Now this is a crisis that truly impacts Cuba's bottom line: Cuba, in the grip of a serious economic crisis, is running short of toilet paper and may not get sufficient supplies until the end of the year, officials with state-run companies said on Friday. Officials said they were lowering the prices of 24 basic goods to help Cubans get through the difficulties provoked … [Read more...] about Toilet Paper Shortage May Clog Cuban Lifestyle
Why I Believe That The Insurance Reform Is A Debacle
In yesterday's post I said that I feel that the health care reform proposed as currently proposed will become the Democrat's Medicare Part D, a boondoggle of enormous proportions, and one that will short circuit true reform. GeorgeSorwell called me out to back up this claim, so here I go. First of all, here is a great tool by Kaiser that shows the key points of different … [Read more...] about Why I Believe That The Insurance Reform Is A Debacle
HYPERVENTILATING OVER WORTHLESS POLLS
They’re up, they’re down, and they’re all over the place depending upon who is doing the polling. And sadly they are completely meaningless. They reflect a fickle, highly divided and generally ignorant public that has the attention span of an American Idol Judge. Meaningless poll questions about strongly or slightly disagreeing or agreeing with some pre-formulated simplistic … [Read more...] about HYPERVENTILATING OVER WORTHLESS POLLS
US Drone Kills Pak Taleban Chief Baitullah Mehsud
Baitullah Mehsud, 35, chief of Pakistan's Taliban umbrella group, Tehrik-i-Taliban, was killed in a CIA missile strike inside Pakistan. Pakistan's foreign minister says intelligence sources have confirmed Mehsud's death, reports Voice of America. Pakistani intelligence officers said that the militant commander, blamed for dozens of suicide bombings, including the fatal … [Read more...] about US Drone Kills Pak Taleban Chief Baitullah Mehsud
Al Qaeda Terrorists Kidnap and Torture Iraqi Boy
Just to show you what is at stake in the battle against Al Qaeda by not just foreign countries but elements in Iraq that battle it every day, here's a truly shocking tale via CNN: of a boy who was kidnapped and brutally tortured by unfeeling terrorists: Like many young boys, Khidir loves playing with toy cars and wants to be a policeman like his father when he grows up. … [Read more...] about Al Qaeda Terrorists Kidnap and Torture Iraqi Boy
Town Hall Hecklers
Pat Bagley, Salt Lake Tribune This cartoon is copyrighted and licensed to run on TMV. All Rights Reserved. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited. … [Read more...] about Town Hall Hecklers
The Senate’s Most Bipartisan Votes of the Year
At the very least, these are the most high-profile, bipartisan votes of the year in the Senate: 1. Justice Sotomayor's confirmation, for which nine GOP Senators voted yes 2. Expanded funding of "cash for clunkers," for which seven GOP Senators voted yes (Accenting the bipartisanship of the latter vote, Missouri's two Senators split, but not as you might expect: … [Read more...] about The Senate’s Most Bipartisan Votes of the Year
Could a GOP Majority be Obama’s New BFF?
Josh Greenman of the New York Daily News takes a look at the partisan divide in Washington, which recent polls indicate has gotten wider, not narrower, in the Age of Obama, and concludes that it's not the fault of the president. In his view, it's people... not presidents... who are tearing the country asunder. It's an interesting view, and I have to admit that the red blue … [Read more...] about Could a GOP Majority be Obama’s New BFF?
