate in close, often family, networks. [....] Rudd's accusations are bizarre and serve no purpose. Perhaps he is confusing Hayek with Ayn Rand. There seems no other sensible explanation.     Share on Facebook

•Welcome to “The Jungle” 
Robert Raitz, OpEdNews Commentary citing deregulation as the cause of recent food-poisoning outbreaks.I am a fan of Ayn Rand. I have been since I read Anthem. However, I believe in the idea of the purity and vitality of the human spirit as it pertains to the individual. I'm not so sold on her love of Laissez Faire capitalism, as it breeds the kinds of problems addressed in The Jungle. A corporation is not an individual, and therefore should not be afforded the same freedom and latitude as an individual.     Share on Facebook

• •New Scrooge would reject Stossel’s reasoning 
Jerry Partacz, Daily Southtown (Chicago) [John Stossel] says he probably went too far in calling billionaires like Dan Duncan cheap [for not giving more to charity] on a recent TV special. [....] [H]e cites a genuine philosopher -- David Kelley -- to end all debate. Stossel doesn't tell his audience that Mr. Kelley is a disciple of Ayn Rand, the long-winded author of "The Fountainhead" and other novels, the heroes of which are rugged individuals in the free-wheeling, unfettered world of dog-eat-dog capitalism.     Share on Facebook

•Interview: Shibani Jain, CEO, Craftsbridge India 
Intrepid, Desicritics.org (India) Q: What books or events have inspired you the most? A: Shibani:So many books! From Ayn Rand (We the living, The Fountainhead) at 16, to Herman Miller (Siddhart) at 20 to Celestine Prophecy (colin wilson?) to Conversations with God recently.     Share on Facebook

•For the soul of the writer 
USA Today On books about life-changing books.Best-selling novelist Nelson DeMille cites Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand. "It certainly upset my well-ordered post-Eisenhower world, and jarred me into what we'd call today thinking outside the box."     Share on Facebook

•The best “human nature” stories of 2006 
William Saletan, Slate 10. Tall people are smarter than short people, according to an analysis of two studies. [....] Approving reaction: another blow against egalitarian correctness. Skeptical reaction: This is just the kind of Ayn Rand garbage you'd expect from two Princeton economists who are 4 inches above average height.     Share on Facebook

•UPS driver puts in 11-hour days on 100-mile route to get packages delivered Elves can’t do it alone 
Derek J. Moore, Press Democrat (Santa Rosa, CA) Profile of Cathy Howell.Howell, whose favorite book is Ayn Rand's "Atlas Shrugged," a celebration of the individual spirit and of capitalism, said UPS offers her an opportunity to create the company she wants.     Share on Facebook

•Stubborn and lovable: An ode to Marc Witkes 
John Peel, Durango Herald (CO) On Marc Witkes, who died just prior to finishing the Tucson Marathon on 10 December.Witkes kept the conversation rolling during an hour-long jog. He was excited about a lot of things, and that enthusiasm was catching. He motivated many others to pursue their dreams. And obstacles? He was overcoming them right to the end. How about Atlas Shrugged, a 1,168-page classic by Ayn Rand. Witkes continued to gush about this novel he'd just finished. "Oh, dude, you've gotta read it. That book changed my life."     Share on Facebook

•Raskin’s Wager 
Max Raskin, LewRockwell.com The reason why many minarchists, like Robert Nozick and Ayn Rand, say that anarchy would never work is because private companies would basically assume the role of the state. Well, what’s the harm in trying?     Share on Facebook

•The elephant is in the room 
Bennet Sedacca, Minyanville Under [Federal Reserve] Chairman Bernanke, it seems like there is a ‘Central Bank put’ where it doesn’t matter if you overpay for something because the elephant in the room will be there to bail you out. Yes, it does ring of ‘conspiracy theory’ or like a chapter from ‘Atlas Shrugged’ where we are all expected to conform. But these are the facts, ladies and gentlemen like them or not.     Share on Facebook

•The dismal science of phony money: A rejoinder 
Douglas Gnazzo, GoldSeek Ayn Rand nicknamed Sir Alan [Greenspan] the undertaker, a most fitting title for the head of the Federal Reserve, under whose watch more debt was created then in all previous administrations combined.     Share on Facebook