Then and Now

"The doings of the last Legislature at Albany have been shocking--far worse than appears in the papers, and I fear there is little hope of reform from the regular politicians. They are all banded together for plunder, no matter how much difference of opinion they may effect...If the country is to be saved and purified, it must be by some force outside their ranks..."

--Edwin Lawrence Godkin, founder and editor of the Nation and editor of the New York Evening Post
Letter to Charles Eliot Norton, April 23, 1867
William K. Armstrong, editor, The Gilded Age Letters of E.L. Godkin,, p. 103
Albany, NY 1974: SUNY Press

How to Avoid ERISA Litigation

I just gave a talk sponsored by the CPA Training Center on how to avoid ERISA litigation. My cospeaker, Robert Edward Hoskins of the Foster Law Firm, LLC, is a talented speaker and a gifted attorney. I primarily spoke about my experiences with ERISA litigation.

Two Kinds of Corruption

"I am sorry to say I [am] perfectly satisfied that the leading Republican politicians are worse rogues than the Democrats, inasmuch as they are fully as corrupt while making far more pretensions to honesty."

---Edwin Lawrence Godkin
Letter to Frederick Law Olmstead, December 25, 1864
William M. Armstrong, The Gilded Age Letters of E.L. Godkin, Albany: SUNY Press, 1974, p. 17.

New York Giants Win Superbowl XLII

Eli Manning has led the Giants to what the Kansas City Star calls "among the greatest upsets in the history of professional team sports." Wide receiver David Tyree made the catch of the century and Plaxico Burress caught a 13-yard touchdown pass. I'm not a regular football fan, but this game's edge-of-the-seat, spectacular fourth quarter (at least for us New Yorkers) got me interested.

Now, might some other folks in New York throw some upset passes? How about Eliot Spitzer eliminating New York State's income tax? How about a 20% across the board reduction in Albany's general fund budget next year? How about a real celebration?