A group lists the 13 most corrupt men and women in congress (not including Tom DeLay). It comes out to 11 Republicans and 2 Democrats, and, if you include DeLay, it tags 4 of the top 6 Republican Leaders on the Hill. I wish I could say I found this surprising. But I don’t.

Or amaze me anyway. TMVers may not know it, but I am a giant Barack Obama fan. He is just an amazing man in every respect. Those who have not done so should read his autobiography, “Dreams from my Father”. Far from a typical self-serving political pump fest (indeed, Obama wrote it well before he entered the political sphere), it is a both readable and insightful tale that should raise questions for readers of any political inclination. And not only do I respect his politics, but I respect...

Mr. Sun gives us the tragic story of the victims of sex abuse by priests within the Philadelphia Archdiocese. While the Grand Jury found it incontestable that the presiding Cardinals (most recently Anthony Joseph Bevilacqua) deliberately covered up and reassigned pedophile priests, due to Statute of Limitations restrictions they could not indict anybody for the crime. So Cardinal Bevilacqua escapes justice. Mr. Sun wants as many bloggers as possible to link Cardinal Bevilacqua’s name to “evil”–ensuring...

The French Foreign Minister needs a basic history lesson. I wonder if there is not a bit of guilt motivating the Minister’s questions. After being reminded that England was never conquered by the Nazis in WWII, he asked if any Jews had been deported from England to the Nazis. This may be an attempt to rationalize France’s not-too-reluctant deportation of Jews from unoccupied Vichy France to concentration camps in Eastern Europe. One might argue in their defense that had they not complied...

The Debate Link welcomes the new blog Black Prof to the blogosphere with a spotlight post. The focus is on an article by BP contributor and GW Law Professor Paul Butler: Much Respect: Toward a Hip-Hop Theory of Punishment, 56 STAN. L. REV. 983 (2004). It’s actually a great article–unfortunately, it’s not available online. But it is a serious and readable piece that raises interesting questions on how we should construct the criminal justice system so that it can punish wrongdoers...

Anybody got an explanation for this? Why on earth should England have to jailbreak its own soldiers out of an Iraqi government prison? And what do we make of the claim that they were arrested in the first place for firing on Iraqi civilians in downtown Basra? Something doesn’t seem right here…

I was not exactly in the brightest of moods today.

University of Wisconsin Law Professor Ann Althouse has a compelling op-ed dealing with, among other things, the use of foreign law in American cases.

…and President Hugo Chavez has the “documentary” evidence to prove it. What a nut…

In response to the recent decision striking “under God” from the Pledge, Joe penned a post that was harshly critical. However, I think it glosses over some critical aspects of Church/State jurisprudence and minority rights in general that require further examination. Before I go on though, I just want to note how few sites would geniune positive clash between their co-bloggers. Especially considering Joe pretty much runs this show and we are here at his invitation, it just goes to show...

Have you ever read one of my posts and thought: “This kid can’t write to save his life”? Do you wish that you could point out a boneheaded spelling error or logical fallacy before the oh-so-flawed finished product? Well, now you can! For this one-post offer, you can critique one of my pieces before it reaches its final destination. I’m thinking of using this story as an introduction to an article I’m writing. I’m interested in any reactions, comments, suggestions,...

I’m not going to take up any more space here on it (see Joe’s stellar post if you want something on TMV), but I am just stunned, stunned, to see Bush take responsibility for something. Oh yeah, and so is the rest of the blogtopia. It’s like our worlds have turned upside down, man!

Yale Law Professor Jack Balkin relays this joke out of Baton Rouge: Q: What’s George Bush’s position on Roe v. Wade? A: He really doesn’t care how people get out of New Orleans. Wicked.

But alas, I’m trying. So here’s take two of why supporting an interventionist foreign policy doesn’t make me a conservative.

If you’re going to attack me, at least label me right. It’s neo-liberal, and I’ll defend it as true liberalism any day of the week.

This NY Times Magazine article inspired a very thoughtful post by Tom Strong of The Yellow Line on how telling a good story can influence even somewhat suspicious people to adopt (or at least listen to) one’s own argument. Strong notes that his “reflexive[ly] pacifist” views were counterbalanced by the strong narrative weaved by pro-war liberals, such as Tom Friedman, Dean Esmay, Michael Totten, Dan Savage, and others. These men (and I count myself in this group as well) believe...

What with the rampant spree of homosexuals killing heterosexuals (and being let off the hook by sympathetic juries to boot), gay youth slurring heterosexual kids in school (“you suck, straightie!”), and the continuing march of the homosexual agenda as it devours our children, our values, and our very way of life, I suppose it is understandable when someone considers even discussing gay marriage with a homosexual to be “threatening.” But that doesn’t make it right.

After listed the 11 GOP Representatives who voted against Katrina aid, some folks asked if these Representatives might just be acting on a consistent and principled opposition to frivilous spending (check the comments). I examine the claim, and for 9 of the 11, it just doesn’t fly.

I’m going back to the lovely Carleton College this Saturday. Since it’s been awhile since I left, I’m going have to think extra hard to avoid any of those infamous faux pas that plague college students. So, note to self: Don’t invite my female Professors to keggers.

Oliver Willis has the list of the 11 GOP representatives who are a bit too keen on the drowning part. All 11 voted against sending an aid package to Katrina victims: Rep. Joe Barton – TX Jeff Flake – AZ Virginia Foxx – NC Scott Garrett – NJ John Hostettler – IN Steve King – IA Butch Otter – ID Ron Paul – TX James Sensenbrenner – WI Tom Tancredo – CO Lynn Westmoreland – GA I never thought Sensenbrenner and Tancredo could prove themselves...

Why are the poor poor, and are we justified in doing anything about it? How do liberals and conservatives view the question, and what are the limitations? Moving beyond the dualism of bad luck and lack of pluck (guess what category three is?), I explore the question at The Debate Link. Armchair Capitalists (a highly underrated blog) and Angry Bear get credit for provoking the discussion in the first place.

3-6, 3-6, 6-3, 6-3, 7-6 (6). Andre Agassi, coming from two sets down and battling back from break point after break point, bested James Blake to advance to the US Open Semis at age 35. I’ll come straight out: I was rooting for Blake. The emotional and physical trauma he’s gone through this past year, you couldn’t help but root for his fairy tale trip as a wild card this year. And even with the loss, Blake showed once and for all that he will be a force on the ATP tour. But Agassi...

If New Orleans was destroyed because of its wicked ways, then does that mean the poor people who actually died are the most wicked of all?

In the wake of the California State Senate’s recent vote legalizing gay marriage, I give a protracted defense of why gay marriage bans don’t even satisfy the relatively relaxed “rational basis” test–responding specifically to points raised by Dafydd at Patterico’s Pontifications.

The response from the blogosphere in the wake of Katrina has been nothing short of incredible. Everybody is giving, and encouraging others to give–there has been no party line to generousity. But in the halls of power, the Republican response to Katrina has been absolutely and utterly shameful. This isn’t about taking a political potshot. It’s saying that the RNC needs to get divert its attention from repealing the Estate Tax for just one minute and tell its millioniare donors to...