How would you answer the question on this week’s cover: How safe is America, really?

Writing in Newsweek in the aftermath of the Boston tragedy, Christopher Dickey, Eli Lake, and Daniel Klaidman say it is impossible not to ask the same questions that came on the heels of 9/11: just how safe are we in our homes, in our workplaces, on our streets, and at our celebrations? Why on earth would the United States be targeted so often by so many people with so many grievances—why do “they” hate us? And given the destructive power now available to almost any lunatic, just how safe can we be?

Read the cover story (which we actually posted a few days early), and read the full issue on your iPad! Download it now in the App Store.

We’re awake, and the momentum is ours. We have more work to do to reach our full potential. Given Election Day’s results, our full potential is massive and unimaginably transformative. When Latinos vote, all Americans win, even the people who think voting could never play a role in their lives. So let’s not wait four years to get to work again. We’re awake. Let’s keep going now.

America Ferrera says its mañana in America. 

[Photo Illustration by Darren Braun for Newsweek, in “Myth Of Decline: U.S. Is Stronger and Faster Than Anywhere Else”]

Lauren and Jesse - masterminds of next week’s College Rankings - are talking out the methodology they used to come up with America’s Rowdiest, Happiest, Most Beautiful, Least Rigorous, etc - on iPad Sunday and newsstand Monday!  

What some of us want—those who aren’t blinded by a lot of bullshit persiflage thrown up to mask the idea that rich folks want to keep their damn money—is for you to acknowledge that you couldn’t have made it in America without America. That you were fortunate enough to be born in a country where upward mobility is possible (a subject upon which Barack Obama can speak with the authority of experience), but where the channels making such upward mobility possible are being increasingly clogged. That it’s not fair to ask the middle class to assume a disproportionate amount of the tax burden. Not fair? It’s un-f—king-American, is what it is. I don’t want you to apologize for being rich; I want you to acknowledge that in America, we all should have to pay our fair share. That our civics classes never taught us that being American means that—sorry, kiddies—you’re on your own. That those who have received much must be obligated to pay—not to give, not to “cut a check and shut up,” in Gov. Christie’s words, but to pay—in the same proportion.

Stephen King scolds the superrich (including himself—and Mitt Romney) for not giving back, and warns of a Kingsian apocalyptic scenario if inequality is not addressed in America. Stephen King FTW! (via cheatsheet)

(Source: thedailybeast.com, via cheatsheet)

think-progress:

We’re wondering if they’re on Tumblr?

These include social networking sites Facebook and My Space - though there is a parenthetical notice that My Space only affords a “limited search” capability - and more than a dozen sites that monitor, aggregate and enable searches of Twitter messages and exchanges.

News and gossip sites on the monitoring list include popular destinations such as the Drudge Report, Huffington Post and “NY Times Lede Blog”, as well as more focused techie fare such as the Wired blogs “Threat Level” and “Danger Room.” Numerous blogs related to terrorism and security are also on the list. 

Aw, Homeland Security thinks MySpace is still a thing! That’s cute.

(Source: reuters.com)

majorleaguesports-deactivated20 asked: Do you think Congress is responsible for this countries economic problems, or President Obama?

Can we say neither?

Sure, Congress & the administration have had a rough year trying to get along, but most of that hasn’t really affected our economic policy to a degree that it would really send us over the edge.

If you’re looking for someone to blame, we would start with the ten years prior at the Fed, then look at the banks and how they so poorly dealt with a rapidly collapsing housing market, and then Europe, which today is largely responsible for many of the fears and woes that things are going straight back to 2008. If you haven’t, we’d also recommend you listen to this This American Life podcast which really does a great job of explaining “The Giant Pool of Money.” It won a Peabody!

I refuse to accept that Western civilization is like some hopeless old version of Microsoft DOS, doomed to freeze, then crash. I still cling to the hope that the United States is the Mac to Europe’s PC, and that if one part of the West can successfully update and reboot itself, it’s America.

Niall Ferguson, in Newsweek, writing how America can avoid imminent collapse (or, as the story’s hed tells it, this is America’s ‘Oh shit!’ moment.

In the aftermath of September 11, it became fashionable to say, “Nothing will ever be the same.” That isn’t true. The hyperbole is understandable: the sudden sacrifice of thousands of lives seemed to demand a corresponding measure of sacrifice among the rest of us. Sacrifices there will be, as the president has made clear. But not the sacrifice of America’s essential spirit or its way of life. There are many strands in the national fiber. Bold ones like heroism and solidarity and sense of purpose, which were on such impressive display after the attack. And also more modest ones, like individuality, humor, frivolity and fun. These more playful American traits may be on temporary furlough. But they will be back, and soon, because terrorists could not possibly destroy them. America is getting back to normal, and we will know it is there when once again we hear that still, small voice asking, anybody know where to get a great new pair of shoes?

- Kenneth Auchincloss, writing in a 9/27/2001 Newsweek special issue on ‘The Spirit of America’]

underpaidgenius:

newsweek:

Let’s face it: Many Americans are concluding their government is broken. From health care to education, housing to stocks, the people elected to help seem to be doing just the opposite. So who has the answers—and how can we help ourselves?

Newsweek and The Daily Beast want to hear about your thoughts on our biggest problems, how you would fix them, and the people you know in your own backyards who are making things work.

We’re calling our search “Just Fix It.”

Each day we’ll feature a specific question related to certain aspects of the American economy. Today’s question: What can we do to create jobs in our local communities? Feel free to answer with a reblog or simply email justfixitideas@gmail.com.

[Stay tuned to this space, our Twitter account @newsweek, and the hashtag #justfixit to participate and send your solutions.]

In my community, Beacon NY, we have a number of condemned buildings which are a blight as well as a financial drain. Imagine if the city were to take possession of these properties by imminent domain, and structured a community non-profit to renovate the buildings, and restore them to the rental market, either for commercial or residential purposes. Locals could be employed to renovate or rebuild these structures, and their salaries would be paid by the non-profit, and those would be repaid later from rental income.

Now these are the type of local economy solutions we’re talking about! Underpaid Genius, your tumblr name is far too accurate.

(via underpaidgenius)