Addressing supporters at an event that was supposed to open his new campaign headquarters in Atlanta, Herman Cain announced that he will suspend his campaign for the GOP Presidential nomination. He was very critical of the news media for “spinning stories that are unproven” and discussed the pain and anguish the stories have caused for him and his family. He also took responsibility for any mistakes he has made in the past, which is not exactly an admission but not entirely a denial. It...

Watching the speeches being given by the warm up speakers it seems hard to believe that Cain is going to drop out. Herman Cain is scheduled to announce at any time whether he will remain in the race or drop out. To the degree that tea leaves can be read it is looking like he will drop out. Reports from CNN indicate that a number of top Cain supporters have been in touch with key figures in other campaigns, the Bachmann camp in particular. This could be a sign he plans to step aside. Of course those...

The US Senate tonight put on another kabuki show as they ‘rejected’ two plans to extend the payroll tax cut. The Democratic plan, which would have paid for the cut with a surtax on millionaires, got a 51-49 majority but failed to get the 60 votes needed to invoke cloture. A proposal by Senator Heller (R-NV) which would have paid for the cut by cutting spending failed by a much larger margin, with many Republicans voting no. Of course all if this is show because we know they will reach...

No confirmation yet (and no link on CNN.com) but the talking heads on CNN are reporting that he is “reassessing” his run for President. Given the less than organized nature of the Cain campaign this could be a false report, but it could be that he and his wife have had a “chat” about things. The Hill is also echoing this report. More details as they come in.

An interesting quiz for this holiday weekend.

As we prepare for a day of feasting and family let none of us forget that thousands of brave men and women will spend the day far away from those they love in order to protect those you love. And serving at home are those loved ones, who spend the day without that special someone, the parent, spouse, child, sibiling. They serve too. Military.com has a great resource page showing ways you can support those who serve, both overseas and here at home. Graphic via shutterstock.com

The following thoughts are ones I’ve posted about before but since I still think it is an important issue I am going to repost it about once a year in the hopes that someone in power will take it under consideration. While it is not a pleasant thought I do think that this is an important subject to be addressed given the world in which we now live. Under the terms of the 1947 act if there is no President or Vice President the office next passes to the Speaker of the House, then the President Pro...

While there were many things I didn’t like about Dr. Laura I did always enjoy the fact that every Thanksgiving she would have her corny joke episode. The last day before Thanksgiving was dedicated to everyone calling in with their corniest jokes. Since things on the net sometimes take longer to filter I thought I’d start us out earlier. So chime in with those corny jokes (and feel free to share your best Thanksgiving treats too)

It was one hundred years ago that the United States Supreme Court ruled that Standard Oil company was too big and had to be broken up into smaller elements. The decision was based on the idea that Standard Oil controlled too much of the market and that it was not healthy for them to have such a monoply, especially in such a critical industry. Almost thirty years ago a settlement of a similar legal proceeding led to the breakup of AT&T into what were termed ‘baby bells’. Although...

I was flipping channels today and came across a replay of a Book TV episode on C-Span. The topic was a biography of long time Democratic operative Robert Strauss. One of the points made by the author (his great niece) was that Strauss took over as chairman of the Democratic national committee in the aftermath of the McGovern fiasco of 1972. At the time there was talk that the Democratic party was in serious danger of losing its position as the majority party in the US. Over the next four years he...

Bill Keane, the creator of Family Circus has died at the age of 89. Keane died of heart failure on November 8th. Those little one panel cartoons may have been seen by some as outdated or old fashioned but I always found they brought a little smile to my face. For some dotted line walks down memory line check out the official site.

The California Supreme Court has just issued a ruling saying that the supporters of Proposition 8 who stepped in to defend the lawsuit against it did have standing to do so. So what does this mean ? Well assuming the 9th Circuit Court Of Appeals agrees with the ruling then the case would continue to proceed through the federal courts for a determination of the validity of the law itself. This would mean a review by the 9th circuit court over the coming months and then a probable review at the US...

