Dear Blogger: I am very old and live at the North Pole. All of my little friends up here say that there is no Virginia any more. Mrs. Claus says that if I see it on the your website, it's so. Please tell me the truth: Is there a Virginia?...

USA Today reports this morning that "Federal prosecution of serious financial crime plummeted as the nation headed toward one of the worst economic meltdowns in U.S. history." The story then goes on to note that, according to government records, between 2003 and 2009 "the number of federal corporate fraud cases...

I certainly rail against the boneheads on the Internet who don't check their facts carefully enough, so it's kind of embarrassing that here I am one of them today. As many of you noticed in your comments, I was completely messed up when I said that the Arthur Anderson that...

I would suggest that compensation czar Ken Feinberg place the following ad in all the appropriate entities immediately:

WANTED: Bright, dedicated corporate professionals for key posts at massive insurance entity now essentially owned by the Federal government. Positions open in finance and operations. Must be willing to work for...

Those who haven't already seen it should immediately hit this link for what I think is the best rundown of how the Internet is polluting and distorting our information cycle. It was written by tech writer Ed Bott on ZDNet two days ago. It chronicles the way that the...

This news arrived via e-mail just this morning:

Canon USA wants me to Wrap Up All My Holiday Shopping right now, and has many ways for me to save money.

Lulu.com, which helps people make vanity books, has a Cyber-Monday Sale.

Fantagraphic Books, which is a premiere publisher of comics...

Pick up those new GPS systems, now on sale at Best Buy, Wal-Mart and other fine stores for under $100!

Don't forget that flat-screen TV that's suddenly within your price range!

Remember to stop by the gigundo superstore to stock up on potato chips, lawn furniture and frozen shrimp!

Swing...

Thanksgiving is upon us. And it's the rare individual among us who doesn't have a lot to be thankful for. As we prepare for Thursday's festivities, I thought it would be nice to ask you what you would put on that list. Personally, here are some of the things that...

I was riding in a taxi the other day. The driver had the radio on. I don't like to tell drivers who have their radios on to turn them off. First, if it's not too loud, I figure it's their home for 10-12 hours per day and they have the...

It is my understanding that by the time we get to Web 4.0 everything we do will be up in the cloud. All our writing, our spreadsheets, our photos, our videos, all up in the cloud, wherever that is. I guess it will be like heaven. Nobody knows where that...

China is growing triple digits as we politely chug along toward greater mediocrity. Sarah Palin is topping the charts. Winter is coming in. My 401K is still under water. War in the East is widening. Bonuses will hit record highs on Wall Street this year. Do all these things...

Today it is reported that Donald Trump, clearly not feeling the pinch of the times, is upgrading his mode of travel and putting his old 1968 private jet on the block. A nice tour of the facilities may be found here on this very site.

As jets go, it's pretty...

I've been in a good mood all week about the announcement that Warren Buffett was investing $32 billion in Burlington Northern Santa Fe, the nation's 2nd largest railroad. "From my standpoint, it's a lot easier to make a $32 billion investment than 10 $3 billion investments," Mr. Buffett said, and...

Reaction is mixed to the big new eBay advertising campaign, "Come to think of it -- eBay." Of course, reaction to anything is mixed these days. Anybody who does anything worth noting is stuck like a shish kebab by somebody who's got a bone to pick with something or another.

Those who were enjoying a weekend of high sports drama or familial bliss might have missed another media obituary this past Sunday -- David Carr's persuasive au revoir to business journalism in the New York Times.

Carr cites several "technical reasons underlying the collapse -- and that's what it is...

The Case of the Northwest Pilots keeps getting funnier and funnier. Of course, it wouldn't be one bit amusing if it had happened to me, but as Woody Allen once said, when I get a hangnail, it's tragedy; when you fall down the stairs, it's comedy. Or maybe it wasn't...

Today is This Is It Day in Los Angeles. All the theaters at the swank new multiplex downtown are devoted to the premiere of Michael Jackson's new posthumous movie, a lovely, gift-wrapped sausage made up of everything they could find on the floor after the Grade A beef left the...

I got a Universal Remote. Have any of you ever had one that worked? This one didn't. Doesn't. Won't.

I've had them in the past. But sometimes when you have an object that disappoints you, you try again a few years later. Like, a while back I tried to set...

So it's finally coming down. The pay czar has studied the situation. Thought about it. And declared his intention to send a message. Pay for the top 175 executives at the financial institutions that took a bailout are to have their base pay cut by as much as 90%, and...

All it would take would be a little legislation.

How about this: Let's have a federal bill that states that any bank that took a bailout loan and hasn't paid it back yet isn't permitted to foreclose on anybody's primary residence. In addition, bonuses for senior officers at lending institutions...