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only reckless CEO are bad people, not reckless average Joes", "is_last_child": false, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2009-04-18_21:18:54", "killed": false, "user_key": "e026badf3bc0c01f5c19d6528d5171a2", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": false, "from_request_user": null, "votable": true, "date": "7 months ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 0, "is_first_child": false, "email": "", "parent_post_id": null, "depth": 0, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "7158656": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": true, "message": "I am reading the novel for the first time, and I have been thinking for the last 500 pages what you have said here. Obama is John Galt... except better because (and this is what I have also been thinking) what happens when a man as competent and capable as John Galt uses his infinite productive ability to actually produce a better world? Or is Galt incapable of that (if not he should be. What's another unreal, over-exaggerated element of the Atlas reality)?<br><br>I guess I need to finish the book. I'm still trying to figure out why Hank Rearden saved Francisco D'Anconia.", "is_last_child": false, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2009-03-12_21:42:26", "killed": false, "user_key": "bd80e9814e04e07eab9f55e91df5c45f", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": false, "from_request_user": null, "votable": true, "date": "8 months ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 1, "is_first_child": true, "email": "", "parent_post_id": 7129458, "depth": 1, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "12986884": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": false, "message": "The late Dr. Adrian Rogers (1931-2005) offered the following observation several years ago and it bears poignant significance today: You cannot legislate the poor into freedom by legislating the rich out of freedom. What one person receives without working for, another person must work for without receiving. The government cannot give to anybody anything the government does not first take from somebody else. When half of the people get the idea that they do not have to work because the other half is going to take care of them, and when the other half gets the idea that it does no good to work because somebody else is going to get what they work for, that my dear friend is about the end of any nation. You cannot multiply the wealth by dividing it.\"", "is_last_child": false, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2009-07-21_00:28:35", "killed": false, "user_key": "1789603531b392b979a829120446854f", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": false, "from_request_user": null, "votable": true, "date": "4 months ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 0, "is_first_child": false, "email": "", "parent_post_id": null, "depth": 0, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "7081733": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": true, "message": "Say it ain't so --My reference to \"right leaning\" was in response to Jaci's post.  Obviously, not ALL BREADWINNERS are right leaning...but Jaci's are, and that is what I was responding to.", "is_last_child": false, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2009-03-10_17:23:45", "killed": false, "user_key": "5f2279375be4ffc03030ec3e4c2a592f", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": false, "from_request_user": null, "votable": true, "date": "8 months ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 1, "is_first_child": false, "email": "", "parent_post_id": 7081122, "depth": 3, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "7351046": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": true, "message": "Plagiarism?  No.  Copyright violation?  By your own admission, yes.  Fair use?  What follows are excerpts from the U.S. Copyright Office' page on the matter (<a href=\"http://www.copyright.gov/fls/fl102.html\" rel=\"nofollow\">http://www.copyright.gov/fls/fl102.html</a>).<br><br>\"...examples of activities that courts have regarded as fair use:<br><br>. quotation of short passages...<br>. summary of an address or article, with brief quotations...<br>. reproduction ... of a small part of a work...\"<br><br>It goes on to say: \"The safest course is always to get permission from the copyright owner before using copyrighted material\".  The link above provides the full text, lest I be accused of distortion through omission.  Oh, and I am abiding by their policy (see the legal notices page for more on that).<br><br>Whether or not Mr. Weiner cares, ex post facto, about your knowing violation is irrelevant.  That you call my concern sanctimonious is yet more revealing of your nature.  You appear cavalier with the use of others' properties.  You seem to think that you have some sort of inherent right to their use.  You bristle when you are called on it.  I believe you would treat others' taxes in a like manner.<br><br>The attitude you display is central to the objection so many have to paying yet more tax.  Within the framework of Atlas Shrugged, your behavior here epitomizes that of the looter.<br>.", "is_last_child": false, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2009-03-19_13:19:27", "killed": false, "user_key": "af4fbd5a516bdf4a15dd961b83b9f4cb", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": false, "from_request_user": null, "votable": true, "date": "8 months ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 1, "is_first_child": false, "email": "", "parent_post_id": 7348444, "depth": 5, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "7678344": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": false, "message": "Wow. By all means, disappear into some vaguely distant hinterland. I'm sure the remaining entrepreneurs will absolutely LOVE whatever void you supposedly creative people leave behind.<br><br>I mean seriously, you wackos are going to tune-out because you may face an increase in marginal tax rates? <br><br>\"ZOMG, I'm going to have to pay 39.6% on income I used to pay 35% on!!! SIC SEMPER TYRANUS!!!\"<br><br>You really are going to go this apeshit over this tiny percentage change on income earned AFTER you already pocketed $350,000???? \"QQ, I had an AGI of $500,000 last year, and now the tax I pay on that last $150k is increasing from 52k to 59k!!! Darn those Obama poeple to heck!!\" <br><br>Yep, it absolutely sucks being lucky enough to live in a country that, more than any other place in this world, affords you the chance to make $500k a year, and likely earn some amount close to that in the subsequent years, if not more. You are paying for income security you nitwits, that's what your taxes provide. If that's something you do not appreciate, then by all means, try to make your fortune in some third world rathole, and then keep hold of it.<br><br>Jeebus, get over yourselves.", "is_last_child": false, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2009-03-31_11:59:03", "killed": false, "user_key": "2ff81478759ad978f71897ba1ba21c50", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": false, "from_request_user": null, "votable": true, "date": "8 months ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 0, "is_first_child": false, "email": "", "parent_post_id": null, "depth": 0, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "12563723": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": false, "message": "On July 30th, Conservatives are \"Going Galt\". On that date, we are asking Conservatives all across the nation to \"Call in Conservative\". On July 30th, Conservatives will not work, we will not buy. Instead, we will spend time with our families and friends. We will show President Obama and Congress who REALLY drives this economy. For more information on \"A Day Without Conservatives\" please visit <a href=\"http://www.teapartynation.com\" rel=\"nofollow\">www.teapartynation.com</a> .", "is_last_child": false, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2009-07-12_23:30:04", "killed": false, "user_key": "robertkilmarx", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": false, "from_request_user": false, "votable": true, "date": "4 months ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 0, "is_first_child": false, "email": "", "parent_post_id": null, "depth": 0, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "11015182": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": false, "message": "my way of going galt:<br>praising CEOs for the job they've done<br>getting a job so i can get my lord and savior, money<br>finding a way to destroy welfare and unemployment<br>when i get enough money, watching the world burn down<br>watching people who thought they shouldn't destroy other people to get what the want die in the streets<br>\"i will stop the egine of the world\"<br>i will because obama and the rest of them don't deserve my working<br>i am howard rorak, dagny taggart and hank rearden<br>i am also midas mulligan, dan conway, ellis wyatt, hugh akston, and quentin daniels<br>i am also ragnar danneskj\u00f6ld, richard halley, dick mcnamara, owen kellogg<br>i am also francisco domingo carlos andres sebasti\u00e1n d'anconia<br>the final person who i am is the one and only JOHN GALT<br>i am these people because i believe that bill gates should not spend his tax money on the lazy<br>money is the root of all good<br>and finally, you should never be sorry for being rich", "is_last_child": false, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2009-06-16_18:17:07", "killed": false, "user_key": "c0418c4e6fc3add8f0c0f3580a919c0d", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": false, "from_request_user": null, "votable": true, "date": "5 months ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 0, "is_first_child": false, "email": "", "parent_post_id": null, "depth": 0, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "7155215": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": true, "message": "I was with you right up to the point of calling Eddie Willers a puppet. He was Dagny's assistant and the only one she could always count on.<br><br>Then you compared Obama to Galt and my head almost exploded. Obama is exactly the same as Bush was. He's spending money that doesn't exist to prop up the very looters who created the mess. The closest thing we had to Galt was Ron Paul who would have actually dismantled some of the controls, not add more.", "is_last_child": false, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2009-03-12_18:53:56", "killed": false, "user_key": "cb57c2cbdbf3dedbac0bce535d29e43a", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": false, "from_request_user": null, "votable": true, "date": "8 months ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 2, "is_first_child": false, "email": "", "parent_post_id": 7129458, "depth": 1, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "7163280": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": false, "message": "I encourage all those who consider themselves the most productive and valuable members of society to Go Galt: go ahead and see if there isn't someone just as qualified who is willing to snap up your position in a heartbeat.<br><br>The fundamental arrogance of the idea is just overwhelming.", "is_last_child": false, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2009-03-13_02:50:44", "killed": false, "user_key": "b8d05072313e5f605df86f5d93d78753", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": false, "from_request_user": null, "votable": true, "date": "8 months ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 0, "is_first_child": false, "email": "", "parent_post_id": null, "depth": 0, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "7245458": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": false, "message": "Bravo!  I bow in your virtual direction.", "is_last_child": true, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2009-03-15_20:29:31", "killed": false, "user_key": "knowbuddhau", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": false, "from_request_user": false, "votable": true, "date": "8 months ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 0, "is_first_child": true, "email": "", "parent_post_id": 7209642, "depth": 1, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "7104323": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": false, "message": "My friend has been saying for decades that the only measurable difference between a Republican politician and a Democrat politician is how fast to institute martial law in America.<br><br>And I agree with that assessment.  There is only one explanation why the Demoratic Leadership refuses to fight against the crazier-than-John-Birch Republican Party: The Dems are directly controlled by the GOP!", "is_last_child": true, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2009-03-11_13:00:09", "killed": false, "user_key": "7734afb7d0a8d5bc390e5f809d784189", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": false, "from_request_user": null, "votable": true, "date": "8 months ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 0, "is_first_child": true, "email": "", "parent_post_id": 7074635, "depth": 1, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "7079644": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": true, "message": "Oh, Jaci, your youth is showing.  Ayn Rand characters exemplified self-reliance.  When you no longer rely on your right-leaning breadwinners, then you will understand (hopefully) how creative it actually is to find new and innovative ways in which to create wealth.  Art for art's sake is lovely, but doesn't fill the belly or pay the rent. Art that can do both is the most creative of all.", "is_last_child": false, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2009-03-10_16:41:25", "killed": false, "user_key": "5f2279375be4ffc03030ec3e4c2a592f", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": false, "from_request_user": null, "votable": true, "date": "8 months ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 3, "is_first_child": true, "email": "", "parent_post_id": 7076428, "depth": 1, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "7275417": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": false, "message": "I don't know about conservatives but pro-freedom folks have been working on this plan for a few years.  They are moving to the freest state in the nation, New Hampshire (  <a href=\"http://www.statepolicyindex.com\" rel=\"nofollow\">http://www.statepolicyindex.com</a> ) as part of the Free State Project ( <a href=\"http://www.freestateproject.org\" rel=\"nofollow\">http://www.freestateproject.org</a> ).  I'm a part of the FSP and I made the move to NH last year.  If you are looking for a place to Galt, may I suggest NH :)", "is_last_child": false, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2009-03-16_23:00:55", "killed": false, "user_key": "7eaf88d203a7401bde97600c846f9164", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": false, "from_request_user": null, "votable": true, "date": "8 months ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 0, "is_first_child": false, "email": "", "parent_post_id": null, "depth": 0, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "8087066": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": true, "message": "~Sigh~ Good Grief People!  What a bunch of pundints and bloggers stoking the fear of fascism, socialism, tyrannical governments\u2026 Without the \u201cb@lls\u201d  to get in there and fight for what\u2019s right.  <br>You\u2019d rather sit in here and discuss.  Well, that\u2019s sure gotten us far.  <br><br>It's just a book. Like the bible, it is there for personal interpretation, nothing more. <br>I would hope no one actually lives their lives on the belief of the writing\u2019s of others. <br>That will put us in a sad state indeed. <br><br>For all the effort put into ANY comment on this subject (my own included), we could have probably cured cancer.<br><br>Seriously folks, you have nothing better to do, than to get into \"informed\" discussions on literature???<br>TWITTER!?! Facebook, News article chats, etc.....Wasted breath, Wasted time. <br>If you want to waste your life discussing unimportant issues (such as Ayn Rand, and her writtings), at least discuss what YOU \"bring to the table\" to help solve the real issues (economy, homeland security, homelessness, etc...). <br><br>When it comes time, the very best thing we can do as a country, is REVOLT. The \"Moochers\" will run for cover like the cowards they are, and we can assume a way of life, the way \"WE (the people...)\" see fit. <br><br>Our greatest crime is that \"WE\" have allowed this to happen. \"WE\" have allowed the Govt. to tell us what to do, because that is what \"WE\" believe the founding fathers had in mind when they wrote the Constitution. I assure you it was NOT.<br><br> \"WE (the poor...)\" outnumber the Rich. Don't let them take away your rights, your money, your pursuit of happiness. Be a leader!  NOT a \u201clamb\u201d. <br><br>\"WE\" have allowed this to happen... \"WE\" allow our sports players to be paid millions of dollars, because \"WE\" buy tickets to the game. Then those same players, are out committing crimes (Kobe - rape), using drugs (Rodriguez - steriods), buying expensive cars and houses, that we ourselves (\"the poor\" and middle class) can't even imagine affording.<br><br> I mean comm'on PPL!!!! When have you had enough! <br><br>\"WE\" continue to pay our leaders exorbitant amounts of money, to lead us like cattle, only to have those same leaders, break the very laws they put in place, and demand that \"WE\" follow. <br><br>WHA!?!?!?!  <br><br>\u201cWE\u201d allow developers to build homes that cost them 80,000 to build, yet sell them for 300,000.<br><br>HUH!?!?! <br><br>Instead of \"craving\" the latest techno gadget, car, DVD, CD, sporting event, music event, or whatever \"luxury\" it happens to be, think of putting that money back into YOU. <br>Don't give it to a company, a person, a .........(whatever), that already has plenty of money.<br><br>If your just going to give it away, at least give it to someone that really needs it. (Now that's saying something about you as a person, that I can respect). <br><br>Does anyone here think, after reading this, that I give 2 sh!t's whether the car companies or banks get \"bailed out\"??? <br>And, If you care, you shouldn't. They got themselves into this mess, they should get themselves out of it, or better yet,  just \"go away\".<br> <br>More people care about American Idol than they do about the current state of affairs.  <br>Really America, is that what \u201cWE\u201d are craving????  More MTV, more Ghost Whisperer, CSI, or any other number of just plain stupid shows on the \u201cidiot box\u201d.<br><br>I\u2019d say that, since it's considered a major victory if more than 50% of the population gets out of their living rooms once every four years to vote for President.  That nothing is going to change.<br><br>A mass movement in this country? Maybe to the refrigerator for another snack....Prove me wrong folks. <br><br>Oh... So now your gonna' start telling me about how, if we revolt, or allow our industry, or economy to \"slide\" in view of the rest of the world, that we are now \"no better than them\" (other 3rd world countries in civil strife), or that we will somehow be considered weak??? <br>Well..... Only if \"WE\" allow it to happen.  <br><br>Ain\u2019t nothin\u2019 FREE, especially Freedom. If your not willing to bleed for it, I have no sympathy or use for you.  Now, go hang yourself, and save me the bullet to put you, out of \u201cmy\u201d misery.", "is_last_child": false, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2009-04-11_20:10:35", "killed": false, "user_key": "befc295157188d3d9e65e40c91bf728f", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": false, "from_request_user": null, "votable": true, "date": "7 months ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 1, "is_first_child": false, "email": "", "parent_post_id": null, "depth": 0, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "7332893": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": true, "message": "knowbuddhau,<br><br>Do you know what copyright infringement means?  Did it occur to you to get permission and post such with your almost complete copy 'n paste of the author's article?  Or are you just treating the author as you would the taxpayer?", "is_last_child": false, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2009-03-18_22:31:08", "killed": false, "user_key": "44c212a77a9fafa2239203891449442e", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": false, "from_request_user": null, "votable": true, "date": "8 months ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 5, "is_first_child": true, "email": "", "parent_post_id": 7245260, "depth": 1, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "7352479": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": false, "message": "What is the artist's intent here?  Did Mr. Weiner intend for his blog post not to be used?<br><br>I applaud your use of a mythology, to give shape to the cosmos in which you act; the problem however, is your mythology does not conform to reality.<br><br>If you're so damn concerned about Mr. Weiner's rights, why don't you ask him if this is a fair use of his work?<br><br>I suspect you don't care about Mr. Weiner.  I suspect you latched onto what you perceived as an opportunity to apply Rand's terms, whether they fit or not is of no concern.<br><br>Is your middle name \"Procrustes,\" by any chance?<br><br>You distort: a) Mr. Weiner's intent (to provide fodder for precisely this debate); b) my fair use of that work; and c) god know's what else, solely to keep this buzz going.<br><br>What was the intent of Mr. Weiner's review of AS? Solely to make money of every iteration of sufficient volume?<br><br>Thanks for the debate, but this is a tiresome see-saw.  I'm getting off now.  Don't let the earth hit you in the ass on the way down.", "is_last_child": true, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2009-03-19_13:59:41", "killed": false, "user_key": "knowbuddhau", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": false, "from_request_user": false, "votable": true, "date": "8 months ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 0, "is_first_child": false, "email": "", "parent_post_id": 7351046, "depth": 6, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "21082784": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": false, "message": "My progression to \"Go John Galt\" has been successful.   I have managed to decrease my economic footprint on this world by over 35%. Though I am driven naturally to produce, solve, design my new goal of decreasing my lootable income has focused my efforts to conserving by abilities.  I have had to lay off good people and change business strategy, but I have decreased my \"aide\" to government by $45,000 in 2009.   Protesting never felt so good.     To quote Legends of the Fall \"Screw 'um\"", "is_last_child": false, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2009-10-27_01:00:45", "killed": false, "user_key": "0cfa7630015f88d2bc6662d5fbe6e704", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": false, "from_request_user": null, "votable": true, "date": "1 month ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 0, "is_first_child": false, "email": "", "parent_post_id": null, "depth": 0, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "8788513": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": false, "message": "If you have shrugged I'd like to publish your story at <a href=\"http://www.ishrugged.org\" rel=\"nofollow\">www.ishrugged.org</a>.", "is_last_child": false, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2009-04-28_17:31:16", "killed": false, "user_key": "7833e290040483cf8831df7abb179ff9", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": false, "from_request_user": null, "votable": true, "date": "7 months ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 0, "is_first_child": false, "email": "", "parent_post_id": null, "depth": 0, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "7081122": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": true, "message": "Is every breadwinner right leaning then?  None of them have any other motivation, thoughts or world views?  I'd better run and tell that business owning Columbia University Phi Beta Kappa, Columbia Law, SEC lawyer, business owning, hedge fund manager Obama voting brother of mine.  That slacker.  Kripes, I have a lot of emailing to do, my friend who trades stocks, her husband who owns a business, all voted for Obama.  Another friend who does consulting for banks, better let him know. I'd better get busy.  Oh, and darn, me. I forgot.  I also have my own business.", "is_last_child": false, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2009-03-10_17:09:38", "killed": false, "user_key": "8589033c2cd15744c3ce30d1bddeb087", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": false, "from_request_user": null, "votable": true, "date": "8 months ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 2, "is_first_child": false, "email": "", "parent_post_id": 7079644, "depth": 2, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "7167835": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": false, "message": "I hope all the Objectivists go Galt!  Make sure to take the rest of the conservatives with you.  We'll miss you.... but maybe not too much.", "is_last_child": false, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2009-03-13_10:14:48", "killed": false, "user_key": "db72b721295015f9c046b61f26fbfd0b", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": false, "from_request_user": null, "votable": true, "date": "8 months ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 0, "is_first_child": false, "email": "", "parent_post_id": null, "depth": 0, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "7211044": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": false, "message": "It's really a shame the American public has lost the ability to think or learn from history. Every new generation of collectivists of whatever form believed they  are/were smart enough to succeed where others failed. Now THAT is arrogance! We are literally on the verge of a new dark ages and the majority doesn't have a clue. If ignorance is bliss then most of the writers here should be down right euphoric.", "is_last_child": false, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2009-03-14_07:43:20", "killed": false, "user_key": "0701dccc666999e340188090344e3cbb", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": false, "from_request_user": null, "votable": true, "date": "8 months ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 0, "is_first_child": false, "email": "", "parent_post_id": null, "depth": 0, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "7173852": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": false, "message": "<a href=\"http://www.dailykos.com/user/stage2\" rel=\"nofollow\">http://www.dailykos.com/user/stage2</a><br>Atlas Mugged - Exciting Cliff Notes To New Edition of Ayn Rand's Classic Novel <br>by stage2 [Unsubscribe] [Edit Diary]<br>Mon Mar 09, 2009 at 10:23:10 AM PDT<br><br>The story of Atlas Mugged takes place in the United States in early 2009. After 30 years of general right ward drift, culminating in the extreme deregulation, tax cutting, and war profiteering of the Shrub Administration, the nations economic conditions are rapidly deteriorating...<br><br>The story of Atlas Mugged takes place in the United States in early 2009. After 30 years of general right ward drift, culminating in the extreme deregulation, tax cutting, and war profiteering of the Shrub Administration, the nations economic conditions are rapidly deteriorating...<br><br>From Cliff Notes:<br><br>Dagny Taggart works to maintain Taggart No-Bid Contracting's food-chain fraternity of cronies. Her efforts are hampered by the fact that many of the country's most talented bankers and CEOs are fleeing either culpability, or law enforcement.<br><br>Her crisis worsens when the Iraqi government decides to scrap plans to award no-bid advisory and technical support contracts. Plans for Taggart's San Sebastian Airlines are aborted. The airline had been devised to service Francisco d'Anconia's McMansion Megaopolis in Buckeye Arizona, but the McMansions turn out to be worthless, as foreclosures on bad loans force property values ever downward. Francisco and Dagney make dramatic, idealistic love, their ideals being idealized in a wet consummation of ideal ideal-ness.<br><br>Dagny must save Taggart No-Bid Contracting immediately and plans to use Rearden Derivatives, a new financial instrument created by top investment banker Hank Rearden. Francisco appears at an outrageously excessive 12 night bash at the Wynn Las Vegas for Rearden\u2019s wedding anniversary. Rearden\u2019s wife Lillian, his mother, his brother, and Rearden himself are nonproductive freeloaders who believe they have the government between a rock and a hard place, where it is obliged to support them, as they are too big to fail.<br><br>Francisco meets Rearden for the first time and warns him that the freeloaders have a weapon that they are using against his freeloading. Rearden questions why Francisco has come to the party, but Francisco says that he merely wished to become acquainted with Rearden, and that the 18 bottles of Heidsieck weren't bad either.<br><br>Dr. Robert Stadler, a brilliant theoretical scientist who heads The State Science Institute, is unable to issue a denunciation of Rearden Derivatives, as the Institute is pre-occupied with a years-in the-making animatronic diorama depicting Adam and Eve riding dinosaurs through all 10,000 years of Earth history.<br><br>Dagny and Rearden make hot steamy productive love. Not the vile kind of common love commoners make, but the Objectivist kind, where mutual orgasms become the execution of mutual reverence for their superior minds of gold.<br><br>Together they discover a motor in an abandoned factory that runs on \"sun power\". They hire a scientist to rebuild the motor. Unfortunately, the scientist is formerly of The State Science Institute, and currently with the General Motors Company.<br><br>Soon, more capitalist titans disappear: Robert Rubin of Citibank vanishes with $17-million-per-year winnings intact. BofA's Ken Lewis engineers a dubious acquisition of disgraced Countrywide, then follows Lehman into nothingness. Merrill's John Thain finds an idiot to buy Merrill, then disappears.<br><br>Dagney believes there is a \"destroyer\", who is causing the pure and free men of pure and free Utopian ideology to disappear.<br><br>Economic dictator and Reserve Chairman Wesley Mouch is called to testify before Congress.  (Mouch, in an odd back-story that seems to pierce the fourth wall separating character and author, had developed a serious interest in the author of this stories philosophical ideas in 1952. He attended regular meetings at the authors apartment, which included the opportunity to read draft sections of this very novel.) Mouch concedes the meltdown revealed a flaw in a lifetime of economic thinking and left him in a \"state of shocked disbelief.\" He acknowledges under questioning that he had made a \"mistake\" in believing that banks, operating in their own self-interest, would do what was necessary to protect their shareholders and institutions. Mouch calls it \"a flaw in the model [of ideal idealism]... that defines how the world works.\"<br><br>Rearden, believing Mouch is a traitor, refuses to participate in the proceedings, telling officials they can coerce him by force but he won't help them to convict him.<br><br>The government passes new socialist legislation that requires easily circumvented limits on pay for bankers receiving government bailout money. Francisco visits Rearden and asks him why he remains in business under such repressive conditions. When a fire breaks out, and they work together like manlike men in a hotly charged display of Aryan homo-erotic manliness, Francisco understands Rearden's love for his money.<br><br>Dagny quits over the new legislation and retreats to an aerial wolf hunting lodge in Alaska. She receives a letter from the scientist she had hired to help rebuild the motor, and fears he will be the next target of the destroyer. In an attempt to stop him from disappearing, she follows him in an aerial wolf hunting airplane and crashes in the mountains. When she wakes up, she finds herself in a remote valley where all the fleeing industrialists have fled. They are on the lam, calling it a strike of their kind.<br><br>There, she meets John's Fault, who turns out to be both the destroyer and the moral of the story. She falls in love with him, and they make intense melodramatic love, reaching a glorification of the highest ideal of ideal-ness ever idealized.<br><br>As a new head of state prepares to give a speech on the economic situation, John's Fault takes over CNBC and delivers a 28 hour rant of an address to the country, laying out the terms of the strike he has organized. They will return to their looting and scams, but only after the populace has swallowed a story about how the recession that began December 2007, the softening of housing prices that began in the summer of 2006, The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act of 1999, and Mouch's dropping of interest rates to 1% in 2003 for more than a year pumping trillions of low interest credit into the economy, is the fault of the new head of state.", "is_last_child": false, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2009-03-13_13:57:09", "killed": false, "user_key": "485db932ffa9709212f5a987833876f5", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": false, "from_request_user": null, "votable": true, "date": "8 months ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 0, "is_first_child": false, "email": "", "parent_post_id": null, "depth": 0, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "7209642": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": true, "message": "I would just like to take this opportunity, on behalf of my fellow American moochers, to give my sincere thanks to any John Galts reading this post for your productivity, your richness, and your general superiority to the rest of us.  Without you being so rich and so awesome, I do not know how my fellow moochers and I would be able to get by.  Sometimes I wonder what it would be like to be so superior to others that, despite my far greater income from a comfortable white collar job, I would feel persecuted and exploited by a 3% increase in the top marginal tax rate which will only go to finance trivialities like basic medical coverage for children.  This feeling of victimhood is due to a sense of entitlement which is extreme beyond my limited powers of comprehension, since John Galts are superior to me in a way I am unable to comprehend, and hence are incomprehensibly more entitled than a moocher like myself.<br><br>What I'm trying to say here, again, is thanks.", "is_last_child": false, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2009-03-14_04:13:09", "killed": false, "user_key": "16d55c8223315279fd8f7b61e74d7202", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": false, "from_request_user": null, "votable": true, "date": "8 months ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 1, "is_first_child": false, "email": "", "parent_post_id": null, "depth": 0, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "15980332": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": false, "message": "great article, i really appreciate it", "is_last_child": false, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2009-09-04_12:40:11", "killed": false, "user_key": "496a77a5f6acf8f6c97d24df10035268", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": false, "from_request_user": null, "votable": true, "date": "3 months ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 0, "is_first_child": false, "email": "", "parent_post_id": null, "depth": 0, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "7129458": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": true, "message": "Type your comment here.http://disqus.com/login/?next=article:13159279<br>I spent a great part of my youth devoted to Ayn Rand and her philosophy as wonderfully woven through those magnificent figures of Howard Roark, Dagny, Dominique and Galt. We use to start our conversations with: 'who is John Galt?' So this is what I've learned and how I connect what is happening today with Rand's vision: I will say to all of you who are reading her for the first time: 'look and think deeper than the surface and you will see the real truth of our times as Rand would see it.  It is far too<br>insulting to her philosophy to look at what has happened in the past eight years and displace the blame on the 'have not's' Conservatives are confusing those who have money with those who are creative and productive. There is a difference and that difference is at the core of the issue at hand.<br>In fact if RAnd were alive she would be the first to scream out that the thieves are those who take from those who have. But look at that concept closely in terms of our times. It is those investment bankers,<br>those empty, pitiful, impotent shells of what could have once passed for men that have stolen from the<br>creative potential life of those who 'have.' You have to define 'have' in Rand's terms. To 'have' isn't simply dollars if they are not earned by real substance and genuine effort. Rand saw those who stepped on the creative potential of others to falsely inflate themselves as the criminals.  Conservatives can do what they always do, spin and twist and even steal a philosophy to justify that <br>in fact it is their actions that have crippled the potential of a society to rise to greatness, greatness<br>based on something earned.<br>    The concept of 'poor' to Rand isn't a reflection of a bank statement, it's a reflection of character, genuine talent, passion, devotion, depth in terms of mind and spirit. <br>    In fact, it is those who have these qualities that are being stolen from to feed the 'empty' people who<br>lie and cheat their way to positions of power and the ability to steal the spirit and soul of those who are anything but empty.  <br>  Rand would have been sickened by the administration of the last 8 years. A stolen election would have brought her to tears, Bush to Rand would have been the architypical Eddie Willers, the puppet<br>who is used to help feed the evil vampires i.e., Cheny, the true embodiment of an empty person who feeds on others to make himself appear as if there is something there.   RAnd would have been nauseated to see how Bush lied to go to war. To her, that would be the thief. To see the idea of deregulation used essentially to steal. The idea that those who have not earned it are being given<br><br>goldenparachutes as a reward for 'not' doing their jobs would be disgusting on every level.  <br>AS for Obama, she would have admired and adored his mind and his vision and seen him as the <br>John Galt to step in and attempt to fix the mess caused by the last administration. RAnd would have<br>gotten the obvious, it is those at the heart and soul of America, who are actually going to work every day and earning their way and participating in their society whether it be by actually paying taxes (instead of looking write-offs and a way out) and even joining the military.  <br>    Obama is our modern day John Galt and it is the people of America that are the heart, soul, talent and mind of our society whose passion and purpose has been stolen by those who rose to undeserved positions by syphoning off their strength and even their money through these banking and mortgage schemes. Obama is the 'idea' man and Rand would view his energy and devotion and quality of mind as characteristic of Galt's genious. Rand would see Obama is the 'liberator' from those that have put in the position we are in. The same cast of characters that now want to displace the blame for their mistakes onto Obama. How long has he been in office, 6 weeks?  He has already done more and is trying to do more than most President's do in their entire terms.<br>   <br>   And now, to add insult to injury these very same 'old white impotent men' and for some reason they are always the old white men who wear perfect suits and show up at religious services have the nerve<br>to use Rand's great vision to justify their theft. These are vampires in every sense of the word, sucking on the rich blood of those who seek life because they don't have any real talent other than the ability to<br>steal it from others and make it appear as if it is theirs.<br>  To that end, in this is the thing and it's sad because it is as if our country is being held hostage because the banks and car companies who either produced nothing or a lousy product feel justified<br>in receiving a bail out. No those at the top of those companies don't deserve a thing, they got us into this mess but because if the companies go, the people who actually worked hard and have talent will<br>be punished without the bailout.  The answer lies somewhere in getting rid of those that caused all of this and somehow go directly to the heart and soul of the American people who didn't deserve the idiots who ran these industries.   Giving to Americans who are holding up America would be supported by RAnd, bailing out the jerks at the top who intentionally produced lousy cars and loans<br>based on nothing - they only deserve to be in jail, and they should start with Paulson and the last administration with their endless efforts to take care of themselves at the expense of the country.<br> I have no sympathy for a car industry that intentionally built cars that would break down. That is exactly what RAnd despised and cried out against. Anyone who had a part in that should get nothing.<br>But somewhere in those companies there are the guys with the mind and talent that wanted to build something better and stronger and where shut down because most likely that wouldn't have resulted in a big enough undeserved and unearned profit. It is that person, those millions of people across our country that RAnd wants to have the opportunity to rise and use their ability and yes be rewarded for it, because they will deserve it, they will have earned it. Everything about the last administration was about stealing from those with true stature as human beings and selling it as cheaply as possibly while they smoke a cigar in a back room, snickering all they way at the expense of millions.<br>  So far all new Rand readers, look deeply and read the lines between the lines and truly understand that each and every person has greatness within them if they live in a society that allows it to come to fruition. Another great writer, Steinbeck wrote in Grapes of Wrath, and I'm paraphrasing the thought which goes something like: 'We're the people, we go on -' Those who are doing all they can to beat<br>us down, there is nothing in them and without us they can't last. <br><br>  Obama is our John Galt and our Howard Roark, he gets that it is the American people that have the mind and the talent to rebuild our country. He'll need an awful lot of courage and strength to circumvent those that want to undermine his efforts to reward those who actually deserve it.<br> I once had a professor that said: 'it can be a good thing to have to face who you really are, to not<br>be bailed out if it's not deserved, in that way you can start over and find out if in fact you've got anything of substance to offer.<br><br>   To all new RAnd readers: Don't let the conservatives tell you how to interpret her philosophy. That in and of itself is a violation of her beliefs. Think for yourself, form your own opinions - don't let them steal<br>your right to use your mind based on your own thoughts, not the garbage they shove down your throat to use to yet again spin the truth to their advantage; which ultimately is to rob you of your ability to think for yourself. They fear that most of all because then it will be clear that once again your being asked to not be who you are or what even think your own thoughts, just follow along. A true RAnd reader learns to see through these mental machinations. It's quite a rewarding experience to find your own thoughts and distance them from all that is 'spin.' <br>  The editor notes in ATlas Shrugged: \"You must be prepared, when you read this novel, to check every premise at the root of your convictions...\" So true, so very true.<br>  The only question left for a new Rand reader would be: \"why is it that Atlas Shrugged was never<br>made into a movie?\" I've always wondered about that.", "is_last_child": false, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2009-03-12_04:44:33", "killed": false, "user_key": "firelight", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": false, "from_request_user": false, "votable": true, "date": "8 months ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 5, "is_first_child": false, "email": "", "parent_post_id": null, "depth": 0, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "7338800": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": true, "message": "You're the one who used another's property without permission.  By your own admission, you did it knowing what copyright infringement is,  Clearly, then, it is in your nature to use another's property as you see fit,  regardless of the owner's wishes.<br><br>What you do with your money, Mr. Taxpayer, is your business.  But it seems you would treat yourself (or those you favor) with the utmost respect using my tax dollars too, regardless of my wishes.<br><br>There is indeed a fine caricature here, but one straight out of Atlas Shrugged.", "is_last_child": false, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2009-03-19_07:20:43", "killed": false, "user_key": "44c212a77a9fafa2239203891449442e", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": false, "from_request_user": null, "votable": true, "date": "8 months ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 3, "is_first_child": false, "email": "", "parent_post_id": 7335223, "depth": 3, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "7170312": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": false, "message": "First, let me apologize for the bad spelling and all the grammar! In the future I won't do these things in the middle of the night.Actually I had just watched the Colbert Report and when I saw how  all the language being used to describe the literary characters were the exact opposite of what Rand intended, I couldn't help but speak up. Describing the 'heroes' in the book as those who are 'successful or movers and shakers' are misnomers. Rand would describe Galt, Reardon and Dagny as those with 'ideas, imagination, vision, creativity, inventors, passionate, and genuinely alive in every way.' When these characters are seen as Rand intended, then all the efforts to spin the book into a self-serving justification of the very actions that Rand cried out against can be seen for the distortion that it is. Maybe the best example can be seen in the thing with Madoff. Wouldn't he had been seen as 'successful and powerful?' But, in fact he was anything but and of course he was the 'mooching' off the very real productivity of those who are out there actually 'doing' something with their abilities. Madoff, the ultimate moocher in the parading around in a disquise of power and accomplishment that everyone bought into.  