A Portland, Oregon man wanted to really go all out when he proposed to his girlfriend. This is the result, an amazing performance that raises the bar for future grooms to hopeless levels. But wow…

Just one quick shot of the Iowa heading out under the Golden Gate Bridge, with a more detailed posting to follow

Our political Quote of the Day comes from conservative columnist George Will who has this to say about presumptive Republican nominee Mitt Romney continuing to link himself up with the country’s most famous birther, PT Barnum spiritual descendent, Donald Trump: “I do not understand the cost benefit here,” Will said on the “This Week” roundtable. “The costs are clear. The benefit — what voter is gonna vote for him (Romney) because he is seen with Donald Trump? The cost of appearing...

His video was supposed to be just for his friends, shot shortly after receiving devastating news. But, instead, it went viral. By the time he died yesterday, his final days would also serve as a role models for how to appreciate the the present and how to leave it for eternity. And due to You Tube which carried his words, emotions and wise perspective to millions, Australia teenager Shaun Wilson-Miller passed away having won millions of friends all over the world due to what they saw when they...

Campaign watchers get a double-header of metaphors with reports that Barack Obama is eschewing a Rose Garden strategy and going head to head with Mitt Romney by name, along with a reminder of the President’s fondness for a three-year-old photo showing an African-American boy touching his hair in the Oval Office to compare it to his own. As they were no doubt intended to be by White House aides, symbolism lovers may be wrenched by the distance between that early image of the breakthrough significance...

Frank Bruni writes in this morning’s New York Times, that race is still at the center of the American presidential contest: Although race represents a less central dynamic for Obama now than it did in 2008, it’s a factor in his political fortunes nonetheless. It poisons some of his opponents, pumping them full of a toxic zeal beyond the partisan norm. How else to explain their obsession with the Rev. Jeremiah Wright or the lunatic persistence of the “birthers,” including the Arizona...

It’s Time for a National World War I Memorial by Julian Saltman History News Service On Monday Americans will gather to celebrate Memorial Day, a holiday on which we honor those who have served, and fallen, in our country’s armed forces. Veterans and their descendants will participate in ceremonies and parades across the country, and many will be in Washington, D.C., to visit the national memorials dedicated to the wars in which they fought. But there is one glaring exception: the...

Trust Me: You Believe in Gun Control by Tina Dupuy If you ask the typical hyper-political gun owner (and I have … at Thanksgiving dinner), why it’s important to own a gun, they’ll bark about the Constitution. Yes, the Second Amendment: “The Right of the People to Keep and Bear Arms Shall Not Be Infringed!” This of course is the slogan the National Rifle Association adopted in the 1970′s. It was then that owning a gun became an absolute right endowed by God and...

While America is a young country not as prone as some others to preserving ‘relics’ of the dead, we do appear to have a thing for blood, which, if modern science progresses as some think it might, could result in some interesting historical clones. This article on the subject by El Pais columnist Marcos Balfagon reflects on this odd historical preoccupation, and on the wisdom of someday restoring another Ronald Reagan to the world. For El Pais, columnist Marcos Balfagon starts off...

TMV has been experiencing some duendes (goblins, in Spanish) who have been stealing slippers and making the Chicago River green when it isnt St Patty’s, and messing with the hoists and levers in our posts and commenting sections. Our IT guy Tyrone says as we get closer to elections too, the hacking attempts have increased. And as of just a few minutes ago, he thinks it is all reset now onsite, so hopefully you wont experience any more glitches. My Ed. in Chief and I are ‘freeing’...

Friday, something unprecedented happened. The Right/Red blogs banded together to destroy ONE person (a blogger claims he feels “threatened”). The entire front page of Memeorandum is dominated by this coordinated attack and smear. That OUGHT to scare hell out of everybody else, but I see virtually no commentary whatsoever. The entire blogosphere has been coopted into the narrow agenda of a few individuals and the nation’s issues are thrust to the side as less important than their...

