EDITOR'S NOTE: Due to a technical glitch this was up on TMV with the wrong byline for a few minutes. There are some sporadic technical issues now occurring. We regret the error. Last Sunday I wrote a column from Pro Publica investigative writers that JP Morgan was earning millions of dollars processing food stamps for about half the nation's states which outsourced the … [Read more...] about Public Services: Does the Private or Public Sector Do a Better Job?
“We Do Big Things”
As Barack Obama used the phrase last night, it was no boast. It was a a simple statement of fact. From Abraham Lincoln`s establishment of the land grant colleges, to Franklin Roosevelt`s electrification of America through projects like of the TVA, to Dwight Eisenhower`s construction of the Interstate Highway System, to John Kennedy`s commitment to land on the moon -- what Obama … [Read more...] about “We Do Big Things”
Our Social Security System—Time for ‘Adjustments’
A letter to the editor in my hometown newspaper yesterday morning caught my attention. The letter: Time for updating In 1870, Otto Von Bismarck, chancellor of Germany, in a shrewd political move, decried that every German citizen age 65 or older would receive a lifelong pension. Longevity then was about age 55. Thus we have the origins of our eligibility for Social … [Read more...] about Our Social Security System—Time for ‘Adjustments’
Polling on Reaction to Obama’s State of the Union Speech: A “Landslide” of Positive Polling
Polling has been coming in on reaction to Obama's speech and David Meadvin, former chief speechwriter for the U.S. Attorney General and U.S. Senate Majority Leader writes in a Guest Post on Political Wire that it's a landslide: The early returns are in, and it's a landslide. Snap polls (surveys with a small sample size taken immediately after a speech or event) almost … [Read more...] about Polling on Reaction to Obama’s State of the Union Speech: A “Landslide” of Positive Polling
Employer Beware
The U. S. Supreme Court on Monday issued its opinion in Thompson v. NAS. While not a constitutional case, it could have ramifications across the nation in employment relations. The case focuses on some arcane issues of standing and civil procedure, but in the end confirms a right to sue that had previously been in dispute. Here are the underlying facts. Miriam Regalado … [Read more...] about Employer Beware
SOTU: Three Degrees of Demagoguery
In a word, the State of the Union is stupefied. The President, under pressure to rally a nation while placating a patchwork Congress, did his oratorical best but looked like a man leaning backward while urging Americans to "out-innovate, out-educate, and out-build the rest of the world" in the future. Unlike Tuscon, this speech came, as it had to, less from Barack … [Read more...] about SOTU: Three Degrees of Demagoguery
Chinese Military Modernization: Challenges and Opportunities for the United States
Guest post by Michael S. Chase Michael S. Chase is a Fellow with the Truman National Security Project and an Associate Research Professor at the United States Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island. The views expressed in this article are those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect the views of the U.S. Naval War College, the U.S. Navy, or the U.S. Department of … [Read more...] about Chinese Military Modernization: Challenges and Opportunities for the United States
TMV’s Get A Life Award: To the ACLU For Being Upset At Obama’s Pat Down Joke
After nearly a year of inactivity, the TMV Get A Life Club proudly inducts the ACLU into its ranks, offering it a highly coveted chair -- actually, for this we'll give it a sofa -- for its reaction to President Barack Obama's pat down joke. Hailing the benefits of high-speed rail, the president jested that it would allow travelers to avoid being subject to the controversial … [Read more...] about TMV’s Get A Life Award: To the ACLU For Being Upset At Obama’s Pat Down Joke
Headlines I’d Like To See In 2011
You won't read the following headlines in newspapers or online this year. But that doesn't mean if wouldn't be a more interesting world if you did: Cold Fusion Achieved In North Dakota Refrigerator Congressional Republicans Opt To Focus On Compassion Toward Poor And Needy Congressional Democrats Put Principle Above Expediency President Obama Appoints Robert Reich As … [Read more...] about Headlines I’d Like To See In 2011
Egypt Gets Its Tiananmen Square Moment
After the dramatic Tunisian uprising in the Middle East, violent unrest has broken out in Cairo and other Egyptian cities. Nowhere is the U.S. dilemma more urgent than in Egypt, writes Shadi Hamid, director of research at the Brookings Doha Center and a fellow at the Saban Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institution. "The January 14 popular revolt in Tunisia, … [Read more...] about Egypt Gets Its Tiananmen Square Moment
Obama Address Challenges America To Return To Glory … Of 50 Years Ago?
