Articles from 2024
411 articles · browse by month or scroll through the year.
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Inside This Issue...
November Election: Landslide, Abortion, And Undecided Voters
Welcome to the December issue of “Just One Thing,” my monthly attempt to tackle a biggish story or issue in some depth. I was planning to write about COVID this week, both the disease and the vaccines, and to…
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Just One Thing
Why Trump Won and What It Means for Everyone
The Eve of Destruction The day before the election, a family member asked me if I was ready for a “landslide.” He was confident Harris would win by historic proportions because “No woman or person of color is…
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Coming Next Time
Journal
Your first weekly issue of January 2025… including clippings from my Journal, News & Views (political, social, and cultural news stories about which I have an opinion that I think stands apart from what the…
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Postscript
Arnold Schwarzenegger admits he tricked Sylvester Stallone into doing a crappy movie…
Watch it here.
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Inside This Issue...
More from The 7 Natural Laws of Wealth Building
It’s all about money this week. In this, the “Works in Progress” issue of the month, you’ll find: * More from The 7 Natural Laws of Wealth Building * An excerpt from The Art of Collecting Art * The…
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Works in Progress
An Excerpt from The 7 Natural Laws of Wealth Building
Friction Thirty-four years ago, on my 40th birthday and a year into my first attempt at retirement, I decided that K and I should do some estate planning for our family. I came to that decision because I had…
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Coming Next Time
Just One Thing
Just One Thing: “I Told You So!”
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Postscript
Arnold Schwarzenegger On His Rivalry With Stallone
In this clip, Arnold Schwarzenegger talks to Jimmy Kimmel about his early competition with Sylvester Stallone. If you don’t think of him as funny, it will change your mind.
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Inside This Issue...
Four Books And Four Films Worth Your Time
Last month, I read four books and watched four films/TV series that I wanted to bring to your attention. I can wholeheartedly recommend all but one of them. The exception is a book from a heralded author, so I…
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Books I'm Recommending
A Ladder to the Sky
By John Boyne 384 pages Published: Nov. 2018 The secret deciders of The Mules selected A Ladder to the Sky as our November read. At 384 pages, it’s a bit long for my modest reading speed, but the diction is…
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Movies/TV Shows/Series I'm Recommending
Documentary Now!
A “mockumentary” series created by Fred Armisen, Bill Hader, Seth Meyers, and Rhys Thomas Starring Helen Mirren, Fred Armisen, and Bill Hader Season 1, 7 episodes: released 2015 Season 2, 7 episodes: released…
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Coming Next Time
Upcoming: Wealth Laws, Art Collecting, And Keynes
The “Works in Progress” issue of the week: More from The 7 Natural Laws of Wealth Acquisition… the Introduction to Wealth Culture, a new book I’ve just started to work on… an excerpt from The Art of Collecting…
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Postscript
Dick Van Dyke Dances to Coldplay
Watch it here.
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Inside This Issue...
Monthly Newsletter Splits Into Four Weekly Parts
After reading the November issue – the first monthly issue in the “long format” that I had planned to use going forward – I received this from CF: Mark – I am impressed and surprised by this monthly edition…
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Notes From My Journal
Catching Up: A Look Back at November
I like to keep my Journal notes to personal events and inconsequential thoughts that, for whatever reason, stayed intact in my memory banks till the end of the month, on the presumption that if they lasted…
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The Economy & Investing
David Stockman to Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy
David Stockman to Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy Advice on the Nearly Impossible Job of Cutting $2 Trillion from the Federal Budget When Ronald Reagan was elected in 1980 on a call to bring the nation’s…
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Articles and Essays I’m Recommending
Is There a Voice in Your Head While You’re Reading?
Is There a Voice in Your Head While You’re Reading? Do you “subvocalize” – silently pronounce the words you are reading? I don’t think I do, but some brain scientists say we all have this habit. And some claim…
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Your Monthly Quiz
True or False?
