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Pat Allen
I am a retired corporate lawyer, living in the Chicago suburbs, with a wife and two adult children.
Interests: Current events, the Cubs, reading, history, New Zealand
Recent Activity
How’s a Person Who Cares About Foreign Policy Supposed to Vote Next November?
As I have written before, foreign policy may be the most important issue for me in November 2020 and it’s hard to know what to do. Donald Trump is unacceptable. The list of reasons why would go on for a... Continue reading
Posted 3 days ago at The View from Right Field
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John Bolton Is Leaving. It is Too Bad.
I was very disappointed to see that National Security Advisor John Bolton either was fired or resigned. Donald Trump’s tweets indicated it was the former (here and here). Mr. Bolton’s tweet, at @AmbJohnBolton, indicated it was the latter. I will... Continue reading
Posted Sep 10, 2019 at The View from Right Field
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2019 @Cubs: What’s the Problem? Injuries or a Lack of Clutch Singles?
With Javy out, KB day-to-day (and not even close to his best), and now Addy, it doesn’t look good for the Cubs. They entered the weekend 2½ games behind the Cardinals and ended it 4½ games back. When your announcers... Continue reading
Posted Sep 9, 2019 at The View from Right Field
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Nasty Politics and Not Enough Economic Growth
Robert Samuelson, long-time economics writer at The Washington Post, asked earlier this week whether the U.S. economy had lost its economic dynamism.1 Mr. Samuelson noted that “Americans have been conditioned to think that present economic disruptions are at, or near,... Continue reading
Posted Sep 6, 2019 at The View from Right Field
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Where Are the Cubs Going and For How Long?
Joe Maddon is generally a pretty upbeat guy. And he doesn’t criticize his players in public. In Tom Verducci’s book about the 2016 season, The Cubs Way, Verducci talked about Maddon saying that it wasn’t good criticize a player right... Continue reading
Posted Sep 5, 2019 at The View from Right Field
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@BernieSanders’s “Green New Deal”. Is He Trying to Re-elect @realDonaldTrump?
Senator Bernie Sanders was an early supporter of the Green New Deal, and last week he issued his version of what that would mean. Let’s just say his plan is big. It would require lots of government and lots of... Continue reading
Posted Aug 26, 2019 at The View from Right Field
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The Purpose of a Corporation. I’ll Go with Milton Friedman.
Last Monday, the Business Roundtable, a group of chief executive officers of big U.S. corporations, announced that it had changed its statement on the purpose of a corporation and had issued a new “Statement on the Purpose of a Corporation.”1... Continue reading
Posted Aug 25, 2019 at The View from Right Field
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I Am So Tired of @realDonaldTrump
In the middle of his snit yesterday over trade and tariffs with China, President Trump tweeted, in part: “Our great American companies are hereby ordered to immediately start looking for an alternative to China, including bringing your companies HOME and... Continue reading
Posted Aug 24, 2019 at The View from Right Field
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Does Anybody in Washington Care About Ukraine?
The answer, of course, is no. Fortunately, at least some other people do, as can be seen by French President Emmanuel Macron’s meeting on Monday with Russian President Vladimir Putin.1 When Russia invaded Ukraine in 2014, annexed Crimea, and supported... Continue reading
Posted Aug 23, 2019 at The View from Right Field
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Foreign Policy: Are Presidents Trump and Obama All That Different?
Wilbur Ross, Donald Trump’s Secretary of Commerce said, last Wednesday, that Hong Kong was an internal matter for Hong Kong and added: “What are we going to do – invade Hong Kong?” In response, Edward Luce, of the Financial Times,... Continue reading
Posted Aug 19, 2019 at The View from Right Field
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Confidence and Predictability. Words You Never Hear in Connection With Donald Trump
I have talked before about the importance of certainty and confidence, in both foreign affairs and the economy. In an editorial yesterday on the possible upcoming recession (the ‘Trump recession,” the Democrats will call it), The Wall Street Journal said... Continue reading
Posted Aug 15, 2019 at The View from Right Field
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@Cubs 2019: Home Runs Are Nice, But They’re Not Enough
I don’t know if they have a statistic for what percentage of a team’s runs are scored on home runs. If they do, the percentage for baseball as a whole is clearly going up – a lot. And I would... Continue reading
Posted Aug 15, 2019 at The View from Right Field
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Mass Shootings: After We “Do Something,” Let’s Try to Do Something That Actually Works
With two more mass shootings, in El Paso and Dayton, we are told we must “do something.” Generally, that means gun control, though it now also seems to include “red flag” laws, as well as more spending for mental health... Continue reading
Posted Aug 13, 2019 at The View from Right Field
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Russia and China: Dangers and Opportunities. But Is Anybody Paying Attention?
