The View from Right Field

Bank Bailouts: Once Is Precedent; Twice Is Tradition

If “once is precedent, twice is tradition,” then bank bailouts are now tradition – though they might have already been tradition if the 1980s bailout of the savings and loan industry constituted bank bailout number one.  In any case, we are definitely now in “tradition” territory when it comes to bank bailouts.  I know Joe Biden said what was done over the weekend was not a bailout, but President Biden says lots of things.  It may be true that the stockholders of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank will not be bailed out, but:

• Any depositor who deposited more than $250,000 in SVB or Signature will be covered for their whole deposit, not just the first $250,000.  That’s a bailout.
• Anybody who owns stock in a bank whose stock might have tanked or might have even gone belly up but for the government’s actions over the weekend in bailing out depositors at SVB and Signature, is getting a bailout, too.

Break

I have some other stuff to do.  I'll be back about the Ides of March. 

“Getting mad at oil majors will not solve climate crisis”

This is a letter to the editor published in the Financial Times on today under the heading quoted above: 

“The title of your Big Read on energy ‘Big Oil: still profits before planet’ (February 11) was misleading.¹  Regardless of what environmentalists and elites may think, it is not the job of oil companies to solve climate change.

Climate change requires more than world leaders agreeing to a set of lofty ideals in Paris and then having businesses do all of the work for them.  It requires leaders to actually convince people that governments need to pass laws and adopt regulations to cut emissions.  Climate change isn’t going to be solved by getting mad at oil companies.  It’s going to be solved by adopting a carbon tax that will put the real cost of carbon emissions in the price of products.  Or establishing an emissions trading system, with a decreasing cap on total annual emissions, that guarantees emissions will be cut.

An Operation Warp Speed for Weapons and Ammunition?

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said, while in Brussels earlier this week, that the West hopes better training will help Ukrainian forces to use less ammunition and artillery in defending against Russia’s attacks.  Russia is already using up to four times as many artillery shells as Ukraine, but somehow we think better training is the answer for Ukraine.¹  This is silly.  Better training is always good, but why can’t we get ammunition and artillery to Ukraine? 

It has been obvious since May or June of last year, if not before, that Ukraine needed ammunition and lots of it.  If we didn’t have enough, why weren’t we entering into contracts with suppliers last summer, so they could open plants, buy machinery, and hire workers to produce more ammunition?  If President Biden didn’t realize it, why didn’t the Pentagon tell him?

Helping Ukraine. Defending Taiwan. Talk Is Cheap. Actually Doing It Costs Money.

If you support Ukraine in its war with Russia, if you think the United States needs to defend Taiwan’s right to choose if it unites with China, then you need to support more money for defense.  The Russian attack on Ukraine is a new kind of war.  Actually, it’s not a new kind of war, but it is a kind of war that we have not seen for a long time.  It is a war of attrition, which means it is a war of weapons, supplies, and ammunition.

We are rapidly using up our inventories of all kinds of weapons and supplies in supporting Ukraine.  If we are going to continue to support Ukraine, we are going to need more of these things.  Right away.  And if we support the right of Taiwan to decide its own fate, we need to get supplies of these things to them – right away.  Plus, we need to replenish our own supplies because who knows where else trouble might arise.  There are countries and groups that might think now is a good time to take advantage.

Chicago Is Electing a Mayor - And It’s Déjà Vu All Over Again

The headline on Sunday’s Chicago Tribune read: “Pension debt, property taxes and budget holes: Huge financial problems await next Chicago mayor, whoever wins.”  My question is: How is that different than the situation that faced Mayor Lightfoot when she was elected four years ago – or her predecessor when he was first elected twelve years ago. 

For that matter, does anybody think this headline won’t still be true when Chicago votes for mayor in 2027?  After all, when it comes to finances in Chicago, and Illinois, for that matter, it’s always, in the immortal words of Yogi Berra (or not), “Déjà vu all over again.”

Secret Documents. First Trump. Then Biden and Pence. Who’s Next?

Donald Trump kept confidential/secret documents from when he was president.  Joe Biden kept the same kind of documents from when he was vice president.  And so did Mike Pence.  (Not surprisingly, former President Trump was the most obstreperous about it, but that is true for pretty much everything.)

