Author: Carl Barney

Congratulations to Rob Tracinski on the publication of his new book, So Who Is John Galt, Anyway?: A Reader’s Guide to Ayn Rand’s “Atlas Shrugged”. Rob edits the Tracinski Letter, a newsletter covering culture and politics from an individualist perspective based on Ayn Rand’s philosophy of Objectivism. I’ve been impressed with Rob’s work over the years. He’s a…

One of my joys in life is discussing important ideas with great thinkers. So I was delighted to have dinner at my home with Dr. Vernon Smith and his wife Candace, Dr. Bart Wilson and his partner Ryan Johnson, Todd Zywicki and his wife Jeri Curry, and Craig Biddle. I won’t get into everyone’s history…

For some attorneys general, when it comes to targeting and prosecuting politically unpopular businesses (oil companies, healthcare providers, drug companies, etc.), anything goes. And justice is not their goal. Their goal is to cripple, bleed, bankrupt businesses they don’t like.  Their playbook is simple: Make stuff up, fake documents, fake witnesses, whatever will work; conduct…

I recently retired as a board member of the Cato Institute to focus on personal pursuits, such as advancing Objectivism through my Prometheus Foundation. I enjoyed my time on the board of Cato, and I have great respect for CEO Peter Goettler, Chairman Bob Levy, and all the other board members. Cato is a good…

I told my butler (who I call “James”—after all, English butlers are named James) that criticizing and complaining is a virtue. He looked at me disapprovingly, as if I’d said the moon is made of cheese. He said he did not think so; so, I explained.  I told him that nothing gets better until one…

I used to smile at a cartoon showing a drawing of two scraggly, skinny vultures roosting on a tree branch. The caption read: “Patience my ass, I’m gonna kill something.” That’s a go-getter attitude I thought. Patience is for those who don’t do anything. Patience is for those who sit around, those with no ambition. I didn’t…

I recently read Body by Science by Doug McGuff, MD, and John Little. While the book has some loose science, I believe it also has sufficient good science and valid ideas to be worth reading. I’ve been practicing its prescriptions with good results.

I’m currently reading The Kaufmann Protocol, by Sandra Kaufmann, MD, and I’m heartened to see that the science of life-extension and anti-aging is making headway…