SAR #14340

Retirement is not a reason to drink early in the day. Life is.

Drilling For Dollars, Not Oil: The energy sector has borrowed about $90 billion in the high-yield market since the 2008 cash, mainly to feed the fracking frenzy. What happens now with crude crippled by 40% and the drillers still owing the banks 100%?

Separately Unequal: The evidence presented to the NY choking grand jury will remain secret in order to “preserve confidence in the system.” The cop who shot an unarmed (black) man in a hallway then spent six minutes on the phone to his PBA representative before calling for an ambulance or informing his commander of the shooting. In Texas a grand jury no-billed a cop who was caught on video beating a (black) female prisoner and slamming her face into a counter. A cop in AZ shot an unarmed (black) man for reaching for a bottle of pills. Prosecutors in Seattle will not press charges against the cop who was caught on video beating and seriously injuring a handcuffed (black) woman. An you don't understand why there are protests?

Enlightened Self Interest: Tony Blair, who has been capitalizing on having been a politician, says politicians are forced to take bribes because they are underpaid.

Numerology: Labor Department reports the US added 321K jobs in November (according to the Establishment Survey), or perhaps only 4K jobs (according to the Household survey), full-time jobs were down 150K, and the participation rate remained at 35-year lows. The unemployment rate remained at 5.8% and the moon is made of blue cheese. Wages remain below 2008 levels while CEO pay has risen 43% since 2009.

Papal Infallibility: In the Vatican, Pope Francis gives the orders. He also takes orders and delivers cappuccino.

Neither / Nor: “At present, there is no conclusive evidence as to whether Governor Christie was or was not aware of the lane closures either in advance of their implementation or contemporaneously as they were occurring, nor is there conclusive evidence as to whether Governor Christie did or did not have involvement in implementing or directing the lane closures.” So claims an investigation into Christie by Christie's co-conspirators. A criminal investigation by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for New Jersey continues.

Gotta Pay The Band: For every dollar a corporation gives to lobbyists to 'influence' politicians and regulators, they receive $760 in subsidies. If you don't own a politician, order yours today...

Government Over-Reach: Rand Paul says that Eric Garner was not killed by an illegal choke hold by out of control NYC cops, but by the politicians who put a $5.85 tax on a pack of cigarettes. There's more, but it's all drivel. 
 
Marching Backward: Turkey's PM, celebrating 80 years of women's suffrage, pointed out that countries where women work outside the home have higher suicide rates than where inequality reigns. President Erdogan, following up on his claim that a Turk discovered the New World, said that the UN was too Christian and that the Nobel Committee was biased. He didn't explain why Orhan Pamuk, the only Turk to win a Noble, had been prosecuted by his government in 2006. 
 
Politically Corrected: The European Court of Human Rights has ordered France to pay between €2,000 and €5,000 for "moral damages," plus between €3,000-€6,000 in legal costs to eight pirates caught off the coast of Somali - because they were not made to walk the plank detained for 48 hours too long before appearing in a court once they'd landed on French soil.

Agreed: Bankers who commit fraud are criminals, just like murderers, and they should go to jail. For life would seem appropriate,but a year per million dollars would be a start.

Porn O'Graph: Digging in.