What I’m wondering is when we’re going to check on Barack Obama, George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, Bill Clinton, Al Gore, Dan Quayle, Jimmy Carter, and Walter Mondale.  For that matter, why should the fact that George H.W. Bush, Ronald Reagan, Gerald Ford, Nelson Rockefeller, Richard Nixon, and Spiro Agnew are dead make a difference?  Shouldn’t their papers/libraries/museums be checked, too?  (Well, I don’t suppose former Vice President Agnew has a library or museum.)

Other than obstreperousness and sloppiness, it might be interesting to figure out just how different former President Trump is on this issue.

Tanks for Ukraine. A Day Late and a Dollar Short Again? But It Could be Worse.

Ukraine is, at last, getting some tanks.  But consider how long it took for everybody to agree, and it’s going to what even longer for them to finally get delivered.  How much more could Ukraine have accomplished if they had gotten the tanks earlier.  But then, that seems to have been the story all along.  We’re always giving Ukraine weapons three or four months (or longer) after we should have.  We seem to be giving enough weapons to Ukraine so they can stop Russia from winning, but we never give them enough to actually get this war over with. 

There are lots of reasons people give for not giving Ukraine more weapons (and capabilities).  I’ll address two of them.  The first is that Vladimir Putin might escalate to nuclear weapons.  If that is the determining factor, then maybe we ought to stop giving any weapons to Ukraine, because otherwise we are just fighting to the last Ukrainian, without ever giving them a chance to win.  Is that fair?

The Holocaust and “Never Again”. I Wish It Were So, But It Isn’t.

Today is International Holocaust Remembrance Day, except people don’t.  After the Holocaust, the pledge was “Never Again” – except it happens again and again.  

Last Saturday’s Wall Street Journal had an article on “The Communities That Risked Everything to Rescue Jews.”  It was a moving article about countries (Denmark, Albania), islands (Zakynthos, a Greek isle), and communities  (the Frenchtown of Le Chambon-sur-Lignon) who protected their Jews. 

But how many people are risking much of anything to protect others today.  Consider Rwanda in 1994.  Think of the “bug out” of Kabul in 2021.  And why did it take the U.S. and Germany so long to finally send tanks to Ukraine, where Vladimir Putin has been deliberately attacking civilians with rockets for months?  Some of those are not genocides (“genocide” is a word too easily thrown around today), but there are still innocent lives being lost that we could be doing something about.

But perhaps the most depressing thing on this Holocaust Remembrance Day may be the fact that the one thing uniting more and more of the far right and far left is hatred of Jews.

Tanks for Ukraine and a “Conversation” Between Biden and Scholz

We have a problem in Ukraine.  Things were going great, but now they’re getting tougher for Ukraine.  There is only so much that Ukrainian grit and Russian incompetence can accomplish.  Also, while we can continue to rely on Ukrainian skill and bravery, we cannot assume Russia will always be stupid.

To shift the odds back in Ukraine’s favor, we need to ship more weapons to Ukraine, especially offensive weapons.  And even more especially tanks.  Nobody (except, of  course, countries like Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia, who understand what Russia can do, because it has done it to them) has wanted to send tanks to Ukraine.  But that is changing.  The UK is sending some Challenger tanks.  The United States says Abrams tanks are too complicated for the Ukrainians to use and maintain, etc.  Germany doesn’t want to send its Leopard 2 tanks either.  While Germany has never wanted to send tanks (they claim they don’t want to escalate the war.  Huh?  Russia invaded eleven months ago and is now sending mass rocket attacks at Ukrainian civilians,  And it would be the Germans who would be escalating?), they are now using the argument that they won’t send tanks unless the United States will, too.

36th Annual Cubs Convention – January 13-15, 2023

Here is my annual report on the Cubs Convention.  Well, sort of annual.  There was no Convention in 2021 or 2022 because of Covid.  I had been planning on going, at least on Saturday, but some things came up so I couldn’t go, but, fortunately, the Cubs broadcast pretty much the whole thing on the Marquee Network, so I got to see it even if I couldn’t be there in person.  (I did miss the autograph sessions with the old-timers and the chance to buy some baseball cards. But, there is always next year.)

