SEC Ignored Letters Outlining Madoff’s Fraud

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I have only been watching the Bernie Madoff affair from a distance — because despite the scale of the fraud, what has befallen the American and global economies and gut-punched real people’s lives make the Madoff scheme sadly, almost unbelievably trivial.

Obama Power and the Al-Arabiya Interview

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Barack Obama’s decision to give his first sit down, formal presidential interview with Al-Arabiya is really inspired. He is “Mr. Engagement.” And this is a darned impressive move. He is opening the door to new possibilities.

Questions for Secretary Gates

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Defense Secretary Gates will be on the hill this morning testifying before the Senate Armed Services Committee on the “hard choices” ahead for the Department of Defense (DOD) spending on big weapon systems.

The Kennedys

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I saw this pic this morning in a friend’s Facebook photos. This game is housed for future generations to glance at over at The National Museum of American History. Intriguing and spooky at the same time.

America’s Hardship Map

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Patchwork Nation is a fascinating, ongoing monitor of 11 different community types in the United States. As I understand it from one of the blog proprietors, Dante Chinni, Patchwork Nation which is based at the Christian Science Monitor has established a broad set of criteria sensitive to all sorts of economic and life shifts.