Atlas Shrugged Reading Group: NH/VT Upper Valley Region

New Hampshire and Vermont residents living in the Upper Valley region are invited to sign up for an Atlas Shrugged reading group that is forming. This is an announcement to gauge local interest. To reserve a space, please send an email and give a rough indication of which day(s) of the week would most likely work for you.

If we reach a critical mass of interested readers, then a specific schedule and plan will be announced. Most likely, the group will meet every other week for about an hour and a half, plus socializing. Since Atlas Shrugged is a long book, the group will go for at least six months—probably longer.

Parents: if there is sufficient demand, we may arrange for a babysitter to be on-site. If you would join in on that, please mention it in your email. An extra cost would apply.

What: Atlas Shrugged Reading Group
When: TBD
Where: TBD (Grantham, Lebanon, or Hanover)
RSVP: Email becky.rhoads@ohpcenter.org
Cost: $2 per session to cover refreshments and incidentals

The 2012 New Hampshire Liberty Forum

The Center for Objective Health Policy will have a table at the 5th Annual Liberty Forum, which is New Hampshire's largest liberty-oriented conference. The forum brings together people with diverse ideas and backgrounds from across the Northeast to discus strategies to reduce government involvement in society and the economy.

Talks will be given on a variety of practical topics ranging from economics and education, to personal nutrition and how to run for office. This year, the two keynote speakers are businessman and radio host Peter Schiff and author Joel Salatin.

Needless to say, OHP does not endorse all of the viewpoints that will be represented, but we will be on hand to distribute literature and reach out to those people who are receptive to our message. We will also be taking video testimonials of attendees' personal experiences with the healthcare system.

What: The 2012 New Hampshire Liberty Forum
When: February 23-26, 2012
Where: Crowne Plaza, Nashua, NH
Cost: There is a cost to attend the event. To register, visit the Liberty Forum website

Video lecture series on the history of medicine

Join us for a special presentation of Doctors: The History of Scientific Medicine Revealed Through Biography. Each Thursday evening in October we will watch two 30-minute recorded talks exploring great figures in the history of western medicine. This course on DVD is given by Sherwin B. Nuland, an American surgeon and author who teaches at the Yale University School of Medicine.

Learn who these great physician-scientists were and how they made their discoveries. No special knowledge of biology or medicine is required in order to appreciate this material. And, while this historical tour does proceed in chronological order through history, you will not be lost if you miss a week.

We are presenting this video series to a live audience with the full written permission of The Teaching Company, the producer of the series. Light refreshments will be available.

What: Video lecture series (note: not a live lecturer)
When: Thursday nights at 8pm, from October 13th through October 27th
Where: Our office at 120 Route 10 S in Grantham, NH (Clock tower building in the Sawyer Brook Plaza)
RSVP: Email RSVPs are greatly appreciated for planning purposes (becky.rhoads@ohpcenter.org)
Cost: Free (donations welcome)

Note: If the number of RSVPs is higher than expected, we may need to move to a larger venue. Please check back here for possible changes in event location.

Viewing Schedule:
Oct 13th: 1) Hippocrates and the Origins of Western Medicine, 2) The Paradox of Galen
Oct 20th: 3) Vesalius and the Renaissance of Medicine, 4) Harvey, Discoverer of the Circulation
Oct 27th: 5) Morgagni and the Anatomy of Disease, 6) Hunter, the Surgeon as Scientist

Boston-area screening of the new documentary on Atlas Shrugged

The Center for Objective Health Policy is hosting a screening of the new documentary film Ayn Rand & the Prophecy of Atlas Shrugged.

The film is a feature-length documentary that examines the resurging interest in Ayn Rand's epic and controversial 1957 novel and the validity of its dire prediction for America. This event is free and open to the public. Three door prizes will be given away to anyone who puts a contribution in our donation jar.

A word from director Chris Mortensen: "Ayn Rand & the Prophecy of Atlas Shrugged is a biography of a book and an idea. Rand wrote Atlas Shrugged—about as dire an illustration of America as could be imagined at that point—in the postwar late 40's and mid-50's. We usually think of that period as one of the most benign and prosperous eras in American history, certainly in the 20th century. Yet that's when Rand decided that we were on a slippery slope to dystopia and devoted the next twelve years of her life to showing us how and why."

What: Sneak-peak screening of the new documentary Ayn Rand & the Prophecy of Atlas Shrugged
When: Monday, October 24th at 7pm (show will start promptly at 7:10pm!)
Where: Magoun Room in the Medford Public Library, Medford MA
RSVP: RSVPs are not required but greatly appreciated (becky.rhoads@ohpcenter.org)
Cost: Free (donations welcome to defray the cost of the screening license)

AAPS 68th Annual Meeting

Jared Rhoads will be speaking about healthcare activism and The Lucidicus Project at the annual meeting of the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS) in Atlanta, GA. AAPS is a national organization that has advocated for private physicians since 1943.

The theme of the conference is "Winning & Saving Private Medicine: It's Up to Us." Jared Rhoads will be speaking on Saturday morning of the four-day conference. Other speakers will include Grace-Marie Turner, Marvin Olasky, Dr. Lee Kurisko, Dr. Richard Amerling, and more.

What: AAPS 68th Annual Meeting
When: September 28 - October 1, 2011
Where: Crowne Plaza Ravinia, Atlanta, GA
Cost: There is a cost to attend the event. To register, visit the AAPS website

Health Reform Tea Party Rally in Boston

Jared Rhoads of The Lucidicus Project will be speaking at a special healthcare-specific Tea Party rally in Boston on Saturday, October 17, 2009. He is an advocate of rational, free-market healthcare reforms. The speaker lineup consists of about a dozen people, from a variety of organizations and causes.

It is not known how long the event will go or the order of the speakers. Television news crews and other media coverage are expected to be present.

What: Health Reform Tea Party Rally
When: October 17, 2009 from approximately 10am to Noon
Where: Bandstand on the Boston Common
Cost: Free