The Opening Ceremonies may have been easier to watch on TV instead of in-person.  I didn’t same to stand or wait in line for a couple of hours.  Plus you could see a little better.  The same with “Off the Mound with Ryan Dempster”.  Plus, once it was over, you could just turn off the TV and you were home.  You didn’t have to drive or take an Uber.

The Great January 6 “What-If”

The House of Representatives’ January 6 Committee¹ has issued its report.  I’m not going to go into its conclusions.  What Donald Trump did on January 6, and what he did not do that he should have done,  was appalling, but then I knew that on January 6.  As I have said before,² the only question after January 6 was: what was the best way to make sure then-President, now former President, Trump went away and never came back again.  But that is not the question for this post. 

Rather, the “what-if” question for this post is this: What if the Capitol had had better security on January 6?  What if there had been enough police officers, and national guard personnel, etc., so that the protestors, aka rioters (aka insurrectionists or whatever you want to call them), had not been able to break into the U.S. Capitol building that day?  In one way, things would have been the same.  Then-President Trump would have still tried to convince Mike Pence to put off the counting of the electoral votes (or whatever other cockamamie scheme then-President Trump was pushing).  Some idiot Republicans would have objected to the counting of the electoral votes.³  And Vice President Pence would have told them all to, in effect, “pound sand.” 

Another Favorite Christmas Memory: Bob Hope Entertaining the Troops

Following up on last week’s post about our family Christmas in Berlin in 2010, I wanted to list one of my favorite non-family Christmas memories.  And it’s appropriate to mention it this year because this is the 50th anniversary of what was just about the last Bob Hope Christmas tour to entertain the troops. Bob started entertaining the troops during World War II (actually, before)  His last tour was in 1990, to Saudi Arabia and Bahrain for the Gulf War.  But the ones I remember most were the shows during Vietnam.  He would go at Christmas time and then the Bob Hope Christmas Special would be on TV in January.  It was a “must watch” for me. 

I think the one I remember the most was 1972, his ninth, and last, trip to Vietnam.  Back in the 2000s (i.e., the decade, not century or millennium), I bought a set of DVDs, “Salute to the Troops: Bob Hope: The Vietnam Years,” which included Bob Hope’s monologues from all of his trips to Vietnam, from 1964 through 1972.  It’s great.  I also tape recorded (audio, obviously) a part of his 1972 Christmas Special (which aired in January 1973).  I listen to it every year as I put the lights on our Christmas tree.  It’s one of my personal Christmas traditions.

What Christmas Is All About

My annual Christmas Eve post:

Charlie Brown: "Isn’t there anyone who knows what Christmas is all about?"

Linus: "Sure, Charlie Brown, I can tell you what Christmas is all about.  Lights, please?

"And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.  And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them.  And they were sore afraid.  And the angel said unto them, ‘Fear not, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.  For unto you is born this day in the city of David a savior, which is Christ the Lord.  And this shall be a sign unto you.  Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.’  And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God, and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on Earth peace, good will toward men.’

"That’s what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown.”

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PS: As I have said before, "A Charlie Brown Christmas" is also to be treasured because it is one of the too few places today where you can hear the story of our Savior's birth in the words of the King James Version, which have a magnificence of language that is timeless.

A Christmas to Remember: Berlin, 2010

I recently listened to a podcast that asked the participants for one of their best Christmas memories, which got me thinking.  I have a lot wonderful Christmas memories.  For many years, it was mostly the five of us, my mother, Jennie, Ross, Susan, and me, and they were great.  Then, after my mother passed away, the four of us did some traveling over Christmas: Guadeloupe, Peru, and maybe the best: Berlin in 2010.

We went to Germany in December, 2010, to see the Christmas markets – and Germany in the snow.  And there was a lot of snow in 2010.  We decided to stay until December 26, so we could celebrate Christmas in Berlin. 

