Republicans Have a Gambling Problem by Tina Dupuy We like risk and reward. The gold rush was as much a motivation to be a pioneer as was the more noted religious freedom. Poker is actually considered a sport. Yes, poker players are athletes according to the U.S. government. It's the one sport you can train for while chain smoking in a tracksuit. But like every wine … [Read more...] about Republicans Have a Gambling Problem (Guest Voice)
Poll: Paul Continues to Surge in Iowa
A new poll shows Rep. Ron Paul continues to significantly surge in Iowa and has taken the lead -- raising the real prospect that if trending continues he could be the winner of the Republican Iowa causes which would further add to the media narrative that former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney can't close the deal and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich is on the quick descent as … [Read more...] about Poll: Paul Continues to Surge in Iowa
Notes in a Bottle from a Shipwreck Year
Reading bloggers' own favorite posts of 2011 is a reminder of how much political and social sanity has been lost in this Tea Party world. Satire and rage abound. Yet it’s cathartic to read these notes in a bottle from survivors and realize we are not alone in this shipwrecked world. Such comfort is provided by keeping alive a tradition started by the late Al Weigel, who … [Read more...] about Notes in a Bottle from a Shipwreck Year
Putin Fires Chief Strategist: Battens Down the Hatches
Vladimir Putin seems to be battening down the hatches instead of showing more flexibility in the face of the massive prodemocracy protests since the rigged December 4 elections. In the latest protests in Moscow and several smaller cities on December 24, an estimated 120,000 middle class Russians braved icy weather carrying anti-corruption banners and chanting “Russia without … [Read more...] about Putin Fires Chief Strategist: Battens Down the Hatches
Romney Compares Gingrich to Lucy in the Chocolate Factory
The imagery of Newt Gingrich's veracity keeps getting worse and worse as does his refurbished image in general. And today it'll take another big hit because former Mass. Gov. Mitt Romney: With just a week to go before the Iowa caucuses, Mitt Romney said Newt Gingrich's failure to qualify for the Virginia GOP primary ballot indicated a disorganized campaign effort. “I think … [Read more...] about Romney Compares Gingrich to Lucy in the Chocolate Factory
Independents Not United, OR United Around Anti-Partisanship?
Randy Schultz, writing for the editorial page of the Palm Beach Post, doesn't see dissatisfaction with the major parties as a uniter of independent voters. He's got some interesting observations here about the need for organization -- the "volunteers who staff phone banks, stuff envelopes and drive voters to the polls," the stuff of electoral politics in America. But unity? … [Read more...] about Independents Not United, OR United Around Anti-Partisanship?
As Iraq Flounders, Another Chance for Neocons to Attack Obama
Now that we have pulled out of Iraq -- on a schedule negotiated by the Bush administration -- and as instability and violence are on the increase there -- as we feared they would -- the very same chickenhawks who got us into this mess are now rearing their heads to blame Obama -- as we knew they would. They are now saying the same they would have said if we had pulled out … [Read more...] about As Iraq Flounders, Another Chance for Neocons to Attack Obama
Ben Nelson (D-NE) To Retire
Multiple sources are reporting that Nebraska Democrat Ben Nelson will not seek re-election to the US Senate in 2012. This certainly is not good news for the Democrats and their effort to retain control but it may not be all bad. Keeping the Nelson seat was going to be hard and now they can likely write the seat off and focus resources elsewhere. But it does increase … [Read more...] about Ben Nelson (D-NE) To Retire
Putin is Better than Goldman Sachs (Komsomolskaya Pravda, Russia)
Despite recent unrest over the rule of Vladimir Putin and the perception that the recent Duma elections were rigged in favor of his party, many Russians regard him as a hero that has protected the nation from Western interests seeking to undermine Russian influence. For the Komsomolskaya Pravda, columnist Dmitry Voskoboinikov writes that whatever warts Putin and Russia may … [Read more...] about Putin is Better than Goldman Sachs (Komsomolskaya Pravda, Russia)
Campaign in Descent? Newt Gingrich Faces Multi-Fronted Bad News
