mm348: Business blogger? No, no, no, not me!

April 15, 2008

MUDGE’s Musings

Faithful peruser of this nanocorner of the ‘Sphere© is aware that, contrary to the evidence of daily blogging, yr (justifiably) humble svt does earn a living, toiling away at a quite exhilarating (lately!) day job in the field of web conferencing for a large Midwestern corporation.

If I identify my employer at all, it is very circumspectly. References found at the above link refer to the “Heart of Corporate America,” or HCA. That link, by the way, is my static page (as opposed to the home page, updated with every new post, all 375 of them, and counting, thank you very much). As we produce new editions of Web Conferencing Week, we post them in both places; you might have seen this one last week.

You don’t know my employer’s identity, at least from me. They don’t know that this space exists, at least from me. That’s as it should be. I stay away from its business, while sharing with you my skewed view of the universe beyond the wrought iron fence demarcating its property, except for those technical items of interest about what I do for a living, and how I do it. Always very generic, as I feel most comfortable doing.

Please know that I do have strongly held opinions about my employer. Most of them are quite positive. None of them, in my opinion, are worth jeopardizing my job to share with you.

That brings us to this interesting incident, courtesy of one of the world’s top publications, Business Week.

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mm271: The automobile post – diesel / electric

January 31, 2008

MUDGE’S Musings

Don’t spend much time reading Forbes any more. Guess I’ve given up the dream: to be a capitalist.

My dear grandmother gave me a gift subscription when I was 21 years old. Found it interesting and aspirational, then. The politics made little impression (and maybe in the early 70s were less obstreperous).

But, it was really business news I hungered for, rather than investment advice (I was investing in my domicile and groceries at the time). For advice on decisions made in my favorite field of battle, the business world, Business Week became my regular read, and has continued to be for more than 30 years.

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mm254: Bloomberg – just won’t go away…

January 14, 2008

MUDGE’S Musings

The current issue of Business Week contains an interesting interview by Maria Bartiromo of Charlie Cook, a Washington DC based political analyst. You may have seen his talking head during an election night or two on NBC.

Political Guru Charlie Cook on the Primaries

FACE TIME By Maria Bartiromo | January 21, 2008

magazine cover

https://i0.wp.com/images.businessweek.com/story/08/370/0110_mz_facetime.jpg

Charlie Cook, political analyst photographed on 8 January 2008 in Washington DC Chris Usher

MARIA BARTIROMO

What will be the biggest issues in the election?

CHARLES COOK

I think it’s going to be the economy and America’s place in the world. And one of the things that’s sparking Obama’s rise is the idea of restoring respect for America.

Who displays the best grasp of economic issues?
Mike Bloomberg. What’s interesting is that if you look at polls of Democratic voters, they are very concerned about the economy. Republican voters just don’t seem to be showing that much concern about where the economy is going. But once the GOP nominee emerges, the economy is going to assert itself as a very, very big issue in the general election.

Guess it’s not just New York types who like Mike. Second question – out flops Bloomberg.

Could he win?
[Third-party candidate] Ross Perot was at 30% percent and in first place at one point in June, 1992, and an independent candidate would need to be able to get 37% to 39% of the popular vote to start winning a bunch of states by small margins and assemble the 270 electoral votes necessary. It’s plausible. A very bright, very impressive person spending $1 billion, with no fund-raising expenses and no nomination fights, could win if the stars line up right in the sense of both parties’ nominees emerging badly damaged.

We just posted this grid a few days ago, but here’s what we’ve been talking about since last June:

Mayor Michael Bloomberg of NYC for U.S. President 2008

mm024: Bloomberg?
mm038.1: Jews Sorta Like Bloomberg Even Though…
mm051: Bloomberg.com: Bloomberg’s Money, Visibility…
mm054: Chicago Tribune news: An Idea for Bloomberg
mm057: Bloomberg for President?
mm058: What Kind of President would Michael Bloomberg?
mm064: How to take down plutocrat Michael Bloomberg…
mm066: Michael Bloomberg’s Knightly Ambitions
mm069: The Votes Are In for New York’s Mayor Mike
mm086: Bloomberg Takes School Plan… to Midwest
mm110: Grading Mayoral Control
mm117: The cure for the Electoral College is worse…
mm208: Overdue a Bloomberg post
mm238: Bloomberg’s candidacy — closer to real?
mm248: Political Potpourri

Bartiromo’s interview of Cook covers all of the major candidates of both parties, but Bloomberg was discussed first.

Definitely attention grabbing.

[Please click the link below for the complete article — but then please come on back!]

Political Guru Charlie Cook on the Primaries

MUDGE thinks that third party candidates stir the pot; sell advertising and commercials; buy advertising and commercials; and generally pique the interest of the commentariat. Oh, boy, a three-way!

But could there be more going on? With the economy seemingly headed for recession (ugh, the dreaded “R”-word!), perhaps having a leader who is recognized as very smart where economic issues are concerned might be seen by more than just political types as salutary for the U.S.

Last time we facetiously (that’s our story now) proposed an Obama-Bloomberg ticket, but I’ll bet Business Week would love a Michael Bloomberg-Warren Buffett ticket!

It’s it for now. Thanks,

–MUDGE

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