"Maybe you coulda done this whole 'hit 'em where it hurts' thing before America slid into an unstoppable sh*t spiral."

From Jon Stewart:

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart

As usual, Mr. Stewart's firing on all eight cylinders. There's a lot going on in this clip: both sides are taking heat; criticism of the apparent sublimation of the president's "Hope and Change" candidacy; easy jokes about the facial expressions of old white (and sometimes orange) men; and of course a little bit about politics and economics.

Possible points of discussion:

• What can the state (and, specifically, the presidency) do to grow the economy?
• What should the state do during a recession?
• How might the interests of those in the White House and Congress affect how they vote on economic policy legislation?
• In what way might House and Senate Republicans take issue with the American Jobs Act?

Week 4 Assignments and Notes

If you'll glance at the top of the blog, I have created a new "Readings" page. On this page, all your non-textbook readings will be easily accessible for upcoming assignments and past reference. Links will fill in as I post new material.

Since I'm falling behind a bit, I decided to shake up the syllabus next week. The lecture and discussion on information, which we haven't gotten to yet, moves to Monday 9/19. I shall combine that class with the class on technology, originally scheduled for Wednesday 9/21. Finally, I'm moving the class on sectionalism to Wednesday 9/21.

The only way this should affect you is that I recommend you read the Kurth piece for Monday and the Trubowitz piece on Wednesday.

Finally, following the comment system fiasco, please submit reading responses via email in the future.

The Costs of September 11th

While we can't measure the value of the 3,000 lives lost on September 11th, 2001, we can measure the economic toll the country has paid—and continues to pay—since that fateful Tuesday morning. MarketWatch has a thoughtful take:

A recent study by Brown University pegs the total costs of post-Sept. 11 actions by the U.S. at $3.2 trillion to $4 trillion — and counting… Care of veterans, for example, could add up to an additional $1 trillion over the next 40 years, the study estimated. And interest payments on the national debt could take decades to pay off.

War is expensive—a fact we'll touch on a few times this semester. Is there a price that's too high to pay to keep America safe?