An article in New Republic Online blasts the Massachusetts senator for having supported the lawsuit-limiting Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (as did two-thirds of Kerry’s Senate colleagues, including even Ted Kennedy as well as nearly all the Republicans). Supposedly the PSLRA’s provisions, such as those requiring that charges of fraud be pleaded with particularity, encouraged misconduct like that later uncovered at Enron and WorldCom. (Jonathan Cohn, “Matter of Interest”, New Republic Online, Jan. 23). Mickey Kaus (scroll down) passes along the charges at face value, but Professor Bainbridge is fortunately on the case with a good response (Jan. 25).
Archive for January, 2004
Fen-phen: the plot thickens
Permission to link, sir?
In mid-2002, in the face of widespread criticism (and more than a little derision), National Public Radio dropped its policy of purporting to require webmasters to ask permission before linking to its website, npr.org. (Farhad Manjoo, “NPR Retreats, Link Stink Lingers”, Wired News, Jun. 28, 2002). We noticed the other day, however, that Forbes magazine, ordinarily one of the more sensible and web-literate media outfits, on its Reprints/Permissions page includes the following option: “Request permission to include a link to FORBES.com on your website.” Whoops, looks like we just may have violated that policy (more: Aug. 22, 2002; Dec. 11, 2001; etc.).
Better for her to die?
Lori Wells, a 20-year-old Edmonton woman on dialysis, appealed on the internet for a kidney donor and 36 complete strangers from as far away as Florida volunteered their organs. “When donors contacted the local health authority, their offers were turned down.” Canadian transplant programs “insist living donors be family or close friends” to avoid the possibility that persons will donate organs for reasons deemed unworthy. One result: while 3,000 Canadians languish on waiting lists in need of transplants, only about 1,100 of them get transplants in a given year. (Adam Young, “Organ Donations: Socialism or Laissez-Faire?”, Mises.org, Jan. 19; “Ethicists dash hopes for internet kidney donors”, CBC, Dec. 22). (via Alex Tabarrok)
NAAG enforces tobacco cartel
Who’s serving as muscle to enforce a cartel that costs American consumers billions of dollars a year? Why, the National Association of Attorneys General, that’s who. As reported in our Jan. 13 item, the Big Four tobacco companies are starting to lose significant market share to small, regional and foreign cigarette companies that either do not contribute to the MSA (multistate settlement agreement) or do not contribute as much as the majors proportionally. Now AP confirms that NAAG sees this as a big problem and is urging states to pass laws closing the supposed “loophole” (which loophole appears to consist simply of the smaller companies’ not having to pay for past sins absent any showing that they’ve committed such sins). AP also obtained a confidential September memo from NAAG that’s a bit of a smoking gun, we’d say, as far as illuminating the true motives behind the plan. The memo “warned states to expect a $2.5 billion decrease in settlement payments due April 15, down from a projected $9.3 billion. It says about $600 million of that decrease, or 25 percent, is the result ‘not of a decline in smoking but rather of NPM (nonparticipating manufacturer) sales displacing sales by Participating Manufacturers.’ ‘NPM sales confer no benefits on the States,’ reads the memo…. ‘All States have an interest in reducing NPM sales in every State.'” (“Small cigarette makers cut into Big Tobacco’s markets, states’ pockets”, AP/Raleigh News & Observer, Jan. 16). (via Vice Squad).
“Mr. Edwards’s Bundle of Secrets”
Scathing Washington Post editorial (Jan. 23) about a rather gaping hole in Sen. Edwards’s claim to be the candidate free from entanglements with all those dreadful Special Interests. “Mr. Edwards — alone among the serious candidates for president — declines to provide a list of his major campaign financiers: the men and women who have not only the capability to write $2,000 checks themselves but the networks that allow them to harvest bigger bundles for their favored candidates.” Sen. Edwards has in fact raised a larger proportion of his campaign warchest in $2,000 donations than any of his Democratic rivals, and his refusal to disclose the details of his financial operation is of particular interest because of stories like the one we covered May 8, which suggest that some of his patrons may have much they are interested in concealing about the exact manner in which those $2,000 checks came to be written and bundled. For more on Edwards’s fund-raising, see Aug. 5; Jul. 18, 2002; May 1-2, 2002; Apr. 7-8.
Harassment: do as we say?
“A federal jury on Wednesday awarded $500,000 to a former Cook County employee who alleged she was sexually harassed by her boss, who at the time was the county’s chief investigator of sexual harassment allegations. The jury of four women and three men deliberated for about 3 1/2 hours before deciding in favor of Sharla Roberts, a mother of three who said she was groped by Timothy Flick, the county’s first inspector general.” Flick denied the allegations. (Matt O’Connor, “$500,000 awarded in harassment case”, Chicago Tribune, Jan. 22; “County Official ‘Never’ Touched, Kissed Manager”, NBC5.com, Jan. 15). For more stories from the hoist-on-their-own-petard file, see Jun. 14-16, 2002 (EEOC says U.S. Commission on Civil Rights retaliated against employee who filed bias complaint), Mar. 6, 2001 (EEOC itself accused of age discrimination), Aug. 30, 1999 (U.S. Justice Department charged with ignoring employee overtime law), Feb. 6-9, 2003 (Sen. Wellstone, noted labor advocate, illegally failed to buy workers’ comp insurance for his campaign staff), and this 1998 list.
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Another traffic record; Laura Ingraham radio show
With our commentary on John Edwards drawing links from all over the place, yesterday was another record day for traffic, with 12,908 unique visitors, breaking Jan. 7’s record of 10,798. We’re being forced to upgrade to a new and more expensive hosting plan, but that’s the sort of problem it’s nice to have (to send us an Amazon donation that will help defray the costs, click here).
I’m set to appear as a guest on Laura Ingraham’s national radio show to discuss Sen. Edwards, but not this morning as originally scheduled. It’ll probably be next week.
“Jury: Airline Not Liable for Racist Rhyme”
Updating the “eenie, meenie, minie, moe” saga featured in this space last Feb. 11: “Southwest Airlines is not liable for a flight attendant who upset two black passengers by using a version of a rhyme with a racist history, a jury determined Wednesday.” Attorney Scott A. Wissel had represented the two women in the Kansas City, Kan. federal trial. (AP/Wired News, Jan. 21)