The U.S. Recovery Has Been Spectacular*

We need a real recovery. That's what Mitt Romney said during the campaign, and he was right.

Five years since the start of the Great Recession, unemployment is still far too high. It's not for a lack of optimism among policymakers.

As Evan Soltas pointed out, the Federal Reserve keeps predicting that prosperity is just around the corner, only to find it's not. Catchup growth is the new Godot.

FULL STORY

*Compared to almost every other rich country and almost every other financial crisis.

A decade of slow growth?

By Fareed Zakaria From: Cnn.com: Every year at Davos, people like me try to get a sense of the mood of the place, take the temperature of people in this frosty mountain resort. Obviously, I will give you a highly impressionistic and personal picture, but it’s one I find useful since Davos does bring together leaders in government, business, media – even the NGO community – from all corners of the world. It is genuinely global in a way that few conferences are... FULL STORY

Bloomberg: The Fiscal Cliff Will Drive the U.S. Into Recession

House Speaker John Boehner says he was "flabbergasted" when Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner pitched the White House plan to save the nation from the "fiscal cliff." FULL STORY

6 Ways The Fiscal Cliff Could Affect You

Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke used the term "fiscal cliff," it quickly became the newest Washington buzzphrase. As the deadline to avert the cliff nears, it has overtaken the European debt crisis as the most talked-about story in the financial media. The fiscal cliff refers to the enactment of a number of laws that would, if not changed before Jan. 1, 2013, FULL STORY

Fiscal cliff would drive the U.S. economy back into recession.

Fiscal cliff would drive the U.S. economy back into recession before end of 2013, a new report from the Congressional Budget Office said. Congressional Budget Office released a report showing that the most harmful consequences of the fiscal cliff, a fully armed and operational fiscal cliff would cost us 3.4 million jobs. Obama Fiscal Cliff Deal Risks Brush With Recession

Obama pays homage to military members on Veterans Day

Obama honored service members on Veterans Day by thanking the troops and their families for the sacrifices they have made for their country and encouraged others to support those in Afghanistan as they continue to return home. FULL STORY

CNN Fact Check: Obama went on an apology tour, Romney and others say

The roller-coaster ride of the 2012 campaign has been particularly volatile because of the more than two dozen debates dating back to last year, including three presidential showdowns. FULL STORY

Average student loan debt nears $27,000

Two-thirds of the class of 2011 held student loans upon graduation, and the average borrower owed $26,600, according to a report from the Institute for College Access & Success' Project on Student Debt. That's up 5% from 2010 and is the highest level of debt in the seven years the report has been published. FULL STORY

Economic Downturn Took a Detour at Capitol Hill

Rarely has the financial divide appeared so wide, or the public contrast so stark, between lawmakers and those they represent...

Source: www.nytimes.com

Obama Transcript from Jakarta Speech

Obama reaches out to the Muslim world..

Transcript: President Barack Obama continued with a morning speech at the University of Indonesia in Jakarta this morning. The president last gave a similar speech in Cairo, Egypt in 2009...

Russia’s new nuclear challenge to Europe-

Russia’s new nuclear challenge to Europe
Russia is considering arming its Baltic fleet with nuclear warheads for the first time since the cold war, senior military sources warned


Iranian claims of jet range dismissed
Iranian state TV quoted the Islamic Republic's air force chief Gen. Ahmad Mighani as saying Iranian warplanes could now fly 3,000 kilometers without refueling.





Obama, McCain talk issues at pastor's forum
"I have to tell you up front, both of these guys are my friends. They both care deeply about America. They are both patriots,"