According to local legend, on an afternoon in October 1950, New York Yankee slugger Joe DiMaggio handed a cigarette to Francis Lazaro "Frank" Rizzo, a young cop who was part of the security detail at Shibe Park, and then hit a home run to win Game 2 of the World Series over the Philadelphia Phillies. The story, like many Rizzo told, probably is apocryphal, but it helped cement … [Read more...] about In Philadelphia, The End Of The Rizzo Era
In A Word, Gotcha
Yesterday Dorian De Wind and I both reported on Rick Santorum's interview in which he said that John McCain "didn't understand how enhanced interrogation works." Naturally, McCain, who spent years in a North Vietnamese prison camp and who still suffers the effects of his first hand knowledge of torture, was asked for a response to Santorum. The single word retort from his … [Read more...] about In A Word, Gotcha
The One Thing That Baby Boomers Got Right
Objectively speaking, baby boomers have screwed up virtually everything they have touched as government leaders and politicians. Or continued to perpetrate existing screw-ups. But down at the state level they have gotten something right in a growing number of states: Authorizing medical marijuana use and decriminalizing personal marijuana use. The reason for this is … [Read more...] about The One Thing That Baby Boomers Got Right
Be The Spark: Desmond Tutu Keynotes Tacoma Event
At an event celebrating 30 years of community outreach, retired Archibishop Desmond Tutu encouraged a sold-out crowd in Tacoma, WA, to make a difference in the world by doing simple things. "It's not that we have to be doing spectacular things," Tutu told the crowd of 15,000 at the Tacoma Dome. "Sometimes, it's just sitting ... in a bus ... and refusing to move," he said, … [Read more...] about Be The Spark: Desmond Tutu Keynotes Tacoma Event
In Search Of A Sacrificial Lamb
Donald Trump's ego trip is finished, Mike Huckabee has wisely decided that he's better off with millions from Rupert Murdoch and as only Newt Gingrich could do his presidential campaign imploded in record time. The race for the Republican nomination looks like a Marx's Brothers movie. I suspect the beltway Republican power brokers now realize it is unlikely they … [Read more...] about In Search Of A Sacrificial Lamb
Osama and Us: Celebrating Death Like a Football Title (Visao, Portugal)
At home and abroad, large numbers of people are asking the same question: regardless of the crime or the criminal, is it fitting with common decency to celebrate a man's death - even a man like Osama bin Laden? For Portugal's Visao, Filipe Luis writes that even if he and most people see the benefit of eliminating bin Laden, the celebration of the event in and out of Portugal … [Read more...] about Osama and Us: Celebrating Death Like a Football Title (Visao, Portugal)
GOP on Health Care: Twist and Shout (Guest Voice)
GOP on Heath Care: Twist and Shout by Tina Dupay The best thing about the upcoming 2012 election is that the ominous “Obamacare” was a Republican idea. But now since this alternative to Hillarycare was signed into law by a (gasp) Democratic president the GOP has been trying to peg as a radical socialist Kenyan – Republicans now have to be against their own … [Read more...] about GOP on Health Care: Twist and Shout (Guest Voice)
Schwarzenegger Love Child Flag (Cartoon)
This copyrighted cartoon is licensed to run on TMV. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited. … [Read more...] about Schwarzenegger Love Child Flag (Cartoon)
Black on black intellectual violence
Apparently, the good Doctor, Mr Cornell West doesn't like the fella that is living in the White-House. I've always questioned why Dr West and Mr Tavis (not so) Smiley were so heavy with their criticisms of Obama. Yes, I get that black people don't have to like Obama. I have heard numerous black leaders rightly criticizes President Obama for the country's economic … [Read more...] about Black on black intellectual violence
Ron Paul, Conservative Champion of Liberalism
Some of the greatest champions of liberal politics have been conservatives. In 1940, Churchill, a conservative, led Britain alone against the Nazis and did more to protect liberal values than anyone else in the last century. But the best example is America's own founding. When it was written, the Constitution was a liberal document, protecting the rights of common men and … [Read more...] about Ron Paul, Conservative Champion of Liberalism
Watered Down Elephants
This copyrighted cartoon is licensed to run on TMV. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited. All rights resevered … [Read more...] about Watered Down Elephants
