He Madoff With Our Money!

Well, I am on Christmas break officially now. Not much to report on academic or life wise other than my boss is letting me have next quarter off and she is saving me a position for Spring! I also get to pick up Becca from the airport tomorrow! I am very excited for this holiday season, it will be my first one where I get to spend it in two locations! (Atlanta and Victorville)

Just as things could not seem to get much worse on Wall Street, this whole debacle with Bernard Madoff is just icing on the cake. For anyone who has not turned on their TV or opened a news web page within the past 72 hours, here is a recap: Bernard "Bernie" Madoff, a prominent investor on Wall Street was convicted of around 50 billion dollars of fraud in what is called a Ponsi Scheme (essentially a very elaborate and ultimately doomed pyramid scheme), where he would borrow money from one investor to pay back another. Many extremely prominent people lost a lot of money, but many more lost EVERYTHING because of this crook. Similar things like this have happened before, but not nearly on this scale. There is a bankruptcy case being filed in hopes of getting some money back for these duped investors. However, I think that only the most wealthy investors will get anything back, leaving everyone else with a complete loss. Personally, I believe that these 'A Listers' should take the money they regain from this suit and put it towards reimbursing those less fortunate than them because of this horrible man.

In politics, Caroline Kennedy has announced she is serious about pursuing the soon-to-be vacant Senator's seat of Hillary Clinton. There is some concern whether or not she is qualified to hold the seat because of her lack of public exposure throughout her life. I am still unsure whether or not she will do a decent job, but her track record as an attorney seems pretty solid to me. She is also one of the few Kennedys to not be beseiged with scandal, another plus in my book. Luckily, New York is typically a very political state and they tend to select decent senators. I am excited to see these results in the Janruary!

President Bush had a surprise today, as well, when an Iraqi reporter shouted an insult at him and threw his shoes at him. Everyone seems to be criticizing our secret service for allowing him to get the second shoe off and in the air at the big guy. I think it was a hilarious display, but I recognize the significance. In Islam, hitting something with your shoe(s) is a paramount insult because it is one of the most unclean items you own. In essence, this Iraqi reporter was telling Bush he was no better than dirt and a lot of Iraqis seem to agree with him because they are hailing him as a hero. This event leaves a unique opportunity for Obama to play the hero to both sides. He can choose to go before the Iraqis, and while defending America, he can tout the incident as evidence that he needs to do better for those people. A speech along those lines would be cautiously received, but if he makes good on promises to reduce troops and increase real aid there, it will have resounding positive returns.

That's all for now!

~David