John Hockenberry and Todd Zwillich perform a classic tune to mark the (eventual) resolution of the U.S. Senate election in Minnesota.

View Helmand Province in a larger map

The U.S. has launched a major offensive in a southern province in Afghanistan. The military has sent 4,000 Marines and 650 Afghan soldiers flooding into the Helmand province in one of the largest offensives since the Vietnam War. For more on this story we turn to Sam Gardiner, retired Air Force Colonel who taught strategy at the National War College, and Paul Tait, specialist editor for Reuters based in Kabul, Afghanistan.

Now that Google is rolling out a free phone management service, phone use is becoming more like email and instant messaging. Join The Takeaway and New York Times personal technology editor Sam Grobart as we play with a powerful new means of communicating and managing your identity in a world of instant communications.

PLAY TELEPHONE WITH US!

Google Voice has a transcription service, but it's far from perfect. We're playing with it's flaws by having people leave a message with part of the Gettysburg address. Click through here, then click the Google Voice image, enter your phone number and when it connects you, pick a section below and read it. We'll post the (imperfect) transcripts later.

Ted Olson, Solicitor General under President George W. Bush, argues this week in California courts against Proposition 8, the voter-approved ban on gay marriage. He spoke with The Takeaway's Washington Correspondent Todd Zwillich about his motivation for taking the case and discusses why he feels gay couples shouldn’t be the political football they've become in recent years.

Auto sales numbers are out and there may be a glimmer of hope for the U.S. auto industry. The industry posted their second best month of sales this year. So who's buying American these days? The Takeaway turns to Mark Porter, President of Mark Porter GM Supercenter dealership in Pomeroy, Ohio, and Dale Hart, who just bought two cars from Mark.

Over the past week we have become way too familiar with the affairs of South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford. But if you think the nation is consumed, just imagine how it is for South Carolina's First Lady Jenny Sanford. Luckily for Jenny, the women of South Carolina have rallied around her and offered their support — most recently in an online campaign called “Stand with Jenny.” Joining The Takeaway to discuss the campaign is Cindy Mosteller, former chairman of the Charleston County Republican Party, part of the evangelical organization that is spearheading “Stand with Jenny,” as well as Beccie Robbins, communications director for South Carolina Progressive Network.

Click here to Stand with Jenny.

Many people know the legends of Jesse James or Bonnie and Clyde, but lesser known is one of the greatest bank robbers in history – John Dillinger. Nicknamed "The Jackrabbit" for his swift moves, he terrorized banks throughout the Midwest in 1933 before being shot by FBI agents at a movie theater in Chicago. Johnny Depp portrays him in the new movie “Public Enemies,” bringing his life (and legend) to the big screen.

This morning the unemployment numbers come out and there is a strong chance that they could reach the double digits. The economy is hitting men particularly hard. From the corporate suites to the construction sites, since November, more than 80 percent of job losses in the U.S. have fallen on men. For a look at what this means for both men and women in the workforce, we are joined by Kelly Evans, she is the economics reporter for the Wall Street Journal. We are also joined by Riehan Salam, a fellow at The New America Foundation; he’s written a new piece on this for Foreign Policy magazine titled The Death of Macho. And for an up close look on how the recession is affecting men we turn to Michael Doyle. Doyle is the Vice President and General Manager of the Southeast Division of Manpower, which is an employment service provider.

While The White House and Congress continue to hash out a plan to reform health care across the country, the people in Miami-Dade County are taking matters into their own hands. County officials and Blue Cross Blue Shield are teaming up to develop a plan for the uninsured. If it's successful, this public-private partnership could be a model for the nation. Joining The Takeaway to discuss this plan is Josh Johnson, reporter and anchor for WLRN, Miami Herald News, who attended the first day of health care sign-ups last night.

The U.S. military has launched a major operation in Afghanistan. Over 4,000 Marines have been dispatched from the American base and to rout the Taliban from the region. The offensive was launched shortly after 1 a.m. Thursday local time in Helmand province, a Taliban stronghold in the southern part of the country and the world's largest opium poppy producing area. Joining The Takeaway to discuss the offensive is the BBC's Defense Correspondent Rob Watson.

In continuing analysis of the new U.S. military offensive against Taliban fighters in Afghanistan, The Takeaway is joined by Lawrence Korb, Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress. He was also the Assistant Secretary of Defense from 1981 through 1985.

South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford's admissions about his private life have raised as many questions as they have eyebrows. If nothing else, the governor has sparked a conversation about sex in America. The Takeaway talks to Audacia Ray, a professor of sexuality at Rutgers University and author of Naked on the Internet: Hookups, Downloads, and Cashing in on Internet Sexploration . We're also joined by Debby Herbenick a research scientist at the Center for Sexual Health Promotion at Indiana University. Debby is the author of the forthcoming book, “Because Its Feels Good: A Woman’s Guide to Sexual Pleasure and Satisfaction.”

This morning the U.S. military launched one of the largest offensives in recent U.S. military history in the Helmand Province of Afghanistan. The operation against Taliban fighters involves 4,000 Marines and hundreds of Afghani fighters. Joining The Takeaway now is Captain William Pelletier, U.S. military spokesman for the Marine Expeditionary Brigade-Afghanistan, who is joining us from Camp Leatherneck in Afghanistan's Helmand Province.

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