The Nazi legacy is an understandably heavy burden for Germany, even today. This leaves Germans emotionally vulnerable to comparisons to their 20th century forebears. And with the country exercising ever-more influence over its European Union allies, cutting remarks that include such comparisons are blossoming like mushrooms after a spring rain. So how to deal with it? For Germany’s Die Zeit, Bernd Ulrich writes that in order to operate as the ‘U.S. of Europe,’ Germans will have...

This is what happens when competition is, basically, non-existent. On Friday, Engadget reported that AT&T would be doubling its upgrade fee from $18 to $36. Wireless devices today are more sophisticated than ever before. And because of that, the costs associated with upgrading to a new device have increased and is reflected in our new upgrade fee. This fee isn’t unique to AT&T and this is the first time we’re changing it in nearly 10 years. What, exactly, does AT&T have...

The phrase “going postal” has become part of American culture since those awful days in the early to mid-80s when there were news accounts of mass murders at American post offices — murders usually committed by employees or former employees. Wikipedia even has an entry on the expression “going postal” — which explains: “The expression derives from a series of incidents from 1983 onward in which United States Postal Service (USPS) workers shot and killed managers,...

Why Import Engineers? Study Shows U.S. Has Engineering Surplus; Why the Pressure to Import More? by Joe Guzzardi Earlier this week, a live online video chat featured President Obama and Jennifer Weddel, the wife of an unemployed engineer whose husband has been out of a job for three years. Weddel asked the president: “Why does the government continue to extend H-1B visas when there are tons of Americans just like my [engineer] husband with no job?” Caught off guard, Obama tried to deflect...

WASHINGTON — Politicized culture wars are debilitating because they almost always require partisans to denigrate the moral legitimacy of their opponents, and sometimes to deny their very humanity. It’s often not enough to defeat a foe. Satisfaction only comes from an adversary’s humiliation. One other thing about culture wars: One side typically has absolutely no understanding of what the other is trying to say. That is why the battle over whether religious institutions...

Daryl Cagle, MSNBC.com This copyrighted cartoon is licensed to appear on TMV. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.

Over in Europe, thousands of citizens are protesting, and government leaders are backpedaling (the EU signed the treaty), the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA). Negotiations over ACTA began in the Bush White House and were ratified by Obama. Last October, the U.S. joined Australia, Canada, Korea, Japan, New Zealand, Morocco, and Singapore in signing the agreement [1]. In 2010, Margot Kaminski (Yale Law School) wrote: The Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement, a plurilateral agreement negotiated...

The news that GOPers in Congress will soon move to try and make it so any employer (not just a religious organization) can deny women birth control coverage will likely not help how Republicans in Congress are faring. Just keep the newest push in mind when you read this poll: While positive ratings for Congress remain at an all-time low, more voters than ever see the Republican agenda in Congress as extreme. The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 35% of Likely Voters...

Just declared: the Republican Party’s war against contraception.

In recent years, in the wake of some nasty bit of bullying by Russia or China, some American politicians sought to show empathy for the victims with phrases like: “We’re all Georgians today” or “We’re all Weegers today.” Such statements were doubtless well-meant, but they never resonated with most Americans. There are few historical, cultural, political or economic links between Americans and Georgians in the south Caucuses, or Uighurs (pronounced Weegers), an...

File this in your Department of Sour Grapes file. Former Sen. Rick Santorum is suggesting that former Massaschusetts Gov. Mitt Romney may have rigged it so he won the CPAC straw poll vote: Rick Santorum suggested on Sunday that Mitt Romney’s campaign may have rigged a straw poll of conservative activists by paying the entrance fee for supporters. Romney beat Santorum by 7 points Saturday in a straw poll of almost 3,500 attendees at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC). Santorum...

