The President Eject November 29, 2020November 29, 2020 The president keeps saying the election was a massive fraud — how could 80 million people have voted against him when things are going so well? He may not be leaving. His secretary of state expects a “smooth transition” to the second Trump Administration. An email from his daughter-in-law to my mom Thanksgiving morning — with literally no mention of Thanksgiving — was titled, “Don’t trust the Fake news.” President Trump has worked too hard and accomplished too much to have it undone at the hands of BIG GOVERNMENT SOCIALISTS who TOOK the Election. If the Fake News media isn’t going to tell the truth, THEN WE WILL. She asks for $45. Which is a stretch, because my mother died ten years ago, just days after having maxed out to the DNC. President Trump will be reviewing a list with the names of every single Patriot who stepped up at this crucial time.* Will he see YOUR NAME, Audrey? Denying the results of “the most secure election in American history” is not how America is supposed to work. The Republican party used to know that. It plays directly into the hands of Vladimir Putin. It weakens trust in our democracy. It sets Carl and Tom against you and me, when in fact we have so much more in common than separates us. The Lincoln Project takes one chilling minute to reflect on the threat that the G.O.P. — their erstwhile party — now poses to democracy.** Roger Cohen worries about the same thing in this, his final column, equal parts personal narrative, wisdom, and grace. Wednesday I wrote . . . President Putin — a judo blackbelt — has mobilized his modest resources to sow division in our much larger country so that we tear ourselves apart. President Trump — a fake wrestling hall of famer — has wittingly or unwittingly abetted that effort. . . . to which one of you*** replied, simply: “Wittingly!” I don’t know about that, but I do know the Mueller report raises multiple suspicions that could not be verified because of the obstruction deemed criminal by 1,027 Republican and Democratic former federal prosecutors. Even if you believe it’s just harmless coincidence that Trump told the world he trusts Putin’s word over that of the U.S. intelligence agencies — etc., etc., etc. — what do you make of his rushing now to destroy the two Boeing jets configured to enforce the Open Skies treaty that help keep our NATO allies safe from Russian aggression? It obviously helps Russia; but how does destroying those planes strengthen our national security or make America great? Why would Trump do that? Why do Carl and Tom think it’s a good move (if they do)? How are we safer or greater now that North Korea has the capability to obliterate Honolulu and perhaps Seattle or Chicago? Has Trump really handled COVID as well as he insists? This “One Day More” parody — posted 240 days ago — is funny (and sounds great!) unless you’ve been waiting in line since 3am for food . . . while Mitch McConnell blocks relief. What should be the CONSEQUENCES for all this? One of you — who prefers to be identified simply as Steve — has an answer. I’m well aware “you don’t get in a mud fight with a pig, you both get dirty and the pig loves it” . . . but there comes a time when you have to put your foot down. In 1994, seven tobacco executives appeared in front of Congress, swore to tell the truth and lied through their teeth. Nothing happened to them. For years, oil executives denied fossil fuels contributed to global warning. Then it was discovered that they had known all along — yet they kept their industry tax breaks. When the Countrywide Financial scandal erupted, it became apparent that 20% of the sub-prime mortgages packaged into securities suffered first-month defaults (one in five couldn’t make the first mortgage payment) yet CEO Angelo Mozilo was fined merely $47 million of his $457 million in accumulated compensation. Had he been imprisoned or picked clean of his compensation, would the Wells Fargo**** scandal have happened? There have to be consequences! A century ago, the Teapot Dome scandal ended up giving Congress subpoena power and the right to access anyone’s tax records. People who ignored those subpoenas were thrown into jail cells especially