Senator Cruz Went from Down and Dirty to Down and Out in One Day in Indiana

Indiana ended yesterday Senator Cruz’s year-long/lifetime quest for the Presidency, at least this year. He’s still young. Four years is a short time in politics. Vice President Nixon was defeated by Senator Kennedy in 1960, but won the Presidency in 1968. Governor Reagan narrowly lost the 1976 Republican nomination to President Ford, but won the election in 1980. Senator Cruz is still young, highly ambitious, and driven. He can study and learn from his defeat this year and try again in the future. He probably knew his campaign was nearing the end when he remarked earlier in the week that he would not remain in the race if there was no longer a viable means of receiving the nomination. His polling must have told him it was hopeless. It was a very humbling, humiliating, and inconceivable realization for the Senator. Thus, he got engaged in a down and dirty exchange with Donald Trump, a candidate just as ambitious as him. His emotions boiled up. The well-organized, tightly wound campaign lost control. Donald Trump referred to an article in the National Inquirer, which showed a man who looked like Rafael Cruz, Ted Cruz’s father, talking with Lee Harvey Oswald shortly before the shooting. The publisher of the Inquirer is a strong supporter of Donald Trump. Senator Cruz has vigorously denied the photo is of his father Donald Trump said in a Fox interview: “His father was with Lee Harvey Oswald prior to Oswald’s being, you know, shot.” He added “I mean, the whole thing is ridiculous. What is this, right, prior to his being shot – and nobody brings it up.” He asked the rhetorical question: “What was he doing with Lee Harvey Oswald shortly before the death, before the shooting?” The innuendo, of course, being that Rafael Cruz was involved somehow in the assassination of President Kennedy. Senator Cruz has been very protective of his family during the campaign. He could have simply, strongly again denied the photo was of his father. Instead, he emotionally let it all out. He called Donald Trump a “serial philanderer,” a “pathological liar,” “utterly immoral,” a “bully,” and a “narcissist at a level I don’t think the country’s ever seen.” He quoted Donald Trump from an appearance on the Howard Stern Show decades ago when Donald Trump described his own battle with venereal disease as his own, personal Vietnam. The Cruz Campaign spokeswoman, Catherine Frazier, responded on a higher note: “We are campaigning on jobs, freedom, and security while Trump campaigns on false tabloid garbage ….” She added ‘Trump … is detached from reality, and his false, meaningless comments every day indicate his desperation to get attention and willingness to say anything to do so,” The Trump Campaign responded by calling the Senator “unhinged” and “desperate.” The rhetoric had gotten down and dirty. The Senator should have learned by now that you cannot win a battle of insults with Donald Trump. He should have also learned that befriending Trump (“My friend”) earlier in the campaign would not deter an ambitious Trump from turning on him. Senator Cruz, who self-proclaimed himself an outsider, mastered the insider rules of convention delegates, hoping to win a second ballot nomination if Trump fell short on the first ballot. The outsider/insider candidate lost to the true outsider. It was done and out 10 seconds after the polls closed in Indiana.

