Daily Archives: April 14, 2017

Atlas Shrugged Theme of Philosophical Viewpoints: Objectivism

Posted: April 14, 2017 at 12:12 am

Objectivism is the name of Ayn Rand's personal philosophy, and Atlas Shrugged is basically one gigantic Objectivist manifesto. The book is all about demonstrating how Objectivist ideas can be used in daily life, and why those ideas are so important. If a lot of the novel's 800 characters (OK, it's not that many, but it's definitely a large number) seem like they are just spouting off philosophy and Big Ideas a lot of the time, it's because they are. In fact, some characters in this novel are arguably little more than mouthpieces of certain philosophies. We're just going to cover Objectivism itself here and what it means in the book itself. If you want to read more about Ayn Rand and Objectivism, check out the "In a Nutshell" section.

Let's start with the basics. The word "Objectivism" is never mentioned in all of Atlas Shrugged, but its ideas are present from the start. Characters who are down with Objectivism (John Galt, Dagny, Hank, and Francisco especially) have something to say about everything. All the time. If we were creating a dating profile for it, we'd say that Objectivism likes: life (living is super), money (especially making money, which is seen as a moral act), individuality, the pursuit of happiness (for the individual), capitalism, hard work, high self-esteem, free will (choices are good), reason, rationality, long walks on the beach, and bubble baths (preferably with a romantic partner, since sex and love are seen as expressions of Objectivist values). In a nutshell, Objectivism says that people should live only for themselves and should use the powers of Reason to work hard and make a happy life for themselves.

We see all these ideas either supported or lived by our main characters, the good ones at least. Hank and Dagny, for instance, are successful, hard-working businesspeople who don't put up with idiots, are often described as "selfish" (which in Objectivist terms means individual and cool), are super rational, and don't see sex as evil, which is another Objectivist principle. OK, Hank is late joining the party on that last one, but you get the idea.

One tricky thing about Objectivism in Atlas Shrugged is that it's never referred to outright by any character. Sure, lots of characters speechify about aspects of it, such as Francisco's spiel about money, Hank's various spiels about business, and Dagny's spiels about her railroad, hard-work, and love. But we don't get a definitive statement of Objectivism until Galt's radio address. And even calling that a definitive statement is a bit of a stretch.

Galt's speech is like information overload: it's rambling, it's long, and in a lot of places it's more a statement of personal views than a philosophical doctrine. Galt isn't so much coming down from Mt. Sinai to issue some new Ten Commandments as he is telling his life story in terms of his personal philosophy and explaining his strike. He's basically saying, "Here's what I think and what I'm doing. Feel free not to join in, but if you don't join you'll probably die a miserable death."

That's another tricky thing about Objectivism: it's highly concerned with morality and doing the right thing, so a lot of the philosophical themes of the book appear less in what people say or think and more in what they do.

The last tricky thing about Objectivism is that it has to be translated all the time. See, when people call Hank selfish they are using the looters' terms. In Objectivist terms, Hank's "selfishness" is a good thing. It's like permanent opposite day: if "looters" think it's bad, then Objectivism thinks it's good, and vice versa. So sex, money, selfishness, egoism, logic, reason, etc. are all good things to Objectivists. The things "looters" love, like charity and sacrifice, are bad to our Objectivists. It takes some mental gymnastics to keep up with Objectivist ideas, which often go against what is commonly seen as "moral" and good.

So here is a rundown of the basic tenets, or beliefs, of Objectivism, as outlined by John Galt in his radio address. He outlines seven major ideas, which may be a sly reference to the Seven Deadly Sins, many of which Objectivism takes as virtues.

Our seven guiding principles are Rationality, Independence, Integrity, Honesty, Justice, Productiveness, and Pride. All of these principles are united against a common enemy: the practice of "blanking-out." "Blanking-out" for Galt refers to ignoring reality, people's true characters, your own happiness and desires, fairness, personal responsibility, etc. Galt wants people to face life and other people head-on in order to lead a moral life. Ignoring and pretending are immoral.

