In the American press, most of the discussion about Hezbollah is hawkish and militaristic, caught up in the details about how best to “wipe them out.” The general consensus amongst most analysts seems to be that Israel, in its campaign against Hezbollah last summer, just didn’t go far enough. If they’d only been willing to commit more troops or drop more bombs, Hezbollah would no longer be such a powerful actor in the region. But such conclusions ignore the lessons of history....

When historians look back on the long, sad history of the Iraq war, July 24, 2007 will be illustrative of the sad era in which we live: At a time when the American people were all but begging President Bush to find his way out of Iraq, he stubbornly kept changing the subject and yet again lied to them in declaring why our men and women should continue to shed their blood in the service of his fool’s mission. First, and with the president’s tacit approval, yet another plan on how everything...

A round up of recent posts by a few centrist, moderate, and independent bloggers. Daniel DiRito opines on the strange case of James Dobson v. Harry Potter. GTL counsels “PETA and other likeminded animal rights groups.” Kevin Sullivan channels Teddy Roosevelt in discussing how to deal with Iran. The love for the CNN/YouTube debate continues … at Mirror on America and Donklephant. In the latter, Justin Gardner stacks up the YouTube clips of his favorite questions (from those refreshing,...

There’s a tired old cliche: “Hey, don’t confuse me with the facts.” But that seems to be becoming the motif of the Bush administration. The first solid sign was Bob Woodward’s influential book last year which revealed an administration in which Iraq policy was essentially made via bravado-laced self-affirmation — not by the usual process that’s taught in universities (or described in history books) where key policy-making players stand back, coolly look...

It’s increasingly clear that Attorney General Alberto Gonzales is in his present job now only because one man wants him there — just as it’s becoming increasingly clear by the day that policy in Iraq is unlikely to significantly change until that one man leaves office. By most accounts, Gonzales has now emerged as the real “uniter not a divider” — uniting Democrats and independent-minded Republicans in a belief that he is the worst man at the worst time in the...

And now another gem from TMV’s favorite artist of verse, Michael Silverstein, aka Wall Street Poet: The Return Of The Liberal By Michael Silverstein Is it true that you’ve come back? They told us you were dead. All your governing ideas Are outmoded now, they said. We heard you hated markets, Loved tax and spending schemes, Cut wages of brave soldiers While enriching welfare queens. In defending these fair shores, The Limbaugh guys assured us, Your pussy-footing made, Friends and foes...

Bob Englehart, The Hartford Courant

The melodrama is in its final act, and we still don’t know if it ends with a whimper or a bang. Dubya is in a bunker, beleaguered by the demons he set loose here and abroad. Osama is in hiding too, and for all we know, may be dead. On Meet the Press, the director of national intelligence, Admiral Mike McConnell pointed out “it’s been a year” since there was a confirmed sighting of bin Laden: “There are rumors about his illness…I believe he is in the tribal region...

Some musicians seem like they’re made to lead the world. Some seem born citizens of the earth, regardless whichever country, heritage, religion they’re born into. Regardless what their parents wanted for them; regardless of childhood introjects… they travel the world, often as what I’d call ‘rememberers,’ musicians who help us remember that water can flow through stone. If spoken words are capable of too easily offending some, destroying and dividing us, then...

Bob Englehart, The Hartford Courant

I thought hard about whether to post this piece. I thought about how destruction of ‘The God Hole’ seems worthy of a 24/7 crawler running at the bottom of CNN or Fox. Yet we never hear of it. As journalists, we cover every aspect of destruction except this one to the human soul and heart; a destruction of self that often causes all kinds of other palpable destructions to be unleashed on this poor world. I often see that injury and devastation to animals, environment, other human hearts...

If you boil it down, the latest Washington-ABC News poll suggests that President George Bush has now formally moved into a new era where he is viewed less as someone admirably defending an unpopular viewpoint than as someone who is just stubborn. That doesn’t bode well for Bush’s future — no matter what the crisis over the next two years — or in his ongoing battles over Iraq and with Congress over what clearly is an executive branch expansion of power. In fact, the poll shows...

