SAR #13224

That the market will prevail is not necessarily comforting.

Enlightenment: Obama says the government's 24/7 monitoring of citizens is only "an incremental" infringement on our rights and that, besides, it's legal and will continue. So the only way to curtail this home-grown Stassi is to repeal the Patriot Act and rid ourselves of the Imperial Presidency. But to do that, we'll need a whole new Congress. And to get that we'll need a whole new electoral system and voting districts and political parties. And to get that we'll need a new Constitution. And to get one of those, we'll need a new revolution. Damn, and we just wanted to drain the swamp.

Stay Back From The Edge: After a quick run-up, homebuilder stocks have suddenly dropped 25%. Second only to the customer, home construction is a key to the economy and a strong housing industry is required if there's to be a recovery. And the market, right now, is far from convinced.

Inquiring Minds: According to a leak by Edward Snowden Barak Obama, a sealed indictment has been handed down over the Benghazi incident and the US is “intent on capturing those who carried out” the attack. Given our penchant for dropping missiles out of the sky on those silly enough to get on our bad side, why do we need an indictment? Time for a show trial? Trying to build up the head count at Guantanamo? Note: federal law says "no person may disclose [a sealed] indictment's existence," which could suggest the President is either a common criminal or an untouchable non-person.

Payday: Obviously there are a bunch of people who can run your company quite well; you should pick the one who will do the job for the least money.

Two Minutes of Hate: First we were supposed to go shopping, now we're not supposed to go anywhere. So much for the victory over al-Qaeda, which is now apparently a franchise operation with branches here and there that are sufficiently terrorfying to scare the US into closing its embassies. Why do we go along with this malarkey? Why does the press? How do the nation's intelligence failures justify opening your email and looking over your shoulder as you hit the internet or shop in the local mall? This is not “the new reality”. It is not new, it's antique. And it's not reality, it's propaganda. Now Fukushima– there's a real threat that we should be really afraid of - but the media goes where The Ministry of Truth points them.

Devil/Details: As Shell's CEO says, the shale revolution is “a little bit overhyped.” Y'think, Ollie?

All Ads, All The Time: As you walk down the street, ads on trash cans and in small windows and such keep changing to show you the same two or three items. Why? Because they know who you are and what your shopping habits are. How? Your cell phone, dummy. That electronic monitor you happily carry about. It even tells what you ordered for supper and which bathroom you use in the bar (and plays you an ad over the sink while you're there). It's called 'personalized advertising' and it's coming to a lamp-post or trash can near you. 
 
Comes The Dawn: Maybe the terrorists are not that good, maybe our hundreds of billions a year spent on espionage of all sorts is a waste on money because, at base, our spies are simply not very good at their jobs. 
 
Possibility: “So how does this end? Here’s a depressing thought: maybe it doesn’t... We can probably have high unemployment and stable prices in Europe and America for a very long time — and all the wise heads will insist that it’s all structural, and nothing can be done until the public accepts drastic cuts in the safety net. ...permanent depression could end up simply becoming accepted as the way things are ”

The Parting Shot:

Partners.