Articles from 2023
694 articles · browse by month or scroll through the year.
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Business & Marketing
Four Popular – but Really Bad – Ways to Manage Your Most Valuable Employees
Four Popular – but Really Bad – Ways to Manage Your Most Valuable Employees I’ve written many times before about how just about everything the experts recommend for boosting employee morale and productivity…
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The Economy & Investing
What Is the Future for Stocks Over the Next Five Years?
What Is the Future for Stocks Over the Next Five Years? Just before publication, I asked Sean MacIntyre, who, along with my broker Dominick, has been managing the stock portfolio I set up ten years ago, if he…
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Notes From My Journal
Things I’ve Been Thinking About Lately
Things I’ve Been Thinking About Lately: Does Personal vs. Political Hypocrisy Matter? I’ve noticed that there is often a gulf between the political and the personal when it comes to theories about what is…
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News & Views
Health Watch
Health Watch The High Cost of Mediocre Healthcare in America The US spends more per capita on healthcare than any other country in the world. And yet, it ranks 59th in the world in terms of life expectancy…
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Worth Watching
BlackBerry
Released May 12, 2023 Directed by Matt Johnson Starring Jay Baruchel, Glenn Howerton, and Matt Johnson Watch Time: 2 hours The Plot The story of the rise and fall of the first smartphone. What I Liked About It…
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Worth Reading
Robert De Niro at 80: The career of an indelible movie icon
“Robert De Niro at 80: The career of an indelible movie icon” By Calum Russell in Far Out Magazine Read Time: 10 minutes (20 minutes with clips) “After rising to public consciousness in the 1970s, De Niro has…
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Fun and/or Interesting
Quick Bites: Historical Photos… Baby Names… Cleaning the Lincoln Pool
* Ancient Earth is a very cool tool that lets you input an address and see how the area has changed over the past 750,000 years. Click here. * Number 3 Son and wife are pregnant and figuring out baby names…
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Quiz of the Week
Can you finish the lyrics to these Christmas classics?
Can you finish the lyrics to these Christmas classics? I aced this one! Click here.
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Readers Write
Re my essay “A World Divided: Is a New Dark Age Coming?” in the Dec. 10 issue
“Today's post was very well done and lays perfectly a great historical proposition, summary, and conclusion for the argument you make.” – CF “I thought I had a pessimistic view of the future. A new dark age? I…
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Postscript
One last thought…
“There is nothing sadder in this world than to awake Christmas morning and not be a child.” – Erma Bombeck
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Notes From My Journal
Connecting the Dots — December 15, 2023
Things I’ve Been Thinking About Lately Irony and the Universe. About 30 years ago, I had a quirky insight into the old “meaning of life” question. It came to me while I was sitting in a dental office, inhaling…
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The Economy & Investing
Clip of the Week: Not a Great Time to Buy a New Home
Home sales fell to a 13-year low in October – presumably because interest rates are still pretty high and home prices haven’t come down hard enough to meet demand. According to the National Association of…
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Worth Reading
All the Sinners Bleed
All the Sinners Bleed By S.A. Cosby Published June 6, 2023 352 pages This is S.A. Cosby’s 6th novel – and I think just about every one of them was a bestseller and/or won some sort of award. It was The Mules’…
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Worth Considering
The COVID Response: What We Got Wrong — December 15, 2023
New Information About Fauci’s role in the Cover-up According to a CIA whistleblower and information obtained from the House Oversight Committee, Anthony Fauci did in fact play a major role in both the creation…
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Fun and/or Interesting
Quick Bites — December 15, 2023
TERF Wars… Hero of the Year?... Christmas Carol Mash-up… Regrets Men are truly taking charge. Transwomen (i.e., biological men who “identify” as women) have succeeded in taking charge of feminism by redefining…
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Quiz of the Week
How’s your French?
Very basic? You might still ace this quiz. It is so basic I believe someone who’s never taken a class in French could get at least half the answers correct. Click here.
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Readers Write
From JS re what I said about my recent doctor visit in the Dec. 10 issue
“I never did get vaccinated as I didn’t trust it. Now you are the third person I have known to have adverse effects. Glad the good doctor was receptive to your concerns.” From FP re my “World Divided” essay…
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Postscript
I don’t know about this…
It’s an Apple holiday ad called “Fuzzy Feelings.” It combines stop-motion animation and live action to tell a modern-day version of Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, but less nuanced and more predictable. Plus, it’s…
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Notes From My Journal
I saw my cardiologist last week
It was a routine checkup six months after my surgery to remove blockage from the carotid artery in my neck after my stroke. “I know how annoying it must be when patients come to you with Google-based diagnoses…
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News & Views
The US Army Puts in Place a New Vax Policy
For most of my life, the US Army was a refuge for young men that didn’t have college plans or a trade they intended to learn. It was an organization that offered not just food and lodging, but education and…
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The Economy & Investing
Clip of the Week: Loans from Uncle Warren
From Garrett Baldwin, writing in Postcards from the Florida Republic: “Let’s talk about the Warren Buffett Closed-End Fund. A lot of people avoid closed-end funds because of their misunderstanding of risk. But…
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Worth Reading
A Billion-Dollar David vs. a Trillion-Dollar Goliath
Read Time: 11 minutes Joe Kiani Joe Kiani emigrated to the US from Iran when he was nine. Thirteen years later, he had a master’s degree in electrical engineering. Two years after that, he began working on a…
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Worth Watching
Sick of Myself
Sick of Myself Watch Time: 97 minutes I wanted to watch Forgotten Love, which had been highly recommended by my Myrtle Beach buddies. But I wanted to watch that one with K, and she was not available. So, I…
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Fun and/or Interesting
Brooklyn Artist Secretly Upgrades City's Homemade Flyers
Quick Bites:Phantom Artist… Dictionary Stand-Off… Chevrolet Meets Hallmark… Pop Quiz! Left: Max Kolomatsky’s version of a small business’s sign above the original in a storefront window; right: a redesigned…
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Readers Write
Ready, Fire, Aim Cuts Through Business Growth Complexity
From CW: Ready, Fire, Aim – “It cut through all the BS…” “I recently read your book Ready, Fire, Aim and thought it so nearly cut through all the BS and distilled the stages a new business goes through…
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Postscript
2023 was a big year for FunLimón!
Click here to read about just a few of the many accomplishments of our students and athletes.
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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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