How often have we known or even read about or seen in movies stories of someone in a position of power but don't have any 'real' ability themselves. Doesn't the scenario usually unfold with someone who no one knows actually doing the work, but it is someone else whodoesn't have a morsel of their talent other than to rape the talent of others,  taking the credit. In her book The Fountainhead, which provides Rands laying the foundation for the character interaction wherein Keating take the rewards for Roark's work. Roark just wants to create until of course, finally just like Galt, realizes this only further undermines and encourages those who are 'incapable' to continue mouthing the words to songs that others are atually singing.<br>   In Atlas, the reward of money is symbolic for being rewarded for achieving the best in each of us, whatever that maybe.That is why when they are in their hide-away the waitress is the best she can be, the cook and the food is the very best no matter what the talent of the character, the point is they are the best at what they are. This, then contradicts this bizarre notion that those with 'money' are going to take their toys and run. Oh please let them because very few actually represent a true Galt or Roark character. Most of them are 'mooching' off the talent of those who are 'unseen.' In that light, it is thenevident that all people, no matter what their bank account looks like have the capacity to rise to the greatest potential within their own lives. Often it is exactly those very people who don't have a chance at reaching their potential because the James Taggert's of the world need to keep them down. And this is what Atlas Shrugged is about and what it means - that if the heart and soul of people with the 'real talent and creativity' give up and simply withdraw because all their efforts to be productive are robbed by those who are 'seemingly' in power at their expense. Because it is actually these people holding up the very empty inflated pretense of those who only appear to be ' powerful.' Just look at what has been happening, what do the investment bankers actually produce? It seems their very existence relies on the genuine efforts of those who will never be rewarded for what they (we) have all had to pay to make them look good. That they invision themselves to be Galt-like characters is hillarious. They are exactly they opposite, they are the James Taggert's whose existence depends on those with 'real' ability.<br>   Even Steinbeck's 'Grapes' addresses the greatness in what appears to be the guy who is down and out. Now look at those who are in so-called 'power' and all their efforts to keep 'them' down. Why, because those same people could not stay in theirunearned positions without controlling those with real ability. Obviously, the 'moochers' who are actually those with 'false'power and influence (not the poor as characterized by the very same 'moochers') can't exist without suppressing the realGalt's of the world.  And yes, I do see Grapes as being in the same universe with Atlas, because it is the same thing whenseen as Rand intended and not as those would like to distort to make themselves appear to be something they are not: indispensable. It is those with imagination, genius, talent, creativity and brains. I had to be the only literature major that did a  paper comparing Atlas to Grapes, but it is right on the mark for those who aren't afraid to face these truths.<br>  And this is why I say Obama is in fact the Galt, Roark, Reardon symbolic figure relative to what is happening in our worldtoday.  Our President wants for the 'hero' in each person, the Galt potential in each person to have a real chance to come tofuition not only for their own personal lives, but for the difference in can make in our society. Just think, imagine and entirecountry of people truly able to share their talents. What would it mean. First, people loving the work they do and feeling excited and fulfilled. This would in turn produce 'something' worthwhile and at the same time bring self-satisfaction. (This is what Rand means by selfishness, not hoarding, but rising yourself to your greatest potential. It would result in less unhappiness which would result in better health which would result in less medical costs. That's what Rand means by 'selfishness.' Not the form that the 'moochers' actually indulge in which translates to: 'I don't care who I screw over as long as I get what is best for me.' That interpretation describes the exact types of people (extreme conservatives) who are distorting the themes ofAtlas for self-serving purposes. They are exactly the James Taggert's in the novel. And in fact, if people really had the chances they deserve for a better life it would translate to less 'poor.' If all had the chance for a better education, if there is afterschool programs for those who don't have parents at home because they are working several jobs. Maybe, just maybe they wouldn't end up in jails that costs far more than school. And I'll never understand the fact that their pro-life views don't seem to extend to after birth. They don't seem to have any problem with limitless arms being sold to maniacs on the basis that a 2nd amendment intended for a militia 200 years ago that has nothing to do with the world we live in today. It's just an excuse forarms dealers to stay in business at the expense of the life. If they were really pro-life in every sense they would want to do all the could to protect life both before and after birth. Again, the 'moochers' could care less about the consequences as long as they get theirs. They are the Peter Keatings and the James Taggerts. The true 'small men wearing long pants in a very empty suit.' For the last 8 years the 'moochers' have been in charge essentially of insuring those with real potential have less ofa chance to emerge. Again, that would undermine the possibility of these incapable people who literally have to steal to obtain power they haven't earned. If the 'tax-break' ideology was effective then why hasn't it worked for the past 8 years and why isn't that even noted? 8 years is a long time for something to work if there were truly any subtance as a driving force. But there isn't, it's just the same types of false power that appeared to be in charge in the 30's and yet staying afloat on the backsof the rest of the country. Did you know that the Bank of America actually participated in encouraging the suppression of wagesfor the fruit pickers that were falsely encouraged to come to California for the very purpose of having an abundance of workers so that they could keep them as virtual slaves? Did BOA ever answer for that? I doubt it. Could you see a Galtian characterdoing that? of course not. It's the 'conservative moochers' with their fake power and syphoned-off skills of those who are truly have competent; which are they very same people 'they' claim to be bailing out. In fact, it is the fake parasites of power who feed of the strength of others like vampires that supports their very existence. And that is why they have to put up smoke screams, displacing blame in the hopes that they can't be seen for just how very empty they are.<br>  I doubt our President sees himself as a Galt like character, but he is, if for no other reason than his vision and willingness totry to get it right. Are the 'moochers' screaming out in protest, you bet. Because without the vast illusion they have createdof their false empowerment at the expense of those who have genuine substance, they are simply nothing. So think like Howard Roark in the Fountainhead: imagine standing on a cliff, looking out at the beauty of our country and all of it's potential,think of those who want to undermine the greatness of it's people; there can be only one response for those who are truevisionaries - laugh and then dive in and go for the best within yourself -just laugh. That is the only response these 'conservative moochers' deserve.<br>  As For Reardon. For years I wondered the same thing. How could he not be jealous? How could he not want to keepFrancisco down? Isn't that what would happen if it were a soap opera like \"Young and the Restless. 'Now look at it in light of seeing how Rand intended these characters. Because if he had he would be just like the James Taggerts and 'moocher' who don't want greatness to see the light. RAnds idea of promoting the 'self' isn't at the expense of others the way the present day conservative moochers function. Reardon's greatness if not dependent on suppressing the greatness of others. He is paying tribute to all that D'Anconia has to offer and values the importance of that. Reardon's stature only means something if he rises to it in a world where everyone is trying to rise up. Your question is at the very heart of the point of RAnd's philosophy: It isn't necessary to suppress the potential of someone else to rise to greatness yourself. In fact, each person's individual accomplishments mean so much more in a world of others who are doing the same. And that is the genius of Ayn Rand. The fact that the 'conservative moochers' have to distort the intent of Atlas only exemplifies their empty rhetoric. For G-d sakes just look at the ridiculous characters they listen to, makes Taggert look intelligent. I mean, do you really think some of them can even read anything other than the Atlas cliff notes? Even then, they would have to have an interpreter. Just to think of some of those bloated hot-air characters reading rand is so funny. I think Rand would have loved the thought of it just for the pure amusement.    Again, there is only one appropriate response, one that Gogol used in his story 'The Nose' (very good read, much shorter version of the same theme) Just laugh, see them without a nose on their face and just how totally obsurd, albeit dangerous, they sadly are.   If nothing else, I hope this gives you the avenue to open  up your own interpretation of Atlas and what it means to you. Above all else, I believe Rand would want her readers to develop their own opinion-this one just happens to be mine.<br>Enjoy the journey, it sticks with you for life - like re-reading East of Eden, there is always something new in it because your own life changes and that makes it possible to see things in these novels you didn't see before...<br>Isn't it amazing how a novel can be a life-changing event?", "is_last_child": false, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2009-03-13_11:48:44", "killed": false, "user_key": "firelight", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": false, "from_request_user": false, "votable": true, "date": "8 months ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 0, "is_first_child": false, "email": "", "parent_post_id": 7158656, "depth": 2, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "16083894": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": false, "message": "You said it all.  You expressed what I see as the problem, US, WE THE PEOPLE, are the problem.  I am in the middle of my 80th decade.  I didn't take any real interest in Washington DC, the candidates, the economy, etc. until the Clinton years.  In the past three years I discovered Catherine Austin Fitts web page where I've learned more about how the government and the financial world really operates.  So, yes, I say I have allowed the current mess to evolve over my lifetime.  I admire Ron Paul and Dennis Kucinich because they seem to be two truly honest Congressmen.  And I'm listening to the \"Atlas Shrugged\" audio book.  I like the characters and I like the story.  And I enjoy the comments that point out how creativity is being punished.  I thought that with all the unemployment people would \"come to themselves\" and get in touch with their creative spirit.  And speaking of spirit, I feel there is a Spiritual Awakening evolving underneath all the stuff that is getting the media attention.<br>JollyJo in Vista California", "is_last_child": true, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2009-09-07_00:09:31", "killed": false, "user_key": "8dd81de56ef32d1e06526c5edc61caca", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": false, "from_request_user": null, "votable": true, "date": "2 months ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 0, "is_first_child": true, "email": "", "parent_post_id": 8087066, "depth": 1, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "7335223": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": true, "message": "Yes; no; it's long, but so's AS; and as the taxpayer, I am treating myself with the utmost respect, thanks for your concern.  Follow the link if you like.  Run and tell Mr. Weiner.  I'm sure he'll want to sue my pants off.<br><br>No thoughts, other than veiled threats and specious accusations?  You do realize you are making a fine caricature of the type of Randroid Mr. Weiner lampoons, right?", "is_last_child": false, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2009-03-19_00:45:40", "killed": false, "user_key": "knowbuddhau", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": false, "from_request_user": false, "votable": true, "date": "8 months ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 4, "is_first_child": false, "email": "", "parent_post_id": 7332893, "depth": 2, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "7102708": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": false, "message": "To the idiots who fancy themselves to be Galt:  you've been tricked.   You've been manipulated and robbed.  Corporate America has given you a false idol (Galt) and you took it hook line and sinker.  You have not \"gone Galt\" by pulling out of the market, you have enabled the very crooks you detest (if you read anything Rand wrote, and not just going off the coffee shop rants of some Rand cult lunatic).  The companies that sell on Wall Street are not as dumb as the actors who they call CEO's behave on the business news channel.  They got you to give them alot of money (high stock value), they created a diversion that was a \"crisis\"  (bank failings), then told you that the money you gave them was not worth much anymore.  You Galters haven't gone Galt,  you didn't take anything away from anyone.  No one who took anything of real value would be on this thread.  The Wall Street crooks and their banker buddies who run this country stole from the people of this country.  Quit taking the wool from over your eyes only to believe an equally stupid idea.", "is_last_child": false, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2009-03-11_12:01:17", "killed": false, "user_key": "48b781c4185076111229a9be21cc20c1", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": false, "from_request_user": null, "votable": true, "date": "8 months ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 0, "is_first_child": false, "email": "", "parent_post_id": null, "depth": 0, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "7141183": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": false, "message": "Good, I will have no problem with all the Republicans \"going Galt.\" That way the liberals can finally get some work done and move the United States to the 21st century.", "is_last_child": false, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2009-03-12_11:48:32", "killed": false, "user_key": "d7a2748f04e3815871c991de6825a097", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": false, "from_request_user": null, "votable": true, "date": "8 months ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 0, "is_first_child": false, "email": "", "parent_post_id": null, "depth": 0, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "7076428": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": true, "message": "I don't understand how the right wing capitalists of today can describe themselves as creative people. They are not creating anything but more money for themselves in pretty unremarkable ways (at least all of my right leaning breadwinners are that way). I thought the characters in Ayn Rand's novels believed in something.", "is_last_child": false, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2009-03-10_14:50:21", "killed": false, "user_key": "bae3f85ca2f9c02293032d575c4c1030", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": false, "from_request_user": null, "votable": true, "date": "8 months ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 4, "is_first_child": false, "email": "", "parent_post_id": null, "depth": 0, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "7082052": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": false, "message": "I don't think she means she's relying on them, I think she means they're the ones she knows of, that's how I read it.  Like, the ones we've been hearing about, the heads of banks, the heads of the auto industry, that's what I read into by her statement \"not creating anything but more money\".  And not all right leaning people are great breadwinners either, if you look at some footage of people attending the rallies for McCain and Palin, you'll see a lot of right-leaning people.", "is_last_child": true, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2009-03-10_17:33:12", "killed": false, "user_key": "8589033c2cd15744c3ce30d1bddeb087", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": false, "from_request_user": null, "votable": true, "date": "8 months ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 0, "is_first_child": false, "email": "", "parent_post_id": 7081733, "depth": 4, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "7074635": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": true, "message": "I just love how everybody is so naive to believe that there really is a difference in the republicans and the democrats! Just makes me laugh out loud. \"The one\" spoke \"just words\" about all the ear marks in the porkulas from last years budget and when he could of said \"yes we can\" stop this out of control spending he decided to say no we won't. Give me a break THERE IS NO DIFFERENCE they are all feeding us the same meal  it just that one is forcing us to eat it the other is shoving it down our throats! Please someone prove me wrong....", "is_last_child": false, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2009-03-10_13:50:11", "killed": false, "user_key": "adc5168b05c34fc5c04c19bdbce2c2b1", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": false, "from_request_user": null, "votable": true, "date": "8 months ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 1, "is_first_child": false, "email": "", "parent_post_id": null, "depth": 0, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "7270340": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": false, "message": "Ayn Rand was a great romance novelist, just bodice rippin' good.  I mean wonderful dialogue of great quality like Her breasts heaved wantonly as she breathed Oh Hank,  Oh Dagny he exclaimed as he wantonly gazed at her wantonly heaving breasts.  Oh Dagny, Ohhhh Hank.<br><br>You better take it serious too; just try teasing some business gal about her addiction to romance novels.  Hell hath no fury like a Serious Woman teased about her chick lit.  Ayn Rand is Danielle Steele for republican and libertarians.", "is_last_child": false, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2009-03-16_18:51:48", "killed": false, "user_key": "fc7d5edabc94ecdc543136458da4a7c8", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": false, "from_request_user": null, "votable": true, "date": "8 months ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 0, "is_first_child": false, "email": "", "parent_post_id": null, "depth": 0, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "7245260": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": true, "message": "Here's the perfect guide to this:<br><br>On Atlas Shrugged as a Guide to Our Times<br>By Ellis Weiner<br><br><a href=\"http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ellis-weiner/on-atlas-shrugged-as-a-gu_b_157295.html\" rel=\"nofollow\">http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ellis-weiner/on-a...</a><br><br>For this deeply adolescent piece of social science fiction one must read over 1,000 pages of tiny type, most of which are covered with blocks of print into which the reader's consciousness slams as though into a brick wall. Characters lecture each other in a stilted, faux-heroic tone about such matters as \"the human spirit\" and \"intelligence\" and \"ownership\" and \"the meaning of money\" and \"rationality.\" It's every bit as good as it sounds, a thousand pages of this:<br><br>\"Don't ask me to tell you now what trail I've followed, trying to trace that motor and to find its inventor. That's not of any importance, even my life and work are not of any importance to me right now, nothing is of any importance; except I must find him.\"<br><br>Don't you love that semi-colon? Me, too. The heroes are all handsome or beautiful except for Ragnar Danneskjold, a pirate--really--who is handsome and \"beautiful.\" The villains are all detestable weaklings. Everyone else--i.e., the population of the United States of America--is a loathsome, freeloading nobody. Everyone looks at everyone else \"with contempt.\" Paradoxically, although characters repeatedly \"chuckle\" and address each other in terms described by variants of \"mock\" (with mockery, mockingly, in a mocking tone, etc.), no one has a sense of humor. The whole vast saga is a mind-numbing forced march through a swamp of comic book profundity, an interminable one-night three-way between Friedrich Nietzsche, L. Ron Hubbard, and Judith Kranz.<br><br>In short, Atlas Shrugged is one of the worst books ever written--and, in the words of Gore Vidal, \"nearly perfect in its immorality.\" Still, Moore proudly notes that \"...as recently as 1991, a survey by the Library of Congress and the Book of the Month Club found that readers rated 'Atlas' as the second-most influential book in their lives, behind only the Bible.\"<br><br>But of course. People na\u00efve, ignorant, demented, or desperate enough to be primarily influenced by the Bible would be influenced by A.S. The books have much in common: vast stretches of unbearable tedium, one-dimensional characters with no resemblance to actual human beings, hectoring speeches full of indignation and moralizing, and discreetly implied sex. Both are works of fiction. The Bible took hundreds of years to compile, and Atlas Shrugged takes hundreds of years to read.<br><br>And, just as true believers find confirmation of Scriptural predictions in cherry-picked semi-coincidences in real life, so does Moore--former Cato Institute man, presumably a Libertarian, and what people smarter and funnier than I call a \"Randroid\"--discover that events of today (the bailouts, the economic stimulus packages, etc.) are proving Rand prescient. \"...(O)ur current politicians are committing the very acts of economic lunacy that 'Atlas Shrugged' parodied in 1957.\"<br><br>Are they? Let's see.<br><br>In the novel, stick-figure industrialists and businessmen find their noble, courageous, avowedly \"selfish\" efforts stymied and undone by stick-figure cowards, weaklings, and corrupt bureaucrats in Washington, D.C. Piece by piece, in Rand's depiction of governmental overreach, capitalism is dismantled. Moore lists several of the more egregious examples from the book: \"the 'Anti-Greed Act' to redistribute income (sounds like Charlie Rangel's promises soak-the-rich tax bill) and the 'Equalization of Opportunity Act' to prevent people from starting more than one business (to give other people a chance). My personal favorite, the 'Anti Dog-Eat-Dog Act,' aims to restrict cut-throat competition between firms and thus slow the wave of business bankruptcies.\"<br><br>Moore then goes on, \"These acts and edicts sound farcical, yes, but no more so than the actual events in Washington, circa 2008. We already have been served up the $700 billion 'Emergency Economic Stabilization Act' and the 'Auto Industry Financing and Restructuring Act.' Now that Barack Obama is in town, he will soon sign into law with great urgency the 'American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan.' This latest Hail Mary pass will increase the federal budget (which has already expanded by $1.5 trillion in eight years under George Bush) by an additional $1 trillion -- in roughly his first 100 days in office.\"<br><br>To draw an equivalence between these two sets of laws is to be, at best, stupid, and at worst, mendacious. The \"Anti-Dog-Eat-Dog Act\" has no counterpart or equivalent in what the rest of us know to be real life. It's the creation of a petulant teenager throwing a tantrum about \"society.\" Other edicts are just as contrived and equally silly: No worker, anywhere, is allowed to be fired. No owner is allowed to quit or retire. All patents and copyrights become property of the state. No new products are allowed to be produced. No one is allowed to spend any more or less money on anything than they did in the previous year.<br><br>What, here, is being \"parodied\"? Not American society, either today or in 1957; not the ways in which government and legislation interacts with capitalism; and not even any reasonable depiction of the left. In fact, what's being parodied (if that's the word) is the Soviet Union, from which Rand (nee Alice Rosenbaum) emigrated when she was 21. Yes, in her magnum opus, her \"moral defense of capitalism,\" Ayn Rand dresses the U.S. in Soviet drag, and then watches in triumph as her soap opera heroes beat it up.<br><br>The putative reasons presented for these society-crippling regulations--\"fairness,\" \"to give others a chance,\" \"because the group is more important than the individual\"--are ascribed to the cartoon villains with the implication that they are commonly found out in the world. \"This is what the looters and the moochers believe,\" Rand says. \"They hate individual genius and entrepreneurial initiative. They hate rationality. They want to drag all of society down into the depths of mediocrity in which they dwell. These are the laws and regulations they would pass if only they could.\"<br><br>It's an outrage! Or it would be, if it were remotely true. But it isn't. No leftist calls for a ban on new products or campaigns for a law forbidding executives to quit. No liberal calls for a legal limitation on what you can spend in a year. Even in the age of the Internet, when some believe that \"information wants to be free\" and debate the abolition of copyrights, no one demands that copyrights be ceded to the state. (Quite the opposite, in fact.)<br><br>She made it all up. The bad guys are straw men, serving a straw government, empowered by a straw civilization. The whole thing is a mug's game, a poker hand dealt from a stacked deck, a self-subverting and ultimately ludicrous grand opera of bad faith.<br><br>Still, the mystery of Atlas Shrugged isn't, why is it so bad? Many books are this bad and some are even worse. No, the mystery is, why does anyone who made it out of eighth grade take it seriously?<br><br>Yet, obviously, people do. Individuals capable of dressing themselves apparently love this, one of the most turgid, contrived, pompous, and comically over-written books ever published in English. Why?<br><br>Because they believe. For Randroids, \"glibertarians,\" \"conservatives\" (whatever that means at this point) and Republicans in general, politics has become a matter of faith.<br><br>Never mind that studies show that the economy prospers more under Democratic than Republican administrations. Never mind that the first six years of the Bush administration provided the right with every resource it needed and asked for, from \"a war footing\" to majorities in Congress to a supine, spineless media, and the results were unalloyed catastrophe (for us, yes, but for them, too). Never mind that the Republican \"big tent\" is in tatters due to calamities they themselves created, as sideshow barker Limbaugh now tries to con the rubes into coughing up an extra buck to watch Ann the Six-Foot Blonde say rude things about Michelle Obama, while Ring Master Bush sulks in his trailer and thinks the problem was his \"rhetoric.\"<br><br>Faith not only requires you to ignore what happens in the world, it praises you for it. The more unsubstantiated, untenable, or preposterous the belief, the more virtuous the believer. So Stephen Moore's solution to global recession is to wave around one of the most unreadable books ever written as though it were holy writ. For him, and for the right, politics is now religion.<br><br>And, as with any mythology, believers want to emulate their heroes. Cable traffic on the wing-nut sites after the last election featured many writers and commenters musing about \"going John Galt,\" withdrawing their genius and talents from the rest of us and leaving us to our own moocherly devices. To which all one can reply is, Please do. Knock yourselves out. And take this hideous book with you.", "is_last_child": false, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2009-03-15_20:14:21", "killed": false, "user_key": "knowbuddhau", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": false, "from_request_user": false, "votable": true, "date": "8 months ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 6, "is_first_child": false, "email": "", "parent_post_id": null, "depth": 0, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "7380170": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": false, "message": "You musta flunked kindergarten arithmetic....", "is_last_child": true, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2009-03-20_14:34:03", "killed": false, "user_key": "a0e87d18040a4053220613b9454dd1c0", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": false, "from_request_user": null, "votable": true, "date": "8 months ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 0, "is_first_child": false, "email": "", "parent_post_id": 7350386, "depth": 2, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "7170379": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": false, "message": "Your right, Apologize for middle of the night confusion, Meat James. I have sworn to not do this in the middle of the night again. <br>I'm amazed the bad spelling was forgiven...In any event, I hope the underlying message wasn't obliterated altogether. Enjoy, the Atlas journey,it's quite an ride.", "is_last_child": true, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2009-03-13_11:51:19", "killed": false, "user_key": "firelight", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": false, "from_request_user": false, "votable": true, "date": "8 months ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 0, "is_first_child": false, "email": "", "parent_post_id": 7155215, "depth": 2, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "7928012": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": false, "message": "To those who have never read the book, and therefor have no room to criticize, the \"moochers\" and \"looters\" do not refer to the working class.  They refer to those who take things unearned.  In this book most of those characters are actually quite wealthy and \"successful\" individuals, which is part of the irony.<br><br>The \"rest of America\", the working and middle class, are rarely mentioned because they are unimportant to the novel. If you think they are, you miss the point.  The Galts are Atlas, they hold the world.  Without their ideas and intellect all the workers in the world matter - there is nothing to work on if these men do not achieve and create.  That is their contribution to the world - they make it run. <br><br>When workers are mentioned it is normally to reference them siding with the industrialists; Eddie Willers is one character that comes to mind, also the Honor guard that stands watch over the first run on the Galt Line, and all the conductors who volunteer to be driving the train that day against the advice of the Union leaders.  They act that way because, as rational men, they know their fortunes are tied to those of the industrials.<br><br>To all you Rand haters: Whats not to get? Do you just hate to have your ideas and their logical conclusions laid out so plainly and inarguably? Does knowing you aren't that great (most aren't) make you feel small and insignificant? Or are you just mad that the left has no literary equivalent that can encapsulate their [lack of] ideas? Either way, Rand rocks. &lt;3", "is_last_child": false, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2009-04-06_22:52:51", "killed": false, "user_key": "9fca18b23d5632110d958e5c5ea04e07", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": false, "from_request_user": null, "votable": true, "date": "8 months ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 0, "is_first_child": false, "email": "", "parent_post_id": null, "depth": 0, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "9812942": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": false, "message": "The first step to fixing our political system is to stop paying the \"politician tax\"....<br><br>Politicians are not like the rest of us.... they are keenly obsessed with \"getting elected\" as a measure of success, but although this would seem to suggest that they should care about representing the views of the electors -- the people -- it doesn't work out that way. With extremely rare exceptions, politicians preserve their interests by serving <i>their party</i> (whichever one it is) over the people, and by serving corporate interests and other special interests next to that, also over the people.... so where do we fit in?<br><br>They see us as votes and money, and many of us are suckers.... how many of you donated money to a politician or a party last year? The sad truth is that whatever you did donate was actually a tax imposed by the system through blackmail, one that you didn't have to pay at all, but <i>volunteered</i>.... I have to admit, I'm in that crowd, even though I only gave to Libertarian candidates (who all lost) and the amount I donated amounted to pocket change even in their meager coffers.... but I'd take it back if I could....<br><br>Look at it this way: imagine there are two bullies on your block, and both want to take your lunch money.... each says that if you \"voluntarily\" pay him, he'll protect you from the other one, and each one talks up how dangerous the other one is in order to convince you to buy protection... but the truth is, if you learn to defend <i>yourself</i> you don't <i>have</i> to give a penny to either of them.<br><br>That's what the Republicrats do -- each side uses the other as a threat to pry your dollars away in the form of campaign donations, and the first and biggest thing WE can do to eliminate donation-driven corruption from the system is to turn off that voluntary faucet of cash flowing out of our pockets.<br><br>In short: DO NOT GIVE ANY MONEY TO POLITICIANS!! not to a candidate, not to a campaign, not to a party, and if you can help it, not to a company that will pass it on to any of those (even a company that will hedge its bets by giving to both sides; in fact, especially such a company).... clean up our politics, do NOT pay the politician tax!!", "is_last_child": false, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2009-05-22_19:39:09", "killed": false, "user_key": "cf38ae3078fee887d52f2724d64a4dd5", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": false, "from_request_user": null, "votable": true, "date": "6 months ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 0, "is_first_child": false, "email": "", "parent_post_id": null, "depth": 0, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "8098906": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": false, "message": "Hey terptwerp: what's YOUR marginal tax bracket? Feel free to voluntarily give much more than you are taxed. But keep your grubby hands off of others' money.", "is_last_child": false, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2009-04-12_14:36:20", "killed": false, "user_key": "e380b34db1e67015500c35b21c53a1b6", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": false, "from_request_user": null, "votable": true, "date": "7 months ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 0, "is_first_child": false, "email": "", "parent_post_id": null, "depth": 0, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "7653723": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": false, "message": "Why do all the \"Galt/Atlas/Rand haters\" keep referring to her and her ideas as \"conservative\" and \"Republican\" and \"right wing\"?? The NYT and National Review- right and left- are recently savaging her book because it is so popular of late. This leads me to believe that she was on the right track.<br><br>Give credit to where it's due- she wasn't a \"neo-con\" or conservative Christian or a right wing Republican; and she sure as hades wasn't a liberal, left wing socialist. <br><br>While she rejected the Libertarian label- that is exactly what she was. Not an \"R\" and not a \"D\"; she was an \"L\", the superior of the three.", "is_last_child": false, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2009-03-30_22:17:59", "killed": false, "user_key": "622dff3d3adb24575f29fcd6bfe7baf9", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": false, "from_request_user": null, "votable": true, "date": "8 months ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 0, "is_first_child": false, "email": "", "parent_post_id": null, "depth": 0, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "7348444": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": true, "message": "Pardon me, pal, but you're egregiously overlooking that I provide the title, author, and link to said author's original post on HuffPo.<br><br>You are mistaking my use, \"fair use,\" as plagiarism, without actually coming right out and accusing me in direct terms.<br><br>And this is exactly the caricature to which I refer.  You seem to think the cosmos consists of two types of stuff: yours, and not mine.  My use of the quote is a fair use.  You can't admit that, or your whole Randian edifice will crumble, like a sand castle when the tide comes in.<br><br>Like I said, pal: go run and tell Mr. Weiner about your sanctimonious concerns for his intellectual property rights. I bet he'll laugh.<br><br>Is this all you got?  See-sawing got boring back in grade school.", "is_last_child": false, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2009-03-19_12:04:11", "killed": false, "user_key": "knowbuddhau", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": false, "from_request_user": false, "votable": true, "date": "8 months ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 2, "is_first_child": false, "email": "", "parent_post_id": 7338800, "depth": 4, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "7524445": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": false, "message": "\"She doesn\u2019t deal with these corporatists like Thain who were pushing paper around and using regulations to feather their nests.\"<br><br>Gee, the chief villains of ATLAS SHRUGGED are two such individuals, James Taggart & Orrin Boyle.  What book did Tuccille read?", "is_last_child": false, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2009-03-26_09:58:21", "killed": false, "user_key": "ae732a7a45d66a2cc61bfaf5aa77c808", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": false, "from_request_user": null, "votable": true, "date": "8 months ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 0, "is_first_child": false, "email": "", "parent_post_id": null, "depth": 0, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "8240351": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": false, "message": "It doesn't matter if the tax rate is \"only\" going up 4% in one specific category. The fact is that businesses and individuals have choices of which country to invest their money into and quite often they choose the country where its MOST PROFITABLE. So, looking at it this way, businesses have been \"going Galt\" against the U.S. for quite some time now. That is a big part of the problem we see right now, but demonizing them or trying to use protectionism and big fisted tax force isn't going to create unity and harmony - instead it chases them off - so that's not a valid response to the problem. In other words, you can't force people/businesses to work FOR your country, you can only encourage them and reward them so they WANT to do it.<br><br>The disturbing thing is that now it's not just big business but small businesses, small investors and other individuals - like reitrees who have accumulated wealth who are also moving their money to places where it will earn the maximum return. In their place we have new immigrants who may not be contributing nearly as much over the next decade in terms of taxes. <br><br>Apparently many people on this blog seem to see no problem with this so maybe they will be happy with the end results.  As a long term business owner and investor, I'm looking at other countries as options.", "is_last_child": false, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2009-04-15_16:57:25", "killed": false, "user_key": "7fc7affdf4aa04d2f30f3f1479da7d9d", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": false, "from_request_user": null, "votable": true, "date": "7 months ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 0, "is_first_child": false, "email": "", "parent_post_id": null, "depth": 0, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "7253988": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": true, "message": "It looks as though many of you are threaten by this book! I feel the fear in your typing.  Yes you all should hope the real producers in this country do not go Gaut, You know like the 40,000 or so wealthiest in NY that pay something like 50-60% of the taxes. If I where so fortunate to be one of them I would leave in a NY minute. Be scared be very scared ! Especially all you Huffingtonlooters, You all follow the biggest looter of them all \"Ariana the hypocrite\"", "is_last_child": false, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2009-03-16_10:13:57", "killed": false, "user_key": "adc5168b05c34fc5c04c19bdbce2c2b1", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": false, "from_request_user": null, "votable": true, "date": "8 months ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 2, "is_first_child": false, "email": "", "parent_post_id": null, "depth": 0, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "7350386": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": true, "message": "the real producers get paid 8 bucks an hour, and the super wealthy pay less in real taxes than the middle class because wealthy people have access to tax shelters<br><br>cry me a fucking river", "is_last_child": false, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2009-03-19_13:01:14", "killed": false, "user_key": "730c066dee91fa18d8b6e3d31be1d9d9", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": false, "from_request_user": null, "votable": true, "date": "8 months ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 1, "is_first_child": true, "email": "", "parent_post_id": 7253988, "depth": 1, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "12161908": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": false, "message": "My contribution in the Going Galt movement...<br><br><a href=\"http://ecireport.wordpress.com/2009/07/04/the-age-of-the-crisis/\" rel=\"nofollow\">http://ecireport.wordpress.com/2009/07/04/the-a...</a>", "is_last_child": false, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2009-07-04_17:30:30", "killed": false, "user_key": "davidwotitzky", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": false, "from_request_user": false, "votable": true, "date": "5 months ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 0, "is_first_child": false, "email": "", "parent_post_id": null, "depth": 0, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}, "7928824": {"up_voted": false, "ip": "", "has_replies": false, "message": "Galt wouldn't be any politician.  They are all looters.  Government never produces, it only takes away from those who do in order to give to those who don't.  (and those of you who say he is Obama are out of your ever-loving minds)<br><br>Even when it creates jobs, as in \"stimulus\" by creating public works, it can only do so efficiently temporarily, and it does so at the expense of the things that would have been created by the rightful owners of the money spent.  Government cannot create, only re appropriate.", "is_last_child": false, "can_reply": true, "down_voted": false, "real_date": "2009-04-06_23:29:37", "killed": false, "user_key": "9fca18b23d5632110d958e5c5ea04e07", "has_been_anonymized": false, "edited": false, "author_is_moderator": false, "from_request_user": null, "votable": true, "date": "8 months ago", "approved": true, "num_replies": 0, "is_first_child": false, "email": "", "parent_post_id": 7155215, "depth": 2, "points": 0, "author_is_creator": false, "is_realtime": false}}, "integration": {"receiver_url": "", "theme": 1, "reply_position": false, "disqus_logo": false}, "timer": {"timer_url": "http://localhost:8005", "thread_id": "13159279", "user_id": "anonymous", "forum_id": "34441", "hash": 5837595925756066183}, "thread": {"days_alive": 0, "slug": "battling_obama_by_8216going_galt8217", "paginate": true, "num_pages": 8, "num_posts": 50, "per_page": 50, "total_posts": 368, "realtime_paused": true, "id": 13159279, "queued": false}, "reactions_limit": 10, "context": {"show_reply": true, "use_fb_connect": false, "forum_facebook_key": "", "use_yahoo": false, "subscribed": false, "use_twitter_signin": false, "use_openid": false, "realtime_speed": 5000}, "reactions_start": 0, "settings": {"debug": false, "disqus_url": "http://disqus.com", "media_url": "http://media.disqus.com"}, "media_url": "http://media.disqus.com"};
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	this.frames = {};
};

