Dennis Miller names Ayn Rand one of the Three Most Fascinating People of 2009.

[mrktjobs]

These two are the real life "Dumb and Dumber".

Notice how these two little cowards BOTH found a way to weasel out of military service during the Vietnam days---when they were PRIME draft age---and how they now go out of their way to "praise" the military. Such phonies. Such dirt bags.

If it weren't for Fox "News", these two guys would be sweeping the streets or begging the rest of us for change as we walk by.

[dfvel]

It's fascinating how Dennis Miller went from SNL to angry conservative wing-nut to a magician who perfected the Disappearing Trick: Abracadabra....poof!

[oneblueorange]

This video should be called "Two Wankers"

[davidb1959]

Dennis claimed "Harry the election is lost"

Way to have to eat your words there MORON

Dennis miller America's ASS CLOWN

[KerrysBoys]

I used to respect Dennis Miller before I saw this video. What a fucking sell out!

[noponat666]

Just read the comments from Lincoln, Jefferson, Eisenhower and Wilson's "apology" in reference to The FED...

[theseanze]

Does he realize Ayn Rand was heading her "Objectivist" movement in 2009 or in the '30s and '40s when she wrote her books?...back when she was actually alive and relevant only because she was new?...kind of like the pop sensations you're mocking here?

[sharkattacksteve]

Ayn Rand, J.D Salinger, Ernest Hemingway, Stephen King... BULLSHIT

Why is it when comedians come out of the reich wing closet they lose their sense of humor i.e Miller, Victoria Jackson, Bitch from Raymond.

[BristolPalinsBabyDad]

I still remember when Dennis Miller used to be both funny and relevant. Now he's drinking the Kool-Aid flavored Tea and genuflecting before sociopaths like O'Reilly and Rand.

[joeasmythe]

Dennis and Bill, fascinating. Some people , nowadays, still have enough grey matter to meke good watching/listening.

[szatmar666]

objectivist = sociopath

[Formobject]

@szatmar666 Oh yeah, reason, happiness, freedom, trade, benevolence, non-initiation of force--definitely the values of a philosophy for sociopaths.

[szatmar666]

@Formobject Empty words none of the "objectivists" believe in today. I am talking about the practical outcomes of this toxic philosophy as implemented since the 80s: it's a complete destruction of sound capitalism as it existed for 50 years after the Great Depression. Just the 1st 12 years of Reaganomics the US quadrupled its national debt and created the 1st major market crash since 1929. The system of rules that created the US as a superpower were destroyed by objectivist elites.

[Formobject]

@szatmar666 What a piece of work! Unbelievable that you think Objectivists have that much power and influence. Wouldn't that be nice! Clearly you have no understanding of economics, history, Objectivism, or how the world works. Objectivism has nothing to do with Reaganomics. Do some reading (Capitalism the Unknown Ideal is a good place to start), unless you're content being an ignoramous who spouts off on things he doesn't know anything about.

[szatmar666]

@Formobject How convenient: objectivism has nothing to do with real world economics so we can't criticize it, all we can do is discuss "theories" and fiction since there is no sense of responsibility for the policies of Greenspan a known objectivist and the Reagan admin a known supply side administration...Milton Friedman's Chile experiment and the post Reagan US economy is the closest objectivism ever gotten to implement its econ ideals and its been a failure! that's why U deny it!

[Formobject]

@szatmar666 Like I said: your choice is to continue to embarrass yourself or to actually do some studying of the ideas you're criticizing; it's up to you. Such studying might lead you to the knowledge, for example, that Objectivists advocate the abolition of the Federal Reserve and a return to the gold standard, so nothing any fed chairman ever does has anything to do with Objectivism, except of course that we criticize the existence of his very position.

[szatmar666]

@Formobject why would anyone with a brain want to abolish the central bank of the USA, much less go back to the gold standard?! Again, your arrogance doesn't substitute for common sense or the basics of econ 101! The FED was created in 1913 although it has its problems fact is that the USA is piling on debt since 1982 not 1913, the 2 have little to do with each other. The USA became a superpower while the FED was in charge of monetary policy. Before the FED the US was a backwater

[Formobject]

@szatmar666 Nice post hoc fallacy there. Why would anyone want to abolish the central bank? Here are a few reasons to get you started: (1) so that our wealth is not at the mercy of human whim, (2) so that the government isn't able to confiscate our wealth surreptitiously without open taxation, (3), so that there is no interest rate distortion leading to the boom-bust cycle. Volumes have been written on this (see Ludwig von Mises), though I wouldn't expect you to actually read those.

