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
Comedy Central’s Two Thorns In The Belly Of The Beast
Fox News: Attn. Glenn Beck. Eat your heart out. Comedy Central is upstaging you guys. Fox News may have a front row seat at the White House press room, but none of you on-air guys have testified before Congress. That “honor” goes to the funny channel’s Stephen Colbert (pronounced col-BEAR for you un-elites). He testified as an “expert” before the House Judiciary … [Read more...] about Comedy Central’s Two Thorns In The Belly Of The Beast
Quote of the Day II: The Difference Between the Democratic and Republican Parties
Our second Quote of the Day comes from Dick Polman who in a post on the Democrats' decision not to press for a vote for tax cuts before the elections, notes the difference between the two political parties: Here's the essential difference between the two parties: In 2001, President Bush and congressional Republicans pushed hard for big tax cuts despite having no mandate … [Read more...] about Quote of the Day II: The Difference Between the Democratic and Republican Parties
The Supreme Court’s New Term
As the “First Monday in October” approaches, the U. S. Supreme Court will have a full plate heading into the 2010-2011 term. Contrary to popular belief, the Court’s recess will end Monday, September 27 when the Court will convene in conference. The traditional First Monday in October (this year October 4) is when the Court begins to hear oral arguments. The U. S. Chamber … [Read more...] about The Supreme Court’s New Term
Murdoch Funds a War on Obama
They used to call the party out of power "the loyal opposition," but an Australian-born billionaire with Neanderthal politics and no journalistic scruples has changed all that. Rupert Murdoch became an American citizen in 1985 so he could own TV stations here, and now as proprietor of Fox News, the Wall Street Journal, New York Post and more has turned his adopted country's … [Read more...] about Murdoch Funds a War on Obama
Marching Toward Insanity
On Thursday, outside a hardware store in suburban Washington, the Republicans unveiled their platform for the midterm election. Calling their document A Pledge to America, the prologue was full of traditional Republican boilerplate: We pledge to advance policies that promote greater liberty, wider opportunity, a robust defense, and national economic prosperity. We … [Read more...] about Marching Toward Insanity
The Republicans Were Against Using Reconciliation But Not If They Win
Remember the horus and hours of talk radio time, cable talk show time, and the huge number of blogs posts by Republicans about how terrible, awful, downright undemocratic reconciliation would be? So the Democrats abandoned the idea even though Republicans had used it in the past. Now it turns out that if the GOPs wins big they are talking about...you guessed it..using … [Read more...] about The Republicans Were Against Using Reconciliation But Not If They Win
‘Outsourced’ Is Not A Laughing Matter
Friends and family say I have a wonderful sense of humor. Alas, I found none in watching the opening episode of NBC’s new comedy “Outsourced” Thursday night. Normally I find amusement in cultural divides and the plight of the human condition. This 30-minute disaster is insensitive to the millions of Americans who lost their jobs because of large corporations outsourcing … [Read more...] about ‘Outsourced’ Is Not A Laughing Matter