Lawrence Martin has a timely column this morning on the the state of Canadian journalism. Martin writes of the late James Thomson, who warned that the biggest occupational hazard for journalists is being co-opted by the powerful. Martin then turns to the press in Canada: Much wonderment has been expressed recently on why stories of abuse of power don’t seem to hurt … [Read more...] about Where Are The Woodwards and Bernsteins?
“Idiot Alert!”
Not much is more repulsive to this Texan than that border fence. I went to a meeting about it four years ago almost to the day down in Laredo, along the border. The meeting was sponsored by the south Texas district's member of Congress. It became blazingly clear that corporate interests (along with a batch of racists) were The Wall's chief supporters. Local sheriffs, not … [Read more...] about “Idiot Alert!”
Yes, Virginia, Some Men are Pigs (Guest Voice)
Yes, Virginia, Some Men are Pigs Raging Moderate, by Will Durst The hell is the deal with male politicians these days? Have they lost their minds? Guys, they’re giving all us men a bad name. And with Charlie Sheen still on the loose, we need the negative publicity the way a platypus needs another spiny knob at the end of its tail. Maybe the reptilian core at the base of our … [Read more...] about Yes, Virginia, Some Men are Pigs (Guest Voice)
Ship of Fools (Cartoon)
This copyrighted cartoon is licensed to run on TMV. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited. … [Read more...] about Ship of Fools (Cartoon)
Oh, Mommy, Please Make that Man Go Away, Please Mommy
Oh, Mommy, please make that man go away, please Mommy. Donald Trump now talks about re-entering the GOP race. In his dreams. And in our nightmares. … [Read more...] about Oh, Mommy, Please Make that Man Go Away, Please Mommy
Shocker: Half of Facebook Walls Have Profanity
Reppler is a service launched last month to help keep your Facebook image clean by monitoring your Facebook profile, making you aware of inappropriate content and highlighting public information that should be private. Jackie Cohen of All Facebook reports that of the 30,000-plus Facebook members’ walls Reppler looked at over the past two months: 47 percent of our … [Read more...] about Shocker: Half of Facebook Walls Have Profanity
Defining Macho Down
Never mind men in outer space or those slogging in Middle East mud, media attention is on a horny old Frenchman in Manhattan detention, a former body builder with no procreative self-control and a preening pack of politicians playing Chicken with the national debt limit. In the Age of Viagra, masculinity is being downgraded everywhere. Even 60 Minutes is obsessed with … [Read more...] about Defining Macho Down
‘As History is Our Witness,’ China is a More Reliable Friend than United States (The Frontier Post, Pakistan)
It seems that many in Pakistan are convinced that with relations with the U.S. souring, closer ties with China are the answer to Pakistan's troubles. According to this editorial from Pakistan's Frontier Post, whereas the United States tends to use Pakistan when its in Washington's interests and then treat it like 'garbage,' China has always been an 'all-weather friend.' The … [Read more...] about ‘As History is Our Witness,’ China is a More Reliable Friend than United States (The Frontier Post, Pakistan)
New Ratings: Conservative Talk Ratings Fall
It looks like The Daily Beast's John Avlon was correct in his posts about the decline of conservative talk radio coupled with signs that listeners may be slowly tuning in more independent and less demonizing voices. Crain's in a report carried on Google News: Right-wing talk radio may have worn out its welcome, at least for now. The just-out April Arbitron report shows … [Read more...] about New Ratings: Conservative Talk Ratings Fall
Rapture Trick (Cartoon)
This copyrighted cartoon is licensed to run on TMV. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited. … [Read more...] about Rapture Trick (Cartoon)
New York Magazine’s Eye-Opening Revelations about Fox News’ Roger Ailes (UPDATED)
Over the weekend I read New York Magazine's fascinating, and solidly reported piece on Fox News' Roger Ailes and like some other pundits, I didn't know where to start on it for a piece on TMV since it was so packed with info -- a quintessential piece of solid fact-based reporting. This was NOT a piece that could be dismissed as an ideological hack job. I didn't get to my TMV … [Read more...] about New York Magazine’s Eye-Opening Revelations about Fox News’ Roger Ailes (UPDATED)
