Archive for the ‘American current affairs’ Category
“Yes we did”
March 22nd, 2010 by Roger Darlington
It’s terrific news that at long last President Barack Obama has managed to win health care reform and extend coverage to some 32 million Americans. But it was a close call won only after enormous effort and much compromise. Last night, the House of Representatives approved the bill passed by the Senate on Christmas Eve […]
Posted in American current affairs | Comments (0)
Who would be Obama’s Chief of Staff?
March 7th, 2010 by Roger Darlington
Rahm Emanuel, President Barack Obama’s Chief of Staff, is coming in for a rough side as the President’s record itself is assailed from different perspectives. As this article in the “Observer” explains, Emanuel is being attacked from both angles: on the one hand, there are those who say he is too conservative and has let […]
Posted in American current affairs | Comments (0)
Snow in Washington DC
February 9th, 2010 by Roger Darlington
My friend Carrie lives in Washington DC where the Federal Government has been closed down by snowmaggedon. This is her house.
Posted in American current affairs | Comments (0)
Sarah Palin’s top three prorities
February 7th, 2010 by Roger Darlington
Read Sarah Palin’s answer, when asked what she thought that a Republican-controlled Congress’s top three priorities should be, here. One of the fundamental principles of the United States Constitution is the separation of religion and the state – but Palin wants the Congress to seek “divine intervention”. And Americans criticise Iran for being a theocracy.
Posted in American current affairs | Comments (0)
The sudden outbreak of deficit hysteria
February 6th, 2010 by Roger Darlington
Should Americans panic about the current level of the federal deficit? In the “New York Times”, Paul Grugman has this op-ed which explains rationally why an economy just out of recession needs a tolerable level of deficit.
Posted in American current affairs | Comments (0)
The strange state of American politics
January 31st, 2010 by Roger Darlington
A good friend of mine in Washington DC sent me an e-mail today which includes this comment: “Our politics suck now–looks like no health care reform. Premiums for private insurance went up an average 8.5% over the past year while premiums charged to retirees on our Medicare jumped more than 12%. Americans have difficulty “connecting […]
Posted in American current affairs | Comments (0)
Time to break up the banks
January 22nd, 2010 by Roger Darlington
So now we have the news that Barack Obama wants to get tough with Wall Street and ensure that banks that borrow and lend do not engage in speculation and risk. Effectively this is a return to the sort of regime introduced by the Glass-Steagall Act of 1933 – a response to the Great Depression. […]
Posted in American current affairs | Comments (0)
How is Obama doing? (3)
January 19th, 2010 by Roger Darlington
Tomorrow Barack Obama will have been US President exactly one year and there’s lots of media analysis on his challenging and troubled first year. In this piece, it points out: “A poll for the Pew Research Centre last month showed that 84% of Democratic party voters identified as liberal believe the president is doing an […]
Posted in American current affairs | Comments (0)
How is Obama doing? (2)
January 18th, 2010 by Roger Darlington
In this piece in today’s “Guardian”, Gary Younge brings a dose of reality to the discussion: “Yes, there are grounds for disappointment. Bush’s torture infrastructure has been left largely intact, the Iraq withdrawal has been extended by two years and the healthcare reform debate might have panned out differently had he led more decisively. But […]
Posted in American current affairs | Comments (0)
How is Obama doing? (1)
January 17th, 2010 by Roger Darlington
Whenever I contemplate this question, I’m tempted to recall what Chou En-lai said when asked what he thought of the French Revolution: “It’s too soon to tell.” After all, Obama is only one year into a four-year term and hopefully will have eight years in the White House. But there’s no doubt that he’s under […]
Posted in American current affairs | Comments (2)