Americans oppose Afghanistan troop boost.

Most Americans oppose sending more troops to Afghanistan, as President Barack Obama nears a decision on whether to ramp up US engagement in the eight-year war, a poll suggested on Wednesday. The CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey said 56 percent of respondents were against deploying more boots on the ground, while 42 percent support sending a larger US troop contingent. Overall, 40 percent of those surveyed expressed support for the conflict, with 58 percent opposed. The poll was released hours before Obama was meeting with his national security team and top military brass to sift through four strategic options on the future US approach in Afghanistan...Link

Under Attack, Fed Chief Studies Politics......

WASHINGTON — With the Federal Reserve under more intense attack than at any time in decades, Ben S. Bernanke, the professorial chairman of the central bank, was schooled last month in how to handle the increased political demands of his job...Link

Stopping Their Stimulus................

They first did it on Oct. 6, they did it a second time on Nov. 3 — and, oops, Australia may raise interest rates again in December this year or in February next year. "A further gradual lessening of monetary stimulus is likely to be required over time if the economy evolves broadly as expected," the Reserve Bank of Australia said last week. It expects GDP to expand 1.75% this year, more than three times its forecast in August...Link

Should Pot Be Legal?............

We cannot legalize marijuana because its use has destructive health and social consequences. Marijuana is far more powerful today than it was years ago and it serves as an entry point for the use of other illegal drugs. This is known as the "gateway effect." Despite arguments from the drug culture to the contrary, marijuana is addictive. This addiction has been well described in the scientific literature and it consists of both a physical dependence (tolerance and subsequent withdrawal) and a psychological habituation...Link

Rethinking pot prohibition?.......................

The American Medical Association on Tuesday issued a cautious but historically significant call to change America's marijuana prohibition laws, urging a "review" of the drug's status as a Schedule I drug. At a meeting in Houston, the AMA's House of Delegates adopted a new policy that calls for "marijuana's status as a federal Schedule I controlled substance be reviewed with the goal of facilitating the conduct of clinical research and development of cannabinoid-based medicines, and alternate delivery methods."...Link

Kucinich: Why I Voted NO...............

After voting against H.R. 3962 - Affordable Health Care for America Act, Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) today made the following statement: “We have been led to believe that we must make our health care choices only within the current structure of a predatory, for-profit insurance system which makes money not providing health care. We cannot fault the insurance companies for being what they are. But we can fault legislation in which the government incentivizes the perpetuation, indeed the strengthening, of the for-profit health insurance industry, the very source of the problem. When health insurance companies deny care or raise premiums, co-pays and deductibles they are simply trying to make a profit. That is our system...Link

How Does a Patriot Act.................

Against a backdrop of heightened public concern about government intrusions, six in 10 Americans favor extending the Patriot Act, but majorities oppose expanding it by adding new FBI powers to issue subpoenas and access U.S. mail. Fifty-nine percent in an ABC News/Washington Post poll favor continuing the additional investigative authority in terrorism investigations that was granted to the FBI...Link