SAR #15211

“We will access, disclose and preserve personal data, including your content (such as the content of your emails, other private communications or files in private folders), when we have a good faith belief that doing so is necessary.” Microsoft

Spade, Spade: Huckabee is right, the reason Donald Trump is doing so well in the polls is because he is saying things a great number of delusional, ignorant, angry and irrational people feel to be true. He gives them permission to vent their hate and vote their insecurities. And if his popularity does not scare you, go back and study the rise of Hitler and Mussolini. A lot of smug Republicans think The Donald cannot be their candidate. They are wrong. 
 
Assigned Reading: “What Recovery?” in the July 28 Harper's. 
 
To Bed Without Suffer: JPMorgan has officially apologized for being a criminal enterprise, but in its defense points out that the $5.89 billion in fines the 5 too-big-to-flail banks are paying for cheating nearly everyone in the world only amounts to 3% of their annual earnings. If anyone seriously wanted to stop this sort of chicanery, all that would be required would be to send just one of these CEO's to jail. Ain't gonna happen.

Land Of Milk And Honey: In none of these United States can a single minimum wage earner afford a one-bedroom apartment. 
 
The Way We Were. And Are: White folks are beginning to realize that the criminal justice system isn’t broken. It is not broken, it is fixed. It's been fixed for generations. Against the poor and the black, which is nearly always redundant.

Pounds For Pounds: In Merrie Olde, PM David Cameron has decided that if you are obese and fail to lose weight at your weekly weigh-in in the public square, you will lose £100 from your public benefits that week. 
 
Suction: The super-rich have siphoned off at least $21 trillion and hidden it from the tax collector. That sum is larger than the entire American economy. Tell me again why we can't afford Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, or decent infrastructure. No, we don't need reform. Think bigger.

Wrong Answer: Every time someone uses a gun to kill a bunch of people, more Americans think that more guns is the solution. 
 
Average Averages: “The researchers used Bayesian statistical analyses of 354 dates taken from 30 sites on more than four continents. By using Bayesian analysis, the researchers were able to calculate more robust age models through multiple, progressive statistical iterations that consider all related age data.” 
 
Contemplation: The investment gurus are once again telling us that “gold is doomed,” because gold “is really a bet that the people in charge don't know what they are doing.” Mine's buried in the back yard.

Fire In A Crowded Theater: The American Beverage Association is suing San Francisco because the city requires a warning on soda pop that says it contributes to obesity, diabetes and death and prohibits ads for sugary drinks on city property because they have a First Amendment right to poison their customers. 
 
For Better Or For Worse: What happens in the fall of 2016 if the 20% of Republicans who are dumb, angry, racist or simply stupid prevail during the primaries – remember it's the crazies foaming at the mouth who show up at the primary polls – and The Donald is the GOP nominee? They can't kick him out and they can't let him stay. Stay tuned, this is going to get good before it gets to be very sad. Maybe we could have Trump-Palin.

Parasitism: One of the primary causes of wage stagnation in the United States is the huge amount of money the financial services (Wall Street) sector sucks out of the productive economy.

Long Story Short: After 50 years of imminent failure, Medicare and Medicaid are still “eminently sustainable” and are the biggest social policy successes in modern history. Jeb Bush is not just wrong, he is hopelessly wrong. Republicans hate any program that shows the government can successfully provide a universal safety net. They also hate the idea that the private insurance companies cannot get their hands on the program and make immense profits while denying claims. 
 

Apology:

Instead of these trifles, I should be ranting about the Cyber Intelligence and Sharing Act, the TPP and its associated cons, talking Turkey, and addressing our pending deflationary cycle. Tomorrow I'll try to do better.