After eight years in a Bush coma, Congress is busy "working" again and proving it doesn't work. The health care debate is a classic of evasions, non-sequiturs, empty rhetoric and lobbyist lies to patch together reform that will look like a Frankenstein monster with a Dr. Strangelove deception at the heart. Despite public support for a government insurance plan, House and … [Read more...] about Health Care Horror Show
GUEST VOICE: In Iran, ‘Little Sister’ As Antidote to ‘Big Brother’
Dr. E. here, bringing you a clear analysis of the Iranian means of protest by Guest Voice, Dr. Omed. His long-lived blog at Salon.com, Dr. Omed's Tent Show Revival, has now moved here, and continues to be a brew of informed political stance, articulate outrage, and ever fierce heart. Dr. Omed, is an Okie writer who is multilingual as news analyst, poet and artist. You can see … [Read more...] about GUEST VOICE: In Iran, ‘Little Sister’ As Antidote to ‘Big Brother’
Al Qaeda & Pakistan’s Nukes: Apocalypse Soon?
It sounds like a routine alarm, but the things are getting serious. The question being asked in this part of the world is: Who would grab Pakistan's nuclear weapons first...the Al Qaeda or the USA? To this speculation one may add an Aesop's fable: Would it be the "monkey" India/Israel combo snatching the nukes away from the Al Qaeda/USA "cat" ? Here is a categorical … [Read more...] about Al Qaeda & Pakistan’s Nukes: Apocalypse Soon?
Music: The Passion Index
Paul Lamere at Music Machinery: One of the ways that Music 2.0 has changed how we think about music is that there is so much interesting data available about how people are listening to music. Sites like Last.fm automatically track all sorts of interesting data that just was not available before. Forty years ago, a music label like Capitol would know how many copies the … [Read more...] about Music: The Passion Index
Poll Shows Most Americans Want Public Health Care
The poll is the New York Times/CBS News latest: … [Read more...] about Poll Shows Most Americans Want Public Health Care
Setting the Record Straight on George Will
With no malice intended, I feel a need to comment on a recent piece here by Kathy Kattenburg regarding George Will's recent comments on the situation in Iran and President Obama's response to them. You can take what you will from the discussion and form your own opinions on the Iran situation, but what caught my attention was Kathy's characterization of Mr. Will's remarks as … [Read more...] about Setting the Record Straight on George Will
Newsweek Reporter Maziar Bahari Arrested In Iran
How draconian is the Iran regime's crackdown and the pointed messages it's now sending out (demonstrators mowed down in the streets, family members of foes arrested, communications sliced off)? The latest sign that Iranians and the world are now seeing a government that has lost its shaky figleaf of democracy is the news that Newsweek's Maziar Bahari was arrested in the early … [Read more...] about Newsweek Reporter Maziar Bahari Arrested In Iran
Nothing To See
Olle Johansson, Sweden This cartoon is copyrighted and licensed to run on TMV. All Rights Reserved. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited. … [Read more...] about Nothing To See
Tweeting from “the Barricades” in Iran
I don't tweet, nor do I know much about Twitting. At my age, when I can’t even “Blackberry,” or “iPhone”, or “iPod,” or even “iPod-Touch,” (or whatever the name is of the latest gadget that my 9-year-old grandson so masterfully “operates”), why should I venture into even more iNcomprehensible technological territory. So, a couple of weeks ago, when Time Magazine’s cover … [Read more...] about Tweeting from “the Barricades” in Iran
Google Street View Shows a Crack
A few months back Siva Vaidhyanathan asked if anyone had ever used Google Street View for something important? He posted some of the interesting answers he got, but none was quite so newsworthy as this: A four story building collapsed in Brooklyn today, just before 2pm. The “Vesper Bar & Lounge” at 493 Myrtle Avenue is completely unrecognizable after the collapse, which … [Read more...] about Google Street View Shows a Crack
George Will on Conservatives’ Criticism of Obama’s Iran Response
From the Department of Credit Where Credit Is Due: … [Read more...] about George Will on Conservatives’ Criticism of Obama’s Iran Response
