Current News Blog

In October, 29 states saw their unemployment rates rise according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. In September it was only 22. Leading the pack were Michigan (15.1 %), Nevada (13 %) and Rhode Island (12.9 %).

I’m sure as we go into the fourth quarter and layoff season begins anew, that those rates will only continue to worsen. The question is will job creation begin en masse at the beginning of next year? What do we do if it doesn’t?

Well some have called for more stimulus spending, but there’s a new scary number in town: the federal debt.

With the national debt now topping $12 trillion, the White House estimates that the government’s tab for servicing the debt will exceed $700 billion a year in 2019, up from $202 billion this year, even if annual budget deficits shrink drastically. Other forecasters say the figure could be much higher.

In concrete terms, an additional $500 billion a year in interest expense would total more than the combined federal budgets this year for education, energy, homeland security and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The Economist’s cover this week has a giant America-sized hole and is full of frightful admonitions against raising spending.

So how do we create some new jobs around here? Open for ideas.

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It’s Obama’s last day in China and one of the big headlines of the day was that he and President Hu Jintao promised their countries would work together on clean energy. (posted by WakeUpPeople)

The work will be anchored through a new U.S.-China Clean Energy Research Center. The $150 million funding over five years will be shared equally between the countries. “That’s more than talking,” [Energy Secretary Steven] Chu said.

The research center and other clean-energy projects should help show international negotiators who are working on a global climate-protection treaty that the U.S. and China, the world’s two largest sources of greenhouse gases, are serious about reducing emissions, Chu said.

Yes, you could make that argument. However it was also reported today that the Senate is going to put off trying to pass a climate change bill until the spring. Supporters of the Senate bill are worried about economic (read: political) costs of any possible cap and trade schemes. But that means no US climate bill before Copenhagen in December. Which means no global deal. This is what a group of Asian leaders and President Obama offered instead:

United Nations leaders had called for a new, binding global agreement in Copenhagen to set caps on greenhouse-gas emissions. But at a meeting in Asia, leaders including Mr. Obama said they would try instead to use the Copenhagen gathering to forge an agreement that is “politically binding,” with specific commitments by countries to reduce emissions and help poor countries fight climate change. A legally binding deal would come later; diplomats point to mid-to-late-2010.

If you want to know more about why Copenhagen is important, Leah at Current Green has a great introductory post on why you should be paying attention to Copenhagen.

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Both of the most-watched Governors races went to GOP candidates: Virginia and New Jersey. New Jersey is being seen as a blow to the Democratic Party at large since Obama personally came to campaign for Jon Corzine.

Consolation prize for the Dems: They won New York’s 23rd Congressional District, beating out the Sarah Palin-backed Conservative Party candidate. (posted by current89)

New York’s mayor had a surprising struggle for reelection. It ended up being 51 to 46 percent, far tighter than Bloomberg’s campaign had been expecting. Why? Apparently low turnout and a strong anti-Bloomberg vote. Did Gawker almost swing an election?

And bad news for supporters of gay marriage, Maine voters overturned legislation allowing same-sex couple to get married in the state.

A big shout-out to current89 whose election day post yesterday served as our center for info and commentary.

Any other races out there catch your eye? Let us know.

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This post is from user ScorpioGee who commented over here on Current News. Do you have an election perspective to share? Leave your own comment and get it featured on the Current News Blog.

New Jersey metro area girl up in here! Lots of stuff happening in my neck of the woods!

Bloomberg was against Bloomberg for all of 2008! Most NYC’ers–usually the Manhattinites or people who are not from this city forgot about the 2012 bid/Giants stadium debacle but not all–the folks who live in rent controlled apartments, cant find an apartment, have children in the worst performing schools in NYC or the young professionals who cant find jobs who are Obama-fanantics.

He handled the 9/11 financial crisis well in the past but the jury’s still out on how he handling this mini depression the nation is experiencing. And when it came to the NYPD overstepping their power you had to admit it, at least Bloomberg did not side with the NYPD right off. Really the only thing Bloomberg has against him is his connection with wall street and using his ‘resources’ to fund his election campaing.

Not to mention the idea of creating a mega park/resort in Coney Island–where the population is filled with poor to working/middle class immigrants and minorities or a Nets stadium in downtown Brooklyn–filled with mid/low tier merchants who will have to relocate if the stadium plan goes ahead.

I have no beef with Thompson he could be a great mayor for NYC but there’s no contest–Bloomberg got this. Unless if Thompson has a genie on him.We really need to reform election spending in this country in my opinion.