I can describe President Obama's State of the Union speech in three words. Just do it. I can describe Wisconsin Republican Rep. Paul Ryan's rebuttal in one word. Huh? And, Mr. President, what's this 1960's Sputnik moment? Nice try for the metaphoric oratory to goose our nation's return to excellence. To my ears, the Soviet space shuttle orbit played second fiddle … [Read more...] about Obama Address Challenges America To Return To Glory … Of 50 Years Ago?
Obama’s State of the Union Address: Turning Point for His Presidency or Not? (UPDATED ROUNDUP)
Will President Barack Obama's State of the Union address be seen as a turning point for his Presidency or not? The (pundit/voter) jury is most assuredly still out and reaction coming in is in many ways expected since a lot of it is understandably emerging along partisan lines. But these three impressions can be noted: OBAMA'S SPEECH will be criticized for being a laundry … [Read more...] about Obama’s State of the Union Address: Turning Point for His Presidency or Not? (UPDATED ROUNDUP)
Full Video and Full Text of President Barack Obama’s State of the Union Speech
Was he or wasn't he moving towards the middle? That seems to the prevailing question pundits asked before and after President Barack Obama's State of the Union speech tonight. Was he holding out an olive branch to GOPers? Will this speech be seen one day as representing a recalibration of the Obama Presidency? Or will it be quickly forgotten? Here's the complete … [Read more...] about Full Video and Full Text of President Barack Obama’s State of the Union Speech
Not Enough Vegetables in the State of the Union
As I write this, President Obama has finished telling us the State of the Union is "strong" and is signing autographs as he leaves the House floor. During his speech, President Obama was bright, optimistic, and hopeful, touting American innovation and the positive future ahead for us as a country. I understand why he said this. When times are darkest, the president … [Read more...] about Not Enough Vegetables in the State of the Union
A brief criticism before SOTU starts
I have mixed feelings about America's custom of State of the Union speeches. The Constitution specifies that the president "shall from time to time give to the Congress Information of the State of the Union, and recommend to their Consideration such Measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient." From Thomas Jefferson to Woodrow Wilson, presidents reported to Congress by … [Read more...] about A brief criticism before SOTU starts
A SOTU Post – The Quiet Coup
Sorry I haven't been posting much recently but my heart isn't in it. As I have said before what passes for politics in the United States is nothing but tribal warfare and has little to do with policy or law. I think an even better analogy might be sports. I haven't been paying much attention to politics because I find basketball and football to be more entertaining and less … [Read more...] about A SOTU Post – The Quiet Coup
Pro-democracy protests in Egypt could be a game changer
As anti-government demonstrations in Egypt gather force, Tuesday’s huge turnout could be the game changer that sets the country and the Arab world on the path for which pro-democracy, and human rights campaigners have long fought. Demonstrations against Hosni Mubarak’s steel-fisted regime were banned in 1981 and secret service and police, which are the main forces behind … [Read more...] about Pro-democracy protests in Egypt could be a game changer
Michele Bachmann Rewrites Civil War History (What Civil War?)
Tea Party favorite Michele Bachmann is either showing incredible ignorance or an attempt to rewrite history. In this video she seems to have forgotten -- or chosen not to mention -- a teenie-weenie thing called the "Civil War." Watch it (and get ready for some try to play defense attorney with her comments because in politics these days you always defend your own political … [Read more...] about Michele Bachmann Rewrites Civil War History (What Civil War?)
It Sounds Like Filibuster Reform Will Happen
Well..in part... … [Read more...] about It Sounds Like Filibuster Reform Will Happen
State of the Union 2011
This copyrighted cartoon is licensed to run on TMV. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited. All rights reserved. … [Read more...] about State of the Union 2011