The good news is that over the past seven months the private sector has added 630,000 jobs, demonstrating that there are some employment opportunities available to out-of-work Americans. The bad news is that that represents only 7.4% of the jobs lost in the last two years and many of these new positions are the lowest-paying.

Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, the Muslim cleric who wants to build a $100 million mosque and community center near Ground Zero in New York City, has received a lot of attention relating to his religious beliefs, but there is another aspect of his life that is worth noting: as a longtime landlord, he has a history of operating poorly maintained housing complexes in New Jersey.

The economy has produced yet another black milestone for unemployment. As of January 2010, 49% of the 6.9 million Americans who lost jobs they had held for at least three years had found new jobs—the lowest reemployment rate on record, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. This statistic deals with what are known as “displaced” workers—those who lost their jobs because “their plant or company closed or moved, there was insufficient work for them to do, or their position or shift was abolished.” Records on reemployment of displaced workers have been kept since 1948. Of those who did find work similar to the job they lost, 55% took a cut in pay.

Ninety percent of South Sudan’s population lives on less than $1 a day. Its annual budget is $1.9 billion. And yet leaders of the region, which may become an independent nation next year, want to spend $10.1 billion to transform their cities into the shapes of animals and fruit.

If you want a little flesh with your blackjack, it’s going to cost you. Casinos in Las Vegas are lowering their payouts at blackjack tables in order to cover the costs of exotic dancers performing in nearby “party pits,” a recent addition to the gambling experience that’s popular with younger card players. Overall, casinos are dropping their payouts by 20%. For instance, instead of providing a 3:2 ratio (a winner gets $3 for each $2 bet), casinos are going with a 6:5 (winning $6 on a $5 bet).

The Obama administration has been criticized by those on the left for its continuation of many Bush-era policies on terrorism. But one area where it differs from the previous administration is in its recruiting of spies and interrogators.

The Department of Defense appears to be getting less bang for its buck, while spending more than $2 trillion over the last 12 years, according to assessments by military watchdogs.

Financial struggles are causing millions of Americans to skip owning life insurance, despite the increasing risks to families if a primary income earner should die. A study by the insurance industry-funded research firm LIMRA found that only 44% of U.S. households have individual life insurance, marking a 50-year low. Approximately 35 million homes neither own their own life-insurance policies nor are covered under employer-sponsored plans. This total is considerably higher than the one recorded in 2004, when 24 million households were found to have no life insurance whatsoever.

The Department of Energy likes to play up the fact that it’s investing in new technologies to power America, from wind to solar to even nuclear reactors. But most of the money the Energy Department spends is defense-oriented.

Drinking tap or well water for the residents of Pavillion, Wyoming (population: 165) is out of the question, and showering or washing dishes requires fan ventilation to avoid the risk of explosions, thanks to chemical contamination in the oil and gas drilling region.

The Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA) is happy to pass the baton to the Office of Postsecondary Education. Voted the worst agency to work for three times in a row, the FLRA finally has begun to turn things around internally, resulting in dramatically higher scores in the Best Places to Work in the Federal Government survey.

U.S. Army Sergeant Alejandro Villatoro took the unusual step of contacting two members of Congress from Illinois to prevent his unit from being deployed to Afghanistan in October before it was properly trained and equipped.

The problem with the Obama Administration’s plan for taxing the rich (by allowing the Bush tax cuts to expire) is that the increases really don’t target the super rich, writes James Surowiecki in The New Yorker.

President Barack Obama considers himself a devout Christian who uses the teachings of Jesus Christ to guide his conduct and ideals—but how does that jive with Obama’s gusto for warfare, writes John Whitehead, founder and president of The Rutherford Institute.

Cutting back on government spending to reduce the deficit is wrongheaded, argues Hale “Bonddad” Stewart at FiveThirtyEight. Stewart says economic austerity plans have proven to be a bad idea in Europe, where the results have been high unemployment and stagnant growth. The U.S. deficit has doubled since 2001 because the government cut taxes but did not cut spending.

Federal regulations keep piling up under President Barack Obama, who’s on pace to surpass the regulatory zeal of George W. Bush, writes Ryan Young, the Warren T. Brookes Journalism Fellow at the Competitive Enterprise Institute.

Janice Shaw Crouse, a former speechwriter for George H. W. Bush and now political commentator for the Concerned Women for America Legislative Action Committee, is not happy with the latest Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report, issued by the State Department.

During the oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, Americans have heard from or about the U.S. Coast Guard, the Minerals Management Service, and even President Barack Obama. But the one agency that has not made an appearance—the one whose mission is all about responding to disasters—is the Federal Emergency Management Agency, writes conservative Rich Galen.

Accused of committing genocide against your own people? Officially branded as a terrorist state? Have you harbored Islamist radicals, including Osama bin Laden?

Concerns over America’s lack of rare earth minerals production has prompted Congress’ research arm to raise the question: Is the United States’ national security and economic well-being vulnerable to supply disruptions, particularly from China?

In an attempt to prey on anti-immigration sentiments, Libya’s dictator, Muammar Qaddafi, has offered to stop illegal immigration from Africa to Europe—for $6.3 billion a year. In an address made in Rome, Italy, Qaddafi warned of Europe becoming too “black” for its taste as a result of the growing number of Africans seeking to relocate north of the Mediterranean.

President Barack Obama nominated Maura Connelly to be U.S. ambassador to the volatile Middle Eastern nation of Lebanon on June 3, 2010, and her Senate confirmation hearing was held on July 20. Connelly was born in Jersey City, New Jersey. At her confirmation hearing, New Jersey Senator Robert Menendez suggested that Connelly’s childhood experience in rough and tumble northern New Jersey would be an asset she can draw upon in Beirut: “Anyone who was born in Jersey City, New Jersey, could probably do very well in Lebanon,” Menendez quipped. Connelly was confirmed by the Senate on August 6.

A technology policy expert with more than two decades of experience in the public and private sectors, Lawrence E. Strickling has served as Assistant Secretary for Communications and Information in the Department of Commerce since June 25, 2009, putting him in charge of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration.

Eric C. Schwaab was appointed in February 2010 to run the National Marine Fisheries Service, part of the Department of Commerce. In this capacity he oversees the management and conservation of marine fisheries and the protection of marine mammals, sea turtles and coastal fisheries habitat within the United States exclusive economic zone.