When Texas Governor Rick Perry couldn’t remember the third government agency he would eliminate should he become president, one could chalk that up to “well, everybody has a mental freeze once-in-a-while.” When Perry couldn’t remember the name of a Supreme Court Justice or made a mistake in the number of judges on that Court, one could say “well, we all make mistakes.” But what does one say when a presidential candidate, the Governor of Texas, does not remember an extremely...

If I were a Republican this coming election year … I would vote for Rick Santorum because of his views on gays and lesbians and gay marriage, his promise to reinstate “don’t ask, don’t tell” and his stance on singling out Muslims for extra screening at airports. I would vote for Ron Paul for wanting to eliminate almost all of government, income taxes, the IRS and for declaring MEDICARE, Social Security, Medicaid, etc. unconstitutional. Plus, I kind of like his newsletters. I...

I don’t know what caught my attention while browsing the web today. Perhaps it was the similarity to the title of that famous song, “How much is that doggie in the window?” Perhaps it was the similarity to the title I chose for one of my military aviation stories, “How much is that F-35 in the window?” But more likely it was the incongruence in the words in the title of the story itself: “How much is that Purple Heart in the Window.” A Purple Heart – a military decoration awarded...

The New Year of 2012, a general election year, will be a year when the fortunes of political parties and politicians will rise and fall; it will be a year of unprecedented social and ideological confrontation; most important, it will be a year when “we the people” once again have the opportunity — the obligation — to make necessary adjustments or corrections to the course of our society, our nation, even the world. Call me pretentious, presumptuous or both, but I hope to...

Now that we have pulled out of Iraq — on a schedule negotiated by the Bush administration — and as instability and violence are on the increase there — as we feared they would — the very same chickenhawks who got us into this mess are now rearing their heads to blame Obama — as we knew they would. They are now saying the same they would have said if we had pulled out of Iraq six years ago, or four years ago, or two years ago, and the same they would be saying —...

As I wrote here: One of the most interesting and exciting assignments during my U.S. Air Force career was my tour of duty at the North American Aerospace Defense (NORAD) complex some 1,400 feet beneath granite Cheyenne Mountain, south of Colorado Springs, Colorado, at the height of the Cold War. The assignment was interesting and exciting not only because we were working to “protect North America from a space, air, or ballistic missile attack,” but also because we were performing another vital...

UPDATE II: In a Capitol Hill news conference, Mr. Boehner announced the “deal.” The New York Times reports: Bowing under intense pressure from members of their own party to end the politically damaging impasse over a payroll tax holiday, House Republican leaders agreed Thursday to accept a temporary extension of the tax cut, beating a hasty retreat from a showdown that Republicans increasingly saw as a threat to their election opportunities next year. Read more here == UPDATE I: It is now...

With my best wishes for a Merry Christmas and a joyous holiday season to our readers, especially our veterans and active duty military. Two Christmases ago, in a “Christmas wish for our troops serving in harm’s way,” I expressed my empathy and admiration for the tens of thousands of our brave men and women who were serving in hostile territory , away from their loved ones, attempting to, in some fashion, celebrate Christmas — the most joyful and most sacred of all holidays. I wrote: I...

There are some endorsements that politicians love to have. Then there are endorsements that are neither here nor there. Finally, there are those endorsements a politician can definitely do without. Here is an endorsement for Newt Gingrich that probably falls into the latter category.

This morning, I — probably along with millions of other Americans — received this short e-mail from President Obama: Early this morning, the last of our troops left Iraq. As we honor and reflect on the sacrifices that millions of men and women made for this war, I wanted to make sure you heard the news. Bringing this war to a responsible end was a cause that sparked many Americans to get involved in the political process for the first time. Today’s outcome is a reminder that we...

Our Copy Editor, Holly Robinson, forwarded me an announcement for an upcoming (tomorrow!) documentary on the National Geographic Channel. Although I am preparing for travel shortly, I would be remiss if I were not to at least — using the text of the announcement — make our readers aware of what promises to be an astounding, eye-opening program about our American Jewish G.I.s who were held by the Nazis as POWs during World War II. So here it goes, and hope you watch it, tomorrow, December...

As our troops are finally coming home out of Iraq, and coming home for Christmas, many are penning down their thoughts — their emotions — welcoming our troops, thanking our troops, honoring them and reflecting on what this long, painful war has and has not accomplished. I am one of those and will publish my welcome, my thanks to our troops soon. There is, however, a lady — a hero — who has just done exactly that. While I — a retired military — watched and anguished...

A missing chapter in the history of U.S. military aviation On the eve of this most recent Veterans Day, I had the privilege of accompanying World War II veteran John Tschirhart to a reception hosted by the Texas Veterans Land Board at the Capitol Visitors Center, in Austin, Texas. Tschirhart, a B-17 bombardier with 35 bombing missions over Nazi occupied Europe under his belt, is now 91 and every time I hear or read the sad statistic that our World War II veterans are dying at a rate of more than...

