We’ve gotten emails asking about our reaction to the death of Pope John Paul II. This is our personal story and reaction — posted earlier this weekend on Dean’s World. Pope John Paul II formally began his stint as Pope on October 16, 1978. And I remember full well the day he was named. I was living in Spain where I was writing for The Christian Science Monitor as their Special Correspondent (which one editor described to me as being their “full time contributor”) with...

The Moderate Voice will be moderating a blog-related panel discussion at The Bay Area Law School Technology Conference at Stanford University on April 9. The topic of his panel will be this: eDemocracy: The Role of Blogs and Online Activitists in 2004 What was the effect of blogs/online activists in the last election? Dean ran an internet campaign and the mainstream press discovered blogs, for example, but much of the discussion of this election really happening on the internet didn’t seem...

Click HERE for a MAJOR ROUNDUP I just posted on Dean’s World containing excerpts from a cross-section of weblogs of many different viewpoints. Original posts resume on this site Monday morning.

To read our posts on the Pope and his passing go to Dean’s World.

….one life/death issue will continue to rage here.

….Google News could delist you.

We’re Guest Blogging on Dean’s World this weekend. If you’re new to this site, that means all of my posts are done on that site until Monday morning, although since Powerblogs is on EST I sometimes resume original material on this site starting 12 pm EST Sunday night ( which is 9 pm out here in San Diego, CA). We’re watching the drama surrounding Pope John Paul II today. TMV is Jewish but he has been greatly touched and moved by this Pope, from the first time he learned...

Sudan’s hardliners are putting out this message: We’re not going to let you prosecute our citizens on war crimes sunless you also go after the Americans. They’re vowing to battle the UN’s efforts to send some of its citizens to a foreign court: KHARTOUM, Sudan Apr 1, 2005 — Sudanese hard-liners vowed Friday to defy a U.N. Security Council resolution referring Darfur war crimes suspects to the International Criminal Court, saying it was unfair for Sudanese suspects...

Frank Perdue, who plucked around and became a millionaire, is dead: SALISBURY, Md. (AP) — Frank Perdue, who transformed a backyard egg business into one of the nation’s largest poultry processors using the folksy slogan, “It takes a tough man to make a tender chicken,” has died. He was 84. Perdue died Thursday after a brief illness, Perdue Farms said Friday. At the time of his death, Perdue was chairman of the executive committee of the board of directors of Perdue Farms,...

The sad, final news is not that far off now: Cardinal Javier Lozano Barragan, the Vatican’s health minister, told Mexico’s Televisa dal Vaticano that the pope “is about to die.â€? “I talked to the doctors and they told me there is no more hope,â€? the Mexican cardinal told the television channel. Expect an unprecedented ourpouring of grief when Pope John II passes away — and analysts noting that he was one of the major political forces of the second half of...

…at the school substitute’s moustache. It doesn’t look good on her. Whoops..wrong one….THIS is the one: ….at this site. We’re sure after you take a peek you’ll want to take a daily peek… —– EXTENDED BODY:

CNN just reported that there are unconfirmed reports from the Italian media that the Pope has died. We will put something up here once we get confirmed reports. A check of MSNBC, CBS, ABC, Fox News and BBC show that none of them have posted this news so far. So although it appears quite likely, it is NOT confirmed. (We will be in and out today but WILL post info and a personal anecdote about how we heard about his appointment — in the event these reports are confirmed). UPDATE: No reports...

It’s clear the Vatican is preparing itself and the world for the imminent death of Pope John Paul II, whose condition worsens by the minute. It’s clear from a variety of reports that the Pope — who looked positively in agony and tortured in his last public appearance when he couldn’t speak to the crowds below — is now in his final hours/days on earth and death can come at any time. The AP: VATICAN CITY – Pope John Paul II’s condition has worsened, the Vatican...

Pat Buchanan got a dressing down at Western Michigan University — or at least a dressing… KALAMAZOO, Mich. – Commentator and former presidential candidate Pat Buchanan cut short an appearance after an opponent of his conservative views doused him with salad dressing. “Stop the bigotry!” the demonstrator shouted as he hurled the liquid Thursday night during the program at Western Michigan University. The incident came just two days after another noted conservative,...

It’s going to be the ultimate Odd Couple TV show, but political and radio rivals Al Franken and Bill O’Reilly have signed a two-year contract to co-host a program on Fox News. Whoever thought we’d see the day? The program came about after several unpublicized attempts by the two to bury the political hatchet. “I have a bad back due to an old high school wrestling injury and when Bill’s assistant called one day to accept my lunch invitation my assistant mentioned that...

The self-destruction and humiliation of Clinton advisor Sandy Berger’s career — in actions that clearly show he was worried that he hadn’t done enough on terrorism when he was in power — is virtually complete now with his upcoming guilty plea on charges that the stole classified papers. At a time when Democrats (and non-partisans) are demanding that House Majority Leader Tom DeLay not get off scott free if he indulged in ethical lapses, those who believe in ONE standard for...

In case you missed it, you need to read House Majority Leader Tom DeLay’s highly unusual statement upon the death of Terri Schiavo yesterday — unusual because it doesn’t miss a beat in using the occasion for more demonization and attempts at political intimidation: “Mrs. Schiavo’s death is a moral poverty and a legal tragedy. This loss happened because our legal system did not protect the people who need protection most, and that will change. The time will come for...

Attention Dan Rather: There may be a new job opening for you! Ted Koppel said yesterday he is leaving ABC News, ending a 42-year career and a quarter-century run as anchor of “Nightline,” because he does not want to do it in the live hour-long format the network is planning. “I really don’t think there’s anything else at ABC I would find as interesting or as challenging,” Koppel said in an interview, adding: “Of course it’s difficult. . . . It will...

TMV owes a special THANKS to our talented Guest Bloggers who helped out in his absence…particularly YESTERDAY. Our post written from Manchester, CT on the death of Terri Schiavo barely was do-able due to problems with both the hotel’s high speed Internet AND the Cox Communications remote dial up. It came back on briefly, about 30 minutes after Schiavo’s death was announced…so we got a quickie post up…or PART of it. Then it all went down again and we had to leave for...

I live in Europe, so the news I get in the mornings is “overnight” news in the US. It is being announced this morning that the Pope has been given the Last Rites. According to reports, the Pope’s health took a sharp turn for the worse on Thursday night (European time) when he suffered septic shock and circulatory collapse. This news does NOT mean the Pope has died or will definitely die in the next hours, but the decision of the Pope to remain in his Vatican apartments during this...