February is Black History Month. Malcolm X was assassinated on Feb. 21, 1965. KEVIN GRAY Author of the new book The Decline of Black Politics: From Malcolm X to Barack Obama, Gray said today: “Whenever anyone uses the phrase ‘by any means necessary’ we automatically think of Malcolm X, otherwise known as El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz.…

President Obama is in Canada today. CLAUDIA FEGAN and via Mark Almberg Co-author of the book Universal Health Care: What the United States Can Learn from the Canadian Experience, Fegan is former president of Physicians for a National Health Program. She said today: “Obama has said that if we were starting over, a Canadian-style system…

The New York Times reports: “President Obama will send an additional 17,000 American troops to Afghanistan this spring and summer in the first major military move of his presidency, White House officials said on Tuesday. The increase would come on top of 36,000 American troops already there, making for an increase of nearly 50 percent.”…

SUSAN HELPER Professor of regional economic development at Case Western University in Ohio, Helper focuses on the auto industry. She recently co-wrote a piece in the New Republic magazine: “Better Than a Bailout: Here’s how to rescue Detroit without forcing them into bankruptcy.” More Information AL BENCHICH Retired president of UAW local 909 and a…

George Washington’s birthday is February 22. HARVEY WASSERMAN Author of Harvey Wasserman’s History of the United States, Wasserman said today: “Washington inherited substantial riches from his wife Martha, the widow of Daniel Custis, a wealthy plantation owner who died when she was 26. She married George soon thereafter. He was (and is) often referred to…

JAY WINTER NIGHTWOLF Nightwolf is host of “The Nightwolf Show” on WPFW Radio in Washington, D.C. and a member of the Echota Cherokee nation. More Information ROXANNE DUNBAR-ORTIZ Author of the forthcoming books Home of the Brave and Myth and Empire: Indigenous History of the United States, Dunbar-Ortiz said today: “President Barack Obama, speaking at…

ROBERT PARRY Parry is editor of ConsortiumNews.com, a reader-supported investigative webpage. He recently wrote the piece “The GOP’s Filibuster Hypocrisy,” which states: “Though seemingly forgotten by most TV talking heads, it was only three years ago, when the Republicans had control of both the White House and Congress — and ‘filibuster’ was a dirty word.…

Reuters reports: “Venezuelans will vote on Sunday in a referendum on lifting a two-term limit on presidents, which would allow Hugo Chavez to remain in power for as long as he keeps winning elections.” DEBORAH JAMES Director of international programs at the Center for Economic and Policy Research, James said today: “It is not surprising…

The Senate Banking Committee is holding hearings today on the credit card industry. ROBERT MANNING Available for a limited number of interviews, Manning is author of Credit Card Nation. He said today: “The credit card industry is the most unregulated sector of retail banking with an economic impact that could play an even greater role…

DAVID S. REYNOLDS Distinguished professor at the CUNY Graduate Center, Reynolds is author of John Brown, Abolitionist: The Man Who Killed Slavery, Sparked the Civil War, and Seeded Civil Rights. He said today: “This is a year for Americans to remember not only Abraham Lincoln but also his great antislavery contemporary, John Brown. This bicentennial…