• And Now, a Word from Mr. Mourdock's God 
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“I am the god of 'In God We Trust.' You shall have no other gods before me. Give to the poor (if you must) out of your excess and at your discretion. Don't be compelled by guilt. The poor don't need a safety net as long as I, the god of the Koch brothers and Ayn Rand, lives in the heart of every patriotic American. It is money that I love, not mercy for its own sake. Mercy without conditions offends me.”  

• • Rand’s achievement 
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While Locke's philosophical achievement made the founding of the United States possible, it was not enough to counter the arguments of those who sought to limit individual rights. Jeremy Bentham famously called Locke's view on rights "nonsense on stilts" given its reliance on religion. Ayn Rand's achievement was to firmly identify that individual rights are inherent in the nature of man and no appeal to the irrational was required. Certain incontrovertible actions are necessary for human life to flourish, and governments are instituted to prohibit any curtailment of those actions by others.  

• • Has he read Rand? 
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Capitalism  | In response to Reg Henry's Nov. 11 column "Who Spawned All These Nuts? Ayn Rand," I would like to offer a countering perspective. If Mr. Henry thinks that Ms. Rand is noteworthy for her "literary charms," he has more than likely not read her work. It's some of the most dense, windy and tedious prose I have ever seen. The reason that Ms. Rand is still noteworthy today is because readers rarely find literature with the message that individual rights and entrepreneurship fuel successful free societies.  

• • Reg Henry’s drive-by criticism 
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Objectivist author  | Reg Henry comes off as a coward in his column "Who Spawned All These Nuts? Ayn Rand" (Nov. 11). He hides behind so-called humor and oversimplifications to attack those he dislikes. For example, he writes that some readers erupted with volcanic name-calling because of his "mild criticism" of Sarah Palin -- but he fails to mention whether that criticism was rational or ... crazy. Often, it's not mere criticism that people are responding to but the nature of the criticism -- and whether it is fair or unjust.  

• ‘Spooner’ by Pete Dexter 
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Atlas Shrugged  | Book review.
On Whidbey Island, the Spooners live next to Hiram Dodge; his Labrador retriever, Lester Maddox; Hiram's trust-fund grandson, Marlin; and Alexi Sugg, an oiled body-builder who's Marlin's partner. Marlin and Alexi, whom Spooner calls "the grandson" and "Atlas Shrugged," want to get Hiram out of the house, claiming he's incompetent.  

• The wretched, venal life of Rev. Ike 
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Rev. Ike never claimed he was a "Christian minister," though he could fill Madison Square Garden with money-grubbing acolytes as fast as any preacher. "This is the do-it-yourself church," he would say tossing aside the Apostle Paul and channeling Ayn Rand. "The only savior in this philosophy is God in you."  

• Student ensures econ is no longer the ‘dismal science’ 
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Atlas Shrugged  | On student Seth Weidman, who tutored classmates in economics.
Thus far, the results have been spectacular. The students took 12 total tests, and of the eight scores that have come in this month, six are 5's -- the highest possible on a scale of 1 to 5 -- and two are 4's.[ ....] "It feels very satisfying," said Seth earlier this week, toting a copy of Ayn Rand's novel “Atlas Shrugged” and looking tan from many hours of playing summer Ultimate Frisbee. "It was fun."