..someone says something else and you realize you’re wrong. Read this on Lou Dobbs. This is the kind of comment that would be considered “far out” and “flaky” in other times but today there is a)an audience for it and it gets big ratings, b)a need by many in politics to try and take someone out who they disagree with on policy. And the trending isn’t good: it seems to get worse with each month (but there is an audience for it, some love it, some drop all things...

The family of Pfc. Bowe Bergdahl — the American solidier captured by the Taliban in Afghanistan and put on display by his captors in an Internet statement — is overwhemed by the support flooding in. Details via this AP video:

As the news media gears up for the release sometime over the next two weeks of Michael Jackson’s autopsy results, the Michael Jackson media story narrative is shifting into a new stage: trying to unravel what factors led to his death and if there were signs that it could end the way it did. It’s happening now, amid some other new developments. CNN offers this panel discussion raising the question of whether his 1993 video statement denying child molestation gave clues about his drug use...

Do Palestinians actually love Israeli settlements? Matt Eckel has another thought (and debate) provoking post up at Foreign Policy watch that is a must read. Here’s a tiny bit of the setup 4 U: There’s something genuinely odd, if also perversely internally consistent, in the way certain right wingers look at Israeli-Palestinian interplay. For a reminder of this, I’d recommend Elliot Abrams’ recent post…in which he argues that freezing Israeli settlement growth would...

God. Editor’s note: The wrong link was up earlier. It has been fixed. We regret the error.

The father of PFC Bowe Bergdahl — the 23-year-old soldier captured by the Taliban — has this advice for his son: “Stay strong.” Go HERE for must-read details from Jules Crittenden, who also gives his own take on this troubling story. Meanwhile, Secretary of State Hillary says the U.S. is doing all it can to try and get Bergdahl back: US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton slammed the capture of a US soldier by Taliban forces in Afghanistan as “outrageous” and vowed...

And the video below is our lesson for Monday:

An Internet site has posted a heartbreaking video of Pfc. Bowe R. Bergdahl, the 23-year-old U.S. soldier captured by the Taliban in Afghanistan, expressing fears that he won’t be allowed to go home and see or hug his loved ones again. It’s a natural expression of fear: in fact, U.S. soldiers captured by in Afghanistan and Iraq have not fared well in many cases. Their capture instantaneously becomes a propaganda showpiece — a video to put on a website. In most cases, impossible...

Big developments In Iran. Meir Javedanfar, writing on RealClearWorld: The most important takeaway message from Ayatollah Hashemi Rafsanjani’s Friday sermon in Iran today is that the regime now faces one of the most important crisis since the inception of the Islamic Republic. This is in direct contrast to President Ahmadinejad, who has dismissed the events as marginal and minor incidents. By using the word ‘crisis’ in front of millions of Iranians, Rafsanjani’s biggest target...

To many of us baby boomers who had been or are in the news biz, Walter Cronkite, who died yesterday at the age of 92, was a journalistic role model who represented a kind of trustworthy reporting that had been nurtured during World War II and blossomed in the early to mid 60s — one we assumed would thrive and blossom forever. Just as Cronkite didn’t, it didn’t. Here are 10 reasons why we will never see another Walter Cronkite: 1. He was selected by journalism broadcast giant Edward...

Is Hillary Clinton being shoved to the side? Has President Barack Obama put her in the administration to keep her out of competition in the future? Is she being overshadowed by Obama on foreign affairs and is merely a figurehead? Is all of this normal or a symptom of continuing political rivalry? And: is all of this emerging speculation based on anything or is it typical of the naval gazing that the new and old media and their seemingly infinite number of pundits whip up because controversy and political...

Was President Barack Obama’s recent trip to Russia a success, failure or in between? Did he waste a perfect opportunity to stand up in front of the microphones and cameras and declare U.S. victory in the cold war — or would that have been an unwise and/or inaccurate move? Cathy Young, a contributing editor at Reason, a weekly columnist at RealClearPolitics, and the author of Growing Up in Moscow: Memories of a Soviet Girlhood (1989), has two must read pieces that look at this issue. First,...

Here’s a live streaming video feed of the Sonia Sotomayor confirmation hearings in the Senate. This post will be put on TMV every day until these hearings are over. This will allow you watch the hearings yourself and judge for yourself (pro or con): Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy And be sure to explore TMV each day of the hearings and read our many writers’ takes on the hearings. More posts will be available if you go into the TMV archives...

