Waiting for an update on the condition of author Salman Rushdie, who was attacked as he was being introduced at a lecture.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-62524922
In February 1989, at the height of the controversy over Salman Rushdie’s book “The Satanic Verses”, I took a month-long business trip to Saudi Arabia…
Picture dissolves to a flashback scene.
Economics is the study of how people and society choose, with or without the use of money, to employ scarce productive resources which could have alternative uses, to produce various commodities over time and distribute them for consumption now and in the future among various persons and groups of society. — Paul Samuelson
In the tradition of John Maynard Keynes, Samuelson favored run-on sentences, but his is one of the more generally accepted definitions of Economics. In short, it’s about the use and distribution of resources. Supply and demand. The haves and have-nots. Keeping up with the Joneses (whether a neighbor or an international conglomerate).
Via RSS, I’ve followed the Econbrowser blog for years. I don’t read everything there, but since inflation kicked in I’ve been making more of a point to keep up.
It does seem that Biden’s nearly $2 trillion stimulus, coming during the supply chain crisis, was a significant inflation trigger. Money chased goods that were stuck on container ships. Looks like Lawrence Summers was right.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/02/04/larry-summers-biden-covid-stimulus/
The Fed shouldn’t have waited so long to raise interest rates. This is from July 14, 2021.
Elvis Costello covering Neil Young on Jimmy Fallon’s show last night.
https://youtu.be/f3vNCuC-mWw
Guess now’s a good time to hear Neil’s album, released when Costello was 14.
Why wasn’t Elvis on Colbert’s show? They’ve been best buds for ages. Oh, right. Joe Walsh is playing over there this week.
Popular historian and well-known narrator David McCullough has died. Having a reputation for fairness and honesty comparable to that of Walter Cronkite, how did McCullough view Trump? These comments are from 2017.
In the video Trump is heard saying, “People don’t ask that question. Why was there the Civil War?” That wasn’t a rhetorical question. Trump literally believed his perception as being the reality. Want another example? “Nobody knew health care could be so complicated.” What an unmitigated moron. An unbounded ego spewing the nonsense of a tiny, simple mind.
Another reason for me to not regret ending my home delivery subscription to the print edition of The Boston Globe. This full-page ad was in Sunday’s paper.
The ad was paid for by Boston power player Arthur Winn, who is known for, among other things…
Boston developer Arthur Winn fined $100,000 for making illegal campaign contributions — But he’s spared jail time by federal judge
https://www.boston.com/uncategorized/noprimarytagmatch/2012/01/31/boston-developer-arthur-winn-fined-100000-for-making-illegal-campaign-contributions/
Suffolk DA Rachael Rollins quietly drops intimidation case against wealthy developer
https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2019/05/08/suffolk-rachael-rollins-quietly-drops-intimidation-case-against-wealthy-developer/QIByPjU7C0R6tswPLb2PwM/story.html
In the first case, Winn had to pay a hundred grand. In the second case, he must have had one of these cards:
The subject of Winn’s ad is George Regan, a well-connected Boston name in public relations.
I was disappointed to see the Globe’s Business Section team was in attendance.
“… a quartet of The Boston Globe staff: Business reporter Jon Chesto, and columnists Shirley Leung, Joan Vennochi, and Larry Edelman.”
It’s one thing to hold a lavish private event. It’s another to publicly flaunt the wealth and influence behind it. Especially with the MBTA Orange Line being shut down for an entire month, making life more difficult for people who don’t have have a lot of money, or friends in high places. You’d think somebody in public relations would have thought of that.
I refer you back to this post from about a month ago.
The Toyota dealership is at it again, trying to get my 2017 Camry XLE. There’s another desperate plea from the dealership’s general manager, who must be finding himself in further embarrassing situations.
Whoever actually wrote this, it is definitely hand-written, with some of the ink smudged elsewhere on the shiny business card. What gets me is how it’s worded as if my car — that I bought new from them for cash — has been offered to someone else.
Whatever the truth is behind the sales pitch, I don’t appreciate the “boiler room” pressure. But I’m betting he’ll be glad I refused his unsolicited offers. His lots could soon be filled with repossessed vehicles.
