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Music, Remembrance

Song of the Day #2244

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January 25, 2026

Song of the Day: Lamento features the words and music of Antonio Carlos Jobim. On this date in 1927, the great Jobim was born. Though he died in 1994, he left behind one of the most extraordinary musical catalogues of all time. Check out Jobim’s original recording, arranged and conducted…
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Politics (Theory, History, Now), Rand Studies

Ayn Rand, Illegal Immigrant

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January 23, 2026

Ayn Rand’s views on immigration are well known. Back in 1973, in response to a question on “open immigration” during a Ford Hall Forum appearance, Rand stated: You don’t know my conception of self-interest. No one has the right to pursue his self-interest by law or by force, which is…
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Politics (Theory, History, Now)

Emergency … to Avoid an Emergency

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January 18, 2026

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on “Meet the Press” earlier today, enunciating a wonderful principle for the expansion of government power, when you declare a national emergency to … avoid a national emergency. Here’s the full “Meet the Press” interview.
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Frivolity, Rand Studies

That Time of Year Again …

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January 16, 2026

Wherever you are, tonight is the …
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Music, Remembrance

Song of the Day #2243

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January 14, 2026

Song of the Day: Concorde [YouTube link], composed by the incomporable jazz guitarist Joe Pass, is featured on the 1977 album, “Quadrant“. Joining Pass on this album are vibraphonist Milt Jackson, bassist Ray Brown, and drummer Mickey Roker. On January 13, 1929, the great Pass was born. (A day late…
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Politics (Theory, History, Now)

A New Donroe Doctrine?

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January 14, 2026

Ellipsis points may drop context, but they introduce some interesting implications: Postscript (15 January 2026): Some folks thought I’d lost my dialectical mind by dropping context. Now let’s bring context back in. Check out S. E. Cupp’s article in the New York Daily News: “A Tale of Two Trumps: Iran…
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Film / TV / Theater Review, Sexuality, Sports

Heated Rivalry

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January 9, 2026

For those adults in the room who are so inclined, I want to heartily recommend “Heated Rivalry”. Created, written, and directed by Jacob Tierney for Crave, a Canadian streaming service, the show made its US debut on HBO Max right after Thanksgiving, and concluded its first season on December 26,…
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Foreign Policy, Politics (Theory, History, Now)

You Think Our Country’s So Innocent?

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January 4, 2026

Back in July 2016, when I predicted that Donald Trump would win his first campaign for the White House, I wrote skeptically about the coming “Trump Revolution.” I was encouraged by only one thing: That Trump might foster a less interventionist foreign policy than, say, Hillary Clinton. He was belatedly critical of…
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Personal

Happy New Year!

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January 1, 2026

A Happy and Healthy New Year—full of love and promise—to all my family and friends!
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Film / TV / Theater Review, Remembrance

TCM Remembers

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December 28, 2025

Turner Classic Movies has an end-of-year tradition of running a robust remembrance of those talented people who have died and whose cinematic legacy lives on. If only the folks who run the Academy Awards could be as thoughtful in their annual “In Memoriam” retrospective!
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