Word that German billionaire Adolf Merckle had committed suicide brought a couple of reactions from me. The first was, of course, sympathy for his family over the loss of a loved one but the second was a degree of either bemusement or cynicism over his feeling that his life was so ruined. I am not one to speak ill of the dead, and again I do feel the deepest sympathies for his family and for the emotions that led him to this choice, but when I see people in my office every day with far worse problems...

With the Inaugural coming up I thought I’d offer this to you for your enjoyment. It’s a bit outdated but still fun.  

Since the only response to my ‘what do you want us to do’ post involved more coverage of Africa I though I would try to start getting into answering that request. The BBC has offered a good ‘what will Africa face in 2009′ article which helps gives us some focus. I encourage you to read the article and keep track of the stories they discuss but just for those who don’t have the time right now some of the issues that they think will be key to the continent. At the center...

In the continuing drama of the Minnesota US Senate race, it looks like Al Franken (DFL) is going to prevail, at least until the courts get involved. A final count has basically reversed the 250ish vote lead that Norm Coleman had into a 250ish vote lead for Franken. Coleman and possibly some voter groups plan to sue on the grounds that the recount was flawed, that votes were improperly counted and/or double counted and that decisions on how to count disputed votes were overly biased to Franken. For...

It has been reported that President-Elect (or can we just get to calling him President) Obama will name former California Congressman Leon Panetta to head the CIA. For the time being I will refrain from any specific speculation as to whether or not he is the right pick, though I do admit I wonder why a 70 year old ex-legislator would be chosen over a more-experienced professional. This is not to say that I have no respect for Panetta, indeed as someone who has lived near his district for many years...

According to news reports the Governors of Colorado and New York have chosen candidates to fill the pending Senate vacancies in their respective states. In New York, Governor Paterson will reportedly tap Caroline Kennedy to fill the Clinton seat though it remains unclear as to whether she would be a caretaker Senator or would run for the seat in 2010. Clinton was last elected to a six-year term in 2006 so under the Constitution there will be a special election in 2010 for the final two years and...

I have no idea how many people actually read our blog or my own little section of it (hopefully my efforts do not detract too much from my far more talented colleagues). But on the off chance than someone who reads this has the ability to forward it to Senator Designate Burris, I have a proposal for him to ponder. By all accounts Mr. Burris has been a dedicated public servant to the people of Illinois and does not share any of the sleaze connected to Governor Soprano. Furthermore, he has more than...

Fellow blogger Tony Campbell has already posted on the issues the Senate might face in trying to block the seating of Senate appointee Burris. However a new wrinkle has entered the fray as Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White has indicated that he may refuse to certify the appointment, which is required by Senate Rules. If White does refuse to certify the appointment, then the Senate could reject the appointment with ease but Governor Soprano could then sue to force White to certify (which could...

It’s always a warning we hear at holiday time, but given the economy, it is even more worth considering: Use those holiday gift cards soon. An estimated $24.9 billion was spent on gift cards this holiday season, according to the National Retail Federation. You were probably part of that statistic. While many people like to hold on to gift cards for something special to buy, that’s a bad idea. You’re much more likely to get the full benefits if you use a card as quickly as possible....

While I can’t promise my fellow bloggers will follow through with this, here’s your chance to suggest the kinds of changes you’d like to see us make during 2009. For example: What kind of stories would you like to see us cover ? Do you want more or less coverage of international stories ? What would you like to see us cut back on (and no, you can’t say “Get rid of Edaburn”) ? Chime on in and give us our year-end review.

OK people, we all know this is the time of year when we all pledge to ourselves to make changes in our lives, even though we know that in a matter of days or weeks we will fail to keep them. So here is a chance for you to make your promises to yourself public, which might help you keep those promises. Or maybe we can start discussing how we failed on our resolutions, why and how quickly.

As we head into 2009 (the International Astronomical Year) I am going to try and keep my fellow skywatchers updated on some of the more interesting astronomical events of the year. While weather many not always cooperate there are some fun things in the skies for the coming year. Our first event actually takes us through the end of 2008 as we get to experience a rare conjunction of the Moon, two planets (Jupiter and Venus) and a bright star (Capricornus) all lined up in a row. The start of 2009...

Many of you may recognize the title to this post as a line from the Christmas carol Good King Wenceslas. The song is based in part on the story of Saint Wenceslaus I who was known for giving to the poor and less fortunate during the 10th century. In the song, he goes out to help the poor ‘on the feast of Stephen’. Some of our more traditional Catholic or Orthodox readers can tell you that today is in-fact the Feast of Stephen which is celebrated on the second of the twelve days of Christmas...

