I continue to be shocked at CalPERS’ vitriolic approach towards the press.  In the last 12 months, CalPERS has taken on The Wall Street Journal, Fox News, several California metropolitan newspapers, several local newspapers, and bloggers.  According to CalPERS, these news organizations are misleading readers, uninformed, off base, wrong, and in need of fact-checking.  The tone of CalPERS’ responses is highly intemperate for any governmental agency.  For example, in one piece, CalPERS hectors “No amount of ranting from reporters will dissuade us from our mission.”  In another, CalPERS menaces “We don’t take it lightly when people call us liars.”  The splenetic quality of these headlines and the accompanying articles causes one to question whether the purpose isn’t to set the record straight but to cow CalPERS’ critics.

OC Register Misleads Readers with Dated Facts  (January 7, 2015)

Fox News VP Presents an Uninformed View on Pensions  (November 25, 2014)

Joe Tarica’s “Disdain” of CalPERS Misplaced (October 27, 2014)

LA Times One-Sided Perspective Falls Short (October 23, 2014) at www.calpers.ca.gov/index.jsp?bc=/about/newsroom/for-the-record/pensions/issues/la-times-falls-short.xml

U-T San Diego Editorial on Pension Ruling Way Off Base (October 7, 2014) at www.calpers.ca.gov/index.jsp?bc=/about/newsroom/for-the-record/pensions/issues/u-t-san-diego.xml

U-T San Diego Editorial Misleads Readers (September 16, 2014) at www.calpers.ca.gov/index.jsp?bc=/about/newsroom/for-the-record/investments/issues/ut-san-diego.xml

Tunno Off The Mark in Calaveras Enterprise Column (August 25, 2014) at www.calpers.ca.gov/index.jsp?bc=/about/newsroom/for-the-record/investments/issues/tunno-calaveras-enterprise.xml

Beverly Hills Courier Gets Facts Wrong (August 25, 2014) at www.calpers.ca.gov/index.jsp?bc=/about/newsroom/for-the-record/investments/issues/beverly-hills-courier.xml

Borenstein Column Misleads  Readers  (August 15, 2014) at www.calpers.ca.gov/index.jsp?bc=/about/newsroom/for-the-record/pensions/issues/borenstein-column.xml

Fitzgerald Needs a Course in Fact-checking (June 24, 2014) at www.calpers.ca.gov/index.jsp?bc=/about/newsroom/for-the-record/pensions/issues/fitzgerald-fact-checking.xml

Mr. Arnold, Your Facts are Wrong (June 6, 2014) at www.calpers.ca.gov/index.jsp?bc=/about/newsroom/for-the-record/pensions/issues/john-arnold.xml

U-T San Diego Editorial Board Needs to Rethink Its Rhetoric (May 8, 2014) at www.calpers.ca.gov/index.jsp?bc=/about/newsroom/for-the-record/pensions/issues/san-diego-editorial.xml

Naked Capitalism Gets it Wrong and Should Choose Words Wisely (March 14, 2014) at www.calpers.ca.gov/index.jsp?bc=/about/newsroom/for-the-record/investments/issues/naked-capitalism.xml

Professor Tamar Frankel Weighs In On Grundfest/Gallagher/Macey Debate

Professor Tamar Frankel is a highly regarded expert on fiduciary law and, as I recently learned, an alumna of the California Department of Corporations.  Yesterday, she published this post asking whether Commissioner Gallagher violated the SEC’s Canons of Ethics, 17 C.F.R. §§ 200.50 – .72.

History buffs can read SEC Chairman Edward N. Gadsby’s 1958 announcement of the SEC’s adoption of its first Canons of Ethics here.

Professor Frankel’s piece refers to the “Canon of Ethics” but both the original announcement and the current codification use the plural form.  The words “canon” and “cannon” are homophones but they derive from two different Greek words.  “Canon” is derived from κανών,which means a straight rod or bar and hence rule or standard.  “Cannon” is derived fromκάννα, which means a reed, or more specifically Arundo.