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...

Last month, Gov. Jan Brewer objected to the Obama administration’s inclusion of SB1070 in a report to the U.N. that reviewed U.S. compliance with international human rights treaties to which the United States is a party. The Obama administration is not the first to submit such a report — three such reports were submitted while George W. Bush was president. The mention of the Arizona law was matter-of-fact,...

Laying down to catch the sun… These children from age infant to 13 years old were killed during a holiday party, which was held during a bitter labor strike by their parents who were copper miners in Michigan. The miners had been on strike for five months to gain more than $3.50 per day wages, lowering of 10 hours a day required work in a crouch, and to gain more safety inside the mines for the workers....

Republicans are united against any liberalizing influences in their party. Why can’t Democrats unite against the conservative and regressive tendencies in their party?

Dear Readers: Dr. E., here. This is a tag team article by myself and Shaun Mullen. Below, his article re rubble of higher education I’d preface his good writing by commenting ON MONEY how noticeable it has become: the cost of a university education is out of reach of the average middle class citizen… without encumbering oneself or one’s family for many decades after graduation. A person ought...

In 1982 the economy was hurting and Ronald Reagan’s approval ratings were even lower than Obama’s in 2010.  The economy got better on it’s own and so did Reagan’s approval but not before the Republicans took a drubbing in the midterms.  In 1994 the economy was also hurting and Clinton’s approval ratings were also lower than Obama’s now.  The economy once again righted itself,...

What happens when the government gives one broadcast network or news organization “exclusive access” to cover a major news event? Inevitably, the news event gets spun the way the government wants it to be spun. The flip side is that other news organizations, not so dubiously “blessed,” are free to report honestly and truthfully. This is essentially what happened with the “U.S. combat...

In a week that saw the launch of a funded, organized, coordinated effort to help us get at the roots of sexism (check out Name It. Change It), we also get Sarah Palin demonstrating the carelessness with which she’s accused many others in using sexist rhetoric. From CNN Politicalticker: “Those who are impotent and limp and gutless and they go on their anonymous – sources that are anonymous...

Please remind Stephen Hawking and Glenn Beck that they owe me a royalty check. All the best, God