- Once dystopia week at Tor.com is actually over, I'll have some comments aside from my sniff of disdain. Mr de Vries's comments today, asserting that dystopias and utopias are entirely black/white propositions, merely reinforce that disdain. But then, this isn't a topic in which I'm an avid reader; it's a topic upon which I'm a scholar.
Nonetheless, it's good to see at least some attention being paid to the area. Now if only any of the columnists knew what an eiron was...
- Judge Glenn orally rejected the initial attempt to get the executives of bankrupt Borders Group their exhorbitant bonuses. He directed renegotiation with the U.S. Trustee, after which the bonuses will be merely outrageous. Notably, he did not appear to give any credit to the argument being raised by some creditors that it is too early to pay bonuses because we don't know what will be recovered. Legally, I think that's the right call; in fact, timing of bonus payments in comparison to the proceeding is not supposed to be relevant in bankruptcy. Ethically, it's another story entirely, particularly when these bonus payments are being made to retain management so incompetent — and so prone to turnover — that a relatively healthy company got run into the ground through entirely foreseeable circumstances. However, Judge Glenn doesn't have the authority to reject bonus payments on principle on those grounds.
- In a remarkable bit of irony, earlier this week saw the fiftieth anniversary of man in space... and the 150th anniversary of shots fired in the Second War of American Secession, aka the American Civil War, aka the War Between the States. Professor Zasloff makes another comment on the irony of the South that I can't beat — especially after having been stationed in an unreconstructed portion thereof. Twice.
- Last, and far from least, it appears that President Obama has no regrets over calling the Heffalumps stupid. He shouldn't, particularly once one remembers that (a) that doesn't necessarily mean that the Jackasses are smart — just not quite so stupid on this particular issue, and (b) "conservative," "GOP," "activist member of GOP," and "Heffalump leadership" are not coextensive sets; in fact, there's disturbingly little overlap, very much like the disturbingly small overlap among "landowning voters," "Tory," "Tory MP," and "Tory leadership" in the 1750s through 1790s.
Back to the salt mines; I need to peer review an article on the GBS...