Doing things against the individual is also immoral for Galt. This is why he condemns both "Mystics" or people who rely on superstition, religion, and the idea that people are inherently "sinful" and "Materialists" or people who prize society over the individual. Objectivism here opposes doctrines of Christianity, and especially the idea of Original Sin, which says that since Adam and Eve ate an apple and got tossed out of Eden, all people are born with sin. Little babies aren't blank, cute, slates; they've inherited a sin already from Adam and Eve. Objectivism dislikes this idea since it goes against the Objectivist notion that people are "heroic." Communism is also opposed here, since it's a system of government that favors society over the individual. This is why Galt praises American democracy and capitalism in his speech; these are systems that favor individuals.

What are some of the other things Objectivism opposes, as expressed by Galt? People who separate their minds from their bodies; the two should be united in harmony. Objectivism also opposes sacrifice and charity, or doing things for people based on their "need." According to Galt, people should trade for what they need, not take it. In the book we see consequences of sacrifice and need running totally amuck. Galt removed his fellow Objectivists, and their positive values, from the world so that the world would see how misguided it is.

Try on an opinion or two, start a debate, or play the devils advocate.

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The Importance Of Aligning Your Values With Your Relationships – Forbes

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Forbes
The Importance Of Aligning Your Values With Your Relationships
Forbes
In the words of Ayn Rand in Atlas Shrugged, love is our response to our highest values and can be nothing else. Our love of ourselves is reflected in everything we do and everyone we choose to have in our life. And the most intimate of our ...

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Ahmadinejad Enters Iranian Presidential Race – Being Libertarian

Posted: at 12:11 am

As Iran gears up for its May 19th election, former president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad entered his name as a last-minute candidate.

The bid for the presidency has international and domestic ramifications; his candidacy is a direct challenge to Irans theocracy as Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has ordered him not to run.

There is still a vetting process done by the Guardian Council, largely selected by Khamenei, who screens candidates based on political and Islamic criteria. It has been speculated that Ahmadinejad likely wont make it through this approval process.

Ahmadinejad insists he isnt running as a serious contender and his bid is only to support his previous deputy, Hamid Baghaei, who also registered on Wednesday. Ahmadinejad believes it would be politically costly for the council to reject both members of the previous government.

I repeat that I am committed to my moral promise [to not run] and my presence and registration is only to support Mr. Baghaei, asserted Ahmadinejad.

Baghaei spent seven months in prison for undisclosed charges in 2015 for a case that remains open.

Current president Hassan Rouhani is viewed as a political moderate. Rouhani brokered the 2015 nuclear deal, which sought to remove economic sanctions against Iran, and has sincefacedbacklash from conservatives who oppose the deal and moderates as his militaristic actions have led to the sanctions being reimposed. As of February, Iran hit double-digit inflation rates.

The anti-Western sentiments of Ahmadinejad left Iran isolated on an international level, and the sanctions left Iran crippled economically. In spite of this, he remains a popular figure in Irans poorest regions due to his populist approach.

The international implications are even more precarious as the regional cold war between Iran and Saudi Arabia has begun to involve NATO and Russia. Iran has been a major supporter of Syrias Assad regime and Lebanons Hezbollah, and is suspected to be a weapons supplier to Yemens Houthi rebels. Ahmadinejads entrance into the election is introducing a volatile element to an already unstable situation.

Photo Credit: Atta Kenare / AFP Getty Images

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State Chairman Tom Arnold Speaks To The Tennessee Valley Libertarian Party – The Chattanoogan

Posted: at 12:11 am

The Tennessee Valley Chapter of the Libertarian Party of Tennesseewill be hosting the State Libertarian Party Chairman, Tom Arnold, as guest speaker on April 18 at 6:30 p.m. at the Casual Pint, 5550 TN-153 in Hixson.

Mr. Arnold became involved with the Libertarian Party in 2012. He is working toward free and fair ballot access for everyone. He said hopes to have Libertarians on the ballot across Tennessee in the next two years.

"Tom has a heart for young people. He is focused on mentoring the future leaders of the party to redirect the current course of government. His goal is that we could live free from as many governmental constraints as possible.

"Tom was born on the fourth of July and has been a lover of liberty ever since. He is an eighth generation Tennessean and currently lives with an addlepated Sheltie on a 13 acre farm in Jackson county. Tom is a philosopher, poet, political hack, farmer and highway contractor," officials said.

