Only a few hours after the passing of Senator Edward M. Kennedy, there is a flood of stories on the life and the accomplishments of the Lion of the Senate. The vast majority of the stories are complimentary of the Senator. There are some exceptions. As all humans, Ted Kennedy had his flaws and made his share of mistakes. I understand that the Senator will be buried at Arlington National Cemetery. Perhaps,...

And if they’re not “must reads,” then they’re at least “worthy reads.” Both from today’s NYT. Up first: David Leonhardt, who riffs on “real choice” (i.e., the lack thereof) among health insurance options. From his conclusion: … the defenders of the employer system have some legitimate arguments. An insurance exchange may end up having some of the...

At the age of twelve, he pestered his family to let him contribute to a memorial volume about his oldest brother, Joe, who had been lost in World War II. What Teddy Kennedy chose to remember was how, after hounding Joe into letting him crew in a sailboat race and failing to help him win, he found himself thrown into icy water, only to be lifted back up seconds later by his brother’s strong arms. That fierce...

Reports coming out today that the Massachusetts legislature might try to change the succession law to allow a temporary replacement to be appointed to fill the Kennedy seat. I will be interested to see the legal foundation for such a change (if it indeed happens, obviously rumors tend to fly at a time like this). As far as I can remember from my law school days you generally can’t make a law retroactive...

Ben Smith characterizes it as a “classic” statement. But “classy” was the “c” adjective it prompted for me. I’d also add “genuine” and “heartfelt” to the list. Judge for yourself.

In 2002, when I was still working for JoAnne Barnhart, the Commissioner of Social Security, I traveled with her to Boston for an event unveiling a program called “Ticket to Work and Self-Sufficiency.” Senator Ted Kennedy was instrumental in getting the legislation passed and the Commissioner wanted to present him the 1st Ticket at the ceremony. He was larger than life. I had met or worked for several...

Per The Hill’s Blog Briefing Room, the former First Lady issued the following statement on the passing of the Lion of the Senate: I was terribly saddened to hear of the death of Ted Kennedy tonight. Given our political differences, people are sometimes surprised by how close Ronnie and I have been to the Kennedy family. But Ronnie and Ted could always find common ground, and they had great respect for...

As has already been noted here by some of our fine writers, Ted Kennedy has at long last gone on to join his equally famous siblings in history. While he was the youngest of nine, most of the early attention was focused on Joe, who died in the war, John the iconic president, Bobby – who came close but was cut off before following his brother – and Ted himself. Ted, I think, represents the last of...

Every person’s life is like a kaleidoscope. Some pick up another’s life, hold it to the light and all the glass chips fall this way or that. And the person sighting through the cylinder puts it down and turns away, saying they’ve seen it all, when in fact, they’ve only seen one facet, one pattern in another’s life. Thus some remember only one thing or two about the life of another...

As Spencer Ackerman thoroughly documented here, those two memos from 2004 and 2005 that former vice-president Dick Cheney wanted the CIA to release because, he said, they would prove that a set of alternate procedures torture produced actionable intelligence that saved lives and prevented terrorist attacks, prove no such thing.

Here. I would say, “Everybody’s a critic,” but truth is the government’s dislike of the festival has nothing to do with music and everything with the Methodist Church’s opposition to the coup which brought the government to power. [Sort of crossposted on my personal blog.]

Despite the CIA’s delaying tactics, which have been going on for months now, the much-anticipated Inspector-General’s Report on the CIA’s Bush-era interrogation program came out yesterday, as promised the last time the release date was postponed. Also yesterday, Attorney-General Eric Holder announced his intent to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate “cases of abuse that went...

Is it possible that Western officials were surprised by the welcome given by Libyan despot Mouammar Qadaffi to Lockerbie bombing convict Abdels al-Megrahi? Or could it be that their outrage stems from the embarrassment they feel over the way the story has been covered by the Western media? Reflecting a swath of Muslim reaction to the story, K. Selim of Algeria’s Le Quotidien d’Oran suggests that...

It you’re unhappy with the info and facts presented so far on President Barack Obama being born in the United States, why not start a new debate about…his foreskin? h/T Hinessight

It’s almost funny. In a post yesterday, I suggested we seek to be the type of citizens described by Mark Slouka in Harper’s; citizens who are … capable of humility in the face of complexity … formed through questioning and therefore unlikely to cede that right … resistant to coercion, to manipulation and demagoguery in all their forms. Almost immediately, a reader responded thus...

Former Vice President Dick Cheney issued a statement today that is yet one more chapter in the ongoing battle of Cheney versus the Obama Administration — and precision accuracy — again. The issue: the administration’s decision to appoint a Special Prospector to look into specific allegations of torture under the Bush administration. The second issue: the release of CIA info which Cheney is...

Guest post by Frankie Sturm Frankie Sturm is communications director at the Truman National Security Project and a freelance journalist. Ed. note: As part of our ongoing relationship with the Truman National Security Project, I’m pleased to announce that we’ll be cross-posting some pieces from Operation FREE, a new initiative that seeks to raise awareness about the links between climate change, energy,...

Daryl Cagle, MSNBC.com This cartoon is copyrighted and licensed to run on TMV.

It’s been seven years now that Kevin Drum’s been blogging. His story says something great about the blogosphere. Some of the early bloggers were grad students in their pajamas. (Why is everyone looking at me?!?!?) In contrast, Kevin had a successful career in business, then decided to try his hand at blogging in his free time. His good nature, command of details and overall intelligence rapidly...

Matt Yglesias asks: If you read accounts of the Soviet war in Afghanistan in the 1980s, people generally always seem to think that American and Saudi and Pakistani support for the Mujahedeen was an important factor. I don’t see anyone saying “it was all a big waste of time and the same stuff would have happened anyway.” Ask and ye shall receive! Two days after Matt put up his question, Fred Kagan posted...

The new issue of Foreign Affairs is hot off the presses. Its cover package includes three articles about global warming that are well worth reading. The focus here is entirely on how to solve the problem. This is a discussion of the politics, not the scientific debate behind it. First up is Michael Levi, who provides a very sobering look at how hard it will be for this year’s Copenhagen conference (the...

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

What is the proper role of government in the lives of people? According to columnist Christoph von Marschall of the German newspaper Der Tagesspiegel, it is the answer to this question that separates Europeans and Americans, and is at the heart of America’s debate over health care. For Der Tagesspiegel, Christoph von Marschall writes in part: “At issue is one of the fundamental ideological differences...

At least one California legislator has retaliated with a popgun attack against Nevada’s million dollar ad campaign to lure Golden State businesses to the Silver State. What started as a tongue-in-cheek snarky campaign by Nevada which has inundated the major California markets via cable television advertising the past two weeks is now being greeted by Assemblyman Jose Solorio (D-Santa Ana) who told The...

It Is Not Reform Without Public Option by Jim Bell There has been a lot written lately about the possibility of scratching off the public option from the health care proposal now working its way through congress. What, then, can be implemented to control the rampant and out of control cost escalation since the health insurance giants have demonstrated that they are powerless to control these rising costs?...