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.