Jerry Sandusky: The ‘great pretender’ — a must read essay at The Week.

Must viewing. Politics is everywhere. Even at the Thanksgiving table with the Peatnuts cartoon crowd… Sheer genius. The only problem: the dubbed in dialogue is too childish to have ever really appeared on a Charlie Brown special. h/T Mediaite

Yet more bad news for those of us who love newspapers and/or those of us who’ve worked in newspapers: the Denver Post’s award winning cartoonist Mike Keefe will take the Denver Post’s buyout and he doesn’t think the paper will replace him. If so, it’ll mean yet another newspaper that has ended an era when newspapers had cartoonists on their staff. Here’s the lead in to Daryl Cagle’s column that has an interview with Keefe: Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist...

The month is almost over, so here’s our Band of the Month.

I’ve long contended that despite his blatant political flip-flops and turning himself into a virtual poster boy for craven political pandering former Massachusetts Gov Mitt Romney would have a far easier time of it — and in closing the political sale — if he was not a Mormon in today’s Republican Party. And a new poll seems to back me up: A new poll that gauges Americans’ views of the Mormon faith served up difficult news for the nation’s highest profile member...

I need to preface this post by saying that I am a HUGE fan of Texas. I love visiting Texas. I love Texans. And I think too many Texans have been burned by the false stereotype of the exaggerating, bloviating Texas politician in a state that has many fine elected officials from both parties. But, truly, honestly, Texas Gov. Rick Perry should be in a Political Hypocrisy 101 book. The Politico reports: The first rule of asking for extra federal dollars in Texas is to never make it seem like you are...

Hey, we always knew it was a matter of time before pepper spraying really caught on among the general public. I mean, if a policeman can just ‘casually walk down a line of students sitting down and not doing anything violent and pepper spray them — basically spraying them because he didn’t like them – why can’t citizens do the same? How long is it before citizens pepper spray each other at the workplace or relatives angrily arguing politics at the Thanksgiving table...

Our political Quote of the Day comes from the always-solid in his analysis and always-solid in his sourcing Marc Ambinder, who notes that former House Speaker Newt Gingrich has given a special gift to President Barack Obama by raising the immigration issue which promises to drive former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney further to the right: Quite simply, it could move Romney to the right, to a place where college-educated white voters question whether he is compassionate enough. Immigration is one...

Imagining pepper spray possibilities is all the rage — and raging on the Internet.

How could things possibly get worse for Jerry Sandusky? This way. And this is of related interest.

Here’s another video animation from Taiwan’s Next Media Animation: Pepper Spray! A delicious form of crowd control:

If you’ve never heard it, today is the perfect time to listen to Stan Freberg’s classic take on Thanksgiving with his famous song “Take an Indian to Lunch.” And if you have heard it, you’ll want to hear it again. Click the arrow below: Pilgrim’s Progress (Take An Indian To Lunch) This is from Volume I of Stan Freberg Presents the United States of America (1961) which can you download: CDs are still available of the set he put out a few years ago with the classic...

A heartfelt “Happy Thanksgiving” from all of us here at TMV to you and yours, to the country and to the world. Thanksgiving is a special day when we pause and give thanks and also realize that all the turkeys aren’t in Washington. Image via shutterstock.com

And they deserve each other.

CLEARFIELD, Pa. — Here’s one more disturbing story related to the shocking Penn State child sexual abuse case: Victim #1, whose allegations about being molested by Jerry Sandusky led to legendary football coach and alleged enabler Joe Paterno’s firing, has left his high school after being bullied by classmates due to his role in Paterno’s dismissal. During the past 21 years when I reported from and did programs in schools, bullying has always been a problem. But along with the coarsening...

ERIE, Pa. — It’s raining heavily here in Pennsylvania, today. And a new poll also shows how heavily it’s raining on President Barack Obama’s Presidential fortunes: a new poll shows Obama tied with former Massachusetts’ Gov. Mitt Romney in this must-win state. Of course, after Newt Gingrich’s debate performance last night — which generally wowed most pundits (among others Larry Sabato, arguably the country’s best political pundit, gave him high marks)...

The big debate is over and the key consensus that’s emerging is: a)Newt Gingrich is turning into a formidable anti-Romney, indeed, and b) helped himself except at the end when he expressed compassion (end of his GOP hopes?) or illegal immigrants who’ve been here for a long time. Also: various analysts note that Gingrich seemed to scale some of his polemics back. Will Gingrich start to not just become the anti-Romney but a candidate that GOP establishment types can hold their breath (and...

The second GOP Presidential debate is on. Will former House Speaker Newt Gingrich keep his Big Mo that has propelled him in several polls now to become the new Republican front-runner for the 2012 nomination? Will former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney remain unable to expand his base — a supposed front-runner who is not just unloved but loathed by some conservatives? Will former Godfatho arer’s Pizza CEO Herman Cain who argued America needs “a leader not a reader” continues...

Resigned Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin’s political star ain’t what it used to be — particularly once she announced that despite a loooooooooooooooong political tease she wasn’t going to run for President. And particularly since she didn’t announce it on Fox. Which upset Fox News maven Roger Ailes. Why did she go to talker Mark Levin instead? For the same reason she often appears on Greta Van Susteren’s show and Sean Hannity’s show: she rewards her loyal backers...

Forget the political song and dance. Just for a moment. Take a break. And enjoy a classic and soothing one:

If you want to be invited onto Fox News Network you better not be a high profile Republican critic of Republican Party Higher Power, talk show titan and seeming key party strategist Rush Limbaugh. Or so suggests David Frum… Photo via shutterstock.com

President Barack Obama, reacting to the spectacular political belly-flop by the Supercommittee (which proved to be anything but) has announced that he will veto an attempt to remove the automatic domestic and defense spending cuts that will kick in now that Congress has failed to deliver with the Supercommittee. Here’s his full statement so you can analyze it for yourself: Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy FOOTNOTE: Earlier today MSNBC’s excellent...

ZELIENOPLE, Pa. –The virtual epidemic of bullying that has led to a host of tightening of state regulations, special programs in schools and numerous suicides by bullied students has now come front and center in the ongoing Penn State child sexual abuse story: Victim #1 has resigned from high school after being bullied by classmates and fired football coach Joe Paterno has issued a statement, ABC News reports: The boy who first came forward to accuse former Penn State coach Jerry Sandusky...

Despite polls showing him either tied with or totally eclipsing former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney in the GOP Republican Presidential nomination battle, despite former Godfather’s Pizza CEO Herman Cain steadily sinking in the polls, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich has yet to shift the view of some informed Republicans and change some of the negative conventional wisdom — conventional wisdom among GOPers themselves. For instance, read this.

A new Gallup Poll now confirms other polls that have been trickling out this week: the race for the Republican nomination now has two front runners, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich — with former Texas Gov. Rick Perry still looking liked a super-hyped candidate who fizzed and former Godfather’s Pizza CEO losing appeal like a cooled down, hours old pizza. And, make no mistake about it, depending on which part of this poll you consider most important,...