Brew Hah, Hah, Military Spending, Diseased Care

"Bud Lite" will be served at the Peace Picnic of the 21 Century to be convened by Obama, with Gates and Sgt. J. Crowley in attendance. If this is a "teachable moment" it should teach the White House to offer a decent domestic beer. Jesus Christ, a Sam Adams would have been a nice gesture: a brew from Massachusetts that does not make one gag as does Bud lite.

This is what passes for leadership from the President as the Congress is being sodomized by the health industry lobbyists and the military-industrial complex is stuffing its pockets through no bid contracts introduced in the House, defense appropriations bill. To say that these are obscenities is just too kind a description. As the "Blue Dog Dems" rail about spending for heath care, they mostly remain supine over the defense over runs and corruption of the political process that is the earmarks process that allows for pork barrel projects to bloat the defense bill.

Perhaps, the Congress is suffering under the illusion that the financial press is creating that the markets have been rebounding and that the worst is over; so, business as usual. This is too bad for all of us. For the average guy who's pension has lost 40% of its value over the last year, the next downturn will just leave him on the mat where he is already. The banks are hugely exposed to mortgage ARM resets that are coming do over the next two years and the commercial real estate market is sliding off a cliff.

So, sipping lousy beer in the garden with Skip and Jim just doesn't cut it...this country has weigh bigger stuff to deal with than the contra-temp of the Affaire Gates. I can just see how young Black Men are going feel safer because Skip Gates has gotten his pound of flesh from the Cambridge Police Department. Yeah, this is a teachable moment all right...smoke and mirror anyone?

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