I have written extensively on the fact that this is not a normal cyclical recession, and we're not in the type of "jobless recovery" which we've had a couple of times in the last 50 years. Unemployment will continue rising in America for some time, which will make a real, sustainable recovery very difficult.

The heads of two Federal Reserve banks are now saying something similar:

    Janet Yellen, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, and Dennis Lockhart, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, warned that rising unemployment could crimp consumers, restraining the recovery. Consumer spending accounts for about 70 percent of economic activity.

http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2009/11/military-spending-is-increasing.html

2950 Days, 300 Billion Dollars, 911 Dead Americans – End the War, Bring back the Troops: Congressman Eric Massa (D) calls for recalling the US troops from Afghanistan.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SjJ_4BrFVp4

A slight majority of Americans think that the war in Afghanistan is turning into another Vietnam, according to a new national poll which also indicates that nearly six in 10 oppose sending more U.S. troops to the conflict.

Fifty-two percent of people questioned in a CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey released Monday say the eight year long conflict has turned into a situation like the U.S. faced in the Vietnam War, with 46 percent disagreeing.

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2009/10/19/cnn-poll-will-afghanistan-turn-into-another-vietnam/

RAY MCGOVERN, FORMER CIA ANALYST: I wanted to ask my own self a question here. It's a question that came up last night. And I think that, especially for staffers here, I'd like you to know, for what it's worth, how I feel about the cavalier way that people talk about regime change, people talk about going into Iran, people talk about zapping their nuclear potential or their nuclear installations. It's very similar to Vietnam. When the generals used to talk about, well, if worst comes to worst, we can nuke these guys, the path starts with Israel provoking an incident or we and Israel doing something that Iran has to retaliate against. They've been very circumspect, but there are certain events that they will have to retaliate against. And then all hell breaks loose, folks; all hell breaks loose. The straits are closed. Now, Mullen, Admiral Mullen, was asked, you know, don't the Iranians have the capability to close the straits? And he gulped and he said, "Yes, they do. Oh, but we could reopen them in a short period of time." Well, give me a break. How are you going to reopen the straits, huh?

http://therealnews.com/t/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=31&Itemid=74&jumival=4322

The president, his PR team and members of Congress want a health care bill on their resume and to be able to claim that they passed a health care bill, regardless of whether it provides any health care.

[....]

The telltale part of Obama's speech was the applause in response to his pledge that "I will not sign a plan that adds one dime to our deficits." Yet, Obama and his fellow politicians have no hesitation to add trillions of dollars to the deficit in order to fund wars.

The profits of military-security companies are partly recycled into campaign contributions. To cut war spending in order to finance a public health care system would cost politicians campaign contributions from both the insurance industry and the military-security industry.

Politicians are not going to allow that to happen.

It was the war in Afghanistan, not health care, that President Obama declared to be a "necessity."

http://www.citizen-times.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090927/OPINION06/90918053/1006

The top U.S. and NATO commander in Afghanistan warns in an urgent, confidential assessment of the war that he needs more forces within the next year and bluntly states that without them, the eight-year conflict "will likely result in failure," according to a copy of the 66-page document obtained by The Washington Post.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/09/20/AR2009092002920.html?hpid=topnews

What a Spread!

Land occupied by US bases: 46,566 square miles*
Land area of North Korea: 46,541 square miles

http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2008/08/my-bases-are-bigger-your-country

*Figures don't include bases in Iraq and Afghanistan; "facilities" include buildings, structures, roads, bridges, ranges, and plants; "sites" may include bases, hospitals, schools, and depots.

Estimated War-Related Costs, Iraq and Afghanistan