A Shanda

In addition to the Bernie Madoff scheme being a testament to the failure of free market fundamentalism and "fund manager knows best" economics, it's really impacting the Jewish community. I know that our local Jewish charity out here in Los Angeles lost about $60 million off their endowment, and the names that keep popping up - Steven Spielberg, Mort Zuckerman, Frank Lautenberg - are all members of the tribe.

However, indulge me in a little schadenfreude for a moment. Norman Braman is on the list. This guy make my childhood and adolescence absolutely miserable when he owned the Philadelphia Eagles, hiring one bum after another and refusing to shell out for the one or two players needed to put us over the top. I can't say I'm angry to see him lose a lot of money - he made it off of the misery of me and my fellow Philly sports fans to begin with.

This has been the obligatory monthly sports post/financial industry post.

Constituent Services

The House of Representatives passed its annual resolution honoring the winner of the Super Bowl, in this case, the New York Giants. It passed 412-1. The lone vote. The representative from my home area of Bucks County, PA, Patrick Murphy.

This is exactly the kind of leadership we need. Bucks County’s U.S. Rep. Patrick Murphy won’t budge on his allegiance to the Philadelphia Eagles, even when high-hogging it on Capitol Hill. Turns out Murphy was the lone dissenter in a House resolution proposed on Wednesday congratulating the New York Giants on winning this year’s Super Bowl and “completing one of the most remarkable postseason runs in professional sports history.”

Murphy wouldn’t sign it. Not a chance. The scrappy congressman, who was a former 700-level security worker, told the Bucks County Courier Times: “I couldn’t, in good conscience, vote for the New York Giants. The only thing worse would have been a resolution honoring the Dallas Cowboys.”

I told this to my Eagle fan dad and he said, "He has my vote for life." There's a draft Murphy for President movement on one of the Eagle blogs.

Murphy is officially unbeatable now, as ridiculous as that sounds.

They Should Give The Eagles That Game On Principle

There are no moral victories, but that was one. And the entire city of Philadelphia just raised their net wealth by covering that 24-point spread. Fun to be home and see a ballgame for once.

This has been the obligatory monthly sports post.