Jamesian Philosophy Refreshed

"Former Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli (R) on Monday began his new job as acting director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), a controversial appointment that could set up a showdown between the White House and Senate Republicans." I saw that recently and wondered at the name. It looked a bit familiar Cuccinelli  is Madonna's birth name?  [Note -- no, that turns out to be Ciccone.] Cuccinelli made a bit of a splash when he was state Attorney General for Virginia in the period 2010-14 under Governor Bob McDonnell. In that capacity, he investigated climate scientists, stating that they were arguably engaged in fraud by peddling this notion that CO2 emissions affect the planet in ways that might prove harmful to humans. I am happy to note that, at the very least, he did not misuse his position to bring any charges. My guess is that announcing an investigation was sufficient to get him what he wanted from it -- a blast of narcissistical...

At  this time of year I ask myself what were the biggest stories of the past twelve months in business/financial news.  Of course, I choose the ones I do largely because they illustrate an important theme, and in the list below I'll spell out and boldface the theme. Yet the theme itself isn't the story. Here are the twelve stories, by month, that especially caught my attention and that in retrospect I recommend to yours.  1. January. Immigration. Well, of course. But I want to highlight a different aspect of the immigration question than the one that has caught the most attention.   In the early days of the new year, Reuters appears to have heard from sources that the President elect (as he then was) was in talks with hi-tech employers about the possible overhaul of the H1B visa system. At the end of the month, word leaks out that the now President, Donald Trump, is moving in the opposite direction from what those employers presumably had hoped . This will...