Reluctantly, Europe Inches Closer to a Fiscal Union - NYTimes.com

Reluctantly, Europe Inches Closer to a Fiscal Union - NYTimes.com: "It was a brief lesson from American history that served as a not-so-subtle suggestion for contemporary Europe. When an official from a European central bank met recently with a financial official in Washington, his host pulled out the Articles of Confederation, the 1781 precursor to the U.S. Constitution, to use as talking points.

The message was clear: join together in a stronger union, or risk collapse.

The story of America’s failed early effort to operate as a loose confederation of 13 states is increasingly relevant for many European officials who are grappling with the drastic problems of their own flawed 17-nation currency union. The lack of strong central coordination of the euro zone’s debt and spending policies is a key reason Europe has been unable to resolve its financial crisis despite more than 18 months of trying.

And that is why, despite all the political obstacles, Europe appears to be inching closer to a more centralized fiscal union that would eventually turn the euro zone into something resembling a United States of Europe."

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Unemployment: Democrats Vs Republicans | Progressive Political Cartoon by Barry Deutsch

Unemployment: Democrats Vs Republicans | Progressive Political Cartoon by Barry Deutsch:

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Unemployed face tough competition: underemployed - Yahoo! News

Unemployed face tough competition: underemployed - Yahoo! News: "The job market is even worse than the 9.1 percent unemployment rate suggests.

"America's 14 million unemployed aren't competing just with each other. They must also contend with 8.8 million other people not counted as unemployed — part-timers who want full-time work.

"When consumer demand picks up, companies will likely boost the hours of their part-timers before they add jobs, economists say. It means they have room to expand without hiring.

"And the unemployed will face another source of competition once the economy improves: Roughly 2.6 million people who aren't counted as unemployed because they've stopped looking for work. Once they start looking again, they'll be classified as unemployed. And the unemployment rate could rise."

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As one of the 2.6 million not currently looking, come October, I will be officially unemployed again as I come off the bench to start looking for a new writing contract after taking some time off to be a full time Dad. I hate articles like this, but it seems like most of the time over the past decade when I've been looking for work the job market has been in a pretty dire state and I've always done well. Hope that streak holds in October.

Congress returns, unpopular as well as divided - Yahoo! News

Congress returns, unpopular as well as divided - Yahoo! News: "After a five-week break, Republican and Democratic leaders alike promise action to try and ease the country's 9.1 percent unemployment rate and boost an economy that is barely growing. President Barack Obama goes first on Thursday night with a speech to lawmakers and a prime-time national television audience.


"But there is little overlap so far in the measures that Republicans and Democrats are recommending, and the rest of the year-end congressional agenda is top-heavy with items that relate to government spending and less directly to job creation."


...


"In a late-August Associated Press-GfK poll, only 12 percent of those surveyed said they approved of the job Congress is doing, and 87 percent disapproved. A separate Gallup survey, taken in midmonth, found 13 percent approved and 84 percent disapproved.

"Everybody is kind of in trouble with the electorate," said Republican pollster Bill McInturff. He recently distributed an analysis that concluded the negotiating surrounding last month's agreement to avoid a default is an extremely significant event that is profoundly and sharply reshaping views of the economy and the federal government.

"It has led to a scary erosion in confidence in both, at a time when this steep drop in confidence can be least afforded.""

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Heck of a job, guys...

As race ramps up, GOP asks if Perry can stay atop AP News : vcstar.com : Ventura County Star

AP News : vcstar.com : Ventura County Star: "GOP strategists warn that it's very early, and polls at this stage are often poor predictors of what's to come in next year's voting to pick a nominee.

"There's movement all over the place," said Kevin Madden, an unpaid adviser to Romney and a veteran of several campaigns.

At this stage in the 2008 presidential cycle, former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani topped national Republican polls, followed by ex-Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson. Both men faded fast.

Barely registering was former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, who four months later won the Iowa caucus. Arizona Sen. John McCain eventually claimed the nomination."

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Tea party bulling its way into 2012 GOP race AP News : vcstar.com : Ventura County Star

AP News : vcstar.com : Ventura County Star: "Bulling its way into 2012, the tea party is shaping the race for the GOP presidential nomination as candidates parrot the movement's language and promote its agenda while jostling to win its favor.

That's much to the delight of Democrats who are working to paint the tea party and the eventual Republican nominee as extreme.

"The tea party isn't a diversion from mainstream Republican thought. It is within mainstream Republican thought," Mitt Romney told a New Hampshire newspaper recently, defending the activists he's done little to woo, until now."

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Another look: Congress and the presidency since 1900

Huntsman says ex-governor will be next president

news-press.com | Southwest Florida | The News-Press: "Who else fits the governors' bill?

Texas Gov. Rick Perry and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney are the current GOP front-runners. Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has not said whether she will run."

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Well, historically, it usually is... 2008 was an anomaly with two Senators reaching the general election.  Check this out:

Congress and the presidency since 1900

2008 - Senator beats senator
2004 - President beats senator
2000 - Governor beats sitting VP/former senator
1996 - President beats senator
1992 - Governor beats president
1988 - Sitting VP beats governor
1984 - President beats former VP/former senator
1980 - Governor beats president
1976 - Governor beats president
1972 - President beats senator
1968 - Former VP/former senator beats sitting VP/former Senator
1964 - President beats senator
1960 - Senator beats sitting VP/former senator
1956 - President beats governor
1952 - General beats governor
1948 - President beats governor
1944 - President beats governor
1940 - President beats corporate lawyer
1936 - President beats governor
1932 - Governor beats President
1928 - Sec. of Commerce beats governor
1924 - President beats solicitor general/ambassador/representative
1920 - Senator beats representative/governor
1916 - President beats Supreme Court Justice/Governor
1912 - Governor beats president and former president
1908 - Secretary of War/Provisional Governor of Cuba
beats representative
1904 - President beats judge
1900 - President beats representative