Going John Galt

[racerx]

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Members don't see this ad.

http://www.doctorsonstrike.com/

 

[amyl]

http://www.doctorsonstrike.com/

thanks for the link.... glad to know there is another objectivist / ayn rand fan on the site.

 

[racerx]

Here is a salient quote from Ayn Rand's "Atlas Shrugged" for those who haven't visited the link:


“Do you know what it takes to perform a brain operation? Do you know the kind of skill it demands, and the years of passionate, merciless, excruciating devotion that go to acquire that skill? That was what I would not place at the disposal of men whose sole qualification to rule me was their capacity to spout the fraudulent generalities that got them elected to the privilege of enforcing their wishes at the point of a gun. I would not let them dictate the purpose for which my years of study had been spent, or the conditions of my work, or my choice of patients, or the amount of my reward. I observed that in all the discussions that preceded the enslavement of medicine, men discussed everything--except the desires of the doctors. Men considered only the 'welfare' of the patients, with no thought for those who were to provide it. That a doctor should have any right, desire or choice in the matter, was regarded as irrelevant selfishness; his is not to choose, they said, only 'to serve.' . . . I have often wondered at the smugness with which people assert their right to enslave me, to control my work, to force my will, to violate my conscience, to stifle my mind—yet what is it they expect to depend on when they lie on an operating table under my hands? Their moral code has taught them to believe that it is safe to rely on the virtue of the victims. Well, that is the virtue I have withdrawn. Let them discover the kind of doctors their system will now produce. Let them discover, in their operating rooms and hospital wards, that it is not safe to place their lives in the hands of a man whose life they have throttled. It is not safe, if he is the sort of man who resents it—and still less safe, if he is the sort who doesn’t.”

 

[Southpaw]

Here is a salient quote from Ayn Rand's "Atlas Shrugged" for those who haven't visited the link:

Very salient! 👍

Here's another great read for Ayn Rand fans....

http://www.aynrand.org/site/News2?page=NewsArticle&id=5140&news_iv_ctrl=1021

Attacking the Heart of Medicine
Sunday, November 24, 1996
By: Richard M. Salsman

Rational, independent doctors are vanishing, as socialism threatens to destroy American medicine.

One vital fact was omitted in the news accounts about the success of Boris Yeltsin's recent heart surgery: the failure of socialized medicine. And this fact underscores the question of whether America's health-care policies are courting a similar failure.

Competent physicians with specialized technical skills are scarce in Russia. Yeltsin, because of his privileged position, had access to qualified cardiologists--an access unavailable to most Russians. And even Yeltsin's doctors had to rely heavily on the training and advice of American heart specialists. For example, Dr. Renet Akchurin, the head surgeon on the Yeltsin operation, was trained by an American pioneer in the field, Michael DeBakey. While DeBakey did not apply the scalpel to Yeltsin, he was called on to make the crucial decisions not only about the diagnosis but about the timing and the method of Yeltsin's surgery.

But the rest of the country has virtually no modern health care. Bypass operations, now routine in the U.S. (300,000 per year), remain rare in Russia (3,000 per year). Most are done by American-trained doctors at special facilities reserved for political leaders. Heart surgery is "free" for Russian citizens, but 98 percent of those needing bypass operations die without getting them. Patients suffer and die on interminable waiting lists. Some choose not to even seek needed care. Dr. Yevgeny Rogozin, of Moscow's Cardiology Center, reveals that "Many people in this country are afraid to let someone take a knife to their heart." What they fear are the scalpels wielded by socialists.

Why is this so? Because decades of socialism have replaced conscientious medical professionals with low-skilled, mindless bureaucrats. Scrupulous rationality and independent thinking are the key traits of a good doctor. But these are the very traits penalized, and then destroyed, by socialism. Under socialism, doctors have no freedom to choose the terms under which they work: not whom they treat, nor how, nor at what price. They must surrender their private concerns and serve the "public interest." There is no profit in being a good Russian doctor--so good doctors disappear. Patients are thus left in the incompetent hands of those who are skilled--not in advanced medical procedures--but in obedience to government directives.

