After Winston Churchill lost the 1945 general election, his wife Clementine tried to comfort him. According to several accounts, she told him defeat might be a “a blessing in disguise.” Churchill reportedly replied, “At [...]
Context I recently saw a one act play about Jan Karski, a recipient of Yad Vashem’s designation as “Righteous Among the Nations.” After World War II, Karski spoke about the moral responsibility and failure [...]
Introduction After reading The Washing War: FDR’s Inner Circle by James Lacey I feel there is sufficient explicit and implicit facts to charge key State Department and Army officials that they “acquiesced in the Murder [...]
Citadel founder and CEO Ken Griffin criticized the Trump administration’s interference into the day-to-day business of American companies and raised concerns about self-serving decisions made by government officials. Griffin, a Republican megadonor, emerged last year as President Trump’s most [...]
I recently saw an interview by Walter Isaacson with Tom Friedman. While they covered several topics, Friedman’s thoughts on immigration resonated with me. Tom Friedman has long argued that immigration is neither a simple [...]
Over the past 20 years, Pew Research has conducted surveys of Americans observance of religion. After many years of steady decline, the share of Americans who identify as Christian shows signs of leveling off [...]
Executive Power, Institutional Independence, and the Boundaries of Lawful Authority Introduction To be transparent, I’ll share my bias. Historically, I have voted Republican on most occasions because of my strong belief in the traditional [...]
The Pope and Mussolini: The Secret History of Pius XI and the Rise of Fascism in Europe by David I. Kertzer David Kertzer provided a wonderful overview not only about the complex relationship between [...]
Here’s a well-sourced summary of Rosella Werlin’s remarkable life and career — based on archival material from the Texas Jewish Historical Society and newspaper records: Early Life and Beginnings Rosella Werlin (née Horowitz) was [...]
The Wall Street Journal recently observed that the United States is drifting toward a new economic model—what it describes as state capitalism. This system is neither socialism, in which the government owns the means of [...]
Personal Background: I majored in Economics at the University of Texas earning a BA and then master’s degrees in Economics and an MBA from the University of Michigan. My career on Wall Street spanned [...]
The Splendid and The Vile By Erik Larson I recently finished the book, The Splendid and the Vile by Erik Larson. Larson focuses on the first year of Winston Chuchill’s ascendency to become Prime [...]
A December 3rd article in the Wall Street Journal exposed the crisis in our educational system. Specifically, the number of freshmen entering the University of California San Diego (UCSD) has fallen below a high-school [...]
“Anything Goes America,” an abstract from The Economist, had a sad commentary on the decline of America. The first paragraph detailed Harry Truman, who after his presidency, lived on an income from his memoirs and [...]
Pew Research recently published an article describing the dramatic decline in the relationship between the United States and Germany. Nearly three-quarters of German adults say relations with the United States are bad. Sadly, I think [...]
Today’s Wall Street Journal highlighted that after nearly five years, middle-class earners now find that living is becoming increasingly unaffordable. Pew Research Center defines the middle-class broadly as having a household income between about [...]
Click on the image below to see Doc's presentation: "2025 Economic Overview and the Looming Debt Crisis" Lecture: 2025 Economic Overview and the Looming Debt Crisis
The Wall Street Journal discussed major roadblocks that will prevent President-elect Trump and his team from deporting a significant number of illegal migrants. The roadblocks include: Court Backlog: Most immigrants in the U.S. illegally [...]
Dr. Vivek Murthy, the U.S Surgeon General, said alcoholic beverages should carry cancer warnings to increase awareness that the drinks are a leading cause of preventable cancers. An act of Congress would be required [...]
In today’s Wall Street Journal, “Cutting the Deficit is Easy-Just Unpopular,” the author, Grep Ip pointed out that cutting the deficit will be very difficult. Certainly, not politically easy. In 2024, the deficit was [...]
By Elliott Abrams, Fellow Middle Eastern Studies at Council on Foreign Relations Summary In an essay written for the Wall Street Journal (Oct 24, 2024), Elliott Abrams highlighted that American Jews have focused less [...]
Introduction I recently heard a lecture by David McCullough on the first 18 months of the American Revolution. McCullough highlighted that the odds were great against a successful revolution given that Great Britain had [...]
The Peter Peterson Foundation reported the following based on the June 18, 2024 CBO report.Yesterday, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) warned that the United States is on an unsustainable fiscal course marked by rising deficits. [...]
Today’s Wall Street Journal (5/14/24) highlighted a startling demographic milestone. Specifically, the global fertility rate has dropped so precipitously that over time the world’s population will decline. The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation [...]
Today’s New York Times highlighted the growing role of the far-right parties in Europe. Anti-immigration parties with fascist roots—and an uncertain commitment to democracy—are now mainstream. The growth of right-wing populism often takes the [...]
Today’s Wall Street Journal reported that Donald Trump’s allies are quietly drafting proposals that would attempt to erode the Federal Reserve’s independence if he wins a second term. That said, his advisors are divided [...]
The Wall Street Journal provided an overview of the income tax paid by Americans, broken down by income. Our nation is on an unsustainable fiscal path, driven by the mismatch between the government’s commitments [...]
Today’s New York Times wrote an article describing the purpose of J Street. The article raised the question of whether a middle path on Gaza is possible. Please note… Large parts of this essay [...]
Today’s New York Times reported that Vanderbilt University will charge some students nearly $100,000 in total expenses for the 2024-2025 school year. Other schools are expected to follow Vanderbilt over the next few years. [...]
The Pew Research Center provided an overview of women in today’s U.S. Workforce. Women make up 35% of workers in the United States’ 10 highest-paying occupations, up from 13% in 1980. They have increased [...]
Despite China’s boast that its economy grew at 5.2% in 2023, Greg Ip of the WSJ discounts that figure. Ip wrote, “Western analysts and even some Chinese officials have long taken Chinese gross domestic product with [...]
A New York Times/Siena College poll revealed that even his supporters worry about his age. Among his supporters, 47% strongly believe that he is too old to be effective, and 26% somewhat agree. The [...]
“People just ask themselves: Who can help us? Not even God?” Today’s Wall Street Journal highlighted a major problem in Mexico. Specifically, criminal gangs behind the U.S. drug epidemic are seeing accelerated growth, commanding [...]
Treasury yields have increased to multiyear highs, forcing the U.S. government to pay significantly more in interest. This in turn is putting significant pressure on the budget. America is expected to spend $870 billion, or [...]
