In the years that we have pursued this project, today’s posting is one of the strangest international press articles I can recall. And while it indicates that Hamas may be allowing more press freedom than we thought – the conclusions of the author are anything but comforting. Keeping in mind that the accused killer is of Palestinian origin, the author of this article from the Al Watan Voice, a newspaper...

He came. He saw. His charisma was controlled. That in a nutshell seems to be the emerging verdict on President Barack Obama’s trip to China: China kept the famous Obama charisma in check in a visit that won’t be seen as a turning point. AFP paints a portrait of a visit that was more zzzz than pizazz: Something got lost in transit in US President Barack Obama’s visit to China — the charismatic...

There has been a lot of angst, criticism and just plain political hysteria surrounding the Obama administration’s decision to try Khalid Sheik Mohammed, the alleged 9/11 mastermind, and other terrorists, in a federal civilian court, just blocks from Ground Zero. I will be the last one to pass judgment on the emotions and feelings—pro or con this decision—of relatives and friends of New York’s...

You’ve heard of a concession speech? Now there’s an unconcession: Doug Hoffman, the Conservative Party candidate in the special NY 23 election, has withdrawn his concession. Hoffman, who jumped in the race in response to the “liberal” positions of the Republican Party candidate, state Assemblywoman Dede Scozzafava — a decision that ultimately forced Scozzafava out of the race —...

The bad news for President Barack Obama today isn’t only economic: his ratings have declined again, amid further signs that he is losing independent voter support. His overall approval rating has dropped to 53 percent, a CBS news poll finds. Approval for Mr. Obama’s handling of the situation in Afghanistan has dropped as well as more Americans now disapprove than approve. However, a majority of...

WASHINGTON — Imagine a time when government work was exciting, widely admired, and much sought after. It seems an outlandish thought at a moment when you cannot turn on your television without hearing government spoken of as almost an alien creature. It is cast as far removed from the lives of average Americans and more likely to destroy the achievements of private citizens than to accomplish anything...

Michael Cohen, over at Politico, has once more dredged up the same old, tired cloth rending which we always seem to get from the oppressed majority. (Yes, you read that correctly… the oppressed majority.) Tired of the difficulties encountered in doing business with the minority party, Michael bravely calls for an end to the “GOP’s filibuster folly.” How dare a party with less than sixty...

Writing about “The Excommunication Of Lou Dobbs” in Forbes, one Roger Kimball is perturbed by the claiming of the “middle ground” by Dobbs’ critics. Elevating political discourse. Drawing a line in the sand. Polite company. A middle ground. Get it? If you’re Media Matters, CNN or The New York Times, you are in the happy position of proposing that what you espouse is elevating,...

It’s an indisputable statement, but not exactly one destined to build taxpayer confidence in their government. Responding to an ABC News investigation into stimulus data being reported for non-existent Congressional districts, the Recovery Board’s Communications Director, Ed Pound, is quoted as saying: We report what the recipients submit to us … Some recipients clearly don’t know what...

Four decades after being tortured in a North Korean prison camp, John McCain is trapped in a slow drip of accusations from Sarah Palin as she embarks on weeks of media ubiquity to promote her aptly titled, “Going Rogue.” A New York Times review notes that “the most sustained and vehement barbs in this book are directed not at Democrats or liberals or the press, but at the McCain campaign. The...

Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin may have won the hearts of GOPers, conservative pundits and conservative bloggers, but a recent CBS News poll indicates she most assuredly isn’t the favorite of those who may not be fans of Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, or Glenn Beck: She may be among the biggest names in politics at the moment, but former Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin is not exactly...

Pat Bagley, Salt Lake Tribune This cartoon is copyrighted and licensed to run on TMV. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited. All rights reserved.

I’m sure we’re all very shocked to hear that the man who subverted and perverted the law to give his masters the pseudo-legal cover to run a torture program against Arab and Muslim detainees doesn’t want the methods used against Khalid Sheikh Mohammed to be revealed in open court.

One of the goals Barack Obama set for his presidency was the elimination of hunger among children by 2015. Whether or not he achieves that goal, Obama is the first American president even to commit to achieving it. Having said that, he has a difficult road ahead of him, because more Americans — including children — are living with hunger at least some of the time:

According to China’s state-run Global Geographic Times, the state-controlled Internet chat rooms are filled with tough questions for, and sharp criticism of, President Obama. On his Global Geographic Times blog page, a man named Tian Yifeng lays out some of the comments and explains why they show the insight of Chinese Netizens. The topics of the comments run the gamut, from economics, to history, to...

Gallup Shock: Health Coverage Not Gov’t Responsibility by Jon Wells An astounding Gallup poll recently came out that states that a majority of Americans (50%-47%) now believe the government shouldn’t be responsible for making sure everyone has health insurance. That’s amazing in and of itself, but when you look at the trend it’s simply astonishing. Just three years ago in 2006, the...

Our political Quote of the Day comes from Dick Polman, who in a post that needs to be read in full contrasts what some Republicans used to say about trying terrorists in federal court before a Democrat was in the White House. Here’s a small part of it: But never mind the ample track record of civilian-court prosecutions, and never mind whatever Giuliani said in the past. The real problem is his current...

I still think about what happened on 9/11 with some level of disbelief, even after 8 years. I try to think about how Americans, especially New Yorkers must have felt that day and I am filled with awe and sadness – awe because of the strength of character New Yorkers showed during and after the event with rescue and community relief efforts, and sadness because of what the terrorists managed to achieve...

The murderous Mexican drug cartels are known for their viciousness conducting their illicit trade. U.S. drug manufactures are less sanguine but equally adept at protecting their profits. In anticipation of new health reform legislation that would curb their oligarchy, drug makers have raised their prices about 9% this past year while the Consumer Price Index has fallen by 1.3% during the same period. The widely...

By Walter Brasch It wasn’t unusual that Rush Limbaugh went ballistic on his show, Nov. 13. He does that several times a day. It wasn’t unusual that he mixed a few facts with opinion and outright lies in his three-hour daily show. Fact checking for the man who calls himself “America’s Truth Detector” is as rare as union organizers working for Walmart. What is unusual is that...

The Obama administration’s approach was often likened to Abraham Lincoln’s “Team of Rivals,” coupled with vows of transparency and vows that an Obama administration would operate differently than George W. Busjh’s. But Steve Clemons, writing in The Daily Beast, suggests that the ouster of Greg Craig indicates such hopes have been dashed. Here’s how he starts his piece: The...

I’m not sure if it’ll accomplish anything, but I think Obama’s efforts to engage the totalitarian military junta that rules Burma* and brutalizes the Burmese people are admirable, yet more evidence of the dramatic shift away from the military-oriented, unilateralist approach that characterized Bush’s foreign policy. “Despite years of good intentions,” said the president, “neither...

Sarah Palin’s magical mystery book tour has begun — a media blitz in which she’ll appear far and wide, and get interviewed by all and sundry. The immediate, short-term goal: to hype up interest in her new book and sell a zillion copies. She’ll be appearing with the likes of Oprah Winfrey and Rush Limbaugh — the ying and yang of modern American media. You can rest assured that many...

Guest post by Ziad Haider Ziad Haider is an MPA/JD candidate at the Harvard Kennedy School and Georgetown Law, and a Truman National Security Fellow. He conducted field research on governance in FATA with the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan in the summer of 2008 and previously worked as a foreign policy advisor in the U.S. Senate. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s recent three-day visit to...

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