SAR #12340

In the end, someone will have to pay. Most likely, you.

Sand, Line In The: President Obama, quoting Business Roundtable's John Engler, says the debt ceiling is "not a good weapon for anything except destroying our own credit rating," and insists that it be (permanently?) settled as part of any deal to avoid the 'fiscal cliff'.

Too Little, Too Late: Fox News, and by that we mean Roger Ailes, has banned Dick Morris and Karl Rove from the network. Seems the Fox's candidates weren't the only losers in the election. It's all about profits, which shows how sincere they've been all along.

Permanence: The recent ruling in NY to the effect that Argentina must pay in full those who didn't go along with their "voluntary" restructuring. Never mind the seizure of the ARA Libertad, the decision puts Argentina in default on all those other obligations they thought they had skated on. But far more important is what this signals to holders of Greek debt. The inescapable logic of international finance seems to be that no matter what you do, if you are a sovereign nation you aren't sovereign as long as someone holds some paper on you. Debts, illogically, survive revolutions. Bankers rule.

Opinions Vary: Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) said that Ashley Judd was so "damn liberal" that she didn't belong in the country, much less in a seat in the US Senate - not Mitch McConnell's and most certainly not his. Funny, a lot of folks think that Paul and McConnell are "too damned _____ (you choice, conservative being the most polite)" to serve in the Senate.

Final Score: In Gaza, about 200 killed, 1,200 wounded, nearly 600 buildings destroyed. In Israel, six dead, 224 injured, a few houses damaged. US aid to Israel, both money and material, made this possible.

'Fix the Debt' Definitions: 'Bipartisan' means all of the rich, 'reform' means rob, 'fix' means cut, and 'sacrifice' means you, not them. Brought to you by the folks who brought you the Great Recession and got all the bailout money.

We're Number One! The American government has more information on the average American than Stalin had on Russians, Hitler had on Germans, or any other government has ever had on its people, making us the most spied upon people in history.

Asked and Answered: Will Obama enlist the US in the fight against climate change? No. Absolutely not. The US has joined with the EU in refusing to make any concrete funding pledges at the UN Climate conference in Doha. Washington insisted that it was already “doing what we agreed to do and what we’ve committed to do.” (In 2011, the US spent $13 billion on fossil fuel subsidies and only $2.5 billion on climate change assistance.) We seem to be under the impression that our end of the boat is just fine. Well, except for the drought in the mid-west and all those folks in the Northeast, and the storms on the West Coast...

Excellent Question: How do we “hold our leaders accountable to the laws they claim to be following in secret”?.

Ignorable Evidence: Studies show that the benefits to society that come from paying unemployment insurance benefits far outweigh both the cost in dollars and the severe social costs of not doing so. The choir already knew this and the Republicans don't give a damn.

From Beyond the Grave: 49% of Republicans believe that ACORN stole the 2012 election for President Obama. Acorn declared bankruptcy and disbanded in 2010 following an intensely dishonest attack orchestrated by the Republicans.

Datapoint: Goldman Sachs has cut its forecast for the US 4Q GDP to 1% on an annualized basis. Coal in the old stocking.

Wet Dream: What if we had rules that said health insurance companies must cover everyone at the same price, for everything. No cancellations, no 'existing condition' exclusions. Every provider gets the same pay for the same service. And no proprietary secrets, especially financial ones. You know, like Europe.

Porn O'Graph: The cliff before the cliff.

The Parting Shot:

Holdouts.