November 2023
47 articles published this month.
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Notes From My Journal
A reminder
Dear Reader, A reminder: Starting with this issue, I’ll be publishing this blog once a week, rather than twice. I’m hoping this will allow me to finish a few of the 16 (no lie) books I am almost done writing…
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Worth Considering
What If, as New Studies Suggest, the Alarmists Are Right?
Is There Anything to Be Done to Defeat “Post Vaccination Syndrome”? In the Oct. 20 issue, I talked about spike proteins – projections on the surface of some viruses (including COVID-19) that facilitate the…
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News & Views
More Countries Rejecting Leftist Economic Policies
“First, it was Italy. Then came Finland and Greece. Spain could be next,” says Suzanne Lynch, writing for Politico. “Across Europe, governments are shifting right. In some places, far-right leaders are taking…
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The Economy & Investing
Note — November 30, 2023
In response to numerous requests, I’m going to be touching on wealth building and investing every week, something I wrote about for years. I’m going to keep it short and simple. Two or three observations or…
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Worth Watching
The 10 Greatest Opening Scenes in Movie History
Spend a half-hour with these clips. It will make you richer. Then, if you want to, rank them yourself by whatever criteria matters to you. My main criterion is emotional engagement. On that score, I rank the…
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Fun and/or Interesting
What Changed?
Quick Bites: Race Relations… Weight-Loss Drugs… Tricky Words Paul Kix and his family What Changed? Paul Kix is a journalist. His wife is Black. He’s White. When they got married in 1972, his progressive…
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Readers Write
From AM: Now I’m in Charge. Help!
“I recently took over the management of a small family-run enterprise. Although I have had the privilege of working for the company in the past, I am now faced with the challenge of steering it forward…. I am…
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Postscript
His Friends Agree: George Clooney’s a Class Act!
His Friends Agree: George Clooney’s a Class Act! You may have heard this story about George Clooney’s special “thank you” dinner for his 14 “closest friends.” If you haven’t, you should read this account of it…
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Notes From My Journal
Reminder: A Change Is Coming
As I said on Tuesday, I’ve decided to start publishing this blog once a week instead of twice. So, starting next week, you can expect to receive one somewhat longer issue that will include more of the…
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News & Views
A Big Surprising Win in Argentina for Javier Milei, a Self-Described “Anarcho Capitalist
Javier Milei [ A Big Surprising Win in Argentina for Javier Milei, a Self-Described “Anarcho Capitalist” In the last several days, Argentinians have been talking about almost nothing but the surprise victory…
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Fun and/or Interesting
Quick Bites — November 25, 2023
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…
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Readers Write
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…
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Postscript
Thank you Mr. President
“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…
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Notes From My Journal
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…
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The Economy & Investing
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…
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Worth Considering
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,”…
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Worth Reading
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…
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Fun and/or Interesting
Quick Bites — November 21, 2023
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…
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Readers Write
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…
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Postscript
Postscript
How Peter Fonda, LSD and a near-death experience resulted in a masterpiece by The Beatles… Click here.
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Notes From My Journal
A Question – Believe It or Not – That Haunted Me for Years!
Years ago, when I was actively writing short stories, I sent a dozen of them to the brother of a friend for a critique. He (the brother) was an award-winning Canadian author of novels and short stories. Since…
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Worth Watching
For Your Possible Enjoyment — November 17, 2023
Call Me Chihiro Directed by Rikiya Imaizumi Initial release (Japan) Feb. 23, 2023 I usually recommend to you only “A” films – those that I would score at the top of my personal grading scale. But on Oct. 13…
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Fun and/or Interesting
Quick Bites — November 17, 2023
Oct. 7, 2023 – The Day the Delusions Died. In 1987, Thomas Sowell published A Conflict of Visions, which, among other things, provided an intriguing explanation of why people disagree about politics. The…
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Worth Considering
Evidence on the Adverse Effects of the COVID Vaccines Is Piling Up
Who’s Counting? Many drugs and medical procedures have adverse reactions. That includes radiation and chemotherapy for cancer. The sensible and historic response to reports of these adverse reactions is to…
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Postscript
Conan’s Shocking Irish Heritage
This works well because it is perfectly delivered. Click here.