Mr. Arnold said his favorite quote on liberty is from Walt Whitman's Caution:Resist much, obey little; Once unquestioning obedience, once fully enslaved; Once fully enslaved, no nation, state, city, of this earth, ever afterward resumes its liberty.

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Why don’t more Coloradans identify as Libertarians? – 9NEWS.com

Posted: at 12:11 am

Many more identify with the philosophy, but that hasn't translated into successful candidates at the national, statewide, or local level.

Next with Kyle Clark , KUSA 9:37 PM. MDT April 12, 2017

KUSA - One in one hundred voters in Colorado is registered Libertarian. Many more identify with the philosophy, but that hasn't translated into successful candidates at the national, statewide, or local level.

"The ideas are popular," says the newly-elected chairman of Colorado's Libertarian Party, Castle Rock realtor WayneHarlos.. "But there's the wasted third-vote syndrome that is really raising its head within the Libertarian Party."

Harlos acknowledges a similar issue within the Green Party, especially nowadays he says, when constituents wants to want to vote "against" somebody instead of "for" somebody in a what continually feels like a two-party system.

If you're wondering if you fall on the Libertarian spectrum,Harlosdescribes classifies the members of his party as being fiscally conservative and socially tolerant.

"The progressives would have you believe that we have to fund a lot of government social programs through tax pay forfeiture, if you will," he says. "The Libertarians believe in the social rights and social opportunities for people, but they don't believe in the government funding of those programs."

The chairman defines success over the next few years as getting out the message, and help voters understand Libertarian goals. The Colorado delegation has done so recently by setting up booths both at Pride Fest, and gun shows. So, there ya' go.

Take a listen to our full interview with Wayne Harlos:

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Shortcuts Ampersand Delusions: Don, Donald & Dummy Anti-War Virtue Signaling Libertarians – Being Libertarian

Posted: at 12:11 am

On April 6, Donald Jay Don Rickles passed away from kidney failure, at the age of 90. That same day, to distract mourning Americans and keep us from further succumbing to depression and despair over the loss of the legendary comedian, President Donald John Hockey Puck Trump ordered missile strikes against the Shayrat Airbase, the origin point for fighter jets that carried out the Khan Shaykhun chemical attack ordered by Bashar al-Assad, the dummy President of Syria (Assad has a beautiful wife; to get her in heat, Assad covers himself in camel fur and spits at her. Im kidding, Im kiddingits Alpaca and llama polyester).

To President Trump, I say: On behalf of a grateful nation, in all seriousness, from the bottom of my heartI never liked you.

***

With the passing of Mr. Warmth, I now have two comedy Mt. Rushmores, evenly divided between the dead and the living: Don Rickles, Groucho Marx, Rodney Dangerfield, Richard Pryor, ampersand Woody Allen, Paul F. Tompkins, Louie C.K., Norm MacDonald (though, Norm is a heart attack waiting to happen). One of my favorite Don Rickles moments is his cameo in Norms movie Dirty Work, when he rips Artie Lange for being fat.

OK, sorry for the clip show. Anyway, I cringe every time I hear people describe Don Rickles as an insult comic. That label is such a superficial and precursory analysis of his comedy, it is in itself an insult, and shows that whoever is evaluating Rickles as an insult comic has missed the effect of Rickles act and persona.

There are those whove heard a few jokes told by Rickles and judged him to be a bigot because he would target people based on their ethnicity, religion, and/or sex, but these bent-out-of-shape dummies fail to recognize that the basis of his jokes about a particular person were ridiculous, fabricated stereotypes. By using these absurd stereotypes to mock his audience members, Don Rickles showed how absurd prejudice is. Ill let the great funnyman speak for himself. Below is the closing to his album, Hello, Dummy!:

