The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly

The Good:Hillary Clinton was in the Middle East this week speaking to Arab leaders amidst more intense talks between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.  As we all know, the moratorium on the construction of new homes in the West Bank, which is set to expire at the end of the month, is a major point of contention.  Let’s hope they work through it…

The Bad:Carla Bruni’s new book has arrived and discretion is not a word that describes it.  Taking aim at just about everyone in international politics with whom she has been in contact, her disclosure that Michelle Obama said being the First Lady is “hell” and that she “can’t stand it” was not appreciated by the White House. In fact, the Obamas are in France this week, and there are no planned meetings with French President Nicolas Sarkozy or Carla Bruni.  Perhaps a row is brewing between the first families…

The Ugly:According to new Census data released last week, the number of Americans experiencing poverty in the U.S. is at the highest level since the Great Depression. One out of every seven Americans now lives in poverty, or 43.6 million people – about 14.3 percent of the population.  The new American poverty is affecting people at all levels of education, including college or higher degrees as well as others who have not finished high school.  It’s another sad example of the impact of the global recession.  Let’s hope our country can rebound from this downturn soon…

Kevin Fickenscher, MD

The views and opinions expressed herein are my own and do not necessarily represent the views and opinions of Dell Services or its affiliates.