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VOLUNTARYISM: Some Personal Reminiscences
By Wendy McElroy

1982 seems like a century ago, but some memories are fresh. One summer afternoon, Carl Watner, George H. Smith, and I created a movement. Or, more accurately, we revived and redefined a movement under a name we knew from reading 19th century British libertarian history. George explained that opponents of state-funded, compulsory education called themselves 'voluntaryists' - a term popularized by Auberon Herbert, a disciple of Herbert Spencer. We never imagined that Voluntaryism would become such a vigorous presence within the modern-day freedom community, however.

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BREAKING. From Zero Hedge: South Korea Opposition Leader Stabbed In Neck, Attacker Arrested....the suspect had approached Lee for an autograph pretending to be a supporter... then attacked him with a weapon that was between 8 and 12 inches long. [Ed: to date, no report on his condition is available.]

Assange. From the Post Millennial: The brink of extradition: Julian Assange set to take a final swing at an appeal to block removal to US for trial. “It is time for the US government to end its prosecution of Julian Assange for publishing secrets. Publishing is not a crime.” From Democracy Now: “Free the Truth”:The Belmarsh Tribunal on Julian Assange & Defending Press Freedom. From the Independent: Assange’s wife pays tribute to John Pilger as ‘consistent ally of dispossessed’. Pilger had pushed for the release of Assange and criticised his friend’s imprisonment. [Ed: Pilger just died. A true journalist.]

From Naked Capitalism: Small Slivers Of Hope In The Global War On Cash.

From K9: This Model Wants to Change Opinions About Dogs ‘Too Ugly to Love’

AI. From Politco: John Roberts weighs in on AI, ignores looming Trump cases. In his year-end report, the chief justice stuck to an anodyne topic. “Legal research may soon be unimaginable without it,” wrote Roberts. [Ed: frankly, I would have been amazed if he had plunged into electoral issues.] From NPR: Artificial intelligence can find your location in photos, worrying privacy experts. [Ed: a must read.]

From the BBC: John Pilger: Campaigning Australian journalist dies. [Ed: I was a real fan of the man.]

Gaza. From the Wall St. Journal: The Ruined Landscape of Gaza. After Nearly Three Months of Bombing. "... amazing scrolling and interactive before and after images of the ruins." [Ed: reader friendly but heartbreaking. A must view.] From War on the Rocks: Reversing America’s Ruinous Support for Israel’s Assault on Gaza.

From Ars Technica: It’s “shakeout” time as losses of Netflix rivals top $5 billion. Disney, Warner, Comcast, and Paramount are contemplating cuts, possible mergers.

EVs. From Moonbattery: Lithium-Ion Batteries Burst Into Flames on Cargo Ship. "You can see why Chevrolet has warned customers to park their EVs 50 feet away from the nearest vehicle." From Eric Peters Autos: Automotive Dissonance. "One danger is spontaneous combustion...[even] while stationary.] From the Daily Caller: The One Simple Reason Electric Vehicles Are Doomed To Fail. [Ed: the huge cost of replacing the battery.]

From the Babylon Bee: God Sends Giant Waves To Wash Away California Sidewalk Poop

From the BBC: Disney's earliest Mickey and Minnie Mouse enter public domain as US copyright expires. [Ed: at least on the Steamboat Willie era images. In its more powerful days, Disney would have blocked this release.]

Covid. From the Epoch Times: Research: COVID-19 Vaccines May Trigger Takotsubo Cardiomyopathy. Side effects and adverse events related to COVID-19 vaccines continue to be identified. AND 231 current and former military members signed an open letter vowing to hold accountable those who implemented the COVID-19 vaccine mandate

Migrants. From Politico: Buses of migrants boarding trains from NJ to NYC, officials say. It follows a crackdown by New York City Mayor Eric Adams. [Ed: what a clever work-around.] From Politico.EU: How our scornful elites inflamed tensions over immigration. Ordinary people need to take back control of the migration debate.

From the Dodo: Frightened Shelter Puppy Learns To Trust Again — And Everything Begins To Change.

