The World Is Yours, Kids! Cookie Monsters Eat Biscuits now: The View From The Virgin Islands By John McCarthy TMV Columnist On the eve of the blood moon, 31-year-old Steffen Lange was arrested for distributing neo-Nazi leaflets in a Brandenburg school. Easily not the first time a far-right activist in Germany has tried to recruit youngsters to the racist … [Read more...] about Under A Blood Red Sky
Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal to Sign Controversial Gun Bill Into Law
Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal is set to sign into law a controversial gun bill that will greatly expand where one can pack heat. Of course, oblivious to many is that the controversial "Stand Your Ground" law is expanded in this bill. Still, Gov. Deal is touting bill as having "significant positive changes." But for whom? House Bill 60 allows Georgians to legally carry firearms in … [Read more...] about Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal to Sign Controversial Gun Bill Into Law
The Paranoia Paradox: Sometimes They Actually Are Out To Get Us
The debate over Joe McCarthy just won't die. The conventional narrative is that he was unmitigated evil, a nasty label to be pasted on political opponents to tarnish them beyond repair. The revisionist narrative, emerging right on cue 60 years later, is the McCarthy was an unsung hero, the only person who truly understood the threat America was under during the early years of … [Read more...] about The Paranoia Paradox: Sometimes They Actually Are Out To Get Us
Ukraine Crisis: U.S. Moves Troops into Baltic Region
As the diplomatic agreement reached last week to calm things down in Ukraine unravels, the U.S. is sending about 600 ground troops to Eastern Europe to “strengthen NATO's defense plans and capabilities, and to demonstrate our continued commitment to collective defense in reinforcing our NATO allies in Central and Eastern Europe," says Pentagon Press Secretary Rear Adm. John … [Read more...] about Ukraine Crisis: U.S. Moves Troops into Baltic Region
The Downside of Democracy (5)
There are so many negative aspects of democracy that it is difficult to focus on one particular problem as being responsible for the failure of democratic elections to produce good government. However, virtually all of the problems with the democratic process result from one aspect that appears to be resistant to correction- the unwillingness of the electorate to study the … [Read more...] about The Downside of Democracy (5)
A Jamaican-Style Black Bean Recipe To Die For
Kiko's House, my home blog, can now certainly be considered middle aged. After all, it has been eight and a half years since it toddled into the blogosphere. One of the things of which I am most proud is that on an average day nearly half of all visitors to the blog are as a result of Google searches for a particular topic of interest. The leading search topic by far is … [Read more...] about A Jamaican-Style Black Bean Recipe To Die For
T Is For Tip O’Neill
Although I do not agree with much of what he stood for politically, I do find Thomas “Tip” O’Neill to be one of the best sources for good political stories and analogies. He is of course famous for adopting the mantra ‘all politics is local’ But for me a story he used to tell about his first campaign is telling to all candidates in 2014 (as well as the rest of us). … [Read more...] about T Is For Tip O’Neill
Cartoon: After Earth Day Doldrums
See great cartoons by all the top political cartoonists at http://cagle.com. To license this cartoon for your own site, visit http://politicalcartoons.com … [Read more...] about Cartoon: After Earth Day Doldrums
Israel and U.S. tussle over tourist visas
Israel and U.S. tussle over tourist visas By Donald Harrison SAN DIEGO—Anyone who has flown to Israel has experienced the tough, pointed questioning that Israeli security officers will ask tourists about why they are going to Israel, who they are going to see, what their business is, and so forth. The questioning is intense, blunt, and intended to screen out anyone who may … [Read more...] about Israel and U.S. tussle over tourist visas
Why should some radical halfway across the country be able to elect your district’s representatives?
Retired Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens gets it. And says so. Neither Citizens United nor McCutcheon holds up in the clear light of day. He talks with the New York Times' Adam Liptak about what he considers a misleading opinion from Chief Justice Roberts. Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. started his controlling opinion with a characteristically crisp and … [Read more...] about Why should some radical halfway across the country be able to elect your district’s representatives?
