Jan 28, 2013
This time of year in Wine Country always makes me think of my Grandfather, Ed Burger. He was married 10 times. As I drive around Wine Country this time of year and start to see the crews in vineyards, pruning the dormant vines, I am not made to think of the “cycles” of the vineyard. My mind doesn’t give way to notions of “Hope” or “Renewal”, as perhaps they should. Rather, it’s this time of year in Wine Country that…
Jan 23, 2013
There are a very small number of newspapers in America that still possess a combination of great prestige and serve as the information source for such a large number of people that it becomes important when these newspapers raise an issue or take a stand. I call this category of information sources “Big News”. Sitting atop this small group of newspapers are the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times. Like them or hate them, these two daily papers…
Jan 17, 2013
I tapped open my iPad last night to get back to a book I am in the process of devouring and noted the many books that are held in that device. I hadn’t noticed it before then, but the display of this collection of reading material reminded me of something I hadn’t looked at in a long time. I got up from my reading chair and paced into the next room, flipped on the lights and there it was: a…
Jan 15, 2013
There exist, and have long existed, a number of alcohol-related laws and regulations around the various states that don’t seem to have any reasonable justification. However, in many cases, we just don’t care about this because the law itself is of so little consequence that spending much time considering its justification is just time wasted. For example, in Alaska it is or was against the law to feed moose alcohol. Don’t spend time contemplating the public policy justification for this…
Jan 10, 2013
My guess is that if you have to work as a lobbyist in Washington, DC, you could do a whole lot worse than work for the Champagne Bureau USA. What’s not to like about Champagne. It’s not like these guys ascend Capital Hill and ask gun advocates to ban guns. It’s not like they look lawmakers in the face and demand their multi-billion dollar banking clients be exempted from commonsense laws. No. they merely ask that the term “Champagne” be…