I have thought all along that the recent birth control flap had little to do with birth control.  The Republicans and tea party crows are opposed to it because it comes from Obama.  The Catholic hierarchy is opposed to it because it is a threat to their power – the power to control women and sex.  Over at Balloon Juice recovering Catholic Dennis G. has some great insight. The Bishops are demanding an end to any rule that requires any insurance company to cover any contraception or family...

A new poll finds that Catholic voters support President Barack Obama’s new — and controversial — contraceptive policy compromise: Catholic voters largely approve of President Obama’s new policy on contraception, according to a poll released Saturday by groups that support the policy. Supporters say the poll shows that the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and congressional Republicans, who oppose the new policy as an affront to religious freedom, are out of step with the...

Pavel Constantin, Romania If this report is accurate, it’ll mean a new low for the Syrian government, putting it more than ever guilty of war crimes: Syrian government forces are using detained civilians as human shields, placing them on tanks in the besieged city of Homs to prevent the opposition Free Syrian Army from fighting back, an opposition activist said. The latest tactic came as shelling rained on city’s Baba Amr neighborhood once again Sunday, residents say, marking at least...

Official White House Photo by Pete Souza (10 February 2012) WASHINGTON – It was done ugly. But let’s not miss this moment. Let’s also not be seduced into believing Pres. Obama did something he did not. He didn’t force anything on religious institutions or on “all Americans”, as has been claimed on cable, as well as the Wall Street Journal. Let’s also not forget that the 1st Amendment swings both ways and that individuals are as protected from religion as...

Our political Quote of the Day comes from Time’s Adam Sorenson who notes that former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney’s two clear-cut wins yesterday mean he has re-seized control of the political narrative. Sort of: Mitt Romney, the perpetually questioned front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination, had a rough week. Three embarrassing losses to Rick Santorum in Tuesday’s non-binding contests led to questions about Romney’s conservative bona fides just in time for GOP activists,...

Peter Broelman, Australia This copyrighted cartoon is licensed to run on TMV. Unauthorized reproduction prohibitied.

Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, still painting Barack Obama as a mere “community organizer” and suggesting Obama is unworthy of Amnerican troops, delivered a speech that galvanized many at the 2012 CPAC convention. She pushed all the hot buttons she does so well: resentments, a warning to the GOP elites to listen to the Tea Party and give them more power within the party, layers of snark and sarcasm aimed at Obama and few (if any) specific policy suggestions . But it shows why Palin...

Rick McKee, The Augusta Chronicle This copyrighted cartoon is licensed to run on TMV. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.

Obama Does What? by Peter Funt We know President Obama did something Friday related to rules covering contraception and health insurance for employees of religious organizations. But how do you characterize his action in a short headline? What’s the appropriate verb to follow “Obama…”? Saturday’s front pages went in many, telling, directions. The Boston Globe and Seattle Times were among those who said, “Obama bends.” But The Wall Street Journal and the Providence...

I was watching C-Span and they aired a brief interview with former House member Yvonne Brathwaite Burke, a fairly liberal Democrat who served in the 1970s. As part of her interview she discussed the fact that she was the first member of Congress to give birth to a child and the first to be granted maternity leave. It struck me that today that would hardly be a big deal, indeed outside of the human nature part of the story I doubt many would report it. But for the era, it was a big deal. Indeed in...

Few details yet. Earlier this week, Whitney was spotted leaving a Hollywood nightclub with scratches on her arm, blood dripping down her leg and her wig askew. Remember, I Will Always Love You…

The conventional wisdom a)is like a yo yo on this Republican presidential nomination race, b)will continue to operate like yo yo c)is made trickier with the news that former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney has just won the Maine caucuses vote on a day when conservatives at CPAC in effect went along with his insistence that he was a “severely conservative” Governor and is a conservative now. The latest good news for Romney: Republican presidential front-runner Mitt Romney bounced back from...

After a terrible political week, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney has gotten some good news in terms of imagery and the argument he’s making that he is conservative and was a “severely conservative” governor: he has won the highly touted Washington Times/CPAC straw poll, which many had expected former Senator Rick Santorum to win: Mitt Romney won The Washington Times/CPAC Presidential Straw Poll on Saturday, and also nipped Rick Santorum as the top choice of conservatives...