The California Supreme Court has announced that they will issue a ruling/advisory opinion tomorrow regarding Proposition 8. But this will not be a ruling on the validity of Proposition 8 nor will it be a binding ruling. To briefly explain. The 9th Circuit Court Of Appeals (or more directly a 3 judge panel from the court) asked the California Supreme Court to offer its opinion on the issue of standing with regard to the parties who stepped in to defend Proposition 8 when it was challenged. Standing...

Today is the day we honor those who have served our country, both the troops and their families. On days like this there are always debates about how to honor them, with views as diverse as the political spectrum. Some honor them by fighting for peace while others do so with flags. But there is one thing I think we can all agree on. Those who are killed or wounded in service to this country deserve the deepest respect and so do the families who suffer along with them. One of the best charities out...

Let us all take a few moments to remember that today, November 10th, is the 236th birthday of the United States Marine Corps. For more than two centuries they have been fighting to defend our freedom in the air, on the land and on the sea. For all the sacrifices they have made in our defense, we all should say a huge thank you. So remember… hug a Marine today. OOOH RAH !

This week is Veterans Day and a time for all of us to remember those who have served. But it is also worth remembering those who serve back at home. Families make HUGE sacrifices for our nation, they give up months and years with their fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, husbands and wives. Beyond that many see their loved ones come home wounded, having to spend weeks or months in painful and difficult rehab and surgery. And of course some face the worst news, the word that the person they love...

In news that is likely to have an impact on the world economic situation, Italian Prime Minister Berlusconi has announced he will resign as PM once key economic votes are cast later this month. The votes will be on austerity packages demanded by other European nations. In the short term the news has seemed to have a positive impact on US markets (the news came after European markets closed). Berlusconi has been a very controversial and scandal plagued leader over the past few years. However those...

For those who care he has been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter and will face up to four years in prison. Based on what I’ve seen the verdict was proper, even if Jackson did give himself some of the drugs it was entirely improper to administer the drug outside of a hospital setting.

Violet’s dad has passed away. This means Charlie’s mother is, I believe, the only parent still living. According to family he was often asked to quote his epic line “Violet you’re turning violet Violet” and did so with great pleasure. Of course the sad thing is that he had decades of service in the entertainment industry but is only remembered for this. However if we can all take time to rewatch the movie then it will be a nice tribute to him.

This is a reworking of an earlier post but I thought it would be fun weekend conversation. Often when we get a debate between the big government/small government positions I see someone who supports the big government side come up with “well you oppose big government so you must refuse taking benefit X”. I must confess that I’ve never seen the logic to that position. I’m a relative moderate, or so I like to think, but I do think government can get too big. That does not mean...

So says a Bloomberg report today. It is interesting given that the statistics are gathered over 30 years so that would seem to weed out any short term bull or bear markets. Yet bonds remain the poor cousin to the stock market in the minds of many. Personally I have no money to invest so it’s somewhat academic for me, but it is interesting.

Today marks the 125th ‘birthday’ of the Statue of Liberty. For all our disagreements and debates here on TMV I think we can all agree liberty and freedom is worth celebrating. Here is an amazing video (it is 10 min long) of the finale of the 1986 celebrations. Hopefully we can keep the political debates in other threads and use this one to celebrate our common love of freedom and each other.

I had heard this story before but now that the ads are airing it was brought to my mind again. Dr. Pepper has this new ad campaign talking about how their new soda “isn’t for women”. It seems that this new soda is part of a whole new segment of the soda market. When i saw products like Coke Zero or Pepsi Max I just assumed it was some sort of branding thing, trying to get catchy names versus just the word diet. Well it turns out there is more to it. It seems that some men out there...

When it comes to the Tea Party and OWS, I have been both sympathetic with the goals of both groups and critical of some elements of the movements. But it does sound like a double standard is in play. Obviously we need to wait and find out the facts, but if the Tea Party is required to pay fees and provide porta potties, insurance, etc to stage a protest and OWS is allowed to do so for free, that is wrong. Doesn’t matter if you love OWS and loathe the Tea Party, equal treatment is equal treatment....

Not a big surprise but now it is official