To all of you, my friends: in the words of a great man from the South, one of the greatest guys I know, I mean that sincerely, and a guy you love, General Robert E. Lee, who said at Gettysburg, I think we blew it! And to you people by the door, may I say publicly: YOURE CHEAP! You bunch of cheapies, what the hell are you staring at?! Didnt you ever see Moses without the tablets? Look at that, the two Gentiles went, I told you that was him! Moses is not here, hes at Mt. Sinai building a hospital. I say to all of you my friends, show business is my life. My humor, ladies and gentlemen, is directed in a way to laugh at ourselves. If you accept it in that spirit, I am deeply grateful. If there be doubt, I hope you will see us another night. Because, whether you be the great talents of a Sammy Davis Jr., Jerry Lewis, Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, whoever, every performer, big or small, needs an audience. I am no Rabbi, Priest, or reverend, you know this. I stand here and speak of all faiths, creeds, and colors, and why not? Really, why not? Because in my experience in the Navy, when things were rough, nobody bothered or cared to ask: color, church, or synagogue? Who cared? Frightened to death together on the bow of the ship and said please, and that is the truth, please, when our time is up we will all be on one team. So why do we need bigotry and nonsense? Lets enjoy while Almighty God gives us time. Will Rogers once said, I never picked on a little guy, only big people. May I say to this entire audience: on a hectic night, you are pretty big, and I do thank each and every one of you.

***

S&D is designed to be a political satire column and not meant to be maudlin, and considering the most overtly political Rickles got were his jabs at Reagan during the latters reelection inauguration ball, I really should be taking shots at what is the bigger news story. But, goddamnit, so much has been written about Trump, Assad, America, Syria, missiles, chemical weapons, and any and all combinations, permutations, and variations thereof, that anything I write about Americas intervention into Syria will be met with snores, collective indifference, and from some of my more lonely ampersand loyal readers, furious masturbation.

But I have to say something about the Trump/Syria horseshit; I would be remiss if I didnt mention Im mostly irritated with my own Chosen People, my fellow libertarians. Look, I get it, youre anti-war. So am I, but is this something that needs to be said? To paraphrase another comedian, Eugene Mirman, I never once thought any of you were pro-war until you all insisted you were anti-war. The vast majority of people on the planet are anti-war. Even hawks like John McCain are anti-war, its just that he, for all his faults, does not always automatically take that option off the table whenever there is a world event in which a militaristic response could be justified, unlike almost every libertarian Ive ever come into contact with. I know libertarians who say we shouldnt have gotten involved in World War 2; Id need to dedicate another column to show how ridiculous this assertion is. It causes me to wonder when, if ever, there is a justifiable reason for war, according to libertarians. Im not saying war is something that should be rushed into; all Im saying is give war a chance. There are times when its necessary.

Libertarians who immediately rush into their abstract safe space and press their laminated copy of the NAP to their face for comfort whenever war is discussed and denounce the concept of war are doing little more than virtue signaling. Want to know why many people dont like libertarians? Because when theres a serious discussion going on, most libertarians go looking for their high horse and get into theory mode when theres a real world issue that requires practical discussions that involve functionality and process. Like whenever a state votes on if it will allow gay marriage, libertarians will talk about how the state shouldnt be involved in marriage at all. OK, but guess what, dummies? It is involved in marriage, and is not about to divorce itself from making decisions regarding the commitments two adults make to each other. IOW, stop ignoring reality and dont rhetorically flee from the current issue being discussed.

I dont think, logically, that it makes sense for the US to respond either now, or in this fashion. Why is the use of chemical weapons such a taboo? Why is dying from a chemical weapon so much worse, conceptually, than dying from a bullet, mortar or any other more acceptable weapon more commonly used? Does a soldier or civilian taking his last agonizing gasps of air while he hemorrhages blood from bullet holes think, Well, at least Im not dying from Sarin gas?

If American/U.N./NATO policy is to deter Assad or any other bastard from ordering chemical weapons attacks, then missile strikes is a complete waste of time. If you truly want to send a message that using chemical weapons is a no-no, then its time for [TRIGGER WARNING] boots on the ground and regime change. My criticism of Trumps response to the chemical weapons isnt that hes a hypocrite for ordering a missile attack, but that he didnt do enough.

***

And thats the way it is, as far as you know.

This post was written by Dillon Eliassen.

The views expressed here belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect our views and opinions.

