It is indeed a great irony: Two days before the massive 9.0 earthquake struck Japan, one of FEMA’s senior officials during Hurricane Katrina was in Japan to warn of the danger of careless and uncoordinated disaster response planning. According to this article from Japan’s Yomiuri Shimbun, his warnings seem to have fallen of deaf ears. For Japan’s Yomiuri Shimbun, reporter Fumi Igarashi writes...

Frank Buckles, the last surviving U.S. veteran of World War I — of nearly 5 million Americans who served during that war — died last month at age 110. Buckles, who served in England and France, was a member of a steadily aging and shrinking group of heroes from our “early” major wars — where I am also including World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War — the Veterans...

Is it time for all sane people to conclude that the “war on drugs” is a failed, self-destructive enterprise? With Mexico descending into drug-fueled anarchy, columnist Jorge Carrillo Olea of Mexico’s La Jornada writes that it’s time for the Mexican people to rise up and reject U.S. involvement, President Calderon, and the notion that drugs can be eradicated by military force. With no...

Could it be that the escalating violence in Mexico is a sign of ‘success’ for that nation’s ongoing war on drugs? According to this incredulous editorial from Mexico’s La Jornada, the fact that U.S. officials have been making such a claim is yet more evidence that the U.S. is calling the shots in that war, and to admit how badly things are going would be to show the failure of its own...

It seems that Paul Ryan’s proposal to cut the deficit by privatizing Medicare and eliminating Medicaid doesn’t sit too well with his constituents. Obviously, Ryan isn’t overly concerned by that. And why should he be? He’s a monopoly in his district:

I’ll probably regret wading into this morass but since my other post subjects are still being developed, I’ll put my useless two cents into this bizarre debate that still obsesses far too many Americans. Where was Barak H. Obama born? These musings were prompted by finding a copy of my birth certificate indicating that I born in New York City at Colombia Presbyterian Hospital in the Borough of Manhattan....

Pres. Obama is speaking as I type. And CBS’s Chip Reid is now saying that the rider eliminating funding for Planned Parenthood is OUT of the bill. Thank God! EDITOR’s NOTE: My earlier post was mistakenly deleted. I am adding it here since it will provide some context. This is copied off of Google since it still appears on search engines. JOE GANDELMAN National Journal: White House Is Reviewing...

I do not insert myself in the community forum after I post articles on TMV for a variety of reasons. The last time I participated in the forum was in August 2009 when I got into a needlessly nasty tussle with former conservative TMV contributor Jazz Shaw over healthcare reform. Disgusted with myself I even stopped writing anything for TMV for several months as a result of it. I believe TMV readers have a...

Brian Beutler reports at TPMDC that Republicans have said privately that they will drop the rider defunding Planned Parenthood in exchange for more spending cuts. But as Pat Garofalo of Think Progress points out (and shows, graphically), the Democrats have gone more than halfway to meet Republicans’ spending cut demands:

The current budget impasse threatening a government shutdown appears to revolve around highly controversial federal funding for Planned Parenthood and its ancillary provision of legal abortions. Republicans want to eliminate all Federal Funds of around $360 million per year and Democrats are fighting to keep the funding. I support the Republican position in this fight. This position might surprise some TMV...

So, just how much does electing women – no matter their policy positions but rather just because of their gender – really help women? Turns out, not so much. In the Senate: The three veteran Republican women, Lisa Murkowski (Alaska), Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins (both Maine) do not want to defund Planned Parenthood. They know what’s really going on. Veteran and retiring Kay Bailey Hutchison...

Recent days have seen numerous analyses of the budget and tax plan put forth by Wisconsin Congressman Paul Ryan. Until now I’ve largely stayed out the discussion, viewing most opinions as primarily partisan in their approach. No more. After a bit of independent research into the impact this plan will have on issues that matter to me, and should matter to all Americans, I’ve come to my conclusion. The...

You know when things are really bad when Tom Coburn is the voice of restraint, moderation, and common sense:

Jacob Weisberg calls Rep. Paul Ryan’s proposed budget plan “brave, radical, and smart.”

Is this all they are demanding? Shutting down the Federal government over less than $50 billion dollars when projected annual deficits are $1.5 trillion as far as the eye can see? The wimps haven’t even completely axed Amtrak, mass transit and High Speed Rail. They’re still arguing about the current fiscal year from October 2010 thru September 2011. Just wait till they debate raising the total federal...

Actually, Paul Ryan calls his plan “The Path to Prosperity,” but I think my name for it is more accurate. Here he is in the Wall Street Journal, spinning madly:

I originally predicted that President Obama would be a one-term Chief Executive in a TMV post dated 11/8/10 that was picked up by a number of prominent blog sites. I even started questioning his chances of re-election in other earlier 2010 TMV posts. Today respected long-time independent blogger Charles Hugh Smith made the same prediction on his excellent political/economic/social blog called Of Two Minds...

UPDATE: April 9 Legislation that would legalize concealed handguns on Texas college campuses for students 21 years and older has suffered a temporary setback, falling short of votes in its first attempt at passage by the Texas Senate. However, the bill’s sponsor, state Sen. Jeff Wentworth, intends to bring it up for consideration again Monday. According to the Austin American-Statesman: …even though the...

That’s Paul Ryan’s budget proposal:

Milt Priggee, www.miltpriggee.com This copyrighted cartoon is licensed to run on TMV. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited. All rights reserved.