SAT #15180

Little of what is now happening will end well.

Job Description: Antonin Scalia, who is apparently unaware of his job description, bitched “A system of government that makes the people subordinate to a committee of nine lawyers does not deserve to be called a democracy.” Never mind that the “committee of nine lawyers” is the Supreme Court, one of the three co-equal parts of the government of the United States, whose constitutional responsibility is to ensure that the laws of the country (to which the citizens must submit) conform to the Constitution. At least five of the Justices were doing their jobs. Scalia, not so much.

Protecting And Serving: As part of their community outreach effort to the Muslim community, New York police ticketed hundreds of cabbies while they were attending mosque for Ramadan Friday prayers.

Clarification: Yes, we're facing the sixth great mass extinction. We are not the dinosaurs, we're the asteroid, but we're not going to make out very well either.

The Family Album: Military prosecutors report that they have unearthed 14,000 CIA photos from torture conducted in black sites in Afghanistan, Lithuania, Poland, Romania and Thailand. Defense attorneys want access to the photos, as will the International War Crimes tribunal. Note that these are apparently official CIA documents that were overlooked when the agency was busy destroying the viedos. 
 
The Bill Clements Defense: Rick Scarborough, the Texas preacher who said he would set himself on fire if the Supreme Court ruled in favor of gay marriage now says that he did not mean that he would actually set himself on fire, and besides, there wasn't a bible in the room.

When You're Right, You're Right: Norway’s Prime Minister Erna Solberg has described Nato’s insistence that all member states spend at least 2% of their GDP on defense as “nonsense.” An understatement.

Yeah, Boo: Massachusetts has raised the minimum hourly pay for home care workers to $15 an hour. Brave of them, until you compare the size of the affected employers and number of employees, say, Wally World or Macky D.

Doing Unto Others: Illegal immigrants in 35 California counties have granted access to healthcare. First thing you know they'll be talking about it as a universal basic human right.

Just Say “Yes!”: In Iceland, seven bankers have been jailed for illegal market manipulation. See, it wasn't that difficult after all. It may not stop bankers from stealing, but it certainly will stop these guys for a while.

Down Is The New UP: American consumers are expressing greater confidence in the economy as the economy cools and the rate of GDP growth falls. We've lowered our expectations and still aren't too upset when they're not met. 
 
Two To Tangle: A lot of people who are quite happy to point out that leaving the euro would be a disaster for Greece conveniently overlook the disaster it will be for the euro and the grand experiment. And it is also quite possible that leaving the eurozone would be far easier on most Greeks than an indefinite period of servitude to German banks.