Getting Started - June 10, 2011

I was never a serious student of US history, politics or economics until the runup to the 2008 election. Dreams from My Father had inspired me to follow Barack Obama, and the political scene more broadly. Before I knew it, I was hooked, keeping reasonably good track of the political and economic scene.

My Dad (a very young 95!) has, from time to time, urged me to write a blog. He finally wore my resistance down, and this morning, over coffee, I came up with a list of possible subjects I might address. I am not an expert on any of them, beyond what three years of quite rigorous "paying attention" could bring. My perspective is strongly progressive (my Dad is conservative!); I feel - as I know many others have before me - that now is an amazing time to be alive, that we are on the cusp of important changes, here in the US and beyond. Here is my morning list:

1. Economics: Our Differing Views of How the World Works

2. The Crisis: What Happened and What Can We Learn?

3. Banks, the Foreclosure Mess, and Economic Recovery

4. The Budget Battles and Two Very Different Futures

5. 2012: Are We Really a Center-Right Nation?

6. Healthcare: The ACA and Controlling Costs

7. Energy: Moving to Energy Security and Lower CO2

8. Immigration: Comprehensive Reform

9. Income Inequality: Our Achilles Heel

10. The Arab Spring:  The Game Changes for Israel and Iran

11. Lessons from Libya: A Case for Multilateralism

12.  Greece, etc: The Case Against Austerity

13. The US and Islam: Necessary and Unnecessary Conflicts

14. Fighting Terrorism: Why Have We Been So Afraid?

15. Obama: Evaluating his Leadership Practices

Other topics will surely arise, and I may never get around to covering each and every subject area listed above. Will try to post at least twice a week, and over time, I may develop a rhythm of more frequent posting. Will try to provide links from insightful analysts that I have encountered on my "student's journey." I remember my high school Latin teacher, Porky Benton, reminding us that the word student had a most honorable heritage, coming from studeo, studere, meaning to be eager. That is indeed how I find myself - eager to see how we and the world will keep turning out. I look forward to thoughts and comments from my readers, going forward. So - tomorrow, I will begin.