made in the basement of Congress. Everyone who defied Congressional subpoenas these past couple of years (and Mnuchin for withholding Trump’s taxes) should be charged with contempt of Congress and if convicted, jailed. Even short sentences would prevent people from thinking they can get away with putting party ahead of country. And if they are lawyers, as many of them are, complaints should be made to the various bar associations seeking disbarment. These points have to be driven home over and over. Otherwise, Trump may be gone, but Trumpism will live on in the GOP. People who tried to interfere with the election results should be charged. Lindsey Graham is a lawyer and chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee. There have to be consequences for his calling state officials and trying to influence the outcome of an election. If he doesn’t know better, he shouldn’t chair the Committee — or retain a law license. Didn’t he once say something about impeachment was about cleansing the office? All the lawyers who represented Trump should be sanctioned for making knowingly false assertions. No doubt Trump will try to pardon himself and all his cronies but his self pardon will not hold up (no one can be a judge in his own case). → We’re not a country that jails its leaders. But if independent prosecutors see reason to investigate, they should. If they find reason to indict, they should. If a jury sees fit to convict and a judge to confer sentence, the public interest will have been served by revealing the truth. And then President Biden (or the applicable governor) should commute that sentence. (Likewise, if prosecutors do NOT find reason to investigate or indict, or juries and judges to convict and confer sentence, the same holds true: the public interest will have been served by revealing that truth.) But first — one way or another — he has to leave. The President Eject. Have a nice day. *This is of course a lie — no one believes Trump will be seeing their names if they donate $45. (For $1 million, on the other hand, he’ll make you Ambassador to the European Union.) **Powerful as Lincoln Project minutes almost invariably are have been — don’t you agree, Lindsey? — I resist the temptation to contribute. It seems to me their funding should come from the millions of lifelong Republicans who hate what’s happened but can’t bring themselves to fund Democrats. At least not publicly. (Look up any donor’s federal giving here.) But whether or not you contribute, do watch this latest minute. ***A Galveston girl who moved to New York, bought a 12-unit building for $60,000 in 1960, cleaned the toilets herself, and now could butter your toast with caviar. ****Thee minutes well worth watching.
PRKR OVAL AOC DNC CNF November 24, 2020 [OK, I screwed this up. This was supposed to hit your email today — Tuesday — and the one titled “Happy Thanksgiving” was supposed to hit tomorrow. Oops.] PRKR This report — though paid for by the company itself — says PRKR’s 37 cent shares are “cheap vs. our probability-adjusted SOTP estimate of $10 a share.” I had to look up SOTP (sum-of-the-parts). And note that one part to which they assign no value is the company itself. Namely, its remaining (skeletal) talent and potentially valuable store of intellectual property. Add that in and you understand why I think its a great lottery ticket. The last time there was a trial on this matter, the jury found for PRKR but the judge overturned the verdict. Might this next jury again be persuaded Qualcomm meant “this is critical technology that we must land”? Might they even decide Qualcomm acted willfully (exposing them to much greater liability)? It’s fun to dream about. OVAL Do you think Trump will set up an Oval Office lunch like this? AOC Take 12 minutes with A.O.C. to see how much you disagree. I think she was wrong in chasing Amazon from New York; I think her rhetoric is sometimes too hot. But how much of what she has to say here, if anything, do you think is wrong-headed, wrong-hearted, or unAmerican? DNC So many of you helped, I wanted you to see this — “Biden Campaign credits DNC in Election Win” — and to thank you again. CNF The case for investing in China. One more reason I’ve bought more CNF.
