SAR #14066

Why does your government want the power to kill you without a trial?

Command Performance: The old farts in the Senate have told military commanders that the open season for sexual assaults on female soldiers can continue unabated. Because to transfer prosecution of sex crimes to an independent judiciary would be like raping the commanders. Never mind that the Army's top sex assault prosecutor has just been suspended for sexual assaulting a female soldier or that sexual assault charges against Brigadier General Jeffrey Sinclair were dropped and he was allowed to plead guilty to a lesser charge of having an extramarital affair. For the good of the service.

Action Figures: 'Could Ukraine become a stable liberal democracy?' Yes, but it is most unlikely. And that is not quite what the Western neo-liberals had in mind when they started all this hoo-hah anyway.

Dignity: “The left is making a big mistake, what they're offering people is a full stomach and an empty soul. People don’t just want a life of comfort. They want a life of dignity, they want a life of self determination.” Paul Ryan, who thinks there is dignity to be found in an empty stomach.

Gift Suggestion: Texas State Technical College in Harlingen is sending their coeds off on Spring Break with drink coasters that can detect if their drink has been spiked with date rate drugs. Get a dozen for your daughter.

Rocking The Boat: Qatar has, for several years, been supporting the Muslim Brotherhood and Islamist movements in the Middle East. These movements tend to promote popular demands for democracy and political Islam, neither of which is popular with the dictators in Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain, which explains why they've summoned their ambassadors home for 'consultations.'

Counterintuitively: A study by IMF economists finds that reducing a society's inequality by redistributing the nation's wealth does not hurt economic growth. Past experience suggests “ redistribution, and the associated reduction in inequality, seem to be robustly associated with higher and more durable growth.” Don't tell Paul Ryan. 
 
Musical Chairs: 44% of 22-27 year old college grads are working at jobs that only require a high school diploma. Which is why the high school grads are simply dropping out of the work force – the only jobs they can compete for are in Bangladesh.

Easy One: Why is the recovery so puny? In a word: Inequality. While the 1% have done nicely, the rest of us haven't seen a real raise in our income for getting on 30 years. For a long while we could go ever more in debt to keep up consuming, but no more. So with no money and no credit, we're not buying stuff and we are certainly not buying houses. 
 
There's Waldo! Repo companies are tapping into the growing nation-wide license plate reading technology to locate vehicles whose owners have defaulted on their loans. Scanners collect plate scans of 40 percent of all US vehicles annually, recording where & when, so if you're going to skip out on your bail, take the wife's car.

Protecting And Serving: Prosecutors in Summit County Ohio want to try a 14-year old for murder as an adult because his IQ is only 70 and is too dumb to be rehabilitated.

It's All About The Dignity: The GOP wants to cut the Earned Income Tax Credit – which they once liked because it rewarded the working poor for working – by $217 billion over the next decade. This will take $2,000 a year away form a working mom trying to feed two kids on a minimum wage job. But she'll feel independent and self-reliant. And hungry.

The Parting Shot: 

  Bearded Fireworm, Hemodice carunculata.