hi csl,
i don't much like the notion of private placements in public companies in which certain people get preferential information. but we both know it happens. and so long as folks obey the law, there's no legally-based cause for complaint.
for myself, i think we can safely say that collins has an investment sphere of influence and it looks like the secretarial candidate was in it. so i am sceptical of the independence of the latter's assessment.
the big question remains, was material inside information part of collins' discussion? i don't know the answer. it sounds plausible but the conversation may also have been above board.
martha stewart went to prison for something a bit like this. the email exchanges clarified the matter. i'm very keen on the idea that miscreants in government are treated similarly to ordinary people (with a person's party being irrelevant). this is one of the two key surviving principles of magna carta: the sovereign is not above the law - let alone a mere congress person. the other is habeas corpus.
so, for instance, i am not in favour of ford's pardon of nixon. the only time i would pardon someone like this is if the law was an ass and they did the right thing in spite of the law.
back to the candidates - it would have been more sensible if candidates had been rigorously vetted in advance of their hearings.
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