Dear Log,
«Closed, neurotic environments filled with true believers are the hallmark of a cult, and there's a good case to be made that that's exactly what Rand was running. Take a look at the way in which she treated her acolytes: angry excommunications, overbearing diktats, dramatic interventions, and, disappointing in one who preached self-determination, rather too much führer prinzip.»--"A Strangely Important Figure"
«"They are never persuaded by the facts. Nobody can tell you what their plan is and they don't feel the need to have one."»--"This Pollyanna army"
«The point here is not that the US should intervene in more places, but that it should intervene consistently and honestly or not at all. Both Osama bin Laden and the Taliban have shown that the tyrants the US supports today can easily turn against it tomorrow while fostering resentment among their victims. Yet the idea that the US is a civilising force endowed with benevolent intentions is still as prevalent within the US as it is rejected outside it.»--"A fantasy of freedom"
«If the Iraqis are lucky, they may eventually arrive at the corrupt fig-leaf sort of democracy that flourishes in other Arab states such as Egypt. The sort of democracy where elections change nothing and their results are always a foregone conclusion. On the other hand, they may not be so fortunate.»--"Fig-leaf freedom"
