Does anyone know if the 5 released prisoners can sue the government, or otherwise get any compensation for their treatment? God knows they deserve it

Another good essay Glenn, thanks.

Unfortunately, our collective goose is cooked, for reasons almost nobody is talking about: 1) peak oil and 2) climate change. Peak oil is the most immediate problem confronting society, but climate change will ultimately be the bigger challenge. This might seem off-topic, but you really can't understand what is happening to our economy, or where it will go from here, without discussing these issues.

Obama is a mainstream Democrat, just like Glenn says, and therefore will attempt the usual fixes, like bailouts and stimulus packages, led by the same crew that helped us get into this mess. That's just what we're going to get, and it may even help a bit in the short run, but ultimately these tweaks will fail.

The economy will never recover, at least not in the manner we are all used to, for the simple reason that the fossil fuels we've relied on to drive economic growth are no longer cheap and abundant. Very soon, the overall energy available to the economy will go into decline, and we will have economic contraction instead of growth. No amount of financial wizardry will help.

Our system relies on economic growth - rising debt levels can only be successfully serviced with rising incomes. When incomes stop rising (when fossil fuels become scarce and expensive), debt cannot be paid off, and the system goes into crisis. I'm not saying this completely explains the current mess, but it is part of the explanation. Rising oil prices were definitely part of the trigger that brought about the housing collapse, which in turn triggered the financial meltdown.

Obama is talking about climate change a bit, and is probably peak oil aware, but he is not prepared to go nearly far enough to help solve the looming twin crises (slowly becoming reality).

It's all downhill from here, folks.

Unfortunately, you're both right.

If we are to maintain anything like the current climate on the earth, we need to engage in immediate decarbonization of the economy (and we may still be too late).

Unfortunately, our current system will not allow it. The institutional incentives all point in the wrong direction. At some point, when the problem is simply too big and too immediate to deny, there will be collective action, but by then it will be far too late.

Theoretically, there is still a chance for salvation. Practically, there is none.

I like Ron Paul a lot - I thought he was the best candidate for President this year in either party. I am emphatically NOT a libertarian or a Libertarian, but he was the only one talking sense on foreign policy, on civil liberties, and apparently on some domestic economic issues as well (I agree with the opinion you ascribe to him on fractional reserve banking, although probably not for the same reasons).

I hope you will refrain from the liberal bashing, however, and simply engage poeples arguments instead of lashing out with ad hominem attacks. Discussing the merits of an issue is much more fun, productive and educational.

Sorry you were given the "Fox News" treatment. I'm surprised you bothered to be interviewed at all by such an outlet. I guess you never know for sure, it's POSSIBLE that they will do a good story, but the odds are that you simply wasting your time since they control the format, the content of the report, etc.

The only reason I can think of to go on Fox would be to attack the interviewer - you know, like that Obama campaign staffer did to Hannity over the anti-semite guy after one of the debates (I don't remember any details at the moment, but hopefully people will rememeber what I'm talking about).

But I guess you can only do that if the interview is carried live versus taped, so you were screwed from the get go.

Can I first say that it would be REALLY nice to have a thread based comment section? I'm sure I'm not the only one to mention this, and I'm not trying to say you're responsible for this Glenn, but it's VERY hard to carry a comment discussion past one or two posts without it.

Back to the topic, I agree with you and Che Pasa that the Fox report compares well with other media outlet reports. So much the worse for other media outlets. This does not strike me as a reason for praising FOX, but for criticizing the media generally (as, I understand, you've done).

I think your strategy was a good one - to basically make sure to mention in every response that the COMMENTS Brennan made were the reason for the opposition. But, as Che Pasa notes, even though they broadcast your comments, this did not change the narrative, as he put it.

Which brings me back to wondering, why bother doing the interview at all? You're just the token looney lefty to show how "balanced" they are, so they can say they presented both sides. BTW, I'm not trying to criticize you personally - you are obviously free to go on whatever show you like for whatever reason you like, to make your own decisions. I'm just saying that if I got such an invite I'd turn it down because I'd view it as a waste of time.

Hi Glenn,

It appears to me that you have shifted your opinion on the Israeli-Palestinian issue over the last couple of years. I'm curious if you'd agree. I recall you being more accepting of the standard American position in the past, and a bit more willing to criticize the Palestinians, although I'd say you've always been pretty fair on the issue, especially in contrast to mainstream attitudes.

Anyway, nice post. Peretz and the other blind supporters of Israel deserve as much scorn as is possible to heap upon them.