[One] way for kleptocrats to gain public support is to construct an ideology or religion justifying kleptocracy. Bands and tribes already had supernatural beliefs, just as do modern established religions. Bu tthe supernatural beliefs of bands and tribes did not… Continue Reading
For certain is death for the born. And certain is birth for the dead. Therefore over the inevitable thou shouldst not grieve. — The Bhagavad-Gita
Roman tolerance to local cults and even their readiness to join them was one important way in which the empire was cemented. — Charles Freeman
My last business trip was among my most absent-minded ever. I forgot a clean shirt going up. I forgot my copies of the deposition exhibits in my haste to get to the airport for an earlier flight home. And, worst… Continue Reading
According to Thomas Freedman, we shouldn’t be worried about broadband capabilities in rural America: Right now, though, notes Levin, America is focused too much on getting “average” bandwidth to the last 5 percent of the country in rural areas, rather… Continue Reading
To the extent that economic thinking is based on the market, it takes the sacredness out of life, because there can be nothing sacred in something that has a price. Not surprisingly, therefore, if economic thinking pervades the whole of… Continue Reading
Having the fewest wants, I am nearest to the gods. — Socrates
It’s odd, really, how much travel I’ve been doing recently. I went nearly a year without any business travel and now it seems like every other day I’m away from home, in a hotel or on an airplane. As I… Continue Reading
Ere to sleep, thou liest down, prepare to guard thy life — a man is friendless at the hour of trial. — Ahmenhemet I
Another state ranking, though this time with territories: Alaska, Nevada, Arizona, Texas, Ohio, Utah, Florida, Tennessee, Indiana, Georgia, Louisiana, North Carolina, Alabama, Pennsylvania, Missouri, Illinois, West Virginia, Kentucky, Virginia, Michigan, Idaho, South Carolina, Mississippi, California, Maryland, New York, Montana, Arkansas,… Continue Reading