"No Reasonable Person Should Believe Our Advertising"

In a Huffington Post article, "The Dark Side of Vitaminwater," best-selling author John Robbins points out the twisted logic of Coca-Cola in their defense against a lawsuit brought by a public-interest group saying that Vitaminwater has no health benefits. Here's the opening to the article:

Now here's something you wouldn't expect. Coca-Cola is being sued by a non-profit public interest group, on the grounds that the company's vitaminwater products make unwarranted health claims. No surprise there. But how do you think the company is defending itself?

In a staggering feat of twisted logic, lawyers for Coca-Cola are defending the lawsuit by asserting that "no consumer could reasonably be misled into thinking vitaminwater was a healthy beverage."

Does this mean that you'd have to be an unreasonable person to think that a product named "vitaminwater," a product that has been heavily and aggressively marketed as a healthy beverage, actually had health benefits?

Or does it mean that it's okay for a corporation to lie about its products, as long as they can then turn around and claim that no one actually believes their lies?

Why I Want to Work for the Government When I Grow Up

“. . .government employees seem to work shorter hours, have more vacation time, access unbelievable healthcare, never worry about job security and even make more money than people slugging it out in the private sector.”

Those are the words of a federal careers expert, quoted in a depressing Forbes.com article about the cushiest jobs in America: working for the government. Read it here.

Ten Reasons Obama's Presidency Is in Serious Trouble

Excellent summary of Obama's presidency to date and why it's in meltdown -- article by Nile Gardiner of the U.K. Telegraph. Read it here. (And may the reasons double by November.)

"I Can't Believe Grownups Would Say Words Like That . . . ."

A great (short) interview with legendary investor Jim Rogers on the failed financial policies of the current administration. A sample:

I would abolish the Federal Reserve. I would cut taxes. I would cut spending in a draconian manner. A very draconian manner. The idea that you can solve a problem of too much debt and too much consumption, with more debt and more consumption, defies comprehension. I can't believe that grown-ups would say words like that out-loud. But that's what they seem to think - I don't know if they really believe it's going to work, but they just don't know what else to do, and you know they're all doing... for the next elections, so they're making things worse. There are plenty of ways to solve the problem. You let the people who go bankrupt go bankrupt. You let Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac go bankrupt, go out of business. You let AIG go out of business. You stop bailing everybody out. The Japanese tried it our way in the early 90s; they refused to let anybody go bankrupt, and they still talk about the 1990s as "the lost decade." Now they're talking about this decade as the second lost decade. Japanese stock market today is 75% below where it was in 1990. That is not a typo. It is down 75% in 20 years. Can you imagine if the New York Stock Exchange, or if the DOW Jones to use a better example, were at 4000? I don't think people would be very happy. Well, that's the equivalent of the situation in Japan right now. It didn't work in Japan; it's not going to work in the US.

Read the whole interview here.