Truthout 6/30

William Rivers Pitt | Summer in Iraq
William Rivers Pitt, Truthout: "Afghanistan has been getting all the ink lately, and for good reason. General Stanley McChrystal's act of self-immolation by way of Rolling Stone magazine kicked off a genuine no-bones-about-it constitutional crisis over civilian control of the military, until President Obama sacked him at pretty close to the speed of light."
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Afghan War Lumbers On; Representatives Push for Withdrawal
Mike Ludwig, Truthout: "The United States invaded Afghanistan nine years ago to topple the Taliban and weed out terrorists, but the world's richest military has failed to pacify a network of scrappy militants who continue to provoke chaos and bloodshed as the war lumbers on."
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BP's Ombudsman Gave Congress Wrong Information About Employee Retaliation
Jason Leopold, Truthout: "Last January, Reps. Henry Waxman (D-California) and Bart Stupak (D-Michigan) sent a letter to John Minge, BP's Alaska president, seeking information about how the company was managing its Prudhoe Bay operations on Alaska's North Slope, as well as internal reports about the circumstances behind five serious incidents dating back to September 2008."
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Jim Hightower | The GOP's Genetic Link to Big Oil
Jim Hightower, Truthout: "If scientists were to compare the DNA of Republican congress-critters and of oil corporations, I'll bet they'd find that they match perfectly. After all, the two species have identical political instincts and seem to have a natural affinity for each other - so I'm pretty sure they sprang from the same genetic pool."
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Goldman Admits It Had Bigger Role in AIG Deals
Greg Gordon, McClatchy Newspapers: "Reversing its oft-repeated position that it was acting only on behalf of its clients in its exotic dealings with the American International Group, Goldman Sachs now says that it also used its own money to make secret wagers against the U.S. housing market."
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Tom Tomorrow | This Modern World
Award-Winning Cartoonist Tom Tomorrow features "Chuckles" the sensible woodchuck to highlight American liberals who are afraid of critiquing President Barack Obama.
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Living on a Dying Delta
Dahr Jamail, Dahr Jamail's Dispatches: "Our first full day in Louisiana finds us venturing south from New Orleans to Houma, a town about an hours drive to the southwest. It is from here we are to take a flight over the marsh to inspect the damage, thus far, caused by the ongoing BP oil catastrophe."
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G20: Paving the Way for a New Great Depression?
Peter Grier, The Christian Science Monitor: "World leaders have pledged to slash the government deficits of industrialized countries by half over the next three years. Is that goal, set at the just-concluded G20 summit in Toronto, fiscal prudence - or the prelude to the next Great Depression?"
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The Lottery Nobody Wins: Child Care Subsidies in America 2010
Mary Sojourner, Truthout: "She wants to work. No child care - no work. She's a single mom. She's young. You might think you know her - irresponsible, a slacker, having babies so she can get Welfare payments. You're wrong. A recent article in The New York Times, 'Cuts to Child Care Subsidy Thwart More Job Seekers,' presents a clear picture of the lose/lose many working low-income families face. Moms. Dads. Moms and Dads. And always - kids."
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Unexpected Environmental Alliances Amid the Oil Spill
Paul Rogat Loeb, Truthout: "In the wake of the BP disaster, we've heard powerful stories from fishermen whose livelihoods may have been destroyed for decades or longer. However long it takes for the Gulf's fish, oyster and shrimp harvests to recover, those who've made their livelihoods harvesting them will need to create a powerful common voice if they're not going to continue to be made expendable."
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Eight Ways the Great Recession Has Changed Americans
Mark Trumbull, The Christian Science Monitor: "Fifty-five percent of Americans in the labor force have experienced a job loss, a pay cut, or a reduction in hours since the onset of the Great Recession in 2007, a new survey finds."
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In Summer's Heat, Washington Seeks Refuge in the Loophole
Michael Winship, Truthout: "I spent part of last week in Washington, DC, and the heat already was so oppressive I recalled the old story that, during the summer, the British Foreign Service used to classify the capital as a hardship post, allowing embassy employees to go about their official business clad in pith helmets and shorts."
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Live Dangerously: Ten Easy Steps to Becoming a Radical Homemaker
Shannon Hayes, YES Magazine: "When Shannon Hayes made a list of easy steps for becoming a radical homemaker, she didn't realize just how revolutionary they were. When I first released Radical Homemakers: Reclaiming Domesticity from a Consumer Culture, I was advised to make a list of 'easy steps for becoming a radical homemaker' as part of my publicity outreach materials. My shoulders slumped at the very thought: Three years of research about the social, economic, and ecological significance of homemaking, and I had to reduce it to 10 easy tips?"
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