ON GLASSES: 'CARE PLAN'TITLE: 'FRAGILE' Gravitas and the power of "the word." Gravitas is that ancient Roman measure of a leader's influence and credibility - and "the word" is a key tool that leaders must use to exercise that ancient virtue. Continuing with our sampling of global reaction to the issue of health care in America, according to columnist Lluis Bassets of … [Read more...] about The ‘Weight’ of Obama’s ‘Word’: El Pais, Spain
ABC Denies It Ever Said Yesterday’s Protest Rally Had 1 Million People
A slight discrepancy has broken out between a conservative activist, the new media and a member of the old media quoted as a source for some in the new media: it's only a matter of the whether the size of yesterday's protest in Washington is being touted as having 940,000 more people then were actually there. So ABC News has issued a strong statement trying to set the … [Read more...] about ABC Denies It Ever Said Yesterday’s Protest Rally Had 1 Million People
Anti-Abortion Group Gets Organized in Florida
[ Editor's Note: The title and URL for this post has been changed from the original. -- PMA ] They probably will not succeed in what they are trying to do (at least not this time), but it's frightening to some of us to know that there are organized groups with this agenda: A nationwide anti-abortion group launched an effort in Florida Friday to outlaw all abortions and … [Read more...] about Anti-Abortion Group Gets Organized in Florida
Freedom and Security on the Mall
I thought I'd do a quote roundup from various commentaries on today's Tea Party gathering in D.C. … [Read more...] about Freedom and Security on the Mall
More Signs of GOP’s Increasingly Ugly Political Tone
A slew of websites (old and new media) are now running photos of a sign that has appeared at today's conservative anti-tax, anti-government spending, anti-health care reform rally in Washington -- and it once again raises the question: Is the Republican party now morphing into a political organization that only wants to reaffirm it's existing members' political grudges, … [Read more...] about More Signs of GOP’s Increasingly Ugly Political Tone
The latest bobble-head demagogue named Joe
Hard to say if Joe Wilson is another Joe McCarthy. He did call the President of the United States a lair as Obama spoke to an official joint session of Congress, which is certainly a McCarthy thing to do. Don't debate the issue, attack the individual. McCarthy, a Republican senator from Wisconsin in the early 1950s, did it by claiming the target individual, whoever it happened … [Read more...] about The latest bobble-head demagogue named Joe
What Afghan Civilians Are Doing Near Fuel Tankers
The link to the Guardian article does not work in my post, although the link on Memeorandum worked, and I double-checked that I had pasted it in right. I guess you'll have to take my word that the article exists -- or you can click on the link from Memeorandum. A few days ago, I wrote a post about the NATO-U.S. airstrike in Afghanistan that was ordered on the basis of one … [Read more...] about What Afghan Civilians Are Doing Near Fuel Tankers
Too Many Channels: What A Google-Killer Must Address
How I use RSS. RSS is too slow. RSS is dead. No it's not. Rest in peace. RSS is alive and well. We're seeing the rise of the real-time web. I'm reminded that back in the day I had a small spat with Fred Wilson when he said Email is dead. And I said no it's not. I felt vindicated this week when Wilson implored, Don't forget about email. Indeed, everything old is new again … [Read more...] about Too Many Channels: What A Google-Killer Must Address
Democrats and their childish ways
It’s fair to say that Democrats have been disappointed with Obama. The fairy tail campaign gave progressives hope that he was the second coming, the best thing since sliced bread. I mean, who knew Superman was actually black? I don’t blame Liberals for this assumption. After all, Obama was (*thumbing through 2008’s Republican talking points*) "the most liberal senator." … [Read more...] about Democrats and their childish ways
Obama’s Health Care ‘Coup’: Financial Times Deutschland, Germany
As we have been seeing for months, when it comes to provisioning the population with health care, the behavior of U.S. Republicans is far more incomprehensible to Europeans than even for most U.S. Democrats. According to columnist David Francis of Germany's Financial Times Deutschland, President Obama's speech to a joint session of Congress on health care came close to … [Read more...] about Obama’s Health Care ‘Coup’: Financial Times Deutschland, Germany