Starbucks Sued for Over Charging - Another Sad Day for Lawyers

Stacy Pincus is the lead plaintiff in a $5 million lawsuit filed in Chicago against Starbucks for consumer fraud. The allegation is that Starbucks places too much ice and too little tea in its iced tea, thereby engaging in an act of consumer fraud. Stacy is trolling for additional plaintiffs who have bought an iced tea from Starbucks in the past ten years. That would be most of America. Overcharged by Starbucks? That would be most of America. We all know that Starbucks overcharges. To say Starbucks and overcharging in the same sentence is to engage in an act of redundancy. Starbucks could serve as the dictionary definition of overcharging. The complaint alleges the iced tea was Starbucks’ most profitable product in 201. They charge more for it than hot drinks, and provide less fluid. Ice is cheaper than tea. It’s profitable because consumers want to buy it. Take coffee, chocolate, and milk, throw in fancy words, such as expresso, latte, Frappuccino, trenta, grande, and venti, served by baristas, you have the recipe to overcharge. Don’t call it a latte. Slowly call it “iced carmelized honey latte,” and watch the dollars roll in. It’s not generic lemonade. It’s overpriced “teavana mango black tea lemonade.” The complaint alleges iced tea was Starbucks’ most profitable product in 2014. They charge more for it than hot drinks, and provide less fluid. Ice is cheaper than tea. The venti 24oz. cup has three black lines in it. The highest is at the 14 ounce mark. Baristas are trained to fill the venti to the 14oz. mark and then add ice to the rest. Simple divisions tells us that 58.3333% of the pre-melt iced tea is tea. That certainly beats most restaurants. If Starbucks is liable for excessive ice, then so too is almost every restaurant in America. They make their profit from beverage sales. Ask for a soda, and it’s mostly ice. The solution is simple. Just ask for “no ice,” “hold the ice,” or “easy on the ice.” The wait staff will comply. Except for one restaurant in Seattle decades ago which charged me extra for no ice. I never went back to that restaurant. Solution 2 is just as simple as Solution One. Send the overpriced beverage back and ask for less ice. Starbucks lets unsatisfied customers return their food and beverages. My preferred solution is a third option. Don’t go to Starbucks unless it’s the only breakfast place open on the road in the early morning. Legally, there is a duty to mitigate damages once a wrong has occurred. Sending it back for a less iced replacement is an easy way to mitigate damages. Of course, iced tea without ice is an oxymoron. Starbucks stated: “Our customers understand and expect that ice is an essential component of an ‘iced beverage.’” Stacy may be the plaintiff, but I seriously doubt that she fantasized while slowly sipping her ice cold ice at Starbucks the following phrases: breach of express warranty, breach of implied warranty of merchantability, negligent misrepresentation, unjust enrichment, and fraud. These causes of action in the complaint came from her lawyer Steven Hart of the Chicago class action law firm of Hart, McLaughlin & Eldridge. This looks like one of those class action lawsuits in which the lawyers will garner at least $1 million in fees, and the class member victims, a coupon for Fifty Cents.

Mayor Bloomberg's Saturday Commencement Speech at Michigan is a Call to All for Tolerance and Openness on the College Campus

University trustees and administrators should watch or read Mayor Bloomberg’s Commencement Address last Saturday morning at the University of Michigan. Most commencement speeches are not memorable. His August 30, 2016 presentation should be one for the ages. Mayor Bloomberg’s premise is that “An open mind is the most valuable asset you can possess.” He warned against demagogues in politics and campus intolerance. The political independent cautioned “Neither party has a monopoly on good ideas, and each demonizes the other unfairly and dishonestly.” He reminded us of past demagogues of the past, Huey Long, Father Coughlin, Senator Joseph McCarthy, Governor George Wallace, and Pat Buchanan. He then mentioned the current demagoguery against Mexicans and Muslims on one side of the partisan divide and Wall Street and the wealthy on the other. He mentioned no current names, but we can fill in the blanks. He recognized “the fact that some university boards and administrators now bow to pressure and shield students from … ideas through ‘safe spaces,’ ‘code words,’ and ‘trigger warnings’ is, in my view, a terrible mistake.” Let me add that much of the problem often revolves around supine administrators and trustees who readily accede to the protestor’s demands, thereby encouraging them. He added “A microaggression is exactly that – micro. And in a macro sense the most dangerous place on a college campus is a so-called ‘safe space,’ because it creates a false impression that we can isolate ourselves from those who hold different views.” This statement received scattered boos and even epithets from some of the attendees - the ones most intolerant of free speech. I have referred to these speech intolerant administrators, faculty, and students as “Academic Neanderthals.” (See May 3, 2014 blog: “Condoleezza Rice, Rutgers, Brandeis, and the Intolerance of the (Academic) Left”). Mayor Bloomberg has not had a recent epiphany. He similarly spoke out two years ago at the Harvard Commencement about liberals silencing voices “deemed politically objectionable.” He was upset about the number of commencement speakers who either withdrew because of opposition or had their invitations withdrawn due to the pressure from leftist faculty and students. He spoke of Senator McCarthy’s Red Scare of the 1950’s, but recognized: “Today, on many college campuses, it is liberals trying to repress conservative ideas, even as conservative faculty members are at risk of becoming an endangered species.” He spoke out at Harvard against the developing trend of Liberals silencing voices they deem “politically objectionable. The purpose of college is to educate and open the mind, not to indoctrinate and close the mind Mayor Bloomberg reminded us that “the whole purpose of college is to learn how to deal with difficult situations, not to run away from them.” Mayor Bloomberg acknowledged the change from an industrial society to an informational society. Thus, “The most useful knowledge that you leave here with today has nothing to do with your major. It’s about how to study, cooperate, listen carefully, think critically, and resolve conflicts through reason. Those are the most important skills in the working world, and it is why colleges have always exposed students to challenging and uncomfortable ideas.” Trustees, Regents, Curators, Visitors, Presidents, Chancellors, Provosts, and Deans, Heed Mayor Bloomberg’s words!

