Burning up the internets this morning, Chris Wallace asking Michele Bachmann, "Are you a flake?" Bachmann calls the question “insulting,” she's "a serious person." Wallace apologized but Bachmann's apparently not accepting. This following on the heels of the week-long aftermath of Wallace's Jon Stewart interview. In that interview Stewart said that Wallace stands out … [Read more...] about Chris Wallace Steps In It. Again.
Is College for Everyone? A Very Old Story
From the current debate over whether a college education is worth the price in money and time for every American child, a memory seven decades old arises as testimony to the life-changing difference those four years used to make for generations born to immigrant parents. The teacher's name, improbably, was Mr. Crabb. His grim face rose from a stiff rounded collar anchored … [Read more...] about Is College for Everyone? A Very Old Story
When Did America Become Rome?
There has been a fascinating discussion going on over at Andrew Sullivan's Daily Dish concerning when America became Rome. That is, when did it forswear faith in its leaders and morality for greed and decadence. The comparison, of course, is somewhat precious as well as a time-worn cliche, but it works well enough for the purposes of trying to figure out why we are going … [Read more...] about When Did America Become Rome?
Lion Tries to Eat Baby Through Glass at Zoo (Video)
A lion tries to eat a baby through glass case at a Colorado zoo: I saw something similar about 10 years ago. I was doing an event and the stage next to mine had some tigers who did a show. The owners of this act would let people including kids into the cage to have their picture taken with baby tigers. I had mine taken. The first thing they did was to put a bottle in the … [Read more...] about Lion Tries to Eat Baby Through Glass at Zoo (Video)
Obama and the Agony of Prudence
WASHINGTON -- Among Dana Carvey's most brilliant sketches on "Saturday Night Live" were his dead-perfect impersonations of President George H.W. Bush, which made a permanent contribution to America's political language. "Not gonna do it!" Carvey-as-Bush would say. "Wouldn't be prudent!" What Carvey grasped is that Bush 41 was a conservative not so much by ideology as … [Read more...] about Obama and the Agony of Prudence
War and Peace (Cartoon)
This copyrighted cartoon is licensed to run on TMV. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited. … [Read more...] about War and Peace (Cartoon)
Classic Comedy: the Famous “Si..Sy” Routine of Jack Benny and Mel Blanc
Cartoon fans -- particularly younger TMV readers - -get ready for a treat. One of the funniest classic routines was done waaaaaaaay before my time by radio-TV comedy star Jack Benny (who was one of the comedians credited with inventing the situation comedy on radio) and Mel Blanc. It is as funny today as when it was first done. This should be of special interest to cartoon … [Read more...] about Classic Comedy: the Famous “Si..Sy” Routine of Jack Benny and Mel Blanc
They’ll Do It My Way
Eric Cantor, the Tea Party’s rep in Congress, laid it on the line to the President the other day. You want us to keep negotiating, taxes are off the table. period. Then he commenced crooning in the style of Frank Sinatra… They’ll Do It My Way And now, though defaults loom I hold one steadfast notion It’s that, tax hikes mean doom To this I swear, my full devotion For … [Read more...] about They’ll Do It My Way
Be Careful What You Wish For: the Balanced Budget Amendment
Everyone can appreciate that the intention of a proposed balanced budget amendment (BBA) would be to impose some discipline on government. Today, there is absolutely no operational constraint on government spending, and the debt ceiling is just a legislative choice. Most people also believe that there is at least some long-term constraint on government spending as we are … [Read more...] about Be Careful What You Wish For: the Balanced Budget Amendment
Does Andrew Cuomo’s Leadership Style Put Barack Obama’s to Shame?
Does New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo's leadership style put President Barack Obama's to shame? The always-must-read-Nate Silver raises the issue HERE -- an issue I have been fascinated with before Friday's successful Cuomo-backed and Cuomo-pieced-together vote to pass New York's same sex marriage law. I'm now collecting my thoughts for a column on this issue. But back in my days … [Read more...] about Does Andrew Cuomo’s Leadership Style Put Barack Obama’s to Shame?
