Jan 23Member-onlyGeorge Santos, Performance ArtistThe congressman from New York elected under the name George Santos never worked on Wall Street, never graduated from college, and was never even remotely Jew “ish.” He made it all up. …George Santos4 min readGeorge Santos4 min read
Dec 16, 2022Member-onlyTwitter’s Biggest Problem Isn’t Elon Musk — It’s AdvertisingYes, Elon Musk is an arrogant, petulant billionaire who might just run twitter into the ground. Yes, there are serious concerns with how he’s treated employees at both Twitter and Tesla, and with many of his public comments. …Elon Musk3 min readElon Musk3 min read
Sep 3, 2021Member-onlyI was happy to vote in California’s RecallI know that many fellow Californians feel the attempted recall of Governor Gavin Newsom is a waste of time and money, but I was happy to cast my ballot this week. Yes, every election costs money and takes time, but voting is a far cheaper way of resolving political disputes…Recall3 min readRecall3 min read
Jun 25, 2019Member-onlyAristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics — a Belated ReviewI picked up a copy of Nicomachean Ethics recently, while waiting for family members to slowly peruse a museum giftshop. It seemed like a good excuse to revisit a writer who I’d recalled as a profound influence on my own thinking while at college. …Politics4 min readPolitics4 min read
Jun 11, 2019Member-only“It Can’t Happen Here,” — Until it Does A Review of the novel by Sinclair Lewis“It Can’t Happen Here,” — Until it Does. A Review of the novel by Sinclair Lewis In the 1935 political novel It Can’t Happen Here, author Sinclair Lewis paints a frightening realistic picture of how authoritarianism could fall over the United States. As we’ve watched the Trump administration rule over the past two years, there are some poignant similarities but also some key differences. False populist…Politics4 min readPolitics4 min read
Dec 18, 2018Member-onlyReview of Ayn Rand’s Atlas ShruggedAyn Rand is an exceptional, albeit highly ideological, storyteller and Atlas Shrugged is her final achievement. The characters are vibrant, the plot complex, and the work deserves a reading from those who seek to understand the misguided underpinnings of today’s libertarian movement. I especially enjoy Rand’s descriptions of facial expressions…Ayn Rand8 min readAyn Rand8 min read
Sep 17, 2018Member-onlyRecovering from, and preventing, frozen shoulderWhen I was 49 years old, my right shoulder froze. I could not raise my arm higher than my head and learned to shampoo and comb my hair with my left hand. It was painful to sleep on my side. …Health5 min readHealth5 min read
Published in Extra Newsfeed·Jun 7, 2018The Art of the Spiel — Is Donald Trump Fulfilling Oscar Wilde’s vision by Reviving the Lost Art of Lying?Maybe The Donald is on to something after all. In “The Decay of Lying,” 19th century Irish writer Oscar Wilde bemoaned the lack of brazen lying among the politicians of his time, who told only insignificant distortions. “They never rise beyond the level of misrepresentation, and actually condescend to prove…Donald Trump6 min readDonald Trump6 min read
Apr 16, 2018Congress Should Still Vote on Trump’s Syrian StrikeWhen he ordered a “surgical” bombing strike against Syria in retaliation for Bashar al-Assad’s alleged use of chemical weapons against his own people, Donald Trump violated the US Constitution. Those members of Congress who support both the Constitution and the strike should demand a vote to retroactively approve Trump’s actions…Syria4 min readSyria4 min read
Apr 11, 2018Congress Should Pass a Balanced Budget, Not a Phony Balanced Budget AmendmentRepublicans in the House of Representatives will soon stage a vote on an amendment to the US Constitution that pretends to balance the federal budget, but really just raises the threshold to pass future deficits by anti-democratic supermajorities. …Politics3 min readPolitics3 min read
