The Madoff Question

Bernie Madoff received sentencing today: 150 years in prison for eleven counts of fraud (although hundreds of claims have been filed) and having been said to have stolen $65 billion in investments.

It's not that I don't feel sympathy for the people who were ripped off. We have investments of our own that are supposed to provide for our retirement and to help us get a home when we're ready. If somebody ripped us off, I'd be pissed, too. But there is something a little ... uneven in the punishment.

To start with, there is the possibility that the "loses" were miscalculated. At least per the defense attorney, who might be expected to say such things. But given that it is true Madoff grossly overstated the bottom line, how is it fair that some of the victims are demanding compensation at levels clearly based on fraud? They want the imaginary money -- not the actual money. And some very clearly believe they're entitled to it. Some rejected getting their principle back or some return of their cash in favor of holding out in hopes of a bigger chunk of Madoff's own personal ill gotten gains. As though even that conspicuous display of wealth would be enough to go around somehow.

How can a man serve 150 years? He can't. Those sentences are only given out in my opinion because they sound pejorative. They make us feel like a really harsh punishment has been handed down. Why not just ask for "life in prison"? I know that Madoff is sentenced per count of fraud, etc., so maybe there is just something about the technicalities of the legal system I don't understand in my faulting of it. But aside from the impossibility of serving this time and the unevenness of the sentencing, again in my opinion, there is something else that bothers me about Madoff's crime.

And I think it's the victims. Granted, Madoff was an equal opportunity burglar. If you check out this link, you can click on "email and letters" and it will show you actual copies of the letters and emails sent in by people victimized by Madoff. Incidentally, if you go about a third of the way down on the first batch, someone has sent a scam letter from the Congo asking for help cashing a check in return for 10% -- lololol. But, many of the notes include old folks whose entire pensions were tied up with Madoff, who are sick and have little hope of financial recovery, as well as many charitable institutions whose money was stolen. Allegedly he even robbed Spielberg. But when I read things like this from the victims, well, maybe you can see my irritation:

Madoff has shown “no remorse,” said victim Carla Hirschhorn, of Manalapan, New Jersey, at the hearing. She told Chin her life is a “living hell,” her mother is dependent on Social Security and her daughter works two jobs to pay tuition. link

The letters in the Wall Street Journal link frequently mention Madoff sticking them with "a home I cannot sell, my son's college fund gone and not a penny of savings."

If this is something to be outraged about, then where is the outrage for the working class people as well? They live it every day, not just when Wall Street investments get trashed. They might as well be saying: "I'm pissed because you made me into everybody else!?!" If having to work two jobs to pay for college is "outrageous" and makes this man a "monster", then why is it no less monstrous for other people's kids to have to work their way through college? If it is "pure evil" to cause someone to live on Social Security as their only means of support, where is the moral outrage for those elderly people who are forced to live on it now having lost no investments because they had nothing to invest?

If Madoff is a monster because he caused these social conditions, then who will be the voice asking for justice for those people who live these social conditions every day? It would seem that many people understand that it should be a problem to have to work two jobs for college tuition -- but it only applies if they're the ones suffering from lack of a trust fund.

I just can't get as worked up over some of the Madoff victims when there are Americans who work just as hard and have to use food banks to supplement their diets. If what Madoff did was "monstrous" -- what do we call the condition those Americans are in?

-- DV

God Wants Sanford to Remain Governor

At least that's the latest implications from Mark Sanford's unfolding mistress-saga.

His wife recently sat for an interview where she revealed serious ongoing frustration with Sanford and his apparent lack of desire to end his affair.

In her first extended comments on the affair, Sanford recalled how her husband repeatedly sought permission to visit his lover in the months after she discovered his infidelity.

"I said absolutely not. It's one thing to forgive adultery; it's another thing to condone it," she told The Associated Press during a 20-minute interview at the coastal home where she sought refuge with their four sons.

Please, please, may I have my morality cake and eat it too? On top of a dicey sense of personal ethics, Sanford also has a healthy ego as well. He responded to comments about stepping down as the governor. You know, because they tried to impeach a President over a hummer. His response?

About an hour after Jenny Sanford talked of her pain and feelings of betrayal, her husband brushed aside any suggestion he might immediately resign, citing the Bible and the story of King David — who continued to lead after sleeping with another man's wife, Bathsheba, having the husband slain, then marrying the widow.

