During and after the debate and passage of health care reform legislation last month, several Democratic lawmakers received death threats or were humiliated in some repulsive ways. In what seems be déjà vu all over again, at least one Democratic representative has received a death threat and his offices have been flooded with calls, some from people threatening violent … [Read more...] about Arizona’s New Immigration Law: Has the Boycott Begun?
Selig Cartwright And The Washroom Crew Step Up To Help A Beleagued Goldman Sachs
Mr. B. You're early today. And you look determined. You got that right, Selig. Determined not to be pushed around by the S.E.C. over that fraud business. Who do these people think they are anyway? You do have to wonder about regulators who start regulating. A bad precedent, Mr. B. Very bad. Who knows where this kind of thing might lead, Selig? Thank heavens we have … [Read more...] about Selig Cartwright And The Washroom Crew Step Up To Help A Beleagued Goldman Sachs
The Conservative Matrix vs. The Machine World
First in a series. This post by Julian Sanchez started an internet conversation/debate on what he calls "epistemic closure" on the right. Reality is defined by a multimedia array of interconnected and cross promoting conservative blogs, radio programs, magazines, and of course, Fox News. Whatever conflicts with that reality can be dismissed out of hand because it … [Read more...] about The Conservative Matrix vs. The Machine World
In Memoriam: An Early Animal Rights Poem
My dog died yesterday. With no assist; all natural. Kidney failure. Quick and peaceful. She was a good dog. In her memory I quote this poem. Written in 1773 by the poet wife of the scientist who would be credited with identifying oxygen, it is told from the point of view of a lab mouse contemplating his fate. In The Age Of Wonder, Historian Richard Holmes calls it … [Read more...] about In Memoriam: An Early Animal Rights Poem
System Maintenance Tonight
Hello TMV readers. There will be system maintenance tonight starting at 11:30pm EDT. This maintenance will last for approximately 2 hours. You may notice site slowdowns and site outages during that time. This maintenance will allow for more features to be added to the site in the very near future. Thank you for your time and patience. … [Read more...] about System Maintenance Tonight
Marc Ambinder Asks A Good Question
"Have conservatives gone mad?" … [Read more...] about Marc Ambinder Asks A Good Question
Arizona Makes It a Crime To Not Carry Passport or Immigration Papers
With a few strokes of her pen, Arizona's Gov. Jan Brewer has turned Arizona into the only state in the country where Americans can be arrested for not carrying documented proof of citizenship status: … [Read more...] about Arizona Makes It a Crime To Not Carry Passport or Immigration Papers
Young People, The Media, Political Independence, and “The Powers That Be”
Independent activist news this week was def centered on young people. See John Opdycke's piece "Going Indy" and consider the fact that "fully 50 percent of voters aged 18-29 now identify as independents..." (Opdycke is the Chief of Staff for IndependentVoting.org/CUIP.) Let that sink in for a moment. Then pivot back towards the triangulationists featured in John Avlon's CNN … [Read more...] about Young People, The Media, Political Independence, and “The Powers That Be”
Arizona Law
Mike Keefe, The Denver Post This copyrighted cartoon is licensed to run on TMV. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited. All rights reserved. … [Read more...] about Arizona Law
Arizona Governor Signs Anti-Immigrant Law Obama Says is Misguided
Arizona Republican Gov. Jan Brewer signed the state's controversial anti-illegal immigrant bill into law today, claiming she will not tolerate racial discrimination or police profiling. Despite her protestations, the law is directed at what Homeland Security estimates as 460,000 illegal immigrants in the state. The law authorizes police to ask people for their legal status … [Read more...] about Arizona Governor Signs Anti-Immigrant Law Obama Says is Misguided
Ramblings of a Fake American
My radio dial found a conservative station the other day and I listened for a while to one of the most stirring, hauntingly beautiful, patriotic songs I have ever heard: “Let Freedom Ring.” I left my dial there for a bit and listened to the talk-radio host, a Great American, taking a number of calls from several other Great Americans. It brought back memories of the 2008 … [Read more...] about Ramblings of a Fake American
Arizona – Inmates Running The Asylum
When I wrote a few weeks back about the Arizona legislature dropping the Kid’s Care health program, it seemed an odd way to balance a budget. The program encouraged people to take low paying jobs rather than resort to welfare, and the costs, once provided by the program, of their children’s health care would simply be born elsewhere without the 75% kick in from the federal … [Read more...] about Arizona – Inmates Running The Asylum
Peter Beinart’s Weird Disconnect Between Policy and Politics
Center-left pundit Peter Beinart is perfectly OK with the idea that the Democrats may get clobbered in this year's midterms. He writes that he's happy enough that the Democrats have passed health care reform, the stim bill, and most likely, the financial reform package: All of which makes me feel… pretty darn good. There’s a tendency, especially on television, to judge … [Read more...] about Peter Beinart’s Weird Disconnect Between Policy and Politics
When Good News Is Misleading As Hell
The Commerce Department reported Friday that new home sales increased 27% last month, the largest monthly increase in 47 years. Before you get your hopes up that the housing market is rebounding from the crash in 2007, a closer look at the monthly report is somewhat of a downer. The 441,000 homes were not sold and moved into, actually. They reflect signed contracts to … [Read more...] about When Good News Is Misleading As Hell
Deep Pockets On Wall Street
Daryl Cagle, MSNBC.com This copyrighted cartoon is licensed to run on TMV. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited. All rights reserved. … [Read more...] about Deep Pockets On Wall Street
Disheartened Over the Political “Bubble World”
Once upon at time there was a prominent liberal blogger who in his every day incarnation was a litigator, someone whose business involved dealing with facts and specifics. Even though he was highly respected by many on the left and center to center-left, he took a break from blogging after the election because he started to feel the two sides in America'sw 7/24 political war … [Read more...] about Disheartened Over the Political “Bubble World”
‘We’re A National Joke” Laments Arizona Legislator
Remember the good old days when we all laughed at South Carolina politicians acting nuttier than a fruitcake with bizarre antics such as the governor leaving unannounced for a weekend trip to visit his mistress in Argentina? Move over, residents of the Palmetto state, your 15 minutes of fame are over. The new dessert du jour is pineapple upside down cake presented to our … [Read more...] about ‘We’re A National Joke” Laments Arizona Legislator
Gawker’s Nick Denton Says Gizmodo Made No Direct Revenue From Leaked iPhone Post
Gawker's Nick Denton says Gizmodo made no direct revenue from leaked iPhone post by Simon Owens Since Gizmodo penetrated Apple's impenetrable fortress and posted videos and pictures of a not-yet-released iPhone earlier this week, the post has received 7,861,004 views, made it to the front page of Digg, been linked to by thousands of blogs, and retweeted over 30,000 times. A … [Read more...] about Gawker’s Nick Denton Says Gizmodo Made No Direct Revenue From Leaked iPhone Post
Obama’s Scorched Earth Day
After a bipartisan blip on financial regulation in Washington, the President was in Manhattan yesterday, warning Wall Street, "A free market was never meant to be a free license to take whatever you can get, however you can get it." This tough talk comes after his lofty Earth Day anniversary proclamation: "Forty years from today, when our children and grandchildren look back … [Read more...] about Obama’s Scorched Earth Day
Say it Again, Brother Brooks
The NYT columnist restates the obvious. ... things have not worked out for those of us in the broad middle. Politics is more polarized than ever. The two parties have drifted further to the extremes. The center is drained and depressed. He then asks the obvious question -- "What happened?" -- and answers it thus. History happened. The administration came into power … [Read more...] about Say it Again, Brother Brooks