Can I Call It "De-partnering"?

The company now known as Colgate-Palmolive was once known as Colgate-Palmolive-Pete (or maybe it was Peet). I wonder what happened to poor Mr. Pete.

The initials of the company now called GSK stand for Glaxo Smith Klein, which was formed by a merger of the UK firm Glaxo with the American Smith, Klein and French. Again--what happened to Mr, French?

There is a company that I hear of because they are listed as a contributor or supporter of a Public Television program that's called BDO. I suspect that here, too, the name of one of the partners has been dropped. My brother-in-law, who was an accountant, once--years and years ago--told me that one of the big accounting firms was Batten, Barton, Durstein and Osborne. That would be BBDO, and if one of the b's has been dropped, as in those two other cases above, that would give us today's BDO.

Maybe this de-partnering is a phenomenon well known and even common in the business world. I'd welcome it if anyone can tell me more about this.

Added 12/17/24

This can work the other way, too: One or more names could be added, for euphony or just to fill out the corporate name, according to some ill-expressed criterion. The best example is the big movie studio, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (M-G-M). There were a Samuel Goldwyn and a Louis B. Mayer. I don't think there was ever anyone named Metro.

At one point I worked for the outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas. There were Challengers--in fact lots of them, big and small, running about the place--but I saw nary a Gray nor a Christmas and don't believe there ever were any such.

People Who Voted for Trump

 A recent news story--post-election analysis--said that many young Black and Latino men voted for Trump because they see him as improving jobs and other financial/economic matters.

As  to those Latino folks: After January 20 they are likely to see their friends, relatives, neighbors and co-workers being deported. Plus, no one  has said a word about the cost to the US--us taxpayers--for flying these immigrants back to their countries of origin. (Not even touching on the fact that today, the news showed Trump's about-to-be "immigration czar" replying to a question about families being separated by these deportations; his reply was, to paraphrase a bit, no, we won't need to separate families, just deport (US-born) children along with their parents.

And--to another group of voters who voted for Trump because they are unhappy with the rising prices the country has been experiencing: Again, wait until after January 20. Trump has pledged to raise tariffs on imported goods. Those voters who have been buying cheap Chinese goods at Walmart are going to see those items hugely increase in their prices to US consumers after Trump's tariffs are added.

If Trump makes good on his promise (threat) to impose tariffs on Canada and Mexico, U. S. car manufacturers are going to be unhappy, and car buyers are going to see car prices go up. This is because car makers are making engines and transmissions in Canada and Mexico, for the sake of--can you guess?--cheaper labor. This was facilitated--maybe encouraged--by the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), signed by Bill Clinton in 1989 (and replaced and superseded by another agreement, of which I do not know the terms) during Trump's first term.

Update, Jan. 31, 2025

Today ABC Television News said that Trump's increased tariffs on goods imported from Canada, Mexico, and China will be put into effect tomorrow, and quoted experts saying that US consumers can expect numerous prices to go up as a result.

Trump said there may be some "disruptions," and that he believes the American people will understand. Well, I don't think they will. I think many people will say, "We elected him to lower prices, and now he's doing the exact opposite."

I think that people--if they do in fact expect a candidate to keep his campaign promises once in office--don't examine issues in enough depth as to say to themselves, "Well, if he does such-and-such, will x happen--or y?"

I think that, rather than looking into the issues at depth, people allow themselves to be swayed by sound bytes and catchy slogans--maybe slogans that will fit on the front of a cap--and are quick to believe that we need a change because nearly everything the previous administration did was wrong or bad.

So...when you're buying food and you're shocked by what's happened to the price of avocadoes, be sure to say a silent Thank You to Mr. Trump. 

Update, Feb. 7

As you may know by now, the threatened tariffs are off--for now.

I'm pretty sure Trump got pressure from many quarters. The Wall Street Journal --not exactly a liberal or leftist publication--called them "the dumbest trade war in history."

Trump is made to look much better by the fact that he got agreements--concessions?--from both Canada and Mexico. Were the tariffs merely a threat and a bluff to secure these concessions? Unless there's someone around who knows the answer and is willing to publicly disclose, we, the public, can't know.

 

 

Before You Contribute to That Good Cause. . .

If you watch TV at all, you've probably seen those commercials--the broadcasters call them PSA's, public service announcements, but they're commercials to me--for various charitable causes: wounded veterans, hungry children, rescued dogs and cats. Usually, for some reason I can't fathom, they ask you and me to commit to contributing $19 a month.

TV commercials are expensive to produce, not even counting the cost of air time to broadcast them. So you have to consider that a significant portion of the money you send them goes to fundraising expenses like that very commercial. (In many cases you can go to a site such as Charity Navigator to get a report on what percentage of a charity's revenue is spent on fundraising.)

As for me, before I con tribute, I am looking to see a little notice on the screen that says something like "All talent and other labor to produce this announcement was donated, and the air time to broadcast it was donated by this TV station."

Somehow, I don't really expect to see that.

 

The Very Sad Killing of Sonya Massey

Last month, a woman named Sonya Massey was fatally shot in her kitchen by a Sangamon County (IL) deputy sheriff.

The sheriff's defense, classically, was that he felt his life was threatened. This is the only possible defense a law-enforcement officer can offer for shooting a suspect (not that Ms. Massey was a suspect in any crime).

What had Ms. Massey done? She said, "I rebuke you in the name of Jesus Christ." Now, quite possibly that is not a truly reasonable thing to say under the circumstances. Quite possibly the officer did not understand that (I am not a Christian of the same stripe as Ms. Massey so I am not certain I fully grasp what that was supposed to mean, at that time and place).

But--what exactly was the officer--I believe his name is Grayson--being threatened with? A pot of hot water.

Now, I am not certain what the statistics, if there are in fact any, show as to what percentage of the time an attack by hot water is fatal. I suspect it seldom is.

Add into the recipe that Ms. Massey was black. Sadly--infuriatingly--the majority of cases of this sort seem to involve a victim who was black. The inescapable inference in these horrible cases is that the officer who killed the person bore some degree of racism in his heart. (Latest news on this story is that he may also bear hostility to women..)

I have given only a very sketchy outline of this story; and far more has come to light via different media Any reader should feel free to add, via a comment, anything they consider worth including.

 

Bit of Nonsensical (i.e. Fictional) Natural History

The Tennessee water cricket is not found in Tennessee but rather in a few spots along the Calabash River in Sardinia, N.S.W.

The correct name of the horse is hortsh, and they are all named Horace--at least in Lower Slobovia.

The fitchin is a fish--at least in Japan, where everything is a fish, except rice and a few vegetables that grow around Shinto shrines.

Sorry, folks, just being silly. I have always believed the world needs more silliness.