SAR #10342

Are you tired of lying to yourself yet?

Late Night Thoughts of the Chairman:   “We're not very far from the level where the economy is not self-sustaining. It takes about 2.5 percent growth just to keep unemployment stable and that’s about what we’re getting.”  It is?  In whose dreams?

Information Please:   A list of "critical infrastructure" and potential terrorist targets has been released by WikiLeaks.   But this information, like the earlier releases, does not qualify as 'shocking revelations' – they are neither.  The US uses money in its diplomacy?  The US spies on everyone?  Karzai is a crook?  Pakistan is a military kleptocracy?  The Saudis are al Qeada's big backers?  Where's the surprise, where's the drama?  Where's the beef?

Do As I Say:  While Dick Lugar (R-IN) was on TV proclaiming “We are not the party of no. We must never be the party of no.”  Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY) was saying 'No' to repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell and Minority Leader Boehner was blocking tax cuts for the middle class, calling them 'chicken crap'.

True Confessions:  General Petraeus is “not sure” of a US victory in Afghanistan by 2014. Or 2020, for that matter.

The Doggie In The Window:  The Fed acknowledges that the largest recipients of taxpayer handouts were Citigroup, Morgan Stanley, Merrill Lynch, Bank of America and Goldman Sachs.  You know, the gang that gets the enormous bonus checks.

Problem Solving 101:  The European intent, identical to the US program, is not to solve the problems of the European banks but to find ways of papering the problems over through bailouts – Greece, Ireland, the rest of the batting order to come.  The bailouts are loans that will eventually have to be 'rescheduled'.  But eventually is another day, and that's the object  of the exercise.

Let's Not Make a Deal:   The Republicans see themselves – quite correctly - as successful blackmailers.

Into The Wilds:   One out of four Americans does not pay his bills on time.  The actual un/under employment rate is 22%.    The inflation rate for people who buy gasoline, eat food and heat their homes is 8%.   Average credit card balance is $15,788,  penalty fees on credit cards exceed $20 billion a year,  and 27% of credit card accounts go into default.

Urban Renewal:  NATO troops are authorized to routinely destroy Afghan homes, businesses, and on occasion entire villages, that they believe are being used to support the Taliban in some way, or may be used in the heroin trade.  That describes about 75% of the houses in the country.

Self Abuse:  Young people who are overexposed to antibacterial soaps suffer more allergies, and adults exposed to high levels of Bisphenol A (BPA) have damaged immune systems.

The Dead Zone:  The Navy's deep-sea submersible Alvin has discovered an 80-square mile kill zone on the floor of the Gulf of Mexico where “everything's dead.”   British Petroleum was not available for the usual crocodile tears.

Burning Sunshine:  To replace the world's current 85 mbd petroleum habit with biomass based energy and still provide the food and fiber needed by 7 billion people would be feasible if we only had 30 or 40 additional planets worth of farmland.  We don't.

True/False:  Retailers try to justify price increases by claiming the banks take a big cut from them when you use plastic.  Yes, they do.  But the fee they pay the banks is far less than the cost of processing cash and handling checks brings.  By using plastic you are actually lowering the store's cost of doing business – you should not pay extra for that.

Chickens and Eggs:  Is the unemployment problem structural or cyclical?  Both.  What gets overlooked is that those who are cyclically unemployed for long enough become structurally unemployable.

Porn O'Graph : Where the bouys are.