Is former House Speaker Newt Gingrich's once-dead-once-surging campaign for the 2012 Republican Presidential nomination on the descent again? When taken together a series of news stories and developments suggest his chances of winning the nomination could be dwindling. In politics it isn't true that "I don't care what you say about me as long as you spell my name correctly." … [Read more...] about Campaign in Descent? Newt Gingrich Faces Multi-Fronted Bad News
A NOTA Limerick
In some countries, when the choices on the ballot aren’t good ones, people can pull the NOTA (None Of The Above) lever. Maybe Americans should have the same option... A NOTA Limerick I once was a politics doter, Today, though, this realm seems remoter; The two parties' fare? Who cares 'bout that pair? In 2012 I'll vote NOTA. More at: "This God-Awful Political … [Read more...] about A NOTA Limerick
Trying to Think Like the Tea Party
In the residue of Christmas spirit, an attempt to understand what’s behind a toxic cloud that the Tea Party has cast over American government all year: Yes, the economy has been bad, and many of us have been hurting—-from young people without jobs to the retired with no increases in Social Security and no place to earn interest on their life savings. Yes, bailouts and … [Read more...] about Trying to Think Like the Tea Party
The economic factors behind Arab Spring revolutions and why Mubarak was right
2011 saw some world pillars toppling down. Dictators have fallen in the Arab world as people were hoping for a better future. Prime Ministers have fallen in Europe as its currency plunged into crisis. An earthquake and tsunami pummeled Japan, confronting it with the specter of nuclear disaster. But while the Arab Spring revolutions erupted unexpectedly, their results have … [Read more...] about The economic factors behind Arab Spring revolutions and why Mubarak was right
WiFi
This copyrighted cartoon is licensed to run on TMV. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited. … [Read more...] about WiFi
Why We Need Better B.S. (Guest Voice)
Why We Need Better BS by Tom Purcell Here's something we can do with less of in 2012: BS. It's all over television, in magazines and in newspapers -- and even in our serious papers, such as The New York Times. It is spouted by politicians and pitched by product spokesmen. Modern life is manufacturing an unprecedented amount of it. BS "is unavoidable whenever … [Read more...] about Why We Need Better B.S. (Guest Voice)
Ron Paul and the Invisible Empire
I need to warn you that what follows may be a bit confusing. It sure as hell confused me over a decade and more. But it's timely for "Boxing Day" and if it scores a knockdown, that's great. A TKO or KO would be better, but we takes what we can gets. [h/t to Jan C. for the link that started this descent into the "Political Cesspool"] Note the use of "parasites" … [Read more...] about Ron Paul and the Invisible Empire
“Easy Riders” Subvert the Democratic Process
“It will be of little avail to the people that the laws are made by men of their own choice if the laws be so voluminous that they cannot be read, or so incoherent that they cannot be understood.” --James Madison, The Federalist Papers Madison would have been appalled at the incoherence of much of the legislation enacted by Congress in the modern era. While the body of … [Read more...] about “Easy Riders” Subvert the Democratic Process
Why the Kim Jong-un Regime is ‘Doomed’ (The Daily North Korea, South Korea)
Arranging smooth successions has been the bane of despots since the dawn of history - and today's North Korea is a perfect example. Does the death of Kim Jong-il mean the beginning of the end of the Kim dynasty? Columnist Sohn Gwang-joo of South Korea's Daily North Korea explains why contradictions in the system coupled with the inexperience of the country's new despot … [Read more...] about Why the Kim Jong-un Regime is ‘Doomed’ (The Daily North Korea, South Korea)
Deadly ‘Virus’ of Censorship Terrorizes the White House (La Stampa, Italy)
Is America's fear of terrorism putting a chill on essential scientific research? For Italy's La Stampa, columnist Piero Bianucci warns that the White House, in an unprecedented move to prevent terrorists from getting their hands on an even more deadly form of bird flu, has persuaded science journals Science and Nature to censor themselves, undermining the free flow of … [Read more...] about Deadly ‘Virus’ of Censorship Terrorizes the White House (La Stampa, Italy)
Firing an Icon, Pauline Kael
A mutual grandparent at holiday dinner confronts me with the accusation that I fired a cinema icon in the 1960s. Guilty. So I may as well share my confession with the whole world. I brought out the worst in Pauline Kael. She started irritating me the minute we met and never stopped. Looking for a movie reviewer with intelligence and style when I became editor of McCalls, … [Read more...] about Firing an Icon, Pauline Kael