i hope i'm pronouncing my latin correctly-- bull (bleep) (laughter) plus, the jesuits in the georgetown mafiat ryan a nasty letter saying "your budget appears to reflect the values of your favorite philosopher ayn rand rather than the gospel of jesus christ. (audience reacts) rand, of course, believed that the only rational behavior is to pursue your own selfish interests. a belief shared by rand admirers like ron paul, clarence thomas, and scrooge mcduck. wlaf laugh rye qlan has defended himself saying his reputation as an ayn rand follower was simply an "urban legend." exactly! him admiring rand is like big foot-- if big foot had spoken at a celebration of ayn rand's 100th birthday and said this: >> i grew up reading ayn rand... (laughter) ... and it taught me quite a bit about who i am and what my value systems are and what my beliefs are. it inspired me so much that it's required reading in my office for all my interns and my staff. (laughter) the reason i got involved in public service by and large, if i had to credit one thinker, one person, it would be ayn rand. (cheers and applause) >