I was looking for new stories covering the death of Dan Schorr, a well-respected journalist. On the MSNBC.com web site, the story on his career was listed under the "Entertainment" section. Dan Schorr was definitely NOT an entertainer, but apparently journalism now falls under that heading according to at least one editor. … [Read more...] about A terrible irony, and a sign of the state of journalism
Now also in Germany: "Support our Troops"
What is common in the United States, is rather rare in Germany: Expressing support of our soldiers in Afghanistan. While most US critics of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan make extra efforts to distinguish between criticism of the strategy/purpose of the wars and the service of the troops, such differentiation usually is not made in Germany. I have never seen a car with the … [Read more...] about Now also in Germany: "Support our Troops"
Why Unlike U.S. and France, Russia Lacks a Holiday to Freedom: Yezhednevniy Zhurnal, Russia
Why is it that France and the United States have unifying national holidays to freedom, but Russia does not? According to columnist Anatoliy Bershtein of the opposition newpaper Yezhednevniy Zhurnal, the reason is simple: Russia lacks a historic basis for such an event, and it's people have no taste for the sacrifices freedom demands. For the Yezhednevniy Zhurnal, Anatoliy … [Read more...] about Why Unlike U.S. and France, Russia Lacks a Holiday to Freedom: Yezhednevniy Zhurnal, Russia
India Unveils $35 Tablet Prototype
Remember the $10 laptop? Vaporware. The same people now promise a $35 touch-screen tablet: Aimed at students, the tablet supports web browsing, video conferencing and word processing, say developers. Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal said a manufacturer was being sought for the gadget, which was developed by India's top IT colleges. An earlier cheap laptop … [Read more...] about India Unveils $35 Tablet Prototype
America and China Taken in By South Korean Media: Global Times, People’s Republic of China
Has recent South Korean media coverage of U.S. military plans in the Yellow Sea forced Washington's hand - and triggered an overreaction in China's media? In this ironic article from China's state-controlled Global Times written by what is thought to be a fictitious People's Daily editor, Ding Gang, Chinese media should consider information in other media as a 'calculated ploy' … [Read more...] about America and China Taken in By South Korean Media: Global Times, People’s Republic of China
A New “Post American” Foreign Policy for Great Britain?
Is Great Britain on the brink of a new "post-American" foreign policy? Soeren Kern, Senior Analyst for Transatlantic Relations at the Madrid-based Grupo de Estudios Estratégicos / Strategic Studies Group, looks at the issue in a piece on Pajamas Media. Here is how he frames the question: As British Prime Minister David Cameron makes his first official visit to Washington, … [Read more...] about A New “Post American” Foreign Policy for Great Britain?
Some Thoughts on Independent Voters
Here at TMV we often link to posts that deal with independent voters, since our ranks of writers and readers include independent voters. So here's a must-read from a conservative perspective. My favorite section is this: Successful appeals to independent voters must begin with the understanding that, contrary to common media portrayals, they’re not all the same. The … [Read more...] about Some Thoughts on Independent Voters
Gulf Ships Leave the Oil Spill Scene
The reason: Tropical Storm Bonnie is entering the building.. … [Read more...] about Gulf Ships Leave the Oil Spill Scene
The Mentally Obsessive Originalists
Many on the extreme right and elsewhere on the political spectrum strongly advocate we return to some imaginary original Constitution, and that we should live by what the original framers thought or intended – as these advocates are only able to decipher. Of course, any political, economic, social or religious ideology expanded via rigid consistency will naturally lead to … [Read more...] about The Mentally Obsessive Originalists
Conservative Talk Show Hosts Aren’t the Only Ones Going After Obama
Conservative talk show hosts aren't the only ones going after Barack Obama now. So are liberal progressive talk show hosts as you can read about here. But this is how the game works, folks. Earlier today I put up THIS LINK to my first weekly column on Cagle Cartoon's MSNBC site that dealt with the issue of talk radio. Since then, I got three emails insisting what I wrote … [Read more...] about Conservative Talk Show Hosts Aren’t the Only Ones Going After Obama
Everything Is the Same Thing
A long time ago, I had a friend who had never cast a vote. In any election, ever. She just didn't vote. When I asked her why (which I did more than once), she would always answer my question the same way: "What's the point? They're all the same." I tried to convince her that there were differences even in the most unexciting elections. I tried to get her to see that not voting … [Read more...] about Everything Is the Same Thing
Fox News Bus
This copyrighted cartoon is licensed to run on TMV. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited. All rights reserved. … [Read more...] about Fox News Bus
What’s Wrong With Elizabeth Warren?
