David Broder asks an important question in the Washington Post which should cause us all to ask how we evaluate political “figures” on their own merits. Call it, if you will, a result of the law of unintended consequences falling out from the current health care debate. As we focus on exactly how much health care money is spent on treating the negative consequences of obesity (along with whether or not we have a moral imperative to tax soft drinks) this battle seems to be giving cover...

Due to a change in my co-host’s schedule, Mid Stream Radio will temporarily be moving to a weekend format, starting today, Saturday Oct. 10, at 1 pm eastern time. On today’s show we’ll be catching up on the fallout from the Nobel Peace Prize, along with some other news that slipped through the cracks during all this media craziness. Stop by and join in our online chat or call in to (646) 595-3963. See you on the radio!

While many of my colleagues here at TMV have already chimed in on the rather “curious” choice of awarding President Barack Obama the Nobel Peace Prize today, I was already asked to opine on the subject elsewhere. You can find the full rundown in my “special comment” (with a hat tip to MSNBC) at Pajamas Media… Freaky Friday: Obama’s Weird Peace Prize Win. One thing not noted in that column which I found of even more interest was the fact that nominations for this award...

Putting the lie to my recent theory that Congress can’t manage to accomplish anything, the House of Representatives voted yesterday to further expand so called “hate crime” legislation to include “those committed because of a victim’s sexual orientation” which will include attacks on lesbian, gay and transgender people. Of course, in typical fashion, Democratic sponsors of the measure used what amounts to blackmail to get it through, attaching it as an amendment to...

For those interested in the public debate over the Iraq war and looking for a great film experience, I would suggest that you check out Andrew Lawton’s beautifully crafted film, “Wake.” (IMDB data on the film may be found here.) Technically a short, the movie comes in at around thirty minutes, but fills the screen in such a vibrant fashion that the movie seems much larger. Rather than taking place in the dusty streets of Baghdad or amid the anti-war protests in the streets of America,...

This just in, courtesy of Lady Logician. Not News: Republicans want Charlie Rangel to step down. Kind of News: Democrats want Charlie Rangel to step down. Worthy of Onion News: People actually think Charlie Rangel would step down. Congressional Republicans are again demanding that Congressman Charles Rangel step down as chairman of the House tax writing committee, saying his ethics problems make him the poster boy for institutional arrogance. And here’s a new twist. Highly placed Democratic...

It was with a good bit of disappointment that I read my friend Ed Morrissey’s take over at Hot Air on the decision by Gen McChrystal to give a speech on war strategy in London last week. Of course, to the best of my reccolection, Ed hasn’t served in uniform, so he may not be as familiar with the Military way as those of us who have been there. McChrystal may not know the ways of Washington, but that’s not his battleground. It seems as though Obama knows Afghanistan less than McChrystal...

With Sunday football back upon us, it’s a good time to ask about the potential for more rules changes being considered currently by the NFL. The rules in the NFL change only at a glacial pace which is generally a good thing. You don’t want to mess too much with a winning formula. But they do change on occasion. Some have been minor tweaks with varying levels of success. A few have been really boneheaded moves which were later abandoned, but some have been truly spectacular. (The advent...

Are cable news shouters such as Ed Schultz and Glenn Beck a reflection of American society at large? Do the displays of Alan Grayson and Joe Wilson mirror the attitudes and actions of their constituents back home? Has politics really turned our formerly civil population into an unruly mob, screaming at each other and biting off fingers? No. In fact, those of us who spend far too much time steeping in the ebb and flow of political warfare may have forgotten how nice many of our neighbors actually...

I’m going to have to take exception with the premise put forth by my colleague, Dalitso Njolinjo, who earlier opined here that the losers in the recent Olympics bidding kerfuffle were Chicago, Obama and America. It was an interesting analysis and sparked a spirited and useful discussion in our comments section, but it simply doesn’t ring true for me. The real losers in this battle, if there are any to be found, are among some of my conservative brethren around the web. In particular I...

Because of a scheduling conflict yesterday, we’ve had to push back the line-up for our weekly show, Mid Stream Radio, to Friday morning at 10 am eastern. (An ungodly 7 am pacific.) We’ll be picking apart the fast breaking, though likely irrelevant David Letterman sexual affairs story, as well as a little reported attempt at a federal landgrab in Utah. If there’s time we’ll look at a few of the 2010 House and Senate races where incumbents may find a less than receptive voter...

As reported by our friend Dave Schuler at Outside the Beltway, the North Koreans have revamped their constitution and abandoned communism. SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea has officially made Kim Jong-il its “supreme leader” and his “military first” policy its guiding ideology, according to the text of the country’s newly revised Constitution made available on Monday. The Constitution also declared for the first time that North Korea “respects and protects” the “human rights”...

