SDB Evening News Reads for 102111: Hit the road Jack, and don’t you come back

And the big news today…the US is leaving Iraq!

All U.S. troops to leave Iraq by the end of 2011 – The Washington Post

View Photo Gallery —  The Obama administration has decided to withdraw all U.S. forces from Iraq by the end of the year after failing to reach an agreement with the Iraqi government that would have left several thousand troops there for special operations and training.

“The rest of our troops in Iraq will come home at the end of the year,” Obama said Friday at the White House. “After nearly nine years, America’s war in Iraq will be over.”

It’s about time…I guess you could say this was the October Surprise?

Over in Afghanistan, Clinton had a visit with, according to Cain… who ever that leader of “Ubeki-beki-beki-beki-stan-stan” is. It looks as though the visit to the region was a substantial one. She has moved on to another “stan” country…but while she was in Islamabad, she had an interesting conversation with a woman who was in the crowd Clinton was addressing.  US is Pakistan’s impossible to please mother-in-law, woman tells Secretary of State Clinton – The Washington Post

Washington’s troubled relationship with Pakistan has triggered plenty of heartburn for U.S. officials, but rarely sidesplitting laughter.

That changed Friday when Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton erupted in amusement during a town hall meeting in Islamabad when a participant described the U.S. as Pakistan’s impossible to please mother-in-law.

“We all know that the whole of Pakistan is facing the brunt of whatever is happening and trying to cooperate with the U.S., and somehow the U.S. is like a mother-in-law which is just not satisfied with us,” said a woman who identified herself as Shamama and elicited a round of applause from the crowd.

“We are trying to please you, and every time you come and visit us you have a new idea and tell us, ‘You are not doing enough and need to work harder,’” said Shamama, who works for a women’s group in northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province near the Afghan border.

Laughing at length, Clinton said she could personally relate to the woman’s perspective because she too was a mother-in-law. The secretary of state’s daughter, Chelsea, married an investment banker last year in New York.

“I think that’s a great analogy I have never heard before,” said Clinton. “Now that I am a mother-in-law, I totally understand what you’re saying and hope to do better privately and publicly.”

That is such a great story and Hillary gave a perfect answer…read the rest of the article if you haven’t seen it.

For an update on the brilliant State of Georgia’s plan to cut back on unemployment benefits. Georgia’s elected leaders, looking out for your interests — or not | Jay Bookman

The federal loans were necessary because when times were good, Georgia politicians cut the amount that employers were required to contribute to the unemployment insurance fund, leaving it short of funds when it was needed. Now the problem is being solved on the backs of Georgia families wondering how to make the rent payment, buy groceries and keep the heat on.

Family values at work.

Meanwhile, up in Washington, our two senators, Saxby Chambliss and Johnny Isakson, joined their 45 Republican colleagues in voting unanimously against a plan to spend $35 billion keeping teachers, firefighters and police officers at their posts. The vote — which needed 60 supporters to break yet another GOP quasi-filibuster — means that public safety will be compromised and classrooms left empty.

The measure would have been funded with a 0.5 percent surtax on incomes of more than million dollars.

You should pay attention to what is going on in the Peach State. Because as Bookman points out, our Representatives Chambliss and Isakson are part of the group putting forth the “Jobs Through Growth Act.”

…which among other things would lower the top individual tax rate from 35 percent to 25 percent, cut the top corporate tax rate to 25 percent and keep the system revenue neutral.

Lowering rates for corporations and top-end taxpayers — the current 35 percent marginal rate applies only to income above $379,150 for a couple filing jointly — would inevitably require higher taxes on the rest of us. But I suppose that’s a sacrifice that the rest of us should be happy to make, given how they’re struggling in this economy.

Right?

Just to reiterate, the chart above, provided by the St. Louis Federal Reserve, tracks AFTER-TAX corporate profits.

On last thing before I go, Look Up! The Orionids Are Peaking! : Discovery News

A few weeks ago, Discovery Space readers from Europe witnessed the peak of the Draconids meteor shower that produced around 300 meteors per hour. On Friday evening at around 21:00 GMT, another meteor shower peaks: the Orionids.

The meteors from this shower represent debris from the famous Halley’s Comet that orbits the Earth every 76 years.

[…]

This year’s Orionid display won’t be anywhere near as impressive as the Draconids but at an estimated 30 meteors per hour it could still be worth checking out.

Unfortunately, the moon’s phase is one day passed last quarter so its light will render many of the fainter meteors invisible. The best tip is to wrap up warm, get outside around 21:00 GMT (if you’re in Europe), or any time during the night over the weekend before moonrise from your location. If it’s dark, and the skies are clear, look up.

The great thing about looking for meteors is that no equipment is necessary other than warm clothing and perhaps a comfortable chair.

And now on with the show…Hit the road Jack!