AIG bonuses: Populist anger is moral and right, writes Deepak Chopra in the Washington Post today. “Bernie Madoff’s last-minute contrition doesn’t remotely ease his massive immorality. Wall Street types sneaking their bonuses in under the wire are part of a general moral collapse. The social element counts for a lot in this case, because the ethos of Wall Street gleefully permitted runaway greed, reckless disregard of other people’s risks, and general anarchy in the pursuit of profits. In the crude lingo of trading, customers were mooks who existed for one purpose only: to be promoted out of their hard-earned money.”
Meanwhile, Newsday reports today that members of Congress got AIG bonuses, too, although they call them campaign contributions. The Buffalo News pairs the politicians’ rhetoric with the hard numbers.
A study out of Boston shows “patients who leaned the most heavily on their faith were nearly three times more likely to choose and receive more aggressive care near death, such as ventilators or cardiopulmonary resuscitation. They were less likely to have advanced care planning in place, such as do-not-resuscitate orders, living wills, and healthcare proxies.”
It flies! The combination car/airplane flies! Originally, it was thought the carplane would be handy for long-distance commutes. Now, its primary mission will be to fly over potholes on Minnesota highways.
Fill out your tournament bracket. I can’t seem to get the Gophers to advance. Now I know how Tubby feels.
Bob Collins retired from Minnesota Public Radio in 2019 after 12 years of writing NewsCut and pointing out to complainants that posts weren’t news stories. A son of Massachusetts, he was a news editor 1992-1998, created the MPR News regional website in 1999, invented the popular Select A Candidate, started several blogs, and every day lamented that his Minnesota Fantasy Legislature project never caught on.
Bob Collins