“The Phill Kline I know was always more the story than whatever movement he represented.” – Mike Hendricks wrote in a column about Kline leaving Kansas to teach law at Liberty University and reflecting on Kline’s evolution as a politician
The Securities and Exchange Commission appears to be serious about identifying which officials failed to uncover Bernard Madoff’s Ponzi scheme and determining whether the agency is able to “to respond appropriately and effectively to complaints and detect fraud.” But the SEC should have been more serious about its regulatory responsibilities before the Madoff scandal and the credit crisis.
The SEC’s inspector general is looking at whether the SEC violated its own policies by not conducting timely reviews of Madoff’s firm and whether Madoff’s membership on SEC advisory panels influenced the agency’s decisions regarding his company, the Washington Post reported. And more broadly, the inspector is examining whether the SEC’s procedures to handle complaints are sufficient.
Meanwhile, Mary Schapiro (in photo), who is President-elect Barack Obama’s pick to head the SEC, plans to impose tighter regulation of hedge funds and credit rating agencies. And she is considering reversing some Bush administration policies that made it harder for SEC staff to bring enforcement cases.
The Kansas Senate opened the legislative session Monday with an especially apt prayer by Chaplain Fred S. Hollomon:
Last year we were dealing
With a shortfall in the millions,
Now we hear it could amount
To, believe it or not, a billion!
So it seems to me, O God,
Our problem has really grown
To where it’d be unwise
To tackle it alone.
I think we need your help, O God,
More than we did before,
To even have a chance
Our balance to restore.
There may be those who wonder, Lord,
Whether it matters much to You
What happens in these chambers
And what it is we do.
Should there really be a doubt,
Then once more we should recall
The advice Ben Franklin gave
In Constitution Hall.
When the convention was in trouble
It was Franklin who advised,
‘‘If God knows when sparrows fall,
Won’t He help an empire rise?”
Please don’t let the Chaplain, Lord,
Be the only one who prays.
Let there be a lot of praying
During these 90 days.
Even research supports prayer,
So for this session’s sake
Don’t let us act surprised
At the difference that You make!
“The Phill Kline I know was always more the story than whatever movement he represented.” – Mike Hendricks wrote in a column about Kline leaving Kansas to teach law at Liberty University and reflecting on Kline’s evolution as a politician
