Congress: From Canings and Stabbings to Murder

It’s happened several times now. AOC, that adorable nitwit representing New York’s 14th Congressional District since 2019, has several times complained publicly (and twice, hysterically) about being accosted by political enemies.

The reported assaults have ranged from having her purity defiled on the steps of Congress by an apparent Trumpster who was swept away by the plenitude of her derriere, to a Maga insurrection mob forcing her to lock herself away in her office, even though her office was in an unmolested building down the street from where the “insurrection” actually occurred, to, most recently, accusing Ted Cruz of threatening to kill her.

To be fair, AOC, does attract a lot of condescending criticism. (This bit included.) And politics in DC seem to be getting nastier every month. One might wonder, “Has there ever been a time when our Congressional representatives were ruder and meaner and more duplicitous than they are now?

Well, it turns out there was. Check out this essay on the History website about violence in Congress before the Civil War.

Ayn Rand

In the early 1960s, Ayn Rand was one of the most influential intellectuals in America. Today, her first name appears now and then in crossword puzzles. If you don’t know who she is, here’s a brief introduction…

Click here to listen to Ayn Rand “On Happiness” (1961).

And click here for a short video about her philosophy of Objectivism.

Words of Wisdom on Life, Happiness, and Investing 

In this short essay – a letter to his son on his 16th birthday – my partner Porter Stansberry provides some good advice about making important life decisions.

Click here.

Inside Comedy: The Soul, Wit, and Bite of Comedy and Comedians of the Last Five Decades 

By David Steinberg

352 pages

Published July 13, 2021

“Insecurity combined with arrogance is good DNA for a comedian. So is anger, aggression, and sadness.” That’s the first sentence of David Steinberg’s Inside Comedy, described by one reviewer as “a lifelong story of comedy and its brilliant careers, told by a consummate insider.”

It’s an easy, upbeat read. Funny. Insightful.

Critical Reception 

* “In his new, entertaining, and enlightening book, [Steinberg] gives a reader a colorful and personal panorama of the laugh makers he has known, plenty of them.” (Rick Kogan, Chicago Tribune)

* “Steinberg paints deep and intimate portraits of the comedians we know and love. He tells us their life stories, how they found comedy, and gives us insight into who they really are. In doing so, he also takes us through the development of comedy over the past several decades.” (Molly Sprayregen, Associated Press)

* “Steinberg’s recollections are as vivid as they are hilarious.” (Michael Ruzicka, Booklist)

About David Steinberg 

David Steinberg is a comedian, actor, writer, director, and author. At the height of his popularity, during the late 1960s and early 1970s, he was one of the best-known comics in the United States. His directing credits include episodes of Seinfeld, Friends, Mad About You, Curb Your Enthusiasm, The Golden Girls, and Designing Women.

Steinberg appeared on The Tonight Show more than 150 times. Click here to watch a clip of his first appearance.

The Great Taki on the War in Ukraine

“What’s frustrating as hell,” writes Taki in his latest essay, “is the inability, or unwillingness, of Uncle Sam to stop the slaughter.”

Click here to read the entire thing.

No, Freddie. This Is One Problem We Don’t Need to Worry About. 

In this piece, Freddie deBoer joins a conversation about whether America’s elite college students may be hurting themselves by being too competitive.

So… this is a problem? Something that needs to be fixed?

No!

The labor issue Freddie and others should be worried about is not that a small slice at the top is working so very hard, but that a very large slice of the working population in the middle is not working harder. For various reasons (including technology), per capita productivity in the US is going down. That will eventually result in a lower GDP and a lower per capita income.

This is another example of how so many perfectly smart and educated people acquire beliefs about the economy that they wouldn’t consider applying to themselves or their children. Don’t have enough money to pay for that fancy new pair of sneakers? Work more hours or get a better-paying job!

Click here.

Myth and BS: Tales of Monetary Manipulation from Pharaohs to Fed Heads

If you think America’s $34 trillion debt can be managed by smart people, read this essay by Bill Bonner.

Dating Dynamics Today and Why It Matters

I’ve been looking at YouTube discussions lately on the subject of how relationships between the sexes are changing. It’s unsettling. Even disturbing. There is, for example, a surprising percentage of young women in the digital dating world that are not interested in men that are less than six feet tall and earn less than $400,000!

If that piques your interest, click here for a good account of it from Olivia Reingold, published in The Free Press recently.

“Paris Was Yesterday” by Taki in Taki’s Magazine 

The opening paragraph:

“A reader’s inquiry as to why I think Paris was yesterday has me remembering times past. When did the party end? According to the point of view of many night owls, the party ended when the Queen of the Night, Regine, shut down ‘New Jimmy’s’ and moved to London, where she flopped. Boring accountant types believe it was ‘les événements de soixante-huit,’ the student-worker revolt against de Gaulle, that did Paris in. Any way one looks at it, the events of 1968 signaled the party’s over, and it has stayed over ever since.”

Read the entire essay here.