WASHINGTON — A politically shrewd Senate Democratic staff member chatting about the future of health care negotiations stopped in midsentence late Tuesday afternoon as news flashed across his computer screen. “My God,” he said. “Byron Dorgan is retiring.” It was a thunderclap moment in the politics of 2010, an unfortunate twist for Democrats already looking at a difficult election...

Even as the US and other countries batten down the hatches against terrorism and religious totalitarians, there are enough positive signs in other areas to expect 2010 to be better than 2009. The world’s nations have never done as much in the past to work together to share knowledge, technology and best practices to reduce poverty, environmental pollution, disease, violation of human rights and exploitation...

The ATM card is not the only one with sneaky fees. Those Visa and MasterCard symbols on your bank debit card signify high hidden fees as well. Commentary is swirling around this NYTimes piece: Competition, of course, usually forces prices lower. But for payment networks like Visa and MasterCard, competition in the card business is more about winning over banks that actually issue the cards than consumers who...

Last week I was charged $144 in bank fees for four ATM purchases, each under $10 (I will be closing that poorly rated SunTrust account). Among the things that make those fees so painful is that I had hundreds of dollars sitting in another account, and tens of thousands of dollars in unused credit on cards. (I pay credit card balances in full each month). Reporter Bob Sullivan has a new book out, Stop Getting...

It’s All About Access by David Goodloe In general, Americans seem to have the attention span of gypsy moths. Lately, that attention has been focused on the attempted Christmas Day bombing and Janet Napolitano’s mishandling of it. Don’t get me wrong. Security is extremely important. But, like most things, I expect this matter to recede from view, and something else will move to center stage. I...

After nearly 30 years of on and off coolness, the Obama administration is resetting relations with the United Nations because no other organization offers access to dialogue with so many countries. Among other things, Barack Obama wants to be remembered as the President willing to talk sincerely to America’s enemies before imposing sanctions or picking up the gun. In 2010, the UN could be a useful facilitator...

For being the world’s only Superpower and global empire, we certainly are a pathetic, fearful, demented, wimpy, and easily frightened group. Our shores are filled with Chicken Little’s screaming about Al Qaida and airport security at the drop of a terrorist’s underwear. Now let’s get a grip on our emotions running amok and start thinking as rational human beings. I’m ashamed of many Americans in politics...

Dealing with climate change may be the most important issue for human progress but 2010 is likely to see it move to the backburner because creating jobs is better politics in the US, Europe and elsewhere. President Barack Obama’s presence surrounded by 5 cabinet members, many senators and tens of top journalists at the recent Copenhagen conference failed to persuade major players like the European Union, China...

WASHINGTON — As they enter this difficult election year, Democrats seem ready to engage yet again in a debate they never seem to tire of: whether winning demands “moving to the center” or “mobilizing the base.” If they get stuck on this one, they’re in for a very bad time. The simple truth is that in midterm elections, no party can win without its base because turnout...

Digby flags a post over at Daily Kos written by Devilstower.  It’s about the decade that just ended, why everybody wants to keep their eyes averted from the rear view mirror, and why we shouldn’t. Digby quotes a passage toward the end of the piece; I will quote the section that comes just before that (emphasis is in original):

For West Asia, 2010 has not begun well. The mess in Iran is increasing by the day and holds peril unprecedented for the entire region. If the government, however reprehensible, falls into disarray the real possibility arises of a huge arc of violent political and civil instability stretching through Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq and Palestine to Israel. The possibility of a new American war is small but...

For some, exasperation with new U.S. rules for passenger aircraft is running high. Why? Because, according to German columnist Andreas Theyssen, by almost any objective measure, the new regulations being imposed won’t do a thing to make flying any safer. For Germany’s Financial Times Deutschland, columnist Andreas Theyssen writes in part: There are many ways to encapsulate the state of the world....

