A Woman's Place is in the Home

The 1950s were good times. A woman stayed home, looked pretty for her man, cleaned the house, and had a warm meal ready for her family three times a day. And then our All-American values went to pot as women chased their dreams and fulfilled their ambition.

At least I think that's what Jack Welch, Master of the Universe, said here.

Speaking to Human Resource Management at its annual conference , Welch said women who take time off for family could be passed over for promotions if they are “not there in the clutch.”

“There's no such thing as work-life balance," Welch said. "There are work-life choices, and you make them, and they have consequences."

What?

Thanks, Jack, for your pearls of wisdom.

Jack knows about choices. He has chosen to marry three women, and has chosen to leave two of them, the first after they had four children. Men didn't do that back in the good old days, did they?

And Jack knows about consequences. When he left his second wife, it cost him $180 million. He may not leave his third wife.

Yale, Harvard and a Crushing Sense of Underachievement

Marc Drier got 20 years, and went down on his knees, groveling. You have to admit, that's a little pathetic from a guy who ran a massive fraud, and enjoyed a lavish lifestyle as a result, including a huge yacht, a beach front house in the Hamptons, and a $207,043.29 Aston Martin DB-9 convertible. I mean, take your lumps like a man, dude.

"All of this left me feeling overwhelmed - by my debt, by a disappointing career, by a failed marriage. And so, incomprehensibly, in 2002 I started stealing,” Dreier said. "I stumbled upon the brazen idea of arranging fictitious loans from hedge funds, ostensibly to my principal client - the real estate developer referenced in the indictment - and diverting the loan proceeds to myself.”

What, is he freaking Robin Hood? He steals from the rich, evil hedge fund and developer types, and gives to... Marc Drier? Is that what he paid his "defense attorney" a million dollars, to come up with ? When will these defendants learn that if they want a real defense and a successful defense attorney , they need to come to Miami and hire that stud across town?

NB: Do Yale and Harvard revoke his degrees?

I Like Money

Being a Receiver or Trustee can be Important and Honorable work. Even when its not, it sure is lucrative.

Just ask Irving H. Picard, the trustee charged with liquidating the investment advisory firm of Bernard L. Madoff.

Irv and his team of lawyers, paralegals and non-legal staff are requesting $14.7 million for their first seven month of work.

For seven months of work.

For seven months of work.

I love greed. It knows no boundaries. I refer, of course, to Bernie's Ponzi scheme.

Back to Irv. He is getting some push back.

"Investors who fell prey to Bernard L. Madoff's massive Ponzi scheme are claiming they have been victimized not once, but twice: this time by the trustee charged with overseeing the liquidation of Madoff's investment securities firm.

In a suit filed Wednesday in bankruptcy court in the Southern District of New York, three Pennsylvania residents accused Irving H. Picard, who was appointed to the trustee post under the Securities Investor Protection Act of 1970 and oversees claims filed by Madoff investors, of favoring the brokerage industry and "enrich[ing]" Wall Street at the expense of innocent investors."

Mr. Picard is a partner at Baker Hosteteler. His lawyer, David J. Sheehan, of Baker Hosteteler, has declined to comment on investor litigation.

You know what I love about having no money? I have no money to lose.

Dirty Laundry

The New Times has waded into it, posting this story.

And this picture, posted under the user name "obeyme99." Obey you, indeed.



The story of the Ballman's marital woes seems pedestrian, at this point. I will say, however, that I've been around the block a few times, and even the world, but I am still scratching my head trying to understand this: "Below the image was a list of her interests: 'Role-playing, cuckolding, slaves, ATM piggies, verbal humiliation...'"

ATM piggies? Someone help me here. I feel old.

NB: How freaky is it that Don Henley played "Dirty Laundry" at Clinton's Inaugural Ball? I don't think I remember that. I wonder if the song is one of Monica's favorites?