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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
Farewell to Theo
I need to say thanks to Theo Epstein as he leaves, but first I owe him a couple of apologies. First, this post is late because I have been spending too much time reading about Donald Trump’s stupid effort to... Continue reading
Posted 4 days ago at The View from Right Field
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What Donald Trump Is Doing Doesn’t Have to Damage Our Democracy
Democrats and much of the mainstream media1 are saying Donald Trump is damaging American democracy by his continuing refusal to accept defeat in the presidential election and to start the transition process for President-elect Biden. I agree that what President... Continue reading
Posted 5 days ago at The View from Right Field
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Covid-19 Leadership: Is Anybody Leading?
When it comes to Covid-19 leadership, Donald Trump has been a disaster. Too often he said the virus wasn’t that bad. Other times he suggested almost quack solutions. And masks were seemingly verboten around the White House.1 Clear, confident, national... Continue reading
Posted 6 days ago at The View from Right Field
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@realDonaldTrump’s Legacy - Afghanistan and Iraq
For those who thought Donald Trump’s legacy, at least since November 3, would be most tarnished by his refusal to concede to President-Elect Joe Biden, I give you this: “BREAKING: US Acting Defense Secretary Christopher Miller announces that the number... Continue reading
Posted Nov 17, 2020 at The View from Right Field
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Illinois Might Have an Emergency, But Don’t Expect the Legislature To Do Anything
The President of the Illinois State Senate, Don Harmon, a Democrat from Oak Park, was really excited about the election results. Even with the defeat of the Fair Tax, he said, in a comment in our local newspaper, the Wednesday... Continue reading
Posted Nov 14, 2020 at The View from Right Field
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Bridging the Divide
In today’s Financial Times, former Senator Heidi Heitkamp (D, ND) says that “an effective [virus] containment strategy and [economic] recovery plan requires votes from both sides of the political divide.”1 She is absolutely right on that, However, she is wrong... Continue reading
Posted Nov 6, 2020 at The View from Right Field
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Hey, Springfield: We Don’t Trust You
There are lots of stories in this election, some of which have not yet been fully told. But there is one thing we know in Illinois: Illinois voters don’t trust Springfield. Governor Pritzker spent millions supporting an amendment to the... Continue reading
Posted Nov 4, 2020 at The View from Right Field
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The Economics of Big-Time Professional Sports In a Pandemic
With Major League Baseball and the NBA completing their seasons and football moving along with its season, Ben Cohen and Louise Radnofsky came up with some lessons after sports’ first Covid-19 season in Saturday’s Wall Street Journal. Among them is... Continue reading
Posted Nov 2, 2020 at The View from Right Field
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Two Last Comments on Trump/Biden
1. In an interview in Saturday’s Wall Street Journal, Robert Chitester, the man who brought us Milton Friedman’s 1980 PBS series “Free to Choose,” said this about the presidential race this year: “‘Voting for Trump for me is ‘hold your... Continue reading
Posted Nov 2, 2020 at The View from Right Field
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Illinois Government: “Fair Tax” or Not, What Comes Next?
On Tuesday (or so), we will know the results on the Illinois “Fair Tax” proposal. More interesting, however, will be what happens next year in Springfield. Regardless of whether the Fair Tax passes or not, Illinois taxes will be going... Continue reading
Posted Oct 31, 2020 at The View from Right Field
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Supreme Court or Supreme Election Board?
Three weeks ago, I asked “Will Courts Be Changing Voting Rules Right Up to Election Day?” Since then, some of the more extreme examples I mentioned in that post have been walked back. On Monday night, the Supreme Court upheld,... Continue reading
Posted Oct 27, 2020 at The View from Right Field
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Honesty In Taxes: We All Have to Pay
There is a trend in tax increase proposals around the world. Voters in Illinois this November will vote on a “Fair Tax,” i.e., a constitutional amendment to allow the Illinois legislature to pass a progressive income tax. The key selling... Continue reading
Posted Oct 23, 2020 at The View from Right Field
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What the Fair Tax Needs Is New Politicians in Springfield
We are told that the solution to the problems in Springfield is the “Fair Tax.” I would suggest that what we need more than a new tax is new politicians. Illinois’s main problem isn’t that the state doesn’t have enough... Continue reading
Posted Oct 21, 2020 at The View from Right Field
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Two Pandemic What-Ifs: Getting Through This One; Getting Ready for the Next One
First, the economy. Most of the projections of where the economy is going and how long it will take to get back to where we were before the pandemic started are based on things going reasonably well in the future.... Continue reading
Posted Oct 19, 2020 at The View from Right Field
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President Trump Can Tweet But Can He Actually Do Things?
