Fair readers, have you had a chance to check out Donald Trump’s blog? Because if you haven’t, you’re missing out on lines like this: “The glamour and grandeur of my buildings and my life are no mere trappings.” In his latest post, Trump shares this insight with readers: Those involved in business scandals “give business a bad name,” adding, “[I]f you have to lie, cheat, and steal, you’re just not doing it right. My career is a model of tough, fair dealing and fantastic success — without shortcuts, without breaking the law.”
… and also, we might add, without modesty, or any mention of Trump’s numerous business setbacks or brushes with bankruptcy.
Speaking of rich guys, never-shy Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban has a blog as well, Blog Maverick, where he informs us that we’re all lazy slobs:
It was Aaron Spelling, I believe, who said that “TV is the path of least resistance from complete boredom.” Which is another way of saying that its easier to watch TV, than to sit there and do nothing.
Which describes exactly how people make most of their choices in life. They take the easy way. They take the path of least resistance.
That’s why, Cuban writes, one should make business decisions with laziness in mind. (Cuban’s analysis, incidentally, is actually worth a read, unlike that of a certain helmet-haired real estate mogul/reality TV star.)
Of course, the path of least resistance isn’t for everyone. Which is why the Bloggertwins — Cameron and Damien Barrett — didn’t just sit there, instead opting to set up a blog “to support our efforts to be cast on ‘The Amazing Race,’ an Emmy-winning reality TV show on CBS.” Here they make their case:
We are excited about the possibility of being cast, though we realize the odds are very low that we’ll even get a callback for second round of interviews. The goal of this site is to find new ways to get our audition tape seen by the casting directors, in addition to the standard tape submission process (which we have already participated in). We are also excited about the possibilities of CBS using us as a way to market the show to a new audience (did I mention, we are huge fans?). I don’t think any reality TV show has had contestants that were bloggers, and should we be cast we’d be the first.
There may not be reality TV bloggers yet, but there is marriage by Movable Type. A pair of bloggers got married, but “[u]nder an obscure Texas law, their marriage was not officially valid until publicly announced,” as Tyler Cowen explains. When they posted their vows online, however, that did the job.
Finally, FOBR (that’s Friend of Blog Reporter) Ezra Klein is excited about the prospect of a Dick Cheney run for president in 2008, something Bob Woodward says to expect. “Please? Pretty please?” writes Klein. “…Please please please let the GOP run a 69-year old with multiple heart attacks, business ties that make Bush look ascetic, a history of extremist statements, and all the charm of a table leg you just stubbed your toe on. Let Cheney lumber up the stage, mumbling from that impossibly limber half inch on the right side of his mouth and sneering at pesky questioners, reporters, and air particles. I’m sure he’ll be quite a hit.” He adds:
The Democratic party has proven one thing, and one thing only, in its last couple of elections: you don’t run candidates who scoff at charisma. Cheney makes Kerry look like a laugh party, he makes Gore look like Hitch. They can run him, but for a party whose main task (“compassionate conservatism”) is convincing folks that they’re not evil, nominating this artist’s rendering of a corrupt plutocrat would be a hell of an oversight.
–Brian Montopoli
Brian Montopoli is a writer at CJR Daily.