I have just returned from a trip through the Austin-San Antonio-Corpus Christi “corridor” during which I bought regular gas for $2.99 a gallon, saw another station selling it for $2.97 and saw other prices ranging from $3.02 to $3.29 a gallon, with some a little higher. This was after reading in USA Today that the national average price for regular gasoline price has gone … [Read more...] about A Note to Newt
What Were These Adults Thinking?
You have to wonder, what were the adults thinking this was funny thinking? And if I was the parent, I'd be thinking, "I think it's time I go see a lawyer." … [Read more...] about What Were These Adults Thinking?
How we got a bad Supreme Court (and how to make it better)
Bad? This isn't about particular decisions (though some have been really bad) or about particular justices (though there are a couple of real ringers). It's just that the size of the Court and the way its members are chosen make for mediocrity at best. Jonathan Turley, legal scholar at George Washington, is very critical. He calls for reform. The Court is not sacred, nor … [Read more...] about How we got a bad Supreme Court (and how to make it better)
Lincoln, Vampires and Disneyland
This copyrighted cartoon is licensed to run on TMV in full. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited. … [Read more...] about Lincoln, Vampires and Disneyland
It’s Nice to be Emperor (Guest Voice)
It's Nice to be Emperor by Michael Reagan If you don't like something or want to get something done, you don't let little things like the Constitution get in your way. For more than three years Emperor Obama has been behaving as if the separation of powers is a pesky fly to be swatted away whenever it becomes too annoying. If Congress doesn't pass the legislation he … [Read more...] about It’s Nice to be Emperor (Guest Voice)
Associated Press-GfK Poll: One Quarter of Voters Remain Uncommitted
A new AP/GfK poll finds the 2012 Presidential race is more up in the air than ever -- but a Pew Research Poll suggests Romney could benefit from higher GOP engagement. They shrug at President Barack Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney. They're in no hurry to decide which one to support in the White House race. And they'll have a big say in determining who wins the … [Read more...] about Associated Press-GfK Poll: One Quarter of Voters Remain Uncommitted
Egyptians Elect MB Islamist Morsi
Even though the military will retain most of the power, I expect that minorities, Christian and otherwise, will flee Egypt shortly. Washington Post: Egypt’s electoral commission announced Sunday that Muslim Brotherhood candidate Mohamed Morsi would be sworn in as president, becoming the Arab world’s first elected Islamist head of state after more than a year of popular … [Read more...] about Egyptians Elect MB Islamist Morsi
‘Europe Deserves its Humiliation’ (Financial Times Deutschland, Germany)
Things appear to have come to a boiling point at the G20 Summit in Mexico last week, with the emerging economies gleefully lecturing their former instructors in the European Union. This editorial from Germany's Financial Times Deutschland hopes the humiliation serves as good medicine for a European Union 'disintegrating amid bickering about national interests.' The Financial … [Read more...] about ‘Europe Deserves its Humiliation’ (Financial Times Deutschland, Germany)
95-Year-Old Attack Dog Bites Bill Maher
With his stroke-slurred speech, my ancient friend Kirk Douglas the other night responded to Bill Maher’s aggressive ignorance with the anatomical suggestion that so many of us, liberal and conservative, have been longing to hear someone make on bleepless HBO. Ostensibly congratulating Kirk on a book about restoring screenwriter Dalton Trumbo from the Hollywood blacklist of … [Read more...] about 95-Year-Old Attack Dog Bites Bill Maher
Moscow’s Military Action in Syria a ‘Gift’ to Washington (An Nahar, Lebanon)
In Syria, is Moscow changing traditional post-Cold War roles with the United States? For Lebanon's An Nahar, columnist Ali Hamada writes that the downing of a Turkish Air Force jet by Russia weapons - if not personnel - shows that Russia, instead of taking advantage of the consequences and mistakes of American intervention, is now likely to be the one taken advantage of by … [Read more...] about Moscow’s Military Action in Syria a ‘Gift’ to Washington (An Nahar, Lebanon)
Sandusky Guilty as the Mob Howls
I do know something about a couple of things, after all. Thursday, this issue came up on Facebook: Facebook screencap @8:10 PM PDT 22 June 2012 I only say this because, when the Jerry Sandusky defense attorney came out and spoke half an hour ago, he said precisely that. Sandusky wanted to testify, they told him it would be disastrous, since the Prosecutor could have … [Read more...] about Sandusky Guilty as the Mob Howls
Whatever Happened to “Peace on Earth, Goodwill toward Men”?
