Mark Ford

November 25, 2023 No Comments

Quick Bites

Emissions rising from a coal-fired power plant in Kansas

After reading so many cogent arguments, essays, and research reports on the climate change debate… I no longer have an opinion on the key questions surrounding the controversy. How true is the basic contention? How much ecological change it will cause? How much damage versus benefit will come from it? And what is the best way to remedy the situation, if it can be remedied at all?

And because I don’t have a fixed opinion on this issue, I am always interested in the latest reputable studies and reports. Here is something I read recently from the United Nations.

Click here.

Five Things Rich People Buy That Jeopardize Their Wealth. The first item on contributor Cindy Lamothe’s list is, by far, the most important. And the danger goes way beyond what she says here.

What is the BDS movement? You’ve heard/seen the acronym. You may know that it stands for “boycott, disinvest, and sanction Israel.” But do you know what that means? What is the BDS movement’s core mission? Click here.

One of the most common criticisms of Israel going to war against Hamas… is that Hamas does not represent “most” of the people in Gaza. And that most Muslims are not at all happy with Hamas’s actions in provoking the war. Well, no. Click here.

In my personal opinion, Saturday Live stopped being funny about 20 years ago… when it decided to get involved in “social justice” and strain its comedic offerings through a screen of political correctness. When someone texted this “Battle of the Sexes” SNL skit, I had little hope I’d find it even remotely amusing. But I was laughing out loud. The gimmick here is obviously borrowed from Monty Python. But that makes it somehow better in my mind. Click here.

Readers Write

November 25, 2023 No Comments

From ND:

“I pretty much agree with everything you say. Especially on the economics, COVID, and Israel/Palestine topics. And you are far too modest when it comes to some readers questioning your take on business and how money works. Your work has always been an inspiration to me, and I attribute a good chunk of your ideas to [the success of my business] so far.”

From PN:

“This article makes a good case for why Biden will remain the Democratic candidate. I just wanted to share another view.”

My Response: The article explains the reasons Trump will almost certainly be the Republican candidate. But when it comes to Biden, the argument is that, despite his cognitive problems and low ratings, he will get the support of the Democratic machine and that will be enough to bring him to victory.

I think that’s doubtful. Given Biden’s current mental condition, I don’t believe he could stand up against Trump during a tough election. And if it becomes a Trump-Biden race, it will be sorely contested. Again IMHO, he will lose by a large margin.

My argument is that the key decision makers in the party have, at this point, the same doubts about Biden’s performance capability as I do. And being so close to him, and having had the advantage of speaking directly to him, they long ago decided that unless something drastic changed, he would not be the candidate they would put up against Trump in 2024.

They also realized that, given his current physical condition, he couldn’t possibly make it through another term. Which means he can’t have Kamala Harris as his running mate. She may be the most unpopular presidential figure of all time.

My prediction – that he will step aside and endorse Gavin Newsom to succeed him – is based on my belief that the Democrat decision-makers aren’t stupid. Nor are they ignorant about what it takes to get elected. Their primary interest lays in keeping and getting control of the presidency and both houses of Congress. And the only way they can do that is by putting Biden out to pasture and bringing in someone younger, quicker, and more charismatic. Newsom.

From CL re my musings on charity in the Nov. 21 issue:

“It’s funny you don’t like the word ‘charity’ as I wish it were used more often – especially at church – instead of talking about ‘love’ left and right. ‘Charity’ would be the perfect candidate to revive the ancient distinction between eros and caritas.”

My Response: I understand what you mean. And although it may seem contradictory, I agree with you that in many cases the word charity is the best word to use. That’s because charity has the connotation of being voluntary – not forced – and certainly not an obligation on the part of the giver. It implies that the donation is a gift, not an entitlement, and that the recipient should see it as something he or she should be grateful for, rather than as something he/she is entitled to for whatever reason.

What I don’t like about the word is that it also connotes doing something that is a prima facie good, which I don’t believe it is.

Postscript

November 25, 2023 No Comments

“Thank you Mr. President”

Last week, in Letters of Note, Sean Usher published a Thanksgiving issue on gratitude. Instead of the usual – a list of things he is thankful for – he published two letters by Jackie Kennedy. One to Lyndon Johnson and one to Nikita Krushchev. They are remarkable. Take a look here.

Tuesday, November 21, 2023, Rancho Santana, Tola, Nicaragua

Notes From My Journal

November 21, 2023 No Comments

A Change Is Coming

I’ve decided to publish this blog once a week rather than twice. The original idea was to lighten the load for me and J, my editor. And I hope to do that. But knowing the way I work, I suspect my once-weekly issues will end up being about twice the size of my twice-weekly issues.

So, what do I intend to accomplish by making this change?

I’ve received a good deal of feedback from my readers, and I now have a better idea of what they like and don’t like. Most of what they like are the pieces that are more useful than newsy. So, starting next week, that’s what I’ll be focusing on. You can expect to receive a somewhat longer issue that will include not only the kind of bits and pieces and recommendations that I’ve been sharing with you all along, but also regular comments on the economy and investment advice.

Things I’ve Been Thinking About Lately

I don’t like the word charity. It implies a certain condescension. I don’t like referring to Fun Limón, the community center we established in Nicaragua, as a “family charity.” It sounds elitist and self-aggrandizing. I prefer to think of it as a Not-For-Profit Public Project or NFPPP (an acronym I made up that will never catch on because it would be too hard for people to remember). I believe the charitable impulse is not an a priori good. Quite the contrary, unless one works very hard to safeguard against it, it is difficult to act charitably without creating negative side effects, such as feelings of dependency and entitlement. Charity is not a divine impulse. It is a deeply human survival instinct that promotes not only the survival of one’s particular DNA, but of the species as a whole.

