Back to normal . . .

The three day July 4th weekend is over and everything is back to normal.

Casey Anthony was found not guilty by a jury of twelve, the ones who had actually heard and seen all of the evidence for the past six weeks, but the jury of public opinion, who had viewed the trial as rabidly as if it were the first season of American Idol or the final episode of Bachelor, voted guilty from their perfect vantage point. It is amazing how a jury was picked that disagreed so absolutely with the Jerry Springer audience. What were those twelve people thinking?

You thought the recession of 2007 to the present was bad? Those years will look like the good old days if Congress doesn't get off its legislative derriere and raise the federal debt ceiling. It is a no- brainer. The money has already been spent. Defaulting on debt by the government will cause a dramatic rise in interest, a cessation of governmental services, and a potentially final nail in the coffin of the economy. Treasury bonds, a chunk of which is held by China and other countries, will be suspect, and they will very difficult to sell, and thus our huge equity line of credit will be cancelled. But if you have no problem with stiffing the likes of China (which would be a big mistake), consider the fact that if you have an interest in mutual funds or retirement accounts you too are probably the proud owners of such bonds. Your retirement account will also become suspect. Your social security check, or that of your parents, which is due to hit the local post office or direct deposit on August 3 may be delayed awhile. There will probably be insufficient funds to cover the payment.

But Congress, who has never seriously considered refusing to raise the debt ceiling, is apparently doing just that. If the Republicans do not get everything they want, dramatic spending cuts and absolutely no new taxes, including taxes that would actually be generated by closing loopholes in the present tax code, they say they are willing to let America default on its debt.

Exxon Mobile, the most profitable corporation the world has ever seen, who in the past year has gained five million dollars in profit per hour (not revenue, I'm talking profit), suffered a leak in its pipeline under the Yellowstone River in Montana last Friday. As of today Exxon Mobil officials said they "were curious" about the rupture in the pipeline, which so far has spilled over 42,000 gallons of oil into the local river, coating the water, the coastline, and local wildlife, and fouling the air with noxious fumes, none of which the Exxon Mobil officials on the scene have noticed, at least until confronted by residents whose relatives had to be taken to the hospital. They have yet to discover a way to handle the spill in the mighty Yellowstone River, which is about the size of the Warrior River of Alabama. Apparently the profits were large because Exxon Mobil used none of them to enhance its response to oil spills. The spill occurred less than two weeks after local governments had requested EM to consider whether the continued operation of the pipeline under the river during floods posed any threats. Exxon Mobil said there was no threat.

I don't know if I can make it to Labor Day.

.