Protests in Hong Kong have extended into their tenth week, with the airport in Hong Kong being shut down over the weekend. Meanwhile in Moscow, and elsewhere in Russia, there are growing protests with respect to upcoming local elections and... Continue reading
Posted Aug 12, 2019 at The View from Right Field
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Once Again: Can Americans Be Trusted With Campaign Finance Disclosures?
Last Monday, U.S. Representative Joaquin Castro (Dem, Tex.) tweeted a list of 44 people in San Antonio, Texas, who contributed the maximum amount to President Trump’s campaign in 2019, with this comment: “Sad to see so many San Antonians as... Continue reading
Posted Aug 10, 2019 at The View from Right Field
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The Solution to Foul Ball Injuries
Protective netting. One of the big questions in Major League Baseball, other than why aren’t the Cubs doing better with all of the talent they supposedly have, is fan safety and how far to extend protective netting down the foul... Continue reading
Posted Aug 10, 2019 at The View from Right Field
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Break
As I said at the end of the last post, I will be on break until early August. In the meantime, Go Cubs! Continue reading
Posted Jul 17, 2019 at The View from Right Field
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The Stock Market: Real or Addicted? – A Follow Up
This is a follow up on last Friday’s post, “Is the Stock Market for Real or Just Addicted to Low Interest Rates and Easy Money?” In writing it, I realized I have been saying the same thing for years. In... Continue reading
Posted Jul 16, 2019 at The View from Right Field
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President Trump’s Foreign Policy Claims Are Often Bizarre, But It’s Not the First Time We’ve Seen That
The foreign policy follies (and worse) of Donald Trump are so bad, it sometimes makes us forget bizarre positions that prior administrations have taken. For example, in 2011, when the United States was involved in the bombing of Libya (because,... Continue reading
Posted Jul 13, 2019 at The View from Right Field
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Is the Stock Market for Real or Just Addicted to Low Interest Rates and Easy Money?
Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell indicated in Congressional hearings on Wednesday that the Fed could be cutting its benchmark interest rate later this month – and the stock market promptly went up. So, a “Powell Put”? (See here.) In addition... Continue reading
Posted Jul 12, 2019 at The View from Right Field
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The 2019 Political World - In Two Cartoons
Posted Jul 11, 2019 at The View from Right Field
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Climate Change: A Bonus Question
This is to follow up on Tuesday’s post, “Climate Change Is a Two-Part Question.” In June, The Economist wrote about “Green New Democrats” and in particular about Joe Biden’s and Elizabeth Warren’s plans for climate change. While neither of them... Continue reading
Posted Jul 10, 2019 at The View from Right Field
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Climate Change Is a Two-Part Question
The Democratic debates, the European heat wave (not to mention the 90 degrees in Anchorage), et al, are getting people to talk even more about climate change, assuming that is possible. Many of the Democratic presidential candidates support the “Green... Continue reading
Posted Jul 9, 2019 at The View from Right Field
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Here’s Why Self-Driving Cars May Be a Long Way Off
A column in Wednesday’s Financial Times by Brooke Masters noted: “Consolidation is sweeping through the self-driving cars sector like the last dance at a high school disco – everyone seems to be grabbing a partner or two for fear of... Continue reading
Posted Jul 5, 2019 at The View from Right Field
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Does President Trump’s Hard Line Go Away in Person?
An article in The Washington Post this morning, with the headline “Trump’s hard line approach appears to soften in meetings with world leaders,” starts out: “President Trump entered his meeting with President Xi Jinping over the weekend promising to take... Continue reading
Posted Jul 2, 2019 at The View from Right Field
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