AP
Anti-Bush Bracelets Say, 'Count Me Blue'
Bush's new aide
by Robert Novak
It took personal pleas from his Harvard Business School classmate, George W. Bush, to convince Indiana industrialist Al Hubbard to become head of the White House National Economic Council.
The Terry McAuliffe Syndrome
Democrats will never win elections without better people and better ideas.
by Dan Gerstein
The Deadly Threat of a Nuclear Iran
by Douglas Davis
Cambodia, Where Sex Traffickers Are King
by Nickolas Kristof
Thorns Litter the Path for Abbas in Mideast
by Robert Robb
Gingrich's Ideas Still Shine
by Tom Roeser
On Campus, Conservatives Talk Back
The liberal stranglehold on academe is starting to slip.
by Brian C. Anderson
The Real Engine of Blue America
There are no Blue states—only Blue cities, where tax eaters rule.
by Steven Malanga
Capitalists on Steroids
Though exaggerated, shows like The Apprentice reflect America’s can-do response to globalism’s competitive challenge.
by Kay S. Hymowitz
Why the U.S. Needs More Nuclear Power
It’s cheap, clean, safe—and doesn’t depend on Arabia.
by Peter Huber & Mark P. Mills
Darth Tater
Available at stores nationwide in February
Indianapolis Star
Lost your luggage at the airport? Try checking this place
Items at the Unclaimed Baggage Center store range from the commonplace (clothes, shoes, portable electronics), to the curious (a Barbie doll containing $500, a kayak), to the ultra-peculiar (a fighter jet guidance system that was returned to the government, a replica suit of armor, a 41-carat emerald that recently sold for about $15,000).
San Francisco Chronicle
Career Day speaker touts merits of stripping, large breasts
He told one group of about 16 middle school students that strippers can earn as much as $250,000 a year and that a larger bust -- whether natural or augmented -- has a direct relationship to a dancer's salary.
Modern Reformation
Rock N'Roll Theology?
It's not every issue in which Modern Reformation publishes a world premier rock star's thoughts on a book of the Bible. But they think you just might enjoy this piece.
An Essay on the Psalms by Bono of U2
What Elvis was to rock'n'roll, David was to the blues. Bono argues that the psalms truly rock the soul.
Saturday, January 15, 2005
Friday, January 14, 2005
Glass Ceilings at Altar As Well as Boardroom/Men Just Want Mommy
The New York Times
By JOHN SCHWARTZBODY
Dec. 14, 2004
Men would rather marry their secretaries than their bosses, and evolution may be to blame, psychology researchers at the University of Michigan reported last week.
The study, in which college undergraduates were asked to make hypothetical choices, suggests that men in search of long-term relationships prefer to marry women in subordinate jobs rather than women who are supervisors, said Dr. Stephanie Brown, a social psychologist at the University of Michigan's Institute for Social Research and the report's lead author.
Dr. Brown said the findings, reported in the current issue of the journal Evolution and Human Behavior, could have far-reaching implications. ''These findings provide empirical support for the widespread belief that powerful women are at a disadvantage in the marriage market because men may prefer to marry less accomplished women,'' she said.
The researchers asked 120 men and 208 women, all undergraduates, to rate their hypothetical attraction to people they might know from work. The men, for example, were shown pictures and asked, ''Imagine that you have just taken a job and that Jennifer is your immediate supervisor,'' or peer, or assistant. The participants were then asked to rate, on one-to-nine scale, how much they would like to go to a party, date or marry the person.
Women in the study, which was financed in part by a grant from the National Institute of Mental Health, did not show a marked difference in their attraction to men who might work above or below them on the corporate ladder. And men did not show a preference when it came to the possibility of a one-night stand.
But when asked about long-term relationships, the men showed a marked preference for the subordinates as opposed to the bosses.
The findings, which seem to confirm an uncomfortable number of male stereotypes and many mothers' admonitions to their daughters, reflect more than male vanity and insecurity, the researchers argue. Dr. Brown and her co-author, Brian Lewis of the University of California, Los Angeles, wrote that ''pressures associated with the threat of paternal uncertainty'' shaped the men's decisions.
In other words, a subordinate woman might be less likely to fool around, and ''female infidelity is a severe reproductive threat to males'' in long-term relationships, the researchers wrote.
In fact, the evolutionary interpretation of human mating behavior is controversial. In an e-mail interview, Dr. Ellen Berscheid, a professor of psychology at the University of Minnesota, took a slight jab at ''these florid psychoevolutionary interpretations of human behavior that wholly ignore the influence of contemporary, mundane social institutional forces."
Relational dominance, she said, could mean different things in a different study -- like one that created hypothetical mates who were richer or poorer than the research subjects. With a money comparison, she said, ''the results may well have been quite different.''
So, Dr. Berscheid wrote, while ''the results may be interesting in terms of assessing probability of workplace romantic relationships'' under some circumstances, ''I think they probably say little about evolution and human behavior.''
In an interview, Dr. Brown acknowledged that the work was likely to stir dispute.
''It bothers people to think about this in terms of evolution that males could be programmed in any way, or have a predisposition to control another person or member of the opposite sex,'' she said. "I think it's something we wouldn't like to say about males; it's something males wouldn't like to say about themselves.''
In fact, she said, ''I lost a lot of collaborators on this piece.''She conceded that evolutionary causes could not always be teased out of behavior, saying, ''I don't think it's ever possible to really separate out what proportion of a behavior is shaped by evolutionary history and which parts are shaped by our environment or culture.''
Men Just Want Mommy
by Maureen Dowd
A few years ago at a White House Correspondents' dinner, I met a very beautiful actress. Within moments, she blurted out: "I can't believe I'm 46 and not married. Men only want to marry their personal assistants or P.R. women."
I'd been noticing a trend along these lines, as famous and powerful men took up with the young women whose job it was to tend to them and care for them in some way: their secretaries, assistants, nannies, caterers, flight attendants, researchers and fact-checkers.
Women in staff support are the new sirens because, as a guy I know put it, they look upon the men they work for as "the moon, the sun and the stars." It's all about orbiting, serving and salaaming their Sun Gods.
In all those great Tracy/Hepburn movies more than a half-century ago, it was the snap and crackle of a romance between equals that was so exciting. Moviemakers these days seem far more interested in the soothing aura of romances between unequals.
In James Brooks's "Spanglish," Adam Sandler, as a Los Angeles chef, falls for his hot Mexican maid. The maid, who cleans up after Mr. Sandler without being able to speak English, is presented as the ideal woman. The wife, played by Téa Leoni, is repellent: a jangly, yakking, overachieving, overexercised, unfaithful, shallow she-monster who has just lost her job with a commercial design firm. Picture Faye Dunaway in "Network" if she'd had to stay home, or Glenn Close in "Fatal Attraction" without the charm.
