July 2023
51 articles published this month.
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Notes From My Journal
Catching Up on the Hunter Biden Story
Catching Up on the Hunter Biden Story “I’m not really interested in the money accusations,” MM said to me. “What really bothers me is this story about him turning his back on one of his children.” Not…
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News & Views
European Union Countries, Liberal on Most Issues, Are Putting a Lid on Immigration
Giorgia Meloni, Italy’s first female prime minister The European Union is ratcheting down the flow of immigrants through negotiated migration and asylum policies and tighter enforcement at the borders. The…
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The Economy & Investing
Market Sentiment Is Up. But Why?
2022 was a bad year for stock investors. Finishing at 33,147, the Dow was down 3,191 points for the year. (In percentage terms, that’s a drop of 8.8%.) That made 2022 the worst year for the Dow since 2008. But…
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Worth Reading
AOC Is Just a Regular Democrat Now
An insightful essay by Freddie DeBoer, my favorite Communist, on AOC’s disappointing (to him) failure to support the leftist ideas she associated herself with in the early months of her political career. Click…
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Fun and/or Interesting
Five Quirky News Stories From This Week
* Alaska mayor proposes flying the state’s homeless population south for the winter. Click here. * The eight habits that could add up to 24 years of your life. Click here. * Rep. Chip Roy asks FBI Director…
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Postscript
Wait for my mum’s voice…
This kid has a great voice. And his mother’s? Click here.
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Notes From My Journal
Are Big Cities Dying?
I’ve been writing a lot about the demise of America’s big cities: Chicago, LA, New York, San Francisco, Houston, etc. Crime is up. Property values are down. COVID lockdowns taught corporations and their…
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Worth Considering
Who Is This Taylor Swift Person?
If I’ve ever heard a Taylor Swift song, I wasn’t aware of it. I’m just too old. And, happily, out of touch with the pop music scene today. I’m not embarrassed to admit that. I mean, by the time she hit the…
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Worth Quoting
Taylor Swift On The Fear Of Mediocrity
“I’m intimidated by the fear of being average.” – Taylor Swift
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News & Views
The World Is Getting Older. Fast!
It’s not just my generation, it’s the Baby Boomers. And it’s not just in the USA. The population of the entire world is aging. And aging fast. To get a feel for how important this is, check out this chart…
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Readers Write
From SL, re the action movie clichés in the July 21 issue
“Great list, but you forgot this! At the final battle to the death between hero and arch villain, the hero actually saves the villain (after proving that he could have killed him or let him die), only to then…
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Postscript
What Scientists Are Learning About Mammal Intelligence
More evidence that mammals are more than we assume. This one is almost unbelievable. Click here.
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Notes From My Journal
Did You Ever Notice…
The Myrtle Beach crew (high school friends who spend a week in Myrtle Beach every October golfing – sort of) killed some retirement time recently by composing this list of Action Movie Clichés: * Whenever the…
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News & Views
Mike Pence: Like Abbott & Costello in One Person
Mike Pence has an interesting personality. On the one hand, he comes off as contemplative and serious. On the other hand, he often says things that make my jaw drop. In this example, he responds to a very…
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Introducing...
Naval Ravikant: The Angel Philosopher
The Knowledge Project is one of hundreds of blogs where the host interviews minor celebrities in different fields and disciplines, picking their brains to find tricks and techniques that subscribers can use to…
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Worth Reading
Welcome to the MAGA Hamptons!
“Every summer, the haute bourgeoisie of Middle America descend on Lake of the Ozarks to jet ski, barbecue ribs, and (until 2023) drink a shit-ton of Budweiser,” writes Max Meyer, in The Free Press. Click here…
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Worth Considering
A Long-Awaited Truth About COVID from a Surprising Source: the NYT!
I have predicted many times that the mainstream media will eventually have to tell the truth about COVID, which would mean correcting so much of the fake news that they, and the rest of Corporate Media, have…
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Readers Write
G, a regular reader and sometimes contributor, sent this…
More Disturbing Vaccine News from Alex Berenson “A new treatment to lower harm from a minor respiratory virus in infants instead is associated with MORE baby deaths, clinical trials show. Yet no one seems to…
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Postscript
Will this little girl be canceled?
I don’t know where this came from. I’m guessing it was some conservative programming with traditional bits like this. And it’s clear that this kid has been relentlessly practicing the answer she gives here…
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Notes From My Journal
Today…
It’s been several weeks since I served up a new conspiracy theory, or even given you a juicy update. So today, I’m giving you one of each – one on why the FTC is getting involved with AI, and another follow-up…
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News & Views
What’s FTC Chairwoman Lina Khan Really Up To?
Lina Khan The FTC is going after OpenAI’s ChatGPT by “investigating” whether the technology may be “harming people” by publishing false information about them. In a July 13 press release accompanying a civil…
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Worth Reading
Factotum — July 19, 2023
Factotum By Charles Bukowski 208 pages Originally published Jan. 1, 1975 Factotum was one of three books the Mules read for our mid-July meeting at the Cigar Club. A semi-autobiographical novel about a wannabe…
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Worth Quoting
Charles Bukowski on Writing
* “Poetry is what happens when nothing else can.” * “If I stop writing, then I am dead. And that’s the only way I’ll stop: dead.” * “It’s better to do a dull thing with style than a dangerous thing without it.”
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Worth Watching
Factotum — July 18, 2023
Matt Dillon and Marisa Tomei Factotum Adapted from the book by Charles Bukowski Directed by Bent Hamer Starring Matt Dillon, Marisa Tomei, and Lili Taylor Released Aug. 18, 2006 (US) Factotum is a good but not…
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A Word to the Wise
factotum
A factotum (fak-TOW-tum) – Latin for “do everything” – is an employee or official that has many different responsibilities; a handyman or jack-of-all trades hired to do all sorts of work around the house.
