SAR #13004

It is safer to be wrong and in the majority than right and in the minority.

Drama Queens: Now we can move on to the next manufactured crisis, in which the Republicans will squawk 'entitlement reform' - which is their code for cuts- and the Democrats will blather about tax reform - which means raising taxes. In the end they will tinker with taxes and bluff about Social Security and put off any spending cuts for six months or so. Then back at it. It beats actually solving the problems.

Asked & Answered: How accurate are long-term government oil forecasts? Not very.

Membership Has Its Rewards: "It's a bit amusing watching Peter King and Christie freak out because the assholes in their asshole club are acting like assholes. And it's too much to ask for them to generalize their current situation - sometimes people are down and need help, even without a hurricane." Duncan Black.

Perspective: Since December 14^th, an average of 18 people a day have been shot to death, 6 of them children under 13. Let your congresscritters know, they've been busy.

Rich, Richer: The 100 richest people in the world added $241 billion to their collective net worth last year, brining their hoard to a comfortable $1.9 trillion. Even the Koch brothers, who continually and continuously bitch about the socialist Obama regime, increased their pile by 20.9%, to $40.9 billion. Usual prize for the first person who can explain why we let them keep on keeping on.

Because I Said So: When the Executive Branch says that the unconstitutional things they do are constitutional because they do them, the Judge says that she doesn't quite understand how that can be, but says that under the law it is: "I can find no way around the thicket of laws (that) effectively allow the Executive Branch (to) proclaim as perfectly lawful certain actions that seem on their face incompatible with our Constitution and laws, while keeping the reasons for their conclusion a secret."

Some Numbers: According to the Labor Department, unemployment claims for the last week of December climbed to 372,000. The previous week's figure was revised up 20,000, as usual.

Blowing Bubbles: Don't conclude that the economy (and the government, for that matter) is failing just because average real earnings in the US are over 10% lower today than 40 years ago. Once you figure out who's in charge you'll see that everything is going according to plan.

New Bottles For Old Whine: The Republican led House has refused to renew the Violence Against Women Act - which funds programs to combat domestic violence against women - because some of the funds might be spent on immigrants, Native America women, and a few LGBT individuals. Those folks, under the Republican rubric, deserve no protection.

Making Sausage: Trust, and don't bother to verify. That's Congress' motto. Which doesn't really explain how all the pork ended up in the fiscal cliff legislation, even though our elected servants had less than 3 minutes to review the bill before voting. The explanation is simple - the Congressmen larded up a bill last summer that went nowhere, and then the White House insisted that that bill, lard and all - or especially the lard - be included verbatim.

Consistency: It's not just healthcare, folks in the US also pay more for poorer quality internet access, too.

Getting Down Off The Tiger: Krugman argues that the humongous increases in the monetary base will not cause increases in the general level of prices as long as the increase can be withdrawn without upsetting the apple cart once interest rates rise away from the zero lower boundary, which they eventually will do. The Fed will then presumably sell off all the debt it has bought - Treasuries and various flavors of MBS. To whom is not exactly clear.

Porn O'Graph: Wages, really.

The Parting Shot: