Posted with permission of author Nicholas Benton, Owner/editor of the Falls Church News Press.

President Obama's address to a global television audience Tuesday night about his intent to send 30,000 new troops to Afghanistan was a sobering reminder of the unbelievable mess that he inherited from George W. Bush when he entered the White House last January.

Posted with permission of writer Nicholas Benton, owner/editor of the Falls Church News Press.

Whither the role of religion and spirituality in the current roiling cultural soup that is America today? The Obama grass roots revolution of progressive values and the faith-infused notion of "hope," and the pushback from the still-solid religious right are at odds in an economy where one out of six are unemployed or underemployed, when a third of homeowners are sacked with mortgages that cost more than the value of their homes, and a third of households have at least one person residing within it that is out of work.

Posted with permission of writer Nicholas Benton, owner/editor of the Falls Church News Press.

The sudden demise this week of the storied Washington Blade, the nation's oldest gay-themed newspaper that only last month hosted a gala party to celebrate its 40th anniversary, is tragic on an array of levels.

Posted with permission of writer, Nicholas Benton, Owner/Editor of the Falls Church News Press.

Just how far are the puppet masters pulling the strings of the Tea Party and related right wing radicals willing to go? 

Frankly, this is a very troubling question that more and more rational people are beginning to ask as unemployment numbers officially break ten percent (more like 17 percent, in fact), two intractable wars are killing, maiming and fraying the nerves of hundreds of thousands of mostly young men and their families, and a second major downturn of the recession looms linked to commercial real estate and personal debt defaults.

In the Business section of the New York Times on Nov. 10, Edward Hadas, Martin Hutchinson and Anthony Currie analysed the structure of US manufacturing wages and found them to be too low, American Wages Out of Balance, A more accurate title might have been Creative Ideas on How to Screw the American Middle Class

The piece speaks for itself, but first a hat tip to Massaccio on Firedog Lake for the find.

Posted with permission from Nicholas Benton who wrote the article and is the editor and publisher of the Falls Church News Press.

Republicans gloating over their victories in this Tuesday's elections should temper their elation with a cold, hard assessment of the state of their party that the returns reflect. They're taking their wins in the statewide elections in Virginia and New Jersey as a signal that, only one year after their devastating losses in the presidential and congressional races, they're back on their feet. In fact, it doesn't take any pro-Democratic spinning to look at the matter quite differently, and more realistically.

Udate 10 33 pm. Looks like a reversal in New York City with 3/4 of the votes now counted it looks like the Dem Bill Thompson is winning..Update 6:20 am. Moderate Democrat Bill Owens takes upsate NY conservative seat. Bloomberg declared winner in NYC mayor race, but by a slim majority. In California Democratic Lt. Gov. John Garamendim a strong supporter of public option trounced his Republican opponent and three minor-party candidates.

Posted with the permission of the author Nicholas Benton, owner/editor of the Falls Church News Press.

Usury" is an old-fashioned word, and not by accident. It has been virtually stripped from the English language in the last 60 years for obvious reasons, at least from the banker point of view.That's because, in its historic form, it carries with it a moral dimension, and not a good one.

It has its root in the Latin word, "usura," which means "interest." You know, that additional 30 percent or more you now owe your credit card company over and above what you're spending.

Posted by consent of author, Nicholas Benton, owner/editor of the Falls Church News Press.

Many readers over the years have asked me to put a name on what I stand for in terms of philosophy and public policy. While being reluctant to be pinned down by labels, here is my answer: I am a "human capitalist."

Movie maker Michael Moore deserves credit for uncovering some extraordinary lost film footage from the January 11, 1944 inaugural speech of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, footage that appears in Moore's latest film, "Capitalism, A Love Story."

Showdown in Chicago: Thousands Protest Bankers

by Seth Michaels, Oct 27, 2009

More than 5,000 people are packing the streets of downtown Chicago this morning, chanting, marching and rallying against Big Bankers and financial institutions that have taken taxpayer money and are using it to give big bonuses to CEOs and to lobby against financial reforms that would ensure they don’t go back on the public dole.

Friends,

It's the #1 question I'm constantly asked after people see my movie: "OK -- so NOW what can I DO?!"

You want something to do? Well, you've come to the right place! 'Cause I got 15 things you and I can do right now to fight back and try to fix this very broken system.

Here they are:

FIVE THINGS WE DEMAND THE PRESIDENT AND CONGRESS DO IMMEDIATELY:

Here's an optimistic take. Seems like CBO gives Pelosi bill a positive evaluation.

Pelosi Prepares to Move Ahead from Brian Beutler in TPM.