October 2023
67 articles published this month.
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Notes From My Journal
Political Culture in America Today
In my college years, I saw America’s university curriculum as a smorgasbord of diverse and delectable ideas. A cornucopia of philosophical, political, and social ideas that were, to me at the time, potentially…
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Worth Watching
Born in Gaza
A documentary filmed shortly after the 2014 Israeli-Hamas war Directed by Hernan Zin Originally released Dec. 12, 2014 (Spain) Available on Netflix Born in Gaza appeared as a Netflix recommendation shortly…
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Worth Considering
US University-Hamas Alignment Continues to Grow
The anti-Israel sentiment that began about two minutes after Hamas invaded Israel and slaughtered innocent civilians continues to rise in Academia. This past week, for example… * Nearly 2,000 sociologists…
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Fun and/or Interesting
Quick Bites — October 31, 2023
A Primer on Inflation... Three Ways to Lose Money in 2024... A Heated Debate... Mike Tyson’s Profound Wisdom... The Dark History of the Werewolf * Doug Casey on the Destruction of the Dollar. From a recent…
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Readers Write
From CM re my comments on Hamas vs. Israeli killing in the Oct. 24 issue
“Nicely done. There is no moral equivalence. Period. “A friend called me from Israel today. He has a colleague working on identifying bodies at the site of the massacre. Today’s latest horror show update…
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Postscript
Spooky Snaps Photo Contest Winners
Click here.
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Notes From My Journal
We Are So Much the Same. Then Why Are We So Damn Different?
When K and I had Number One Son, we parented him the way I imagine many first-time parents raise their children – to become, as Jordan Peterson advised, adults that we would like and admire. Number One-Son did…
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The Economy & Investing
Money: The Ultimate Incentive
“One of the greatest ironies of the modern world,” my friend Porter Stansberry wrote in a recent post on his website,” is how few people who enjoy the cornucopia of capitalism and free markets understand even…
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News & Views
Teaching: Why Experience Matters
Bill Browder in Moscow Bill Browder is an extremely successful entrepreneur that made his fortune in Russia and wrote a good book about it – Red Notice. (You can read my review of it here.) TS sent me this…
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Worth Reading
Congress: From Canings and Stabbings to Murder
It’s happened several times now. AOC, that adorable nitwit representing New York’s 14th Congressional District since 2019, has several times complained publicly (and twice, hysterically) about being accosted…
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Worth Considering
Another Way to Look at the Israeli/Hamas War
Hamas’s brutal and barbaric attack on Israel was done to provoke Israel to conduct a land war in Gaza. Hamas leaders believe they have the wherewithal to eventually defeat Israel by making it a long and…
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Health & Wellness
Another “Crazy” Idea?
A visitor looking at “In America: Remember,” a temporary art installation on the National Mall commemorating Americans who have died of COVID-19. When I continue to express the view that the most important…
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Fun and/or Interesting
Scientists have discovered that the moon is 40 million years older than previously thought
Quick Bites: Age Is Just a Number… Spooky!... Putting the Kibosh on CRT... An Unbreakable World Record... How Good Are You at Acronyms Scientists have discovered that the moon is 40 million years older than…
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Readers Write
From BB re the Oct. 24 issue
“Loved the lesson on writing from Charles Bukowski! It’s actually a lesson on life!”
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Postscript
From Funkanometry: A super-contemporary dance vibe for a classic rock song…
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Notes From My Journal
Back in LA, and Happy to Be Here
K and I were in LA this weekend visiting four of our grandchildren and their parents. Every time I come here, I have the same thought: Despite everything that’s wrong about LA (high cost of living, high taxes…
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Arts & Letters
A Day at the Races with Charles Bukowski
We spent Sunday with the kids on Octoberfest Day at Santa Anita Park. I’m not sure why it was selected as a good venue for the grandkids, but it was. I’ve seen only two equine racetracks in my time, and…
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News & Views
Hamas vs. Israeli Killing: Is There a Moral Equivalence?