Continuing our coverage of news surrounding the recent arrest of scumbag, pedophile, child-rapist Roman Polanski, (not that I want you to think your reporter is biased on the story or anything) Paterico is still all over the case. Yesterday we told you of Anne Applebaum’s jaw dropping defense of said child-rapist in which she failed to mention that her husband was working to get President Obama to grant said scumbag clemency. As noted below, we should definitely sympathize with Anne, because...

I had an interesting conversation last night regarding a curious e-mail which my friend Ed Morrissey received about a new bill being introduced in the House of Representatives. The purpose of the legislation would be to provide tax deductions to people for the care of their pets. ACTON, CA – PetExemption.com founders Leo Grillo and Robert Davi are pleased that the Humanity and Pets Partnered Through the Years (“HAPPY”) Act was introduced last week in the U.S. House of Representative. The legislation...

As you may have heard by now, infamous film director Roman Polanski has been arrested in Switzerland more than thirty years after the fact of his crimes and may be extradited to the United States. For those of us who have been outraged by this case for decades, it may come as cold comfort to see justice finally served when the criminal is in his twilight years and has lived a live of decadent luxury for all this time, but half a loaf is better than none, I suppose. But perhaps nearly as outrageous...

In 1913 our nation suffered a collective failure of judgment when we passed the 17th amendment. It was not a mistake to hand the power of electing senators to the voters rather than state legislatures, but we really dropped the ball when we put in an “option” for each state to pick and choose whether their governor could make interim appointments. The fundamental harm this causes far exceeds any benefits paid in either expediency or fiscal savings for extra elections. There is no greater...

The horrible death of Bill Sparkman in backwoods Kentucky has brought out the usual collection of vultures, ghouls and opportunists. Even though everyone admits that details remain sketchy and investigating officials are (rightly) keeping some pertinent facts close to the vest, the piling on started almost immediately. We’ve had some of it right here at TMV, but you don’t have to look far to find more… and more… and more who are careful to couch their assertions with “maybes”...

One of the negative effects of changes in national security policy during the Bush administration was the advent of “indefinite detention” as a way of handling potentially dangerous terrorists. (Or, in some cases, people who were picked up for being in the wrong place at the wrong time with a name having too many vowels in it.) Out on the campaign trail last year, one of the things I liked about candidate Obama was his seemingly unflinching loyalty to the rule of law and the basic belief...

Yesterday I took some friendly fire from readers for my dubious response to President Obama’s claims to George Stephanopoulos that charging people money if they don’t have health insurance was not a tax increase. George broke out the dictionary definition of “tax,” which the President blew off. In other areas, people like Steve Benen crowed about how Obama had “schooled” George on what “tax” means. Rather than looking at Merriam-Webster, Stephanopoulos...

And the winner comes to us from the New York Times. Belatedly, Egypt Spots Flaws in Wiping Out Pigs.

As part of his weekend press junket around the dial, President Obama stopped by This Week with George Stephanopoulos. George has, in the past, been somewhat shy at times about questioning Democrats too harshly. (To put it kindly.) But today, he did himself proud when he tried to pin down the President on the effect of taxing millions of middle class Americans by imposing a government mandate on them to purchase health insurance or else sticking them with a penalty. STEPHANOPOULOS: …during...

I caught some flack from my conservative friends last week when I agreed with President Obama on the decision to shelve the star wars missile defense boondoggle in Eastern Europe. While anyone could rightly question my bona fides on such issues, they may want to pay a little more attention when no less a personage than Secretary of Defense Robert Gates weighs in on the subject. Last week, President Obama — on my recommendation and with the advice of his national-security team and the unanimous...

And for you non-US readers, I’m talking about real football. Not soccer. Well, it’s Sunday and it’s September, so we’re off to the races in week two of the NFL’s 2009 big dance. My New York Jets (currently undefeated *cough cough*) will be taking on the always dangerous New England Patriots, and the Giants travel to Dallas to meet the Cowboys. I’m picking them both to win, though my friend Ed has already jinxed the Jets by picking them as well. His Steelers are...

I’ve been munching popcorn out here in the Empire State and watching next year’s gubernatorial race shape up for some time now. It’s been very entertaining in an electoral off year, with Governor David Paterson’s approval ratings cycling somewhere between dismal and “they’re just not that into you.” (He just ticked off a lot more Democrats by suspending fiscal support of ACORN.) The names and faces shift from week to week and rumors abound, but the same questions...

On Tuesday evening this week, in Ohio, Rommel Broom was led to the lethal injection chamber for the 1984 abduction, rape, torture and murder of a 14 year old girl. Two hours later, Broom walked out under his own power after technicians were unable to insert an I.V. properly into a vein. This is stirring up another controversy over whether or not the state can attempt to put Broom down twice. I take a look at this case, along with some other famous botched executions over the ages, in my column this...