The same attraction of unequals animated Richard Curtis's "Love Actually," a 2003 holiday hit. The witty and sophisticated British prime minister, played by Hugh Grant, falls for the chubby girl who wheels the tea and scones into his office. A businessman married to the substantial Emma Thompson falls for his sultry secretary. A writer falls for his maid, who speaks only Portuguese.
(I wonder if the trend in making maids who don't speak English heroines is related to the trend of guys who like to watch Kelly Ripa in the morning with the sound turned off?)
Art is imitating life, turning women who seek equality into selfish narcissists and objects of rejection, rather than affection.
As John Schwartz of The New York Times wrote recently, "Men would rather marry their secretaries than their bosses, and evolution may be to blame."
A new study by psychology researchers at the University of Michigan, using college undergraduates, suggests that men going for long-term relationships would rather marry women in subordinate jobs than women who are supervisors.
As Dr. Stephanie Brown, the lead author of the study, summed it up for reporters: "Powerful women are at a disadvantage in the marriage market because men may prefer to marry less-accomplished women." Men think that women with important jobs are more likely to cheat on them.
"The hypothesis," Dr. Brown said, "is that there are evolutionary pressures on males to take steps to minimize the risk of raising offspring that are not their own." Women, by contrast, did not show a marked difference in their attraction to men who might work above or below them. And men did not show a preference when it came to one-night stands.
A second study, which was by researchers at four British universities and reported last week, suggested that smart men with demanding jobs would rather have old-fashioned wives, like their mums, than equals. The study found that a high I.Q. hampers a woman's chance to get married, while it is a plus for men. The prospect for marriage increased by 35 percent for guys for each 16-point increase in I.Q.; for women, there is a 40 percent drop for each 16-point rise.
So was the feminist movement some sort of cruel hoax? The more women achieve, the less desirable they are? Women want to be in a relationship with guys they can seriously talk to - unfortunately, a lot of those guys want to be in relationships with women they don't have to talk to.
I asked the actress and writer Carrie Fisher, on the East Coast to promote her novel "The Best Awful," who confirmed that women who challenge men are in trouble.
"I haven't dated in 12 million years," she said drily. "I gave up on dating powerful men because they wanted to date women in the service professions. So I decided to date guys in the service professions. But then I found out that kings want to be treated like kings, and consorts want to be treated like kings, too."
By JOHN SCHWARTZBODY
Dec. 14, 2004
Men would rather marry their secretaries than their bosses, and evolution may be to blame, psychology researchers at the University of Michigan reported last week.
The study, in which college undergraduates were asked to make hypothetical choices, suggests that men in search of long-term relationships prefer to marry women in subordinate jobs rather than women who are supervisors, said Dr. Stephanie Brown, a social psychologist at the University of Michigan's Institute for Social Research and the report's lead author.
Dr. Brown said the findings, reported in the current issue of the journal Evolution and Human Behavior, could have far-reaching implications. ''These findings provide empirical support for the widespread belief that powerful women are at a disadvantage in the marriage market because men may prefer to marry less accomplished women,'' she said.
The researchers asked 120 men and 208 women, all undergraduates, to rate their hypothetical attraction to people they might know from work. The men, for example, were shown pictures and asked, ''Imagine that you have just taken a job and that Jennifer is your immediate supervisor,'' or peer, or assistant. The participants were then asked to rate, on one-to-nine scale, how much they would like to go to a party, date or marry the person.
Women in the study, which was financed in part by a grant from the National Institute of Mental Health, did not show a marked difference in their attraction to men who might work above or below them on the corporate ladder. And men did not show a preference when it came to the possibility of a one-night stand.
But when asked about long-term relationships, the men showed a marked preference for the subordinates as opposed to the bosses.
The findings, which seem to confirm an uncomfortable number of male stereotypes and many mothers' admonitions to their daughters, reflect more than male vanity and insecurity, the researchers argue. Dr. Brown and her co-author, Brian Lewis of the University of California, Los Angeles, wrote that ''pressures associated with the threat of paternal uncertainty'' shaped the men's decisions.
In other words, a subordinate woman might be less likely to fool around, and ''female infidelity is a severe reproductive threat to males'' in long-term relationships, the researchers wrote.
In fact, the evolutionary interpretation of human mating behavior is controversial. In an e-mail interview, Dr. Ellen Berscheid, a professor of psychology at the University of Minnesota, took a slight jab at ''these florid psychoevolutionary interpretations of human behavior that wholly ignore the influence of contemporary, mundane social institutional forces."
Relational dominance, she said, could mean different things in a different study -- like one that created hypothetical mates who were richer or poorer than the research subjects. With a money comparison, she said, ''the results may well have been quite different.''
So, Dr. Berscheid wrote, while ''the results may be interesting in terms of assessing probability of workplace romantic relationships'' under some circumstances, ''I think they probably say little about evolution and human behavior.''
In an interview, Dr. Brown acknowledged that the work was likely to stir dispute.
''It bothers people to think about this in terms of evolution that males could be programmed in any way, or have a predisposition to control another person or member of the opposite sex,'' she said. "I think it's something we wouldn't like to say about males; it's something males wouldn't like to say about themselves.''
In fact, she said, ''I lost a lot of collaborators on this piece.''She conceded that evolutionary causes could not always be teased out of behavior, saying, ''I don't think it's ever possible to really separate out what proportion of a behavior is shaped by evolutionary history and which parts are shaped by our environment or culture.''
Men Just Want Mommy
by Maureen Dowd
A few years ago at a White House Correspondents' dinner, I met a very beautiful actress. Within moments, she blurted out: "I can't believe I'm 46 and not married. Men only want to marry their personal assistants or P.R. women."
I'd been noticing a trend along these lines, as famous and powerful men took up with the young women whose job it was to tend to them and care for them in some way: their secretaries, assistants, nannies, caterers, flight attendants, researchers and fact-checkers.
Women in staff support are the new sirens because, as a guy I know put it, they look upon the men they work for as "the moon, the sun and the stars." It's all about orbiting, serving and salaaming their Sun Gods.
In all those great Tracy/Hepburn movies more than a half-century ago, it was the snap and crackle of a romance between equals that was so exciting. Moviemakers these days seem far more interested in the soothing aura of romances between unequals.
In James Brooks's "Spanglish," Adam Sandler, as a Los Angeles chef, falls for his hot Mexican maid. The maid, who cleans up after Mr. Sandler without being able to speak English, is presented as the ideal woman. The wife, played by Téa Leoni, is repellent: a jangly, yakking, overachieving, overexercised, unfaithful, shallow she-monster who has just lost her job with a commercial design firm. Picture Faye Dunaway in "Network" if she'd had to stay home, or Glenn Close in "Fatal Attraction" without the charm.
The same attraction of unequals animated Richard Curtis's "Love Actually," a 2003 holiday hit. The witty and sophisticated British prime minister, played by Hugh Grant, falls for the chubby girl who wheels the tea and scones into his office. A businessman married to the substantial Emma Thompson falls for his sultry secretary. A writer falls for his maid, who speaks only Portuguese.
