Whatever else 2008 was, it was not a slow news year: the longest election campaign ever, a worldwide economic meltdown, natural disasters, scandals large and small filled media to the brim. But one image belongs to a history that will be passed down through generations forever and lifts the heart for whatever the years ahead may bring–Grant Park, Chicago, the night of November 4th. A quarter of a million faces radiated the joy of renewal, a burden lifted, a dream realized, a hope brought...

Listen to the Show! New Year’s Eve 2008 Edition: Politics Takes A Holiday! Recorded live at the Ronald Reagan Building in DC. (One hour: 9 MB)

With the onset of a new year upon us, the time has once again come for clean slates and fresh starts. With that in mind, I think it is high time that I revealed some of the deep, dark secrets which should be brought to light in our new era of hope, change and open government. The largest of these, of course, is Global Warming. You often hear many Democrats talking about global warming as a man-made phenomenon, but blaming it on industrial activity, pollution, and a lack of government controls over...

This has been out for a while but I was unexpectedly out of commission for a while and it’s worth catching up. Google Zeitgeist 2008: Studying the aggregation of the billions of search queries that people type into the Google search box gives us a glimpse into the zeitgeist — the spirit of the times. We’ve compiled some of the highlights from Google searches around the globe and hope you enjoy looking back as much as we do. Fastest Rising (Global) sarah palin beijing 2008 facebook login tuenti heath...

It’s that time of year again to take out your pen, pencil or laptop and write a bunch of New Year’s resolutions that you probably won’t keep. But in this Guest Voice post, author Martha Randolph Carr suggests some that she thinks we need to keep. Happy New Year Resolutions By Martha Randolph Carr New Year’s resolutions are all about throwing ourselves into the future, which can ruin the present moment. We are encouraged to draw up a list of everything we don’t like about ourselves...

Centrist writer John Avlon, who also was an adviser to former President Bill Clinton, an adviser to Rudy Giuliani when 911 hit, a columnist and an adviser to Giuliani when the former New York mayor ran for President, warns that the controversy over the “Magic Negro” sign is more than just a tempest in a political teapot. Writing in The Daily Beast, Avlon says this: Would-be RNC Chair Chip Saltsman’s decision to send out a Christmas CD to GOP committee-members featuring a song calling...

Daryl Cagle, MSNBC.com

Larry Wright, The Detroit News

Per Ben Smith: … a wired Chicago source emails that ‘senior administration officials have been coming in to present info in droves since the arrest on 12/9. That’s the primary reason the indictment has been delayed.’ Is anyone naïve enough to think those “droves” of “info” are good news for the Illinois Govenor?

Greetings! Over the weekend, I will put together a “best of” and “worst of” list of the presidential campaign season, but today, as the year comes to an end, I want to throw out three items to everyone. Resolution #1: I will write a post three times a week and most of these will be germane to the mission of TMV. Of course, from time to time, you readers may not agree with or even read my columns, but I am making a resolution to give you my thoughts on the 1st 100 days of...

Perhaps the layoff of this one person, Nat Hentoff, more than most others does indeed signal the end of an era….that newspapers are, like the day the whales with confused sonar beached themselves and lay on the shores, not dead, but gasping for air, yet being unable to back up and return to their home places where they could thrive. Look for more layoffs of prominent and long-enthroned writers, critics and journalists at other major media. The nut-cutter does not cut by kindness nor by fame,...

The property boom in Spain … Goes mainly down the drain.

Some are living in abject poverty, as you can see here. It’s so reassuring to see that corporate America insists upon consequences for less-than-stellar, bottom-line performance.

The international news-related quote of the day comes from Michael van der Galien at Poligazette: I’ve had numerous discussions with people, mostly fellow Muslims, in recent days about the Israeli attacks on Gaza and the civilian victims of these bombings. As these people point out to me, purposefully killing innocent people – especially children – is a major crime against humanity and it is forbidden in the Qur’an: killing children is one of the worst crimes imaginable....

So suggests the Sun Times ed board. H/t Ben Smith.

Both here at TMV and in other locations across the intertubes I’ve been seeing all sorts of protestations, rending of clothing and gnashing of teeth regarding Rod Blagojevich’s decision to appoint Roland Burris to the now-vacant Senate seat once occupied by President Elect Obama, who has himself termed the choice unacceptable. Harry Reid and the Senate Democrats are claiming that they won’t seat Mr. Burris if he is presented. State politicos in Illinois are crying foul, with the...

I have no idea how many people actually read our blog or my own little section of it (hopefully my efforts do not detract too much from my far more talented colleagues). But on the off chance than someone who reads this has the ability to forward it to Senator Designate Burris, I have a proposal for him to ponder. By all accounts Mr. Burris has been a dedicated public servant to the people of Illinois and does not share any of the sleaze connected to Governor Soprano. Furthermore, he has more than...

Shawn Goldsmith, a Long Island teenager, has earned a place of pride in the history of Scouting. The Associated Press reports that the young lad has earned all 121 merit badges offered by the Boy Scouts of America. “It’s an accomplishment the local arm of the organization calls ‘an almost unheard-of feat’.” Being an avid follower of the Scout movement worldwide and an old Scout myself, I feel happy that the movement is as popular as it was when I was in my teens. The...

I thought I’d write my last post of the year on TMV on a subject I am not an expert on. (“What else is new?”, you say). The subject is music, more specifically “Western Swing and Country Music.” Although I am not an expert in music, especially Country and Western music, I don’t let such a little thing keep me from recognizing and enjoying such fine music or from telling you about it. It just so happened that during the Christmas holidays I met a lovely couple,...

John Cole, The Scranton Times-Tribune