John Darkow, Columbia Daily Tribune, Missouri This copyrighted cartoon is licensed to run on TMV. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.

Back in September 2009, when the Navy was seriously considering allowing women to serve aboard its nuclear submarines, I posted an article titled, “Should Women Serve on Submarines?” and, at the end, asked, “What do you think?” With a couple of exceptions, most of the readers saw no problem with this change in policy or had some reasonable, practical reasons for opposing women serving on our submarines. One woman gave several reasons for her opposition. In addition to bringing up the cost...

Does Mitt Romney have a clue? By the way, who are his campaign advisers? Does he have campaign advisers? Is he generally underinformed and living in a blur when it comes to education? … About school reform. Three big ideas: First, Romney is going to make the states provide “ample school choice.” Unless we’re talking, mushily, about vouchers, this one sounded exactly like the Bush law that allows parents whose children are in failing schools to move them elsewhere. It hasn’t...

Lowest Content Denominator by Peter Funt Recent Time and Newsweek covers constitute last gasps in the dying newsweekly business. Of greater concern, however, is that while these magazines are already in media’s rearview mirror, their turn toward tabloid-style sensationalism reflects what is happening all along the information highway. You saw or heard about the covers that caused the fuss: Time with a 26-year-old mother breast feeding her unusually mature 3-year-old son; Newsweek with a rainbow...

Bob Englehart, The Hartford Courant This copyrighted cartoon is licensed to run on TMV. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.

White House Website Gone Wild by Michael Reagan We’ll never know what Ronald Reagan would have done with WhiteHouse.gov, the official website of the White House But I know my father wouldn’t be abusing it the way Barack Obama is. WhiteHouse.gov is owned and operated by the federal government, but the incumbent gets to run it and design it to his own political tastes. Like nearly anything the federal government touches, the White House website is a decent idea gone bad. It should be a...

Back in September 2009, when the Navy was seriously considering allowing women to serve aboard its nuclear submarines, I posted an article titled, “Should Women Serve on Submarines?” and, at the end, asked, “What do you think?” With a couple of exceptions, most of the readers saw no problem with this change in policy or had some reasonable, practical reasons for opposing women serving on our submarines. One woman gave several reasons for her opposition. In addition to bringing up the cost...

Soon we won’t need hypodermic needles. This device delivers a high-velocity jet of liquid that breaches the skin at the speed of sound: [T]he MIT team, led by Ian Hunter, the George N. Hatsopoulos Professor of Mechanical Engineering, has engineered a jet-injection system that delivers a range of doses to variable depths in a highly controlled manner. The design is built around a mechanism called a Lorentz-force actuator — a small, powerful magnet surrounded by a coil of wire that’s attached...

David Fitzsimmons, The Arizona Star This copyrighted cartoon is licensed to run on TMV. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.

Who would have guessed: Since too much inequality can foment revolt and instability, the CIA regularly updates statistics on income distribution for countries around the world, including the U.S. Between 1997 and 2007, inequality in the U.S. grew by almost 10 percent, making it more unequal than Russia, infamous for its powerful oligarchs. The U.S. is not faring well historically, either. Even the Roman Empire, a society built on conquest and slave labor, had a more equitable income distribution. To...

As we once again observe Memorial Day we remember and honor the more than one million American men and women who have made the ultimate sacrifice in all our wars, including more than 6,400 from our two most recent wars — and counting. We remember and pay tribute to the patriots who died long ago on battlefields near to home with familiar, sacred names such as Valley Forge and Gettysburg. We remember the troops who gave their lives on foreign battlefields and shores thousands of miles away...

The delayed departure of the USS Iowa has been set for Saturday. This is a moment of history folks, never again will a battleship sail under the Golden Gate Bridge. The Iowa has been a part of US history, from taking FDR to Yalta all the way to Ronald Reagan and the 100th anniversary of the Statue of Liberty. The fact that this voyage occurs on both Memorial Day weekend and during the 75th anniversary celebrations for the bridge seems quite fitting. I would hope that CNN/MSNBC/Fox/etc will be covering...

