I am, therefore I must think...
The purpose of this blog is similar to many blogs out there: to spread ideas. Particularly my ideas. I consider myself a rational, active minded person. I love the discussion of ideas but if you use any logical fallacies, prepare to be called out on them. I am interested in individual liberty and the philosophies involved with liberty. I refuse to label myself as this type of philosopher or that, because I think broad labels lead to dogmatism and regression of ideas. Respect begets respect, so keep that in mind when commenting.
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MAF
The book Atlas Shrugged is finally going to be made into a movie. Brad and Angelina Jolie are allegedly looking into the main character roles. I am not sure what to make of Brad as Galt and Angelina as Dagny. Despite that rumor, and in honor of this great story, I have begun a pre-selection of celebrities to star in this movie. If you have any suggestions, e-mail me at MAF@MiniAmericanFlags.com.
Protagonists
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Dagny Taggart |
Angelina Jolie stars as the vice president of Taggart Transcontinental railroad. Seeing as she has no other skills as an actress, other than eye candy, the love triangle (rectangle?) between she, John, Francisco and Hank will come to climax as a foursome at Galt’s Gultch.
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John Galt |
The perfect man has to look perfect too, right? Who better to play this role than Brad Pitt. An icon of individuality as proven by his role in Fight Club.
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Francisco d’Anconia |
Francisco is the exotic Spaniard who woos all the women yet never sleeps with anybody but Dagny (see foursome above). Since people from Spain are not necessarily exotic looking, why not Jeremy Irons?
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Ragnar Danneskjöld |
Ragnar was a good looking pirate, so why not save some money and cast Brad as Ragnar also? No one will notice and it might just get the audience to question, “Who the hell is John Galt?”
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Hank Rearden |
Ed Harris as Hank? You think of someone better.
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Eddie Willers |
Who would work well as Angelina Taggart’s assistant?
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Hugh Akston |
The good doctor. Who would play him?
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Ellis Wyatt |
Who is brave enough (and doesn’t mind a lack of scenes) to carry Wyatt’s Torch?
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Antagonists
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Mr. (President) Thompson |
Who combines an insatiable lust for power, hateful attitude towards most everything living or dead and some comic relief? Gilbert Gottfried; the perfect dictator for the Atlas world.
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Jim Taggart |
Chris suggested Wallace Shawn! Perfect.
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Lillian Rearden |
Who’s a bitch? Maybe Kyle’s mom can play this role (South Park reference, idiots).
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Dr. Stadler |
The bad doctor. Sean Connery needs an evil role for once in his life.
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More to come… |
I’ll add more to this list and possibly change some characters as I get some more ideas. Feedback people!
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I heard this movie was being made from Rotten Tomatoes and again on the Penn Radio podcast. If you hear of any more news on this, let me know.
In other entertainment… are you an Idol fan? Go check out Ms. Dominique’s site (the ORIGINAL Dagny) to talk about Taylor, the gray-factor.
I want to bring to light an issue that looks good on the surface but is ultimately not fair to businesses. Net neutrality is an issue that has been brought to our government. Net neutrality is a proposal for the government to disallow ISPs to limit access to the Internet. It sounds good on the surface but let me tell you why this libertarian thinks it is wrong.
Currently ISPs can limit your access to certain sites on the Internet. They have the ability to do this and allegedly are already using these limits to steer their users away from sites that compete with their services. One example is VoIP. Verizon runs its own VoIP system and also provides internet access. If they wanted to they could block or slow down your Internet service to other VoIP providers on the net.
I do have a problem with ISPs doing this; however I have a bigger problem with “libertarian” run organizations like SaveTheInternet.com promoting government regulation of ISPs. Net Neutrality is not the answer to stopping ISPs from limiting users’ Internet access. Consumers are the answer to this. If ISPs are found to be practicing limiting or blocking techniques, it is up to the consumer to complain.
What really irks me about this issue is that a libertarian is pushing it. Libertarians are about limited government and free business. This goes against the principals of the libertarian party and I think it is wrong for this group to claim to be libertarian.
If you hear anything about Net Neutrality I want you to understand that it really means government regulation. If you want to do something against the ISPs who do block or limit service to certain websites, I suggest you voice your opinion to your ISP and/or switch ISPs. I hope that this thinly veiled attempt to limit business freedom does not pass unchallenged. I hope other libertarians are smart enough to see through this deception of business freedom.
If you let the government regulate ISPs, it just sets a precedent for them to regulate ISPs in other ways. Just remember, our government started the FCC. Once they get their hands into ISP regulation they will not stop at “fair business practice” regulation.
The consumers are the ones that should ALWAYS hold the power over the internet. Never the government, for ANY reason.
