* Today, I’m bringing you links to 15 articles and essays I read in the last two weeks that were worth the time it took.
* Plus 10 video clips I saw on YouTube last week that I thought you would enjoy.
* But first, an update on what I’ve been up to for the past month.
Making Promises I Can’t Keep
I spent 10 days at Rancho Santana at the end of March. It was the first of what I hope will be at least a half-dozen trips down there this year and thereafter.
Key word: “hope.”
Each time I go down to Nicaragua’s Pacific Coast, I’m somehow startled by how beautiful that part of the country is. I shouldn’t be surprised. I’ve been there probably a hundred times since I first set eyes on it in 1996.
And yet I always am.
I have the same surprise every time I return to the family house in Delray Beach. I think, “Wow! What a great house! And what a great view of the ocean.” Two or three times a year, when MM is in town, he persuades me to walk across the street and take a dip in the ocean, and I think, “Man! I gotta do this every day!”
But I never do.
What’s with that? I’m the guy that has always prided himself on making life-improvement promises to myself and keeping them! I even wrote a book – The Pledge – to help others accomplish their life goals.
Oh, well.
The Challenge of Waking Up Early
I’ve just made another promise to myself that I hope to keep: to wake up at six a.m., no matter what time I went to sleep the night before.
In my younger years, I woke when I woke – usually after getting seven hours of sleep. If I turned off the lights off at 11:00 p.m., I woke up at 6:00. If I closed my eyes at 2:00 a.m., I woke up at 9:00. I figured it didn’t matter what time I woke up so long as I got in enough work hours to complete my task list for the day.
That rationale was somewhat successful. I managed to outwork most of my colleagues and competitors, which allowed me to quickly climb the responsibility ladder of every business I was in.
I retired at 39 and spent about 18 months focusing on becoming a serious fiction writer – a goal that I had for as long as I can remember, but pretty much abandoned while focusing on making money. I had about a dozen short stories published and even won two literary awards. But an opportunity to write a travel newsletter morphed into a second career in business, which I took up with the same intensity I had given my businesses before.
Another 10 years went by, and they were good ones for me in terms of achieving new business goals and increasing my net worth. But I once again managed to sideline my writing goals.
A Book That Changed My Life
I happened to read a book by Stephen Covey at that time – The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. In it, Covey pointed out that most people fail to achieve their youthful goals because they make the mistake of letting the urgencies of their life take priority. And that led to the realization that if I wanted to accomplish my once-cherished writing goals, I had to make that my top priority.
Making writing my top priority meant doing it first – before I got to work at nine o’clock. Which meant I had to get up early enough to be able to devote two full hours to it before I “clocked in.”
So that’s what I did.
In fact, I began writing a digital newsletter at the time to share and document my new and improved plan. I called the newsletter, appropriately, Early to Rise.
In the ensuing 20 years, I was finally able to achieve both my business and my writing goals by following the get-up-early advice I’d been urging others to follow. I managed to write and publish more than two dozen books and write and/or produce three movies.
Perhaps because of that success, I have, since I turned 70, gradually loosened up on my self-imposed “early-to-rise” pledge to the point where I was going to bed at one or two in the morning and waking up at eight or nine.
I suppose I could justify that by claiming to be “semi-retired.” But it wasn’t making me happy. I still have plenty of work to do before I shuffle off this mortal coil, including making two more movies and finishing no less than 17 half-finished books!
And so it was that, two weeks ago, I resolved to return to my six o’clock waking time to give myself one last run at the work I have yet to do.
So far, so good. I’ll let you know how things progress in the weeks and months ahead.
This Trip to Rancho Santana
I fell in love with Rancho Santana’s ocean views when I first went down in 1996.
Since then, I’ve been there at least a hundred times, and I find something new every time that startles and pleases me.
Sometimes, it’s the way the weather changes – from the dry season, to the wet season, to the windy season, and then to the winter season, which is the nicest of them all. Other times, it’s some improvement in the resort itself – a new pool, a new bike path, a pair of new horses at the stable, or the completion of some new amenity such as the gym at Fun Limón or the newly built chapel on a hill.
This year, my experience of the place was very different, because I had some first-time visitors to share it with.
Mixing Pleasure with Business
For the first half of this 10-day visit, I had RT with me, a friend and BJJ mentor, plus his wife (AT) and daughter (VT).
