Arnold Consulting Group

“A sort of homecoming”

Peter Arnold — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 16:42:32 +0000

With ten former Flag Officers, mostly drawn from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Dawson team offers a wealth of expertise that no other firm in Washington can match. That is why I am proud to offer the following announcement today in concert with Mr. Dawson and the top-notch team at his company:

A class act

Peter Arnold — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 04:06:05 +0000

Anyone wondering if remarkable people still rise to the top in Washington, D.C. should take a moment and read the email below. Sheila Tate, former press secretary to Nancy Reagan and spokesman for the 1988 George Bush Presidential campaign, is retiring after a remarkable career proving that Alan Alda was half-right when he said, “It’s [...]

May the farce be with you

Peter Arnold — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 15:45:37 +0000

Wall Street Journal reporter Jeffrey Trachtenberg’s article this week on e-book pricing is a depressing reminder that Karl Marx was right: History does repeat itself, first as tragedy and then as farce. Trachtenberg’s focus is on the inflated pricing structure creeping into e-book pricing but if you change the topic from books to music, his article could probably have appeared in 1998.

Such stuff as dreams are made on

Peter Arnold — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 13:55:52 +0000

The great Shakespearean scholar James Shapiro has this wonderful oped in today’s New York Times. Writing about the latest conspiracy du jour involving authorship of Shakespeare’s plays, Shapiro delightfully picks apart the thesis that Edward de Vere was the Bard’s ghostwriter: “[P]romoters of de Vere’s cause have a lot of evidence to explain away, including testimony [...]

R.I.P., Steve

Peter Arnold — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 01:09:01 +0000

It's also worth noting that in addition to the iPod, iPhone, Mac and everything else, Jobs had a hand in the greatest commercial in TV history. According to Apple lore, the Board was appalled when Jobs previewed the commercial in late 1983 but Jobs persisted. Nearly 30 years later, no other commercial has come close.

Why Apple might want to do the Hulu

Peter Arnold — Fri, 22 Jul 2011 15:23:23 +0000

Why would Steve Jobs be interested in Hulu? The answer may be in Tarheel Country, specifically Maiden, near I-77.

Once more unto the… cloud?

Peter Arnold — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 02:52:31 +0000

Two events in the computing world this past week show that serenditpity is more than just a well-known Manhattan eatery. IBM commemorated its 100th anniversary and Google issued its first foray into consumer hardware since last year’s Nexus One disaster.

Conan serves an ace

Peter Arnold — Thu, 16 Jun 2011 01:40:34 +0000

The secrets to writing a great speech aren’t exactly on par with the Nazca Lines: Research your audience, recognize what they want to hear, and use a little humor. Aristotle might quibble with that but he didn’t have to contend with YouTube. More importantly, speakers need to navigate the inevitable Scylla and Charybdis [...]

David Broder, R.I.P.

Peter Arnold — Thu, 10 Mar 2011 21:38:15 +0000

In a town where egotism is considered an honored and highly competitive aspiration, Mr. Broder was always gracious and quietly impressive.

“When words are scarce they are seldom spent in vain”

Peter Arnold — Tue, 15 Feb 2011 20:59:11 +0000

Renowned Shakespearean scholar and former Dartmouth professor James Shapiro has this oped in today's New York Times: Almost overnight [in the 16th century, when audiences in Britain began having to pay to watch plays], a wave of brilliant dramatists emerged, including Christopher Marlowe, Thomas Kyd, Ben Jonson and Shakespeare. These talents and many comparable and lesser lights had found the opportunity, the conditions and the money to pursue their craft. The stark findings of this experiment? As with much else, literary talent often remains undeveloped unless markets reward it.