"What I find interesting is the story of David, and the way in which he fell mightily — fell in very, very significant ways, but then picked up the pieces and built from there," Sanford told members of his cabinet in a session called so he could apologize to them in person and tell them the business of government must continue.

God only dislikes it when Democrats get laid on the side. He understands that Republicans have serious work that must continue on. Incidentally, I'm amazed to discover that being governor is apparently a lot like being a King of the Hebrew peoples. Fascinating.

This isn't going away anytime soon, though. And it shouldn't. Because even though I think people's sexual choices have no place in determining political fitness, it might just have some affect if they set up their entire sexual affairs at taxpayers' expense.

Meanwhile, questions grew about a trip to Argentina he took last summer. While Sanford has agreed to reimburse the state for part of a more-than $8,000 tab that enabled him to see the mistress, state officials indicated they never intended a South American economic development trip to hold meetings in Argentina. That was only done at the governor's behest, said Kara Borie, a spokeswoman for the state Commerce Department.

So, uh, yeah. I think we need to hold an economic summit in Jamaica this coming October because, well, er, I have a thing for good looking men with dreds, and ah, that's probably the best place to scope them out. Besides, they need financial, er, assistance, too. Send me a jet right away.

So, things are not looking too good for our Republican buddy. But not to worry, his buddies at Faux News are helping him out:



Notice the party they say he's a representative of....that's right. That's a D you see there. It's not like this is the first time this "news" channel has deliberately lied to make it look better for Republicans. I guess God condones liars, too.

-- DV

Don't Cry For Me, Argentina

And that would be South Carolina Republican Governor Mark Sanford.

He disappeared for a week, didn't tell his wife where he was going, and totally didn't do Father's Day with his kids. Then his camp was telling people he went hiking on the Appalachian trail by himself. Now it turns out he was in Argentina banging his mistress -- or as he put it, "crying for five days."

Here's a copy of the transcript of his press conference.

There are a couple of things I find interesting about it. First, it seems that God had a plan for Sanford. God both got Sanford in this mess in the first place, and now is holding him accountable for it. Per his statement, here is why he started talking to his Argentinian mistress in the first place:

The -- and -- and there's a certain irony to this. This person at the time was separated, and we ended up in this incredibly serious conversation about why she ought to get back with her husband for the sake of her two boys; that not only was it part of God's law, but ultimately those two boys would be better off for it.

And we had this incredibly earnest conversation and at the end of it, I said, "Could I get your e-mail?"

BWAHAHAHAHA. There most certainly is an irony to that story. And that's how it all began. I guess that's how you give Republicans a boner? Start talking about what God's plan is for your failing marriage? But before he tells us how the affair started, he explains why he's there to confess:

But I am -- I am here because if you were to look at God's laws, there are in every instance designed to protect people from themselves. I think that that is the bottom line with God's law -- that it's not a moral, rigid list of dos and don'ts just for the heck of dos and don'ts. It is indeed to protect us from ourselves. And the biggest self of self is, indeed, self. That sin is in fact grounded in this notion of what is it that I want, as opposed to somebody else.

So he's confessing because he needs protection from himself. Because as we all know, the biggest self of self is, indeed, self. That rivals Clinton's "It depends on what the meaning of the word is, is."

He's resigning as the head of the Republican Governors Association. No word yet about whether he'll step down as Governor.

You know, the Repubs wanted to impeach Clinton for a hummer. At least he did his dirty business on the job site.

More proof that the only threat to heterosexual marriage is not gays -- it's Republicans who can't keep it in their pants.

-- DV

Happy Father's Day to the Other Dads

Happy Father's Day to all Dads, of course. But sometimes I think there should be a special day for Stepdads.

El Hijo is a stepdad, and Dante couldn't ask for better. He's there for homework, for hurt feelings and as a role model. Dante loves private time with El Hijo. He claims they get along "way better" than when Dante and I are by ourselves. This is probably true, but only because Dante and I are very much alike, ergo we know just how to push each other's buttons. Being a stepparent can be really frustrating, too, because there are really intricate rules for dealing with your spouse's kid. El Hijo may get really frustrated sometimes with Dante -- but heaven help him if he doesn't respond the right way! It's just a natural instinct that I think most "natural" parents have with the stepparent. We don't hit, but it just feels different and bad to think of El Hijo giving Dante a spanking. Not that he ever would. And for the record, I don't like Dante's "natural" dad to spank either. Especially in the beginning, it's easy to interpret any possible criticism of the child as being WRONG and the stepparent's problem. It ain't easy for steps.