Then we have congressional district 23. I know it’s McHugh’s previous district before his Secretary of The Army post but I think the national media is putting too much attention to this. The last previous congressmen were Republican. It could be a mix bag but I’m gonna say…Republican. Hate to say it. (Ed. Note: The Republican candidate has dropped out of the race. It’s currently between the Conservative Party candidate and the Democratic candidate.)

Now New Jersey on the other hand is going to be_the_race of the year in my opinion. John Corzine versus Chris Christie. It looks like a photo finish–every week it’s either Corzine with nine points ahead in the polls or Chrstie. And don’t forget the underdog Chris Dagget who could throw a stick in front of Corzine, Christie or both. Not only is this a important governor race but it’s an gauge to see how Americans–particularly democrats/independents–feel about Obama’s presidency. A lot of things happened in NJ. There was a bust with corrupt rabbis and political figures (very weird.) High taxes–as usual. Guaranteed paid family leave. And the laid off commuters who just realize after they were laid off their high paying jobs in NYC that NJ doesn’t have much jobs to offer or any job that pays the same wage as a worker in NYC does.

What makes this NJ race significant is the voter turnout.

Will the Obama-maniacs– particular the younger voters of NY–turn out to vote for Corzine or sit this one out out of protest of his work in office or out of apathy?

Will the Republicans in Christie’s party will come out for him or become sick of his questionable actions in ethics/law and skip it.

Or will there be a huge upset and Chris Dagget–one of the independent candidates for governor by taking all the disillusioned Democrats, angry republicans, and ill-tempered independents– who want a different shade–a shade of green at Trenton? We will see.

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Well, not necessarily for everyone. It’s not a presidential election year (obviously) and not a midterm election year for Congress, but yes there are a fair number of elections going on tomorrow. Lots of local races and a few bigger ones. Here are some of the highlights on the national stage:

NY-23: A little corner of New York state you’ve probably never heard of is attracting big attention for its special Congressional election. Why? First, because commentators think it could be a bellwether for the 2010 midterm elections. Second, because it suddenly got real crazy. There was a three-way race between a moderate GOP incumbent, a Democrat, and a Conservative Party candidate. Then suddenly Sarah Palin swooped in and endorsed the third party candidate, and it ignited a firestorm about tea party conservatives in the GOP. So much so that Dede Scozzafava, the GOP candidate, dropped out. What does it mean? What does it meeeeean? We’ll let the politico-blogo-sphere sort it all out after we get the results.

New York City Mayor: New York is voting on their mayor. Incumbent mayor Michael Bloomberg had the law changed so he could run for a third term, and seems to be strongly in the lead. Except Gawker anti-endorsed him. (Ouch).

Maine on Gay Marriage: Last May, Maine’s legislators legalized same sex marriage. Now its voters will decide whether or not to repeal it. Boy wonder statistician Nate Silver gives the vote to repeal “5-to-2 underdog” odds.

New Jersey’s Governor: Why should you care about who’s governor of the Garden State? Well according to the AP: it’s “…a campaign being billed as a vote on President Barack Obama’s popularity.” Democratic governor Jon Corzine is fighting to keep his seat as his Republican opponent has fared well in the polls. Will a GOP win foretell doom for Obama’s efforts? Again, we’ll let the politico-blogo-sphere sort it all out after we get the results.

What else is going out there? Here in San Francisco we’re having a municipal election with two uncontested candidates and a few local propositions.

How about where you live? Any local races out there that could be resonant to the rest of the country?

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With the two helicopter crashes in Afghanistan today (killing 14 Americans), we wanted to check in real quick on how war #1 of our two wars is going.

Wired’s Danger Room talks about how today’s crashes reveal that helicopter are the “achilles’ heel of the Afghan War”, absolutely necessary in a country with few roads and constantly undersupplied. Maintenance on those that are there is apparently critical as well:

Earlier this year, Popular Mechanics reporter Joe Pappalardo spent some time with the wrench-turners who keep the helicopters flying in Afghanistan. “Afghanistan,” he concluded, “is hell on helicopters.” Here’s a list of just a few of the things he noted that can go wrong: Temperature extremes that destroy seals and gaskets; “high/hot” flying conditions that reduce engine performance; dust and sand that ruin rotor blades and clog up hydraulics. And, of course, there’s the enemy. (Soviet helicopter operations were also vulnerable, albeit for a different reason: The delivery of the Stinger missile, courtesy of the United States.)

Newsweek’s Fareed Zakaria looks at the question of troop levels in Afghanistan and points out that Obama is considering not “a surge” but “a third surge”:

The number of U.S. forces in Afghanistan in January 2008 was 26,607. Over the next six months, the Bush administration raised the total to 48,250. President Bush described this policy as “the quiet surge,” and he made the standard arguments about the need for a counterinsurgency capacity—the troops had to not only fight the Taliban but protect the Afghan population, strengthen and train the Afghan Army and police, and assist in development.

