Romans, Oxford Debates, and More

 

The need to preserve toughness in a world of distractions.

[Photo by Veit Hammer at Unsplash]

The Re-Writer

Getting down to the final copy of the novel. 

Multiple drafts. Double-checking items. Avoiding duplications.

And, of course, scrawling down those "middle of the night" ideas. 

In this particular case, they have been surprisingly good.

Lex Fridman: State of the Art in A.I.

 

Two Videos Resembling A.I. Predictions

 

Nixon Gets a Closer Look

James Rosen's recent story in The New York Times about the recently released testimony of former President Richard Nixon deserves wide attention.

There was a "deep state" and there is no reason to believe it went away.

Richard P. Nathan's The Plot That Failed: Nixon and the Administrative Presidency is on my 2026 reading list along with Silent Coup: The Removal of a President by Len Colodny and Robert Gettlin.

Am also re-reading William Safire's Before the Fall: An Inside View of the Pre-Watergate White House.

Brutal

 

British Political Humor and Commentary

 

Yes, he's still out there.

Our Times: Universalists versus Particularists

The Universalists say that it is improper for teachers to take elementary and high school students out of class to participate in a political protest that is neither favored by many of the parents and students nor by the local school board. 

The Universalists also would not approve such activities for causes in which they believe because they support the equal application of the standards.

The Particularists say that exceptions are proper if the cause is one which the teachers and many others deem to be just.

The Particularists would not favor similar conduct if the cause were one that they opposed.

[Photo by Pixel Shot at Unsplash]

First Paragraph

The Raphaëls leave in the middle of the night, and they leave everything behind.

- From 33 Place Brugman by Alice Austen

Theme from "The Pacific"

 

The Decline of Unifying Events

Remember the ancient days of pre-cable television?

Those days when there were special programs that everyone watched for free? 

Ones that everyone talked about because everyone had seen them?

These were the big ones:

- The Olympics from the Opening Ceremony all the way through to the Closing Ceremony. We were immersed in stories about the serious contenders and the very long shots. ABC Sports coverage was legendary.

- The World Series. All the games or, at least, most of them in the days when the games were played during the day. I recall a television being wheeled into elementary school classes for some brief viewing during the school day.

- The Super Bowl. I recently tried in vain to find the game without paying for a subscription.

- Political Conventions once had gavel-to-gavel coverage. You got to know the famous, the infamous, and the fairly obscure political figures. For those of us who are political junkies, that was a Golden Age. 

It was great to see personalities such as Everett Dirksen, Edward W. Brooke, Jacob Javits, Margaret Chase Smith, Harold Washington, Sam Yorty, and Richard Daley in a less-formal setting.

This may seem like a minor complaint, but when you take away (or make it difficult to find) that "free" coverage, you've removed some major unifying events.

The national community is diminished.

Civilization

 

10 Books for High School (and College) Students

 

These books can be life-changers.

I wish they had been around when I was in high school.

[Photo by Eric Vo at Unsplash]

In the Pipeline

 

But It Was a Dry Heat

Tucson became the head-quarters of vice, dissipation, and crime. It was probably the nearest approach to Pandemonium on the North American Continent. Murderers, thieves, cutthroats, and gamblers formed the mass of the population. Every man went armed to the teeth, and scenes of bloodshed were of every-day occurrence in the public streets. There was neither government, law, nor military protection. The garrison at Tucson confined itself to its legitimate business of getting drunk or doing nothing. Arizona was perhaps the only part of the world under the protecting aegis of a civilized government in which every man administered justice to suit himself, and where all assumed the right to gratify the basest passions of their nature without restraint. It was literally a paradise of devils.

- From Adventures in the Apache Country: A Tour Through Arizona and Sonora with Notes on the Silver Regions of Nevada by John Ross Browne [New York: Harper & Brothers, Publishers, 1871.]

On My List

 

Find Something Beautiful Today

[Photo by John Warg at Unsplash]

Great Half-Time Music

 

The theme from "The Big Country."

Question

I've heard about a Bad Bunny performance but is there a football game this weekend?

Author's Note

Not that it matters, but a great deal of the background in this story is accurate.

SMERSH, a contraction of Smiert Spionam - Death to Spies - exists and remains today the most secret department of the Soviet government.

At the beginning of 1956, when this book was written, the strength of SMERSH at home and abroad was about 40,000 and General Grubozaboyschikov was its chief. My description of his appearance is correct.

- From the Ian Fleming novel, From Russia with Love

An Ongoing Controversy

I continue to hear more about "Memories of the Job Search Jungle."

Will be writing on how to correct the HR software scandal.