(I wonder if the trend in making maids who don't speak English heroines is related to the trend of guys who like to watch Kelly Ripa in the morning with the sound turned off?)
Art is imitating life, turning women who seek equality into selfish narcissists and objects of rejection, rather than affection.
As John Schwartz of The New York Times wrote recently, "Men would rather marry their secretaries than their bosses, and evolution may be to blame."
A new study by psychology researchers at the University of Michigan, using college undergraduates, suggests that men going for long-term relationships would rather marry women in subordinate jobs than women who are supervisors.
As Dr. Stephanie Brown, the lead author of the study, summed it up for reporters: "Powerful women are at a disadvantage in the marriage market because men may prefer to marry less-accomplished women." Men think that women with important jobs are more likely to cheat on them.
"The hypothesis," Dr. Brown said, "is that there are evolutionary pressures on males to take steps to minimize the risk of raising offspring that are not their own." Women, by contrast, did not show a marked difference in their attraction to men who might work above or below them. And men did not show a preference when it came to one-night stands.
A second study, which was by researchers at four British universities and reported last week, suggested that smart men with demanding jobs would rather have old-fashioned wives, like their mums, than equals. The study found that a high I.Q. hampers a woman's chance to get married, while it is a plus for men. The prospect for marriage increased by 35 percent for guys for each 16-point increase in I.Q.; for women, there is a 40 percent drop for each 16-point rise.
So was the feminist movement some sort of cruel hoax? The more women achieve, the less desirable they are? Women want to be in a relationship with guys they can seriously talk to - unfortunately, a lot of those guys want to be in relationships with women they don't have to talk to.
I asked the actress and writer Carrie Fisher, on the East Coast to promote her novel "The Best Awful," who confirmed that women who challenge men are in trouble.
"I haven't dated in 12 million years," she said drily. "I gave up on dating powerful men because they wanted to date women in the service professions. So I decided to date guys in the service professions. But then I found out that kings want to be treated like kings, and consorts want to be treated like kings, too."
J.P. Morgan: If It Moves, Try to Cut It
by ROBIN SIDEL
Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
January 13, 2005; Page C1
NEW YORK -- Six months after taking over as president of J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., Jamie Dimon is sharpening his knife again.
From health-care costs to continuing-education to charitable donations, Mr. Dimon is digging deep into the bank in an effort to pare its spending habits. Some bankers are even worried that Mr. Dimon's frugal ways may hit their wallets later this month when the bank doles out bonuses for 2004.
Yesterday, J.P. Morgan, the nation's largest bank after Citigroup Inc., announced plans to shut a large credit-card facility in Tampa, Fla., by the end of the year. The move will result in 1,900 job cuts and is part of the 12,000 jobs that the bank is eliminating in connection with last year's $58 billion acquisition of Bank One Corp.
Intensive cutbacks are expected to continue through 2005, as Mr. Dimon , 48 years old, sits in the bank's No. 2 spot; he holds the titles of president and chief operating officer. Next year, the former chief executive officer of Bank One is scheduled to take the CEO job at J.P. Morgan from William Harrison, who will retain the title of chairman.
That is also when investors will be looking for the bank to grow. Indeed, J.P. Morgan executives say they are already assessing potential takeover targets in the U.S. and overseas, although no big deals are expected soon.
Long known as a relentless cost-cutter, Mr. Dimon is using many of the same techniques he unleashed during his four-year stint at Bank One in Chicago and before that, when he was a top executive at Citigroup in the 1980s and 1990s. He refers to the process as "waste-cutting."
"Cost-cutting implies that you are chopping out something you really need," he said in an interview.
Whatever it is called, it is a massive undertaking at J.P. Morgan, mainly because of the company's sheer size. The bank has approximately $1.1 trillion in assets and operates in more than 50 countries. It has a market value of nearly $140 billion and 175,000 employees. It had $1.4 billion in net income for the quarter ended Sept. 30, which was the first reporting period that included Bank One's results. Next week it will announce earnings for the final three months of 2004.
"We are moving at light-speed to get all this stuff done," Mr. Dimon said of the process. The bank originally said the Bank One deal would result in $2.2 billion in cost savings over three years, but has since raised that estimate to $3 billion. That includes an estimated $400 million in cost savings for 2004.
His quick action has caused plenty of consternation among J.P. Morgan's bankers. Just days after J.P. Morgan completed the Bank One deal in July, a rumor circulated that Mr. Dimon was so fixated on slashing costs that he spent one evening grilling the limousine drivers who were lined up in front of the bank's Manhattan headquarters. According to bankers who heard the story, Mr. Dimon supposedly took down names of any bankers who were violating company policy that banned such perks unless a banker was leaving the office late, headed to the airport or riding with a client.
Eventually, Mr. Dimon was asked about the tale at a meeting with J.P. Morgan's investment bankers. He insisted it never happened, dismissing it as confusion with a similar episode years ago when he was at Citigroup and trying to tame big spenders there.
There are plenty of areas ripe for cutting that aren't related to the Bank One deal, in part because J.P. Morgan never really concentrated on the issue while it was making a string of big and expensive acquisitions in the past decade. Among them: the purchases of Chase Manhattan Corp. in 2000, Chemical Banking Corp., in 1996 and smaller investment banks like Hambrecht & Quist, Beacon Group and Britain's Robert Fleming.
"I was working on doing a better job of [cutting costs] myself, but he does it better than I do," says Mr. Harrison of his second-in-command. Both executives deny widespread speculation that Mr. Dimon will take the CEO job ahead of schedule.
Some of the recent cuts have been relatively easy. Shortly after arriving at the combined bank last summer, Mr. Dimon issued an edict to take back thousands of cellphones and pagers that had been distributed to bank employees. The staffers were told to use their own equipment and then seek reimbursement for any business-related expenses.
Another action targeted secretaries and other staff members working out of the bank's New York offices. For years, the New York workers had operated on a 35-hour workweek, while their counterparts around the country worked a 40-hour week. Shortly after the Bank One deal was completed in July, the New York staff received a one-time cash payment based on salary and was put on a 40-hour-a-week schedule.
J.P. Morgan also recently overhauled its health-care plan; the employees who earn the most at the bank now are required to pay a larger premium. Anyone wanting to take a continuing-education course must go through a more-rigorous process to show it is job-related. And the bank has stopped matching charitable donations made by employees with a base salary of more than $150,000 a year. (The company has waived those rules for donations made to help tsunami relief efforts).
Other decisions have been more complicated. In 2002, J.P. Morgan decided to outsource some technology functions to International Business Machines Corp. in a seven-year deal valued at about $5 billion.
Mr. Dimon has long believed that a company should control its own technology and Bank One had invested more than $1 billion in technology, including new facilities with capacity for future growth.