How is former Massachusetts Mitt Romney doing among some conservatives? To be sure, he seems to be winning some over, but not all. For instance, add conservative icon Richard Viguerie to those who are skeptical. Here’s his latest e-press release in full: Richard Viguerie Says Mitt Romney is a Severe Conservative Impersonator Manassas, VA — Richard A. Viguerie, the Chairman of ConservativeHQ.com, issued the following statement regarding Mitt Romney’s speech at the Conservative Political...

First polls showed former Godfather CEO Hernan Cain surging in the polls as conservative GOPers felt they found their viable alternative to former Massachusetts Mitt “I-was-severely-conservative” Romney. Then he fizzled. Then polls showed former House Speaker Newt Gingirch surging in the polls as conservative GOPers felt they found their viable anti-Romney. And now a PPP national poll find that it’s Senator Rick Santorum’s turn: Riding a wave of momentum from his trio of victories...

Is it possible that American citizens, now under arrest in Cairo, were involved with a plot to partition Egypt into four smaller states? According to columnist Muhammad Dunia of Egypt’s state-run Al-Ahram, maps that were discovered during a raid on the Cairo offices of the U.S.-based International Republican Institute prove that at least some of the foreign NGOs operating in Egypt are actively involved with the scheme, which Dunia calls a long-term ‘American-Zionist’ project. For...

UPDATE: A wave of unusually severe cold is gripping Europe. But the weather is not the only thing that is chilling over there. Under the headline “A Chilling Verdict in Spain,” the New York Times reports that “The enemies of Judge Baltasar Garzón have finally gotten their way” as Spain’s Supreme Court has found Judge Garzón guilty of misapplying the country’s wiretap law and suspended him from the courts for 11 years. The 7-0 ruling flowed out of a 2008 corruption case in which...

Did former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney just put his food in what seems to be his most accustomed spot again when trying to convince conservatives he’s one of them at the big conservative gathering in Washington, D.C.? It certainly seems so. Our political Quote of the Day typifies the raised eyebrows a particular quote of Romney’s has generated among many movement conservatives. It comes from Red State’s Eric Erickson: Mitt Romney got a warm reception at CPAC, standing ovations...

When Dad is a One Percenter by A Daughter My father, who is 85, grew up believing that all Americans can succeed through hard work and education, and that people who didn’t weren’t trying hard enough. He still believes that. I grew up with the same belief, but its implicit promise of reward based on merit didn’t turn out to be true for my generation or its children. Our economic circumstances have diverged so radically from those of my father’s, you’d think we belonged to different families. Dad...

As the crisis — and brutality — continues to unfold in Syria, keep an eye on Iran, its role and its designs. Michael Youhana has a must read in the NYU Local. Here’s part of it: The Syrian regime’s appalling crackdown — which has left around 6000 dead — has been one of the most violent government responses to the Arab Spring’s wave of uprisings. On Friday, bad became worse when, according to conservative counts, 181 people were massacred in the Syrian city of Homs by Bashar...

Rick McKee, The Augusta Chronicle This copyrighted cartoon is licensed to run on TMV. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.

A Little More Heat by Michael Reagan It seems to me that what is missing in the top two contenders for the Republican presidential nomination is passion. While Ron Paul speaks with passion of the Federal Reserve and Rick Santorum speaks with passion about life, Newt Gingrich speaks passionately mostly about Mitt Romney; and Mitt, it seems, merely speaks in sound bites. I don’t know about you, but I want to see them seek to build their own shining city on a hill such as that my dad envisioned,...

When it comes to the oppression of dissent in Syria, are the permanent members of the U.N. Security Council undermining global peace and security by issuing ‘reckless vetoes’? According to this editorial from Japan’s Kochi Shimbun, by concerning themselves with the interests of their own countries rather than what is best for the world, China, Russia, America, Britain and France are demonstrating an extreme form of irresponsible selfishness. The Kochi Shimbun editorial says...

