Friday, January 25, 2013

SAR #13025

The oil business is not about producing petroleum, it's about producing profits.

On Democracy: So, there is no filibuster reform, but serious changes in the way new legislation and (most) presidential nominees are considered by the Senate will change. Before we all (mea culpa) get too exercised at Harry Reid's compromise, consider what happens when the minority cannot moderate majority excesses. Democracy is far, far from being simple majority rule. Although requiring by roll call that 41 Senators vote to sustain a filibuster might not have been too onerous.

All Together Now: A majority of Americans favor stricter gun control, but just like our wishes regarding abortion, Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and jailing the bankers, the politicians will ignore the will of the people; the Republicans have gerrymandered themselves into private dutchies and the Democrats need the money.

Understudy: John Boehner says he is upset at President Obama for trying to “annihilate the Republican party”. Odd, I thought that what he and Ryan were all about.

Multiple Choice: The Republican claim that they’ll produce a plan to balance the budget in 10 years, without cutting military spending or cutting benefits for those over 55, without a penny in additional revenue is: (1) absurd. (2) some other word meaning absurd. (3) a scare tactic. Or (4) an absurd scare tactic.

Situational Ethics: Catholic Health Initiatives, a faith-based hospital chain, has beaten a malpractice suit by maintaining that a fetus – even a seven month fetus – is not a person, and negligently killing it is not an instance of wrongful death. Not if it cuts into the profits. Just one of those things.

Working Title: Climate change is “driven by overpopulation, overconsumption of natural resources and the use of unnecessarily environmentally damaging technologies and socio-economic-political arrangements to service Homo sapiens‘ aggregate consumption." Moreover, "careful analysis of the prospects does not provide much confidence that technology will save us."

Getting High: When the Greenland ice sheet and the low-lying ice in western Antarctica melt, the world's seas will rise by 40 feet. Pick a date, place your bets.

Evidence Locker: A Republican idiot in New Mexico has introduced a bill that would require rape victims to carry any resulting pregnancy to term, in order to “use the fetus as evidence” at trial. Terminating the pregnancy would be “tampering with evidence” a 3rd degree felony punishable by 3 years in prison. Rep. Brown said this was the only way to prevent rapists from forcing their victims to have an abortion. Happens all the time in Albuquerque.

What'd He Say?  UK Prime Minister David 'I don't want a country called Europe' Cameron proposes a 2017 referendum on leaving the EU and committing suicide en mass. Ah, the future's not what it used to be.

Flash Frozen: Initial unemployment claims, at 330,000, were the lowest in five years. But. But California (the nation's largest workforce), Virginia and Hawaii were all 'estimates', not actual reports. Expect revisions.

Insight: The Republicans do not seem to have a clue about how to operate in the better nation that we've become in terms of equality for those who are not upper-class white males. Being the rear guard is a thankless task.

Porn O'Graph: Hey, Big Spender...

The Parting Shot:

130125

On the Beech.

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