var disqus_popup_reference = null;

if(typeof DsqLocal == 'undefined') {
	DsqLocal = {};
}



/**
 * Dsq.Strings: UI strings
 */
Dsq.Strings = new function() {
	this.ADD_NEW_COMMENT = "Add New Comment";
	this.LOG_INTO_DISQUS = "Log into DISQUS";
	this.USE_MEDIA = "Use Media";
	this.LOGOUT = "Logout";
	this.SHARING_OPTIONS = "Sharing options";
	this.SHARE_ON = "Share on";
	this.TWEET_THIS_COMMENT = "Tweet this comment";
	this.SHARE_ON_NEWSFEED = "Share on news feed";
	this.SEND_UPDATE_TO_YAHOO = "Send update to Yahoo!";
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	this.CONFIGURE_OPTIONS = "Configure options";
	this.POST_AS = "Post as";
	this.SORT_BY = "Sort by";
	this.SUBSCRIBE_BY_EMAIL = "Subscribe by email";
	this.SUBSCRIBE_BY_RSS = "Subscribe by RSS";
	this.POPULAR_NOW = "Popular now";
	this.BEST_RATING = "Best Rating";
	this.NEWEST_FIRST = "Newest first";
	this.OLDEST_FIRST = "Oldest first";
	this.HIGHLIGHTED = "Highlighted";
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	this.OPTIONAL = "Optional";
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	this.ENABLED = "enabled";
	this.PAUSED = "paused";
	this.PAUSE = "Pause";
	this.RESUME = "Resume";
	this.SHOW = "Show";
	this.JUST_NOW = "Just now";
	this.REPLY = "Reply";
	this.EDIT = "Edit";
	this.FLAG = "Flag";
	this.MODERATE = "Moderate";
	this.CANCEL = "Cancel";
	this.REPLYING_TO = "Replying to";
	this.REPORT_MISSING_REACTIONS = "Report missing reactions";
	this.POST_A_COMMENT = "Post a comment";
	this.FLAG_INAPPROPRIATE_COMMENT = "Flag inappropriate comment";
	this.FLAGGED = "Flagged";
	this.NO = "No";
	this.YES = "Yes";
	this.NEVER_MIND = "Never mind";
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	this.THIS_WILL_FLAG_COMMENTS_FOR_MODERATORS_TO_TAKE_ACTION = "This will flag comments for moderators to take action";
	this.TO_RATE_PLEASE_LOG_IN = "To rate, please log in";
	this.JUST_A_MOMENT = "Just a moment...";
	this.GUEST = "Guest";
	this.NAME = "Name";
	this.EMAIL = "Email";
  this.WEBSITE = "Website";
  this.SETTINGS = "Settings";
  this.MODERATOR_OPTIONS = "Moderator options: ";
};
// Dsq.Strings

/**
 * Dsq.FmtStrings: functions that return interpolated UI strings
 */
Dsq.FmtStrings = new function() {
	// Seems we have to use named interpolation for Django to translate. Investigate more.
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		return Dsq.Utils.interpolate('Logout from %(disqus)s', {disqus:disqus});
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	this.SHOWING_COMMENTS_FULL = function(total, num) {
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			return Dsq.Utils.interpolate("Showing <span id='dsq-num-posts'>%(num)s</span> of <span id='dsq-total-posts'>%(total)s</span> comment", {num:num, total:total});
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	this.SHOWING_COMMENTS_WITHOUT_PAGINATION = function(num) {
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			return Dsq.Utils.interpolate("Showing <span id='dsq-num-posts'>%(num)s</span> comment", {num:num});
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			return Dsq.Utils.interpolate("Showing <span id='dsq-num-posts'>%(num)s</span> comments", {num:num});
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	};

	this.NUMBER_OF_COMMENTS = function(num) {
		return Dsq.Utils.interpolate(
			(num == 1
				? '%(num)s comment'
				: '%(num)s comments'
			), {num:num});
	};

	this.NUMBER_OF_LIKES = function(num) {
		return Dsq.Utils.interpolate(
			(num == 1
				? '%(num)s like'
				: '%(num)s likes'
			), {num:num});
	};

	this.NUMBER_OF_POINTS = function(num) {
		return Dsq.Utils.interpolate(
			(num == 1
				? '%(num)s point'
				: '%(num)s points'
			), {num:num});
	};
};
// Dsq.FmtStrings





Dsq.CSRF_TOKEN = '21bc467119200cb06806902fa8e2f5b0';
Dsq.COMMENTS_RE = /(<li.*?id="?dsq-comment-(\d+)"?.*?>)((?:.|\s)*?)(<\/li>)/gim;
Dsq.POST_RE = /(<div.*?id="?dsq-comment-header-(\d+)"?.*?>)((?:.|\s)*?)(<\/div>)\s*(<div.*?class="?dsq-comment-body"?.*?>)((?:.|\s)*)(<\/div>)/gim;
Dsq.POST_BODY_RE = /\s*(<div.*?id="?dsq-comment-message-(\d+)"?.*?>)((?:.|\s)*)(<\/div>)/gim;
// HACK: Safari ends with "-->" while other browsers end with "--&gt;" as expected.
Dsq.MEDIA_POST_RE = /&lt;!--\[(.*?)\]--(?:>|&gt;)/gim;



// TODO: It might be faster to use string methods to find all <li (...) </li> blocks and pass to Dsq.PostHandler manually.
Dsq.CommentsHandler = function(str, head, post_id, content, tail, offset, s) {
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	content = content.replace(Dsq.POST_RE, Dsq.PostHandler);
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Dsq.PostHandler = function(str, h_head, post_id, h_content, h_tail, b_head, b_content, b_tail, offset, s) {
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	b_content = b_content.replace(Dsq.POST_BODY_RE, Dsq.PostBodyHandler);
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};

Dsq.PostBodyHandler = function(str, head, post_id, content, tail, offset, s) {
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};

Dsq.MediaPostHandler = function(str, args, offset, s) {
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	return '';
};


/**
 * Shorcuts
 */
Dsq.$ = function(element) { return document.getElementById(element); };
Dsq.$b = document.body || document.getElementsByTagName('body')[0];


/**
 * Dsq.Debug: Logging functions.
 */

Dsq.Debug = new function() {this.log=function(s){};this.profile=function(f){if(typeof f == 'function')return f();else return eval(f);};};


/**
 * Dsq.Urls: URL paths
 */
Dsq.Urls = new function() {
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	this.LOGOUT = '/logout/';
	this.REPLY = 'http://disqus.com/forums/washingtonindependent/battling_obama_by_8216going_galt8217/reply.html';
	this.REQUEST_USER_PROFILE = '/AnonymousUser/';
	this.REQUEST_USER_AVATAR = 'http://media.disqus.com/images/noavatar92.png';
};
// Dsq.Urls

/**
 * Dsq.Validators: Validation for form fields
 */
Dsq.Validators = new function() {
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	this.name = function(name) {
		var error = false;

		if(typeof Dsq.Templates.placeholder !== 'undefined' &&
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			error = true;
		}
		if(name.length <= 1) {
			error = true;
		}

		if(error) {
			return "Please enter a name to comment.";
		} else {
			return true;
		}
	};
	this.email = function(addr) {
		if(Dsq.Validators.VALID_EMAIL_RE.test(addr)) {
			return true;
		} else {
			return "Please enter a valid email to comment.";
		}
	};
	this.url = function(addr) {
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			return true;
		} else {
			return "Please check your website URL (this field is optional).";
		}
	};

	this.validate = function(bulk_validation, failure_callback) {
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		for(var i = 0; i < bulk_validation.length; i++) {
			v = bulk_validation[i];
			ret = v.validator(v.value);
			if(ret !== true) {
				failure_callback(ret);
				return false;
			}
		}
		return true;
	};
};

/**
 * Dsq.Utils: Generic utility functions.
 */
Dsq.Utils = new function() {
	this.ie = /msie/i.test(navigator.userAgent) && !/opera/i.test(navigator.userAgent);
	this.ie7 = (document.all && !window.opera && window.XMLHttpRequest) ? true : false;
	this.ie6 = (!window.XMLHttpRequest) ? true: false;
	this.webkit = navigator.userAgent.indexOf('AppleWebKit/') >= 0;
	this.gebiFromElementCollectionCache = {};
	this._styleSheet = null;

	this.gebiFromElement = function(el, id, tag) {
		// This only method only helps IE.
		if(!this.ie) {
			return Dsq.$(id);
		} else {
			var cacheKey = el.id + '-' + tag;
			tag = tag || 'div';
			if(typeof this.gebiFromElementCollectionCache[cacheKey] != 'undefined') {
				collection = this.gebiFromElementCollectionCache[cacheKey];
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				collection = el.getElementsByTagName(tag);
				this.gebiFromElementCollectionCache[cacheKey] = collection;
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			for(var i = 0; i < collection.length; i++) {
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			}
			return null;
		}
	};

	this.execOnReady = function(func) {
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			node.doScroll('left');
			func();
			node = null;
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			setTimeout(function() { Dsq.Utils.execOnReady(func); }, 10);
		}
	};


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	this.createCookie = function(name,value,days) {
		if (days) {
			var date = new Date();
			date.setTime(date.getTime()+(days*24*60*60*1000));
			var expires = "; expires="+date.toGMTString();
		}
		else var expires = "";
		document.cookie = name+"="+value+expires+"; path=/";
	};

	this.readCookie = function(name) {
		var nameEQ = name + "=";
		var ca = document.cookie.split(';');
		for(var i=0;i < ca.length;i++) {
			var c = ca[i];
			while (c.charAt(0)==' ') c = c.substring(1,c.length);
			if (c.indexOf(nameEQ) == 0) return c.substring(nameEQ.length,c.length);
		}
		return null;
	};

	this.eraseCookie = function(name) {
		Dsq.Utils.createCookie(name,"",-1);
	};

	this.deleteNode = function(node) {
		if(node) {
			this.deleteChildren(node);
			if(typeof node.outerHTML != 'undefined') { node.outerHTML = ''; }
			else if(node.parentNode) { node.parentNode.removeChild(node); }
			delete node;
		}
	};

	this.deleteChildren = function(node) {
		if(node) {
			for(var x = node.childNodes.length-1; x >= 0; x--) {
				var childNode = node.childNodes[x];
				if(childNode.hasChildNodes()) { this.deleteChildren(childNode); }
				if(typeof childNode.outerHTML != 'undefined') { childNode.outerHTML = ''; }
				else node.removeChild(childNode);
				delete childNode;
			}
		}
	};

	this.findPos = function(obj) {
		var curleft = 0;
		var curtop = 0;
		if (obj.offsetParent) {
			do {
				curleft += obj.offsetLeft;
				curtop += obj.offsetTop;
			} while (obj = obj.offsetParent);
		}
		return [curleft,curtop];
	};

	this.getWindowSize = function() {
		var windowWidth = -1;
		var windowHeight = -1;

		if(typeof(window.innerWidth) == 'number') { //Non-IE
			windowWidth = window.innerWidth;
			windowHeight = window.innerHeight;
		} else if(document.documentElement) { // IE 6+ in 'standards compliant mode'
			windowWidth = document.documentElement.clientWidth || document.body.clientWidth;
			windowHeight = document.documentElement.clientHeight || document.body.clientHeight;
		}

		return [windowWidth, windowHeight];
	}

	this.getScrollPos = function() {
		var scrollWidth, scrollTop;

		if(document.documentElement && (document.documentElement.scrollTop || document.documentElement.scrollWidth)) {
			scrollWidth = document.documentElement.scrollWidth;
			// IE is weird here.  If no doctype is provided, document.body.scrollTop is 0,
			// otherwise document.documentElement.scrollTop is 0.
			scrollTop = document.documentElement.scrollTop || document.body.scrollTop;
		} else if(document.body.scrollTop && document.body.scrollWidth) {
			scrollWidth = document.body.scrollWidth;
			scrollTop = document.body.scrollTop;
		}

		return [scrollWidth, scrollTop];
	}

	this.addEventListener = function(instance, eventName, listener) {
		var listenerFn = listener;
		if (instance.addEventListener) {
			instance.addEventListener(eventName, listenerFn, false);
		} else if (instance.attachEvent) {
			listenerFn = function() {
				listener(window.event);
			};
			instance.attachEvent("on" + eventName, listenerFn);
		} else {
			throw new Error("Event registration not supported");
		}
		return {
			instance: instance,
			name: eventName,
			listener: listenerFn
		};
	};

	this.removeEventListener = function(event) {
		var instance = event.instance;
		if (instance.removeEventListener) {
			instance.removeEventListener(event.name, event.listener, false);
		} else if (instance.detachEvent) {
			instance.detachEvent("on" + event.name, event.listener);
		}
	};

	this.fixIframesIE = function(id) {
		var disqusThread = Dsq.$(disqus_container_id);
		var iframes = disqusThread.getElementsByTagName('iframe');

		if(id) {
			var container = Dsq.$(id);
		} else {
			var container = Dsq.$('dsq-content');
		}

		for(i = 0; i < iframes.length; i++) {
			if (container) {
				iframes[i].style.width = container.offsetWidth;
			}
		}
	};

	this.getElementsByClassName = function(oElm, strTagName, strClassName) {
	/* Credit: Jonathan Snook [http://www.snook.ca/jonathan], Robert Nyman [http://www.robertnyman.com] */
		var arrElements = (strTagName == "*" && oElm.all)? oElm.all : oElm.getElementsByTagName(strTagName);
		var arrReturnElements = new Array();
		strClassName = strClassName.replace(/\-/g, "\\-");
		var oRegExp = new RegExp("(^|\\s)" + strClassName + "(\\s|$)");
		var oElement;
		for(var i = 0; i < arrElements.length; i++) {
			oElement = arrElements[i];
			if(oRegExp.test(oElement.className)) {
				arrReturnElements.push(oElement);
			}
		}
		return (arrReturnElements);
	};

	this.postToUrl = function(url, post_data, opt_redirect) {
		var form = document.createElement('form');
		var iframe_container = document.createElement('div');
		var id = 'dsq-temp-iframe-' + (new Date()).getTime();

		form.method = 'POST';
		form.action = url;
		if (!opt_redirect) {
			form.target = id;
		}
		iframe_container.innerHTML = '<iframe style="display:none" name="' + id + '" id="' + id + '"></iframe>';

		for(var key in post_data) {
			if(post_data.hasOwnProperty(key)) {
				var input = document.createElement('input');
				input.name = key;
				input.type = 'hidden';
				input.value = post_data[key];

				form.appendChild(input);
			}
		}

		Dsq.$b.appendChild(iframe_container);
		Dsq.$b.appendChild(form);
		form.submit();
	};

	// Strips integer id from id of element in the form ('some-id-###')
	this.extractId = function(e) {
		var chunks = e.id.split('-');
		if(chunks.length <= 1) {
			return 0;
		} else {
			return parseInt(chunks[chunks.length-1]);
		}
	};

	this.getStyle = function(el, styleProp) {
		if(el.currentStyle) {
			var y = el.currentStyle[styleProp];
		} else if(window.getComputedStyle) {
			var y = document.defaultView.getComputedStyle(el, null).getPropertyValue(styleProp);
		}

		if(y == 'transparent' || y == '') {
			this.getStyle(el.parentNode, styleProp);
		} else {
			return y;
		}
	};

	this.execScript = function(url, append_qs, container) {
		var script = document.createElement('script');
		append_qs = typeof append_qs == 'undefined' ? true : append_qs;
		container = container || Dsq.container;

		if(append_qs) {
			var j = (url.indexOf('?') >= 0) ? '&' : '?';
			url += j + (new Date()).getTime();
		}
		script.type = 'text/javascript';
		script.charset = 'UTF-8';
		script.src = url;
		container.appendChild(script);
		return script;
	};

	this.pluralize = function(num, singular, plural) {
		return (num != 1) ? plural || 's' : singular || '';
	};

	this.getRequestParams = function(queryString /* optional */) {
		var pairs, tuple;
		var params = {};

		queryString = queryString || window.location.search.substring(1);
		pairs = queryString.split('&');

		for (var i = 0, pair; pair = pairs[i]; i++) {
			tuple = pair.split('=');
			params[tuple[0]] = (tuple[1] || true);
		}

		return params;
	};

	this.addCssRule = function(selector, styleText, index) {
		var stylesheet;
		index = index || 0;

		if(!this._styleSheet) {
			var styleEl = document.createElement('style');
			document.getElementsByTagName('head')[0].appendChild(styleEl);
			this._styleSheet = styleEl.sheet;
			if(!this._styleSheet) {
				// IE does not like our newly created stylesheet.
				this._styleSheet = document.styleSheets[document.styleSheets.length-1];
			}
		}
		stylesheet = this._styleSheet;

		if(stylesheet.insertRule) {
			var ruleText = selector + ' { ' + styleText + ' }';
			if(index == -1) {
				index = stylesheet.cssRules.length;
			}
			stylesheet.insertRule(ruleText, index);
		} else if(stylesheet.addRule) {
			stylesheet.addRule(selector, styleText, index);
		}
	};

	this.forEachIn = function(obj, callback) {
		for(var key in obj) {
			if(obj.hasOwnProperty(key)) {
				callback(key, obj[key]);
			}
		}
	};

	this._interpolateGlobalContext = {
		// values that get used a lot and are global to the request
		'profile_url': Dsq.Urls.REQUEST_USER_PROFILE,

		'disqus_url': Dsq.jsonData.settings.disqus_url,
		'media_url': Dsq.jsonData.settings.media_url,
		'request_username': Dsq.jsonData.request.username,
		'request_display_username': Dsq.jsonData.request.display_username,
		'forum_name': Dsq.jsonData.forum.name
	};

	this.renderFromContextStack = function(key, contexts) {
		// Returns the first instance of `key` in the array of objects `contexts` or else ''
		for (var i=0; i<contexts.length; i++) {
			if (contexts[i][key] !== undefined) {
				return String(contexts[i][key]);
			}
		}
		throw new Error('key ' + key + ' not found in context');
	};

	var that = this;
	this.interpolate = function(fmt, opt_localContext) {
		// Interpolate `fmt` named-format string with an assumed global context.
		// Based on `interpolate` in django.views.i18n
		var contextStack = [opt_localContext || {}, that._interpolateGlobalContext];
		return fmt.replace(/%\(\w+\)s/g, function(match){
			return that.renderFromContextStack(match.slice(2,-2), contextStack);
		});
	};

	this.stripTags = function(s) {
		// Removes HTML tags from `s`
		return s.replace(/(<([^>]+)>)/g,"");

	};

	this.assert = function(b) {
		if (!b) {
			throw new Error('Assertion error.');
		}
	};

};
// Dsq.Utils

/**
 * Dsq.Popup: Popup helper functions.
 */
Dsq.Popup = new function() {
	this.timeHide = new Array();
	this.timeShow = new Array();
	this.activePopup = {};
	this.profileCache = {};
	this.statusCache = {};

	this.showTimer = function(post_id) {
		// clear the hide timer
		clearTimeout(this.timeHide[post_id]);

		// start the timer
		if(!Dsq.Popup.profileIsOn && !Dsq.Thread.adminIsOn) {
			this.timeShow[post_id] = setTimeout("Dsq.Popup.popProfile(\"" + post_id + "\")", 400);
		}
	};

	this.hideTimer = function(post_id) {
		// clear the show timer
		clearTimeout(this.timeShow[post_id]);
	};

	this.updateProfile = function(username) {
		// Callback from /embed/profile.js
		if (this.statusCache[username]) {
			var statusEl = Dsq.$('dsq-profile-status-' + username);
			statusEl.innerHTML = this.statusCache[username];
			statusEl.style.display = 'block';
		}

		if (this.profileCache[username]) {
			var _cache = this.profileCache[username];

			var _genhtml = function(text) { return '<span><big>' + text + '</big></span>'; };
			var _no_comments = _genhtml(Dsq.FmtStrings.NUMBER_OF_COMMENTS(_cache.comments_count));
			var _no_likes = _genhtml(Dsq.FmtStrings.NUMBER_OF_LIKES(_cache.likes_count));
			var _no_points = _genhtml(Dsq.FmtStrings.NUMBER_OF_POINTS(_cache.points));

			var statsEl = Dsq.$('dsq-popup-profile-user-stats-' + username);
			statsEl.innerHTML = '';

			if (Dsq.jsonData.users[username].registered) {
				statsEl.innerHTML = _no_comments + _no_likes;
			}
			statsEl.innerHTML += _no_points;

			var activeSites = '';
			for (var i = 0; i < _cache.active_sites.length; i++) {
				var site = _cache.active_sites[i];
				activeSites += '<li><a href="' + site.url + '"> \
					<img src="' + site.favicon + '"/ width="16" height="16"/></a>\
					<a href="' + site.url + '">' + site.name + '</a></li>';
			}
			if (activeSites !== '') {
				Dsq.$('dsq-popup-profile-active-sites-' + username).innerHTML = activeSites;
			} else {
				Dsq.$('dsq-popup-profile-active-sites-' + username).innerHTML = 'This site.';
			}

			var moderatedSites = '';
			for (var i = 0; i < _cache.moderated_sites.length; i++) {
				var site = _cache.moderated_sites[i];
				moderatedSites += '<li><a href="' + site.url + '"> \
					<img src="' + site.favicon + '"/ width="16" height="16"/></a>\
					<a href="' + site.url + '">' + site.name + '</a></li>';
			}
			if (moderatedSites !== '') {
				Dsq.$('dsq-popup-profile-moderated-' + username).innerHTML = moderatedSites;
			} else {
				Dsq.$('dsq-popup-profile-moderated-wrapper-' + username).innerHTML = '';
			}
		}

		// Reposition popup after full HTML is rendered
		if(Dsq.Popup.activePopup && Dsq.Popup.activePopup.el) {
			Dsq.Popup.initPopup(Dsq.Popup.activePopup.el, Dsq.Popup.activePopup.id, Dsq.Popup.activePopup.type);
		}

	};

	this.showCookieMsgs = function() {
		var title = '';
		var message = '';
		var numAlerts = 0;

		Dsq.Utils.forEachIn(Dsq.jsonData.cookie_messages, function(k, v) {
			if (!v) return;

			switch(k) {
				// Cookie: Twitter
				case 'post_twitter':
					if (v === 'error') {
						title = 'Twitter Error!';
						message += '<li id="dsq-msg-twitter-error">Oops, we couldn\'t tweet this comment. Please check your <a href="http://disqus.com/account/services">account settings</a>.</li>';
					} else {
						var _msg = v.split(':');
						title = 'Tweeted!';
						message += '<li id="dsq-msg-twitter-success">Your comment was successfully tweeted. <a href="http://twitter.com/' + _msg[0] + '/status/' + _msg[1] + '">Click here to view the tweet</a>.</li>';
					}
					break;
				// Cookie: Unapproved Post
				case 'post_not_approved':
					title = 'Comment awaiting approval by a moderator';
					message += '<li id="dsq-msg-post-not-approved">Your comment must be approved by a moderator before appearing here.</li>';
					break;
				// Cookie: Profile Found
				case 'post_has_profile':
					title = 'Use your existing commenter profile';
					message += '<li id="dsq-msg-post-has-profile">You have just posted your commment as a <span class="dsq-badge-guest">Guest</span>, but you may already have a <span class="logo-disqus">Disqus</span> Profile.<br /><br /><a href="http://disqus.com/claim">Log in and claim this comment!</a></li>';
					break;
				case 'user_created':
					var _data = v.split(':');
					title = 'Profile created!';
					message += '<li id="dsq-msg-user-created">You have just created a <span class="logo-disqus">Disqus</span> Profile, the best way to claim, manage, and track your comments all over the web. \
					<br /><br />A confirmation is being sent to <strong>' + _data[1] + '</strong>. Please check for this email in order to verify your profile. \
					<ul class="dsq-list-tick"> \
						<li>Your username is <strong>' + _data[0] +'</strong>. <a href="http://disqus.com/people/' + _data[0] + '/" target="_blank">Click here to view your public profile</a>.</li> \
						<li>Be sure to set your profile picture, as well as connect your <span class="dsq-badge-facebook">Facebook</span> and <span class="dsq-badge-twitter">Twitter</span> accounts. <a href="http://disqus.com/account/" target="_blank">Click here for account settings</a>.</li> \
					</ul> \
					</li>'
					break;
				default:
					break;
			}
			numAlerts++;
		});

		if(numAlerts > 1) {
			message = '<ul class="dsq-list-bluebullet">' + message;
			message += '</ul>';
			title = 'Thanks for posting!';
		}
		if(numAlerts > 0) {
			if(typeof(disqus_cookie_msgs) == 'function') {
				disqus_cookie_msgs(message, title);
			} else {
				Dsq.Popup.popModal(message, title);
			}
		}
	};

	this.helpBadges = function(post_id) {
		var html = ' \
			<ul class="dsq-popup-help"> \
				<li><span class="dsq-badge dsq-badge-verified">Verified</span> has a <span class="logo-disqus">Disqus</span> Profile with a confirmed email address.</li> \
				<li><span class="dsq-badge dsq-badge-registered">Registered</span> has a <span class="logo-disqus">Disqus</span> Profile, but has not yet confirmed his or her email address.</li> \
				<li><span class="dsq-badge dsq-badge-guest">Guest</span> is not logged in with any account and has not claimed his or her comments.</li> \
				<li class="dsq-help-otheraccts">Other accounts</li> \
				<li><span class="dsq-badge dsq-badge-facebook">Facebook</span> is using his or her Facebook profile via Facebook Connect.</li> \
				<li><span class="dsq-badge dsq-badge-twitter">Twitter</span> is using his or her Twitter profile via Twitter Sign-in.</li> \
				<li><span class="dsq-badge dsq-badge-openid">OpenID</span> is using his or her OpenID.</li> \
			</ul> \
		';

		this.popModal(html, 'Help: Types of Commenters', post_id);
		return;
	};

	this.permalink = function(post_id) {
		var header = 'Link to this comment';
		var body = '<strong>You are anchored to</strong>:<br />' + document.location.protocol + '//' + document.location.host + document.location.pathname + document.location.search + '#comment-' + post_id;

		this.popModal(body, header, post_id);
	};

	this.login = function(header, body) {
		var h = header || 'Login or Register';
		var b = body || '';
		b += Dsq.Templates.frameLogin({id: 'dsq-popup-login'});
		b += '</iframe>'; // HACK: Sometimes there is something funky with the IFRAME SRC that causes no end tag
		this.popModal(b, h, null, true, 'dsq-popup-login');
	};

	this.blacklist = function(id) {
		var _meta = Dsq.jsonData.posts[id];
		var userData = Dsq.jsonData['users'][_meta.user_key];
		var title = 'Add to Blacklist';
		var message = ' \
		Adding this person to the blacklist will block him or her from commenting on this site. Check the following types that you would like to add to the blacklist:'
		+ (userData['registered'] ?
			'<div class="dsq-blacklist-option"> \
				<input id="dsq-blacklist-username" type="checkbox" checked> \
				<label for="dsq-blacklist-username"><strong>Username</strong>: ' + userData['username'] + '</label> \
			</div>'
			: '')
		+ (_meta.email ?
			'<div class="dsq-blacklist-option"> \
				<input id="dsq-blacklist-email" type="checkbox" checked> \
				<label for="dsq-blacklist-email"><strong>Email address</strong>: ' + _meta.email + '</label> \
			</div>'
			: '')
		+ '<div class="dsq-blacklist-option"> \
			<input id="dsq-blacklist-ip" type="checkbox" onclick="Dsq.$(\'dsq-blacklist-ip-warning\').style.display=\'block\'"> \
			<label for="dsq-blacklist-ip"><strong>IP address</strong>: ' + _meta.ip + '</label> \
		</div> \
		';

		message += ' \
			<p id="dsq-blacklist-ip-warning" style="display:none">	\
				Note: Blocking this person\'s IP address may also unintentionally prevent others, who share his/her IP address, from commenting on this site. \
				This may include people who are sharing the same computer, living in the same house, or using the same Internet provider. Only block an IP address as a last resort. \
			</p> \
		';

		message += ' \
			<p style="text-align:center"><button onclick="Dsq.Post.blockUser(' + id + '); this.disabled=true; this.innerHTML=\'Just one moment...\'">Add to Blacklist</button></p> \
		';

