Each of us is instructed by the events and experiences of our lives. In Part I of “Newbie and the Snake” I related the events of last Friday where talking to a rabbit grazing in the yard saved my wife from a painful snake bite and a trip to the hospital. Since then I’ve had the weekend to ponder whether there are broader lessons in this account or perhaps, less grandiosely, a … [Read more...] about Newbie And The Snake, Part II (The Art Of Conversation)
A Better Idea About Those Expiring Tax Cuts
The next big legislative soap opera in this country will involve expiring tax cuts. A few long-time fiscal sinners seeking to do a hair shirt number (think Alan Greenspan here) have been saying all these tax cuts, instituted in 2001 with George W. Bush in office, should be allowed to expire because otherwise the national debt will grow still more disastrously in coming years. … [Read more...] about A Better Idea About Those Expiring Tax Cuts
LA Opening Half Billion Dollar School
And people wonder why public schools are struggling for money. LA Opens Most Expensive School … [Read more...] about LA Opening Half Billion Dollar School
Reapportionment and Redistricting Maryland Style
Every ten years, after the national census, the Constitution mandates that two issues of representation are dealt with: reapportionment and redistricting. Reapportionment deals with the shift in population from state to state. The number of the members of the House of Representatives is capped at 435. If Pennsylvania loses population and Florida gains residents, Florida … [Read more...] about Reapportionment and Redistricting Maryland Style
Newbie And The Snake (A True Story)
Ok, some of you won’t believe this is a true story. All I can do is tell you that it is, that sometimes truth really is stranger than fiction, and ask you to believe. Let’s set the scene. The patio at our home is large area, covered in natural slate. It faces east with a grand view of Black Mountain in the desert community of Scottsdale, Arizona. It’s a covered patio … [Read more...] about Newbie And The Snake (A True Story)
Morning Joe Says Good Bye To GOP If —
Joe Scarborough, MSNBC’s one and only true conservative Republican on their airwaves issued this warning to what he threatened to be his former comrade in arms. I don’t know how much courage it took Joe to make such a pronouncement but it reminds me when conservative Republicans Sens. Hugh Scott and Barry Goldwater marched into the Oval Office and told President Nixon it was … [Read more...] about Morning Joe Says Good Bye To GOP If —
The Downside of the Internet
CBS's Bob Schieffer -- showing for the umpteenth time how CBS erred by not choosing him to replace Walter Cronkite (Schieffer is of the same "school" and style as Cronkite) -- nails it on the downside of the Internet: … [Read more...] about The Downside of the Internet
This Just In! One in Five Americans Believe Obama Does Not Exist
This just in from investigative reporter Andy Borowitz: WASHINGTON (The Borowitz Report) – In what might be the most serious challenge to Barack Obama’s legitimacy as President, a new poll shows that one out of five Americans are not convinced that Mr. Obama exists. The poll, conducted by the University of Minnesota’s Opinion Research Institute, reveals that 23 percent … [Read more...] about This Just In! One in Five Americans Believe Obama Does Not Exist
Egg Recall Something To Munch On
I am reading about the recall of a half billion eggs from two Iowa farms that are linked to 1,300 cases of salmonella poisoning. It got me to wondering that thank God we have government inspectors looking out for our health and safety. Perish that thought. Inspectors were lax and their responsibilities overlapped. The FDA oversees inspections of shell eggs, while the … [Read more...] about Egg Recall Something To Munch On
Freedom Isn’t Free
Andy Ostroy in HuffPost: … [Read more...] about Freedom Isn’t Free
Iraq is Our Country!!!: Kitabat, Iraq
The incalculable anguish endured by the Iraqi people has not ended with the departure of the bulk of American combat forces, and may well worsen. According to this article by columnist Sabah al Bahraini of Iraq's Kitabat newspaper, successive governments have facilitated the mass exodus of Iraqis from their land and rendered those that remained 'easy prey to death by bombing, … [Read more...] about Iraq is Our Country!!!: Kitabat, Iraq
The Politics of “No”
WASHINGTON -- In an election, a solid "no" usually beats an uneasy "yes, but." That's the heart of the problem Democrats and President Obama face this fall. The advantage of saying "no" without equivocation is that a significant share of the electorate is usually ready to shout the word from the rooftops, especially when the economy is as bad as it is now. Both parties … [Read more...] about The Politics of “No”
The Real Desecration of Ground Zero
First - a special note. I am no longer "Elrod" (at least on TMV). I am Aaron Astor and I have been for about 37 years and 2 weeks. Anyway... A few years ago I visited a friend of mine who lived about five blocks north of Ground Zero. He lived in a building with many residents who still suffer from 9/11 syndrome, which is a byproduct of the nasty construction material … [Read more...] about The Real Desecration of Ground Zero
More Political Hypocrisy: Republicans Criticize Obama’s Vacation Time
File this in your ever thickening Political Hypocrisy File: Republicans are criticizing President Barack Obama for taking so much vacation time, but there's one teenie-weenie problem: George W. Bush took more vacation time (and they didn't complain then). And Democrats, who criticized Bush, aren't complaining about Obama. The Washington Post reports: VINEYARD HAVEN, … [Read more...] about More Political Hypocrisy: Republicans Criticize Obama’s Vacation Time
Willie Brown: A Gifted Politician From The Good Old Days
Willie Brown is the shrewdest, most accomplished, most polished and by far the best dressed politician I have known in my long lifetime. He is now advancing in years but the wealth of political knowledge still flows as fluently as the water spills from the Oroville Dam in northern California down the California Aqueduct to the last farming and tiny town on the border with … [Read more...] about Willie Brown: A Gifted Politician From The Good Old Days
The Real Story About the Mosque Two Blocks Away From Ground Zero
Here's the REAL story about the proposed mosque two blocks away from Ground Zero: it's really a zionist conspiracy...or so some say... How did they find this secret out? I'm already busy enough dominating the news media, running Hollywood and keeping Chinese restaurants open and now it comes out that I'm behind buildling that mosque close to ground zero, too. (Well, at … [Read more...] about The Real Story About the Mosque Two Blocks Away From Ground Zero
Report: Fox News Co-owner Funded ‘Ground Zero Mosque’ Imam (UPDATED)
Could it be that Fox News' Saudi Arabian co-owner helped fund the Imam who's at the center of the distortion-crammed controversy over the proposed mosque two blocks away from Ground Zero? According to a report, the answer is yes: The second largest shareholder in News Corp. -- the parent company of Fox News -- has donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to causes linked … [Read more...] about Report: Fox News Co-owner Funded ‘Ground Zero Mosque’ Imam (UPDATED)
The Price of Empire
Chalmers Johnson has led an interesting life. Trained as an political scientist with a special interest in Asia, he was a strong Anti-Communist, who worked as a consultant for the C.I.A. and supported the War in Vietnam. During those years, he wrote, he was irritated by campus antiwar protesters, who seemed to me self indulgent as well as sanctimonious and who had so clearly … [Read more...] about The Price of Empire
Obama Not a Muslim and Fox News
This copyrighted cartoon is licensed to run on TMV. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited. All rights reserved. … [Read more...] about Obama Not a Muslim and Fox News
Steve McQueen’s Grandson Steven McQueen Continues Family’s Acting Legacy
Sometimes the kids or grandkids of famous stars get into the business and you think "If their name wasn't so and so he/she would never have gotten their break." But Steven McQueen, grandson of the late screen icon Steve McQueen, already looks like he has the words "future star" written all over him in his own right: … [Read more...] about Steve McQueen’s Grandson Steven McQueen Continues Family’s Acting Legacy