FM newswire for 18 January, extraordinarily good articles for your morning reading

Today’s links to interesting news and analysis…

1. Vital information to to know about America (myths are good for kids, often lethal for adults):  “Conservatives and Economic Mobility“, Matt Zeitlin, at his blog, 10 January 2010
2. Perhaps it’s not the people; perhaps it’s the process:  “Politicians Gone Crazy“, Tina Brown, The Daily Beast, 13 January 2010
3. Good news:  global surplus oil production capacity again over 5 million barrels/day, near peak levels of 1999 and 2002:  “Short-Term Energy Outlook“, US Energy Information Agency (EIA), 13 January 2010 — When people tell you we’re at peak oil, they’re either ignorant or lying.
4. “Record Bank Bonuses Based On Record Bank Fraud“, Barry Ritholtz, 15 January 2010
5. Don’t let them fool us again!  “Conservatives’ ‘Team B’ Revisionism“, Matt Duss, ThinkProgress, 15 January 2010
6. When I said Americans were not pants-wetting cowards, I should have excepted some school administrators:  “Science project prompts school evacuation“, San Diego Union-Tribune, 15 January 2010 — I esp love this: “‘There will be no (criminal) charges whatsoever’ Luque said. Police and fire officials also will not seek to recover costs associated with responding to the incident…”
7. Good news!  “World misled over Himalayan glacier meltdown“, The Times, 17 January 2010 — After several months, this at last hits the UK media. When will the dying US news media report it?

Perhaps the most important task for America in the 21st century:  reforming the Department of State

Our geopolitical policies are distorted before the massive militarization of US foreign policy.  It’s developed since WWII, and will take extraordinary effort to reverse.  I do not share Armstrong’s faith that State can regenerate without outside support.

(a)  “The State of State: A Proposal for Reorganization at Foggy Bottom“, Matt Armstrong (advisor and consultant on public diplomacy and strategic communication to the Departments of Defense and State, Congress, NATO and others), Progressive Policy Institute, 13 January 2010

(b)  Commentary:  “MountainRunner on Reforming State“, Zenpundit, 14 January 2010 — Excerpt:

We might even go beyond Goldwater-Nichols and think in terms of the creation of the Department of Defense in 1947 under Truman which saw the end of the Department of War and the absorbtion of the Department of the Navy into Defense along with the other armed services. State’s perverse dysfunctionality and empty pockets budget ( blame Congress here) has crippled public diplomacy, international development aid and the interagency process in which State too often plays the role of bureaucratic obstruction or hapless bystander.

(c)  Posts on the FM site about the State Department:

1. Truly cracked advice to the State Department, receiving wide applause, 13 February 2008
2. Ready, Aim, “foreign policy” away, 7 March 2008
3. Thoughts on fixing America’s national security apparatus, 11 August 2008
4. The State Department needs help, stat!, 22 December 2008
5. The State Department needs help, stat!, 14 January 2009

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