SAR #15297

Surveillance presumes secrets.

Variation On A Theme: When the anti-austerity left won the Greek elections, the EU/ECB/IMF thwarted the will of the citizenry and used their financial hammers to control the country in order to keep the bond-holders happy and the euro alive. A similar drama appears to be unfolding in Portugal, where a coalition of leftist parties hold the majority but appear to be being kept from power with the constitutional president reportedly refusing to permit the duly elected anti-austerity and strongly eurosceptic parties from taking office. It will get noisy, very noisy, before this gets settled.

Who We Are: Given that Donald Trump talks to the voters using a fourth-grade vocabulary and Bernie Sanders talks to the same folks as though they'd at least made it to high school, guess who's gonna win.

So? Some bleeding heart liberals who don't understand profit margins claim that resettling Syrian refugees would cost lest and result in fewer deaths than widening the war on whoever it is we're at war with at the moment. Or the next moment.

Run, Don't Walk: Mainstream economists are starting to mutter vaguely about the possible risk of a new recession in the US. Just as we were getting used to this one.

Because Donations: While seriously underfunding the Department of Transportation, House Republicans have voted to remove all records of trucking company accidents and traffic safety information from the public record. That'll teach those pesky personal injury lawyers and their crippled clients.

It's Come To This: The American Academy of Pediatrics want all US doctors to screen every child they see for signs of malnutrition or hunger.

Longer Arm Of The Law: An amendment to the cybersecurity bill pending in Congress would give the US the right to pursue, prosecute and jail foreign nationals for doing things in foreign countries with other foreigners as victims. The crime does not have to happen in the US. Neither the perpetrator nor the victim need ever ti gave been in the US. For 10 words or less, explain how Congress got the right to give this supposed right to US courts, without citing an appropriate passage of the Old Testament.

It's Just Money: Canada's new liberal government thinks it can do better than pay $10 billion for a bunch of F-35 fighter jets that can't fight.

Because Stealth: Not satisfied with their goal of having everyone in the country carrying a concealed weapon, now the gun nuts want the right to secretly buy silencers for their guns. But only to protect the hearing of those who fire off a box or two of ammo on a Friday night. Has nothing to do with being able to gun down children without making too much noise.

Eeny, Meeny, Miny, Moe: Guess which “one country” stopped the UN from urging the world-wide decriminalization of the personal possession and use of drugs – all drugs.

Representatives: The House Republicans have – for the 61st time – voted to repeal Obamacare. They did not even hold a hearing on raising the debt ceiling, because that isn't as important as their compulsory groupthink session. Beats working for a living.

W/O Comment: The annual Love and Sex With Robots conference has been canceled. The robots couldn't get time off.