Translation: cut away all the spin, folks, you're facing the "toughest midterm elections...ever." Is 2010 slated to be another 1994? … [Read more...] about Nancy Pelosi’s Blunt Warning To Democrats
Expect Minor Quake (No Tsunami) From Japan’s Elections
Guest post by Devin Stewart Devin Stewart is Director of the Global Policy Innovations program at the Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs. In this capacity, he edits Policy Innovations and directs several projects on business ethics, trade, and media. He is also a Truman National Security Project fellow. Previously, he was Assistant Director of Studies and … [Read more...] about Expect Minor Quake (No Tsunami) From Japan’s Elections
Cue Up the World’s Smallest Violin
Can you imagine the cries of outrage and gales of mocking laughter from the right if they had heard complaints like this after the huge anti-war demonstrations in the former administration? … [Read more...] about Cue Up the World’s Smallest Violin
Only a ‘Party of the Left’ Can Save Us: Jornal de Negocios, Portugal
Is it time to, "completely forget the classic Left-Right dichotomy and apply what we've discovered about left- and right-handers to today's problems?" In this tongue-in-cheek article from Frederico Bastiao of Portugal's Jornal de Negocios, a completely new way of addressing the world's problems needs to be considered. For the Jornal de Negocios, Frederico Bastiao writes … [Read more...] about Only a ‘Party of the Left’ Can Save Us: Jornal de Negocios, Portugal
President Baucus Prevails
The man who received 345,937 votes (and $11.6 million of health lobbyist donations), has overruled Barack Obama, the choice of 69,498,215 Americans, who presented his proposals to a joint session of Congress last week. President Baucus' plan, which omits a public insurance option and other key elements favored by the occupant of the White House as well as other Congressional … [Read more...] about President Baucus Prevails
Democracy’s Legitimacy and Foreign Policy
If a country just has an election is that democracy? And, if it isn't what kind of dilemmas does this pose for foreign policy decision makers? In a must-read article on RealClearWorld, Dominique Moisi, a visiting professor at Harvard University and the author of "The Geopolitics of Emotion," looks at the issue. Here's the intro: Elections stolen in Iran, disputed in … [Read more...] about Democracy’s Legitimacy and Foreign Policy
Rush and Race
John Cole, The Scranton Times-Tribune This cartoon is copyrighted and is licensed to appear on TMV. All Rights Reserved. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited. … [Read more...] about Rush and Race
Opinions You Don’t Expect to Find on FoxNews.com
Like this one: As a result of the right's preemptive strike on the racial front, liberals have remained dangerously silent in the face of the most egregious acts of racism against Obama to date. It is for this reason that Representative Joe Wilson could heckle Obama during his Congressional address and only be challenged for his rudeness rather than his racism. Although he … [Read more...] about Opinions You Don’t Expect to Find on FoxNews.com
The Politics of Race — Flames Fanned by a Former President (Guest Voice)
The Politics of Race -- Flames Fanned by a Former President by Michael Reagan The Democrats, led by certain members of Congress and former President Jimmy Carter, have developed a new tactic to dismiss growing displeasure with President Obama’s policies. As his approval ratings continue to drop, hesitancy over health care has snarled the plan’s progress, and tens of … [Read more...] about The Politics of Race — Flames Fanned by a Former President (Guest Voice)
Photo Cropping As Editorial Fakery
David Hume Kennerly sees fakery: The Sept. 14th Newsweek cover line — “Is Your Baby Racist?” — should have included a sub-head, “Is Dick Cheney a Butcher?” Featured inside the magazine was a full-page, stand-alone picture of former Vice President Dick Cheney, knife in hand, leaning over a bloody carving board. Newsweek used it to illustrate a quote that he made about C.I.A. … [Read more...] about Photo Cropping As Editorial Fakery
British Company’s Toxic Terrorism & Africans
After bitterly contesting the case, a British oil trading giant has agreed to a multimillion-pound payout to settle a huge damages claim from thousands of Africans who fell ill from tonnes of toxic waste dumped illegally in one of the worst pollution incidents in decades, reports The Independent. The Western world has shown remarkable tolerance towards … [Read more...] about British Company’s Toxic Terrorism & Africans
The Successful Beer Cooler Earth Orbit Science Mission
A beer cooler as part of a successful scientific mission in Outer Space -- returning photos no less? Not a joke, but for real. It's a story that shows how young, enterprising scientific thinking and MIT rock. Details here. … [Read more...] about The Successful Beer Cooler Earth Orbit Science Mission
Rush Limbaugh Does It Again
How many times can I write about Rush Limbaugh hitting a new low? So I'll let direct you to Megan McArdle, Andrew Sullivan, Dallas Morning News columnist Rod Dreher, and Conor Friedersdorf, let them do it. And you can find some others on this page. I'll just say: "Ditto." His fans will always insist, "You don't get Rush." Or "Rush was only joking." Or they will go on the … [Read more...] about Rush Limbaugh Does It Again
Pardon the Interruption
Nate Beeler, The Washington Examiner This cartoon is copyrighted and licensed to run on TMV. All Rights Reserved. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited. … [Read more...] about Pardon the Interruption
USA & Apocalypse Theorists
Ever since the collapse of the mighty Soviet Union, the doomsayers are having field day predicting the break-up of India and Pakistan. Last year, a leading Russian political analyst stated that the economic turmoil in the USA had confirmed his long-held view that the country would divide into separate parts. Cashing on this phobia, Slate offered last month a "week-long … [Read more...] about USA & Apocalypse Theorists
Orly Taitz Has About 17 Screws Loose
Justin Elliott at Talking Points Memo interviewed her earlier today. She compared herself to Nelson Mandela and accused Judge Clay Land of treason. No point in trying to quote from the TPM piece. I wouldn't know which part to choose. Just read it. It's jaw-dropping. … [Read more...] about Orly Taitz Has About 17 Screws Loose
Mary Travers is Dead
Mary Travers has died at age 72. Her group, Peter, Paul, and Mary, were often scorned by folk purists who disdained their popularization of the folk idiom in the early-60s. But there can be little doubt that the group's harmonies opened mainstream US society folk, with its long history of advocacy for civil rights, unions, and peace. Through their covers of Bob Dylan's … [Read more...] about Mary Travers is Dead
Did Secretary Gates Tame the Lion?
As I wrote yesterday, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates planned to address the Air Force Association (AFA) today. U.S. News & World Report compared Gates’ appearance at the AFA, an association “made up in part of retired pilots and Air Force brass who were shocked when Gates last year fired the Air Force secretary and chief of staff over reports of a nuclear mishap,” and who … [Read more...] about Did Secretary Gates Tame the Lion?
The Little Poet of Laugh-In Has Died: Henry Gibson, Age 72
Henry Gibson, who was born James Bateman in Germantown, PA, served in the USAF and later took Henry Gibson as his stage name... a play on the name of the great playright Henrik Ibsen, who wrote amongst others, the play Hedda Gabler, which you may remember was about a willful soul who raced her father's horses while standing on the seat of the coach, yet married a dry academic … [Read more...] about The Little Poet of Laugh-In Has Died: Henry Gibson, Age 72
Testing The Obama Effect (Guest Voice)
McLEAN, Va. -- Will the bitter, smoldering feelings let loose by Washington's health care fight ricochet across the Potomac River and decide Virginia's race for governor? Will a Republican be able to escape his right-wing record and his incendiary past writings to rebrand himself as a pragmatist? The battle for the Virginia statehouse always gets outsized national … [Read more...] about Testing The Obama Effect (Guest Voice)