…you crybabies!

Blogger Patrick Frey has recently revealed details of how he was nearly murdered for being Conservative While Blogging. As I read this story, I had a creeping sense of horror. And my oft-stated sentiment that maybe I made a mistake ten years ago by blogging under my own real name became a genuinely fearful reaction. Really, this should be called terrorism. I’ve been known to call some people who comment anonymously on the internet cowards, at least when they make vicious inflammatory comments...

The Politico has this top of the site story about Barack Obama stumbling out of the gate since formally announcing the beginning of his campaign three weeks ago. Are Democrats worried? Has Team Obama panicked? A good summary here on Morning Joe: Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Presidential campaigns need a pithy phrase to nail the opposition, and the President is edging toward a killer label for Mitt Romney. In 1940, FDR won reelection against a likable corporate lawyer, Wendell Willkie, who was dubbed the Barefoot Boy from Wall Street and easily defeated. Four years later, Thomas E. Dewey, a buttoned-down former prosecutor with a campaign strategy of not being “prematurely specific” on issues, was described as an opportunist who “changes his views from...

Is there finally going to be closure? Or, rather, a semblance of closure — because how could there really ever be closure in the case of an innocent 6 year old child who vanished in 1972, was declared legally dead in 2001, helped spark the missing children’s movement, and was the first lost child displayed on a milk cartoon — developments which underscored the tragedy of young children with their lives in front of them vanishing, seemingly being whisked mysteriously away, never...

Engineers and scientists are desperately needed by many high-tech firms. However, positions are going unfilled because there are not enough trained Americans to fill them and immigration policy doesn’t allow enough visas to be granted to qualified immigrants who would be happy to take these jobs. And it’s not only in established businesses where immigrants bolster the economy. One study showed that foreign-born entrepreneurs started more than 25% of the technology and engineering firms in the...

Lessons of Lugar and Specter: Only Pure Need Apply by Scott Crass Over the course of the past two elections, voters in Democratic and Republican primaries have shown the door to two of the most senior and influential members of the body. They include the man who was arguably among the Senate’s few Constitutional and legal scholars, Arlen Specter, as well as one of the body’s leading Foreign Affairs scholar, Richard Lugar. More importantly, these Senators were institutionalists who cared deeply...

WASHINGTON — Who are the dastardly enemies of free enterprise who decided to make an issue of Mitt Romney’s tenure at the private-equity firm Bain Capital? Er, those would be his fellow Republicans. Listen to what Newt Gingrich said in January: “The Bain model is to go in at a very low price, borrow an immense amount of money, pay Bain an immense amount of money and leave. I’ll let you decide if that’s really good capitalism. I think that’s exploitation.” ...

How to Apply a Modern Monetary Theory Solution to an Economic Downturn by Robert Coutinho A while back I wrote about Modern Monetary Theory. I have been digesting just how such information could be used to help our society. Although the originators of the theory probably have more complete suggestions, I wanted to share with you what could be done with our economic system. Please keep in mind that the following might (very likely would) require Constitutional Amendment or a Third Republic (which...

A little music before some head out for Memorial Day Weekend. The singer is one Robert Merrill, perhaps the finest baritone ever to perform on stage. He is joined by the the US Air Force Band and the Singing Sergeants Here is an earlier version where he was in his prime

The citizens of the United States are tired of war, George W Bush’s wars. Given that I have some advice for the Obama campaign – forget Bain Capitol and go after Romney’s foreign policy. Collin Powell gave them the talking points. WASHINGTON — Former Secretary of State Colin Powell on Wednesday questioned Mitt Romney’s choice in foreign policy advisers, saying that some are so right-wing that the advice they give deserves “second thought. “I don’t know who all of his advisers...