Dillon Eliassen is the Managing Editor of Being Libertarian. Dillon works in the sales department of a privately owned small company. He holds a BA in Journalism & Creative Writing from Lyndon State College, and needs only to complete his thesis for his Masters of English from Montclair State University (something which his accomplished and beautiful wife, Alice, is continually pestering him about). He is the author of The Apathetic, available at Amazon.com. He is a self-described Thoreauvian Minarchist.

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Do We Really Need Consultants to Impart the Golden Rule? – Townhall

Posted: at 12:11 am

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Posted: Apr 13, 2017 12:00 AM

Lucky Little Rock; its cops are going to be taught how to treat folks from another culture -- Colorado's for example -- with due respect. So for at least $58,000 a year in the taxpayers' money, experienced bureaucrats will be put in charge of "cultural competency and diversity training" for Little Rock's police force.

Little Rock has tried this approach before, specifically with a homegrown outfit calling itself Just Communities of Arkansas, but more than half the cops subjected to such training rated it as, well, unjust. Or as the report card they filled out put it, "unsatisfactory." That's what human relations have been reduced to in our check-the-box times.

The obligation to treat other folks decently seems to have been delegated to bureaucrats instead of doing things the reciprocal way that mama taught us as children. Namely, be nice to others, and they might be nice to you. Which is Arkinsaw for what Confucius called the universal principle of any decent society: reciprocity. It's the golden rule: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

But now the state's capital city has chosen Global Perspectives Consulting LLC out of Colorado Springs, Colo., to teach its benighted citizens how to get along with each other, bringing to mind a classic definition of expert: somebody, indeed anybody, from out of town. Just as Innocent Reader might have suspected, the first result of all this sensitivity training may be to pit citizens against each other. For when bureaucrats take over the job that the family, church and community may no longer do, the once united community becomes a house divided against itself, and will not stand. To be taught this simple lesson, we need outsiders? You'd think we would be quite capable of fighting each other without any expert help to provoke us.

The ink was scarcely dry on this juicy contract before citizens started raising objections to it. Even though Global Perspectives' owner, Robert Strauss, assured all and sundry that his company "has extensive experience in complex environments addressing multi-layered problems. Consultants are skilled at leveraging polarities, where seeming opposite values must be integrated together while retaining dignity and ideals. These are the challenges faced by law enforcement today." As if they hadn't always had to be faced by police forces in a free society where both law and order need to be respected.

Little Rock's own impressively named Racial and Cultural Diversity Commission was quick to object to the choice of Global Perspectives as a local peacemaker. As if it were honing in on the commission's own territory.

The commission complained that Global Perspectives lacked, well, global perspective. How else explain why the city's advertisements for somebody to bring us all together didn't pointedly mention racial issues among "topics to be covered at minimum." For the topic that should have led all the rest wasn't mentioned, not in plain English anyway. Race, it seems, remains the one unmentionable topic in polite society, just as it was back in the old separate but unequal days. ("Hush, the children might hear.")

The more things change, it seems, the more they remain the same -- only hidden under layers of impenetrable lingo that make it hard to address the simplest problems of the biracial, multi-ethnic society the urban South has long been, along with much of urban America for that matter. The local diversity committee, which is definitely not a Limited Liability Corporation, noted that while the requests for proposals addressed matters like stress management, cultural interactions, how to calm explosive confrontations and the distinct problems of homosexuals and the transgendered, race wasn't explicitly mentioned.

"None of the topics explicitly referenced the intent for any instruction to recognize racial issues," said a letter of protest from the Little Rock Racial and Cultural Diversity Commission. "Racial tensions, mistrust, brutality, the killings of unarmed black men are all sources of major conflict between communities of color and law enforcement across the nation. Therefore, any cultural competency instruction should and must equip law enforcement personnel with effective training to address the reality of race, the inevitability of interracial interactions and the necessity of constructive race relations." What a pity such a course doesn't include a primer on plain speaking.

The result is that the experts seem to be so busy circling around the central issue in this hullabaloo that it's avoided instead of being faced head on. And nothing seems to bring home the obvious like studiously avoiding any mention of it. To quote a piece of doggerel by Hughes Mearns that sums up the problem and paradox:

Yesterday, upon the stair

I met a man who wasn't there

He wasn't there again today

I wish, I wish he'd go away

When I came home last night at three

The man was waiting there for me

But when I looked around the hall

I couldn't see him there at all!