Letter to Joe Wilson
Mike Keefe, The Denver Post This cartoon is copyrighted and licensed to run on TMV. All Rights Reserved. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited. … [Read more...] about Letter to Joe Wilson
Republicans’ false dawn
“You’re either with us or against us,” I may be paraphrasing the former President of the United States, but these very words might as well be the mantra of the Republican Party right now. I now watch the American political discourse with a sense of sadness and dismay as in a few short months the political discussion in the US could be fairly compared to an argument between … [Read more...] about Republicans’ false dawn
The Problem with Being Right All the Time
I think God created teenage rebellion to keep humanity from ever being too certain about anything. Most humans believe they have a balanced or appropriate view of existence. In other words, we think we’re mostly right. Perpetually thinking you’re mostly wrong is a difficult way to exist. Consequently, we develop a certitude about our social, political, cultural, and … [Read more...] about The Problem with Being Right All the Time
You Lie
John Darkow, Columbia Daily Tribune, Missouri This cartoon is copyrighted and licensed to appear on TMV. All Rights Reserved. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited. … [Read more...] about You Lie
Obama’s September 11 Proclamation. Another Act of Treason?
In an official White House announcement yesterday, the President of the United States proclaimed September 11, 2009, as Patriot Day and National Day of Service and Remembrance in honor of the individuals who lost their lives as a result of the terrorist attacks against the United States that occurred on September 11, 2001, and invited the Governors of the United States and the … [Read more...] about Obama’s September 11 Proclamation. Another Act of Treason?
Talk of Censuring Joe Wilson Heating Up Again
Update below: Yes, Nancy Pelosi had shelved that option. But it seems that she, and other Democrats, are reconsidering. Behind the scenes, Democrats have been pressuring Wilson to apologize on the House floor, which so far he has refused to do -- and his openly unrepentant behavior in the last 24 hours isn't helping. … [Read more...] about Talk of Censuring Joe Wilson Heating Up Again
Gordon Brown to Alan Turing: I’m proud to say sorry to a real war hero
Andrew Sullivan: [Alan Turing] was one of the greatest minds of modern time, a founding father of computer science, and his legendary breaking of the Enigma Code may have been a tipping point in the struggle against Nazism. Few men have contributed so much to human learning or to his country's survival. But Turing was persecuted into suicide by the homophobia of his time and … [Read more...] about Gordon Brown to Alan Turing: I’m proud to say sorry to a real war hero
Why I Screw Up Now And Then, I Recall
I want to take a breather for a couple of minutes from bashing Joe Wilson and other stupid Republican claims about our health care legislation and discuss a condition that has bothered me the past several months. For no apparent reason my brain insists I sleep 10 to 12 hours a day. Anything short of that, I feel like I'm hungover but I don't drink booze. Furthermore, less … [Read more...] about Why I Screw Up Now And Then, I Recall
How America Ended its Own Dominance: Wen Wei Po, Hong Kong
Has America's reaction to September 11 - its invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq - accelerated the end of U.S. dominance of the international system? According to commentator He Liangliang of Hong Kong's Phoenix TV - one of the few privately-owned cable operators permitted by Beijing authorities to broadcast to the Mainland - America's days as a global cop are well and truly … [Read more...] about How America Ended its Own Dominance: Wen Wei Po, Hong Kong
Remembering the Day When We Were All One
Five years after that horrific day in September 2001, the following letter appeared in TIME: Five years after 9/11, our nation ought to be as united as it was on that tragic day. We should have held on to the outpouring of global goodwill and support we received then. We should have remained laser-focused on rooting out and bringing to justice those responsible … [Read more...] about Remembering the Day When We Were All One