		Dsq.Popup.popModal(message, title);
	};

	this.remoteAccountSettings = function() {
		var body = '';
		// Set up IFrame.
		var params = {};
		var base_url = 'http://disqus.com/forums/washingtonindependent/_auth/embed/remote_settings/';
		var attributes = {id: 'dsq-popup-account-settings'};
		if (typeof disqus_frame_theme != 'undefined') {
			params['theme'] = disqus_frame_theme;
		}

		body = Dsq.Templates._frameGeneric(base_url, params, attributes);
		this.popModal(body, 'Account Settings', null, true, 'dsq-popup-account-settings');
	};

	this.popModal = function(message, title, post_id, use_listener, extra_classes) {
		var container = document.createElement('div');
		var header, body;

		Dsq.Popup._closePopup(null, true);

		if(typeof(title) == 'undefined') { title = ''; }
		if(typeof(use_listener) == 'undefined') { use_listener = true; }

		if(post_id) {
			container.id = 'dsq-popup-message-' + post_id;
		} else {
			container.id = 'dsq-popup-message';
		}

		header = title;
		body = message;

		container.innerHTML = Dsq.Templates.popupModal(header, body);
		Dsq.Popup.initPopup(container, post_id, 'message', extra_classes);
		if(use_listener) {
			Dsq.Popup.popupListener = Dsq.Utils.addEventListener(document, 'mouseup', Dsq.Popup._closePopup);
		}
	};

	this.popAlert = this.popModal;

	this.loading = function(post_id) {
		var title = Dsq.Strings.JUST_A_MOMENT;
		var body = '<div style="text-align:center; padding: 5px 0 10px 0"><img src="http://media.disqus.com/images/loading.gif" alt="" /></div>'
		Dsq.Popup.lightbox(body, title, post_id);
	};

	this.lightbox = function(message, title, post_id) {
		// Wraps Dsq.Popup.popModal

		var overlay = document.createElement('div');
		overlay.id = 'dsq-overlay';
		overlay.className = 'dsq-overlay';
		Dsq.$b.appendChild(overlay);
		
		Dsq.Popup.popModal(message, title, post_id, false, 'dsq-lightbox');
	};

	this.popProfile = function(post_id, userKey) {
		var post = Dsq.jsonData['posts'][post_id];
		if (post && post.has_been_anonymized) {
			Dsq.Popup.popModal('This message was anonymized by its previous owner.', 'Anonymized', post_id);
			return;
		}

		if(post_id) {
			userKey = Dsq.jsonData['posts'][post_id].user_key;	
		}
		var userData = Dsq.jsonData['users'][userKey];
		var elId = 'dsq-popup-profile-' + userKey;
		var container = document.createElement('div');

		if(this.activePopup.el) {
			this._closePopup(null, true);
			if(this.activePopup.linkClicked) {
				this.activePopup.linkClicked = false;
				return;
			}
		}

		container.id = elId;
		container.innerHTML = Dsq.Templates.popupProfile(userKey);

		this.initPopup(container, post_id, 'profile');
		this.popupListener = Dsq.Utils.addEventListener(document, 'mouseup', this._closePopup);

		if(!this.profileCache[userKey]) {
			Dsq.Utils.execScript('http://disqus.com/embed/profile.js'
				+ '?username=' + userKey
				+ '&anon=' + (userData['registered'] ? 0 : 1)
				+ '&f=' + Dsq.jsonData['request'].forum);
		} else {
			this.updateProfile(userKey);
		}
	};

	this._closePopup = function(e, force) {
		var activePopup = Dsq.Popup.activePopup.el;
		var id = Dsq.Popup.activePopup.id;
		var link = 'dsq-avatar-' + id; // HACK: Specific to profile toggle target

		// HACK: This event should be gone if there is no active popup.
		if(!activePopup) {
			return;
		}
		if(force || !Dsq.Popup.isClicked(e, activePopup.id)) {
			// TODO: This is breaking iE?
			if(Dsq.Popup.popupListener) {
				Dsq.Utils.removeEventListener(Dsq.Popup.popupListener);
			}
			
			// Kill overlay
			var overlay = Dsq.$('dsq-overlay');
			if(overlay) { Dsq.Utils.deleteNode(overlay); }
			
			try {
				Dsq.Utils.deleteNode(activePopup);
			} catch(e) {
				// HACK: IE6 throws an error when using deleteNode() with a node containing a <table> in the html.
				activePopup.parentNode.removeChild(activePopup);
			}
			Dsq.Popup.activePopup = {};
		}

		if(!force && Dsq.Popup.isClicked(e, link)) {
 			Dsq.Popup.activePopup.linkClicked = true;
		}

	};

	this.initPopup = function(popup, post_id, type, extra_classes) {
		popup.className = 'dsq-popup dsq-popup-' + type + ' ' + (extra_classes ? extra_classes : '');
		if(Dsq.Utils.ie6 || Dsq.Utils.ie7) {
			// HACK: We can't modify the body before it's ready, so we need
			//       to use an IE-safe "DOMReady" workaround before loading
			//       our popup.
			Dsq.Utils.execOnReady(function() {Dsq.$b.appendChild(popup); });
		} else {
			Dsq.$b.appendChild(popup);
		}

		popup.style.display = 'block';

		var xPos = (Dsq.Utils.getWindowSize()[0] - popup.offsetWidth) / 2;
		var yPos = (Dsq.Utils.getWindowSize()[1] - popup.offsetHeight) / 2;

		if(Dsq.Utils.ie6) {
			yPos += Dsq.Utils.getScrollPos()[1];
		}

		popup.style.left = xPos + 'px';
		popup.style.top = yPos + 'px';

		Dsq.Popup.activePopup = {
			'el' : popup,
			'id' : post_id,
			'type': type,
			'linkClicked' : false
		};
	};

	this.isClicked = function(e, id) {
		var t = e.target || e.srcElement;
		while(t && t.parentNode) {
			if(t.id == id) {
				return true;
			}

			t = t.parentNode;
		}
		return false;
	};
};
// Dsq.Popup

/**
 * Dsq.Templates
 */
Dsq.Templates = new function() {
	/*
	 * Counter keeping track of the number of posts iterated over.
	 */
	this.postLoopCounter = 0;
	this.filters = {};
	this.addPostContainer = 'dsq-post-add';
	this.textareaContainer = 'dsq-post-add';

	this.registerTemplate = function(name, func) {
		this['$$_' + name] = func;

		if(typeof DsqLocal.Filters != 'undefined'
		&& typeof DsqLocal.Filters[name] == 'function') {
			// Push filters to this.filters to unify code.
			this.filters[name] = this.filters[name] || [];
			this.filters[name].push(DsqLocal.Filters[name]);
		}

		this[name] = function() {
			var ret;

			if(typeof DsqLocal.Templates != 'undefined'
			&& typeof DsqLocal.Templates[name] == 'function') {
				ret = DsqLocal.Templates[name].apply(this, arguments);
			}

			if(ret === undefined) {
				ret = this['$$_' + name].apply(this, arguments);
			}

			if(this.filters[name]) {
				var args = [ret];

				args.push.apply(args, arguments);
				for(var i = 0; i < this.filters[name].length; i++) {
					ret = this.filters[name][i].apply(this, args);
				}
			}

			return ret;
		};
	};

	this.registerFilter = function(name, func) {
		this.filters[name] = this.filters[name] || [];
		this.filters[name].push(func);
	};

	/**
	 * Dsq.Templates.Filters
	 */
	this.Filters = new function() {
		this.commentContainer = function(post_id, s) {
			var _meta = Dsq.jsonData.posts[post_id];
			var classes = [];
			if(Dsq.jsonData.request.page > 1) {
				classes.push('dsq-append');
			}

			//
			// Extra classes used for custom themes
			//

			if(_meta.depth) {
				classes.push('dsq-comment-child', 'dsq-depth-' + _meta.depth, 'dsq-parent-is-' + _meta.parent_post_id);
			}


			//

			if(_meta.author_is_creator) {
				// TODO: We need to deprecate the "special" class since it is not properly prefixed.
				classes.push('special', 'dsq-special');
			}
			if(_meta.author_is_moderator) {
				classes.push('dsq-moderator');
			}
			classes.push(['dsq-odd', 'dsq-even'][Dsq.Templates.postLoopCounter % 2]);

			s = s.substring(0, s.lastIndexOf('>'));
			return s + ' class="dsq-comment ' + classes.join(' ') + '" style="margin-left:' + _meta.depth*30 + 'px">';
		};

		this.commentContent = function(post_id, s) {
			var _meta = Dsq.jsonData.posts[post_id];
			if (_meta.killed) {
				return '<em>Comment removed.</em>';
			} else if (!_meta.approved) {
				return '<em>This comment was flagged for review.</em>';
			}

			s = s.replace(Dsq.MEDIA_POST_RE, Dsq.MediaPostHandler);
			return s;
		};
	};

	//
	// Thread
	//
	// TODO: These need to be stripped of all Django template tags.

	this.authPost = function() {
		if (!Dsq.jsonData.context.show_reply) {
			return '';
		}
		var result = [];
		result = result.concat([
				'<div id="dsq-auth"',
						Dsq.jsonData.integration.reply_position ? 'class="dsq-auth-bottom"' : '',
						'>',
					'<div class="dsq-by">',
						'<a href="http://disqus.com" target="_blank">',
							(Dsq.jsonData.integration.disqus_logo ?
								Dsq.Utils.interpolate('<img src="%(media_url)s/images/embed/by-disqus.png" alt="discussion by DISQUS">') :
								Dsq.Utils.interpolate('<img src="%(media_url)s/images/embed/dsq-button-120x19.png" alt="discussion by DISQUS">')
							),
						'</a>',
					'</div>',
					'<div class="dsq-auth-header">',
						'<h3 id="dsq-add-new-comment" class="dsq-h3-addcomment">',
								Dsq.Strings.ADD_NEW_COMMENT,
						'</h3>',
						'<div id="dsq-login">',
						(!Dsq.jsonData.request.is_authenticated && Dsq.jsonData.forum.allow_anon_post
								? '<p class="dsq-login-message" id="dsq-login-message">You are commenting as a <a class="dsq-help" title="Click for more information" href="#" onclick="Dsq.Popup.helpBadges(); return false">Guest</a>. You may log into:</p>'
								: '')
		]);
		if (!Dsq.jsonData.request.is_authenticated) {
			result = result.concat([
							Dsq.Utils.interpolate(
								'<a id="dsq-login-toggle" href="%(disqus_url)s%(login_url)s?next=article:%(thread_id)s" onclick="Dsq.Popup.login(); return false"><img class="dsq-login-icon" src="%(media_url)s/images/dsq-profile-btn.png" title="%(log_into)s" alt="%(log_into)s"/></a>',
								{login_url: Dsq.Urls.LOGIN, thread_id: Dsq.jsonData.thread.id, log_into: Dsq.Strings.LOG_INTO_DISQUS}
								),
							'&nbsp; ',
							(Dsq.jsonData.context.use_fb_connect ?
								'<div id="dsq-fbc-login" onlogin="DisqusFbcParentController.onLogin()" size="medium" background="light" length="short" style="display:inline; margin-right:7px"></div>' :
								''
							),
							(Dsq.jsonData.context.use_twitter_signin ?
								Dsq.Utils.interpolate(
									'<div id="dsq-twitter-login" class="dsq-twitter-login" onclick="Dsq.Twitter.startTwitterConnect();" style="display:inline; cursor: pointer"><img src="%(media_url)s/images/twitter-signin-short.png" style="margin-right:7px" /></div>', {}) : ''),
							(Dsq.jsonData.context.use_openid ?
								Dsq.Utils.interpolate(
									'<div id="dsq-openid-login" class="dsq-openid-login" onclick="Dsq.OpenID.requestURL();" style="display:inline; cursor:pointer;"><img src="%(media_url)s/images/openid-login-button.png"/></div>', {}
								) : '')
			]);
		}
		result = result.concat([
						'</div>', // dsq-login
					'</div>', // dsq-auth-header
					'<div id="dsq-authenticated" class="dsq-authenticated" ',
						Dsq.jsonData.request.is_authenticated ? 'style="display:block"' : '',
						'>',
						'<div class="dsq-authenticated-pic">',
								Dsq.Utils.interpolate('<a href="%(url)s" title="%(request_display_username)s">' +
																			'<img class="dsq-post-avatar" src="%(avatar_url)s" alt="" /></a>',
																			{avatar_url: Dsq.Urls.REQUEST_USER_AVATAR,
																			url: (Dsq.jsonData.request.is_remote
																					 ? Dsq.jsonData.request.url
																					 : Dsq.jsonData.settings.disqus_url + Dsq.Urls.REQUEST_USER_PROFILE) }),
						'</div>',
						'<div class="dsq-authenticated-info">',
							'<ul>',
								'<li>',
									(Dsq.jsonData.request.is_remote
										? Dsq.FmtStrings.LOGGED_IN_AS(
												Dsq.Utils.interpolate('<a href="%(url)s" title="%(request_display_username)s">%(request_display_username)s</a>', {url:Dsq.jsonData.request.url})
										  )
										: Dsq.FmtStrings.LOGGED_IN_AS(
												Dsq.Utils.interpolate('<a href="%(disqus_url)s%(profile_url)s" title="%(request_display_username)s">%(request_display_username)s</a>')
											)
									),
								'</li>',
								'<li class="logout">',
									(!Dsq.jsonData.request.is_remote
										? Dsq.Utils.interpolate('<img class="dsq-login-icon" src="%(media_url)s/images/dsqicon12.png" alt="%(logged_in_as)s"/>&nbsp',
											{logged_in_as: Dsq.FmtStrings.LOGGED_IN_AS(Dsq.jsonData.request.display_username)})
										: ''),

									(!Dsq.jsonData.request.is_remote
										? Dsq.Utils.interpolate('<a href="%(disqus_url)s%(logout_url)s?ctkn=%(csrf_token)s" title="%(logout_from_disqus)s">',
											{logout_url: Dsq.Urls.LOGOUT, csrf_token: Dsq.CSRF_TOKEN, logout_from_disqus: Dsq.FmtStrings.LOGOUT_FROM('DISQUS')})
										: ((Dsq.jsonData.request.remote_domain == 'twitter')
												? Dsq.Utils.interpolate('using Twitter (<a href="%(disqus_url)s%(logout_url)s?ctkn=%(csrf_token)s" title="Logout">Logout</a>)',
												 {logout_url: Dsq.Urls.LOGOUT, csrf_token: Dsq.CSRF_TOKEN})
												: ((Dsq.jsonData.request.remote_domain == 'openid')
													 ? Dsq.Utils.interpolate('using OpenID (<a href="%(disqus_url)s%(logout_url)s?ctkn=%(csrf_token)s" title="Logout">Logout</a>)',
													 {logout_url: Dsq.Urls.LOGOUT, csrf_token: Dsq.CSRF_TOKEN})
													 : ''
													)
											)
									),

									(!Dsq.jsonData.request.is_remote ? Dsq.FmtStrings.LOGOUT_FROM('<span class="logo-disqus">DISQUS</span>') : ''),
									'</a>',
								'</li>',
							'</ul>',
						'</div>',
					'</div>'
		]);
		if (Dsq.jsonData.context.use_fb_connect) {
			result = result.concat([
					'<div id="dsq-fbc-authenticated" class="dsq-authenticated">',
						'<div id="dsq-fbc-profilepic" class="dsq-authenticated-pic" uid="loggedinuser" type="FB.XFBML.ProfilePic" size="square" facebook-logo="true"></div>',
						'<div class="dsq-authenticated-info">',
							'<ul>',
								'<li>',
									'Logged in as <span id="dsq-fbc-name" uid="loggedinuser" type="FB.XFBML.Name" linked="true" useyou="false"></span>',
								'</li>',
								'<li class="logout">using Facebook Connect <a href="#" onclick="javascript:DisqusFbcParentController.logout();return false;">(Logout)</a></li>',
							'</ul>',
						'</div>',
					'</div>'
			]);
		}
		result = result.concat([
				'</div>', // dsq-auth
				'<div id="dsq-toolbar-items">',
				'</div>'
		]);
		result = result.concat([
					//
					//
					//
				((!Dsq.jsonData.forum.allow_anon_post && !Dsq.jsonData.request.is_authenticated) ?
					// Needs to be translated:
					('<p id="dsq-no-anon-msg">Required: Please log into <span class="logo-disqus">Disqus</span> ' +
					(Dsq.jsonData.context.use_fb_connect ? 'or connect with Facebook ' : '') +
					(Dsq.jsonData.context.use_twitter_signin ? 'or sign in with Twitter ' : '') +
					(Dsq.jsonData.context.use_openid ? 'or sign in using OpenID ' : '') +
					Dsq.Utils.interpolate('to comment on <strong>%(forum_name)s</strong>.</p>')) :
					''
				),
				'<div id="dsq-post-add"></div>',
				'<div style="margin:10px 0">',
				((Dsq.jsonData.forum.use_media) ?
						'<a href="#" id="dsq-media-link" onclick="Dsq.Post.showMenu(this, false, \'media\'); return false">' + Dsq.Strings.USE_MEDIA + ' <small>&#9660;</small></a>' :
						''),
				'</div>'
		]);
		return result.join('');
	};


	this.header = function() {

		var html = '\<h3 id="dsq-comments-count" class="dsq-h3-commentcount">\
	 Showing <span id="dsq-num-posts">50</span> of <span id="dsq-total-posts">368</span> Comments\
	 &nbsp;\
	 <span class="dsq-item-feed">\
	 <a href="http://disqus.com/forums/washingtonindependent/battling_obama_by_8216going_galt8217/latest.rss"><img src="http://media.disqus.com/images/embed/bullet-feed.png"></a>\
	 </span>\
	 </h3>\
	 <div id="dsq-options" style="margin:15px 0">\
	 <span class="dsq-item-sort">\
	 Sort by\
	 <select id="dsq-sort-select" onchange="Dsq.Thread.sortBy(this.value);">\
	 <option value="hot" >Popular now</option>\
	 <option value="best" >Best Rating</option>\
	 <option value="newest" selected="selected">Newest first</option>\
	 <option value="oldest" >Oldest first</option>\
	 </select>\
	 &nbsp;\
	 </span>\
	 <span class="dsq-item-cp"><a href="http://disqus.com/forums/washingtonindependent/battling_obama_by_8216going_galt8217/">Community Page</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</span>\
	 <span class="dsq-item-subscribe">\
	 <img src="http://media.disqus.com/images/embed/email.png" style="width:12px;height:12px;vertical-align:middle">\
	 <span id="dsq-subscribe">\
	 <a href="#" onclick="Dsq.Thread.subscribe(1); return false">Subscribe by email</a>\
	 </span>\
	 </span>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-alerts">\
	 </div>\
		';

		
			html = Dsq.Templates.authPost() + html;
		

		
		if (Dsq.jsonData.request.is_moderator) { 
			html = ' \
			<div class="dsq-alert-message dsq-upgrade-message"> \
				<strong>Disqus upgrade available.</strong> Hi ' + Dsq.jsonData.request.display_username + ', this message is being displayed to you because you are a moderator of this site. <a href="#" onclick="Dsq.$(\'dsq-upgrade-message\').style.display=\'block\';this.style.display=\'none\';return false">Click here for details.</a> \
				<div style="display:none; margin-top:10px;" id="dsq-upgrade-message"> \
					A new theme is available with added features. <a href="http://disqus.com/comments/settings/' + Dsq.jsonData.forum.url + '/?p=customize">To change your theme, click here</a> and choose the theme Narcissus. \
					If you do not upgrade, you are missing out on features such as: real-time commenting, new sign-in integrations, and an upgrade interface. \
					<strong>This message will automatically go away in one week.</strong> \
				</div> \
			</div> \
			' + html; 
		}
		return html;
	};

	this.footer = function() {
		var html = Dsq.Templates.pagination();

		

		html += Dsq.Templates.reactions();

		

		return html;
	};

	this.pagination = function() {
		var html = '';
		
		if (Dsq.$('dsq-pagination')) { Dsq.$('dsq-pagination').innerHTML = ''; }
		if (!Dsq.jsonData.thread.paginate) { return ''; }

		//
		// TODO: num_paginator still uses the template tag for pagination, 
		// 		while append_paginator does it all in JavaScript.
		//		This should all be in JavaScript.
		//

		if (Dsq.jsonData.thread.num_pages > 1 && Dsq.jsonData.request.page < Dsq.jsonData.thread.num_pages) {
			html = ' \<a class="dsq-paginate-append-text" href="#" onclick="Dsq.Thread.paginate(Dsq.jsonData.request.page + 1, this); return false">Show more comments...</a>\
	 <button class="dsq-button-small dsq-paginate-append-button" onclick="Dsq.Thread.paginate(Dsq.jsonData.request.page + 1, this);">Load more comments</button>\
			';
		}
		
		if (Dsq.$('dsq-pagination')) {
			Dsq.$('dsq-pagination').innerHTML = html;
			return '';
		} else {
			return '<div id="dsq-pagination" class="dsq-pagination">' + html + '</div>';
		}
	};

	this.trackbacks = function() {
		var html = '';

		if(typeof DsqLocal != 'undefined' && DsqLocal.trackback_url && DsqLocal.trackbacks) {
			var trackbacks = DsqLocal.trackbacks;
			var trackback_url = DsqLocal.trackback_url;
		} else {
			var trackbacks = [
			
			
			];
			var trackback_url = 'http://disqus.com/forums/washingtonindependent/battling_obama_by_8216going_galt8217/trackback/';
		}

		html += '<div class="dsq-item-trackback">Trackback URL&nbsp;&nbsp;<input class="dsq-trackback-url" onclick="this.select()" readonly="true" value="' + trackback_url + '"></div>';

		if(trackbacks.length) {
			html += '<ul id="dsq-references">'
			for(var i = 0; i < trackbacks.length; i++) {
				var trackback = trackbacks[i];
				html += '<li><cite><a href="' + trackback.author_url + '" rel="nofollow">' + trackback.author_name + '</a></cite> \
						<p class="dsq-meta">' + trackback.date + '</p> \
						<p class="dsq-content">' + trackback.excerpt + '</p></li>';
			}
			html += '</ul>';
			html = '<h3 class="dsq-h3-trackbacks">Trackbacks</h3>' + html;
		}

		return html;
	}

	this.showRetweets = function(id, limit, element_id /* Optional */) {
		var source, html = '';

		for (var i = 0, reaction; reaction = Dsq.jsonData.reactions[i]; i++) {
			if (reaction.id === id) {
				source = reaction.retweets;
			}
		}

		if (source) {
			if (limit === 0) {
				limit = source.length;
			}

			for (var j = 0; j < limit; j++) {
				var rt = source[j];
				html += '<a href="' + rt.url + '">' + rt.author_name + '</a>'	+ ((j === (limit - 1)) ? '.' : ', ');
			}
		}

		if (element_id === undefined) {
			return html;
		}

		var element = document.getElementById(element_id);
		element.innerHTML = html;
		return element;
	};

	this.showMoreReactions = function(reactions, has_more, start, limit) {
		var link = document.getElementById('dsq-show-more-reactions');
		var container = link.parentNode;
		container.removeChild(link);

		for (var i = 0, reaction; reaction = reactions[i]; i++) {
			var el = Dsq.Templates.generateReactionHTML(reaction);
			if (el) {
				container.innerHTML += el;
			}
		}

		if (has_more) {
			var d = Dsq.jsonData.settings.disqus_url;
			var f = Dsq.jsonData.forum.url;
			var t = Dsq.jsonData.thread.id;
			var s = start;
			var l = limit;

			var handler = 'Dsq.Utils.execScript(\'' + d + '/forums/' + f + '/more_reactions.js?t=' + t + '&s=' + s + '&l=' + l + '\', true); return false;';
			container.innerHTML += '<li id="dsq-show-more-reactions"><a href="#" onclick="' + handler + '">Show more reactions</a></li>';
		}
	};

	this.generateReactionHTML = function(reaction) {
		if (reaction.body === null || reaction.body == '') {
			return;
		}

		if (reaction.author_name === '') {
			reaction.author_name = '&nbsp;';
		}

		if (reaction.url === '') {
			reaction.url = reaction.get_service_url;
		}

		/* Reaction HTML begins */
		var item = '<li class="dsq-reaction" id="dsq-reaction-' + reaction.id + '">'
			+ '<div class="dsq-reaction-header">'
			+ '<div class="dsq-header-avatar">';

		if (reaction.author_url && reaction.author_url !== '') {
			item += '<a target="_blank" href="' + reaction.author_url +'">';
		} else {
			item += '<a target="_blank" href="#" onclick="return false;">';
		}

		if (reaction.avatar_url && reaction.avatar_url !== '') {
			item += '<img src="' + reaction.avatar_url + '"/>';
		} else {
			item += '<img src="' + Dsq.jsonData.media_url + '/images/noavatar32.png"/>';
		}

		var service_icon = (reaction.get_service_name == 'trackback' || reaction.get_service_name == 'pingback' ? 'rss' : reaction.get_service_name.replace(' ', ''));
		item += '<img class="dsq-service-icon" src="' + Dsq.jsonData.media_url + '/images/reactions/services/' + service_icon + '.png"/>'
			+ '</a></div>'
			+ '<cite><span>' + reaction.author_name + '</span></cite>'
			+ '<span class="dsq-header-meta"><a class="dsq-header-time">' + reaction.date_created + '</a></span>'
			+ '</div><div class="dsq-reaction-body">'
			+ '<div class="dsq-reaction-message">' + reaction.body + '</div>'
			+ '<div class="dsq-reaction-footer">From <a class="dsq-service-name" target="_blank" href="' + reaction.url + '">' + reaction.get_service_name + '</a> '
			+ 'via ' + (reaction.source == 'backtype' ? '<a href="http://backtype.com/">BackType</a>' : '<a href="' + reaction.source_url + '">UberVU</a>')
			+ (Dsq.jsonData.request.is_moderator || Dsq.jsonData.request.is_global_moderator ? '&nbsp;&bull;&nbsp;<a class="dsq-hide-reaction" href="#" onclick="Dsq.Reaction.hide(' + reaction.id + '); return false;">Hide</a>' : '') + '</div></div>';

		if(reaction.retweets) {
			var num_retweets = reaction.retweets.length;
			if (num_retweets > 0) {
				item += '<div class="dsq-reaction-retweets">';
				if (num_retweets == 1) {
					item += 'One more retweet from <a href="' + reaction.retweets[0].url + '">'  + reaction.retweets[0].author_name + '</a>';
				} else {
					item += (num_retweets + ' more retweets from ');

					item += '<span id="dsq-reaction-retweets-' + reaction.id + '">';
					var n_tweets = (num_retweets > 15) ? 15 : num_retweets;
					item += Dsq.Templates.showRetweets(reaction.id, n_tweets);

					if (n_tweets != num_retweets) {
						item += '</span> <a onclick="Dsq.Templates.showRetweets(' + reaction.id + ', 0, \'dsq-reaction-retweets-' + reaction.id + '\');'
							+ 'this.parentNode.removeChild(this); return false;" href="#">Show all</a>';
					}
				}
				item += '</div>';
			}
		}

		item += '</li>'; /* Reaction HTML ends */
		return item;
	};

	this.reactions = function() {
		var html, reaction;

		if (Dsq.jsonData.reactions === undefined || Dsq.jsonData.reactions.length === 0) {
			return '';
		}

		html = '';
		for (var i = 0; reaction = Dsq.jsonData.reactions[i]; i++) {
			var item = Dsq.Templates.generateReactionHTML(reaction);
			if (item) {
				html += item;
			}
		}

		if (Dsq.jsonData.has_more_reactions) {
			var d = Dsq.jsonData.settings.disqus_url;
			var f = Dsq.jsonData.forum.url;
			var t = Dsq.jsonData.thread.id;
			var s = Dsq.jsonData.reactions_start;
			var l = Dsq.jsonData.reactions_limit;

			var handler = 'Dsq.Utils.execScript(\'' + d + '/forums/' + f + '/more_reactions.js?t=' + t + '&s=' + s + '&l=' + l + '\', true); return false;';
			html += '<li id="dsq-show-more-reactions"><a href="#" onclick="' + handler + '">Show more reactions</a></li>';
		}

		return '<h3 class="dsq-h3-reactions">Reactions</h3><ul id="dsq-reactions" class="dsq-reactions">' + html + '</ul>';
	};
	
	this.missingPermissions = function() {
		return '';
	};

