Applause for Obama’s Thoughtful Stand on Infrastructure Investment

-

7

The New America Foundation’s Sherle Schwenninger and industrialist and philanthropist Bernard Schwartz were out way ahead of the pack in calling for massive government commitment to infrastructure investment. Now this has become conventional wisdom of late.

Obama’s Team Needs to Drop Phobia Towards Arab-Americans and Muslims

-

24

A couple of well-placed insiders have told me that US Ambassador to the United Nations Zalmay Khalilzad is going to make a quick split after the November 4th election. Some think he is going to position himself to run for the presidency of Afghanistan — which I sincerely hope he does not do.

Barack’s Infomercial

-

31

I thought that the idea of a 30 minute infomercial on Barack Obama’s approach to policy and life had more downside than upside. I think I was right overall — but Obama’s performance and the package as a whole hit the target — and despite the risk — they will get more upside from this….

Don’t Vote

-

11

This is a surprisingly moving and interesting video featuring Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Cruise, Cameron Diaz, Snoop Dogg, Harrison Ford, Julia Roberts, Ben Stiller, Will Smith, Steven Spielberg, Justin Timberlake, along with Sacha Baron Cohen as Borat, Zach Braff, Colin Farrell, Neil Patrick Harris, Scarlett Johansson, Shia LeBeouf, Tobey Maguire, Ryan Reynolds, and Jason Segal.

Striking Syria–A step back for American Foreign Policy?

-

24

Sunday’s strike of a compound in Syria by American Special Forces, purported to have killed important Al Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) smuggler Abu Ghadiya will have broad strategic consequences for America and the Middle East as a whole.

Bartlesville Gas and the Downside of Dropping Prices at the Pump

-

18

I snapped this picture on Monday morning this week in Bartlesville, Oklahoma where I paid $2.09 a gallon for gas. Bartlesville is the original home base of Frank Phillips and Phillips 66 (now ConocoPhillips). This ought to worry everyone. We’ll be under $2.

America’s Wrong-Headedness on Cuba

-

10

When I find myself nodding in agreement with about 75% of what Jorge Mas Santos, the Chairman of the Cuban American National Foundation, is saying in a critique of George W. Bush’s wrong-headed US-Cuba policy, I know the world is changing and sense that South Florida politics may be undergoing a sea change.