'24 U.S. Elections. From CNBC: Muslim leaders expand campaign to abandon Biden in 2024 over Israel-Hamas war. [Ed: Progressives will probably be in the same camp. They won't vote GOP but just staying home or voting 3rd party could sink Biden.] From the New York Post: Federal judge squashes attempt to disqualify Trump from Virginia ballot. [Ed: on the grounds that the Plaintiffs lacked standing.] From the Epoch Times: Federal Appeals Court Upholds Texas Law Requiring Pen-on-Paper Voter Signature on Registrations. AND Former Obama Adviser Issues Warning After Trump Ballot Rulings, [Ed: David Axelrod with whom I now actually agree on something!] From Naked Capitalism: Strategy to Kick Trump Off the Ballot Under the Fourteenth Amendment Already Causing Chaos (So In Re Griffin Was Correctly Decided) [Ed: must read. And from a left-leaning source.]

From Politico: The global elections Washington should be watching in 2024. Countries representing half the world population will head to the polls in what’s been dubbed the biggest election year in history. [Ed: I'd say "a new chance for the globe" but good things do not come from electoral politics.]

From Just the News: Biden energy efficiency crackdown leaves no appliance in American home untouched. List of impacted appliances includes gas stoves, dishwashers, ACs, refrigerators, washing machines, microwaves, and furnaces, fueling concerns consumer choices are being thwarted.

From Responsible Statecraft: It’s 2024. Is America still indispensable? If so, that would mean employing US power and influence to bring this wretched war to an immediate end. [Ed: upon reading the headline, I wondered 'which wretched war?'

From Madly Odd: 5-Year-Old Plays With 14 Beautiful Dogs. Now Watch When She Lifts Her Arms Up! WHOA!

Changes at Amazon? From Justin Garrison: Amazon's Silent Sacking. [Ed: I don't know what to make of this but it may be important.] From the Atlantic: Is This How Amazon Ends? An open embrace of cheap foreign products has helped Amazon take over the world. It also might guarantee Amazon’s eventual obsolescence.

From Twitter: Tucker Carlson Revives Epstein's Suspicious Death. "The U.S. government claims Jeffrey Epstein killed himself in a federal detention facility in Manhattan four and a half years ago, just before his trial. If that’s true, why are there so few records available from that night? Here’s Mark Epstein trying to get a copy of one of the most basic documents of all, the prehospital care report, written by the EMS team that moved his brother’s body out of the cell. We’ll be interviewing Mark Epstein soon."

From the Bored Panda: 50 Of The Most Heartwarming Pics Of Happily Adopted Pets.

Ukraine. From Zero Hedge: Ex-CIA Officer Says Ukraine A 'Sinking Ship' After NYT Highlights Recruitment Crisis. "They’re trying to get out of Ukraine. So to get out of Ukraine at the border you’ve got to show a passport. So no passport, no leaving," Johnson said.

From NBC News: The 'wealth transfer' from boomers won't save Gen X and millennials. [Ed: interesting and compelling points.]

[To access past Gracian aphorism's and my subjective interpretation of them, click here.]

Baltasar Gracian's Aphorism #222: Reserve is proof of Prudence.

The tongue is a wild beast; once let loose it is difficult to chain. It is the pulse of the soul by which wise men judge of its health: by this pulse a careful observer feels every movement of the heart. The worst is that he who should be most reserved is the least. The sage saves himself from worries and embarrassments, and shows his mastery over himself. He goes his way carefully, a Janus for impartiality, an Argus for watchfulness. Truly Momus had better placed the eyes in the hand than the window in the breast.

My interpretation: Janus is the Roman god of transition who is usually depicted with two faces -- one in front, one in back -- in order to show a knowledge of the future and of the past, in order to represent balance. Argus a many-eyed (some accounts say hundred-eyed) giant in Greek mythology. Momum was a pompous and unfair critic who was expelled from the company of the gods on Mount Olympus due to his sharp tongue. The reference to a "hand" and a "window" seems to refer to a tale in which Momum "was asked to judge the work and the creations of Zeus, Athena and Prometheus. Zeus produced a man, Athena produced a house and Prometheus produced a bull. Momus...criticised [the] man, saying that his mind should have been placed on the outside of`his body to enable everyone to see his bad thoughts and qualities. He criticised the house saying that it should have had wheels so it could be easily moved and he criticised the bull saying that its eyes should have been placed on its horns so it could see what it was attacking."

All else seems clear in this aphorism.

A Desolation that None Call Peace
Robert Franklin

They make a desolation and call it peace. – Tacitus

Shortly after the October 7th invasion of Israel by Hamas terrorists, I posted this piece calling for a measured response from Israel. Alas, the opposite has happened. I say “alas,” because I’m pro-Israel and that country’s response to the bloody deeds of Hamas will, I strongly believe, make the future worse for Israel. I care deeply about the welfare of innocent Palestinians, but even if you give not a tinker’s “damn!” about them, Israel’s response is still the wrong one for Israel and Israelis.

