Billions for a bagel

(Okay, the guy who posed for that iconic crying Tonto ad was actually Jewish but what’s wrong with using him to depict one of the lost tribes? Ask Mitt. And at least they didn’t photoshop off one of his legs.)

But here’s the deal: our own phony Indians, those black guys up in Moodus – (?) somewhere in Connecticut’s desolate northeast – have run out of money and are trying to recast their deal with their creditors. Just like Greece, they’ve already been declared a group likely to be “unable to continue as a going concern”, which is pretty much like saying a lung cancer patient is in “stable condition”. The boyz have squandered their billions, owe billions more, had to cease handing out cash to their hanger-on constituents and bankruptcy is next. What happens then to the $100 million or so they’ve been passing along to Connecticut pols? Brace yourself, Bridget. I wonder what an all-feta diet will taste like?

Brokovich, center, and Green Peace expert investigators

Famous fraudster and eminent medical authority Erin Brokovich is shuffling off to Buffalo to find the cause of Tourette Syndrome afflicting teen-aged girls.

The Associated Press reported that two doctors concluded that 10 of the girls were suffering from a condition called conversion disorder — one that causes symptoms but has no physical cause.

That’s no reason not to make a movie out of it.

Off to the safety of Libya!

Egypt runs out of foreign capital as Islamists take over.

After months of refusing to bargain with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Egypt’s government has begun negotiations for a $3.2 billion loan, or less than the amount of capital flight in December alone. The involvement of the IMF evidently did little to reassure the Egyptian investors who sat out Sunday’s Treasury auction.

It seems unlikely that Egypt’s central bank will be able to prevent a banana-republic devaluation of the Egyptian pound, and a sharp rise in prices for a population of whom half barely consumes enough to prevent starvation. The difference between Egypt and a banana republic, though, is the bananas: unlike the bankrupt Latin Americans, who exported food, Egypt imports half its caloric consumption…

Nearly half of Egyptians are functionally illiterate. Nine-tenths of adult women have suffered genital mutilation. Almost a third of Egyptians marry first or second cousins, the fail-safe indicator of a clan-based society. Half of Egyptians live on less than $2 a day, and must spend half of that on food.

I made MY money, sucker

Sixteen scientists say global warming is a crock. The disdain and contempt heaped on “deniers” by the entire establishment press won’t stop, of course; the CO2 scare will just be allowed to fade away while the centrists dream up another bogeyman with which to scare the populace and grab more power.

Although the number of publicly dissenting scientists is growing, many young scientists furtively say that while they also have serious doubts about the global-warming message, they are afraid to speak up for fear of not being promoted—or worse. They have good reason to worry. In 2003, Dr. Chris de Freitas, the editor of the journal Climate Research, dared to publish a peer-reviewed article with the politically incorrect (but factually correct) conclusion that the recent warming is not unusual in the context of climate changes over the past thousand years. The international warming establishment quickly mounted a determined campaign to have Dr. de Freitas removed from his editorial job and fired from his university position. Fortunately, Dr. de Freitas was able to keep his university job.

The Moron of NOPO, Sam Romeo (artist's likeness)

The NOPO Pol led a bunch of Mianus types in a suit against the town over excessive sewer line costs, and he had a point, maybe: too much police overtime, bad construction, whathaveyou. But now, after four years of litigation, a settlement has been reached whereby each plaintiff will receive $2,400 off their sewer bill, spread out over twenty years. So that’s $120 per year. I’d guess that these people spent far more than that on legal fees and for sure the town did. Waste of money.

Food Stamp recipients: + 44%

Direct Payments to Individuals: +32%. According to Obama’s last budget direct payments will account for 2/3 of all federal spending by 2016

Federal benefits (Soc. Sec., federal unemployment benefits, etc.) received by 49% of all house holds, up from 39% in 1983 and a 44% increase from when he took office.

Hope for a change.