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Atlas Shrugged: Week 7 - Ch 3 & 4

Primeperiwinkle

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Atlas Shrugged Part II Ch 3 & 4
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Ch 3 White Blackmail
Hank and Dagny have a healthy relationship with clear boundaries. Lillian goes supernova evil. Dr. Ferris tries to blackmail Hank. “The only power any government has is the power to crack down on criminals. Well, when there aren’t enough criminals one makes them.”

By revealing this Ferris has given Hank the information he needs to rule the realm!!!

Rearden and Danagger get indicted. Eddie tells EVERYTHING to Mr. Mystery Man. A single door stops Dagny from discovering the Guru of Retirement/Money Cigarette Bearer/Most Likely John Galt But we don’t know for sure and Danagger announces his retirement.

D’Anconio visits Rearden. Man’s motive power is his moral code. Hank saves his life during a crisis. They both feel the thorough joy of being alive and acting.

Ch 4 The Sanction of the Victim
On Thanksgiving, the day before the trial, Lillian inflicts the torture of boredom on to Hank. He considers whether or not Lillian knows.

In the courtroom Rearden refuses to apologize for his ability, his success, or his money. He wins. They can’t attack him because he refuses to play their game.

Later, Hank decides to visit D’Anconio at his suite. They have a conversation that people wait their entire lives dimly hoping for and still fail to possess. Francisco admits his love for one woman only, and swears by her that he is Hanks friend.

The copper Rearden ordered, copper to make Rearden metal, copper which will save all the people Hank wants to help gets sunk by Ragnar Danneskjöld.

My thoughts:
I LOVE THIS BOOK SO FREAKING MUCH IT HURTS I AM THANKING GOD I GET TO TALK ABOUT IT WITH YOU GUYS AND IM HAVING SO MUCH FUN WITH THIS THING!!!!

Love. So much love. Hank and Dagny being honest.. finally. Thank goodness. Francisco and Hank over the fire! Hank standing up and speaking out the mere beginning of real love in the courtroom as his highest aim. (Well he doesn’t see it from my POV but that’s ok) But he did explain his idea of purpose so bravely! “I will not say that the good of others was the purpose of my work – my own good was my purpose, and I despise the man who surrenders his.”

SO. GOOD.

I love it. I just love how honest this book is!

And then Francisco’s explanation of sex! SO BEAUTIFUL!!!! Perfection!!! “Tell me what a man finds sexually attractive and I will tell you his entire philosophy of life.” AMEN!! YES. It’s true for all of us.

I want to hug Ayn Rand. She was twisty and flawed, because we all are, ya know? But DAMN did she get so much right.

Now, what did you love my friends? What did you not like? I’m over here having a full on party with s’mores and a fireplace roaring. I’ve got my comfy socks on and I’m ready to listen or just bask in the glow.. this is a good week!
 
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Primeperiwinkle

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Hey guys? Send me a like or two for my posts so I know you’re still reading ok? I can just write all this on my blog or in my journal at home if we can’t do this here.

Y’all out there? I’m committed to finishing the book but I’m only committed to posting here if the convo works for at least.. one person.

I’ve had at least one book discussion limp to the finish line with just me and a tiny handful of people so it’s ok if this one is kinda quiet for a few weeks but it’s also ok if you guys want me to stop entirely. I’ll just chalk it up to me needing to be a better leader.
 

Strategery

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want to hug Ayn Rand. She was twisty and flawed, because we all are, ya know? But DAMN did she get so much right.
She was probably a kooky lady, but like you imply, you can’t throw the sexually-disturbed baby out with the bath water.

I love her ability (exemplary in these chapters) to escalate things, what with the court case and indictments. It makes me think of the way people react to the media these days. One sound bite can ruin a public figure... Reardon is the kind of cat politics needs, unwavering in his morals like my boy Ron Paul.
 

Choate

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Hey guys? Send me a like or two for my posts so I know you’re still reading ok? I can just write all this on my blog or in my journal at home if we can’t do this here.

Y’all out there? I’m committed to finishing the book but I’m only committed to posting here if the convo works for at least.. one person.

