Jamesian Philosophy Refreshed

The group hate on elite folk who have been cheating their kids' ways into college, and on two actresses in particular who have become the public face of this scandal. has begun to die down: there are other things to think about after all, and the new headlines cause some fading in the urgency of the old, even if 'old' isn't very old and even if one of those faces of the scandal was big on Full House. Heck, Bill Cosby is doing hard time.  R. Kelly seems headed that way. If you're gonna keep people wowed by a scandal you have to up your game from just busting "Aunt Becky." At any rate, here is a skeptical look at what is going on. Please skip or skim through the opening three paragraphs about Enron. Anderson is a guy with a bug up his butt about Enron.  He does eventually sort-of-admit that there was real financial harm caused by that company and its sudden demise, although he doesn't believe "real" crimes were involved. I don't thi...

Not yet prominently covered by the finance media in the US: boardroom troubles at Petrobras, the company that was once the national oil company of Brazil, that was privatized in 2010 but that remains of great importance there (and in the South American continent in general) -- this looks like something that could explode into big front page headlines soon. (Its impressive looking HQ building in Rio is portrayed here.) The chairman of the board has taken a temporary leave of absence, after only five months on the job. The company isn't saying why, except for a terse reference to "personal reasons." Does this mean he is retiring, and simply hopes to play a lot of golf? Almost certainly not. After all, Murilo Ferreira remains a member of the board of Vale SA< Brazil's big mining corp., a task which one presumes also cuts into golf time.  So what is there specific about Petrobras that  requires he be absent? Petrobras contends these days with a bid rigging and br...

The notion that George Stephanopoulos is at the center of controversy strikes me as odd. Isn't he a beloved Sesame Street character? No? I'm confused again?...