It has been yet another bumper year for cliché, euphemism and verbal stupidity. This year’s entries for the Best Euphemism for Firing People contrived to make the old idea of “right-sizing” look respectable. Lots of companies sacked people by “consolidating leadership”; Citibank tried to hide the axing of 1,100 staff in a press release that …
I’ve absolutely no idea if God exists. It seems unlikely to me, but then – does a trout know that I exist? (British comedian Billy Connolly, quoted in The Independent on Sunday). So much we don’t know! Which is one reason why Epicureans are among the most tolerant people on Earth (well, most …
Peter Saint-Andre writes in his Journal: I’ve found some Epicurean influences in Alfred Lord Tennyson. Two poems especially loom large here: The Two Voices and Lucretius. The Two Voices is almost a meditation on Vatican Saying 38 of Epicurus: Anyone with many good reasons to leave this life is an altogether worthless person Tennyson wrote …
Congress passed legislation that extends the $10 million per couple estate tax exemption but raises the rate to 40%. Here’s the good news: We still have an estate tax. A 40% rate is better than a 35% rate. This is the first time the estate tax has been strengthened in 28 years. Here’s the not-so-good news: The estate tax was …
Returning to a topic raised in 2008, I am setting out below some things one can do to possibly make the world a better place in 2013: 1. Make time to protest more to elected representatives (if you have one! In DC we are not allowed a vote. So much for “democracy”) . Start with …