"This could have been ripe for a battle," Mr. Dimon said of the issue. After considering several options, Mr. Harrison says he agreed that the bank would be better off managing its own technology. In September, the bank announced it would bring the work back in-house; Mr. Dimon has said the move wasn't about saving money.
So far, the moves are sitting well with investors, although shares of J.P. Morgan are valued less richly these days than some other big banks and Wall Street firms. At $37.99 in 4 p.m. New York Stock Exchange composite trading yesterday, shares of J.P. Morgan are trading at a multiple of 11.7 times 2005 earnings estimated by Thomson First Call. By comparison, Wells Fargo & Co. is trading at a 13.5 multiple and Morgan Stanley is trading at a 12.2 multiple.
The cost-cutting is "a monumental task and it's the one variable that [Mr. Dimon ] can control the most," says Thomas Finucane, a portfolio manager at John Hancock Funds, a unit of Manulife Financial Corp.
Mr. Dimon received widespread credit for his cost-cutting at Bank One, which stumbled in the late 1990s after a series of acquisitions. Upon his arrival in Chicago in 2000, he recommended employees read one of four business books -- including one called "Double your profits: 78 ways to cut costs, increase sales, and dramatically improve your bottom line in six months or less."
He also implemented a series of intensive cost-saving moves, like selling four of the bank's six corporate jets and shutting down its money-losing auto-leasing business. He overhauled the bank's budget system so that each branch was responsible for its own profits or losses and shuttered its flopped Internet venture. Bank One earned $3.5 billion in 2003 compared with a loss of $511 million in 2000, the year he took over in the top job.
Write to Robin Sidel at robin.sidel@wsj.com
Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
January 13, 2005; Page C1
NEW YORK -- Six months after taking over as president of J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., Jamie Dimon is sharpening his knife again.
From health-care costs to continuing-education to charitable donations, Mr. Dimon is digging deep into the bank in an effort to pare its spending habits. Some bankers are even worried that Mr. Dimon's frugal ways may hit their wallets later this month when the bank doles out bonuses for 2004.
Yesterday, J.P. Morgan, the nation's largest bank after Citigroup Inc., announced plans to shut a large credit-card facility in Tampa, Fla., by the end of the year. The move will result in 1,900 job cuts and is part of the 12,000 jobs that the bank is eliminating in connection with last year's $58 billion acquisition of Bank One Corp.
Intensive cutbacks are expected to continue through 2005, as Mr. Dimon , 48 years old, sits in the bank's No. 2 spot; he holds the titles of president and chief operating officer. Next year, the former chief executive officer of Bank One is scheduled to take the CEO job at J.P. Morgan from William Harrison, who will retain the title of chairman.
That is also when investors will be looking for the bank to grow. Indeed, J.P. Morgan executives say they are already assessing potential takeover targets in the U.S. and overseas, although no big deals are expected soon.
Long known as a relentless cost-cutter, Mr. Dimon is using many of the same techniques he unleashed during his four-year stint at Bank One in Chicago and before that, when he was a top executive at Citigroup in the 1980s and 1990s. He refers to the process as "waste-cutting."
"Cost-cutting implies that you are chopping out something you really need," he said in an interview.
Whatever it is called, it is a massive undertaking at J.P. Morgan, mainly because of the company's sheer size. The bank has approximately $1.1 trillion in assets and operates in more than 50 countries. It has a market value of nearly $140 billion and 175,000 employees. It had $1.4 billion in net income for the quarter ended Sept. 30, which was the first reporting period that included Bank One's results. Next week it will announce earnings for the final three months of 2004.
"We are moving at light-speed to get all this stuff done," Mr. Dimon said of the process. The bank originally said the Bank One deal would result in $2.2 billion in cost savings over three years, but has since raised that estimate to $3 billion. That includes an estimated $400 million in cost savings for 2004.
His quick action has caused plenty of consternation among J.P. Morgan's bankers. Just days after J.P. Morgan completed the Bank One deal in July, a rumor circulated that Mr. Dimon was so fixated on slashing costs that he spent one evening grilling the limousine drivers who were lined up in front of the bank's Manhattan headquarters. According to bankers who heard the story, Mr. Dimon supposedly took down names of any bankers who were violating company policy that banned such perks unless a banker was leaving the office late, headed to the airport or riding with a client.
Eventually, Mr. Dimon was asked about the tale at a meeting with J.P. Morgan's investment bankers. He insisted it never happened, dismissing it as confusion with a similar episode years ago when he was at Citigroup and trying to tame big spenders there.
There are plenty of areas ripe for cutting that aren't related to the Bank One deal, in part because J.P. Morgan never really concentrated on the issue while it was making a string of big and expensive acquisitions in the past decade. Among them: the purchases of Chase Manhattan Corp. in 2000, Chemical Banking Corp., in 1996 and smaller investment banks like Hambrecht & Quist, Beacon Group and Britain's Robert Fleming.
"I was working on doing a better job of [cutting costs] myself, but he does it better than I do," says Mr. Harrison of his second-in-command. Both executives deny widespread speculation that Mr. Dimon will take the CEO job ahead of schedule.
Some of the recent cuts have been relatively easy. Shortly after arriving at the combined bank last summer, Mr. Dimon issued an edict to take back thousands of cellphones and pagers that had been distributed to bank employees. The staffers were told to use their own equipment and then seek reimbursement for any business-related expenses.
Another action targeted secretaries and other staff members working out of the bank's New York offices. For years, the New York workers had operated on a 35-hour workweek, while their counterparts around the country worked a 40-hour week. Shortly after the Bank One deal was completed in July, the New York staff received a one-time cash payment based on salary and was put on a 40-hour-a-week schedule.
J.P. Morgan also recently overhauled its health-care plan; the employees who earn the most at the bank now are required to pay a larger premium. Anyone wanting to take a continuing-education course must go through a more-rigorous process to show it is job-related. And the bank has stopped matching charitable donations made by employees with a base salary of more than $150,000 a year. (The company has waived those rules for donations made to help tsunami relief efforts).
Other decisions have been more complicated. In 2002, J.P. Morgan decided to outsource some technology functions to International Business Machines Corp. in a seven-year deal valued at about $5 billion.
Mr. Dimon has long believed that a company should control its own technology and Bank One had invested more than $1 billion in technology, including new facilities with capacity for future growth.
"This could have been ripe for a battle," Mr. Dimon said of the issue. After considering several options, Mr. Harrison says he agreed that the bank would be better off managing its own technology. In September, the bank announced it would bring the work back in-house; Mr. Dimon has said the move wasn't about saving money.
So far, the moves are sitting well with investors, although shares of J.P. Morgan are valued less richly these days than some other big banks and Wall Street firms. At $37.99 in 4 p.m. New York Stock Exchange composite trading yesterday, shares of J.P. Morgan are trading at a multiple of 11.7 times 2005 earnings estimated by Thomson First Call. By comparison, Wells Fargo & Co. is trading at a 13.5 multiple and Morgan Stanley is trading at a 12.2 multiple.
