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e.g., Jefferson’s evaluation of Washington is in Essays.
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In 1999 at the Reason Foundation dinner I told Margaret Thatcher
that it was my
birthday. She smiled, swept her arms around and announced grandly: “They have prepared a marvelous banquet for
you.” We both had a good laugh since the banquet was in her honor. (Her Reagan eulogy.)
As fate would have it, I was in London on April 8, 2013 when she died. She was
a world historic figure who saw the dangers of
government control of the economy, and she saved Britain.
Comments on her by:
Steve Forbes,
Paul Johnson,
NYT Obituary and the
Wall Street Journal. |
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On December 14, 2011 at the South Pole on the 100th anniversary of its discovery by Norwegian
Roald Amundsen,
I met the Prime Minister of Norway,
Jens Stoltenberg after his speech delivered in English.
I told him that my grandfather was born in
Mosjøen, Norway.
I made 100 circumnavigations around the South Pole on its 100th anniversary. Read my report.
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On September 29, 2002, I met Rudy Giuliani before his well-received speech to 2500 people in
Lisle, Illinois on leadership.
I gave him a map of Manhattan
to show him the results of my research to discover the first owner of the land on which the World Trade
Center was built. Rudy was eager to learn the name: Jan Jansen Damen. His wife,
Ariaentje Cuvilje Vigne my 11 x great
grandmother, the Matriarch of New Amsterdam, was the second owner. My research was used by
Eric Lipton in his article in the New York Times on June 27, 2004. |
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On May 11, 2006, I had the honor to meet former Secretary of State, General Colin Powell before his speech at
Benedictine University. General Powell, a hero to this audience, was greeted
with a standing ovation. Powell told a series
of ancedotes explaining the United States unique power in the world. In this
patriotic speech, he quoted the Declaration of Independence at length.
During Q & A, General Powell got another standing ovation when he patiently and forcefully corrected an anti-war person who
accused him of lying about WMD in Iraq. |
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At the Atlas Summit in Washington, D.C. on June 30, 2012, I met
the stars of Atlas Shrugged Part 2. Both
Samantha Mathis and
Jason Beghe added to my enjoyment of the film (opened
October 12, 2012). Ayn Rand fans will like the movie, but most movie critics, with different political views, did not.
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I met Charles Krauthammer on October 28, 2011 in
New Orleans after his speech to the Financial Conference.
He is very easy to approach and is the same gentleman in person as you see on TV. I had a chance to talk to him a few minutes the
next day as well. Dr. Krauthammer is one of my favorite political commentators because he gets to the fundamentals of issues.
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On September 1, 2011 in Austin after the Ex-Student's Scholarship Banquet, I was photographed with Reid McKenzie,
the 11th winner of the Parrish Computer
Science Scholarship.
The next day Scholarship supporters Eleanor Moore, Tiffany Grady & Rob Poynor and I enjoyed
our annual Eastside Cafe luncheon.
UT's CS Department is ranked #8 in the USA. |
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On August 31, 2009, Bill Altaffer, then ranked #2,
and I (now #2) crossed the Arctic Circle in Siberia. See Bill's guest trip report.
I traveled with Bill & his friends for 18 days as part of
my 4 week, 17,000 kilometer visit, all over Russia.
This was my 7th visit in 40 years. I was amazed at the progress since my last trip in 2003.
Bill and I visited North Korea in 2005. See my report.
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On May 31, 2008, over 300 people attended a ceremony
to honor Revolutionary War soldier Israel Warner,
the most important 9 year old in the War.
He enlisted at 9, served for 6 years and died in 1862 at 93. John Reynolds Jr, playing young Israel,
thanked me for locating his grave and chairing the committee that
restored his headstone,
dedicated 5 new headstones
for his family and a historical marker.
Buried by Israel are both grandsons who lost their lives in the Civil War. |
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At the Libertarian Party Convention in Denver on May 25, 2008, I encouraged
our Presidential candidate Bob Barr and VP Candidate
Wayne Allyn Root.
Libertarians are the choice of voters who want a smaller, more respectful government.
Ron Paul supporters should vote for Barr & Root in November.
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One of my 11th cousins, our common ancestor was Richard Warren on the Mayflower,
recently sent me this photo of Texas Congressman Dr. Ron Paul and me taken back
in 1988 when he was the Libertarian Party candidate for President. Dr. Paul was a
candidate for the Republican nomination for
President, but dropped out in June 2008. Even people who supported other candidates in the primaries were deeply
impressed with his arguments in favor of libertarian solutions. Dr. Paul
has a very strong following on the Internet. |
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On October 24, 2007 at the New Orleans Conference
I thanked famous economist Art Laffer for lowering my taxes.
Dr. Laffer gave President Reagan the economic insight that led to the successful fight
to lower the top income tax rate from 70% to 28% launching a generation of prosperity in America.
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On October 6, 2007 in Washington at the 50th anniversary gala event for
Atlas Shrugged,
I chatted again with the main speaker and my favorite investigative journalist,
John Stossel of
ABC News.
See my trip report on Rand sites. On April 15, 2011, the long-awaited Atlas Shrugged movie
will be released. Follow progress on the unofficial movie site
and the official movie site. |
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On May 14, 2007, at the airport in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan during my Central Asian trip, I met
Jung Ji-Hyun
who won the gold medal in Athens
in 2004 in men's 60kg Greco-Roman wrestling
by beating the competitor from Cuba.