There is no such creature as an indispensable bureaucrat in Washington. Elizabeth Warren comes close. Yeah, we heard that before with the nomination of Tim Geithner as Treasury Secretary. Warren is different. She’s on the short list to run the new consumer financial protection agency. Warren designed the damned thing. That’s what. To question her credentials is like … [Read more...] about What’s Wrong With Elizabeth Warren?
Arizona SB1070 Lawsuits: Judge Pushes Back On Federal Preemption
A Clinton appointee, Federal District Court Judge Susan Bolton has a reputation as a no nonsense jurist who leaves partisan considerations at the door when she takes the bench. As hearings continued yesterday in multiple lawsuits to overturn Arizona’s SB107 illegal immigrant law, she burnished that reputation as she actively challenged the U. S. Justice Department’s claims of … [Read more...] about Arizona SB1070 Lawsuits: Judge Pushes Back On Federal Preemption
New Media and a “Lack of Integrity”
The best, concise short take I have seen on the issue of journalistic lack of integrity is HERE. Rather than recap it, visit it yourself. Journalistic integrity is an issue that goes back to the glory days of the old media and is becoming a major one now on several fronts in the new media -- even as the new media tries to use it against the old media. And it's coming into … [Read more...] about New Media and a “Lack of Integrity”
Sherrod Case: Defining Decency Down
There is no Atticus Finch or Joseph Welch in all this. On the 50th anniversary of "To Kill a Mockingbird," we are back in a time when McCarthyism played on fears to spread hatred and destroy lives of people in public life. The President, who won an election by putting the Civil Rights era behind him, will have to revisit that time before his birth and make things right not … [Read more...] about Sherrod Case: Defining Decency Down
Breitbart A Modern-Day Hearst; BigGovernment.com As Yellow Journalism
With video-enabled cellphones in every audience, there is truly no such thing as "off the record," as many a politician has learned. But what are the lessons to be learned from the Andrew Breitbart affair, where a public speech is selectively edited in such as way as to lie? The first is sobering: we have truly entered a new age of yellow journalism, "biased opinion … [Read more...] about Breitbart A Modern-Day Hearst; BigGovernment.com As Yellow Journalism
Battle Of Sexes: Yin & Yang Of American Labor Force
NYT's Op-Ed Columnist, Nicholas D. Kristof, quotes the US federal Bureau of Labor Statistics that "for the first time in American history, men no longer inevitably dominate the labor force. Women were actually the majority of payroll employees for the five months that ended in March." Does this mean that in the battle of sexes women have finally emerged as the … [Read more...] about Battle Of Sexes: Yin & Yang Of American Labor Force
Technology, Objectivity, the Death of Newspapers and Fox News
On The Media, new to Georgia Public Broadcasting and already a favorite find of a good many friends, spent an hour last week on the future of newspapers. In support of TMV Assistant Editor David Shraub's excellent Sherrod-inspired post on the true failings of the journalistic enterprise, a few select quotes... Yochai Benkler, a professor at Harvard Law School and co-director … [Read more...] about Technology, Objectivity, the Death of Newspapers and Fox News
The Power and Danger of Talk Radio
Talk radio is flying high. But how powerful, positive..or dangerous..is it? What does it mean to our politics and how we discuss politics? I deal with those ISSUES HERE in my first weekly political column on www.cagle.com's MSNBC site. … [Read more...] about The Power and Danger of Talk Radio