Jesus told us the meek would inherit the earth. The cynical among us don’t see that happening. Seems like the meek will have a difficult time garnering enough votes to rule or even filibuster. And even if they could filibuster, being meek, they probably won’t. Meek leadership does not appear to be the fruit of democracy. This seems to hold true for capitalism as well. Seldom … [Read more...] about The Meek Have Failed to Inherit the Earth
The Gap Between Anti-Wikileaks Talking Points and Reality
Time for an exploration of some of the continuing myths, falsehoods, unsupported claims, and just plain nonsense surrounding the November 28 release by Wikileaks of, as of today, 1,269 U.S. State Department cables. … [Read more...] about The Gap Between Anti-Wikileaks Talking Points and Reality
Liu Xiaobo Nobel Prize ‘Farce’ Yet Another Western Slap at China: Global Times, People’s Republic of China
Today, the Norwegian Nobel Prize Committee awarded Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo the Nobel Peace Prize - but his chair went empty. Beijing refused to allow him, his wife or any of his relatives to travel to Oslo and accept the award. According to this editorial from China's state-run Global Times, awarding the Prize to Liu Xiaobo is part of a long-running Western conspiracy to … [Read more...] about Liu Xiaobo Nobel Prize ‘Farce’ Yet Another Western Slap at China: Global Times, People’s Republic of China
Ohio Joins The Tiny Group of Female Majority State Supreme Courts
Back in July, Patrick Edaburn blogged on The Moderate Voice about California's Supreme Court turning majority female (this became reality just this week). Today, with Ohio Governor Ted Strickland appointment of his former running mate, Yvette McGee Brown, to Ohio's Supreme Court, my state will join that club. She will join three women already on the Court. You can read more … [Read more...] about Ohio Joins The Tiny Group of Female Majority State Supreme Courts
WikiLeaks Makes ‘Complete Mockery’ of ‘American Colossus’: L’Orient Le Jour, Lebanon
The ramifications of the WikiLeaks disclosures continue to ripple around the world. One country that has had to scramble more than most to deal with the fallout from the massive leak of U.S. diplomatic communications is Lebanon. Not only did the cables reveal the Saudis suggesting an armed Arab force to 'destroy' Hezbullah, which is well represented in the current Lebanese … [Read more...] about WikiLeaks Makes ‘Complete Mockery’ of ‘American Colossus’: L’Orient Le Jour, Lebanon
WikiLeaks Revelations a Devastating Shock to Mexico: El Universal, Mexico
Mexico is another country plunged into turmoil by the unvarnished views of American diplomats made available by WikiLeaks. According to Mexico's Coordinator of the Dialogue for the Reconstruction of Mexico, Manuel Camacho Solís, writing for El Universal, 'If someone had been dedicated to tracking files that are the most devastating to Mexico in the State Department archives, he … [Read more...] about WikiLeaks Revelations a Devastating Shock to Mexico: El Universal, Mexico
Obama Begs for Tax Deal
This copyrighted cartoon is licensed to run on TMV. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited. All rights reserved. … [Read more...] about Obama Begs for Tax Deal
Gallup Poll: 67% of Americans Support Repealing Don’t Ask Don’t Tell
A Gallup Poll finds that 67% of Americans support repeating the military's "Don't Ask Don't Tell" policy -- the policy Democrats tried to repeal yesterday but could not due to a Republican filibuster: Lawmakers seeking to repeal the military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy have a large majority of Americans behind them. If they had an opportunity to vote on it, 67% of … [Read more...] about Gallup Poll: 67% of Americans Support Repealing Don’t Ask Don’t Tell
The Donner Party
This copyrighted cartoon is licensed to appear on TMV. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited. All rights reserved. … [Read more...] about The Donner Party
One Giant Disincentive to Republican Votes For DADT Repeal, Same-Sex Marriage
This week we're talking DADT, but the dynamic is the same for marriage. The public, the culture, has come to broadly accept lesbians and gays serving openly in the military; we support recognition and benefits for committed same-sex couples. Conservatives know this. So best to keep it from coming to pass through the legislature. Adam Serwer last week: The White House … [Read more...] about One Giant Disincentive to Republican Votes For DADT Repeal, Same-Sex Marriage
The Gore Presidency–Again
Four years and 2700 posts ago, I imagined that the 2000 election had turned out differently and offered a tongue-in-cheek critique of "President Gore, Lame Duck." Now, on the tenth anniversary of the national disaster that gave us George W. Bush, New York Magazine enlists five fantasists, including Glenn Beck, who with the benefit of hindsight posit such lurid developments … [Read more...] about The Gore Presidency–Again
Tax Cuts for the Wealthy About Jobs? Really?
