After news reports revealed that Apple was slowing down older iPhones with worn-out batteries, the company posted a public message to explain itself. It also offered to replace your battery for $29. This statement is clearer and more transparent than most corporate statements after missteps, but not up to Apple’s usual standards. Apple attempts to…
I’ve enjoyed watching Al Franken in the Senate — his was a witty and consistent voice. In the wake of accusations that he sexually assaulted women, he is resigning. His exit speech was evasive, self-serving, and inappropriate for a man who had demonstrated integrity in his service as a senator. After eight women accused him of…
President Trump thinks the Russia investigation is pointless. If you have any doubt, look at the statements of his lawyer, Ty Cobb. No, not the content — the font. After Lt. General Michael Flynn pled guilty and became a cooperating witness, Trump’s lawyer Ty Cobb released this statement: Today, Michael Flynn, a former National Security…
In Sunday’s football game, New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski smashed his 265-pound body onto Buffalo Bills cornerback Tre’Davious White when White was already down on the sidelines, causing a likely concussion. Gronk talked to reporters after the game, and the NFL made a statement as it suspended him for one game. We’ll compare the…
Former Trump National Security Advisor Michael Flynn has pled guilty to lying to the FBI. He has also issued a self-praising statement minimizing what he did. It’s an interesting strategy. Should everyone else who apologizes do the same? Flynn’s proud, patriotic apology Flynn spoke to the Russian Ambassador about foreign policy during the transition, when…
On November 6, Tufts student Camilo A. Caballero wrote an op-ed in the Tufts Daily, the student newspaper for Tufts University, demanding that the university remove former White House Communications Director Anthony Scaramucci from the board of advisors of its School of Law and Diplomacy. Scaramucci responded by threatening to sue for libel if the…
This weekend the New York Times published an article about a foot solider in the white nationalist movement. Critics say the article normalizes Nazis. My reaction was the opposite: I found the descriptions of a “normal” midwesterner with these beliefs terrifying. “A Voice of Hate in America’s Heartland,” by Richard Fausset, is a profile of Tony…
Hackers stole information on 600,000 Uber drivers and 57 million riders in 2016. The company paid $100,000 to the hackers to delete the data, but didn’t inform the affected people until now. New Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi’s remorseful apology is far clearer than Uber’s past statements, but never mentions the ransom. These are the facts,…
Should companies make political statements? I pondered this when I received a clearly political message in the catalog for the Uline, the company I get my shipping supplies from. Uline’s catalog is over 700 pages long. It’s filled with everything from corrugated cardboard boxes to book shippers, which I use a lot of. You could…