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Legal Commentary

Houston's Clear Thinkers

Wide-ranging observations on law, business, medicine, culture, sports, and other matters of general interest to members of the Houston business, professional, and academic communities.
By Tom Kirkendall

Post Frequency: 4.2/day

Last Entry: July 20, 2010 at 03:01:00

Video fun

Posted on November 08, 2008
The unedited Saturday Night Live Economic Bailout News Conference Skit. Absolutely brutal, but quite funny. The Onion News Network reports on the impact of Obama's victory on his obsessive supporters: Obama Win Causes Obsessive Supporters To Realize How Empty Their...

The NatWest Three are finally going home

Posted on November 07, 2008
The NatWest Three -- the three U.K. bankers who were dragged through the Enron mud for the past five years -- are finally going home after serving a about six months of their sentences in U.S. prisons. After a hearing...

Remember that hotel deal you invested in?

Posted on November 06, 2008
This post from over a year ago reviewed the absurdly highly-leveraged deal that Blackstone Group LP was proposing to make for Hilton Hotels. That deal was a head-scratcher even during the heady days of easy money. As this W$J article...

A prayer for the new administration

Posted on November 05, 2008
Heather Headly and Andrea Bocelli sing an stirring rendition of The Prayer. Enjoy....

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Tom Alexander, R.I.P.

Posted on November 04, 2008
I lost an old friend and Houston lost one of its most colorful characters on this past Sunday morning -- legendary trial attorney Tom Alexander died of a heart attack at the age of 78. The Chronicle story on...

2008 Weekly local football review

Posted on November 03, 2008
(AP Photo/LM Otero; previous weekly reviews are here) Texas Tech 39 Texas Longhorns 33 As predicted, the top-ranked Horns (8-1/4-1 Big 12) were not able to run the table through four straight games against top-10 ranked teams. The loss...

Phillip G. Hoffman, R.I.P.

Posted on November 02, 2008
Phil Hoffman, inarguably one of the most important university presidents in the history of the University of Houston, died Wednesday at the age of 93. The Chron's Lynwood Abram penned a nice article on Dr. Hoffman here. When Dr. Hoffman...

Lacking appreciation for capitalism

Posted on November 01, 2008
Comedian Louis CK sums it pretty well:...

The Prince of Regulation

Posted on October 31, 2008
Get a load of the letter that New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, the new Prince of Regulation, sent to about ten Wall Street firms the other day: We believe that the Board of Directors is most appropriately positioned...

A good idea, but . . .

Posted on October 30, 2008
The Chron's top-notch Medical Center reporter Todd Ackerman reported yesterday that two venerable Houston academic -- Baylor College of Medicine and Rice University -- are in preliminary discussions regarding a possible merger. This makes sense on many levels...

What's worse?

Posted on October 29, 2008
Although not many people care much, the 2008 World Series has turned into a first rate mess. Game Five is currently suspended while the Phillies and Rays players sit around Philadelphia waiting for the inclement weather to end. This...

Placebo Nation

Posted on October 28, 2008
In light of this NY Times article reporting that half of American doctors responding to a nationwide survey regularly prescribe placebos to their patients, I pass along the following business opportunity, courtesy of the ever-clever Dr. Boli:...

2008 Weekly local football review

Posted on October 27, 2008
(AP Photo/Dave Einsel; previous weekly reviews are here) Texans 35 Bengals 6 The Texans (3-4) won their third game in a row for the first time in franchise history by drubbing the Bengals (0-8), who are truly dreadful. The...

Why some people should not vote

Posted on October 26, 2008

Moneyball for American health care finance

Posted on October 26, 2008
Billy Beane, Newt Gingrich and John Kerry ask why not?...

Different directions

Posted on October 25, 2008
Newspapers are under siege. This Henry Blodget post reports on the continuing financial deterioration of the New York Times, which looks to be in real trouble. Meanwhile, the blogosphere continues to thrive. For example, this Stephanie Stradley post about...

My Beijing Birthday

Posted on October 24, 2008
Take a couple of minutes to watch the trailer for what may be one of the most important movies of our time, My Beijing Birthday (H/T James Fallows)....

Stossel's Politically Incorrect Guide to Politics

Posted on October 23, 2008
If you didn't have the opportunity to watch or record it last Friday, then watch the following six YouTube segments of John Stossel's Politically Incorrect Guide to Politics when you have the time (the other five segments are below the...

The Rays' Houston connection

Posted on October 22, 2008
In 2005, Forbes named the Tampa Bay Rays as the "most horrific" sports franchise of the modern era and the "worst-managed organization" in Major League Baseball. A little over three years later, the Rays are in the World Series,...

Security theater

Posted on October 21, 2008
While considering the abject vacuity of the presidential candidates' positions on the major issues this election season, I started thinking about some minor issues that might make a difference in my vote. For example, if either major candidate came...

2008 Weekly local football review

Posted on October 20, 2008
(AP Photo/Dave Einsel; previous weekly reviews are here) Texans 28 Lions 21 Texans (2-4) continue to be a work-in-progress. They hammered the atrocious Lions (0-6) for three quarters and looked to be on their way to an easy win....

The shame!

Posted on October 18, 2008
You know things are really getting bad in the financial markets when FT.com's always-lively Dear Lucy column (previous post here) receives the following letter from an investment banker: "At a dinner party last Saturday I was asked by a fellow...

The maturation of A&M football

Posted on October 17, 2008
One of the many endearing cultural characteristics of Texas is the devotion of most Texas A&M University alumni to the A&M football program. Although the intensity of that interest has generated some rather awkward moments over the years, the A&M...

Playing the Jimmy Carter card

Posted on October 16, 2008
You know it's desperation time for McCain when Victor Davis Hanson plays the Jimmy Carter card against Obama: A great many moderates and conservatives are worn out and tired of Bush and Bush hatred, the European furor, serial charges...

Hedging the Enron trial penalty

Posted on October 15, 2008
Given the mainstream media's ubiquitous characterization of Enron as the harbinger of the current Wall Street financial crisis, it's really not surprising that former Enron Broadband co-CEO Joe Hirko opted to cop a plea on Tuesday rather than face...

Refracting Enron myopia

Posted on October 14, 2008
One of the more entertaining aspects of the current Wall Street financial crisis has been reading how some of the business columnists have been interpreting it. Take, for example, Houston Chronicle business columnist, Loren Steffy. You may remember him...

2008 Weekly local football review

Posted on October 13, 2008
(Previous weekly reviews are here) Texas Longhorns 45 Oklahoma 35 In the most entertaining college football game of the season to date, the Longhorns (6-0/2-0 Big !2) vaulted to No. 1 in the AP, Harris and Coaches Top 25...

Stone and the capitalist roaders

Posted on October 12, 2008
Don't miss Larry Ribstein's post on Oliver Stone's financing philosophy in regard to his new movie about George W. Bush -- W -- the trailer of which is below:...

230 years?

Posted on October 11, 2008
So, the Justice Department is seeking a sentence of 230 years for former General Re senior counsel Robert Graham, a 60-year old man who has never been involved in any wrongdoing in his life. Mercifully, the pre-sentencing report recommends...

Almost a month after Hurricane Ike

Posted on October 10, 2008
A friend of mine who is a homebuilder in The Woodlands passes along the following regarding his experience in overseeing a crew rebuilding the neighborhood of his weekend home in Hurricane Ike-ravaged Galveston: Just back from Galveston after 3...

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