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To access more memories of libertarianism, click on the Gadsten symbol above. Feel free to circulate this and other posts with a link back to this site. Thank you.

I don't want the personality of the movement to be lost, leaving nothing but words and ideas that can seem remote, impersonal. Libertarianism in the '80s was anything but impersonal. It burst with passion and fun, rivalry and loyalty, accusations and rousing defenses. I wouldn't have it any other way. It was alive and everyone who touched it came a bit more alive themselves.

Two of my criteria for publishing material are 1) does it have historical value, and 2) does it cause no harm to anyone living. First of all, harm no one. One of the items I've most wanted to publish is a long letter from Roy Childs to Murray Rothbard in which Roy gives a real sense of why a deep schism occurred between the two men who had been the best of comrades for a very long time. I consider it one of the most important intellectual schisms to have occurred in the movement, and I think libertarianism would have developed differently had Roy and Murray remained partners.

In reading through the letter, however, people should be aware that Roy was not only the most brilliant person I've ever met -- bar none -- but also one of the most manipulative. I do not dispute the facts he states but I wonder about the ones left unstated and the context of it all. Just a caveat. Also to consider: if I had been forced to take sides, I would have backed Murray and not merely out of loyalty. (BTW, I also have Murray's response, which I will have to edit to conform to my stated criteria. He does blast a few bystanders.)

A few more points. The "Joan" referred to is Joan Kennedy Taylor. The "Joey" is Murray's wife, Josephine. And, the letter itself was circulated among a narrow group of people but its contents were known to a larger group because Roy was fond of reading it aloud to visitors whom he invited to his apartment. In a sense, I feel as though Roy is now reading the letter to you. (.pdf below)

PDF file

New Year's. From the Associated Press: Celebrations Welcoming 2024, Subdued in Many Places, Begin. Auckland kicks off new year with fireworks from New Zealand's tallest structure. [Ed: if I seem subdued about 2024, it is because I am. I watching and waiting, not inclined to toast anything yet. But I am grateful for my good companions.] From USA WatchDog: "We Are Going To See 'Collisions' All Over The Planet" - Pushback Against Tyranny & Control Will Accelerate In 2024. "This is a real war, and we are in World War III now... The US is going to defend the dollar...” From Newser: New State Laws Cover Guns, LGBTQ Issues, Fuzzy Dice. A roundup of new legislation taking effect in the new year. From Politico: Queen of Denmark announces surprise abdication in New Year’s address. Queen Margrethe II, who has reigned for half a century, said she will step down on January 14.

From Gilbert Doctorow: In the days of auld lang syne… [Ed: deserves to be listed separately.]

From K9: Dog Owner With Autism Credits Puppy With Helping Her To Show Love.

Trump's Legal Woes. From the Epoch Times: Trump Not Immune from Jan. 6 Lawsuits, Appeals Court Rules. A federal appeals court has ruled that former President Donald Trump is not immune from civil lawsuits for his Jan. 6, 2021 speech. From the Washington Times: Seizure of Trump’s smartphone data puts special counsel in uncharted legal waters. From the Epoch Times: A State-by-State at Lawsuits to Keep Trump Off the Ballot. [Ed: if you have difficulty opening the article, click "friends read free".]

From Splice Today: H.L. Mencken and the Worst Experience I Had as a Journalist.

From ABC News: California becomes first state to offer health insurance to all undocumented immigrants. About 700,000 adults between ages 26 and 49 will be eligible as of Jan. 1. [Ed: Newsom is determined to ruin the state utterly.] From NPR: More states extend health coverage to immigrants even as issue inflames GOP.

From the BBC: Argentina pulls out of plans to join Brics bloc. [Ed Javier Milei is showing no hesitancy.]

From Lew Rockwell: Wilson’s Folly, the Washington Hegemon, and Why There Is Still No Peace on Earth. [Ed: hat tip to David, who comments, This long article is very insightful.]