	//
	// Post
	//

	this.prependPost = function(post_id) {
		var html = '<div id="comment-' + post_id + '"></div>';
		return html;
	};

	this.appendPost = function(post_id) {
		var html = '<div id="dsq-comment-reply-' + post_id + '"></div>';
		return html;
	};

	this.postPrependHeader = function(post_id) {
		var _meta = Dsq.jsonData.posts[post_id];
		var userData = Dsq.jsonData['users'][_meta.user_key];

		var _includeServices = function() {
			var userServices = Dsq.Post.getUserServices(null, post_id);
			var html = '';
			var hiddenThreshold = 3; // Define # of services to show before stuffing them in hidden div

			for(var i = 0; i < userServices.length; i++) {
				html +=
				(i == hiddenThreshold
					? '<li id="dsq-drop-hidden-' + post_id +'" class="dsq-drop-hidden"><ul>'
					: '')
				+ '<li class="dsq-drop-services"> \
					<a class="dsq-service-' + userServices[i].name.toLowerCase() + '" href="' + userServices[i].url + '" target="_blank"> \
						<img src="' + Dsq.jsonData.media_url + '/images/embed/services/' + userServices[i].name.toLowerCase() + '.png" alt="' + userServices[i].name.toLowerCase() + '">'
					+ userServices[i].name
					+ '</a> \
				</li>';
			}

			if(i >= hiddenThreshold) {
				html += '</ul></li> \
				<li id="dsq-drop-more-' + post_id + '" class="dsq-drop-more"><a href="#" onclick="Dsq.Post.dropProfileMore(this, '+ post_id + '); return false"><small>&#9660;</small></a></li> \
				';
			}
			return html;
		};

		return ' \
			<div class="dsq-header-avatar" id="dsq-header-avatar-' + post_id + '" onmouseover="Dsq.Post.dropProfile(' + post_id + ')"> \
				<a id="dsq-avatar-' + post_id + '" class="dsq-avatar" href="' + userData.url + '" onclick="Dsq.Popup.popProfile(' + post_id + '); return false;">'
			+ (Dsq.jsonData.forum.show_avatar
				? '<img src="' + Dsq.jsonData.users[_meta.user_key].avatar + '" alt="" />'
				: '')
			+ '</a>'
			+ '</div> \
		';
	};

	this.postAppendHeader = function(post_id) {
		var _meta = Dsq.jsonData.posts[post_id];

		return ''
			+ (_meta.author_is_moderator
				? '<img class="dsq-mod-star" src="http://media.disqus.com/images/bullet-star.png" title="Moderator" alt="" />'
				: '')
			+ '<span class="dsq-header-meta"> \
				<a id="dsq-time-' + post_id + '" class="dsq-header-time" href="#comment-' + post_id + '" title="Permalink">' + _meta.date + '</a> \
			</span>';
	};

	this.preBody = function(post_id) {
		return '';
	}

	this.postBody = function(post_id) {
		// TODO: Deprecate flagging conditional
		var _meta = Dsq.jsonData.posts[post_id];
		return ''
			+ (_meta.edited
				? '<p class="dsq-editedtxt">(Edited by a moderator)</p>'
				: '')
			;
	};

	this.postFooter = function(post_id) {
		// TODO: Use media should be conditional
		var _meta = Dsq.jsonData.posts[post_id];
		if(_meta.killed) { return ''; }

		return ' \
			<div class="dsq-comment-footer" id="dsq-comment-footer-' + post_id + '"> \
				<div id="dsq-points-' + post_id + '" class="dsq-likedtxt">'
				+ (_meta.points
					? _meta.points + Dsq.Utils.pluralize(_meta.points, ' person', ' people') + ' liked this comment.'
					: '')
				+ '</div>'
				+ '<ul class="dsq-comment-options dsq-list-style">'
				+ (_meta.votable
					? '<li class="dsq-list-first dsq-rate" id="dsq-rate-cont-' + post_id + '">'
					+ (!_meta.up_voted
						? '<a href="#" onclick="Dsq.Post.rate(this, ' + post_id + ', 1); return false;">Like</a>'
						: 'You liked this.') + '</li>'
					: '')
				+ '<li class="dsq-report' + (!_meta.votable ? ' dsq-list-first' : '') + '" id="dsq-post-report-' + post_id + '"><a href="#" class="dsq-post-report" onclick="Dsq.Post.report(' + post_id + ', false); return false;">Report</a></li> \
				</ul> \
				<ul class="dsq-list-style">'
				+ (_meta.can_reply
					? '<li class="dsq-list-first"><a href="#" id="dsq-reply-link-' + post_id +'" onclick="Dsq.Post.toggleReply(this, ' + post_id +'); return false;">Reply</a></li>'
					: '')
				+ (_meta.can_reply && !_meta.has_replies && _meta.from_request_user
					? '<li id="dsq-edit-el-' + post_id + '"><a id="dsq-edit-link-' + post_id + '" href="#" onclick="Dsq.Post.edit(this, ' + post_id + '); return false;">Edit</a></li>'
					: '')
				+ '<li class="' + (!_meta.can_reply ? 'dsq-list-first' : '') + '" id="dsq-more-el-' + post_id + '"><a id="dsq-more-link-' + post_id + '" href="#" onclick="Dsq.Post.showMenu(this, ' + post_id + ', \'more\'); return false">More <small>&#9660;</small></a></li>'
				+ (Dsq.jsonData.forum.use_media
					? '<li id="dsq-media-el-' + post_id +'" style="display:none"><a id="dsq-media-link-' + post_id + '" href="#" onclick="Dsq.Post.showMenu(this, ' + post_id + ', \'media\'); return false">Use Media <small>&#9660;</small></a></li>'
					: '')
				+ '</ul>'
				+ '<div id="dsq-reply-bar-' + post_id + '" class="dsq-reply-bar" style="display:none"> \
						<div id="dsq-reply-bar-items-' + post_id + '" class="dsq-reply-bar-items"> \
						</div> \
						<div id="dsq-reply-bar-auth-' + post_id + '" class="dsq-reply-bar-auth"> \
							 \
								 \
								 	<a href="#" class="dsq-help dsq-reply-req-opt" title="You are commenting as a Guest. You may choose to log into an existing DISQUS Profile, your Facebook, Twitter or OpenID account to comment on The Washington Independent" onclick="Dsq.Popup.helpBadges(); return false">Optional:</a> \
								 \
								<img class="dsq-login-icon" src="http://media.disqus.com/images/dsq-favicon-16x16.png" alt="" /> \
								<a id="dsq-reply-login-' + post_id + '" href="http://disqus.com/profile/login/?next=article:13159279" onclick="Dsq.Popup.login(); return false">Login</a> \
								 \
								 \
								 \
							 \
						</div> \
					</div> \
					<div id="dsq-reply-' + post_id + '"></div> \
			</div> \
		';
	};

	//
	// Iframes
	//

	this._makeAttributes = function(attributes) {
		// Makes a tag attributes string out of an object.
		// Caller is responsible for making sure nothing needs to be escaped.
		var result = [];
		for (key in attributes) {
			result.push(' ' + key + '="' + attributes[key] + '"');
		}
		result = result.join('');
		return result;
	};

	this._frameGeneric = function(base_url, params, attributes) {
		if(typeof(disqus_callback_params) == 'undefined') {
			disqus_callback_params = '';
		}

		var default_params = {
			// TODO: These should be moved to Dsq.jsonData.
			'f'				: 'washingtonindependent',
			't'				: 'battling_obama_by_8216going_galt8217',
			// Do we need encodeURIComponent here?
			'ifrs'			: encodeURIComponent(disqus_iframe_css),
			'to_redirect'	: encodeURIComponent(window.location),
			'cbp'			: disqus_callback_params,
			'ff'			: Dsq.Thread.ff,
			'fc'			: Dsq.Thread.fc,
			'ac'			: Dsq.Thread.ac,
			'default_text'	: disqus_default_text
		};

		base_url += '?' + (new Date()).getTime();
		// Add params to default_params.
		if(params) {
			for(var key in params) {
				if(params.hasOwnProperty(key)) {
					default_params[key] = encodeURIComponent(params[key]);
				}
			}
		}
		// Build querystring.
		for(var key in default_params) {
			if(default_params[key] && default_params.hasOwnProperty(key)) {
				base_url += '&' + key + '=' + default_params[key];
			}
		}

		return [
			'<iframe marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" hspace="0" vspace="0" frameborder="0"',
			(' allowtransparency="true" src="' + base_url + '"'),
			this._makeAttributes(attributes),
			'</iframe>'].join('');
	};

	this.frameLogin = function(opt_attributes) {
		var params = {};
		var base_url = 'http://disqus.com/embed/login.html';
		var attributes = opt_attributes || {};
		attributes['class'] = 'dsq-post-login';

		if(typeof disqus_frame_theme != 'undefined') {
			params['theme'] = disqus_frame_theme;
		}
		return this._frameGeneric(base_url, params, attributes);
	};

	this.frameReply = function(post_id, extra_params, attributes) {
		// Returns the HTML for a reply iframe. Called by Dsq.Iframes.setReplyIframeToContainer
		var _meta = (typeof post_id != 'undefined') ? Dsq.jsonData.posts[post_id] : false;
		var base_url = Dsq.Urls.REPLY;
		var params = {
			'def_email'		: disqus_def_email,
			'def_name'		: disqus_def_name
		};
		if(extra_params) {
			for(var key in extra_params) {
				if(extra_params.hasOwnProperty(key)) {
					params[key] = extra_params[key];
				}
			}
		}
		if(_meta) {
			params['parent_post'] = post_id;
		}
		if(typeof disqus_per_page != 'undefined') {
			params['per_page'] = disqus_per_page;
		}
		if(typeof disqus_frame_theme != 'undefined') {
			params['theme'] = disqus_frame_theme;
		}
		if(Dsq.jsonData.request.is_authenticated) {
			attributes['class'] += '-authenticated';
		}
		return this._frameGeneric(base_url, params, attributes);
	};

	this.frameEdit = function(post_id) {
		var _meta = (typeof post_id != 'undefined') ? Dsq.jsonData.posts[post_id] : false;
		var base_url = 'http://disqus.com/embed/edit.html';
		var params = {
			'p' : post_id
		};
		return this._frameGeneric(base_url, params, {'class': 'dsq-post-edit', 'name': 'dsq-edit_' + post_id + '-frame'});
	};

	//
	// Menus
	//

	this.menuMore = function(post_id) {
		// TODO: "Remove post" button should hide menu.
		var _meta = Dsq.jsonData.posts[post_id];
		var userData = Dsq.jsonData['users'][_meta.user_key];
		return ' \
			<li><a href="#comment-' + post_id + '" onclick="Dsq.Popup.permalink(' + post_id + ')">Link</a></li> \
			<li><a href="#" onclick="Dsq.Popup.popProfile(' + post_id + '); return false;">Profile</a></li>'
	+ (Dsq.jsonData.request.is_moderator || Dsq.jsonData.request.is_global_moderator
		? '	<li class="dsq-menu-sep"></li>' + (_meta.email ? '<li class="dsq-admin-email">' + _meta.email + '</li>' : '')
		+ '	<li class="dsq-admin-ip">' + _meta.ip + '</li> \
			<li class="dsq-menu-sep"></li>'
		+ (Dsq.jsonData.request.moderator_can_edit
			? ' <li class="dsq-admin-edit"><a href="#" onclick="Dsq.Post.edit(this, ' + post_id + '); return false;">Edit Comment</a></li>'
			: '')
		+ ' <li class="dsq-remove"><a href="#" onclick="Dsq.Post.removePost(' + post_id + ', 1); return false;">Remove Comment</a></li> \
			<li class="dsq-report-spam"><a href="#" onclick="Dsq.Post.reportSpam(' + post_id + '); return false;">Mark Spam</a></li> \
			<li class="dsq-block-user"><a href="#" onclick="Dsq.Popup.blacklist(' + post_id + '); return false">Block User</a></li>'
		: '');
	};

	this.menuMedia = function(post_id) {
		return ' \
			<li><a href="#" onclick="Dsq.Post.toggleMediaReply(this, ' + post_id + ', \'seesmic\'); return false;">Record video</a></li> \
		';
	};

	this.dropProfile = function(post_id) {
		var _meta = Dsq.jsonData.posts[post_id];
		var userData = Dsq.jsonData['users'][_meta.user_key];

		var _includeServices = function() {
			var userServices = Dsq.Post.getUserServices(null, post_id);
			var html = '';
			var hiddenThreshold = 3; // Define # of services to show before stuffing them in hidden div

			for(var i = 0; i < userServices.length; i++) {
				html +=
				(i == hiddenThreshold
					? '<li id="dsq-drop-hidden-' + post_id +'" class="dsq-drop-hidden"><ul>'
					: '')
				+ '<li class="dsq-drop-services"> \
					<a class="dsq-service-' + userServices[i].name.toLowerCase() + '" href="' + userServices[i].url + '" target="_blank"> \
						<img src="' + Dsq.jsonData.media_url + '/images/embed/services/' + userServices[i].name.toLowerCase() + '.png" alt="' + userServices[i].name.toLowerCase() + '">'
					+ userServices[i].name
					+ '</a> \
				</li>';
			}

			if(i >= hiddenThreshold) {
				html += '</ul></li> \
				<li id="dsq-drop-more-' + post_id + '" class="dsq-drop-more"><a href="#" onclick="Dsq.Post.dropProfileMore(this, '+ post_id + '); return false"><small>&#9660;</small></a></li> \
				';
			}
			return html;
		};


		var menu = '<li class="dsq-drop-showlnk"><a href="#" onclick="Dsq.Popup.popProfile(' + post_id + '); return false;">Expand &#8663;</a></li>';
		var pointsMessage = '';
		if (userData['registered']) {
			pointsMessage = 'with ' + userData['points'] + ' points (more points are better).';
		}

		if (userData['is_remote']) {
			var domain = userData['remote_domain_name'];
			menu += '<li class="dsq-drop-badge" title="' + userData['display_name'] + ' is a ' + domain + ' user ' + pointsMessage + '" onclick="Dsq.Popup.helpBadges()">';
			menu += '<span class="dsq-badge-' + domain.toLowerCase() + '">' + domain + '</span></li>';
		} else if (userData['registered']) {
			if (userData['verified']) {
				menu += '<li class="dsq-drop-badge" title="' + userData['display_name'] + ' has a verified commenter profile ' + pointsMessage + '" onclick="Dsq.Popup.helpBadges()">';
				menu += '<span class="dsq-badge-verified">Verified</span></li>';
			} else {
				menu += '<li class="dsq-drop-badge" title="' + userData['display_name'] + ' has a registered, but unverified, commenter profile ' + pointsMessage + '" onclick="Dsq.Popup.helpBadges()">';
				menu += '<span class="dsq-badge-registered">Registered</span></li>';
			}
		} else {
			menu += '<li class="dsq-drop-badge" title="' + userData['display_name'] + ' has not claimed this commenter profile." onclick="Dsq.Popup.helpBadges()"><span class="dsq-badge-guest">Guest</span></li>';
		}

		menu += _includeServices();
		return menu;
	};

	//
	// Popups
	//

	this._popupGeneric = function(content) {
		return ' \
		<div class="dsq-popup-content"> \
			<div class="dsq-popup-top"></div> \
			<div class="dsq-popup-body" class="clearfix"> \
				<div class="dsq-popup-body-padding"> \
					<div class="dsq-popup-header"> \
						<a class="dsq-close-link" href="#" onclick="Dsq.Popup._closePopup(null, true); return false"><img src="http://media.disqus.com/images/modal-close.png" alt="" /></a>'
						+ content['header']
					+ '</div>'
					+ content['body']
					+ '<div class="powered-by"><a href="http://disqus.com/comments/">Powered by <img src="http://media.disqus.com/images/embed/disqus-logo.png" alt="Disqus Comments" style="margin-bottom:-5px" /></a></div> \
				</div> <!-- padding --> \
			</div> <!-- body --> \
			<div class="dsq-popup-bottom"></div> \
		</div> \
		';
	};

	this.popupProfile = function(user_key) {
		var userServices = Dsq.Post.getUserServices(user_key, null);
		var userData = Dsq.jsonData['users'][user_key];
		var headerHtml = '';
		var bodyHtml = '';
		var content = {};

		var _includeServices = function() {
			var html = '';
			for(var i = 0; i < userServices.length; i++) {
				html +=
				(i == 0
					? '<h4>Connections</h4><ul>'
					: '')
				+ '<li> \
					<img src="' + Dsq.jsonData.media_url + '/images/embed/services/' + userServices[i].name.toLowerCase() + '.png" alt="' + userServices[i].name.toLowerCase() + '" title="' + userServices[i].name.toLowerCase() + '" /> \
					<a class="dsq-service-' + userServices[i].name.toLowerCase() + '" href="' + userServices[i].url + '" target="_blank">'
					+ userServices[i].name
					+ '</a> \
				</li>'
				+ (i+1 == userServices.length ? '</ul>' : '');
			}
			return html;
		};

		headerHtml = ' \
			<table> \
				<tr> \
					<td> \
						<a class="dsq-profile-userurl" href="' + userData.url + '"><img class="dsq-popup-profile-avatar" src="' + userData['avatar'] + '" alt="" /></a> \
					</td> \
					<td> \
						<div class="dsq-popup-profile-user"> \
							<h3>' + userData['display_name'] + '</h3> \
							<div class="dsq-popup-profile-user-stats" id="dsq-popup-profile-user-stats-' + user_key + '">Loading...</div> \
						</div> \
					</td> \
				</tr> \
			</table> \
		';

		bodyHtml = ' \
			<div class="dsq-popup-profile-state"> \
				This is a&nbsp;<span class="'
					+ (userData['registered']
						? (userData['verified']
							? ' dsq-badge-verified'
							: (userData['is_remote']
								? ' dsq-badge-' + userData['remote_domain_name'].toLowerCase()
								: ' dsq-badge-registered')
							)
							: ' dsq-badge-guest') + '">'
			+ (userData['registered']
				? (userData['verified']
					? 'Verified'
					: (userData['is_remote']
						 ? userData['remote_domain_name']
						 : 'Registered')
					)
				: 'Guest')
			+ '</span>&nbsp;commenter profile.'
			+ '&nbsp;<a class="dsq-profile-userurl" href="' + userData.url + '"><strong>View more comments </strong></a>'
			+ (!userData['points']
				? '<p class="dsq-popup-notice">If this is you, <a href="http://disqus.com/profile" target="_blank">claim it now</a> to manage your comments.</p>'
				: '')
			+ ((userData['registered'] && !userData['verified'] && (Dsq.jsonData.request.username && (Dsq.jsonData.request.username == userData['username'])) && !userData['is_remote'])
				? '<p class="dsq-popup-notice"><strong>Alert</strong>: You have not verified this account. <a href="http://disqus.com/verify">Verify it now.</a></p>'
				: '')
			+ '</div> \
			<div id="dsq-profile-status-' + user_key + '" class="dsq-popup-profile-status" style="display:none"></div> \
			<div class="dsq-popup-profile-snapshot"> \
				<table> \
					<tr> \
						<td> \
							<div id="dsq-popup-profile-active-sites-wrapper-' + user_key + '"> \
								<h4>Most active sites</h4> \
								<ul id="dsq-popup-profile-active-sites-' + user_key + '"> \
									<li>Loading...</li> \
								</ul> \
							</div> \
						</td> \
						<td>'
							+ _includeServices()
							+ '<div id="dsq-popup-profile-moderated-wrapper-' + user_key + '"> \
								<h4>Moderator of</h4> \
								<ul id="dsq-popup-profile-moderated-' + user_key + '"> \
									<li>Loading...</li> \
								</ul> \
							</div> \
						</td> \
					</tr> \
				</table> \
			</div> \
			';

		content = {
			'header': headerHtml,
			'body': bodyHtml
		};

		return this._popupGeneric(content);
	};

	this.popupReblog = function() {
		var headerHtml = '';
		var bodyHtml = '';
		var content = {};

		headerHtml = ' \
			<cite><span>Reblog this comment</span></cite> \
		';

		bodyHtml = ' \
			<div id="dsq-reblog-form" class="dsq-reblog-form"> \
			</div> \
		';

		content = {
			'header': headerHtml,
			'body': bodyHtml
		};

		return this._popupGeneric(content);
	};

	this.popupModal = function(title, message) {
		var headerHtml = '';
		var bodyHtml = '';
		var content = {};

		headerHtml = ' \
			<h3>' + title + '</h3> \
		';

		bodyHtml = message;

		content = {
			'header': headerHtml,
			'body': bodyHtml
		};

		return this._popupGeneric(content);
	};

	this.alertContent = function(name, post_id) {
		var alert = {
			'post_not_approved': {
				'title': 'Comment awaiting approval by a moderator',
				'message': 'Thanks for posting. Your comment must be approved by a moderator before appearing here.'
			},
			'post_has_profile': {
				'title': 'Use your existing commenter profile',
				'message': 'You have just posted your commment as a <span class="dsq-badge dsq-badge-guest">Guest</span>, but you may already have a <span class="dsq-badge dsq-badge-registered">Registered</span> commenter profile.<br /><br /><a href="http://disqus.com/claim">Log in and claim this comment!</a>'
			}
		};
		return alert[name] || false;
	};

	//
	// Actions
	//

	this.voted = function(post_id, points, vote) {
		// Update number of points
		Dsq.$('dsq-points-' + post_id).innerHTML = points + Dsq.Utils.pluralize(points, ' person', ' people') + ' liked this comment.';

		// Update link text
		if(vote) {
			Dsq.$('dsq-rate-cont-' + post_id).innerHTML = 'You liked this.';
		}
	};

	this.subscribed = function(status) {
		var title, message;

		if(status) {
			title = 'Subscribed!';
			message = 'You have subscribed to this comment thread. New comments will be sent directly to your email inbox, where you may read and respond by email.';
			Dsq.$('dsq-subscribe').innerHTML = ' \
				<a href="#" onclick="Dsq.Thread.subscribe(0); return false">Unsubscribe</a> \
			';
		} else {
			title = 'Unsubscribed';
			message = 'You have unsubscribed to this comment thread. New comments will no longer be sent to your email inbox.';
			Dsq.$('dsq-subscribe').innerHTML = ' \
				<a href="#" onclick="Dsq.Thread.subscribe(1); return false">Subscribe by email</a> \
			';
		}

		Dsq.Popup.popModal(message, title);

	};
	
	this.highlighted = function() {
		Dsq.Popup.popModal('This comment has been highlighted.', 'Highlighted comment');
	};

	//
	// Media
	//

	this.mediaSeesmic = function(id, thumb) {
		return ' \
			<div id="dsq-seesmic-' + id + '_preview" class="dsq-seesmic-preview"><a href="http://www.seesmic.com/video/' + id + '" target="_blank" class="see_link">&nbsp;</a> \
				<div style="display:block;width:160px; height:120px; border:none; background-image:url(http://t.seesmic.com/thumbnail/' + thumb + ')"> \
					<div id="dsq-seesmic-' + id + '_hide" class="seePlayOverlay" style="display:none;"><img onclick="see_play_video(\'' + id + '\',false)" src="http://media.disqus.com/images/seesmic/stopOverlay.png" width="50" height="50" style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand; padding-top: 30px; padding-left: 50px" alt="" /></div> \
					<div id="dsq-seesmic-' + id + '_show" class="seePlayOverlay"><img onclick="see_play_video(\'' + id + '\',true)" src="http://media.disqus.com/images/seesmic/playOverlay.png" width="50" height="50" style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand; border:none; padding-top: 30px; padding-left: 50px" alt="" /></div> \
				</div> \
			</div> \
			<div id="' + id + '_content" style="display:block; width:100%; padding-top:5px"></div> \
		';
	};

	//
	// Callbacks
	//

	this.postComment_onSuccess = function(parent_post_id) {
		// Increment post count
		var num_posts = Dsq.$('dsq-num-posts');
		var total_posts = Dsq.$('dsq-total-posts');
		
		if (num_posts) { 
			num_posts.innerHTML = parseInt(num_posts.innerHTML) + 1;
		}
		if (total_posts) { 
			total_posts.innerHTML = parseInt(total_posts.innerHTML) + 1;
		}
	};
};
// Dsq.Templates


/**
 * Dsq.Post
 */
Dsq.Post = new function() {
	this.openedMenu = {};
	this.menuEventListener = null;
	this.stateReplyToggled = {};
	this.stateEditToggled = {};
	this.stateRecordLink = {};

	/**
	 * Inserts a new post into the document.
	 *
	 * @param after_id {Number}	Insert a post before specified id.  If after_id
	 *							evaluates to false, then post in the front.  If
	 *							after_id is -1, post at the end.
	 */
	this.insert = function(after_id, id, message, author) {
		// Skeleton template from thread_posts.html.
		var skeleton = ' \
			<li id="dsq-comment-%(id)s"> \
				<div id="dsq-comment-header-%(id)s" class="dsq-comment-header"> \
					<cite id="dsq-cite-%(id)s" class="dsq-comment-cite"> \
						<a id="dsq-author-user-%(id)s" href="%(author_url)s" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">%(author_name)s</a> \
					</cite> \
				</div> \
				<div id="dsq-comment-body-%(id)s" class="dsq-comment-body"> \
					<div id="dsq-comment-message-%(id)s" class="dsq-comment-message">%(message)s</div> \
				</div> \
			</li> \
		';
		var _meta = Dsq.jsonData.posts[id];
		var _user_meta = Dsq.jsonData.users[_meta.user_key];
		var markup = Dsq.Utils.interpolate(skeleton, {
			id: id,
			message: message,
			author_url: _user_meta.blog,
			author_name: _user_meta.display_name
		});
		var div = document.createElement('div');
		markup = markup.replace(Dsq.COMMENTS_RE, Dsq.CommentsHandler);
		div.innerHTML = markup;

		if (after_id === -1) {
			Dsq.$('dsq-comments').appendChild(div);
		} else if (!after_id) {
			Dsq.$('dsq-comments').insertBefore(div, Dsq.$('dsq-comments').firstChild);
		} else if (Dsq.$('dsq-comment-' + after_id)) {
			// Get next node after "after_id", so we can insert before it.
			// If "after_id" is the last comment, the target node is the
			// last node.
			
			// var append_post_id = Dsq.Templates.appendPost(after_id).replace('<div id="','').replace('"></div>', '');
			var append_post_id = 'dsq-append-post-' + after_id;
			var node = Dsq.$(append_post_id);
			while (node = node.nextSibling) {
				if (!node || node.nodeType == 1) { // 1 == Node.ELEMENT_NODE
					break;
				}
			}
			if (!node) {
				node = Dsq.$(append_post_id);
			}
			node.parentNode.insertBefore(div, node);
		}
	};

	this.incrementPostCount = function() {
		
		var num_posts = Dsq.$('dsq-num-posts');
		var total_posts = Dsq.$('dsq-total-posts');

		if (num_posts) {
			num_posts.innerHTML = parseInt(num_posts.innerHTML, 10) + 1;
		}
		if (total_posts) {
			total_posts.innerHTML = parseInt(total_posts.innerHTML, 10) + 1;
		}
	}
	
	this.outlineComment = function(post_id) {
		Dsq.$('dsq-comment-' + post_id).className += ' dsq-comment-outline';
		setTimeout("(function () { Dsq.Post.clearOutlineComment(" + post_id + ") })()", 3000);
	};
	
	this.clearOutlineComment = function(post_id) {
		Dsq.$('dsq-comment-' + post_id).className = Dsq.$('dsq-comment-' + post_id).className.replace('dsq-comment-outline', '');
	};

	this.showMenu = function(el, id, name) {
		var anchorPos = Dsq.Utils.findPos(el);
		var menu = document.createElement('ul');

		if(this.openedMenu) {
			if(this.openedMenu.linkClicked) {
				this.openedMenu.linkClicked = false;
				return;
			}
		}

		switch(name) {
			case 'more':
				menu.innerHTML = Dsq.Templates.menuMore(id);
				break;
			case 'media':
				menu.innerHTML = Dsq.Templates.menuMedia(id);
				break;
			default:
				break;
		}

		// Add menu to document body
		menu.id = 'dsq-menu-' + id;
		menu.className = 'dsq-menu';
		Dsq.$b.appendChild(menu);

		// Position and show
		anchorPos[1] += 15;
		menu.style.left = anchorPos[0] + 'px';
		menu.style.top = anchorPos[1] + 'px';
		menu.style.display = 'block';

		// Set global reference
		this.openedMenu = {
			'el' : menu,
			'id' : id,
			'name' : name,
			'linkClicked' : false
		};

		// Set listener
		this.menuEventListener = Dsq.Utils.addEventListener(document, 'mouseup', this._hideMenu);
	};

	this._hideMenu = function(e) {
		var el = e.target || e.srcElement;
		var openedMenu = Dsq.Post.openedMenu.el;
		var id = Dsq.Post.openedMenu.id;

		if(!id) {
			var link = 'dsq-' + Dsq.Post.openedMenu.name + '-link';
		} else {
			var link = 'dsq-' + Dsq.Post.openedMenu.name + '-link-' + id;
		}

		if(!openedMenu) {
			return;
		}

		if(!Dsq.Popup.isClicked(e, openedMenu.id)) {
			openedMenu.style.display = 'none';
			Dsq.Utils.removeEventListener(Dsq.Post.menuEventListener);
			Dsq.Utils.deleteNode(openedMenu);

		} else {
			// Hide the menu if a link was clicked inside the menu.  We can't
			// completely remove the menu until the onclick event on the link
			// fires, but the menuEventListener will prevent multiple menus
			// from polluting the DOM.
			if(el && typeof el.href != 'undefined') {
				openedMenu.style.display = 'none';
				Dsq.Post.openedMenu.el = null;
			}
		}

		if(Dsq.Popup.isClicked(e, link)) {
 			Dsq.Post.openedMenu.linkClicked = true;
		}
	};


	this.getUserServices = function(user_key, id) {
		if(!user_key && id) {
			var _meta = Dsq.jsonData.posts[id];
			user_key = _meta.user_key;
		}
		var userData = Dsq.jsonData['users'][user_key];
		var userServices = [];

		// Keep a full list of supported services. This is the order they will display in the drop-profile.
		// Each service must have a corresponding case in _buildServiceUrl()
		var supportedServices = ['blog', 'twitter', 'facebook', 'tumblr'];

		function _buildServiceUrl(serviceName) {
			var data = userData[serviceName];
			var services = {
				blog:		function(d) { return d; },
				twitter:	function(d) { return d; },
				facebook:	function(d) { return d; },
				tumblr:		function(d) { return 'http://' + d + '.tumblr.com'; }
			};
			return services[serviceName](data);
		}

		for(var i = 0; i < supportedServices.length; i++) {
			if(userData[supportedServices[i]]) {
				var serviceUrl = _buildServiceUrl(supportedServices[i]);
				userServices.push({'name' : supportedServices[i], 'url' : serviceUrl});
			}
		}
		return userServices;
	}

	this.dropProfile = function(id) {
		var dp = Dsq.$('dsq-drop-profile-' + id);

