It’s the 1950s again when atomic anxiety had kids ducking under school desks as Joe McCarthy et al were stalking Washington for subversives plotting to take away our liberties while Hollywood cheese showed aliens in aluminum suits invading the planet to steal our minds. Sarah Palin’s remake of The Body Snatchers has opened to sour reviews from both sides of the aisle but with a boffo start at the...

Nate Beeler, The Washington Examiner This copyrighted cartoon is licensed to run on TMV. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited. All rights reserved.

Bill Maher tells The Hollywood Reporter he’ll never win an Emmy because he’s an atheist. Hey, some of those nomination came because he is an atheist. Regardless, I think he hasn’t won because he is too religious.

As mid-term elections approach, politicos are going to get advice. But what is advice? Well, there is good advice and bad advice. Politicos (and those not participating in the silly season) might well ponder the lyrics of this song…from beginning to end:

In late August, the California legislature overwhelmingly passed amendments to stiffen penalties connected to its current anti-stalking law. You can read the bill here. The objects of the amendments’ affection? Paparrazzi who get too close. Lawmakers had sympathy for the idea that there is such a thing as paparazzi being too close, even to celebrities whom we might think don’t deserve such legal protections...

Alexia Tsotsis says that if you were an Internet hipster you’d have seen this three days ago: French designer Evan Roth has made a ten minute music video consisting of popular gifs vs. the typical fragmented Girl Talk tomfoolery (from the 2006 album Night Ripper). While Roth’s cleverly titled “Cache Rules Everything Around Me” is absolutely not the first time someone has combined Internet...

It seems Moderates are going the way of the Amish. We may still exist, but the culture has left us behind. Or at least the “new media” has pushed our political horse drawn carriages aside. Instead, this is and shall ever be the age of extremists! Let the moderates dwell in button wearing, barn raising community, while the radicals inherit the earth. You might say these conclusions are extreme. And...

No, this video below from the Huffington Post is not part of a Saturday Night skit or someone auditioning to replace Steve Carrell on The Office — although ultimately unsuccessful Phil Davison of Minerva, Ohio, seemed like he could win that part due to his stump speech featured below as he attempted to convince Stark County GOPers to let him run for county treasurer. Taegan Goddard calls it the “worst...

Two signs we’re gonna be alright. 1. Arcade Fire develops The Suburbs. Full of soul and mournful joy. 2. Conan premieres this November. Anticipation is far more satisfying than the payoff. Two signs we’re doomed. 1. 1.2 billion raised to preserve our democracy. 2010 sees record breaking spending on election campaigns. The meek inherit the earth. . . corporations inherit the government. 2. Keeping...

With the clash of religious radicals of all kinds apparently accelerating, this article by Mohammed Abbou of Algeria’s Le Quotidien d’Oran offers a ray of light from the Muslim world. With his account of the day human beings landed on the moon, Abbou illustrates how the backward views of the ignorant faithful continue to blind people to the truth of the world they live in. For Algeria’s Le...

Since it’s Labor Day weekend and you may have friends visiting, here’s some great Labor Day music to play that is sure to be a conversation encourager: And since you’re probably clamoring for more, here’s another gem:

The following is a press release that appears to be from Apple. Looks like Apple is once again transforming the face of technology. “Apple is proud to announce a revolutionary advancement in the way you experience your Apple products. Drawing upon the success of our Apple Stores, we are proud to introduce an Apple endeavor that will permanently change the way you do everything. Introducing iCompound. iCompound...

The funny (or sad) thing about this t-shirt is that it could just as easily be worn as an anti-Palin statement. Of course, it would be even better in that regard if “babies” were changed to “fetuses.” Then it would be perfect.

Approaching 86 next month, Lauren Bacall is making news again, telling all about her life in an updated memoir and doing interviews to promote it. Well, not quite all. In an hour on TCM, there is, of course, the story of her classic coupling with Humphrey Bogart and even a few words about an affair after Bogart’s death with Frank Sinatra. But not a word about Jason Robards, to whom she was married for...

Did it ever cross your mind that one company could be behind the demonization and political polemics that now make up such a great part of American politics? My most recent Cagle.com column is an exclusive interview with a man who influences what so many Americans say, hear and think in today’s politics. Here’s the beginning of it: An office located in a tiny building in Oriskany Falls, New York...

This just in from investigative reporter Andy Borowitz: WASHINGTON (The Borowitz Report) – In what might be the most serious challenge to Barack Obama’s legitimacy as President, a new poll shows that one out of five Americans are not convinced that Mr. Obama exists. The poll, conducted by the University of Minnesota’s Opinion Research Institute, reveals that 23 percent of those surveyed “strongly agreed”...

Sometimes the kids or grandkids of famous stars get into the business and you think “If their name wasn’t so and so he/she would never have gotten their break.” But Steven McQueen, grandson of the late screen icon Steve McQueen, already looks like he has the words “future star” written all over him in his own right:

Jack Horkheimer, the little guy with the bad toupeé, Chaplinesque voice and strange name… who stood against a green screen while making it look to TV viewers at home that he was standing and broadcasting from outer space…. well Mr Horkheimer, the earthling beloved by many, has died at age 72 from a respiratory illness. He was the creator and host of the PBS show “Star Gazer” and popularized...

What can the multi-million dollar wedding of Chelsea Clinton teach Chinese officials about corruption? According to columnist Zhang Dong Yang of the state-controlled Yangtze Daily News, the fact that former President Clinton could pay for such extravagance without having to hide it shows that he made his money honorably and with public knowledge – as opposed to public officials in China, who need never...

Carole King, from her 1973 Fantasy album.

My fellow CWRU alumnus and TMV co-blogger Jill Miller Zimon from Cleveland, OH sparked some thoughts way out here in Phoenix, AZ. She’s concerned about alleged gender bias of the Cleveland Plain Dealer – a decrepit rag of a newspaper if there ever was one – with respect to political endorsements being subtly biased against women – somehow, even if unintentional. You should read her post just a few...

Anastasia Pantsios, a lifelong journalist, does a great job in Ohio Daily Blog‘s post, “A Disturbing Pattern” with the subject of how the Cleveland Plain Dealer‘s primary endorsements for 12 newly-created elected positions read as gender-biased reviews though the motivation seems unintentional. But just because there is no intention does not mean that there is no bias. It should be revealed...

Should a Muslim community center and a mosque be permitted to be built four blocks from Ground Zero in New York? The proposed Cordoba House, so named to invoke Cordoba, Spain, between the 8th and 11th centuries, where Muslims, Christians and Jews are said to have co-existed peacefully, has sharply divided Americans. According to columnist Ignacio Camacho of Spain’s ABC newspaper, the failure of Muslim...

If Glenn Beck can have a college, why not TMV? Here’s an educational lesson for starters. Be sure to take notes: In case you wonder, those songs are from the classic Howdy Doody Show, with Bob Smith doing the voice of himself and Howdy:

“We are beautiful, no matter what they say. Words can’t bring us down.” (Different video; the first one didn’t work.)