The story line is set: What George W. Bush tried to do by doubling down in Iraq, Barack Obama is accomplishing with a wave of empathic vigor--health care for 9/11 responders, repealing DADT, consoling and uplifting the nation after the Tucson atrocity and now the State of the Union. "What Obama seeks," says New York Magazine, "is to reconnect with the essence of why he was … [Read more...] about Obama’s Surge: A Media Fable
Why Does Rahm Emanuel Scare His Opponents So?
MSNBC: An Illinois Appeals Court has ruled that former White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel's name can't appear on the ballot for Chicago mayor because he didn't live in the city in the year before the election. … [Read more...] about Why Does Rahm Emanuel Scare His Opponents So?
Those Words My Father and Others Said and Say
EDITOR's NOTE: TMV uses "newspaper standards" in its post with occasional exceptions if running an embed of a C-SPAN or cable excerpt. Since words are the subject of this post, we are running this post as is. (WARNING -- This story contains adult language and is not intended for children.) Or, should I say immature children under 80 years of age. We see the warning at … [Read more...] about Those Words My Father and Others Said and Say
How Obama Can Define Moderation
WASHINGTON -- President Obama faces a choice in this week's State of the Union message: Does he spend the next two years consolidating the gains he has made, or does he go into retreat? My prediction: He will go for consolidation that conservatives will try to label as retreat, even as they attack him for not retreating fast enough. Obama will deliver his … [Read more...] about How Obama Can Define Moderation
Top Ten Cloves: Possible Reasons Baby Doc Returned To Haiti (Guest Voice)
Top Ten Cloves: Possible Reasons Baby Doc Returned To Haiti by J. Thomas Duffy News Item: Baby Doc's return to Haiti prompts fury, cheers 10. Just wanted to get some new pics for his Facebook Page 9. Just testing the reception and range of his new, 4G Cell Phone 8. Taking the Rex Ryan approach, and that all he needs to be is be better for one day 7. Inspired by … [Read more...] about Top Ten Cloves: Possible Reasons Baby Doc Returned To Haiti (Guest Voice)
My Chair
This copyrighted cartoon is licensed to run on TMV. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited. All rights reserved. … [Read more...] about My Chair
UPDATED: Suicide Bomber Attacks Moscow’s Main Airport
MSNBC: The bomb was packed with metal objects to cause maximum damage, according to law enforcement authorities. Reportedly 35 are dead and 20 more critically injured. Memeorandum MSNBC: RIA Novosti reported that two suicide bombers blew themselves up as people emerged from the international arrivals zone. [/caption] Washington Post Foreign Service The … [Read more...] about UPDATED: Suicide Bomber Attacks Moscow’s Main Airport
America’s Fitness and Juicing Maven Jack LaLanne Dies at 96
Some sad news for baby boomers who have seen one face as a constant since they were kids, to fitness buffs who owe some of what they do today to him, to fitness center store owners whose businesses are descended from him, from those who were entranced by his infomercials on juicing -- and for me personally after an incident a few years ago; fitness guru Jack LaLanne has died at … [Read more...] about America’s Fitness and Juicing Maven Jack LaLanne Dies at 96
Outpouring
I've been struggling for some weeks or maybe months now with more than usual angst about the world, about blogging, and about how I relate to all that. I don't think I have ever published something so personal and revealing as a blog post before, but somehow I feel that I should now. It just feels relevant. I hope I'm right about that. … [Read more...] about Outpouring
Loughner and Carriles: Two Terrorists, One U.S. Double Standard: La Jornada, Mexico
Why should the United States prosecute Jared Lee Loughner for the recent massacre in Tucson, but not Luis Posada Carriles, a former CIA operative suspected of murdering 73 people in a terrorist bombing of a Cuban airliner? Writing for Mexico's La Jornada, attorney Jose Pertierra argues that the hypocritical protection of Carriles by the U.S. government is an intolerable … [Read more...] about Loughner and Carriles: Two Terrorists, One U.S. Double Standard: La Jornada, Mexico
