Author Archives: hro50ta1

‘Fixing’ Matty

Posted on June 3, 2012 by hro50ta1

By Joel Thurtell The deadline for breaking ground on a new, government-sponsored bridge between Detroit and Windsor is little more than a month away. Will Gov. Snyder, the US and Canadian governments make it? Looks like a slam dunk to … Continue reading →

Posted in Me & Matty | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

UM evades Michigan’s anti-racism law

Posted on June 2, 2012 by hro50ta1

By Joel Thurtell What do the felon Kwame Kilpatrick and the University of Michigan Alumni Association have in common? Both the disgraced Detroit mayor and the UM alum group have behaved tried to act as if the 2006 Michigan constitutional … Continue reading →

Posted in Bad government, Racism and UM | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

CABs: What I get

Posted on May 27, 2012 by hro50ta1

By Joel Thurtell A few days ago, joelontheroad registered more than 5,500 hits in a week. Not Facebook, but for a guy without the resources of, say Huffington Post or The New York Times or even a small town weekly, … Continue reading →

Posted in Bloggery, CAB scams, future of newspapers, Joel's J School, Muni bonds | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Chicago’s police riot and Reuters’ memory hole

Posted on May 24, 2012 by hro50ta1

By Joel Thurtell George Orwell explained how history could be obliterated — state-appointed historians in his novel, 1984, would simply clip offending facts out of news reports and drop them down the “memory hole.” Reuters, a self-styled news service, had … Continue reading →

Posted in Bad government, Chicago '68, Joel's J School | Leave a comment

How CABs work

Posted on May 22, 2012 by hro50ta1

By Joel Thurtell Wanta parley three hundred bucks into five grand? Easy. Here’s how you could’ve done it last summer, had you known that the Poway Unified School District in San Diego was going to issue Capital Appreciation Bonds at … Continue reading →

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‘Nature of the issue’

Posted on May 20, 2012 by hro50ta1

“The strife distracted everyone because no one could push back,” said one current trader in the office who insisted on anonymity because of the nature of the issue. — The New York Times, “Discord at Key JPMorgan Unit Is Blamed … Continue reading →

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Hey, California! Michigan school sued lawyers & won $15 million

Posted on May 19, 2012 by hro50ta1

By Joel Thurtell Think about this, Californians: In the early 1990s, a Michigan school district actually sued its attorneys in a CAB deal turned sour. Amazing! Pontiac schools won a $15-million-dollar settlement against their bond counsel, the prestigious firm of … Continue reading →

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Boxing Matty

Posted on May 17, 2012 by hro50ta1

By Joel Thurtell Gov. Snyder, consider yourself small game. Matty Moroun thinks you’re a rabbit dumb enough to be lured into one of his kill zones. Matty’s in for a surprise. I think you’re a fox. When I was a … Continue reading →

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See no evil: CABS and media

Posted on May 16, 2012 by hro50ta1

By Joel Thurtell Thanks to Kevin Dayton of the Dayton Public Policy Institute for noticing my recent columns about the evils of Capital Appreciation Bonds. He covered the May 11, 2012 meeting of California’s League of Bond Oversight Committees annual … Continue reading →

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‘Mattycrat’ = rich bully

Posted on May 15, 2012 by hro50ta1

Plutocracy (from Ancient Greek ploutos, meaning “wealth,” and kratos, meaning “power, rule”) is rule by the wealthy, or power provided by wealth. — Wikipedia We have heard that Gov. Snyder intends to do what we’ve expected, but hoped he wouldn’t … Continue reading →

Posted in Me & Matty | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments