There were loads of news stories about the pioneering CNN/YouTube run debate several days ago which featured Democratic Presidential wannabies. Perhaps those stories scared away many of the Republicans who also are pining for Oval Office job: Four days after the Democratic debate in Charleston, S.C,. more than 400 questions directed to the GOP presidential field have been uploaded on YouTube — targeted at Republicans scheduled to get their turn at videopopulism on Sept. 17. But so far, only...

NOTE: The Moderate Voice runs Guest Voice posts from time to time by readers who don’t have their own websites, or people who have websites but would like to post something for TMV’s diverse and thoughtful readership. Guest Voice posts do not necessarily reflect the opinions of The Moderate Voice or its writers. This is another Guest Voice by Alex Hammer. Life is Heroic – But Running For President… By Alex Hammer I know some that work 9 to 5 to make a living. Some that work...

Are the details in this report part of the reason why the Bush administration has invoked executive privilege with Congress’ clamor to find out more info about former NFL player Pat Tillman’s death? Army medical examiners were suspicious about the close proximity of the three bullet holes in Pat Tillman’s forehead and tried without success to get authorities to investigate whether the former NFL player’s death amounted to a crime, according to documents obtained by The Associated...

Here’s Senator Chuck Schumer announcing it at a press conference. And his statement does sum it up quite well: OUTLOOK: The White House or its allies will find a way to ensure it doesn’t happen. The White House’s hand on how it was planning to deal with the final two years of the Bush administration was tipped shortly after the election, when news reports noted that Bush hired Fred Fielding to replace the hapless Harriet Miers (recently in the news for being cited for contempt...

Larry Wright, The Detroit News

Thanks for your continued patience in advance. UPDATE: TMV was down for a good part of early yesterday morning and also for several hours yesterday. We hope the technical work will be finished by mid-morning today. So if you visit TMV and can’t get on, do remember to try again later!

NOTE: The following post is an update regarding the Hinchey-Rohrabacher medical marijuana amendment yesterday’s post. Yesterday, the U.S. House of Representatives defeated the Hinchey-Rohrabacher Amendment by a vote of 262 to 165. Sponsored by Democratic Congressman Maurice Hinchey and Republican Congressman Dana Rohrabacher, this amendment would have prohibited federal funds for the Justice Department from being used to prevent patients in states that have medical marijuana laws from following...

Who will be “The King” and why you should be listening With political pundits and concerned citizens focusing on the 2008 presidential and congressional contests, the 2007 election season has been lost in the shuffle. But, there are three revealing governorships on the ballot this November (Kentucky, Louisiana and Mississippi), and at least one of them (Kentucky) may turn out to be significant. Even the two less competitive statehouse races will matter because governors do count, not...

Oxblog’s Patrick Porter writes: After 9/11, Bush should not have called America’s campaign against terrorism a war. This is the view of a range of some powerful minds, from historians John Mueller and Michael Howard to ethicist Michael Walzer, from pundit James Fallows to several of my colleagues. So its probably a hard task to disagree. However. I would respectfully argue that for all the problems that come with the term, it is a war. Read it all.

A wealthy, privileged, Brown alum–who is Black–notes the abiding truth of race in America. No matter how rich you are, no matter where you live, no matter what you do, if you’re Black, you’ll be treated Black. But I’ll pose his question to the rest of y’all. Any White TMV commenters who come from economically privileged backgrounds, who attended elite universities, who have no criminal records and have committed no crimes, who have a respectable job, who are, in...

AP via Washington Post: Democrats Urge Perjury Probe of Gonzales WASHINGTON — Senate Democrats called for a perjury investigation against Attorney General Alberto Gonzales on Thursday and subpoenaed top presidential aide Karl Rove in a deepening political and legal clash with the Bush administration. “It has become apparent that the attorney general has provided at a minimum half-truths and misleading statements,” four Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee wrote in a letter...

Can there be a feminist-friendly defense against rape charges? By this I mean, is there a way for a person to defend himself against charges of rape, without engaging in the usual tactics (slut shaming, “she was asking for it”, etc.) that perpetuate the marginalization and degradation of women?

A round up of recent posts by a few centrist, moderate, and independent bloggers. The ’sphere’s collective analysis of the CNN/YouTube debate may be overcooked at this point, but I still found this Jeff Jarvis vs. Kevin Marsh post (and subsequent comments) fresh enough to offer up for your consideration. Sean Aqui summarizes “a pretty informative [Scientific American] article on the current state of climate science” … and also picks up on a post about redistricting...

No thanks to commercial radio, we live in a golden age of woman folk and rock singer-songwriters. They include, to name just a few of my favorites, Suzanne Vega, Nancy Griffith, Rosanne Cash, Sarah McLachlan, Feist, Tori Amos and Jonatha Brooke. All in one way or another owe an immense debt to Joni Mitchell. With very few exceptions, don’t expect to hear any of these women on commercial radio. You have to tune into the rare progressive rock station or college station, or go on the Internet...

Jake, a black Labrador who became a national hero after burrowing through white-hot, smoking debris in search of survivors at the World Trade Center site after the 9/11 attacks, died Wednesday after a battle with cancer. Owner Mary Flood said Jake had been in pain and had a 105-degree fever. She had him put to sleep after a last stroll through the fields and a dip in the creek near their home in Oakley, Utah. It is not known if the black Lab became sick, as have many rescue workers, because of exposure...

The AP has come up with yet another indication that Attorney General Alberto Gonzales either was not honest in his Congressional testimony or has a major memory problem — two things that would have made previous Presidents of either party give their AG the boot: Documents indicate eight congressional leaders were briefed about the Bush administration’s terrorist surveillance program on the eve of its expiration in 2004, contradicting sworn Senate testimony this week by Attorney General...

Will it be this person?

TMV was down starting last night through much of the night due to some technical work that is underway. It has not been completed yet. As a result, there are fewer new posts on TMV today (since posts you see early in the morning are often written the night before). Due to my own travel schedule, I won’t be posting until early afternoon California time. But please keep checking back throughout the day because other TMV writers will likely have some things to say.

It’s an emblem that everyone takes for granted — the United Nations emblem. A symbol known all over the world. But it isn’t an emblem that just popped out of the air. Someone came up with an idea, and designed it. And that someone turns 100 today. HERE is his story.

I recently took the time to write a letter to my US Congressman and Senators asking them to support the Hinchey-Rohrbacher Medical Marijuana amendment that is expected to come up for a vote tomorrow. For those of you who would like to see the federal government stop prosecuting medical marijuana patients, Downsize DC has started a letter writing campaign. Here is the letter I wrote: The Honorable [name withheld for purposes of anonymity] Thank you for taking the time to read my letter. I am writing...

I’m back from the Berkshires, and present my review of the final Harry Potter book. Spoilers inside, so be aware.

Some thoughts HERE.

We ran this post a few days ago about a free speech issue raging in Spain. Now the beset magazine has run a…unique…retraction. Read THIS POST and be sure to click on its links.

Paul M. Weyrich, Chairman and CEO of the Free Congress Research and Education Foundation, says he has been repeatedly right in his election predictions and that others know that and want to know his take on 2008. And it won’t make GOPers happy. Writing in Townhall, he says: Last week on my radio show Representative Mike Pence (R-IN) discussed the Fairness Doctrine, an important issue currently being debated in Congress. During the show Representative Pence mentioned that he and other Members...

RJ Matson, Roll Call