From "Some Assembly Required" -- "The war on science will do far more harm than Al Qadea ever could."

Some stuff from "Some Assembly Required" -- please follow link to original
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Insight: The commentariat are beginning to suggest the US taxpayer could be stuck bailing out Europe. Could be?

Drama? Where's the Drama? The US debt ceiling was increased by $500 billion last week – without threats, histrionics or a repeat of Republican speeches warning of sackcloth and ashes. Civilization did not, it must be noted, did not end.

Signpost? A doubling of capacity at a Saudi Arabian cement factory has been postponed due to the “non-availability of a fuel allocation”.

This Day In History: The fraud that caused the current crisis began long before the 2007 crash and continues today. Yet no one was sent to jail. According to the former IG for TARP, “Before the financial crisis, the banks were essentially lying to the purchasers of the mortgages about the quality.” And the robo-signing “is just a symptom of that. Banks have not yet figured out a way to undo the wrongs they caused.” Yet no one is being sent to jail.

Diagnosis:Roads and bridges in the US are literally falling apart because local governments cannot find the money to fix them. Transportation networks are becoming vast parking lots because state governments have no money to expand and improve them. But never fear, private enterprise will come to the rescue. If you don't believe me, just ask an anti-tax Republican.

Be Prepared: It is not too early late to ask what a post-euro Europe will look like. Almost, but not quite. Do it quietly so as not to disturb those in high places who are busy solving the wrong problems.

Jobs Are Job One: Paul Ryan thinks businesses should get to use those drawing unemployment benefits for as long as the state pays them. This may marginally differ from slavery but certainly echoes Dickensian poor houses.
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