The 5th Avenue’s new production of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Oklahoma! is a wonderfully disconcerting pleasure to enjoy and digest. Executive Producer and Artistic Director David Armstrong has referred to Oklahoma! as “. . . truly the quintessential American musical.” The 5th Avenue embraces this truth by weaving a quintessential American tension throughout the production. This tension comes in the name and captivating presence of Jud Fry, played by Kyle Scatliffe. ...

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney delivered his long awaited address to CPAC today. Most commentaries noted the following: 1. He used the word “conservative” so many times you could swear he was trying to hypnotize the audience (and perhaps he was). 2. He used a teleprompter almost completely in the style of President Barack Obama. Which raises the obvious question now being asked: will Newt Gingrich, conservative writers, and talk show hosts make that a big topic now? Or is the teleprompter...

The data points sound horrifying: 46 percent of American children enter kindergarten lacking the basic language skills they need to learn to read 61 percent of low-income children have no children’s books in their homes The verbs convey urgency (currency is an intentional affect, as the factoids are used for fundraising, establishing organizational mandates) and imply that the data are current. But are the data points true, for any definition of “truth”? Oh. And a reminder....

Bill Day, Cagle Cartoons This copyrighted cartoon is licensed to run on TMV. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.

This video, apparently made by angry father Tommy Jordan, has “gone viral” and had more than a million views in under 72 hours, with a torrent of commentary. Most of the commentary seems to express either enthusiastic support or simple shock. I suspect it will get a few million more hits before it dies down or the father pulls it down. I am assuming this is real and not a staged prank. Assuming it’s real, I am sympathetic with Mr. Jordan. Unlike some, I am not fazed at the use...

Do people really not pay attention to what is said anymore? Yesterday, while being interview by John King about possible questions Santorum may face as Commander-In-Chief, Santorum was asked about having women in combat roles. Santorum responded with this answer: “Look, I want to create every opportunity for women to be able to serve this country, and they do so in an amazing and wonderful way. They’re a great addition to the – and have been for a long time – to the armed...

Who can beat President Obama in the fall on the Republican side? The question of electability is the main point of concern among Republicans so far in this cycle. To date, a handful of former first-tier candidates have succumbed to the specter of electability including Rick Perry, Tim Pawlenty and yes, even the “perfect candidate” Michelle Bachmann. With only four candidates left in the field, the electability question is even more intense as primary and caucus voters have weighed...

WASHINGTON – The White House compromise on the contraceptive mandate is set for 12:15 pm EST, sandwiched in between the CPAC speeches of Santorum, Romney and Gingrich. But if you want to know what this debate is about, see Joe Scarborough from yesterday. “… I think women should be deacons as well as men. …But if the federal government, if the Justice Department offers a mandate ordering Southern Baptists to make women deacons, I would be the first to say get the hell out...

Would the United States, utilizing what is known as a ‘false flag’ strategy, sacrifice a nuclear aircraft carrier to persuade the world that a war against Iran must be waged? According to columnist Anna Pinderak of Poland’s Wprost24, a theory is making the rounds that the Pentagon has sent the famed USS Enterprise to the Persian Gulf – to sink it – and then to blame Tehran for the crime. For Poland’s Wprost24, Anna Pinderak starts out this way: Is the United...

BISHOP DOLAN IS GROUCHY In for a dime in for a dollar seems to be the modus operandi in the latest round of culture warfare and even when reasonable compromise is within reach it remains elusive. And so we have the sight of Catholic bishops locking horns with the Obama administration over its principled view that all women need affordable access to contraceptive services and products, including the morning-after pill, which pro-lifers view as a form of abortion. This right happens to be a cornerstone...

