Well, the holidays are upon us and the election is behind us. As President-elect Barack Obama prepares to face the uncharted waters of an economy in crisis, we watch while he assembles a team that we hope will be up to the task. Perhaps no president since FDR has faced as many failures on as many fronts as Barack will inherit. It is essential to the well-being of the country that President Obama succeed. We cannot afford a do-nothing, achieve nothing, timid president on the model of the Democratic Congress we’ve just witnessed for the last two years.

As progressives, it is our job to keep the pressure on Barack in a public manner. We need to pressure him to do the things that stand up to corporate America on behalf of average Americans. Whether it be single-payer healthcare, Iraq, jobs, corporate accountability or a myriad of other issues, CS2 will be in the forefront, publicly demanding that the president-elect and his Democratic Congress do a little over-achieving. Wouldn’t that startle the American people? We do this not to harm President Obama, but to make him achieve the greatness of an FDR. With that in mind, let’s get to our issue:

Dorothy Reilly wants to know just where the hell are the liberals on Obama’s team. She makes a compelling case in Change We Can Believe In…Maybe Not.

After you’ve read Dorothy’s article, why not give us your opinion in our Commenter’s Corner. This month’s question is, “What do You Think of Obama’s Picks?” Just log in and give us a piece of your mind.

Ron Stouffer and Rosie Skomitz insist that we see the devastating effects our insane health care system is having on American families. Here they chronicle how one family is victimized by falling through the incomprehensible health care coverage cracks that presently exist with The Grinch Strikes Again.

Our cover story this month is a look at Johnny Got His Gun. We review the movie and interview its director, Rowan Joseph. In this Thanksgiving season we should be thankful that directors like Rowan Joseph will make an important movie like this instead of just another big-buck thriller.

Jack Lindeman kicks off our poetry offerings with a beautiful ode to a Bethlehem, PA, poet H.D. Kudos to poetry editor Jack Romig, who month in and month out finds us top quality offerings. This month is no exception. We have  Harvest Time by Michael Johnson. Tony Magistrale is here with South of Buffalo. Last, but certainly not least, is Waiting for the Terrorists by Richard Connell.

Ever wonder what it’s like to be involved on a day-to-day basis in an electoral campaign? Check out Dorian Snow’s excellent election diary Impressions on the Ground in Schwenksville and Collegeville, PA.

We have two great book reviews in this issue. First, our resident high school student who has a love of literature beyond his years, James Patrick, reviews Women by Annie Lebovitz and Sue Sontag. Then we have Ron Stouffer and Rosie Skomitz reviewing an important work which will be ignored by the corporate media: Addicted to War – written and illustrated by Joel Andreas.

One of our most viewed features is always the cartoon by Sheldon Kaplan. Honesty Is The Best Policy! is this month’s submission. Sheldon draws exclusively for CS2. We’re always afraid one of the “big boys” are going to discover him and take him away from us. So keep it quiet out there, and let Sheldon be CS2′s well-kept secret.

Finally, we are able to present Sylvia Baylor on Politicians and Other Life-Forms: Part II. We are sorry that this took so long to complete, but you must understand that it was due to circumstances beyond our control, namely that your editor is a nitwit. Sylvia also graces our pages with her monthly column, Keystone Scorecard: And The Winner Is…

Continuing our coverage on the single-payer health care front, we have two important submissions. First from Jerry Policoff we present the proposition that Philadelphia’s Budget Cuts May Represent an Opportunity. Then Charlie Crystle issues a warning to be heeded with The Coming Healthcare Finance Crisis.

Deanne Stillman, an advocate for wild horses and burros, brings us BLM Preparing to Execute 30,00 Wild Horses.

Sarah Palin is the gift that keeps on giving as Walter Brasch shows us with A Turkey by any Other Description…Is Still The Governor of Alaska. Walter, who continues to add quality to our Ezine, also brings us They Auto Know Better: Fueling Anti-Union Fires.

Here’s a list that you can spend hours with. Brought to you by Nicole Belle, these are the stories the corporate media doesn’t want to inform you of: The Top 25 Censored Stories.

Jack Lindeman is here with another fine travel piece: Spain South and the Portuguese Algarve.

That’s it for now. Thanks for your continuing support as CS2 continues its growth. Everyone have a happy holiday.

Charlie

P.S. Dorcas part 2 coming in January