The reason why it is unlikely that we will see any change is this country's policy on drugs is two fold. First, this current policy continues to allow the U.S. to intervene and influence the politics and policies of foreign governments namely those in South America. Second, this "war on drugs" provides justification astronomical spending on prisons and law enforcement. Unfortunately this huge financial investment has not resulted in the elimination of drug use and/or drug dealing, but has worked to sap money away from the types of critical investment we need to be making in this country's crumbling infrastructure.

"Oh my God, this War on Terrorism is gonna rule! I can't wait till the war is over and there's no more terrorism!" "I know! Remember when the US had a drug problem, and then we declared a War On Drugs, and now you can't buy drugs anymore? it'll be just like that!"- I got this quote for a comic strip that I thought was hilarious.

Mr. Smith. You have to realize that your one of the privileged few who do not have to worry about the cost of airline tickets aren't a problem. For the rest of us working folk(s) traveling abroad aint cheap and I'm not just talking about the cost of airline tickets. A friend of mine took his first trip oversees to Japan this past summer, he spent over $9000 on the trip and was only there for two weeks.

I have always felt that deep down in America's political sub-conscience, we have always leaned to towards a powerful executive branch and have always looked to the president to bring about change. Perhaps this tendency is a hold over from old europe?

Im surprised that no one seems to realize what will happen to the U.S. economy if another few million or so people find themselves suddenly without jobs. You people do realize that this economy runs on consumer spending and without that we're basically looking a full on depression in the face. SO if millions of more people no longer have the means to buy anything then how is that going to help us prop up this ailing economy?

I might be mistaken, I've only worked in a unionized job once, but I thought unions were supposed to be run by the workers and the workers were the ones who elected their union representatives who are suppose to represent and respond to the will of the workers. And if those reps. don't do the bidding of the labor force then can't the workers vote them out of their respective seats?

I too would love to see our over inflated defense budget slashed, but I doubt Obama or Congress has the political will or power to do so. This new "war on terrorism" has been a financial godsend for military contractors and law enforcement and they won't let the cutting of their budgets go without a fight. And if I recall correctly the last President that seriously challenged key pillars of the military industrial complex ended up with a hole in his head.

Major newspapers aren't going extinct because they somehow are no longer economically viable. Truth is the gathering and reporting of the news (particularly the gathering part) costs a ton and newsrooms, historically speaking, have never generated all that much revenue. Before deregulation hit the industry during the Reagan years profit was not the driving force behind journalism, but unfortunately once newspapers began to be eaten up by huge media corps. newsrooms were forced to become profitable by any means necessary. So if that meant a focus on entertainment rather than serving the public interest by informing the public of the truth beyond what sells, so be it.

I am encouraged by the steps that Obama and his administration are taking to shed some light on the actions of the previous Bush administration. Not only will this go along way to reaffirming his campaign promise of presiding over and enacting a more transparent government, but this will also go a long way in clearing America's name as a rogue nation.

I mean come on the man does live on mt misery.

I heard an interesting analysis of the U.S. and Chinese relationship as far as economics are concerned. If I loan you a $1000, I own you, if I loan you $100,000,000,000, you own me.

I am a member of the going number of Americans who would like to see a single payer health system become reality in this country. I believe that a single payer system is the only way to eliminate the outrageous costs that we suffer under the current private for profit system. I also believe that one of the major reasons why the U.S. manufacturing industry is currently in financial ruin can be linked to the cost involved when a company provides health coverage to its' employees. But the issue I don't hear talked about from those who promote a single payer system is what would happen to the millions of people who are employed under the current system? Folks like my mother, who has worked for Kaiser for the past 25+ yrs, who at the moment is the primary bread winner for my family. Can our economy withstand another jolt of jobs loses on top of the roughly 500,000 lost each month?