The dismal U.S. unemployment numbers have gotten more airtime recently than Jerry Springer. And why not? The numbers are mind-numbing.

I’ve been begging analysts to get real and take off those rose-colored glasses for months now. Their unwarranted optimism has resulted in two incredibly wrong-headed predictions.

Two rarely reported employment trends point to imminent recession. Heads roll on the Street…how the latest firings are pushing the globe to tech bust-level pain. Citigroup’s latest mega write-down. Grains continue their record rise. European, Asian travelers weigh in as readers rage over universal health care.

Last Thursday, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke went before the Senate Banking Committee and defended the decision to bailout Bear Stearns. Banking Committee members wanted to know if it was done to protect the financial system or if it was a bailout at the taxpayers’ expense.

It was Sunday night, and I was sitting down to my usual routine of going through charts and e-mails to prepare for the next day. I had barely been logged on for two minutes when I got an e-mail alert – a news blurb that J.P. Morgan (JPM) was buying Bear Stearns (BSC) for $2 per share. BSC’s stock had closed at $30 on Friday. What a deal!