Pat Bagley, Salt Lake Tribune

In a tacit admission that the political clock is outrunning the military clock in Iraq, the U.S. command has gone public with portions of an ambitious plan that assumes a major military presence well past the presidential election and into 2009. While the plan, called the Joint Campaign Plan, is technically classified and does not specifically address troop levels or withdrawal schedules, the mere fact that it was shared with a New York Times reporter shows how concerned commanders, and presumably...

Sometimes someone we care about passes from the scene, and we didn’t have enough time to say goodbye.

The Moderate Voice sometimes runs Guest Voice columns by readers or writers. Guest Voice posts do not necessarily reflect by the opinion of TMV or its cobloggers. “Oh Please, Mr. TV… Tell Me What to Think” By Matt Pearl A few posts ago, I talked about the differences between Fox News’ and CNN’s prime time lineups, namely that Fox’s was full of opinion shows and CNN’s was full of investigative news magazines. I was thinking that this was just a difference...

RJ Matson, Roll Call

So now The New Era in American political debates is finally here. Or IS IT? Not only did the “new media” You Tube participate in last night’s Democratic presidential hopefuls’ debate, but some pundits said the questions from You Tubers were for the most part knowledgeable and to the point. Would some media types who may have felt debates were a plum for star journalists start feeling as seemingly resentful as some journalists do about anyone-can-publish weblogs these days?...

Maybe Jeff Jacoby thought we couldn’t tell who this was about from the very first sentence. I will point out that more than 3 centuries have passed since Newton’s appointment. Jeff Jacoby: A teacher with faith and reason DID YOU hear about the religious fundamentalist who wanted to teach physics at Cambridge University? This would-be instructor wasn’t simply a Christian; he was so preoccupied with biblical prophecy that he wrote a book titled “Observations on the Prophecies...

Tonight is the CNN/YouTube Debate and I’ll be otherwise occupied. CNN: Electorate can show true colors in YouTube debate Democratic presidential candidates face a new kind of grilling Monday when debate questions come from America’s living rooms via YouTube. Analysts say the format could force candidates to be more straightforward but some say the debate isn’t as different as it should be. * YouTubers ask questions you won’t (VIDEO) * I-Report: Send your video take...

Democratic Senator Russ Feingold of Wisconsin plans to offer a proposal to officially condemn President Bush and Vice President Cheney for leading the U.S. into the Iraq war. Said Feingold:: “I think we need to do something serious in terms of accountability.” To which Meet the Press host Tim Russert countered: “Isn’t this a futile effort that will simply be described as politics?” Replied Feingold: “Let’s see what actually happens . . . What I am proposing...

Israeli Arabs smash world record for largest ‘Debke’ folk dance Israeli Arabs from across Israel danced their way hand in hand into the Guiness Book of World Records on Sunday after they held the largest and longest group performance of the “Debke” dance inside the walls of the Old City of Acre. A record 2,743 people danced for seven minutes straight holding hands in a human chain that stretched down Hagana Street in Acre’s famed Old City, smashing the previous record...

I read this Lenore Skenazy column in Funny Times and found it hilarious: Now that the Vatican has issued its 10 Commandments for Drivers — which, with any luck, you weren’t reading on your BlackBerry while dialing your mother while switching lanes while gesturing obscenely out the window at the granny only going 70 — it seemed like a good idea to see if there were any more commandments out there. After all, other religions, and individuals, like commandment-issuing, too. Who doesn’t?...

J.K. Rowling, Britain’s second richest woman and the author of the Harry Potter series, will be protected by a large crew of bodyguards during an upcoming interview on American television. The concern? That al-Qaeda might decide to target the high-profile author as a way of getting “maximum publicity for the jihadist cause.” This may sound ridiculous and, yes, it sort of is, but al-Qaeda has reportedly considered targeting celebrities like — I kid you not — Brad and...

A new poll indicates that if New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg decides to launch an independent bid for President he’ll help the Democrats in Florida: If New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg runs for President as an independent candidate, it helps Democrats in Florida, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released today. In a two- way race, former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani edges New York Sen. Hillary Clinton 46 – 44 percent. With Bloomberg in the mix, taking 9 percent,...