Rupert Murdoch

Does anyone believe he didn't know about the phone hacking?

The "debt ceiling" and the filthy rich right

What is happening is a victory for what I call the filthy rich right. The filthy rich right include, for example, Jon Paulson and Lloyd Blankfein. The proposals by President Obama would be a great victory for the filthy rich right. Paul Krugman is railing against Obama’s proposals because they would include “cuts to Social Security and an end to Medicare’s status as a program available in full to all Americans, regardless of income.“ http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/08/opinion/08krugman.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss. Amazingly, the Republicans are rejecting Obama’s proposals because they would include increased taxes; the Republicans reject “tax increases” of any kind. They successfully sweep under the carpet that Obama is really opposing a tax cut for those making more than $250,000 a year. In other words, Obama wants to allow the Bush tax cuts lapse for those making that much and more. Even David Gergen approves of Obama’s position: “Obama, to his credit, has been pushing both sides to come off their hard-line positions and seek compromises. On the substantive issues, he has been the most flexible of any of the players on the field.”

A strange man in bed

Tim woke slowly. He had slept long and deeply, and remembered no dreams as he opened his eyes. He stretched long, and bumped a body next to his. Holding himself motionless, he turned his head to his left. There was a man in bed with him. Tim slid from beneath the blankets and stood next to the bed, studying the man. He was young, in his mid twenties, and thin, unshaven. But then, so was Tim. So what was this fellow doing in his bed? Tim looked about. He was most definitely in his own bedroom. The rust colored comforter on the bed had been given to him by his girlfriend, Sarah. The king-sized bed he had purchased two years earlier. “What do you do when you wake up with a strange man in your bed?” he wondered. It would be one thing if he were a woman or gay, but he was straight. At least he thought he was straight. Though there was a man in his bed. What was the man doing in his bed? He couldn’t be setting Tim up for blackmail. Tim had nothing to speak of. No assets. Should he wake the man up? Perhaps Tim should just leave for a time. Surely if he were to return after half a day the man would be gone. Tim decided to leave. Tim was a pure mathematician. He wasn't bitter about his career choice, but wished he made more money. He could have made so much more writing code. Of course now no one wrote code.

Wild Vine and the Quicksand Marching Band

My family and I had a great treat yesterday evening when we went to see the Quicksand Marching Band at The Wild Vine in Livermore. We actually went to see our daughter, who invited us. We happened upon an unexpected, at least to us, display of quality musical skill and innovation. We got there about 8:30 pm, so we didn’t see much of the first group who opened. We did see Melody Walker from Martinez, who was excellent. She has been influenced by Paul Simon and Joni Mitchell, among others, but she is definitely her own person and singer. Had she been the only performer that evening, she and the fellow who was with her would have made the evening very enjoyable.
Quicksand Marching Band, though, turned out to be an extraordinary bluegrass group. Here are five young men about to graduate from UC-Davis who have clearly taken advantage of that time when they were not subject to financial pressure and supported by their folks to refine their musical skills and talent. Each plays a number of instruments. They hit their harmonies dead on, and play off well against and with each other. They play classics and originals, and if anything their original work is better than the classics. People should go to see them now while that is still possible, because it is likely they will soon no longer be together, a consequence of graduation. In other words, here is a group that is likely at its peak, but the group may not be around much longer, so people should see them now or miss a memorable musical treat.

Too many judges spoil the soup

There is a reactionary group of judges in California who seek to oppose a uniform set of rules for the superior courts and a technology upgrade designed to link the information systems of the superior courts. It is time for the superior courts to leave the 19th century behind. As a trial lawyer, I can say that these changes would promote efficiency. Even today, a lawyer who practices in San Mateo County, Santa Clara County, San Francisco County, and Alameda County must study four different sets of local court rules to ensure he or she does her job correctly and does not get her clients thrown out of court. That's absurd. A lawyer should only have to learn one set of rules for the state, and should be able to consult one electronic online system to learn whether a case has been filed against his or her client somewhere in the State of California.

Wisconsin Power Grab

Walker's attack on the Wisconsin public employees' unions is another effort to shift the economic burden of government from the rich to those with less power. At the same time Walker and his cohort Republicans are cutting taxes to corporations, they are trying to cut the income of the public employees. They are also seeking to limit the public employees' power to oppose such shifting of economic burden. Walker and his cohorts represent the rich, it's clear. They are attacking those who actually have committed their lives to serving the people.

Wisconsin Protests

What no one seems to get is that imposing a reduction in the benefits and wages of the public employees is taxing them while everyone else is getting tax cuts. And on top of that the Republicans want to take away their rights to collective bargaining.