Make Up Your Damn Mind

The recession is over! Again!

According to AP, "Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke declared today that the U.S. economy is on the verge of a long-awaited recovery after enduring a brutal recession and the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression." This bonehead says, "Economic activity in both the U.S. and around the world appears to be leveling out, and the prospects for a return to growth in the near term appear good."

Apparently, the fed missed this little nugget, also announced today: California's unemployment rate climbed to 11.9% in July, the highest number in modern record-keeping. That's an increase from 11.6% in June and a gargantuan hike since the jobless rate of 7.3% a year ago. Some 87,000 Californians lost jobs last month.

California is among 15 states and the District of Columbia that have jobless rates above 10%.

What fucking planet is Washington on, anyway? Certainly not the one I inhabit, where the only things I dare use my money for are groceries, utilities, rent and, um, a smattering of gin. Perhaps if we laid off 11.9% of Senators and Congressmen, someone might notice that this nation has not recovered.