TalkLeft has a post noting that Joseph Edward Duncan III, accused abuductor and sex offender, was a blogger. “Hey: do you want to exchange links?” doesn’t seem too fitting here, does it? Rather than wreck aspects of this story with our second hand report, why not read the key aspects yourself?: This update of the case reports the newest twist: it shows a surveillance tape with the 8-year-old Shasta Groene trying to get people in a store to recognize her. The TalkLeft post on their...

The most fascinating aspect of the Political High Noon now unfolding around a Supreme Court seat (and it soon may be soon be two seats) is that it’s a classic case of chickens coming home to roost…on all sides. No matter who is nominated, how the nominee fares, and how many political bodies will be needed to confirm or halt the nominee, when the smoke has cleared — and the political blood has been washed away — the political landscape will be forever changed. And, likely,...

The Political Teen has THIS VIDEO that shows MSNBC’s Connected Coast To Coast Senior Producer Tony Maciulis giving a blog round up — and he mentions our post below on the new Bernard Goldberg book. He also has some other comments not only ABOUT TMV but a TIP for TMV. Click on the link and watch the video yasself… FOOTNOTE: Yes, I do know about the ventriloquists convention, although I can’t make it this year. The reason: The Moderate Voice in his other incarnation will be...

Todd Zywicki excerpts from a Richmond Law Review article by 5th Circuit Judge Edith Jones, considered a potential Supreme Court nominee (especially now that O’Connor has retired). Jones’ thesis is essentially that the sheer nastiness of the nomination process is a function of the judiciary’s general abandonment of restraint and its willingness to resolve issues best left for the Executive and Legislative branch. If judges behave like political operatives, the argument goes, they...

Even though readers think The Moderate Voice is all world-class wit, cutting edge commentary, writing with noe misstaykes, a site so chock full of vibrant and exciting ideas that big thinkers such as Tom DeLay and Michael Moore (OOPS! We left out the “s” in that word) run to their computers to read it, and the epitome of modesty…at times there are problems behind the scenes. We may SEEM politically, intellectually and journalistically perfect — sometimes there is a hitch. And...

One of the great things about the Internet is that with the click of your mouse you can (if you are interested at all in this kind of thing) get an entirely different perspective on an issue. And if you’re in that frame of mind today, what better place than to visit and read Afghani and Iraqi bloggers via the Carnival of the Liberated?

China has sent an exceedingly blunt message to the U.S. Congress mind your OWN business when one of our three largest energy firms tries to take over one of your biggest. At issue: attempts in the United States to put up some roadblocks to prevent Unocal Corp. from being boggled up by one of China’s three largest energy firms, CNOOC Ltd. And The Powers That Be in China are not happy. The Washington Post: Four days after the House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved a resolution urging...

Bernard Goldberg, whose book Bias, a zippy, blunt and highly controversial blast-fest at the news biz and his old employer CBS, looks like he’s about to hit paydirt again with a new one: 100 People Who Are Screwing Up America. First off, Goldberg clearly writes from a conservative-anchored perspective — but that doesn’t make his books less provocative (or fun) to read, whether you’re a liberal or a moderate. But you can see by this list run in the Seatte Times that his top...

At first glance, you’d figure this was a news story that just had to come out of the United States where actions by courts, juries, parole boards and prisons raise so many eyebrows that the court beat is one of the best on any newspaper. But this one involves the freeing of one of Canada’s most notorious killers: One of Canada’s most notorious female criminals says she’s going to live in Quebec now that she’s been released from prison. Karla Homolka (search), 35, was...

French President was at dinner and he was on a roll – and not the kind you eat. Jacques Chirac, not realizing his comments were recorded, made stand-up style comments unusually blunt for a French President, even one governing in a time of accentuated Anglo-French tensions: Anglo-French tensions heightened last night after Jacques Chirac delivered a series of insults to Britain as London and Paris fought to secure the 2012 Olympic Games and faced fresh disagreement at the G8 summit. The president,...

Ahhh, it’s Fourth of July. And your irresponsibly lazy. That is, more irresponsibly lazy than usual… What better, more traditional American way to spend a 4th of July than sitting in front of the computer and news surfing (George Washington did that, you know). And you love to look at newspaper front pages, don’t you. The big flaw of the internet is that you can’t usually see a bona fide newspaper front page. That is, UNTIL NOW.

School boards across the country are cracking down on teachers showing their cracks: Teachers are expected to bear long days, challenging students and demanding parents. Now, apparently, some teachers are baring too much of themselves. So school boards and superintendents increasingly are pursuing dress codes for teachers. At issue is the same kind of questionable attire most often associated with students. In some districts, teachers can get dressed down for wearing skimpy tops, short skirts, flip...

