This is a guest note by former Senator Ernest F. “Fritz” Hollings (D-SC) who served for 39 years in the United States Senate. He is the author of Making Government Work, which Steve Clemons recommends for anyone wanting to understand more about legislative structure and process.
Today, the government announced a surge in the national unemployment figure of 10.2% — which seriously underestimates the ‘effective unemployment’ rate of those who have stopped looking for work or who are undermployed. Leo Hindery issues these numbers regularly, and I will post them when I receive them.
For some time, I have been writing that the US has lost sight of its al Qaeda-rationalized strategic objectives in Afghanistan and stumbled into a civil war.
WASHINGTON, DC — 10:00 am — Vice President Joe Biden was raised in Scranton, Pennsylvania and has lived for decades in Wilmington, Delaware — both working middle class communities that have been under siege from both domestic and international economic forces.
Tonight there is a classical music evening at the White House with Alisa Weilerstein (picture to left) and others — and some of my close friends are there.
(photo credit: Spencer Ackerman) US military crusade chronicler Spencer Ackerman has written a long, thoughtful treatment of the issues and players wrestling over the tough calls President Obama must soon make on America’s course in Afghanistan. It’s titled “The Decision” and appears in The National.
This is a guest note by BRIAN KATULIS, Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress. This article first appeared at the Center for American progress website on 2 November 2009, titled “Using U.S.
Matthew Hoh, the first US government official to formally resign his post because of objections to America’s course in Afghanistan, makes a compelling case that America has lost its strategic sensibilities in this war which President Obama has adopted as “the good war”.
Daniel Yergin has issued an updated version of his Pulitzer Prize-winning book, The Prize: The Epic Quest for Oil, Money and Power. When I asked why he chose to release an update of his earlier work, Yergin identified four key factors that have to be added to the energy policy picture.
Karzai Declared Winner. Abdullah Abdullah withdraws from runoff amid concerns about systemic fraud in election system — and Karzai is declared winner. Intrade never had much doubt in the outcome. Clinton Schedules Then Retracts Meeting with Japan Foreign Minister Okada.