[szatmar666]

@Formobject None of your points have any connection in reality. The boom-bust cycle was eliminated for 50 years until Reagan started deregulating & the 86 crash.

FACT #1: The USA became the most successful capitalist country on earth WHILE the FED was in charge since 1913, you like it or not.

FACT #2: the debt and accountability issue have nothing to do with the monetary system or the lack of the gold standard, it has to do with specific monetary policies introduced in the 1980s.

[Formobject]

@szatmar666 Don't blame me for your inability to connect abstract statements to reality. In regard to "FACT #1," apparently you didn't get my "post hoc fallacy" point. The US became the most prosperous nation not because of the Fed, but in spite of it. In regard to "FACT #2," when gold is the currency the gov't can't borrow money that the Fed creates out of thin air (one can't create gold out of thin air). This puts strict limitations on the gov't's capacity to run a deficit.

[szatmar666]

@Formobject LOL! I never said "BECAUSE": FACT is IT DID become a superpower WHILE the FED existed so that shoots down your side's little theories about the FED: it can't be all that bad if it worked for 70 years.

The "thin air argument": NONSENSE! The Fed can't create money "out of thin air" without inducing inflation. You think it can because most commerce in the world is US$ denominated which means that a growing world economy creates a growing demand for dollars, 4ex petro$s

[szatmar666]

@Formobject BTW, this taxation= "wealth confiscation" is about the dumbest thing I've ever heard. The US was most successful doing capitalism when top marginal taxrates were above 70%.

According the Heritage Foundation Switzerland is the most free market country on earth. Their tax collection is at 30% of GDP while the US is only at 15-20% yet their debt to GDP is only 38% while the US is 100%.

[Formobject]

@szatmar666 Nice reasoning here. So if the gov't takes 40% of my earnings, it has not confiscated my wealth if the economy as a whole has prospered. That makes as much sense as saying that if I get mugged in the street, my money has not been stolen so long as the community I live in (which includes the mugger and his family) remains well off. Your 2nd point proves the very point I was making in the first place: that a fiat currency system allows for wealth confiscation independent of taxation.

[szatmar666]

@Formobject Sure, because you can only have a job and a life because the US government made sure every house has an electric outlet a phone wire etc back in the 30s and 40s. Without basic gov infrastructure there is no capitalism. You people live in LALA land!

[szatmar666]

@Formobject I also noticed that you people argue like the commies: all emotions, no reason, no facts or figures or real data backing anything you pull out of your behind. what's that all about?!

[Tellthetruth61]

Its a way of thinking that you may or may not agree with...I think somethings are interesting but in large she takes it to an extreme. A weird BDSM extreme.

[koss121]

EDIT - By watered-down I mean she attempts to accomplish similar intellectual premises, but does so in a much less sophisticated way.

[rmoyer]

@koss121 Talk about watered-down. Less sophisticated? She developed an entire system of philosophy from the foundations in metaphysics and epistemology through to ethics, politics, and esthetics to "accomplish [her] intellectual premises," leaving not a single needed premise in her proofs undefined. Nietzsche (who by the way is only similar to Rand in a highly superficial way) put forth a disorganized grab bag of partially developed arguments and eloquent aphorisms.

[Norcha8]

@rmoyer Nietzsche also died before his time.

[koss121]

It's sad that Christopher Hitchens is who people turn to as an intellectual in this day and age. To be more helpful, if you like Ayn Rand and you have a brain, you should read Nietzsche - who Ayn Rand is a watered-down version of.

[IsAltruismMysticism]

@koss121 Nietzsche and Rand are not dilutes of one another. Rand is atheist Niche is Mystic. Niche contradicts himself Rand does not.

[redshark618]

Atlas Shrugged is an absolute piece of crap. Ayn Rand is a sociopath.  Sarah Palin is retarded. Tiger Woods's sex life is none of your damn concern. Lady Gaga is terrible. Bill O'Reilly is a fucking tool. You guys want "fascinating" people?

