What's with these guys? Today: When a Congressional investigation revealed in June that Dr. Joseph Biederman, a world-renowned child psychiatrist, had earned far more money from drug makers than he had reported to his university, he said that his interests were “solely in the advancement of medical treatment through rigorous and objective study.” But e-mail messages and … [Read more...] about Addicted to Drug Money
Bush & Co: What A Smile!
Thank you Associated Press for this great photograph. One has to be either a genius or an idiot to smile like that when the USA and the world are gasping/agonizing over the financial mess or an uncertain future. Please keep this photograph in safe custody and look at the faces of these luminaries exactly after a year from now. I sincerely hope they are able to retain this … [Read more...] about Bush & Co: What A Smile!
Flying Turkeys of Yesteryear
It's not every day you get to write a sentence like this: As Keith Olbermann was making a pumpkin pie with Martha Stewart yesterday, they discussed the video of Sarah Palin cheerfully pardoning a Thanksgiving turkey with others being slaughtered in the background, as he recalled the classic 1978 WKRP sitcom episode of turkeys being dropped from a helicopter on the mistaken … [Read more...] about Flying Turkeys of Yesteryear
Speechless
Another $800 Billion of debt will be bought by the government. I am not really sure what to think. All I have to say is that other than student loans, how much more credit card, auto and mortgage debt can people even take on at this point? From one of my favorite links: The recapitalization of banks alone was not enough to get them to start lending, however. They didn't have … [Read more...] about Speechless
GA Woman May Lose Home for Teenaged Sex With Classmate
Radley Balko: Wendy Whitaker, 29, has been on Georgia's sex offender list for more than 12 years. Her crime? She performed oral sex on a high school classmate just after turning 17. The boy was just shy of his 16th birthday. Both were sophomores. Whitaker is now suing, claiming that given her crime, her sex offender status is cruel and unusual punishment. After the … [Read more...] about GA Woman May Lose Home for Teenaged Sex With Classmate
The Case for (and Against) Presidential Pardons
As the tenure of the 43rd president draws to a close, George W. Bush has issued another set of 14 pardons and two sentence commutations. (You may view a complete list here.) The specific details seem to provide little satisfaction on either side of the political divide, being mostly little-known criminals convicted of either drug trafficking or bank fraud offenses. Critics of … [Read more...] about The Case for (and Against) Presidential Pardons
Making a Speech this Thanksgiving? Keep Your Eye on the Turkey
Like so many Americans, this Thanksgiving we are heading off to spend the holidays with family across the country. This year, Thanksgiving is going to be extra special because we are combining the holiday with a big family reunion. As the “patriarch” of the family, I will probably be called upon to make a little speech to the gathered relatives. If I am not called upon, I … [Read more...] about Making a Speech this Thanksgiving? Keep Your Eye on the Turkey
Secret to NH State Senate Female Majority: It Doesn’t Pay
Interestingly, this Women's eNews article is the first one I've seen that finally gives a reason I can buy into understanding how it is that New Hampshire's state senate, unlike any other legislative body in the country, now has a majority of women (13 out of 24): Two major explanations for women's newfound majority are the state's high number of legislators and their … [Read more...] about Secret to NH State Senate Female Majority: It Doesn’t Pay
Stagnation Nation: Women’s Wins in Political Races Fail to Accelerate
I'd been blogging for nearly a year and a half when the November 2006 elections turned Ohio blue (Democrats took four of the five state offices and former Congressman/now U.S. Senator from Ohio, Sherrod Brown, dethroned incumbent Republican Mike DeWine). In the course of that time, I threw my first house party ever, for then-candidate and now award-winning Ohio Secretary of … [Read more...] about Stagnation Nation: Women’s Wins in Political Races Fail to Accelerate
Peter Schiff’s Prescient Pessimism