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Notes From My Journal
Connecting the Dots — November 14, 2023
Things I’ve Been Thinking About Lately Why Fixing Matches Is Good for Boxing: Years ago, a friend of mine who was a boxing promoter explained to me why boxing has a history of fixed fights. “When you have a…
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Worth Considering
My Conspiracy Prediction Is Looking Good
As regular readers know, I’ve been predicting that Biden would not be the Democrat nominee for president for more than a year. He won the 2020 election because Democratic strategists wisely made it about…
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Fun and/or Interesting
Quick Bites — November 14, 2023
“Wow, big news!, AS write in a recent email. “They are changing the names of certain species of birds because their names are offensive. I don’t know about you, but I have had many sleepless nights knowing how…
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Health & Wellness
Brian’s Amazing Weight-Loss Protocol
At our last Zoom meeting, I noticed that Brian had lost a lot of weight. In fact, he told me he’d dropped more than 100 pounds! This is a guy that has always been heavy. But he’s also heavily muscled, so the…
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Readers Write
From RO
“Your Oct. 10 article about food insecurity reminded me of a video I saw on what I think is the most likely source of this ‘household-level economic and social condition of limited or uncertain access to…
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Postscript
What are the chances?
Click here.
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Notes From My Journal
Putting My Editor’s Hat Back On…
I have spent a fair amount of time in my publishing career training, coaching, and editing new and developing writers. It’s an aspect of my work-life I very much enjoy because it is an intimate and earnest…
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Worth Considering
Five New COVID Discoveries and Stories You Haven’t Heard About
Celebs dying! One of the COVID “conspiracy” newsletters I read occasionally is dedicated to keeping the public on top of the young actors, athletes, and other celebrities that have been mysteriously dying…
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Fun and/or Interesting
Quick Bites — November 12, 2023
Cats vs. Dogs… About the “Shema”… A Debate at the Fed… Smuggling Migrants… Swederland? Oro, a Golden Retriever K and I occasionally care for, has a very expressive face. He has, in fact, at least a dozen…
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Readers Write
Re the Nov. 7 issue…
From BJ: “I read your blog today and see that you think culture is the foundation of our world. I couldn’t agree more. We care more about culture than we do about money, politics, religion, or anything I can…
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Postscript
And You, Helen
“And You, Helen” A poem about war by a British writer that fought and died in WWI, selected and read by the great Douglas Murray. Click here.
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Notes From My Journal
Connecting the Dots
Things I’ve Been Thinking About Lately This is a new column that I’ll be including once every week or two. As you can see below, it’s going to be a listicle of things that have been on my mind. Thoughts I find…
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Worth Considering
Recent Notable Reactions to the Israel/Hamas War
“It wasn’t the rallies with ‘Keep the World Clean’ posters and chants of ‘gas the Jews.’ Nor was it the glorification of Hamas paragliders by the Chicago branch of Black Lives Matter or, in New York and…
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Fun and/or Interesting
Quick Bites — November 8, 2023
Quick Bites: Abe Lincoln’s Beard… 690 New Words… Gaga!... the Latest from Freddie DeBoer… and WS Merwin’s Garden Thought to be the last beardless photo of Abraham Lincoln, taken in 1860 The little girl that…
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Readers Write
From PN re the average net worth of American families in the Nov. 4 issue
“I am so glad you pointed out that it is skewed by a small number of billionaires and multimillionaires. I thought it was irresponsible for the Fed to publish the average net worth instead of the median net…
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Postscript
Worth Quoting – from James Clear
“It’s hard to save poor early decisions with good late decisions. -It's hard to write a bestselling book if you chose an unpopular topic. -It’s hard to build a happy marriage if you married an unhappy person…
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Notes From My Journal
Question: Who Are the People That Had the Greatest Positive Impact on You?
In a video interview recently, I was asked to name the people that had “the greatest positive impact” on my life. The general topic of the interview was "business building.” So I first thought about the…
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Worth Considering
On the Economy
* The average net worth of American families topped $1 million for the first time last year, according to the Federal Reserve. That average is skewed to a degree by a small number of billionaires and…
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Worth Reading
Killers of the Flower Moon
Killers of the Flower Moon By David Grann 338 pages Originally published April 18, 2017 It was my book club’s November’s selection. I’m grateful to the committee for recommending it because it’s about an…
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Fun and/or Interesting
Quick Bites — November 5, 2023
Quick Bites: Young American Minds for Sale... Everyone Can’t Do Everything... Another Example of Inclusive Idiocy... So, You Don’t Believe in Book Banning... How Much Do You Know About Central American…
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Readers Write
From JM re my essay on “Political Culture in America” in the Oct. 31 issue
“You state, ‘So, yes, the two-tribe world we Americans now live in was sparked into life by the election of Donald Trump.’ I believe the reverse is the case. I think that Donald Trump’s election was the result…
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Postscript
Speaking of ideological tribes in America…
I’ve always felt that America’s love of certain sports – football and baseball, especially – has created its own version of irrational warring tribes where one group’s team is always right and the other…
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