Try Christopher Hitchens.

[TheHuntress144]

I thought dick sucking contests weren't allowed on basic cable....

[reeves311]

the clip of sarah palin was hilarious. she seemed like a corporate slave who exists publicly to be a corporate slave signing books to bring in customers. not that her own book wasn't sold. lol.

[1960mayhem]

Which one of these self-important pseudo-intellectuals would you pick as the pivot man in a circle jerk?

[jgalt85rand]

Want to get to know Ayn Rand? Watch Ayn Rand in Her Own Words

[eboyd32]

fuck Ayn Rand

[danielduffy76]

@eboyd32 Have you ever read Ayn Rand?

[eboyd32]

@danielduffy76 enough to know that she had a lot of views i disagree with, particularly her economic ideas that are pretty much a more ruthless version of Murray Rothbard's anarcho-capitalism, and very few that i actually agree with.

[cottonrun1]

@danielduffy76 I have read Rand ! Its amusing to me. Everybody has met someone like her and cant stand her type on a personal level. You would not want her as a friend. She is incapable of being a friend to anyone. The eyes are the window to the soul. Her eyes are devoid of feeling. Her books are very clear and unambiguous. I have no respect for her husband or the sheepish followers she collected during her life. They got what they deserved. She fucked em all over... think for yourself !!

[johnnycoyo]

Until watching Miller i could not imagine anyone being a bigger asshole than Billo ...what a couple of gasbags ! Cheers :)

[roibasses]

@johnnycoyo Yes.. but Miller is a far more entertaining gas bag, and so much smarter.

[CaliforniaVolante]

As a pro-capitalism agnostic, I think Rand was a deluded, self-centered attention whore who recycled Nietzsche trying to make herself sound like a genius

[CptnChan]

@CaliforniaVolante By comparing Rand to Nietzche you prove your ignorance.

[danielduffy76]

@CaliforniaVolante Recycled Nietzsche? ...You either need to do some serious re-reading, or stop taking self-rightouses, self-proclaimed intellectuals' pseudo-rhetoric as the omniscient truth.

[Norcha8]

@CaliforniaVolante Rand was influenced by Nietzsche, she says so herself. But their philosophies are different. Nietzsche rejects all reason as ultimately socially constructed (and therefore false). Rand says reason is the only objective stick to which we can measure the world. So you're literally wrong.

[FritzIdler1]

Rand challenged a 2000 year old cultural tradition, as she said. She said her's was a superior philosophy. She thought she could succeed at this, by cuckolding her husband, and making him take it. Even though she "vehemently" opposed ethical hedonism. I once would have said, it was only their business. But she said sex, reflects your philosophy. Without her self sacrificing, selfless husband, she had no marriage. A fan will now say, I'm 'context dropping', or 'package dealing.'

[kropotkinbeard1]

Rand was a sociopath

youtube.com/watch?v=51YlLrcV0G­Y&feature=related

[Friedstuffsable]

@kropotkinbeard1 Yeah, it is pretty obvious she was a miserable cunt with zero empathy. A perfect golden woman for the Republithugs to admire. "Fuck the poor, they're LAZY!" As a side note; "Bordello Of Blood" Was bitchin'

[sigurjong]

@kropotkinbeard1 Her philosophy has to be the most selfish philosophy known to man. To be honest, the woman always remind me of a witch lol. There really is no wonder why so many rich pricks love that cunt.

[mkloppel]

@sigurjong The only reason I couldn't like your comment is because you called me a cunt and Ayn Rand a witch.

[josephrawlins]

A woman who has been dead for 27 years and whose conservative followers hate her without knowing that they do. Fantastic.

[dvwxxx]

I don't care who recommends Ayn Rand's philosophy. What counts is what Ayn Rand said....which is honesty, logic, reality, objectivism, facts, and individual rights to own one's self, keep one's property and money from being stolen and given to welfare parasites...is the only way this country and human freedom can survive.

[EeeScape]

@dvwxxx

Ayn Rand would name Dennis Miller one of the dumbest people of 2009 if she was alive today. :)

[kropotkinbeard1]

@EeeScape Well, there's one thing we'd agree on.

