Ayn Rand famously titled one of her non-fiction books, "The Virtue of Selfishness." This was a combative and provocative title, which reflects her own personality as well as the intellectual environment in which she lived.

The problem with this title, though, is that it creates a polarity in many people's minds between owning and honoring one's own life, dreams, and actions, and the kind of loving, compassionate, and empathic human connection which is central to a good and happy life.

That polarity need not exist; there is no contradiction - most of the time - between caring for others and honoring your own life. They are deeply interconnected.

There are moments in life when you have to choose whether to take care of your own needs or to give up those needs for the good of others, but they are not all that common, and such circumstances have their own unique dynamics.  Let's talk about how this works in real life.

The Democrat Circus continues to be the zaniest show in town.  Obambi exults the nomination is barely his while Hillary the Loser angrily demands she be his running-mate. 

Angrily demanding something is rarely the most effective negotiating technique to get what you want.  A smart person will use it only when both the anger and the demand are a pretense, when you want your demand rejected, not accepted.

Yes, intimidation often works when your opponent is a pussy.  Obambi is indeed a pussy, and voters' suspicion that he is would only be confirmed if he capitulated to Clinton intimidation - which is why he has to reject her, even though he knows she wants to be rejected.

It's not complicated once it's understood what Hillary's game plan is now - and the pact she's making with John McCain to achieve it.  So the plan works like this. 

The Jade Steps
Chapter Twenty: The Legend in Cuba

“Señor Aguilar!” Malinali shouted with a bright smile. She had spotted him sitting under a large ceiba tree at the edge of Tlaxcala’s market eating his mid-day meal. He returned her smile. “Doña Marina!” he called back. “Would you care to join me?”

She sat down next to him. “It seems so long since I saw you last,” she said.

“Yes – well, you learned Spanish so fast, while I have been slow at learning Nahuatl, that there was little need to help you translating for Captain Cortez,” came his reply. “What I really needed to do was learn to be a soldier again after being a Mayan slave for those long eight years. So I have been with the soldiers.”

“Would you like to learn Nahuatl?” she asked. “I can teach you.” Aguilar considered it for a moment, then answered, “I would like that – Nahuatl is very different from Mayan, but I should try. If I can find the time, that is, for a soldier is kept very busy.”

“You don’t look very busy to me,” came a nearby voice. “Bernal!” both Malinali and Aguilar exclaimed at the same time. “Do I understand that now Doña Marina is going to be your teacher instead of the other way around?” Bernal asked Aguilar with a grin. Aguilar shook his head. “I’m afraid so.”

They chatted happily for a while, then Malinali had a thought. “Bernal, I have a question for you.” Her eyes had a mischievous twinkle. “Why are Captain Cortez and Diego Velasquez – the governor, as you call him, of your island of Cuba – enemies?”

There are decades of stories about corporations, movie actors, artists and politicians hiding money from the taxman. Many economic studies have shown that once tax rates exceed 20 percent, most people will start thinking about and then acting in legal or illegal ways to avoid the tax bill.

The reason there is so little remorse about tax avoidance and evasion is that virtually everyone knows that much of what government does is a ripoff. If people really believed that "government is underresourced" and spends its money wisely, they would not take legal charitable and other deductions when they file their income taxes.

The president's buddy, Al Sharpton, is welcome at the White House almost any time, even though the Internal Revenue Service reportedly claims he owes millions in unpaid taxes.  If Mr. Sharpton had robbed a supermarket of a mere $10,000, it is unlikely he would be welcome at the White House.
The message is obvious. The government even tells us that federal employees, including thousands at the IRS, owe billions in back taxes, yet little is done. At the same time IRS leaders have the unmitigated gall to demand larger budgets.

Every thinking person implicitly knows that the U.S. government is the world's biggest financial fraudster.  Here's what to do about it.

Trust is at the same time a fundamental necessity and by-product of a free society. A free society requires trust to function, and there are incentives to act in trustworthy ways in a free society. Without trust our way of life would be impossible.

The breakdown of trust is the most troublesome effect of the continual growth and intrusion of our government into our businesses, our beliefs, and our personal lives.

There are always corrupt politicians and rotten people in government. And there is an acceptance of a certain degree of waste and abuse of power - it's just inevitable with government. But up until now, there has been a basic human trust that has been a part of America's moral fabric, that includes all people - even those in government.

Today we are losing it, and fast.  Is there any way to get it -- a government we can trust -- back?