SAR #14140

The world changes very slowly, except when it doesn't.

Halfway: A court has ordered Utah to recognize same-sex marriages. And another federal judge told PA that its ban on same-sex marriages was unconstitutional. That makes 25 states and DC; same-sex marriage is now available to 44 percent of the U.S. population. But nearly 3 billion people live in places where being gay is a crime.

The Anti-Dope: Remember, almost everything you think you know about Ukraine was filtered though the US propaganda lens. To begin with, can you spell 'oligarchs'? 'Pogrom'? What real actions has Russia undertaken – as opposed to posturing? Has the South forgotten the Civil War?

Or Else... The Air Force says it is considering removing the rules that now prevent superior officers from proselytizing their underlings...like asking for Volunteers for Jesus. 

 

Prophets & Loss: North Korea has suffered decades of sanctions aimed at preventing their development of nuclear weapons. You know, those things that go bang and will be quite worrisome, especially in that Kim & company are getting closer to putting a nuclear warhead on a missile. Ah, sanctions. Scared Putin, too.

Optimist: David Macary is worried that in ten years we will have no privacy whatever. Ten years? Maybe it'll take the NSA that long, but the private sector knows what and how much you drink, where you are all the while, if you're one of the Miracle Whip minority and everything else they can buy from folks who track your credit cards, cell phones, internet use and perhaps you'd better quit taking the laptop to bed.

To Protect and Serve: Republicans in NC want to make telling the public what the fracking companies are pumping into the ground and scattering around the environment a felony. Too bad taking your marching orders from frackers isn't one, too.

Jammed: Chris Christie – who apparently doesn't want to be President – says that NJ will balance the state budget by taking $2.43 billion out of the public workers retirement fund. He tried selling the George Washington Bridge, but it turned out not to be his to mess with. Anymore.

Know Thyself: The good news is that only 1 out of 5 homeowners with a mortgage is underwater now, down from 1 out of 3 back in 2012. The bad news is that 1 out of 5 homeowners with a mortgage is still underwater. Step out on your porch and count the nearest five houses and guess which one is... Oh, you don't have to step out?

Whose Bread, Whose Butter? House Republicans have managed to force the Agriculture Department to delay requiring that schools provide nutritious meals to students, so those who make less-than-acceptable foodstuffs can keep making them. 

 

The Parting Shot: