Not a Rant....

Recently I read an article by a Blogger whose claim to fame was that he was not a Rant Blogger but rather only discussed the facts-of course as he saw them.

Unfortunately I don't remember where I read it but I am pretty sure it was a feed from RealClearPolitics who despite their attempts to be non-partisan seem to have a Republican leaning.

Regardless, I did think it was worth reflecting upon as I didn't wish to fall into the Rant Blogger category.

And yet today I read an interview in the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) which seemed designed to illicit rants. It was with Mr Steve Eckhaus, a lawyer at Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP who claimeed he has negotiated well over $5 billion in banker pay over the years. In general he said his clients are "pure as the driven snow" and doing work that supports the economy and justifies their pay.

Now I don't know anything about Steve Eckhaus and I can only assume it was his way of drumming up business-who wouldn't want to be represented by a lawyer who negotiates extravagant pay packages! But what a weird comment. "In general"? So by definition some of his clients aren't "pure"; their work doesn't support the economy; and their pay isn't justified? He is a lawyer so I would have thought he chose his words carefully!

Then I move to the purchase of Huffington Post by AOL. Interesting move by AOL to try and regain its position in the market. Interesting move by Huffington. $300 million to be paid in cash to co-founder Arianna Huffington, Chairman Kenneth Lerer and a group of investors. And $15million in shares. Doesn't leave me warm and fuzzy about the long term intentions of the Huffington people.

I wonder if Mr Eckhaus negotiated their deal? And what's their view on Capital Gains Tax now?