True or False? The Questions 1. An ordinary yellow banana affixed to a white wall with a diagonal piece of duct tape was successfully auctioned off at Sotheby’s last month for $6.2 million. True or False? 2…
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Photo of the Month
Canyon of Fire
From the 2024 Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest This photo by Andro Loriad shows the Ofaerufoss waterfall in Iceland. It’s part of the Nyrdri-Ofaera River (the “impassable northern river”) which flows into…
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Readers Write
The November issue – and the “plastic bottle debate
The November issue – and the “plastic bottle debate”: “Man, the last three topics in the issue hit me like a freight train! Talk about a roller coaster of emotions!! Challenges of Charity: Kicked my ass!!!…
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Coming This Month...
The Review issue
The Review issue: The Fog, LaRoy Texas, The Preacher, and Documentary Now! Plus A Ladder in the Sky, The Message, Excellent Advice for Living, and Fanny Hill. The Works in Progress issue: More from The…
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Postscript
A new world record in skipping rope
Watch it here.
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Inside This Issue...
November Issue: Milton Friedman, Elections, And Wealth
Lots to share with you in this November issue, including a quiz to take before you vote, a brief history of how I became a conservative, highlights of my adventure in October, investment advice on gold, real…
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Notes From My Journal
Catching Up: A Look Back at October
Several readers wrote to say that they aren’t thrilled about my changing this blog to once a month. They were accustomed to hearing from me at least once a week, and they wondered if something terrible might…
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Worth Considering
Why I’ll (Probably) Vote Next Week
Why I’ll (Probably) Vote Next Week My 50-Year Transition Towards Conservatism Brett, the young man who cuts my hair every three weeks, was an early voter this year. We talked about his choices – the votes he…
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Your Monthly Quiz
Last-Minute Chance to Test Yourself: Are You Knowledgeable Enough to Be a Responsible Voter?
This month’s quiz touches on American political and presidential history, including a few questions whose answers may surprise you. The Questions 1. There are only three requirements to be US President…
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Introducing...
The Genius and Charisma of Milton Friedman
The Genius and Charisma of Milton Friedman A Very Short Video Course That I Put Together Economics is a subject that you should have at least a rudimentary understanding of if you want to speak intelligently…
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Books I'm Recommending
Milton Friedman: The Last Conservative
By Jennifer Burns 592 pages Published: Nov. 2023 I’ve just begun reading this book – another part of the Milton Friedman binge I’ve been on. So far, I’m very happy with it and would recommend it without…
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Articles and Essays I’m Recommending
Garrett Baldwin on the Global Shift to Gold
As a consultant to Agora, the largest publisher of financial advice in the world, I read a lot of economic and investment commentary every month. Below, I’m reprinting a good part of an essay published in the…
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Movies/TV Shows/Series I'm Recommending
Kleo
An 8-part series on Netflix Approx. 1 hour per episode First episode: Aug. 19, 2022 I reviewed the first episode of this series in the Oct. 25, 2022 issue. I stopped watching it soon after that. Not because it…
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Videos Worth Watching
You Were Probably Taught to Read the Wrong Way
Watch Time: 8.45 min. In this episode of Otherwords, a PBS series recently recommended to me, Erica Brozovsky provides a concise history of the pedagogy of reading, including a battle that’s waged for years…
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What I'm Listening To
Briana Wu on Bari Weiss’s podcast
Listening Time: 1 hr. 19 min. I’d never heard of Briana Wu before I listened to this. Wu is a trans woman who supports trans rights and some progressive ideas, but in recent years has rejected some of the most…
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Books I’m Writing
A Hasty Site Plan, an Early Windfall, a Lesson in Real World Economics
Chapter Two of The Challenge of Charity It was a crude sketch, pencil drawn on the inside cover of a book I was reading. I think it was Mark Twain’s A Tramp Abroad… It represented our oceanfront lots. A grid…
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Photo of the Month
How times have changed
When Arnold Schwarzenegger was governor of California, he donated a statue of himself to the hotel pictured above. At the time, he says, the hotel management told him that he could “come at any time” – that he…
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Readers Write
Navajo Code Talker John Kinsel Sr.'s Enduring Legacy
“Someone you probably never heard of that made a difference in all our lives” – from GM: “Navajo Code Talker John Kinsel Sr. passed away at age 107. His remarkable life and contributions to both his community…
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Inside This Issue...
