SAR #13150

Happy are those who believe; ideology is far more powerful than experience.

Perspective: To help you judge just how well the housing market is doing, let us remind you that if the house you paid $200,000 for in 2000 would bring in $275,000 after the real estate leaches get done and the taxes paid, you are breaking even. Inflation. And in real terms, that's about where we are, back to 2000 levels. Party responsibly.

Domestic Disturbance: Someone should remind McCain and Obama, the EU and Russia – as well as the immediate neighbors - what happens when you try to break up fighting spouses.

Over There: The UK's Conservative government has asked Goldman Sachs to take the lead on privatizing the Royal Mail. At the same time Cameron & Co. are taking bids on privatizing the UK court system.

Quitter: According to Ms Bachman, it took “a great deal of thought and deliberation” to get out while the getting was good and before the FBI and/or the ethics committee get through with her. She'll be hitting the speaker's podium along with Miss Sarah real soon. Serendipitously, these two headlines were (inadvertently?) listed back to back: Representative Michele Bachmann (R-MN) will not seek re-election. And “Congress’s average I.Q. expected to rise in 2015″.

There Will Be A Brief Pause: Exxon, having promised to put $600 million into the development of “algae biofuels” - and chucked $100 million into the project to no end, has called it quits. Another miracle down the drain.

Changing Times: A Census Bureau survey reports that "A record 40% of all households with children under the age of 18 include mothers who are either the sole (63% - earning $23,000) or primary source (37% - family income $80,000) of income for the family." In 1960, women were the sole or primary source of income in just 11% of US households. Women's Lib didn't work out quite as well as planned.

What Could Go Wrong? Researchers report that GMO salmon can (and do) interbreed with wild trout, producing offspring that are highly competitive, fast-growing fish.

Just Shut Up And Die: A 5-4 majority of the Supremes think that if there is a high probability that an innocent person has been wrongly convicted, that person should have a chance to prove it – even if filing deadlines have passed. Justice (sic) Scalia is livid; to him actual innocence is not, in and of itself, enough of a reason to consider overturning a conviction.

Ain't Gonna Practice War No More: Every day, day after day after day, 22 US veterans commit suicide. The VA is unable to deliver adequate resources to help these wounded warriors and is apparently not addressing the psychic damage done to soldiers when they kill civilians, which given the nature of our current wars, is a daily possibility.

The Parting Shot:

Crown vetch. Coronilla varia