The Big Empty 'O'

We at 'Ants & Grasshoppers' have been here working diligently at this site for over three years... Doing all we can to warn people that things are not rosy or peachy keen as the politicians and media stress

A small flashlight (not even a beacon) in a sea of thick dense 24/7 corporate spin fog; the bullshit of Recovery

And when times are good and all the untruths feel too good to dismiss, our readership does quite nicely.. we're more than happy with the consistent size

And when there's any kind of crisis or panic and people seek out truthful information, our numbers see a Quite sizable spike..

And the last week or so..

As broadcaster Keith Jackson would have said to describe our recent readership numbers, "Ohh Nellie!" (or "Ohh Doctor!)

Its Astonishing really..

We'd say business was booming but since we're not trying to sell you anything.. you know...

So anyways, last week we mentioned in a posting how much we hate the word 'compromise'.   Today we add another word to the 'hate' list: optimism i.e. that empty illogical feeling of being optimistic..

As meaningless a word as 'Hope'.

Yes we know.. 'Bah Humbug' us and all that..   Thanks :-)

Since as of 2am EST October 16th there's no debt ceiling agreement in place with technically a full day or so left on the ole' countdown ticker, we thought for "fun" we would go on Google News and keyword 'optimism' or 'optimistic' with the phrase 'debt ceiling' and see what headlines we came up with

~ "We're optimistic something will magically occur to save all our lives"

All results based on news articles within last 3-4 days..

October 12:

'Senseless Optimism? U.S. Stocks Rally Hard Ahead Of Possible Debt Limit Deal' (Forbes)

'Some Senate Republicans express optimism after meeting Obama on debt limit, shutdown' (Washington Post)

October 13:

'As government shutdown talks shift to Senate, Reid optimistic despite no compromises' (Reuters)

~ "I am very optimistic I will get out of this predicament unharmed..."

October 14:

'Reid "very optimistic" he and McConnell can reach a deal on shutdown, debt ceiling' (CBS News)

'Investors Optimistic Debt Ceiling Agreement Can be Reached' (AP)   ** Yes, we wouldn't those G-D scavengers to have any worry in their continual pursuit of never-ending profit

'Closing Bell: Stocks Rise on Optimism About a Debt Ceiling Deal' (DailyFinance)

'Stocks gain on debt ceiling optimism' (NewsDay)

'Senate leaders optimistic on debt, budget deals' (MarketWatch)

'European Stocks Climb Amid Optimism Over US Debt-Ceiling Deal' (Bloomberg)

~ "We have optimism others will see our true inner-beauty in this position"

October 15:

'Treasurys fall on debt-ceiling deal optimism' (MarketWatch)

'US Government Shutdown: Senate Leaders Optimistic About Raising Debt Ceiling' (International Business Times)

All of them... G-D idiots...

Being optimistic the ceiling will be raised is like being optimistic the sun will come out tomorrow (you can bet your bottom dollar..) because yes sure, ultimately it will..

BUT...

Will it before Thursday?  Doubt it..

And if it does we were all once again subjected to 'Peter an the Wolf'..  And if the ceiling is not raised by Thursday then really So What??!!

The real line in the sand date is November 1st..  That's when Social Security comes into play..  It shouldn't come into play but desperate leaders do desperate things and no way Big 'O' is going to let the Republicans or Tea-Partyites win this battle..

So it could be some scorched-earth Chicago-style politics we will all feel the effects of.

As is it, its comical how last month we had the financial means at our disposal to pay for war with Syria and last week to un-furlough 400,000 Pentagon employees (half of those furloughed) yet can't come up with the money to keep the national parks open...

Perhaps if we just cut Secret Service funding, that will allow the parks and museums to re-open..  Fair compromise, yes?

Its all so tiring..

Even if there's no agreement and say the market drops 1,000 pts on Friday followed by another 1,000 on Monday, all it means is that once the agreement is made to raise the ceiling, the market will jump 2,000 the following day..

In a perfect world, it would drop 2,000 because Professional Capital I Investors lose their shirts, not consciously temporarily take it off

Ah, the wonderful System we all live in.. our 'Matrix'..

Established so if the Big Boys n Girls ever have to take a sincere financial hit, there's enough everyday person human-shields to take the financial collateral damage.

'If we lose money and are destroyed, you will be too..  And if we keep making money hand over fist then.. oh, are you still here??'

Anyways we have more important things to worry about..

There's a marathon of Gillian's Island episodes on local TV we simply can not miss for the world!

And for the record, we are quite optimistic those castaways will ultimately get off that island and back to mainland..

Eventually.. ~whistles