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Postscript
Sure, These May Be Cherry-Picked, but Still…
Another amusing episode of “How Dumb Are Young People Today.” I love the last bit, where the young woman could rattle off the names of all the Kardashians but couldn’t name the capital of the US! Click here.
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Notes From My Journal
A Look Back — July 14, 2023
The Power of Wit On Tuesday, I shared an excerpt from an essay I wrote in 2008 about the state of America – an essay that is still disturbingly relevant. Today, I’m switching gears with a piece that I was…
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Worth Reading
The Madness of Crowds: Gender, Race and Identity
The Madness of Crowds: Gender, Race and Identity By Douglas Murray 288 pages Originally published Sept. 17, 2019 I’ve heard Douglas Murray on the BBC. I’ve seen him in a few debates. And I’ve had The Madness…
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Arts & Letters
The Current State of the Art Market
Artworks going for $20 million plus comprised half of the art sold at auction between 2018 and 2022. This Botticelli, for example, sold for $92.2 million at Sotheby’s in London in 2021. Click here. Auctions of…
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Fun and/or Interesting
How much do you know about famous facial hair?
Take the quiz here. (I got 15 out of 20.)
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Readers Write
Getting More Quality From Your Money
From DB: “I’ve read you as a subscriber since 2010, when you were a founding member of the Palm Beach Wealth Builders Club. There were reports that I found extremely helpful and fun about things that you are…
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Postscript
Why Animals And Owners Inspire Belief In Love
One day I’ll research an evolution-based explanation for this behavior. In the meantime, seeing these animal/owner reunions makes me believe in love. Click here.
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Notes From My Journal
A Look Back
The Problems Facing America in 2008 To give my immune system an extra challenge last week, I caught a cold. So, between the energy needed to defeat that and the energy needed to repair all the damaged tissue…
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Fun and/or Interesting
This can’t be true!
King John (1166-1216) [italics] In 2009, a young girl did a school research project and “discovered” that all US presidents except Martin Van Buren are descended from one British king. I’m 99.9% confident this…
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Readers Write
Readers Share Knee Surgery Recovery Tips And Alternatives
My thanks to everyone who wrote in after reading about my knee surgery in the July 7 issue. Here are just a few examples… From CS: “I am glad you are recovering from your knee replacement surgery. The metaphor…
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Postscript
Is opera an acquired taste?
I used to think so. But watch this baby’s reaction. Click here.
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Notes From My Journal
Happy Thoughts After Knee Replacement Surgery
If I’ve written anything in the past two weeks that offended you, I have a good excuse. I had knee replacement surgery on June 22. The operation was successful. It was performed by a surgeon who happened to go…
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News & Views
Hunter’s Inside Deal
Did Hunter Biden get a special deal in getting a “diversion” for his tax violations? There’s no doubt about it. As one tax expert stated in a Congressional deposition, this may be the first time in history…
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Worth Reading
In the Heart of the Sea — July 7, 2023
In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex By Nathaniel Philbrick 302 pages Originally published May 8, 2000 Storytellers have used real-life events as inspiration going back to the beginning…
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Worth Watching
In the Heart of the Sea
In the Heart of the Sea Based on the book by Nathaniel Philbrick Directed by Ron Howard Starring Chris Hemsworth, Benjamin Walker, Cillian Murphy, Tom Holland, Ben Whishaw, and Brendan Gleeson Released in…
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Worth Considering
The COVID Response: What We Got Wrong — July 7, 2023
Another Finding That Contradicts the CDC Narrative Several of my friends (and perhaps hundreds of my readers) think my take on COVID is crazy, as in conspiratorial. Trusting the mainstream media implicitly…
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Fun and/or Interesting
The Most and Least Expensive Big Macs in the US
You won’t learn anything especially useful from this map, but you may find it interesting. I was surprised by some of the red dots. Click here.
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Postscript
And You Keep the Camera Running…
This is very funny. It’s Matt Damon talking about making The Departed with Jack Nicholson, and how Nicholson reinvents a short, shocking scene into one that’s slightly longer but much more gruesome. Damon…
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Notes From My Journal
Happy Independence Day!
We honor our country’s founders with a day of celebration each year that includes flags, marching bands, and fireworks. And we celebrate our homosexual, nonbinary, and trans communities with a full month of…
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Worth Quoting
John Adams, in a letter to his wife, Abigail, after signing the Declaration of Independence
“I am apt to believe that it [the signing] will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns…
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Worth Reading
Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow
Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow By Yuval Noah Harari 448 pages Originally published in 2015 The first book of Harari’s that I read was Sapiens. I loved it. It’s one of those books that gives pleasure on…
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Fun and/or Interesting
Astronomy Photographer of the Year
The short list for the 2023 Astronomy Photographer of the Year has just been published. And, not surprisingly, this year’s selection is just as amazing as last year’s. Looking over the entries, I tried to…
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Worth Watching
Yizo Yizo
Yizo Yizo A TV series directed by Teboho Mahlatsi and Angus Gibson 3 seasons, 39 episodes Original release: Jan 27, 1999 to July 1, 2004 Currently streaming on Netflix I would not recommend this series to most…
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Worth Considering
John Durham's Deposition Reveals FBI's Russia Investigation Origins
More Enjoyable Than Depp vs. Heard. More Sinister than the Watergate Conspiracy. More Believable Than… Well, You’ll Either Believe It or You Won’t! If you are a reader of any city paper whose name includes the…
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Readers Write
High School Wrestling Champion's Heroic Rescue Inspires Readers
In response to the June 30 issue in which I linked to an inspiring story about a high school wrestling champ that saved a woman from an attempted kidnapping, GM wrote: “I enjoy when you highlight these stories…
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