Protest Letter to the White House

The White House recently posted this on their blog, calling for all citizens to do their patriotic duty and turn in anyone who openly opposes Obama's healthcare plan:

Opponents of health insurance reform may find the truth a little inconvenient, but as our second president famously said, "facts are stubborn things."

Scary chain emails and videos are starting to percolate on the internet, breathlessly claiming, for example, to "uncover" the truth about the President’s health insurance reform positions.

...

There is a lot of disinformation about health insurance reform out there, spanning from control of personal finances to end of life care. These rumors often travel just below the surface via chain emails or through casual conversation. Since we can’t keep track of all of them here at the White House, we’re asking for your help. If you get an email or see something on the web about health insurance reform that seems fishy, send it to flag@whitehouse.gov.

This scares me. Really. The government is trying to collect information on dissenters for... what, exactly? It doesn't say. But nothing good can come of it. Along with several other Objectivists, including Diana Hsieh at NoodleFood, I've sent in this protest letter to the White House:

Dear Propaganda Czar,

I am turning my self in. I have openly opposed Obama's healthcare mandates both online and in casual conversation. I believe his actions are leading us closer to socialized medicine in America, which will neither improve healthcare, make it cheaper, or make it more readily available. Aside from the impracticality of it, the healthcare measures are immoral. The government has no right to undermine the individual rights of doctors to trade their services to whom they choose.

Moreover, I find it monstrous that White House is asking for reports on those who oppose the Obama administration. The right to free speech includes the right to openly oppose the government. But it seems as if that right is also going by the wayside under President Obama.

Sincerely NOT yours,
Miranda Barzey
ramenandrand.blogspot.com

I encourage anybody who values their free speech to send in similar letters and make it known that freedom of speech is a right, not a privilege given to us by his highness Obama.

Journalism Features on Objectivism

Hm. I've been chewing on this idea for a while now: creating journalistic multimedia pieces on Objectivists. A whole series linked by the idea of Objectivism, how it's spreading, and specific examples of how people apply it to their lives. The possibilities are endless. Objectivist activists, parents, students, doctors, lawyers, artists, entrepreneurs, businessmen, teachers, military personnel, writers, etc.

I've also played around with the idea of a series of interviews about the impact of Atlas Shrugged on people's lives: when they first read it, their views before and after, impressions of the book, etc. Setting up an interview area at OCON would be cool. I could get tons of willing participants without flying all over the country!

Put the pieces up on their own website, Youtube, maybe get featured by an online Objectivist publication (hello Voices for Reason, Undercurrent, and Objective Standard!), and even on my subject's sites (I think a lot of you bloggers would make great subjects!).

It's all a question of time, skills, and money. Time to learn and master photography, storytelling, and technical stuff. Then improving those skills once learned. Then getting funding through a grant or sponsorship. What do you think?

I Hate the Alarm

This is partially me in the mornings and definitely my brother. I truly suck at waking up on time, whether it's 5 am or 10 am.

Alarm from Meteorix007 on Vimeo.