I was going to write an argument on the moral equivalency of the Muslim killings versus the Israeli killings in the current conflict, a topic that’s been debated daily on the Internet since Hamas attacked and…
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Health & Wellness
Three New Takes on America’s COVID Response
* He Doesn’t Sound Like a Conspiracy Theorist! Dr William Makis, who has been labeled by Big Pharma as a conspiracy theorist, and whose essays on the mRNA COVID vaccines have been criticized as fallacious by…
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Worth Considering
Unpleasant Advice That Works
“During my eight years in college, I spent many thousands of hours reading about economics, politics, and philosophy. Since high school, I’ve spent over ten thousand hours writing. When young people ask me…
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Fun and/or Interesting
Quick Bites — October 24, 2023
Rethinking Slavery… Reconsidering Virginia Woolf… Child Abuse and the Catholic Church... Joe Rogan’s Secret... Another Insurrection Thwarted The long history of slavery. For most of my life, I thought of…
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Postscript
How Venn Diagrams Can Determine Your Future
How Venn Diagrams Can Determine Your Future A fun bit sent in by GM. Click here.
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Notes From My Journal
Scary: Palm Tree Experts Visit Paradise Palms
I spent most of last Saturday at the botanical gardens, hosting a group from the Palm Beach County chapter of the International Palm Tree Society. For the first time since we started the project ten years ago…
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News & Views
Where Do You Stand on America’s Involvement in the Israeli/Hamas War?
Republican lawmakers are largely united on aiding Israel, but divided over whether to help Ukraine, while Democrats largely agree on assisting Ukraine but are torn on supporting Israel. In this WSJ report…
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Worth Considering
Bill Bonner on War and the “Hypocrisy of the Elites
“But for our purposes, we are focused neither on the wolves nor the lambs, but on the shepherds. In a civilized world… leaders of countries such as the US, France, and Germany would be trying to protect the…
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Arts & Letters
Too Tacky! What Is the Fine Art World Coming To?
From Art Today: “Kim Kardashian and Tom Brady competed over an original George Condo drawing at a charity art auction in Atlantic City. The reality star kicked off the bidding for “Standing Female Figure”…
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Health & Wellness
More Studies Show that COVID Vaccines Can Infect and Affect DNA
Artist’s depiction of a virus particle covered with spike proteins If you’ve done any reading about COVID-19 and the vaccines created to combat it, you’ve heard about “spike proteins,” which the body uses to…
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Fun and/or Interesting
This is not nice
Quick Bites: New border scam… “Ebony Alerts” in California… Netflix pop-ups… A sort of sensible trans debate… Test yourself on the history of water sports This is not nice. As you know, I think Biden’s open…
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Readers Write
From AS re the piece about Ayn Rand in the Oct. 17 issue
“I have always loved Ayn Rand. I’ve read her novels and some of her short stories. While reading her books, I always stop and think, ‘She came here from Russia when she was 19 and is writing these books in her…
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Postscript
Golf? Why?
Thinking about my recent week in Myrtle Beach, where I joined old friends for a week of golfing (but didn’t golf because I stopped enjoying golf two years ago), here’s a bit by Robin Williams that echoes my…
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Notes From My Journal
Why I’m a Conservative, Part III
In Part I and Part II of this longish essay, I tried to make two points. In Part I, I pointed out that one of the reasons humans have survived for 160,000+ years is that they became sapient. And, as Yuval…
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The Economy & Investing
ADUs Are Hot
If you don’t know what an ADU is, you are in need of some emergency investment education. ADUs (accessory dwelling units) are miniature houses the size of a large tool shed that are outfitted as complete…
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Health & Wellness
Blood Pressure Drugs: Are They Any Better (or Safer) Than Statins?
For the last 10 years, PB, one of my trainers, has been taking my blood pressure at least three times every time I train. Two or three times a week. In all that time, my systolic numbers ranged from 110 to…
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Worth Watching
He’s Back!