In January 2009, another 3,000 troops, originally ordered by President Bush, went to Afghanistan in the first days of the Obama presidency. In February, responding to a request from the commander in the field, Obama ordered an additional 17,000 troops into the country. In other words, over the past 18 months, troop levels in Afghanistan have almost tripled. An additional 40,000 troops sent in the next few months would mean an almost 400 percent increase in U.S. troops since 2008. (The total surge in Iraq, incidentally, was just over 20,000 troops.) It is not dithering to try to figure out why previous increases have not worked and why we think additional ones would.

Boston.com’s Big Picture also has another amazing set of photographs from Afghanistan, all taken in the month of October.

Question of the day for you: What should Obama do with Afghanistan? Should he send more US troops to pacify rural areas? Reduce the troop levels and focus on urban areas? Or should he “Why not do the Petraeus plan [counterinsurgency] for the major population centers and the Biden plan [counterterrorism] for the rest of the country?” (Defense expert Tom Ricks in the Zakaria article)

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It seemed like a slow news week and then all of sudden NASA blew up the moon and Obama won a Nobel and, well, News! So here are some other things that slipped under the news radar.

Vaclav Klaus is the President of the Czech Republic, and after Ireland voted to accept the EU’s Lisbon Treaty (in effect a constitution for Europe) his signature is the last thing Europe needs for Lisbon to become a reality. Well, he just pushed it off again this week. Read more at FP Passport: Klaus adds another hurdle

Google doesn’t want you to freak out about Google Books. They just settled a big lawsuit with publishing industry groups and co-founder Sergey Brin wants to be clear with the public that the technology will not completely devalue books for the authors and publishers. Read Brin’s op-ed at the NY Times: A Library to Last Forever

The health care debate continues! Oh you didn’t hear about it? There may well be a Senate vote next week, but this week the Congressional Budget Office said the Baucus plan could actually cut the deficit. Read more from the AP: CBO: Health Bill costs $829 billion over decade

Italy’s Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who faces at least one charge of corruption, lost his immunity to prosecution while in office. He said he felt ‘invigorated’ and vowed to fight. Read more from the BBC: Defiant Berlusconi vows to fight

A new game in the UK called Internet Eyes is turning Britain’s thousands of CCTV cameras into a game for profit. Spot a crime – win up to 1000 pounds! More from FP Passport: New internet game offers cash prizes for spotting crime

Oh, and, lots of other people won Nobel Prizes this week. See the list at: nobelprize.org

Finally, this video has been making the rounds today. Rep. Alan Grayson (D-FL) stood on the floor of the House and took a shot at the GOP, telling them that Americans don’t care about their feelings (they care about health care!). Whether you agree with him or not, it’s a refreshingly sincere voice in the politics of late. Crooks and Liars has the video: Rep. Alan Grayson: I Will Not Apologize- America Doesn’t Care About Your Feelings

Any other stories you think we missed? Submit them at Current News and let us know!

Some of our other stories from the week:
- Prescription drug abuse in South Florida
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In a year that the fight against same-sex marriage has made gay rights activists seem more and more embattled, America has a new Democratic President with a Democratic majority in the House and Senate. Yet some in the gay community have felt a little left-out as Obama has seemingly tackled every single other issue but gay rights. But maybe that’s about to change?

A round-up of stories posted today on Current.com:
President Obama to make major Gay Rights speech on Saturday posted by jeffissleeping:

On the eve of the National Equality March expected to draw thousands to the nation’s capital this weekend, President Obama is scheduled to deliver the keynote speech at the biggest black-tie, seen-and-be-seen dinner of the Human Rights Campaign, the country’s largest gay organization.

Congress to extend hate crime law to cover gays posted by current89:

Assaulting people because of their sexual orientation would become a U.S. hate crime in legislation the House is set to vote on Thursday. The bill would significantly expand the hate crimes law enacted in the days after the assassination of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. in 1968. With the expected House passage and eventual approval by the Senate, federal prosecutors will for the first time be able to intervene in cases of violence perpetrated against gays based on their sexual orientation.

Obama to name openly gay ambassador also posted by current89:

President Barack Obama plans to nominate an openly gay lawyer as the United States’ ambassador to New Zealand and Samoa, an administration official said Wednesday.

David Huebner was the lawyer who would be announced for the post, said an official who would speak only on condition of anonymity ahead of an announcement.

