So Time Warner and Fox have come to an agreement, at least for the time being, to continue bringing the various Fox channels to subscribers. Oh, good. In case you’re wondering who the winner is in that little staged drama, it’s both of them. There’s only one loser, and that’s you. You’re going to wind up paying more than you were before yet again. Except now, when they jack up your rates, they have provided themselves with the convenient fig leaf of saying, “But...

Disclaimer: This is primarily amusing speculation with not a shred of evidence to support it, though absolutely possible, but I needed something amusing for a lazy New Years day at home. I followed a tweet from Steve Benen this morning to an article of his at the Washington Monthly because the subject was pretty funny. The title is, “THEY NEVER LEARN” but that wasn’t nearly as humorous as the tweet, which said, “Dear conservative bloggers reviewing WH visitor logs: sometimes,...

I had to check the date to make sure it wasn’t April Fools day instead of New Years Eve. Why? Because it’s so rare to see a politician these days who actually seems to grasp the basics of government spending during a disastrous fiscal period such as the one we’re in now. Fresh from YouTube, an encouraging interview with Minnesota Governor and 2012 presidential hopeful, Tim Pawlenty. PAWLENTY: In Minnesota, we need to do things like prioritize military spending, veterans programs,...

You knew it was coming, I’m sure. Every Tom, Dick and Harriet with a pencil or a keyboard is probably assembling their own list of the political news stories which shaped the news in 2009. Never being one to shy away from running with the herd, I’ve assembled my own and you can find it this morning at Pajamas Media. But when you’re finished with that, I thought it might be fun to take a moment here at TMV and pick over some of the tidbits which didn’t make the cut. One name...

I’m getting rather bored with the blame game this week, and thought perhaps we could begin winding down the year here at TMV with the Name Game instead. It’s a topic which I’ve seen crop up in passing on a few web sites and talking head discussions on television, but I don’t believe any consensus has been reached. What’s it all about? We referred to the period from 1970 through 1979 as “the seventies.” The next two decades were the “eighties”...

I’ll be co-hosting The Rick Moran show this evening from 8 to 10 pm eastern for your end of the year or end of the world listening pleasure. Stop in and feel the love!

An interesting, if somewhat inflammatory article comes to us today from Barbara Kay at Pajamas Media, in which she calls upon “the West” (however we are to define that term today) to ban the burqa and nix the niqab. She pulls no punches and comes right out of the gate praising France and Nicolas Sarkozy (of all people) for their attempts to ban the primarily Muslim full body covering for women in that country. President Nicolas Sarkozy had called for a ban on the public wearing of the...

And when he does, he never, ever comes back. Before I head out on my Christmas break to visit relatives partake in the usual holiday celebrations, there is one last Christmas present to bring to all of you. We found out earlier this month that President Obama was planning on taking some of the TARP funds which are either left over from the initial allotment or flowing back in from banks repaying the loans for a job stimulus plan. Some of the more pessimistic among us (such as, well… me) initially...

I really don’t understand these people sometimes. Out here in New York, Eric Massa is releasing a special video right before Christmas Eve which will likely not come as a very nice present in the Christmas Stockings of our troops overseas. Washington, D.C.- Today House member Eric Massa (D-NY 29th District) renewed his call for an “up or down” vote on funding for the additional 30,000 troops to Afghanistan that was announced by President Obama. It has been eight years since Congress...

It’s the day before Christmas eve, and what am I doing? Am I hanging festive lights on flammable pieces of shrubbery? Wrapping last minute gifts? Sharing a cup of hot cocoa with visiting relatives? No, I’m not. I’m reading and re-reading and re-re-reading sections of this stupid, behemouth Senate health care bill which I’m quickly growing to hate just for its length and horribly lawyerficated language. What sent me back to it yet again this time was a pair of complaints from...

