Ernie The Attorney

Iceland, what made you think you were so special?

Michael Lewis' recent article in Vanity Fair is a must read on so many levels.  First, it's fascinating account of how Iceland, a quaint little country that has been isolated from the world of International finance for more than a millennium, suddenly became a careening high roller.  And then promptly became bankrupt. As in: 'the whole country became bankrupt.'

But there's another level (as their always is when Lewis looks at a situation) that I find more Interesting. How did a bunch of people who made their money for hundreds of years by fishing come to believe that they had an aptitude for high finance?  This short blurb, in which Lewis talks with an Icelandic fellow, kind of sums it up:

It took years of training for him to become a captain, and even then it happened only by a stroke of luck. When he was 23 and a first mate, the captain of his fishing boat up and quit. The boat owner went looking for a replacement and found an older fellow, retired, who was something of an Icelandic fishing legend, the wonderfully named Snorri Snorrasson. “I took two trips with this guy,” Stefan says. “I have never in my life slept so little, because I was so eager to learn. I slept two or three hours a night because I was sitting beside him, talking to him. I gave him all the respect in the world—it’s difficult to describe all he taught me. The reach of the trawler. The most efficient angle of the net. How do you act on the sea. If you have a bad day, what do you do? If you’re fishing at this depth, what do you do? If it’s not working, do you move in depth or space? In the end it’s just so much feel. In this time I learned infinitely more than I learned in school. Because how do you learn to fish in school?”

This marvelous training was as fresh in his mind as if he’d received it yesterday, and the thought of it makes his eyes mist.

“You spent seven years learning every little nuance of the fishing trade before you were granted the gift of learning from this great captain?” I ask.

“Yes.”

“And even then you had to sit at the feet of this great master for many months before you felt as if you knew what you were doing?”

“Yes.”

“Then why did you think you could become a banker and speculate in financial markets, without a day of training?”

“That’s a very good question,” he says. He thinks for a minute. “For the first time this evening I lack a word.” As I often think I know exactly what I am doing even when I don’t, I find myself oddly sympathetic.

Funny how easy it is for us to believe that we suddenly understand something that common sense should tell us is not that easily known.  I suggest that this a human (as opposed to an Icelandic) phenomenon by the way.  But of course we already knew that, didn't we?

Be impeccable with your word

I'm reading a great book right now called The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz. It's a little book with a simple message: namely, that there are four things you should focus on if you want to change your life in a powerful way.

1. Be impeccable with your word
2. Don't take anything personally  
3. Don't make assumptions
4. Always do your best  

The first Agreement is the hardest. To "be impeccable with your word" means, obviously, you should be honest and straightforward. But it's actually more than that. You should also avoid engaging in pettiness, especially gossip. The author points out that gossiping has become the main form of communication in our society. Speaking ill of people in a casual way is a form of gossip.

I mention this because today I read this blurb about Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi's comment about Bush as he departed the inauguration. This kind of statement is completely unnecessary, unless your point is to perpetuate pettiness.  But that seems to be a staple of most of our politicians.

Yesterday I saw a news clip of Joe Biden joking about needing notes when he was swearing and some administration officials, the point of which was to subtly criticize Chief Justice John Roberts' mishap in delivering the presidential oath. Next to Biden was President Obama, who was stone-faced—clearly not interested in joining in Biden's off-the-cuff pettiness.

I don't know if Obama has read The Four Agreements, but he seems to understand very well the principle of 'being impeccable with one's word.'  Unfortunately, many others do not understand this. Those who do, however, have a powerful edge.  One that, in Obama's case, will be very useful in meeting some major political challenges.

Forecasting political corruption

Experts say that political corruption is likely to decrease for at least the next few months, mostly in situations where governors get to name U.S. senators. So, at least we've got that going for us.

Which is nice.

Good writing isn't always what we imagine

Bryan Garner, the famed legal writing guru, asked people at the ABA Franchise meeting in Austin last month if they were willing to try something for 6 months that would dramatically improve their writing. A chorus of grudging yays echoed forth. The reluctance stemmed from the assumption that he was about to suggest some sort of daily writing regimen.

"Subscribe to The Economist," was one of his suggestions. Fortunately, I'd already completed this assignment. Before I read The Economist I'd assumed that it was a highbrow financial magazine filled with dense prose and weighty proclamations. Once again, my fast assumptions proved to be flat wrong.

The Economist is one of the most interesting magazines I've ever come across. First, all of the articles are written anonymously. And yet they all have the same tone and style—that of a well informed person who isn't afraid to make (clever) off the cuff comments. But, of course, none of the comments are 'off the cuff.' All of the language is heavily edited.

And therein lies the rub. The writing style conveys a breezy manner, but the arguments are well-thought out. Oh, and that's another difference: the writers don't shy away from taking strong positions. They make arguments.

But, aside from the arguments, it's really the style of writing that deserves careful attention. The jaunty manner is evident in the recent article about Obama's victory and transition to power entitled 'Change.gov.' Read the whole article to get a sense of this, but here are examples of sentences that I doubt you'd ever see in a mainstream U.S. publication:

"There are also plenty of fissures in Obamaworld."

And in discussing the laborious process of confirming the 7,000 administration appointees, this sentence:

"Nominees endure an absurdly long nomination process, filling in 60 pages of forms and submitting themselves to extensive FBI vetting, during which plods from the bureau inquire about their taste for intoxicants and the legal status of their nannies."

Words like 'Obamaworld' and 'plods' are too colorful for journals like Time or Newsweek, which seem to believe that credibility is created through the illusion of neutrality. The Economist shows us that it's okay to argue points and to use everyday words. Well, it shows us that only if we read it.