Once his name was pitchforked into bloody headlines throughout the world…A President vowed to capture him…The new and old media — and American intelligence officials — analyzed every word and inflection in tapes and videos purporting to be made by him..A new President Barack Obama vowed to make the elusive terrorist’s capture a top priority. But the question remains: if Osama bin Laden was captured, would his capture be more symbolic, more of a political boon to the...

Warning to job seekers: if you’ve heard over the years that a single typo on your job application, cover letter or resume can cost you the job, it’s not mere chatter but now confirmed in a Canadian study: Typing mistakes in a job application can kill a would-be employee’s chance of landing a job as employers bet that a sloppy resume means the applicant will do a sloppy job. A telephone survey of 100 senior Canadian executives showed that more than a fifth of executives said a single...

As the Senate Supreme Court hearings for President Barack Obama’s nominee Sonia Sotomayor head into their third day, one thing has become abundantly clear: both parties are now playing to the future — reflecting and trying to consolidate their present constituencies while giving hints of their political warmaps for the future Supreme Court battles to come. On the Democratic side, it’s clear the Democrats are hammering home the idea that the present Supreme Court has some members...

While the big (usually politically polarizing) flavor of the day political stories grab most attention in the new and old media, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has been doing some far quieter work of her own: setting a new tone and shoring up links with Asian countries and their leaders. In a post on Real Clear World, Simon Tay, chairman of the Singapore Institute of International Affairs and a fellow of the Asia Society, writes: US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is scheduled to travel to...

President Barack Obama’s poll numbers have begun to slide due to increasing pessimism about the economy and his polices’ efficacy, and a subsequent loss of Democratic and independent voter support, a new CBS News poll finds: President Obama’s approval rating has fallen six points in the past month, a new CBS News poll finds, amid growing skepticism about his handling of the economy and questions about the impact of the stimulus package. The president’s current approval rating,...

Centrist writer John Avlon has given two more deserving partisans his highly coveted “Wingnut of the Week” award on CNN. This time the honors go to Democratic Rep. Henry Waxman (who said Republicans opposing President Barack Obama’s policies are “rooting against the country”) and to Republican Audra Shay (who says if you think Obama is anything but anti-American you’re “igorant” and who seemingly approved of blatantly racist comments left on her Facebook...

An anti-abortion protester interrupted the start of the Senate confirmation hearings now underway for President Barack Obama’s Supreme Court pick Sonia Sotomayor. Here’s the video of how it was covered on MSNBC: Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Soon-to-be-former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin is taking more hits — from Republicans. Despite talk from some of her staunchest conservative fans that the press is going after her and that it’s liberals outside and inside her party (yes, there are some who charge the Republican party is controlled by liberals) who are trying to do her in, two new articles indicate that some of her biggest criticism is coming from Republican professionals — professionals who are not liberals. It’s...

It was just one month ago that many conservative writers and pundits were on the warpath against CBS late night comedian David Letterman for Letterman’s inappropriate remarks about Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin’s daughter. New and old media pundits raged about how rotten and hateful it was for Letterman to use jokes to drag Palin’s daughter into the political mud. There were demands that Letterman apologize (he did). But now the highly popular and lively conservative website/blog Free...

The tone between the Democrats and Republicans in Washington has increasingly come to resemble the attitude in this song: Of course, I’m not the only one who saw the connection between this song and our political “debate.” Snide TV.com saw it in the Clinton/Obama 2008 Presidential primary battle and offered this:

Radio talk show host/blogger Tammy Bruce reports that Sarah Palin is hinting at a third party movement to save the Republican party from liberal control. Here’s the quote: In an interview with the Washington Times, Palin makes her most direct comments yet about Conservatism versus the Republican Party….Enter now Sarah Palin with very encouraging comments that lead one to believe that she is indeed planning to do what she must: build an independent conservative movement and take this...

Our linkfest taking you to weblogs of varying opinions where diverse writers give you their best takes on issues and events. If You Think Sarah Palin Is Considering Leaving Politics then think again. For more on the “mystery of Sarah Palin” go HERE. Meanwhile, some GOPers don’t want her help in their campaigns. Some suggest she might be trying to build an independent conservative movement. A Policy Review Or Not Of Afghanistan? And is America creeping towards a Vietnam style disaster...