Channeling “Hal” from “2001: a Space Odyssey” [Note to Readers: The views expressed here are solely those of Ross Kaplan, and do not represent Edina Realty, Berkshire Hathaway, or any other entity referenced. Edina Realty is a subsidiary of Berkshire.] So, faced with a second Trump impeachment and widespread fury following Wednesday’s attack on the...Read More
“Rule or Die” Mentality Comes to U.S. Politics [Note to Readers: The views expressed here are solely those of Ross Kaplan, and do not represent Edina Realty, Berkshire Hathaway (“Berkshire”), or any other entity referenced. Edina Realty is a subsidiary of Berkshire.] Minnesota Native Son (and fellow St. Louis Park High School grad) Thomas Friedman...Read More
Or More Like Arizona Senator Barry Goldwater? Funny that New York Times columnist Ross Douthat’s latest column compares Bernie Sanders to Ronald Reagan (yes, Reagan). I was just thinking Sanders is more of a latter-day Barry Goldwater. Douthat’s case for Reagan: “Like Reagan following his attempt to primary Gerald Ford in 1976, Sanders is coming...Read More
“Sauce, Geese, Ganders** . . . & Democrats” Peggy Noonan’s singular rhetorical gift is projecting a sense of what I’ll call, “unassailable, high-minded even-handedness.” Here’s an example: “Republicans should understand that President Obama wants a deal . . . He needs to show he can roll with history’s punches. And there’s a sense he actually yearns for...Read More
Balance Sheet vs. Income Statement Effects “It’s too soon to tell.” –Chinese premier Mao Zedong in the late 1940’s, when he was asked what he thought about The French Revolution. I know what Mao Zedong would have said about the gargantuan, $1.3 trillion tax reform bill just passed by the Republicans (zero Democrats voted in...Read More
“Recent surveys suggest that . . . maybe 40 percent of Republicans are what you might call conservative white identitarians. White identitarians are conservative, but their white identity is quite important to them, sometimes even more important than their conservatism.” –David Brooks, “How Trump Kills the GOP” (The New York Times; 8/29/17). At his best,...Read More
