The latest from Sam Reich, "I had always dreamed of doing a music video in the style of a news show, and Jeff’s parody about the alarmist nature of news was the perfect opportunity. Special thanks to iJustine for her cameo." … [Read more...] about End of The World Parody
Wall Street’s Special Calendar Days
You can tell a lot about a country by the days its people make a special point of noting, even if not as a formal holiday. In countries with a strong religious tradition, for example, people might take special note of many saints' days. Countries that have fought long wars take note of days such as VE or VJ or D-Day. In our own commercial society most everyone now knows … [Read more...] about Wall Street’s Special Calendar Days
If the Catholic Church Can Lobby, so Can Others
Case in point ... Senator Ben Nelson's United Methodist Church sent out a sharply-worded email this afternoon to its members in Nebraska, urging them to push Nelson to vote for health care legislation, a sign of the increasing organization and sophistication of left-leaning religious groups. For what it's worth, my wife and I left the Catholic Church earlier this year … [Read more...] about If the Catholic Church Can Lobby, so Can Others
SNEAKY END-RUN ON HEALTHCARE
Democrats should permit current healthcare reform efforts to stop completely. They can’t get anything accomplished if Senate rules require the support of 60 members who have shown no ability to agree upon much of anything except each one believes they should rule the roost. Nancy Pelosi is not above playing hard-ball and the President and Harry Reid should also go for the … [Read more...] about SNEAKY END-RUN ON HEALTHCARE
Lieberman Alien
Pat Bagley, Salt Lake Tribune This cartoon is copyrighted and licensed to appear on TMV. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited. All rights reserved. … [Read more...] about Lieberman Alien
The Smoking Guns Of Global Warming
While San Diego was Richard Nixon's favorite city for political reasons, Copenhagen, may be Barack Obama's worst. For it is the capital of Denmark where Obama's last-minute pitch for Chicago's bid to host the 2016 Olympics fell on deaf ears earlier this year. Today's the "sky is falling" plea to 193 nations for a global climate warming pact most likely will suffer a similar … [Read more...] about The Smoking Guns Of Global Warming
Friday, December 18, 2009 Tea Party Poised to Defeat Reps and Dems! (Or, Perhaps not)
The following is a cross-post from PoliBlog: There has been a meme in some rightward circles of late that the Tea Party movement is poised to burst onto the scene as a real third force in American politics as the result of some recent polling. First, there was a Rasmussen poll a few weeks back that reported Tea Party Tops GOP on Three-Way Generic Ballot: In a … [Read more...] about Friday, December 18, 2009 Tea Party Poised to Defeat Reps and Dems! (Or, Perhaps not)
Quote of the Day: Howard Dean and His Supporters “Blind Spot” on Health Care Reform?
Our political Quote of the Day comes from The Atlantic's Ronald Brownstein, who has always been a great political analyist, including back in the days when he wrote some of the best stuff ever for the Los Angeles Times. He looks at what he says is former DNC Chairman Howard Dean's "blind spot" on health care reform -- and sheds light on why Dean and some other progressives are … [Read more...] about Quote of the Day: Howard Dean and His Supporters “Blind Spot” on Health Care Reform?
