Tuesday, January 15, 2008

SAR #8016

"I can always hire half the working class
to shoot the other half "

- Jay Gould

Push, Shove . I see where plans are afoot to put video ads on grocery carts. Anybody ask you if you wanted surround sound? How hard will it be to break these things? Always a tough call between violence or just shopping elsewhere.

The End is Near : Rick Wagoneer, chairman of GM, believes global oil supply has peaked and a switch to electric cars is inevitable. He also said ethanol was only an interim solution and that electric cars were the future. Sanity. In Detroit, of all places.

On Camera : The Gov's funding something called ARGUS that consists of video cameras installed over all Federal highways, running 24/7. The video will be passed to a central data bank and shared with any law enforcement agency, private investigator or credit agency that asks for the data. And you're worried about identity theft, Truman?

Non-Inflation : According to the Consumer Price Index, the price of food on average has gone up 5.4 percent between November 2006 and November 2007, the latest figures available. The cost of dairy and related products has soared 14 percent, while the cost of meat and fish has gone up 4.1 percent, and the cost of bread has risen 8.1 percent. But food doesn't count towards inflation, remember?

Word Search : Try this experiment: as you read the paper, websites, books, etc. Substitute the word 'greed' for the phrase 'market forces.' Be the first to submit a passage where you can tell the difference and win something-or-other.

Bathtub Toys : The Navy claims Iranian sped boats harassed our warships in international waters. Funny thing, there is no "international water" in the Strait of Hormuz - it's either Oman's territory or Iran's. Funnier still, we were on the Iranian side, guests of the Iranians. As such we cannot launch aircraft (eg. the helicopters), collect intelligence (main purpose of being there). We must "proceed without delay" and "refrain from any threat or use of force against the sovereignty of states bordering the strait". That's the Law of the Sea.

Update: Turns out the REAL ID driver's license is not a national identity card after all. And Chertoff is sorry because "“I think the time has come to get the kind of secure identification I am convinced the American public wants to have.” Again I must inquire: Who the Hell did he ask?

Check Your Copy... "I have opponents in this race who do not want to change the Constitution," said Huckabee. "But I believe it's a lot easier to change the Constitution than it would be to change the word of the Living God. And that's what we need to do -- to amend the Constitution so it's in God's standards..." Ordinarily I'd just dismiss such crap as the ravings of a crackpot. But wait, he's the likely GOP candidate, so I repeat myself.

Optional Coverage: Terminally ill patients have no constitutional right to gain access to experimental drugs that have yet to win federal approval, the US Supreme Court ruled Monday. Apparently they have no constitutional right to justice, common sense or compassion, either.

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