SAR #10261

Capitalism desperately needs another FDR.

Vox Populi:  According to a recent poll, the vast majority of Americans opposes an attack on Iran – just as opposed Mr. Bush's invasion of Iraq. Plus two-thirds want the US to be neutral in Israeli-Palestinian conflict.  So much for democracy in the warrior empire.

Don't Know/Won't Hurt: First off, about 2 out of 3 Americans still think buying a house is an investment, a safe investment. Scary . About a quarter of all homeowners never, ever check to see what their home is worth. Another quarter only do so “every few years.”  That explains why so few folks are walking away from their underwater houses – they don't know they're sinking.

Don't Bother:  Turns out that government workers are – once age and education are taken into consideration – underpaid, on average.  Won't matter, facts never solve anything.

Another inconvenient truth:  Everyone – the IEA, OPEC, EIA, Daniel Yergin and nearly everyone in Houston -  believes that when the non-OPEC oil supplies run out, OPEC will pick up the slack – because they believe the fanciful reserve numbers that OPEC producers made up back in the 1980s. Go back and correct the bragging, add in their admitted 3% and higher depletion rates and you'll conclude that OPEC will not be able to save us.

Not Not Guilty: The case against Shell for having others kill Nigerian civilians in its behalf has been dismissed because the court said it had no jurisdiction over violations of human rights that occurred outside the US. Not that Shell didn't do it, just that they're going to get away with it.

Across The River...  If Little Miss Muffet's friend had been a C. darwini it would have shown up from across the river on its 25 meter, stronger than kevlar, super spider web.

Miss Manners:  Politics in the United States used to be the art of compromise.  No longer, not since the Republican Party transformed itself into a group of extortionists willing to put the economy and the nation at risk of deep recession or worse to gain some perceived partisan victory.  If we don't let the rich get richer, they intend to make sure the rest of us suffer serious economic harm.  It's not even about winning – it's just so they can preen.

Enemy of My Enemy:  The Pentagon is going to funnel US arms (and ever more US money) to Yemen to help them fight off al-Qaeda.   It worked so well in Afghanistan.

Backgrounder:   Running around Scotland trying to be relevant, Pope Benedict XVI (and former Hitler Youth) praised the British for having stood against "Nazi tyranny that wished to eradicate God from society.”  Actually it was the Jews Hitler wished to eradicate with the cooperation of the pope’s predecessors Pius XI and Pius XII.  The Pope's attack on human rights as “arbitrary freedoms” and “the atheist extremism of the 20th Century” echoes nicely with the Catholic extremism of the last 20 centuries..

Two Things:   Police in Chicago are planning a “massive protest” against manpower shortages resulting from the city's tight budget.  How dare they? &  It's about time people started pushing back.

Impossible Dream?  Everyone assumes the question is “How do we resume economic growth?”  The question that needs answering, and soon, is “Can the economy grow while oil consumption decreases?”

Porn O'Graph: And then there were none...