[Photo by Nathan Sack at Unsplash]

As a PM Falls

 

BMOC

 

True

The strength of the team is each individual member. The strength of each member is the team.

- Phil Jackson

[Photo by Markus Spiske at Unsplash]

Beyond Belief: A Series on New York City's Nitwittery

 Yes, the health department got a briefing on Gaza.

As the Curling Tension Builds

 

Another Giant

 

The New Vichy Movement

 Appeasement never quite died in France.

The failure to control the surge of migrants in many European countries is an on-going scandal that will eventually destroy their cultures and human rights.

On My List

 

Recruitment Opportunity

If your position at The Washington Post was recently eliminated, please consider applying to write for The Babylon Bee. We are seeking applicants experienced in writing fictional content presented in the tone and style of a legitimate news organization.

- Seth Dillon

Off the Grid

Bear with me.

Update

The novel is very close to completion. It will soon be in the "That's it" stage but, I must add, each revision has strengthened the manuscript.

Final hint: It is a story that you think you know, but you may not really know. I suspect that process of discovery will continue throughout life and beyond.

The Saga of Starmer

 

First Paragraph

 At last year's (2024) Salesforce Dreamforce event in San Francisco, Marc Benioff, the co-founder, chairman, and CEO of Salesforce, declared in his keynote, 'We are moving from an AI-assisted to an autonomous world,' highlighting a transformative shift underway in technology. To drive the message home, he urged attendees to experience Waymo's autonomous cars first-hand - a glimpse into the future of autonomy in action. The statement was not just a call to explore innovation but a bold reminder of the pace at which the world is evolving.

-From Human Edge in The AI Age: Eight Timeless Mantras for Success by Nitin Seth

Pretend It's a City

 

Setting Prices Can Be Difficult

Some strange stories from the consulting biz.

There are times when a high fee is wanted.

Reminders of Real Life

 

These are films that are enjoyable and educational in terms of how real life operates:

• Margin Call
• Moneyball
• The Third Man
• The Lives of Others

Look Up

 

Private Jets

 Dennis Prager once said that the one perk of the ultra-wealthy which he envies is the freedom and convenience of private jets.

I completely agree.

Large houses? Nope. 

Fancy cars? Nope. 

Yachts? Nope. 

Never having to worry about money? Nope.

But a private jet has definite appeal.

[A local compromise for those of us in Phoenix is JSX.]

This Explains the Canadians

 

TV Biz

 "The TV business is uglier than most things. It is normally perceived as some kind of cruel and shallow money trench through the heart of the journalism industry, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free and good men die like dogs, for no good reason."

- Hunter S. Thompson

Air (Jordan)

 

Another Spanish Civil War?

 

Real Cartoons

 A Layman's Blog has a video that is much better than Peppa Pig.

Civilization

 

Oil the Gears. Keep the Line Running.

 Great advice at Cultural Offering.

Check out the entire list. It's powerful.

Back By Popular Demand

 

From 1951: "The Pedestrian" by Ray Bradbury.

Soundtracks for Busy Days

 

• Last of the Mohicans 
• Lawrence of Arabia 
• Amelie 
• The Thin Red Line 
• Gettysburg 
• Seven Years in Tibet 
• Deep Impact
• The Cowboys
• Sense and Sensibility
• Jurassic Park
• Interstellar 

Learning from "Kill the Wabbit"

A healthy sense of humor improves and educates.

[Photo by Stephen Monterroso at Unsplash]

Find Something Beautiful Today

[Photo by Jody Confer at Unsplash]

First Paragraph

"Get out," [Twitter CEO] Evan Williams said to the woman standing in his office doorway. "I'm going to throw up."

- From Hatching Twitter: A True Story of Money, Power, Friendship, and Betrayal by Nick Bilton 

Miracle

 

Transmitting Western Civilization

 Law & Liberty: Jeffrey Bristol reviews The Golden Thread. An excerpt:

Such revisions can often feel staid and old-fashioned, combatting today’s wars with yesterday’s cultural visions. The Golden Thread, by contrast, is remarkably adroit and conversant with today’s trends, a fact helped no doubt by the authors’ deep engagement with the classical schooling movement.

January 30, 1965

 

Deciding to Fight On

 Law & Liberty: Andrew Roberts discusses the nitwittery concerning Churchill's greatest decision.

If the victory in World War II can be attributed to any one person (and I think it can), that person is Winston Churchill.

Films about Power

 

Films about Power

 

Paging Madame Defarge

Colin Wright in City Journal on the findings that women are more likely than men to endorse political violence.