A centerpiece of the Republican Party’s social agenda in the new millennium has been to deny women new rights and take away old rights, but it stands to reason that everyone of every political stripe would be opposed to neutering laws that seek to combat domestic violence and sexual assault. But Republicans are less reasonable with every passing election cycle, and so we had the specter this week of every Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee voting against the reauthorization of the...

Once again, House Republicans have been unwilling to take a strong stand against insider trading. Though a revised version of the STOCK Act (Stop Trading On Congressional Knowledge) was passed yesterday by the House by an overwhelming margin, it was only after Republicans had weakened the bill. In December, Republican Spencer Bachus from Alabama, Chairman of the House Financial Services Committee postponed voting on a bill that would have prohibited insider trading by members of Congress. This was...

Faced with the threat that a slowly improving economy may buoy the President’s reelection chances, Republican campaign strategy is tilting toward the Religious Right. After winning a tiny sliver of voters in three states, Rick Santorum is in Texas talking to pastors: “There’s not a management problem in Washington, all right. There’s a more foundational problem there that goes to the basic concepts of who we are as a people. And those are deeply moral questions… “I have...

It’s High Noon for former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney when he talks before the Conservative Political Action Conference: CPAC’s largely young attendees will have a chance to compare the currently sagging Romney with his other GOP Presidential wannabe rivals who have painted themselves as real versus pretend conservatives, including the on-the-ascent Senator Rick Santorum. Can Romney convince them he’s a conservative? To many conservatives, Romney may (today) talk but when he...

by Walter Brasch Once, many years ago, in a land far away between two oceans, with fruited plains, amber waves of grain, and potholes on its highways, there lived a young man named Sam. Now, Sam was a bright young man who wanted to work and save money so he could go to school and become an electrician. But the only job open in his small community was at the gas station. So, for two years, Sam pumped gas, washed windshields, checked dipsticks and tire pressure, smiled and chatted with all the customers,...

I’ve been catching up on my reading and one of the books was so compelling I felt the need to commend it to the TMV crowd. The book is called Nothing To Envy: Ordinary Lives In North Korea by Barbara Demick. We’ve all heard the stories out of North Korea about the famines or how the average North Korean is shorter than his South Korea brother, but this book takes a new tack that gives you a real insight into the nation. The author chose to focus on one city in North Korea and tried to...

As compared with the Brits, few Americans have made India their home. Among those Americans who became well-known, I wrote about the legendary Samuel Evans Stokes Jr who fought along with Mahatma Gandhi to free the country from the colonial rule, and also brought horticulture revolution in the hills. The other well-known figure is an Indian actor of American origin – Tom Alter – who is now a household name. Born to an American Christian missionary couple, Tom Alter acted in several Bollywood...

Comics don’t mind making a fool of themselves, but first ladies? Yes, if you’re Michelle Obama, who has been making the rounds of talk show hosts and beating them in feats of physical fitnessl in the name of her “Let’s Move” initiative. Her latest victim was Jimmy Fallon of “Late Night,” who visited the White House to take on Mrs. Obama in a series of event, including push-ups, tug-of-war, hula hooping and potato sack racing. Click here for a link to the...

At a time when President Barack Obama seems to have handled relatively well diverse foreign policy challenges, many inherited from his predecessor, his handling of the economic policy and the Wall Street have remained a big question mark. Obama’s continuing reliance on U.S. Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner, and kowtowing to the bankers, makes one wonder whether the President has learned his lessons. All eyes are now on Noam Scheiber’s blockbuster book on the Obama economic team. Here’s...

A touching commentary on the same sex marriage vote in Washington

Our political Quote of the Day comes from former Godfather Pizza and fizzled Republican presidential front-runner candidate Herman Cain, who told had this to say to the CPAC: “We must outsmart the liberals,” Cain said. “We must outsmart the people who are trying to ruin this country.” But, he said, it wasn’t just the stupid people who were ruining the country: “Stupid and ignorant people are ruining America…” Mr. Cain: Photo via shutterstock.com