In medicine, as in other fields, the socialists must turn to the capitalists for help. American medicine has been the envy of the world, because at its heart stands the independent doctor, left free to think and act by the standard of his own rational self-interest. His judgment is not subordinated to the dictates of government bureaucrats.

But freedom is now under attack. Capitalist doctors are being replaced by medical bureaucrats--and medical care in America is slowly vanishing. When Medicare and Medicaid subsidies were initiated in the 1960s, it was claimed that doctors would retain their freedom. But when government foots the bill, it first inflates costs, then realizes it must control the spending of the "public's" money. In order to cap skyrocketing costs, the government now herds doctors and patients into HMOs, where care is rationed. Doctors are under "gag orders" not to alert patients to alternative, life-saving--but costly--procedures.

HMOs are increasingly staffed by generalists, medical specialization is declining--a big step down the socialist road to medical incompetence and barbarism. Tragically, the results of this socialization of medicine--rationing and deteriorating care--are now blamed on private doctors and the profit motive.

Even as it deteriorates, American medical care is being made compulsory. The Kennedy-Kassenbaum bill, for instance, imposes fines and prison terms on doctors who fail to comply with regulations governing subsidized tests and treatments. Many conscientious doctors are quitting. The capitalist doctor--independent, expert, caring--is an endangered species.

Dr. Thomas Hendricks, the brain surgeon in Ayn Rand's 1957 novel, Atlas Shrugged, who flees from socialist medicine, explains his choice as follows: "I have often wondered at the smugness with which people assert their right to enslave me, to control my work, to force my will, to violate my conscience, to stifle my mind--yet what is it that they expect to depend on, when they lie on an operating table under my hands? Let them discover the kind of doctors that their system will now produce. Let them discover, in their operating rooms and hospital wards, that it is not safe to place their lives in the hands of a man whose life they have throttled. It is not safe, if he is the sort of man who resents it--and still less safe, if he is the sort who doesn't."

Americans will see more and more of this sort of doctor--unless we categorically reject government involvement in medicine.

 

[racerx]

Excellent article. 👍

 

[NavyFlightDoc]

I'm currently reading Atlas Shrugged for the first time. I'm mad I was never forced to read it before. Anyhow, I read it while I smoke fine cigars and drink nice Scotch watching the sunset from my back porch. It's amazing how many times I've had to put it down because the similarities between this fictional warning and our daily reality cut a little too close.

Anyhow, thanks for the links, very good stuff.

 

[PistolPete]

It's crazy how many striking similarities there are between that novel and real life.

Man that's a great book.

 

[racerx]

It's crazy how many striking similarities there are between that novel and real life.

More striking everyday. That novel is two fingers of Oban (straight) and a CAO Brasilia good.

 

[Gern Blansten]

thanks for the link.... glad to know there is another objectivist / ayn rand fan on the site.

There are many of us out here, but there are many more of "them."
We need more Dagnys and Hank Reardens. I wish I could move to Galt's Gulch!

 

[Foghorn Leghorn]

"The only proper functions of a government are: the police, to protect you from criminals; the army, to protect you from foreign invaders; and the courts, to protect your property and contracts from breach or fraud by others, to settle disputes by rational rules, according to objective law."

 

[amyl]

There are many of us out here, but there are many more of "them."
We need more Dagnys and Hank Reardens. I wish I could move to Galt's Gulch!

wish we could get a great doc who could also be a good politician with the right personality to run on the libertarian ticket.

 

[racerx]

wish we could get a great doc who could also be a good politician with the right personality to run on the libertarian ticket.

I think the closest person we have right now is Ron Paul. Unfortunately, he ties his fortunes into the GOP.

 

[cfdavid]

I think the closest person we have right now is Ron Paul. Unfortunately, he ties his fortunes into the GOP.