I know for many out there this has been a difficult year, many of us face tough financial times and some may wonder what life is really all about. Fortunately Jimmy Stewart and Frank Capra answered the question for us. I know times can be tough my friends, but remember the true meaning of life and real success. If you are loved and if you love others then you have more wealth than the richest man.

I think most of us, regardless of faith, find it difficult to make it through the holiday season without watching at least one version of A Christmas Carol. The warmth and spirit of this classic are such that they transcend class, culture and belief to simply bring a smile to our hearts. But there are a couple of things that many of us don’t realize, both the impact that that the story had on us and the impact that the writing of it had on the author. I hope that you will enjoy learning a few...

I wanted to take just a moment tonight to wish all my fellow bloggers and all of our readers a very Merry Christmas. With thanks to Andy Griffith and company, I offer a scene from what is perhaps the best Christmas episode ever. [YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RBsarIO_suw&feature=related[/YOUTUBE] May you and yours have the most joyous of holidays and here’s hoping for a happy 2009…

If you haven’t bought a gift for that special someone yet, you could try giving them the fabled Twelve Days of Christmas, but if you do the cost will run anywhere from $21,000 to $87,000 (depending on whether you repeat the gifts for each day or just buy them once). For the last couple decades the company PNC Wealth Management has tracked the cost of the items, first as a learning tool for customers but these days it’s a media event of it’s own. Interestingly the Christmas...

All through the year, we here at TMV spend our time debating the great issues of the day, political and social, and often the debate gets pretty heated. But today I am offering the ultimate in controversial topics… naming your favorite versions of the Christmas classic, Charles Dickens’ Christmas Carol. Since there have been both film versions and innumerable TV show versions, I will divide the debate into two categories, inviting you to name your favorites in both. Personally, when it...

In what is an increasingly common story it looks like various bailed out-industries still don’t get it. Despite being near-disaster financially and after obtaining billions of dollars in taxpayer money, they are still behaving like they own the world and we just live in it. Reports first indicated bailed-out banks paid up to $ 1.6 billion dollars (that’s $ 1,600,000,000.00 for those of us who write out checks to pay our bills every month) to executives in the form of wages, bonuses,...

In a controversial 4-3 ruling the California Supreme Court has ruled that private citizens who try to help out in an emergency situation can be sued for damages or injuries resulting from those efforts. The case stemmed from an incident in 2004 when a group of co-workers went out for some Halloween fun. Adult beverages were consumed and one of the two cars crashed into a light pole, injuring the occupants. Those in the second car came over to help and one of those people saw smoke and liquid coming...

Blago is about to speak to the press…. should be entertaining. Ok, he says he is innocent, won’t resign, won’t admit any wrongdoing, is going to ‘fight fight fight’ to prove his innocence. Attacks the prosecutors, says he wants to prove his innocence but he can’t do it yet (shades of Nixon’s secret plan to end the war). Quotes Kipling, well actually somewhat misquotes Kipling to suit his own purposes but what the heck he probably has plans to buy Kipling...

In what has become an almost daily (I used to say annual) tradition the state of California is in another budget crisis which threatens to destroy our economy. Those of us who thought a $ 10 or $ 15 billion dollar deficit was bad are now pondering a debt of as much as $ 40 billion or more(out of total spending of $ 145 billion or around 20%). The result of such a crisis should be for members of both parties to come together to solve the problems but instead things have focused on the traditional...

President-Elect Obama has chosen Colorado Senator Ken Salazar (D) to be Interior Secretary and he has reportedly accepted the nomination. He has also tapped Chicago School Superintendent Arne Duncan to be Secretary of Education. Salazar’s departure means that yet another Senate appointment will be coming. It is possible Governor Ritter (D) would name Salazar’s brother, Congressman John Salazar, to the seat but he is more likely to select a more liberal choice according to many sources. Obama...

As President Elect Obama assembles his new foreign policy/national security team, there have been a number of comments and observations made by various interest groups. Those on the far left are upset that he has not appointed enough ‘progressives’ to the team while those on the far right are convinced he is ready to give away the store by not naming enough hard-liners. Of course most of us have the more mainstream response to say he has assembled a pretty good team and that they should...

With a new Administration on the way in, we are already hearing the debate over future tax policy and whether or not cuts will remain in place or be eliminated and so on. This has lead to each side citing statistics to support their side of the debate but the problem is that the figures are not exactly accurate. For example, those who support keeping the tax cuts in place cite figures stating that the top 1% or 5% or 10% of taxpayers are responsible for paying 20% or 30% or 50% of the taxes, implying...