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Opinions are the author's and are not necessarily shared by Blogger, SDF, my employer or my family, but they should be.
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Other Results of 2 Nov 2004 General Election (winners in bold; click on office for more detail)
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2008-12-26
SEC Chief: Staying calm a "signal achievement"; Madoff a "big asterisk" Christopher Cox, the embattled chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, is defending his restrained approach to the financial crisis, saying he has provided steady leadership as Wall Street's main regulator at a time when other federal regulators have responded precipitously to upheaval in the markets.I don't know about anybody else, but I'm certainly not pleased that my investments in financial institutions have tanked, due in large part, as I understand it, to widespread deception and misinformation about the true value of assets on these institutions' books as well as the risks involved. How can this possibly not be the SEC's job? I'm supposed to evaluate these things myself? ... Cox said... that he had responded properly to the broader financial crisis given the information he had. Confronted with a barrage of criticism from lawmakers, former officials and even some of his staff, Cox said he took pride in his measured response to the market turmoil.He also said that "the SEC is not a safety and soundness regulator" despite the fact that the very first sentence in the SEC's statement on what it does says, "The mission of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is to protect investors, maintain fair, orderly, and efficient markets, and facilitate capital formation." Further evidence that the SEC has not been doing its job appears in a New York Times article from yesterday titled "Federal Cases of Stock Fraud Drop Sharply," which notes that there have been only 133 prosecutions for securities fraud in the first 11 months of this year, versus 437 in 2000 and a high of 513 in 2002 while the number of investigations leading to such prosecutions has dropped from 69 in 2000 to just 9 in 2007. Furthermore he implied that failure to do anything about the biggest Ponzi scheme in history was no more than a footnote to an otherwise highly successful tenure. [T]he SEC, by its own admission, failed to detect an alleged $50 billion fraud by Bernard L. Madoff that may be the largest Ponzi scheme in history. 2008-12-25
I Pray on Christmas ![]() 2008-12-20
Drug Discounts for All Pennsylvanians on All Drugs at All Drugstores ![]() A fellow technical professional I met last night at Philly�TPNG was handing out cards that provide any PA resident with discounts on all prescription drugs at all pharmacies in PA. I quote from a follow-up e-mail he sent to the group today: This is a FREE program for the residents of Pennsylvania and it provides an alternative pricing option for prescription medicines.While this doesn't help me immediately (I'm enrolled in a plan that allows me to mail-order 90-day supplies, which are cheaper than the 30-day supplies offered under this plan), it appears to offer savings potential to anyone who is not covered by a prescription plan and even to some people who are so covered, as the discounted price might well be lower than the co-pay. The website also provides links to a medication pricing calculator that will show the nearby pharmacies at which the drugs you need are cheapest. 2008-12-18
Bagosora convicted for Rwandan genocide ![]() Earlier that year while serving in Burundi, a county of inconsequential strategic importance to the U.S. with the poorest and most unhappy people in the world, at significant personal risk1, Mr Krueger tried to draw attention to the horrific human rights abuses that were occurring in that country, whose ethnic make-up and conflicts mirrored those of neighboring Rwanda. A significant part of the Rwandan genocide of 1996 took place in Burundi against Burundi Hutus. Because of his commitment to human rights and against genocide, and specifically because of his commitment to the people of Burundi and his willingness to do something, Robert Krueger is one of my heroes2. All of which is a bit of a personal lead-in to today's news that a United Nations court in Tanzania sentenced Theoneste Bagosora, the former Rwandan Minister of Defense who organized the genocide, to life in prison along with two co-defendants, for genocide and crimes against humanity. He was responsible for over 800,000 people dying in 90 days, as well as for the death of a former Rwandan prime minister and 10 Belgian peacekeepers. There are too many former (and current) leaders in the world who are guilty of such crimes and still free. Let this be an example of what can happen to those who would abuse their fellow human beings, and a beginning to doing away with such evil in the world. 1 In 1995, while in Burundi, his convoy was ambushed. 2 Mr Krueger and his wife co-wrote a book about their time in Burundi called From Bloodshed to Hope in Burundi: Our Embassy Years During Genocide. 2008-12-09
Car czar ![]() Furthermore, let's call this what it is: nationalization of the auto industry. To nationalize, according to the American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language means, "To convert from private to governmental ownership and control." In what sense is this not what we're considering? 2008-12-07
