"There are 24 cemeteries throughout the world -- not in America -- where we have 125,000 buried. So that means there are 125,000 that never came home, they died in places like France, Germany, Belgium and in Italy. And so there is this whole international thing there that we not only defended our own borders, we helped defend the world. We tried to preserve freedom around the … [Read more...] about Remember The Troops
“Innocent, Unborn Children” and Oil Gushers
It never fails to amaze me, no matter how many examples I see of it, how the same individual can proclaim, from one side of his mouth, his pious belief in the "sanctity of human life" and the importance of fostering a "culture of life" when it comes to "innocent, unborn children" -- and from the other side of his mouth, compare living human beings to oil gushers. … [Read more...] about “Innocent, Unborn Children” and Oil Gushers
Internet activists use $1 trillion benchmark to highlight cost of Afghanistan and Iraq wars
For the last several years, thousands of blogs -- many of which are anti-war -- have displayed a small widget on their sidebars with a wildly fluctuating number that jumps up by several thousand nearly every second. The widget comes from Costofwar.com and purports to detail the money spent thus far on both the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. If you happen to be for one war and … [Read more...] about Internet activists use $1 trillion benchmark to highlight cost of Afghanistan and Iraq wars
The Gulf Before Deepwater Horizon
We are all aware of ecological Armageddon going on in the Gulf of Mexico as a result of the Deepwater Horizon disaster but Dave Cohen reminds us that the Gulf was already in trouble. The oil leak on the Mississippi Canyon seafloor of the Gulf of Mexico proceeds apace. It is not clear that recent actions have succeeded in plugging the leak. The widely dispersed petroleum is a … [Read more...] about The Gulf Before Deepwater Horizon
Science Explains Global Crises: People Everywhere are Nuts! – Nachrichten, Switzerland
Is it possible that the explanation for the incredible irrationality and incompetence shown by world political and business leaders comes down to a usually dormant piece of DNA? For Switzerland's Nachrichten newspaper, Patrik Etschmayer writes in part: Presumably like me, you my dear reader have the occasional sneaking, creepy feeling that a good portion of humanity is more … [Read more...] about Science Explains Global Crises: People Everywhere are Nuts! – Nachrichten, Switzerland
Oil Rig Inspectors
This copyrighted cartoon is licensed to run on TMV. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited. All rights reserved. … [Read more...] about Oil Rig Inspectors
Next Apple TV: iPhone OS & Only $99
When Google TV was announced the price wasn't. It better be cheaper than $99. An Engadget source details the next version of Apple TV: The new architecture of the device will be based directly on the iPhone 4, meaning it will get the same internals, down to that A4 CPU and a limited amount of flash storage -- 16GB to be exact -- though it will be capable of full 1080p HD (!). … [Read more...] about Next Apple TV: iPhone OS & Only $99
Gary Coleman Dies at Age 42
Actor Gary Coleman is dead at 42: Gary Coleman , the former child actor and star of the 1980s TV sitcom "Diff'rent Strokes," has died after an intracranial hemorrhage suffered earlier this week left him unconscious and on life support at a Utah hospital. He was 42. "Child actor Gary Coleman died at approximately 12:05 p.m. Mountain Standard Time at Utah Valley Regional … [Read more...] about Gary Coleman Dies at Age 42
What Could Have Been A Conversation Between Me And A Future President
Why do you want to be president, I asked. He looked at me like I was crazy. Are you kidding, he answered after a moment. I could do so much good. I could take the country on a different path. I could be a historic symbol of our progress as a nation and a people. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I replied. But for heavens sakes, man, do you know what you'll be inheriting? Look at the … [Read more...] about What Could Have Been A Conversation Between Me And A Future President
My Bet Is Sestak Will Be Thrown Out In The White House Garbage On A Friday
If it's Friday, it's garbage day at the White House. Fans of the late, great television series "The West Wing" know that Fridays are the days when the White House press machine releases gems intended to be lost and buried in the weekend news cycle. Now, I'm not saying that late this Friday afternoon the White House will release its official version it offered a deal to coax … [Read more...] about My Bet Is Sestak Will Be Thrown Out In The White House Garbage On A Friday
