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Calling All CounterPunchers!
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Calling All CounterPunchers!
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Barack Obama came into office preaching hope and promising change. Nine months later, hope is diminishing and change has yet to arrive. From the cratering economy to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, from warrantless wiretaps to a fatally compromised health care plan, from banker bailouts to ongoing rendition flights, this new administration governs a lot like the old. In spite of this, many progressive outlets have gone soft on Obama. We haven't. That's why so many of you have found a refuge at CounterPunch and made us your homepage. You tell us that you love CounterPunch because the quality of writing you find here every day and because we never flinch under fire. We appreciate the support and are prepared for the fierce battles to come.
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Today's Stories October 28, 2009 Moshe Adler October 27, 2009 Mike Whitney Patrick Cockburn Stewart J. Lawrence Alan Farago Ralph Nader Dave Lindorff Bouthaina Shaaban Brian M. Downing Elections in Afghanistan, the Second Time Around Iain Boal Carl Finamore Jayne Lyn Stahl Website of the Day October 26, 2009 Bill Quigley / Paul Craig Roberts Uri Avnery Mike Whitney Michael Snedeker Shamus Cooke David Michael Green Martha Rosenberg Patrick Bond Binoy Kampmark Website of the Day October 23-25, 2009 Alexander Cockburn Christopher Ketcham Jeff Gore Gareth Porter Jayne Lyn Stahl Saul Landau Mike Whitney Nikolas Kozloff Ron Jacobs Russell Mokhiber Missy Beattie Ricardo Alarcón de Quesada Stephen Lendman David Ker Thomson Rannie Amiri Ronnie Cummins Norm Kent Charles R. Larson David Yearsley Lorenzo Wolff Ben Sonnenberg Kim Nicolini Poets' Basement Website of the Weekend October 22, 2009 Dan Pearson / Jonathan Cook Paul Craig Roberts The US as Failed State Mark Engler Johann Hari Brian M. Downing Eric Toussaint Tom Mountain Israel Shamir Charles Thomson Website of the Day October 21, 2009 Pam Martens Linn Washington, Jr. Liaquat Ali Khan D. K. Wilson Franklin Lamb Norman Solomon Stephen Fleischman Patrice Higonnet Binoy Kampmark Kevin Coval / Website of the Day October 20, 2009 Sharon Smith Tariq Ali Mark Brenner Bouthaina Shaaban Michael D. Yates Dean Baker Dave Lindorff John Ross Ricardo Alarcón de Quesada Kevin Zeese Gilad Atzmon Website of the Day October 19, 2009 Mike Whitney Greg Moses John Ross Michael Donnelly Jayne Lyn Stahl Eric Walberg Russell Mokhiber Barbara Rose Johnston John V. Whitbeck Christopher Ketcham Website of the Day October 16-18, 2009 Alexander Cockburn Saul Landau Paul Craig Roberts Carl Ginsburg Ralph Nader Nikolas Kozloff Carlo Galli Dave Lindorff Catherine Rottenberg
/ Neve Gordon Marshall Auerback Nicola Nasser Windy Cooler James L. Secor Ron Jacobs Wes Jackson Jesse Lerner-Kinglake David Ker Thomson Against Leaders Missy Beattie Emily Ratner Stephen Martin Michael Snedeker Charles R. Larson David Yearsley Peter Stone Brown Poets' Basement Website of the Weekend October 15, 2009 Andrew Cockburn Brian M. Downing Ramzy Baroud Danny Weil M. Idrees Ahmad Margaret Kimberley Ricardo Alarcón de Quesada Harvey Wasserman Nirmal Ghosh Charles R. Larson Website of the Day October 14, 2009 Michael Neumann M. Reza Pirbhai Gareth Porter Paul Craig Roberts John Strausbaugh Fortress Moon Ralph Nader Dean Baker Charles Modiano Nadia Hijab Walter Brasch Website of the Day October 13, 2009 Peter Linebaugh Shamus Cooke John Ross Brendan Cooney Frida Berrigan Yves Engler David Macaray Dave Lindorff Mark Weisbrot Ricardo Alarcón de Quesada Binoy Kampmark Website of the Day October 12, 2009 Pam Martens Mike Whitney Martha Rosenberg Jessica Arents Eamonn McCann Bill Hatch Sen. Russell Feingold Niranjan Ramakrishnan Gideon Levy Iyad Burnat Alan Cabal Dan Bacher Website of the Day October 9-11, 2009 Alexander Cockburn James Bovard Kathleen and Bill Christison Andy Worthington Marc Levy Tariq Ali Mike Whitney Paul Craig Roberts Alan Nasser Jack Z. Bratich Steve Breyman David Michael Green Dave Lindorff Paul Buchheit Jim Goodman Missy Beattie Michael Leonardi Nadia Hijab Mel Packer David Macaray James T. Phillips Charles R. Larson Michael Donnelly David Yearsley Lorenzo Wolff Poets' Basement Website of the Weekend October 8, 2009 Saul Landau Paul Fitzgerald / Linn Washington, Jr. Marshall Auerback Dave Lindorff David Rosen Chris Darimont / Misty MacDuffee John V. Walsh Stewart Lawrence Charles R. Larson Website of the Day October 7, 2009 Brendan Cooney Paul Craig Roberts Dean Baker Jonathan Cook John Stanton Joanne Mariner Ricardo Alarcón de Quesada Stephen Lendman Sen. Russell Feingold Mary Lynn Cramer Website of the Day October 6, 2009 Mike Whitney Gareth Porter Jonathan Cook Boris Kagarlitsky Iain Boal Ron Jacobs John Ross Michael Dickinson Stephen Fleischman Ira Glunts Missy Beattie Website of the Day October 5, 2009 Pam Martens Mike Whitney Paul Craig Roberts Harry Browne Sara Mann Omar Barghouti Shamus Cooke Brenda Norrell Fred Gardner Binoy Kampmark Copenhagen Blues: McChrystal and the Afghan Trap Website of the Day October 2-4, 2009 Alexander Cockburn Saul Landau Diana Johnstone Greg Moses William Blum Brian Cloughley Russell Mokhiber John Ross Ellen Brown David Ker Thomson David Macaray Gary Engler Robert Fantina Lisa Stolarski / Naomi Archer Anthony Papa Joe Allen Harry Browne Ron Jacobs Charles R. Larson David Yearsley Poets' Basement Website of the Weekend