Because charity is so potentially dangerous in terms of creating collateral damage… I never felt comfortable giving dollars to organizations I knew next to nothing about for the benefit of feeling like I was being good and virtuous, when what I was really being was careless and self-indulgent. So, when I decided to start my own charity to help people in need, I took the responsibility seriously. My family foundation has three NFPPPs, all of them run with the same attention that we give to our businesses. Our motto: “Do less harm than good.”

I’m thinking that charities are not only like businesses in many ways, they’re also like financial investments.Stocks, for example, can be roughly divided into two kinds: growth stocks and income stocks. One buys growth stocks for future appreciation and income stocks for near or current cash flow. The one is generally about the future. The other about the now. If you consider NFPPPs from that perspective, there are projects that provide immediate benefits to the “investors” (the people providing the funding) – e.g., the pleasure they get from seeing how their efforts have changed recipients’ lives. And there are projects that take years or even decades to accomplish, with benefits that may arrive only after the death of the “investors” – e.g., the endowment of museums, scholarships, and major cultural programs.

The Economy & Investing

November 21, 2023 No Comments

Why Housing Inflation Can Be the Worst Kind

It seems like every other casual conversation I have these days drifts into the subject of the rising cost of living. In particular, the crazy cost of housing.

In this essay published recently by the WSJ, Greg Ip explains how unaffordable homes are undercutting the American dream even more than high gasoline and food prices.

The Politics of Crime

No doubt about it. The increase in retail theft and the growth of other forms of crime in the last few years has had a devastating effect on local businesses in every major city in the US. How bad is it? Click here and here for a few studies that take a look at the issue.

Worth Considering

November 21, 2023 No Comments

Nikki Haley’s Plan for Managing the Future of Social Media in America

Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley said that if she becomes president, the first thing she’ll do is make social media platforms show their algorithms. “Let us see why they’re pushing what they’re pushing,” she said. After that, she is going to ban anonymous posting on social media. She called it a national security threat. “When you do that, all of a sudden people have to stand by what they say and… then you’re going to get some civility when people know their name is next to [it].”

I’ve had that same thought many times, and had mentally filed Haley’s idea as “maybe a good one” until I came across this tweet in response from Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis: “You know who were anonymous writers back in the day? Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and James Madison when they wrote The Federalist Papers.” He called Haley’s proposal “dangerous and unconstitutional.”

“Yeah,” he’s right,” I thought. “What was I thinking?”

A few days later, I read this.

Worth Reading

November 21, 2023 No Comments

“Why I Am Now a Christian”

“I was born a Muslim in Somalia. Then I became an atheist. But secular tools alone can’t equip us for civilizational war.” – Ayaan Hirsi Ali [italics]

Ayaan Hirsi Ali is a refugee from Somalia that became a Dutch politician who, despite being a Muslim at the time, criticized the 9/11 attack. In 2004, in collaboration with Theo Van Gogh (as producer and director), she made a short film that was critical of Islam (Submission). As a result, both she and Van Gogh received death threats. He was murdered on the streets of Amsterdam.

She did not back down. She wrote a memoir (Infidel) and became an American. “Since the early 2000s,” says Bari Weiss, introducing Hirsi Ali’s essay in The Free Press, she has been “among the most prominent atheists in the world. Or at least she was until late last week, when she announced… that she has converted to Christianity.”

I read Hirsi Ali’s essay and was impressed with her honesty and courage. Click here.

But there was something about her most recent conversion that didn’t sit well with me. I discovered what that was when I read this.

Fun and/or Interesting

November 21, 2023 No Comments

Quick Bites

Scott Young

Have you noticed that some people are able to learn things – languages, facts, lyrics, etc. – much faster than others? Learning about learning – i.e., the science of learning – has been a recognized course of study since the early 1980s. Since then, it’s bloomed in a large and pretty exciting field of education. Scott Young, a learning expert, wrote a very good introduction to the field in this essay, where he lists the scientists and theoreticians that have most influenced his ideas.

Ready for the next global pandemic? According to the folks that brought you the COVID-19 hysteria, the next one is likely to be many times worse. Go here to see a review of the news stories touting the next great pandemic that have been published in just the last few months.

They spent 20 years reading one book… and they still don’t understand it! In my late teens, I sat in on a college course my father gave on Finnegan’s Wake. Prior to that, I had read only one book by Joyce, his collection of short stories (Dubliners). I didn’t realize what I was getting myself into. Neither did this book club, apparently. Click here.

These stories are rare, but they are fun and inspirational for art collectors. Click here.

Readers Write

November 21, 2023 No Comments

On COVID, from DG (UK reader):

“What a situation. Come up with a drug that 99% of the population will be heavily pushed to take, don’t worry if it doesn’t work all that well, and don’t worry if it harms people, they won’t be allowed to sue you. Not the kind of situation that encourages best practice in development, they must have been scared stiff to let another company come up with a vaccine first, it would have cost them millions. Also: I thought you would be interested in this. It’s the first time I’ve heard of anyone taking legal action over COVID vaccines.”

On woke advertising, from JS:

“When will corporations learn to stay out of politics? Peleton’s new CEO has been there for over a year and pulls a stunt like this? He should be sued by the shareholders as he has a fiduciary duty to them, not to Politics!”

Postscript

November 21, 2023 No Comments

Postscript