Aaron Task: There's a popular YouTube clip called "Peter Schiff Was Right" that shows the president of Euro Pacific Capital engaged in on-air debates with financial luminaries such as Art Laffer and Ben Stein, circa 2006-07. The clips show the wisdom of Schiff's dire forecasts — and, judging from the dismissive reactions, just how far he was outside the mainstream. Ben … [Read more...] about Peter Schiff’s Prescient Pessimism
Newt to be Law Lecturer at UGA — on Judicial Review
And to think, around here they call UGA a bastion of liberalism!?! The AJC's Political Insider: Former House speaker Newt Gingrich will become a regular — but temporary — lecturer at the University of Georgia School of law this spring. He’ll be teaching a course on judicial review. Which should come just in time to monitor one or two U.S. Supreme Court appointments by the … [Read more...] about Newt to be Law Lecturer at UGA — on Judicial Review
Obama’s Election Makes ‘Fatal Blow’ Against Kurds Possible: Kitabat of Iraq
The followers of Shiite Cleric Muqtada al-Sadr may not like it, but the Iraqi National Assembly is now preparing to vote on the U.S.-Iraq Status of Forces Agreement, and it looks as though they'll pass it. So the question is - what next? And what will the election of Barack Obama mean to the Iraqi calculus? Continuing with our coverage of the war from the Iraqi point of … [Read more...] about Obama’s Election Makes ‘Fatal Blow’ Against Kurds Possible: Kitabat of Iraq
Joe Nocera: The Way Out is to Help the Homeowners
NYTimes business columnist Joe Nocera was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in commentary last year. His latest book, Good Guys and Bad Guys: Behind the Scenes with the Saints and Scoundrels of American Business (and Everything in Between), is a collection of his business writing. Nocera believes we can't solve the financial crisis without addressing the problem that people … [Read more...] about Joe Nocera: The Way Out is to Help the Homeowners
Thoughts On The Economic Team: Right And Wrong
Obama has officially unveiled his economic team to generally positive reviews from people I often agree with (e.g. here and here) considering their mainstream nature. Both Summers and Geithner are near the top of the list when it comes to pragmatic capitalists. Summers was very influential in the Clinton Administration; he served as the Secretary of the Treasury and was on the … [Read more...] about Thoughts On The Economic Team: Right And Wrong
Forward Thinking Only
It's dangerous to assume that we can actually see the future by only looking at the technological advances we've made so far. -- Octavia Butler (1947 - 2006), Hugo and Nebula award winning science fiction author I thought of those words that Ms. Butler made at panel discussion at UCLA in 2002 as I watched the MSNBC Morning Joe crew debate the Citigroup bailout and the … [Read more...] about Forward Thinking Only
Citigroup’s Bailout Fiasco
While Wall Street and stock investors smile with relief, Main Street grimaces in pain. The government plowing $20 billion into Citigroup to forestall collapse is another example of throwing good money after bad. President Bush and his economic advisers said the company is too large to fail. "It would create chaos," said Winson Fong, managing director at SG Asset Management … [Read more...] about Citigroup’s Bailout Fiasco
Rock On, Accolade!
Very busy day today, which explains a lack of posting on my part, but let me refer you to an interesting article in the Times: As Taboos Ease, Saudi Girl Group Dares to Rock It's about an all-girl rock group in a country that doesn't much care for girls or rock: They cannot perform in public. They cannot pose for album cover photographs. Even their jam sessions are … [Read more...] about Rock On, Accolade!
Greener Pastures
If most American Catholics are pro-choice, what will they do if the Church hierarchy decides that a vote for the Freedom of Choice Act is grounds for "automatic excommunication"? … [Read more...] about Greener Pastures
Rethinking Risk
In all the replays of what went wrong with the economy, the recurring theme is the failure of risk management--by the government, Wall Street and overreaching home buyers. Over the weekend, we get disheartening replays of how the Bush Administration abdicated responsibility for regulation and how greedy hotshots at Citibank created a mess that taxpayers will now have to … [Read more...] about Rethinking Risk
The Bestest Harvard Law Review Article Ever
I mean, it'd be good anyway, but footnote 19 catapults it into legendary status. … [Read more...] about The Bestest Harvard Law Review Article Ever