Making the Same Arguments, But Shuffling the Order [Editor’s Note: 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.] Connoisseurs of legal strategies — specifically, the “it’s not my dog” defense — can be...Read More
Keeping Calm and Carrying On, Circa 2017 As world views go, I always especially liked this one: “Every morning I get up and look through the Forbes list of the richest people in America. If I’m not there, I go to work.” –Robert Orben With a little bit of re-tooling, I think it still works...Read More
Schizophrenic Politics, Schizophrenic Language It turns out that it’s not just modern American politics that is increasingly schizophrenic. So is our language. Exhibit A: the two, diametrically opposite meanings of the statement, “That investigation is going nowhere” (as in, the investigation into Russian collusion in the 2016 Presidential election, and whether Trump obstructed it). Definition...Read More
Mining Taboos (Abortion, Suicide, etc.) for Laughs. Really. Maybe Louis C.K. is saving incest, bestiality, and genocide for his next stand-up special. In this one, titled merely “2017” (it’s a riff on Christianity), he contents himself tackling such taboo subjects as abortion, suicide, beheading, transexuality, and latent homosexuality (if you hadn’t noticed, sex and sexuality loom large...Read More
WSJ: “Spies Keep Intelligence From Trump“ [Editor’s Note: The views expressed here are solely those of Ross Kaplan, and do not represent Edina Realty, Berkshire Hathaway, or any other entity referenced.] That’s one way to protect against treason. Namely, keep the President and his inner circle out of the loop, so they can’t betray any...Read More
Realtor-as-Brain Surgeon The best response I’ve seen to Ben Carson’s appointment as the head of Housing and Urban Development (“HUD”) is from a fellow Realtor: “I am a real estate professional and have just been appointed to head up the neurosurgery department for my regional hospital group. I have never been to medical school, and...Read More