The cost-cutting is "a monumental task and it's the one variable that [Mr. Dimon ] can control the most," says Thomas Finucane, a portfolio manager at John Hancock Funds, a unit of Manulife Financial Corp.
Mr. Dimon received widespread credit for his cost-cutting at Bank One, which stumbled in the late 1990s after a series of acquisitions. Upon his arrival in Chicago in 2000, he recommended employees read one of four business books -- including one called "Double your profits: 78 ways to cut costs, increase sales, and dramatically improve your bottom line in six months or less."
He also implemented a series of intensive cost-saving moves, like selling four of the bank's six corporate jets and shutting down its money-losing auto-leasing business. He overhauled the bank's budget system so that each branch was responsible for its own profits or losses and shuttered its flopped Internet venture. Bank One earned $3.5 billion in 2003 compared with a loss of $511 million in 2000, the year he took over in the top job.
Write to Robin Sidel at robin.sidel@wsj.com
articles 1/14
A bigger, more Democratic Congress
by Jeff Jacoby
Iraqis go to the polls on Jan. 30 to choose the first truly democratic government in their nation's history.
Shocking Look At Ailing Renquist
by Vincent Morris
PR Executive Indicted in 'Pay to Play' Probe
by Ralph Frammolino & Ted Rohrlich
A partner in the Fleishman-Hillard firm falsely billed DWP and private clients, a grand jury says. He is the first charged in the inquiry.
Two Elections
Why Iraq's vote is not like Palestine's.
by Christopher Hitchens
MSM Requiem
After the Dan Rather scandal, American journalism will never be the same.
by Peggy Noonan
The Post-Saddam Boom
The region is prospering in the wake of Iraq's liberation.
by Glenn Yago & Don McCarthy
The Washington Times
WMD panel fires FBI agent for sharing CIA document
A presidential commission examining U.S. intelligence failures related to weapons of mass destruction has fired an FBI agent for improperly supplying a classified CIA report to FBI headquarters..
Senator Kennedy speaking 'clearly'
by David Limbaugh
Senator Kennedy shared his vision for America this week in a speech at the National Press Club. The only common thread I could find in his shotgun critique was a stubborn fidelity to failed liberal policies of the past.
Democracy has to be good -- not perfect
by Jonah Goldberg
Amid the media din about the tsunami, Dan Rather's implosion, and the usual grim news from Iraq, an amazing story has been unfolding - but has received scant appreciation from the chattering classes. Democracy is on the march.
The race card -- 2005
by Larry Elder
The Democratic Party continues to play the race card for political gain
I beg to disagree
by Thomas Sowell
Disagreements are inevitable whenever there are human beings but we seem to be in an era when the art of disagreeing is vanishing.
Social Security rubiconby Robert Novak
When Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina proposed the broad outlines of a Social Security compromise last month, he was accused by conservatives of negotiating with himself.
Two tidal waves: tsunami and abortion
by Marvin Olasky
Two tidal waves of death: the tsunami late in December and 32 years of massive abortion since the Roe vs. Wade decision on Jan. 22, 1973.
Psst, the deficit's shrinking
by Larry Kudlow
Here’s one story you won’t find on tomorrow’s front pages: 'The U.S. Budget Deficit Is Shrinking Rapidly.'
Zell was right
by Rich Lowry
Last year, then-Sen. Zell Miller, a Georgia Democrat, wrote a scathing critique of the Democratic Party called 'A National Party No More: The Conscience of a Conservative Democrat.'
The New War on Terror
by Joel Mowbray
In a bid to both bankrupt those who finance terror and bring some sense of justice to its victims, the legal team that is suing the Saudis for $1 trillion has launched yet another massive lawsuit against prime supporters of radical Islamic jihad.
Duelfer, the U.N., and the New York Times
The job of the inspections regime was to verify, based on the active cooperation of Iraqi officials. Saddam Hussein's regime did no such thing.
by Daniel McKivergan
It's Worse Than You Thought
Curious how the Thornburgh-Boccardi panel decided the CBS documents weren't necessarily fakes? Read Appendix 4.
by Jonathan V. Last
Triangulating the War
Yesterday’s genius, today’s fool, tomorrow’s what?
by Victor Davis Hanson
Reuters
'Ali G' Comedian Risks Riot at U.S. Rodeo
British comedian Sasha Baron Cohen escaped a near-riot at an American rodeo while filming his satirical "Da Ali G Show."
The Western Front
by Brendan Miniter
Democrats beyond the Beltway embrace politically promising new ideas.
Another Trail to Follow
Did Saddam Hussein loot a fund to compensate victims of the 1990 invasion?
by Claudia Rosett
The Small Matter of Proof
The CBS report is the liveliest investigative document to come along in a long time.
by Dorothy Rabinowitz
Wall Street Journal
Stolen Election?
It looks like it. Still, a revote may not be the best remedy.
Right on Campus
Conservatives begin to infiltrate the left's last redoubt.
by Brian Anderson
by Jeff Jacoby
Iraqis go to the polls on Jan. 30 to choose the first truly democratic government in their nation's history.
Shocking Look At Ailing Renquist
by Vincent Morris
PR Executive Indicted in 'Pay to Play' Probe
by Ralph Frammolino & Ted Rohrlich
A partner in the Fleishman-Hillard firm falsely billed DWP and private clients, a grand jury says. He is the first charged in the inquiry.
Two Elections
Why Iraq's vote is not like Palestine's.
by Christopher Hitchens
MSM Requiem
After the Dan Rather scandal, American journalism will never be the same.
by Peggy Noonan
The Post-Saddam Boom
The region is prospering in the wake of Iraq's liberation.
by Glenn Yago & Don McCarthy
The Washington Times
WMD panel fires FBI agent for sharing CIA document
A presidential commission examining U.S. intelligence failures related to weapons of mass destruction has fired an FBI agent for improperly supplying a classified CIA report to FBI headquarters..
Senator Kennedy speaking 'clearly'
by David Limbaugh
Senator Kennedy shared his vision for America this week in a speech at the National Press Club. The only common thread I could find in his shotgun critique was a stubborn fidelity to failed liberal policies of the past.
Democracy has to be good -- not perfect
by Jonah Goldberg
Amid the media din about the tsunami, Dan Rather's implosion, and the usual grim news from Iraq, an amazing story has been unfolding - but has received scant appreciation from the chattering classes. Democracy is on the march.
The race card -- 2005
by Larry Elder
The Democratic Party continues to play the race card for political gain
I beg to disagree
by Thomas Sowell
Disagreements are inevitable whenever there are human beings but we seem to be in an era when the art of disagreeing is vanishing.
Social Security rubiconby Robert Novak
When Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina proposed the broad outlines of a Social Security compromise last month, he was accused by conservatives of negotiating with himself.
