By SHAUN MULLEN GUEST VOICE The inevitable piling on the Barack Obama presidency is well underway — and well too prematurely. Consider that Obama has been in office for not even two thirds of the mythic 100 days by which new presidents are prejudged. Consider that we had been sabotaged by domestic terrorists in the form of the Bush administration and that the damage it wrought will take years to undo....

Remembering The Iron Lady Margaret Thatcher by Dalitso Njolinjo As Americans rightly feel proud of their collective ‘achievement’ in electing their first non-white-male president, I am left wondering why hasn’t there been any mention of the greatest ground breaker of modern times – a leader who not only produced cracks on the “highest glass ceiling” as the suit pants lady put it, but a leader who...

by Walter Brasch Barack Obama was determined that the only way anyone was going to take away his BlackBerry was if they pried it from his cold dead hands. Or, something to that effect. The President justifiably relies upon his BlackBerry, but many rely upon electronic communications as a status symbol or as a crutch so they...

by Rosemary and Walter Brasch There have now been more than 4,000 deaths and 30,000 casualties of American military in the war in Iraq. More than 100,000 Iraqis and others, most of them civilian, have also been killed in what is now known to be an unnecessary war. But, we as a nation are not outraged. We have recently learned that former President Bush and former Vice-President Cheney...

The Pharisee Preserve by Doug Bursch In recent years, the North American Pharisee population has increased to dangerous, epidemic levels. If present trends persist, Pharisees may someday outnumber the individuals they are trying to judge. In other words, there will soon be a two to one Pharisee to nice person ratio throughout much of the western hemisphere. That means you and I will have at least two...

Economists, politicians, columnists and most people have not yet fully figured out what has happened in the U.S. and the rest of the world. Very few even saw such a complete mess coming and many people are still being surprised by current events. Overall, everything began to unravel last year and suddenly picked up steam a few months before our November elections. We won’t know for awhile whether we’re...

By SHAUN MULLEN GUEST VOICE The long-building wave of “populist outrage” over craven capitalist elites with a suffocating sense of privilege has broken on the shore with the AIG bonus scandal. Having spent the last few days on the road, I come late to the story of the moment. Nevertheless, the more complicated it becomes the simpler it is: The U.S.’s largest insurance company tanked in part...

So it’s final – a Portuguese water dog is coming to the White House sometime in April. That’s what you get when you have to please 3 women. Originally President Obama suggested going to the local dog pound and adopting a stray mixed breed. First Lady Michelle Obama nixed that idea immediately. She had heard talk show host Conan O’Brien point out that the last President who brought a stray dog to...

by Walter Brasch Legislatures in Pennsylvania and Illinois are considering bills that would reduce or eliminate what animal welfare advocates call mutilations, and what breeders and American Kennel Club (AKC) call “breed standards.” Because dogs are considered by state laws to be property, individual owners may currently cut and shape dogs’ ears (cropping) or amputate part or all of their tails (docking),...

Learn About Stem Cell Research Before Rejecting It by Jim Bell There has been much in the blogosphere during the last week concerning stem cell research, all of which seemingly triggered by Obama’s reversal of Bush’s policy to deny government funding for stem cell research. Arguments from the right consistently state that stem cell research is morally wrong because the cells being used come from...

Happy St. Patrick’s Day By Martha Randolph Carr Happy St. Patrick’s Day everyone. Today all of America gets to be an honorary Irishman, wear green and attempt lame brogues. It’s a wonderful, quirky little holiday that inspires city officials to turn the Chicago River that runs through the metropolitan’s business section a lovely emerald green. Parades will be held in cities and towns as people march...

LEGAL FICTIONS AND THE SANCTITY OF CONTRACTS – A LOT OF NICE BULL Corporations, limited liability companies, banks, financial entities, non-profit organizations, governmental entities, and all private enterprises in the world are essentially legal fictions. What is a legal fiction? It is a fictitious “person” created by law that has certain legal rights and obligations. It exists on paper, in public...

Editor’s Note: These are bittersweet times for those of us who trained for careers in an industry we all loved so much, the newspaper business. Some (like me) moved on to other careers in other industries before what can only be called the 2008-2009 industry-wide meltdown — but we cherish our newspaper days. Today, others are moving on not by choice, because they’re being laid off or they’re...