A Bigot’s ‘Point System’
It has been mentioned before, sometimes in passing, sometimes at length. However, the grotesque, cruel irony -- the perverse senselessness of it all -- did not fully register with me until I read a short, eye-opening column in TIME Magazine. As had been quite apparent from his past actions and diatribe and as it became crystal clear from his after-the-rampage shouts, … [Read more...] about A Bigot’s ‘Point System’
The Stealth Revolution
This is the eighteenth part of the serialization of All Rise: Somebodies, Nobodies, and the Politics of Dignity (Berrett-Koehler, 2006). The ideas in this book are further developed in my recent novel The Rowan Tree. CHAPTER 12: THE STEALTH REVOLUTION Have patience with everything unresolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves.... Live the questions now. … [Read more...] about The Stealth Revolution
Rape in Game of Thrones
For two weeks in a row there has been considerable talk about a scene from Game of Thrones. Due to the questions raised by this scene and all the discussion it has stimulated, I have decided to post on this today rather than waiting until the weekend for the usual weekly review of genre television. Major spoilers ahead for those who are behind in watching. The scene between … [Read more...] about Rape in Game of Thrones
US Supreme Court Upholds State Constitutional Ban On Racial Preferences
The U.S. Supreme Court has upheld Michigan's constitutional ban on consideration of race in college admissions. The decision reverses a Sixth Circuit opinion that held that the state's constitutional ban made it more difficult for minorities to achieve legislative goals and was, therefore, unconstitutional. The Supreme Court's opinion pointedly notes that the issue is not … [Read more...] about US Supreme Court Upholds State Constitutional Ban On Racial Preferences
Supreme Court: states can ignore race in university admissions
Top US court: states can ignore race in university admissions (via AFP) The US Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that states can disregard race as a factor in university admissions, in a fresh blow to a legacy of the 1960s civil rights movement. The 6-2 ruling upheld the constitutionality of a measure passed by referendum in… … [Read more...] about Supreme Court: states can ignore race in university admissions
The Irrelevancy of the Sunday Talk Shows
Joe has a post below on the problems of NBC's Meet The Press and David Gregory. I haven't watched the Sunday shows for years simply because I have better things to do. I'm sorry but David Gregory is not the problem! They parade the same cast of characters every week making them irrelevant. Why should I tune in to watch John McCain when I already know what he is going to … [Read more...] about The Irrelevancy of the Sunday Talk Shows
Anti-Semitic Marionville, Missouri mayor resigns
Tip to future politicians: saying you "kind of agreed" with a white supremacist who apparently went Jew-hunting and shot and killed three people (including a grandfather and grandson who weren't Jewish) does not a tranquil life -- or a political career -- make. Marionville, Missouri's former Mayor Dan Clevenger just found that out. He became former when his comments in the … [Read more...] about Anti-Semitic Marionville, Missouri mayor resigns
Increased Health Care Spending Just Might Be Buying Higher Quality Care
Jonathan Cohn has looked at what appears to be a recent increase in health care spending (national health expenditures in the above graph) after a period of decline. Most likely this is due to a variety of reasons, and I don't find it surprising that a period of decreased spending would be followed by increased spending. This is partially a sign of an improving economy as … [Read more...] about Increased Health Care Spending Just Might Be Buying Higher Quality Care
S Is For Suo Gan
I first heard this Welsh lullaby in the film Empire Of The Sun (a brilliant film if you've not seen it before). But the song itself is hauntingly beautiful. Sleep my baby, at my breast, 'Tis a mother's arms round you. Make yourself a snug, warm nest. Feel my love forever new. Harm will not meet you in sleep, Hurt will always pass you by. … [Read more...] about S Is For Suo Gan
How Not to Talk About Wealth Inequality
How Not to Talk About Wealth Inequality By Tina Dupuy Have you heard we live in an oligarchy? Perhaps you've been told America is a plutocracy? Is that because of widespread demagogy? Circumlocution: a big word meaning using unnecessarily lofty words to express an idea. Welcome to the baffling world of liberal-speak. Oligarchy, plutocracy and demagogy: The holy … [Read more...] about How Not to Talk About Wealth Inequality