Two tidal waves: tsunami and abortion
by Marvin Olasky
Two tidal waves of death: the tsunami late in December and 32 years of massive abortion since the Roe vs. Wade decision on Jan. 22, 1973.
Psst, the deficit's shrinking
by Larry Kudlow
Here’s one story you won’t find on tomorrow’s front pages: 'The U.S. Budget Deficit Is Shrinking Rapidly.'
Zell was right
by Rich Lowry
Last year, then-Sen. Zell Miller, a Georgia Democrat, wrote a scathing critique of the Democratic Party called 'A National Party No More: The Conscience of a Conservative Democrat.'
The New War on Terror
by Joel Mowbray
In a bid to both bankrupt those who finance terror and bring some sense of justice to its victims, the legal team that is suing the Saudis for $1 trillion has launched yet another massive lawsuit against prime supporters of radical Islamic jihad.
Duelfer, the U.N., and the New York Times
The job of the inspections regime was to verify, based on the active cooperation of Iraqi officials. Saddam Hussein's regime did no such thing.
by Daniel McKivergan
It's Worse Than You Thought
Curious how the Thornburgh-Boccardi panel decided the CBS documents weren't necessarily fakes? Read Appendix 4.
by Jonathan V. Last
Triangulating the War
Yesterday’s genius, today’s fool, tomorrow’s what?
by Victor Davis Hanson
Reuters
'Ali G' Comedian Risks Riot at U.S. Rodeo
British comedian Sasha Baron Cohen escaped a near-riot at an American rodeo while filming his satirical "Da Ali G Show."
The Western Front
by Brendan Miniter
Democrats beyond the Beltway embrace politically promising new ideas.
Another Trail to Follow
Did Saddam Hussein loot a fund to compensate victims of the 1990 invasion?
by Claudia Rosett
The Small Matter of Proof
The CBS report is the liveliest investigative document to come along in a long time.
by Dorothy Rabinowitz
Wall Street Journal
Stolen Election?
It looks like it. Still, a revote may not be the best remedy.
Right on Campus
Conservatives begin to infiltrate the left's last redoubt.
by Brian Anderson
Wednesday, January 12, 2005
Hacker Breaks Into T-Mobile Network
A hacker broke into a wireless carrier's network over at least seven months and read e-mails and personal computer files of hundreds of customers, including the Secret Service agent investigating the hacker, the government said Wednesday.
The 'Media Party' is over
CBS' downfall is just the tip of the iceberg
"A political party is dying before our eyes -- and I don't mean the Democrats. I'm talking about the "mainstream media"... It was not accident that the [media party's] birth coincided with an identity crisis in the Democratic Party. The ideological energy of the New Deal had faded; Vietnam and various social revolutions of the '60s were tearing it apart. Into the vacuum came the ['American Mainstream Media Party'], which became the new forum for choosing Democratic candidates. A 'reform' movement opened up the nominating process, taking it out of the smoke-filled backrooms and onto television and into the newsrooms. The key to winning the nomination and, occasionally, the presidency, became expertise at riding the media wave. McGovern did it, Gary Hart almost did (until he fell off his surfboard); Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton rode it all the way" -- Newsweek columnist Howard Fineman (check out Mr. Fineman's full confession: http://msnbc.msn.com/id/6813945).
"A political party is dying before our eyes -- and I don't mean the Democrats. I'm talking about the "mainstream media"... It was not accident that the [media party's] birth coincided with an identity crisis in the Democratic Party. The ideological energy of the New Deal had faded; Vietnam and various social revolutions of the '60s were tearing it apart. Into the vacuum came the ['American Mainstream Media Party'], which became the new forum for choosing Democratic candidates. A 'reform' movement opened up the nominating process, taking it out of the smoke-filled backrooms and onto television and into the newsrooms. The key to winning the nomination and, occasionally, the presidency, became expertise at riding the media wave. McGovern did it, Gary Hart almost did (until he fell off his surfboard); Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton rode it all the way" -- Newsweek columnist Howard Fineman (check out Mr. Fineman's full confession: http://msnbc.msn.com/id/6813945).
Tuesday, January 11, 2005
Mobile phones tumour risk to young children
CHILDREN under the age of eight should not use mobile phones, parents were advised last night after an authoritative report linked heavy use to ear and brain tumours and concluded that the risks had been underestimated by most scientists.
Professor Sir William Stewart, chairman of the National Radiological Protection Board (NRPB), said that evidence of potentially harmful effects had become more persuasive over the past five years.
The news prompted calls for phones to carry health warnings and panic in parts of the industry. One British manufacturer immediately suspended a model aimed at four to eight-year-olds. The number of mobiles in Britain has doubled to 50 million since the first government-sponsored report in 2000. The number of children aged between five and nine using mobiles has increased fivefold in the same period.
In his report, Mobile Phones and Health, Sir William said that four studies have caused concern. One ten-year study in Sweden suggests that heavy mobile users are more prone to non-malignant tumours in the ear and brain while a Dutch study had suggested changes in cognitive function. A German study has hinted at an increase in cancer around base stations, while a project supported by the EU had shown evidence of cell damage from fields typical of those of mobile phones.
“All of these studies have yet to be replicated and are of varying quality but we can’t dismiss them out of hand,” Sir William said. If there was a health risk — which remained unproven — it would have a greater effect on the young than on older people, he added.
For children aged between 8 and 14, parents had to make their own judgments about the risks and benefits. “I can’t believe that for three to eight year-olds they can be readily justified,” he said.
David Hart, general secretary of the National Association of Headteachers, called last night for a ban on mobiles in schools.
Mobile phone companies reacted furiously, saying that the report fanned public concern without presenting new research. The youth market is highly lucrative because teenagers are more likely to use video downloads and other services.
The World Health Organisation is preparing to publish an international report, drawing on hundreds of studies conducted over a decade, which many hope will give a definitive judgment on mobile phone safety.
The board’s report says that while there is a lack of hard information of damage to health, the approach should be precautionary. Sir William said: “Just because there are 50 million of them out there doesn’t mean they are absolutely safe.”
One school in the North East has begun using mobile scanners to prevent pupils using mobiles in class. “Outside college hours it is up to parents, but in our care if mobiles are found on children, they are confiscated and returned to the parents,” David Riden, vice principal of Tollbar Business and Enterprise College in New Waltham, said.
One group that appears to target young users is Richard Branson’s Virgin Mobile, which derives much of its revenue from the 16s-35s market. It denies targeting under 16s but has cornered a large slice of the youth market with cheap voice and text messages.
