SAR #11175

Politicians have an admirable ability to believe their own lies.

Clue: “We don’t have a precise read on why this slower pace of growth is persisting.” So says Clueless Ben Bernanke – the man who supposedly has the compass – as the Fed admits it has done all it is prepared to do to stimulate growth for now. “The first step to fixing the Fed is for them to get a firmer grasp on understanding their own lack of understanding.”

The Big Miss: Unemployment claims climbed 15,000 to 429,000 this week and the moving average moved to 426,250.

Principia Mathematica: All sorts of excitement arose out of the IEA/US plans to release 60 million barrels of oil from their reserves. That is about 80% of the amount of oil the world uses in one day. Officials said it was supposed to have “a calming effect” on the oil markets. Others say this as a political move aimed at the Saudis. Supposedly this was enough to scare the speculators and drop the price of oil 4$ to $90. The US said it would release more from its 727 million barrel reserve “if necessary”. If this is ‘necessary’ than we are far over the peak of oil production and gathering speed down the hill.

What's Commercial About It? Commercial real estate prices dropped 3.7% in March, m/m, and were down 13% y/y and down 49% from the peak in 2007.

Nothin' Up My Sleeve... Bailing out Greece is easy, compared to the gyrations French and German officials are going through to let Greece default on its sovereign debt without calling it a default – because no one wants to go to bed waiting for the CDS market to discombobulate.

Protect & Serve: You can (and will, in Rochester, NY) be arrested for standing in your front yard and videotaping police making a 'routine' traffic stop. If the cops order you to leave your yard and go in the house, they don't have to ask nicely.

Woods, Out Of: We always knew that the big debts run up by major governments to keep the banks system operating would one day come due. The fine print says they will come due whether we are ready or not, and we're not.

All The News That Fits: About 97% of scientists agree that man-made global warming is both real and really dangerous, yet the American public is less likely to believe in global warming than it was just five years ago. Why? Because the fair and balanced main stream media keeps giving equal time to the lunatic fringe, under the ridiculous pretext of “airing both sides.” There is not a “both sides”, there is global warming and there are shills for the fossil fuel industry, and politicians who believe whatever their contributors tell them to believe.

Penny Saver Special: Bernanke says there'll be a pickup in the second half of the year. Right, a 1973 F150 with new seat covers and a tub of Bondo?

You Don't Got No Privacy: The Supreme Corporate Oversight Committee ruled that  your prescription records can be sold to anyone who can come up with the cash. It would be a restraint on the marketing of nostrums if Big Phama couldn't target you specifically in their marketing.

In This Corner: The headline said “New Home Sales Come In Better Than Expected.” This was technically true. It is also true that “New Home Sales Fell 2.1% Last Month”, which would be technically truer.

Generation: Obama tells us the war in Afghanistan will last at least 3 more years. The war in Iraq is already scheduled to last indefinitely. Does it bother anyone that in both Iraq and Afghanistan there are teenagers are likely to turn 20 without remembering a single day when their countries were not occupied by the US military and their mercenaries?

Porn O'Graph: Ten,? Do I hear ten?