TMV readers and commenters: We are now seeing certain cable and DSL IPs get flagged as spam thus not causing certain comments to post. The issue has been found but is going to take a bit to work through. For the time being, if you submit a comment and it doesn’t appear, please don’t submit a new one. It makes things more difficult to find the original comment and un-flag it as spam. Thank you for your patience as we work through this.

How confused and ‘dangerous’ has German foreign policy become? For the Sueddeutsche Zeitung, German Vice Admiral Ulrich Weisser [ret.] pulls no punches, as he lays out in detail how Germany has disappointed the United States and its NATO partners in Europe with its U.N. Security Council abstention on action in Libya, its refusal to allow its forces to face the same dangers as its coalition partners in Afghanistan, and its unhelpful attitude toward vital cooperation with Russia on missile...

The New York Times has an interesting and, I am sure, controversial opinion piece, which from the beginning (Title: “G.O.P. Nightmare Charts”) to its conclusion (see below) suggests that present trends “do not bode well for Republicans.” All sarcasm aside and keeping in mind that the Times is called a “liberal newspaper” and worse, that it is written in “a place for opinionated political thinkers from all over the United States to make their arguments about everything...

WASHINGTON – This is a very serious moment for team Obama, an inflection point in the 2012 race. The above screencapture is from Politico on Wednesday and is more than just the usual Beltway baloney. Mitt Romney’s lucky the Republican primaries unmasked his warts long before anyone started paying attention. Sure America saw the clown show, but the circus has passed and now it’s down to business and economics, Romney’s strong suit, though absorbing Paul Ryan’s austerity...

This is yet another bit of bad news for the tornado of bad news swirling American newspapers. New Orleans will soon be the largest American city without a daily newspaper since the company will cut part of its staff and go to three days a week. Three days a week is better than none. But three days a week doesn’t a daily newspaper make: Times-Picayune publisher Ashton Phelps Jr. has confirmed that the newspaper will cease daily publication, moving to three days a week in the fall: Wednesday,...

[Editor's Note: Due to a technical glitch part of this post was missing today. So we're reposting it and putting in on top.] How can a sitting Democratic President in 2012, who came to office with a huge electoral mandate four years earlier in the wake of a Republican-generated economic disaster, actually look like he might lose this coming November to a Republican who politically, economically and even personally so perfectly embodies virtually everything that got this Democratic president elected...

As The Hill reports, Mitt Romney is pledging to bring the unemployment rate below six percent by the end of his first term — and of course in so pledging is once more sinking back to his default position of smearing President Obama: “I can tell you that over a period of four years, by virtue of the policies that we’d put in place, we’d get the unemployment rate down to 6 percent, and perhaps a little lower,” Romney says in a Time magazine interview… “This is...

Our political Quote of the Day comes from Democratic political maven Lanny Davis, who says Newark Mayor Corey Booker got it right the first time when he criticized Camp Obama’s use and accuracy of the Bain Capital issue against Romney — but that Republicans blew it when they used Booker’s remarks and the way they quickly and transparently jumped to use them for the Romney campaign: It’s difficult to argue, even if you are a partisan Obama supporter, as I am, that this ad is not...

Are Democrats swiftboating themselves? Why are Obama supporters so defensive about challenging Mitt Romney’s main claim to the presidency? It started four days ago with a “Meet the Press” gaffe(?), quickly recanted, by Obama supporter Newark Mayor Corey Booker labeling the attacks(?) as “nauseating.” The question marks are for skepticism about Booker’s motives. Those who remember Bill Clinton’s “Sister Souljah moment” in 1992, as the Mayor surely must, can testify to the selfish...

When President Obama gave the commencement address at the Air Force Academy yesterday, he mentioned by name an immigrant from Venezuela whose dream came true as he graduated from the Academy. However, except for mentioning human rights and human dignity a couple of times, the President did not directly recognize or address another group of graduating cadets. You see, eight months after the repeal of the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy, the sky has not fallen — as some gloomily predicted...