Happy Thanksgiving! November 24, 2020November 24, 2020 It is a fraught time. So many of us have SO much to be thankful for — I, for one, am the most fortunate man on the planet. And so many of us are in such dire, stressful straits (see AOC’s remarks linked to yesterday). It’s not how the world should be. I should be tied for most lucky with hundreds of millions others; with everyone else tied for second and third most lucky, living good lives, too. Until recently, that was just a pipe dream. But in this century? With the technology we have and are ever-fasting developing? Essentially free communications (what’s your incremental cost of making a video call to a woman on a train in Mongolia? zero!) . . . soon to be essentially free energy (can it be more than another decade or two before windows and roofs generate electricity?) . . . an end to boredom (with an Internet connection, all the world’s information, entertainment — and people — at your fingertips). The only problem, as Bill Clinton used to say near the end of his presidency, is not the trivial problem of putting a man on the moon, or the no-brainer problem of mapping of the human genome — that stuff, we know how to do. Rather, it’s humanity’s most basic, age-old problem: just learning to live with each other. As is evident these days, it’s a big, big problem. President Putin — a judo blackbelt — has mobilized his modest resources to sow division in our much larger country so that we tear ourselves apart. President Trump — a fake wrestling hall of famer* — has wittingly or unwittingly abetted that effort. And so in the holiday spirit, as we finally begin to turn the corner, with a President-elect pledged to restore civility and decency and our place in the world . . . I give you the best president of my lifetime — who shoots from downtown — in conversation with Jimmy Kimmel. Enjoy! And have a wonderful, safe Thanksgiving weekend. How lucky are we? *No — really.
PRKR OVAL AOC DNC CNF November 24, 2020November 24, 2020 [OK, I screwed this up. This was supposed to hit your email today — Tuesday — and the one titled “Happy Thanksgiving” was supposed to hit tomorrow. Oops.] PRKR This report — though paid for by the company itself — says PRKR’s 37 cent shares are “cheap vs. our probability-adjusted SOTP estimate of $10 a share.” I had to look up SOTP (sum-of-the-parts). And note that one part to which they assign no value is the company itself. Namely, its remaining (skeletal) talent and potentially valuable store of intellectual property. Add that in and you understand why I think its a great lottery ticket. The last time there was a trial on this matter, the jury found for PRKR but the judge overturned the verdict. Might this next jury again be persuaded Qualcomm meant “this is critical technology that we must land”? Might they even decide Qualcomm acted willfully (exposing them to much greater liability)? It’s fun to dream about. OVAL Do you think Trump will set up an Oval Office lunch like this? AOC Take 12 minutes with A.O.C. to see how much you disagree. I think she was wrong in chasing Amazon from New York; I think her rhetoric is sometimes too hot. But how much of what she has to say here, if anything, do you think is wrong-headed, wrong-hearted, or unAmerican? DNC So many of you helped, I wanted you to see this — “Biden Campaign credits DNC in Election Win” — and to thank you again. CNF The case for investing in China. One more reason I’ve bought more CNF.
Ralph, Rush, Rupert, Roger . . . GRRRR! November 23, 2020November 22, 2020 But first . . . And speaking of heartless women . . . . . . I somehow don’t see Hillary Clinton or Laura Bush or Michelle Obama or Jill Biden saying, “Who gives a f–k about Christmas stuff?” Michelle on Instagram, if you missed it: This week, I’ve been reflecting a lot on where I was four years ago. Hillary Clinton had just been dealt a tough loss by a far closer margin than the one we’ve seen this year. I was hurt and disappointed—but the votes had been counted and Donald Trump had won. The American people had spoken. And one of the great responsibilities of the presidency is to listen when they do. So my husband and I instructed our staffs to do what George and Laura Bush had done for us: run a respectful, seamless transition of power—one of the hallmarks of American democracy. We invited the folks from the president-elect’s team into our offices and prepared detailed memos for them, offering what we’d learned over the past eight years. I have to be honest and say that none of this was easy for me. Donald Trump had spread racist lies about my husband that had put my family in danger. That wasn’t something I was ready to forgive. But I knew that, for the sake of our country, I had to find the strength and maturity to put my anger aside. So I welcomed Melania Trump into the White House and talked with her about my experience, answering every question she had—from the heightened scrutiny that comes with being First Lady to what it’s like to raise kids in