But the "natural" parent isn't the only problem for a poor stepparent. While it's also not always easy being a stepkid either, they can sometimes make life hell on a stepparent. Every step has probably heard "You're not my real Dad/Mom" or some version of "You're not the boss of me" or "My Daddy does X better" or "My Daddy gives me X,Y, Z" or some version of "You suck." This is also a landmine, because if the stepparent responds in the "wrong" way, they risk the double fault of bringing on the wrath of the "natural" parent.

It ain't easy being a stepdaddy. And so I dedicate the following video to anyone who is a "Stepdaddy" by Hitman Sammy Sam.




And for the sarcasm-impaired, yes, he is poking fun at the stereotypical relationship between stepparents and their stepkids. ("You ain't my dad!" "Shuddup!")

Happy Father's Day, El Hijo! :D

-- DV

Local Anarchy

Holy shit, I found the Pittsburgh Anarchists! Woot: organize pitt.

I was looking for info on the upcoming G20 summit that Obama recently announced would be held in Pittsburgh. I should've figured I'd bump into the local anarchists while I was poking around. It seems like an event of this significance is like a magnet to a protester. People will be watching all over the world -- so it's the biggest venue you could hope to get for your cause.

Surely there must be something to protest come this September 24-25?

-- DV

Added: Apparently there is an Anarchist picnic August 1. LOL. Wonder what my chances are of getting to it?

Khamenei Won't Return My Calls

I've been reading Persiankiwi's tweets and feeling both incredibly proud of people and woefully helpless as a person.

The number of people who are protesting peacefully in Iran, shouting things like "my brother, my martyr, I will claim your vote for you" is moving beyond my ability to describe it. The population of Iran is nearly 50% under the age of 25 years old. The moment seems so fragile -- so full of possibility for either change or violence. To be without communication, to watch your internet connections shut down, your cell phones, etc., to hear gunfire late into the night, screaming, etc. must be so terrifying. We are lucky here. We have our democracy, such as it is, without having to chance being beaten for it.

But I also feel so powerless, because even though I live in one of the most powerful nations on Earth, there is very little I can do to help the people in Iran, and I want to so badly. I changed the time stamps on my Twitter to help confuse the authorities. I send them my verbal support. I try to raise awareness about what is going on with others. But I'm sort of limited to that.

In one fit of annoyance, though, I did try do something different. The Ayatollah Khamenei (head religious oppressor in Iran) has his own website. Internet hackers have been disabling his site throughout the last few days, but I toodled on over there at about 11:00 last night to see what was going on. Surprisingly, he had a "contact me" button. I was delighted, as I thought I could at least send him a sharply worded email expressing my severe disappointment in his behavior.

Yeah, I know, that'll show him.

Sadly, though, he had disabled his own contact link. He must've known I was coming.

I still wish there was something more I could do other than send hate mail to a religious leader. Good luck, Iranians.

-- DV

Twitter to the Rescue!

OK, so most people have heard now about the crap going on in Iran, what with the so-called "landslide" victory of Ah-nutty-nejad in the elections. Everyone from students to families with children all from differing social classes turned out to protest the sham elections. If you have a landslide victory, you rarely have mass protest afterward, you don't have to call out the military, you don't have to disable text messaging so people can't communicate with each other, etc. etc. Now, the Ayatollah has called for a review of the election in the polling places that are in dispute. But nobody seriously believes that by itself will produce any changes. I'm sure it would've come back that Ah-nutty-nejad still won, just by a smaller margin.

While the Iranian government shut down as much access to communication as it could, including websites, blogs, etc., there was one little engine that could that it simply couldn't: TWITTER. That's right, Twitter. Twitter's output is too small to block effectively, so the best the government can do is keep searching for internet connections and shutting them down as they find them. Twitter's owners are also putting off Twitter maintenance so that Iranians have access to one of the few methods of communication remaining open to them.

