The fun photos and fails are back for the third consecutive year. This year, they fell pretty neatly into several categories, so we’ll tackle them that way. But not quite yet. . . You can't tell much from this picture, but the story is worth sharing. This Dunkin' Donuts is on Mannheim Road, near one … Continue reading Start Your Year With a Smile
Newtown 2 – The Mental Health Side of the Coin
I had little new to say yesterday regarding the Newtown shooting, including my last statement, which was that we should keep guns out of the hands of crazy people. Not surprisingly, there is a ton of discussion going on now about the gun side of the equation. But not much is being said about the … Continue reading Newtown 2 – The Mental Health Side of the Coin
Newtown
I hadn’t planned to write about this, but a friend asked me to, so I will. As a college English major, I learned about the difference between tragedy, in which some noble flaw works against the protagonist, and disaster, where no such flaw exists and events are simply horrific. This is disaster, unmitigated and writ … Continue reading Newtown
Three Great Links and a Snack Cake
This week, I ache for the nation, as I’m sure many of you do. I am contemplating a future in which my beloved country is not only feckless, but Twinkie-less. How have we come to this? Yet another good reason to use “feck” in a sentence. Ah, well. In the past few days, I’ve seen … Continue reading Three Great Links and a Snack Cake
Meet The New Boss
God help me, I swore I wasn't going to do this, but I just can't help myself. At least this time I'll be brief. We've just come off four years of bitter partisan wrangling that resulted in nothing except the passage of health care reform that was well-intentioned and will be a disaster. Congress' performance … Continue reading Meet The New Boss
An Example of What I Described in My Last Post
I'm breaking my promise to stop writing about politics, but I'll be very brief. Please take a minute to read this story, which aired today on CBS Sunday Morning. Read story here! This is exactly what I was talking about in my last post. A moderate Republican congressman proposes a budget that would "slash spending … Continue reading An Example of What I Described in My Last Post
Who Dealt This Mess?
This is my last pre-election post, and hopefully my last about politics for quite a while. It's long and I apologize, but please bear with me. Almost everyone I know complains that our campaigns are conducted largely through negative, personally-oriented TV ads and that our elected officials pursue the agendas of some set of “special … Continue reading Who Dealt This Mess?
Inconvenient Facts
A week ago, I promised (threatened?) to share a few inconvenient facts. Here they are, and they’re all about taxes. They were sent to me by my friend, wealth manager Kris Garlewicz. (Note – this data is from 2009, which I guess is the most recent available.) Taxpayer Share of Share of Effective Income Segment … Continue reading Inconvenient Facts
Disingenuous
A week ago, I described hearing an economist put the cart before the horse. I happened to see his name in yesterday’s newspaper, right next to the phrase “Nobel Prize winner.” Oops. Undeterred, however, I’d like to describe another case of an economist getting it, if not backward, then at least sideways. A few weeks … Continue reading Disingenuous
Economists, Carts and Horses
In the two weeks since my last post, I’ve learned a couple of things. Someone in Serbia likes my blog. It's been viewed recently in the Netherlands and Bulgaria (I think it was Bulgaria - calling my Cyrillic rusty would be an insult to rust). Also, someone found me by searching Google for “surplus hip … Continue reading Economists, Carts and Horses
Carp Diem 