RT and family
I got in some good training with RT. He was preparing for the Pan Am Championships, which took place a few days after he returned to the States, so his pace and strength were a bit higher than average.
Here we are – RT and I – after training at Rancho Santana a few years ago.
He’s won gold something like 16 times in a row, so I’d like to believe that his training with me has had a positive effect on him as well as on me.
The Mules Trot Down
The Mules, the book club I’ve been a part of for at least 15 years, had our March meeting in Nicaragua this year, instead of our usual place at my “cigar bar” in Delray Beach. Eleven of the 16 current members made it down to Rancho Santana. (The others were linked in on Zoom.)
When I invited them in January, I thought I’d be lucky to get six to come along. I was pleased and not a little flattered to find out how many wanted to see this resort community that my partners and I have been building for 26 years.
Rancho Santana has been getting great reviews from travel publications and websites for the last eight or 10 years. But we are billed as a five-star resort, and since most of the Mules are used to five-star accommodations, I was anxious to see what they thought of our amenities and service.
It was a short trip for them, arriving Thursday night and leaving Monday morning, but they managed to see and enjoy a lot – the bike and hiking trails, the horseback riding, the Spa, the beaches, and the food.
The Mules at La Boquita, one of Rancho Santana’s four eateries
It was all good. Good food. Good daytime activities. Good conversations over tequila and/or rum after dinner. But the best part about it turned out to be something I don’t think any of us expected.
How to Explain?
Over the many years we’ve been together, we Mules have had plenty of time to get to know one another.
And we do… in a limited way.
* We know who is always punctual and who is always late.
* We know which of us are well prepared and which are not.
* We know that CL will talk about the believability and likeability of the book’s characters, that BS will comment on the story’s moral implications, that SL will bring his copy with passages tagged to read to us, that GG will ask us why we didn’t see the obvious biblical allusions – and that by the end of the back-and-forth, we will all feel the value of these diverse and equitable contributions.
In short, our book club has given us the value of knowing each other’s way of thinking and manner of expressing opinions and ideas…
But until this trip, we were, in fact, an amalgamation of several different groups of people. There was the original group, consisting of a half-dozen men who knew one another well that I joined as a new member. And then there were three additional groups: three friends of mine that were at one time colleagues in the direct marketing industry, two guys in their early fifties that I knew from my cigar bar, and three guys in their mid-thirties that I befriended through Number Three Son.
Since I knew all of them quite well, it never occurred to me that the different groups knew very little about the other members on a personal level. However well they understood their book club personalities, they knew very little about their personal stories or their interests in a whole world of things outside of books.
And that’s what most of our conversations were about this time – conversations that were being had throughout the four-day weekend.
So by the time we were saying our goodbyes, there was a shocking number of bro-hugs and “love-ya-mans” going on. We had extended our bookish acquaintanceships into emerging friendships, and that seemed to be a happy development for everyone.
Note: When I recounted this to K, she rolled her eyes and said, “You men. You’re unbelievable! How could you know each other for years and have gotten to know so little about each other!”
15 Brief Essays and Articles Worth Reading
1. “A Rare Trifecta”
Joel Bowman, Substack
Joel Bowman is a smart man and a good writer. In this essay, he highlights three major global developments: a surprising pivot toward peace in Europe regarding the Ukraine conflict, a renewed commitment from Donald Trump to balance the US budget through a “zero deficit” strategy, and political and economic upheaval in Argentina. Read it here.
2. “Biden Lied About Everything…”
Matt Taibbi, Racket News
Matt Taibbi reacts to a NYT exposé detailing how US and NATO leaders, including President Biden, misled the public on the scope and risk of the Ukraine war. The article portrays the revelations as a historic betrayal, alleging that the administration escalated conflict while publicly downplaying nuclear risk for political reasons. Read it here.
3. “The Family of a Murdered Gaza Protester Speaks Out”
Tanya Lukyanova, The Free Press
A harrowing report about the murder of 22-year-old Uday al-Rabbay by Hamas in Gaza. The article includes firsthand accounts from his family, describing his activism against Hamas, the brutal torture he endured, and the chilling message left with his body. It provides rare insight into dissent and repression within Gaza. Read it here.
4. “How Many Millions Are Fraudulently Receiving Social Security Checks…”
Michael Snyder, Substack
Alleging widespread fraud in US entitlement programs, particularly Social Security, the article highlights discrepancies between official enrollment numbers and census data, raises concerns about non-citizens obtaining Social Security numbers, and features Elon Musk as a whistleblower revealing massive abuse in the system. Read it here.
