Crossposted from Hillbilly Report.

You know, President Obama has disappointed me in a few regards. First, backtracking on single-payer and then placing mandates over a public option in the healthcare debate. His policies in Afghanistan also leave much to be desired for the Progressive activist who hopes to quit wasting lives and treasure in that country on a failed policy started by a failed President. However, there are instances in which we must also defend President Obama.

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Crossposted from Hillbilly Report.

Boy, to hear many Republicans tell it they have been the watchdogs of fiscal responsibility. They have recently begun squawking about deficits and spending. They try to say our country is spending too much and we cannot afford Universal Healthcare. Of course, they conviently leave out the facts about why our deficit is where it is right now.

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by Zach Carter, Media Consortium MediaWire Blogger 

Last week's passage of the economic stimulus bill marked the first major win for progressives on economic policy under President Barack Obama, but the hardest economic battles have yet to come. The fight against entrenched corporate interests and a global order that ignores the needy will likely be as long and arduous as the recession itself.  

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The New York Times has an article today that explains what the real cost of the September 19th bank bailout will be in real terms - $2000 for each man, woman and child in America, whether they have investments or not. (Is it at all clear that this will be the last or even the only bailout we are asked to fund this year? Something doesn't pass the smell test.)
 the quote goes "A billion here, a billion there, and pretty soon you're talking about real money."

"But even allowing for inflation and in the context of federal spending standards, $700 billion is an enormous sum.  It represents more than $2,000 for every man, woman and child in the United States."

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The Bush administration has found yet another way to waste taxpayer money while providing huge sums to private contractors.  According to a survey of activities in 2007 by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, about a third of the federal professional intelligence workforce now consists of contractors, mostly in the Washington, DC area.

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