So now they are going to ban menthol cigarettes. I suppose that there are good health reasons for that. I’m not exactly sure why the health problem with “menthol cigarettes” emanates from the first word of that phrase and not from the second. It’s kind of like “war crimes.” It’s the wrong one of those … Continue reading A Different Kind of Cigarette Branding →

Dear Governor DeSantis: I am a big fan of your recent ban on those schoolbooks that convey the wrong message to the young impressionable minds of the children in your state. Those books clearly undermine the learning process, and if anyone knows anything about the learning process, it is the brilliant, insightful people who support … Continue reading An Open Letter to Gov. DeSantis →

I am doing something this week just the way I do it every year around this time. You see, this is Masters week, the time when the best golfers in the world fly their private jets to Augusta, Georgia and do their best to tame the Augusta National Golf Course. And this week, I am … Continue reading Hate and Love – The Masters →

We now know that Ginni Thomas, the wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas (and a woman who cannot even accurately spell her own first name) was very active in the attempt to overthrow the legitimate election of President Biden. She exchanged texts with the White House advocating ways to undermine the results. This has … Continue reading At Home with Ginni and Clarence →

Dear Mr. Barr:  I haven’t missed any of your various appearances on the media as you promote your new book. I simply can’t get enough of you. Your descriptions of the wonderful things you did as Attorney General are so compelling. Your explanations of why everything you did was so perfect makes my heart tingle. … Continue reading Dear Mr. Barr →

The idea of “sacrifice” is ancient and pervasive. It can range from the slaughtering of animals to please the gods to the bunting of a baseball to get a man over to third (although today, there are probably more animals sacrificed than there are bunts). Sacrifice is described well in the philosophy of pragmatism. One … Continue reading Thanks, Ukraine. →

We always hear everybody talking about “The Market.” We are told, for example, that “The Market hates uncertainty” and “The Market is engaged in a correction,” and other similar attributions of attitude to “The Market.” On the day of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, a news reporter said that stock prices first fell and then … Continue reading A Conversation With The Market →

Greg McMichael, Travis McMichael, and their buddy, William Bryan killed Ahmaud Arbery, a black man. These defendants are despicable people. They should be stuffed away in a cage and never allowed into the world again. In fact, they have already been convicted of Arbery’s murder and have been sentenced to prison, so they are being … Continue reading Watch What You Think, Especially If It’s Awful →

The Academy Award nominations are out. Many of them are biopics of public figures of the past. It makes you wonder which present day public figures will be the subjects of movie biographies in the future, and what they will be like. Here are some possibilities.  It Only Happened One Night. This tells the tale of … Continue reading The Envelope Please →

Two men on business trips met in a bar in Paris, one was American, and one was Russian. They got into a friendly argument about who’s country had more freedom. The American said that the U.S.  was freer because he, a mere businessman, could get to see the President, look him in the eye, say, “President … Continue reading You Can Say That Again →