[danieljliversLXXXIX]

Rand fascinating? lol

[kropotkinbeard1]

After listening to the video I've listed here it's easy to tell precisely why folks like Miller would be attracted to Rand. Enjoy!

youtube.com/watch?v=tjQeeRn6kW­0

[Roooooooo000000]

@ryan84160 How did you arrive at your conclusion? That's like denying 1 + 1 = 2. A is A means that you cannot deny the metaphysically given (things like gravity or a mountain). By objectivist logic, you must use your reason to deal with these metaphysically given things. An example would be building a house on earthquake prone ground. It is a fact that the ground you are building on is earthquake prone. To avoid this fact and build without the proper structural alterations is inviting disaster.

[ryan84160]

@Roooooooo000000 I am not denying that A is A. A is definitely A. I am denying the fact that any moral statements can be derived from A is A. An ought can not be derived from an is.An ought can only come from your value system or after you have decided what your goals are.

[mrrobotica]

@ryan84160 And from what do you derive your value system?

[ryan84160]

@mrrobotica My genes and my past experiences. 

[ryan84160]

@mrrobotica It's not unfair at all. Objectivist ethics completely ignore Hume's is/ought fallacy. All normative statements in objectivist ethics are necessarily conditional. A conditional normative statement can not be objectively true.

[ryan84160]

@Roooooooo000000 IF you care about the suffering of non human animals, you OUGHT to become a vegetarian. IF you are a sociopath and don't care about the suffering of others, you OUGHT to become an objectivist. IF you wish to die then perhaps you OUGHT to building a shitty building in the middle of a earthquake zone.

[Success0527]

Objectivism, as Rand put it, is "a philosophy for living on earth". As a product of the theory/practice dichotomy, so-called "modern philosophers" have divorced philosophy from existence and relegated it to an impotent, pointless charade of creating pointless, unanswerable questions--as means to allegedly prove that philosophy, and thus man's cognitive efficacy, has no bearing to his existence.

[kropotkinbeard1]

Hahahahahaha.....Ayn Rand? So this explains Miller's prickishness. He's really not that funny either.

[bobbygnosis]

Ayn Rand: "What I think is real is totally real.

P.S. Gimme mine because I'm better than you."

[andrewsanders1984]

The Tea Party and Dennis Miller do not represent Ayn Rand. She would be appalled at their religious zeal.

[dedbusted]

@andrewsanders1984 True; however, it's better than what we've had the last hundred years.

[TheAmazingMorse]

@andrewsanders1984 You're right, but they are both indicative of the mediocre minds that swarm to her warped point of view.

[brkat818]

Clueless. Absolutely clueless.

[ziggenzify]

Two fake conservatives jerking each other off.

[BananaPeal0]

fds

[BananaPeal0]

Ayn Rand is at the front of a movement.... that's like saying John F Kennedy is at the front of politics ... what kind of stale ass movement has she started that it can't produce new apostles?

[Aeschlimann1]

Does anybody remember the Young Libertarians from your high school yearbook? HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!! NERDS!!!!

[jimmyt3411]

@Aeschlimann1 And you haven't changed one bit since high school have you?

[exbronco1980]

harry reid- the election is lost? lol.

[myWwjj]

Meet Latin women ** rockmycity.info **

[fuckooo]

That insidiously stupid so-called 'philosophical' system 'objectivism' will never become a movement purely because no-one of sound mind, or with philosophical training could frankly take it seriously.

[jonathanaconway]

@fuckooo The same thing has been said of just about every philosophy ever devised. Time will tell.

[jimmyt3411]

@fuckooo If you think "objectivism" is not a philosophical system, then I suggest you need to get your head checked, especially since the only philosopher that influenced Ayn Rand was Aristotle (Ancient Greek philosopher).

[fntime]

@jimmyt3411 And Nietzche! 

[ryan84160]

@jimmyt3411 Ayn Rand is NOT a serious philosopher. Her philosopy can be reduced to A is A, therefore my opinions on morality are objective "facts". She is an absolute joke.

[bobbygnosis]

@jimmyt3411 Aristotle . . . bigtime asshole.

[GodOfTheInternets]

@jimmyt3411

What do you think a "philosophical system" is?

[TheSaboteur97]

I just got anthem and altas shrugged but bad thing is i got catching fire also.