There is so much going on that it is sometimes hard to comment on things on a timely basis. For example, I only yesterday read that President Trump tweeted, the day before the Vice Presidential debate: “We should have the... Continue reading
Posted Oct 16, 2020 at The View from Right Field
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Do Uighur Lives Matter? – Part Two: Do We Care?
In an earlier post I talked about why I thought saying “Uighur Lives Matter” could be problematic. But beyond that, I don’t think “Uighurs Lives Matter” would carry the day in the United States, even if saying it wasn’t problematic.... Continue reading
Posted Oct 16, 2020 at The View from Right Field
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Hunter Biden and Ukraine: Old News – And Still Wrong
There is a big brouhaha about Twitter and Facebook not allowing the re-tweeting or posting (or whatever the proper verb is) of reports in the New York Post about what Hunter Biden allegedly did for the Ukrainian energy company he... Continue reading
Posted Oct 15, 2020 at The View from Right Field
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Probably Not the Best Lincoln Quote for Right Now
The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum1 in Springfield had a quote from Abraham Lincoln at the top of an E-News email I received from them today, along with references to two websites, “CoronaVirus.Illinois.gov” and “PresidentLincoln.Illinois.gov”. It’s this quote, which... Continue reading
Posted Oct 14, 2020 at The View from Right Field
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Do Uighur Lives Matter?
Black Lives Matter has swept the United States. It is on tee shirts and signs outside churches. It is painted on city streets and basketball floors. Along with the pandemic, it is the thing most associated with 2020. My question... Continue reading
Posted Oct 13, 2020 at The View from Right Field
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Trump vs. Biden: A Question of the Lesser of Two Evils – On Steroids
What do you do when you don’t like either candidate for President? When, in fact, you think both candidates will leave the country worse off by the time they leave office? Well, the first thing you do is hope you... Continue reading
Posted Oct 9, 2020 at The View from Right Field
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Cubs Won the 2016 World Series – But Maybe They’re Just Not That Good Anymore
When the Cubs won the World Series in 2016 with a group of young players leading the way, a lot of us were expecting that to be the first in a string of World Series appearances, if not championships. But... Continue reading
Posted Oct 7, 2020 at The View from Right Field
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Will Courts Be Changing Voting Rules Right Up to Election Day?
Last Friday, The Wall Street Journal had an editorial listing what I assume are just some of the lawsuits going on across the country to change voting rules for this November. In some of these lawsuits, judges have extended the... Continue reading
Posted Oct 6, 2020 at The View from Right Field
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When It Comes to Staying Safe With Covid-19, I’m Going to Rely on Me, Not Government Rules
We all want to stay safe when it comes to Covid-19. I know I do. But I’ve also come to the conclusion that, if I’m going to do that, it’s up to me to figure out what I need to... Continue reading
Posted Oct 6, 2020 at The View from Right Field
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The Cubs Go to the Postseason – In a Pandemic. And Wait Until Next Year.
And so, it wasn’t to be. On Tuesday, I said, “This year will … set a record for the fewest regular season wins for a World Series champion. It might as well be us.” Well, the record will be set,... Continue reading
Posted Oct 2, 2020 at The View from Right Field
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The Cubs Go to the Postseason – In a Pandemic
First, a general thought: Because of the pandemic and because Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred figures it is all about the money, sixteen teams are going to the postseason instead of ten. (It’s amazing. A few years ago, ten teams going... Continue reading
Posted Sep 29, 2020 at The View from Right Field
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