Professor Bainbridge...on law, politics, religion, culture & food
Law & Business
The SEC’s Response to SOX Costs
My latest TCS column addresses the SEC's woefully inadequate action on controlling Sarbanes-Oxley compliance costs:Unlike the recommendations made by its own Advisory Committee, which would have provided significant and comprehensive regulatory relief for smaller public corporations, the SEC has taken a …Continue Reading...
Cafferty and Serwer on Enron
Query: Is there a more anti-business/anti-capitalism "business news" program than Jack Cafferty's "In the Money" on CNN? As evidence for a "no" answer, I put forward Cafferty's comments on the Enron verdicts:So it took the government a while but they got …Continue Reading...
Martha to Contest IT Charge
According to AP:Martha Stewart, who completed a five-month prison sentence a year ago for lying about her sale of ImClone stock, has decided to fight rather than settle civil insider trading charges brought by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. In …Continue Reading...
Skilling and Lay’s Chances on Appeal
The NYT's Dealbook offers an excellent analysis of the prospects for a successful appeal by Jeffrey Skilling and Ken Lay of their convictions. Short answer seems to be "slim and none." BTW, yours truly is quoted.
Skilling’s Insider Trading Charge: “On the Basis of” versus “Possession of”
Gordon Smith joins Larry Ribstein and James Joyner in wondering why Jeffrey Skilling was convicted on all the fraud and conspiracy but acquitted on all but one of the insider trading counts:So the question remains: how could he have been engaged …Continue Reading...
Revisionist History at Kos
Daily Kos diarist clammyc writes:As we all know, the Enron decision was announced. And coming from someone who (as well as my wife) lost my job at Andersen as a result of this debacle, I wanted to share some of my …Continue Reading...
Lay and Skilling Convicted: Ongoing Reaction
From CNN:Skilling was found guilty on 19 counts of conspiracy, fraud, false statements and insider trading. He was found not guilty on eight counts of insider trading. Lay was found guilty on all six counts of conspiracy and fraud.Quick Many thoughts, …Continue Reading...
SOX: Looking under the surface
At TCS, Alex Pollock gets it exactly right:Debates about the Sarbanes-Oxley Act continue, but one thing is clear: its implementation has created unintended consequences. As every Member of Congress knows from many constituents, it has caused a tremendously expensive amount of …Continue Reading...
Wine & Food
Ridge Geyserville (Sonoma County) 2001
Brambles and berries, with sour cherry and five spice powder on the finish. Touch of dill (probably american oak).Drinkable now, but unusually firm tannins still need some time to resolve. B/B+
Gloria Ferrer Blanc de Noirs (Sonoma County) NV
Very crisp. Green apple, citrus, almonds, buttered toast. A lovely match for a salad of baby greens, sundried tomatoes, basil. fennel, and smoked salmon. Grade: B+
Conundrum (California) 2004
Year in and year out, Conundrum is one of my favorite white wines. In 2004, I detect significant amounts of Sauvignon Blanc and Muscat Canelli in the blend. The key flavor associations are pineapple, green apple, apricot, a touch of SB …Continue Reading...
Judgment of Paris Interview
A transcript of my interview with Jed Babbin re the Judgment of Paris US-French wine competition is now available at Radioblogger.
Regusci Cabernet Sauvignon Stags Leap District (Napa Valley) 2000
A lovely nose of blackcurrants and cedar. A bit thin on the palate for a $45/bottle wine. Grade: B
Sokol Blosser Evolution (America) NV*
A blend of nine wines sourced from multiple states. Interesting. Pineapple, grapefruit, and herbs. A somewhat odd vegetal flavor on the finish (green beans?). Simple, straight forward, and a little shallow. Slightly off-dry. A bit over-priced at $16. Grade: C+ …Continue Reading...
Ridge Lytton Estate Grenache (Dry Creek Valley) 2001
The blend includes 12% Petite Sirah and 10% Zinfandel. Earthy and a little berry/cherry fruit. Decent acidity and moderate tannins make it okay to drink now; it's better than I remember from the last tasting in Feb. '05, but it probably …Continue Reading...
Swordfish and Gnocchi in Tomato Sauce
Very simple, but quite tasty. 1 swordfish steak (about 1 pound) 8 Roma tomatoes, cored, seeded, and cut into large dice (peel if you want) 5 cloves garlic sliced thin 1 small bunch fresh basil, chiffonaded salt, white pepper, and red …Continue Reading...
Punditry
My Current Top 25
Kevin Drum asks (opines? comments?):Everyone's pissed off over Jacob Weisberg's weird rant about Hillary Clinton's iPod, and they're right to be. He basically used it as an excuse to demonstrate that Hillary is exactly the conniving fake he always thought she …Continue Reading...
Townshend on the Politics of Won’t Get Fooled Again
Pete Townshend comments on Won't Get Fooled Again being named the all time greatest "conservative" rock song:... the song has no party-allied political message at all. It is not precisely a song that decries revolution - it suggests that we will …Continue Reading...
Blair at Georgetown
GU international law professor Tony Arend on Tony Blair's foreign policy address at Georgetown.
Memorial Day
My grandfather, Irwin, who served in the 17th Cavalry during WWI, in uniform:The 17th Cavalry Regiment was organized under the provisions of the National Defense Act of 1916 at Ft Bliss, Texas on 30 June 1916 and constituted on 1 July …Continue Reading...
Benedict on the Holocaust
The press reports that after visiting Auschwitz Pope Benedict said:"In a place like this, words fail; in the end, there can be only a dread silence, a silence which itself is a heartfelt cry to God: Why, Lord, did you remain …Continue Reading...
Steyn: On and Off the Rails
Mark Steyn gets it, for the most part:What does the Republican base's despair with Congress boil down to? That the Gingrich revolutionaries have turned into the pampered potentates of pre-1994 Washington, a remote insulated arrogant elite interested only in protecting the …Continue Reading...
Politicians and Kids
Linda Fairstein, a former New York City prosecutor on Hillary Rodham Clinton:"I think of Hillary as a lioness protecting children."Personally, when a Republican starts talking about "our kids," I worry for the Bill of Rights. When a Democrat starts talking about …Continue Reading...
Put People First
I'm beginning to think that any idea that gets bipartisan support in Congress should be presumed to be a bad one. Consider the latest bipartisan effort:A television shot of a little boy losing his dog during Katrina rescue operations was the …Continue Reading...