About a week ago, a “Get a Life” post by Joe Gandelman discussing a bovine question by a reporter on a defense authorization bill that included a provision which repeals the military law on sodomy and the military ban on sex with animals, or bestiality, quickly (de)generated some heated comments on the issue. One person insisted that sodomy and other bizarre deviant sex acts should be illegal and was appalled that bestiality would now be legal in the U.S. military. Apparently, several Conservative...

As a blogger — not a journalist — a “debate” in the New York Times caught my interest. The lead article asks the question, “Are All Bloggers Journalists?” The question and the ensuing debate are prompted by an Oregon federal judge’s ruling that “Crystal Cox, a blogger who was sued for defamation after she accused the founder of an investment group of acting illegally and unethically, cannot claim protections afforded to journalists under state shield laws.” The Times article...

UPDATE, Dec. 13: Bloomberg News reports that MVRDV, the Dutch architecture company that designed the much criticized “pixelated cloud” buildings may modify the design in the wake of the negative reactions. Bloomberg: “It may be difficult for the developer to go on with the current design after getting negative attention in the mass media,” Lee Sang Yun, a professor at Yonsei University’s department of architectural engineering in Seoul, said by phone. The development is near the Yongsan...

As we have done for the past 16 years, my wife and I brave the unseasonably cold Austin, Texas weather to attend a ceremony that has now become a tradition, albeit a sad one, in our lives — the Tree of Angels ceremony at a local Church. Every year for the past 20 years, a wonderful organization, People Against Violent Crime, has provided a most reverent and appropriate forum for the families and friends of victims of violent crime, and some of the surviving victims themselves, to join together...

Throughout the earlier years of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars — and before then — our government had the policy of not allowing the American people to see images of the flag-draped coffins, our fallen heroes, arriving at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware, the first contact with U.S. soil since leaving foreign battlefields. When Obama became president, there were numerous calls — including from this author — for the policy to be reversed so the American people could see the...

Latest update from the BBC: The BBC reports that Iranian TV has shown the first video footage of the US drone that Tehran says it downed near the Afghan border. Images show Iranian military officials inspecting the RQ-170 Sentinel stealth aircraft which appears to be undamaged. Iranian officials say its forces electronically hijacked the drone and steered it to the ground. [:] BBC security correspondent Frank Gardner says the intact condition of the Sentinel tends to support their claim. [:] Pentagon...

In “The Iraqi Phoenix Rises Again,” I described how the once proud and powerful Iraqi Air Force(IqAF) — at one time the sixth largest air force in the world — was decimated as a result of both the 1991 “Persian Gulf War” (Operation Desert Storm) and Saddam Hussein’s desperate concealing, disassembling and “stashing abroad” of its remaining aircraft before the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq. While indeed decimated as a result of wars, a new IqAF started to rise again from its...

The criticism expressed by the pundits of the slate of Republican presidential wannabes has been quite fierce — from the Left and from the Right. Judging from the muted, lethargic responses by Republicans — sometimes even agreement — including here at TMV, one would think that the GOP, this time, has decided to “Send in the Clueless” — or at least the “cynics” — to, first, “undersmart” each other and, subsequently, to attempt to beat Obama. E. J. Dionne...

Staunch Conservative George Will has not been a shrinking violet when it comes to showing his disdain for pizza-king-turned-presidential-pretender Herman Cain. But this morning, on ABC’s This Week with Christiane Amanpour, he held nothing back. After comparing Santorum favorably to Cain, Will launched right into the GOP presidential campaign process and specifically into Cain’s “disrespectful approach to the selection of presidents. George Will: Between now and 2016, both parties have to...

Here’s a place where undying Cain supporters — those who don’t give a hoot about what several women have claimed he has done to them — can give him “encouragement;” can “show their support,” can “communicate their prayers;” can tell him why it is so important for him to stay in the race and become our next president; can trash the Left for “trying their best to discredit him because they fear him;” but, most important, can trash those women who have had the courage...

There is a little section in the New York Times, published by its editorial page editor, Andrew Rosenthal, that I sometimes overlook — but shouldn’t. For that little section is usually very big on insightful, razor-sharp political commentary. Yesterday’s piece, “Not-Lobbyists in Name Only,” written by David Firestone, was no exception. Firestone discusses the fact that “Washington teems with highly paid influence peddlers who proudly disdain the title of lobbyist.” These are people...

The Washington Post reports: Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain rebutted charges on Monday that he had a 13-year affair with Ginger White, who he said was just a friend. The charges will air on an Atlanta TV station at 6 p.m Monday evening, and arrive on the heels of four women accusing the former Godfather’s pizza CEO of sexual harassment in the 1990s. “It was pretty simple,” White said. “It wasn’t complicated. I was aware that he was married. And I was also aware I...