SAR #12255

The European Union isn’t.

Salesmanship: Obama's desire to “work with the Republicans” leaves out the details. What he's anxious to accomplish with their help (or vice versa) is to “make adjustments to Medicare and Medicaid.” Evisceration should not be passed off as 'making adjustments'.

Yes, But: Germany's Constitutional Court said Germany can contribute 190 billion euros to the ESM, but that both houses of the German parliament must be consulted on the ESM's use the funds, and that any increase in German funding of the ESM must be approved by the Bundestag. These changes to the treaty will have to be ratified by the other 16 EU nations – all of which are undoubtedly eager to give Germany sole control over saving the euro. Similarly, ECB 'officials' have floated a proposal that they be given supervisory authority over all the banks in Europe, to include issuing licenses and levying fines. "This is a good day for Germany and a good day for Europe," German Chancellor Angela Merkel said. Opinions may differ.

Inopportune Observation: A NBER study found that it is high levels of private debt, and not high levels of government debt, that closely correlates with severe recessions. Ruins the plotline.

Miracle Groan: Turns out that Omega-3 fatty acids are not a magic bullet after all, and ”have no effect in reducing the risk of stroke, heart attack or death.” Put down the pills and back away. And a panel of experts found that routine screening for ovarian cancer is ineffective and can do more harm than good.

Two Thumbs Down: In Benghazi, Libya, militants purportedly upset by the depiction of Mohammed in a video posted on YouTube by an anti-Muslim Egyptian Christian in the United States, stormed the US consulate, killed three Americans including the US ambassador and destroyed on building in the compound. In Cairo, a similarly motivated mob climbed the walls of the US embassy and tore down the US flag. Everyone's a critic.

Plain Speaking: The Mitten has made it clear, he will continue the Republican war on women (“it would be my preference that they reverse Roe V. Wade”) and intends to keep wasting vast amounts of money on defense industry profits (“I want to maintain defense spending at the current level of the GDP.”

Observation: “[T]he real scandal here isn’t what Obama did or didn’t do to ‘workfare’; it’s that both parties have gutted the welfare system as a whole to conduct a cruel social experiment on impoverished families.”

Screaming Mad: Jim Cramer, not exactly a far-left socialist wrecker, says that Republican voter suppression efforts will prevent his father, a veteran, from casting a ballot this fall in Pennsylvania. Cramer’s father is one of nearly 760,000 voters, about 9% of Pennsylvanians who regularly participate in elections, who will be disenfranchised because they do not have a state-issued photo identification card.

Shame On Us: We've been warned that “...the Ryan story isn’t just about Ryan; it’s about how the establishment allowed itself to be taken in by such an obvious shyster.” So it's not quite a pig in a poke we're being asked to vote for.

A Bigger Truck: GM's sales of the Chevy Vold set records in August. The highest number sold, and the largest loss for each of the vehicles sold: $49,000.

Safety First: Don't fret too much about those threats to slash the food stamp program. Doing so would cut the profits of the 'food' manufacturers who push high-fructose corn syrup and other empty calories on the poor. Feeding the poor may not be important to our elected officials, but the profits of those financing re-election campaigns must be preserved.

The Parting Shot:

 

Crown jewel.