Friday, May 29, 2009

SAR #9149

Before investing for the future, try to figure out which future.

Asked & Answered: "Was Rape an Enhanced Interrogation Technique?" Yes, and there are pictures....

Leadership: Former GOP Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, in a display of the qualities he is remembered for, Twittered one and all regarding Judge Sotomayor: "White man racist nominee would be forced to withdraw. Latina woman racist should also withdraw." Unfortunately he was limited to 140 character assassinations characters.

Tsunami II: Warning, Plot Spoiler: A wave of foreclosures at least as big as the original inundation is headed this way. Option ARMs will come crashing down in 2010, 2011 and 2012.

Juvenile Prime Delinquents: Prime rate mortgages make up 53% of new foreclosures, while the delinquency rate has jumped to 9.12%.

Smile: The UK is expanding its already extensive CCTV camera/computer network with the goal of automatically logging every car's license plate as it passes any of thousands of checkpoints. "Innocent people have nothing to fear from the way we use it," say police administrators.

Elixir: Discerning readers will note that Louis - friend, co-conspirator and editor - is back at his oar. Only the one. A bit more diet Dr. Pepper and we'll let him have both, but for now he's not to touch split infinitives or puns.

Memory Lane: The past is prologue. Next time, the pictures will be digital and in color, but the banknotes just as worthless.

Green Zone II : Obama's devotion to Bush's wars can be measured by his new billion dollar embassy building plans for Islamabad and Kabul. "If you build it, they will come stay."

Baskervilles: In 2008, 140 muni bond issuers defaulted on a record $7.6 billion. So far this year, only 16 municipal issuers have failed to make payments on $426 million in bonds. Spooky, huh?

Growth Industry: Washington says that absent stiff mandatory limits on CO2 emissions, the amount of CO2 dumped into the air will increase by 40% by 2030. In that limiting carbon emissions means decreasing economic output, and that those who profit most from killing the planet give the most to politicians, we're toast.

Destiny: In response to warnings that "the world's destiny" depends on quick and drastic reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, the US is now planning to reduce CO2 emissions by 3% below 1990 levels by 2020.

Asked and Answered: "Why Do Republicans Oppose Sotomayor?" It's what they do.

Flash in the Pan: We have an abundance of natural resources - as long as we are supplied with abundant cheap energy, mainly petroleum, to dig 'em out, transport, refine and transform them. Absent the cheap energy, there are a lot of scarcities waiting to show up.

The Sting Redux: The confidence game known as bailout is but a fleecing of the American taxpayer to benefit the few. It does not star Paul Newman, and Geithner is in a supporting role.

We Are Screwed: Predictions generally become amusingly irrelevant soon after utterance. Here's a look at the US as it becomes a banana republic with nuclear weapons sometime between next week and reset day. The current Wall Street/Washington attempt to keep the game going at all costs will eventually consume all costs and then be consumed. Not that any of these predictions will happen, but what if?

Change You Can Believe: Despite efforts by the administration and GM bondholders and GM management, the UAW pension plan will not be gutted to save investors.

Porn O'Grpah: Net Worthlessness.

7 comments:

Svend said...

"Why Do Republicans Oppose Sotomayor?"

We have a two party system, for better or worse. I'd prefer a multi-party system, myself.

Anyways, the reason we have a two party system is that the party in power has criticism directed her way. The function of the Republicans is to oppose the Democrats. It should be reasonable criticism, which may or may not be what we'll get.

But the threats from the administration that they ought to "be very careful" in how the Republicans act is deeply undemocratic. Her record must be examined exactly as much as a white male's record would be examined. And if "diversity" is one of or the primary reason she was picked, then diversity (manifested in identity politics/essentialism) as a value is open for criticism as well.

Charles Kingsley Michaelson, III said...

Sven - I've no problem with political opposition - I just wish both parties in the US would grow up and cease the knee-jerk ad hominem attacks. And I, too, would much prefer an effective multi-party system instead of the covert single- party circus masquerading as a two party system that rules the US.
ckm

Svend said...

The common political discourse in the US is shockingly immature. I really don't know how else to describe it. I've lived abroad in several nations and pound for pound none of them touch the US in the belligerence and vapidity of the political culture.

We're not a serious country.

Anyways, I greatly enjoy and appreciate the effort you put into this site.

Anonymous said...

covert single party circus...
belligerence and vapidity...

Agreed and agreed.

But in defense of the poor dumb SOBs who are my countrymen, I must say that while quite a few people have had the misfortune to live above large oil deposits, only the US has lived with the prize of the world's strongest military. What a prize it is. Most Americans are just trying to live their lives and never stopped to realize how vulnerable that prize made us. It's been a global grab to use it for all sorts of adventure. Bush's people got theirs and now Obama's must have theirs, and no one in Washington notices or cares how thoroughly the nation has been trashed.

Anonymous said...

Leadership: Former GOP Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, in a display of the qualities he is remembered for, Twittered one and all regarding Judge Sotomayor: "White man racist nominee would be forced to withdraw. Latina woman racist should also withdraw." Unfortunately he was limited to 140 character assassinations characters.

It certainly did not take long to prove conclusively that TWITTER is for TWITS.

kwark said...

Re: Green Zone II

Ya know, it's been a while since the presidential campaign so I'm kinda fuzzy on the telling Republicans from Democrats thing. Remind me, what kind of change do I get to believe in?

Charles Kingsley Michaelson, III said...

kwark - Whatever change that's left in your pocket, that's change you can believe in.
ckm