Obama Deserves Liberal/Progressive Support!

[I started this post to respond to a wretched article in the Washington Post, but I got carried away. I will follow this with my response to that article.]

As though everyone has joined the tea-party and drank tea mixed with some very odd herbs, it has become popular to characterize Obama’s first year as a failure. As a die-hard liberal, I have three words for other liberals and progressives. “Cut it out!”

As I pointed out in yesterday’s post, President Obama won a four-year (not a one-year) term and has a solid record of accomplishments for which he is being given little credit.

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News/Analysis Haiku

I recently found myself writing a long report on an ABC poll. It read like a report for a statistics class, but would it tell you what you want to know? Maybe it would, if you could bear with it, but it bored me to death.  I decided to experiment with putting my analysis in shorter form. Here is a news story (not about the poll) in Haiku.

[Note on form: Traditional Japanese and modern English Haiku seldom have titles. Needing a title is said to show a lack of art. I will humbly accept that judgment and title mine, as well as linking to one or more sources.]

Obama defends approach to Afghan war planning

Finding a true path

He will not wager more lives

Placating old fools  

Source: Obama defends approach to Afghan war planning

A Simple Solution To The Afghanistan Problem

The simple way forward in Afghanistan is to grant General McChrystal’s request and send in 40—50—60 thousand more troops. But wait, McChrystal’s report says that focusing only on more resources (troops) misses the point. What is necessary, McChrysal says, is the implementation of a new strategy, which his report lays out in detail. Unfortunately, one of the details this reports lacks, is a solid estimate for how long this new strategy would take. And the report admits that even this new strategy does not ensure success.

Before anyone bites on this simple solution, they need to watch Richard Engel’s documentary “Tip of the Spear,”

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