New Individualist
Top 10 Articles
Roger Donway
The Relevance of Philosophy
November 5, 2010 -- One firm belief that I bring to the Business Rights Center is this: Philosophy matters. Without a theoretical defense of the fundamentals—individual liberty, private property, freedom of contract—exposés of alleged injustices against businessmen will not be highly persuasive. Readers may concede that, yes, here was an act of prosecutorial misconduct, and, yes, there was an instance of taking the “insider trading” doctrine too far.
Analysis: U.S. Attorney's statement on Rajaratnam Case
Summer 2011 issue -- On May 11, after the trial of Galleon hedge-fund founder Raj Rajaratnam (pictured below) had ended in a conviction on all counts, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Preet Bharara, came forth to give his understanding of it all. His statement is worth parsing, one element at a time.
Throw Out the Greg Reyes Verdict!
Summer 2011 issue -- Oral arguments in the back-dated options case of Greg Reyes (pictured below) were conducted on May 10 and can now be heard on-line—here.
Counterpoint: Invitation to a Witch-hunt
Sidebar to Interview with Bob Barr
Summer 2009 -- I am not surprised that Bob Barr, who has been a consultant for the ACLU, should take a litigious approach to the current financial crisis. But my own researches into post–World War II prosecutions of businessmen persuade me that such an approach to the crisis would sidetrack the needed investigation into what went wrong and substitute a witch-hunt against innocent people.
Consider the Source: U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara
December 14, 2010 -- We’ve all seen the headlines: “Insider Trading ‘Rampant’ On Wall St.: US Attorney.” But how many of us stop to ask about the person who lurks behind that title, “US Attorney”?
March 2005 -- Editor’s Note: The January/February 2005 issue of The New Individualist Quattrone Appeals His Conviction
January/February 2005 -- On January 27, Frank Quattrone told an appeals court that his case "illustrates what can happen when a routine e-mail is dissected out of context in the harsh glare of a courtroom." The statement was made in an appeal filed with the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.
Eliot Spitzer: Ayatollah General
April/May 2005 --Eliot Spitzer became the attorney general of New York in 1999. In addition to carrying out the routine functions of that office, he has used a broad anti-fraud statute to conduct a series of aggressive and well-publicized campaigns against businesses, most notably in the financial industry. His purpose in these campaigns has not been the narrow one of punishing law-breakers.
Book Review: Robespierre Rising
November 2006 -- Brooke A. Masters. Spoiling for a Fight: The Rise of Eliot Spitzer (New York: Henry Holt and Company, 2006), 353 pp., $26.00.
How do you take a smug child of wealth and portray his moral denunciations of self-made men as admirable? How do you relate the career of a politician who recklessly violates the rule of law and make him look like a statesman?
