When John McCain picked Sarah Palin as his runningmate, one of the first things everybody noticed was that after all the talk about how inexperienced Barack Obama was, McCain's pick for Vice President---that is, his choice for President if he can't do the job---had even less experience. It seemed an odd choice, and it undercut his campaign's ability to bring up the experience … [Read more...] about The Palin-Obama Paradox
Signs That I May Have Underestimated the Badness of Our Economy
I'm beginning to think the economic crisis is worse than I thought---meaning it won't just hit Wall Street. I'm coming around for a couple of reasons: An awful lot of economists agree there's a bad problem. Most of them also think the bailout was not the solution. There's anecdotal evidence that the crisis is breaking out of the financial sector and starting to affect the real … [Read more...] about Signs That I May Have Underestimated the Badness of Our Economy
You Don’t Want to Be the Target of a Federal Criminal Investigation
The bottom line is, if you are charged with a federal crime, you are probably going to go to prison. If you have been charged with a federal crime your first thought should not be whether you are going to go to trial to prove your innocence. And if you are guilty you certainly should not risk going to trial. Your first thought should be how to keep your prison sentence to the … [Read more...] about You Don’t Want to Be the Target of a Federal Criminal Investigation
Welcome to Our Junkie Economy
It started with Bear Stearns. Just a few billion dollars to take the edge off. Then Fannie and Freddie gave their lives over to the drug completely, followed by AIG. Suddenly everbody wanted a hit, they soaked up the drug to the tune of $700 billion dollars, and we thought it was over, but they kept wanting more, and the pushers keep supplying them: The Federal Reserve … [Read more...] about Welcome to Our Junkie Economy
Is the Band Really a Surprise?
Legal Satyricon contributor Sam Lea clearly know how to begin a story: Police in Winona, Minnesota charged a 14-year-old boy with desecrating a U.S. flag, after he wrote song lyrics on it, burned holes in it with cigarettes, and then proceeded to tear the flag into several pieces. He then scattered the pieces throughout his high school before skipping class to attend the "Rage … [Read more...] about Is the Band Really a Surprise?