As many of you may know the space shuttle is scheduled for a Monday evening/Tuesday morning (depending on your location) launch. I have been a space nut since I was a little kid and if I could have my wishes I’d probably be on the shuttle myself. But failing that I am incredibly proud and inspired by the fact that one of the astronauts on the current mission comes from my hometown of Stockton, California....

If you thought seniors fighting phantom cuts in their Medicare benefits at those town hall meetings were angry, wait until the first of the year when it dawns on all of them they’re getting no cost of living increase for the next two years. In fact, six million of Social Security’s 50 million recipients will suffer a pay cut and all will pay more for drugs. I say “phantom” cuts because...

Yes, it is possible: read this which doesn’t rule it out. Also be SURE to read the fourth paragraph: it is totally written from the viewpoint of someone immersed in the talk radio political culture (Hannity is as likeable as Ronald Reagan? Which Ronald Reagan did he SEE I will ask as a then-Democrat who voted for Ronald Reagan). It’s unlikely that many independent voters, moderate Republicans or...

Early this summer as the health care debate began to heat up I recall reading a very smart critique from one of TMV’s sharpest regular commentators – CStanley. She argued that each of the individual goals set out by Obama and advanced in the then-progressing HR3200 attack serious problems with the health care system. But the problem was in reconciling a whole bunch of mutually contradictory elements,...

Governments and international agencies are taking a big risk by playing down the potentially lethal effects of the H1N1 flu pandemic, earlier called “swine flu”, because most information during the last 11 months has come from the world’s rich countries. People affected are expected to double every three to four days for several months but in rich countries they are generally well nourished and access...

Believe me when I tell you how hard I gritted my teeth and refrained from commenting on the clucking chatter of First Lady Michelle Obama stepping off Air Force One wearing short shorts in 108-degree temperature on a visit to the Grand Canyon in Arizona. “Smart, lady,” I say to myself. “Very practical.” But, nooo. Her critics among the fashion police piously complained she was showing...

Nothing more to say. A soldier home from Afghanistan is greeted by one of the loves of his life.

One of the great things working for newspapers for so many years is the corrections we needed to print. Some editors were more sensitive to the process than others. A few were impervious to the point of neglecting their responsibility until the filing of a lawsuit. Some may recall the recent plight of The New York Times when its ombudsman corrected a story written by the paper’s TV critic who committed...

Former Homeland Security Chief Tom Ridge in an upcoming book will make an allegation that seemingly will confirm to many what Bush administration critics have long suspected: the administration’s attempts to raise color terrorism alerts smelled political to him. The New York Times reports: Tom Ridge, the first secretary of homeland security, asserts in a new book that he was pressured by top advisers...

I have been a sports fan all my life but concede in the twilight of my existence what once was fiery passion has turned to embers. I’m not really jaded, bored or turned off because of steroids or performance enhancing drugs. No. What bothers me are the superstar athletes who don’t know when to call it quits. I’m undecided whether it’s the money or a severe ego problem. Probably a lot...

We’ve had lots of discussion the last few days about what motivates people opposing reforms that hinge on government-run health care. I’ve concluded that even educated, well-intentioned, and highly engaged people, regardless of ideological orientation, sometimes seem to have an unfortunate tendency to fit the narrative to a worldview. Take E.J. Dionne, Jr, in a Guest Post right here on TMV today...

I was just heading out to court when this broke, so excuse the shortness of the post. Scottish authorities have released Abdel Baset al-Megrahi, the man convicted of his role in the terror bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 in 1988. The attack killed 270 people in the plane and on the ground. Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill said that his terminal condition (he is dying of prostate cancer) and Scottish values bound...

Better than DEET and less toxic, too: A chemical that resembles natural products from black pepper can deter mosquitoes four times longer than DEET, the world’s most widely used bug repellent. The new substance could be used to protect people who live in the developing world, or to shield soldiers from insects when they deploy to countries with pest problems. “Our goal is to reduce disease transmission,”...

