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Ross Kerber

@rosskerber.bsky.social
697 followers 135 following 63 posts

I write about #corpgov and related topics for @Reuters.com including #climate and #ESG business issues. Subscribe to my newsletter - lnkd.in/eXWpCMDe

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Ross Kerber @rosskerber.bsky.social · 26/06/2026
My latest @reuters.com #sustainablefinance newsletter focuses on a sail-powered transatlantic cargo deal. I thought I was just making a gratuitous reference to 1995's #Waterworld and its battered trimaran, but learned new vessel designer VPLP also built two for the movie. Subscription link below
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Ross Kerber @rosskerber.bsky.social · 03/06/2026
Root beer to rockets: My @reuters.com #SustainableFinance column today about shareholder voting rights. #SpaceX IPO is still pending but the arguments go back 100 years involving brands like Dodge Brothers and A&W Restaurants. www.reuters.com/sustainabili...
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Ross Kerber @rosskerber.bsky.social · 13/05/2026
Once upon a time I had a surplus of fire-and-brimstone quotes from bigshot fund managers concerned the decline of equal proxy voting rights might entrench poor managers. Now the pending #SpaceX #IPO suggests the old investment guard lost the argument. @reuters.com column here - tinyurl.com/44mcpbr9
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The SpaceX IPO and the lost battle for shareholder rights
I've lost count of all the stories I've written that quote fancy investment bosses decrying the rise of unequal proxy voting rights that entrench the power of corporate insiders. Here's one from a dec...
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Ross Kerber @rosskerber.bsky.social · 22/04/2026
Truce in the workplace #culturewars - Companies made changes to protect workers posting things like Bible verses and #DEI skepticism, but experts say they could also signal new corporate neutrality. More, and sub link, in my @reuters.com #SustainableFinance column here - tinyurl.com/p7w3zs82
tinyurl.com
In culture war 'detente,' some US companies loosen rules on workplace free speech
In the cancel-culture wars over freedom of speech in the U.S. workplace, a truce is taking shape at some employers.
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Ross Kerber @rosskerber.bsky.social · 15/04/2026
New - #Hungary's election results carry a warning for #CronyCapitalists, according to analysts I spoke for my Reuters #sustainablefinance column this week. Signup link in comments - www.reuters.com/sustainabili...
reuters.com
Hungary's warning for crony capitalists
Backers of Hungary's nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orban included U.S. President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance, who campaigned for Orban in Budapest last week before his big election lo...
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Ross Kerber @rosskerber.bsky.social · 08/04/2026
Nixon had a "madman theory" approach to wartime negotiations but #Trump's rhetoric on #Iran was next-level. I spoke with negotiator Cody Smith about the how the bluster - straight out of New York real-estate world - fits into today's geopolitical realities. My @reuters.com column linked below
reuters.com
The 'madman theory' of US-Iran negotiations: Ross Kerber
Former U.S. President Richard Nixon was famously described as pursuing a "madman theory" in his approach to wartime negotiations, creating the perception that he was capable of any destruction to cow ...
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Ross Kerber @rosskerber.bsky.social · 25/03/2026
For my @reuters.com column this week I spoke with FIRE.org's Aaron Terr about his hope that US executives will respect employees' free speech even if companies are not legally bound by the #FirstAmendment. It's an important sentiment vs corporate cancel culture - www.reuters.com/sustainabili...
reuters.com
A call for US companies to follow the First Amendment
Freedom of speech, enshrined in the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, prohibits government meddling in our expressions, worship, assembly and writing. But legally the framework does not apply ...
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Ross Kerber @rosskerber.bsky.social · 12/03/2026
New for @reuters.com - my latest Q&A column with @sarahanderson.bsky.social to discuss her research about the workers on public assistance despite their jobs at companies like #walmart and #amazon - www.reuters.com/sustainabili...
reuters.com
A 'corporate welfare' claim vs Walmart and Amazon over worker benefits
Providing low-paid workers with government benefits like health insurance and food assistance is usually considered to be socially minded policy. But another way to look at the payments is as subsidie...
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Ross Kerber @rosskerber.bsky.social · 04/03/2026
New for @reuters.com - my talk with conservative shareholder activist Paul Chesser, about proxy season and his concerns about Trump's SEC - www.reuters.com/markets/us/t...
reuters.com
This conservative activist is no fan of Trump's SEC: Ross Kerber
Pay attention when rivals join the same side of an argument. That happened recently when the leader of the National Legal and Policy Center, a conservative-leaning shareholder group, co-wrote an op-ed...