Big Picture Economics. From the Activist Post: A Short ESG Guide: Economic Problems. [Ed: ESG=Environmental, Social and Governance movement.] From Zero Hedge: US Banks Suffer Trillion-Dollar Deposit Loss In 2023, Small Bank Capitalization Remains Problematic. Americans appear to hate giving their money to large banks, but it is small banks that are becoming dangerously under-capitalized as a result of having so many (relatively speaking) deposits... [Ed: free-market to your money in big banks may be offset--at least, somewhat--by the fact that these banks are the most likely to be bailed out.]

From Pawbuzz: Blind dog gets surgery so he can see, and 14 million have fallen in love with his reaction.

The Red Sea. From [u] Military Times: Pentagon: Navy Sank 3 Houthi Boats, Killing Their Crews. Militants had attacked container vessel in Red Sea, Central Command says. From Al Jazeera: US army attacks three Houthi boats in Red Sea, killing at least 10 fighters. Global shipping giant Maersk suspends operations in the Red Sea for 48 hours after the attack. [Ed: it is valuable to get different perspectives.]

From International Affairs: British life-style: People increasingly turning to food black market.

From the Epoch Times: What’s the Status of Universal Basic Income in Canada?

From Bark Post: Your Weekly Dingus: Meet Wheeler, The Weimaraner Who Is Afraid Of His Own Poop

Genocide in Gaza? From the Associated Press: South Africa Hauls Israel in Front of UN Court. Accuses Israel of genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. [Ed: here is the filing in .pdf.] AND Netanyahu says Gaza war on Hamas will go on for ‘many more months,’ thanks US for new weapons sales From the Eastern Angle: German State Television, of all places, has published a glossary to justify genocide. Dr. Goebbels would be proud if he was still in charge. [Ed: a must read.]

From Zero Hedge: Vivek Slams CNN For 'Egregious Interference' After Town Hall Answers Go Viral. 2024 GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy slammed CNN for what he characterized as 'egregious interference' with the Iowa GOP caucus for allegedly cutting his Town Hall short and then threatening his campaign with a cease-and-desist for posting it to YouTube (while allowing Nikki Haley to do the same).

From Zero Hedge: Large Israeli Airstrikes On Southern Lebanon, US Warplanes Hit Iraq-Syria Border In Escalation. Israel's northern border is increasingly volatile...

From Dogington Post: Couple Reschedules Wedding 2 Hours Earlier To Adopt A Dog

From the Epoch Times: Out to Millions of Americans Starting Next Week. The IRS is sending out the notices to millions of people starting in January.

AI. From Politico: A New Kind of AI Copy Can Fully Replicate Famous People. The Law Is Powerless. From the Off-Guardian: 2023: The Year Of The ChatGPT Scare. ... the impressive performance stoked fears that AI is on the verge of becoming conscious, writing itself new and better code, and then replacing human beings as rulers of the Earth. [Ed: the threat of ID theft is far higher than of AI 'taking over' from humans, IMO.] From Politico: AI’s big test: Making sense of $4 trillion in medical expenses

To access other Gracian Aphorisms, please click on the Gracian image above. Feel free to reprint with a link back to this site.

Baltasar Gracian's Aphorism #221: Do not seize Occasions to Embarrass Yourself or Others.

There are some men who offend against decorum, hurting themselves as much as others: they are always on the point of some stupidity. You meet with them easily and part from them uneasily. A hundred annoyances a day is nothing to them. Their humour always strokes the wrong way since they contradict all and everyone alike. They wear their own judgment wrong side out and so condemn everyone else. Yet the greatest test of others' patience and prudence are those who do no good themselves but speak ill of all. Such a man is the worst of those who dwell in that extensive territory of impertinence.

My interpretation: this aphorism is fairly straight forward. The cure for such impertinent behavior is to be as cordial and civil as you know how until it becomes, at last, an ingrained habit--a characteristic approach, if you will. The only curious aspect is in the title; that is, why is this behavior called an "embarrassment" rather than a "disgrace" or some other more appropriate word? The two translations I consulted both use the word "embarrass", which doesn't mean they are accurate translations. And, of course, the word might well have had connotations in the 17th century that it does not have now.

How to Outperform the Stock Market in 2024
by MN Gordon, Economic Prism

“Sometimes nothin’ can be a real cool hand.” – Lucas “Luke” Jackson, Cool Hand Luke

Very Good News?

Following the federal open market committee (FOMC) meeting on December 12 and 13, 2023, the Federal Reserve announced it would be holding the federal funds rate within a range of 5.25 to 5.5 percent. The Fed, by way of its dot plot, also signaled there would be three 25-basis point rate cuts in 2024.