More on Santorum’s Torture Expertise and Experience
I know that my colleague Elijah Sweete has just very briefly commented on this story. But having written a previous post on Senator John McCain’s courageous, correct and consistent position on torture; having some very strong convictions on this issue myself and with my apologies to Elijah, I just can not let this one slide by. As Elijah points out, presidential … [Read more...] about More on Santorum’s Torture Expertise and Experience
Dominique Strauss-Kahn: He’s ‘Nothing But a Man’ (Les Dernières Nouvelles d’Alsace, France)
There is an odd parallel to the U.S. mission to pluck Osama bin Laden from Pakistan and the New York arrest of Dominique Strauss-Kahn, one of France's most powerful and successful politicians. While the French, like Pakistan, are aghast at how the presumed wrongdoer was 'detained' - they both also assert disgust with the crimes they are - or were - charged with. To say that … [Read more...] about Dominique Strauss-Kahn: He’s ‘Nothing But a Man’ (Les Dernières Nouvelles d’Alsace, France)
Bernard-Henri Lévy’s Latest Campaign: Saving Dominque Strauss-Kahn
WASHINGTON - He's the Charlie Sheen of philosophy, the Donald Trump of careerist showmanship, the Wall-Mart version of Sartre. French "philosopher" Bernard Henri-Levy, the non-politician perhaps most responsible for getting NATO into war with Libya, has long been one of the West's most scarequote-worthy intellectuals. There was the quoting of a literary hoax to attack … [Read more...] about Bernard-Henri Lévy’s Latest Campaign: Saving Dominque Strauss-Kahn
What Kind Of Country Do We Want To Live In?
Over at the NYTimes, Timothy Egan writes: [M]ost American pay less taxes now than anytime in the last 50 years, according to a number of measurements. And a majority of the public now seems willing to pay a little extra (or force somebody else to pay a little extra) to keep a good thing going. Both Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush raised taxes, by the way. Egan is … [Read more...] about What Kind Of Country Do We Want To Live In?
Military Spouses are Anything But Dependent
I was alerted to this story by a friend on Facebook. It is reprinted here by permission. Marie Hobson's blog can be found here. This Column is Dedicated to The Spouses, “Those who Silently Serve.” Anything But Dependent is the title I chose for this weekly spouse column. I came up with this title because of the stereotype we are given. Our civilian counterparts have … [Read more...] about Military Spouses are Anything But Dependent
Danke Herr Guvernator!!
The Los Angeles Times recently reported that former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and his wife, Maria Shriver, separated after she learned he had fathered a child more than a decade ago … with a longtime member of their household staff. Mr. Schwarzenegger publicly apologized for this prior indiscretion and Ms. Shriver has yet to issue any public statement. … [Read more...] about Danke Herr Guvernator!!
Santorum Says McCain Doesn’t Understand Enhanced Interrogation
Some things are just their own irony. Funny how they so often come from the mouths of politicians. When asked about Senator John McCain's recent pronouncements against torture and waterboarding, presidential hopeful Rick Santorum threw in this gem, "...he (McCain) doesn't understand how enhanced interrogation works." If you'd care to read Santorum's interview in its … [Read more...] about Santorum Says McCain Doesn’t Understand Enhanced Interrogation
Broadband Competition and Service: US versus Europe
The internet is not a toy, it is a strategic infrastructure. It may have at one time been envisioned as a defense strategic infrastructure, but today it nurtures global business and connection. Why, then, does the U.S. have such lousy broadband when we look at our European neighbors? Or Japan? Or South Korea? One reason is the geographic scale: those countries are sized … [Read more...] about Broadband Competition and Service: US versus Europe
Cornel West’s Cheap Shot At Barack Obama
Never let it be said that people who have grievances against Barack Obama because he won't talk their talk and walk their walk are white progressives. There's eminent black scholar Cornel West, who calls the president a "a black mascot of Wall Street oligarchs and a black puppet of corporate plutocrats. And now he has become head of the American killing machine and is … [Read more...] about Cornel West’s Cheap Shot At Barack Obama