A Little Of The Old In And Out



In: Madonna. Once again, serendipitously, Madonna comes out ahead. Fortuna, the Roman Goddess of luck to whom Niccolo Machiavelli ascribed the real powers of creating opportunity, smiles wanly on the Material Girl. Reports are leaking that Guy Ritchie, who, according to British law, had a solid shot at taking half her fortune, but decided to walk away with nothing. Madge's fortune, estimated at $450  million, would have left Guy with $225 million. According to the report, Ritchies own personal worth is one-tenth Madonna's (these figures and the report, we cannot fail to note, are fairly speculative).

IF the story is true -- a big "If" -- and Guy Ritchie is walking away without touching Madonna's fortune, then Fortuna, clearly, is smiling upon her.



(image via thebruceblog)

Out: Congressional Seniority. The mantra in Washington at present is "Change." That, it seems, is code world for: The Old Order Changeth. The momentous defeat of Senator John McCain has been followed almost immediately by the ouster of Senator Ted Stevens, the longest serving United States Senator. Today, Congressman Waxman "waxed" -- there realy is no other way to put it -- longtime political powerhouse Congressman John Dingell. That loss is being interpreted as a signal that Congressional seniority, if not dead, is on life support in the nation's capital in the wake of this young and vibrant President-elect and his family. From WashPo:

"Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) today won the backing of the Democratic caucus to become the new head of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, defeating longtime chairman Rep. John Dingell (D-Mich.) in a vote Waxman's backers said would signal strong support for the agenda of President-elect Barack Obama.

"...'It's the mantra of the Obama election. People want change,' said Rep. Frank Pallone (D-N.J.), who rallied support for Waxman. 'He'll work best with the new administration.'

"...Senior Democrats were stunned by the Waxman victory, which seemingly dealt a blow to the party's long-held principle of seniority. 'It's just been buried,' Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-N.Y.), chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, said of seniority."

Is there no place in Obama's new Camelot for wise old Merlin?