• • • Ayn Rand and Republican ideology 
,
Atheism  |Atlas Shrugged  |The Virtue of Selfishness  |Capitalism  |Egoism  |Paul Ryan  | One tiny issue caught my eye and I think it’s worth a look, even though the vote is long over. Vice-president hopeful Paul Ryan said he gave a copy of “Atlas Shrugged” to all his interns, and to others as Christmas presents. The paperback is so thick I doubt if it was read cover to cover by many. The novel is the anchor for “Objectivism,” a philosophy developed by 20th century Russian-American writer Ayn Rand.  

• • • Reviews of recent and upcoming DVD releases 
,
Atlas Shrugged movie  |Atlas Shrugged  |Syndicated  | “Atlas Shrugged: Part I” (PG-13, 2011, Fox). It must be supremely aggravating to make a movie based on one-third of Ayn Rand’s massive literary classic. If you want to feel that frustration for yourself, just see the movie.  

• • Race does strange things to vegetarian musher’s appetite 
,
Atlas Shrugged  | [Musher Ed] Stielstra walked two of his huskies a few yards from the team. If he’s feeling cooped up and needs to walk, he figures they do too, he said. The males are distracted by a female in heat named Ayn, as in Ayn Rand. The dog was born in a truck about three years ago on a drive from Alaska to Michigan, Stielstra said. She’s part of his “freedom fighters” litter. Stielstra, whose favorite book is Rand’s “Atlas Shrugged,” said Ayn represents “freedom of self.” Her brothers are Muhammad Ali, Martin Luther King and Gandhi.  

• • Anarchists 
,
Atlas Shrugged  | What the tea party movement is advocating will only lead our country into worse economic, political and social stagnation. Without taxes and government there would be little investment in infrastructure, transit, education, science, national parks, etc. This is what Ayn Rand advocated in “Atlas Shrugged” and Libertarians as well as Sarah Palin, want anarchy.  

• • Philosophical Telegraph 
,
Atlas Shrugged  | What a marvelous confluence of information we find in Aug. 30’s Telegraph! First, Ed Grisamore introduces us at last to Frank Gadbois, and we learn not only that is he real, but as witty and intelligent as his frequent letters indicate. Then, after a long search, we locate the business section and Linda Morris introduces us to Joe Evans, the until now mysterious figure behind the brilliant rescue of Security Bank. Linda’s piece is worthy of the Wall Street Journal. My congratulations to her. After finishing the two pieces, I looked up and saw my copy of “Atlas Shrugged,” which I am re-reading after 45 years, and the philosophical juices flowed in abundance. Here in one issue of The Telegraph was distilled all the wisdom it took Ayn Rand more than a thousand pages to present.