		// IE6 needs JS to display/hide. All other browsers use CSS.
		if(dp) {
			if(Dsq.Utils.ie6) dp.style.display = (dp.style.display == 'inline') ? 'none' : 'inline';
			return false;
		} else {
			dp = document.createElement('ul');
		}

		dp.id = 'dsq-drop-profile-' + id;
		dp.className = 'dsq-drop-profile';

		if(Dsq.Utils.ie6) { dp.style.display = 'inline'; }

		var container = Dsq.$('dsq-header-avatar-' + id);
		dp.innerHTML = Dsq.Templates.dropProfile(id);
		container.appendChild(dp);
	};

	this.dropProfileMore = function(el, id) {
		var hiddenItems = Dsq.$('dsq-drop-hidden-' + id);

		hiddenItems.style.display = 'inline';
		el.parentNode.style.display = 'none';
	};

	this._updateReplyLinks = function(el, id) {
		// Update "reply / cancel" links based on state.
		var displayDict = {};

		if(id) {
			if(this.stateReplyToggled[id]) {
				el.innerHTML = 'Cancel';
				displayDict['media'] = 'inline';
				displayDict['edit'] = 'none';
			} else {
				el.innerHTML = 'Reply';
				displayDict['media'] = 'none';
				displayDict['edit'] = 'inline';
			}
		}

		for(var key in displayDict) {
			if(displayDict.hasOwnProperty(key)) {
				var	linkEl = Dsq.$('dsq-' + key + '-el-' + id),
					spacer = Dsq.$('dsq-' + key + '-spacer-' + id);

				if(linkEl) {
					linkEl.style.display = displayDict[key];
					if(spacer) spacer.style.display = displayDict[key];
				}
			}
		}
	};

	this._updateMediaLinks = function(el, id) {
		// Update "use media / cancel" links based on state.
		var appendId = (id) ? ('-' + id) : '';
		var link = Dsq.$('dsq-media-link' + appendId);

		if(this.stateRecordLink[id]) {
			link.innerHTML = 'Cancel Media';
			link.onclick = function() { Dsq.Post.toggleMediaReply(link, id); return false; };
		} else {
			link.innerHTML = 'Use Media <small>&#9660;</small>';
			link.onclick = function() { Dsq.Post.showMenu(link, id, 'media'); return false; };
		}
	};

	this.toggleReply = function(el, id) {
		// Create reply IFrame
		if (window.disqus_use_postmessage) {
			if (!this.stateReplyToggled[id]) {
				Dsq.$('dsq-reply-' + id).style.display = 'block';
				Dsq.$('dsq-reply-bar-' + id).style.display = 'block';
				// Create IFrame if it doesn't exist.
				if (!Dsq.frames['reply_' + id]) {
					var _meta = Dsq.jsonData.posts[id];
					Dsq.frames['reply_' + id] = new Dsq.ReplyFrame(Dsq.$('dsq-reply-frame-' + id), id);
					Dsq.frames['reply_' + id].init();
					Dsq.frames['reply_' + id].setState(id, _meta.depth);
				}
			} else {
				Dsq.$('dsq-reply-' + id).style.display = 'none';
				Dsq.$('dsq-reply-bar-' + id).style.display = 'none';
			}
		} else {
			// DEPRECATED
			if(!this.stateReplyToggled[id]) {
				// Reply toolbar
				Dsq.$('dsq-reply-bar-' + id).style.display = 'block';
				Dsq.Iframes.showReplyIframeInContainerIfAllowed(Dsq.$('dsq-reply-' + id), id);
			} else {
				Dsq.$('dsq-reply-bar-' + id).style.display = 'none';
				Dsq.Iframes.hideAllInContainer(Dsq.$('dsq-reply-' + id));
				if(this.stateRecordLink[id]) {
					// HACK: Cancel media before canceling self.
					this.toggleMediaReply(Dsq.$('dsq-media-link-' + id), id);
				}
			}
		}

		this.stateReplyToggled[id] = !this.stateReplyToggled[id];
		this._updateReplyLinks(el, id);

		if(Dsq.Utils.ie) { Dsq.Utils.fixIframesIE('dsq-reply-' + id); }

		Dsq.Events.fire(Dsq.Events.REPLY_IFRAME_TOGGLED, {
			postId: id,
			opened: this.stateReplyToggled[id]
		});
	};

	this.toggleMediaReply = function(el, id, xtype) {
		id = id || 0;
		if(id) {
			var container = Dsq.$('dsq-reply-' + id);
		} else {
			var container = Dsq.$('dsq-post-add');
		}

		if(!this.stateRecordLink[id]) {
			Dsq.Iframes.showReplyIframeInContainer(container, id, {xtype:xtype}, 'dsq-post-video');
		} else {
			Dsq.Iframes.showReplyIframeInContainer(container, id);
		}
		this.stateRecordLink[id] = !this.stateRecordLink[id];
		this._updateMediaLinks(el, id);

		if(Dsq.Utils.ie) { Dsq.Utils.fixIframesIE(); }
	};

	this.edit = function(el, id) {
		Dsq.$('dsq-comment-message-' + id).innerHTML = Dsq.Templates.frameEdit(id);
		el.parentNode.style.display = 'none';
		if(Dsq.Utils.ie) { Dsq.Utils.fixIframesIE('dsq-comment-message-' + id); }
	};

    this.rate = function(el, id, vote) {
		if(Dsq.jsonData.request.is_authenticated || Dsq.jsonData.forum.allow_anon_votes) {
			if(vote == 1) {
                Dsq.$('dsq-rate-cont-' + id).innerHTML = '<img src="http://media.disqus.com/images/loading-small.gif">';
            }

            Dsq.Utils.execScript('http://disqus.com/forums/washingtonindependent/vote.js'
                + '?post_id='    + id
                + '&vote='        + vote);

		} else {
			Dsq.Popup.login(Dsq.Strings.TO_RATE_PLEASE_LOG_IN);
		}
    };

	this.report = function(id, confirmed) {
		if(confirmed) {
			Dsq.Utils.postToUrl('http://disqus.com/forums/washingtonindependent/battling_obama_by_8216going_galt8217/post_report/', {'post_id': id});
			Dsq.Popup.popModal('Thank you. This comment has been flagged for moderator attention.', 'Successfully flagged');
			Dsq.Utils.deleteNode(Dsq.$('dsq-post-report-' + id));
		} else {
			var title = Dsq.Strings.FLAG_INAPPROPRIATE_COMMENT;
			var message = Dsq.Strings.ARE_YOU_SURE_YOU_WOULD_LIKE_TO_REPORT_THIS_COMMENT_TO_A_MODERATOR + '? \
			<br /><br /> \
			<button onclick="Dsq.Popup._closePopup(null, true)"><strong>' + Dsq.Strings.NO + '</strong>, ' + Dsq.Strings.NEVER_MIND + '</button>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<button onclick="Dsq.Post.report(' + id + ', true);"><strong>' + Dsq.Strings.YES + '</strong>, ' + Dsq.Strings.FLAG_INAPPROPRIATE_COMMENT + '</button><br /><br />'
			+ Dsq.Strings.THIS_WILL_FLAG_COMMENTS_FOR_MODERATORS_TO_TAKE_ACTION + '. \
			';

			Dsq.Popup.popModal(message, title, id);
		}
	};



	this.showAlert = function(id, msg) {
		var msgEl = Dsq.$('dsq-comment-message-' + id);
		var alert = '<div class="dsq-comment-alert">' + msg + '</div>';

		msgEl.innerHTML = alert + msgEl.innerHTML;
	};

};
// Dsq.Post


/**
 * Dsq.Thread
 */
Dsq.Thread = new function() {
	this.fc = null;
	this.ff = null;
	this.ac = null;

	
	this.adminIsOn = false;

	
	
	

	this.hlComment = null;
	this.hlCommentClass = null;

	this.getNextComment = function(el) {
		var start_id = el.id;
		while(el = el.nextSibling) {
			if(el.id && el.id.indexOf('dsq-comment-') != -1 && el.id != start_id) {
				return el;
			}
		}
		return null;
	};

	this.getActiveCommentId = function() {
		if (document.URL.indexOf('#comment-') >= 0) {
			var anchor = document.URL.slice(document.URL.indexOf('#') + 1);
			return anchor.replace('comment-', '');
		}
		return null;
	};

	this.highlightAnchor = function() {
		var i = this.getActiveCommentId();
		if (i == null) return false;
		var id = 'dsq-comment-' + i;
		var hash = window.location.hash;

		// Toggle the hash incase the comment isn't available when the page loads
		// for WebKit-based browsers.
		if (Dsq.Utils.webkit) {
			window.location.hash = '';
			window.location.hash = hash;
		}

		this.hlComment = Dsq.$(id);
		// Adding this conditional guard pending #289
		if (!this.hlComment) {
			return;
		}
		this.hlCommentClass = this.hlComment.className;
		this.hlComment.className += ' dsq-hl-anchor';

		setTimeout("Dsq.Thread.highlightClear()", 3000);
	};

	this.highlightClear = function() {
		if (!this.hlComment) {
			return;
		}
		this.hlComment.className = this.hlCommentClass;
	};

	this.login = function(toggle) {
		// toggle id is #dsq-reply-login-[id]
		var postId;
		if(toggle.id.indexOf('dsq-reply-login') != -1) {
			postId = toggle.id.slice(16);
			var container = Dsq.$('dsq-reply-' + postId);
		} else {
			var container = Dsq.$('dsq-post-add');
		}

		if(toggle) {
			if(toggle.className == 'dsq-login-active') {
				Dsq.Iframes.showReplyIframeInContainerIfAllowed(container, postId);
				toggle.className = '';
			} else {
				Dsq.Iframes.showLoginIframeInContainer(container, postId);
				toggle.className = 'dsq-login-active';
			}
		} else {
			Dsq.Iframes.showLoginIframeInContainer(container, postId);
		}

		if(Dsq.Utils.ie) { Dsq.Utils.fixIframesIE(); }
	};


	this.paginate = function(page, el_clicked, per_page) {
		// Use extra_params to pass any override parameters that we need to persist.
		var extra_params = '';

		// "Per page" can either be overriden by providing it as an argument
		// (per-call) or setting the disqus_per_page override variable (global).
		if(typeof per_page == 'undefined') {
			per_page = null;
		}
		if(typeof disqus_per_page != 'undefined' && per_page === null) {
			per_page = disqus_per_page;
		}

		if(typeof disqus_sort != 'undefined') {
			extra_params += '&sort=' + disqus_sort;
		}
		if(per_page !== null) {
			extra_params += '&per_page=' + per_page;
		}

		Dsq.$('dsq-pagination').innerHTML += '<img src="http://media.disqus.com/images/loading-small.gif">';
		
		if(el_clicked) {
			el_clicked.style.display = 'none';
		}
		
		Dsq.Utils.execScript('http://disqus.com/forums/washingtonindependent/thread.js'
			+ '?slug='	+ 'battling_obama_by_8216going_galt8217'
			+ '&p='		+ page
			+ extra_params);
	};

	this.sortBy = function(sort) {
		var disqus_script = document.createElement('script');
		var disqus_date = new Date();

		if (location.hash != '') {
			location.hash = '#disqus_thread';
		}

		if(typeof(disqus_url) == 'undefined') {
			disqus_url = disqus_href;
		}
		disqus_script.type = 'text/javascript';
		disqus_script.src = 'http://disqus.com/forums/washingtonindependent/thread.js'
			+ '?slug='	+ 'battling_obama_by_8216going_galt8217'
			+ '&sort='	+ sort
			+ '&title='
			+ '&'		+ disqus_date.getTime();

		Dsq.$('dsq-comments').innerHTML = '<img src="http://media.disqus.com/images/loading.gif">';
		Dsq.container.appendChild(disqus_script);
	};

	this.subscribe = function(status, email) {
		// `status` is an int -- 1 to subscribe, 0 to unsubscribe
		if(Dsq.jsonData.request.is_authenticated || email) {
			// If authenticated user OR anonymous email provided

			if(email) {
				Dsq.Popup._closePopup(null, true);
			}

			Dsq.Utils.execScript('http://disqus.com/forums/washingtonindependent/subscribe.js'
				+'?status=' 	+ status
				+ '&slug='		+ 'battling_obama_by_8216going_galt8217'
				+ '&email=' 	+ encodeURIComponent(email));

		} else if(!email) {
			// If anonymous user and no email has been provided yet, prompt for email

			var title = 'Subscribe to this comment thread';
			var message = ' \
				New comments will be sent directly to your email inbox! \
				<div class="dsq-subscribe-submit"> \
					<p><strong>Enter your email address below.</strong></p> \
					<input type="text" id="dsq-subscribe-email"> \
					<button onclick="Dsq.Thread.subscribe(1, Dsq.$(\'dsq-subscribe-email\').value)">Subscribe</button> \
				</div> \
			';

			Dsq.Popup.popModal(message, title);
		}
	};

	this.showSettings = function() {
		if (!Dsq.jsonData.request.is_moderator) {
			return;
		}

		/* The form has to be re-designed when more options will come out. */
		var html = 'Automatically close comments after <input size="3" id="dsq-thread-days-alive" value="' + Dsq.jsonData.thread.days_alive + '" type="text" /> days. Existing comments will still be displayed.<br /><br />(Using 0 days will disable this feature)<br /><br />'
								 + '<button onclick="Dsq.Thread.updateDaysAlive();" class="dsq-button-small"><span>Save</span></button>'
								 + '<span id="dsq-thread-settings-status" class="dsq-options-status"></span>';
		Dsq.Popup.popModal(html, 'Settings');
	};

	this.updateDaysAlive = function() {
		var days = Dsq.$('dsq-thread-days-alive').value;
		var status = Dsq.$('dsq-thread-settings-status');
		Dsq.Utils.postToUrl('http://disqus.com/forums/washingtonindependent/update_days_alive.js', {days:days,thread:Dsq.jsonData.thread.id});
		status.innerHTML = 'Saved!';
		window.setTimeout(function() { status.innerHTML = ''; }, 1000);
	};
};
// Dsq.Thread

Dsq.Events = function() {
	var obj = {};

	// Private
	var handlers = {};
	var getHandlers = function(event) {
		if (handlers[event] === undefined) {
			handlers[event] = [];
		}
		return handlers[event];
	};

	// Public
	// Value keys : postId, node, xtype
	obj.REPLY_IFRAME_CREATED = 1;
	// Value keys : postId, opened
	obj.REPLY_IFRAME_TOGGLED = 2;
	obj.fire = function(event, opt_value) {
		if (!event) {
			throw new Error('Unknown event');
		}
		var value = opt_value || {};
		for (var i=0; i<getHandlers(event).length; i++) {
			getHandlers(event)[i](value);
		}
	};
	obj.addHandler = function(event, callback) {
		getHandlers(event).push(callback);
	};

	return obj;
}();

/**
 * Dsq.Realtime
 */
Dsq.Realtime = new function() {
	var initialized = false;
	var interval = null;
	var last_checked = Dsq.jsonData.request.timestamp;
	var new_posts = [];
	var ongoing_request = false;
	var prev_script = null;

	function updateNewPostCount() {
		Dsq.$('dsq-realtime-alert').style.display = new_posts.length ? 'block' : 'none';

		Dsq.$('dsq-realtime-queued').innerHTML = new_posts.length
		+ ' new '
		+ Dsq.Utils.pluralize(new_posts.length, 'comment', 'comments')
		+ Dsq.Utils.pluralize(new_posts.length, ' was', ' were')
		+ ' just posted.';

		Dsq.$('dsq-realtime-show').innerHTML = '(' + Dsq.Strings.SHOW + ')';
	}

	function insertNewPosts() {
		var post_id = null;
		var after_id = Dsq.$('dsq-sort-select').value === 'oldest' ? -1 : null;

		for (var i=0; i<new_posts.length; i++) {
			post_id = new_posts[i];
			Dsq.Post.insert(after_id, post_id, Dsq.jsonData.posts[post_id].message);
			Dsq.Post.incrementPostCount();
			Dsq.Post.outlineComment(post_id);
		}
		new_posts = [];
	}

	this.enableInterval = function() {
		interval = setInterval(Dsq.Realtime.check, Dsq.jsonData.context.realtime_speed);
		Dsq.$('dsq-realtime-status').innerHTML = Dsq.Strings.ENABLED;
		Dsq.$('dsq-realtime-toggle').innerHTML = '(' + Dsq.Strings.PAUSE + ')';
	}

	this.disableInterval = function() {
		if (interval) {
			clearInterval(interval);
			interval = null;
		}
		Dsq.$('dsq-realtime-status').innerHTML = Dsq.Strings.PAUSED;
		Dsq.$('dsq-realtime-toggle').innerHTML = '(' + Dsq.Strings.RESUME + ')';
	}

	this.toggleInterval = function() {
		if (!interval) {
			Dsq.Realtime.enableInterval();
		} else {
			Dsq.Realtime.disableInterval();
		}
		return false;
	}

	this.initialize = function() {
		if (!initialized) {
			initialized = true;
			Dsq.$('dsq-realtime-toggle').onclick = this.toggleInterval;
			if (!Dsq.jsonData.forum.streaming_realtime) {
				Dsq.$('dsq-realtime-show').onclick = this.show;
				updateNewPostCount();
			}
			if (Dsq.jsonData.thread.realtime_paused) {
				Dsq.Realtime.disableInterval();
			} else {
				Dsq.Realtime.enableInterval();
			}
		}
	}

	this.show = function() {
		insertNewPosts();
		updateNewPostCount();
		return false;
	}

	this.check = function() {
		if (!ongoing_request && Dsq.jsonData.realtime_enabled) {
			if (prev_script) {
				prev_script.parentNode.removeChild(prev_script);
			}
			ongoing_request = true;
			prev_script = Dsq.Utils.execScript('http://disqus.com/forums/13159279/realtime.js?timestamp=' + last_checked);
		}
	};

	this.update = function(timestamp, posts, users) {
		ongoing_request = false;
		last_checked = timestamp;

		if (users) {
			for (var user_id in users) {
				if (users.hasOwnProperty(user_id)) {
					if (!Dsq.jsonData.users[user_id]) {
						Dsq.jsonData.users[user_id] = users[user_id];
					}
				}
			}
		}

		if (posts) {
			for (var post_id in posts) {
				if (posts.hasOwnProperty(post_id)) {
					if (!Dsq.jsonData.posts[post_id]) {
						Dsq.jsonData.posts[post_id] = posts[post_id];
						new_posts.push(post_id);
					}
				}
			}

			if (Dsq.jsonData.forum.streaming_realtime) {
				insertNewPosts();
			} else {
				updateNewPostCount();
			}
		}
	};

}();

// DEPRECATED
Dsq.Iframes = function() {
	// Different style of object from the above. Hoping to switch to this for some reason.
	var obj = {};

	// Private
	var showIframeInContainer = function(container, id, markup) {
		// Look through container for iframes, hiding them, except show one that matches id
		// If none of them matched id, create a new iframe using markup and insert it.
		// Returns the iframe node if and only if it was newly created.
		var found = false;
		for (var i=0; i<container.childNodes.length; i++) {
			var child = container.childNodes[i];
			if (child.nodeName == 'IFRAME') {
				if (child.id == id) {
					child.style.display = 'block';
					found = true;
				} else {
					child.style.display = 'none';
				}
			}
		}
		if (found) {
			return;
		}
		// The iframe wasn't found, so construct it and add it to the container.
		// Don't use innerHTML because it might reload iframes
		var div = document.createElement('div');
		div.innerHTML = markup;
		var iframe = div.childNodes[0];
		div.removeChild(iframe);
		container.appendChild(iframe);
		return iframe;
	};

	// Public
	obj.makeReplyIframeId = function(opt_postId, opt_xtype) {
		var id = 'dsq-post-add-iframe';
		if (opt_xtype) {
			id += '-' + opt_xtype;
		}
		if (opt_postId) {
			id += '-' + opt_postId;
		}
		return id;
	};
	obj.makeLoginIframeId = function(opt_postId) {
		if (!opt_postId) {
			return 'dsq-login-iframe';
		}
		return 'dsq-login-iframe-' + opt_postId;
	};
	obj.makeReplyIframeName = function(opt_postId, opt_xtype) {
		var name = 'dsq-reply-frame';
		if (opt_xtype) {
			name += '-' + opt_xtype;
		}
		if (opt_postId) {
			name += '-' + opt_postId;
		}
		return name;
	};
	obj.showReplyIframeInContainer = function(container, opt_postId, opt_extraParams, opt_className) {
		// Construct the id so we can check if it's already present.
		// Hide any other iframes we find, and show this one if it's found.
		var params = opt_extraParams || {};
		// use xtype in the id and name so we can distinguish media replies from text replies:
		var id = Dsq.Iframes.makeReplyIframeId(opt_postId, params.xtype);
		var name = Dsq.Iframes.makeReplyIframeName(opt_postId, params.xtype);
		var attributes = {
			'id': id,
			'name': name,
			'class': opt_className || 'dsq-post-reply'
			};
		var markup = Dsq.Templates.frameReply(opt_postId, opt_extraParams, attributes);
		var iframe = showIframeInContainer(container, id, markup);
		// It was newly created
		if (iframe) {
			Dsq.Events.fire(Dsq.Events.REPLY_IFRAME_CREATED, {
				postId: opt_postId,
				node: iframe,
				xtype: params.xtype
			});
		}
	};
	obj.showLoginIframeInContainer = function(container, opt_postId) {
		var id = Dsq.Iframes.makeLoginIframeId(opt_postId);
		var markup = Dsq.Templates.frameLogin({id: id});
		showIframeInContainer(container, id, markup);
	};
	obj.showReplyIframeInContainerIfAllowed = function(container, opt_postId) {
		if (Dsq.jsonData.context.show_reply) {
			obj.showReplyIframeInContainer(container, opt_postId);
		} else {
			obj.hideAllInContainer(container);
		}
	};
	obj.hideAllInContainer = function(container) {
		for (var i=0; i<container.childNodes.length; i++) {
			var child = container.childNodes[i];
			if (child.nodeName == 'IFRAME') {
				child.style.display = 'none';
			}
		}
	};

	return obj;
}();

Dsq.Twitter = new function() {
	var that = this;

	this.startTwitterConnect = function() {
		var popupParams = 'location=0,status=0,width=800,height=400';
		that._twitterWindow = window.open(Dsq.jsonData.settings.disqus_url + '/_ax/twitter/begin/', 'twitterWindow', popupParams);
		that._twitterInterval = window.setInterval(that.completeTwitterConnect, 1000);
	};

	this.completeTwitterConnect = function() {
		if (that._twitterWindow.closed) {
			window.clearInterval(that._twitterInterval);
			window.location.reload();
		}
	};
};

Dsq.Yahoo = new function() {
	var that = this;

	this.startYahooConnect = function() {
		var popupParams = 'location=0,status=0,width=800,height=400';
		that._yahooWindow = window.open(Dsq.jsonData.settings.disqus_url + '/_ax/yahoo/begin/', 'yahooWindow', popupParams);
		that._yahooInterval = window.setInterval(that.completeYahooConnect, 1000);
	};

	this.completeYahooConnect = function() {
		if (that._yahooWindow.closed) {
			window.clearInterval(that._yahooInterval);
			window.location.reload();
		}
	};
};

Dsq.OpenID = new function() {
	var that = this;

	this.requestURL = function() {
		var message = '<table class="dsq-openid-form"><tr><td style="vertical-align:top;" rowspan="2"><img src="' + Dsq.jsonData.settings.media_url + '/images/openid-icon-100x100.png" /></td>';
		message += '<td><label for="dsq-openid-url">OpenID URL:</label></td><td><input type="text" id="dsq-openid-url" /></td></tr>';
		message += '<tr><td><label for="dsq-openid-username">Display name:</label></td><td><input type="text" id="dsq-openid-username" /></td></tr>';
		message += '<tr><td class="dsq-openid-submit" colspan="3"><input type="button" value="Sign in" onclick="Dsq.OpenID.startConnect();" /></td></tr>';
		message += "</table>";

		Dsq.Popup.popModal(message, 'Sign in using OpenID');
	};

	this.startConnect = function() {
		var isblank = function(str) {
			return /^\s*$/.test(str);
		};

		var openid_url = Dsq.$('dsq-openid-url').value;
		var username = Dsq.$('dsq-openid-username').value;

		if (isblank(openid_url)) {
			return;
		}

		var popupParams = 'location=0,status=0,width=800,height=500';
		var url = Dsq.jsonData.settings.disqus_url + '/_ax/openid/begin/' + '?url=' + encodeURIComponent(openid_url) + '&username=' + encodeURIComponent(username);
		that._openidWindow = window.open(url, 'openidWindow', popupParams);
		that._openidInterval = window.setInterval(that.completeConnect, 1000);
	};

	this.completeConnect = function() {
		if (that._openidWindow.closed) {
			window.clearInterval(that._openidInterval);
			window.location.reload();
		}
	};
};

Dsq.Reaction = new function() {
	var that = this;

	this.hide = function(id) {
		Dsq.Utils.execScript('http://disqus.com/forums/washingtonindependent/hidereaction.js?' + 'reaction_id=' + id);
	};

	this.reportMissingReactions = function() {
		if (!Dsq.jsonData.request.is_moderator || !Dsq.jsonData.forum.reactions_enabled) {
			return;
		}

		if (Dsq.jsonData.thread.queued) {
			Dsq.Popup.popModal('Your report has been received. The system will automatically search for new reactions; if any are found, they will be displayed on this comment thread.<br/><br/>Thank&nbsp;you.',
												 'Reported missing reactions');
			return;
		}

		Dsq.Utils.execScript(Dsq.jsonData.settings.disqus_url + '/forums/washingtonindependent/queueurl.js');
	};
};

Dsq.CNN = function() {
	var obj = {};

	obj.authenticate = function() {
		var url = Dsq.jsonData.settings.disqus_url + "/saml/cnn/try/";
		Dsq.Utils.postToUrl(url, {'target': document.location}, true);
	};

	return obj;
}();


if(Dsq.Utils.ie6) {
	(function() {
		DSQ_HEADER_AVATAR_RE = /<div class="dsq-header-avatar"(.*?)>/gim;
		Dsq.Templates.registerFilter('postPrependHeader', function(html, post_id) {
			// Add "onmouseout" for dsq-header-avatar for dropProfile
			// functionality since IE6 cannot use :hover.
			function _headerAvatarReplace(content, inner, _unused, html) {
				return '<div class="dsq-header-avatar" '
					+ inner
					+ ' onmouseout="Dsq.Post.dropProfile(' + post_id + ')">';
			}
			html = html.replace(DSQ_HEADER_AVATAR_RE, _headerAvatarReplace);
			return html;
		});
	})();
}









(function() {
	//
	// Load theme.  This overrides the base templates with template functions
	// from the respective themes.
	//
	if (Dsq.jsonData.integration.theme == 4) {
		var theme = 'narcissus';
		// HACK: Set variable on window to use post message.
		window.disqus_use_postmessage = true;

		
		for(var prop in Dsq.Themes[theme]) {
			if(Dsq.Themes[theme] && Dsq.Themes[theme].hasOwnProperty(prop)) {
				Dsq.Templates[prop] = Dsq.Themes[theme][prop];
			}
		}
		
		for(var prop in Dsq.Post) {
			if(Dsq.Themes[theme] && Dsq.Themes[theme].hasOwnProperty(prop)) {
				Dsq.Post[prop] = Dsq.Themes[theme][prop];
			}
		}
	}

	//
	// Register templates.  This must be done after all themes are loaded.
	//
	Dsq.Templates.registerTemplate('authPost', Dsq.Templates.authPost);
	Dsq.Templates.registerTemplate('header', Dsq.Templates.header);
	Dsq.Templates.registerTemplate('footer', Dsq.Templates.footer);
	Dsq.Templates.registerTemplate('trackbacks', Dsq.Templates.trackbacks);
	Dsq.Templates.registerTemplate('reactions', Dsq.Templates.reactions);
	Dsq.Templates.registerTemplate('prependPost', Dsq.Templates.prependPost);
	Dsq.Templates.registerTemplate('appendPost', Dsq.Templates.appendPost);
	Dsq.Templates.registerTemplate('postPrependHeader', Dsq.Templates.postPrependHeader);
	Dsq.Templates.registerTemplate('postAppendHeader', Dsq.Templates.postAppendHeader);
	Dsq.Templates.registerTemplate('preBody', Dsq.Templates.preBody);
	Dsq.Templates.registerTemplate('postBody', Dsq.Templates.postBody);
	Dsq.Templates.registerTemplate('postFooter', Dsq.Templates.postFooter);
	Dsq.Templates.registerTemplate('_popupGeneric', Dsq.Templates._popupGeneric);
	Dsq.Templates.registerTemplate('voted', Dsq.Templates.voted);
	Dsq.Templates.registerTemplate('popupProfile', Dsq.Templates.popupProfile);
	Dsq.Templates.registerTemplate('postBox', Dsq.Templates.postBox);
	Dsq.Templates.registerTemplate('pagination', Dsq.Templates.pagination);
	Dsq.Templates.registerTemplate('postComment_onSuccess', Dsq.Templates.postComment_onSuccess);

})();

