You need to know this. President Obama released his Afghanistan war strategy review this morning. In it – the President claims the timeline for troop withdrawal in July of next year is still on track – though the pace of withdrawal is still uncertain. A US military presence is expected to be in the region until at least 2014. Most of the news is good - we've taken more territory and knocked off most of Al Queda. But the review summary warns that many of these advances can quickly unravel if more is not done to combat insurgents coming across the border from Pakistan. In addition – there is little acknowledgment within the report of how corruption in the Afghan government continues to undermine US efforts. Which raises the question of exactly what we are fighting for in the country? Are US troops dying to prop up a corrupt Karzai government? Americans think so according to a new ABC News/Washington Post poll that shows disapproval of the war at an all time high – 60%. While President Obama may point to individual targets that show improvement – the war as a whole is deteriorating. That’s because – despite the whitewashing in the strategy review – 2010 was the bloodiest on record for the United States. And that’s after more than 9 years of sustained combat in the country. Listen to the American people Mr. President – and listen to the final words of your chief diplomat, Richard Holbrooke – Stop this war!

-Thom

(Do you think there is any point staying in Afghanistan any longer? Tell us here.)

The Daily Stack

Quote: "I had always hoped that this land might become a safe and agreeable asylum to the virtuous and persecuted part of mankind, to whatever nation they might belong." -- George Washington (letter to Francis Van der Kamp, May 28, 1788).

Article: "Senate passes tax cut deal, focus turns to House" by Jed Lewison.

Article: "Tax-Cut Battle Previews Splits in Divided Congress as Tea Party Ascends" by Lisa Lerer and James Rowley.

Site: "Who is Art Robinson?"

Article: "GOP votes in place for repeal of Don't Ask" by Carolyn Lochhead.

Article: "DeMint will force readings of START Treaty and omnibus bill" by Michael O'Brien.

Article: "U.S. Rethinks Strategy for the Unthinkable" by William J. Broad.

Crazy alert: "Hair! Coburn Grows Beard for Lame Duck" by Alex Roarty.

Article: "Tom Coburn's beard makes Twitter debut" by Nikki Schwab and Katy Adams.

Site: "Tom Coburn's Beard" on Twitter.

Obama's War Review: Dual Messages On Afghanistan ... Afghanistan War makes us less safe and isn’t worth the cost. With Robert Greenwald, Filmmaker/director/activist/founder-Brave New Films.

Article: "Obama Cites Afghan Gains as Report Says Exit Is on Track" by Helene Cooper.

Article: "A Summary of the Obama Administration's Strategy in Afghanistan".

Article: "Dr. Greg and Afghanistan" by Nicholas D. Kristof, October 20, 2010.

Article: "Obama makes 'this is the end' pitch" by CNN.

Article: "Study Confirms That Fox News Makes You Stupid" by Mark Howard.

Article: "On a wing and a prayer" by Al Jazeera.

Article: "Difference between a German capitalist and a US capitalist.?" by wurzel.

Site: "I'm Sorry Rush".

Social Security With Congressman Brad Sherman

Article: "House Dem: ‘Not One Comma’ In Tax Bill Likely To Change" by Sean Higgins.

Article: "House Dems Prepare To Fold On Obama Tax Cut Deal" by Brian Beutler.

Talk Radio News Segment: Victoria Jones, White House Correspondent.

Article: "Multi-Tasking: Senate to Debate START Treaty & Omnibus Spending Bill In Final Year-end Flurry" by Matthew Jaffe.

Hour Three: "How to Have an Open Relationship" Thom challenges Jen Angel of Yes Magazine...

Article: "How to Have an Open Relationship" by Jen Angel.

Book: "Sex at Dawn: The Prehistoric Origins of Modern Sexuality" by Christopher Ryan.

Site: "Bernie Sanders" campaign site.

Site: Governor Don Siegelman.

Article: "Report: Bradley Manning, Alleged WikiLeaks Source, in Solitary Confinement" by Joshua Norman.

Site: "Polycamp".

Site: "Loving More" magazine.

Book: "The Left Hand of God: Taking Back Our Country from the Religious Right" by Michael Lerner.

Site: New England Salem Children’s Village (NESCV).

The good: "Former British defense secretary says it’s time to legalize, regulate drugs" by John Byrne.

The bad: "Sen. Thune Admits Bush Tax Cut Extensions Are More Of A Priority Than 9/11 Workers’ Health" by George Zornick.

The very, very ugly: "House Approves DADT Repeal, Gohmert Warns Of ‘End Of Existence’ " by Igor Volsky.

Book: "Sexual Behavior in the Human Male" by Alfred C. Kinsey.

Book: "Sexual Behavior in the Human Female" by Alfred Kinsey, Wardell Pomeroy, Clyde Martin, Paul Gebhard.

Listen Live

Rep. Peter DeFazio is leading the rebellion

Human Rights Hit Reverse

When the Republican Five on the Supreme Court ruled in the Citizens United case and handed to corporations nearly full human rights of free speech, it didn’t come out of the blue. Although no bill in Congress from the time of George Washington to Barack Obama had declared that corporations should have these “human rights” (to the contrary, multiple laws had said the opposite), and no president had ever spoken in favor of corporate human rights, the five men in the majority on the Supreme Court took it upon themselves to hand our country over to the tender mercies of the world’s largest transnational corporations.

The Court’s Minority Pushed Back. Justice John Paul Stevens, with the concurrence of Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen Breyer, and Sonia Sotomayor, wrote the dissenting opinion.

The dissenting Justices argued that the majority’s ruling wasn’t merely wrong, both in a contemporary and a historical sense, but that it was dangerous. The dissent was explicit, clear, and shocking in how bluntly the three most senior members of the Court (along with the newbie, Sotomayor) called out their colleagues, two of whom (Roberts and Alito) had been just recently appointed by George W. Bush.

Just the fact that corporations can participate on an unlimited basis as actors in the political process will, inevitably, cause average working Americans—the 99 percent who make less than $300,000 a year—to conclude that their “democracy” is now rigged.

The result will be that more and more people will simply stop participating in politics (it’s interesting to note how many politicians announced within weeks of this decision that they would not run for reelection), stop being informed about politics, and stop voting. Our democracy might wither and could even die.

Learn more about the reasons for dissenting to the Supreme Court Citizens United ruling in chapter ten, "Wal-Mart Is Not A Person!", of "Rebooting the American Dream". (on Kindle too).

Read an excerpt here, and buy the book!