“Everybody’s Got Me Down”
"World Turning," by Fleetwood Mac … [Read more...] about “Everybody’s Got Me Down”
Between America and China: A ‘Balance of Financial Terror’ (Der Standard, Germany)
'Condemned to partnership' is how Christoph Prantner of Austria's Der Standard describes relations between the two most important nations on earth. Pranter writes that despite that forced smiles and wolfish grins, Europe and the world had better hope that despite their differences, the two find a way to make things work between them. For Der Standard, Christoph Prantner … [Read more...] about Between America and China: A ‘Balance of Financial Terror’ (Der Standard, Germany)
Krugman: President as CEO is a Bad Metaphor
Paul Krugman on ABC's This Week Roundtable: KRUGMAN: [T]he whole competitiveness thing is a bad metaphor... The country is not a corporation. You know, a CEO who manages to lay off a large part of his workforce and increase profits is a success. Well, America has managed to lay off a large part of its workforce and profits are hitting new records, and that is not a success. So … [Read more...] about Krugman: President as CEO is a Bad Metaphor
JP Morgan Makes Millions Off the Poor With Processing Fees
JP Morgan is earning millions of dollars processing food stamps and other benefits for the poor because the states find it cheaper to outsource the service. We're not talking nickels and dimes. The Wall Street titan, the largest of the processors, receives a stipend for each transaction. There are 43 million people on the federal food stamp program. In at least eight … [Read more...] about JP Morgan Makes Millions Off the Poor With Processing Fees
Around the Sphere Blog Roundup
Here’s our popular linkfest taking you to blogs and websites of varying opinions. Links do not necessarily reflect the opinion of The Moderate Voice or its many writers. Should Obama's State of the Union Speech Be Ignored? Some thinks so. It's Presidential Waters Testing Time for Michele Bachmann. Want to See A Drama? Just watch some of the reaction to Keith … [Read more...] about Around the Sphere Blog Roundup
Olbermann, Beck and Palin: the “Collapse of the Wingnuts”?
Keith Olbermann leaves MSNBC. Sarah Palin's TV show lost some of its initial boffo ratings (and her poll numbers sink). Glenn Beck is losing advertisers and ratings. Is what we're seeing the "collapse of the wingnuts" and America edging slowly away from hyperpartisanship? John Avlon, writing in The Daily Beast, argues it is: Keith Olbermann's abrupt signoff last night just … [Read more...] about Olbermann, Beck and Palin: the “Collapse of the Wingnuts”?
The State of Things
The State of Things by Peter Funt President Obama will deliver his State of the Union message Tuesday night. What might he say to inspire and move the nation forward? Tonight I want to offer my vision for America and a new American dream. (a) The new American dream should include a strong family, enduring values, excellence in education, dependable and affordable … [Read more...] about The State of Things
China Debt Daddy
This copyrighted cartoon is licensed to appear on TMV. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited. All rights reserved. … [Read more...] about China Debt Daddy
Funniest News Item of the Year
I know I'm going out on a limb with that title, given that we're still in the first month of the year, but I can't imagine anything topping this one for sheer guffaw power for at least the next 12 months. You know how Palin supporters are always complaining about how the media is obsessed with Sarah Palin? Well, now they're mad because Dana Milbank wrote a column pledging NOT … [Read more...] about Funniest News Item of the Year
A Monument for Tarawa, as Poignant as Iwo Jima: Ours, Yours, Mine, Theirs
I collect photographs of moments that I think ought never perish from memory... for the sake of Peace, and for the sake of remembering to think ten times before running the young to war... again... from any side. When I first saw this photo, traced the hands of the wounded Marine trailing in the water, touched the bodies of the other Marines, wounded and dying on the barge … [Read more...] about A Monument for Tarawa, as Poignant as Iwo Jima: Ours, Yours, Mine, Theirs