Welcome to Your First Mega-Monthly Issue!
As I said in the Sept. 6 issue, for the foreseeable future, I won’t be publishing twice a week, but just once a month. This will allow me the time I need for the almost-finished and half-finished books I’ve…
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Notes From My Journal
Humble Bragging
I recently spoke at a meeting in Miami of about 40 entrepreneurs, most of whom had businesses with revenues in the $1 million to $10 million range. Since they were in a range I had written extensively about in…
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Books I'm Recommending
The Wealth of Shadows
By Graham Moore 384 pages Published: May 21, 2024 One of two books selected for the September meeting of The Mules, The Wealth of Shadows was a terrific read from start to finish. Briefly, it’s the story of an…
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Your Monthly Quiz
October Quiz: Ten Questions On Politics, Science, And Safety
Safe cities and firearm ownership… cholesterol levels and statin drugs… the Capitol riot and Hunter Biden’s plea deal… and more Test yourself on ten questions, some of whose answers I hope will surprise you…
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Articles and Essays I’m Recommending
How Wikipedia Became a Propaganda Site
In the Sept. 6 issue, I mentioned that over the past year or two, I’ve noticed a disturbing trend in Wikipedia. When it was founded in 2001, its mission was “to provide all the world’s information for free –…
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TV Shows/Series I’m Recommending
The Decameron
An 8-part series on Netflix First episode: July 25, 2024 Watch Time: approx. 1 hr. per episode I am completely enjoying Netflix’s production of The Decameron, which I clicked on out of curiosity. Was it going…
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Movies I’m Recommending
Small Town Crime
Written and Directed by Eshom & Ian Nelms Starring John Hawkes, Anthony Anderson, Robert Forster, and Octavia Spencer Released in the US: Jan. 19, 2018 Watch Time: 91 min. I was in a mood. I liked the title…
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Books I’m Writing
I Went There to Exploit the Property Values
Chapter One of The Challenge of Charity In 1996, six years after the end of the US-backed Contra war, the overthrow of Anastasio Somoza by the Sandinista Party (led by Daniel Ortego), and the democratic…
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Readers Write
From SC: “I have a question for you…What’s holding up the collapse?
“For a long time now, I’ve been reading very cogent, lucid, and compelling warnings about the IMMINENT economic disaster ahead because of our massive national debt. Not only from essays by you, Bill Bonner…
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Notes From My Journal
New York City Still Feels Remarkably Healthy
K and I were in the Big Apple this past week. And our time there was full of surprises. The streets and avenues of midtown and downtown were relatively clean, and the sidewalks were crowded. The mood was…
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Worth Considering
Who’s Controlling the Information You Get Online?
Zuckerberg just emptied out the whole can of beans. Prior to the 2020 election, the FBI and the Justice Department intimidated Facebook into flagging scientific studies whose results were critical of the COVID…
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Worth Watching
Nice Journalist, Bad Journalist
When police want to intimidate someone into copping to a crime – regardless of whether the suspect is guilty – they use the good cop/bad cop routine because it is very effective. When people don’t understand…
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News & Views
Country Music Is Booming
Country Music Is Booming It’s big and getting bigger – and in a very democratic way: through sampling on social media. I’ve been predicting to people in my industry that the internet and social media have set…
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Fun and/or Interesting
Six Quick Bites
Six Quick Bites * Interesting. The WHO issued greatly reduced Monkeypox case and death numbers on Aug 28. Click here. * Interesting. The worm turns. The Biden administration put Tulsi Gabbard on “Quiet Skies,”…
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Readers Write
From CA re my Aug. 30 essay on “The State of Our Economy
From CA re my Aug. 30 essay on “The State of Our Economy”: “Check out the Aug. CCI (Consumer Confidence Index). Although people with jobs naturally have more confidence than those without, the overall trend is…
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