Out Of Tune Quartet by Marc Pascal The Governors of South Carolina, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas have decided to reject some of the federal stimulus funds, particularly those geared towards increasing unemployment compensation and the numbers of people who are eligible. In Arizona, the Republican Governor and the Republican-controlled legislature have maintained their sanity and will push for all the federal...

This Guest Voice is by Joel S. Hirschhorn who is highly critical of both political parties. Guest Voice posts do not necessarily represent the opinion of TMV or its writers. Senator Feingold Has Constitutional Opportunity by Joel S. Hirschhorn Like others promoting constitutional amendments, Senator Russ Feingold, Democrat, Wisconsin, apparently is unaware of the refusal by Congress to obey Article V of the...

EDITOR’S NOTE: This was run earlier but didn’t have the byline or author’s bio. We are redating it and putting it on top of TMV. Newer posts are underneath it so after reading it, please keep scrolling. strong>Clinton Administration and Republican Congress, Unindicted Co-Conspirators by Douglas Wolf 9 years ago the New York Times reported the changing of the rules regarding mortgage qualifying...

Calling Obama And Washington Back To Reality by Marc Pascal Now that the sky is literally falling, what are you going to do? I realize that less than 100 days into any administration is too soon to expect immediate results. Considering this mess is so large, complicated, interconnected, and global, it will not be completely resolved for several years. However, the U.S. economy and all Americans expect some...

So what would things be like if Arizona Sen. John McCain had won and then-Sen. Barack Obama had been defeated in the 2008 Presidential race? How you answer that depends on who you supported and, in the case of McCain, how the sometimes complex Arizona Senator is perceived by the given partisan or independent voter. Here’s one view from frequent Guest Voice writer Marc Pascal. And we’re sure some...

By SHAUN MULLEN GUEST VOICE The two biggest lies being told by opponents of President Obama’s health-care reform plan is that it will be financed entirely on the backs of the rich and that the depths of a protracted recession is no time to go forward with such a bold and expensive initiative. If you believe, as I and a majority of Americans do, that health care is a right and not a privilege, then the...

The Key To Our Healthcare Need is “Quality” by Jim Bell When President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed into law the Social Security Acton August 14, 1935, the national focus on taking care of its citizens began with a simple idea to create a mandatory annuity with payroll deductions which, had they gone to an insurance policy, would have paid a much greater dividend in the end than what citizens can...

Bye American by Will Durst Can we stop with the waving of the sharp instruments for a minute and speak rationally to this whole ugly recession mess we find ourselves currently mired in? C’mon. You know what recession mess I’m talking about. You’re packing a bag lunch and taking mass transit to visit the public library to use their ancient computer to check out the job classifieds on Craigslist for crum’s...

Daylight Savings Time: Arizona Got This One Right by Marc Pascal The state that was the third to last to be admitted to the Union on February 14, 1912 (followed by Alaska and Hawaii in 1959) was a backwater place until the late 1960s. Suddenly both old and young and everyone in-between began to move here for the year-round warm sunny weather, spectacular scenery, laid-back lifestyle, and cheap air-conditioned...

We’ve run some posts and editorial cartoons from the United States and Canada that have been highly critical of conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh. But not everyone agrees with them. Here’s another viewpoint from talk show host Michael Reagan. This Tiger Is Not Dead by Michael Reagan There’s an old adage that explains that one does not shoot arrows at dead tigers. If there is a fusillade...

The End Is near: Starbucks Is Struggling! by Doug Bursch Starbucks is struggling financially and this has me a bit unnerved. I’m not an end times expert, but a Starbucks downturn might be one of the signs of the Apocalypse. I think Revelations states before the four horsemen arrive, we are greeted by a large angry mermaid. Come to think of it, that might be from Jason and the Argonauts. Regardless, Starbucks...

The S-word and the F-word by Cathy Young My column on the brouhaha about Obama as a “socialist” appears on RealClearPolitics.com (and on Reason.com) this week. Short answer: Yes, Obama’s proposals advance and enhance the welfare state and government involvement in the economy (and yes, I think this is a bad thing); no, this is not any sort of radical departure from the existing system (as my Reason...