Scene At Tampa Health Care Town Hall Crammed With Protesters Reportedly Turns Violent
We have several posts that look at the increasingly ugly health care town halls amid allegations that they are being spurred on by special interests opposed to health care reform and polarizing talk show hosts and often involve the prevention of discussion rather than spirited discussion or debate. To others, the groups genuinely represent anger and frustration at President … [Read more...] about Scene At Tampa Health Care Town Hall Crammed With Protesters Reportedly Turns Violent
Twitter Attack A ‘Joejob’
And the target was a single user who vocally supports the Republic of Georgia. So says one researcher in a story getting lots of traction: According to Bill Woodcock, research director at the non-profit Packet Clearing House, the torrent of traffic that brought the site to its knees wasn't the result of a traditional DDoS, or distributed denial of service attack, but rather … [Read more...] about Twitter Attack A ‘Joejob’
Mitt Romney Breaks Out the Poison Pen
Mitt Romney has inked a deal to publish a new book in March of 2010, just in time for the mid-term election season and setting himself up nicely to launch a 2012 bid for the White House. Titled "No Apologies," it seems fairly clear what ground the former Mass. governor is seeking to stake out, possibly giving a boost to his party's message as they try to climb back from the … [Read more...] about Mitt Romney Breaks Out the Poison Pen
A Descent Into Ugliness
Nancy Pelosi has been roundly mocked by the right for her comment to a reporter about Republican opponents of health care reform carrying swastikas, but she was telling the truth. And that is far from the only evidence of dangerously high levels of thuggishness on display at townhall meetings and political events across the country, where even Blue Dog Democrats are being … [Read more...] about A Descent Into Ugliness
Old and Angry: The Politics of Crisis
The latest CNN poll confirms what most of the town hall videos show: the angry demonstrators against Democratic health reform plans are, for the most part, far older than 50. Those older than 50 tend to oppose Democratic health care reform and those under 50 tend to support it. Forget for a moment whether or not these protests are truly organic or astroturf, the one … [Read more...] about Old and Angry: The Politics of Crisis
John Hughes Dead At 59
The director of a myriad of 80's hits died of a heart attack earlier today. Our condolences to his family. … [Read more...] about John Hughes Dead At 59
Women of the Week, Men of the Past
Sonia Sotomayor is on her way to the Supreme Court as Laura Ling and Euna Lee are reunited with their families after being wrested from the grasp of Kim Jong-il. Yet the imagery of these triumphant women is blurred by double exposures from the past of men involved in their fates. Voting against Sotomayor's confirmation today as the third woman and first person of Latino … [Read more...] about Women of the Week, Men of the Past
WE DON’T REALLY LISTEN TO EACH OTHER ANYMORE
TMV is simultaneously an outpost from the 24/7 info-entertainment news cycle and yet it is a part of it. Perhaps those who work in the media, politics, mass communications, press, or public advocacy provide their brains with hourly dopamine fixes by constantly seeing and hearing something new, but most people don’t need the constant barrage of pointless facts, rumors, gossip … [Read more...] about WE DON’T REALLY LISTEN TO EACH OTHER ANYMORE
Sotomayor Confirmed
The Senate has voted 68-31 to confirm the nomination of Sonia Sotmayor to the Supreme Court Republicans voted 31-9 against the nomination while Democrats voted 59-0 in favor. Senator Kennedy did not vote. By comparison the Democrats votes 22-22 on the Roberts nomination and 41-3 against the Alito nomination, so the GOP falls somewhere in between those two votes. I am … [Read more...] about Sotomayor Confirmed
Julia, Julie, Michael & Betty
In Out of the Kitchen, Onto the Couch, Michael Pollan asks, What is wrong with this picture? Today the average American spends a mere 27 minutes a day on food preparation (another four minutes cleaning up); that’s less than half the time that we spent cooking and cleaning up when Julia arrived on our television screens. It’s also less than half the time it takes to watch a … [Read more...] about Julia, Julie, Michael & Betty
AstroTurfing, Yes – Mud, No
Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and some on the left, would have people believe that AstroTurfing (or the popular uprising of the enraged citizenry against the government) is something new and to be feared. If that is the case, then the American Revolution and the Civil Rights Movement are artificial dandelions that rudely infiltrated on the beautiful lawns of the British Empire and … [Read more...] about AstroTurfing, Yes – Mud, No
Town Hall Tactics In Action
Joe recently wrote a post linking to a memo for anti-Democratic groups to use during the town halls that are taking place around the country to push health care reform. He said it was a sign of lowering the bar on political debate, but I read it and had no problem with the content. It encouraged people to look at voting records and statistics, and confront their representatives … [Read more...] about Town Hall Tactics In Action