Around The Sphere
Our linkfest taking you to sites of varying viewpoints all over the Internet. No Matter What Happens In Iran, Will The Uprising Have An Impact Throughout The World? Simon Rosenberg believes so: Much has been written about the how events unfolding in Iran are crossing some kind of internal Iranian Rubicon. Fareed Zakaria has a new essay to this effect. But there is a … [Read more...] about Around The Sphere
The Wrong Health Care Emphasis
I was reading an article about health care reform when my train pulled into the station. The platform was crowded. I looked around. It took just one quick glance to see the major missing piece in today's great health care debate. The people on the platform, a mix of young and old, black and white, richly dressed and otherwise, a perfectly random sampling of urban Americans, … [Read more...] about The Wrong Health Care Emphasis
‘No Single LGBT Rights Leader’ a Feature, Not a Bug
The NYTimes today looks at Why the Gay Rights Movement Has No National Leader: Until 1973, homosexuality was classified as a mental illness by the American Psychiatric Association. Today, same-sex couples can marry in six states. How did a group that has been so successful over the last generation in countering cultural prejudice and winning civil rights make it so far without … [Read more...] about ‘No Single LGBT Rights Leader’ a Feature, Not a Bug
Father-in-Chief Obama Opts For Frozen Custard
I never miss an opportunity to treat others, and myself, to mouth-watering ice creams and frozen custards. I was delighted that dad Barack Obama gave a yummy frozen custard treat to daughters Sasha and Malia on The Father's Day. ABC News tells us that Sasha, his youngest daughter, went for the big chocolate brownie sundae with frozen yogurt, hot fudge, a cherry, sprinkles, … [Read more...] about Father-in-Chief Obama Opts For Frozen Custard
Muslim Cleric Charges Pepsi Is A “Zionist Plot”
A Muslim cleric has charged that Pepsi is actually a "Zionist plot." Seriously. Really. No joking. Here are the details proving that the light fizz isn't just atop Pepsi but is also in the craniums of people who love to hate: Extremist Moslems have not dropped their allegations that Pepsi Cola is essentially the code name for a Zionist plot. MEMRI has released an … [Read more...] about Muslim Cleric Charges Pepsi Is A “Zionist Plot”
The First Nerd President
It's almost 15 minutes long, but it's very funny. John Hodgman, the "PC" in the "Hi, I'm a Mac... And I'm a PC" commercials speaks at the Radio and Television Correspondent's Dinner: President Obama flashes the Vulcan salute twice, so he really is our first nerd President. Cool... --- Thanks to TrekMovie.com for the link to the video. --- Cross-posted between Random Fate and … [Read more...] about The First Nerd President
Relevant To Iran: Charlie Chaplin’s Great Dictator Speech
The great comedian Charlie Chaplin's stirring speech about liberty at the end of his 1940 film "The Great Dictator" is more relevant than ever given events in Iran. Watch it in full below: A PERSONAL NOTE: In this sound film, Chaplin, in a dual role, used his beloved "tramp" character to play the double of a dictator not so subtly patterned after Adolf Hitler. At the … [Read more...] about Relevant To Iran: Charlie Chaplin’s Great Dictator Speech
An End to Buffoonish Fathers (Guest Voice)
An End to Buffoonish Fathers by Tom Purcell Ah, Father’s Day is upon us. I can’t think of a better time for dads and men to remember how to be dads and men. Flip on the tube any time during the day and you’ll see fathers portrayed as hapless buffoons – saved from themselves by their wives and all-knowing children. The real life of the modern dad isn’t much … [Read more...] about An End to Buffoonish Fathers (Guest Voice)
Twelve Angry White People: Jury Nullification in a Pennsylvania Coal Town (Updated)
NOTE: This is an update of a column that ran earlier on TMV. Twelve Angry White People: Jury Nullification in a Pennsylvania Coal Town by Walter Brasch The Schuylkill County, Pa., justice system managed to do something that insurance actuaries do with mixed results--it determined not only the penalty for threats to a human life, but also the value of a human … [Read more...] about Twelve Angry White People: Jury Nullification in a Pennsylvania Coal Town (Updated)