I was once told by a man of the cloth, one of the old-fashioned kind who still believed the Red Letters were more than just a stylistic choice by the printer, that the quickest way to lose your soul is to find a way to sell it at a profit. Now, I’ve seen many a Read More …
Tag: mark twain
The New Gospel of the Gilded Calf
It has been remarked by men wiser than myself that the Good Book is like a mirror: if an ass looks in, you can’t expect an apostle to look out. These days, however, it seems a whole congregation of folks have looked into the Gospel and somehow mistaken the Beatitudes for a business prospectus. I Read More …
THE GREAT SILENCE
A DISPATCH FROM THE AGE OF ENLIGHTENMENT By Mark Twain It has been precisely seven days since the “Information Super-Highway” suffered a head-on collision with a tortoise named Speedy. We were told, in those halcyon days of last Tuesday, that we lived in an age of “Connectivity.” It turns out that connectivity is much like Read More …
The Gospel According to the “Great Dealmaker”
It is a curious thing, the way a man can read a book of peace on Sunday and vote for a firestorm on Monday, all while wearing the same Sunday-best suit and a look of profound piety. I have long observed that the more a politician mentions the Almighty, the more likely he is to Read More …
The Grand Illusion of the “Foreign Tax”
It has been brought to my attention, via the shouting on social media and the groaning of the common man’s purse, that we are currently engaged in a most spectacular feat of financial magic. Our dear leaders have discovered a way to tax the “foreigner” by reaching into the pockets of the American farmer, the Read More …
Billionaires Share Data Without Warrants
The reports from the morning papers (or the digital equivalent of such rags) tell us that Reddit, Meta, and Google have been handing over the private effects of citizens to the Department of Homeland Security—and all without the courtesy of a single warrant. It is a marvelous age we live in. In my day, if Read More …
California Wealth Tax
I’ve always maintained that we have the best government money can buy, and it appears the price of the California branch has just gone up. A few gentlemen of the “Billionaire Class” (a title that sounds like a royal decree but with less lace) are pooling $35 million to ensure their bank accounts remain as Read More …