Arthel Lane “Doc” Watson was born on March 23, 1923 in the hills of North Carolina. Stony Fork and Deep Gap to be more specific, if you know where those places are. Blinded by an infection before he was one year old, Watson earned the money for his first guitar by chopping wood with his brother and selling it to a tannery. It wasn’t his first musical instrument. That had been a hand made string instrument...

Why is it that people in the United States, the land where ‘all men are created equal,’ the land where ‘constitutional patriotism’ was born, have been pulling their hair out over an issue that appears nowhere in the Constitution or the Federalist Papers? For Spain’s Diario Exterior, columnist Carlos Alberto Montaner examines one of the most vexing issues in the U.S. today, and...

Ever thought of turning a seemingly crazy idea in to a successful business venture? Here’s one example. It might have seemed improbable that a skin-tight all-coverage spandex suit in lurid colors would be a choice of dress for some people. But a recent trend is conquering Europe and proving the opposite. What are we talking about? The Morphsuit. No, it isn’t about people just hankering after being...

Chris Hayes poked the monkey this Memorial Day weekend when he suggested that the valor and heroism of US troops was being used to justify war. Doug Mataconis objected to the timing but really never condemded the message.  Doug’s post generated a really great comments thread which is worth checking out. I am a veteran and was not at all offended  by Hayes’ comments.  Here is my reality based...

One more reminder of the meaning of Memorial Day and, I promise, I’ll say no more today. In honor of our fallen troops, CNN.com has created an amazing interactive “Home & Away map” which includes information about all of the men and women who have died in the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars since 2001. It is a stunning, interactive map where you can learn where our heroes lived and how and where...

President Obama Commemorates Memorial Day at Arlington National Cemetery In an unusual “op-ed” published today in Military.com, Military Times and Stars and Stripes, President Barack Obama paid tribute to all “our men and women in uniform who gave their lives so that we could live free” in all our wars, but singled out the Vietnam War (This Memorial Day marks the beginning of the 50th anniversary of...

There are photo galleries and photogalleries — and then there’s the moving photo gallery on remembering the fallen here via CNN. Also, we often run Hartford Courant cartoonist Bob Englehart’s work here on TMV via Cagle Cartoons. Here is the short, touching post he has on The Cagle Post which we’ll run here in full since it is Memorial Day: My father served in the Office of Strategic...

If polls are correct, the recall election that opponents hoped would rid the State Of Wisconsin from its present governor, Scott Walker, will end leaving Walker in office. Many analysts attribute Walker’s apparent success in overcoming this recall effort to the Big M — money. Millions of dollars have poured into Wisconsin from right-wing billionaires, money Walker has used to gain an advantage. He outspent...

Memorial Day 2012: A Lesson Not Yet Learned byWALTER BRASCH Today is Memorial Day, the last day of the three-day weekend. Veterans and community groups will remember those who died in battle and, as they have done for more than a century, will place small flags on graves. But, for most of America, Memorial Day is a three-day picnic-filled weekend that heralds the start of Summer, just as Labor Day has become...

It’s that time of year again: The U.S. State Department has issued its annual report on human rights around the world. And, as has become the custom, states like North Korea and China, which disapprove of America’s rendering, issue denunciations of the report. We have posted three articles, two from China and one from North Korea, that encompass the latest counter-criticisms of the United States by the...

Rick McKee, The Augusta Chronicle It’s Memorial Day: Never forget. Always remember. They have been — and are — part of the blessings of America. (This post will remain on the top of TMV all day.)

UPDATE: The Huffington Post has published a piece on the Associated Press report that Iraq and Afghanistan veterans are filing for disability benefits at a historic rate. As of this writing, there are already 618 comments (with 34 more pending). I realize that many of our readers would not “be caught dead” visiting the HuffPost. However, I would recommend that you take a chance this Memorial Day and venture...

I know that a lot of people these days talk about wanting more “face time” with others, but this is ridiculous: It was a scene as creepy as a Hannibal Lecter movie. One man was shot to death by Miami police, and another man is fighting for his life after he was attacked, and his face allegedly half eaten, by a naked man on the MacArthur Causeway off ramp Saturday, police said. The horror began about...

His video was supposed to be just for his friends, shot shortly after receiving devastating news. But, instead, it went viral. By the time he died yesterday, his final days would also serve as a role models for how to appreciate the the present and how to leave it for eternity. And due to You Tube which carried his words, emotions and wise perspective to millions, Australia teenager Shaun Wilson-Miller passed...

Campaign watchers get a double-header of metaphors with reports that Barack Obama is eschewing a Rose Garden strategy and going head to head with Mitt Romney by name, along with a reminder of the President’s fondness for a three-year-old photo showing an African-American boy touching his hair in the Oval Office to compare it to his own. As they were no doubt intended to be by White House aides, symbolism lovers...

It’s Time for a National World War I Memorial by Julian Saltman History News Service On Monday Americans will gather to celebrate Memorial Day, a holiday on which we honor those who have served, and fallen, in our country’s armed forces. Veterans and their descendants will participate in ceremonies and parades across the country, and many will be in Washington, D.C., to visit the national memorials...

Trust Me: You Believe in Gun Control by Tina Dupuy If you ask the typical hyper-political gun owner (and I have … at Thanksgiving dinner), why it’s important to own a gun, they’ll bark about the Constitution. Yes, the Second Amendment: “The Right of the People to Keep and Bear Arms Shall Not Be Infringed!” This of course is the slogan the National Rifle Association adopted in the...

Back in September 2009, when the Navy was seriously considering allowing women to serve aboard its nuclear submarines, I posted an article titled, “Should Women Serve on Submarines?” and, at the end, asked, “What do you think?” With a couple of exceptions, most of the readers saw no problem with this change in policy or had some reasonable, practical reasons for opposing women serving on our submarines. One...

Lowest Content Denominator by Peter Funt Recent Time and Newsweek covers constitute last gasps in the dying newsweekly business. Of greater concern, however, is that while these magazines are already in media’s rearview mirror, their turn toward tabloid-style sensationalism reflects what is happening all along the information highway. You saw or heard about the covers that caused the fuss: Time with a...

Bob Englehart, The Hartford Courant This copyrighted cartoon is licensed to run on TMV. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.