SAR #13326

Capitalism's solution is to endlessly increase demand. 

 
Getting Serious: When told by the rich, polluting nations that have poisoned our atmosphere that they were (a) going to keep burning coal and (b) not going to lift a finger to help their victims, 132 of the world's poorest countries walked out of the UN climate talks in Warsaw. Just 90 companies cause 63% of man-made carbon emissions. Maybe it is time to walk out on them, too.

Not The News : Members of the US Senate have found ‘No evidence’ that NSA snooping on all of us all the time has been of any value in the war on terror. As if that were the point...

Miracle Drugs: In another breakthrough, health nuts are now claiming they have proof that eating nuts is not only healthy, but that it will keep you alive practically forever. And if you get the new statin-coated ones, you will have to get a permission slip from your doctor to die. Void where prohibited, prices slightly higher west of the Rockies, your results may vary, ask your doctor what is acceptable for you to die of, and when. 
 
All Your Memories Are Belong To Us: The government says that prisoners trying to prove they were tortured cannot use their memories of having been tortured because that would reveal classified secrets. 
 
Christmas Came Early: Harry Reid and the Democrats have wrested a limited amount of control away from the minority that has been tying up government for years not by reverting to simple majority rule at least on presidential nominees. It's been a long time coming and is all the more welcome for that.

Last Straw: The FCC has proposed to permit the use of cell phones in flight once the plane is above 10,000 feet and you are not seated next to me. Noise canceling headphone reviews here.
The Downward Spiral: The CBO has once again revised downward its projection for how much health care will cost Medicare and Medicaid. Contrary to what you've been repeatedly told, the government's medical costs are not wildly escalating. There was no spending growth in Medicare between 2010 and 2013 and the per-person costs for Medicaid actually decreased. Health care spending is growing at the slowest rate on record, and health-care price inflation is at its lowest rate in 50 years. Don't tell Paul Ryan, it'd ruin his day.

Fill In The Blank: Oklahoma’s ____________ governor ordered the state’s national guard to halt all spousal enrollment for benefits rather than let even one same-sex couple get a penny from the state.

Focal Point: As Boeing's machinists are pointing out, there's a perceptible difference between jobs and decent jobs paying decent wages. Wall Street likes jobs – propaganda jobs – not well paying jobs, which eat into manufacturers' record profits. Blame it on whatever you like – the Fed, globalization, structural changes, corporations seeking cheap labor overseas, - but the real problem is the destruction of unionized labor in the US. Thank you, Republican Party.

Balancing The Books: A new study of Pentagon bookkeeping revealed that trillions of dollars have gone missing, but because the Treasury Department insists that the books balance, the Pentagon routinely plugs in fake numbers to account for the unaccounted for money. In a line item called 'unaccounted' or 'misplaced'. Which makes the books balance. It's an accounting thing. 
 
Plus ça Change: Back in the good old days when we treasured our privacy and adored the FBI, it was busy secretly watching The David Frost Show to monitor such threats to national security as Attorney General Ramsey Clark, John Kenneth Galbraith, Sen. Edmund Muskie, and even Attorney General John Mitchell. And without help from NSA, too.

Porn O'Graph: Light and fluffy.