Attention deficit disorder: … [Read more...] about What’s Lieberman’s Problem?
The Ultimate Sacrifice
It's not what you might think. It's not dying in battle. It's not losing your life. It's losing your mind, your heart, your soul, and the life force inside you that makes you want to survive. … [Read more...] about The Ultimate Sacrifice
Obama Then and Now
Joe already touched on tonight's HBO documentary. Two other Obama-related items today add some context. The first is Jeff Zeleny's report for the NYT re: Iowa voter attitudes a year after the election. The second is a Daily Beast exclusive excerpt from David Plouffe's memoir. The NYT article cites, among others, John Sager a "retired electrical engineer who became a … [Read more...] about Obama Then and Now
Endangered Species Moderate Republicans
Bill Schorr, Cagle Cartoons This cartoon is copyrighted and licensed to appear on TMV. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited. All rights reserved. … [Read more...] about Endangered Species Moderate Republicans
Biden, Absolutists, Irony, and NY-23 (Guest Voice)
Biden, Absolutists, Irony and NY-23 by Jon Wells Vice President Joe Biden was in upstate New York today stumping for Bill Owens in the heated NY-23 Congressional special election. You know, the one that doesn't matter and has no national portent whatsoever, except if Owens wins, of course. In any event, Biden had a few words to say about Scozzafava's departure and the … [Read more...] about Biden, Absolutists, Irony, and NY-23 (Guest Voice)
What Physicians Know (Guest Voice)
What Physicians Know by Joel S. Hirschhorn I had a long conversation with my favorite physician, who has operated on me twice successfully. He is an incredibly kind person without an ounce of greed or pretense. Like other physicians I have spoken to, he spoke eloquently about the terrible times he consistently has with private health insurance companies. While he … [Read more...] about What Physicians Know (Guest Voice)
Quote of the Day: On Moderates and the GOP
Our political quote of the day comes from conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh on moderates and the Republican party: "Moderates by definition have no principles,"....He predicted that "RINOs" - a putdown acronym of "Republicans In Name Only" - "may become extinct." … [Read more...] about Quote of the Day: On Moderates and the GOP
NY Gov. Paterson’s World Series Tickets Raise Eyebrows
Just how DID he get those free tickets? … [Read more...] about NY Gov. Paterson’s World Series Tickets Raise Eyebrows
T.V. Review: HBO’s By The People: The Election of Barack Obama
Lots of documentaries aspire to be authentic fly-on-the-wall enterprises, offering viewers a chance to see what they didn't see on the news, didn't learn from official statements, and get a feel of what "really" went on behind-the-scenes and what the key political players are "really like." HBO's By The People: The Election of Barack Obama which airs at 9 p.m. tonight offers … [Read more...] about T.V. Review: HBO’s By The People: The Election of Barack Obama
Honor Killings On The Rise, Media Response Seems Limited
Imagine for a moment that a segment of the Southern Baptist Church was supporting the idea of parents killing their teenage daughters for going out on dates. The public reaction would be swift and severe (and properly so). Media figures like Bill Maher would go ballistic, labeling the entire Christian Church with such behavior. And yet when this exact thing is happening … [Read more...] about Honor Killings On The Rise, Media Response Seems Limited
Ideological Purity and the GOP
The always worth-reading Rick Moran -- even when I couldn't disagree with him more (and this is not one of those times) -- has a piece on how to make the GOP a majority party again -- and it isn't by reading the ideologically impure out of the party: … [Read more...] about Ideological Purity and the GOP
For Russia, the China Model Fits the Best: Izvestia, Russia
Can Russia break the strongman habit? Is Russia ready for Western-Style democracy - which includes true pluralism and checks on the executive? It's a debate that's been going on since the fall of the Berlin Wall. This article from Izvestia - once the official mouthpiece of the Soviet government - openly, unapologetically and arrestingly admits that the answer is no. Nor does … [Read more...] about For Russia, the China Model Fits the Best: Izvestia, Russia
Bad Driving Gene ?
A new study out this week says that there is a genetic variation in people which could be one of the causes of bad driving. The study was limited, involving 29 people of which 22 had the genetic quirk. The participants in the study drove 15 laps on a driving simulator then came back later and did the same test again. Those with the genetic quirk performed 20% worse on all of … [Read more...] about Bad Driving Gene ?
Rush Limbaugh Is Really “Very Sweet and Vulnerable”
According to Fox News' fair and balanced journalist, Chris Wallace. Oh. … [Read more...] about Rush Limbaugh Is Really “Very Sweet and Vulnerable”
World in Pieces
Yaakov Kirschen, The Jerusalem Post, Dry Bones This cartoon is copyrighted and licensed to appear on TMV. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited. All rights reserved. … [Read more...] about World in Pieces
New York Magazine on Nancy Pelosi: “A Castrating San Francisco Shrew”
Actually, most of this 7-screen profile is not this openly vicious. Vanessa Grigoriadis generally prefers to kill with a thousand paper cuts rather than take a butcher knife to her target of choice. If you're looking to learn something substantive about Pelosi's political thinking and/or the professional and personal factors that formed her values and who she is as a person, … [Read more...] about New York Magazine on Nancy Pelosi: “A Castrating San Francisco Shrew”
The Close NJ Race
Josh Marshall at TPM (emphasis mine): … [Read more...] about The Close NJ Race
Deja Vu: The Spanish Inquisition
Karzai Win By Default Ensures Long Term Multi-Fronted Afghanistan Controversy
The news that Afghan President Hamid Karzai has been declare the winner of Afghanistan's hotly contested and controversial Presidential election now ensures that the Afghanistan issue be an ongoing controversial one on several fronts in several countries. Clearly, the fact that his prime foe former foreign minister Abdullah Abdullah has pulled out rather than participate … [Read more...] about Karzai Win By Default Ensures Long Term Multi-Fronted Afghanistan Controversy
Health Care: Bookmark this One
Via Ezra Klein. At the end of his post, note the link to the full package of charts. The last chart in that package, in particular -- see below -- caught my eye, begging many questions. Bruce McQuain chimes in. H/t casualobserver. … [Read more...] about Health Care: Bookmark this One