Dana Blankenhorn

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Revenge of the Norms

For months liberals have been screaming at Merrick Garland to DO SOMETHING about Donald Trump.

For months liberals have been expressing disappointment with Joe Biden over a lack of action on his agenda.

Whether you’re of the left or the right, the democratic and societal norms that restrict action are frustrating. I’ve been unhappy about it too.

This week, the norms struck back. Garland approved the search at Mar-a-Lago and offered to justify it with court documents. Biden got at least part of his agenda passed.

WFH

Malcolm Gladwell pulled the latest edition of his Revisionist History podcast, called Confessions of a CEO, after an outcry over his attitude toward working from home.

He’s against it.

I have worked from home for nearly 40 years. My wife has done it full-time since the pandemic started. That doesn’t mean I don’t understand where he’s coming from.

There are many jobs you can’t do from home. Factory jobs. Food jobs. Lab jobs. If you’re the one taking care of the cloud, you must go to the data center.

But for what the 20^th century called “office work,” it’s stupid. We have laptops. We have phones. Who cares where they are? If you must bring people together, for team-building or making decisions, you have an obligation to make it fun, and make it rare. If you want people to come into your store, make sure you deliver personal service and a buying experience they can’t get online.

The Straight Ticket Election

Senate passage of the Inflation Reduction Act was the final act of political policy season. It was the opening of campaign season.

Midterms are usually a verdict on the President, a simple game of inside vs. outside. That’s not true this time. Both parties have done things and it makes both parties incumbents. Republicans hold most state houses and the courts. Democrats hold the Presidency and the Congress. It’s finely balanced.

Both parties are also more united than at any time in American history. There once were liberal Republicans. There once were conservative Democrats. This is a straight ticket election.

The Last Dance for Oil and Gas

Oil prices have been falling in recent weeks, and analysts have been telling investors to “buy the dip.”

They’re wrong.

The current “energy crisis” is a short-term phenomenon, caused by Russia’s invasion and falling production. Few people seem to comprehend that the falling production has a cause. The cause is a clear understanding that renewable energy prices are coming down. 

The new buzzword is “grid parity.” The definition is that solar and wind energy equal the cost of fossil fuel energy, without subsidy. That doesn’t just require panels and turbines. It also requires storage, so power levels can be boosted and lowered at will.

Face to Face

It’s said that the rise of remote work will clear out cities.

While it’s true that set projects can be done on set schedules, and that office work can be done anywhere, it’s not true that cities are doomed.

I got a taste of that yesterday.

It was a little thing. A meetup in a bar for biochemistry entrepreneurs, students, and financiers. Maybe 50 people showed up, in 80 degree heat, on a patio near downtown Atlanta. It’s one of dozens of such meetings, in all sorts of disciplines, taking place every month around Atlanta’s science hubs. Money meets ideas informally, and while nothing happens at once a process moves forward.