Off the Grid

All is well but am scrambling to catch up.

Bear with me. Back soon.

Hmm

 

Priorities

 

I have to finish a book draft, write an essay for a nonprofit, clear off my desk, avoid looking at the files near my feet, get some exercise, call some friends, return a bunch of emails, complete some research into an arcane topic, get my wife to a medical appointment, finish reading two books, donate a historical document to a library, etc.

Highest priority: get my wife to a medical appointment. All else is way down on the list.

Life has a way of quickly rearranging things.

Worth Checking Out

 

Minnesota's Post-Assimilation Reality

What is unfolding in Minnesota cannot be understood without first confronting a difficult truth: some cultures arrive intact. They do not dissolve on contact with modern society, nor do they gently adapt - they replicate. 

Read all of Ayaan Hirsi Ali's essay in The American Mind.

Classic Break

 

The Ohio Shoveler

Kurt Harden of Cultural Offering scoffs at danger as he hand-shovels a drive-way and prepares to tackle the front walk.

Extreme cold is expected in his area tomorrow.

On the other hand, the low in Phoenix tomorrow is expected to be 46 degrees. 

Our high will be 74.

Sweater weather.

When Museums Go Woke

 UnHerd: Mike Gonzalez on how The Smithsonian lost its way.

Well-Written and Bizarre

 

The Number on Her Arm

Prohuman Foundation President Bion Bartning on the importance of Holocaust remembrance. An excerpt:

For years, Holocaust education relied on proximity. My children have been fortunate. Their teachers brought Holocaust survivors into the classroom; men and women who spoke plainly about what they endured. When a survivor speaks, history stops feeling theoretical. You can see it happen: the shift from “this happened” to “this happened to someone.”

First Paragraph

They called him Moishe the Beadle, as if his entire life he had never had a surname. He was the jack-of-all-trades in a Hasidic house of prayer, a shtibl. The Jews of Sighet - the little town in Transylvania where I spent my childhood - were fond of him. He was poor and lived in utter penury. As a rule, our townspeople, while they did help the needy, did not particularly like them. Moishe the Beadle was the exception. He stayed out of people's way. His presence bothered no one. He had mastered the art of rendering himself insignificant, invisible.

- From Night by Elie Wiesel

Schindler's List: "Tell them they should be."

 

False Equivalence

Anne Frank was targeted and murdered solely because she was Jewish. Leaders making false equivalencies to her experience for political purposes is never acceptable. Despite tensions in Minneapolis, exploiting the Holocaust is deeply offensive, especially as antisemitism surges.

- United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

Holocaust Remembrance Day

[Photo by Malek Bee at Unsplash]

The American Grizzly

For all of you Theodore Roosevelt fans out there, check out Richard Jordan's essay in Law & Liberty.

And, of course, check out The Wind and the Lion.

[HT: Christopher Martin]

An A.I. Skeptic Consults A.I.

"We may not have to worry about the robots taking over because we'll be too dumb to know when they have."

Click here for details.

[Photo by Brey at Unsplash]

Blackboard Paint

Part of Nicholas Bate's latest book, this recommendation for blackboard paint is very tempting.

[Photo by Thomas T at Unsplash]

"The Global Empire of Palestine"

Łobaczewski’s conclusion cut against the grain. He argued that what he called macrosocial evil is the function of pathologically evil individuals. They disguise their true ambitions for power, wealth, and notoriety behind ideology, using terms like “social justice” which are vague enough to convey the righting of wrongs, to animate social movements united by grievance. Inside these movements, genuine psychopaths and those who adapt most easily to a pathological order rise to positions of power and influence.

Read all of Lee Smith's essay in Tablet magazine.

When Language is Creative: Group Names

Names for groups of animals and birds:

Antelope: a herd; Baboons: a troop; Bears: a sloth; Beavers: a colony; Buffalo: a gang; Camels: a caravan; Caterpillars: an army; Cats: a clutter or nuisance; Cheetahs: a coalition; Clams: a bed; Coyotes: a band; Crocodiles: a float; Crows: a murder; Dolphins: a pod; Ducks: a brace; Elephants: a herd or parade; Ferrets: a business; Geese: a gaggle; Goldfish: a troubling; Grasshoppers: a cloud; Hyenas: a cackle; Jaguars: a shadow; Larks: an exaltation; Lions: a pride; Moles: a labor; Owls: a parliament; Parrots: a pandemonium; Porcupines: a prickle; Raccoons: a gaze; Rattlesnakes: a rumba; Rhinoceroses: a crash; Sharks: a shiver; Tigers: an ambush; Vultures: a venue; Zebras: a zeal.

