So where are you listening from? I wait for a moment by myself (and Honey, my reliable parter walking the Mobile Bay) on the weekend to listen to John and get caught up. Thanks for your efforts.
I have no suggestions on how to improve this stack. I find your light touch and references to historical and relevant events a great aide to understanding the news. Thank you for your perceptive take on the events of the week. And hey, no commercials!
Wonderfully crafted, Mr. Dickerson. I am starting to look forward to enjoying Friday’s Stack and remain cautiously hopeful that it will appear every week for as long as it is possible for you to do so.
The Stack of the Week is the highlight of my Saturday morning! I'm not ashamed to admit that I seldom listen on Friday (regardless of the time that it is posted to my feed) as I am likely enjoying the ability to enjoy an end-of-the-week cocktail and the time to make and enjoy a slightly more elaborate dinner. But, on Saturday morning, I can return home from taking my dog to Central Park and enjoy an Americano while listening!
Re Graham Wallas:Science ran too far ahead of us too quickly, and the people got lost in a mechanical wilderness, like children making over pretty things, gadgets, helicopters, rockets; emphasizing the wrong items, emphasizing machines instead of how to run the machines. Wars got bigger and bigger and finally killed Earth. RAY BRADBURY, 1950.
Because you are so erudite, I hesitate to humbly suggest that, if you are interested in the art of thinking, check out the method developed by Jay Forrester of MIT, popularized by his student Peter Senge in the book The Fifth Discipline. It's a way to get a bird's eye view of the big picture, find gaps in knowledge, and mistaken assumptions. And with software, you don't even have to write equations! Very cool.
Thank you for noting that “food insecurity is a sterile phrase for a very human experience.” It bothers me almost as much as “capital punishment.” As always, I appreciate the effort you put into STW, as it’s the latest news, peppered with a healthy dose of humanity.
I was heading to the comments to say something similar. How about if we just call it “hunger” - is that too blunt? And agree that STW is the best thing on Substack - always thoughtful, always beautifully written. (And with very few tyops.)
Fun is the first thing that disappears in a tight economy. It surprises me sometimes, being on a fixed income, just how many little things, small frivolous purchases, have summarily disappeared this last year +. Little memories that flit into my brain uninvited to remind me what a continuous downward spiral it has been. Not just vacations but little treats that also support small, local businesses, or plants for my garden. Purchases I wouldn't have thought twice about before this year. Fun has left the building.
But yes, when you talk about budget stress it does go back to the rampant greedflation since 2021. Insurance companies of all types raising rates 30% or more. My internet went from $40, thanks to Biden's covid-related initiatives, to $90. Amounts that had no relation to the maximum 11% inflation that was reported at our worst. So it's been a painful slog even before all the Trump damage made everything so much worse. And we all know, for the most part, prices will never go back down. It's the American way. They may eventually stop going up as they lose all their customers but they never go back down, so people on limited incomes are looking at years of misery ahead...and not much fun atall.
CEO pay. Right. Ask EDS how their big 'get', Dick Brown from PepsiCo as I recall, worked out. He destroyed the company and was sent packing with 139 million dollar thank you note. I'm sorry but no CEO is worth 17 million per year. Especially when we still have a federal minimum wage of $7.25 or somewhere thereabouts. Companies could pay all workers a living wage, taken directly out of the CEOs pay packages, and they won't miss a yacht payment.
And speaking of CEOs, just remember when you opt for that Starlink hook up you are putting more money in Elon's coffers. No thank you.
So where are you listening from? I wait for a moment by myself (and Honey, my reliable parter walking the Mobile Bay) on the weekend to listen to John and get caught up. Thanks for your efforts.
I have no suggestions on how to improve this stack. I find your light touch and references to historical and relevant events a great aide to understanding the news. Thank you for your perceptive take on the events of the week. And hey, no commercials!
Wonderfully crafted, Mr. Dickerson. I am starting to look forward to enjoying Friday’s Stack and remain cautiously hopeful that it will appear every week for as long as it is possible for you to do so.
Thanks for a lilting literary take on the week. Look forward to it every Friday.
The Stack of the Week is the highlight of my Saturday morning! I'm not ashamed to admit that I seldom listen on Friday (regardless of the time that it is posted to my feed) as I am likely enjoying the ability to enjoy an end-of-the-week cocktail and the time to make and enjoy a slightly more elaborate dinner. But, on Saturday morning, I can return home from taking my dog to Central Park and enjoy an Americano while listening!
Re Graham Wallas:Science ran too far ahead of us too quickly, and the people got lost in a mechanical wilderness, like children making over pretty things, gadgets, helicopters, rockets; emphasizing the wrong items, emphasizing machines instead of how to run the machines. Wars got bigger and bigger and finally killed Earth. RAY BRADBURY, 1950.
Thank you. From "Martian Chronicles", 1950
I can’t tell you how much I appreciate Stack the Week
Nice Stack, as always.
Because you are so erudite, I hesitate to humbly suggest that, if you are interested in the art of thinking, check out the method developed by Jay Forrester of MIT, popularized by his student Peter Senge in the book The Fifth Discipline. It's a way to get a bird's eye view of the big picture, find gaps in knowledge, and mistaken assumptions. And with software, you don't even have to write equations! Very cool.
I am so grateful for this. Thank you!
Thank you for noting that “food insecurity is a sterile phrase for a very human experience.” It bothers me almost as much as “capital punishment.” As always, I appreciate the effort you put into STW, as it’s the latest news, peppered with a healthy dose of humanity.
I was heading to the comments to say something similar. How about if we just call it “hunger” - is that too blunt? And agree that STW is the best thing on Substack - always thoughtful, always beautifully written. (And with very few tyops.)
Fun is the first thing that disappears in a tight economy. It surprises me sometimes, being on a fixed income, just how many little things, small frivolous purchases, have summarily disappeared this last year +. Little memories that flit into my brain uninvited to remind me what a continuous downward spiral it has been. Not just vacations but little treats that also support small, local businesses, or plants for my garden. Purchases I wouldn't have thought twice about before this year. Fun has left the building.
But yes, when you talk about budget stress it does go back to the rampant greedflation since 2021. Insurance companies of all types raising rates 30% or more. My internet went from $40, thanks to Biden's covid-related initiatives, to $90. Amounts that had no relation to the maximum 11% inflation that was reported at our worst. So it's been a painful slog even before all the Trump damage made everything so much worse. And we all know, for the most part, prices will never go back down. It's the American way. They may eventually stop going up as they lose all their customers but they never go back down, so people on limited incomes are looking at years of misery ahead...and not much fun atall.
CEO pay. Right. Ask EDS how their big 'get', Dick Brown from PepsiCo as I recall, worked out. He destroyed the company and was sent packing with 139 million dollar thank you note. I'm sorry but no CEO is worth 17 million per year. Especially when we still have a federal minimum wage of $7.25 or somewhere thereabouts. Companies could pay all workers a living wage, taken directly out of the CEOs pay packages, and they won't miss a yacht payment.
And speaking of CEOs, just remember when you opt for that Starlink hook up you are putting more money in Elon's coffers. No thank you.
Best journalistic writing on the internet. The thematic introductions work like magic to unify the flow of disparate events. Masterful this week.