Grover Norquist, adamant proponent of destroying all government safety nets, take PPP money. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...nti-spending-group-took-small-business-relief
Rand was never against taking money when available. Esp. If she already got robbed for it. That is why Rand gladly took her social security. Have yall read any of her work? It is quite good. Communists hate it for a reason.
Rand was never against taking money from socialist style programs “when available” despite railing against them constantly her entire life. She finally decided to take her benefits when at the end of her life, old and sick she could have put her life long held beliefs to the test. This is why she is hailed as a model of principled conservatism.
It was also reported that Pelosi's husband was associated with a company that received money. As did the media matters and the federalist. One reason shy complete transparency was originally promised by the trump admin and subsequently denied... Trump Friends and Family Cleared for Millions in Small Business Bailout Beneficiaries of the PPP included a lettuce farming venture backed by Trump’s son, Kushner companies, and a dentist who golfs with the president. The figures were released after a lawsuit by several news organizations, including ProPublica. https://www.propublica.org/article/...all-business-bailout?utm_medium=social#974438
The only thing that would surprise me these days would be a contrite, sincere apology from Trump or his sycophants.
Some of these I'm a bit scandalized by. Others, I don't get the outrage. Trump campaign donors got money? That's not a problem by itself. That dude has a face for radio.
I've read Atlas Shrugged, The Fountainhead, and some of Ayn Rand's other works. Ayn Rand wasn't for taking money when available. The "vilians" in her writings are such as Wesley Mouch are the ones who take government funding. Her heroes like John Galt and Howard Roark refuse to take government funding even if they've paid taxes and even if it means professional ruin. Ayn Rand did take Medicare and Social Security after developing lung cancer but she was initially against it and only reluctantly accepted it.
You confuse her novel for her personal political beleifs... one can have more complex views and evolved views and not have them reflected in their work... and an ideal in ones work like the fountainhead is not neccessarily the end all be all of her beleif. Many conservatives btw are not completely against safety nets for example. Nothing is as black and white as a perfect ideal in fountainhead.... while admirable it is fiction.
Except she says herself her novels represent her personal political beliefs. In her nonfiction writings she also says those are her personal beliefs. Objectivists treat Atlas Shrugged with the same reverence that others treat holy books. Also Ayn Rand isn't a Conservative. Many follow her but her beliefs are beyond Conservative politics especially her views on religion.
While her fiction is a reflection of herself, it is not a clear statement of her beleifs. Her nonfiction statements are a diff story and keep in mind people change their views so even those need to be treaded on lightly. She obviously had a complex view about it in the end. I see why she rubs ppl the wrong way... mainly atlas shrugged... but she is a great writer and thought provoking nonetheless. Fountainhead obviously is a better work than atlas imo. And it shows us the ideal of someone creating greatness and it holds that up as a virtue. There is nothing really bad about such an ideal and striving for it.
She changed her views when her views didn't become convenient to her personal struggle. Basically it's a sign that she lacked basic empathy skills as she only changes her mind based on her personal life struggles rather than understanding that other people can struggle.
That is likely true and i think it is fair to say she in doing so learned a valuable lesson about grey areas. She also is still a great writer who gave us great material to discuss. It could also be argued that she may have seen it as a right to taking her own money that she had taken from her and desperately needed to survive. She could easily argue that had the govt not stolen money for parasites, as she called them, she would have the neccesaary savings to support herself. Thus maybe never seeing nuance but i dont know if she ever made statements about it.
