In reversing one of its last principled positions—that American courts are sufficiently nimble, fair, and transparent to try Mohammed and his confederates—the administration surrendered to the bullying, fear-mongering, and demagoguery of those seeking to create two separate kinds of American law. This isn't just about the administration allowing itself to be bullied out of its … [Read more...] about What Obama Caving on KSM Trial Says About Us All
Combating Evil: Understanding Islam and the Qur’an
Guest post by Hamid M. Khan Hamid M. Khan, an Adjunct Professor of Islamic Law at the University of Colorado Law School, is a Rule of Law Adviser with the U.S. Institute of Peace in Kabul, Afghanistan, and a fellow with the Truman National Security Project in Washington D.C. Last Friday's heinous attack on U.N. workers in Mazar-e-Sharif, Afghanistan, which was prompted … [Read more...] about Combating Evil: Understanding Islam and the Qur’an
(UPDATED) GOP Plan: Humbug For Middle Class & Poor, Lollipops For Rich & Big Business
HE COULDA BEEN A CONTENDER The tendency to emotionalize the ongoing Battle of the Budgets, which has shifted into high gear in anticipation of a government shutdown and the roll out of a Republican scheme to slash several trillion big ones from the federal budget, certainly gets in the way of rational discourse, whatever that may be. But I, for one, get pretty worked … [Read more...] about (UPDATED) GOP Plan: Humbug For Middle Class & Poor, Lollipops For Rich & Big Business
(UPDATED) God, Sarah & The GOP Would Want It This Way
CHEZ BRISTOL You probably know that Bristol Palin, daughter of the former half-term governor of Alaska, made a mint speaking about teenage pregnancy prevention, an area in which she is of course utterly unqualified. Anyhow, Bristol raked in a cool $262,500 from jetting around the country for The Candies Foundation because she and Levi Johnston didn't bother to use … [Read more...] about (UPDATED) God, Sarah & The GOP Would Want It This Way
The New Age of Reason
Washington is acting out that old story of the farmer with a reluctant mule and the neighbor who offers to reason with the animal, then bashes its head with a plank. "I thought you were going to reason with him." "I am, but first I have to get his attention." Farmer Obama and Neighbor Boehner are standing over a dazed government with no sign that they can get it moving by … [Read more...] about The New Age of Reason
Barack Obama’s 2012 Election Chances
President Barack Obama in the biggest “Duh!” this side of Charlie Sheen announced he’s going to run for re-election. The conventional wisdom: he’s in better shape going into 2011 than the Republicans. Is the conventional wisdom correct? Is it wrong? If you consider where Barack Obama is politically, and where he could be given his overflowing plate of problems, the … [Read more...] about Barack Obama’s 2012 Election Chances
Koran Burning Protests
This copyrighted cartoon is licensed to appear on TMV. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited. All rights reserved. … [Read more...] about Koran Burning Protests
Now Charlie Sheen is Really Big B.O.: His Revamped Show is a Hit
Charlie Sheen truly is "Winning! Duh" in Cleveland. … [Read more...] about Now Charlie Sheen is Really Big B.O.: His Revamped Show is a Hit
Unicorns, Castles, and Endless Love for Everyone
Actually, Paul Ryan calls his plan "The Path to Prosperity," but I think my name for it is more accurate. Here he is in the Wall Street Journal, spinning madly: … [Read more...] about Unicorns, Castles, and Endless Love for Everyone
Swiss Approach to Radiation Safety: Cancel The Simpsons (News, Switzerland)
Some things are so far out, it's hard to believe they're true. Like when a broadcaster in one of the most open, liberal countries in the world bans episodes of a TV show like The Simpsons as a public safety measure. But according to an incredulous Patrick Etschmayer, Swiss Radio and Television [SRF] has done precisely that. For Switzerland's News, Patrick Etschmayer writes … [Read more...] about Swiss Approach to Radiation Safety: Cancel The Simpsons (News, Switzerland)
Ryan: My Little Phony (Cartoon)
This copyrighted cartoon is licensed to run on TMV. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited. All rights reserved. … [Read more...] about Ryan: My Little Phony (Cartoon)