Friendships are typically developed on the ground of common experience and perspective. It should thus be no surprise that — as a Republican until 2006 — I count among my friendships a fair number of Republican and Republican-inclined individuals. Granted, those friendships are based on much more than politics, which is a key reason why these individuals are still my friends. One of those friends,...

It seems every time I dial an 800 number, the first response from the automated voice asks if I want their menu in English or Spanish. It is such a frequent request that I press 1 before the recorded voice finishes its instructions. This ritual doesn’t annoy me. Not even close to the frustration of selecting the menu items in which invariably I press the number to speak to a live operator, which oftentimes...

2009 was a disappointing year partly because President Barack Obama fell short of the hopes raised when he came to power last January following his inspiring electioneering. Perhaps we expected too much of just a man. Most of the world, even North Korea, expected a healer’s touch but Obama looks increasingly like a fly trapped in a spider’s web of political complexities. 2010 will tell whether he is mainly...

Happy New Year Moderate Voice people! So which superpower or superpower pretender had the best year in 2009? Was it China, Russia or the United States? According to columnist Fyodor Lukyanov of the Russian newspaper Gazeta – the answer is unequivocally China. Outlining the challenges both the United States and Russia have in dealing with the new powerhouse, for Gazeta, Fyodor Lukyanov writes in part: Argentine...

RJ Matson, The St. Louis Post Dispatch This cartoon is copyrighted and licensed to appear on TMV. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited. All rights reserved.

I had to check the date to make sure it wasn’t April Fools day instead of New Years Eve. Why? Because it’s so rare to see a politician these days who actually seems to grasp the basics of government spending during a disastrous fiscal period such as the one we’re in now. Fresh from YouTube, an encouraging interview with Minnesota Governor and 2012 presidential hopeful, Tim Pawlenty. PAWLENTY:...

I’m glad TMV co-blogger and editor Jerry Remmers recently posted and wrote about America’s overall stupidity with respect to Mathematics. The reader comments were excellent as well and got me thinking (and now ranting). I would like to mention a few more items in this vein before turning to other posts and subjects. Since I am an authorized TMV blogger with over 2 regular fans, I am free to go ad nauseum...

WASHINGTON — Certain decades shape the country’s political life for generations by leaving behind an era to embrace or, at least as often, to scorn. The 1960s were definitely such a decade. The 1930s qualify, and so do the 1980s. But as important as all these periods have been, their significance may be dwarfed by the reckless and squandered decade that is, mercifully, ending. I’m...

Yesterday, Jonathan Gruper had an enthusiastic endorsement of the Senate bill’s excise tax on high-cost health care plans, known as the “Cadillac” tax:

Our Quote of the Day comes from an extensive commentary by Greg Sheridan, Foreign Editor of the Australian, posted on RealClearWorld that needs to be read in full. His point: the world needs U.S. leadership. Here are a few highlights: There seems to be a whole class of international relations commentators, not least among our bunyip faux wise men in Australia, eagerly predicting, if not outright yearning for,...

Who knew that Harry Reid had the kind of steel in his spine that it took to get health care reform through the Senate? If anyone had told me a year ago that he would have the fortitude, perseverance, toughness, and sheer guts that it took to pass this legislation against the implacable, uncompromising opposition and nihilistic obstructionism of Senate Republicans, I would have fallen on the floor laughing. In...

The Obama administration’s $75 billion program to help homeowners escape foreclosure is a failure and should be scrapped. By unintentional consequences, the government itself under the FDIC sabotages the program. The irony of this is that a private non-profit company exists that has a proven track record helping homeowners renegotiate mortgages they can afford — for free. Bear with me as we go through...

And when he does, he never, ever comes back. Before I head out on my Christmas break to visit relatives partake in the usual holiday celebrations, there is one last Christmas present to bring to all of you. We found out earlier this month that President Obama was planning on taking some of the TARP funds which are either left over from the initial allotment or flowing back in from banks repaying the loans for...