A joke and a true story from our Obama Change brunch ![]() Gail told a joke. It's shortly after the Inauguration. A man walks up to the White House and tells the guard he's there to see George Bush. The guard says, "He doesn't live here anymore" and the man leaves. Next day, same thing. "I'm here to see George Bush." "He doesn't live here anymore." The man leaves again. Third day, same thing yet again. "I'm here to see George Bush." "He doesn't live here anymore," but this time the guard adds, "This is the third day you've been here asking the same question and I've given you the same answer all three days. Why do you keep coming back and asking it?" And the man replies, "Because it sounds so wonderful!" Another of the attendees had been at the Bush anti-Inaugural in 2000. They were protesting at the Supreme Court building, where five of the nine justices had essentially appointed Bush president despite the fact that he lost the election (at least this was this man's opinion). At one point he got so angry he started kicking at the steps leading up to the courthouse. A security guard rushed over and asked, "What are you doing?" When he heard the explanation, the security guard leaned over and whispered, "Would you please kick it for me too?" 2008-12-05
FiveThirtyEight.com: Quick Thoughts From Kansas [Quoted in its entirety.]Six points of general consensus among the reporters, strategists and analysts that were present at the Dole Institute.I'd say that's it in a nutshell! WSJ: Rename Homeland Security ![]() It is unknown, and perhaps can't be known, whether this was fully due to the government's efforts, or the luck of the draw, or a combination of luck and effort. And it not only can't be fully known by the public, it can hardly be fully known by the players at all levels of government.I agree�it can't be known. Personally I'm inclined to assume it's largely been the luck of the draw. Partly because I'm pretty sure if anything major had been thwarted, somebody would have made sure the press found out about it (those that did make the press all seem to have turned out to have been overblown). And partly because thinking that it was the government's effort makes it all that much easier for government to justify continuing the abuses of the last 7+ years in the name of Homeland Security. Which brings me to the first point I want to emphasize in Noonan's article: What's at stake for him [Obama] is two words. When Republicans say, in coming years, "At least Bush kept us safe," Democrats will not want tacked onto the end of that sentence, "unlike Obama."I don't always agree with Peggy Noonan, but on this I'm with her 100%, and have been saying the same since 25 November 2002. The second point was even more of an aside in the article: At such a gathering a month ago, there would have been some angry mutterings at John McCain, but not now. He's come quietly back to the Senate, where one of his colleagues told him of an amazing thing. The colleague had been touring the young democracies of Eastern Europe during the American election, and he found it wasn't so much Barack Obama that immediately knocked out observers but Mr. McCain's concession speech. This is the first American transfer of power they'd seen in eight years, and they couldn't get over the peacefulness and grace with which Mr. McCain accepted the people's verdict. "It really impressed them," the colleague told Mr. McCain, and later me. It gave them a template, a guide to how the older democracies do it.Nice! I'm glad. It was graceful, kind and an excellent model for peaceful transfers of power in a democracy [also via The Daily Beast's Cheat Sheet]. WSJ: End marijuana prohibition Today is the 75th anniversary of that blessed day in 1933 when Utah became the 36th and deciding state to ratify the 21st amendment, thereby repealing the 18th amendment. This ended the nation's disastrous experiment with alcohol prohibition.Amen! Sensible legalization of drugs would immediately and dramatically reduce the crime rate and at the same time free up prosecutors to go after the real bad guys [via The Daily Beast's Cheat Sheet]. 2008-12-02
Physics for Future Presidents Subtitled The Science Behind the Headlines, this book, by Richard A. Muller, a professor at the University of California at Berkeley, addresses the problem of how the president of the United States, with a blizzard of issues to deal with daily, can stay informed on scientific and technological developments that have an impact on society, when even scientists can hardly keep up with the influx of new research discoveries. It based on a course Muller's been teaching for years that was voted "best course on campus." Physics News Update 878 [? invalid link as of original post; should be valid shortly] says about the book that it: ... uses no equations or detailed mathematical description. Instead it imparts a commonsense, but accurate, appreciation of certain technological hazards and opportunities. The Physics News item contains a link to an article from Nature, but may all you really want to do is take the presidential test (I'm embarrassed to say I only got 5 of 17 answers correct). On memory Me and my friends�those close to my age anyway�have been continually complaining about our gradual loss of memory for at least a decade now. But today I found an article, An Infinite Loop in the Brain by Samiha Shafy [from Spiegel Online via The Daily Beast Cheat Sheet], that enlightened me a little, convincing me that a good and accurate memory is not always something to be desired:[Jill] Price can rattle off, without hesitation, what she saw and heard on almost any given date. She remembers many early childhood experiences and most of the days between the ages of 9 and 15. After that, there are virtually no gaps in her memory. "Starting on Feb. 5, 1980, I remember everything. That was a Tuesday...."
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