Today’s top story – After almost 7 full years since the start of Bush’s so-called war on terror, new reports show that the Taliban is still gaining strength in Afghanistan.  The Paris-based International Council on Security and Development, a think tank that maintains full-time offices in Afghanistan, said that the Taliban have spread across much of the country and are beginning to encircle the capital, Kabul.  In addition, the group now has a full-time presence in at least three-quarters of the country.  This time last year, the Taliban only occupied about half of the country.  This resurgence represents one of the greatest failures of the Bush Administration.  Rather than continuing their efforts to destroy the Taliban, they ended these raids in 2003 to attack Iraq.  During that time, the US had weakened the Taliban to a point where it was almost nonexistent in Afghanistan, but after years of neglect, they have once again become a force to be reckoned with.  President-elect Barack Obama has said that he will deploy tens of thousands of new troops to Afghanistan to help drive the Taliban out of the country for good. In economic news today, a research group in London is predicting that, by spring time, the United States will be losing about 1 million jobs a month, for many months in a row.  According to a report in The Guardian, expenses related to corporate debt, and muddy credit markets consumed by fear, are driving what they call a fast-approaching "hard landing."  During an appearance on Meet The Press this weekend, Obama said that the economic crisis is goi

Citigroup Gets $20 Billion in Loans; Bush Says Iraq War a "Success"; Bush to Open "Freedom Institute" in Dallas; Lieberman Won't Apologize for Obama Attacks

Republicans Say Auto Bailout Not Worth It; Bush Could Pardon Torturers; Finger of Blame Lands on McCain; Palin to Receive $7 Million For Book Deal

Joining me to discuss where we go from here, post-election: Dr. David Campt, aka the RACE DOCTOR; he’s the co-author of “The Little Book of Dialogue For Difficult Subjects” with Lisa Schirch.

And James Rucker, executive director of ColorOfChange.org talks "Election Stories," Change's digital snapshot of the impact of Obama's election on Black Americans and their allies, Black online activists' contributions to the campaign, as well as voters' experiences at the polls on Election Day.

That’s this weekend on Black Politics.

Today we honor our veterans, all those who've died for this country in war. And Barton Gellman, reporter for The Washington Post and the author of Angler: The Cheney Vice Presidency ,” joins us to discuss his book (and the explosion of Cheney books) . . . oh, the dark secrets we can now answer about him . . .

Plus your calls

866 – 303 – 2270 IS THE NUMBER TO CALL-IN FOR YOU LISTENERS OUT THERE.

From Ron Reagan:

We're talking about the Obama/Bush meeting & Obama's potential efforts to undo Bush's executive orders, including the announcement today that the Obama transition team plans to close Gitmo prison. You'll hear from Anthony Romero, Executive Director of the ACLU, on this topic. The ACLU argues "(this proposal) underscores what human rights and civil liberties groups have been saying all along -- it is possible to try the detainees in a federal or military court that adheres to the rule of law."

Followed by a conversation with historian and author, Rick Perlstein on whether we're a center-left or center-right country. He is the author of the New York Times bestseller "Nixonland: The Rise of a President and the Fracturing of America". His first book, "Before The Storm: Barry Goldwater and the Unmaking of the American Consensus," won the 2001 Los Angeles Times Book Award for history.

And your calls.

866 – 303 – 2270 IS THE NUMBER TO CALL-IN FOR YOU LISTENERS OUT THERE.

I'm talking with my favorite Republican columnist and comic, Robert George, from the New York Post, about how we both felt this week after the victory of the Obama campaign, as well as the key elements for victory and defeat and what we hope comes from this new administration.

That's this week on Black Politics.

From Ron Reagan:

With the Rahm Emanuel pick today for White House chief of staff and David Axelrod also announced as White House senior advisor, the new administration is getting its ducks in a row. On the line with more details will be Sam Stein, Politics Reporter at the Huffington Post... followed by your calls on how aggressively progressive you think the new team should be

Do you think, as David Corn writes this week that, "maybe an agent of change needs someone who can move the bureaucracy (and the trash) to get change done," -- ?

And, John Cusack, producer, writer, actor will be talking with us about WAR, INC, his political satire about who profits from chaos and war. His film opened last year and is now out on DVD.

866 – 303 – 2270 IS THE NUMBER TO CALL-IN FOR YOU LISTENERS OUT THERE.