The Fed believes it has conquered the rampant consumer price inflation of its making. Fed Chair Jerome Powell even took the opportunity at a news conference to toot his own horn:

“Inflation has eased from its highs, and this has come without a significant increase in unemployment. That’s very good news.”

Wall Street celebrated the prospect of future rate cuts by boosting the S&P 500 by 3.6 percent over the following week.

Interest rate cuts are commonly recognized as being bullish for stocks and stimulative for the economy. The rationale is that the burst of cheaper credit produces a borrowing and spending binge that drives stock market speculation and gross domestic product (GDP) growth.

Here at the Economic Prism, we have some reservations with this thinking. Certainly, low interest rates drive speculation and malinvestment. And asset prices bubble up in strange and unexpected places.

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NOTE: This presentation was delivered at Dagny's Gulch, a 1984 conference in Southern California. The now-deceased John Dentinger opened by identifying the author only as a "friend with whom I attended CalState." The friend was said to have mailed the parody to John along with the note "Parody is the tribute mediocrity pays to genuis." (A quote from Oscar Wilde). Frankly, I always suspected John himself had written it.

TRANSCRIPT

[RUSSIAN ACCENT] This is Ayn Rand speaking. Like all of the great thinkers of world history, I am dead.

I have, however, returned here to criticize this conference. I do not approve of "no smoking" sections. The whole place should be designated "mandatory smoking".

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From History.com: The History of New Year’s Resolutions. The custom of making New Year’s resolutions has been around for thousands of years, but it hasn’t always looked the way it does today.

Ballot Battles. From Racket News: After Maine, Matt Taibbi Asks 'Is There Any Way This Ends Well?' "I doubt the 14th Amendment was designed to empower unelected state officials to unilaterally strike major party frontrunners from the presidential ballot..." [Ed: by Matt Taibbi.]
From Reason: Who Decides Whether Trump Can Run, and What Sort of Evidence Suffices? Letting state officials determine whether a candidate has "engaged in insurrection" opens a huge can of worms.

From K9: 4 Dogs Who Found Fame at Scruffts.

From the Organic Prepper: A Crazy Year in Review: The Ten Most-Read Posts of 2023. [Ed: including "How I'm Prepping for War."]

From Reason: A Police Group's Comments on Civil Asset Forfeiture Show Exactly Why It Needs Reform. "You've got to be able to demonstrate some level of legitimacy" the head of the National Sheriffs' Association says of carrying large amounts of cash. [Ed: so the onus is on the accused to prove he is *not* guilty?]

Monetary Matters. From Oil Price: U.S. States Make Bold Move to Reclassify Gold and Silver. From Zero Hedge: Jamie Dimon, Who "Hates" Bitcoin, Will Be Broker-Dealer On The Bitcoin ETF Of The World's Biggest Asset Manager. Somewhere Liz Warren is screaming in native American. [Ed: Dimon was one of the loudest critics of crypto when it first came out.]

From CNBCTV: Google likely to layoff 30,000 employees post new AI innovation. [Ed: having lived thru the "computers will obsolete human workers" scare, I'm less likely to see AI as a dire threat.]

From the Post Millennial: Biden admin denies RFK Jr. Secret Service protection for the third time during presidential campaign. [Ed: it is usually extended upon request to Presidential candidates.]

From 121 Clicks: 42 Funniest Photos Of The Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards 2021

From Techxplore: Legal battles loom as first Mickey Mouse copyright ends. [Ed: I'm not sure Disney has the clout anymore to keep extending its copyrights on a privileged basis.]

From Jabberwocking: Raw data: Homelessness is down everywhere except California. [Ed: I didn't realize this either!] From Zero Hedge: California's Fecal Fiasco Deepens With 'Toilet-To-Tap' Sewage Approval. "I would have no hesitation drinking this water my whole life..."

From the Bored Panda: 50 Hilariously Wholesome Dog Pics To Brighten Up Your Day

Covid. From the Epoch Times: Top 10 COVID Events Of The Year: Revealing The Facts Unspoken And Unknown. COVID-19 in 2023 has been full of revelations and controversy. [Ed: you could easily triple the # of items/events.]

From Resist the Mainstream: Biden Admin Unveils String of Eco Regulations Targeting A Range of Home and Commercial Appliances. [Ed: including new standards for refrigerators and freezers.]

