SAR #10242

From time to time we are reminded how little wisdom our leaders have.

Reminder:  For all his posturing, Glen Beck rejects the very premise of Martin Luther King Jr's “I have a dream” speech.  The event was not a civil rights protest, but an economic one.  The “I have a dream” part was an ad-libed after thought – not part of his prepared speech.  The march was “The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom”.  And King talked about the bad check America had written the Negro.  King had, by then, changed from the civil rights struggle to seeking economic equality – which has never been “a traditional American value.”  Beck, of course , does not agree with “the economic agenda of the civil rights movement.”

The Company Line:  Seventy-five percent of US business leaders say they don’t expect the recession to end sometime in 2011.  Two thirds don’t expect to hire more workers any time soon.  The rest must be military contractors.

Hungry for Profits:  The world is running out of arable land, water shortages are everywhere and getting worse, and now essential fertilizers such as phosphorus and potash are being monopolized.  Speculators have discovered agricultural commodities, and the result has been skyrocketing prices for wheat, barley and other grains.  It's a simple paradigm, those that have money will eat, those who control agricultural commodities will profit, the rest will do neither.

Sausage Factory:  Rumor has it that “a growing cadre of Democrats” support a plan that would permanently extend the Bush tax cuts benefiting the middle class while renewing breaks for the wealthy for just one more year – through 2011.  And then in 2011, they'll do it again.  And again.

It Can't Happen Here:  An 11 year old rape victim was denied an abortion and forced to give birth.  It happened in Mexico.  This time. Wait until the the right gets full control of your life.

Perspective:  There has been no recovery – not outside of the better offices on Wall Street.  If the economy cannot manage at least a consistent 2.5% growth in GDP, unemployment will continue to increase.  If Mr. Bernanke, the administration, and congress do not focus their efforts on this, they all should be terminated for incompetence.

Souvenirs:  The US has wasted over $50 billion in 'Iraqi reconstruction' and I didn't even get a tee shirt.  Ask the catfood commission how we can afford this, but not Social Security.

For Your Own Good:  China, realizing that much of modern technology depends on 'rare earths' is helping mankind conserve these scarce resources by cutting exports 72%, from 28,000 tons to 8,000 tons. I t also realized that it controlled 97% of the market for rare earths.  Free markets, eh.

Maybe Next Time:  Bernanke has said he will do everything in his power to prevent further economic mayhem, - but in that he hasn't had much success in the last couple of years,  'everything' doesn't seem to be enough.

Map? What Map?  Here we are, lost in the wilderness, and our leaders admit the compass was off by at least 30% for the last couple of months, revising GDP down 30% from 2.4% to 1.6%, and a half of that 1.6% is due to our wars and war-making.

Whitewater/Lewinski Reruns:  The GOP – should they gain control of one or both houses of Congress - plans to bring back the era of permanent investigation of the President and everything the White House has done, does, or may do.  You think they were ugly to Bill Clinton, he was just an oversexed lecher.  Obama is... black. Gasp.

Porn O'Graph:  All you can [afford to] eat.