Missouri Thanks You, Pres. Obama
WASHINGTON - My big brother Larry, who got me interested in politics when I was a kid, as well as my dad, were both born in Joplin, Missouri. Larry once worked as assistant attorney general under John Ashcroft and played a very small role during Ashcroft's confirmation hearings when a reporter from the St. Louis Post Dispatch called to get a quote on Ashcroft. It ended up with … [Read more...] about Missouri Thanks You, Pres. Obama
Dominique Strauss-Kahn-Le Pew (Guest Voice)
Dominique Strauss-Kahn-Le Pew by Daryl Cagle My only exposure to French culture as a child was Looney Tunes cartoons featuring the lecherous skunk, Pepé Le Pew. When I grew up, my views of France changed, and I thought of the French as romantic, a view that seems to contrast with Dominique Strauss-Kahn, whose alleged sexual assault on a hotel maid is remarkably similar to … [Read more...] about Dominique Strauss-Kahn-Le Pew (Guest Voice)
Supreme Court Orders 46,000 Prisoners Released (Brown v. Plata)
Going back to the 1990’s, California’s prison system has been found to be in violation of the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment. Designed to hold roughly 80,000 inmates, the prison system has been averaging a population of nearly 160,000 over the past 11 years. Two separate lawsuits ensued. Coleman v. Brown alleged inability to adequately … [Read more...] about Supreme Court Orders 46,000 Prisoners Released (Brown v. Plata)
A Bad Week for Sarah Palin?
Sarah Palin's week is off to an unhappy start. First, an upcoming tell all by a former staffer will reportedly account how she couldn't wait to ditch her relatively-low-paying job as Governor of Alaska to rake in big bucks on Fox and broke campaign commitments. And then there is that long New Yorker piece on Roger Aisles which suggests that the Fox News maven considers her an … [Read more...] about A Bad Week for Sarah Palin?
Tim Pawlenty Uses Online Video to Announce He’s Running for 2012 Republican Presidential Nomination
Former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty has officially announced he's jumping into what many pundits see as a faltering 2012 Republican Presidential nomination sweepstakes with a classy online ad -- running the ad before his expected official announcement. Pawlenty will have some work to do: one poll has Barack Obama 15 points ahead of him. But these early polls are meaningless … [Read more...] about Tim Pawlenty Uses Online Video to Announce He’s Running for 2012 Republican Presidential Nomination
Now This Is Scary: Biden in ‘16
Leave it to Joe Biden to drop unsolicited verbal bombs. And so he did in Cincinnati last week according to Politico when he raised the prospect of running for president in 2016. The comments were unsolicited. Biden, who will be 74 in 2016, has never committed one way or the other about his plans to succeed Obama, but now seems to be showing an inclination. Leave it to Loose … [Read more...] about Now This Is Scary: Biden in ‘16
Inside the Overton Window
Daniels Move Stirs Concerns About Field of Republicans So why won't Mitch Daniels run? The Republican base has become so crazy that if you want to win the Republican nomination you have to talk crazy even if you are not. Now many of us have recognized just how crazy the Republican party has become but even the mainstream media is talking about it. Fantasy Island At a … [Read more...] about Inside the Overton Window
For The GOP, It’s Time To Start Counting The Weeks, Months & Years Until 2016
Like the White Queen in her youth, the contemporary Republican politician must be capable of believing as many as six impossible things before breakfast. ~ JACOB WEISBERG Props to Mitch Daniels for listening to his family and deciding they were more important than his party and that the prospect of non-stop proctology examinations by the news media and his opponents … [Read more...] about For The GOP, It’s Time To Start Counting The Weeks, Months & Years Until 2016
President Wanted, No Experience Preferred
Tea Party Republican primaries are headed toward their logical conclusion. With Gov. Mitch Daniels of Indiana bowing out and Pizza Man Herman Cain stepping in, political experience is becoming a liability for GOP candidates. Cain won the first Fox debate boasting that he was unencumbered by government service, a political virgin whose purity would enable him to solve all the … [Read more...] about President Wanted, No Experience Preferred