Reversal, Capitulation, Weakness: Obama, Congress, and the Trial of Khalid Shaikh Mohammed
There was much ado yesterday over the Obama Administration's apparent "reversal" with respect to where and how to try 9/11 mastermind Khalid Shaikh Mohammed and four others involved in the attacks. They will be tried not in a civilian court but before a military commission at Gitmo. The NYT's Charlie Savage called it "a major policy reversal," suggesting that the White House … [Read more...] about Reversal, Capitulation, Weakness: Obama, Congress, and the Trial of Khalid Shaikh Mohammed
Supreme Court Gets Around “Establishment of Religion” Prohibition by Allowing Tax Credits for Religious Tuition
And so the right-wing Supreme Court continues to erode the First Amendment: The Supreme Court on Monday let stand an Arizona program that aids religious schools, saying in a 5-to-4 decision that the plaintiffs had no standing to challenge it. The program itself is novel and complicated, and allowing it to go forward may be of no particular moment. But by closing the … [Read more...] about Supreme Court Gets Around “Establishment of Religion” Prohibition by Allowing Tax Credits for Religious Tuition
Maine Republicans Slam Republican Gov. Paul LePage
(This is the latest entry in the Elephant Dung Series over at my blog. For an explanation of this ongoing series, tracking the GOP civil war, see here. For previous entries, see here.) I wrote last year about "Mainesanity," the takeover of Maine's state GOP by Tea Party wackos. And by that I don't mean your run-of-the-mill small-government Teabaggers, the sort who are … [Read more...] about Maine Republicans Slam Republican Gov. Paul LePage
It Won’t Matter If Obama Wins or Loses in 2012
I originally predicted that President Obama would be a one-term Chief Executive in a TMV post dated 11/8/10 that was picked up by a number of prominent blog sites. I even started questioning his chances of re-election in other earlier 2010 TMV posts. Today respected long-time independent blogger Charles Hugh Smith made the same prediction on his excellent … [Read more...] about It Won’t Matter If Obama Wins or Loses in 2012
The Ideological Roadmap of Paul Ryan’s Budget Scheme
WASHINGTON -- There's a reason Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity have been pushing the Heritage Foundation mercilessly on their show for months and it was to pave the way for Paul Ryan and his Heritage Foundation hallucinations. But some of the savings in Ryan’s budget will be difficult to realize and others are ambiguous; further, it is not clear if his economic or revenue … [Read more...] about The Ideological Roadmap of Paul Ryan’s Budget Scheme
Government Shutdown Increasingly Looks Likely
Get ready for a government shut down. That sentence is for this site's readers. But it's also the gist of what Republican bigwigs are telling their rank and file in Congress and what President Barack Obama is telling his colleagues. With each passing hour, a shutdown seems more likely. Or is it? Will there be yet another resolution to keep the government operating … [Read more...] about Government Shutdown Increasingly Looks Likely
Since the Giffords Shooting (Cartoon)
This copyrighted cartoon is licensed to run on TMV. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited. All rights reserved. … [Read more...] about Since the Giffords Shooting (Cartoon)
In Which Barack Obama Gets His George Bush On
Those heady days when hope and change were in the air seem like light years and not two years ago. And while President Obama has made good on sizeable chunks of his agenda, there has been little change and what hope there was has been further undermined by the decision this week to reverse field and order a military trial at Guantánamo Bay for 9/11 plotter Khalid Sheikh … [Read more...] about In Which Barack Obama Gets His George Bush On
UPDATE: Shakeup at AOL Huffington Post? Freelancers are NOT Being Fired
[This is being reposted due to this update] Earlier we ran the item below from Business Insider that reported a big firing of AOL freelancers at the new AOL Huffington Post, which is quickly turning itself in the a full fledged Internet newspaper that seems to have some jumpy at the New York Times. It turns out that news item was false. And this new report -- unlike the … [Read more...] about UPDATE: Shakeup at AOL Huffington Post? Freelancers are NOT Being Fired