VA Health Care: “Best Care Anywhere”
In the conclusion to my Memorial Day post—“Memorial Day 2010: Remembering, Honoring and Hoping”—I wrote: I hope, however, when Memorial Day is over, and we go back to debating the politics of war and peace; the pros and cons of “Don’t ask, Don’t tell;” the imagined and real perils of fully integrating women in the armed services; and the cost of the physical and mental … [Read more...] about VA Health Care: “Best Care Anywhere”
Memorial Day 2010: Remembering, Honoring and Hoping
The German torpedo that sank the U.S.S. Dorchester plying the icy waters of the North Atlantic in February 1943 didn’t know or care that among its 672 casualties there would be four U.S. military chaplains (all U.S. Army lieutenants): a Catholic priest, a Jewish rabbi and two Protestant ministers. After giving their lifejackets away to other soldiers, “the four chaplains” were … [Read more...] about Memorial Day 2010: Remembering, Honoring and Hoping
The Socialized Oil Spill
The White House accepted full responsibility for a Gulf cleanup yesterday, but there was no outcry about the government takeover. Congressional Republicans were busy trying to repeal health care with marchers on Capitol Hill shouting "Kill the bill." "The American people should know," the President said, "that from the moment this disaster began, the federal government has … [Read more...] about The Socialized Oil Spill
Sullivan v. Noonan
The blogger who defies categorization unleashes on the establishment columnist. I won't try to summarize Sullivan's case. I couldn't do his eloquent invective justice. I will add two thoughts, however. 1. Yes, there's an obvious and substantial difference between Katrina and Deepwater Horizon. The first was a natural disaster that required a relief effort … [Read more...] about Sullivan v. Noonan
Gary Coleman Hospitalized in Critical Condition
Actor Gary Coleman, the "Different Strokes" child star who has been the latest in a long list of child actors who led troubled and often tragic lives as adults, is reportedly in critical condition after suffering a still-unexplained head injury. He is reportedly on life support with a brain hemorrhage. Here's the Today Show's good summary of the latest, Coleman's career, and … [Read more...] about Gary Coleman Hospitalized in Critical Condition
Immigration – A Biblical Perspective
Before anyone finds it and discloses that my material isn't original, I confess that I found this Biblical perspective on immigration while perusing the "On Faith" section of WAPO. Not generally inclined to religious musings, this passage from Leviticus caught my attention. When a stranger dwells among you in your land, do not taunt him. The stranger who dwells with you … [Read more...] about Immigration – A Biblical Perspective
Sestak Job Offer
This copyrighted cartoon is licensed to run on TMV. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited. All rights reserved. … [Read more...] about Sestak Job Offer
Greta Van Susteren Asks the Old Vaudeville Joke Question
There's an old vaudeville joke (that still works) that goes: Do I look like an idiot? Don't answer that! Fox News' Greta Van Susteren got an angry email from a viewer and decided to ask a version of that on her website -- who's dumber, her or the emailer? You can vote in the poll HERE. And can you guess the results of this poll (a set up line if ever I heard one in … [Read more...] about Greta Van Susteren Asks the Old Vaudeville Joke Question
African Americans Invented Memorial Day
Wikipedia:* According to Professor David Blight of the Yale University History Department, the first memorial day was observed by formerly enslaved black people at the Washington Race Course (today the location of Hampton Park) in Charleston, South Carolina. The race course had been used as a temporary Confederate prison camp in 1865 as well as a mass grave for Union soldiers … [Read more...] about African Americans Invented Memorial Day
BP: The DeepWater Eleven, Now With Their Lord Who Once Quieted the Storm At Sea
THE DEEPWATER ELEVEN... ... Aaron Dale Burkeen was turning 38, a landmark for a young man... no longer so young, but not middle aged, that sort of 'tween' stage of adulthood. His wife Rhonda, his son Timothy a lively six year old, his teenage daughter Aryn, looked forward to it too. Dad had to work the rig, but that was ok. There would be a special celebration. All his … [Read more...] about BP: The DeepWater Eleven, Now With Their Lord Who Once Quieted the Storm At Sea