If you’ve seen any of the films he’s been featured in – especially Free Solo, which won an Oscar for Best Documentary – I don’t have to tell you that he’s an amazing athlete, an astonishingly high-level…
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Worth Reading
Ayn Rand
In the early 1960s, Ayn Rand was one of the most influential intellectuals in America. Today, her first name appears now and then in crossword puzzles. If you don’t know who she is, here’s a brief…
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Fun and/or Interesting
I’ve started following a few vlogs and blogs from defectors from North Korea
Quick Bites: The “Voice of North Korea,” Bye Bye Biden, Bots in the Boardroom, the Return of the Panther, and a Lot of Hot Air I’ve started following a few vlogs and blogs from defectors from North Korea…
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Readers Write
From SL
“Have you read Boomsday by Chris Buckley? Great satire, and increasingly relevant today.” My Response: I have not read it, SL. I do know that, according to Wikipedia, it’s a political satire about the rivalry…
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Postscript
Michael Jackson's Beat It Reimagined On Guzheng
Beat It by Michael Jackson – reimagined on the traditional Chinese guzheng. Click here.
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Notes From My Journal
Israel! Go to Hell!
In response to the attack on Israel by Hamas, Bari Weiss introduced Tuesday’s issue of The Free Press by saying: “On the one hand I think: Surely this will be sufficient. Surely this amount of blood will be…
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The Economy & Investing
Will Boomers Save the Economy?
Rates Rising = Less Spending = Looming Recession. Right? That’s what I expected. I’ve been puzzled by how the Fed’s rate increases haven’t significantly reduced consumer spending. I mean I was not surprised at…
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Worth Watching
For Your Possible Enjoyment
Three B and B+ Netflix Mini-Series My tolerance for junk-food movies and TV dramas has ebbed over the years. These days, if it feels junky at the 5- or 10-minute mark, I shut it off. When I see things that are…
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Worth Reading
Words of Wisdom on Life, Happiness, and Investing
In this short essay – a letter to his son on his 16th birthday – my partner Porter Stansberry provides some good advice about making important life decisions. Click here.
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Worth Considering
The Difference Between Ambition and Entitlement
“Ambition is when you expect yourself to close the gap between what you have and what you want. Entitlement is when you expect others to close the gap between what you have and what you want.” – James Clear
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Fun and/or Interesting
Why mosquitos seem to bite some people more than other
Quick Bites: Bzzzzz…, Shopping!, Woke Colleges vs. Testing, a Challenging Life, and Some New Crazy Karen Clips Why mosquitos seem to bite some people more than others. I’ve long theorized that everyone gets…
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Readers Write
From AD
“Mark, your books have helped me a lot to reorganize my life! I feel like I have a future again that’s custom designed. It’s wonderful!” From PL: “Loved your common sense take on ‘food insecurity’ in the Oct…
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Postscript
Can you help with this?
Steve Kirsch, a researcher that’s been studying and reporting on COVID for the last three years, has just completed a study on 15,000 independent observers. Before he publishes his findings, he is asking for…
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Notes From My Journal
A Crisis You Probably Never Knew Existed!
I came across this in my reading yesterday: Hormel Foods is once again sponsoring what it calls the “10 Under 20 Food Heroes Awards” to honor young people working in the fight against “food insecurity.” What…
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News & Views
Did You Write That?
Mustafa Taher Kasubhai, US District Judge nominee for the District of Oregon, at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing last week Over the past several years, I’ve watched dozens of Congressional and Senate…
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The Economy & Investing
Alarm. Then Complacency
Addison Wiggin, bestselling author and founder of Agora Financial At 2:20 EST on Wednesday, Oct. 4, every cellphone in America went off. Did you notice? It was a mass message from the Federal Emergency…
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Worth Reading
For Investors Only: Current-Day Scams to Watch Out For
Sir Gregor MacGregor Have you heard of Sir Gregor MacGregor, the early 19th century Scottish mercenary and shyster? In this essay, my colleague Garrett Baldwin tells the story of how MacGregor came to Florida…
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