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Annie’s right – when we don’t know who to believe on economic questions, we do know we can trust our oldest, smartest friend, David Yermack, a professor at NYU business school. Apparently, David says Congress needs to Pass the Bill. He also says — and this is important — that the taxpayers stand to make a lot of money off of it.

David actually trumps Andrew Sullivan, my usual thought leader, who appears to believe that Wall Street can go jump in the lake. And that’s saying something. David also trumps the Big E, who is, I think, torn between Megan McArdle (yey) and Greg Mankiw (nay).

The groundhog saw his shadow . . er, or something. It’s about the moon, anyhow. Ramadan ends tonight, which means vacation starts today.

We are having something of a “staycation,” although we will likely spend a night or two at a local hotel that has a wave pool. We had considered Luxor (no room at the inn) and Greece (too expensive). The idea, though, is a just-the-four-of-us long weekend — considering the past several months, it seems we haven’t done that for a while. Maybe we will head out to some secondary pyramids or ride some camels, or hire a falucca. Apparently Cairo has lots of things to do.

That’s when the first debate of the Presidential candidates is scheduled to take place in our world.

If we hosted a debate watching party — per the suggestion of the e-mails we get from the Obama campaign — would anybody come?

Update: And, indeed, would John McCain be there?

This six-hour time difference can be agonizing sometimes . . . I need you East Coast people to wake up and go about your business of producing riveting news.

Plus, I am seriously thinking about suspending all personal and professional activity until things become less interesting.

We are perennially six months behind all Official Trends (see, e.g., Crocs and Webkinz), but we tend to catch up, eventually. For example, we learned this summer that there is a lady named “Hannah Montana” and she is very famous and you can sing her songs around the house all the time (which we do) and get a backpack with her picture on it (which we didn’t). There also is a less famous but nevertheless very important film called “Camp Rock” which explores key issues pertaining to the performing arts and relationships between nice people and mean people and also features a lot of songs that you can sing all the time, one in particular which sounds especially powerful if you hold a pretend microphone and sing it in front of a mirror. Thanks to Aunt Joy for introducing us to that.

We regret that we will not be in the United States for the opening of High School Musical III, which promises to be another very important film. Fortunately, there is an excellent bootlegging industry here in Egypt. I know this because I just spent $11 for a lovely pair of “Nike” shoes.

The Big E continues to get up early almost every Friday for golf with Diddy and some others at the pyramids. I wouldn’t dream of objecting — the game and the rapport always put him in a great mood for the rest of the weekend. (Unless, of course, his swing is off, and then he grumbles through Sunday.)

Photo by Anna. Sometimes the Big E lets her play.

Maadi Grand Mall (multi-tiered, generally crummy shopping center not far from our house), 11:30 a.m., Saturday, September 20: Dark; nearly void of customers; about 16 out of 80 shops open for business.

Road 9 (multi-block shopping district featuring stark contrasts in crummy and chic, also not far from our house), 8:30 p.m., Saturday, September 20: Twinkling with Ramadan lights and lanterns; busy foot and street traffic; lots of public praying; all shops open, from produce to silver merchants; cafés full.

These are our issues:

1. Money Market Funds Enter a World of Risk:

On Tuesday, the Reserve Primary Fund, a giant money market fund whose parent helped invent that investment, said its customers would lose money. Instead of each share being worth a dollar for every dollar invested, it said its customers’ shares were worth only 97 cents. In Wall Street parlance, it “broke the buck,” a rare occurrence.

Um, yikes. Perhaps this weekend we should take a trip to the Khan el Khalili and buy some gold.

2. 6 Food Mistakes Parents Make. I agree with all points but the fifth. I think it is okay for kids to see their parents fret (in moderation) about getting fat.

Strike that — we are merely being good Unitarians, as we "get into" the spirit and practice of some other religion’s treasured holiday. To be specific:

• During Ramadan, one becomes very conscious of the moon. As in, did you notice that it is full about now? Which means the thing is half-over. So, we are half-way through with the shortened, unproductive work hours and horrific driving conditions between 3 and 4 p.m. Of course, when it ends, we will miss how the Big E gets home a bit earlier than usual. He has remarked that his train-rides-timed-to-coincide-with-the-sunset are blissfully quiet during Ramadan.

• One also becomes very conscious of the sun, particularly when Ramadan falls as a summer holiday. Daylight Savings Time ended around September 1, leaving just a six-hour time difference between Egypt and the East Coast of the United States. For lots of reasons - talking on the phone, checking the news - six is much better than seven. And goodness knows that the sun sinking at 6 p.m. rather than 7 p.m. is waaaaay preferable to the folks who haven’t eaten or drank since 5:30 a.m.

• The (alcohol-free) partying is excessive, although we are not sufficiently popular to be done in by it. The Big E has attended two very nice work Iftars, and I accompanied him on one. The feast before us on Sunday evening was immense, and when I commented to a friend how wonderful it all was, she rolled her eyes and said that, by mid-holiday, one becomes quite weary of all food intake being delivered in the form of a banquet.

• We are hosting our own Iftar tonight, finally reciprocating an invitation from last Ramadan. In typical American style, we will only serve around six items, in contrast to the 20+ you may find on the Iftar table of many otherwise modest Egyptians.

• Evie is looking forward to her 1st grade Iftar, scheduled for next week. Question: “What do you want to bring, Evie?” Answer: “Muffins.”

Photos taken from the Big E’s phone — sun not quite set!

Anyone who knows me, particularly those who have had to live with me (Bobby), are well aware of my long-held passion for the musical Evita. A certain line from the show has been flitting through my head recently, one that is tragically whispered by our erstwhile heroine when she is just beginning to fall ill:

“Oh, I would be a great Vice President.”

And speaking of Sarah Palin, here is a hard-hitting political ad from Hockey Moms for Truth.

(Yep, still have those four chapters to finish . . )

Apparently, Wall Street is collapsing. For those of us who aspire to the Four-Hour Workweek, this is not good news.