Recalling Big Brother
July 31, 2009A man sits down to read a politically provocative novel on his electronic reader only to find that the book has vanished. Without warning, his purchase price has been refunded and the book he’d hoped to peruse has been deleted. You might think this is from George Orwell’s famous anti-utopian adventure 1984, but it is in fact a scene that played out earlier this month in real living rooms and …
420: Time To Legalize Pot
July 30, 2009Sometimes dire necessity can overcome political inertia. That is why I think there is a chance federal laws against marijuana use by adults may finally be relaxed or repealed. In response to severe financial pressures, some state governments, most notably California’s, are interested in legalizing and taxing pot. This will force a re-examination of federal drug laws, and it is high time. The classification of cannabis (marijuana and hashish) as …
Supreme Court Caucuses
July 29, 2009Sometime next week, Sonia Sotomayor will be confirmed as a member of the Supreme Court’s Democratic caucus. Not technically, of course. The nine justices do not declare a party affiliation. But, these days, they might as well. Sotomayor drew only one Republican vote — that of South Carolina’s Lindsey Graham — when the Senate Judiciary Committee approved her nomination 13-6 yesterday. Every Democrat backed her. The last nominee, Samuel Alito, …
Welcome To The Credit Card ‘Club’
July 28, 2009If I were to join a nice club, or maybe a gym, I would expect to pay a membership fee. I willingly pay dues to professional organizations, too, like the Estate Planning Council of New York City, Inc. But I was puzzled when a $19 “member fee” showed up recently on my Capital One credit card. So I called the customer service line and asked: What did I join? Nothing, …
Picking On Multinationals
July 27, 2009A supplier and its customer quarrel about prices. Secret meetings are followed by accusations of spying and attempted bribery. When these things occur in free societies, the disputes usually get resolved privately or in civil court. Sometimes, if there is evidence of crimes like bribery, law enforcement might get involved. The national security apparatus, however, is not drawn into the fray. Things are different in China. Four employees of Australia-based …
Reappraising The Housing Villains
July 24, 2009Every summer blockbuster needs a few villains. The U.S. housing finance crisis, now in its third summer season, has had three: lenders, appraisers and speculators. Lenders gave loans too freely to people who could not repay them, appraisers valued homes at more than their true worth, and speculators were greedy gamblers who used borrowed money to pay sky-high prices, hurting folks who needed affordable homes to live in. That was …
Activist-In-Chief
July 23, 2009President Obama is hitting the airwaves daily in pursuit of a health care reform that he refuses to define but which he insists we must have. He is behaving like the community activist he used to be, while the situation requires him to be a leader. There is a big difference. Last night it was a prime-time news conference. Today it will be a tour of the Cleveland Clinic (closed …
Lock Up The Bankers
July 22, 2009Most of us have a warm spot in our hearts for bankers. It’s the same cozy place we reserve for politicians, lawyers and ex-spouses—meaning anybody who goes there ought to pack a sweater. This summer’s movie Public Enemies shows just how Americans feel about their friendly neighborhood bankers. Johnny Depp, as the Depression-era gangster John Dillinger, gets his just rewards, one of which is a beautiful girl. A hapless banker …
Lou Doesn’t Stand With Speculators, Either
July 21, 2009Louis B. Gerstner Jr., who was one of the best business managers of his era, has tracked down the people responsible for running so many companies into the ground. There’s just one problem: Gerstner’s scapegoats don’t actually run anything. In a recent interview, Gerstner pointed the finger at speculators and other short-term investors. This presumably includes on occasion The Carlyle Group, a leading private equity firm of which Gerstner was …
Walter L. Cronkite Jr. 1916-2009
July 20, 2009The nicest thing I can say about Walter Cronkite is that he was no Eric Sevareid. Cronkite anchored the CBS Evening News. Sevareid pontificated on it. Cronkite tried never to become part of the story. Sevareid commandeered precious minutes for bombastic commentaries that neither provided news nor provoked thought. When Sevareid was on the air, it was safe to check out what NBC was covering. On a newscast stocked with …
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