HEALTH RISK
Acoustic neuromas are benign tumours of the acoustic nerve
A study in Sweden has shown that they are twice as common in mobile phone users
They were also four times as common on the side of the head where the phone was held
Acoustic neuromas occur in 100,000 people a year and can cause deafness
They can be treated by surgery. In most cases the patient’s hearing is saved
Brain tumours affect about 4,700 new patients a year in Britain
They are becoming more common — the UK Brain Tumour Society says that incidence has increased by 45 per cent in 30 years
The causes of primary brain tumours are unknown, so it is hard to identify specific risk factors
Professor Sir William Stewart, chairman of the National Radiological Protection Board (NRPB), said that evidence of potentially harmful effects had become more persuasive over the past five years.
The news prompted calls for phones to carry health warnings and panic in parts of the industry. One British manufacturer immediately suspended a model aimed at four to eight-year-olds. The number of mobiles in Britain has doubled to 50 million since the first government-sponsored report in 2000. The number of children aged between five and nine using mobiles has increased fivefold in the same period.
In his report, Mobile Phones and Health, Sir William said that four studies have caused concern. One ten-year study in Sweden suggests that heavy mobile users are more prone to non-malignant tumours in the ear and brain while a Dutch study had suggested changes in cognitive function. A German study has hinted at an increase in cancer around base stations, while a project supported by the EU had shown evidence of cell damage from fields typical of those of mobile phones.
“All of these studies have yet to be replicated and are of varying quality but we can’t dismiss them out of hand,” Sir William said. If there was a health risk — which remained unproven — it would have a greater effect on the young than on older people, he added.
For children aged between 8 and 14, parents had to make their own judgments about the risks and benefits. “I can’t believe that for three to eight year-olds they can be readily justified,” he said.
David Hart, general secretary of the National Association of Headteachers, called last night for a ban on mobiles in schools.
Mobile phone companies reacted furiously, saying that the report fanned public concern without presenting new research. The youth market is highly lucrative because teenagers are more likely to use video downloads and other services.
The World Health Organisation is preparing to publish an international report, drawing on hundreds of studies conducted over a decade, which many hope will give a definitive judgment on mobile phone safety.
The board’s report says that while there is a lack of hard information of damage to health, the approach should be precautionary. Sir William said: “Just because there are 50 million of them out there doesn’t mean they are absolutely safe.”
One school in the North East has begun using mobile scanners to prevent pupils using mobiles in class. “Outside college hours it is up to parents, but in our care if mobiles are found on children, they are confiscated and returned to the parents,” David Riden, vice principal of Tollbar Business and Enterprise College in New Waltham, said.
One group that appears to target young users is Richard Branson’s Virgin Mobile, which derives much of its revenue from the 16s-35s market. It denies targeting under 16s but has cornered a large slice of the youth market with cheap voice and text messages.
HEALTH RISK
Acoustic neuromas are benign tumours of the acoustic nerve
A study in Sweden has shown that they are twice as common in mobile phone users
They were also four times as common on the side of the head where the phone was held
Acoustic neuromas occur in 100,000 people a year and can cause deafness
They can be treated by surgery. In most cases the patient’s hearing is saved
Brain tumours affect about 4,700 new patients a year in Britain
They are becoming more common — the UK Brain Tumour Society says that incidence has increased by 45 per cent in 30 years
The causes of primary brain tumours are unknown, so it is hard to identify specific risk factors
articles 1/11
New York Magazine
The Teenage Economy
by David Amsden
For many, allowance is a touchier subject than sex and drugs. While parents struggle to strike a balance between supporting and spoiling, kids fend for themselves in their own very difficult money culture.
TheStreet.com
Nortel's Bonusgate
Reuters
Apple Enters Value Market with Cheap iPod, Mac
Apple Computer Inc. AAPL.O on Tuesday moved to make its products more affordable for the masses, unveiling its cheapest Macintosh computer ever and a version of its iPod digital music player for under $100.
AP
Book Prompts CIA to Look at Employee Rules
The CIA is drafting new rules for agency employees who want to become authors following publication of a controversial critique of the war on terror by a counterterrorism official who headed the unit tracking Osama bin Laden.
Reuters
Shoddy controls fueled Nortel results woes-review
AP
Nortel Networks Slashes 2003 Profit
Can Democrats be pro-life?
by Doug Bandow
Election losses wonderfully concentrate the minds of politicians. As did November 2004.
Israeli Women in Fatigues
Learning from experience.
Can We Save Iraq? No, But The Iraqis Can
by David Brooks
Peace Possible Only if Palestinians Are Free
by Natan Sharansky
Democrats' Fury, and Values, Go AWOL
by Marie Cocco
Promising Democrats Are Not in D.C.
by Brendan Miniter
Why Do Rather and Heyward Still Have Jobs?
by James Pinkerton
Boxed in By Bias
by John Podhoretz
by Mackubin Thomas Owens
The Teenage Economy
by David Amsden
For many, allowance is a touchier subject than sex and drugs. While parents struggle to strike a balance between supporting and spoiling, kids fend for themselves in their own very difficult money culture.
TheStreet.com
Nortel's Bonusgate
Reuters
Apple Enters Value Market with Cheap iPod, Mac
Apple Computer Inc. AAPL.O on Tuesday moved to make its products more affordable for the masses, unveiling its cheapest Macintosh computer ever and a version of its iPod digital music player for under $100.
AP
Book Prompts CIA to Look at Employee Rules
The CIA is drafting new rules for agency employees who want to become authors following publication of a controversial critique of the war on terror by a counterterrorism official who headed the unit tracking Osama bin Laden.
Reuters
Shoddy controls fueled Nortel results woes-review
AP
Nortel Networks Slashes 2003 Profit
Can Democrats be pro-life?
by Doug Bandow
Election losses wonderfully concentrate the minds of politicians. As did November 2004.
Israeli Women in Fatigues
Learning from experience.
Can We Save Iraq? No, But The Iraqis Can
by David Brooks
Peace Possible Only if Palestinians Are Free
by Natan Sharansky
Democrats' Fury, and Values, Go AWOL
by Marie Cocco
Promising Democrats Are Not in D.C.
by Brendan Miniter
Why Do Rather and Heyward Still Have Jobs?
by James Pinkerton
Boxed in By Bias
by John Podhoretz
by Mackubin Thomas Owens
Monday, January 10, 2005
articles 1/10
AP
Rumsfeld-McCain feud grew after summer lunch
Defense officials say that the Donald H. Rumsfeld-John McCain relationship, never the closest or friendliest, really soured at a private meeting the two had last summer.
NY Times
The Secret Lives of Just About Everybody
Psychologists say that most normal adults are well equipped to start a secret life and that keeping a secret is a key to healthy development.
Of what use is the United Nations?
by Michael Barone
Of what use is the United Nations? Sometimes, it seems the answer is: none at all.
The Florida Myth Spreads
Another “stolen election.”
By Peter Kirsanow
Arrogance on the Hill
by Robert Novak
That comment came before he learned, to his surprise and sorrow, that the House Republican leadership had removed Rep. Chris Smith of New Jersey as chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Committee.
Hiding from the facts of the modern world
by Diana West
From worlds away -- maybe another planet -- 'explanations' for the tsunami catastrophe begin.
