Thank you for your honest answer. I hope that I have never forcefully tried to dominate the conversation....that is not my way.

Oh, honey, my life is brightened by the smiles the Gulch brings me. Sometimes I laugh out loud! I think the exposure to men of good humor is life affirming.

I find the lack of humor and sense of humor to be disturbing.
Life IS serious business however making light of heavy things keeps me from being over-burdened with the ever-increasing darkness of this world.
I have noticed that you do the same. 😉

Hey, Herb. What I find myself doing is sifting through the comments and reading only certain ones; that's how I keep myself from getting bored. Am I opening a can of worms by asking why the discussion pisses you off? I enjoy and respect your comments.

Cruz has a chance of at least partially changing things for the better. Rubio might be good in some ways and perhaps not. Trump is a real wild card. He could upset the apple cart in a very good way, but he could easily turn into a tyrant. If any of them get elected, I probably will stick it out for a few more years. I wouldn't have stayed when Obama got elected if my kids were adults. Now they are in college.

Amen.

I can honestly say that I have been living as an objectivist for as long as some of you have been alive. Doesn't mean I've never done un-objectivist actions or had non-objectivist thought, I'm not Howard Roark. But it works for me and I can illustrate why, but you've read the books and she's a much better writer than me, even though I made my living writing for a part of my life.

Just what I was going to say. We have some Utopian Objectivists, just as much absolutist as evangelical conservatives, pragmatic Objectivists trying to figure out how to bend the real world in the healthy direction, and a variety of other interested participants, all of whom provide a reasonably hospitable, intelligent forum.

JB:
Twenty years younger and I'd be right behind you.
But if Bernie is not elected, and instead we get Cruz, Rubio, Or one of those, what then? What about Trump? Or have we played out on politics, or perhaps wait until the field is down to the two presumptive rulers?

Say someone is looking for someone to perform a service or build something, etc. Using word of mouth the person asks who does this really well? The word gets back to seek out so-and so who does a damned good job at a fair price, the deal is made, and the word gets out that so-and-so is the person to go to to have (x) done.

It relies on So-and-so giving excellent value, producing top quality goods, and getting that word-of-mouth to the people most likely to need or desire so-and-so's Knowledge, skills, and abilities.

It's called the "underground economy"... when states prohibited things like barter, it's how business was done via this prohibited medium to keep the watchdog masters one the wiser on the economy that was thriving under their noses.

You have to market to those who need your talents, shake a lot of hands, have tangible examples of what you do, and be able to meet the commitments you make.

Anger's OK within a context. It should, however, be held in reserve for when it's truly needed, otherwise it becomes trite and meaningless.

FF!
Now you're on track.

Hey, Mama!
So make it vibrant and full of life. Reply to those whose sense of life you find bad. If I was there with you, I'd (gently) slap you up the side of the head with a warm dish towel.

For me, I see a malaise growing in the Gulch and in my life because there is a societal/political/economic flywheel turning left that I don't think can be slowed or stopped in the few years I have left to me.

As a character in my world famous novel (!) Paris, Wyoming says, "The vicissitudes of this world force me to choose between depression and cynicism. I choose cynicism because it's more entertaining."

Hey, Mama -- there are some of those. But there's also you. And me. If you're bored it's because of you. No one can bore you unless you allow them to. I'm never bored. Perhaps it's because I'm at the end of life and every waking minute becomes a treasure not to be squandered. I guess I'm pissed at this discussion and I'm almost ready to dole out negative points, but then, I realize, the points don't matter. The posts do.

It's hard to keep bringing up new things, and that is ultimately what a forum is based on: new things.

Sure, we can rehash the philosophical arguments regarding economics, abortion, gay marriage, socialism, gun rights, evolution, and a host of other topics, but in general people have already made up their minds about which side they sit on, so instead of being actual debates with points awarded based on the merit of the argument, it becomes a contest of wills and populist agreement.

So all we're left with are discussions of current events, and current events right now are downright depressing as jbrenner points out. Shrugging takes a tremendous amount of moral conviction, but it also takes preparedness. In AS, there was a retreat to fall back to. In real life, no such place exists so we are left to try to figure out how to survive individually. For those of us who appreciate economic basics, we know subconsciously that's not really that productive. We want more, but are stymied as to how to get there, leading to resignation/depression instead of a hopeful plan.

Everybody tune in while I play the funeral march from Beethoven's third symphony.
Who are "they" anyhow? You sound like you need a pity party. I won't attend.

Holy crap!
I must be an insensitive clod.
There are a large swath of contributors to the Gulch. Some are learning. Some are knowledgeable, some are not objectivists, some think their version of objectivism is the only way, sort of like going to hell if you don't believe in Jesus.Some are truly objectivists. For every one of them, a proper sense of life varies in some degree or another from the ideal. But to condemn the entire Gulch as having lost a good sense of life entirely is the same as racism. I hate to use that word because it's used so improperly, by demagogues today. Yet, there it is. I have read your posts, Pirate. I'm not sure if you are serious, or just want to provoke a discussion.

Suzanne, I know your question was not for me, but can I tell you what I have learned in the Gulch? I have been a fan of Rand and a believer in her philosophy since a very young age. I hate what collectivism is doing to my country, and I always thought I was a conservative, but I have learned that many conservatives are just as willing to use power and force to advance their beliefs as socialists are. I no longer consider myself a conservative. I am an individualist and an aspiring Objectivist.
I think conservatives are welcome here, but viewed by many of us with caution, especially when they forcefully try to dominate the conversation.

To the original question -

It has washed out and become a tool, not of the producer as it once was (and what brought me here) - "Producer" meaning the Randian, not the board's paid member status - but of the sheeple, the covert looter and the Anonymous hack.

I used to log on and jump in with glee and abandon, knowing I was communing and communicating with like minded individuals, but now it's more of an internet hash-list of those who have a political agenda to push, using a few learned catch phrases to "pass muster" but otherwise being as false as coins made from play-doh.

As such I find I rarely have the Daily Digest catch my attention as it once did long ago, and more often than not being deleted from my in-box out of hand as non-relevant, non-objective, or, frankly, non-sense. And as such, if that is the -best- tat the gulch has to offer me that day, it's not worth (honestly) wasting my time logging in and looking through the Gulch, only to leave sad, disappointed and likely embittered...

Interesting thought about the underground economy. My x-man power is inventing, and I am not sure at the moment how that could be used in an underground way.

What do you mean by "mouth to mouth" basis? Can you give some examples?

I'm a relative newbie (I think), so may not have a reference to before. Still like this place. Not too many others where the contributors are as well enlightened, and can teach me things every day... like "vituperation".

Ask yourself why there is such a lack of confidence in the philosophy and life applications of Objectivism. Objectivism works well for small groups of like-minded individuals. The big problem with Objectivism is that statists reject Objectivism's premises, and there are a lot more statists who think that they are entitled to what we produce than there are Objectivist producers.

Rush Limbaugh Undeniable Truth #6:
Ours is a world governed by the aggressive use of force.

That is not the way that it should be, but it is the way the world unfortunately is.
It is also the reason why the correct response is Atlas shrugging.

Bonus point for the Thatcher quote. She and Reagan made a fair team after the mess jimmy "if I only had a brain" Carter stirred up worldwide.

Tis truly to the point where if you have a business and expect it to thrive, it can only exist on the underground economy, else you will lose it to the hyper-regulation and hyper-taxation that, regardless of who gets elected, will be rampant.

I deal in tangibles for what I produce. I do so on a mouth to mouth basis, and say little otherwise.

Its sad when you play by the rules and lose... but that is the American way.