SAR #10169

Anybody seen Plan B lately?

Failing Grade: The Senate – and by this I mean all of the Republicans and Joe Lieberman - failed the people again last night, by failing to pass an economic assistance bill. Why? Because deficit hawks lead by the likes of Ben Nelson said the $77 billion in deficit spending was unconscionable. Note that we gave AIG about twice that. Note, too, that Nelson – and the Republicans – voted for the $1.3 trillion in Bush tax cuts for the rich. By the end of this week over 900,000 of the long term unemployed will not get benefit checks. The rich will still be rich. The GOP has told unemployed Americans that tax breaks for the top 236 richest people in America is more important than they are. That's what's unconscionable.

Worst Case: Experts tell us that the worst-case scenario is if the BP well-bore leak is leaking from a broken casing far beneath the seabed. Tattle tales tell us that BP has been fighting cracked and leaking casings since February.

What If? In most of Europe, democracy is a some-time thing of recent invention. What if popular unrest at the bankers' austerity regime leads to uprisings and the imposition (or welcoming) of military takeovers? Wouldn't be the first time that economic unrest in Europe has resulted in military dictatorships. Or wars.

Sticky Situation: Fannie Mae has suspended some mortgage payments from the oil-soaked Gulf region, while Citi is suspending foreclosures in the area. Look, nobody is going to want to buy a home on the Gulf for a long, long time. No one wants even more unsalable houses on the beach their books. Just don’t burn the place down and the banks’ll let you stay.

Big Sigh: Rush Limbaugh says we worry too much about kids going hungry in the summer, when they don't get meals at school. After all, he says, “there's always the neighborhood dumpster.”

Numbers Game: France has raised the retirement age from 60 to 62. Sure, this will delay the retirement of older folks. It will also keep them in jobs that the younger folks need. So the older citizens get cheated out of a promised retirement, the younger citizens get cheated out of jobs, and the banksters are delighted.

Mission Creep: Obama's plan to get our troops out of Afghanistan by sending more troops to Afghanistan isn't working out quite as planned. Or maybe it is.

Fairness and Equality: The heirs of the tens of thousands killed by Union Carbide in the Bhopal disaster accuse the US of “double standards” because Obama forced BP to put up $20 billion, while the US has resolutely ignored the debt US firms owed following the Bhopal poisoning. And their point would be?

People Unclear on the Concept: Pensioners and their governments are complaining that making BP pay for the damage it has caused will deprive the pensioners of their dividends. Didn't they read the prospectus?

No Place To Hide: The big problem facing BP's PR team – other than Tony's mouth – is where to hide all the tons and tons of sludge being scraped up off the beaches and soaked up by the oil booms. Stuff's toxic, needs to be properly disposed of – not just taken out to sea at night and dumped like BP does with the dolphins and pelicans.

Natural Law: A bill pending in the US senate would give the President the power to seize control of and to shut down portions of the internet if a national emergency arose. Such as people badmouthing the government.

Foot in Mouth Disease: The GOP is berating Obama for making BP pay for its mess and claim it will become a political slush fund. The Republican Study Committee called it “Chicago-style shakedown politics”. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) claims it is “a redistribution-of-wealth fund.” and encouraged BP to tell the administration " We're not going to be chumps, and we're not going to be fleeced." Joe Barton (R-TX) called it “a shakedown” and apologized to BP for the White House's behavior. And Haley Barbour, Republican Governor of Mississippi – who keeps telling folks to “come on down, the beaches are fine” - thinks escrowing the money will “make it less likely that they (BP) will pay for everything. They need their capital to drill wells. They need their capital to produce income.” So do your citizens, governor.

Think: Turns out that some of those internet sites that claim to allow you to send highly encrypted messages to prevent government snooping are run by the government, to make snooping easier.

Porn O'Graph: The pot of gold. Or Rainbow's end.