See, Donald Rumsfeld, Jiminy Cricket was right: when you wish upon a star your dreams do come true: American troops on the Syrian border are enjoying a battle they have long waited to see – a clash between foreign al-Qa’eda fighters and Iraqi insurgents. Tribal leaders in Husaybah are attacking followers of Abu Musab Zarqawi, the Jordanian-born terrorist who established the town as an entry point for al-Qa’eda jihadists being smuggled into the country. The reason, the US military...

And so the country takes a brief breath before what promises to be a politically bloody summer with probably two Supreme Court seats up for grabs. The prospect: polarization of the left and the right and a testing of the center as never before. A Washington Post piece underlines the fragility of the agreement that nixed the “nuclear option” on removing filibusters on judicial nominees: Democrats’ hopes of blocking a staunchly conservative Supreme Court nominee on ideological grounds...

On this Fourth of July, take a moment to celebrate one of America’s most cherished traditions: political humor. Here are some of our favorite jokes from the past four weeks made by late night comedians. When we run these we invariably get angry comments from some folks because someone dared make a joke about “their” favorite official or political party. Lighten up: it’s an American tradition — and one of our freedoms. “Did you folks see President Bush’s speech...

It’s the Fourth of July. Independence Day. A day when Americans aren’t just Democrats, Republicans, independents, liberals, conservatives or centrists. They’re above all AMERICANS. As it always should be — and IS.

If you have a small child who snores be forewarned: it could be a sign that he or she will become hyperactive later on. Researchers writing in the journal Sleep report that young kids who snore are more likely to be come hyperative than those who don’t. Forbes reports: Now, new research from the University of Michigan suggests the link is even stronger than many thought. “The association is pretty strong, and we are saying it may be causal,” said Dr. Ronald D. Chervin, director...

Why is Michael W. McConnell the one Supreme Court nominee everyone can agree on?

cross-posted from my blog, Basie! Everyone knows that William Rehnquist is Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, making this the “Rehnquist Court” (like the “Warren Court” before it, for instance). But is William Rehnquist the real leader of this iteration of the top court in the nation? The Los Angeles Times David G. Savage explores this question and more. The Rehnquist court did not come to an end last week as predicted, despite the illness of the chief justice. But the conservative...

What are some of the best political parodies you’ve seen on the web? I’m not really looking for whole sites–ala ScrappleFace or Wonkette. More like some really good posts that fuse popular culture and political humor. Here are my favorites (warning: not all work-safe): Jerry Springer does philosophy. John Locke–the rap. Political Science pick-up lines, bedtime stories, and romance novels. Platonic ideals (the caption is what sells this one). Zinn and Chomsky on LOTR (and part...

OxBlog’s David Adesnik has been watching the first 2 seasons of the Fox action drama “24,” and as much as he loves it, thought the writers had a skewed perspective of the real enemies America faces in the 21st century. He got plenty of response, and posted some (including mine) here with his own fleshed-out thoughts. I have longer thoughts here.

Cross-Posted to The Debate Link: A few weeks back, President Bush gave a speech at Montgomery Blair HS in Silver Spring, Maryland. It was rather controversial, since not a single member of the student body–nor anybody from the town of Silver Spring, was allowed to attend. While Bush’s restrictive “town meeting” rules are by now old news, this one hit particularly close to home for me since the school is only 20 minutes away from my house (I went to a different High School,...

Hello, boys and girls. Name’s David Schraub, currently blogger on The Debate Link, and the latest member of Joe’s harem. I’m important enough to blog here, but apparently not quite important enough to have my name spelled right–it’s SCHRAUB, not SCHAUB. Oh well, we’ll get there. A bit about myself. I’m currently entering my Sophomore year at Carleton College, in Northfield, Minnesota. In high school, I was a four year debater, where I learned both how to...

Since the government is cracking down on blogs and all kinds of things, isn’t it time for it to look into false advertising in songs? In his song 50 Ways To Leave Your Lover Paul Simon is supposedly singing about ways to dump her/him/it. But just look at the lyrics HERE. Where do you see 50 ways? Hasn’t Simon set himself up for a lawsuit? But, Paul, have no fear. You can find a list of 50 ways HERE.

The man who was atop of Saudi Arabia’s most wanted list, the leader of the Saudi Arabian branch of Al Qaeda, has been killed in a fierce gunfight with security forces there. This is potentially a big story for both Saudi Arabia and for the overall war against terrorism. The AP reports: Security forces killed al-Qaida’s leader in Saudi Arabia, who topped the nation’s list of most-wanted militants, during a fierce gunbattle Sunday, an Interior Ministry official said. Younis Mohammed...