I came across this E.B. White quote in a magazine, and decided it was too wonderful to keep to myself. White wrote it in response to a reader: … [Read more...] about Needless To Say
When Caution Takes Courage (Guest Voice)
WASHINGTON -- At a White House dinner with a group of historians at the beginning of the summer, Robert Dallek, a shrewd student of both the Kennedy and Johnson administrations, offered a chilling comment to President Obama. "In my judgment," he recalls saying, "war kills off great reform movements." The American record is pretty clear: World War I brought the … [Read more...] about When Caution Takes Courage (Guest Voice)
High Standards
Eric Allie, Caglecartoons.com This cartoon is copyrighted and licensed to run on TMV. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited. All rights reserved. … [Read more...] about High Standards
Muammar Qaddafi is No Better than Saddam: Sotal Iraq, Iraq
Libyan Despot Muammar Qaddafi succeeded in amusing and ticking off quite a few people last week with his rambling speech at the United Nations, which he made, according to him, not due to his role as dictator of Libya or president of the U.N. Security Council [yes - Qaddafi presently holds the rotating presidency of that body], but in his capacity as African Union chairman. … [Read more...] about Muammar Qaddafi is No Better than Saddam: Sotal Iraq, Iraq
WHY THE DELAY FOR PROPOSED HEALTHCARE EFFECTIVENESS??
A number of independent news sources and commentators have noted that many of the healthcare reform provisions in the proposed Congressional legislation might not become effective until 2013. If true, that would be extremely strange, illogical and politically dangerous for Democrats. Republicans and other opponents of healthcare reforms have succeeded this year in … [Read more...] about WHY THE DELAY FOR PROPOSED HEALTHCARE EFFECTIVENESS??
Obama’s misleading scare tactics
Last month, I gave the President a hard time for denouncing GOP scare tactics, while relying on his scary stories to build support for his healthcare plan. On Monday, ABC's Jake Tapper pointed out that the President's scary stories were "not quite accurate" or, in plain English, completely misleading. First up, there's the man who died when his insurance company cut off his … [Read more...] about Obama’s misleading scare tactics
Sunday Football: NFL Rule Changes Coming?
With Sunday football back upon us, it's a good time to ask about the potential for more rules changes being considered currently by the NFL. The rules in the NFL change only at a glacial pace which is generally a good thing. You don't want to mess too much with a winning formula. But they do change on occasion. Some have been minor tweaks with varying levels of success. A few … [Read more...] about Sunday Football: NFL Rule Changes Coming?
Is Intellectually Serious Conservatism Dead?
There's lots of pundit chatter on the topic these days... Steven F. Hayward remembers William F. Buckley Jr. and wonders is conservatism brain-dead? Today...the conservative movement has been thrown off balance, with the populists dominating and the intellectuals retreating and struggling to come up with new ideas. The leading conservative figures of our time are now drawn … [Read more...] about Is Intellectually Serious Conservatism Dead?
Al Jazeera Looks For “Diversity”?
On its broadcasts... … [Read more...] about Al Jazeera Looks For “Diversity”?
The State of Conservatism
Is it becoming "more muscular" or not? … [Read more...] about The State of Conservatism
What Gen. Stanley McChrystal Wants
As much as I detest the phrase "defining moment" -- a journalistic cliche that has is a pleasant as hearing blackboard chalk scrape -- President Barack Obama now faces a....defining moment, in his presidency. Will he give Gen. Stanley McChrystal the 40,000 troops he says he needs to successfully fight the battle in Afghanistan? In blogs, talk radio, TV and cable everyone is … [Read more...] about What Gen. Stanley McChrystal Wants
Saturday Night Live Skewers Barack Obama (Video)
Saturday Night Live skewered President Barack Obama last night. Satire is often a barometer of emerging conventional wisdom -- so Obama & Co should not view this one as welcome news: … [Read more...] about Saturday Night Live Skewers Barack Obama (Video)
Eating Ground Beef Is Still A Big Health Gamble
More likely than not, that single hamburger patty or package you bought from the supermarket, restaurant or fast food joint contains "meat product" from hundreds of slaughtered cows gathered from around the world. One result of that practice is that major Class 1 (you could die) ground beef recalls are on the rise. Just this past August 825,769 pounds of Salmonella contaminated … [Read more...] about Eating Ground Beef Is Still A Big Health Gamble
How to Achieve Victory in Afghanistan in 10 Easy Steps
Just yesterday, I wrote about how the opinions and suggestions ---expert and non-expert--- about what to do in Afghanistan are all over the map, ranging pretty much from “How to Win in Afghanistan” to “How to Lose in Afghanistan,” and making one of our nation’s most critical and perilous endeavors look like a do-it-yourself project. This morning’s New York Times has a … [Read more...] about How to Achieve Victory in Afghanistan in 10 Easy Steps
Does Iran’s Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Have Jewish Roots?
In a way, you knew this kind of story could be out there and was just waiting to be uncovered: according to a story in the Daily Telegraph, Iran's Israel-detesting, anti-Semitic epitome President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad may have Jewish roots: A photograph of the Iranian president holding up his identity card during elections in March 2008 clearly shows his family has Jewish … [Read more...] about Does Iran’s Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Have Jewish Roots?
It’s Still a Civil Society
Are cable news shouters such as Ed Schultz and Glenn Beck a reflection of American society at large? Do the displays of Alan Grayson and Joe Wilson mirror the attitudes and actions of their constituents back home? Has politics really turned our formerly civil population into an unruly mob, screaming at each other and biting off fingers? No. In fact, those of us who spend far … [Read more...] about It’s Still a Civil Society
“Idiot’s Delight” (With Apologies to Robert Sherwood)
Steve Benen reports that the merry-making on the right over the United States not being chosen to host the 2016 Summer Olympics continues unabated: … [Read more...] about “Idiot’s Delight” (With Apologies to Robert Sherwood)
A Chance To Be Born vs A Chance To Live
A couple of days ago, I wrote a post about Michele Bachmann's latest crazy claim -- this time that the health care reform legislation favored by Pres. Obama would allow 13-year-old girls to get abortions authorized by school health clinics and go home afterward with "mom and dad none the wiser." … [Read more...] about A Chance To Be Born vs A Chance To Live
The Medal of Honor: A Different Perspective
Some readers occasionally comment that some of our contributors write or comment more frequently and extensively on events or news items that support their own political views or their own opinions on issues. Without admitting that my colleagues do such, and speaking strictly for myself, I find that this is a natural tendency, but one that I try to “control,” … [Read more...] about The Medal of Honor: A Different Perspective
Google CEO Eric Schmidt On The Future of News
A long and interesting weekend read from SearchEngineLand, an interview with Eric Schmidt. I'm not through it yet. Here, some of Schmidt on newspapers: The number of readers for newspapers is declining. The market is becoming more specialized. There will always be a market for people who read the newspaper on a train going into New York City. There will always be a market for … [Read more...] about Google CEO Eric Schmidt On The Future of News