As if the unabated rise of the euro to the dollar isn't enough to get the stars and stripes steamed, news rolls in that the combined GDP of the 15 countries that use the euro -- best known as the euro zone -- just topped the list of world's top economies, taking the spot from long-time heavyweight champion US and A (to use the Boratian nomenclature).

Paul Abrams, blogging at the HuffPo, notes with bitter irony the evident fallacy of the neocons mantra: that social programmes (i.e.the taxes that pay for them) and prosperity are mutually exclusive in Bush Screws America, Again: Economy Slips to #2. One commenter sees a devious strategy at work by the powers that be, "The people in charge of the American Media don't want this sort of conversation because it would depress consumer spending. Far better that we keep interest rates low, encourage the people to ignore the danger as long as possible, and buy as much time as possible for the rich and informed to convert their assets to non-dollar denominated assets before the crash."