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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
John C. Bogle, RIP
John Bogle, the man who essentially invented the idea of index fund investing for individual investors, passed away yesterday at the age of 89.1 In 1976, the Vanguard Group, the company which was formed by Mr. Bogle in 1974, established... Continue reading
Posted 3 days ago at The View from Right Field
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Illinois Faces Hard Choices – But the Solution Is Simple
In his inaugural speech, new Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker said that Illinois must make “hard choices” and that “[o]ur abdication of responsibility must end.” I agree. But while the problems Illinois faces may be hard, the solution to those problems... Continue reading
Posted 4 days ago at The View from Right Field
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A Few More Comments on the Stupid Shutdown
A few comments on the federal government shutdown, though I am not sure they add all that much to what I wrote back on January 3. In any case, it is all the news, so here goes. 1. As I... Continue reading
Posted 7 days ago at The View from Right Field
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Illinois Gets a New Governor. And Keeps the Same Legislative Leaders.
Last week I asked who would cause Illinois Governor-elect J.B. Pritzker more problems, his supporters or his opponents. My guess was that it would be his supporters. Well, Governor-elect Pritzker takes office on Monday, and he will find out over... Continue reading
Posted Jan 12, 2019 at The View from Right Field
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Standard Chicago Political Practice Gets Indicted – Again
The big story in Chicago, other than the Bears (until yesterday, unfortunately, is the indictment of long-time Chicago alderman Edward Burke,1 chairman of the City Council Finance Committee (he has now said he will step down as chairman), among other... Continue reading
Posted Jan 7, 2019 at The View from Right Field
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Comments on Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s Investigation
A few comments on Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation, not in any particular order. 1. First, I have no idea when Mr. Mueller will be completing his investigation and/or issuing a report. While there have been reports in the press... Continue reading
Posted Jan 5, 2019 at The View from Right Field
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Who Is Going to Cause More Problems for New Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker? His Opponents – Or His Supporters?
The question for new Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker is who is going to cause him more trouble in the upcoming legislative session: the people who supported him last November or those who didn’t. While it may not be logical, I’m... Continue reading
Posted Jan 4, 2019 at The View from Right Field
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Shutdowns and Walls. How Will It End?
Cutting through all of the tweets, press conferences, and claims of outrage, the current partial government shutdown boils down to a simple problem. President Trump would rather have a partial government shutdown than approve spending bills that do not include... Continue reading
Posted Jan 3, 2019 at The View from Right Field
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Farewell to Paul Ryan. And “Auf Wiedersehen.”
I wrote about Paul Ryan retiring back in April, when he announced he would not be running for reelection to the House of Representatives. With Speaker Ryan’s term ending January 2, let me add a few final thoughts. If you... Continue reading
Posted Dec 29, 2018 at The View from Right Field
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What Christmas Is All About
My annual Christmas Eve post: Charlie Brown: "Isn’t there anyone who knows what Christmas is all about?" Linus: "Sure, Charlie Brown, I can tell you what Christmas is all about. Lights, please? "And there were in the same country shepherds... Continue reading
Posted Dec 23, 2018 at The View from Right Field
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President Trump Fires Defense Secretary Mattis, Even Though He Already Resigned. And a Comment on Isolationism.
President Donald Trump has moved up Defense Secretary James Mattis’s termination date from February 28 to January 1. In other words, he fired a man who has already quit. And President Trump did it in his own, very classy and... Continue reading
Posted Dec 23, 2018 at The View from Right Field
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When the Nixons Joined the Eisenhowers - for Life
Today is the 50th wedding anniversary of Julie and David Eisenhower. The grandson of a President marrying the daughter of a President (President-elect, at that point). They were married on December 22, 1968, at Marble Collegiate Church in New York... Continue reading
Posted Dec 22, 2018 at The View from Right Field
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Donald Trump. Barack Obama. James Mattis. Syria and Afghanistan.
Donald Trump has unilaterally, and apparently without consultation with our local allies, decided to pull all of our forces out of Syria, where they were helping local Kurdish forces fight ISIS. And to do so almost immediately. We are doing... Continue reading
Posted Dec 21, 2018 at The View from Right Field
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How to Lose Allies and Influence Almost No One
I have pretty much stopped commenting on Donald Trump’s foreign policy mess-ups for a couple of reasons. One, it was becoming a full-time job and there are other things to do in life. Two, I wasn’t sure complaining about yet... Continue reading
Posted Dec 17, 2018 at The View from Right Field
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Will Joe Maddon Be Back With the Cubs in 2020?
I would say probably not – unless the Cubs make it to the World Series in 2019. I say “make” it to the World Series because winning the National League pennant is probably enough to get Maddon re-hired, unless the... Continue reading
Posted Dec 13, 2018 at The View from Right Field
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Increasing Gasoline Taxes to Save the Planet. I Wonder How Emmanuel Macron Feels About That Now.
I think I can say, without needing to provide a link, that the consensus among Democratic (and many Republican) politicians, most scientists, and the almost all of the media is that Donald Trump’s views, and the views and policies of... Continue reading
Posted Dec 11, 2018 at The View from Right Field
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Did Barack Obama Really Make America the Biggest Oil and Gas Producer?
In a speech at the Baker Institute at Rice University in Houston last week, former President Barack Obama said: “You wouldn’t always know it, but it [oil production] went up every year I was president. … [S]uddenly America’s like the... Continue reading
Posted Dec 7, 2018 at The View from Right Field
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Instead of More Politicians Like George H.W. Bush, We Need More People Like George H.W. Bush
On Tuesday, the Chicago Tribune had an editorial entitled “Humility and civility: More pols, please, like George H.W. Bush.” The editorial concluded: “If enough politicians and others in the public sphere would take a lesson from the former president’s honorable... Continue reading
Posted Dec 6, 2018 at The View from Right Field
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George H.W. Bush, RIP
I have written a lot about George Herbert Walker Bush over the years, and while I am saddened by his passing, I am sure that he, and his family, are glad he is with Barbara once again. Our longest presidential... Continue reading
Posted Dec 5, 2018 at The View from Right Field
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The @Cubs Are Taking Away Our Future Memories
I’m away, but I wanted to comment on my Cubs season ticket invoice, which I received yesterday. It came with a note that we won’t be getting real tickets for the games this year. Everything will be on our so-called... Continue reading
Posted Nov 16, 2018 at The View from Right Field
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Break
I'll be gone for a couple of weeks. I'll be back after Thanksgiving. Continue reading
Posted Nov 9, 2018 at The View from Right Field
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Election Results In the Age of Trump
The main thing we can say about the results yesterday is something we could have said before the election: Divisiveness and partisanship will increase next year, and political consultants will get even richer. Six months from now, everybody will look... Continue reading
Posted Nov 7, 2018 at The View from Right Field
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Voting In the Age of Trump
So, what do you do next Tuesday if you’re not a Democrat (and will probably never be as they move more and more to the left) and yet you’re appalled by much of what Donald Trump says and especially how... Continue reading
Posted Nov 2, 2018 at The View from Right Field
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@Cubs - The Second Anniversary
Posted Nov 2, 2018 at The View from Right Field
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America’s Future Foreign Policy: “The Jungle Grows Back” – Do We Care?
Dr. Robert Kagan has written a fascinating book on the future of American foreign policy: The Jungle Grows Back: America and Our Imperiled World. His main points are laid out in this excerpt available at Amazon.com: “The American-led liberal world... Continue reading
Posted Oct 31, 2018 at The View from Right Field
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