Some people go through life thinking they can live forever. Or, they may do something that’s risky and accept the fact that it involves a particular risk. But, in the end, they may have to think again. What can be sadder that this story underscoring the truly unpredictible nature of fate — this story about a beloved skydiver who died after colliding with the plane he used for the jump. From Elites TV: Albert ‘Gus’ Wing III was a respected and experienced sky diver. The Longwood,...

This city on California’s coast that loves to call itself “America’s finest city” has been rocked by a political bombshell with the news that San Diego’s controversial Mayor Dick Murphy has resigned as criticism continues over a $1.2 billion deficit in the city’s pension fund. The San Diego Union-Tribune reports: Amid demands by the city attorney that he quit and a week after being named by Time magazine as one of the three worst big-city mayors in the United...

Here’s a story about a child who might have to undergo some therapy one day: A MOTHER who underwent an abortion after learning that she was pregnant with twins is suing the NHS for £250,000 after one of the babies survived. Stacy Dow, who was 16 when she found out that she was pregnant, is seeking compensation and damages for the “financial burdenâ€? of raising her daughter. Miss Dow, whose father has had to take on a second job to help to pay for his granddaughter, is claiming...

Read this transcript of CNN’s Reliable Sources and you can see that Pope Benedict XVI has a rocky road ahead of him because some media types already have him pigeon-holed and stereotyped. He just doesn’t live up to THEIR standards about the kind of PERSONALITY that is needed. Here’s an excerpt containing a candid (which is why this is always such a good show) take on it in this exchange between host Howard Kurtz and religion writer Peggy Wehmeyer: KURTZ: Any sense of disappointment,...

….at a new weblog that you are going to hear a LOT about. It’s called Virtual Scratchpad and it’s done by media and tech consultant Matt Sheffield, one of the key players in RatherBiased.Com, the website that doggedly followed and chronicled the career of CBS’s controversial Dan Rather and the media issues surrounding him. After the Rathergate scandal and Rather was prematurely retired from the CBS Evening News (he was originally to have served there a bit longer but after...

As reports indicated that Republicans were increasingly confident that they had the votes to use what they earlier called “the nuclear option” to ban judicial filibusters, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist appeared at a Christian anti-filibuster rally and vowed to do what it takes to pass President George Bush’s nominees. And that is the so-called “nuclear option” that for months has been referred to as such by Republicans talking to a slew of journalists, often without...

The nomination of John Bolton for U.S. Ambassador to the UN now seems shakier than ever with calls on him to withdraw — all coming within the context of ANOTHER dose of bad news. The bad news comes in the form of a Newsweek piece that says Bolton — dogged by various allegations that he is an ill-tempered bully and reports in two major newspapers asserting that former Secretary of State Colin Powell is saying negative things about him behind-the-scenes — was so difficult to work...

A professor’s laptop was stolen. A student apparently thought it was a clean theft. Right? WRONG? The professor used the last few minutes of his class to explain to the anonymous student exactly how huge his error was. CLICK HERE to hear his speech — but make sure to go to the third link and use the one that says “I trimmed out the actual educational part of the lecture and just left the ‘good part.’” (The first link makes you sit through a biology lecture for...

Whether you believe prisons should be doing rehabilitation or punishment, if you believe we need to toss more people into prison, have we got a statistic for YOU: In 2004, U.S. prisons grew by 900 inmates per week. According to the AP, prisons here held 2.1 million persons — putting about 1 in every 138 Americans behind bars, an increase of 2.3 percent over the previous year. These numbers (there are more so click on the link below) come from the Bureau of Justice Statistics. So why is...

You’ve gotta love the judgment of newspaper photo editors. This story about the murky rules surrounding filibusters in the Constitution features that Dick Cheney “Shut the f— up or I’ll cap your ass” photo. It makes him look ruthless, imposing and intolerant, but most likely he was calling on a reporter near the back of the room for a question. The choice gives evidence that, regardless of whether you think media bias exists, journalists have preconceptions like the...

…and There She Might Not Go?

TMV note: The recent controversy over a school counselor changing the wording of The Pledge Of Allegiance on the spur of the moment to make it more inclusive underscores the use of language as a tool to soothe anyone’s hurt feelings. A reader sent us this (We do not know the source.): If God was process oriented, the Book of Genesis might read something like this: In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was withoutform and void. God created a small committee. He carefully...