Go away, go away, don't you

come back any more!

Go away, go away, and please don't

slam the door . . . (slam!)

Last night I saw upon the stair

A little man who wasn't there

He wasn't there again today

Oh, how I wish he'd go away . . .

Except that this problem isn't about to go away if this myriad of experts with all their expertise to match just stay and stay and stay.

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Chris Christie shares his golden rule on referencing Hitler – Washington Examiner

Posted: at 12:11 am

There is one rule New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie believes every public figure should abide by: "Don't bring up Hitler. Ever."

He was reacting to White House press secretary Sean Spicer's controversial comments during a press briefing Tuesday when comparing Syrian President Bashar Assad to Nazi Germany leader Adolf Hitler. "You had someone as despicable as Hitler who didn't even sink to using chemical weapons," Spicer told reporters. Controversy ensued and Spicer has apologized multiple times for the careless remark.

Christie offered guidance on how a similar flub can be avoided in the future.

"Here should be a general rule for anybody involved in public life," he said Wednesday on "Fox and Friends." "Whether you're a governor, a press secretary for the president, or a host of 'Fox and Friends.' Don't bring up Hitler. Ever. There's no winning. There's no winning in bringing up Hitler. Write that down. It's very important. Don't bring up Hitler. You can't win in any conversation about Hitler. He is the most despicable human being in the history of the world."

Christie said he's glad that Spicer apologized, but also scolded the former communications director of the Republican National Committee who, he said, "should know better."

However, Christie did not seem to agree with those who are calling for Spicer to resign and criticized the media for being too tough on Spicer.

"This is the game we play. And so if you're the White House press secretary, you know that. He deals with the mainstream media every day from behind that podium," Christie said. "Listen, he made a mistake. He apologized for it. Fact of the matter is, you never bring up Hitler. It's a good rule. If you follow that rule, I think you'll keep yourself out of this trouble completely."

Christie said he doesn't believe Spicer meant to be discriminatory to the more than 1 million Jews and other prisoners who were killed in Nazi gas chambers during the Holocaust. After the apology, Christie said it's time to move on.

"It's a tough job," he said.

Also from the Washington Examiner

The audience appeared to be comprised of mostly Democratic activists.

04/13/17 11:15 PM

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Ivanka Trump and the liberal mean girls: Will the mainstream ever wake up? – Fox News

Posted: at 12:11 am

During an exclusive "CBS This Morning" interview, Gayle King asked Ivanka Trump if she was being complicit in her fathers administration.

It was a reference to a liberal charge about Ivankas role in her fathers White House. It was also the inspiration for an "Saturday Night Live" sketch featuring actress Scarlett Johansen as Ivanka selling a womens fragrance called Complicit.

In response to Gayle Kings loaded question, Ivanka took a long pause and gave an elegant answer: If being complicit is wanting to be a force for good and to make a positive impact, then Im complicit.

During her fathers tumultuous campaign, and in the two short months of his presidency, Ivanka Trump has had a political crash course in what its like to walk in the high heel shoes of Republican women.

During her fathers tumultuous campaign, and in the two short months of his presidency, Ivanka Trump has had a political crash course in what its like to walk in the high heel shoes of Republican women.

She now knows what it feels like to have ones life accomplishments dismissed, and your integrity, and morality questioned for being complicit in a conservative agenda because for liberals, to be a Republican is to be anti-woman. And to be pro-Trump, is to be a racist.

The feminist thought police will never forgive, and will therefore malign, any woman who didnt fall for their election strategy of shaming women into voting for Hillary.

The liberal strategy for taking down the Trump family is the same one used against all Republicans: do not normalize them.

Though a registered Democrat prior to her fathers candidacy, the glamorous and unquestionably successful Ivanka has not been spared. You see, to normalize Donald Trump and his family is to normalize Republicans, and to normalize Republicans is to normalize our conservative ideas and give them a fair platform from which to be debated.

When the debate turns to ideas and results, conservatives often win. Thats why there is severe punishment in the powerful entertainment industry for anyone who even unwittingly normalizes President Trump.