I’ve had at least one book discussion limp to the finish line with just me and a tiny handful of people so it’s ok if this one is kinda quiet for a few weeks but it’s also ok if you guys want me to stop entirely. I’ll just chalk it up to me needing to be a better leader.

I'm sorry, I've fallen behind. I'll do my best to get caught up soon (hopefully by tomorrow night) and start sharing my thoughts here again.

I suspect I'm not the only one.
 
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G-Man

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The sanction of the victim speech has got to be one of the best in the book. I’m also a little surprised at just how coldly Lillian escalated, but I guess I shouldn’t be. First assessment of her was that she was gonna be a faceless gear in something terrible.

Been thinking about the sanction of the victim thing a lot. How much would the world change for the better if people just refused to call things anything but what they are?

Brings out the 19 year old libertarian in me TBH. Gonna start with the “Taxation is theft. War is murder. End the Fed”, and it’s gonna be all Prime’s fault.
 

Primeperiwinkle

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*brings in giant fruit spread with extra cantaloupe, croissants by the dozen, Earl Grey hot tea and coffee, pound cake, lemon cake, marble cake

*sits down happily with a little sigh

*goes back to reading the book
 

scottmsul

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I like how Rearden was so open and brutally honest about the government taking things by force. He kept mentioning how they're the "guys with the guns" and can come take his stuff or throw him in jail, but it's on them to do so. And the judges are like "Guns? Slavery? What are you talking about, we didn't mention guns?" Whenever someone says "the government should require this, they should ban that, etc" there's always the implicit threat of a gun. Not saying all regulations are bad, just that the government "doing stuff" isn't always as harmless as it seems, even when there are good intentions.

The laws in this book might seem crazy or unrealistic but there were a lot of crazy laws in the early twentieth century. Example: Agricultural Adjustment Act
The juxtaposition of huge agricultural surpluses and the many deaths due to insufficient food shocked many, as well as some of the administrative decisions that happened under the Agricultural Adjustment Act.[12] For example, in an effort to reduce agricultural surpluses, the government paid farmers to reduce crop production[13] and to sell pregnant sows as well as young pigs.[14] Oranges were being soaked with kerosene to prevent their consumption and corn was being burned as fuel because it was so cheap.[12] There were many people, however, as well as livestock in different places starving to death.[12] Farmers slaughtered livestock because feed prices were rising, and they could not afford to feed their own animals.[12] Under the Agricultural Adjustment Act, "plowing under" of pigs was also common to prevent them reaching a reproductive age, as well as donating pigs to the Red Cross.[12]

Brings out the 19 year old libertarian in me TBH. Gonna start with the “Taxation is theft. War is murder. End the Fed”, and it’s gonna be all Prime’s fault.

Haha I'm in my late twenties and still haven't grown out of it yet.
 
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Primeperiwinkle

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I’m convinced that the mystery guy Eddie talks to is actually John Galt.

What do you guys think is going to happen now that Rearden Metal is falling?? Will Hank recuperate this disaster? And Taggart Transcontinental is finished right???

And I TOLD you guys that d’Anconio thought Dagny was the love of his life!!!
 

G-Man

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I’m convinced that the mystery guy Eddie talks to is actually John Galt.

What do you guys think is going to happen now that Rearden Metal is falling?? Will Hank recuperate this disaster? And Taggart Transcontinental is finished right???

And I TOLD you guys that d’Anconio thought Dagny was the love of his life!!!
Good chance Galt is the mystery man, yes.

Rearden isn't going to give up. As much as I want to see him say "eff it" and go on strike, I feel like his roll in the whole thing is to be the last tragic holdout or something.

As far as d'Anconia being in love with Dagny, that whole part of the storyline is getting a little "Twilight"ish and slightly annoying. Mrs Gman, said, "If this whole thing turns into all these guys being in love with the same chick and fighting over her, I'm out."
 

BizyDad

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Like others, I've fallen behind in reading. Just got done with these chapters yesterday, should be able to catch up this week. Nothing really to add to the discussion here. I'm just popping in for a quick croissant and coffee.
 

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