Professor Melissa Click Just Doesn't Get It; She Was Not Fired at the University of Missouri for Being a White Lady

Professor Melissa Click was close to success at the University of Missouri. She had been recommended for tenure, the grant of which by the Missouri Board of Curators would probably be a formality. Instead, the Board fired her on February 24, 2016. She knows what happened, but doesn’t yet comprehend it. Professor Click became the public face of the demonstrations at the University of Missouri. She had supported the protestors at Homecoming and later in the November demonstrations. She had every legal right to do so. She provided assistance to them at the November demonstrations, including organizing supplies for the demonstrators. She had every right to do so. She had every right to confront a student photographer at the protest. She also had every right to argue with him. What she did not have a right to do was grab his camera and yell for muscle to remove the photographer. She crossed the line between protected speech and unprotected, illegal action. Her acts were captured on video, which went viral. The photo of her frenzied face went viral. Her career went down the tubes at that point She had become the poster child of the demonstrations. It then turned out that at the Homecoming demonstrations, she got in the face of a police officer who was trying to clear the streets. She screamed at him: “Get your [expletive deleted] hands off me.” She asked in a letter to the editor in the Washington Post on March 17, 2016: “What would our world be like if no one ever took a chance?” She failed to understand the impulse to shame those “whose best intentions unfortunately result in imperfect actions.” Professor Click should have remembered the old adage that “The road to Hell is paved with good intentions.” Actions have consequences. Actions even in the liberal ivy towers of academe have consequences outside the Academy. Legislatures have the power of the purse over public universities. The demonstrations and her acts went national. A backlash resulted. Missouri will be down about 1500 incoming students next fall. Applications, both by out of state students and African American students, are down sharply. It’s looking at a $32 million gap. Contributions are not going to fill that gap with the level of discontent by the alumni, parents, and the general public. Contributions, both to the academics and athletics, have plummeted. The University announced that there will be no merit increases this year for the faculty. New hires across the board will be kept to a minimum The demonstrators won nothing, except for the resignations of the University President and Chancellor. Missouri has been a purple state, but it is swinging conservative. The backlash is not just about the University, but also the riots in Ferguson. The conservative Republican Legislature threatened to cut funding to the University. She said in a lengthy article in the April 24, 2016 issue of The Chronicle of Higher Education: “This is all about racial politics. I’m a white lady. I’m an easy target.” Does she really believe that she was terminated because she was a “white lady?” Does she not realize how absurd that statement is? That she was fired because she was white on a campus accused of discriminating against Blacks?” She was fired because she threatened violence against a student photographer. She was fired because she confronted a police officer doing his job. She was in Missouri. That didn’t help her case. She existed in a academic cocoon where progressive, if not radical, politics are accepted as the norm. Conservative voices often stay in the academic closet. Faculty and student soften chill the free exercise of speech by silencing conservative voices, even as commencement speakers. That is all too often the norm. But a faculty member threatening violence against a student is unacceptable. Ward Churchill and Steven Salaita paid for their words. She paid for her acts. Maybe her due process rights were violated by the University of Missouri in how they terminated her. Maybe, but her career is over at Missouri. It will be interesting to see if she lands a position at another major university.

First Kasich; Now Fiorina: Has Senator Cruz Run Out of Hail Marys?

