Some tentative thoughts on accounting scandals. Charles Oliver asks if current US accounting scandals mean that the US in 2002 is like Japan in 1989. I have some fears that he may be right. Japan soared for a long time on a mistaken belief about the health of its companies and economy. It turned out that the books were cooked. Japanese accounting rules allowed companies to take bonds and split them between principal and interest (coupons and zeroes) and value the two parts equally. Of course, they weren’t equally valuable. So companies would sell the more valuable piece for a paper profit, and keep the less valuable piece on their books at above market value. Companies were hiding losses and pretending to show profits in this way for decades. At the time, analysts in the…
About Gary Leff
Anyone care to send the
Anyone care to send the folks at blogspot a dollar so they can buy themselves a clue and name More Room Throughout Coach a Blog of Note?
I just noticed
I just noticed Timatollah. Okay, I noticed because he linked to me. Tim has some interesting observations, but I need to take issue with his July 4th point based on the Declaration of Independence that “legitimate government is one of the great creations of the human social animal.” We equally need to remember Madison’s point that (paraphrasing) If all men were angels, there would be no need for government. If government were to be run by angels, there would be no need for constraints. But it is precisely because men are to rule over other men, that we must first empower and then constrain. IMHO, we’ve gone rather far on the pendulum towards empowering. We need to pay a little more attention to constraints.
My May archives seem to
My May archives seem to have disappeared, so here is a Free Hertz #1 Gold Membership (Normally $50) Free Gold Status with Hilton (for benefits, see here)
Last year, when the U.C.
Last year, when the U.C. Berkeley Speech team stayed with me during the AFA national finals, we visited the Smithsonian’s Air & Space Museum. Jake and Jenni tried to convince me that the moon landing was a fake. I didn’t believe them. Thanks to this link (thanks to Happy Fun Pundit), now I do.
USS Clueless posts
USS Clueless posts about the importance of juries and declining protections for defendants in the U.K. It’s important to remember that juries are an important protection against a tyrannical state.
Today is Bastille
Today is Bastille Day which commemmorates the storming of the Bastille and the overthrow of the French monarchy. Consider a picnic which includes French wine. Personally, I am going to mark the occasion by reading about wines that I cannot afford on a regular basis — Chateua Y’quem, the world’s finest white wine and the greatest wine I’ve ever tasted; and three of the five “first growths” of Bordeaux: Chateau Margaux Chateau Latour Chataeu Haut-Brion
TAPPED is doing
TAPPED is doing quite a job spotting factual errors in Ann Coulter’s book Slander: Liberal Lies About the American Right. Scoobie really plays it up. Now, Coulter doesn’t seem to be a Michael Bellesiles — but she ought to acknowledge her errors. They matter. Coulter’s argument is that the tenor of discourse is different for liberals than it is for conservatives — that conservatives use facts and logic while liberals scream, rant, and engage in character assassination. Sloppy facts undermine her argument. The truth is that “both” sides see the other as evil or stupid. If only one’s opponents would give logic a chance they would see the error of their ways! Conservatives, like liberals, need to look in the mirror and be honest with themselves about their discourse. (I’m not the first right-of-center person…
A brand new, best-ever bonus
A brand new, best-ever bonus for signing up for the Starwood American Express. Up to 10,000 bonus miles in the first year of card membership — 4k with your first purchase, 1k for your first hotel stay at a Starwood property, and 500 bonus points for each of the next 10 stays in the first year. First year of card membership remains free, with a $30 fee thereafter. This is a richer offer than the old offer, which didn’t include the 4000 points for making a first purchase. This is the best mileage-earning card. First, because Starwood (W, Sheraton, Westin, St. Regis) is a great hotel program and there are no capacity controls on awards — if there’s a hotel room open, it’s yours. Second, because your points convert 1:1 (as opposed to 5:1 with…
Doctors-only deal. Healthfusion.com
Doctors-only deal. Healthfusion.com offers American Airlines miles for submitting claims and insurance eligibility inquiries on-line.