Recall what happened when Jimmy Fallon asked to tousle then candidate Trumps hair on the "Tonight Show." It was a lighthearted moment that humanized Trump.

His comedic peers, including fellow "SNL" alum, Tina Faye, viciously pounced to make a public lesson out of him, ensuring others do not dare to use their powerful media and cultural platforms to normalize Donald Trump.

Being turned into social pariahs must be especially painful for Ivanka who gracefully straddled the Hollywood and New York social scenes.

No one takes fashion cues from Chelsea or Hillary Clinton yet they both graced the cover of Vogue.

Ivanka and First Lady Melania, both towering former international models, have been banished from high end fashion magazine covers and the couture fashion runway world they once inhabited.

Marc Jacobs and other designers brag that they won't dress Melania. Dolce & Gabanna are under fire for having the gall to celebrate the first lady wearing their creations.

Ivanka, a fashion mogul in her own right, endured an embarrassing and unjust boycott of her own fashion empire.

For Ivanka, a role model for socially-conscious entreprenuership, the Nordstrom boycott and the expulsion from the Susan Sandberg/Mika Brzezinski professional womens empowerment club is particularly cruel punishment.

After all, Ivanka took great pains to include the concerns of working women, especially professional working moms, in her fashion brand and corporate message.

On the campaign trail, she tirelessly took her message of female economic empowerment to minority entreprenuers and to the working class rural moms who turned out to see her in between their second shift.

In an interview with Mika Brzezinski on MSNBC, self-appointed feminist leader and founder of the Women in the World Summit, Tina Brown, said that Ivanka, despite her efforts to prioritize female entreprenuership and put her political weight behind a national child-care policy in the White House, could not be a a credible feminist role-model because her fathers administration wants to cut funding to Planned Parenthood.

That sentiment must be exponentially heightened now that she is complicit in the successful nomination of Neil Gorsuch to replace conservative, pro-life Justice Antonin Scalia.

Last week, she was actually slapped down by online feminists for tweeting her support for equal pay for women.

It was an odd, if not revealing, lashing that proves what conservative women have always known about the so-called feminist movement that its not really a womens movement. Its an abortion movement that masks as a womens movement.

Anyone who threatens abortion, or who is complicit in challenging its legality or funding will be punished as a traitor to her gender and, if shes a minority, to her race.

No matter how much good you do for women or their financial empowerment and independence, you will be shamed and exiled from the feminist club.

The question Republican women have is what will Ivanka do now that she knows what its like to walk in our shoes?

Will her ideas and politics evolve now that she is part of a Republican administration?

Will she use her powerful platform to win back the love of the elite, intolerant feminist mean girls who are hell-bent on destroying her fathers presidency? If she does, I predict that will be a fruitless endeavor.

Or will she choose to align herself more closely with the conservative red-state sisterhood that put her father in the Oval Office? These are women who truly admire Ivankas work ethic, business focus and commitment to her faith and family.

Conservative women have been quietly shaping their own brand of feminism, one that gives women more freedom to chart their course and define happiness and success on their own terms.

Its a feminism that respects the consequential role of men and the dignity of women and their children, including those still growing in their mother's womb.

Though ignored and put down by the media and cultural elites, this is a powerful constituency, one in need of a voice and a champion.

Republicans once embraced and followed a former Democrat named Ronald Reagan.

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Rachel Campos-Duffy is a Fox News contributor. An author and television personality, she comments frequently on parenting, politics and culture.

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Ivanka Trump and the liberal mean girls: Will the mainstream ever wake up? - Fox News

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The vicious rumours at the heart of factional warfare for NSW Liberals – The Sydney Morning Herald

Posted: at 12:11 am

The most intriguing storyon Macquarie Street in recent weeks has been that of the senior government figure allegedly caught in a compromising position in one of Sydney's best known parks.

It's all very NSW politics. Salacious details have travelled like wildfire around media and political circles.

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In October, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull draws laughter from his colleagues after claiming the Liberal Party is not governed by backroom deals. Vision courtesy ABC News 24.

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Former foreign affairs minister Gareth Evans is urging Australia to reduce its dependence on the United States alliance and accept China as a legitimate "global rule maker".

