To overcome these traps, and others like them, the most productive people live by a small number of rules when it comes to electronic messaging.

FORBES: Efficiently Yours: Six Secrets to Email Mastery

Of course, were Italy to reform its electoral laws and its constitution, as Mr Prodi and many others would like, people like Mr Bertinotti would be shorn of most of their power.

ECONOMIST: The Berlusconi problem

Perhaps this is why most people seem to intuitively understand the SEC's case, unlike supposed experts like Mr. Buffett and others with a vested interest in seeing the SEC fail.

WSJ: COMMON SENSE: Buffett May Know More About Derivatives Than Securities Law