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Ross Kerber @rosskerber.bsky.social · 28/01/2026
After #BlackRock's Larry Fink name-dropped Motor City in his recent #davos speech, I called up #Detroit Regional Chamber leader Sandy Baruah for a policy-priorities briefing for my @reuters.com column this week - tinyurl.com/bvv8ujwa
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Detroit Calling: a post-Davos message from Motor City: Ross Kerber
Maybe you caught the speech by BlackRock CEO Larry Fink at last week's Davos conference, coverage of which focused on his worries that capitalism has undermined itself with too much inequality, and th...
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Ross Kerber @rosskerber.bsky.social · 21/01/2026
I spoke with @asyousow.bsky.social leader Andrew Behar for today's @reuters.com column, here - www.reuters.com/sustainabili...
reuters.com
Shareholder activist Behar says Trump is 'disassembling capitalism'
A year of changes by U.S. President Donald Trump and his securities regulators means a lot of uncertainty heading into the springtime shareholder meeting season.
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Ross Kerber @rosskerber.bsky.social · 14/01/2026
For my @reuters.com column this week I looked at the relationship between #democracy and #taxes with World Bank and Freedom House data. TLDR: It does look like low taxes don't always mean more freedom. (Column link in comments.)
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Ross Kerber @rosskerber.bsky.social · 07/01/2026
www.reuters.com/sustainabili...
reuters.com
Venezuela capture follows 'Trump's Ten Commandments' by the book
In a new book, Trump's Ten Commandments, two Yale leadership scholars call the president's understanding of authority that of "a tribal chieftain blended with the necessary fluidity and creative chaos...
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Ross Kerber @rosskerber.bsky.social · 17/12/2025
- I spoke with Vanessa Williamson of @brookings.edu on how #taxpolicy shapes #democracy, for @reuters.com Yesterday was the anniversary of the #bostonteaparty which can be seen as opposition to a corporate tax cut - Occupy1773! Story and video interview here - lnkd.in/gh_gzxng
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Ross Kerber @rosskerber.bsky.social · 11/12/2025
New - #Space + #IPO + #ElonMusk = content lnkd.in/g6yMgQfy
lnkd.in
LinkedIn
This link will take you to a page that’s not on LinkedIn
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Ross Kerber @rosskerber.bsky.social · 03/12/2025
I've been meaning to talk with #Israeli negotiator and peace activist Gershon Baskin about #Gaza -related demands on executives that raise this question: how much influence can companies have on national policies? My @reuters.com #sustainablefinance newsletter column herewith - tinyurl.com/4tw3tt67
tinyurl.com
Trump-Hamas negotiator says businesses can lean on Israel
Jerusalem-based peace activist and negotiator Gershon Baskin played an important role in the diplomacy between U.S. and Hamas leaders leading to the October deal pausing the war in Gaza.
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Ross Kerber @rosskerber.bsky.social · 26/11/2025
New - On his way out the door, @bradlander.bsky.social urges #NYC pension funds to drop #BlackRock over #climate concerns, setting up a test for @zohrankmamdani.bsky.social and other officials. My @reuters.com story herewith - www.reuters.com/sustainabili...
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Ross Kerber @rosskerber.bsky.social · 21/11/2025
New - Glass Lewis may register itself with the SEC, among other reforms Cheryl Gustitus says the proxy adviser is making to recast its role. "We're trying to evolve, we're not digging in," she tells me for today's @reuters.com #corpgov article - www.reuters.com/sustainabili...
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Ross Kerber @rosskerber.bsky.social · 19/11/2025
Take heart #ESG and shareholder-proposal activists, maybe it's not so bad - www.reuters.com/sustainabili...
reuters.com
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Ross Kerber @rosskerber.bsky.social · 22/10/2025
New for this week's @reuters.com #sustainablefinance column, a talk with #Christian investor Robert Netzly about biblical values and his efforts vs. "spiritual money laundering." Subscription link in story - www.reuters.com/markets/chri...
reuters.com
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Reposted by Ross Kerber
Reuters @reuters.com · 16/10/2025
Pentagon reporters could be seen leaving the sprawling U.S. military headquarters with boxes after at least 30 news organizations declined to sign a new Pentagon access policy for journalists, warning of the potential for less coverage of the world's most powerful military.
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Ross Kerber @rosskerber.bsky.social · 15/10/2025
New for @reuters.com a look at how #nonprofits have banded together vs #Trump and a talk with the leader of the #MacArthurFoundation www.reuters.com/sustainabili...
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Ross Kerber @rosskerber.bsky.social · 08/10/2025
New for @reuters.com on #ESG - www.reuters.com/markets/us/u...
