xThe Vampire Elite Runs Our Lives. The corporatocracy has become more powerful than government. Congress is bought by special interests. The Supreme Court has ruled that Dow Chemical and Exxon Mobil have the same rights as people. It is for these reasons that it is time for a national referendum on what I call Proposition 29. Proposition 29 is simple in the extreme: "It … [Read more...] about Uh Oh! There Are Only 36 Shopping Days Until The Iowa Republican Caucuses
My Kind of Mom
Julie Sullivan isn’t angry with her daughter, Emma, for tweeting disparaging remarks about Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback during a Youth in Government program last week in Topeka: “She was talking to 65 friends. And also it’s the speech they use today. It’s more attention grabbing. I raised my kids to be independent, to be strong, to be free thinkers. If she wants to tweet her … [Read more...] about My Kind of Mom
Syria: Progress on the Arab Front
The New York Times reports that the Arab League has just approved “tough economic sanctions against Syria … to press it to end its violent crackdown against antigovernment protesters, an unprecedented step against an Arab country.” The sanctions which include a travel ban against Syrian officials and politicians, a halt to dealings with the Syrian Central Bank and the end … [Read more...] about Syria: Progress on the Arab Front
Kristof on President Obama as Piñata
After reviewing what's happened to other Western leaders confronting voters in this economic vortex (eight governments toppled in Europe in two years), and observing that President Obama's "cautious centrism soured the left without reassuring the right," Nick Kristof gives the president some due credit: Obama has done better than many critics on the left or the right give him … [Read more...] about Kristof on President Obama as Piñata
Kimberly Webb Joyner, 1970 to 2011
Send some kind thoughts to James Joyner and his two young daughters as their wife and mother passed away last night in her sleep at the age of 41. My wife, Kimberly Webb Joyner, died this morning in her sleep from unknown causes. She was 41. She leaves behind two little girls she loved more than anything, Katie, who turns 3 on New Year’s Eve, and Ellie, who was born June … [Read more...] about Kimberly Webb Joyner, 1970 to 2011
Really Bad Idea of the Year
If you enjoyed how Ralph Nader put George W. Bush into the White House in 2000, you may love what a group called Americans Elect is trying to do in 2012. The well-financed effort wants a “wide-scale draft movement for presidential candidates,” but it looks more like hammering a “broken” political system and smashing it to smithereens. Americans Elect aims, not to create a … [Read more...] about Really Bad Idea of the Year
Tom Wicker (1926-2011)
As self-unaware as this may seem, I didn't realized until hearing of his death that the journalist that I had modeled myself most closely after was the legendary New York Times op-ed columnist, who died on Friday of an apparent heart attack at his Vermont home. During the 25-year run of his column, "In the Nation," Wicker never courted controversy but he never shied away … [Read more...] about Tom Wicker (1926-2011)
Another Milestone for American Print Newspapers?
Another milestone for American print newspapers? A Kentucky newspaper runs a Huffington Post story. … [Read more...] about Another Milestone for American Print Newspapers?
Is Time Magazine “Dumbing Down” for the U.S. Market?
I was a working journalist for many years doing both freelance reporting and analysis and working as a staff reporter on two major chain newspapers. The most journalistically instructive part came when I wrote paid-by-the piece stories and op-eds overseas from India, Spain and Bangladesh in the 70s for a variety of newspapers and magazines (including for the Newsweek bureau in … [Read more...] about Is Time Magazine “Dumbing Down” for the U.S. Market?
The “Increasingly Intolerable’ Glut of GOP debates: 4 Consequences
Everything has consequences -- including a large number of political debates. … [Read more...] about The “Increasingly Intolerable’ Glut of GOP debates: 4 Consequences
If They Both Lose the Battle, the Better for All of Us
The Hill describes Republican fury with media attacks on presidential candidates --Michele v Jimmy, for example. Media coverage of conservatives is again in the spotlight, with the furor over the treatment of presidential candidate Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) on the “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon” TV show. ... ... A number of GOP hopefuls — Bachmann, Cain and … [Read more...] about If They Both Lose the Battle, the Better for All of Us
Who’s In Charge Here? (Guest Voice)
Martha’s Big Adventure — Who’s in Charge Here? by Martha Randolph Carr The Congressional Super Committee of Twelve has failed to put together a plan to save the country’s fiscal butt before the January 2013 deadline. Despite having specially mandated super powers to be able to speed through red tape and deliver a plan, they were unable to agree on much of anything. They … [Read more...] about Who’s In Charge Here? (Guest Voice)
Apparent Crackdown on the CIA in Iran: Linked to Iranian Missile Testing?
Is Iran cracking down on the CIA? Is there an operation underway to arrest those who might be connected with the American intelligence agency -- an above-the-water revelation of the big under-the-water iceberg covert war going on between the two countries? The Christian Science Monitor's Howard LaFranchi suggests a crackdown is occurring -- and an Israeli newspaper suggests … [Read more...] about Apparent Crackdown on the CIA in Iran: Linked to Iranian Missile Testing?
Tahrir Square is Rebelling Again
This copyrighted cartoon is licensed to run on TMV. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited. … [Read more...] about Tahrir Square is Rebelling Again
What Kind Of Accent Do You Have
An interesting quiz for this holiday weekend. … [Read more...] about What Kind Of Accent Do You Have
BREAKING: Pakistan Tells U.S. to Get Out of Air Base as NATO Strike ‘Exacerbates’ Tensions (UPDATED)
Things are moving quite rapidly and in the wrong direction in Pakistan after a NATO strike hit Pakistani army checkpoints near the Pakistan-Afghanistan border and allegedly killed at least 24 soldiers. Pakistan had already ordered Pakistan’s border crossings into Afghanistan closed, interrupting NATO logistics efforts and ordered a review of all cooperation with the US and … [Read more...] about BREAKING: Pakistan Tells U.S. to Get Out of Air Base as NATO Strike ‘Exacerbates’ Tensions (UPDATED)
Just In Case You Think the Political Twilight Zone Is Limited to One Side
It's worth noting that many of us here at TMV have in recent months been highly critical of some of the demonizing and paranoia-tinged political polemics from the Republican' Party's new right. But as those of us who are independent voters know, it is not limited to both sides. And, nooooooo, this is not an invitation to start another tiresome debate about "false equivalency" … [Read more...] about Just In Case You Think the Political Twilight Zone Is Limited to One Side
A Husband Can Make a Wife Sick
Especially if she does this. This is husband who really curried favor with his wife. … [Read more...] about A Husband Can Make a Wife Sick
There Is A Long Way To Go, But. . .
Things are moving in the right direction. Despite the evictions of protesters from public spaces across Canada, Linda McQuaig writes that the Occupy Movement has managed to "change the public discourse, putting inequality front and centre — something activists and writers, myself included, have failed to accomplish despite decades of trying." Even members of the elite are … [Read more...] about There Is A Long Way To Go, But. . .
It’s Pakistan Versus NATO after NATO Attack Kills 24 Pakistan Soldiers
It's clear that whoever is President will have a major issue on his or her hands as the United States moves into the 20th century, the ongoing problem with Pakistan. And this weekend relations have gotten worse and it could impact the war in Afghanistan: NATO helicopters and fighter jets attacked two military outposts in northwest Pakistan on Saturday, killing as many as … [Read more...] about It’s Pakistan Versus NATO after NATO Attack Kills 24 Pakistan Soldiers