John Cole, The Scranton Times-Tribune This cartoon is copyrighted and licensed to appear on TMV. Unauthorized reproduction strictly prohibited. All rights reserved. … [Read more...] about Puritans
What Afghans say about the war
A group of nongovernmental organizations recently polled 704 randomly-selected Afghans about how decades of conflict has changed their lives. Andrew Sprung has a summary: 1 in 5 say they've been tortured, three quarters have been forced to leave their homes at some point in the endless civil war, 43% have had property destroyed. The survey also has what would seem to be some … [Read more...] about What Afghans say about the war
Rethinking Unconscious: ‘Second Birth’ After 23-Year Coma
One of the most beautiful films I've ever seen is The Diving Bell and the Butterfly. Directed by Julian Schnabel, it's the screen adaptation of a memoir by Jean-Dominique Bauby. The editor in chief of the French magazine Elle, Bauby suffered a massive stroke that left him a victim of locked-in syndrome at age 43. He went on to author his memoir by blinking his left eyelid as a … [Read more...] about Rethinking Unconscious: ‘Second Birth’ After 23-Year Coma
So Hog-Tied by Red Tape, We’re Helpless to Help
George Bush Park, a 7800 acre city park in western Harris County, Texas, is a fabulous place for a photographer to hike. I've spent countless hours out there in the bayous and woods, and some of my finest images were taken there. From snakes (venemous and non) to alligators to banana spiders, there's all manner of wildlife; every visit brings an encounter of one type of … [Read more...] about So Hog-Tied by Red Tape, We’re Helpless to Help
Useless Recovery
Pat Bagley, Salt Lake Tribune This cartoon is copyrighted and licensed to appear on TMV. Unauthorized reproduction strictly prohibited. All rights reserved. … [Read more...] about Useless Recovery
Why Rising China Can’t Compete With the ‘American Dream’: La Tribune, France
OBAMA, HU JINTAO AND NEWLY-APPOINTED E.U. PRESIDENT, HERMAN VAN ROMPUY Continuing with our theme tonight about whether the 'China Model' is a sound replacement for one that marries political and economic freedom, this article by the editor in chief of France's La Tribune is skeptical of Beijing's chances. Contrary to the Saudi article we posted earlier headlined 'China … [Read more...] about Why Rising China Can’t Compete With the ‘American Dream’: La Tribune, France
Obama In China: SNL Style
http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/clips/china-cold-open/1178451/ Both funny and sadly true … [Read more...] about Obama In China: SNL Style
The First Obama State Dinner: The Tent
Obama Foodorama's Eddie Gehman Kohan promises wall-to-wall coverage of tomorrow's first state dinner of the Obama administration -- "Tweeting & blogging just that for the next 48 hours..." The plucky Eddie snagged an invite, and kicked off today with a history lesson from First Lady Michelle Obama in the State Dining Room. A "big tent" seating 400 (expect to see it all … [Read more...] about The First Obama State Dinner: The Tent
On Church and State
On Sept. 12, 1960, presidential candidate John F. Kennedy in a major speech to the Greater Houston Ministerial Association said the following: I believe in an America where the separation of church and state is absolute, where no Catholic prelate would tell the president (should he be Catholic) how to act, and no Protestant minister would tell his parishioners for whom … [Read more...] about On Church and State
The Beginnings of Things
I have been reading, online, a book called Time and Change, by John Burroughs, the enormously gifted naturalist and writer. I am reading the book at Book Glutton, a marvelous site I discovered not long ago where you can upload and read public domain books in a special "reader" the site's founders developed. … [Read more...] about The Beginnings of Things
What Happened to the Inspector General?
Has anyone seen Gerald Walpin recently? You know, I watch a lot of news, (likely far more than is good for me) but I haven't heard a thing about this. Ok... I'll admit that I didn't really even know that we still had an Inspector General. After that whole Pink Panther thing, I thought he was... oh, nevermind. Anyway, in case you hadn't heard - and judging my the media, you … [Read more...] about What Happened to the Inspector General?
‘China Model’ May Leave ‘Washington Consensus’ in the Dust: Al-Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Perhaps it was inevitable. If so, the inevitable has happened. Countries that have either an authoritarian streak or are outright totalitarian are beginning to talk of a new model of development to replace what's known as the "Washington Consensus." In other words, state-controlled economics divorced from pluralism and political freedom. A case in point is this article … [Read more...] about ‘China Model’ May Leave ‘Washington Consensus’ in the Dust: Al-Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Windows Mobile Is Better Than You Think
So concludes James Kendrick in a WinMo match-up with Android. Android Phone Fans takes note: Multi-tasking. Windows came away with a “Big advantage” because of Android’s inability to run apps from SD Card. Available Apps. WIndows gets the advantage for a larger catalog of robust applications. User Interface. Windows Mobile wins because 3rd party apps are … [Read more...] about Windows Mobile Is Better Than You Think
A Pace We Can Ill Afford
Most of us fail to grasp the enormity of trillions of dollars, let alone billions, so let's just throw the numbers out the window and for the sake of argument concede we'll never pay back what we as a nation owe in our lifetimes or those of future generations. Instead, let's focus on ending this insanity and establishing our priorities. For the most part, these are tough … [Read more...] about A Pace We Can Ill Afford
Fox News Management Gets Serious About Quality Control
It warns its staff about mistakes that hurt Fox News' credibility (mistakes that some feel are not mistakes but intentional distortions). … [Read more...] about Fox News Management Gets Serious About Quality Control
Obama’s Third Afghan Way (Guest Voice)
WASHINGTON -- When there is no good solution to a problem, a president has three options. One is to avoid the problem. The second is to pick the least bad of the available options. The third is to mix and match among the proposed solutions and minimize the long-term damage any decision will cause. Afghanistan has presented President Obama with exactly this situation, … [Read more...] about Obama’s Third Afghan Way (Guest Voice)
Quote of the Day: Are the Old and New Media Missing it on Barack Obama?
Our political Quote of the Day comes from MSNBC's First Read's Chuck Todd, Mark Murray, Domenico Montanaro, and Ali Weinberg who raise the issue of whether the new and old media (put them together and you get the genereal "conventional wisdom") are missing the boat on Barack Obama and the Obama administration: *** No pain, no gain? In a way, last week epitomized President … [Read more...] about Quote of the Day: Are the Old and New Media Missing it on Barack Obama?
12 Things For Which Barack Obama Should Be Grateful
Time's Mark Halperin gives us twelve things for which Barack Obama should be thankful HERE … [Read more...] about 12 Things For Which Barack Obama Should Be Grateful
He Has the Most At Stake In The Health Care Reform Battle
And his name is Senate Majority Harry Reid. Read Dick Polman's latest (as usual) MUST READ HERE. … [Read more...] about He Has the Most At Stake In The Health Care Reform Battle
So Where’s The Inflation?
A few months back many economists were screaming that all the money the Fed was creating via the old printing press would generate a huge burst of highly destructive inflation. It hasn't — at least not yet. And by considering why this might be, you get a pretty good idea about the idiocy, and indeed the cruelness, of the whole crisis management effort promulgated in Washington. … [Read more...] about So Where’s The Inflation?