[notbestfriends]

Read "Atlas Shrugged"

[unqtious]

@notbestfriends Reading Atlas Shrugged is like smoking. You get addicted to it at a young age.

[ultrakool]

dennis miller, the king of worthless, trivia bullshit references. with tungsten steel cajones, babe

[TheLizardKing1967]

@ultrakool . I take it that you are an Obama Baby, babe. LOL

[fede2]

rand's comittment to rationality was a fantastic virtue of her's.

[itheuser]

Libertarianism is the new Scientology.

[higgme1ster]

The only proper purpose of a government is to protect man's rights, which means: to protect him from physical violence. . . The only proper functions of a government are: the police, to protect you from criminals; the army, to protect you from foreign invaders; and the courts, to protect your property and contracts from breach or fraud by others, to settle disputes by rational rules, according to objective law.

—Ayn Rand, Galts Speech, For the New Intellectual, p. 231

Objective truth!

[BalazarsBrain]

LoL Conservatives, good luck getting the Christian-right on board with an Outspoken Atheist. (Ayn Rand)

In fact, why not just go with the source material...Nietzche (another outspoken atheist)? Rand's major work is a copy of Nietzche, and in my opinion,she hasn't added anything significant to Nietzche's philosophy.

[ErikNikolai]

If I had to divide my life into two parts, they would be called "pre-Rand" and "post-Rand". Her philosophy has had a profound effect on me.

To think I used to be a social democrat and member of a labor union... ack.

[FriarTuck1961]

Love Ayn. Definitely fascinating.

Not sexy but profoundly intelligent

[MarmaladeINFP]

What about the John Q. Public who protested the war? They were massively larger than the tea party protesters and they protested for a much longer period of time. In fact, the anti-war protesters were the largest and most organized protest movement in world history. Now, that is real populism. Also, if Rand is so fascinating, why do conservatives conveniently ignore her strident atheism?

[regresseur]

> Also, if Rand is so fascinating, why do conservatives conveniently ignore her strident atheism?

That question doesn't even make sense.

[MarmaladeINFP]

It makes sense for someone with sense. Go ask your parents or a teacher to explain it to you. But out of the kindness of my heart I'll try to explain such complex issues for you.

The conservative movement has largely been taken over or at least pushed to the right by Christian fundamentalists. These extreme rightwingers have been critical of GOP in their attempt to influence it & have turned to libertarianism in their criticisms. Beck for example has courted Rand's Objectivist movement.

[Antimatter3D]

@Marmalade, you're obviously unaware of the many fiscal conservatives for who strongly support separation of church and state. There are those with extreme views in both parties. The Christian fundamentalists have not "taken over" the Republican party. They may have tried, but they did not succeed. And, Beck is not the only conservative to host Dr. Yaron Brook, President of the Ayn Rand Institute. Google ARI. Educate yourself.

[MarmaladeINFP]

I'm not unaware of them but there are few of them in the general public. I do agree that there is an elite of those at the top who could care less about religion and are merely manipulating the religious right. The religious right hasn't exactly taken over the Republican party, but they have moved public debate to the extreme right. A moderate conservative now is seen as a liberal, and a moderate liberal is seen as a socialist or worst a communist who somehow is also a fascist and a Nazi.

[Antimatter3D]

I believe there is a limit beyond which free speech cannot go, but it's a limit that's very seldom mentioned. It's the point where free speech begins to collide with the right to privacy. I don't think there are any other conditions to free speech. I've got a right to say and believe anything I please, but I haven't got a right to press it on anybody else ... Nobody's got a right to be a nuisance to his neighbors. - H.L. Mencken

[higgme1ster]

@MarmaladeINFP

Every modern day liberal of any stripe is a socialist, a communist, a fascist and a Nazi! Being moderately liberal is like being a little bit pregnant. If you believe government exists to "correct" the Ills of Society you are all of these things and much worse.

[MarmaladeINFP]

You obviously know very little about political public opinion. I'd recommend researching the actual data of demogrpahics and ideology. Pew polls are a good place to start.

Liberal is a very wide category. Many liberals think of civil rights as being a central issue, but there are different ways to try to achieve this. Some liberals want big govt and some don't. Some social liberals identify as libertarians, and some social conservatives are for big govt.