The President of China met the Prime Minister of Japan for talks yesterday aimed at cooling down rivet-hot passions and seemingly-spiraling-out-of-control events that brought relations between the two countries to their lowest point since diplomatic ties were established 30 years ago. The bottom line: Japan extended an olive branch. China accepted it. And then twisted it. Reports CNN: Chinese President Hu Jintao has warned that his country’s dispute with Japan over Tokyo’s World War...

A potentially big scandal is unfolding in New York City that — if proven true — has serious implications on two fronts. The two-pronged allegations entail powder-keg charges that the city tested AIDS drugs on foster children and that if a foster parent objected the children were then placed elsewhere. The New York papers have started breaking this story and if it isn’t proven incorrect it could prove to be quite explosive. First, some tidbits from The New York Times: The city’s...

Given by his bodyguard.

Message to John Kerry: Temper, temper, if this New York Post piece is to be believed: A fuming John Kerry had “daggers in his eyes” after a fellow Democrat promoted Hillary Rodham Clinton for president — suggesting the 2004 loser is green with envy at a potential rival. The flap was touched off two weeks ago when Clinton spoke at a Minneapolis Democratic dinner and Sen. Mark Dayton (D-Minn.) told the cheering crowd that he was introducing “the next great president of the...

Yes, everyone knows that even though some folks denounce it the New York Times will be heavily linked by bloggers. But what if you did a survey and tried to find out which newspaper had the highest number of blog links, proportionate to its subscribed readership? We’ll give you a hint: TMV used to write for it from Madrid (with the byline “Special Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitor) and it’s often linked to on this site. It has some of the most thoughtful and balanced...

…everybody has to go sometime.

Has anyone else seen the webcast interview show “Off the Record” by the Republican National Committee? I reviewed it a month ago, basically objecting to 1) the nonsensical title (which I think shows the GOP’s low estimation of their base’s intelligence) 2) the flat delivery of the hosts, “Mindy & Katie” 3) Mindy’s presence at all; Katie is much better looking and has a certain glow. In the first episode I reviewed, Katie was interviewing Ari Fleischer;...

Oh, boy, did he..

I wrote earlier this week (and linked here) that Washington Post political reporter Dana Milbank was just a little too opinionated for his stated role at the paper, given his intelligent but somewhat nya-nya coverage of Karl Rove’s speech on media trends. I also faulted the Post for giving Milbank leeway with the euphemistic “Washington Sketch” heading for the column. Now a prominent mainstream media writer (not “reporter,” so we’re clear) adds his backing to...

New research may help decrease the number of people — especially young people — struck down by the heartbreaking disease leukemia. And it may also spur an increase in the day care business. The reason: a new study says leukemia, the most common cancer among the young, could be warded off if a child interacts with a large number of other kids and picks up common infections. Research indicates common infections could be one of the reasons for leukemia and the more a child picks up these...

…at Booker Rising, a site that can easily become one of your regular stops. Booker Rising bills itself as a “News site for black moderates and black conservatives” but if you didn’t read that and visited the site you’d just figure it was one of the best summary sites on the entire Internet. Booker Rising covers a wide variety of subjects. What’s wonderful about it is that it’s almost in the form of a daily briefing: it consists largely of extremely well...

Just look at the recent headlines and you can see that the nomination of John Bolton as UN Ambassador is in serious trouble. With each day, and each news cycle, Bolton seems to be losing more and more support. Why is this so? Is it due to his apparent reputation as an abusive boss? Is it due to former Secretary of State Colin Powell being in the background giving wavering GOP Senators the thumbs down when asked about Bolton? Is it due to his controversial past statements. Is it just pure, partisan...

So exactly how haywire has the movement to insert P.C. into every facet of American life gone? This far: Wheat Ridge, Colo. (AP) — A school counselor leading the Pledge of Allegiance over the public address system substituted “one nation under your belief system” for “one nation under God.” The school apologized for the impromptu switch after students and parents complained. Note to readers: this is NOT a satire written by Andy Borowitz: Everitt Middle School counselor...