First Kasich, Now Fiorina: Does Senator Cruz Have Any Hail Mary’s Left? The Acela Express roared through the Northeast Tuesday, doing more political damage to Senator Cruz than Hurricane Sandy did to Governor Christy. Donald Trump won every country in the primary votes in Delaware, Maryland, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Pennsylvania. Governor Kasich came in second in four states, barely trailing the Senator in Pennsylvania. Senator Cruz was a distant third in four of the states. He’s running out of time in his race for the Presidency. It’s time for a Hail Mary pass or a buzzle beating shot from half court. Politics makes strange bedfellows. The Senator and Governor entered four days ago into a lovefest, alliance, non-aggression pact, a horizontal division of the market, treaty, or act of desperation. Governor Kasich agreed to stay out of Indiana and Senator Cruz would cede New Mexico and Oregon to Governor Kasich in the latest manifestation of a Stop Trump Movement. The Hail Mary was an attempt to stop splitting the anti-Trump vote, allowing either Cruz or Kasich to win the remaining state contests on a one-on-one fight with Trump. It failed quicker than the non-aggression pact between Nazi Germany and Russia, which divided Poland between the two countries, but soon saw Hitler invading Russia. The American voters delivered over 50% of the Republican vote to Donald Trump in each of the five states on Tuesday. Poland fell, Republicans held fast. Governor Kasich was in Indiana today campaigning. Senator Cruz’s new Hail Mary, his new political soulmate, is to announce Carly Fiorina as his running mate. The last time a Presidential candidate named his Vice Presidential nominee prior to securing the nomination was in 1976 when Governor Reagan anointed Pennsylvania's moderate Republican Senator Richard Schweiker as his running mate in an unsuccessful attempt to win the Republican nomination. Carly Fiorina may look good on paper. She could help Senator Cruz in the California primary, which will be his last chance to stop the Trump Bandwagon. Ms. Fiorina is a woman who can stand up to Secretary Clinton on the stump. She clearly stood out in the undercard debates earlier this year. Her debating skills are as outstanding as those of the Senator. She was always well-prepared and dominated the debates. Carly Fiorina presents a compelling personal story, rising from a secretary to CEO of Hewlett-Packard, a classic example of living the American Dream, serving as an example for the all the women of America. If only the facts lived up to the narrative! She was only a secretary for a few days. She comes from a privileged background. Her father, Joseph Sneed, was a federal appellate judge, having previously served as Dean of Duke Law School. Ms. Fiorina earned her Bachelor’s degree from Stanford, and then received an MBA from the University of Maryland and a Masters of Science in Management from M.I.T. She was fired by HP after six years as CEO. The VEEP designee failed abysmally six years ago in running for the Senate in California. It’s difficult, near impossible, today for a Republican to win a statewide election in California. If ever there was a year, it was 2010 with the Midterm Revolt nationally against President Obama and the Democrats. Not in California! Carly Fiorina ran a poor campaign against Senator Barbara Boxer. She lost by 10% by the unimpressed California voters. She bowed out early in the Republican race this year despite her impressive debate performances. Her problem is an inability to connect with voters. Senator Cruz comes across as your mean uncle. Carly Fiorina mirrors him. It’s as though they were fraternal twins separated at birth and now reunited – two peas in a snarly pot. The two of them are too smart for us, and they know it. Indiana is a basketball state - not a football state. Bobby Knight won three national titles with the Indiana Hoosiers basketball team. The “General” is a legend in Indiana. His persona mirrors that of Donald Trump. The two were campaigning together today in Indianapolis Carly or Bobby? Who would you want by your side in Indianapolis?

An Irreverent Look at the 2016 Presidential Election

Governor John Kasich campaigned in the New York Primary by eating New York Pizza with a fork. Senator Cruz rues New York values. Politics makes strange bedfellows but the Cruz-Kasich cabal sounds like a dud cruise missile. The new Trump sounds like the old trump, just as the New Nixon echoed the Old Nixon and the new Dukakis was the same as the old Dukakis. Is Donald trump running for President? Or is it Don Rickles? Donald Trump is the most Democratic of the 17 original Republican candidates, but he may be the last Republican standing. Donald Trump is appealing to the lower income, less educated voters, but Senator Sanders accuses the poor of not voting. Senator Sanders, the attacker of the rich and corporations of not paying their fair share, but he and his wife had taxable income in 2014 of $20,5271, but paid only $27,653 in federal taxes, a tax rate of 13.5%. He falls in the top 5% of income earners in the United States. He’s not paying his fair share. The Democrats are running two senior citizens for President. The Republicans running as the New Ronald Reagan are violating Reagan’s 11th Commandment: “Thou shalt not speak ill of a fellow Republican.” Charles Koch, of the Koch Brothers, finds it repugnant. Senator Rubio alluded to Donald Trump’s penis size, of which he presumably had no personal knowledge. Donald Trump has been making nice with Megyn Kelley. Governor Chris Christy made nice with Donald Trump, but looked like a hostage suffering from the Stockholm Syndrome. Rudy Giuliani voted for Donald Trump, supports Donald Trump, but will not endorse him - a distinction only a lawyer can understand. Donald Trump, the consummate New Yorker, has embraced New England’s Tom Brady. He’s probably eyeing the QB’s foreign-born model wife. Donald Trump, supposedly the richest candidate in the race, has spent the least money of the five remaining candidates. Secretary Clinton has been running on gun control against Senator Sanders in the primaries, but knows it is a loser in the general election. Senator Cruz is running as everyone’s second choice. His wife, Heidi, is an investment manager at Goldman Sachs. Too bad she can’t release a recording of Secretary Clinton’s 20 minute, $250,000 speeches at Goldman Sachs. Secretary Clinton won’t release the Goldman Sachs transcripts and Donald Trump his tax returns. Secretary Clinton is the only Presidential candidate investigated by 100 FBI agents. Donald Trump and Secretary Clinton are their parties’ front runners, in unfavorability ratings exceeding 50%. California matters this year!

