“Recent surveys suggest that . . . maybe 40 percent of Republicans are what you might call conservative white identitarians. White identitarians are conservative, but their white identity is quite important to them, sometimes even more important than their conservatism.” –David Brooks, “How Trump Kills the GOP” (The New York Times; 8/29/17). At his best,...Read More
Brooks: Buyers Face Four Challenges (“Emotional, Psychological, Cognitive, & Moral”) Leave it to an intellectual to over think buying a home. In a nutshell, that’s my reaction to New York Times columnist David Brooks’ piece, “The Home Buying Decision.” Customized Criteria Which isn’t to say Mr. Brooks’ column — destined to be emailed to Realtors...Read More
“Aging Out of . . . Alcohol(?!?)” For a little while in my teenage years, my friends and I drank. It was fun. I have some fond memories of us all being silly together. I think those moments of uninhibited frolic deepened our friendships. But then we all sort of moved away from it. I...Read More
“How Much Do the Neighbors Trust Each Other?” One of the standard pieces of advice I give to my Buyer clients is to chat up prospective neighbors (also mail carriers, but only if they’ve been on the route at least six months). Who knows better than them if the neighborhood is safe, the local schools...Read More
“Random Attacks on Enterprise & Capital” You know that Wall Street is feeling at least a little heat right now because the Op-Ed pages and blogs (at least certain ones) are ramping up their attacks on what they take to be misguided “populist fervor.” Typical on this score is David Brooks, The New York Times’...Read More
Obama’s Fiscal Stimulus Splits the Difference“Obama’s economic plan falls well short of what’s needed.”–Paul Krugman, “The Obama Gap” (NYT, 1/9/09)“Obama has vowed to do everything at once . . this will be the most complex piece of legislation in American history.”–David Brooks, “The Confidence Surplus” (NYT, 1/9/09)Depending on who you believe, President-elect Obama has devised...Read More
