Miracle Cure: The Creation of Antibiotics and the Birth of Modern Medicine By William Rosen My cousin, Howard Plotkin, encouraged me to read this book because streptomycin saved my life in late 1945. My [...]
No Ordinary Time Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt by Doris Kearns Goodwin I recently reread Goodwin’s book in which she recounted the war years, 1940 through 1945, from the perspective of the American Presidency. Both Franklin [...]
‘Give me a one-handed economist. All my economists say ‘On one hand, then but on the other .’” — Harry Truman On Friday, the Labor Department reported seemingly good news: Unemployment fell to 4.3 [...]
Amazon last week celebrated its 20th anniversary of going public. Today, according to several reports, half of U.S. households subscribe to the company’s Prime service offering free shipping and other perks for $99 a [...]
In America, does More Education Equal Less Religion? Overall, U.S. adults with college degrees are less religious than others, but this pattern does not hold among Christians Pew Research Center Survey showed the relationship [...]
Over the past few months, the investment community has begun focusing on the steps the Federal Reserve might take to reduce its current balance sheet, which now amounts to some $4.3 trillion. Because the [...]
I would love for everyone to read quality books that provide in-depth analysis of the factors leading to the Great Recession, the clumsy efforts of key participants to address the crisis, and the ad hoc [...]
Last week I wrote about the proposed 2018 Trump Budget. The Trump 2018 budget did not focus on Entitlement Programs, which represent about two-thirds of government expenditures. Since then I thought about the impact [...]
The Federal Reserve is expected to raise interest rates Wednesday by 25 basis points, to 1 percent, and the U.S. central bank has indicated it plans to raise rates aggressively. Most economists expect the [...]
Last week, the Standard & Poor’s stock index increased to a record high market capitalization above $20 trillion. This compares with $5.9 trillion when the market hit a low on March 9, 2009. It [...]
“Henry Ford influenced more lives than any man alive. It will take a hundred years to tell whether you have helped us or hurt us, but you certainly did not leave us like you found [...]
During his campaign, Donald Trump said his policies would grow the economy by 4 percent per year and increase employment by 25 million over the next decade. While these are laudable goals, they also [...]
“Pursuing protection is just like locking oneself in a dark room. While wind and rain may be kept outside, so are light and air.” — Xi Jinping, Chinese president During his campaign, President Donald [...]
I recently returned from Portugal where I met with two important people in the Portuguese Jewish Community. (Jose Carp who headed the Portuguese Jewish Community for 14 years and Hugo Vaz, a Portuguese Jewish historian. IntroductionAlthough [...]
“Be fearful when others are greedy and greedy when others are fearful.” —Warren Buffett American consumers are more confident about the economy and their financial future than they have been in years. As 2016 [...]
Until reading Ron Chernow’s biography of Ulysses Grant, I had a totally different perspective of Reconstruction (1867-1877). In brief, I learned at my Southern Institutions, that the North always wanted to inflict military rule on [...]
Frontline: Abacus, Small Enough to Jail I highly recommend this documentary On Tuesday, September 12 at 10 p.m. Public Broadcasting is going to broadcast a documentary about the only U.S. bank prosecuted after the financial [...]
Introduction We hear repeatedly that America is unlike European nations such as Great Britain, France, Germany, Spain, Netherlands, and Portugal in terms of our desire for colonial expansion. Whether right or wrong, America almost [...]
“Suffrage once given can never be taken away, and all the remains for us now is to make good that gift by protecting those who have yet received it” Ulysses Grant Ulysses Grant: An extraordinary [...]
In the largest bankruptcy of a U.S. state or territory, Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rossello requested court protection for his U.S. commonwealth to resolve a large number of lawsuits from creditors. The Puerto Rico Financial [...]
Pfizer will purchase Array BioPharma for $10.4 billion. It hopes to expand its cancer portfolio with targeted therapies. This acquisition underscores the importance of cancer drugs to the pharmaceutical industry. Because cancer drugs have [...]
Honoring Hugh Lynch (My Brother-in-Law) 1962-1969 Introduction Ho Chi Minh (Founder of Vietnamese Communist Party) Over the next few days Public Broadcasting will air Ken Burns’ Documentary on the Vietnam War. In recognition of that [...]
“My goal is to get rid of the attribution ‘starving artists’ to Ringling College graduates.” — Larry Thompson, Ringling College Art and Design president In an editorial for USA Today entitled, “We need to [...]
By Simon Goodman The Orpheus Clock The title of Goodman’s book derives from one of his families prized heirlooms—The Orpheus Clock—that was not recovered by his family until some 70 years following World War [...]
For Jews, Israel is a Homeland Whether you travel East or West The Road to Home is Always Best Saying on a Plaque at my boyhood home Wailing Wall Temple Mount, Dome of the [...]
I feel very fortunate to possess a collection of cartoons from Puck, the humor magazine that ceased publication in 1918. My favorite is a 1901 cartoon by famed illustrator Joseph Keppler depicting industrialist J.P. [...]
Dear Sidney: Because of you, I saw a wonderful movie. I shared my thoughts with friends. Doc I would like to encourage you to see the movie, Denial. The movie is based upon the acclaimed [...]
Is the world in danger of drowning in debt? The International Monetary Fund this month issued a report highlighting its concerns about worldwide debt, which it said totals some $152 trillion. “The period of [...]
Introduction: In the October 1st-7th issue of The Economist, the magazine highlighted the stupendous amounts generated by the Clinton’s personal accounts and the Clinton Foundation. In fairness while The Economist is very critical of [...]
By Andrew Nagorski My sister, (Joella Werlin) knowing of my ongoing interest in World War II, sent me, The Nazi Hunters. While the book was not easy reading, it did provide me some interesting insights [...]
On Friday, Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen told global monetary policymakers, “I believe the case for an increase in the federal funds rate has strengthened in recent months.” She implied that internal forecasts have [...]
“It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you’ll do things differently.” — Warren Buffett Warren Buffett, a legendary investor with a pristine [...]
Today’s Wall Street Journal had an article, which focused on John Bogle, founder of Vanguard—a money management company that focuses on index funds. The article contained two ideas that I wish to share: Bogle [...]
In today’s Wall Street Journal, Jason Zweig discussed the fortieth anniversary of index mutual funds—the Vanguard 500 Index Fund. The initial public offering, $11.3 million, was a major disappointment to Vanguard’s founder, John C. [...]
Ludwig van Beethoven remarkable compositions won him favor among the enlightened aristocracy congregated at Vienna, and he enjoyed their support throughout his life. They were tolerant, too, of his notoriously boorish manners, careless appearance, [...]
