In an article titled “Freedom Fetishists: The Cultural Contradictions of Libertarianism”— which has been published in both Commentary and the Wall Street Journal—Kay S. Hymowitz has labeled Ayn Rand a “libertarian.” This would be unworthy of comment were it not for the fact that, as Rand herself put it, “the…

Exploit the Earth or die. It’s not a threat. It’s a fact. Either man takes the Earth’s raw materials—such as trees, petroleum, aluminum, and atoms—and transforms them into the requirements of his life, or he dies. To live, man must produce the goods on which his life depends; he must…

Dear Craig, Thank you for this article on your blog, which I very much enjoyed, especially your "Mafia hitmen" analogy. In your article, you state "The way to accomplish [Iran's defeat] is by waging a massive bombing campaign from high altitude and long distance—and by sustaining this campaign until the…

The Bush administration’s plan to declare Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps a terrorist organization is worse than a waste of time: It is an outright evasion of the Iranian assault on America. There is a good reason why the New York City Police Department does not make official pronouncements to the…

Craig Biddle introduces the Fall 2007 issue.

After the avowedly mediocre philosopher Steve Gimbel launched an envious attack on human excellence in general and Ayn Rand in particular—in which he pricelessly attempts to intimidate those who revere excellence into revering mediocrity instead—he and some mediocre followers found themselves engaged with a few Objectivists whereupon they further demonstrated…

Jack Shafer of Slate has written a superb article on the notion of “loophole” titled “Shut Your Loophole.”(Thanks to Brad Malestein for bringing this piece to my attention.) Here’s an excerpt: Upon entering the English language in the late 16th century, the word loophole defined the narrow opening in a…

"Cut off the head of Salman Rushdie!" chanted a crowd of Islamists in Pakistan yesterday as calls to murder the “blasphemer” were renewed following his knighthood in Britain. Such barbarism is to be expected from religionists—not just from Muslims, but from any religionists who are neither restrained by a rights-respecting…

The print edition of the Summer issue of TOS is at press and will be mailed shortly; the online version will be accessible to subscribers on June 20. For promotional purposes, we are making Lisa VanDamme’s “The False Promise of Classical Education” available early and to all. Here are the…

Dr. Paul Hsieh has written an excellent op-ed opposing efforts to socialize medicine in Colorado. It begins: The Colorado Blue Ribbon Commission on Health Care Reform recently selected four health care reform proposals for eventual consideration by the Colorado legislature. Although they differ in their details, these differences are dwarfed…

Craig Biddle introduces the Summer 2007 issue.

To the credit of George Mason University's administration, the school has decided not to submit to the "will of Allah" or to "his" followers on earth. John Lewis's previously cancelled GMU talk, "'No Substitute for Victory': The Defeat of Islamic-Totalitarianism," has been rescheduled for Tuesday, April 24, at 7:30 PM,…

Under pressure from those who oppose American self-defense (i.e., Islamists and/or their sympathizers), and on a technicality (i.e., the GMU Objectivist Club failed to file requisite paperwork), GMU has cancelled John Lewis's talk "'No Substitute for Victory': The Defeat of Islamic Totalitarianism," which was scheduled for tonight (Wed., Mar. 28).…

George Mason University has abandoned its commitment to freedom of expression on campus. At the last minute, GMU has caved-in to pressure from Muslim groups and has cancelled Dr. Lewis’s talk, "'No Substitute for Victory': The Defeat of Islamic Totalitarianism," which was scheduled for tomorrow night, Wed, Feb 28, 2007.…

Craig Biddle introduces the Spring 2007 issue.