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Piketty dispels more BS
The very wealthy don’t, as a rule, pay taxes. If they do, it’s at a rate far lower than the rest of us. And whenever the question of taxing the very wealthy comes up, they:1. Claim it can’t be done2. Spend tons of money influencing the political process so it isn’t done.3. Argue that taxing… Continue reading
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Arthur Miller
Two dramas, both from the 20th Century, have entered the American zeitgeist so much that their plots and characters are familiar to people who have never seen or read the plays. I’m talking about The Crucible, a 1953 play ostensibly about the Salem Witch Trials and allegorically about the McCarthyism era in the US. And… Continue reading
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One more time
Again is a word that comes up…well, again and again in conversation. It’s been around for a very long time; at least since Old English. But its meaning contains a surprising little twist. What you probably think of when you use “again” is repetition; you did something once, and if you do the same thing… Continue reading
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Proper Supervision
My humans aren’t allowed to go walking unleashedand you know that it’s for their own good.If left on their own, they might wander awayand go farther than really they should. The poor dears don’t knowAll the dangers out thereThere are squirrels and rabbits and birdsAnd there might be much worseThan those things that I saidOr… Continue reading
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October 17
October 17 has at times been a bad day to be in London. In 1091, of all things, a tornado touched down. The city was a great deal less impressive in 1091 than it is now, but it did have a London Bridge — which the tornado demolished. It also destroyed the St. Mary-le-Bow church… Continue reading
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Noah Webster
In the US, some people use the word “webster’s” to mean “dictionary.” That’s because in 1828 Noah Webster published what was for a long time the most popular dictionary in the US. He titled it An American Dictionary of the English Language, but everybody just called it Webster’s Dictionary (which eventually became the title). Noah… Continue reading
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You look marvelous
Sir Arnold Lunn was a writer who seems to have been better known as a skier. He was knighted in England for his skiing, but not his authorship. He lived from 1888 to 1974, and there’s a monument to him in Mürren, Switzerland where he organized the first world skiing championship in 1931. His father… Continue reading
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October 16
You know, if Ricimer hadn’t defeated Avitus back on this day in 456 — which, incidentally, was the Year of the Consulship of Avitus Without Colleague — then he wouldn’t have gone on to be the magister militum of the western Roman Empire for the next sixteen years. There were various emperors, of course, but… Continue reading
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My Favorite Routine
After a walk of a mile or twoI come right back home and I know what to do.I always get treats and I check out my bedThen I’m set for a nap and I lay down my head. I sleep for a while, have excellent dreams(sometimes about a whole cup of whipped cream),And then I… Continue reading
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Frederick Fleet
When you read about a disaster like the sinking of the RMS Titanic, sometimes you muse about the details. Like “who first saw the iceberg, and what did they do?” In this case, we know exactly who first saw the iceberg and what they did. It was Frederick Fleet, a British sailor and part of… Continue reading
About Me
I’m Pete Harbeson, a writer located near Boston, Massachusetts. In addition to writing my own content, I’ve learned to translate for my loquacious and opinionated puppy Chocolate. I shouldn’t be surprised, but she mostly speaks in doggerel.
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