Red Sea. From Breitbart: Troubled Waters for U.S.-led Red Sea Task Force as Biden Call Ignored. [Ed: Most of the nations approached are avoiding direct or deep association with U.S. agenda.] From the Cradle: Pepe Escobar: How Yemen Changed Everything. In a single move, Yemen's Ansarallah has checkmated the west and its rules-based order...

From ListVerse: 10 Of The Most Heartwarming Dog Stories From History.

Ukraine-Russia. From the BBC: Poland says Russian missile entered airspace then went into Ukraine. [Ed: I doubt that Poland wants to turn this incident--if true--into a conflict.] From Mish Talk: How Russia Makes a Mockery of US Sanctions in One Picture. [Ed: quite a dramatic chart.] From the Post Millennial: White House indicates Ukraine war will end through negotiation, giving up territory to Russia: report. "That’s been our theory of the case throughout — the only way this war ends ultimately is through negotiation," said a White House spokesperson.

Ukraine. From the Foundation to Battle Injustice: Zelensky’s drug empire: How Ukraine turned into Europe’s largest drug production and distribution center. [Ed: I am suspicious of righteously-named sources but this report is interesting. No way to validate it, of course.]

From Red State: Jonathan Turley Spoke Out Against Swatting, and Then He Got Swatted. [Ed: the campaign of intimidation continues.]

The Shift of Geopolitics. From the Cradle: China & Iraq Begin Construction Of New City Near Baghdad. On Friday Iraq broke ground on 30,000 housing units near Baghdad, as part of a $2 billion project in partnership with Chinese firms to build five new cities across Iraq, Bloomberg has reported."

From Nova Scotia SPCA: An Amazing Dog’s Legacy of Love: Bodj’s Story.

Gaza-Israel. From Mondoweiss: ‘Operation Al-Aqsa Flood’ Day 84: Gaza at ‘catastrophic threshold’ of famine, West Bank marks ‘deadliest year on record’ for Palestinian children. [Ed: day 84 was Friday.] From Responsible Statecraft: Is US helping to create new global jihadists? [Ed: yes, it is.] From Al Jazeera: Israel-Hamas war live: UN aid chief decries Israeli attack on relief convoy [Ed: Live feed, updated frequently.]

From Zero Hedge: US Military Launches Highly Classified Unmanned Space Plane. First launched in April 2010, much of the 29-foot-long robotic vehicle’s activities during its 3,774 total days in space remain classified...

From the Washington Examiner: Swamp’s hidden regulations cost $50,000 per employee, lost investment. [Ed: the cost to small businesses, that is.]

Baltasar Gracian's Aphorism #220: If you cannot clothe Yourself in Lionskin use Foxskin.

To conform to the ways of the day is to surpass them. He who gets what he wants never loses his reputation. Use cleverness when force will not do. Travel by the king's highway of valour or the shortcut of dexterity. More things have come to pass by skill than by force, and astuteness has conquered courage more often than the other way. But when you cannot get a thing, then is the time to despise it.

My interpretation: Again, an aphorism for which I do not care. It speaks of conformity and the use of cunning, and I am fond of neither approach, even though I see the occasional necessity for both.I do not use them as life strategies, however. The aphorism also seems to contradict prior advice given by Gracian, leaving me confused. Perhaps I am finding inadequate translations.

To access all the posts in this category, please click on the Gadsten logo. Feel free to circulate with a link back to this site.

Earlier, I posted a somewhat negative assessment of Nathaniel Branden. I want to balance this post by mentioning a valuable lesson I learned from one of his lectures--an in-person one, not a recording. He said, “Never respond to an attack on your character, especially on your integrity.” He explained that your integrity should be taken as a given by anyone who wants to engage in constructive conversation. When your defects in your character becomes the center of conversation, then the exchange ceases to be an intellectual one and becomes a personal attack; you should never tolerate this. [NOTE: A personal attack is different than pointing out a mistake in facts or reason that you've made. It is an assault on who you are as a human being.]

Unfortunately, such attacks happen frequently, especially in academia and online. I usually take the Branden approach because I agree that debating a statement like “You are a fraud” is a losing proposition from the get-go. No one who honestly wishes to discuss ideas leads with a character assassination. On the other hand, I sometimes provide at least one response to people in whom I see some possibility of civil discourse. I respond politely and, if the counter-response is not civil, then I move on. I do so because there have been remarkable occasions when a valuable discussion – in one case, even a friend – resulted. So I thank Branden for this advice.