Congress Has Really Dropped The Ball On Its Most Pressing Concern (P.S. Not Healthcare)
There are currently over 4.5 million people on Emergency Unemployment Compensation, the program that was formed (and repeatedly extended) because of our historical downturn and joblessness. That act is set to expire on January 1, 2010. Unemployment insurance is complex at this point. The first 26 weeks goes under the traditional state unemployment, after that there are … [Read more...] about Congress Has Really Dropped The Ball On Its Most Pressing Concern (P.S. Not Healthcare)
Dealing with Political Reality
Andy Stern, head of the Service Employees International Union, seems to be doing just that ... Our message is that it’s time for the Senate to finish its job. We probably have the best we are going to do, and trying to improve the Senate bill doesn’t seem realistic right now. The real final chapter in this story is going to be written in the conference committee. … [Read more...] about Dealing with Political Reality
Debt Ceiling Raised as Two Spending Bills Advance (Guest Voice)
Debt Ceiling Raised as Two Spending Bills Advance by Jon Wells In one of its last acts before adjourning for a winter break, the House of Representatives passed legislation that raises the amount of debt the US government is legally allowed to owe by an amount of $290 billion to a record $12.4 trillion in allowable government debt. The 218-214 vote saw unanimous … [Read more...] about Debt Ceiling Raised as Two Spending Bills Advance (Guest Voice)
The Fundamental Problem In Publishing: ‘You Don’t Own The Audience’
From Mike Shatzkin's sobering reality check about the business model of book publishing: Until the digital age, content was scarce. It wasn’t scarce because people didn’t create it; it was scarce because it required an investment to distribute it. That’s no longer true. Anybody with an Internet connection can make anything they write (or snap or video or … [Read more...] about The Fundamental Problem In Publishing: ‘You Don’t Own The Audience’
Glenn Greenwald Hits The Healthcare Debate Nail On The Head
Many of the commenters I admire most have been saying that the Left/Right dichotomy is inadequate to explain current dynamics and that Insider/Outsider along with Incrementalist/Radical are better descriptors. Glenn Greenwald notes this pitch perfect: One finds [corporatism] in far more than just economic policy, and it's about more than just letting corporations do what … [Read more...] about Glenn Greenwald Hits The Healthcare Debate Nail On The Head
The Far Left Scream
Nate Beeler, The Washington Examiner This cartoon is copyrighted and licensed to run on TMV. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited. All rights reserved. … [Read more...] about The Far Left Scream
Will Progressives Listen to Krugman or Dean?
Weighing in on the side of progressives who believe the Senate health care bill should pass, Paul Krugman admonishes his political cousins to "take a deep breath, and consider just how much good this bill would do, if passed — and how much better it would be than anything that seemed possible just a few years ago." I rarely read Krugman. He too often breathlessly demands … [Read more...] about Will Progressives Listen to Krugman or Dean?
The Era of Least-Worse Solutions
As the century's first decade winds down, what stands out to someone who has lived through many of them is how America's problems today are being "solved" by angry confrontations, sour and inconsistent compromises, hopeless shrugs and variations thereof. Health care reform, the Afpak war, the crippled economy, the imperiled climate--all are being confronted, despite a … [Read more...] about The Era of Least-Worse Solutions
And a Merry Christmas to all
For the last few weeks of the year, regardless of the heated debates going on in Washington and the various crisis situations plaguing the nation, I will be writing a bit less than usual. (You may have noticed a slowing of output already.) This is nothing unusual for me, as this is a season for some of us to focus on things closer to home, friends and family. But before those … [Read more...] about And a Merry Christmas to all
Update on Offutt Military Base-Ben Nelson Story
Here is the update: It's not true. … [Read more...] about Update on Offutt Military Base-Ben Nelson Story
The Climate Summit and the Challenge of Governing a Planet: Le Figaro, France
'CLIMATE FAIR' How should one judge the Climate Change Summit in Copenhagen? While the event has another day to run, few believe a major overhaul of how humans conduct their affairs on this planet is in the offing, and almost no one is satisfied. Reflecting Europe's general consensus that more and better global governance is inevitable, Le Figaro's Pierre Rousselin … [Read more...] about The Climate Summit and the Challenge of Governing a Planet: Le Figaro, France
Tiger Woods: Fallen Star for a Public Age – de Volkskrant, The Netherlands
Taking a break from earth-shaking issues like climate change, war and the never-ending difficulties in the Middle East, columnist Nazmiye Oral of de Volkskrant of The Netherlands writes that the troubles of Tiger Woods are a metaphor for life in the modern world - a period in history in which everyone seems to want to live life in public - as long as no blemishes appear on the … [Read more...] about Tiger Woods: Fallen Star for a Public Age – de Volkskrant, The Netherlands