It’s been a good while since I’ve written a column on “Our Hometown.” I grew up in a little town, population 600 in the semi-rural backwoods. Many of you too, grew up in some little strange out of the way place. We share together the odd, strange, bizarre and beloved things that go on in small towns. Today, there is a town some ten miles to the south of where I grew up, one that has...

That’s the topic of historian George C. Edwards III’s blog post over at History News Network. Looking at presidents noted for their persuasive powers and legislative achievements, Edwards concludes that “the power to persuade” may be a bit overstated. I think that he’s right. Presidents (and other political actors) can persuade only as much as the moment allows. They can exploit...

Eleven years ago, Greg Missman served in the U.S. military as an Army specialist. When he finished his tour of duty, he returned to civilian life. Last year, he lost his job as a computer consultant, and with it, his health insurance. So, he decided to re-enlist in the Army for the health insurance benefits. He was sent to Afghanistan, and one month later was killed in action.

Here in conservative country (suburban/rural Georgia), roughly 15% of my daughter’s elementary school enrollment (total enrollment: 811) did not hear the speech that President Obama delivered to students today. I got this number from the one of the school’s custodian who I’m friends (he counted 120 children in the gymnasium; where children went who didn’t participate). That percentage...

Here is the video of President Barack Obama’s speech to schoolchildren — the speech that caused some conservative Republican parents to yank their kids from school, others to forbid their schools to show it to them, and districts in several states to either not offer it or make it strictly optional. Judge for yourself: Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy Do...

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is making news today with his splash of an arrival at the Venice Film Festival for the premier of Oliver Stone’s movie about his life called South of the Border. Italian news agency Adnkronos gave this somewhat detailed account of Chavez’ arrival in Venice and his comments in praise of Oliver Stone, President Obama and the Italian actresses that have stolen his...

As the fighting in Afghanistan intensifies; as that war claims more and more casualties; and as critical decisions loom on national objectives, strategy and corresponding troop levels and deployments there, the debate also intensifies. I have stated my views on the Afghanistan war here and here, and so have other TMV contributors. I am probably oversimplifying things, but I see the major debate settling around...

Eric Allie, Caglecartoons.com This cartoon is copyrighted and licensed to appear on TMV. All Rights Reserved. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.

The last two elections (2006 and 2008) were a rebuke to a Republican party that was running amok, and utterly without coherence, vision, or leadership. They deserved to be ousted, and their overheated rhetoric and deliberate misstatements about the new administration demonstrate that they are nowhere near ready to return to power; they need far more time in the political wilderness. I don’t think,...

Former first lady Laura Bush has lamented excessive partisanship and defended President Barack Obama in an interview with CNN that will probably cause her to be labeled a RINO who just doesn’t get in some parts of the talk radio political culture. In fact, in the interview she shows that she not only does get it but is quite astute politically about the trending in Washington. She also provides an insight...

Three British Muslims were convicted yesterday of plotting to commit “mass murder on an unimaginable scale” by blowing up transatlantic airliners in an attempt to kill thousands of people in the air and on the ground, reports The Independent. “Last night, senior Scotland Yard detectives told The Independent that, if the plot had been successful, the death toll could easily have exceeded the...

A timely reminder about how both sides of the aisle politicize even the most routine matters.

NATO’s first Secretary General, Lord Ismay, famously stated the organization’s goal was “to keep the Russians out, the Americans in, and the Germans down”. The world is a different place now. Some have even begin to question the need for keeping NATO alive in the post-Cold War era. Mary Dejevsky says in The Independent: “Nato’s dissolution is long overdue… Where more...

THIS JUST IN!!! Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich must really be a socialist, a RINO, a liberal Democrat, or a Maoist. the reason: he has praised Barack Obama’s upcoming speech to schoolkids, in one of his Twitters: http://bit.ly/HQNSW RT @newtgingrich: Just read President Obamas speech to students. It is a good speech & will be good for students to hear. Another person who has been presenting...

One thing that has been mentioned in the debate over health care reform is the idea that Medicare has a much lower overhead than private insurance companies so to switch over to a government system would save money. But one of the problems is that this assumes the current overhead would remain the same if millions more joined the system. As has been pointed out by some of the opponents to a government system,...

When one wants to get a sense of how people on the Afghan-Pakistan border feel about something, Pakistan’s Frontier Post, based in Quetta, Pakistan, is a good place to look. In this indignant editorial reaction to yesterday’s ill-fated NATO attack in Afghanistan’s Kunduz Province, the Frontier Post equates NATO forces with Taliban fighters, attacks the sincerity of the West’s stance...

Ostensibly because of this…. Keith Olbermann is going after Glenn Beck. Via James Joyner, “Somehow, this reminds me of Mad’s long-running Spy vs. Spy series.” [Link mine] KatRose calls it A Truly Worthy Cause. She goes on to use her academic access to quote local media accounts of Beck’s career as a morning zoo schlock jock. She finds “no smoking guns.” I find all of it...

That is essentially the question Josh Marshall asks about health care reform. And the answer is, when it comes to health care reform, half a loaf may well be worse than none:

The evolution of the health care debate has taken us on a wild ride. At first the goal was to have national health care, which sparked fear into conservatives based on the argument that innovation will be stifled by lack of competition. This led to a compromise between Democrats and Republicans which produced the public option. This way, the insurance companies were not directly cut out of the picture with...

The White House has just released the text of a controversial back-to-school speech that President Barack Obama will be making to our children tomorrow. The speech will be broadcast directly into the schools, mainlining into the minds of our vulnerable children in a brazen attempt to, in the guise of civics education, indoctrinate our young ones and to fill their little heads with communist propaganda. No...

WASHINGTON — President Obama’s health care speech on Wednesday will be only the second most consequential political moment of the week. Judged by the standard of an event’s potential long-term impact on our public life, the most important will be the argument before the Supreme Court (on the same day, as it happens) about a case that, if decided wrongly, could surrender control of our...

Consider this my first (and last) column on the entire Van Jones kerfuffle. Given how the story ended, somebody messed up on this one big time, and the only available suspect is the President himself. There are two possible ways that this was bungled, and we’ll look at them both in a moment. But first, let’s look at the list of “charges” against Jones by Obama administration critics. He’s...

See, it’s stuff like this that helps explain why Afghans — and many others — are convinced that the United States doesn’t believe Afghan lives matter all that much:

If you’re looking for holes in our national security, try San Antonio, Texas. Or Asheville, North Carolina:

I’m not gloating but two New York Times columnists agree with my assessment that U.S. military presence in Afghanistan is untenable although neither go as far as my desire to pull out all our troops. Normally, opinions by New York Times columnists are not those that sway the powers in Washington. But in the case of Afghanistan the White House and Pentagon should be taking notes. One columnist is Thomas...