After becoming an expert on U.S-Russia relations during her campaign for the vice-presidency by claiming that Russia could be seen from Alaska, Sarah Palin can now add a second major power to her foreign policy credentials: China. By reading a prepared, major foreign policy speech before a packed ballroom in Hong Kong’s Grand Hyatt hotel, Sarah Palin has now clearly and firmly cemented her foreign policy...

Reason Magazine reminds us that nonviolent users of illegal drugs aren’t the only victims of America’s War on (some) Drugs. A number of physicians and patients suffering from incurable neurogenic diseases have been sent to prison all because your congressmen and congresswoman insist that they (and not physicians) should be making decisions about prescribing pain medications. Thanks to Radley Balko...

Headline writers for newspapers and the larger Internet websites have the power to sell, taint, cajole, tease and distort the writer’s works in order to lure the reader to take the bait. I took the bait, hook, line and sinker this morning from the following headline on MSNBC’s web page: WHY OBAMA WISHES HE WERE KING Or at the very least, he wishes he were Mel Brooks The article was written by Bill...

Around the country they’re debating the “moral right” of doctors to refuse certain kinds of care, and the same right of pharmacists to do the same thing when it comes to filling prescriptions. But the whole question here strikes me as kind of silly. I mean, if you’re a pacifist, it’s obvious you shouldn’t join the Armed Forces where you might be called upon to kill somone....

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TWENTY-FIFTH LEGISLATURE, 2009 STATE OF HAWAII H.C.R. NO. 19 H.D.1 HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION STRONGLY URGING THE SECRETARY OF DEFENSE AND THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES TO AWARD SGT. RAFAEL PERALTA THE MEDAL OF HONOR. 15 WHEREAS, his battalion redeployed to Iraq’s Anbar Province 16 in 2004 as part of Operation Phantom Fury to battle insurgents 17 in their stronghold of...

OK, anecdotes don’t make up a statistically significant sample. But a collection of anecdotes, well… So yesterday my 19th century US history class discussed the development of the penny press in the mid-19th century. As I’ve occasionally mentioned here at TMV, I think the pre-Progressive Era press was quite a bit like today’s blogosphere. It was hyper-partisan, hyperbolic, and hyperfocused...

George Carlin was well known for his routine about the seven words you could not say on television. His point was to push the envelope on censorship. These days with pay television the words are no longer that restricted, indeed we often see some of them on regular programming (though not in this post, you can surf over to the link if u want to read them). I think it is time for us to introduce certain terms...

A misunderstanding of the meaning of victory in asymmetrical wars is a main reason why the US remains stuck in the bloody quick sands of Afghanistan and Iraq. Since military power is unable to deliver a sustainable peace, alternative strategies deserve consideration. As President Barack Obama seeks world esteem for US leadership during top-level talks in New York and Pittsburg this week, it is worth remembering...

To the dismay of our military leaders, President Barack Obama is pulling a Brett Favre in deciding to send more troops to Afghanistan. While weighing a change in strategy by the president , Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal warns that unless he is provided more forces and a robust counterinsurgency strategy, the war in Afghanistan is most likely lost. Today I am filing a comprehensive report on the Afghan divide based...

I will never forget then Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld’s answer to a question by Army specialist Thomas Wilson of the 278th Regimental Combat Team, back in December of 2004, nearly two years after the start of the Iraq war. The setting was a town-hall style meeting Rumsfeld was holding with over 2,000 Iraq-bound troops in a cavernous hangar at a remote desert camp in Kuwait. Set out on display...

And the winner comes to us from the New York Times. Belatedly, Egypt Spots Flaws in Wiping Out Pigs.

And for you non-US readers, I’m talking about real football. Not soccer. Well, it’s Sunday and it’s September, so we’re off to the races in week two of the NFL’s 2009 big dance. My New York Jets (currently undefeated *cough cough*) will be taking on the always dangerous New England Patriots, and the Giants travel to Dallas to meet the Cowboys. I’m picking them both to win,...

