SAR #8092

Are the people who got us into this mess really the ones
most likely to get us out of it?

A Big Wooden Horse: The Fed re-organization plan was designed a year ago, just as the Patriot Act was drawn up before 9/11. It is intended to get rid of the few regulations left that hinder our financial wizards. Bush&Co are pushing the chairs closer to the rail and claiming this will keep the ship from sinking.

Brownied: A criminal investigation has forced HUD Secretary Alphonso Jackson to resign. The Decider called Jackson "a strong leader and a good man". Jackson did not call Bush an unindicted co-conspirator.

Bogeyman: Russia's Natural Resources Minister Trutnev reports that Russia's oil production is falling this year. Russia is #2 in world petroleum production. Peak Oil theorists have long predicted that Russian oil output would peak in 2007 and begin to fall. It's a Communist Capitalist plot.

Remedial Class: McCain claims he "learned from the Keating Five..." He learned about illegal donations, political influence, covering tracks and manipulating the media. All valuable lessons for a politician.

What Contracts? Philadelphia has stopped the sale of foreclosed houses. This economic martial law is designed to give owners who defaulted on adjustable-rate mortgages time to work out a new loan - so they can magically afford an unaffordable house. California and Florida may not be far behind. This will only spur banks to complete foreclosures faster, to avoid fiat losses.

Ripley: It's hard to believe that people bright enough to have the resources to vacation in the US are dumb enough to want to chance it. Is getting a picture taken with Goofy meaningful enough to risk being intercepted by the charming folks from ICE? How can a day at Magic Mountain possibly outweigh the chance of an indefinite stay in the Norfolk brig or in a cage at Guantanamo?

Phantoms: In the February employment stats, the government counted an additional 135,000 "new jobs" because "they assumed that every industry in the country added jobs." I wish they'd assume I'd paid my taxes.

Teamwork! We're now told that Bush personally threatened and bullied nations around the globe to support our invasion of Iraq 'or else.' Truly the Coalition of the Coerced - essentially the same approach he takes with Congress and the citizenry.

Definitions: The Federal Reserve is the central bank of the US. But it is a bank, a very big bank. Like any bank, if it is not careful about to whom it lends and the quality of their collateral, it can get into trouble. Our bank has been dealing with some questionable people of late, and accepting collateral that may not really be all that good. We should speak to Ben about this.

Otherwise: Saudi Arabia’s claim that its southern desert region contains vast reserves of natural gas is somewhat undermined by a string of exploration wells that hasn't found any.

Just Maybe: If you've not read Naomi Klein's Shock Doctrine, put down the coffee, get the car keys and go get it. Do this now. It may well explain the next few months.

An A+ For Insight: The credit crisis is simply too big for the government to "solve". The reality is that debt so far exceeds earned income that much of it simply cannot be repaid. Debt is extended based on the expectation of being repaid out of increasingly larger future production - growth! But the growth model is outdated and must be abandoned. Read the rest at Sudden Debt.