I could not agree more with a David Brooks column than I agree with the one published in today's NYT. The premise, in short: It was interesting to watch the Republican Party lose touch with America ... It’s not that interesting to watch the Democrats lose touch with America. That’s because the plotline is exactly the same ... They [each] have their own cherry-picking … [Read more...] about Brooks: Democrats Acting Like Republicans
Concealed Carry Over State Lines Coming?
The Washington Post reports a glimmer of hope for 2nd amendment supporters this week, as several moderate Democrats may be lining up with the GOP to back a provision which would ensure the rights of gun owners in states with permissive laws when they travel across state lines. Senate Democrats are scrambling to defeat a Republican-backed provision that would allow gun owners … [Read more...] about Concealed Carry Over State Lines Coming?
Should an E-15 Ethanol Waiver Be in the Air?
As the Rochester, Minnesota Post Bulletin reports, a major manufacturer of ethanol, is hoping for a government waiver which will allow more ethanol to be blended into the gasoline you purchase at the pump. Richard Eichstadt is hoping the federal government will give the green light to blending gasoline with 15 percent ethanol. Eichstadt is the general manager of POET … [Read more...] about Should an E-15 Ethanol Waiver Be in the Air?
Was Michael Jackson’s 1993 Video Statement A Foreshadow And/Or Cry For Help?
As the news media gears up for the release sometime over the next two weeks of Michael Jackson's autopsy results, the Michael Jackson media story narrative is shifting into a new stage: trying to unravel what factors led to his death and if there were signs that it could end the way it did. It's happening now, amid some other new developments. CNN offers this panel … [Read more...] about Was Michael Jackson’s 1993 Video Statement A Foreshadow And/Or Cry For Help?
Jimmy Carter Leaves Southern Baptists Over Treatment of Women (Reprise)
Apparently Carter left the church a while ago but it is in the liberal and feminist blogosphere again now because the former president issued a position paper this week again severing all ties: [M]y decision to sever my ties with the Southern Baptist Convention, after six decades, was painful and difficult. It was, however, an unavoidable decision when the convention's … [Read more...] about Jimmy Carter Leaves Southern Baptists Over Treatment of Women (Reprise)
The Future of Reading and its Impact on Jewish Law (Guest Voice)
The Future of Reading (and its Impact on Jewish Law) by Brian Blum I have seen the future of reading and it is not print books or newspapers. On Wednesday, Amazon unveiled the Kindle DX, a larger version of its popular Kindle eBook reader. The DX’s 9.7-inch screen is two and a half times the size of the original Kindle, making it perfect for reading newspapers, … [Read more...] about The Future of Reading and its Impact on Jewish Law (Guest Voice)
Comet Strike on Jupiter?
Since it seems to be the week for space news, dramatic photos are emerging of what appears to be the results of a major impact on Jupiter. Scientists have found evidence that another object has bombarded Jupiter, exactly 15 years after the first impacts by the comet Shoemaker-Levy 9. Following up on a tip by an amateur astronomer, Anthony Wesley of Australia, that a new … [Read more...] about Comet Strike on Jupiter?
Walter Cronkite RIP
Nate Beeler, The Washington Examiner This cartoon is copyrighted and licensed to run on TMV. All Rights Reserved. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited. … [Read more...] about Walter Cronkite RIP
Do Palestinians Actually Love Israeli Settlements?
Do Palestinians actually love Israeli settlements? Matt Eckel has another thought (and debate) provoking post up at Foreign Policy watch that is a must read. Here's a tiny bit of the setup 4 U: There's something genuinely odd, if also perversely internally consistent, in the way certain right wingers look at Israeli-Palestinian interplay. For a reminder of this, I'd … [Read more...] about Do Palestinians Actually Love Israeli Settlements?