If confirmed by the Senate, Huebner would the administration’s first openly gay ambassador. Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush both had openly gay ambassadors during their terms.

Follow the story on Current News:
- Join the Current.com group Obama: The First Term
- Or check out the Current.com group LGBT

One of the biggest flash-points of the health care debate has been the so-called “public option” – a government-run alternative to insurance companies. Most conservatives have said they absolutely can’t support it and many liberals have said they absolutely can’t support a bill without it. Well today the public option took a blow in the Senate Finance Committee as an amendment to add it to the present draft of the bill in the Senate was voted down 15 to 8. The vote against included 5 Democrats, including Sen. Max Baucus (D. – MT) who heads up the committee. He said he voted against the amendment because he feared it would keep the bill from getting the 60 votes its needs on the Senate floor.

There is a second amendment including the public option introduced by Sen. Chuck Schumer out of NY who vows to get it in there no matter what.

Will the public option kill health care reform? Moderate Senate Democrats are certainly trying their darnedest not to let it. But there’s another danger for them: if they pass a bill without a public option, will liberals in the Democratic Party count that as actual reform? What do you think – Comment over here on Current News.

Also on health care:
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- No Healthcare For Me (Video)

So in the midst of all the international high drama happening between New York and Pittsburgh this week, let us not forget that back in Washington, lawmakers are still grappling with a monster of a health care debate. About a week ago I asked for you guys to send us some of your personal experiences with health care and health insurance in the US. Mostly we heard stories from people without insurance or with costly bills. Here are a few of them:
From user Justanks:

I have no health insurance. I can’t afford it since I am an independent contractor and my husband is out of work. I have been able to get my daughter on the state medical but when I was paying out of pocket when we were better off it was costing over $600 a month for the 3 of us to have medical.That didn’t include co-pays. Twice my daughter has had to stay at the hospital due to emergencies and they bill came out WAY over $700 each time. I know that is better than full price, but when you are still in school it is not realistic to pay that in full before you leave the hospital. I already pay taxes that are spent on govt.’ officials medical and the BS they decide to spend it on, why shouldn’t some of it go to my family having medical?

It’s an oft-mentioned number but it’s estimated that as many as 45 million Americans are without health insurance. Of course, even with health insurance, costs can pile up. Millions of Americans are weighed down by medical debt, like user cafiredancer:

I am in over $17,000 in medical debt (from just day to day things such as child birth and family misshaps, choked on a piece of meat, dislocated shoulder, broken foot from soccer and more recently a diagnosis in myself of Melanoma). At times we had insurance but could not pay deductables or had a large out of pocket. My husband and I have been without medical insurance for a majority of our 13 years together….it’s already becoming the demise of a chance at any sort of financial freedom. At one point in time we were homeless, they didn’t care, they still wanted their money…

One example for health care reformers has been Massachusetts, which has instituted a state wide health insurance mandate. This requirement for all citizens to have health insurance is a model that may in Congress are considering. Current.com user bc_f is from Massachusetts:

i live in MA where it’s already illegal not to have health insurance. i am on unemployment and because of that i have subsidized health care from the state. it’s actually not that bad, although i don’t get dental or anything like that. a few months ago i had to have emergency surgery and had to stay overnight in the hospital. if it weren’t for subsidized care i would be thousands of dollars in debt. i only had to pay $100 for the emergency room copay

On the News Blog we heard from a couple of people who had specific questions about how college students would be affected. From John Dye:

I’m a college student. I’m currently uninsured, unemployed, and I’ve been wondering how I will be affected if healthcare reform is passed? Will I be penalized for not having insurance? How am I supposed to pay for that if I’m a full time college student? I have zero income except for what the govt already gives me in financial aid.

The good news for college students who would be compelled to find health insurance by a legal mandate is that those costs would be subsidized by the government. That’s true for anyone with a low income.

We did see one counter-example in the comments, from user courage:

My insurance is cheap and i have never had a problem with it. I have a eye desease i have to visit the doctor all the time and recieve expensive eye drops so as not to go blind all i ever pay is 10 dollars even for 90 dollar a gram drops….This country is powerful thanks to capitalism and free markets and personel responsibility and finacial and personel liberty, dont give it away for a false since of security.

If you have a story, let us know. We’ll keep covering this for the next several weeks and beyond. Also if you’re interested in working with someone on the Current News staff to tell a deeper story about your experience with the health care system, speak up. Leave your comments over here on current.com.

Related posts:
- No Health Care For Me (Video) – Christina Heller learns about the Massachusetts system as she searches for her own health coverage.
- Obama speaks on health care (video)- Obama’s big health care speech to Congress