Dsq.container.className = "clearfix";
Dsq.container.innerHTML = ' \
<ul id="dsq-comments">\
	 <li id="dsq-comment-21082784">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-21082784" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-21082784" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <span id="dsq-author-user-21082784">H Roark</span>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-21082784" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-21082784" class="dsq-comment-message">My progression to "Go John Galt" has been successful.   I have managed to decrease my economic footprint on this world by over 35%. Though I am driven naturally to produce, solve, design my new goal of decreasing my lootable income has focused my efforts to conserving by abilities.  I have had to lay off good people and change business strategy, but I have decreased my "aide" to government by $45,000 in 2009.   Protesting never felt so good.     To quote Legends of the Fall "Screw \'um"</div>\
	 </div>\
	 </li>\
	 <li id="dsq-comment-15980332">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-15980332" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-15980332" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <a id="dsq-author-user-15980332" href="http://answers1.info/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">man</a>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-15980332" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-15980332" class="dsq-comment-message">great article, i really appreciate it</div>\
	 </div>\
	 </li>\
	 <li id="dsq-comment-12986884">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-12986884" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-12986884" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <span id="dsq-author-user-12986884">Galt</span>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-12986884" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-12986884" class="dsq-comment-message">The late Dr. Adrian Rogers (1931-2005) offered the following observation several years ago and it bears poignant significance today: You cannot legislate the poor into freedom by legislating the rich out of freedom. What one person receives without working for, another person must work for without receiving. The government cannot give to anybody anything the government does not first take from somebody else. When half of the people get the idea that they do not have to work because the other half is going to take care of them, and when the other half gets the idea that it does no good to work because somebody else is going to get what they work for, that my dear friend is about the end of any nation. You cannot multiply the wealth by dividing it."</div>\
	 </div>\
	 </li>\
	 <li id="dsq-comment-12563723">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-12563723" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-12563723" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <span id="dsq-author-user-12563723">robertkilmarx</span>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-12563723" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-12563723" class="dsq-comment-message">On July 30th, Conservatives are "Going Galt". On that date, we are asking Conservatives all across the nation to "Call in Conservative". On July 30th, Conservatives will not work, we will not buy. Instead, we will spend time with our families and friends. We will show President Obama and Congress who REALLY drives this economy. For more information on "A Day Without Conservatives" please visit <a href="http://www.teapartynation.com" rel="nofollow">www.teapartynation.com</a> .</div>\
	 </div>\
	 </li>\
	 <li id="dsq-comment-12161908">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-12161908" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-12161908" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <span id="dsq-author-user-12161908">davidwotitzky</span>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-12161908" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-12161908" class="dsq-comment-message">My contribution in the Going Galt movement...<br><br><a href="http://ecireport.wordpress.com/2009/07/04/the-age-of-the-crisis/" rel="nofollow">http://ecireport.wordpress.com/2009/07/04/the-a...</a></div>\
	 </div>\
	 </li>\
	 <li id="dsq-comment-11015182">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-11015182" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-11015182" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <span id="dsq-author-user-11015182">Steve John Galt DeGraffenreid</span>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-11015182" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-11015182" class="dsq-comment-message">my way of going galt:<br>praising CEOs for the job they\'ve done<br>getting a job so i can get my lord and savior, money<br>finding a way to destroy welfare and unemployment<br>when i get enough money, watching the world burn down<br>watching people who thought they shouldn\'t destroy other people to get what the want die in the streets<br>"i will stop the egine of the world"<br>i will because obama and the rest of them don\'t deserve my working<br>i am howard rorak, dagny taggart and hank rearden<br>i am also midas mulligan, dan conway, ellis wyatt, hugh akston, and quentin daniels<br>i am also ragnar danneskjöld, richard halley, dick mcnamara, owen kellogg<br>i am also francisco domingo carlos andres sebastián d\'anconia<br>the final person who i am is the one and only JOHN GALT<br>i am these people because i believe that bill gates should not spend his tax money on the lazy<br>money is the root of all good<br>and finally, you should never be sorry for being rich</div>\
	 </div>\
	 </li>\
	 <li id="dsq-comment-9812942">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-9812942" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-9812942" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <span id="dsq-author-user-9812942">Critos</span>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-9812942" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-9812942" class="dsq-comment-message">The first step to fixing our political system is to stop paying the "politician tax"....<br><br>Politicians are not like the rest of us.... they are keenly obsessed with "getting elected" as a measure of success, but although this would seem to suggest that they should care about representing the views of the electors -- the people -- it doesn\'t work out that way. With extremely rare exceptions, politicians preserve their interests by serving <i>their party</i> (whichever one it is) over the people, and by serving corporate interests and other special interests next to that, also over the people.... so where do we fit in?<br><br>They see us as votes and money, and many of us are suckers.... how many of you donated money to a politician or a party last year? The sad truth is that whatever you did donate was actually a tax imposed by the system through blackmail, one that you didn\'t have to pay at all, but <i>volunteered</i>.... I have to admit, I\'m in that crowd, even though I only gave to Libertarian candidates (who all lost) and the amount I donated amounted to pocket change even in their meager coffers.... but I\'d take it back if I could....<br><br>Look at it this way: imagine there are two bullies on your block, and both want to take your lunch money.... each says that if you "voluntarily" pay him, he\'ll protect you from the other one, and each one talks up how dangerous the other one is in order to convince you to buy protection... but the truth is, if you learn to defend <i>yourself</i> you don\'t <i>have</i> to give a penny to either of them.<br><br>That\'s what the Republicrats do -- each side uses the other as a threat to pry your dollars away in the form of campaign donations, and the first and biggest thing WE can do to eliminate donation-driven corruption from the system is to turn off that voluntary faucet of cash flowing out of our pockets.<br><br>In short: DO NOT GIVE ANY MONEY TO POLITICIANS!! not to a candidate, not to a campaign, not to a party, and if you can help it, not to a company that will pass it on to any of those (even a company that will hedge its bets by giving to both sides; in fact, especially such a company).... clean up our politics, do NOT pay the politician tax!!</div>\
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	 </li>\
	 <li id="dsq-comment-8788513">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-8788513" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-8788513" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <a id="dsq-author-user-8788513" href="http://www.ishrugged.org" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Dan Bullard</a>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-8788513" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-8788513" class="dsq-comment-message">If you have shrugged I\'d like to publish your story at <a href="http://www.ishrugged.org" rel="nofollow">www.ishrugged.org</a>.</div>\
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	 <li id="dsq-comment-8340096">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-8340096" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-8340096" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <span id="dsq-author-user-8340096">AvgJoe</span>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-8340096" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-8340096" class="dsq-comment-message">My way of going Galt:<br>Find a way to lose from my job<br>Collect unemployment, welfare, food stamps, <br>Apply for BMR housing in a luxury apartment community (my state required all new apartment complexes to have percentage their units as BMR) <br>Then I can fully heartily support all the “change” <br>Why work when there are wealth people that can pay my way with their tax dollars<br>Besides only reckless CEO are bad people, not reckless average Joes</div>\
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	 </li>\
	 <li id="dsq-comment-8240351">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-8240351" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-8240351" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <span id="dsq-author-user-8240351">KJ</span>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-8240351" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-8240351" class="dsq-comment-message">It doesn\'t matter if the tax rate is "only" going up 4% in one specific category. The fact is that businesses and individuals have choices of which country to invest their money into and quite often they choose the country where its MOST PROFITABLE. So, looking at it this way, businesses have been "going Galt" against the U.S. for quite some time now. That is a big part of the problem we see right now, but demonizing them or trying to use protectionism and big fisted tax force isn\'t going to create unity and harmony - instead it chases them off - so that\'s not a valid response to the problem. In other words, you can\'t force people/businesses to work FOR your country, you can only encourage them and reward them so they WANT to do it.<br><br>The disturbing thing is that now it\'s not just big business but small businesses, small investors and other individuals - like reitrees who have accumulated wealth who are also moving their money to places where it will earn the maximum return. In their place we have new immigrants who may not be contributing nearly as much over the next decade in terms of taxes. <br><br>Apparently many people on this blog seem to see no problem with this so maybe they will be happy with the end results.  As a long term business owner and investor, I\'m looking at other countries as options.</div>\
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	 </li>\
	 <li id="dsq-comment-8098906">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-8098906" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-8098906" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <span id="dsq-author-user-8098906">ds80</span>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-8098906" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-8098906" class="dsq-comment-message">Hey terptwerp: what\'s YOUR marginal tax bracket? Feel free to voluntarily give much more than you are taxed. But keep your grubby hands off of others\' money.</div>\
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	 </li>\
	 <li id="dsq-comment-8087066">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-8087066" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-8087066" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <span id="dsq-author-user-8087066">Pro America, NOT Pro Govt.</span>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-8087066" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-8087066" class="dsq-comment-message">~Sigh~ Good Grief People!  What a bunch of pundints and bloggers stoking the fear of fascism, socialism, tyrannical governments… Without the “b@lls”  to get in there and fight for what’s right.  <br>You’d rather sit in here and discuss.  Well, that’s sure gotten us far.  <br><br>It\'s just a book. Like the bible, it is there for personal interpretation, nothing more. <br>I would hope no one actually lives their lives on the belief of the writing’s of others. <br>That will put us in a sad state indeed. <br><br>For all the effort put into ANY comment on this subject (my own included), we could have probably cured cancer.<br><br>Seriously folks, you have nothing better to do, than to get into "informed" discussions on literature???<br>TWITTER!?! Facebook, News article chats, etc.....Wasted breath, Wasted time. <br>If you want to waste your life discussing unimportant issues (such as Ayn Rand, and her writtings), at least discuss what YOU "bring to the table" to help solve the real issues (economy, homeland security, homelessness, etc...). <br><br>When it comes time, the very best thing we can do as a country, is REVOLT. The "Moochers" will run for cover like the cowards they are, and we can assume a way of life, the way "WE (the people...)" see fit. <br><br>Our greatest crime is that "WE" have allowed this to happen. "WE" have allowed the Govt. to tell us what to do, because that is what "WE" believe the founding fathers had in mind when they wrote the Constitution. I assure you it was NOT.<br><br> "WE (the poor...)" outnumber the Rich. Don\'t let them take away your rights, your money, your pursuit of happiness. Be a leader!  NOT a “lamb”. <br><br>"WE" have allowed this to happen... "WE" allow our sports players to be paid millions of dollars, because "WE" buy tickets to the game. Then those same players, are out committing crimes (Kobe - rape), using drugs (Rodriguez - steriods), buying expensive cars and houses, that we ourselves ("the poor" and middle class) can\'t even imagine affording.<br><br> I mean comm\'on PPL!!!! When have you had enough! <br><br>"WE" continue to pay our leaders exorbitant amounts of money, to lead us like cattle, only to have those same leaders, break the very laws they put in place, and demand that "WE" follow. <br><br>WHA!?!?!?!  <br><br>“WE” allow developers to build homes that cost them 80,000 to build, yet sell them for 300,000.<br><br>HUH!?!?! <br><br>Instead of "craving" the latest techno gadget, car, DVD, CD, sporting event, music event, or whatever "luxury" it happens to be, think of putting that money back into YOU. <br>Don\'t give it to a company, a person, a .........(whatever), that already has plenty of money.<br><br>If your just going to give it away, at least give it to someone that really needs it. (Now that\'s saying something about you as a person, that I can respect). <br><br>Does anyone here think, after reading this, that I give 2 sh!t\'s whether the car companies or banks get "bailed out"??? <br>And, If you care, you shouldn\'t. They got themselves into this mess, they should get themselves out of it, or better yet,  just "go away".<br> <br>More people care about American Idol than they do about the current state of affairs.  <br>Really America, is that what “WE” are craving????  More MTV, more Ghost Whisperer, CSI, or any other number of just plain stupid shows on the “idiot box”.<br><br>I’d say that, since it\'s considered a major victory if more than 50% of the population gets out of their living rooms once every four years to vote for President.  That nothing is going to change.<br><br>A mass movement in this country? Maybe to the refrigerator for another snack....Prove me wrong folks. <br><br>Oh... So now your gonna\' start telling me about how, if we revolt, or allow our industry, or economy to "slide" in view of the rest of the world, that we are now "no better than them" (other 3rd world countries in civil strife), or that we will somehow be considered weak??? <br>Well..... Only if "WE" allow it to happen.  <br><br>Ain’t nothin’ FREE, especially Freedom. If your not willing to bleed for it, I have no sympathy or use for you.  Now, go hang yourself, and save me the bullet to put you, out of “my” misery.</div>\
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	 <li id="dsq-comment-16083894">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-16083894" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-16083894" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <span id="dsq-author-user-16083894">Jolly Jo in Vista, CA</span>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-16083894" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-16083894" class="dsq-comment-message">You said it all.  You expressed what I see as the problem, US, WE THE PEOPLE, are the problem.  I am in the middle of my 80th decade.  I didn\'t take any real interest in Washington DC, the candidates, the economy, etc. until the Clinton years.  In the past three years I discovered Catherine Austin Fitts web page where I\'ve learned more about how the government and the financial world really operates.  So, yes, I say I have allowed the current mess to evolve over my lifetime.  I admire Ron Paul and Dennis Kucinich because they seem to be two truly honest Congressmen.  And I\'m listening to the "Atlas Shrugged" audio book.  I like the characters and I like the story.  And I enjoy the comments that point out how creativity is being punished.  I thought that with all the unemployment people would "come to themselves" and get in touch with their creative spirit.  And speaking of spirit, I feel there is a Spiritual Awakening evolving underneath all the stuff that is getting the media attention.<br>JollyJo in Vista California</div>\
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	 <li id="dsq-comment-7928012">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-7928012" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-7928012" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <span id="dsq-author-user-7928012">Kendra</span>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-7928012" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-7928012" class="dsq-comment-message">To those who have never read the book, and therefor have no room to criticize, the "moochers" and "looters" do not refer to the working class.  They refer to those who take things unearned.  In this book most of those characters are actually quite wealthy and "successful" individuals, which is part of the irony.<br><br>The "rest of America", the working and middle class, are rarely mentioned because they are unimportant to the novel. If you think they are, you miss the point.  The Galts are Atlas, they hold the world.  Without their ideas and intellect all the workers in the world matter - there is nothing to work on if these men do not achieve and create.  That is their contribution to the world - they make it run. <br><br>When workers are mentioned it is normally to reference them siding with the industrialists; Eddie Willers is one character that comes to mind, also the Honor guard that stands watch over the first run on the Galt Line, and all the conductors who volunteer to be driving the train that day against the advice of the Union leaders.  They act that way because, as rational men, they know their fortunes are tied to those of the industrials.<br><br>To all you Rand haters: Whats not to get? Do you just hate to have your ideas and their logical conclusions laid out so plainly and inarguably? Does knowing you aren\'t that great (most aren\'t) make you feel small and insignificant? Or are you just mad that the left has no literary equivalent that can encapsulate their [lack of] ideas? Either way, Rand rocks. &lt;3</div>\
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	 <li id="dsq-comment-7678344">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-7678344" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-7678344" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <span id="dsq-author-user-7678344">terptwerp</span>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-7678344" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-7678344" class="dsq-comment-message">Wow. By all means, disappear into some vaguely distant hinterland. I\'m sure the remaining entrepreneurs will absolutely LOVE whatever void you supposedly creative people leave behind.<br><br>I mean seriously, you wackos are going to tune-out because you may face an increase in marginal tax rates? <br><br>"ZOMG, I\'m going to have to pay 39.6% on income I used to pay 35% on!!! SIC SEMPER TYRANUS!!!"<br><br>You really are going to go this apeshit over this tiny percentage change on income earned AFTER you already pocketed $350,000???? "QQ, I had an AGI of $500,000 last year, and now the tax I pay on that last $150k is increasing from 52k to 59k!!! Darn those Obama poeple to heck!!" <br><br>Yep, it absolutely sucks being lucky enough to live in a country that, more than any other place in this world, affords you the chance to make $500k a year, and likely earn some amount close to that in the subsequent years, if not more. You are paying for income security you nitwits, that\'s what your taxes provide. If that\'s something you do not appreciate, then by all means, try to make your fortune in some third world rathole, and then keep hold of it.<br><br>Jeebus, get over yourselves.</div>\
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	 </li>\
	 <li id="dsq-comment-7653723">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-7653723" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-7653723" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <span id="dsq-author-user-7653723">van</span>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-7653723" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-7653723" class="dsq-comment-message">Why do all the "Galt/Atlas/Rand haters" keep referring to her and her ideas as "conservative" and "Republican" and "right wing"?? The NYT and National Review- right and left- are recently savaging her book because it is so popular of late. This leads me to believe that she was on the right track.<br><br>Give credit to where it\'s due- she wasn\'t a "neo-con" or conservative Christian or a right wing Republican; and she sure as hades wasn\'t a liberal, left wing socialist. <br><br>While she rejected the Libertarian label- that is exactly what she was. Not an "R" and not a "D"; she was an "L", the superior of the three.</div>\
	 </div>\
	 </li>\
	 <li id="dsq-comment-7524445">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-7524445" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-7524445" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <a id="dsq-author-user-7524445" href="http://saturninretrograde.blogspot.com" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Ernest Brown</a>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-7524445" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-7524445" class="dsq-comment-message">"She doesn’t deal with these corporatists like Thain who were pushing paper around and using regulations to feather their nests."<br><br>Gee, the chief villains of ATLAS SHRUGGED are two such individuals, James Taggart & Orrin Boyle.  What book did Tuccille read?</div>\
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	 </li>\
	 <li id="dsq-comment-7275417">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-7275417" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-7275417" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <a id="dsq-author-user-7275417" href="http://www.freestateproject.org" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Keith</a>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-7275417" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-7275417" class="dsq-comment-message">I don\'t know about conservatives but pro-freedom folks have been working on this plan for a few years.  They are moving to the freest state in the nation, New Hampshire (  <a href="http://www.statepolicyindex.com" rel="nofollow">http://www.statepolicyindex.com</a> ) as part of the Free State Project ( <a href="http://www.freestateproject.org" rel="nofollow">http://www.freestateproject.org</a> ).  I\'m a part of the FSP and I made the move to NH last year.  If you are looking for a place to Galt, may I suggest NH :)</div>\
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	 </li>\
	 <li id="dsq-comment-7270340">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-7270340" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-7270340" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <span id="dsq-author-user-7270340">Johnny</span>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-7270340" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-7270340" class="dsq-comment-message">Ayn Rand was a great romance novelist, just bodice rippin\' good.  I mean wonderful dialogue of great quality like Her breasts heaved wantonly as she breathed Oh Hank,  Oh Dagny he exclaimed as he wantonly gazed at her wantonly heaving breasts.  Oh Dagny, Ohhhh Hank.<br><br>You better take it serious too; just try teasing some business gal about her addiction to romance novels.  Hell hath no fury like a Serious Woman teased about her chick lit.  Ayn Rand is Danielle Steele for republican and libertarians.</div>\
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	 </li>\
	 <li id="dsq-comment-7253988">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-7253988" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-7253988" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <span id="dsq-author-user-7253988">Stanley</span>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-7253988" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-7253988" class="dsq-comment-message">It looks as though many of you are threaten by this book! I feel the fear in your typing.  Yes you all should hope the real producers in this country do not go Gaut, You know like the 40,000 or so wealthiest in NY that pay something like 50-60% of the taxes. If I where so fortunate to be one of them I would leave in a NY minute. Be scared be very scared ! Especially all you Huffingtonlooters, You all follow the biggest looter of them all "Ariana the hypocrite"</div>\
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	 </li>\
	 <li id="dsq-comment-7350386">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-7350386" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-7350386" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <span id="dsq-author-user-7350386">jim</span>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-7350386" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-7350386" class="dsq-comment-message">the real producers get paid 8 bucks an hour, and the super wealthy pay less in real taxes than the middle class because wealthy people have access to tax shelters<br><br>cry me a fucking river</div>\
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	 <li id="dsq-comment-7380170">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-7380170" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-7380170" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <span id="dsq-author-user-7380170">jcl</span>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-7380170" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-7380170" class="dsq-comment-message">You musta flunked kindergarten arithmetic....</div>\
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	 </li>\
	 <li id="dsq-comment-7245260">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-7245260" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-7245260" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <span id="dsq-author-user-7245260">knowbuddhau</span>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-7245260" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-7245260" class="dsq-comment-message">Here\'s the perfect guide to this:<br><br>On Atlas Shrugged as a Guide to Our Times<br>By Ellis Weiner<br><br><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ellis-weiner/on-atlas-shrugged-as-a-gu_b_157295.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ellis-weiner/on-a...</a><br><br>For this deeply adolescent piece of social science fiction one must read over 1,000 pages of tiny type, most of which are covered with blocks of print into which the reader\'s consciousness slams as though into a brick wall. Characters lecture each other in a stilted, faux-heroic tone about such matters as "the human spirit" and "intelligence" and "ownership" and "the meaning of money" and "rationality." It\'s every bit as good as it sounds, a thousand pages of this:<br><br>"Don\'t ask me to tell you now what trail I\'ve followed, trying to trace that motor and to find its inventor. That\'s not of any importance, even my life and work are not of any importance to me right now, nothing is of any importance; except I must find him."<br><br>Don\'t you love that semi-colon? Me, too. The heroes are all handsome or beautiful except for Ragnar Danneskjold, a pirate--really--who is handsome and "beautiful." The villains are all detestable weaklings. Everyone else--i.e., the population of the United States of America--is a loathsome, freeloading nobody. Everyone looks at everyone else "with contempt." Paradoxically, although characters repeatedly "chuckle" and address each other in terms described by variants of "mock" (with mockery, mockingly, in a mocking tone, etc.), no one has a sense of humor. The whole vast saga is a mind-numbing forced march through a swamp of comic book profundity, an interminable one-night three-way between Friedrich Nietzsche, L. Ron Hubbard, and Judith Kranz.<br><br>In short, Atlas Shrugged is one of the worst books ever written--and, in the words of Gore Vidal, "nearly perfect in its immorality." Still, Moore proudly notes that "...as recently as 1991, a survey by the Library of Congress and the Book of the Month Club found that readers rated \'Atlas\' as the second-most influential book in their lives, behind only the Bible."<br><br>But of course. People naïve, ignorant, demented, or desperate enough to be primarily influenced by the Bible would be influenced by A.S. The books have much in common: vast stretches of unbearable tedium, one-dimensional characters with no resemblance to actual human beings, hectoring speeches full of indignation and moralizing, and discreetly implied sex. Both are works of fiction. The Bible took hundreds of years to compile, and Atlas Shrugged takes hundreds of years to read.<br><br>And, just as true believers find confirmation of Scriptural predictions in cherry-picked semi-coincidences in real life, so does Moore--former Cato Institute man, presumably a Libertarian, and what people smarter and funnier than I call a "Randroid"--discover that events of today (the bailouts, the economic stimulus packages, etc.) are proving Rand prescient. "...(O)ur current politicians are committing the very acts of economic lunacy that \'Atlas Shrugged\' parodied in 1957."<br><br>Are they? Let\'s see.<br><br>In the novel, stick-figure industrialists and businessmen find their noble, courageous, avowedly "selfish" efforts stymied and undone by stick-figure cowards, weaklings, and corrupt bureaucrats in Washington, D.C. Piece by piece, in Rand\'s depiction of governmental overreach, capitalism is dismantled. Moore lists several of the more egregious examples from the book: "the \'Anti-Greed Act\' to redistribute income (sounds like Charlie Rangel\'s promises soak-the-rich tax bill) and the \'Equalization of Opportunity Act\' to prevent people from starting more than one business (to give other people a chance). My personal favorite, the \'Anti Dog-Eat-Dog Act,\' aims to restrict cut-throat competition between firms and thus slow the wave of business bankruptcies."<br><br>Moore then goes on, "These acts and edicts sound farcical, yes, but no more so than the actual events in Washington, circa 2008. We already have been served up the $700 billion \'Emergency Economic Stabilization Act\' and the \'Auto Industry Financing and Restructuring Act.\' Now that Barack Obama is in town, he will soon sign into law with great urgency the \'American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan.\' This latest Hail Mary pass will increase the federal budget (which has already expanded by $1.5 trillion in eight years under George Bush) by an additional $1 trillion -- in roughly his first 100 days in office."<br><br>To draw an equivalence between these two sets of laws is to be, at best, stupid, and at worst, mendacious. The "Anti-Dog-Eat-Dog Act" has no counterpart or equivalent in what the rest of us know to be real life. It\'s the creation of a petulant teenager throwing a tantrum about "society." Other edicts are just as contrived and equally silly: No worker, anywhere, is allowed to be fired. No owner is allowed to quit or retire. All patents and copyrights become property of the state. No new products are allowed to be produced. No one is allowed to spend any more or less money on anything than they did in the previous year.<br><br>What, here, is being "parodied"? Not American society, either today or in 1957; not the ways in which government and legislation interacts with capitalism; and not even any reasonable depiction of the left. In fact, what\'s being parodied (if that\'s the word) is the Soviet Union, from which Rand (nee Alice Rosenbaum) emigrated when she was 21. Yes, in her magnum opus, her "moral defense of capitalism," Ayn Rand dresses the U.S. in Soviet drag, and then watches in triumph as her soap opera heroes beat it up.<br><br>The putative reasons presented for these society-crippling regulations--"fairness," "to give others a chance," "because the group is more important than the individual"--are ascribed to the cartoon villains with the implication that they are commonly found out in the world. "This is what the looters and the moochers believe," Rand says. "They hate individual genius and entrepreneurial initiative. They hate rationality. They want to drag all of society down into the depths of mediocrity in which they dwell. These are the laws and regulations they would pass if only they could."<br><br>It\'s an outrage! Or it would be, if it were remotely true. But it isn\'t. No leftist calls for a ban on new products or campaigns for a law forbidding executives to quit. No liberal calls for a legal limitation on what you can spend in a year. Even in the age of the Internet, when some believe that "information wants to be free" and debate the abolition of copyrights, no one demands that copyrights be ceded to the state. (Quite the opposite, in fact.)<br><br>She made it all up. The bad guys are straw men, serving a straw government, empowered by a straw civilization. The whole thing is a mug\'s game, a poker hand dealt from a stacked deck, a self-subverting and ultimately ludicrous grand opera of bad faith.<br><br>Still, the mystery of Atlas Shrugged isn\'t, why is it so bad? Many books are this bad and some are even worse. No, the mystery is, why does anyone who made it out of eighth grade take it seriously?<br><br>Yet, obviously, people do. Individuals capable of dressing themselves apparently love this, one of the most turgid, contrived, pompous, and comically over-written books ever published in English. Why?<br><br>Because they believe. For Randroids, "glibertarians," "conservatives" (whatever that means at this point) and Republicans in general, politics has become a matter of faith.<br><br>Never mind that studies show that the economy prospers more under Democratic than Republican administrations. Never mind that the first six years of the Bush administration provided the right with every resource it needed and asked for, from "a war footing" to majorities in Congress to a supine, spineless media, and the results were unalloyed catastrophe (for us, yes, but for them, too). Never mind that the Republican "big tent" is in tatters due to calamities they themselves created, as sideshow barker Limbaugh now tries to con the rubes into coughing up an extra buck to watch Ann the Six-Foot Blonde say rude things about Michelle Obama, while Ring Master Bush sulks in his trailer and thinks the problem was his "rhetoric."<br><br>Faith not only requires you to ignore what happens in the world, it praises you for it. The more unsubstantiated, untenable, or preposterous the belief, the more virtuous the believer. So Stephen Moore\'s solution to global recession is to wave around one of the most unreadable books ever written as though it were holy writ. For him, and for the right, politics is now religion.<br><br>And, as with any mythology, believers want to emulate their heroes. Cable traffic on the wing-nut sites after the last election featured many writers and commenters musing about "going John Galt," withdrawing their genius and talents from the rest of us and leaving us to our own moocherly devices. To which all one can reply is, Please do. Knock yourselves out. And take this hideous book with you.</div>\
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	 <li id="dsq-comment-7332893">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-7332893" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-7332893" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <span id="dsq-author-user-7332893">Henry</span>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-7332893" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-7332893" class="dsq-comment-message">knowbuddhau,<br><br>Do you know what copyright infringement means?  Did it occur to you to get permission and post such with your almost complete copy \'n paste of the author\'s article?  Or are you just treating the author as you would the taxpayer?</div>\
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	 <li id="dsq-comment-7335223">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-7335223" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-7335223" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <span id="dsq-author-user-7335223">knowbuddhau</span>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-7335223" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-7335223" class="dsq-comment-message">Yes; no; it\'s long, but so\'s AS; and as the taxpayer, I am treating myself with the utmost respect, thanks for your concern.  Follow the link if you like.  Run and tell Mr. Weiner.  I\'m sure he\'ll want to sue my pants off.<br><br>No thoughts, other than veiled threats and specious accusations?  You do realize you are making a fine caricature of the type of Randroid Mr. Weiner lampoons, right?</div>\
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	 <li id="dsq-comment-7338800">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-7338800" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-7338800" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <span id="dsq-author-user-7338800">Henry</span>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-7338800" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-7338800" class="dsq-comment-message">You\'re the one who used another\'s property without permission.  By your own admission, you did it knowing what copyright infringement is,  Clearly, then, it is in your nature to use another\'s property as you see fit,  regardless of the owner\'s wishes.<br><br>What you do with your money, Mr. Taxpayer, is your business.  But it seems you would treat yourself (or those you favor) with the utmost respect using my tax dollars too, regardless of my wishes.<br><br>There is indeed a fine caricature here, but one straight out of Atlas Shrugged.</div>\
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	 <li id="dsq-comment-7348444">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-7348444" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-7348444" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <span id="dsq-author-user-7348444">knowbuddhau</span>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-7348444" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-7348444" class="dsq-comment-message">Pardon me, pal, but you\'re egregiously overlooking that I provide the title, author, and link to said author\'s original post on HuffPo.<br><br>You are mistaking my use, "fair use," as plagiarism, without actually coming right out and accusing me in direct terms.<br><br>And this is exactly the caricature to which I refer.  You seem to think the cosmos consists of two types of stuff: yours, and not mine.  My use of the quote is a fair use.  You can\'t admit that, or your whole Randian edifice will crumble, like a sand castle when the tide comes in.<br><br>Like I said, pal: go run and tell Mr. Weiner about your sanctimonious concerns for his intellectual property rights. I bet he\'ll laugh.<br><br>Is this all you got?  See-sawing got boring back in grade school.</div>\
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	 <li id="dsq-comment-7351046">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-7351046" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-7351046" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <span id="dsq-author-user-7351046">hank</span>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-7351046" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-7351046" class="dsq-comment-message">Plagiarism?  No.  Copyright violation?  By your own admission, yes.  Fair use?  What follows are excerpts from the U.S. Copyright Office\' page on the matter (<a href="http://www.copyright.gov/fls/fl102.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.copyright.gov/fls/fl102.html</a>).<br><br>"...examples of activities that courts have regarded as fair use:<br><br>. quotation of short passages...<br>. summary of an address or article, with brief quotations...<br>. reproduction ... of a small part of a work..."<br><br>It goes on to say: "The safest course is always to get permission from the copyright owner before using copyrighted material".  The link above provides the full text, lest I be accused of distortion through omission.  Oh, and I am abiding by their policy (see the legal notices page for more on that).<br><br>Whether or not Mr. Weiner cares, ex post facto, about your knowing violation is irrelevant.  That you call my concern sanctimonious is yet more revealing of your nature.  You appear cavalier with the use of others\' properties.  You seem to think that you have some sort of inherent right to their use.  You bristle when you are called on it.  I believe you would treat others\' taxes in a like manner.<br><br>The attitude you display is central to the objection so many have to paying yet more tax.  Within the framework of Atlas Shrugged, your behavior here epitomizes that of the looter.<br>.</div>\
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	 <li id="dsq-comment-7352479">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-7352479" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-7352479" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <span id="dsq-author-user-7352479">knowbuddhau</span>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-7352479" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-7352479" class="dsq-comment-message">What is the artist\'s intent here?  Did Mr. Weiner intend for his blog post not to be used?<br><br>I applaud your use of a mythology, to give shape to the cosmos in which you act; the problem however, is your mythology does not conform to reality.<br><br>If you\'re so damn concerned about Mr. Weiner\'s rights, why don\'t you ask him if this is a fair use of his work?<br><br>I suspect you don\'t care about Mr. Weiner.  I suspect you latched onto what you perceived as an opportunity to apply Rand\'s terms, whether they fit or not is of no concern.<br><br>Is your middle name "Procrustes," by any chance?<br><br>You distort: a) Mr. Weiner\'s intent (to provide fodder for precisely this debate); b) my fair use of that work; and c) god know\'s what else, solely to keep this buzz going.<br><br>What was the intent of Mr. Weiner\'s review of AS? Solely to make money of every iteration of sufficient volume?<br><br>Thanks for the debate, but this is a tiresome see-saw.  I\'m getting off now.  Don\'t let the earth hit you in the ass on the way down.</div>\
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	 </li>\
	 <li id="dsq-comment-7211044">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-7211044" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-7211044" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <a id="dsq-author-user-7211044" href="http://www.endgamethemovie.com/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">The Real David</a>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-7211044" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-7211044" class="dsq-comment-message">It\'s really a shame the American public has lost the ability to think or learn from history. Every new generation of collectivists of whatever form believed they  are/were smart enough to succeed where others failed. Now THAT is arrogance! We are literally on the verge of a new dark ages and the majority doesn\'t have a clue. If ignorance is bliss then most of the writers here should be down right euphoric.</div>\
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	 <li id="dsq-comment-7209642">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-7209642" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-7209642" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <span id="dsq-author-user-7209642">David</span>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-7209642" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-7209642" class="dsq-comment-message">I would just like to take this opportunity, on behalf of my fellow American moochers, to give my sincere thanks to any John Galts reading this post for your productivity, your richness, and your general superiority to the rest of us.  Without you being so rich and so awesome, I do not know how my fellow moochers and I would be able to get by.  Sometimes I wonder what it would be like to be so superior to others that, despite my far greater income from a comfortable white collar job, I would feel persecuted and exploited by a 3% increase in the top marginal tax rate which will only go to finance trivialities like basic medical coverage for children.  This feeling of victimhood is due to a sense of entitlement which is extreme beyond my limited powers of comprehension, since John Galts are superior to me in a way I am unable to comprehend, and hence are incomprehensibly more entitled than a moocher like myself.<br><br>What I\'m trying to say here, again, is thanks.</div>\
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	 <li id="dsq-comment-7245458">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-7245458" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-7245458" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <span id="dsq-author-user-7245458">knowbuddhau</span>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-7245458" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-7245458" class="dsq-comment-message">Bravo!  I bow in your virtual direction.</div>\
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	 </li>\
	 <li id="dsq-comment-7173852">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-7173852" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-7173852" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <a id="dsq-author-user-7173852" href="http://stage2.dailykos.com/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">stage2</a>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-7173852" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-7173852" class="dsq-comment-message"><a href="http://www.dailykos.com/user/stage2" rel="nofollow">http://www.dailykos.com/user/stage2</a><br>Atlas Mugged - Exciting Cliff Notes To New Edition of Ayn Rand\'s Classic Novel <br>by stage2 [Unsubscribe] [Edit Diary]<br>Mon Mar 09, 2009 at 10:23:10 AM PDT<br><br>The story of Atlas Mugged takes place in the United States in early 2009. After 30 years of general right ward drift, culminating in the extreme deregulation, tax cutting, and war profiteering of the Shrub Administration, the nations economic conditions are rapidly deteriorating...<br><br>The story of Atlas Mugged takes place in the United States in early 2009. After 30 years of general right ward drift, culminating in the extreme deregulation, tax cutting, and war profiteering of the Shrub Administration, the nations economic conditions are rapidly deteriorating...<br><br>From Cliff Notes:<br><br>Dagny Taggart works to maintain Taggart No-Bid Contracting\'s food-chain fraternity of cronies. Her efforts are hampered by the fact that many of the country\'s most talented bankers and CEOs are fleeing either culpability, or law enforcement.<br><br>Her crisis worsens when the Iraqi government decides to scrap plans to award no-bid advisory and technical support contracts. Plans for Taggart\'s San Sebastian Airlines are aborted. The airline had been devised to service Francisco d\'Anconia\'s McMansion Megaopolis in Buckeye Arizona, but the McMansions turn out to be worthless, as foreclosures on bad loans force property values ever downward. Francisco and Dagney make dramatic, idealistic love, their ideals being idealized in a wet consummation of ideal ideal-ness.<br><br>Dagny must save Taggart No-Bid Contracting immediately and plans to use Rearden Derivatives, a new financial instrument created by top investment banker Hank Rearden. Francisco appears at an outrageously excessive 12 night bash at the Wynn Las Vegas for Rearden’s wedding anniversary. Rearden’s wife Lillian, his mother, his brother, and Rearden himself are nonproductive freeloaders who believe they have the government between a rock and a hard place, where it is obliged to support them, as they are too big to fail.<br><br>Francisco meets Rearden for the first time and warns him that the freeloaders have a weapon that they are using against his freeloading. Rearden questions why Francisco has come to the party, but Francisco says that he merely wished to become acquainted with Rearden, and that the 18 bottles of Heidsieck weren\'t bad either.<br><br>Dr. Robert Stadler, a brilliant theoretical scientist who heads The State Science Institute, is unable to issue a denunciation of Rearden Derivatives, as the Institute is pre-occupied with a years-in the-making animatronic diorama depicting Adam and Eve riding dinosaurs through all 10,000 years of Earth history.<br><br>Dagny and Rearden make hot steamy productive love. Not the vile kind of common love commoners make, but the Objectivist kind, where mutual orgasms become the execution of mutual reverence for their superior minds of gold.<br><br>Together they discover a motor in an abandoned factory that runs on "sun power". They hire a scientist to rebuild the motor. Unfortunately, the scientist is formerly of The State Science Institute, and currently with the General Motors Company.<br><br>Soon, more capitalist titans disappear: Robert Rubin of Citibank vanishes with $17-million-per-year winnings intact. BofA\'s Ken Lewis engineers a dubious acquisition of disgraced Countrywide, then follows Lehman into nothingness. Merrill\'s John Thain finds an idiot to buy Merrill, then disappears.<br><br>Dagney believes there is a "destroyer", who is causing the pure and free men of pure and free Utopian ideology to disappear.<br><br>Economic dictator and Reserve Chairman Wesley Mouch is called to testify before Congress.  (Mouch, in an odd back-story that seems to pierce the fourth wall separating character and author, had developed a serious interest in the author of this stories philosophical ideas in 1952. He attended regular meetings at the authors apartment, which included the opportunity to read draft sections of this very novel.) Mouch concedes the meltdown revealed a flaw in a lifetime of economic thinking and left him in a "state of shocked disbelief." He acknowledges under questioning that he had made a "mistake" in believing that banks, operating in their own self-interest, would do what was necessary to protect their shareholders and institutions. Mouch calls it "a flaw in the model [of ideal idealism]... that defines how the world works."<br><br>Rearden, believing Mouch is a traitor, refuses to participate in the proceedings, telling officials they can coerce him by force but he won\'t help them to convict him.<br><br>The government passes new socialist legislation that requires easily circumvented limits on pay for bankers receiving government bailout money. Francisco visits Rearden and asks him why he remains in business under such repressive conditions. When a fire breaks out, and they work together like manlike men in a hotly charged display of Aryan homo-erotic manliness, Francisco understands Rearden\'s love for his money.<br><br>Dagny quits over the new legislation and retreats to an aerial wolf hunting lodge in Alaska. She receives a letter from the scientist she had hired to help rebuild the motor, and fears he will be the next target of the destroyer. In an attempt to stop him from disappearing, she follows him in an aerial wolf hunting airplane and crashes in the mountains. When she wakes up, she finds herself in a remote valley where all the fleeing industrialists have fled. They are on the lam, calling it a strike of their kind.<br><br>There, she meets John\'s Fault, who turns out to be both the destroyer and the moral of the story. She falls in love with him, and they make intense melodramatic love, reaching a glorification of the highest ideal of ideal-ness ever idealized.<br><br>As a new head of state prepares to give a speech on the economic situation, John\'s Fault takes over CNBC and delivers a 28 hour rant of an address to the country, laying out the terms of the strike he has organized. They will return to their looting and scams, but only after the populace has swallowed a story about how the recession that began December 2007, the softening of housing prices that began in the summer of 2006, The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act of 1999, and Mouch\'s dropping of interest rates to 1% in 2003 for more than a year pumping trillions of low interest credit into the economy, is the fault of the new head of state.</div>\
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	 </li>\
	 <li id="dsq-comment-7167835">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-7167835" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-7167835" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <span id="dsq-author-user-7167835">Atlas Shat</span>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-7167835" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-7167835" class="dsq-comment-message">I hope all the Objectivists go Galt!  Make sure to take the rest of the conservatives with you.  We\'ll miss you.... but maybe not too much.</div>\
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	 </li>\
	 <li id="dsq-comment-7163280">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-7163280" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-7163280" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <span id="dsq-author-user-7163280">Andrew</span>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-7163280" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-7163280" class="dsq-comment-message">I encourage all those who consider themselves the most productive and valuable members of society to Go Galt: go ahead and see if there isn\'t someone just as qualified who is willing to snap up your position in a heartbeat.<br><br>The fundamental arrogance of the idea is just overwhelming.</div>\
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	 <li id="dsq-comment-7141183">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-7141183" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-7141183" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <span id="dsq-author-user-7141183">Heidi</span>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-7141183" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-7141183" class="dsq-comment-message">Good, I will have no problem with all the Republicans "going Galt." That way the liberals can finally get some work done and move the United States to the 21st century.</div>\
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	 <li id="dsq-comment-7129458">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-7129458" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-7129458" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <span id="dsq-author-user-7129458">firelight</span>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-7129458" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-7129458" class="dsq-comment-message">Type your comment here.http://disqus.com/login/?next=article:13159279<br>I spent a great part of my youth devoted to Ayn Rand and her philosophy as wonderfully woven through those magnificent figures of Howard Roark, Dagny, Dominique and Galt. We use to start our conversations with: \'who is John Galt?\' So this is what I\'ve learned and how I connect what is happening today with Rand\'s vision: I will say to all of you who are reading her for the first time: \'look and think deeper than the surface and you will see the real truth of our times as Rand would see it.  It is far too<br>insulting to her philosophy to look at what has happened in the past eight years and displace the blame on the \'have not\'s\' Conservatives are confusing those who have money with those who are creative and productive. There is a difference and that difference is at the core of the issue at hand.<br>In fact if RAnd were alive she would be the first to scream out that the thieves are those who take from those who have. But look at that concept closely in terms of our times. It is those investment bankers,<br>those empty, pitiful, impotent shells of what could have once passed for men that have stolen from the<br>creative potential life of those who \'have.\' You have to define \'have\' in Rand\'s terms. To \'have\' isn\'t simply dollars if they are not earned by real substance and genuine effort. Rand saw those who stepped on the creative potential of others to falsely inflate themselves as the criminals.  Conservatives can do what they always do, spin and twist and even steal a philosophy to justify that <br>in fact it is their actions that have crippled the potential of a society to rise to greatness, greatness<br>based on something earned.<br>    The concept of \'poor\' to Rand isn\'t a reflection of a bank statement, it\'s a reflection of character, genuine talent, passion, devotion, depth in terms of mind and spirit. <br>    In fact, it is those who have these qualities that are being stolen from to feed the \'empty\' people who<br>lie and cheat their way to positions of power and the ability to steal the spirit and soul of those who are anything but empty.  <br>  Rand would have been sickened by the administration of the last 8 years. A stolen election would have brought her to tears, Bush to Rand would have been the architypical Eddie Willers, the puppet<br>who is used to help feed the evil vampires i.e., Cheny, the true embodiment of an empty person who feeds on others to make himself appear as if there is something there.   RAnd would have been nauseated to see how Bush lied to go to war. To her, that would be the thief. To see the idea of deregulation used essentially to steal. The idea that those who have not earned it are being given<br><br>goldenparachutes as a reward for \'not\' doing their jobs would be disgusting on every level.  <br>AS for Obama, she would have admired and adored his mind and his vision and seen him as the <br>John Galt to step in and attempt to fix the mess caused by the last administration. RAnd would have<br>gotten the obvious, it is those at the heart and soul of America, who are actually going to work every day and earning their way and participating in their society whether it be by actually paying taxes (instead of looking write-offs and a way out) and even joining the military.  <br>    Obama is our modern day John Galt and it is the people of America that are the heart, soul, talent and mind of our society whose passion and purpose has been stolen by those who rose to undeserved positions by syphoning off their strength and even their money through these banking and mortgage schemes. Obama is the \'idea\' man and Rand would view his energy and devotion and quality of mind as characteristic of Galt\'s genious. Rand would see Obama is the \'liberator\' from those that have put in the position we are in. The same cast of characters that now want to displace the blame for their mistakes onto Obama. How long has he been in office, 6 weeks?  He has already done more and is trying to do more than most President\'s do in their entire terms.<br>   <br>   And now, to add insult to injury these very same \'old white impotent men\' and for some reason they are always the old white men who wear perfect suits and show up at religious services have the nerve<br>to use Rand\'s great vision to justify their theft. These are vampires in every sense of the word, sucking on the rich blood of those who seek life because they don\'t have any real talent other than the ability to<br>steal it from others and make it appear as if it is theirs.<br>  To that end, in this is the thing and it\'s sad because it is as if our country is being held hostage because the banks and car companies who either produced nothing or a lousy product feel justified<br>in receiving a bail out. No those at the top of those companies don\'t deserve a thing, they got us into this mess but because if the companies go, the people who actually worked hard and have talent will<br>be punished without the bailout.  The answer lies somewhere in getting rid of those that caused all of this and somehow go directly to the heart and soul of the American people who didn\'t deserve the idiots who ran these industries.   Giving to Americans who are holding up America would be supported by RAnd, bailing out the jerks at the top who intentionally produced lousy cars and loans<br>based on nothing - they only deserve to be in jail, and they should start with Paulson and the last administration with their endless efforts to take care of themselves at the expense of the country.<br> I have no sympathy for a car industry that intentionally built cars that would break down. That is exactly what RAnd despised and cried out against. Anyone who had a part in that should get nothing.<br>But somewhere in those companies there are the guys with the mind and talent that wanted to build something better and stronger and where shut down because most likely that wouldn\'t have resulted in a big enough undeserved and unearned profit. It is that person, those millions of people across our country that RAnd wants to have the opportunity to rise and use their ability and yes be rewarded for it, because they will deserve it, they will have earned it. Everything about the last administration was about stealing from those with true stature as human beings and selling it as cheaply as possibly while they smoke a cigar in a back room, snickering all they way at the expense of millions.<br>  So far all new Rand readers, look deeply and read the lines between the lines and truly understand that each and every person has greatness within them if they live in a society that allows it to come to fruition. Another great writer, Steinbeck wrote in Grapes of Wrath, and I\'m paraphrasing the thought which goes something like: \'We\'re the people, we go on -\' Those who are doing all they can to beat<br>us down, there is nothing in them and without us they can\'t last. <br><br>  Obama is our John Galt and our Howard Roark, he gets that it is the American people that have the mind and the talent to rebuild our country. He\'ll need an awful lot of courage and strength to circumvent those that want to undermine his efforts to reward those who actually deserve it.<br> I once had a professor that said: \'it can be a good thing to have to face who you really are, to not<br>be bailed out if it\'s not deserved, in that way you can start over and find out if in fact you\'ve got anything of substance to offer.<br><br>   To all new RAnd readers: Don\'t let the conservatives tell you how to interpret her philosophy. That in and of itself is a violation of her beliefs. Think for yourself, form your own opinions - don\'t let them steal<br>your right to use your mind based on your own thoughts, not the garbage they shove down your throat to use to yet again spin the truth to their advantage; which ultimately is to rob you of your ability to think for yourself. They fear that most of all because then it will be clear that once again your being asked to not be who you are or what even think your own thoughts, just follow along. A true RAnd reader learns to see through these mental machinations. It\'s quite a rewarding experience to find your own thoughts and distance them from all that is \'spin.\' <br>  The editor notes in ATlas Shrugged: "You must be prepared, when you read this novel, to check every premise at the root of your convictions..." So true, so very true.<br>  The only question left for a new Rand reader would be: "why is it that Atlas Shrugged was never<br>made into a movie?" I\'ve always wondered about that.</div>\
	 </div>\
	 </li>\
	 <li id="dsq-comment-7158656">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-7158656" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-7158656" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <span id="dsq-author-user-7158656">ever taught a poor kid?</span>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-7158656" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-7158656" class="dsq-comment-message">I am reading the novel for the first time, and I have been thinking for the last 500 pages what you have said here. Obama is John Galt... except better because (and this is what I have also been thinking) what happens when a man as competent and capable as John Galt uses his infinite productive ability to actually produce a better world? Or is Galt incapable of that (if not he should be. What\'s another unreal, over-exaggerated element of the Atlas reality)?<br><br>I guess I need to finish the book. I\'m still trying to figure out why Hank Rearden saved Francisco D\'Anconia.</div>\
	 </div>\
	 </li>\
	 <li id="dsq-comment-7170312">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-7170312" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-7170312" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <span id="dsq-author-user-7170312">firelight</span>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-7170312" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-7170312" class="dsq-comment-message">First, let me apologize for the bad spelling and all the grammar! In the future I won\'t do these things in the middle of the night.Actually I had just watched the Colbert Report and when I saw how  all the language being used to describe the literary characters were the exact opposite of what Rand intended, I couldn\'t help but speak up. Describing the \'heroes\' in the book as those who are \'successful or movers and shakers\' are misnomers. Rand would describe Galt, Reardon and Dagny as those with \'ideas, imagination, vision, creativity, inventors, passionate, and genuinely alive in every way.\' When these characters are seen as Rand intended, then all the efforts to spin the book into a self-serving justification of the very actions that Rand cried out against can be seen for the distortion that it is. Maybe the best example can be seen in the thing with Madoff. Wouldn\'t he had been seen as \'successful and powerful?\' But, in fact he was anything but and of course he was the \'mooching\' off the very real productivity of those who are out there actually \'doing\' something with their abilities. Madoff, the ultimate moocher in the parading around in a disquise of power and accomplishment that everyone bought into.  How often have we known or even read about or seen in movies stories of someone in a position of power but don\'t have any \'real\' ability themselves. Doesn\'t the scenario usually unfold with someone who no one knows actually doing the work, but it is someone else whodoesn\'t have a morsel of their talent other than to rape the talent of others,  taking the credit. In her book The Fountainhead, which provides Rands laying the foundation for the character interaction wherein Keating take the rewards for Roark\'s work. Roark just wants to create until of course, finally just like Galt, realizes this only further undermines and encourages those who are \'incapable\' to continue mouthing the words to songs that others are atually singing.<br>   In Atlas, the reward of money is symbolic for being rewarded for achieving the best in each of us, whatever that maybe.That is why when they are in their hide-away the waitress is the best she can be, the cook and the food is the very best no matter what the talent of the character, the point is they are the best at what they are. This, then contradicts this bizarre notion that those with \'money\' are going to take their toys and run. Oh please let them because very few actually represent a true Galt or Roark character. Most of them are \'mooching\' off the talent of those who are \'unseen.\' In that light, it is thenevident that all people, no matter what their bank account looks like have the capacity to rise to the greatest potential within their own lives. Often it is exactly those very people who don\'t have a chance at reaching their potential because the James Taggert\'s of the world need to keep them down. And this is what Atlas Shrugged is about and what it means - that if the heart and soul of people with the \'real talent and creativity\' give up and simply withdraw because all their efforts to be productive are robbed by those who are \'seemingly\' in power at their expense. Because it is actually these people holding up the very empty inflated pretense of those who only appear to be \' powerful.\' Just look at what has been happening, what do the investment bankers actually produce? It seems their very existence relies on the genuine efforts of those who will never be rewarded for what they (we) have all had to pay to make them look good. That they invision themselves to be Galt-like characters is hillarious. They are exactly they opposite, they are the James Taggert\'s whose existence depends on those with \'real\' ability.<br>   Even Steinbeck\'s \'Grapes\' addresses the greatness in what appears to be the guy who is down and out. Now look at those who are in so-called \'power\' and all their efforts to keep \'them\' down. Why, because those same people could not stay in theirunearned positions without controlling those with real ability. Obviously, the \'moochers\' who are actually those with \'false\'power and influence (not the poor as characterized by the very same \'moochers\') can\'t exist without suppressing the realGalt\'s of the world.  And yes, I do see Grapes as being in the same universe with Atlas, because it is the same thing whenseen as Rand intended and not as those would like to distort to make themselves appear to be something they are not: indispensable. It is those with imagination, genius, talent, creativity and brains. I had to be the only literature major that did a  paper comparing Atlas to Grapes, but it is right on the mark for those who aren\'t afraid to face these truths.<br>  And this is why I say Obama is in fact the Galt, Roark, Reardon symbolic figure relative to what is happening in our worldtoday.  Our President wants for the \'hero\' in each person, the Galt potential in each person to have a real chance to come tofuition not only for their own personal lives, but for the difference in can make in our society. Just think, imagine and entirecountry of people truly able to share their talents. What would it mean. First, people loving the work they do and feeling excited and fulfilled. This would in turn produce \'something\' worthwhile and at the same time bring self-satisfaction. (This is what Rand means by selfishness, not hoarding, but rising yourself to your greatest potential. It would result in less unhappiness which would result in better health which would result in less medical costs. That\'s what Rand means by \'selfishness.\' Not the form that the \'moochers\' actually indulge in which translates to: \'I don\'t care who I screw over as long as I get what is best for me.\' That interpretation describes the exact types of people (extreme conservatives) who are distorting the themes ofAtlas for self-serving purposes. They are exactly the James Taggert\'s in the novel. And in fact, if people really had the chances they deserve for a better life it would translate to less \'poor.\' If all had the chance for a better education, if there is afterschool programs for those who don\'t have parents at home because they are working several jobs. Maybe, just maybe they wouldn\'t end up in jails that costs far more than school. And I\'ll never understand the fact that their pro-life views don\'t seem to extend to after birth. They don\'t seem to have any problem with limitless arms being sold to maniacs on the basis that a 2nd amendment intended for a militia 200 years ago that has nothing to do with the world we live in today. It\'s just an excuse forarms dealers to stay in business at the expense of the life. If they were really pro-life in every sense they would want to do all the could to protect life both before and after birth. Again, the \'moochers\' could care less about the consequences as long as they get theirs. They are the Peter Keatings and the James Taggerts. The true \'small men wearing long pants in a very empty suit.\' For the last 8 years the \'moochers\' have been in charge essentially of insuring those with real potential have less ofa chance to emerge. Again, that would undermine the possibility of these incapable people who literally have to steal to obtain power they haven\'t earned. If the \'tax-break\' ideology was effective then why hasn\'t it worked for the past 8 years and why isn\'t that even noted? 8 years is a long time for something to work if there were truly any subtance as a driving force. But there isn\'t, it\'s just the same types of false power that appeared to be in charge in the 30\'s and yet staying afloat on the backsof the rest of the country. Did you know that the Bank of America actually participated in encouraging the suppression of wagesfor the fruit pickers that were falsely encouraged to come to California for the very purpose of having an abundance of workers so that they could keep them as virtual slaves? Did BOA ever answer for that? I doubt it. Could you see a Galtian characterdoing that? of course not. It\'s the \'conservative moochers\' with their fake power and syphoned-off skills of those who are truly have competent; which are they very same people \'they\' claim to be bailing out. In fact, it is the fake parasites of power who feed of the strength of others like vampires that supports their very existence. And that is why they have to put up smoke screams, displacing blame in the hopes that they can\'t be seen for just how very empty they are.<br>  I doubt our President sees himself as a Galt like character, but he is, if for no other reason than his vision and willingness totry to get it right. Are the \'moochers\' screaming out in protest, you bet. Because without the vast illusion they have createdof their false empowerment at the expense of those who have genuine substance, they are simply nothing. So think like Howard Roark in the Fountainhead: imagine standing on a cliff, looking out at the beauty of our country and all of it\'s potential,think of those who want to undermine the greatness of it\'s people; there can be only one response for those who are truevisionaries - laugh and then dive in and go for the best within yourself -just laugh. That is the only response these \'conservative moochers\' deserve.<br>  As For Reardon. For years I wondered the same thing. How could he not be jealous? How could he not want to keepFrancisco down? Isn\'t that what would happen if it were a soap opera like "Young and the Restless. \'Now look at it in light of seeing how Rand intended these characters. Because if he had he would be just like the James Taggerts and \'moocher\' who don\'t want greatness to see the light. RAnds idea of promoting the \'self\' isn\'t at the expense of others the way the present day conservative moochers function. Reardon\'s greatness if not dependent on suppressing the greatness of others. He is paying tribute to all that D\'Anconia has to offer and values the importance of that. Reardon\'s stature only means something if he rises to it in a world where everyone is trying to rise up. Your question is at the very heart of the point of RAnd\'s philosophy: It isn\'t necessary to suppress the potential of someone else to rise to greatness yourself. In fact, each person\'s individual accomplishments mean so much more in a world of others who are doing the same. And that is the genius of Ayn Rand. The fact that the \'conservative moochers\' have to distort the intent of Atlas only exemplifies their empty rhetoric. For G-d sakes just look at the ridiculous characters they listen to, makes Taggert look intelligent. I mean, do you really think some of them can even read anything other than the Atlas cliff notes? Even then, they would have to have an interpreter. Just to think of some of those bloated hot-air characters reading rand is so funny. I think Rand would have loved the thought of it just for the pure amusement.    Again, there is only one appropriate response, one that Gogol used in his story \'The Nose\' (very good read, much shorter version of the same theme) Just laugh, see them without a nose on their face and just how totally obsurd, albeit dangerous, they sadly are.   If nothing else, I hope this gives you the avenue to open  up your own interpretation of Atlas and what it means to you. Above all else, I believe Rand would want her readers to develop their own opinion-this one just happens to be mine.<br>Enjoy the journey, it sticks with you for life - like re-reading East of Eden, there is always something new in it because your own life changes and that makes it possible to see things in these novels you didn\'t see before...<br>Isn\'t it amazing how a novel can be a life-changing event?</div>\
	 </div>\
	 </li>\
	 <li id="dsq-comment-7155215">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-7155215" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-7155215" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <a id="dsq-author-user-7155215" href="http://wiccabilly.com" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Trickster</a>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-7155215" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-7155215" class="dsq-comment-message">I was with you right up to the point of calling Eddie Willers a puppet. He was Dagny\'s assistant and the only one she could always count on.<br><br>Then you compared Obama to Galt and my head almost exploded. Obama is exactly the same as Bush was. He\'s spending money that doesn\'t exist to prop up the very looters who created the mess. The closest thing we had to Galt was Ron Paul who would have actually dismantled some of the controls, not add more.</div>\
	 </div>\
	 </li>\
	 <li id="dsq-comment-7928824">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-7928824" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-7928824" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <span id="dsq-author-user-7928824">Kendra</span>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-7928824" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-7928824" class="dsq-comment-message">Galt wouldn\'t be any politician.  They are all looters.  Government never produces, it only takes away from those who do in order to give to those who don\'t.  (and those of you who say he is Obama are out of your ever-loving minds)<br><br>Even when it creates jobs, as in "stimulus" by creating public works, it can only do so efficiently temporarily, and it does so at the expense of the things that would have been created by the rightful owners of the money spent.  Government cannot create, only re appropriate.</div>\
	 </div>\
	 </li>\
	 <li id="dsq-comment-7170379">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-7170379" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-7170379" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <span id="dsq-author-user-7170379">firelight</span>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-7170379" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-7170379" class="dsq-comment-message">Your right, Apologize for middle of the night confusion, Meat James. I have sworn to not do this in the middle of the night again. <br>I\'m amazed the bad spelling was forgiven...In any event, I hope the underlying message wasn\'t obliterated altogether. Enjoy, the Atlas journey,it\'s quite an ride.</div>\
	 </div>\
	 </li>\
	 <li id="dsq-comment-7102708">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-7102708" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-7102708" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <span id="dsq-author-user-7102708">Matt</span>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-7102708" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-7102708" class="dsq-comment-message">To the idiots who fancy themselves to be Galt:  you\'ve been tricked.   You\'ve been manipulated and robbed.  Corporate America has given you a false idol (Galt) and you took it hook line and sinker.  You have not "gone Galt" by pulling out of the market, you have enabled the very crooks you detest (if you read anything Rand wrote, and not just going off the coffee shop rants of some Rand cult lunatic).  The companies that sell on Wall Street are not as dumb as the actors who they call CEO\'s behave on the business news channel.  They got you to give them alot of money (high stock value), they created a diversion that was a "crisis"  (bank failings), then told you that the money you gave them was not worth much anymore.  You Galters haven\'t gone Galt,  you didn\'t take anything away from anyone.  No one who took anything of real value would be on this thread.  The Wall Street crooks and their banker buddies who run this country stole from the people of this country.  Quit taking the wool from over your eyes only to believe an equally stupid idea.</div>\
	 </div>\
	 </li>\
	 <li id="dsq-comment-7076428">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-7076428" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-7076428" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <span id="dsq-author-user-7076428">jaci</span>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-7076428" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-7076428" class="dsq-comment-message">I don\'t understand how the right wing capitalists of today can describe themselves as creative people. They are not creating anything but more money for themselves in pretty unremarkable ways (at least all of my right leaning breadwinners are that way). I thought the characters in Ayn Rand\'s novels believed in something.</div>\
	 </div>\
	 </li>\
	 <li id="dsq-comment-7079644">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-7079644" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-7079644" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <span id="dsq-author-user-7079644">TexasMirth</span>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-7079644" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-7079644" class="dsq-comment-message">Oh, Jaci, your youth is showing.  Ayn Rand characters exemplified self-reliance.  When you no longer rely on your right-leaning breadwinners, then you will understand (hopefully) how creative it actually is to find new and innovative ways in which to create wealth.  Art for art\'s sake is lovely, but doesn\'t fill the belly or pay the rent. Art that can do both is the most creative of all.</div>\
	 </div>\
	 </li>\
	 <li id="dsq-comment-7081122">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-7081122" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-7081122" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <span id="dsq-author-user-7081122">Say it ain&#39;t so</span>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-7081122" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-7081122" class="dsq-comment-message">Is every breadwinner right leaning then?  None of them have any other motivation, thoughts or world views?  I\'d better run and tell that business owning Columbia University Phi Beta Kappa, Columbia Law, SEC lawyer, business owning, hedge fund manager Obama voting brother of mine.  That slacker.  Kripes, I have a lot of emailing to do, my friend who trades stocks, her husband who owns a business, all voted for Obama.  Another friend who does consulting for banks, better let him know. I\'d better get busy.  Oh, and darn, me. I forgot.  I also have my own business.</div>\
	 </div>\
	 </li>\
	 <li id="dsq-comment-7081733">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-7081733" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-7081733" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <span id="dsq-author-user-7081733">TexasMirth</span>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-7081733" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-7081733" class="dsq-comment-message">Say it ain\'t so --My reference to "right leaning" was in response to Jaci\'s post.  Obviously, not ALL BREADWINNERS are right leaning...but Jaci\'s are, and that is what I was responding to.</div>\
	 </div>\
	 </li>\
	 <li id="dsq-comment-7082052">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-7082052" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-7082052" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <span id="dsq-author-user-7082052">Say it ain&#39;t so</span>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-7082052" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-7082052" class="dsq-comment-message">I don\'t think she means she\'s relying on them, I think she means they\'re the ones she knows of, that\'s how I read it.  Like, the ones we\'ve been hearing about, the heads of banks, the heads of the auto industry, that\'s what I read into by her statement "not creating anything but more money".  And not all right leaning people are great breadwinners either, if you look at some footage of people attending the rallies for McCain and Palin, you\'ll see a lot of right-leaning people.</div>\
	 </div>\
	 </li>\
	 <li id="dsq-comment-7074635">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-7074635" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-7074635" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <span id="dsq-author-user-7074635">Stanley</span>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-7074635" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-7074635" class="dsq-comment-message">I just love how everybody is so naive to believe that there really is a difference in the republicans and the democrats! Just makes me laugh out loud. "The one" spoke "just words" about all the ear marks in the porkulas from last years budget and when he could of said "yes we can" stop this out of control spending he decided to say no we won\'t. Give me a break THERE IS NO DIFFERENCE they are all feeding us the same meal  it just that one is forcing us to eat it the other is shoving it down our throats! Please someone prove me wrong....</div>\
	 </div>\
	 </li>\
	 <li id="dsq-comment-7104323">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-header-7104323" class="dsq-comment-header">\
	 <cite id="dsq-cite-7104323" class="dsq-comment-cite">\
	 <span id="dsq-author-user-7104323">Comrade Rutherford</span>\
	 </cite>\
	 </div>\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-body-7104323" class="dsq-comment-body">\
	 <div id="dsq-comment-message-7104323" class="dsq-comment-message">My friend has been saying for decades that the only measurable difference between a Republican politician and a Democrat politician is how fast to institute martial law in America.<br><br>And I agree with that assessment.  There is only one explanation why the Demoratic Leadership refuses to fight against the crazier-than-John-Birch Republican Party: The Dems are directly controlled by the GOP!</div>\
	 </div>\
	 </li>\
	 </ul>\
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		// TODO: Check to see if theme uses postmessage.
		if (window.disqus_use_postmessage) {
			Dsq.frames['reply_0'] = new Dsq.ReplyFrame(Dsq.$(Dsq.Templates.textareaContainer));
			Dsq.frames['reply_0'].init(function() {
				// Use fallback iframe
				Dsq.$(Dsq.Templates.addPostContainer).innerHTML = '';
				var theme = (typeof disqus_frame_theme == 'undefined') ? 'default' : disqus_frame_theme;
				Dsq.Iframes.showReplyIframeInContainer(Dsq.$(Dsq.Templates.addPostContainer), null, {theme: theme});
				// if(Dsq.Utils.ie) { Dsq.Utils.fixIframesIE(); }
			});
		} else {
			// DEPRECATED
			Dsq.Iframes.showReplyIframeInContainer(Dsq.$('dsq-post-add'));
		}
	}