Don’t Believe in Truth? Don’t Be a Reporter (Guest Voice)
Don't Believe in Truth? Don't Be a Reporter by Barry Rubin A reporter just wrote me a letter that contains a single sentence which I think reflects on why the Western world is in such trouble today. After understandably discussing such real problems of reporting as short deadlines, complex issues, and the duty of the reporter to report what people say, the letter … [Read more...] about Don’t Believe in Truth? Don’t Be a Reporter (Guest Voice)
California Budget Deal Struck
It looks like California 'leaders' have reached a tentative deal to settle the 2009-10 budget. According to the San Francisco Chronicle: Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and legislative leaders reached a tentative budget compromise Monday to plug a $26.3 billion deficit by making hefty cuts in education, health and welfare services, and taking billions of dollars from county … [Read more...] about California Budget Deal Struck
Pres. Obama Talks to the Bloggers
John Amato, who was one of the liberal bloggers on the conference call with Pres. Obama, David Axelrod, and Nancy DeParle, put up an audio clip of the first 24 minutes -- the entire portion with Obama answering bloggers' questions. After that, he had to leave, but Axelrod and DeParle stayed on the line -- that part is not included here. … [Read more...] about Pres. Obama Talks to the Bloggers
David Boies on Gay Marriage and the Constitution
In the WSJ no less. Favorite passage: [B]asic constitutional rights cannot depend on the willingness of the electorate in any given state to end discrimination. If we were prepared to consign minority rights to a majority vote, there would be no need for a constitution. A bit more: The Supreme Court has repeatedly held that the right to marry the person you love is so … [Read more...] about David Boies on Gay Marriage and the Constitution
Trial of Alleged Nazi Guard Demjanjuk a Chance for German ‘Redemption’: Financial Times Deutschland
America has extradited alleged Nazi guard John Demjanjuk to stand trial in a Munich court as an accomplice to 27,900 murders. So how do Germans feel about what is likely to be the last great Nazi trial? Columnist Kathrin Werner, showing little concern for 90-year-old Demjanjuk's advanced age, writes for the Financial Times Deutschland, in part: "The trial of alleged … [Read more...] about Trial of Alleged Nazi Guard Demjanjuk a Chance for German ‘Redemption’: Financial Times Deutschland
Walter Cronkite and 40 Years of Progress
Daryl Cagle, MSNBC.com This cartoon is copyrighted and licensed to run on TMV. All Rights Reserved. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited. … [Read more...] about Walter Cronkite and 40 Years of Progress
Cronkite and Me (Guest Voice)
Cronkite and Me by Bill Steigerwald Like most of my draft-dodging generation, during the 1960s I heard Walter Cronkite’s authoritative voice more often than I heard the voices of my own parents. I even ate dinner hundreds of times with the sainted TV journalist who anchored the CBS evening news from 1962 until 1981 and died last week at age 92. I grew up on a … [Read more...] about Cronkite and Me (Guest Voice)
The Sausage Factory Road To Health Reform
News flash: Anyone who says the health care bills now in Congress are doomed to failure. Or those who proclaim health reform is on the horizon. I say bunk. I have read portions of the versions of the House and Senate bills until the words became blurred as if viewing the world through cataracts. Frankly, I gave up in despair. I came to the only sane conclusion possible: Wait … [Read more...] about The Sausage Factory Road To Health Reform
The Case Against a Manned Mission to Mars
Everyone loves a good science fiction film where heroes set forth boldly to battle asteroids, comets, aliens or The Borg. On the anniversary of our first steps upon the moon, it's easy to fall into that old longing for adventure, heroism and exploration. But should we be pushing for a manned mission to Mars rather than further robotic explorations? Or even a permanent manned … [Read more...] about The Case Against a Manned Mission to Mars
Harvard’s Henry Louis Gates Jr. Arrested For Being “A Black Man in America”
Every one of us would have been just as outraged. The charges had better go should have gone away fast. With an apology. Instead, Gates is being represented by Harvard Law School professor Charles Ogletree, who has taken on previous cases with racial implications. The Boston Globe: Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates Jr., one of the nation's pre-eminent African-American … [Read more...] about Harvard’s Henry Louis Gates Jr. Arrested For Being “A Black Man in America”
Another Visit To Economist World
Let us now make one of our regular visits to Economist World, a distant world where California's medical marijuana experiment has apparently become adopted as the everyday alternative to a morning mocha. In a column I wrote yesterday, I pointed out how utterly detached from the rest of us economists have become. And today a number of them, perhaps having stumbled upon a new … [Read more...] about Another Visit To Economist World