1. @Microsoft has released new information in an attempt to justify its late-December donation to @HawleyMO

But does its story add up?

No.

And I have receipts.

Follow along if

@Microsoft @HawleyMO 2. @HawleyMO announced he would object to the Electoral College and attempt to overturn Biden's victory on 12/30

On 12/31 Hawley's joint fundraising committee reported a $2500 contribution from @Microsoft

But Microsoft claims this is a distortion

https://t.co/wvs0kg0CJW
3. @Microsoft says it APPROVED to donation to Hawley on 12/10 and mailed the check on 12/17

The implication is if it had known Hawley was contesting the legitimacy of the election it wouldn't have donated the money

But Microsoft's story doesn't hold up

https://t.co/wvs0kg0CJW
4. By the time Microsoft approved the donation on 12/20, Hawley had been contesting the legitimacy of the election and promoting Trump's lies about election fraud for WEEKS.

Let's review.

https://t.co/wvs0kg0CJW
5. In a NOV 5 interview on Tucker Carlson, Hawley promoted reports that illegitimate ballots were being dumped into polling places in Michigan and Pennsylvania.

https://t.co/wvs0kg0CJW
6. On November 7, after all media outlets projected Biden as the winner, Hawley tweeted that the election was still up in the air because of "allegations of fraud."

https://t.co/wvs0kg0CJW
7. On NOV 10, Hawley introduced a bill that experts said was "aimed at bolstering the president's unsubstantiated claims of fraud"

It would have required 24/7 video surveillance of drop boxes, among other things

https://t.co/wvs0kg0CJW
8. "Trump's fraud claims are false and toxic. Hawley must stop endorsing them," the St. Louis Dispatch wrote in an editorial on NOV 11.

I could go on and on. The point is, by the time @Microsoft approved the donations, Hawley's posture was well-known

https://t.co/wvs0kg0CJW
9. @Microsoft is trying to navigate a reputational crisis.

But spin that is inconsistent with the facts won't cut it.

For more accountability journalism, sign up for the newsletter.

https://t.co/TfpCItdVSo

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I’m torn on how to approach the idea of luck. I’m the first to admit that I am one of the luckiest people on the planet. To be born into a prosperous American family in 1960 with smart parents is to start life on third base. The odds against my very existence are astronomical.


I’ve always felt that the luckiest people I know had a talent for recognizing circumstances, not of their own making, that were conducive to a favorable outcome and their ability to quickly take advantage of them.

In other words, dumb luck was just that, it required no awareness on the person’s part, whereas “smart” luck involved awareness followed by action before the circumstances changed.

So, was I “lucky” to be born when I was—nothing I had any control over—and that I came of age just as huge databases and computers were advancing to the point where I could use those tools to write “What Works on Wall Street?” Absolutely.

Was I lucky to start my stock market investments near the peak of interest rates which allowed me to spend the majority of my adult life in a falling rate environment? Yup.