Metro printed my letter on December 16, 2010 in response to this story:

"Mark Madoff, son of disgraced financier Bernard Madoff, was found dead of an apparent suicide on the second anniversary of his father's arrest. He was found hanged with a dog leash (as) his 2 year old slept in an adjacent room."

Perhaps the fact that the arrest and the suicide occurred on my birthday contributed to my prickly rejoinder. But I think it was the father in me that fueled this harsh appraisal.
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While Mark Madoff's selfish suicide may have ended his own personal pain, his legacy of dysfunction will no doubt haunt the lives of his children. Despite the ample resources at Madoff's disposal, they deserved much more from their father. Even if he proves to be guiltless in the elder Madoff's fraud, his cowardly exit from life assures him a well deserved place in history next to his infamous father.

The Daily News published my short meditation on privacy in the 21st century on December 2, 2010.

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The WikiLeaks phenomenon highlights the evolving modern conundrum of privacy. Whether professional or personal, privacy has become defined and limited by technology and the curiosity it cultivates. Between the power of computers to display, record and replicate information, and the disappearing line between the reporting of public and private matters, privacy may soon be an experience found only in one's own mind.