He probably doesn't have many remaining friends on the left, as it is, and I'm guessing he'll not win them back (or win over new, leftish friends) with gut-check statements like these. Regardless -- for what it's worth, Senator -- at least one independent voter continues to appreciate and applaud your call-'em-like-you-see-'em approach. And I say that having voted for the … [Read more...] about Lieberman, Reality
Quote of the Day: Al Franken, Democratic and Republican Party Discipline
Our political Quote of the Day comes from a must-read-in-full piece by Dick Polman, as he notes that Al Franken finally being declared the winner in the hotly contested Minnesota race will most assuredly not mean easy sailing for Democrats -- and could foreshadow problems for President Barack Obama: Unless Obama can somehow twist arms in the tradition of Lyndon Johnson, it's … [Read more...] about Quote of the Day: Al Franken, Democratic and Republican Party Discipline
It’s Republican “Family Feud” (Or Civil War?) Over Sarah Palin
A Vanity Fair piece in which former staffers of Arizona Sen. John McCain's failed 2008 Presidential campaign rip into former GOP Vice Presidential running mate Gov. Sarah Palin has accentuated often bitter Republican party divisions -- exposing personal resentments and some of the ideological dividing lines within today's convalescing GOP. According to The Politico, it is … [Read more...] about It’s Republican “Family Feud” (Or Civil War?) Over Sarah Palin
Exhibit “A” Why Bank Bailouts Perceived Unfair
United States taxpayers are not happy campers when the subject of bank bailouts are discussed and I'm certain that perception will be bolstered by a story in today's Washington Post that indicates Sen. Daniel K. Inouye (D-Hawaii) played a role in a bailout for a bank in which most of his life's savings are invested. The upshot of the story indicates Inouye and his staff did … [Read more...] about Exhibit “A” Why Bank Bailouts Perceived Unfair
Is Mousavi Eventually Destined for Jail?
Is Iran's defeated but still feisty opposition Presidential candidate Mirhossein Mousavi eventually headed for jail? If you had to read tea leaves, the leaves seem to be lining up to suggest it could well happen. Two big leaves can now be seen. Mousavi is continuing to speak out and lambaste what he calls the illegitimacy of an election that is widely seen by many Iranians, … [Read more...] about Is Mousavi Eventually Destined for Jail?
All Jacko All The Time
John Cole, The Scranton Times-Tribune This cartoon is copyrighted and licensed to run on TMV. All Rights Reserved. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited. … [Read more...] about All Jacko All The Time
About That Referendum in Honduras
What's interesting is that Fausta (linked via Memeorandum) and Dr. Steven Taylor (of Poliblog) give us the exact wording of the ballot initiative, in Spanish -- which in turn is exactly the wording that Hilzoy quoted in her post at Obsidian Wings -- and all three provide an English translation that is almost exactly the same (Hilzoy translates "ballot box" as "urn" but says she … [Read more...] about About That Referendum in Honduras
The Demonization Continues
Isn't it time to start a 12 step program for partisan demonization and fear mongering? … [Read more...] about The Demonization Continues
Breaking Down the Franken Loss-to-Win Scenario
For political junkies, Chris Cillizza offers an excellent (and brief, making it all the more excellent) assessment of how Franken went from loser to winner in eight (short?) months. The fourth factor on Cillizza's list strikes me as the most interesting because it is perhaps the most counterintuitive for a political campaign to orchestrate and a candidate (especially one … [Read more...] about Breaking Down the Franken Loss-to-Win Scenario
Only in America
California is not the only state with a daunting budget crisis. There's also our neighbor, Illinois. From a St. Louis P-D blog report on yesterday's deadline-imminent negotiations, Kevin McDermott offered this slice of life: Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn will address a hastily assembled joint session of the Legislature at 3:30 p.m. today, Illinois House officials just announced … [Read more...] about Only in America
California Officially Broke
It's about an hour till midnight and July 1st but California is now pretty much officially broke. The legislature passed a pseudo budget but it didn't really fix any of the problems so the Governor vetoed it (something he'd said for some time that he would do) so we now have no budget and thus no money. Most state vendors could start getting IOU's as the budget crisis … [Read more...] about California Officially Broke
Michael Jackson: A Man Who Lived His Life in Reverse – Le Figaro, France
The remarkable global outpouring of emotion and opinion about Michael Jackson's death shows no sign of abating. Questions about his relationships with children, his decades-long attempt to whiten his skin, and his tendency to do everything most people do in reverse, are all touched upon by Le Figaro's Yann Moix, in this thought-provoking defense of Michael Jackson and the … [Read more...] about Michael Jackson: A Man Who Lived His Life in Reverse – Le Figaro, France
A Public Health Care Option Would Save Consumers Money
And that is why Olympia Snowe wants to keep it out of the Obama administration's health care reform bill. Chris Bowers quotes from an AP article published in the Baltimore Sun: … [Read more...] about A Public Health Care Option Would Save Consumers Money
As the Bush-Cheney Agreement Is Implemented in Iraq, more Criticism from Cheney’s Camp
An Op-Ed piece in yesterday's Los Angeles Times by John P. Hannah, who served as Vice President Dick Cheney's national security advisor from 2005-2009, got my attention and my dander up. On the eve of U.S. troops leaving Iraqi cities in accordance with a formal U.S.-Iraq agreement, Hannah seems to lament--almost as much as his ex-boss does--the implementation of the very … [Read more...] about As the Bush-Cheney Agreement Is Implemented in Iraq, more Criticism from Cheney’s Camp
Michael Jackson In Heaven
RJ Matson, The New York Observer This cartoon is copyrighted and licensed to run on TMV. All Rights Reserved. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited. … [Read more...] about Michael Jackson In Heaven
Another Circus Looming In California
In one of the quieter news stories of the week Congresswoman Tauscher (D-CA) was confirmed to serve as Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security. Her departure sets up a special election which will occur later this year, probably in the early fall. One of the leading candidates in the race is Lt. Governor John Garamendi and if he wins that would … [Read more...] about Another Circus Looming In California
Greener Than Thou
You love your planet but do you love it enough? … [Read more...] about Greener Than Thou
Be Careful What You Wish For
So with the victory of Al Franken in Minnesota today we now have, at least in theory, absolute one party rule for the first time in more than thirty years. For those who are going to correct me I would point out that by one party rule I mean where one party had a filibuster proof majority in the Senate, a 50 plus seat majority in the House and control of the White House. The … [Read more...] about Be Careful What You Wish For
Thanks for Sharing, Governor. Now Shut Up.
Gov. Mark Sanford and Maria Belen Chapur slept with each other more times than he had previously said. Actually, if he's going to be honest, she is his soul mate. He does promise, though, that he will try to "fall back in love" with his wife. … [Read more...] about Thanks for Sharing, Governor. Now Shut Up.
The Sanfords’ Disparity in Marital Smarts
That new soap opera, "The Sanfords of South Carolina," revives interest in a subject that intrigued me over decades of editing women's magazines--the sexual politics of two-career marriages. Working with ambitious women in their twenties and thirties, I was struck by how different their lives were from the Father-knows-best ethos of earlier generations. They weren't holding … [Read more...] about The Sanfords’ Disparity in Marital Smarts