One brave Iranian twitterer is busy tweeting away in the heart of things. Here is the address, I hope you can access it without a Twitter account. persiankiwi. This person has over 24,000 followers right now, and that's just those with a Twitter account. The messages are amazing, because they are in real time. Messages like "unconfirmed - military has refused orders to shoot protesters" and "news from tuesday::: our march was big success!! militia are now frightened of us - they know world is watching" are a thrilling and horrifying insight into conditions in a place across the world from us. I am always impressed by the bravery of some people. And sure, it may not seem brave to send out tweets. But people have been tracked down via their internet connections, and to be the witness to the rest of the world is a very brave thing to me.

In this bold new fight for freedom, people have made use of whatever has been at their disposal to get the story out. People's bravery in the face of death always amazes me. I am awed by it. My heart goes out to the Iranian people, and I hope their lives are made easier after this struggle. And hats off to you, Persiankiwi. If you have a Twitter account, changing your time zone to GMT+3.30 hrs to help confuse the people doing the tracking.

On top of that, Twitter can never be mocked again!

-- DV

So It Begins Again...

I just finished the final editing for six of my short-shorts and flash fiction pieces. I've found the appropriate genre journals/magazines for submission. So, I guess, here we go again...

I would love to be published. I don't know any writer who wouldn't. But this time, there isn't the sense of anxiety that came with sending them off four years ago. They're better pieces now, leaner and stronger. I know I did well. And that's (mostly) all that matters. It still matters that they are shared and have a place in the genre. But it's not a matter of my self esteem if they don't make it there just yet.

If they get accepted, I'll publish them here, too. Most of them are about the size of a blog post, after all! But I don't want to do it before it gets published, because the internet is a big sucking hole, and I don't want to watch them get swept into it. Because I'm paranoid. :p I have the rest of the year plotted out in terms of journals/'zines and deadlines as well as which story is going where after the first and second rejection. See, I'm not delusional about this process! In December, I'm going to mark the new submissions dates down and redo my bombardment strategy. Part of getting published, besides having a good piece, is constant harassment of places that might take your work. If you don't suck, you can throw enough stuff at enough places, and eventually something will stick. Once the first thing sticks, it becomes easier to make other things stick. Some submission forms include questions like "What were your last three publications?" Some claim it doesn't matter to the submission process, that this info is just for the bio specs, but it does matter on some unconscious editorial level. It gets easier after the first time, because you're a more trustable element.

I pulled out the next five pieces to work with. Two of them, I think, are going to be microfiction, meaning under 350 (or maybe it's 300) words. That' s exciting, because I don't do a lot of microfic. And there are actually well known literary mags that want stuff under 500 words. That's even more amazing. It really just reminds you of how connected the human experience is. I have a predisposition for these short pieces, and so, apparently, does a substantial number of other people. I also found the longest thing I've ever written (2510 words), although it may not be the longest after I'm done with it. I'll be working on these five stories for the next two weeks. After that, I have two new ideas I want to make stories of: one is about the KY Derby, and one is about a tweenager. Writing from scratch is a completely different process than editing is, so that may take the rest of the summer.

Besides the goal of sending stuff off again regularly, I want to get into the habit of writing regularly as well. I have several projects, both scholarly and creative, and writing is one of those things about me that just "is." If that makes any sense. I need to stop ignoring it and start making room for it, blogging notwithstanding.

Wish me luck!

-- Dante's Virgil

Miss That Boy

Love That Boy

By Walter Dean Myers

Love that boy,
like a rabbit loves to run
I said I love that boy
like a rabbit loves to run
Love to call him in the morning
love to call him
“Hey there, son!”

He walk like his Grandpa,
Grins like his Uncle Ben.
I said he walk like his Grandpa,
And grins like his Uncle Ben.
Grins when he’s happy,
When he sad, he grins again.

His mama like to hold him,
Like to feed him cherry pie.
I said his mama like to hold him.
Like to feed him that cherry pie.
She can have him now,
I’ll get him by and by

He got long roads to walk down
Before the setting sun.
I said he got a long, long road to walk down
Before the setting sun.
He’ll be a long stride walker,
And a good man before he done.

This is the poem I'm printing, framing and giving to both Dante and his dad for Father's Day and for Dante's birthday. It's beautiful. Walter Dean Myers is a wonderful poet, author of kids and young adult novels, novels about war -- he's just prolific. And he did a chunk of it while he was working a construction job during the day, writing at night. So that's a comfort and encouragement to those writers who can't just starve and write.

