A large sink hole opened in a DC street only blocks from the White House, it turned out to be a washed out sewer line from an improvement project done back in '96, that's 1896. This is not an unusual situation for American cities that are dependent on drainage projects done during during the Progressive Era, or at best during the New Deal. As little as possible has been done to make America work since the Reagan Revolution defined 'government as the problem, not the solution'.

The estimated $3 trillion shortfall in maintenance is just public infrastructure like the thousands of bridges waiting to collapse, but doesn't include  privately held assets like high pressure natural gas lines that are nothing but ticking time bombs. There are also the abandoned chemical waste dumps, the overloaded and failing mine waste containment ponds, or those unregulated fertilizer and chemical plants waiting to go off like a small nuke. Then there's the actual nuclear plants and their massive hot fuel containment ponds waiting to do a Chernobyl dead zone on a large swath of North America.

The President made a history defining speech in front of the National Defense University today, this address was I believe on the same level with Eisenhower's 'Cross of Iron' speech that warned us against pointless military spending. Obama called for the end of the 'endless War on Terror'.

Obama, late in the speech, said, "So America is at a crossroads. We must define the nature and scope of this struggle, or else it will define us. We have to be mindful of James Madison’s warning that no nation could preserve its freedom in the midst of continual warfare. Neither I nor any president can promise the total defeat of terror. We will never erase the evil that lies in the hearts of some human beings nor stamp out every danger to our open society. But what we can do, what we must do, is dismantle networks that pose a direct danger to us and make it less likely for new groups to gain a foothold, all the while maintaining the freedoms and ideals that we defend. And to define that strategy, we must make decisions based not on fear but on hard-earned wisdom. And that begins with understanding the current threat that we face."

He had gone on and on like this, for a POTUS known for giving a good speech, this was his best one in terms of addressing actual policy. Cynics will cry out that his speech has an obvious disconnect from his actual policies, Medea Benjamin from Code Pink interrupted Obama three times, and he did let her talk for a long stretch. She was finally removed from the auditorium but Obama went off script to acknowledge her concerns as being very real. There were no chants of 'USA USA' to drown her out from being heard by the military audience. They did like the Commander in Chief's comeback, they liked his acknowledgement of the reality of her protest points even more.

New unemployment claims fell again last week setting another new record since the Bush economic collapse. The Federal Budget deficit continues to fall, not so much from spending cuts but from increased revenue as the economy continues to improve despite the efforts of Republicans.

Senator Elizabeth Warren has introduced a bill that would require Federally backed student loans to be issued at the same rate that the Federal Reserve lends money to billionaire owned banks. Good luck with that.

The average wage for a two year community college grad is now higher than that of four year college diploma or higher. Not unexpected since fully half of all 'real college' grads either have no job or are working at Best Buy. Most new jobs that should be done by US college grads like engineering, medical research and even corporate law are now done in China or India. Youth unemployment in the US is now higher than in austerity ridden Europe.

The Obama Administration's FDA is attempting to sidestep a Federal Judge's ruling removing all restrictions on the sale of the Morning After Pill. The so called Plan B contraceptive will now be sold on the same shelf with condoms and similar products, but will still be age limited contrary to the Court ruling. The age will be lowered to 15, but anyone attempting to make the purchase will be required to show a valid ID to complete the transaction as the product scan code will alert the checkout clerk. This FDA rule only applies to the 'Plan B' trademarked drug, generic versions will continue to sold only from behind the pharmaceutical counter to age 17 and up, also required to 'show papers please'.

This 'technicality' will not only make it unavailable to most younger teenage women who lack official ID, but also any adult similarly lacking in 'papers'. The drug is only effective if used within 72 hours and best if used in less than 24, and it has no effect if the woman is already pregnant  It also introduces the 'shame factor' into the transaction reducing effective availability. The reproductive rights group who brought the original lawsuit has indicated that it will continue Court action.