SAR #11129

Once upon a time you could buy pardons for sins not yet committed.

Some Numbers: German banks have invested € 28 billion in Greece, 28.7 billion in Portugal, another €114.7 billion in Ireland and €146.8 billion in Spain. How big of a haircut can they stand? How much will they get? A little off the sides? Whitewalls and a buzz cut?

Wrong Question: Fox News wants to know why killing bin Laden was OK but torture isn't. The question makes an unwarranted, unsupportable assumption.

Surrender: Google and Facebook have warned California that letting people evade their tracking systems would cost too much and hurt their profits and thus harm the economy by lowering tax income. They see it as “unnecessary, unenforceable and unconstitutional regulatory burden on Internet commerce” while customers see it as unnecessary and unconstitutional invasion of their privacy.

Secret to Success: "When it becomes serious, you have to lie", Jean-Claude Juncker, Prime Minister of Luxembourg. So, is it serious, Doctor?

High and Hire:Corporations (and Wall Street) prefer the US unemployment rate to be relatively high so they can hire cheaply, give miniscule raises, and increase their margins and earnings. At the same time, they prefer the rate to slowly – very slowly – decline so the proletariat are fooled into thinking good times are just ahead. Unemployment at 9% with a little job growth reportage is nearly perfect.

Parental Discretion: Florida has a law pending that says no one should interfere with the parents right to let their children die while playing with the family handgun.

Rush To Judgment: The Wisconsin GOP is trying to rush through their legislative return to the Dark Ages quickly, so the voters who are going to repudiate them through recall can reap the benefit of their mistake in electing them in the first place. The national GOP might want to take notes.

Whose Bull?The rich, whose share of the national income and wealth has grown immensely in the last 30 years while middle class real incomes have been stagnant for the same period, claim that they deserve the income because they're so damned productive and smart and God likes them best, and – at the same time – they say that it is unfair that they should pay such a large share of taxes just because the poor are jealous of them.

After You: Dick Cheney wants the US to resume waterboarding. Fine with me, as long as we start with him.

Clip & Save: Amidst all the sackcloth and ashes and gnashing of Republican teeth about deficits and debt and austerity, hold these three things clear in your mind: [1] There is no inflationary wage-price spiral. [2] There has been no recovery in the employment markets and there is none in sight. [3] The market (whose wisdom the Republicans kneel in awe of) has the utmost confidence in the long term fiscal stability of the United States. So what are all the theatrics about? More upward redistribution of our wealth, taking from Social Security, from Medicare, from Medicaid, from unemployment benefits, from widows and orphans and giving all of it to the top rung of the income ladder.

And I Quote: “The end of cheap energy after 2002 marks the end of economic growth in real terms.”

Wheat's that Sound? The European Union wheat harvest, which accounts for a fifth of world production, will fall – possibly catastrophically - this year as drought cuts yields in France and Poland. The situation in Europe "will be catastrophic" if the drought continues for another 10 days, and no significant rain is forecast.

Porn O'Graph: Going steady.