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Ross Kerber @rosskerber.bsky.social · 15/09/2025
NEW - Today US #financial regulators told ExxonMobil it could proceed with a plan to let mom-and-pop investors vote with management, a factor in #ESG battles. Our latest for @reuters.com herewith. How might this impact voting outcomes? DMs welcome - www.reuters.com/sustainabili...
reuters.com
Exxon to offer auto-voting to counter shareholder activism
Exxon Mobil is introducing a unique shareholder voting mechanism that will allow retail investors to automatically cast ballots in step with board recommendations during annual meetings, a move that may help the top U.S. oil producer fend off activist campaigns.
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Ross Kerber @rosskerber.bsky.social · 08/05/2025
Companies since 2020 have added more details about the race, ethnicity and gender of their boardrooms, but the trends reversed this year amid anti-DEI pressure from #Trump and other factors. Here's my writeup for my @reuters.com #sustainablefinance newsletter - tinyurl.com/3sf6hwu8
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The not-so-mysterious case of disappearing boardroom diversity stats
With U.S. President Donald Trump railing against corporate diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) efforts and axing government ones, it may come as no surprise that U.S. companies are reporting fewer race and gender details about their directors.
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Ross Kerber @rosskerber.bsky.social · 12/03/2025
For this week's @reuters.com #sustainablefinance newsletter I followed up on news from State Street Global Advisors - famous for its #FearlessGirl statue - that it was dropping #boardroom #diversity targets in its latest #ESG stewardship guidelines. Story herewith - www.reuters.com/markets/us/f...
reuters.com
As ‘Fearless Girl’ sponsor retreats, so do diversity fund flows
When fund manager State Street installed the bronze statue known as "Fearless Girl" in 2017 to stare down Wall Street's massive "Charging Bull" sculpture, it was hailed as a breakthrough moment in financial messaging.
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Ross Kerber @rosskerber.bsky.social · 01/03/2025
New #DEI news for @Reuters - Fearless Girl' statue sponsor State Street drops boardroom diversity targets - www.reuters.com/business/fin...
reuters.com
"Fearless Girl" statue sponsor State Street drops boardroom diversity targets
State Street's asset management unit on Friday dropped targets for the number of women and minority directors who should serve on corporate boards, according to new proxy voting guidance posted on its website.
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Reposted by Ross Kerber
Reuters @reuters.com · 13/02/2025
The Trump White House sent termination notices to at least some US Attorneys around the country who had been appointed by Democratic President Joe Biden, according to an excerpt of the email reviewed by Reuters reut.rs/4jUiRK6
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Trump White House sends termination letters to some Biden-appointed US Attorneys, email shows
The Trump White House on Wednesday sent termination notices to at least some U.S. Attorneys around the country who had been appointed by Democratic President Joe Biden, according to an excerpt of the email reviewed by Reuters.
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Ross Kerber @rosskerber.bsky.social · 12/02/2025
New take on things from @nyccomptroller.bsky.social , who has been reading his @timothysnyder.bsky.social - www.reuters.com/world/us/nyc...
reuters.com
NYC Comptroller Lander urges US CEOs: Do not obey Trump in advance
Yesterday I called up New York City Comptroller Brad Lander for his take, as an activist investor, on a move by Institutional Shareholder Services to end diversity considerations in its boardroom recommendations.
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Ross Kerber @rosskerber.bsky.social · 12/02/2025
New news from ISS could have a major impact on corporate #DEI policies - ISS ends diversity considerations for US boardrooms, citing Trump orders - www.reuters.com/business/fin...
reuters.com
ISS ends diversity considerations for US boardrooms, citing Trump orders
Top proxy adviser Institutional Shareholder Services said on Tuesday it will no longer consider the gender, racial or ethnic diversity of U.S. company boards when making its voting recommendations.
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Ross Kerber @rosskerber.bsky.social · 31/01/2025
New - #Vanguard is tweaking its #diversity #proxyvoting policies for U.S. corporate #boardrooms, a sign of the shifting dynamics of corporate #DEI efforts now under attack from the #Trump administration. Here's our @reuters.com ters story - www.reuters.com/world/us/van...
reuters.com
Vanguard dials back diversity language for US corporate boards
Top mutual fund manager Vanguard removed some of its guidance for U.S. companies to include women and minority directors, a sign of the shifting dynamics of corporate diversity efforts that have come under attack from the new Trump administration.