How to skew the news without really trying
by Paul Jacob
Journalists do not need an ideological bias to misreport the news. Their simple preference for a good story by itself can lead to error. Just look at environmental reporting.
My apology
by Armstrong Williams
People have used this conflict of interests to portray my column as being paid for by the Bush Administration. Nothing could be further from the truth.
The problem with Mahmoud Abbas
by Jeff Jacoby
The outcome of yesterday's election for president of the Palestinian Authority was never in doubt.
What The Report Says and What It Doesn't Say
by John Hinderaker, Powerline
How Do You Spell "Whitewash?"
by Hugh Hewitt
"Considerable and Fundamental Deficiencies"
by Howard Kurtz
CBS and the Philosopher's Stone
by Jonathan Last
Your Call (and Rants on Hold) Will Be Monitored
By Ken Belson
The message, "This call may be monitored for quality assurance purposes," is so common that many callers assume no one is listening. But they would be wrong.
Rumsfeld-McCain feud grew after summer lunch
Defense officials say that the Donald H. Rumsfeld-John McCain relationship, never the closest or friendliest, really soured at a private meeting the two had last summer.
NY Times
The Secret Lives of Just About Everybody
Psychologists say that most normal adults are well equipped to start a secret life and that keeping a secret is a key to healthy development.
Of what use is the United Nations?
by Michael Barone
Of what use is the United Nations? Sometimes, it seems the answer is: none at all.
The Florida Myth Spreads
Another “stolen election.”
By Peter Kirsanow
Arrogance on the Hill
by Robert Novak
That comment came before he learned, to his surprise and sorrow, that the House Republican leadership had removed Rep. Chris Smith of New Jersey as chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Committee.
Hiding from the facts of the modern world
by Diana West
From worlds away -- maybe another planet -- 'explanations' for the tsunami catastrophe begin.
How to skew the news without really trying
by Paul Jacob
Journalists do not need an ideological bias to misreport the news. Their simple preference for a good story by itself can lead to error. Just look at environmental reporting.
My apology
by Armstrong Williams
People have used this conflict of interests to portray my column as being paid for by the Bush Administration. Nothing could be further from the truth.
The problem with Mahmoud Abbas
by Jeff Jacoby
The outcome of yesterday's election for president of the Palestinian Authority was never in doubt.
What The Report Says and What It Doesn't Say
by John Hinderaker, Powerline
How Do You Spell "Whitewash?"
by Hugh Hewitt
"Considerable and Fundamental Deficiencies"
by Howard Kurtz
CBS and the Philosopher's Stone
by Jonathan Last
Your Call (and Rants on Hold) Will Be Monitored
By Ken Belson
The message, "This call may be monitored for quality assurance purposes," is so common that many callers assume no one is listening. But they would be wrong.
Sunday, January 09, 2005
articles 1/9
AP
Newt Gingrich Open to Presidential Run
Resolution
by David Warren
AP
Feminists Face Tough Times After Election
America's feminist leaders and their critics agree on at least one current political fact: These are daunting times for the women's movement as it braces for another term of an administration it desperately wanted to topple.
NY Times
Young Cell Users Rack Up Debt, a Message at a Time
the last two years, text messages have become a rage among teenagers. But text-messaging can be expensive.
Gonzales Is Good for America
The Senate should confirm the only Republican I've ever voted for.
by Henry Cisneros
Wall Street Journal
A Tale of Two States
Reformer Schwarzenegger vs. stand-pat Pataki.
The Next Nuclear Wave
by Jon Wolfsthal
Remapping the Middle East, Maybe
by Thomas Friedman
Election Protest Shows Why Dems Don't Count
by Mark Steyn
Dems Prove Again They're Out of Touch
by Michael Goodwin
It's Time to Give Up the Electoral Swindle
by Steve Chapman
Cap over the wall
by George Will
President Bush's even bolder cap-over-the-wall decision is to define his second term by a vow to 'transform' Social Security.
U.S. News & World Report
Religion and the White House
Bush leaves no doubt that his Christian faith is a central part of his life.
U.S. News & World Report
The Dobson Way
An evangelical leader steps squarely into the political ring.
NY Times Magazine
Ban of Brothers
by Benoit Denizet-Lewis
Binge drinking and alcohol-related deaths have inspired a movement to outlaw beer and booze in fraternity houses. A Phi Delt returns to his old campus to see what the new prohibition has wrought.
What American Teenagers Believe
A conversation with one of the most influential and widely cited sociologists of his generation.
Book Excerpt: Out of School
Investors believed stock analysts like Jack Grubman were on their side during the tech bubble. In 'Blood on the Street,' NEWSWEEK's Charles Gasparino reveals just how rigged the game really was
Editor & Publisher
U2 No. 1 in E&P's First Pop-Music Poll
The Legend of Bono Vox
Lessons learned in the church of U2.
Newt Gingrich Open to Presidential Run
Resolution
by David Warren
AP
Feminists Face Tough Times After Election
America's feminist leaders and their critics agree on at least one current political fact: These are daunting times for the women's movement as it braces for another term of an administration it desperately wanted to topple.
NY Times
Young Cell Users Rack Up Debt, a Message at a Time
the last two years, text messages have become a rage among teenagers. But text-messaging can be expensive.
Gonzales Is Good for America
The Senate should confirm the only Republican I've ever voted for.
by Henry Cisneros
Wall Street Journal
A Tale of Two States
Reformer Schwarzenegger vs. stand-pat Pataki.
The Next Nuclear Wave
by Jon Wolfsthal
Remapping the Middle East, Maybe
by Thomas Friedman
Election Protest Shows Why Dems Don't Count
by Mark Steyn
Dems Prove Again They're Out of Touch
by Michael Goodwin
It's Time to Give Up the Electoral Swindle
by Steve Chapman
Cap over the wall
by George Will
President Bush's even bolder cap-over-the-wall decision is to define his second term by a vow to 'transform' Social Security.
U.S. News & World Report
Religion and the White House
Bush leaves no doubt that his Christian faith is a central part of his life.
U.S. News & World Report
The Dobson Way
An evangelical leader steps squarely into the political ring.
NY Times Magazine
Ban of Brothers
by Benoit Denizet-Lewis
Binge drinking and alcohol-related deaths have inspired a movement to outlaw beer and booze in fraternity houses. A Phi Delt returns to his old campus to see what the new prohibition has wrought.
What American Teenagers Believe
A conversation with one of the most influential and widely cited sociologists of his generation.
Book Excerpt: Out of School
Investors believed stock analysts like Jack Grubman were on their side during the tech bubble. In 'Blood on the Street,' NEWSWEEK's Charles Gasparino reveals just how rigged the game really was
Editor & Publisher
U2 No. 1 in E&P's First Pop-Music Poll
The Legend of Bono Vox
Lessons learned in the church of U2.
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