Planning to attend the Super Bowl? Lucky enough to have tickets for the Bowl? If so -- and should you have given it any thought -- you can rest easier and feel safer while enjoying the game, because, in addition to all other Homeland Security measures, you will be well protected from above by Continental U.S. North American Aerospace Defense (NORAD) Command Region jet … [Read more...] about Protecting the Skies over Super Bowl XLVII
Report: Hillary Clinton Super PAC Readies Launch
The Week's Marc Ambinder (one of the most solid reporters in the business) reports that a Hillary Clinton Super PAC is gearing up to go, although it is not formally affiliated with Clinton or her aides: Long-time supporters of Hillary Clinton have opened a super PAC to lay the groundwork for a 2016 presidential campaign, even though Clinton, just finishing a four-year term … [Read more...] about Report: Hillary Clinton Super PAC Readies Launch
International Perceptions of Obama’s Second Term (Italy, Poland, The Netherlands, France, Switzerland, China, Brazil, Mexico)
The global reaction to Obama's second inaugural has been markedly less emotional and more analytical, perhaps reflecting the fact that the president is now a known quantity - as are the limits of his influence over American and global affairs. This is a sampling of what we've found so far from Italy's La Stampa, Poland's Rzeczpospolita, De Volkskrant of The Netherlands, Le … [Read more...] about International Perceptions of Obama’s Second Term (Italy, Poland, The Netherlands, France, Switzerland, China, Brazil, Mexico)
Two (Video) Takes from Republicans Who Say Sarah Palin Leaving Fox News Symbolizes New Era
Is Sarah Palin oh, so, 2008 - 2011? Two Republicans who say it like it is (which some conservative Republicans don't like) suggest she is -- and that's why they believe Fox News' Roger Ailes didn't make her an offer she couldn't refuse to stay at Fox, so she's leaving. Someone recently emailed me to ask why bother posting on Sarah Palin at all? Why? Because for a while it … [Read more...] about Two (Video) Takes from Republicans Who Say Sarah Palin Leaving Fox News Symbolizes New Era
US Military Plans Drone Base Near Mali: Official
US military plans drone base near Mali: official (via AFP) The US military plans to set up a base for drones in northwest Africa to bolster surveillance of Al-Qaeda's affiliate in the region as well as allied Islamist extremists, a US official told AFP on Monday. The base for the robotic, unmanned aircraft would likely be located in Niger, on the eastern … [Read more...] about US Military Plans Drone Base Near Mali: Official
Foreign Labels Found in Latest Bangladesh Factory Fire
Foreign labels found in latest Bangladesh factory fire (via AFP) The unlicensed garment factory in the Bangladesh capital where seven women workers died in a fire on Saturday was making clothing for Spanish giant Inditex and several French brands. An AFP correspondent sifting through the charred remains of the Smart Export factory on Sunday found labels such … [Read more...] about Foreign Labels Found in Latest Bangladesh Factory Fire
GREAT News for Political Junkies: Michael Kinsley is Baaaaaaaaaack
Great news for political junkies: the pundit and writing genius Michael Kinsley is returning to The New Republic. This time as editor-at-large. Two words about this. I've been a huge fan of Kinsley's analyses because they weren't cookie-cutter analysis columns, could not be confused with a print version of what was on cable TV or on a left or right talker (or in a blog … [Read more...] about GREAT News for Political Junkies: Michael Kinsley is Baaaaaaaaaack
Women in Combat: A Final Word
U.S. Marine Corps Cpl. Maryrose Sierra, left, a member of the female engagement team assigned to Weapons Company, 2nd Battalion, 9th Marine Regiment, and 1st Lt. Marissa Loya, the team's commanding officer, celebrate New Year's Eve at Combat Operating Post Bandini in Afghanistan Dec. 31, 2010. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Marionne T. Mangrum) So much has already been … [Read more...] about Women in Combat: A Final Word
Turns Out It’s Republicans Drowning in the Bathtub
Republicans would love to blame Democrats for the sequester. But, of course, they can't get away with it. Both parties are responsible. But when it comes to who'll get blamed if the sequester is used? Republicans. It's not that Democrats will get off scot-free, but that Republicans will carry the can for it because of the bargain they made with the Dems when the … [Read more...] about Turns Out It’s Republicans Drowning in the Bathtub
Bipartisan Senate Deal Reached On Immigration Reform: For Real or One More False Start? (UPDATED 3)
The good news: a bipartisan Senate deal has been reached on immigration reform, one that will fall short of what President Barack Obama is likely to unveil. But it's a substantive starting point for discussion. The bad news: whatever the Senate decides, whatever Obama suggests will have to go to the House. So the key question will really be: will 2013 be different than 2012? … [Read more...] about Bipartisan Senate Deal Reached On Immigration Reform: For Real or One More False Start? (UPDATED 3)
