Wednesday, February 24, 2016

SAR #16055


Sometimes “tomorrow” is an unwarranted assumption.
Sunshine Units: Wikileaked documents show that the NSA bugged meetings between various EU ministers and their Japanese counterparts discussing secret trade negotiations, meetings between our friend Frau Merkel and UN chief Ban Ki-Moon, as well as discussions between Netanyahu and Berlusconi, as well as private meetings between Sarkozy, Merkel and Berlusconi. Only to fight terrorism, of course.
A rebuttal: I have owned several puppies, seen a number of rainbows and lived where single payer health systems worked just fine; deal me in.
They're Rich, Not Crazy: Since at least last fall, the rich who had supported Romney in 2012 were already donating more to Hillary Clinton’s campaign than the combined amount they had given to 11 of the original 17 Republican tools. This suggests that the main difference between Clinton and the Republican candidates is the rhetoric that would gain her the White House, not the reality of what she would do once there.
Danger, Will Robinson: “Household wealth is increasingly dependent... on home-price appreciation.” Been there, done that.
Pick & Chose: Economist Timothy Taylor has mined the OMB's latest opus and presents a marvelous list of did-you-know's that'll let you pick a couple of supporting facts for whatever it is of yours that needs supporting, from inflation to life expectancy, infant mortality to GDP growth and the increase in the number of Donald Trumps.
Pieces, In Our Time: The sale of arms to dictators, rebels and other scum contines to set new records, up 14% over the last five years. The US corners most of the market.
Tide, Rolling In: Scientists report that the global rate of sea level rise during the last century was the fastest in 2700 years, and the rise continues to accelerate. Except in North Carolina and Oklahoma, where it is illegal, and Miami where it might slow the building of beach front condos. Other scientists expect that the continuing acidification (through CO2 absorption) of the oceans will result in terminal deformities in at least half of all juvenile corals in the near future. Go snorkeling now.
Priorities: LA County taxpayers spend over $233,000 a year for every kid kept in lockup.
Infrastructure Investment: Ted Cruz says he will hire and train enough storm troopers develop sufficient personnel staffing and infrastructure – both fixed facilities and the requisite transportation and logistics systems – to locate, arrest, process and deport 12 million immigrants. This, he says, will free up several million minimum wage service and maintenance jobs for our indebted college graduates.
A Parting Shot:

5 comments:

Gegner said...

Double fire eacapes...must want to be able to get out of there in a hurry!

Re: Rebuttal: Yes, Bernie's plan to 'finish' universal healthcare (over Hillary's dead body) is one of the planks of his platform I didn't criticize yesterday...and I'm still an avid Bernie supporter!

RE: Priorities: Hidden behind the numbers is the 'privatization' of the, er, 'criminal reform system' which does neither.

The serious question here is temporarily removing criminals from society is supposed to accomplish what exactly?

Prison, like putting a kid on 'timeout' (often with their favorite toys) only teaches the 'detainee' to be more careful next time. To make matters worse, it appears more often than not the accused is likely innocent but received jail time solely to fill the coffers of the 'for profit' prison complex.

It's also the 'left-handed' way to 'reduce the surplus population' which is to point out it would be much more efficient to have given the perp a job in the first place...and there's no lack of things that need doing.

The world is crumbling but the nitwit 'budget hawks' refuse to authorize the necessary repairs. Worse, like Flint, the desire to save money has put millions of lives in danger...(but this might be another, more overt, method of dealing with the 'surplus population'...

Um, @ Anon @ 6:37 AM, previous comment section, Would you care to elaborate on how the lowest labor force participation rates since WWII and the resulting homelessness that has created is a 'non-problem?

Jesse said...


I love today's urban functional photo.

Thank you for sharing more of your work with photos. You have a very good eye for beauty, and often in unexpected places.

kwark said...

RE "A rebuttal": But since the not quite invisible finger on the scale (superdelegates) is on Hillary's side . . .

RE "Infrastructure Investment": What! He'd create ANOTHER huge government bureaucracy! Clearly he's NOT a REAL Republican. And much like in "They're Rich, Not Crazy" I'd guess this is empty rhetoric that jerks like the Tedster will say to excite his delusional supporters - something tells me the business community might have something less than favorable to say about this suggestion once the foaming at the mouth has dissipated after this election cycle.

RE Parting Shot: Love this shot. It occurred to me that it must not be in Flint where there might be doors but no stairs - stairs would likely be considered an unnecessary luxury.

Gegner said...

Re: Pieces...for the moment it is one of the few things the US remain #1 at, we are the largest global 'merchants of death'.

Then there's de j'vous Classically using the catchphrase of the Robinson's family robot. It fell apart BOTH TIMES because the pool of buyers don't earn sufficient income to support the outrageous prices and they still don't.

Which is to say nothing has changed...do they think we will not prosecute them again? [I know, there's that word again. Maybe it doesn't mean what I think it means.]

Anonymous said...

@Jesse
Indeed! Escher-esque, today's photo.

-Perrin