The CEO of the Cato Institute, Peter Goettler, visited me on July 27th. We had a delightful dinner at my home, he stayed the evening, and we continued our conversation the next morning. He is super bright, very successful, and a good and benevolent man. I asked him how Cato was doing in terms of…
Author: Carl Barney
Disgraced and Discredited Judge Buchanan
As you can read in my earlier blog posts—Judging Judges, A Bittersweet Legal Victory, and Honor and Dishonor—Judge Ross Buchanan was derelict in his duties, failing to rule in a timely fashion on a really important issue affecting many thousands of people, including students, faculty, and staff of CollegeAmerica and Center for Excellence in Higher…
Doctors: A Tribute
If it were not for doctors and medical science, I would have been dead for 30 years. (I suffered acute appendicitis, which was quickly resolved at a local hospital.) In fact, most people over the age of fifty would be dead were it not for life-saving drugs, medical procedures, and the care of doctors and…
Strategies for Longevity that Don’t Require a Doctor
My doctor, Peter Attia, writes: “If you’re interested in longevity… you want to prioritize muscle mass.” And he recommends three forms of exercise: Zone 1 is strength training, which can be done through weights or isometrics. I do both. Zone 2 is low-grade cardio, where you’re not so breathless that you can’t hold a conversation,…
Our Country, Clarity, and Common Sense
Wilfred M. McClay, winner of the Bradley Prize, remarked on May 17, 2022: Would a serious country so completely lose perspective on its own past that it would entertain the idea that the nation was founded on slavery, rather than on the ideals that have made it a beacon to the rest of the world?…
My Strategy for Promoting Ayn Rand and Advancing Objectivism
My strategy for promoting Ayn Rand and advancing Objectivism is to focus on a few key result-producing activities: Ayn Rand’s and Leonard Peikoff’s Books: I want to promote Ayn Rand’s and Leonard Peikoff’s books by increasing their sales and encouraging their readership and study. Leonard Peikoff’s Courses: I want to publicize and deliver Leonard’s courses professionally to thousands worldwide,…
Cyrano
He was born with a gift of laughter and a sense that the world was mad. —Raphael Sabatini from Scaramouche. That quotation is about another heroic character, but it could just as well apply to Edmond Rostand’s hero, Cyrano de Bergerac. Cyrano is a delightful movie. It stars Peter Dinklage—who I believe gives a brilliant performance—as…
Anxiety is Good for You! How Can That Be?
There is an intriguing and, I think, truly important essay by Tracy Dennis-Tiwary who has devoted the past 20 years to understanding difficult emotions like anxiety. She is a Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience and has a new book, Future Tense: Why Anxiety Is Good for You (Even Though It Feels Bad). It is so…
Why I Admire Ayn Rand and Her Philosophy: Objectivism
Dear Friends, Many of you know that I am a student of Objectivism, and some of you know why. But others may wonder why I’m so attracted to the philosophy and give it so much time and investment. A wonderful summary is contained in “Introducing Objectivism,” which is a column that Ayn Rand wrote on…
Prometheus Foundation Approach to Promoting Ayn Rand and Advancing Objectivism
I believe that Objectivism is best and most earnestly advanced by individuals acting independently and in the spirit of entrepreneurship. Ayn Rand herself wrote: “I regard the spread of Objectivism through today’s culture as an intellectual movement—i.e., a trend among independent individuals who share the same ideas—not as an organized movement…. I want, therefore, to…