Young Men and How the Democrats Lost Them

 Sebastian Junger raises important points in a Substack essay. An excerpt:

 Despite long-overdue advances in gender equality, men still make up 97% of combat deaths and 94% of work-related fatalities in this country. Every year, more men are killed doing the nation’s most dangerous jobs – logging, fishing, construction, mining, oil extraction - than in the entire Afghan war. And over ninety percent of so-called “bystander rescues” are performed by men. Women do as much vital work as men and are enormously self-sacrificing in their personal lives but almost never, say, jump onto subway tracks to save a stranger when able-bodied men are there to do it instead.

Werewolf Game

 

Find Something Beautiful Today

[Photo by Brigitte Tohm at Unsplash]

Love the Start

 

Citizenship Potential

 

Artificial Intelligence Society

 City Journal: Misha Saul's eight predictions on how AI will reshape society.

A Miracle

 

Eternal Values versus Euthanasia of the Elderly

 

Commentary magazine: Pulling Britain Back from the Abyss. An excerpt:

During the 2025 debate, Sacks’s final sentences were cited in the House of Lords by a peer who knew him well: Stuart Polak, a member of Britain’s Orthodox Jewish community and one of Israel’s most prominent defenders in the Lords. “My Lords,” Polak reflected, “the words of Lord Sacks should once again ring loudly and clearly today as they did in 2006.” But the most devastating and affecting words were Polak’s own. “I speak,” he said, “out of a deep and abiding concern for the society we are shaping, for the values we hold, and for the vulnerable whom we are duty bound to protect; and, my Lords, I speak as someone who was given six months to live 37 years ago.” In a single phrase, Polak captured all that is wrong about the bill—both the way in which it will make the vulnerable feel like burdens, and the seeming infallibility it grants the predictions of doctors.

[Photo by James Giddins at Unsplash]

Promising

 

Weird Times Call for More Humor

 Check out this list of recommended books.

[Photo by Radek Kozak at Unsplash]

Get a Life

 

Dreher: Watch "Pluribus"

The Free Press: Rod Dreher on why Americans should watch the television program that has strong echoes of "Brave New World."

[Photo by Shane Rounce at Unsplash]

From Microsoft on the Outage

 "We're carefully rebalancing traffic across all affected infrastructure in the region, while monitoring the corresponding health telemetry, to ensure the environment enters into a balanced state as our remediation efforts continue."

Just think: Someone approved that message.

There's a job for English majors in high tech after all.

Different Strokes

 

In Wake of Reports That NYC Detectives Were Refused Medical Treatment

 GROK Yes, the Hippocratic Oath is optional and ceremonial in US medical schools—not legally required. No schools use the original version; most (over 50% as of 2017 data) adopt unique or revised oaths incorporating modern issues like social justice. Recent trends (2023-2025) show schools like UConn and Harvard using or allowing customized oaths with DEI elements, sparking debate. No confirmed data on "record numbers" opting out specifically for political reasons; evidence points to institutional shifts rather than individual choices.

On My List

 

Old Dog Consultant

Flashback: A rambling conversation I had with T.J. Bennett. 

He's an excellent interviewer having to work with a strange guest.

Upcoming Novel Hints: #4

 The defendant was sentenced without a verdict.

First Lady

 

Bear with Me

I've been in a super-reclusive mode lately due to wrapping up the novel, writing some Substack essays, and preparing an item for the Prohuman Foundation.

Our house also had a plumbing leak that needed to be fixed and today will be the first one without fans and other moisture-removal devices in the background.

Am looking forward to a quasi-normal environment.

Stay mellow.

[Today will be a Handel and Copland day.]

What Employers Really Want

 The Revenge of the English Majors.

A Good List

 

Nicholas Bate

Consultant, author, novelist Nicholas Bate has been an inspiration to so many of us and his thoughts are deeply appreciated.

He is The Man Who Never Sleeps.

Excellent. Powerful.

 

"Looking Beneath the Surface" Checklist

 

1. What is the real situation, not the described one?
2. Why take action now?
3. Who are the key players?
4. Who are the adversaries?
5. Who is neutral?
6. What are the definitions?
7. What can be deceptive?
8. What are the assumptions?
9. What are the established facts?
10. What is the precise problem?
11. What are the limitations?
12. Who has the authority?
13. What is the specific goal?
14. What are the possible courses of action?
15. Which course is the easiest?
16. Which course is the cheapest?
17. Which is the most expensive??
18. Which course is the best?
19. How much is too much?
20. How much is too little?
21. Who has the power to make serious changes?
22. How much time is available to fix things?
23. What would success look like?
24. Which problems will accompany success?
25. Who has a vested interest in failure?