5. “Jay Bhattacharya: ‘Fauci’s Pardon Is a Good Thing’”
Maya Sulkin, The Free Press
An interview with Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, now head of the NIH, reflecting on his public vilification during COVID for opposing lockdowns. He discusses being targeted by Anthony Fauci and Francis Collins but advocates for forgiveness and learning from past mistakes. The article underscores the political and scientific fallout of pandemic-era policies. Read it here.
6. “Lawfare à la Française Against Marine Le Pen”
The Wall Street Journal
An editorial criticizing a French court ruling against right-wing politician Marine Le Pen, suggesting it is politically motivated “lawfare” intended to block her 2027 presidential run. The piece argues the verdict undermines democracy by targeting opposition through legal means rather than open political competition. Read it here.
7. “Luigi Mangione Fans ‘Coming in Hot’ After News of Death Penalty”
Olivia Reingold, The Free Press
After the DOJ announced it would seek the death penalty for Luigi Mangione – charged with murdering UnitedHealthcare’s CEO – his supporters rapidly donated over $12,000 to his legal fund, framing him as a folk hero fighting corporate injustice. The case has sparked widespread online activism, including ballot initiatives targeting insurance companies. Read it here.
8. “No Deportations Without Due Process”
The Free Press
This editorial criticizes the Trump administration’s deportation of pro-Palestinian student activists without public evidence or due process. It centers on the case of Rumeysa Ozturk, a Turkish PhD student accused of ties to Hamas, raising civil liberties concerns and sparking bipartisan alarm over potential violations of free speech. Read it here.
9. “Elon Musk and the American Majority”
The Wall Street Journal
This opinion piece highlights new polling showing strong bipartisan support for reducing government waste – bolstering Elon Musk’s position as head of the Dept. of Government Efficiency despite media attacks. The column argues that Democrats are failing to win over even their own base on spending issues. Read it here.
10. “Why Did Biden Put Tulsi Gabbard Under Government Surveillance?”
Jack Hunter and Rand Paul, Rand Paul Review
Sen. Rand Paul demands answers after learning that Tulsi Gabbard, now Director of National Intelligence, was placed on the TSA’s surveillance list during the Biden administration. The article alleges politically motivated targeting and warns of the growing use of federal surveillance against dissenters. Read it here.
11. “The left AGAIN tries to use the courts to thwart democracy”
Alex Berenson, Unreported Truths
Berenson draws parallels between France’s disqualification of Marine Le Pen from running in 2027 and the American left’s legal tactics against Trump. He frames both as elite-driven efforts to undermine populist political movements through judicial overreach. Read it here.
12. “Trump Wins a Big One on Executive Power”
The Wall Street Journal
The editorial celebrates a DC Circuit ruling that affirms the president’s authority to fire heads of independent federal agencies. The case could head to the Supreme Court, potentially reshaping the balance of power between the executive branch and regulatory bureaucracy. Read it here.
13. “What I Saw at the MAGA Revolution”
Matthew Continetti, The Free Press
Continetti reflects on the ideological evolution of the New Right from 2016 to 2025, noting how Trump-aligned populism has overtaken traditional conservatism. He cautions that the movement now faces a choice: Become a serious governing philosophy or devolve into grievance and chaos. Read it here.
14. “Will Cartel Members Now Face Execution?”
Madeleine Rowley, The Free Press
The US has designated several Mexican cartels as foreign terrorist organizations, expanding its legal power to seize assets and pursue capital punishment. The move signals a dramatic escalation in the war on drug trafficking, with bipartisan support and major implications for US-Mexico relations. Read it here.
15. “Legal Battles Against Trump Advance in Blue-State Territory”
Jess Bravin, The Wall Street Journal
Almost all the 140-plus lawsuits against Trump policies have been filed in federal circuits where Democratic appointees predominate. Conservative groups and Republican-led states funneled lawsuits against Biden administration policies into a handful of jurisdictions, particularly the Fifth Circuit, perhaps the most conservative federal appeals court, which oversees Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas. Read it here.
10 Brief YouTube Videos for Your Amusement
1. Beatboxer recreating the Thomas the Tank Engine theme song.
Watch Time: 54 sec.
Hiss, a South Korean beatboxer, recreates the theme song for Thomas the Tank Engine (from the children’s show Thomas & Friends) by layering on beats and harmonies emanating entirely through his mouth.