On Christmas Eve, we ended our sightseeing early and went back to the hotel for our own Christmas celebration.  Susan bought gifts for everybody at KaDeWe.  I bought what I call “Kindereier” at Kaiser’s, a food store¹ (and brought baseball cards with me – because you always give baseball cards for Christmas).

Being a Happy Person At Christmas – From “GeneracionY”

In this holiday season, it is perhaps useful to read about how other people approach the season.  These are excerpts from a post by Yoani Sanchez at the GeneracionY blog.  You can read the whole thing here.  Follow Ms. Sanchez and this blog,  You will learn a lot – and realize how much we have to be thankful for:

“Those December days are approaching when we all take stock, set new goals and forecast what is going to happen. The year 2023 arrives on an Island plunged into a deep crisis, with an uncertain outlook. In the absence of certainties, I want to venture on this list (very particular, subjective and absolutely determined by my circumstances) my personal and national toeholds, what I think will happen next year:

“The Road Less Traveled” by Philip Zelikow: A Great History with Mindboggling What-Ifs

Here is a gift for almost anybody on your Christmas list: The Road Less Traveled: The Secret Battle to End the Great War, 1916-17, by Philip Zelikow.^1,2  This is a fascinating book on several levels.  First, it is a great history of the efforts and discussions among the Germans, British, French, and Americans on the Great War and how it might be ended in 1916 or early 1917.  As you read Professor Zelikow’s account, you see an end to the war just beyond the reach of the parties.  Each party wants the war to end, but they can never seem to get there at the same time.  Even knowing that the efforts will fail, the book grips the reader and pulls them along.

Second, the book is, in a way, a story of alternate history.  As we see the possibility of an end to the Great War in 1916 or early 1917, we can’t help but think: Would such a peace have been so bitter for Germany as the Treaty of Versailles?  If the war had ended before the Tsar was overthrown, what would have happened in Russia: might the Tsar might have stayed in power; might Kerensky have succeeded?  Perhaps most importantly, the likelihood of a successful Bolshevik revolution would have been small.  The idea of a world with neither Hitler nor Stalin is amazing.  And there are all those people who would not have died.

Are Investors Being “Un-American” for Not Drilling More?

An article in the Financial Times last Monday quoted Anne Hochstein, President Biden’s international energy envoy, as saying:

“I think that the idea that financiers would tell companies in the United States not to increase production and to buy back shares and to increase dividends when profits are at all-time highs is outrageous.  It is not only un-American, it is so unfair to the American public.

You want to pay dividends, pay dividends.  You want to pay shareholders, pay shareholders.  You want to get bonuses, do that, too.  You could do all that and still invest more.  We are asking you to increase production and seize the moment. …

Yes, You Can Buy a Championship in Baseball. The @Cubs Did It in 2016.

In writing about the Winter Meetings, Paul Sullivan reminds us that Tom Ricketts said, back in September, “The fact is you can’t buy a championship in baseball.”  Well, yes – and no.  You can’t buy a whole team, but you can buy missing parts, maybe even a lot of them.  Because that’s how the Cubs won the World Series in 2016.  They signed Jon Lester for $155 million (five years), Jason Heyward for $185 million (eight years), Ben Zobrist for $56 million (four years), and John Lackey for $32 million (two years). 

So, yes, you can buy a championship in baseball.  Once you have a good base, you can buy a championship by signing free agents to fill in the missing parts.  To the extent the Cubs are not doing this now, it means that Cubs management and ownership do not think the Cubs have a good enough base to do it. 

Thoughts of One and a Half Dozen of the Other*

It’s getting hard to write longer posts these days, so here are some short thoughts that I wish I could develop further but haven’t been able to get to:

• Re Ukraine: Joe Biden is doing a pretty good job, certainly better than either of his predecessors (especially Barack Obama, who wouldn’t even sell antitank weapons to Ukraine after Russia annexed Crimea and invaded Donbas in 2014).  But President Biden could be doing better.  We need to sell/give the Ukrainians more weapons and more powerful weapons.  The best, and quickest, way to end the war is for Ukraine to win.  Let’s help them do it – now.

• Given all the weapons we are shipping to Ukraine, we need to replenish, and build up, our own inventories.  That means spending more money on defense – and committing to do it for an extended period of time.