Monday, April 6, 2015

SAR #15096



Labor Pains: Last week the BLS reported that a record 93.2 million Americans were “not in the labor force” - after another 277,000 dropped out in March, making it 2.1 million who have walked away in the last year. The participation rate dropped to 62.7%, the lowest level since 1978, when mom went to work. 
 
Mother's Little Helpers: This summer elements of the US Army's 173rd Airborne Brigade - from their pretty new compound in Vicenza, Italy - will take part in military training exercises with Ukrainian troops including at least one avowedly Nazi battalion.

His Master's Voice: Goldman Sachs has told the Fed that “the right policy would be to put [interest rate] hikes on hold for now,” because “it is hard to be reasonably confident” in the inflation outlook given current economic conditions. They stopped short of publicly begging for more free money, but a wink's as good as a nod.

Security: US cops killed more than 100 people in March. Lawsuits are pending.

Edukation: Two Kansas school districts are being forced to end the school year early because they ran out of money after Gov. Sam Brownback (R, of course) cut school funding in an attempt to attract anti-evolutionists high tech industry to the state through lower taxes
 
Assisted Suicide: Naturally the two young women arrested for conspiring to use a weapon of mass destruction – namely a propane tank – had been talked into doing so by agents provocateur undercover agents. Better known as being set up by the cops who suggested the idea, provided the instructions and led the dupes to the materials, as routine in these cases.

Repeat After Me: “Ms _______, this procedure will terminate the life of a whole, separate, unique living human being that is protected by the US Constitution and with whom you have an existing relationship that will be terminated by this procedure. I am required to tell you, even though it is not true, that this abortion will increase the risk of suicide ideation and suicide.” Note to doctors: The State of South Dakota requires you to read these exact words aloud to your patient, preferably in a flat, expressionless monotone. 
 
Show Time: If California was actually serious about adressing its water problems it would prohibit all watering of lawns and landscape or washing of cars unless the water was recycled “grey water.” The drought in California is very bad and going to get much worse
 
Grinches: Republican legislators in MO want to prevent people from using food stamps to buy "cookies, chips, energy drinks, soft drinks, seafood or steak." The junk food prohibitions are pretty much already in the law and are in the general spirit of the program – providing needed nutrition to the needy. But the ban seafood (say catfish or tilapia) and steak (any flat piece of beef is called steak) is simply mean spirited. Kansas wants to keep welfare recipients from using the up to $497 monthly in cash assistance to pay for cruises, spas, lingerie or psychics.

Left Hand/Right Hand: Asked about the National Institute on Drug Abuse report citing medical marijuana as effective in treating brain tumors, the Justice Department said they didn't give a rat's ass about whatever good it might do, they were going to rid the country of the scourge of pot and pot smokers even if they have to ignore Federal law to do so - especially those who think state laws will protect them. 
 
Porn O'Graph: On average, it's above average.

4 comments:

Michael R said...

If California were actually serious about addressing its water problems, it would order the alfalfa farms shuttered.

http://www.arb.ca.gov/fuels/lcfs/workgroups/lcfssustain/hanson.pdf

But you won't read it in the news (file under: things that make you go "hmmm").

Michael R said...

Also, too:

//So we find ourselves in a position where the local agencies have no incentive to help customers become more efficient. They are already freaking out over the possibility of a "death spiral", where they keep raising rates and customers use less and less water in response, to the point where the local agencies can't pay their debt and go bankrupt.
This is a governance structural conundrum that has never been addressed at the federal or state level, but if they want to see truly
effective water efficiency programs, they're going to have to change the structure of the system.//

http://blogs.kqed.org/science/audio/a-candid-conversation-with-californias-water-czar/#comment-1924374898

Charles Kingsley Michaelson, III said...

And almonds should go away, too. But more intersting is the idea that with less water to sell, even if they raise the price there will not be enouch income to service the debts that built the current systems.

And how much will massive denationalization plants cost? And how much energy do they require?

Pretty much survival, at least in California and the Great American Southwest will be unaffordable. And then all those mortgages and all those city bonds become confetti...

Ah, interesting times.

Anonymous said...

Re: If California was actually serious about adressing its water problems ...

It wouldn't be planing on adding more housing:

http://www.sacbee.com/news/business/real-estate-news/article13834292.html

There's no water shortage until the rich people are affected.