StupidiNews Focus

Two big stories breaking this morning down in today's StupidiNews deserve a closer look:

First, Democratic Rep. Robert Wexler of Florida, staunch liberal and Israel hawk (how that combination works I have no idea, but there you are) is resigning. Early speculation was that the Obama Administration was going to name him U.S. Ambassador to Israel, or head of USAID, but the news this morning is that Wexler will instead take a job as a think tank head according to the Miami Herald.

In a conference call Tuesday night with Democratic leaders, Wexler said he will become director of the Washington-based Center for Middle East Peace and Economic Cooperation. Wexler, 48, is expected to make a public statement about his plans at a 10 a.m. Wednesday press conference at his Boca Raton office.

The jockeying to represent his heavily Democratic congressional district began in earnest Tuesday as the news of his departure began to leak out.

"I'm still a little bit in shock over all this," said state Sen. Jeremy Ring, D-Parkland, though he added he was "for sure" considering a run for the seat.

Other potential Democratic contenders in the district covering parts of North Broward and Palm Beach counties are state Sen. Ted Deutch of Delray Beach, West Palm Beach Mayor Lois Frankel, Broward County Mayor Stacy Ritter and former Broward County Commissioner Ben Graber.

Once Wexler's resignation becomes official, state law requires Crist to call a special election. That can leave candidates little time to raise funds and campaign, and sometimes makes for an unpredictable and chaotic race.

Wexler prided himself on representing the "greatest generation" -- the World War II veterans and Depression survivors from the Northeast who turned South Florida's retirement communities into Democratic strongholds. He was a high-profile spokesman for the Democratic party during the 2000 presidential recount in the state and fought for a paper trail for voters using electronic machines.

The question of course is why now, and why this think tank, but then again that's what press conferences are there to answer.

Second, Bloomberg's story on Tim Geithner's aides pulling in big money from the banks they are supposed to be regulating is definitely going to cause some problems.

Some of Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner’s closest aides, none of whom faced Senate confirmation, earned millions of dollars a year working for Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Citigroup Inc. and other Wall Street firms, according to financial disclosure forms.

The advisers include Gene Sperling, who last year took in $887,727 from Goldman Sachs and $158,000 for speeches mostly to financial companies, including the firm run by accused Ponzi scheme mastermind R. Allen Stanford. Another top aide, Lee Sachs, reported more than $3 million in salary and partnership income from Mariner Investment Group, a New York hedge fund.

As part of Geithner’s kitchen cabinet, Sperling and Sachs wield influence behind the scenes at the Treasury Department, where they help oversee the $700 billion banking rescue and craft executive pay rules and the revamp of financial regulations. Yet they haven’t faced the public scrutiny given to Senate-confirmed appointees, nor are they compelled to testify in Congress to defend or explain the Treasury’s policies.

If these folks are still drawing a salary from the companies they are supposed to be regulating, "conflict of interest" doesn't even begin to summarize the situation. I've had my problems with Geithner before, but this one is intolerable, folks.

Heads are going to have to roll now, no question. There's no way this can stand.