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The Women of Hizb ut-Tahrir Australia publish a controversial video to Facebook wherein the participants appear to legitimise hitting women that are 'sinful' in the context of their interpretation of Islamic tradition.

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There's dissent in the Coalition ranks over the idea for first homebuyers to access their super to get into the housing market.

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Despite two of their children being born in Australia, a Fijian family has been taken into detention and Immigration minister Peter Dutton says they'll he deported.

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The India trade deal is spiked as Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull explains why the deal promised by his predecessor isn't going ahead.

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WA Premier Mark McGowan says he is looking at options to deal with the Perth City Council, one of them being dismissing the council.

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New aerial photography reveals how far a spill of coal-laden water from the Abbot Point coal terminal has penetrated neighbouring wetlands.

In October, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull draws laughter from his colleagues after claiming the Liberal Party is not governed by backroom deals. Vision courtesy ABC News 24.

Media organisations have made enquiries that havecome to nothing, strongly indicating it is wholly a fabrication.

Yet it persists propelled by some political operatives talking to journalistswith the attendantdamage to the reputation of the person targeted.

Thiswillingness to push such a damagingstory is being seen as symptomatic of a particular brand of poisonous factionalism in the NSW Liberal Party characterised by an win-at-all costs-attitude and little regard for how much internal damage is done.

It's a style of internal politics the party thought was long behind it.

But last weekend's byelections in the blue ribbon Liberal seats of North Shore and Manly, atwhich the government was belted with huge swings, for some provided more evidence it is back.

The candidates Felicity Wilson and James Griffin were both backed by the moderate, or left, faction.

Wilson narrowly defeated the right's Tim James in a tight preselection, while Griffin easily beat the right's choice, Walter Villatora, who was backed by former prime minister Tony Abbott.

Clearly local issues and the government's unpopular forced council mergersplayed into the results, but so did scandals.

There was also strong evidence that rival factional operativestook aim at the endorsed Liberal candidates particularly Wilson, who Fairfax Media revealed had incorrectly signed a statutory declaration about how long she has lived in the area.

The declaration in the shape of a Liberal party nomination form was distributed to about 200 preselectors and made its way to the media.

The story almost derailed Wilson's campaign, leaving senior Liberal moderates appalled at the prospect that, suicide bomber-like, some in the right faction would be willing to blow up the endorsed Liberal candidate simply because she was not their pick.

All of this should be sounding very loud alarm bells for Premier Gladys Berejiklian who, only a few months into the job, is about to confront the issue of factionalism head on.

With the civil war in the NSW Liberalsshowing no signs of abating, a major convention scheduled for late Julylooms as a critical momentforBerejiklian's2019 election campaign.

The meeting will see all party members invited to thrash out a potential solution to an issue that has caused a deep fissure in the NSW Liberals: whether to change how state and federal candidates are preselected.

The right faction of the Liberal partyhas been pushing hard for a plebiscite system giving all branch members a vote.

But the dominant left and centre right factions favour retaining the present system where preselectionsare decidedby branchrepresentativesand some party officials.

There is a lot of self-interest at play here the left and centre-right run the show under the status quo but they warna shift to plebiscites will lead to rampant branch stacking.

Berejiklian, given her closeness to the left faction, has thus far been assumed to be an opponent of plebiscites. Then-premier Mike Baird was in favour, in close alignment with his mate Abbott.

Now Berejiklian is Premier, she says she does not have a position either way and stresses she has never publicly stated one.

It's a telling response, given what is looming as a very public fight over the issue.

The non-binding convention was the agreed-upon circuit breaker advocated by then-premier Baird and Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull that emerged from last year's NSW Liberal state council at which Abbott and Villatora pushed hard for the party to adopt plebiscites.

When it rolls around, there will be good reason forBerejiklian to push hard for a broadly supported solution.

Theparty will begin preselections for state and federal seats next year otherwise known as peak season for factional warfare.

Avoiding a Felicity Wilson-style outbreak of friendly fire by keeping the factional suicide bombers at bay across key seats could provepivotalto the government's chances of winninga third term in office.

Sean Nicholls is state political editor.

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The vicious rumours at the heart of factional warfare for NSW Liberals - The Sydney Morning Herald

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