'HOPE FOR THE OTHER WALLS' Despite the mind-boggling number of issues he must attend to - was it a mistake for President Obama to refrain from traveling to Germany for the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall? According to Le Figaro's chief editorialist, Pierre Rousselin, President Obama not only missed a chance to demonstrate the strength of democracy, he … [Read more...] about Absent from Berlin, Obama Misses Grand Opportunity: Le Figaro, France
Afghanistan: Blame Game instead of Great Game?
Who is to blame that we are not winning in Afghanistan? Karzai, Obama, NATO, the Europeans, or Jimmy Carter again? Afghanistan's President Karzai was criticized a lot lately. Now the Wall Street Journal's Bret Stephens comes to his defense and puts the blame on NATO. He makes the dubious claim that: Matters went abruptly south in Afghanistan after several years in which … [Read more...] about Afghanistan: Blame Game instead of Great Game?
GUEST VOICE: Veterans Day 2009, Military Man Does Not “Honor the Troops,” Rather The Person
This GUEST VOICE piece is by Rafael Jesús González from California, on Veterans' Day 2009. It is a perspective on 'supporting the troops' ...or not. I brought it here to give a small x-ray into how one family's three generations of soldiers is evolving nearly ninety years after what was supposed to have been 'the war to end all wars, World War One' ...GUEST VOICE by Rafael … [Read more...] about GUEST VOICE: Veterans Day 2009, Military Man Does Not “Honor the Troops,” Rather The Person
Questioning Direct Democracy
That's precisely what I did in my latest guest commentary for St. Louis Public Radio, aired yesterday. This missive was originally prompted by my disgust with the recent, seemingly endless flood of anti-stem-cell initiatives in Missouri. Granted, those initiatives -- manifestations of direct-democracy that I oppose -- are only attempting to overturn an earlier … [Read more...] about Questioning Direct Democracy
Fox News: Fluffer for Michele Bachmann
Comedy Central's Jon Stewart confessed to being embarrassed some time ago when two young amateur journalists scooped them on the activities of ACORN in several cities. He's made up for it a good bit this week when he caught Fox News Channel spicing up their coverage of Michele Bachmann's health care rally / tea party protest in Washington, D.C. this week. Without any mention of … [Read more...] about Fox News: Fluffer for Michele Bachmann
A Modern Day Cross Of Gold
Thinking about the huge and growing chasm between Main Street and Wall Street recently led me to think about a similar chasm in our nation's history — one that generated enormous populist anger at the end of the 19th century. The issue then in a technical sense involved gold and silver, but came down to whether the government should put more money into circulation in a way that … [Read more...] about A Modern Day Cross Of Gold
New York Times: “Homeless on Veterans Day”
In his excellent post honoring our veterans, Jazz Shaw mentioned that "The debt we owe to our returning heroes runs much deeper than a free pass to Disneyland." While we have come a long way in how we treat our veterans and in improving the benefits and services our veterans receive, especially under the leadership of Gen. Eric Shinseki, we still have a long way to go. In … [Read more...] about New York Times: “Homeless on Veterans Day”
Veterans Day
RJ Matson, The St. Louis Post Dispatch This cartoon is copyrighted and licensed to appear on TMV. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited. All rights reserved. … [Read more...] about Veterans Day
Don’t Believe Everything the Oracle Tells You (Guest Voice)
Don't Believe Everything the Oracle Tells You by Michael Winship ATHENS, GREECE - Last Sunday, we visited the ruins of ancient Delphi, two hours or so from here in the Greek capital, an extraordinary site at the base of Mount Parnassus overlooking the Pleistos Valley, almost half a mile below. You could see the acres of olive trees there. The Ionian Sea shimmered on the … [Read more...] about Don’t Believe Everything the Oracle Tells You (Guest Voice)
Veterans Then and Now
In his Ft. Hood eulogy yesterday, the President eloquently honored "men and women answering an extraordinary call--the call to serve their comrades, their communities, and their country. In an age of selfishness, they embody responsibility. In an era of division, they call upon us to come together. In a time of cynicism, they remind us of who we are as Americans... "Tomorrow … [Read more...] about Veterans Then and Now
Scozzafava, Conservatives and Moderate Republicans