I agree that a 3rd party would be nice. But, the current power structure is not going to allow it (in reality). We just need libertarian minded individuals (like Ron and Rand Paul) to infiltrate the Republican party. The infrastructure is already set up, and it's a means to an end.

Here's Peter Schiff speaking on this very concept.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45sN9xbBOEE&feature=channel_page

 

[cfdavid]

This may be a bit un-PC, but......f.ck it.

A big problem that this country faces is the idea that government is the solution and that people can't or shouldn't be able to provide for themselves (to one degree or another).

My medical school is in an area in which I shudder to think of how many people are LITERALLY 100% reliant on the government for their subsistence. This city has a 50% high school graduation rate. Can you imagine the consequences of this?

The daily lives of a great number of this population is beyond pitiful. Yet this constituency repeatedly votes (or is propagandized to vote for) for big government policies. The same policies that have failed them, quite clearly, for decades. One just has to take a drive and look around for the proof of this. Young guys lingering around liquor stores at 10 a.m. on a weekday. Women, whoring themselves out at 6 in the morning, all drugged up. Young people that are so unprepared for life in a "modern" economy that there is literally ZERO hope for them OTHER than to rely on government for their daily subsistence.

These are the same big government policies that are literally keeping them virtually ENSLAVED to government. They are virtual wards of the state, and it's a crime in a sense.

When you look at all of the great nations of the world, there is a universal sense of self-reliance and self-responsibility. That is the CULTURE. Look at the pioneering spirit (they had no choice but to be fiercely self-reliant) of the Boers of South Africa, or the pioneers that migrated to the Western U.S. They were fiercely independent and self-reliant. And, they prospered as a result.

Yet in this country, an ever increasing number of our population (and it spans the races, but certain races are proportionately more susceptable to it for sure) has a CULTURE of non-self-reliance. This is a monumental problem when looking forward to where we'll be in the future.

So, how do these communities (and individuals) break this CULTURE of dependence?? I'm not sure, frankly.

Just a few thoughts. Bash away.

 

[racerx]

Why would we bash? You're preaching to the choir regarding self-reliance.

I agree with you. Infiltration of the GOP by us Libertarian minded folks will be the most efficient, and likely most effective, method of resistance against crap like we're seeing.

 

[NavyFlightDoc]

More striking everyday. That novel is two fingers of Oban (straight) and a CAO Brasilia good.

For me it is routinely two fingers of Dalwinnie 15 y/o and an Ashton Cabinet good.

Just my personal preferences, the Oban and CAO Brasilia would be good substitutes.

 

[QofQuimica]

It's crazy how many striking similarities there are between that novel and real life.

Man that's a great book.

"Atlas Shrugged" is a very good book. For those who don't have the time or inclination to read it (and even for those who do), I also recommend "Anthem", which describes the ultimate extreme of collectivism.

 

[cfdavid]

The only Ayn Rand book I've read thus far is The Fountainhead. Good book.

What I also think parallels our potential future is George Orwell's 1984. I highly recommend this book. Don't even think about watching the movie (which couldn't possibly do it justice).

 

[TheEleventhReel]

The only Ayn Rand book I've read thus far is The Fountainhead. Good book.

What I also think parallels our potential future is George Orwell's 1984. I highly recommend this book. Don't even think about watching the movie (which couldn't possibly do it justice).

1984 is one of my favorites. I just hope it doesn't make the turn from fiction to fact in the US. It's probably not as big of a leap as it seemed 10 years ago.

 

[cfdavid]

1984 is one of my favorites. I just hope it doesn't make the turn from fiction to fact in the US. It's probably not as big of a leap as it seemed 10 years ago.

Tell me about it. The "Patriot" Act. Endless wars on multiple fronts. Demonization of our "enemies" by the mainstream media. New "Hate" Crimes bills in Congress...... Nothing more than a token nod to that little piece of paper called the Constitution....

All designed (ofcourse🙄) to "protect" the American people from our "enemies" and to enhance civil liberties and security for all...... Wow.