So does Mr. Garner suggest that we look only to foreign publications for examples of good writing? No, he also suggests that we subscribe to the New Yorker.

Obama on religion

From an interview given by Barack Obama four years ago, shortly after he'd be elected to the U.S. Senate:

"I retain from my childhood and my experiences growing up a suspicion of dogma. And I'm not somebody who is always comfortable with language that implies I've got a monopoly on the truth, or that my faith is automatically transferable to others."

Amen, brother.

History now

Last night was something I never thought I'd see, something I'd hoped for for so long. A political candidate who is thoughtful, smart, and tuned into the modern world. My good friend Rick Klau, whom I came to know through blogging, spotted Barack Obama as a presidential candidate over four years ago. As soon as I started learning about Obama I realized he was something special, but neither Rick nor I knew that he would become president so quickly, even though we wanted it desperately.

We have done an amazing thing, and I really believe that Obama will go on to be one of our great Presidents. He will certainly face the kind of challenges that one has to face and conquer in order to achieve greatness. Of course, he will not conquer the epic challenges by himself; he will have to win support from many people who up til now have not been inclined to offer it. John McCain gave a great concession speech last night, one of the best I've ever seen. It wasn't a concession speech, really. I believe McCain was sincere in offering to help Obama, which is good because he's someone whose help Obama will need.

We need a President who can work with everyone, who knows how to listen and govern from the middle. Fear-mongering and extremism must be put behind us. I hope we can use the positive energy of this historic moment to go on and do great things. There isn't much time to celebrate. We have a lot of work left to do.

I'm fired up and ready to go.

Getting the voters fired up...

If you're an Obama supporter you'll appreciate this. But, even if you're not you might still admire Obama's ability to build up an audience. Either way, I hope you enjoyed exercising your right to vote today.

Not every one on this planet is blessed with an orderly democratic process. Many people face armed opposition if they deign to challenge the status quo. So let's enjoy our wonderful freedom, and try to respect the views of those we disagree with.

Posted at 02:15 PM in Politics | Permalink

If you want to know who a political candidate really is then you need to dig a little deeper than the traditional fare served up by the most mainstream of The Mainstream Media. As a lawyer, I know not to believe everything I hear or read. But I also know that if you want to find out what's really going on you have to read a lot and then judiciously parse what you read. This article on John McCain is no doubt written by someone who doesn't like McCain, but it cites a number of incidents with specific names. If you wanted to know the real John McCain you'd check out all of these incidents and see which ones are true but not widely discussed by the mainstream media. There is a long and disturbing list of improprieties here, and some of them have been reported and are undeniably true. Some of them are vaguely sourced.

It is undeniably true that McCain is a hothead, to the point that some respected GOP colleagues have questioned whether he's too dangerous to be President. If I was undecided I'd take some time to probe these reports and see if they are true. If you really want to know what's going on you're going to have to do more than just watch debates. And, frankly, the same is true for Obama. He has less of a record to work with, but from what I can tell the worst stuff has come out. Is he too liberal? I don't know. But I don't think that there is any indication that he has a personality disorder. Some of the stuff about McCain, if true, raises that question.

The majority of our politicians are devoid of leadership skills. These politicians are guided by stubbornness or polls, sometimes both. Rarely are they guided sound judgment, the kind that takes in account broad forces and discounts petty parochialism. David Brooks writes about it. And this cartoon from the New Yorker captures it. Electing new leaders would help, but I'm not banking on the common man to get us out of this mess.

Who elected the current crop of leaders? I have to assume that most of them will be voting in the next election. It will be interesting to see how much more damage they can do.

Last year the big news was Steve Job's weblog (a/k/a 'Fake Steve Jobs'). Looks like now we've got New Orleans mayor Ray Nagin on Twitter Fake Ray, I should say, but it's still hilarious (e.g., note where Ray's 'location' is).

Who is the real John McCain? Undecided voters should want to know.

If you want to know who a political candidate really is then you need to dig a little deeper than the traditional fare served up by the most mainstream of The Mainstream Media. As a lawyer, I know not to believe everything I hear or read. But I also know that if you want to find out what's really going on you have to read a lot and then judiciously parse what you read. This article on John McCain is no doubt written by someone who doesn't like McCain, but it cites a number of incidents with specific names. If you wanted to know the real John McCain you'd check out all of these incidents and see which ones are true but not widely discussed by the mainstream media. There is a long and disturbing list of improprieties here, and some of them have been reported and are undeniably true. Some of them are vaguely sourced.

It is undeniably true that McCain is a hothead, to the point that some respected GOP colleagues have questioned whether he's too dangerous to be President. If I was undecided I'd take some time to probe these reports and see if they are true. If you really want to know what's going on you're going to have to do more than just watch debates. And, frankly, the same is true for Obama. He has less of a record to work with, but from what I can tell the worst stuff has come out. Is he too liberal? I don't know. But I don't think that there is any indication that he has a personality disorder. Some of the stuff about McCain, if true, raises that question.

Leadership vacuum

The majority of our politicians are devoid of leadership skills. These politicians are guided by stubbornness or polls, sometimes both. Rarely are they guided sound judgment, the kind that takes in account broad forces and discounts petty parochialism. David Brooks writes about it. And this cartoon from the New Yorker captures it. Electing new leaders would help, but I'm not banking on the common man to get us out of this mess.

Who elected the current crop of leaders? I have to assume that most of them will be voting in the next election. It will be interesting to see how much more damage they can do.

First, a CEO with blog, and now Mayor on Twitter

Last year the big news was Steve Job's weblog (a/k/a 'Fake Steve Jobs'). Looks like now we've got New Orleans mayor Ray Nagin on Twitter Fake Ray, I should say, but it's still hilarious (e.g., note where Ray's 'location' is).