It now turns out that those highly touted (and shortly lived) FEMA debit cards were used by some people who had them…just like regular debit cards. Your tax dollars at work: Houston divorce lawyer Mark Lipkin says he can’t recall anyone paying for his services with a FEMA debit card, but congressional investigators say one of his clients did just that. The $1,000 payment was just one example cited in an audit that concluded that up to $1.4 billion – perhaps as much as 16 percent...

Yes, it had to happen and it’s logical: rappers remaking classic westerns for a new generation on the big screen, updating a western to modern times. And who better to remake one of the best “adult” westerns of all, CBS’s Have Gun Will Travel (1957-1963) than Eminem? He has charisma, a built-in defiant persona — and he got great reviews for his last big star vehicle. The AP: Eminem will return to the big screen in an updated version of the television Western “Have...

The news that Karl Rove wasn’t going to be indicted after all — despite a growing unspoken conventional wisdom in many press reports that he would and a flat assertion that he would by one Internet website — has been greeted with all kinds of reactions and analyses. Most of them partisan (and predictable). But Walter Shapiro, the moderate former USA Today columnist who now writes on Salon, suggests the non-indictment of President George W. Bush’s political maven is good for...

A piece in Knight-Ridder Newspapers makes some of the same points were have made here in our posts on the killing of terrorist bigwig Zarqawi and the news today that White House political guru Karl Rove won’t be indicted: The [Rove] developments added to the optimism that swept through the White House after last week’s slaying of terrorist chief Abu Musab al Zarqawi in Iraq and the completion of a new Iraqi government. In addition, a Republican won the June 6 special election to fill...

Yes, sometimes hopes and prayers are realized in a tragedy. ABC News‘ Bob Woodruff, seriously injured while reporting a story in Iraq five months ago, returned to the ABC Newsroom yesterday — a day many thought would never come. And as Charles Gibson noted, “As you might expect, he attracted a crowd.” Watch the video here (there is a commercial first).

A lot of the news and weblog assumptions of the past few months have been swept away with news that White House political guru Karl Rove will not be indicted in the Plamegate case — a case that many reports had suggested had distracted Rove from full-focus on President George W. Bush’s political ills. No more. Because the bottom line is that under the American system of justice, the fact that he wasn’t indicted will trump any other allegations or charges of what he might have done...

These are important days for Daily Kos founder Markos Moulitsas. The Yearly Kos convention he put together got substantial blog and mass media coverage, culminating with his appearance on Meet The Press where viewers could put a face to a name and to words they see on their computer screens (he came off quite well). And now the Drum Major Institute For Public Policy is honoring Moulitas for his impact on politics with the 2006 Drum Major for Justice Award in New York City. Moulitsas’ impact...

New analyses continue to emerge on the race between GOPer Brian Bilbray and Democrat Francine Busby — a closely watched race that ended with Bilbray hanging on to the seat once held by the disgraced and now-jailed Randy “Duke” Cunningham. First, read Citizen Smash who looks at whether the Democrats made much of a dent this time. And, secondly, listen to Ed Schultz, the country’s top progressive talk radio host, who shares in an audio clip his thoughts about what the Democrats...

A new CBS News poll indicates President George W. Bush is still stuck in the Benny’s Bargain Basement level of polling results after the death of Iraqi terrorist chief Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, which some analysts felt would given him a substantial boost. And a Rasmussen Reports poll echoes the CBS poll’s finding: that there has been little change in perceptions of the President’s handling of Iraq. UPDATE: But a NEW USA Today/Gallup Poll finds that Bush has benefited. A CNN poll finds...

Bill Clinton is raising eyebrows among some Democrats these days. First, there’s his friendship with the father of “the enemy” (George Bush Sr.). And then there’s a general rejection on the part of one segment of the party of his approach of trying to rope in independent and GOP voters. Bull Moose writes: The Moose has been struck by how many in the party have either implicitly or explicitly ignored or even rejected the Clinton legacy of the New Democratic Third Way. The Moose...

Our periodic linkfest to introduce readers to a WIDE VARIETY of views from all over the ‘Sphere. We do NOT restrict mentioned links to one viewpoint — and views do not necessary reflect the opinion of The Moderate Voice. Israel, Palestine and Hamas: A mess? Yes. But Ender at Swords Crossed tries to make some sense of it… The Controversy Over The Cartoon Continues: We did two controversial posts here and here on how Virginia Democratic Senate hopeful James Webb got into hot water...

President George W. Bush will soon be huddled with security advisers in a two day meeting on Iraq — and a top general has a prediction: a gradual withdrawal from Iraq will soon begin: On the eve of President Bush’s summit on Iraq, the top U.S. commander in Baghdad predicted Sunday that coalition troops will gradually move out of the country in the coming months. Gen. George Casey said he thinks it will be possible to withdraw some of the 130,000 U.S. forces in the months ahead as long...

When they mention the candidates that are likely to be pitchforked into the headlines, are they leaving one out?

Several stories have come out now that have run counter to the conventional wisdom several years ago that there would be a Bush Dynasty — that Florida Gov. Jeb Bush is a natural to get the Republican Party presidential nomination when he wants it (providing it isn’t this year) and coast his way into the White House. Under the new conventional wisdom (which can be outdated as fast as the previous conventional wisdom…get it?) JB is now damaged goods and may never get there. Under...

It really is.

Was it the death of bomb ambition?

As Lucy Ricardo would say, “Weeeeellllllll…”

You may have noticed that we eagerly announced Michael Gaelin, a law student in the Netherlands who TMV read and felt was all over the place politically, as our newest co-blogger. He did a few posts, than seemingly vanished. It’s because soon after joining TMV he got very sick. We believe (and hope) there is no connection (but reading TMV’s own posts will do that to you, as some readers told TMV this weekend). Due to this, some bloggers (including from this site TMV himself and Holly)...

…Curb Your Enthusiasm.

Rep. John P. Murtha has surprised Democrats by announcing he’s thinking of throwing his hat in the ring for a powerful House position if the Demmies win control in November: In a letter that he circulated on the floor during a series of votes, Murtha said he is eyeing the No. 2 position. “If we prevail as I hope and know we will and return to the majority this next Congress, I have decided to run for the open seat of the Majority Leader,” Murtha wrote. The presumed favorite for...

Dave Axe has a fascinating post on Tech Central Station detailing advances in the “art” or aerial assassination. In the end, it may be that Zarqawi’s demise on refinements in tracking and taking out foes than on the actual course of the war in Iraq, the insurgency or terrorist actions. Axe notes: For years, the military has labored to increase the flexibility and lethality of its aircraft and to decrease the time it takes to put bombs on target. One goal has been to “decapitate”...

Another gem from moderate cartoonist Tom Briscoe: And here are some other thoughts on where net neutrality stands now.

The indispensable site Watching America, which contains pieces from foreign newspapers, many of them translated specifically for the site, has a Le Monde editorial that proclaims “Zarqawi Has Won.” And rather than being a medley of rhetoric, it lays out its case in specifics. Some highlights: Before disappearing, the Jordanian jihadist had, in less than three years, won his main wagers. Zarqawi promised an international rout: by attacking U.N. headquarters in Baghdad he succeeded in making...

Oxblog’s Patrick Porter raises the issue: THE UTILITY OF FORCE? How useful is killing single figureheads when fighting a complex insurgency? This recurrent question has sharpened with today’s news that Zarqawi is dead. It is tempting to assume, as some commentators do, that this falls into a futile and self-propelling cycle of violence. Read the rest to find out the rest.

Should they be auctioned off?