Scozzafava, Conservatives and Moderate Republicans by Jon Wells Dede Scozzafava, the GOP nominee for the NY-23 Congressional district, has a sympathetic piece in the Washington Post about those mean ol' Republicans and those rascally conservatives who "forced" her out of the race. Dede even has a warning for those who weren't jazzed about her nomination: "There is a … [Read more...] about Scozzafava, Conservatives and Moderate Republicans
A ham sandwich on Yom Kippur
“Having a ham sandwich on the afternoon of Yom Kippur doesn’t make you less Jewish,” Rabbi Yitzchak Schochet, chairman of the Rabbinical Council of the United Synagogue, said recently.I feel like this may be a license for mis-behavior. (If you're interested in the context of Rabbi Schochet's remark, click here.) Cross-posted at Conventional Folly … [Read more...] about A ham sandwich on Yom Kippur
Veterans Day 2009
I suppose it was somewhat heartening to see that our national parks and forests will be giving free admissions to U.S. veterans today in honor of Armistice Day. But there's a small, bitter part of me which always finds such gestures to ring rather hollow and to be far from enough. The debt we owe to our returning heroes runs much deeper than a free pass to Disneyland. Don't … [Read more...] about Veterans Day 2009
Obama will cruise to 2012 re-election
No, that's not a serious prediction. My real point is about Republicans getting too excited about thrashing the Democrats in 2010. Sure, that's what I'd like to see. But remember what happened during Reagan's first term? That precedent has been on my mind, so I was glad to see that Sam Donaldson and Cokie Roberts were thinking along the same lines. Here's their exchange … [Read more...] about Obama will cruise to 2012 re-election
COMPROMISE NEEDED WITH ABORTION FOES IN HEALTHCARE REFORM
Anti-abortion and pro-life advocates successfully added an Amendment to the House Health Reform Bill that prohibited any Federal Funds from subsidizing private insurance purchases by individuals and families on public exchanges that would cover abortions. Pro-abortion and pro-choice advocates cried foul and the amendment constituted an impermissible limit on a woman’s right to … [Read more...] about COMPROMISE NEEDED WITH ABORTION FOES IN HEALTHCARE REFORM
Obama’s Fort Hood Massacre Speech: His Best Ever?
When President Barack Obama gave a speech at the memorial service for the 14 people murdered by Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan at Fort Hood, it was one of those moments Presidents don't relish but that can linger beyond the moment. Was this one of them? The context was a thorny one. Controversies still swirl over which intelligence agency seemingly dropped the ball on the warning … [Read more...] about Obama’s Fort Hood Massacre Speech: His Best Ever?
DC Sniper Executed
The officials at the Greenville Correctional Center have just announced the execution of John Muhammed, the DC sniper. He was pronounced dead at 9:11pm EST. During 2002 Muhammed and his teenage accomplice terrorized the Washington DC area and murdered ten people and left the region in chaos as people were afraid to go out and shop or pump gas. According to the briefing he … [Read more...] about DC Sniper Executed
Mother Jones agrees with the National Review!
Kevin Drum praises Jonah Goldberg for resisting the impulse to call Nidal Malik Hasan a terrorist. A traitor? A murderer? Sure. But not a terrorist. The strange thing is that liberals assume they should be against labeling Hasan a terrorist and conservatives assume they should be for it. That makes a certain amount of sense. Liberals fear exaggerated threats. … [Read more...] about Mother Jones agrees with the National Review!
Donna Brazile praises GOP ideology
If you wait 15 years, people will say anything. Sunday morning on ABC, Donna Brazile explained why 2010 won't be another 1994:Well, first of all, I don't think it's '94, because in '94, we also had some potential disastrous that happened that caused Democrats to lose so many seats. First of all, we had a great deal of retirements in the Congress, we had the bank scandal, the … [Read more...] about Donna Brazile praises GOP ideology
Do carrots feel pain?
Natalie Portman is giving up eggs and milk. She writes on HuffPo:Jonathan Safran Foer's book Eating Animals changed me from a twenty-year vegetarian to a vegan activist. I've always been shy about being critical of others' choices because I hate when people do that to me. I'm often interrogated about being vegetarian (e.g., "What if you find out that carrots feel pain, too? … [Read more...] about Do carrots feel pain?