Proud to be Dim by Will Durst Remember back in grade school, when all learning came to a screeching halt while the teacher stopped to explain what was going on to the slow kids? She’d spend the entire morning trying to simplify the lesson plan so they could get it. Using small words in her annoying patient voice, which tended to pitch strident the slower she talked. Well, that’s what’s happening here....

Frankly, my dear, I didn’t give a damn about ACORN’s community organizing for the impoverished until I saw the videos on You Tube obtained by a self-described nerd who is more of an icon-shattering crusader than staunch conservative as some would have us believe. That caught me attention. In case you missed it the edited snippets show low-level ACORN representatives telling the filmmakers how to...

For a long time I’ve been confused about what passes for economic reporting these days. The reports of late have all been saying the recession has ended. Yet they all invariably add that most Americans (sometimes referred to collectively as “Main Street”) will not see any personal improvement for many months or even years. Indeed, it seems to most on Main Street that things are actually getting...

Congratulations to Americans Against Food Taxes for producing a political issues ad that is accurate. The group opposes a one-cent per-ounce tax on sugary soft drinks that Congress is eyeballing to generate more revenue. The ads claim the regressive tax would hit those who least can afford it the most. On the flip side, sugar tax advocates say the products they are targeting pose a significant contributor to...

This is the best news I’ve heard all day.

The House has followed the example of the Senate in denying funding to ACORN because of the recent scandal involving then seeming to aid people in tax fraud and importing sex slaves. The Senate vote was 83-7 while the House vote was 345-75. In both cases the 82 members who voted to keep funding ACORN were from the liberal wing of the Democratic party. In both cases the vote will not take effect until the bills...

A couple of months ago, President Obama announced that he would be awarding the Medal of Honor to Army Sgt. 1st Class Jared C. Monti, who was killed by enemy fire on June 21, 2006, while trying to rescue wounded comrades in the mountains of Afghanistan. This afternoon, the President performing what probably is one of his most solemn duties as president and commander-in-chief, presented the Medal of Honor posthumously...

If a country just has an election is that democracy? And, if it isn’t what kind of dilemmas does this pose for foreign policy decision makers? In a must-read article on RealClearWorld, Dominique Moisi, a visiting professor at Harvard University and the author of “The Geopolitics of Emotion,” looks at the issue. Here’s the intro: Elections stolen in Iran, disputed in Afghanistan and...

Henry Gibson, who was born James Bateman in Germantown, PA, served in the USAF and later took Henry Gibson as his stage name… a play on the name of the great playright Henrik Ibsen, who wrote amongst others, the play Hedda Gabler, which you may remember was about a willful soul who raced her father’s horses while standing on the seat of the coach, yet married a dry academic who dried her soul to...

Hamas Seeks New Doctrine after Gaza War Failures by Jonathan Spyer Hamas has undertaken a major process of examination and investigation into its deeply flawed performance in the course of Operation Cast Lead, sources say. The review process is aimed at developing a new doctrine for Hamas to enable it to achieve its ambition of rivaling Hizbullah in its abilities. It remains to be seen if the reforms will deliver...

There comes a time in history when an adult enters the fray of uncivil discourse, shakes America by her broad shoulders, and admonishes everyone that enough is enough. I’m uncertain whether former President Jimmy Carter is that heroic adult. Carter in an interview Tuesday and later in an address to his own forum said Rep. Joe Wilson’s “You lie” outburst to President Barack Obama during...

Obviously at this point with the need to reconcile the various proposals we do not know what the final form will be for the Baucus proposal (America’s Healthy Future Act). But from the details contained in his announcement and outlined in this press release my preliminary reaction is positive. It looks to be a balanced approach which works to solve the current problems without creating a massive new program. For...

For those of you who thought American politics now looks like professional wrestling, your belief may soon get a bit of validation and closure: Linda McMahon, CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. has quit her post to devote her time a campaign aimed at getting the Republican nomination and running against Democratic Senator Chris Dodd: Linda McMahon, the chief executive officer of World Wrestling Entertainment...