Two signs we’re gonna be alright. 1. Arcade Fire develops The Suburbs. Full of soul and mournful joy. 2. Conan premieres this November. Anticipation is far more satisfying than the payoff. Two signs we’re doomed. 1. 1.2 billion raised to preserve our democracy. 2010 sees record breaking spending on election campaigns. The meek inherit the earth. . . corporations inherit the government. 2. Keeping...

When Fred Vinson died in the fall of 1953, with Brown v. Board Of Education still undecided and congress out of session, Earl Warren became the second Chief Justice to reach the position by recess appointment. Not wanting to suffer the fate of George Washington’s recess appointee who went unconfirmed, Warren calculated the impact on southern members of the Senate Judiciary Committee and remained silent on...

Nut case Pastor Terry Jones from a very small church in Florida has gotten exactly what he wanted – notoriety and empowerment.  I said this in the comments section of this post. I think the mistake everyone made was not just ignoring this insignificant nut case.  This leader of a previously unknown church with a congregation of 50 got exactly what he was after – notoriety and donations to his web site. ...

Twenty minutes South of Harrisburg, on a two hour drive to her home near Gaithersburg, Md., Heidi Prescott shed a tear. No one else saw it, only one other person could hear it in her voice. It was about 9 p.m., Tuesday, June 29. Prescott, senior vice-president of campaigns for the 11-million member Humane Society of the United States, values her reputation as a compassionate but tough lobbyist, but more than...

I present my take from a Christian perspective on one Gainseville pastor’s plans to burn Korans, here. The perspective of the piece is overtly Christian, which is why I’m not posting it here. But I thought TMV readers might be interested.

Kevin Drum spotlights a very interesting new WaPo poll:

With the clash of religious radicals of all kinds apparently accelerating, this article by Mohammed Abbou of Algeria’s Le Quotidien d’Oran offers a ray of light from the Muslim world. With his account of the day human beings landed on the moon, Abbou illustrates how the backward views of the ignorant faithful continue to blind people to the truth of the world they live in. For Algeria’s Le...

Tea party folk become outraged at just about anything that President Obama and the Democrats try to accomplish these days. I do too. Now it’s time to step up and defend America and our Constitution against a different foe; the preacher who is planning to burn Korans on September 11 of this year. As bad as Obama has been, there is nothing more destructive of the Constitution’s spirit and letter than...

In an apparent response to attorneys general in 17 states demanding that Craigslist remove its adult services section because the site doesn’t adequately block potentially illegal ads promoting prostitution and child trafficking, the section was replaced Saturday with a black bar that says, simply, ”censored.” Michael Arrington notes that Craigslist has taken a disproportionate share of the...

Gen. David Petraeus has appealed directly to the Florida church group that is planning to burn copies of the Koran on September 11, saying they are not considering the likely consequences:

Hello there: Dr. E. here… It’s often told as a joke, but it’s no joke really: what money is charged to the consumer of education vs what money can actually buy for that consumer, has often become a mockery … With the massive closing of excellent trade schools across the nation, and university increasingly out of financial reach, what if we are driving toward a majority mass of minimum...

A new survey shows that 34 percent of Americans take a daily snooze, setting off lively debate about the benefits to body and mind of a brief break from the pace of digital life. Another study suggests that “an hour’s nap can dramatically boost and restore your brain power…it not only refreshes the mind but can make you smarter.” “Almost certainly,” says a research psychologist,...

Steve Benen, on John Boehner’s instant freeze-dried coffee reaction to the reports of Barack Obama’s new $50 billion infrastructure public works plan:

The above is the title of a superb piece my Liberty Street co-blogger (and dear, cherished friend) Chief has posted there earlier today. It’s well-worth reading in full.

RJ Matson, The St. Louis Post Dispatch This copyrighted cartoon is licensed to appear on TMV. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited. All rights reserved.

WASHINGTON — Watching the great civil rights march on television in August 1963, I couldn’t help but notice that hundreds carried signs with a strange legend at the top: “UAW Says.” UAW was saying “Segregation Disunites the United States,” and many other things insisting on equality. This “UAW” was a very odd word to my 11-year-old self and I asked my dad...

Happy Labor Day by Martha Randolph Carr It’s the end of summer and time once again to celebrate the American workforce. The timing seems especially appropriate with the sluggish recovery on everyone’s minds as we enter the third quarter, which is often the most perilous. The steepest downturns often occur in this part of the year. However, there are also signs that while it’s sluggish we’re still headed...

Keefe, The Denver Postf This copyrighted cartoon is licensed to run on TMV. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.

John Cline is a well-known and highly respected Internet writer, blogger, and activist — well-known, well-respected, and totally reputable. He has a very close friend whose house is going up for auction unless he can come up with $1,080 by Sept. 13. His friend is severely disabled and has exhausted every other source of help, including family, churches, etc. John has given me permission to link, here,...

One Born Every Minute by Tom Purcell It could have been worse. Some years ago, I had just spent the last of my savings to have a British convertible restored. I was a master then at buying high and selling low. Nonetheless, desperate for cash, I was eager to sell. I figured I could get $4,900 for the car, but I was also a master at poor timing: Only a fool would sell a convertible just before winter. My newspaper...