Deja Vu’ is a cruel mistress, as I’m sure most of us with a few gray hairs have figured out by now. But in the wake of the crumbling health care debacle … (I’m sorry – “debate”) it’s hitting some of us awfully hard today. I couldn’t help but notice quite a few supporters of Obamacare ™ chiming in with their mournful regrets about the Senate filibuster. These include the always enjoyable Steve Benen, chiming in on Paul Krugman’s column...

Was it really that bad when Al Franken, holding the temporary gavel for the health care debate, told Joe Lieberman, “I object?” As with most things in the political arena, it seems to depend on who you ask. Today I have a new column up at Pajamas Media where I look at some of the history of U.S. Senate floor fights and what this one might mean for Franken’s future efforts in the upper chamber. But with that in mind, I’ll pose a question for the populace. The Senate, as I note...

As the Senate prepares for yet another post-midnight vote under cover of darkness to pass a bill which underwent a massive revision only hours ago, observers on both sides of the aisle should take a moment to count their blessings on this score, limited though they may be. Back during the summer I took part in a panel discussion with a few people, including Rick Moran and Ed Morrissey, where I predicted that Congress would eventually pass something with the words “health care” stamped...

For the last few weeks of the year, regardless of the heated debates going on in Washington and the various crisis situations plaguing the nation, I will be writing a bit less than usual. (You may have noticed a slowing of output already.) This is nothing unusual for me, as this is a season for some of us to focus on things closer to home, friends and family. But before those final shopping days slip away, I wanted to share a few things with our readers and extend my heartfelt wishes for a safe,...

That pressing issue of major importance to all rational beings is the subject of my latest column at Pajamas Media today. Bernanke? Really? And Obama didn’t even make the top five on their list. But should it have been? I examine that question, along with why anyone would have nominated Sarah Palin, and further invite our good TMV readers to chime in below on who deserved to make the list, who didn’t, and who should have won. Who was naughty? Who was nice? Political Santa wants to know!

Be a shame if anything happened to it. Patrick already weighed in on the story of how the White House is using the threat of closing a military base to twist the arm of Senator Ben Nelson on the health care bill, but there are a few more layers to this onion which need to be peeled away. First of all, bare knuckle, hard ball politics is nothing new in Congress, and both parties resort to these tactics from time to time. Newt Gingrich was famous for it back in the day and was the poster child for...

The Cook Report is already hard at work tracking the polls and prognosticating on which House and Senate seats will go which way in next fall’s elections. Thus far, it seems like the Democrats should be able to hold on to their House majority status. Barely. Well… maybe, anyway. On the surface, things might be considered fairly rosey for the Dems. The report ignores the deemed “safe” seats, and focuses on the races which are “likely,” or “leaning” or...

Call it clever timing or call it desperation. Either way, the taxpayers found an early lump of coal in their Christmas stockings this weekend. With the end of the year approaching, the Senate followed the path set by the House on Thursday and passed a massive, pork laden 1.1 $T spending bill, and now hopes to move forward on upping the federal debt limit by an additional 1.8 $T. You’d be hard pressed to find any good news here, but it seems that even a few of the Democrats have begun to read...

Mid Stream Radio will rear its ugly head again today for our last show of the year, reviewing a couple of the top stories currently absorbing the 24 hour news beast. Hot off the griddle will be the effort by Congress to pass a $1.1 trillion spending bill and raise the federal debt ceiling by $1.8 trillion, along with Cindy’s latest story about how, with little media attention, Republicans continue to win special elections and pry open advantages even in areas where they suffer from daunting...

There are headlines blaring across the maw of the 24 hour news beast about the results of a new CNN – Opinion Research poll on the opinions of Americans about their representatives on Congress. (Follow the bloodbath on Memeorandum.) As with most of these polls, you can, if you wish, satisfy yourself with the rough cut talking points. “GOP has erased party popularity gap in Congress!” Well, yes. The overall party support numbers have dropped to a 40-39 split in favor of the Democrats,...