and I am an astronaut. why are you listening to him?

I haven't followed in a week due to a death in the family. I concur.

A lot of authoritarians with a swaggering dictatorial mentality have been "results oriented" in their ends justifies the means tyranny.

Trump is certainly no Objectivist, but it's hard for anyone with a shred of common sense not to recognize how our government was sliding into the same abyss of failure Ayn Rand described in Atlas Shrugged. If Trump and his fellows treat Rand's writings as warning signs, the correction should be in a positive direction.

I don't get into the debate arguing how "pure" one's Objectivist credentials are, as the resulting flap reminds me of fifteenth century clerics arguing over how many angels can reside on the head of a pin. No human can be a pure adherent to any belief system. I'll just be happy to see a stop to the collapse of our nation.

What is a "ber objective pragmatist"?

The one liners echoed from from people who didn't understand what they read are bad enough; the author then re-assembles them, one disparate piece at a time, into a regrouped fantasy theme of his own, misrepresenting the whole Trump organization -- Chinese menu style and resulting in a fabricated intellectual meal.

That is the least of it, only the crudest form of the obvious!

I won't be disappointed. I emphatically explained what is wrong with him beginning early in the primaries. Hillary was worse and had to be stopped, but it was a false alternative to a new extreme in this country. Getting rid of Cackles' collectivist mafia is no reason to rejoice over Trump.

John Allison is not in the Trump administration. He was quickly bypassed for Treasury Secretary.

Or in their minds, an attempt to smear Trump by linking him with Ayn Rand. They don't like and don't understand Ayn Rand, but their sense of smell tells them she is their enemy. The left doesn't like Trump, fears him for the wrong reasons, and doesn't know how to articulate what he is.

Trump's feet should be held to the fire regardless of what he or anyone else says about Trump and Objectivism. He is a dangerous man with an anti-intellectual authoritarian mentality.

Pragmatism does not mean 'practical'. It is the philosophy that began with William James and others in Cambridge in the late 19th century, an import from Europe resulting from the intellectual destruction of Kant and Hume. It is against principle on principle, and confuses truth with whatever "works". Listen to Leonard Peikoff's lecture on Pragmatism in its relation to the history of western philosophy and read some of the books by progressives extolling the results and influence of Pragmatism in American culture. Its impact on America for over a century has been horrendous. There is no similarity between Objectivism and Pragmatism.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJkrC...

John Allison does say he is Objectivist

An administration of "Randoids."
'Tis a consummation devoutly to be wished. As Wm. Shakespeare would have said. But reading a book or two does not an objectivist make.It is, however, nice to know that many in the incoming regime were inspired or influenced by Ayn Rand. If some of them actually became objectivists, They probably wouldn't publicly admit it, particularly because of the atheism component. Compared to the standards of the previous regime, I'll go for these people in a heartbeat.

Of course, you are correct. Does that make it worth holding Trump's feet to the fire, so that Objectivism might have a future?

Trump is not an Objectivist. I think this is attempt to smear Ayn Rand. When Trump screws up they will say this is what happens if you follow objectivism.

Nothing wrong with pragmatism I thinnk. In the end, what is practical is what works. Objectivism stresses the things that ARE practical, even though the basis is philosophical.

People can gain the advantages of cooperation only if they respect each other as human beings.

an insult to Ayn Rand and Objectivism to say that these people are Objectivists. Reading Ayn Rand's books and enjoying them is one thing, becoming an Objectivist is not the same. Let us see what these revolutionarys do over the next 12 months let alone 4 years. I expect a great many of you will be disappointed.

I propose that any businessman of Trump's stature is by necessity intimately attached to objective reality in a fashion that cannot be compared to the average person. He is results driven and will use the state as a means to an end so do not expect minarchism from Trump. He is still a glass of fresh water in a long stretch of confused leaders.

If we focus on the concept of the pursuit of excellence to satisfy self, Trump is a fine example that not only elevates himself, but also motivates others to do the same. In that context, Trump is a star pupil in the class of objectivists.

Hilarious! This article kind of sums up how the left views Ayn Rand and Objectivism!

Saw that movie in the theater with a wife now my ex.
Having yet to take any notice of Ayn Rand until the AS movies, that bit just flew by me and my ex unnoticed.
I'm sure that was the case for viewers as in the dark about The Fountainhead and Ayn Rand as I was back then.

A pure Ayn Rand Objectivist would, no, could not pick up the evangelical vote like Trump did.

-- Tillerson prefers “Atlas Shrugged,” Rand’s novel about John Galt secretly organizing a strike of the creative class to hasten the collapse of the bureaucratic society.

Is that not a counter strategy to the Obama/Clinton/Democrat/Cloward-Piven/Alynski effort to collapse the free part of society to build a larger bureaucracy??