Muslims have been worshiping in the abandoned building that is now the center of debate -- two blocks from the edge of Ground Zero -- for more than a year. The only question left is whether the community center will get built. Most of us don't know that. I learned it from an excellent report aired tonight on 60 Minutes tonight. They also traveled to DC: It occurred to us that … [Read more...] about The Mosque Near Ground Zero Already Exists
Election Year Madness
The U.S. is close to its 110th Constitutionally-mandated biennial Federal elections ritual. Unfortunately, this 18th Century process is completely unrelated to the needs of 21st Century American reality. We still believe that people will be level-headed every first Tuesday after the first Monday in every November during every even-numbered year to make sound decisions on … [Read more...] about Election Year Madness
50 Years Ago Today: the Kennedy Nixon Debates
Today is the 50th anniversary of the pioneering debates between Democratic Sen. John F. Kennedy and Vice President Richard Nixon. Here's the 58 minute debate that aired: Here was Kennedy's TV jingle: Supporter Frank Sinatra also recorded a special campaign song for JFK of his own: … [Read more...] about 50 Years Ago Today: the Kennedy Nixon Debates
The US Police State
Back in July of 2007 the always shrill Republican Paul Craig Roberts wrote the following: Unless Congress immediately impeaches Bush and Cheney, a year from now the US could be a dictatorial police state at war with Iran. Bush has put in place all the necessary measures for dictatorship in the form of "executive orders" that are triggered whenever Bush declares a national … [Read more...] about The US Police State
Venezuela Holds Elections
Legislative elections are being held this week in Venezuela and there is much speculation as to what will happen with the power of strongman Hugo Chavez. Chavez has not looked kindly on the idea of people voting against him and has done a lot to make sure his side wins, but there seems to be considerable opposition to his government. It seems likely his party will retain … [Read more...] about Venezuela Holds Elections
Katy Perry Hot, Parents Not Cool
On the SNL premiere last night* and Sunday Morning this morning, she was booted from Sesame Street because she's too hot for some parents. She's got the cut scene -- "Come on Elmo don't you want to play?" -- on her YouTube channel. Three million views and counting. Said Sesame Street: “Sesame Street has always been written on two levels, for the child and adult. We use … [Read more...] about Katy Perry Hot, Parents Not Cool
Where Good Ideas Come From
The 4 min version of Steven Johnson's new book... Johnson says of the video: I have to admit when the good folks at Riverhead mentioned that they were working on an animated video promoting Where Good Ideas Come From, I wasn't fully convinced it was going to be worth the effort. But the absolutely brilliant video they produced with Cognitive Media in the UK shows how wrong … [Read more...] about Where Good Ideas Come From
The End of TV (Guest Voice)
The End of TV by Martha Randolph Carr There’s a cultural shift taking place that may mean the end to another icon, the television set, that we thought was here to stay. First, it was the newspapers that lost a large part of their circulation as more and more people got their news from their laptops and phones Now, the television industry, which in this case means the … [Read more...] about The End of TV (Guest Voice)
Around the Sphere Blog Roundup
Here's our popular linkfest takling you to blogs and websites of varying opinions. Liinks do not necessarily reflect the opinion of The Moderate Voice or its many writers. SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE LAMPOONS CHRISTINE O"DONNELL: You just KNEW it had to happen. With all of the tidbits that have come out about the GOP's candidate for Senate in Delaware Christine O'Donnell, Saturday … [Read more...] about Around the Sphere Blog Roundup
Hurt, Johnny Cash
Cash's cover of the song, considered by many to be his epitaph, showed up at #96 on the German singles chart this month... I've always been moved by the video, shot in his Hendersonville, TN, home and featuring footage from the closed House of Cash Museum. Archival footage includes Cash riding a steam train in Zebulon, Georgia (not too far from where I now live), as Abe … [Read more...] about Hurt, Johnny Cash
She’s in the Attic (Guest Voice)
She’s in the Attic by Will Durst Say what you will about the latest female politician taking her runway turn in the right-wing spotlight, Christine O’Donnell is a lock for Best Newcomer in the Heavyweight Mocking Division. In less than a week she managed to introduce both witchcraft and masturbation into the national conversation. Sex AND religion. Or at least, variations … [Read more...] about She’s in the Attic (Guest Voice)
A Case For More Halloween Stimulus
News flash: Americans will spend $5.8 billion to celebrate Halloween this year. Geez, to hear the politicians talk, I thought we were broke. Never mind those 20% increases in health insurance premiums we are receiving in the mail. We more willingly pay $20.29 on candy for the trick or treat crowd. We need those Bush tax cut extensions to pay for the $23.37 on … [Read more...] about A Case For More Halloween Stimulus
Facebook An Advertising Juggernaut
So says Bloomberg Business Week in this week's cover story. Facebook is changing the way advertising is done: The company has developed a potentially powerful kind of advertising that's more personal—more "social," in Facebook's parlance—than anything that's come before. Ads on the site sit on the far right of the page and are such a visual afterthought that most users never … [Read more...] about Facebook An Advertising Juggernaut
And Now a Bit of Classic Vaudeville
I love researching and studying legendary entertainers, particularly those before my time. One of those who was virtually gone from the scene by the time I was in elementary school was comedian Eddy Cantor, a huge vaudeville star, who also made some early sound musicals -- several of them with pioneering color -- in the late 20s and 30s. He later became a radio star and early … [Read more...] about And Now a Bit of Classic Vaudeville
Sharon Angle Big Bungle? Disdains Autism Insurance Coverage in 2009
In this day and age where political operatives try to find bits of video or writings that conflict with an image an opposing candidate is trying to craft, one politician who has made it easy for the other side is Nevada Republican candidate for Senate Sharon Angle -- with her comments against social security, fleeing reporters, and deciding only to allow herself to be … [Read more...] about Sharon Angle Big Bungle? Disdains Autism Insurance Coverage in 2009
Go See Waiting for Superman
From the director of An Inconvenient Truth... The NYTimes: Consider the following statistics cited in the film: the annual cost of prison for an inmate is more than double what is spent on an individual public school student. Eight years after Congress passed the No Child Left Behind act, with the goal of 100 percent proficiency in math and reading, most states hovered … [Read more...] about Go See Waiting for Superman
Don’t Ask
This copyrighted cartoon is licensed to run on TMV. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited. All rights reserved. … [Read more...] about Don’t Ask
McCain’s Anti-Latino ‘Deal with the Devil’: El Tiempo, Colombia
Senator John McCain's flip-flopping on issues he has championed in the past, most notably immigration reform, has not been missed by U.S. Latinos or the nations of Latin America. In this article from El Tiempo of Colombia, columnist Sergio Munoz Bata lambasts John McCain for his 'betrayal' of Latinos for reasons of 'blatant electioneering.' For El Tiempo, Sergio Munoz Bata … [Read more...] about McCain’s Anti-Latino ‘Deal with the Devil’: El Tiempo, Colombia
Turn The World Around
Since this week would have marked Jim Henson's 74th birthday it only seems fitting to watch a video of the amazing Muppet Show. These masks were created for the one sketch and never used again. Amazing. … [Read more...] about Turn The World Around
Christine O’Donnell Needs A Break Today And It Ain’t A BK Burger
If I was a serious voter in Delaware and wanted to know the issues where the candidates stand, I would be disgusted at listening to this continual harangue about Christine O'Donnell's flirt with witchcraft and this. For gosh sakes you in the media, give the woman a break. Let her sink or swim on the boring stuff Senators do. Budgets come to mind which she seems personally … [Read more...] about Christine O’Donnell Needs A Break Today And It Ain’t A BK Burger