Weighing in on that well-trod question, I think not. I join the fray after shouting at the radio last night as Senator Lamar Alexander of Tennessee was speaking on All Things Considered. He is the third ranking Republican leader in the Senate. Melissa Block asks him directly: How do you justify that a quarter of the tax savings in this deal go to the wealthiest one percent of … [Read more...] about Tax Cuts for the Wealthy About Jobs? Really?
The Comment Situation At TMV
The Moderate Voice has experimented with different flavors and varieties of comments. Off-site regular. On-site. Off-site forum. Etc. We have been trying to make the comment area a place of fiery yet respectful conversation. But it seems that the overall political landscape and economic climate has many people firing with the verbal "nasty stuff" way too much at times. … [Read more...] about The Comment Situation At TMV
Obama Finds Reagan’s Pony
The tax deal is virtually done but the piquant side effect is how quickly an abject surrender has been converted into a "second stimulus." One of Barack Obama's underrated gifts is to act out Ronald Reagan's favorite joke about the optimistic boy who, faced with a pile of dung, jumps in and roots around, while enthusing, "There must be a pony in here somewhere!" He did it … [Read more...] about Obama Finds Reagan’s Pony
Wikileaks: A Select, Vetted Article Dump
There is a Mount Everest-sized amount of news, information, and analysis on the Internet about Wikileaks. The release of, to date, 1,269 diplomatic cables out of a total of 251,287 that Wikileaks has in its possession has sparked a furor in the United States and globally -- although the tenor of the debate in this country is strikingly different from what it is in many other … [Read more...] about Wikileaks: A Select, Vetted Article Dump
DADT Repeal FAIL: 57-40
Disappointing to say the least: The Senate on Thursday dealt a severe blow to the repeal of the “Don’t ask, don’t tell” law, dimming the chances for the Clinton-era ban to be scrapped this year. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) failed to garner the necessary 60 votes for a procedural motion to start considering the 2011 defense authorization bill, which contains a … [Read more...] about DADT Repeal FAIL: 57-40
WikiLeaks Makes Real a Global Public Sphere: Die Tageszeitung, Germany
What is the long-term significance of the disclosures by WikiLeaks? And how are international journalists coping with interpreting the huge mass of once-declassified material suddenly flung into the public domain? These two articles - one from Germany and the other from France - give a European accounting of the answers. According to the first article headlined WikiLeaks … [Read more...] about WikiLeaks Makes Real a Global Public Sphere: Die Tageszeitung, Germany
It’s Time for China to Build its Own Aircraft Carrier to Counter U.S. Intimidation: Global Times, People’s Republic of China
Has China been too restrained and too considerate of its nervous neighbors, by not building an aircraft carrier of its own? According to this article from China's state-run Global Times, America's recent military exercises with South Korea near the China coast is all the reason Beijing needs to set aside any misgivings and begin construction. For China's state-controlled … [Read more...] about It’s Time for China to Build its Own Aircraft Carrier to Counter U.S. Intimidation: Global Times, People’s Republic of China
The Big Lie About WikiLeaks: They Have Dumped The Cables Indiscriminately
Glenn Greenwald had a radio interview and follow up examples where he hammers the point that WikiLeaks is being falsely accused of dumping "thousands" of cables instead of the careful vetting by major press institutions. The reality is that nearly without exception they are simply posting cables that have already been reported by one of their media partners, and with the full … [Read more...] about The Big Lie About WikiLeaks: They Have Dumped The Cables Indiscriminately
The New Stimulus That Isn’t
The natter coming out of the White House these days is that the tax package just negotiated with the Republicans will act as a mini-stimulus that will give the economy an added boost in 2011 as the last of he $700 billion stimulus measure passed in 2009 expires. If the White House crowd actually believes this, along with its other problems, it has a counting problem. … [Read more...] about The New Stimulus That Isn’t