Where is the Next Third Party? by A.J. Segneri I remember towards the end of 2010 I listened to radio shows and TV shows where hosts have said where is the next third party? When are we going to see another party go against the Republicans and Democrats? I do not understand these questions, because there are many third parties in our nation. From the Green Party to the Constitution Party and from the Socialist Party to the Libertarian Party, plus everything in between. These organizations have been...

Guest post by Richard K. Barry Richard K. Barry, a New Yorker now living in Toronto, is the Associate Editor of The Reaction. You can also find him at Lippmann’s Ghost. Both amateurs and professionals who write about politics struggle every day with what to write next. I have to say that an article yesterday at Politico was both an exercise in the obvious and a little kowtowing to political spin from the right. But material is material. In a piece with the title “GOP Discovers That Mitt Romney...

Christopher Weyant, The Hill This copyrighted cartoon is licensed to run on TMV. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.

NBC Marist polls find President Barack Obama holds a slight lead over presumptive Republican Presidential nominee Mitt Romney in the key swing states of Ohio, Virginia and Florida. A earlier Quinnipiac University poll had found Romney pulling ahead in Florida and much poll trending so far shows Romney generally on the upswing and Obama in a defensive posture. Meanwhile, a new entry in political scientist Larry Sabato’s must-read Crystal Ball, written by its senior columnist Alan Abramowitz...

Is the European “Union” too disunited to keep NATO afloat? For Poland’s Gazeta Wyborcza, Jacek Saryusz-Wolski, a European Parliamentarian from Poland and an envoy to NATO, warns that unless Europeans pool their defense capabilities and start thinking and acting in a more unified fashion, the E.U. and NATO will become increasingly irrelevant – and America will no longer defend European strategic interests. For the Gazeta Wyborcza, Jacek Saryusz-Wolski writes in small part,...

You have to wonder where it will end. But it just seems to continue. First there was Rush Limbaugh’s verbal assault on law student Sandra Fluke because she dared to see things differently than he does, which sparked a furor largely but not entirely on the left and from the center and from some GOPers. And now we have (WARNING ADULT CONTENT) this: GBTV host S.E. Cupp is the subject of a very explicit, admittedly doctored obscene photo in Hustler – because they don’t like her views....

Are Arab states weak because they lack the spirit to fight against enemies other than themselves? For Iraq’s Kitabat, Nashwan al-Jurayssi writes that the ‘Arab nation’ have been knocked off balance by the West, and in order to revive itself, Arab attentions should be turned toward building a martial spirit focused not on one another, but on those who seek to contain them. Fir Iraq’s Kitabat, Nashwan al-Jurayssi starts off this way: Days ago, the Russians held an impressive...

A North Carolina pastor has suggested that gays and lesbians should be placed in concentration camps. Details from Newsy.com: And here’s a link to Google News that gives you more stories on this subject.

Pat Bagley, Salt Lake Tribune This copyrighted cartoon is licensed to run on TMV. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.

Colin Powell has come out in support of marriage equality. “In terms of the legal matter of creating a contract between two people that’s called marriage,” Powell said Tuesday, “and allowing them to live together with the protection of law, it seems to me is the way we should be moving in this country. And so I support the president’s decision.” This follows up a move earlier this week where the NAACP also endorsed marriage rights for same sex couples. Support for marriage equality has...

[NOTE: Due to a system hiccup the wrong byline was on this post earlier. TMV regrets the error.] WASHINGTON — There is a healthy struggle brewing among the nation’s Roman Catholic bishops. A previously silent group, upset over conservative colleagues defining the church’s public posture and eagerly picking fights with President Obama, has had enough. The headlines this week were about lawsuits brought by 43 Catholic organizations, including 13 dioceses, to overturn regulations...