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Making El Salvador Look Even More AttractiveWhat a "Jobless" Recovery Means for Young WorkersBy ALEXANDRA EARLY I’m glad to hear on the news that the economy is doing better. But, frankly, my own household doesn’t feel it. My under-30 partner and I don’t own any stocks, so we’re not benefiting from Wall Street’s recovery. We’re both still jobless and searching for full-time work—in my case for four months now and, in his case, for much longer. We’re almost on the verge of leaving the country. At least in a less developed nation, the cost of living would be lower and we might be able to put our past job experience, bachelor degrees, and foreign language skills to better use. In California, where unemployment reached a 70-year high in August, I have more advantages than many jobseekers. I am a U.S. citizen, able to speak both English and Spanish fluently. I have a computer with Internet access, so I can spend all day searching Craigslist and checking emails from various job search listserves. Yet, I have applied, unsuccessfully, for nearly fifty jobs so far—not even reaching the interview stage in most of them. I have filled out applications and sent in my resume to become a community organizer, after-school teacher, administrative assistant, personal assistant, baker’s assistant, nanny, women’s shelter desk clerk, coffee shop cashier/barista, and dog walker. I thought I was a shoo-in to be the baker’s assistant, overqualified even. “I’m great at chopping fruits and vegetables,” I thought to myself when I saw the job description. But, when I arrived at the bakery and picked up a job questionnaire, I knew I would go home empty-handed. The first question was: “How long have you been working in the food industry?” Since I finished college two years ago, I haven’t been working in any industry for very long. My longest stretch of post-graduate employment was 11-months spent in a very decent-paying job as a union representative in the Bay Area, before I was laid off, along with many others, due to an internal political dispute. (The repeated appearance of the word “union” on my resume could explain why I haven’t heard back from some employers.) Like most people who have a job, I complained about mine when I had one — mainly because it was stressful and the hours were long. But now that I have time to do all the things I couldn’t while working--like lounge around in cafes or sample hot new restaurants (activities that still-employed San Franciscans always seem to be enjoying) -- I don’t have the desire or the money. And it’s flat-out depressing to be such a non-contributor to society and the economy. I am thankful, of course, for the unemployment check I receive every other week. And the extra $25 per week tacked on to it as part of the stimulus package. And the COBRA subsidy, for my health coverage, that was part of the same legislation passed last winter. But jobless benefits don’t make me feel useful and they wont last forever; already, many other people around the country have begun to exhaust theirs. My partner –- who comes from El Salvador — has a degree in industrial engineering, but he can’t find work either and isn’t eligible for UI benefits. His experience mirrors that of many other recent immigrants, with far less education. Working as a day laborer in painting and construction, he’s been left unpaid numerous times by unscrupulous contractors. With help from Upwardly Global, an organization that assists immigrants with professional backgrounds, he’s learned the U.S. way of white-collar job searching, how we write cover letters and resumes, what we say at job interviews, how we network. Even so, he still can’t find steady employment. So, if this “jobless recovery” continues, we’re thinking of going back to his country. Amazingly, it seems there are far more opportunities for a do-gooder like me, in schools or community development organizations in poor, tiny El Salvador than here in the US. The federal government’s economic stimulus initiatives don’t seem to be trickling down fast enough for me and millions of other unemployed workers, young and old. We, the unemployed, want to contribute our time, our skills, our ingenuity, and our sweat. WPA-style, we could be rebuilding parks, painting murals, tutoring kids, or doing lots of other socially useful things. But, instead, Time magazine explained it in a recent cover story: “why double-digit unemployment may be here to stay—and how to live with it.” I’ve lived with it long enough—and that’s why I may not be staying. Alexandra Early lives in the San Francisco Bay area and is a community-labor activist. This article was originally posted and distributed, in different form, by the Progressive Media Project. She can be reached at: earlyave@gmail.com.
Inside the New Print Edition of Our Subscriber-Only Newsletter! Obama and Black America Ten months into Obama-time, the plight of black Americans is terrible. Yet overwhelmingly they rally behind the president. In a powerful report from the Deep South Kevin Alexander Gray asks the question: what should the black political agenda be? Mark Rudd counterposes “organizing” with “activism” and describes what it will take to build a movement. H. Bruce Franklin gives a chronology of the march into Afghanistan. Get your new edition today by subscribing online or calling 1-800-840-3683 Contributions to CounterPunch are tax-deductible. Click here to make a donation. If you find our site useful please: Subscribe Now! CounterPunch books and t-shirts make great presents.Order CounterPunch By Email For Only $35 a Year !
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Now Available from CounterPunch Books! Yellowstone Drift:
"Powerful and shocking ..
Waiting for
Lightning
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