SAR #8144

They haven't changed the rules, they've changed the game.

Encore: The House of (hopefully not) Representatives overwhelmingly voted to sue OPEC for not pandering to the US addiction to oil. Only in Washington does April 1st come 'round so often.

Terminology: Perhaps better than using a cruise missile, but a helicopter firing rockets into a family of Iraqi goat-herds, killing 8, including children, shooting at the survivors, and sending others, again including children, to the hospital, is not the type of surgery that "surgical strike" is supposed imply.

The Electorate: Too young to retire, too old to get a new job, addicted to consumerism; mourning in America.

Suprize, Suprise: EPA associate deputy administrator Jason Burnett now reveals that the EPA denied California's request for stronger carbon emissions rules at the express insistence of the White House, and that he had been instructed not to reveal that George Bush and other White House officials played a direct role in castrating California.

Musical Chairs: The International Energy Agency projects a daily 12.5 million barrel shortfall in oil production by 2015, with output rising to only 110 mbd while demand soars to 122.5 mbd. More realistic industry experts say even 100 mbd at any time in the future is an optomistic hope. This is only 6 years from now: Who is going to be left standing?

Nixonian Moment: Global issuance of collateralized debt obligations - sliced and diced mortgages, credit card receivables, etc - dropped 94%, from nearly $200 billion in 1Q2007 to $12 billion this year. The wall Street slicers, dicers and wrappers of these products will be seeking employment, and we won't have CDOs to kick around any more.

Spoil Sport: Quick, we need to drill in ANWAR, and off the coasts - all of 'em, and in the National Parks! Unfortunately, any undiscovered oil won't reach the market for at least 10 years after it is found. Oil companies already have leases on 33 million off-shore acres where no drilling has begun. Maybe they don't think there's enough oil down there to make it worthwhile...

Business 101: Ford again gets a failing grade on that grad school basic - The Business Plan. It once more fails to grasp the basic concept of business - you should make enough profit that the CEO doesn't have to issue bonds to get paid his bonus. Dividends, sure - that's the Citibank model. But a car company really should try to sell cars people want.

Ubiquitous Piece: Ever see a piece that perfectly fit in two different jigsaw puzzles? Me neither, but the Fed has; low interest rates got us into the housing/credit problem & low interest rates are going to get us out of the housing/credit problem. Problem is, the damned piece doesn't fit either puzzle.

Peak Air? The increasing scarcity of petroleum is driving the commercial airlines out of business. That will leave Boeing's future solely to bombers and surveillance aircraft. No problem; it'll be a growing business.

Porn O'Graph: Gone, like a bad idea, Collateralized Debt Obligations.