In Memory of Professors Tibor Machan and Essai Adibi, Two Chapman Stars

Chapman University is in transition. President James Doti built Chapman from a small college to an expanding university. He is retiring. Chancellor Daniele Struppa will become President shortly and hope to further transit Chapman into a national university. Sadly, neither Professor Tibor Machan nor Esmael (“Essie”) Adibi will be there for the next stage. Both are economic conservatives who were cheerleaders for Orange County as a haven for entrepreneurs, as much as there can be entrepreneurs in today’s California. Both professors valued America as the land of opportunity for both were refugees from oppressive regimes. Tibor was smuggled out of Hungary in 1953 when he was 14. His father him wanted to escape the brutal Communist dictatorship. Tibor forever loathed communism, socialism, collectivism, and bureaucracy. Essie earned his Bachelor’s degree from the University of Tehran, and then came to the United States to earn an MBA from Chapman. He was studying in the United States when the Shah of Iran fell, being succeeded by the authoritarian Ayatollahs. He wisely remained in the United States, earning a Masters in economics from Cal State University Fullerton, and a Ph.D. in Economics from the Claremont Graduate School. His mentor at Chapman was then Professor James Doti. Essie returned to Chapman 38 years ago and co-prepared with Professor Doti the annual Chapman Economics Forecast for Orange County, which became a major economic event in Orange County. He was an expert in econometrics. He directed Chapman’s A Gary Anderson Center for Economic Research since 1985 and held the A Gary Anderson Chair of Economic Research. A memorial service was held at Chapman’s new Musco Center for the Performing Arts. The 1,000 seats were filled. A large percent of the mourners were his fellow Persians for Essie was also a pillar of the Persian expatriate community. Essie was also one the nicest people you would ever meet. He was also one of the hardest working people you would ever meet. He knew that success in America came from hard work. I still see Essie standing outside Beckman Hall with a smile on his face and a cigarette in his hand. Therein lies his mortality. He died at a young 63 from a massive stroke, undoubtedly related to his heavy smoker. A colleague last Monday said he advised Essie several times to quit smoking. Essie’s response was “to put a cigarette in his hand when he dies.” President Doti said of Essie: “I lost my closest friend and Chapman has lost one of its brightest stars.” Tibor was the Libertarian of Libertarians. He received his BA from Claremont Mckenna, an MA from NYU, and a Ph.D, from UC Santa Barbara, all in Philosophy. As a Ph.D. student at UC Santa Barbara, he and a few friends bought a magazine for $2,000. It became Reason Magazine, the magazine of, by and for libertarians. Tibor had a forceful presence. I sat on a couple of panels with him over the past 20 years. He could eviscerate knee jerk liberals in debates He was a prolific author with scores of books, columns and blogs, always espousing the cause of freedom, which included freedom from an increasing oppressive state and federal bureaucracy. He was a strong advocate for freedom, both personal and economic. He retired as an emeritus professor at Auburn University, but his career did not slow down. He was a fellow at the Hoover Institute in Palo Alto. He was a longtime columnist and consultant to Freedom Communications, publisher of the Orange County Register. He held the R.C. Hoilles Chair of Business Ethics and Free Enterprise at Chapman from 2004 through 2014. Raymond Cyrus Hoiles acquired the small Santa Ana Register newspaper and grew it into the Orange County Register and the parent Freedom Communications. R.C. Hoiles was outspokenly conservative on most issues, but was one of the few publishers to oppose the internment of Japanese Americans in World War II. Tibor began writing for R.C. Hoiles and the Register while still a Ph.D. student at UC Santa Barbara. He fit into the Register.