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Ross Kerber @rosskerber.bsky.social · 24/01/2025
New from late yesterday, #Costco investors strongly rejected a call for a review of #DEI efforts. It was a counter-message as other companies roll back DEI efforts. @reuters.com story - Costco shareholders reject call for review of diversity programs - www.reuters.com/business/ret...
reuters.com
Costco shareholders vote against proposal for report on diversity programs
Costco Wholesale shareholders voted against a proposal requesting a report on the risks of maintaining its diversity and inclusion initiatives, the U.S. company said on Thursday, against the backdrop of intense scrutiny of such policies.
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Ross Kerber @rosskerber.bsky.social · 22/01/2025
My @reuters.com #sustainablefinance column tracks #DonaldTrump #corpgov -related actions like his #RTO mandate. In Boston, Trillium's CEO has a different idea to bring back workers. Being in a super-luxe workspace doesn't hurt. Newsletter signup link in comments. www.reuters.com/sustainabili...
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One Boston CEO's FOMO RTO strategy
While leaders from the White House to Wall Street order workers back into their offices, one Boston CEO uses carrots rather than sticks to lure his employees to work.
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Ross Kerber @rosskerber.bsky.social · 17/01/2025
New from us - #BlackRock settles #Tennessee #ESG lawsuit with new #corpgov disclosures - www.reuters.com/business/fin...
reuters.com
Tennessee Attorney General settles ESG dispute with BlackRock
Republican-led Tennessee and asset manager BlackRock settled a dispute over the company's use of ESG factors in its investment decisions, according to a statement by the state's Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti on Friday.
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Ross Kerber @rosskerber.bsky.social · 15/01/2025
U.S. companies have been in retreat mode from #DEI efforts, but their shareholders haven't really weighed in on what they want to happen. That's about to change as #AGM season gets going like at #Deere. Read more in my @reuters.com #sustainablefinance column here - www.reuters.com/sustainabili...
reuters.com
Deere & Co's DEI showdown
Big investors are about to weigh in on corporate diversity, equity & inclusion efforts. Many of their U.S. portfolio companies are in retreat mode from the DEI values they embraced in 2020 during the Black Lives Matter movement, as executives now worry about attacks from conservative influencers and Republicans holding power in Washington.
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Ross Kerber @rosskerber.bsky.social · 14/01/2025
Good roundup of a bad situation by my colleagues. Thoughts to you #LA friends and colleagues - www.reuters.com/markets/us/l...
reuters.com
Los Angeles money managers overseeing $4 trln grapple with wildfire impact on operations, staff
Los Angeles-based asset management firms overseeing more than $4 trillion in assets are grappling with the impact of the region's destructive wildfires on their operations, with some relocating office space and supporting staff members who have lost their homes.
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Ross Kerber @rosskerber.bsky.social · 13/01/2025
New news about an investor #climate group pausing its efforts after #blackrock dropped out last week - www.reuters.com/sustainabili...
reuters.com
Exclusive: Investor climate group suspends activities after BlackRock exit
A flagship coalition aimed at aligning the asset management industry with global climate goals said it was suspending its activities on Monday, days after BlackRock , the world's biggest investor, left amid a political backlash in the United States.
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Ross Kerber @rosskerber.bsky.social · 10/01/2025
For my @reuters.com #sustainablefinance column this week I looked at the #ESG topics that will determine the balance of power among shareholders, corporate leaders and politicians, such as whether #assetmanagers will face new restrictions and #CEO pay. What else? tinyurl.com/a2zzvt7z
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Four ESG finance topics for 2025
Executives' concerns for environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors seems in retreat by many measures. Banks have withdrawn from climate groups, companies are toning down diversity efforts, and boardroom demographics get a lower priority in director searches.
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Ross Kerber @rosskerber.bsky.social · 09/01/2025
I meant to post this #healtchare and #ESG story yesterday about #unitedhealth - www.reuters.com/business/hea...
reuters.com
Shareholders urge UnitedHealth to analyze impact of healthcare denials
UnitedHealth Group shareholders on Wednesday said they requested the company prepare a report on the costs and public health impact related to its "practices that limit or delay access to healthcare."
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Reposted by Ross Kerber
Reuters @reuters.com · 09/01/2025
Alexander Smirnov, a former FBI informant who admitted to lying about US President Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden’s interactions with a Ukrainian energy company, was sentenced to six years in prison, court records showed reut.rs/4h6wvHP
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Ex-FBI informant who fabricated claims about Bidens sentenced to 6 years
A former FBI informant who admitted to lying about U.S. President Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden’s interactions with a Ukrainian energy company was sentenced to six years in prison on Wednesday, court records showed.