GOP 2016 (Cartoon)
LEGAL NOTICE ON CARTOON: This copyrighted cartoon is licensed to run on TMV. Reproduction elsewhere without licensing is strictly prohibited. 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 GOP 2016 (Cartoon)
The Urgency of Growth
WASHINGTON -- If you care about deficits, you should want our economy to grow faster. If you care about lifting up the poor and reducing unemployment, you should want our economy to grow faster. And if you are a committed capitalist and hope to make more money, you should want our economy to grow faster. The moment's highest priority should be speeding economic growth … [Read more...] about The Urgency of Growth
Obama’s Parallax Inauguration (Guest Voice)
Obama's Parallax Inauguration Raging Moderate, by Will Durst Astronomers have a name for the phenomenon of an object appearing to be in different places, depending on the perspective from which it is viewed. It's known as the parallax view, and could be seen on display for the 2nd Inauguration of the 44th President of the United States. Speaking of it, folks described … [Read more...] about Obama’s Parallax Inauguration (Guest Voice)
Large Cities Change The Weather Of Regions Thousands Of Miles Away Because Of The Waste Heat That They Emit
Large Cities Change The Weather Of Regions Thousands Of Miles Away Because Of The Waste Heat That They Emit (via Planetsave) Large cities have been found to have a significant effect on the weather, even for thousands of miles around the urban area, new research from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography; University of California, San Diego; Florida State … [Read more...] about Large Cities Change The Weather Of Regions Thousands Of Miles Away Because Of The Waste Heat That They Emit
Fox News Hosts Upset at ’60 Minutes’ for ‘No Follow up’ on Hillary Concussion Conspiracy (Guest Voice)
Fox News hosts whine at ’60 Minutes’ for ‘no follow up’ on Hillary concussion conspiracy (via Raw Story ) The hosts of Fox & Friends on Monday lashed out at 60 Minutes correspondent Steve Kroft because he failed to devote a significant part of his Sunday interview with President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to “follow … [Read more...] about Fox News Hosts Upset at ’60 Minutes’ for ‘No Follow up’ on Hillary Concussion Conspiracy (Guest Voice)
The Coming Oil War … Against al-Qaeda (Guest Voice)
The Coming Oil War ... Against al-Qaeda by Daniel J. Graeber A consortium minding security issues for journalists working in hostile territory warned that credible reports revealed a threat to oil installations in Libya. Islamists based in Libya were said to have played a role in deadly January attacks on the In Amenas natural gas facility in eastern Algeria. Those attacks … [Read more...] about The Coming Oil War … Against al-Qaeda (Guest Voice)
Deadly Nightclub Inferno Leaves Brazil in Mourning
Deadly nightclub inferno leaves Brazil in mourning (via AFP) A massive blaze at a nightclub in Brazil killed more than 230 people and left relatives desperately searching for loved ones as horrific accounts emerged of a tragic rush to escape the inferno. Shocked survivors, mostly science students in the southern college town of Santa Maria, described a … [Read more...] about Deadly Nightclub Inferno Leaves Brazil in Mourning
The Listening Legacy of Hillary Rodham Clinton
The listening legacy of Hillary Rodham Clinton (via The Christian Science Monitor) The greatest challenge of our time, said Madeleine Albright last week to a group of Massachusetts students, “is between the people who are willing to listen and those who believe they know it all.” As the first female United States secretary of State (1997 to 2001), Ms. Albright set … [Read more...] about The Listening Legacy of Hillary Rodham Clinton
Obama and Hillary Clinton on 60 Minutes: Homage to Clinton or Support Signal? (Video)
The speculation has begun. President Barack Obama held his first joint interview with someone who wasn't his wife...on 60 Minutes...with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. And now the speculation is raging: was this to pay tribute to Clinton or his way of sending a signal that he may love Vice President Joe Biden and Biden may be his best political bud, but in 2016 he'd … [Read more...] about Obama and Hillary Clinton on 60 Minutes: Homage to Clinton or Support Signal? (Video)
Quote of the Day: The Virginia GOP’s Desperate Power Grab
Our political quote of the Day comes from The Daily Beast's John Avlon on "The Virginia GOP's Desperate Power Grab." Here's how he begins his post: Something's rotten in Virginia. Conservatives in the Old Dominion state legislature are quietly plotting what could amount to an electoral coup d’etat: pushing forward a bill that would have delivered the majority of the … [Read more...] about Quote of the Day: The Virginia GOP’s Desperate Power Grab