ABC’s Brian Ross reports that JPMorgan Chase, which got $25 billion in TARP funds, is going to spend $138 million on two new luxury corporate jets and a fancy new hangar to store them in. A company spokesman claims they’re not using TARP money to buy the planes, but that’s disingenuous. Let’s put this in […]
As a news consumer, the imminent death of a big city newspaper makes me sad. There has always been something comforting to me about sitting down to breakfast and reading the morning paper, wherever I am. When I travel, to big cities or small towns, I’ll pick up the local daily to see what’s going […]
I love the word “lavatory,” the least-used bathroom euphemism (with the exception of “comfort station”). In modern life, “lavatory” is used in exactly two places: on an airplane, and in an elementary school. If the Irish cheapo airline RyanAir has its way, that may be reduced to one, as it considers charging fliers to use […]
If you had walked into the East Terminal at Lambert Airport this morning, you wouldn’t have believed we’re in a recession. I was there to catch a 7am flight to Vegas, where I’ll play in a couple of tournaments this weekend. Normally, if I get there by 6am, I can breeze through, get a bagel […]
Three weeks ago, on the day that Barack Obama became President #44, I became Juror #681. That’s the number assigned to me when I reported for jury service in the St. Louis County Circuit Courts, ready for a day that I knew would not include my being impaneled. Several attorneys have told me they would […]
As I was coming home from an evening out tonight, I noticed that the two women who were working as parking valets kept running to get the cars. There was a steady stream of customers, so they were fairly busy, but as soon as they brought a car to the door and handed over the […]