Excerpt

 The face-to-face interaction between these two men had begun, and within two minutes, Deputy Kyle Wayne Dinkheller would be dead and Andrew Brannan would be a murderer. The question is: Why? What happened?

- From Arresting Communication: Essential Interaction Skills for Law Enforcement by Lt. Jim Glennon

There Are Advantages in the Desert

 

Just In

 

Upcoming Novel Hints #3

The "trial" actually involved several trials.

When Brevity Carries a Powerful Message

Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech was 17 minutes long.

Abraham Lincoln's "Gettysburg Address" was 2 to 3 minutes long.

Writers and a Stacked Deck

 

Not every great book finds a publisher. I provide the details here.

First Paragraph

 "Oy, a lebn af dayn kop!" "Life on your head!" This was my grandmother's favorite Yiddish blessing, which she showered upon me whenever I did something appealing. A smile, a nod, an intelligent word - it didn't take much to earn "life on my head," neither as a boy nor as a grown man.

- From Lawrence Bush's Introduction to The New Joys of Yiddish by Leo Rosten

A Book to Consider

 

Published in 2012. 678 pages. Weird. Smart.  And often laugh-out-loud funny.

Space Force

Flashing back to a place where I once went through some training.

Of course, it wasn't a Space Force base back then.

AI and Much More

 

Find Something Beautiful Today

[Photo by mana5280 at Unsplash]

Upcoming Novel Hints #2

The main character will be a Roman lawyer.

The Book Publishing Madness

Ted Gioia explains what happened to the book publishing industry. An excerpt:

Back in those simpler days, I was what is called a midlist writer. That meant that I would sell enough copies to make a small profit for the publishing house. But I wasn’t expected to write bestsellers.

Victims of Communism Museum

This should go on tour.

[Photo by Jon Tyson at Unsplash]

Wisdom From the Past

 

In My Stack

 

Upcoming Novel Hints: #1

It will be about the most famous trial in world history.

Highly Recommended

  

The Gray House

 

Hmm

 

Novel Update

 Things are moving. I expect the novel will be out this month.

It will be a tad different.

Romance in Paris

 

St. Michael's Mount

 This looks like a great escape.

But I'm not sure if January is the best time to be there.

Thoughts on What Is Going to Happen in Iran

 

Tower of Babel

 Jonathan Haidt and Zach Rausch: Exposure to social media is harmful to children.

Beauty Pushes Back

 

The Job Search Jungle

We need to humanize the job selection process. Here's my list of concerns.

Pass it along to job seekers and job recruiters.

[Photo by Mattia Pavesi at Unsplash]

Not a Parody: File Under Microsoft Word Nitwittery

 

What You Need

 

What you need is the Space Telescope Live site.

[Photo by NASA Hubble Space Telescope]

Time Travel?

 

Life-Changer

 New York Post article on the potential extent of government fraud.

Well Put

I happened to be in London staying with the Price-Joneses the day the painting arrived. I remember David showing it to me and then turning it over for me to see the Nazi eagle stamped on the back. No sooner had he received the painting than a letter came from the Belvedere explaining that the work was an important part of the national heritage and asking if they please could have it back on long-term loan. The answer was no.

- Roger Kimball, Notes & Comments, The New Criterion, January 2026

On My List

 

"Strive to be happy."

 

Desiderata - Words for Life

Go placidly amid the noise and haste,
and remember what peace there may be in silence.
As far as possible without surrender
be on good terms with all persons.
Speak your truth quietly and clearly;
and listen to others,
even the dull and the ignorant;
they too have their story.

Avoid loud and aggressive persons,
they are vexations to the spirit.
If you compare yourself with others,
you may become vain and bitter;
for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.
Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.

Keep interested in your own career, however humble;
it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.
Exercise caution in your business affairs;
for the world is full of trickery.
But let this not blind you to what virtue there is;
many persons strive for high ideals;
and everywhere life is full of heroism.

Be yourself.
Especially, do not feign affection.
Neither be cynical about love;
for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment
it is as perennial as the grass.

Take kindly the counsel of the years,
gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.
But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings.
Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.
Beyond a wholesome discipline,
be gentle with yourself.

You are a child of the universe,
no less than the trees and the stars;
you have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you,
no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

Therefore be at peace with God,
whatever you conceive Him to be,
and whatever your labors and aspirations,
in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul.

With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams,
it is still a beautiful world.
Be cheerful.
Strive to be happy.

— Max Ehrmann, 1927