the White House. I knew in my heart it was the right thing to do—because our democracy is so much bigger than anybody’s ego. Our love of country requires us to respect the results of an election even when we don’t like them or wish it had gone differently—the presidency doesn’t belong to any one individual or any one party. To pretend that it does, to play along with these groundless conspiracy theories—whether for personal or political gain—is to put our country’s health and security in danger. This isn’t a game. So I want to urge all Americans, especially our nation’s leaders, regardless of party, to honor the electoral process and do your part to encourage a smooth transition of power, just as sitting presidents have done throughout our history. And now: If Ralph Nader is the villain on the left who gave us George W. Bush instead of Al Gore . . . . . . and thus the multi-trillion-dollar war in Iraq and a right-leaning Supreme Court . . . that gave us Citizens United and gutted the Voting Rights Act . . . giving us, thereby, Trump, who gave us three more rightwing Justices and added trillions to the trillions Bush had already added to the National Debt to give the rich more tax relief . . . . . . then the villains on the right have been Rush and Rupert and Roger (Ailes, not Stone — but him, too). The difference? Nader’s motive was not to gain wealth or power for himself but to shift it toward everyday Americans. To me, that is a big difference. Here is Al Franken on Rush Limbaugh. What a malign force; ultimately more destructive, I would argue, than even Joe McCarthy. Democrats, independents and Republicans . . . . . . which is to say Eisenhower Republicans, Reagan Republicans, Bush Republicans, Romney Republicans, McCain Republicans — even Goldwater Republicans . . . . . . need a 365-day 24/7 war room, because Q-ANON, et al, are at this non-stop, just as the ISIS recruiters were and are. It’s what well-meaning-but-misguided cult members do. They don’t think they’re in a cult; they think they’re in a glorious, righteous cause.
The World Is Not Oval November 20, 2020 Today, five ifs: If you own BOREF . . . another article suggests WheelTug may be the future. If you read about French Royal in Forbes, as brazenly suggested here . . . well, so did Drew Barrymore. It’s only a nine-second plug — “buzz buzz” — but it’s on an endless loop so, being an investor, I just let it play over and over. She was great in E.T., too. Remember? Bee extravagant: buy all the women in your life French Royal. Forget queen for a day (remember?) — we’re talking months. If you’d like to help register voters in Georgia, contribute to Voto Latino, which still has a funding gap. If you’d like to read the short letters that outgoing presidents have left their successors of the opposite party — Bush 41 to Clinton, Clinton to Bush 43, Bush 43 to Obama, Obama to Trump — you’ll find them here. They remind us what the country should be. Will Trump write a letter to Biden? Will it inspire future generations? Finally, if you’d like to read about the difference between being kind-and-inviting when talking to people who believe the world is flat . . . versus compromising with them (because, in fact, the world is neither flat nor oval) . . . read Rebecca Solnit. Powerful and provocative. (Thanks, Victor.) Have a great weekend!
Another Man Might Have Been Angry . . . November 19, 2020November 18, 2020 First, if you don’t already know it, you have to listen to Harry Chapin’s “Taxi”, truly one of the greatest ballads of all time. What a gift. She was gonna be an actress, and I was gonna learn to fly. And now, with profound apologies to that same late, great Mr. Chapin — and in keeping with my long-chronicled hobby of eating expired food — I offer a song I was inspired to write after a surprisingly good dinner. Click here for Drew Brody‘s outstanding rendition as you read the lyrics below: https://andrewtobias.com/wp-content/uploads/Chicken.mp3 It was sitting two years in the freezer, Labeled “best, by twenty eighteen.” I found it in the back ‘hind some chocolate ice cream; Not the oldest chicken I’ve seen. * You see I, think, old food expires Once it starts smelling poor. So that’s, when, I’m ready to toss it — And not a moment before. * A pound, of vacuum-packed chicken, Two deboned breasts ready to go. I musta’ bought them for some dinner Such a long, long time ago. * Oh I know, “Gross – trichinosis!” That’s what we’re trained to think. What TO-tal, old-wive’s-tale bull crap; My rule: eat if it don’t stink. * I’ll admit that I stopped to consider What my friends would say if I ‘uz wrong. “HE expired, eating old-rotten-food; Surprised, it TOOK so long.” * Well another man might’a just tossed it. And another man might not’a dined. But waste-not want-not is my motto — I nuked those breasts, and dined fine. * You see, she was gonna be a chicken; And I have yet to learn to fry. She just wound up being dinner; And no. I didn’t die. * Didn’t die. Didn’t die. Didn’t die. Have a great day.
