LIVE LONG ENOUGH . . .

. . . and anything is possible.

A friend took this photo at the 6th annual Antiquarian Book Fair in New York.  If you squint at the bottom right corner of the business card, you can see they’re asking $750 for a book that sold for $5.95 in 1978.  The thing is, anyone who’s actually read that book knows that $750 not spent is like $1,500 earned (after tax).

In case you’re wondering, to have grown from $5.95 to $750 in 48 years is to have appreciated at 10.6% compounded.  Not so great, especially as you’d probably have to split it with the bookseller or the auction house or whomever.  And then pay tax the “collectibles” capital gains tax.

TUCKER CARLSON

He dropped his press badge as he deplaned on the way to the Democratic National Convention in 2004.  I picked it up, tapped him on the shoulder, handed it to him, he said thanks, and that was the extent of our relationship . . . until yesterday, when I listened to the longest podcast ever, his two-hour interview with The Daily.  So interesting. (I am not a fan.)

FIRST IN HIS CLASS

According to this (which I have not independently verified), Trump was not “first in is class” at Wharton (into which he transferred from Wharton), as claimed since 1968, he was 147th.  The clip says he wasn’t even in the top half of the class, though 147th out of 362 most assuredly is . . . but (if true), I’d say it proves two things:

> First, that Trump is, at least in his way, smart.  He surely spent much of his time partying rather than studying, so 147th ain’t bad.  (And does anyone really think he’s not smart?  Ill-informed, incurious, intellectually lazy — all that.  But of course he’s smart.)

> Second: that’s he’s a liar, dishonest all his life.  Which is a big deal to people like you and me.