So You Want to Be an Emperor?

It has been observed that if you want to be an emperor, it is better by far to be one at the beginning of the empire than at the end, when the whole enterprise is collapsing. If so, this is as good a season as any to start thinking about how to get there. Empires have been out of fashion for several generations, but history moves in cycles, and the day of the empire is returning. Read on…

Atlas Shrugged & Ethics

[This essay formed the basis of a talk at the Atlas Society celebration of the 50th anniversary of the publication of Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged, in Washington, DC, on October 6, 2007] When Ayn Rand titled her collection of writings on ethics The Virtue of Selfishness, she also provided a clear clue to what kind of selfishness she had in mind. With the subtitle, “A New Concept of Egoism.” she put prospective readers on notice that by using the term … Read on…

Ayn Rand and I – Part 1 (of Three)

This essay is a slightly revised version of a chapter from Tibor Machan’s memoir, The Man Without a Hobby (Hamilton Books, 2006). It had an earlier life as an essay in Liberty Magazine, although in a much-shortened version. BECOMING AN atheist was not an easy decision to live with, at least not at first. I struggled with it for months. I had a hard time ridding myself of the habit of crossing myself when passing a church. I also felt … Read on…

An Interview With Jason Torpy

An Interview With Jason Torpy President, Military Association of Atheists and Freethinkers Jason enlisted in the Army in 1994 as an Intelligence Interceptor. After earning top graduate honors from two intelligence training programs, Jason was offered direct admission to the United States Military Academy. Upon graduation, Jason was commissioned and served for five years in Germany, Kuwait, and Iraq with the Army’s 1st Armored Division. Jason left the service in 2005 at the rank of Captain.

An Interview with Herb Silverman

Herb Silverman is a native of Philadelphia. He received his Ph.D. in mathematics from Syracuse University and has been a Professor of Mathematics at the College of Charleston since 1976. He has published over 100 research papers in mathematics journals, and is also the recipient of the Distinguished Research Award. In the 1990s, after learning that atheists were ineligible, by law, to hold elected office in South Carolina, he ran for office and pursued overturning the law in court, succeeding … Read on…

An Interview with Ellen Johnson

Ellen Johnson has been an activist for American Atheists (AA) since 1978. In addition to having served on the AA Board of Directors, she was also the New Jersey representative for ten years. Currently, she is the President of AA. She considers herself “one of the fortunate few who grew up in an Atheist home.” She is raising her two children in an Atheist environment. American Atheists is an organization dedicated to securing the civil liberties of Atheists and the … Read on…

The Eloquent Engineer: The Dark Side of DNA

The rate of scientific discoveries has been increasing exponentially for centuries and we are on the leading edge of that vast wave. New technology comes at us so fast that most people have become numb to it. New electronics? Ho hum. A revolutionary physics theory, another extraterrestrial planet, or uncovering the bones of a hitherto unknown ancient ancestor, nothing fazes us any more. We accept world-changing discoveries matter-of-factly, that is, if we notice at all. However, something special is happening … Read on…

An Interview with Lori Lipman Brown

Celebrating Her Second Anniversary As Director of the Secular Coalition for America Lori Lipman Brown is a former Nevada State Senator, private practice lawyer and law professor. Her legislative record in the arenas of public education, mental health care and the repeal of consensual sex crimes resulted in her being named Civil Libertarian of the Year by the Southern Nevada chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union and Legislator of the Year by the Nevada chapter of the National Association … Read on…