SAR #11260

The war on science will do far more harm than Al Qadea ever could.

Definitions: Obama says Americans must "pay their fair share" to narrow the deficit. Whether this is a prelude to taxing the rich or code-speak for increasing the tax burden on the middle class remains to be seen.

Adam's Rib: Creating Israel to assuage communal guilt after World War II was a mistake, one that has led to nearly all of the problems in the Middle East. Allowing Israel to dictate US foreign policy for the region has not helped. Now the US is again choosing to be oblivious to the overwhelming importance that resolving “the Palestinian question” has for Arab public opinion. None of this is exactly news, and the expected US veto of Palestinian statehood will not improve the situation and will likely make it worse.

Insight: The commentariat are beginning to suggest the US taxpayer could be stuck bailing out Europe. Could be?

Drama? Where's the Drama? The US debt ceiling was increased by $500 billion last week – without threats, histrionics or a repeat of Republican speeches warning of sackcloth and ashes. Civilization did not, it must be noted, did not end.

Tweedledee: If Greece is bound to default pretty soon, the banks would prefer it happen on September 20th. Has to do with CDS expiration dates.

Best Defense is Offensive: The Pentagon has threatened Congress that cutting the defense budget will increase unemployment by millions. This is not news - for the last 50 years the US economy has been dependent on the war industry, which has long since been privatized.

Signpost? A doubling of capacity at a Saudi Arabian cement factory has been postponed due to the “non-availability of a fuel allocation”.

This Day In History: The fraud that caused the current crisis began long before the 2007 crash and continues today. Yet no one was sent to jail. According to the former IG for TARP, “Before the financial crisis, the banks were essentially lying to the purchasers of the mortgages about the quality.” And the robo-signing “is just a symptom of that. Banks have not yet figured out a way to undo the wrongs they caused.” Yet no one is being sent to jail.

Diagnosis:Roads and bridges in the US are literally falling apart because local governments cannot find the money to fix them. Transportation networks are becoming vast parking lots because state governments have no money to expand and improve them. But never fear, private enterprise will come to the rescue. If you don't believe me, just ask an anti-tax Republican.

False Dawn: A majority of Germans do not see the benefit of membership in the EU. They don't see much benefit in listening to Geithner's lectures either.

As I've Been Saying: “Sorry, But The Republican Arguments Against A "Millionaire's Tax" Are Just Preposterous.”

Echo? Four people, including an 11-year old, were killed by Syrian security forces over the weekend. Also under the benign indifference of the US and NATO, Yemeni security forces using automatic weapons and anti-aircraft guns attacked tens of thousands of protesting citizens, killing at least 16 and wounding dozens.

Be Prepared: It is not too early late to ask what a post-euro Europe will look like. Almost, but not quite. Do it quietly so as not to disturb those in high places who are busy solving the wrong problems.

Jobs Are Job One: Paul Ryan thinks businesses should get to use those drawing unemployment benefits for as long as the state pays them. This may marginally differ from slavery but certainly echoes Dickensian poor houses.

Runs In The Family:Jeb Bush plans to lead a for-profit disaster response company. His brother, you may remember, also headed up a disaster. No, not Neil and Silverado. The other brother.

Without a Prayer: Michele Bachmann now claims that her husband's “pray the gay away” therapy was an attempt to reverse the aging process – something, she says, “like a mid-life crisis”.