TSA Asks Elderly Woman To Remove Diaper
Someone at TSA made a truly crappy decision: A woman has filed a complaint with federal authorities over how her elderly mother was treated at Northwest Florida Regional Airport last weekend. Jean Weber of Destin filed a complaint with the Department of Homeland Security after her 95-year-old mother was detained and extensively searched last Saturday while trying to … [Read more...] about TSA Asks Elderly Woman To Remove Diaper
Jon Who? (Guest Voice)
Jon Who? by Michael Reagan All of a sudden the kept media is all agog over one Jon (not John) Huntsman, recently retired from his Obama administration post as U.S. Ambassador to the People's Republic of China, provoking the president to joke that he was "sure that him having worked so well for me will be a great asset in any Republican primary." A former governor of … [Read more...] about Jon Who? (Guest Voice)
The Hostage President
Barack Obama started last week playing golf with John Boehner a few days before going on TV to proclaim a foreseeable victory in the Middle East, hoping no one would notice he was wearing handcuffs all the time. Now, with Republicans walking out on debt ceiling talks and the Afghan victory lap clearly a mirage, the President’s chains are inescapably visible. Eric Cantor and … [Read more...] about The Hostage President
Icky-Poo Men
One of the lead articles in the Times today is about the aftermath of Eric Cantor, majority leader, ducking out on his job. Maybe 22% of the country will defend him as a man of principle but -- surprisingly -- this time many in the media seem to have spotted him as a guy who just couldn't do his job. In this article in the Times, reporter Carl Hulse dismissed him as a man who … [Read more...] about Icky-Poo Men
Bachman Virtually Tied With Romney in Iowa Poll
It's clear the Republican Party now has a real elephant race shaping up. On one side: Mitt Romney the by default darling of Republican establishment types who may not be enamored of him but he's the best establishment type Republican candidate that they seem to have so far...and on the other Michele Bachman the darling of the Tea Party movement, the talk radio political culture … [Read more...] about Bachman Virtually Tied With Romney in Iowa Poll
In God We Vote (Guest Voice)
In God We Vote by Peter Funt Mitt Romney's emergence as the early front-runner for the GOP presidential nomination, along with Jon Huntsman's recent entry in the race, makes certain that the 2012 campaign will continue the trend of carefully weighing candidates' religious beliefs. Both men will be scrutinized because of their affiliation with the Church of Jesus Christ … [Read more...] about In God We Vote (Guest Voice)
America and Afghanistan (Cartoon)
This copyrighted cartoon is licensed to run on TMV. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited. … [Read more...] about America and Afghanistan (Cartoon)
Sunday Morning Finger Food
The quote of the week comes from Steve Chapman at Real Clear Politics: The Republican presidential field looks less like an assemblage of candidates than a collection of fatal mistakes and irreparable flaws, with occasional embodiments of one or more of the Seven Deadly Sins. He says this is why someone like Rick Perry could be taken as a serious candidate. From Charles … [Read more...] about Sunday Morning Finger Food
A Timeless Song for Today’s Times
It seems everyone I meet has a story of a challenge or a downright woe. And, because of this, this showstopper from the classic baseball musical Damn Yankees seems a song for our times. Watch and listen to the words -- since they are worth remembering: … [Read more...] about A Timeless Song for Today’s Times
Remember What Happened In Massachusetts! Same Sex Marriage Opponents React
With same sex marriage legal in NY (gay couples can marry there beginning on July 24) it's worth revisiting what happened in Massachusetts. From the November 3, 2005 Daily Show. BRIAN CAMENKER, anti-gay-marriage activist: I could sit here and I could probably, you know, find some way of connecting the dots to gay marriage to all of these [adverse effects] if I had enough … [Read more...] about Remember What Happened In Massachusetts! Same Sex Marriage Opponents React