Former President George W. Bush has declined an invite from President Obama to join him at Ground Zero on Thursday for a ceremony marking the death of Osama Bin Laden. While I am sure some will find a way to use this to attack or make fun of Bush, I consider it a classy decision. I am reminded of a scene in the West Wing where one character says to another "The country is … [Read more...] about Bush Declines Ground Zero Invite
Google Reports One Million Percent Increase In Searches For ‘Bin Laden’
Not exactly a surprise, but telling nonetheless: Google says that between 7:30 and 8:30 pm PST (which was right around the time the news broke over Twitter), Google saw an one million percent increase in searches for the term ‘bin laden.’ For basis of comparison, you can see a chart below comparing searches for the Royal Wedding on Google Trends. The Royal Wedding … [Read more...] about Google Reports One Million Percent Increase In Searches For ‘Bin Laden’
TIME TO MOVE ON
It was very good news to hear that U.S. Joint Special Operations Command forces killed Osama Bin Laden (OBL) in his exclusive Pakistani retirement compound this past weekend. It came just under 10 years after the 9/11/01 attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City and the Pentagon in Washington DC. Congratulations are due to the many anonymous U.S. servicemen and … [Read more...] about TIME TO MOVE ON
How The White House Lost Message Control
Here's what I think what happened on Sunday: Press conference scheduled at 10.30 pm eastern List drawn up of people who need to know before 10.30, so that they were not blindsided Timetable for contact developed, working backwards from 10.30 pm All would have been well -- the tweet that broke the story was timestamped 10.24 pm -- if the President had kept to the 10.30 … [Read more...] about How The White House Lost Message Control
Comment moderation issue
Hello TMV'ers. Since we have switched back to standard comments, there have been a large amount of auto-moderate comments appearing. I did some investigating and found that the comment spam filters were treating many of you like active cyber criminals. I went through the configuration and scaled things back a tad and noticed the comments auto-approved. So there may be … [Read more...] about Comment moderation issue
Russell’s Nightmare
Canada changed last night. It was a change which voters made consciously and deliberately. In doing so, they ignored the warning of one of Canada's best known constitutional scholars. A week before the election, Peter Russell appeared in what will become a seminal video. "This is the most important federal election in my lifetime," he declared: What is at stake is … [Read more...] about Russell’s Nightmare
Osama at Hotel Hell (Cartoon)
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Osama bin Laden Killing Closes a Chapter But Not the Book
Many Americans will remember where they were when they heard the news that Osama bin Laden was killed in the special ops strike ordered by President Barack Obama and carried out by Navy Seals the same way many remember where they were when they heard about Pearl Harbor, JFK’s assassination and 911. It closed one chapter – but not the book… The next chapter’s shape isn’t … [Read more...] about Osama bin Laden Killing Closes a Chapter But Not the Book
Commanding-in-Chief: Obama Prequel
As details of Operation Osama emerge, a campaign promise by Barack Obama, widely disparaged by opponents then, comes back to recall his confidence about being Commander-in-Chief. In 2007, he said, "It was a terrible mistake to fail to act when we had a chance to take out an al Qaeda leadership meeting in 2005. If we have actionable intelligence about high-value terrorist … [Read more...] about Commanding-in-Chief: Obama Prequel
The Death Of A Winner
Before 9/11 the United States was a beacon of freedom and what was right. "Your papers please" was a phrase that differentiated the US from the dictatorships of the communist east block. All that changed on 9/11. Radley Balko sums it all up: We have also fundamentally altered who we are. A partial, off-the-top-of-my-head list of how we’ve changed since September 11 . . … [Read more...] about The Death Of A Winner
After OBL Kill, Afghanistan & Libya Wars Just Look Foolish
WASHINGTON - After reading the raid accounts from Marc Ambinder, Mike Allen, Brian Ross, as well as the White House briefing by senior administration officials the night after, it's clear our mission against Al Qaeda hasn't been in Afghanistan since Pres. Bush left office. What was found under the nose of the Pakistani government's nose was enough to start an entire new group … [Read more...] about After OBL Kill, Afghanistan & Libya Wars Just Look Foolish
And the Birther Queen Continues Her Reign
Even some of the most ardent birthers, even some of the most seasoned Obama haters, even The Donald, are giving up their crusade against the President, after he released the original, official, genuine, full, long-form, state of Hawaii, U.S. birth certificate. But not birther queen Orly Taitz. She appeared before a three-judge panel of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals … [Read more...] about And the Birther Queen Continues Her Reign
Osama bin Laden (Cartoon)
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What Should The U.S. Do About An Ally That Harbors A Mass Murderer?
BIN LADEN'S ROOMS WITH A VIEW One has to go back go back to fascist Italy under Benito Mussolini to find an example of the kind of blatant hypocrisy that characterizes Pakistan. Pakistan gobbles up billions of dollars in U.S. aid each year but has nothing to show for it, has not just been less than helpful in the dragnet for Osama bin Laden but has allowed him to hide in … [Read more...] about What Should The U.S. Do About An Ally That Harbors A Mass Murderer?
Why America’s Future Security Rests On Its Extraordinary Resources & Not A Mighty Military
As almost anyone with a comprehensive world view well knows, America's future lies not in having the mightiest military but in marshaling its extraordinary assets -- its people, its infrastructure and its renewable resources -- to assure a more secure 21st century. That the wonks at Foreign Policy magazine recognize that reality in publishing a paper titled "A National … [Read more...] about Why America’s Future Security Rests On Its Extraordinary Resources & Not A Mighty Military
Chasing A Meme: The Twain Quote That Isn’t
"I've never wished a man dead, but I have read some obituaries with great pleasure." - Mark Twain It was the meme of the moment on Twitter, in the wake of the news that Osama bin Laden had been killed by an American military team. Heck, even NPR tumbled it! But it's not Twain. To be more precise, there is no record of its being Twain. When I first saw the quote … [Read more...] about Chasing A Meme: The Twain Quote That Isn’t
MOVIE REVIEW: WATER FOR ELEPHANTS, by BRUCE MOODY
Water For Elephants — Directed by Frances Lawrence. Romantic Drama. A young man finds himself drawn to a female circus elephant and the elephant’s female mahout. 122 minutes Color 2011. * * * The best English speaking circus film I know of is Elia Kazan’s Man On A Tightrope. I had hoped to find a better one here, but I didn’t. Kazan’s film focuses upon the circus … [Read more...] about MOVIE REVIEW: WATER FOR ELEPHANTS, by BRUCE MOODY
MOVIE REVIEW “I AM” by Bruce Moody
I Am – Directed by Tom Shadyak. Documentary. A spiritual civics lesson about the family relation in the internal human anatomy and everything in the world, as a Hollywood broad comedy director seeks the truth of what has gone wrong with the world. 76 minutes Color 2011. * * * * * I wanted them all to shut up. For my sense was that every single one of them were … [Read more...] about MOVIE REVIEW “I AM” by Bruce Moody
Permission to Kill (Cartoon)
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Debt Ceiling Folly
WASHINGTON -- Starting this week, the talk in our nation's capital will be dominated by whether or not Congress should raise the debt ceiling -- as if we have any choice but to pay off our obligations. It will be a colossally foolish and self-destructive battle, another sign of how fanaticism and ideological obsession are rendering our country ungovernable. Republicans, … [Read more...] about Debt Ceiling Folly