It's unusual to meet someone famous who is exactly my size. |
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It was a delight to be photographed with the beautiful and charming
Alexandra Rosenfeld,
Miss Europe of 2006 and
Miss France of 2006. Photo taken February 25, 2007
at the Meridien Hotel in Brazzaville in the Congo where
she and her entourage were also staying. |
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On November 17, 2006, I thanked Newt Gingrich,
former Speaker of the U.S. House for his masterful analysis
of the world situation delivered to the
New Orleans Investment Conference. Newt, a
former history professor, can connect the dots effortlessly and convincingly. |
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Having read Forbes magazine for 30 years,
it was a thrill to meet Steve Forbes
after his upbeat talk to the
New Orleans Investment Conference
on November 18, 2006.
I thanked him for his free-market editorials and for his advocacy of innovative
solutions like the flat tax. |
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On October 8, 2006 at the
Serena hotel
in Kabul, Afghanistan, I had a chance encounter
with Claudia Roth,
former Chair of the Green Party in Germany. I learned that the
Afghan Foreign
Minister is a former German Green Party member. Read my reports on my Middle East trip. |
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In October 2005, I was in Pyongyang, the capital of North Korea with 4 other members of the
Traveler's Century Club.
Only 500 Americans have been allowed to visit North Korea in the past 20 years.
Read my insightful trip reports to learn about North Korea
and Arirang. |
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On May 28, 2005, as President of the Fox Valley Chapter, Sons of the American Revolution,
I thanked Speaker of the U.S. House Dennis Hastert
for his heart-felt speech at the the 250th anniversary of the birth of
Daniel Burroughs,
a soldier in the American Revolution who fought at Saratoga. The memorable ceremony at the
Griswold cemetery
in Plano, Illinois was an extraordinary patriotic event that will be long remembered by all 300 attendees. |
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On November 13, 2004, at the
New Orleans Investment Conference, I spoke again with two legends of
financial forecasting Jim Dines of the Dines Letter
and Bob Prechter of Elliott Wave. I admire both of these gentlemen.
I've subscribed to their publications for many years. |
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On September 23, 2004, at the banquet celebrating the 20th anniversary of the free market think tank, the
Heartland Institute, I was photographed with one
of my favorite journalists, John Fund
of the Wall Street Journal
and old friend Scott Hodge, President of the Tax Foundation.
I talked to many old friends among the 640 attendees. |
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On July 23, 2004, my friend John Lewin and I had a grand adventure on a segway
touring Chicago's lake front using
CitySegwayTours. In the background is the
famous Willis Tower. This is a fantastic 3 hour tour
including effective segway training that starts at the Adler Planetarium
and goes to the new Millennium Park.
The fountain towers at the $470M park are also a high tech wonder.
Chicago is a great place to try segway! See more photos and my report. |
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On July 9, 2004 in Vancouver at Atlas Society
summer seminar, I chatted with Nathaniel
Branden. Ayn Rand dedicated Atlas
Shrugged to him and her husband. I met all 3 of them for the first
time in New York in 1965. Mr. Branden is well known for books
on self-esteem. I've attended his talks dozens of times; he sat next
to me at the Ayn Rand stamp ceremony
in 1999. |
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On March 17, 2004 in Chicago, I had the pleasure to chat with Jim Rogers again.
Jim is a benevolent and charming person as well as a legendary investor. He is the author of
Investment Biker
and Adventure Capitalist.
His latest adventure was a 3-year drive around the world
thru 116 countries. It's always educational and fun to hear his insights! |
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On January 23, 2004, I was elected to Life Membership in the Circumnavigators Club.
My 1989 membership certificate was autographed
by Astronaut James Lovell
of Apollo 8 & 13 fame who noted I had 421 times to go around the world to catch up
to him. So far I've made 3 circumnavigations. I'm Treasurer of the Chicago chapter.
I visited Star City in 2003. |
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On July 4, 2003, I congratulated David
Kelley, Founder and Executive Director of The Atlas Society on another fantastic
summer seminar.
Summer seminars are week-long educational events on the philosophy and culture of Objectivism held on
college campuses.
The week is also devoted to analyses of current events, history, art, etc. It is also an opportunity to get into extended
discussions with some very insightful and benevolent people. |
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On December 6, 2002, I met Reeve Lindbergh after her talk to the Centennial Celebration of the Circumnavigators Club
in New York City. President Bush and Governor Pataki sent congratulatory letters.
Reeve is the daughter of Charles Lindbergh.
She was delighted to learn that in 1995 I had visited her
father's grave located in a
remote part of Maui. |
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On December 7, 2002, I met Lee
Tergesen who plays "Beecher", my favorite character on the
HBO award winning series OZ.
I met other members of the OZ cast "Cyril",
his brother "O'Reilly",
the "Poet"
and "Alvarez".
Lee introduced me to Tom Fontana, the genius who created OZ,
a complex and intensely graphic adult prison drama. |
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On October 12, 2002, I met former U.S. Trade Rep
Ambassador Charlene Barshefsky during her
niece's wedding reception in Naperville, Illinois. I worked with her brother
Al Barshefsky for many years and had
carefully followed her public career. Although a member of Clinton's cabinet, Charlene is a hero
to this libertarian for her countless successes in removing trade barriers and enhancing free trade. She is one of those rare individuals who have
changed history for the better. |
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On July 5, 2002, I congratulated New Mexico Governor Gary
Johnson on his stunning speech to the Libertarian Party.
Gary is an ironman triathlete, a brilliant executive and a practicing libertarian.
He vetoed over 750 bills to stop all
tax increases, protect individual rights and reduce the number of state employees.
The Libertarian Party came within a few percentage points of eliminating the income tax in Massachusetts on November 5, 2002. |
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Here is a sampling of some of my favorites. There are more in the Favorites section.
Admirers of Ayn Rand and her novels can find like-minded others at
Ayn Rand Admirers on the internet. For more information on
Objectivism,
check out What is Objectivism
or the whole Logical Structure of Objectivism. |
| If you would like to contact me, my e-mail address is: parrish@prodigy.net.
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