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Todd Wallack @twallack.bsky.social · 24/12/2024
Massachusetts & Michigan remain the only two states where the governor claims to be completely exempt from public records laws, after time ran out to pass a bill in Michigan. #FOIA www.freep.com/story/news/p...
freep.com
Bills to expand FOIA to Michigan governor and lawmakers die with abrupt House adjournment
A 2014 Free Press survey found Michigan was one of only two states where both the governor and the Legislature were exempt from open records laws.
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Ross Kerber @rosskerber.bsky.social · 24/12/2024
A new anti- #ESG effort ahead of the 2025 proxy season - read up via @Reuters.com - www.reuters.com/sustainabili...
reuters.com
US House committee targets another investor climate group
The Republican-led U.S. House of Representatives Judiciary Committee is seeking information from some 60 U.S. asset managers about their involvement with an investor climate group, adding pressure against environmental efforts by large investors.
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Ross Kerber @rosskerber.bsky.social · 18/12/2024
Like most companies #BlackRock's clients have a spectrum of views on #climate and other #ESG matters. For my @reuters.com column this week I took a look at the competing pressures on BlackRock coming from #Indiana's pension system vs @scottishwidows.bsky.social www.reuters.com/sustainabili...
reuters.com
BlackRock's global client balancing act, from Indianapolis to Tokyo
We already knew that BlackRock's global customer base brings it conflicting pressures from clients, but developments in the past week drive home the point for the world's top asset manager.
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Ross Kerber @rosskerber.bsky.social · 16/12/2024
Congressional #Republicans say top fund firms and activists are part of a #climate cartel. Firms deny wrongdoing, but new material shows companies like #BlackRock and #StateStreet at least worried about appearing too cozy with groups like #ceres. #esg #corpgov www.reuters.com/sustainabili...
reuters.com
US House panel finds BlackRock, other asset managers wary of joining climate initiative
Top U.S. asset managers were worried that signing up to an industry climate initiative could make them appear to be working too closely together and draw regulatory scrutiny, according to a report released on Friday by a Republican-led U.S. congressional committee.
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Rob Hogg @senatorrobhogg.bsky.social · 11/12/2024
For young Iowans, may you find elected officials like Jim Leach in your future. www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/p...
desmoinesregister.com
Former US Rep. Jim Leach, who represented Iowa in Congress for 30 years, dies at 82
Leach, a Republican, won election to the U.S. House in 1976 and went on to represent parts of eastern Iowa in Congress for 30 years.
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Ross Kerber @rosskerber.bsky.social · 11/12/2024
#california's giant public pension fund @calpers.bsky.social has some cautions about #climatefinance valuations, which its CEO shared with me for this week's @reuters.com #sustainablefinance newsletter. www.reuters.com/sustainabili...
reuters.com
CalPERS CEO Frost rejiggers climate accounting
Just saying an investment is "climate-related" doesn't make it so, according to a review by the California Public Employees' Retirement System.
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Ross Kerber @rosskerber.bsky.social · 11/12/2024
This @nytimes.com column from 1978 shows how a top Washington official's drinking was treated at the time. "(The official White House transcript puts the “woo‐woo” in quotations.)" www.nytimes.com/1978/02/23/a...
nytimes.com
A Cask of Amaretto (Published 1978)
William Safire says White House overreacted to gossip about Hamilton Jordan; says Jody Powell's issuance of 33-page collection of documents shows that Powell has lost all sense of proportion; calls it...
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Reuters @reuters.com · 10/12/2024
Luigi Mangione, the 26-year-old man accused of gunning down UnitedHealth executive Brian Thompson in the streets of Manhattan, yells as he enters a Pennsylvania court for a hearing on whether to extradite him to New York to face murder charges there reut.rs/3BmLdLw
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Jack Shafer @jackshafer.bsky.social · 18/11/2024
Through the journalistic lens almost anybody with a pulse looks "fiery," write Tim Noah in the New Republic. newrepublic.com/article/1885...
newrepublic.com
When the Press Says “Fiery” It Means “Insane”
With the president-elect choosing his rogues’ gallery of future appointees, the political press is really wearing out its go-to synonym for crazy.
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Reuters @reuters.com · 09/12/2024
The ouster of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad shattered Iran's network of influence in the Middle East but Israel, the US and Arab powers must now deal with the risk of instability and extremism from the mosaic of forces that replaces him reut.rs/4gtLv2h 1/12
reut.rs
Assad's exit breaks Iran's sway in Syria but risks Islamist resurgence
The ouster of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad shattered Iran's network of influence in the Middle East but Israel, the United States and Arab powers must now deal with the risk of instability and extremism from the mosaic of forces that replaces him.
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