Let’s be blunt: if this guy wasn’t a celebrity named Michael Jackson and was on trial for child molestation and demonstrated this kind of behavior — repeatedly showing up late and making a side-show of himself, distracting the vital issue at hand — he’d be in the SLAMMER by now: Michael Jackson appeared to fall apart in court on Monday arriving late to his child-molestation trial...

Not so much, or so I argue.

Years into the Iraq War, what are today’s protests accomplishing? I took a closer look.

Some feel the means are the ends…

The future of the United States may rest upon matters unrelated to the ultimate fate of a woman in Florida, regardless of the posturing and grandstanding of members of Congress and the President. Who is minding the store amidst all the transient sound and fury?

The question now becomes: “Do we have a Teflon Congress and President?” as a new poll shows Americans overwhelmingly give thumbs down on Congress and the President’s stance on getting the federal government involved in the controversy over whether Terri Schiavo’s feeding tube should be removed or not. ABC News reports: The public, by 63 percent-28 percent, supports the removal of Schiavo’s...

…than the Schiavo case. The Bull Moose has been vocal in expressing the danger from how our deficits are financed. To wit: …Niall Ferguson indicates that it is in the Chinese interest that the dollar not slide so America can buy their exports. But, the Moose asks what if the rulers of China decide that they can, in effect, hold a threat of economic blackmail to stop American efforts to defend Taiwan? It...

The House has acted and President Bush has signed the bill so the ball in the complex legal, political and ethical cases involving Florida’s Terri Schiavo and who has the right to decide on whether her feeding tube is removed has now been tossed back into court. Right down the line this case is unprecedented, in nearly every way: the intensely bitter family fight, Congress’ involvement amid pressure...

The Washington Post has the most complete, best reported story on the Terri Schiavo case that I’ve seen so far. I argued last week that mainstream media have failed to mention a crucial part of the story: Michael Schiavo’s treatment of his wife for the past decade, which objectively speaking is far from husbandly and should be paired with any of his claims to speak for his wife’s wishes. ...

Columnist Robert Novak — is he the ultimate insider columnist or the ultimate device to deliver a trial balloon or political message? — reports that bigwig GOPers think the party could lose bigtime in the midterms: Analysts at the Republican National Committee have sent this warning to the House of Representatives: The party is in danger of losing 25 seats in the 2006 election and, therefore, of...

TMV always loves reading the stuff by our Guest Bloggers and he is running around so much that he got an obvious idea: why not have them contribute more often? So you may see more posts from our Guest Bloggers pointing to posts on their superb blogs from time to time or simply more original posts on certain days. A relative who doesn’t understand blogging asked TMV: “You don’t EDIT them??”...

During the past several weeks TMV has posted a lot of new material here, traveled up and down the Pacific Coast, done a major writing project, battled a major respiratory ailment, performed at schools, parties and before 1800 people at a beauty pageant, and marketed his shows. This weekend it all came to a head and the naturally youthful, handsome, buoyant TMV now looks like he aged 20 years. What more can...

“There can be nothing in the world more beautiful than the Yosemite, the groves of the giant sequoias and redwoods, the Canyon of the Colorado, the Canyon of the Yellowstone, the Three Tetons; and our people should see to it that they are preserved for their children and their children’s children forever, with their majestic beauty all unmarred.” –Theodore Roosevelt

This has been a hellishly hectic 24 hours so we need to fill you in ASAP: 1)I’m Guest Blogging on Dean’s World which is why there were no new posts here yesterday and there won’t be at least until 9 pm tonight. Today included guest blogging, attending and observing a demonstration in San Diego (that post will be on Dean’s World later today)and appearing in the Miss El Cajon Beauty Pagent...

The dramatic case of the legal and political tug of war surrounding Terri Schiavo went to the U.S. Supreme Court which refused to get involved — thus avoiding getting enmeshed in the middle of a buzzsaw of ethical, religious, legal and political questions. The latest twist is this: Late Friday, the U.S. Supreme Court, without comment, denied an emergency request from the House committee that issued the...

This will be a sell out weeks before Prom Night at high schools and Party Weekend at colleges: A chewing gum which the makers say can help enhance the size, shape and tone of the breasts has proved to be a big hit in Japan. B2Up says its Bust-Up gum, when chewed three or four times a day, can also help improve circulation, reduce stress and fight ageing. So let me get this straight: if I chew this it’ll...

If you’re a cheerleader in Texas, you better watch how you move. Literally. In the Isn’t There Any Area Of Modern Life In Which Some Politician Doesn’t Want To Insert Government Control Department we point to this new vital area that may soon see government regulation: The Friday night lights in Texas could soon be without bumpin’ and grindin’ cheerleaders. Legislation filed...

…but is it still BY the people, and most importantly, FOR the people? Although power and corruption have long gone together, even in America, are we seeing a more disturbing trend now of government that serves the interests of those with the most cash to finance lobbying, afford lawyers for endless lawsuits, and fund the campaign coffers of politicians? Is largest threat to our freedom and democracy truly...

The case of Terri Shiavo, the brain-damaged woman who is at the center of a legal tug-of-war between her parents who want to see her remain on a feeding tube and her husband who wants her disconnected, has just gotten a lot more dramatic….due to Congress. But will it make a difference? SEE UPDATE BELOW, but following a new court decision, the tube has been removed. This has all the makings of a Hollywood...

The man who provided the conceptual framework for the United States’ postwar Cold War policy of containing communism is dead. His name: George Kennan, who died at 101. The New York Times has an extensive bio which notes: George F. Kennan, the American diplomat who did more than any other envoy of his generation to shape United States policy during the cold war, died on Thursday night in Princeton, N.J....

Fidel Castro is furious and an threatening to sue Forbes magazine (we would love to sit in the courtroom on that one) for ranking him among the world’s richest people. Perhaps Forbes forgot that everything he owns, or controls belongs to “the people.” You could say Castrol is fit to be tied, except in his dictatorship his security people usually do the tying…so let’s just say he’s...

President Ronald Reagan’s daughter Patty Davis has issued a blistering attack in Newsweek on President George Bush on oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and other issues, charging that Bush’s main goal is winning political battles rather than enacting policies. “We have an administration in Washington that cares nothing for this planet, for beauty, for pristine places, for...

Pundits generally agree that that actor Robert Blake was acquitted of killing his wife because the prosecution relied on a largely cirumstantial case — and that clearly is not the case in the trial of Michael Jackson on child molestation charges. No one can predict how this will end, of course, but this trial will hinge on specific accusations made by his 14-year-old accuser and others. This could end...

It looks like there could be a breather to the bloodshed in Israel — but it depends on a bunch of “ifs”: SIXTH OF OCTOBER CITY, Egypt – (KRT) – Palestinian militants agreed in writing Thursday to end attacks against Israel through the end of the year as long as the Israeli government reciprocated. The formal extension of the “calming down” period, agreed to at a three-day...

MORE bad news for Tom DeLay. Despite strong continued support from President Bush, DeLay has now entered into that uneviable area into which politocos often fall where they become instant satirists’ jokes or late night punchlines. This gives him even less leeway than he has had. More negative developments and he his untouchability and the GOP’s defense of him could take a political toll. Satire...