Birthday Carnival

by Jason Stotts

Welcome to the very-special-it’s-my-birthday edition of the Objectivist Round Up.

For those who may not know, Objectivism, in the words of Ayn Rand, is a “philosophy for living on Earth.”  In that spirit, we present essays weekly applying Objectivism to practical problems in order to improve our lives and, by extension, those of our readers.  When you go and read some of these very good posts on the various blogs, do the right thing and leave a comment on the posts you like: it’s just good form and it helps to encourage writers you like to keep writing.  Now, without further ado, our Carnival!

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Rachel Miner presents Father Memories posted at The Playful Spirit, saying, “As primary recorder of this delightful parenting experience, I share the one time I asked my husband to write, our birthing experience. I then ask readers to share their ideas for capturing non-primary-care-giver memories.”

C.W. presents A Prediction from Henry Hazlitt, Meaning for Us posted at Krazy Economy, saying, “This is definately a miss-hit for Mr. Hazlitt. But it has a lot of meaning for you and those who make economic predictions, like me. Keep your eye on the ball!”

Rituparna Basu presents On The Road to Ever-More Government Control posted atThe Undercurrent Blog, saying, “A California county recently banned fast-food restaurants from including toys in their kids’ meals. The goal of this new ban is to reduce rampant obesity in today’s youth by breaking “the link between unhealthy food and prizes.” On the face of it, the effects of this ban seem trivial: so what if there are no longer any toys with meals? But however petty this law may seem at first glance, its implications are anything but.”

Ari Armstrong presents Review: The Business of Being Born posted at Free Colorado, saying, “While most often birth works best with minimal medical intervention, sometimes modern medicine saves the lives of mothers and babies. Unfortunately, politically-manipulated health insurance often skews people’s incentives to get optimal care.”

David C Lewis, RFA presents Investing: Is It Worth Your Time?: Life insurance | Precious Metals | Retirement Plans | Financial Planning | Investing | Saving Moneyposted at A Revolution In Financial Planning.

Gideon Reich presents On the Failure of the Current US War Strategy posted atArmchair Intellectual, saying, “Middle East policy analyst Barry Rubin references two important essays that describe the inadequacy of current US war strategy.”

Roderick Fitts presents On “Being One’s Self”: a Review of James Valliant’s “The Passion of Ayn Rand’s Critics” posted at Inductive Quest, saying, “We learn about the merits of PARC, some of the distortions of the Brandens, and the innocence, integrity, and honesty of Ayn Rand herself.”

Diana Hsieh presents Questions on Politics and Activism posted at NoodleFood, saying, “I answer three questions on politics and activism.”

Jeff Montgomery presents Shared Doctor Visits vs. Progress posted at Fun With Gravity, saying, “Contrary to the claim that group doctor visits constitute an innovative and positive health care strategy, I see it as an ominous sign of reduced wealth and overbearing government.”

Jeff Montgomery presents Green Mountain/Bear Canyon Run posted at Fun With Gravity, saying, “This is a post about some weekend fun in the hill country, with photos.”

Harsha Vardhan presents The Great Indian Railway Tragedy. posted at Harsha blogs!, saying, “This post is about the effects of nationalized trains in India and the need for allowing private players to enter into the market.”

Stella presents Dr. Stasi posted at ReasonPharm, saying, “Another scary attempt by the government to turn Americans (this time, doctors) into informants. Let’s help make sure it doesn’t work!”

Jenn Casey and Kelly Elmore presents Podcast #4: Independence posted at Cultivating the Virtues, saying, “Our fourth podcast focuses on the virtue of Independence and how parents can foster independence of thought and action in their children.”

Amy Mossoff presents Montessori Summer School at Home posted at The Little Things, saying, “My 3-year-old daughter is enrolled in Montessori, and I’ve decided to continue her Montessori education at home for the summer. Here is my plan. (Bonus: great video of a Montessori classroom and how a Directress gives a demonstration to a preschool student.)”

Amy Mossoff presents Ayn Rand Books for Homeschoolers posted at The Little Things, saying, “ARI has announced in Impact that they have extended their Free Books for Teachers program to homeschoolers! If you read Impact, this blog post might not be news to you, but it also includes my thoughts about how and when to expose your children to Objectivism, or whether that is really such a big issue.”

Trey Givens presents Management Experience: My First Fail posted at Trey Givens, saying, “I was tempted to submit my brief rant about the Family Guy’s offensive treatment of transsexuals for this week’s carnival (It’d be good for this Erosophia hosted round-up!) but I think this topic has broader appeal.”

Adam Reed presents My Premise-Checking Habit posted at Born to Identify, saying, “I would rather doubt a hundred truths than believe one falsehood.”

Edward Cline presents “Civility” per Obama posted at The Rule of Reason, saying, “Some would say it hardly matters at which school President Barack Obama gave his commencement address on May 1st. I agree. Most if not all American universities are top-heavy with every variety of left-wing and collectivist faculty, concentrated in the humanities and dedicated to lobotomizing their students and weeding out the recalcitrant.”

Mike Zemack presents The Tea Party Movement – A Progress Report posted atPrincipled Perspectives, saying, “Well into its second year, the Tea Party Movement still looks pretty good.”

Earl Parson presents Work in Progress: Glider! posted at Creatures of Prometheus, saying, “A work-in-progress post from my workshop. I’m convinced that this glider will be one of the best things I’ve ever made.”

That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of objectivist round up using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.