	
	

	
	if(document.location.hash != '') {
		document.location.hash = document.location.hash.substring(1);
	}

	Dsq.Popup.showCookieMsgs();

	
	if(document.location.search != '' && location.hash != '#disqus_thread') {
		var reply_id = Dsq.Utils.getRequestParams().dsq;
		if(reply_id) { document.location.hash = 'comment-' + reply_id; }
	}

	
	if((typeof OB_Script != 'undefined') && (typeof OB_versionNum != 'undefined')) {
		if(navigator.userAgent.indexOf("Firefox") != -1) {
			if(window.frames['dsq-reply-frame']) {
				window.frames['dsq-reply-frame'].location = Dsq.Urls.REPLY + (new Date()).getTime() + '&f=washingtonindependent&t=battling_obama_by_8216going_galt8217&to_redirect=' + encodeURIComponent(window.location) + '&ifrs=' + encodeURIComponent(disqus_iframe_css);
			}
		}
	}

	if (Dsq.jsonData.integration.theme == 4) {
		if (Dsq.jsonData.realtime_enabled) {
			Dsq.Realtime.initialize();
		}
	}

	




if(typeof(disqus_callback) == 'function') {
	var callback_params = Dsq.Utils.getRequestParams()['dsq_cbp'] || null;

	// We don't care about any errors in third-party code
	try {
		disqus_callback(callback_params);
	} catch (x) {
		if (typeof(console) != 'undefined' && typeof(console.log) == 'function') {
			// But it would be nice to let developers know about them
			console.log(x);
		}
		// pass
	}

	// HACK: We don't know if the callback wraps our container, which may
	// possibly result in a new DOM element.
	Dsq.container = document.getElementById('dsq-content');
}

})();