2. Lefties losing it outside Tesla dealerships.
Watch Time: 16 min.
A video report by Ford Fischer documents a series of anti-Elon Musk protests in seven US cities, accompanied by counter protesters defending Musk and Tesla. The piece captures the cultural clash surrounding Musk, with both supporters and detractors expressing strong opinions, often face-to-face, on public sidewalks and in intense exchanges.
3. CouplaBeers commercial.
Watch Time: 2.39 min.
SNL is getting funny again. Here’s a great skit starring and probably written by Sean Gillis, which is why it’s funny.
4. His sportsmanship won everyone’s heart.
Watch Time: 45 sec.
This sort of sportsmanship is rare in professional sports today. But when you see it, it makes you wonder how it became passé.
5. The hairiest face in the world.
Watch Time: 3.14 min.
Hypertrichosis is a very rare disease that caused excessive hair to grow all over his body. In an astonishing display of bad taste on the part of the Guinness organization and an equally shameful level of bad judgement on my part, I bring you Lalit Patidar, a teenager from India, who has just won the World Record for “hairiest face on a male person.” If you watch the entire thing, the guilt you feel about clicking the link may diminish.
6. Amazing billiards shot.
Watch Time: 50 sec.
Got a few seconds for a trick shot in billiards that is hard to believe? (I checked. It’s real.)
7. Gravity explained by Muppets.
Watch Time: 5 min.
You may have heard that one of the fascinating aspects of the law of gravity is that two objects that have very different weights (such as a feather and a bar of lead) will drop to the ground at the same rate of speed. That’s what I thought. Here, two Muppets (that I’ve never seen before) visit Adam Savage (of Tested fame) to explain some of the facts about gravity, such as air resistance.
8. Baby chicks cuddle on a blind cat’s belly.
Watch Time: 1.5 min.
Here’s something to warm your cold heart. A blind cat named Mr. Fox has such a calming personality that he’s able to make the most unlikely of friends – including dogs, rabbits, and even baby birds.
9. Guitarist adds heavy metal to a Bulgarian folk song.
Watch Time: 2.31 min.
I bet you’ve never heard of Bre Petrunko. I didn’t – before I saw this clip of a Bulgarian choir singing it, with Andre Antunes, a Bulgarian rock musician, adding some electronic licks. One critic praised his performance for giving “these singers great respect, letting their voices shine through as he plays.”
I thought it was kind of great, so I looked up the song. Here are the lyrics in Bulgarian…
Bre Petrunko, malay mome
Vse yodime yobidome
Nigde yoro ne naydo me
V vashe selo dor tri yora
Parvo yoro Petrunkino
Petrunitsa yoro vodi
Yozdol ide ludo mlado
Ne se fana na sredata
Nay se fana na tanetso
Na tanetso do Petrunka
S per iko si kitka roni
S nozde si yi ekli kalya
And in English…
Hey Petrunka, young girl
We’ve gone all over
Nowhere did we find a dance
In your village there are three dances
The first dance is little Petrunka’s
Little Petrunka leads the dance
Up came a wild fellow
He doesn’t go to the middle
But he joins at the head
At the head by Petrunka
He tears her bouquet with his forehead
He muddies her slippers with his feet
10. Would you take a ride with this guy?
Watch Time: 3.17 min.
Watch Glorioso, a Peruvian bus driver, navigate an incredibly treacherous route through the rough terrain and tight turns of the Peruvian Andes. Glorioso, who has been driving this route for over 12 years, stated that it requires both calm and confidence.
Food for Thought
“Emerson said a man is what he thinks about all day long. I’d say a man is what he does all day long. What he thinks about is what he is not.” – Michael Masterson
Hint: It was painted between 1490 and 1510 by a Dutch artist who is among the most famous and influential figures in the history of Western art. He is one of the most notable representatives of the Early Netherlandish painting school.
Answer: The Garden of Earthly Delights by Hieronymus Bosch
This is the center panel of a triptych that depicts a progression from Eden, through a world of earthly pleasures, to Hell, and is often interpreted as a cautionary tale against sin and temptation.
Singing with Reggie
A random vacationer has a random conversation with Reggie (who does a lot of these YouTube vlogs) and then draws a big crowd when he sings Dock of the Bay and then an encore, Walking After Midnight. Click here.
Watch Time: about 12 min.