National security
Brian Katulis shared photos and insights from Kabul, Afghanistan, where he helped as a monitor for the nation’s second-ever national election held on Thursday. Katulis and Caroline Wadhams urged the United States and other countries to move quickly after the Afghanistan elections regardless of the outcome to ensure continuing public support for the mission there.
Lawrence Korb also argued that Afghanistan is a war of necessity and President Barack Obama should not let any “troop needs” in Iraq remain a limiting factor on sending more forces to Afghanistan.
And Stephanie Miller highlighted the Internet’s role in shaping the electoral landscape in Latin America and the Caribbean as the region heads to the polls.
Energy and Environment
The steady increase in presidential disaster declarations from climate change-related events should serve as another catalyst for action by the Senate this fall as it debates the American Clean Energy and Security Act, wrote Daniel J. Weiss and Erica Goad.
Julian L. Wong reported that China is showing serious interest in combating climate change, and he urged the United States to pursue joint acceleration with China on measures such a “carbon caps equivalents” approach.
Advancing electric car use and marrying it with on-street recharging stations can help ease our dependence on foreign oil and reduce global warming pollution. This week’s Easy Being Green showed how on-street recharging points for electric cars are taking off in Europe and the United States.
Domestic
In the second video of a continuing “Ask the Expert” series, Senator Tom Daschle spoke about why we need health reform. His first video on why reform is good for doctors and patients can be found here. Watch for the third and final video on Tuesday.
In light of the recent health care town hall protests Sam Fulwood wondered why more health reform proponents aren’t fighting back against conservative misinformation with logic, reason, and courage.
Raegen Miller also provided some clarity to the formulas used in Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act and suggested how they could be improved. An interactive state map from Miller illustrated that the formulas for Title I education grants aren’t advancing the program’s goal of enhancing education for children in poverty.