...border for years now, but with the recent escalation of violence, war now appears to be imminent. Israel threatens a ground invasion, while Hamas claims Israel has “opened the gates of hell.” Not since Operation Cast Lead in 2008 has the violence and rhetoric escalated to this extent. At that time, and under similar circumstances, Israel responded to steady and destructive rocket fire from Islamist militants, nearly toppling Hamas and leaving ov...
From Wikimedia Commons, Barack Obama in Onawa, IA in 2007 To be very honest, I didn’t really care for Barack Obama when I first heard about him in 2008. He sounded like an inexperienced politician simply riding on a wave of political disenchantment, and the message of “change” and “hope” just seemed superficial to me. As the 2008 election neared, however, I started realizing that our country was really at a low poi...
...ba’s main export) and a serious decline in tourism (Cuba’s main industry) , coupled with a 41 percent increase in imports (not commensurate with an increase in exports). To add insult to injury, three successive hurricanes in 2008 inflicted approximately $10 billion in damages. As a result, Cuba’s estimated growth for 2009 has fallen from 6 percent to a measly 1.7 percent and extreme austerity measures have gone into effect. The state has given u...
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photo from Wikimedia Commons With the Republican and Democratic National Conventions out of the way, the long-predicted political advertising spending spree for the lead up to November 6has finally gotten underway. More than $3 billion is expected to be spent on various types of ads (TV, radio, robocalls, mailers, and so on), an increase of $500 million over 2008. The Kantar/Campaign Media Analysis Group reports that as of early September, can...
...e state is located near the geographic center of the nation, and its demographic makeup is extremely similar to that of the nation as a whole. Missouri has voted for the victor in every presidential election but two (1956 and 2008) since 1904. After Missouri failed to elect President Obama, many predicted that its bellwether status became a phenomenon of the past; CNN, Fox News, the New York Times and MSNBC all predict that MO will lean right for...
Illustration by Justin Walker The Obama campaign’s direct and wide-scale efforts to mobilize the public in 2008 resulted in voter turnout rates unheard of since the 1960s. However, a report released by the Center for the Study of the American Electorate at American University predicts that there will be a drop in voter turnout for the 2012 elections due to political disenchantment among young voters. As the report summarizes, “Obama the preside...
...reasury’s printing presses, the Federal Reserve can easily print fresh cash to repay debtors and keep interest rates low, at least in the near term. However, as the supply of cash increases, the interest rate decreases. Since 2008, the Fed has furiously printed cash to keep interest rates and unemployment low. Although official numbers indicate deflation since the recession’s onset in 2008, cash printing and the rising price of gold (which increa...
Although I’d read about how Obama —and to a lesser extent McCain — had inspired and mobilized a truly astounding number of volunteers, when I visited Obama’s local campaign office in New Hampshire a few days before the 2008 election, I couldn’t help but be over-whelmed by their energy and sense of urgency. “You can sleep after election day,” I heard one volunteer say, and this battle cry seemed to capture a truth of the 2008 presidential campaig...
photo from Wikimedia Commons “Of course world affairs are a challenge for every candidate. After — some of you guys remember — after my foreign trip in 2008 I was attacked as a celebrity because I was so popular with our allies overseas and I have to say I am impressed with how well Governor Romney has avoided that problem.” Barack Obama, Alfred E. Smith Dinner, October 2012 President Obama must really wish that foreign voters were included in...
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