[higgme1ster]

I only know reality. If one believes their fellow citizen should be controlled or induced by government in any way, for the so called greater betterment of society, then the reason, the cause, the purpose or even the degree matters not. That person believes the same basic tenet of the Socialist, Communist, Fascist, Modern Liberal, and Todays Democrat.

Liberalism of any stripe is the antithesis of Individual Liberty and Constitutional Freedom.

[MarmaladeINFP]

If you look at the policies and voting records of Republicans in Washington, they vote for big government as much as Democrats. Obama proposed some spending cuts which Republicans voted down.

[higgme1ster]

Some RINO Republicans also are anathema to Individual Liberty and Laissez-faire Capitalism. Liberalism of any stripe includes RINOs.

At least with the GOP there is a chance of stopping our nation's rampant slide toward ignominious Socialist poverty and ruin.

[MarmaladeINFP]

There are fiscal conservatives & fiscal liberals; & there are social conservatives & social liberals. Fiscal conservatives are sometimes social conservatives & sometimes not. Fiscal liberals are sometimes social liberals & sometimes not. The polls I've seen show the American public is fiscally conservative & socially liberal. Republican & Democratic parties are both fiscally liberal but just on different issues. True progressivism & true libertarianism are outside of mainstream politics.

[minnbassman]

@MarmaladeINFP Really? Really? Name one that did not pass because of the Republicans. The democrats OWN congress and the senate. They don't need the Reps at all. So which cut did the Reps VOTE DOWN? How did the deficit triple with all these cuts?

[MarmaladeINFP]

@minnbassman I honestly don't remember the exact thought I had 7 months ago. If I had to guess, maybe I was referring to the first budget plan that Obama proposed which didn't pass. I really don't know. More interesting to me is the recent Republican Pledge to America. Some reporters asked Boehner and other Republicans about what specific cuts they would make, but they refused to state what they would cut.

politics.gather. com/viewArticle.action?article­Id=281474978572230

[MarmaladeINFP]

@minnbassman I also honestly can say I'm not much of a fan of Obama or most Democrats. I could give you a list of criticisms of Obama. Anyway, I don't vote Democrat. I just don't like the Republican strategies of Starve the Beast and the Two Santa Claus Theory.

benjamindavidsteele.wordpress. com/2010/07/21/national-debt-s­tarve-the-beast-wealth-dispari­ty/

[pumkinpi2]

@minnbassman Yes, where did they get the idea that the GOP could obstruct any legislation in the last congress? Well, the American people did not buy the lie, "The Party of No, and we see that by the wave that swept the house.

[ErikNikolai]

The majority of the so-called anti-war activists were actually only anti-Bush. As long as Obama is behind the wheels, they're fine with war. That's why you don't see any large anti-war protests any longer.

[MarmaladeINFP]

Obviously, anti-war activists were against Bush. I'm an example of that, but I'm not for Obama. Anti-war activists included a wide spectrum of people: Christians, veterans, libertarians, and yes liberals. The reason the anti-war activism lessened had nothing to do with Obama because it was lessening during the last years of Bush's presidency. People just got tired of protesting without being heard. The media was not giving the protest movement much positive attention despite its large size.

[sanddune]

Yeah, patriotic people can be creepy. Go hate America elsewhere.

[Antimatter3D]

@Piss2Viper87

And, you're an imbecile.

[sanddune]

Uhhh, he makes a lot of money and you probably don't(unless you want to pass off some make believe life to us)

[xjudson]

Ayn Rand? What is he, 14 years old?

[Aeronomer]

Amen brother.

[DixonCannon]

Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal

[jcapcik]

Thanks for posting this! Dennis might just have a new radio show listener :) It's always great to hear someone mention Rand without following her name up with an expletive.

[yammyspeed13]

A is A!

[Jazzper79]

Beautiful when he mentions Ayn Rand

Jesper, Denmark

[grantsinmypants2]

He's right, an Objectivist movement has to come. Whether there is one or not, there is one. That, or death.

[Nelapidae]

Thanks for posting this video. Miller is one of my all time favorites!

[Beethovens7th]

Dennis Miller just became my hero.

[greenghost2008]

awesome. the movement really doesn't need more name ID.

[legendre007]

Absolutely beautiful. Thank you for uploading this, FilipinoObjectivist! ;-)

--Notorious Objectivist Stuart from Facebook