I don’t know whether President Obama has any musical talent or if he plays any particular instrument. But his actions over the past few weeks have made me start to wonder if he’s taking a page from the Clinton playbook. After his landslide defeat in the 1994 elections President Clinton adopted the the now famous triangulation strategy in which he pitted himself against Congressional Republicans on...

It’s unfortunate that what I brought online yesterday was colored by some distracting background noise, and I very much regret that I allowed a defensive reaction to intrude on the larger point I was trying to make. Since that point got lost in the shouting and attacks (and with the acknowledgment that I may have some hitherto unrecognized masochistic pathology), I’m going to try again. Let’s...

Kevin Rudd’s government is in a celebration mode following Australia’s twin victory in finalizing 20-year-long liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply deals with India and China. A sales and purchase AUD 25 billion agreement between ExxonMobil and Petronet LNG of India signed last week is the “dawning of a new trading partnership.” Under the agreement, Exxon Mobil will supply about 1.5 million...

According to news reports the ‘missing ship’ wasn’t really missing as officials had good evidence of where it was the whole time. The secrecy was intended to protect the crew from a hijacking and the danger of being killed by those in control of the ship. I’m still not sure what is really going on here. I’m not saying the story doesn’t pass the smell test, it is possible that...

I had a dream. It took place in the White House. At the dining table was House Speaker Nancy Pelosi sipping a glass of California sherry and nibbling on one of those dainty sandwiches with the crusts cut off. Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid stared at his plate of fried zucchini and glass of iced tea. Vice President Joe Biden was telling stories of his youth in Scranton while talking with his mouth full of...

We call her Dr. E., one of the most remarkable women I have had the privilege of knowing almost exclusively through TMV and one delightful hour-long telephone conversation on her nickel. We share numerous ailments brought about by the scavenging effects of diabetes but, if you read her post today, it dwarfs my ailments to a mere pittance. Dr. Clarissa Pinkola Estes in simple terms argues for insurance carriers...

I feel connected with Michael Corleone in Godfather III when he was on the brink of ridding himself from Mafia past, they pull him right back. Take today’s news. Please. Item: One of candidate Barack Obama’s agent of change messages was to improve the professionalism of our diplomatic corps. So far, 38 of his first 65 ambassadorial appointments have been political. Among them, Charles H. Rivkin,...

This is a (very) lightly modified version of a letter composed at my house this weekend. The only changes are the removal of my personal information and the name of the company. FWIW — I thought very hard about going Galt with the whole credit card industry. Still thinking about it, in fact… ***** August 15, 2009 To: My (former) Credit Card Services Company Re: Your response to the Credit Cardholders’...

The country is now remembering the Woodstock weekend’s 40th anniversary. I missed that big mud slide four decades ago. I was bumming around Europe at the time after doing my military service. But Woodstock and my bumming have something in common — both, in very different ways, represented the very acme of American economic life. I don’t want to pretend that the Ozzie & Harriet generation’s...

For a hopefully relaxing Sunday morning, a few scenes from the garden to put your spirit at ease. Mother Nature is still failing to cooperate for the most part, but our plants are gamely working away during an unusually cold and rainy summer. What? You thought that somebody who totally fails to qualify as a liberal could enjoy working in a garden? Remember… even Hitler painted landscapes and flowers.(There...

Guest Voice posts do not necessarily reflect the viewpoint of TMV or its many writers. Hot, Loud August by Will Durst If you’ve ever been fortunate enough to visit Washington, D.C. in August, you understand the custom of the federal government releasing all its high-profile delinquents back into their home communities and calling it recess. D.C. was built on a swamp, and walking around our Capital right now...

If you’re like me, busy working ten hours a day or so, the claims and counterclaims in the current “discussion” over health care reform may lead you a bit confused, with little opportunity to check the veracity of the claims. Here are two overviews of the health care reform issue and the arguments advanced by its advocates and opponents. One from The New York Times and the other from The Wall...