Bless This Day November 18, 2020November 17, 2020 Okay, I’m still basically playing hooky. But you paid good money for this site, so: Here is Randy Rainbow’s latest. Here is yet another of those repurposed, subtitled clips from Der Untergang. It never gets old. Four minutes each. WARNING: If you are a Trump fan, please skip both. We should spend most of our time these days finding common ground, not offending each other. Yet some things, among friends, are just irresistible. And by insisting the election was rigged when it was not — and that his landslide 2016 victory was not rigged when it was* — he threatens the very foundation of our democracy. So maybe it’s okay to have a little fun at his expense? *With Russia’s help, whether he asked for it or not. “Russia, if you’re listening . . . “
Bee Amazed November 17, 2020November 16, 2020 But first . . . . . . ParkerVision’s third quarter loss was not surprising — they have no revenue. But it was interesting to note (disclosed for the first time, I believe) the amount of the damages PRKR will be asking a jury to award in its suit against QualComm, scheduled to begin May 3rd: $1.3 billion. And that’s not counting years and years of interest, nor the possibility of “enhanced damages” the judge may assess for “willful infringement,” up to triple the award. Will the jury be persuaded that an internal QualComm email stating, “this is critical technology that we must land” meant that QualComm believed PRKR had critical technology QualComm had to land? And since QualComm never paid PRKR for that technology but seems to have used it anyway — or so the company alleges — is it possible the jury will find in PRKR’s favor? Owning a ridiculous number of shares myself, I hope so. Because even if they netted “only” $500 million from this suit (let alone a billion or two with “enhanced damages”), that would still be north of $5 a share. Plus whatever their claims against Intel and others might be worth. Another buck a share? And the value of the company itself, which, tiny though it is, hopes to keep innovating. What might that be worth? I don’t know, but it will take a lot more than the 37 cents a share at which PRKR closed last night to get me to sell any of mine. And now . . . . . . if you hope to live forever without looking as though you have, here’s Forbes: France’s Biggest Beauty Secret Makes A Splashy Launch In The U.S. It’s a wonderful mother-daughter story that weaves in Cleopatra, Napoleon, and the queen bees of the Pyrénées. Made the more wonderful because it solves all your high-end holiday gift-giving problems while funding my retirement. (Yes, it’s the age-old story. “I met a man,” it begins. At a conference. Who had a wife. Who became his ex-wife. Who met a French woman. Who knew a beekeeper. And so on.) Spending $209 on a jar of queen bee elixir is reckless and extravagant. But what? Are you really going to give her socks this year? Indeed, Guerlain offers these 1.7 ounces for $1,340. So when you think of it that way . . . Read Forbes, check out the French Royal website — mon dieu! — they even throw in a candle.
Give It Up For Bill Maher November 16, 2020 I’m kinda taking the day off. Fortunately, Bill Maher didn’t. His whole show Friday was important. Listen to it all — funny, infuriating, enlightening . . . . . . or at least find eight minutes to watch his “New Rules.” C’mon, Democrats. Oh — but I can say one other thing, even though I’m kinda taking the day off? Our “fringe” is different from their fringe. A.O.C. advocates radical things like universal health care (enjoyed by every other First World country) and the Green New Deal to keep the planet habitable. Their fringe — Q-Anon — has gone mainstream in the Republican Party, alleging that “Democrats are Satan-worshipping pedophiles running a global child sex-trafficking ring.” Our fringe is for health care and clean energy; their fringe says Democrats drink the blood of children. Republicans have elected a Q-Anon supporter to Congress. Have a great week.