One more reminder of the meaning of Memorial Day and, I promise, I’ll say no more today. In honor of our fallen troops, CNN.com has created an amazing interactive “Home & Away map” which includes information about all of the men and women who have died in the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars since 2001. It is a stunning, interactive map where you can learn where our heroes lived and how and where...

TMV has been experiencing some duendes (goblins, in Spanish) who have been stealing slippers and making the Chicago River green when it isnt St Patty’s, and messing with the hoists and levers in our posts and commenting sections. Our IT guy Tyrone says as we get closer to elections too, the hacking attempts have increased. And as of just a few minutes ago, he thinks it is all reset now onsite, so hopefully...

Back in September 2009, when the Navy was seriously considering allowing women to serve aboard its nuclear submarines, I posted an article titled, “Should Women Serve on Submarines?” and, at the end, asked, “What do you think?” With a couple of exceptions, most of the readers saw no problem with this change in policy or had some reasonable, practical reasons for opposing women serving on our submarines. One...

Does Mitt Romney have a clue? By the way, who are his campaign advisers? Does he have campaign advisers? Is he generally underinformed and living in a blur when it comes to education? … About school reform. Three big ideas: First, Romney is going to make the states provide “ample school choice.” Unless we’re talking, mushily, about vouchers, this one sounded exactly like the Bush law that...

The New York Times has an interesting and, I am sure, controversial opinion piece, which from the beginning (Title: “G.O.P. Nightmare Charts”) to its conclusion (see below) suggests that present trends “do not bode well for Republicans.” All sarcasm aside and keeping in mind that the Times is called a “liberal newspaper” and worse, that it is written in “a place for opinionated...

When President Obama gave the commencement address at the Air Force Academy yesterday, he mentioned by name an immigrant from Venezuela whose dream came true as he graduated from the Academy. However, except for mentioning human rights and human dignity a couple of times, the President did not directly recognize or address another group of graduating cadets. You see, eight months after the repeal of the “don’t...

The hidden history of WWII, and more recently Kosovo is gravely mis-stated. I collect images of those who tried to survive in near impossible circumstances of no food, not even a bandage, no privacy for their bodies, no ability to speak out without literally being shot to death on the spot. And even NOT speaking out, being taken to a mass grave site and shot anyway. Let us pray for all those of our world who...

There is beauty for those who have the eyes to see it. There is peace for those who have the ears to listen to the facts about what beauty endures.

Today, the President of the United States gave the Commencement Address at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs. I almost said “my alma mater,” but I was not so fortunate as to attend that magnificent institution. Nevertheless, I consider the Academy part of my “greater alma mater,” the U.S. Air Force. While one can read the entire address here, I will excerpt the parts that I think best represent...

A 19-year-old woman is raped in her home late at night by an intruder. She calls the police. No one answers. She leaves a message. No one returns her call. No one follows up. One in three women like her “have been raped or have experienced an attempted rape,” says the New York Times. According to a survey, the rate of sexual violence in rural villages like the one where the above-mentioned rape took place...

Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, has always been a very strong, vocal opponent of illegal immigration and amnesty. He believes that we only encourage illegal immigration by discussing amnesty for the 12-20 million illegal immigrants living in the United States today and adamantly opposes such. He believes in tightening and strengthening our border control efforts, including using his own design of a concrete border...

Pretty much everyone notices that political speech has become more bitterly partisan in recent years. Now a study finds that speechifying by our leaders in D. C. has also been dumbing down, nearly a full grade level since just seven years ago. Measured by the Flesch-Kincaid test, congressional oratory has dropped from an 11.5 grade level on average to a 10.6 grade level. This compares to the U. S. Constitution’s...

I collect and look at black and white photos, garage sale cast offs, collections of oddities of our world that someone chose to immortalize in what used to be called ‘film.’ This is a photo of two men piling spent howitzer shells at a sandbagged gun emplacement at Song Be. On the back of the photo is writ: Song Be, less than a hundred miles from Siagon, near the Cambodian border… US 1st infantry. What...

Warren Buffett bought 63 daily and weekly newspapers in the Southeast for $142 million from financially troubled Media General Inc. of Richmond, Va. Buffett said he might buy more newspapers. “Any time we can add properties we like, to management we like, at a price we like, we’re ready to go.” The newspapers are in Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Alabama and Florida. “In towns and cities...

When Obama fought for the repeal of the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy from the time he assumed the Presidency until its repeal in September 2011, he took many political risks. It took courage and he did the right thing. When Obama made the decision one year ago to go after Osama bin Laden, he took tremendous risks. If anything had gone wrong, if the daring mission had failed, he could...

For an example of the coarsening of our political discourse read this “eloquent” clarion call by the Greene County, Virginia, Republican Committee to change “coarse” in November to “armed revolution” should things not turn out to one’s liking at the ballot box. Of course, “coarse” should be “course,” but when one calls for such a coarse course change, who really cares. Image: www.shutterstock.com

After so many depressing stories about sports figures who’ve done drugs, got into legal trouble, become physically decimated due to their past athletic battles, it’s refreshing to find an uplifting story about a famous athlete who is truly a great role model. And here it is: Shaquille O’Neal has earned his doctorate degree. But don’t call him Dr. Shaq: The four-time NBA champion Shaquille...

An article in today’s Philadelphia Inquirer states: “Fewer students will be eating free breakfast and lunch in summer school this year because [of] budget troubles…That means parents will have to scramble to feed children – many of them low-income – who are accustomed to free school meals but will not receive them.” Isn’t that just wonderful. Not only are Governor Corbett...

UPDATE: Related in more ways than one to the “brain drain,” especially as it affects our young people, is a “brain waste.” Paul Krugman addresses how some of our policies are contributing to “wasting the minds of a whole generation.” Please read it here == Original Post: The unemployment in Spain “just hit a depression-level 24.4 percent.” Portugal, and Greece are not faring much better. Meanwhile...