Americans love movie rereads. The same types of characters in the same types of places doing the same types of things in only slightly different ways. Think Star Wars. Think Matrix. Think the Smokey flicks. We also seem to love political disaster retreads. Think Vietnam. Think Iraq. Think what’s about to happen in Afghanistan. One good way to appreciate the newest addition to the ongoing America’s...

The medical specialists most likely to benefit from the health care debate are optometrists as the Senate Finance Committee releases its 1502-page text and mental health professionals as a new poll shows a national mood swing from August rage against a public option to 57 percent of Americans in favor of it. Max Baucus’ masterwork can now be read as a sequel to the 839-page tome by the Health Education...

Our political Quote of the Day comes from the a Chris Cillizza Washington Post piece on a new poll which he notes has some big, fat, warning flags to Republicans who think that they have Barack Obama and the Demmies on the political ropes: Republicans in Washington can barely contain their glee at the turn of President Obama’s political fortunes in the first nine months of the year but a new Washington...

In regard to Afghanistan, should Russians indulge in a little schadenfreude - a German word meaning taking pleasure in the pain of others – or should it help the United States out of its predicament. For Russia’s Kommersant newspaper, columnist Sergey Markedonov asks his readers: “Should we be happy over the misfortune of our ’sworn friend’ the U.S. – particularly against...

Continuing with our look at Obama’s Nobel Prize through a global prism, this article from Syria’s state-controlled Thawra Al Wada shares the rest of the world’s surprise with the award – but with a distinctly anti-Israel Syrian twist. For Thawra Al Wada, Khalaf Ali Al Moftah argues that Obama has time to earn the award, as long as he does a few things no American chief executive is ever...

Returning to the Nov. 3 special House election in NY-23, (which I mentioned on Sunday) we find the embattled, moderate to liberal Republican candidate, Dede Scozzafava demonstrating how to lose a race in a district your party has held for more than one hundred years. When a reporter shows up to ask you about your position on some uncomfortable topics, you can respond in a number of ways. You could just spill...

Following on the heels of yesterday’s much debated column on the civil war among the Republicans, we clearly had far too many liberals feeling smug and self-satisfied to let it stand. With that in mind, I would like to present the companion piece, published today at Pajamas Media, titled, “The Modern Left Abandons Classic Liberalism.” In this piece I take a look at some of the best, most noble...

by Walter and Rosemary Brasch One of the joys of Halloween is to dress in scary costumes and pretend to frighten others, who pretend to be frightened. But with less than two weeks until an evening of trick-or-treating, it’s possible there won’t be anything scarier than what’s already happened in the country. We are being told to fear the swine flu virus, and then learn that the vaccine, which...

Living in California has many benefits: good weather (except the summer), nice surroundings, fun places to visit, a generally laid back lifestyle. But there are some serious negatives, the most notable of which is wondering just how long it will be before the entire system collapses. Rising debt, rising taxes, crumbling infrastructure and utterly inept politicians are just a few of the many problems we must...

She’s working on beating the opposition at their own game:

Lovely:

This, folks, is why Thomas Franks called them the wrecking crew:

This morning AP reported that the Obama administration will not seek to arrest medical marijuana users and suppliers as long as they conform to state laws. The NYTimes points to the three-page memo spelling out the policy, but I’m thinking Reason’s Jacob Sullum still believes there’s good reason for legit distributors to worry: [T]he Drug Enforcement Administration can still participate in...

Yes, you heard me right. Here’s what Kerry had to say on CBS about relying on counterterrorism instead of counterinsurgency in Afghanistan: SENATOR JOHN KERRY: That’s correct. I– I– I do not believe that a counterterrorism strategy all by itself without a sufficient level of counterinsurgency will work because if you don’t have a presence on the ground that’s effective, it–...

David Fitzsimmons, The Arizona Star This cartoon is copyrighted and licensed to appear on TMV. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited. All rights reserved.

Yes, my friends. It has been rumored on a few Democratic sites I check in on from time to time, but opportunity is slipping away before your very eyes. Rasmussen is bringing disastrous news for the Obama faithful this week in the form of a new poll. While you’re all focusing your attention on what the new Democratic majority is up to, it seems that prospects for a Sarah Palin 2012 GOP nomination are fading...

“We’re always putting out these estimates: This is going to cost $1.042 trillion exactly. But you sort of want to add, you know, ‘Your mileage may vary.’ ” – Phil Ellis, senior analyst, Congressional Budget Office ————————- The WaPo article where I saw that quote earlier today is a fascinating read. It reminded me of a central...

The White House must end its fight with Fox News now. Enough already. David Gergen, White House advisor to three former presidents, said it is “risky strategy.” I agree and add it’s stupid and unproductive. While Fox commentators may have succeeded in tweaking President Obama’s massive ego, retaliation from the Oval Office violates a very simple rule: You can’t win a fight when...

I highly recommend that you not read Bono’s op-ed in Saturday’s Times on Obama and “Rebranding America.” Actually, no, it’s not that bad. It’s hard to stomach Bono, I know, but his activism is admirable, particularly with respect to poverty, and he shows a welcome modesty here (false or not, I leave it to you to judge). So go check it out, if you haven’t already. Here...

Last week we ran this post giving excerpts from Caroline Glick’s an intriguing article on RealClearWorld asking whether Turkey has left the West to join up with the Iranian axis. Now Steven Taylor, aka, Poliblogger has his own response. Here is a small part of it: Until Turkey quits NATO, rescinds its request to join the EU, and makes a public statement about joining Iran, any talk about the Turkey being...

WASHINGTON — Will the young and hopeful abandon the political playing field to older voters who are angry? That is the quiet crisis confronting President Obama and the Democrats. Left unattended, it could become a formidable obstacle for them in next year’s midterm elections. Moreover, the sour mood that has gripped the nation’s politics could only further turn off the young. This means...

Are new tensions about to swirl around Afghanistan? At a time when President Barack Obama and his advisers are huddled in comprehensive reviews of the war and what do do next, recent elections and the next phase of U.S. involvement, the New York Times reports that an audit of election results submitted today “appeared likely to show that President Hamid Karzai had won about 48 percent.” Attributing...

With a title so inviting of hyperbole and hysteria, the first question which likely comes to mind may be, “Is he talking about a fight within the Republican party or open combat in the streets?” It’s a fair question, and to be honest, I’m not sure which we should focus on right now. What I do know is that we are living in a period where persons with my particular hybrid, hard-to-pigeonhole...

Some of Iran’s top military commanders were killed in a terrorist attack on Sunday, and according to this article from Iran’s state-controlled Kayhan newspaper, the regime holds the U.S. and Britain responsible. The Kayhan news item says in part: “A terrorist blew himself up at a meeting of tribal elders in southeastern Iran Sunday, martyring at least 31 people, including top commanders. The...

This morning I posted about a soldier from my town who was killed in Afghanistan. I did not know him, though in my few years living here in small-town Georgia, I have met more soldier boys than in the decades I lived in NYC. The post included only the facts and only three people commented. But those three comments spanned the gamut of opinion, from honoring the dead to criticizing the president, to criticizing...