[This is the 3rd in the series Religion and Science: A Beautiful Friendship] It is not instruction but provocation that I can receive from another. – Ralph Waldo Emerson In Sunday School, I had noticed, everyone had noticed, that the commandments, precepts, and rules that were taught there were often disregarded, not only by scoundrels and criminals in the news, but … [Read more...] about Whatever Happened to “Peace on Earth, Goodwill toward Men”?
Pew Rearch Poll: Romney Narrowing Gap with Barack Obama
All but certain Republican Presidential nominee Mitt Romney is steadily narrowing the gap with President Barack Obama in what promises to be a very close -- and very ugly -- race for the White House: Republican Mitt Romney has closed in on President Barack Obama as Americans are more confident in the former Massachusetts governor’s ability to improve the economy, a Pew … [Read more...] about Pew Rearch Poll: Romney Narrowing Gap with Barack Obama
Drinking Sand in a Political Desert
Will this be the ugliest presidential year in living memory? Not a chance. In 1968, murders (of Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy) and Democratic convention riots (over Vietnam) elected Richard Nixon, who brought Watergate criminality to the White House before resigning in disgrace. Yet, in all that bloody retrospect, something was there that is missing today, a … [Read more...] about Drinking Sand in a Political Desert
Jerry Sandusky
This copyrighted cartoon is licensed to run on TMV. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited. … [Read more...] about Jerry Sandusky
Cool, But Not For Spending (Guest Voice)
Cool, but Not for Spending by Tom Purcell I'll shut off my air conditioning if the government goes first. Maybe I better explain. Federal records say the United States recently completed the hottest spring since such record-keeping began in 1895. March, April and May average temperatures in the lower 48 states surpassed the oldest spring average-temperature record … [Read more...] about Cool, But Not For Spending (Guest Voice)
America’s ‘Trojan Horse in Europe’ is About to Bolt (Gazeta Wyborcza, Poland)
Poland, until now considered America's staunchest ally in Central Europe, appears frustrated with Washington in a way no one alive has seen. For Poland's Gazeta Wyborcza, columnist Pawel Wronski outlines in painstaking and voluminous detail, how angst over President Obama's ‘Polish death camps’ gaffe is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Polish disillusionment with … [Read more...] about America’s ‘Trojan Horse in Europe’ is About to Bolt (Gazeta Wyborcza, Poland)
Spin wash
Listening to PBS this Saturday morning. The moderator, show host, whatever, was discussing President Obama's and the opposing candidate Mitt Romney's recent visits to a Latino voter forum. So what does he do, this fair and balanced journalist? He gets a spin-miester from each campaign. I turned the radio off in disgust. I knew there would be no actual information - just … [Read more...] about Spin wash
Jerry Sandusky Found Guilty, and Too, Philly Jury re Pedophile Sexual Assault on Children, Finds Monsignor William J. Lynn Guilty of Child Endangerment
It's the first prelate in the Catholic Church to be tried and to be found guilty of not protecting children from sexual predators. The case was complicated by the prosecutors trying several priests at once. But, given the Vatican and Diocese's huge money outlay for many many lawyers eager to have the jury find all the priest-defendents innocent, that money outlay in defense … [Read more...] about Jerry Sandusky Found Guilty, and Too, Philly Jury re Pedophile Sexual Assault on Children, Finds Monsignor William J. Lynn Guilty of Child Endangerment
Breaking: Jerry Sandusky Convicted of 45 Counts in Sex Abuse Trial
About an hour ago, Centre County Court officials in Bellefonte, Pa. announced that a verdict had been reached in the child sexual abuse trial of former Penn State University assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky. That verdict has now been announced. According to the Washington Post, Jerry Sandusky has been convicted of 45 counts at his child sex abuse trial. Jurors … [Read more...] about Breaking: Jerry Sandusky Convicted of 45 Counts in Sex Abuse Trial