I said goodbye to Dante yesterday morning as he got on a plane for his grandparents house in Florida. It's the first time he's traveled as an unaccompanied minor. He was very upset. But he's down there now and having a fantastic time.

I miss him. Because I love him like a rabbit loves to run.

-- DV

*I won't be around for a while -- I have company coming in. See you soon.

For Your Reading Pleasure:

Remember this guy?

He's the one who threatened to put his professor "in a wheelchair" if the prof didn't change his B-. Good character, that one.

Well, in a hilarious continuation of special snowflake-itis, turns out Mr. Tsirogiannis has been contacting people who've been blogging or otherwise commenting about his felony-type behavior, asking them to please stop talking about him, as it seems to be pinching his pride. If you'd like to see what he wrote to me, then please click on the link above for his latest comment. I almost commented back, but then my better nature told me, hey, why not make a new post out of it so everyone can enjoy it? I'm big hearted like that. And to prove it, I'll just quote his comment here, so the lazy won't have to even click over!

Hello, this is Apostalo Tsirogiannis and to answer Mr. Lawvol and your question I have asked one blogger to remove this article from their website and they agreed. I also have gotten newspapers to remove it also because I did prove to them that this story did not correlate with the police report. No, I am not going to threaten you Mr. Contemplator. Yes, I know I threaten a Professor who was a predator and has been fired from Penn State. I am just a guy who wants to move and has learned his lesson and asking for you Mr. Contemplator to remove this article from this blogger. I paid Price, I got a misdeamnor and I am on ARD and all I am asking is to move on in life. It really hard to explain my side of the story on comment blog but, I would be willing to. I am a good guy and I have learned my lesson and am trying to move in my life. If you can help me I would appreciate it. Thanks.

Here's my comment. No, I don't care to help you. Know why? I don't like helping people who want to paralyze someone over their own laziness. Until you prove that the news sources have removed this information, then it is still in the public domain and my post will remain up. Nothing I've seen so far on the internet has proven that these reports have been anything other than accurate. Writing to someone and threatening to PARALYZE them because you got a fucking B- is WRONG. Just in case you didn't know.

See, there's this little thing called a "grade appeal." It's where the university recognizes that sometimes mistakes in grading happen, and they give you a good opportunity to prove yourself wronged. They send these appeals to blind readers -- no, no profs with seeing eye dogs, but people who don't know you from Adam; they judge your work without any names on it, and without any references to "Oh, this is that whack-job who threatened his professor with bodily injury over a B-." So you see, you get a fair shake.

Just because you feel embarrassed by the incident is not a valid reason to not cite information already listed in multiple news sources and found on your local LexisNexis link -- a link I'm sure you're familiar with through university research. I'm sure your time at the university will also inform you that asking people not to discuss something in the public domain is also without any merit whatsoever. And if you'd like to file for slander, well, I'll save you the leg work and tell you what the burden of proof is: your employer or future fiance has to present paperwork telling you explicitly, "Mr. Tsirogiannis, you are not receiving this job/this marriage because I read about you on Dante's Virgil's blog. It is entirely due to this blog that we are denying you employment/spouse." Because other than that, you're up a shit creek without a paddle, babe.

Let's make it simpler.

The post stays. It stays until you present me with a court order to tear it down. And you know why it stays? Because you are not any more special than anyone else on the planet.

You made a choice, and you'll deal with the consequences. You claim to have learned a lesson, but going around emailing/commenting to bloggers and whining about their right to blog about things clearly proves you still think you're entitled to special treatment. News flash: You're NOT. You are very lucky you got a misdemeanor. Terroristic threatening, which is what you did, can also be considered a felony -- a thing I'd be pushing for hardcore if you pulled that shit with me.

You should probably try to freewrite about this incident. Your prompt could be: Reflect on why threatening people is a douchebag move to make. Write for 15 minutes without stopping. Maybe that'll slow you down the next time you think you need to threaten to cripple one of your teachers because you chose not to study harder or figure out how to file the appropriate paperwork.

Frankly, if you were in my class, you'd have met a bigger pair of balls than the one you seem to have encountered already.

And it's Ms. Contemplator, thank you very much.

I'll be expecting that writing assignment by the end of the week. Off with you.


-- DV