Truthout - All Articles

Unemployment Hits 10.2 Percent, Economy Sheds 190,000 Jobs

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 15:39:08 -0500

The strong wage growth reported for October was probably an aberration.

The unemployment rate crossed 10.0 percent for the first time since early 1983, hitting 10.2 percent in October. The establishment survey showed the economy losing another 190,000 jobs, with most of the job loss in construction and manufacturing.

The October unemployment rate is still below the 10.8 percent peak reached in December of 1982, but the workforce is considerably older now and in age cohorts where workers are less likely to be unemployed.

The GOP at War With Itself

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 15:24:32 -0500

Washington - Democrats have some thinking to do after Tuesday's elections, but Republicans don't have time to think. They're too busy trying to survive the party's internal purge and avoid being shipped off to political Siberia.

Dead Last: Hawaii Gets an "F" in Education

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 14:46:38 -0500

Hawaii's public schools are in crisis.

Simply put, there isn't enough money to keep them open full-time. With the State of Hawaii facing a $1 billion budget deficit through the middle of 2011 and a $468 million budget cut to Hawaii's Department of Education, in September the Hawaii State Teachers Association (HSTA) voted to accept a two-year contract that includes 17 furlough days for both the 2009-2010 and 2010-2011 academic years.

The Big Banks Get Drunk, the Little Ones Wasted

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 14:26:29 -0500

By refusing to increase its key interest rate, the Federal Reserve indirectly admits the fragility of the financial system: while the big banks - which have taken refuge in trading activities - are coping, the smallest banks - in contact with the real economy - pay the price for unemployment and bankruptcies.

How Patriotism Can Save America

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 13:48:19 -0500

As a soldier in the United States Army, I have often pondered what it means to be patriotic, what it means to serve our country and what it means to love America. In "Will War Ever End?" I described a dangerous misconception of patriotism that I witnessed while deployed in Baghdad.

Market-Driven Hysteria and the Politics of Death

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 12:13:25 -0500

If we take seriously the ideology, arguments and values now emanating from the right-wing of the Republican Party, there is no room in the United States for a democracy in which the obligations of citizenship, compassion and collective security outweigh the demands of what might be called totalizing market-driven society; that is, a society that is utterly deregulated, privatized, commodified and largely controlled by the ultra-rich and a handful of mega corporations.

Death to No One

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 11:10:44 -0500

Wednesday, November 4, marked the 30th year since the 444-day Iran hostage crisis began in 1979. On this day, the media traditionally offer us images of Iranians burning American flags and effigies of Uncle Sam. We are reminded of the great chasm of mistrust and misunderstanding that has marked the last three decades of US-Iranian relations. But in the past year, both Americans and Iranians have asked for something new. Americans have elected a president who promises to pursue diplomacy and Iranians have given birth to a popular democratic movement.

Senate Rejects Effort to Block Civilian Trials for 9/11 Victims

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 10:46:05 -0500

Washington - After an emotional debate over how to keep Americans safe, the Senate Thursday narrowly defeated an effort to prevent civilian trials in U.S. courts for the accused planners of the 9/11 attacks.

The Senate's 54-45 vote to reject the measure by Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., opens the door for President Barack Obama to bring Khalid Sheik Mohammed, the self-professed mastermind of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, to trial in federal court, rather than the military commissions Graham helped create.

Obama has pledged to shutter the U.S.

A Social Agenda for all Americans

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 10:17:04 -0500

Early on the campaign trail, presidential candidate Barack Obama said, "This country is ready for a transformative politics of the sort that John F. Kennedy, Ronald Reagan and Franklin Roosevelt represented." Socially, President Obama is beginning to move in such a positive transformative direction.

2014 or Bust: The Pentagon's Building Boom in Afghanistan Indicates a Long War Ahead

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 09:04:59 -0500

In recent weeks, President Obama has been contemplating the future of U.S. military operations in Afghanistan. He has also been touting the effects of his policies at home, reporting that this year's Recovery Act not only saved jobs, but also was "the largest investment in infrastructure since [President Dwight] Eisenhower built the Interstate Highway System in the 1950s." At the same time, another much less publicized U.S.-taxpayer-funded infrastructure boom has been underway. This one in Afghanistan.