This week the country is beginning to create a new health care policy. A broad sweeping change is something that may be desired, but is nearly impossible to either accomplish or do well. I am proposing a multi-baby-step process to resolve the healthcare crisis. You can find steps 1 and 2 on this site or at my blog at http://lipspeak.blogspot.com/. Even if you do not like my … [Read more...] about Healthcare Crisis: Step 3 Insurance Brokers
Cheney Inclusive Party
Mike Keefe, The Denver Post This cartoon is copyrighted and licensed to appear on TMV. All Rights Reserved. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited. … [Read more...] about Cheney Inclusive Party
Why Obama Had to Nix Release of Detainee Photos
"God save me from my enemies...and from my friends." The prayer is attributed to Martin Luther, but it might well fit President Barack Obama's mood as he ponders recent statements made by some of his fellow liberals. They're hot over Obama's decision not to release photographs of alleged terrorist detainees taken during the Bush Administration. The assumption is that the … [Read more...] about Why Obama Had to Nix Release of Detainee Photos
Hacking Education
Two months ago, Union Square Ventures convened a group of educators, entrepreneurs, and researchers to talk about "hacking education." The event went on for six hours and last week Brad Burnham posted what his partner, Fred Wilson, says is the definitive take on the event. I sent this excerpt to a brilliant student I mentor; a student who is bored by much most of what we in … [Read more...] about Hacking Education
Celebrating the ‘Social Collective’
My conservative tripwires and my ability to find common cause with George Will nothwithstanding, I think there's also much to consider -- and agree with -- in this column. … [Read more...] about Celebrating the ‘Social Collective’
Dick Cheney Quiz
Pat Bagley, Salt Lake Tribune This cartoon is copyrighted and licensed to appear on TMV. All Rights Reserved. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited. UPDATE: The Washington Post reports that some Republicans are not happy about Dick Cheney's blasts a day (going after the Obama administration, saying the country is less safe, saying Rush Limbaugh is more of a Republican … [Read more...] about Dick Cheney Quiz
Peru Bars Gays From Police
While the issue of gay marriage continues to rage in the United States, and as fallout continues in the Miss California broo-ha-ha, a news story out of Peru could spark international outcries: Peru is barring gays from being in the police: Peru has announced that it will ban homosexuals from the police force for damaging the image of the institution. The law is one of … [Read more...] about Peru Bars Gays From Police
Atlantis Astronauts Begin Risky Hubble Space Telescope Repair Spacewalk
While Americans squabble about politics here on earth, way above them the space shuttle Atlantis' astronauts are engaging in a risky space walk to repair the Hubble Space Telescope -- a high-tech repair with high stakes risks: John Grunsfeld and Drew Feustel are on a six-and-a-half hour spacewalk to replace Hubble's interplanetary camera with a new one that will allow it … [Read more...] about Atlantis Astronauts Begin Risky Hubble Space Telescope Repair Spacewalk
Communicating With Economist World
Planet Earth to Economist World. Planet Earth to Economist World. Come in Please. Planet Earth to Economist World. Can you hear me? We've been getting regular communications from you for a long time, but you seem to have lost all contact with us. For years we were picking up signals from you telling us how good our economy was going, when it really was just puffing up a … [Read more...] about Communicating With Economist World
The Daily Cheney Show
RJ Matson, The New York Observer This cartoon is copyrighted and licensed to appear on TMV. All Rights Reserved. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited. … [Read more...] about The Daily Cheney Show
Triggering My Conservative Tripwires
In the last two-plus years, I've veered hard to the left -- or at least what's defined as "left" in contemporary political jargon. Among other things: I'm an avid supporter of embryonic stem-cell research and a middle-of-the-roader on abortion: Full rights to the mother in the first trimester; primary rights to the baby in the second and third trimesters, with the notable … [Read more...] about Triggering My Conservative Tripwires
Staying Clean in a Dirty War
The heart sinks at the ongoing struggle of a President who exalts American decency trying to maintain it in fighting enemies imbued with the holiness of a cause that sanctions any and all abuses of human beings. The inner conflict is crystallized in his decision yesterday to resist court-ordered release of photographs showing alleged torture of Mideast detainees following a … [Read more...] about Staying Clean in a Dirty War
The Blago Effect
Yes, the shamed former Governor of Illinois is still rippling the political fabric, including in his state's neighbor to the West: Missouri. ... a bill sponsored by [Missouri State] Rep. Jason Smith, a Republican from Salem, would require special elections to fill mid-term openings in statewide offices, including U.S. Senator. The bill was approved earlier by the House, … [Read more...] about The Blago Effect
Myanmar: Brute Force Vs A Brave Burmese Lady
An ailing 63-year-old Nobel laureate, who happens to be the most popular leader of Myanmar (Burma), is being further traumatized by the brute military junta that has locked her up in her house for most of the past two decades. The Burmese democracy leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, faces as long as five years in the country’s most notorious jail after new charges were brought … [Read more...] about Myanmar: Brute Force Vs A Brave Burmese Lady
If Only Our President Would Have Dinner with Reporters: El Universo, Ecuador
People in the United States often don't realize the significance of events like the annual White House Correspondents' Dinner, which was held just days ago. But for people in other parts of the world, particularly journalists where press freedom of any kind is still a distant dream, such an event is hard to imagine. In this article from Ecuador's El Universo, Manuel Ignacio … [Read more...] about If Only Our President Would Have Dinner with Reporters: El Universo, Ecuador
President Speaks at ASU Graduation
May 13, 2009, Wed., 8:30 PM: NEWS ITEM FROM PHOENIX/TEMPE, ARIZONA: President Obama Gives Stirring Graduation Address at ASU and Jokes about Honorary Degrees after most of the country in the first 3 time zones had already gone to bed. President Obama gave his first commencement address as U.S. President at Arizona State University in Tempe, AZ at an outdoor early evening … [Read more...] about President Speaks at ASU Graduation
Are We All Done Now with Left and Right?: Nachrichten of Switzerland
Now that we're all tied up into ideological pretzels, is it time once and for all, to reconsider the labels 'left' and 'right'? That's the question addressed in this article by Patrik Etschmayer, columnist for the Swiss newspaper Nachrichten. Etschmayer writes in part: "More than ever, the Left condemns the market economy, demands an end to globalization and the … [Read more...] about Are We All Done Now with Left and Right?: Nachrichten of Switzerland
Millennials Have Liberals Counting Chickens Before They’ve Hatched
The headline in The Chronicle, Millennial Generation Will End Culture Wars, Researchers Say. The story is on two new reports released today by the liberal Center for American Progress: “The story throughout this survey is one of conservative decline and progressive ascendancy among young people,” says the first report, “The Political Ideology of the Millennial Generation,” … [Read more...] about Millennials Have Liberals Counting Chickens Before They’ve Hatched
Reid: Not Enough Votes to Stop GOP Filibuster on Johnsen
Maybe I'm missing something, but I have not noticed either the President or the Senate Majority Leader exerting themselves too vigorously on behalf of Dawn Johnsen, who, according to Roll Call, is about to be cut loose by Reid, who is thinking that he needs to "ease a backlog of executive branch nominations." This one isn't going anywhere, move on. I'm certainly no expert on … [Read more...] about Reid: Not Enough Votes to Stop GOP Filibuster on Johnsen
Arab Leaders Prefer to ‘Listen to Obama’s Fables’: Le Quotidien d’Oran of Algeria
'NETANYAHU GOVERNMENT': Israeli Foreign Minister Lieberman is seen chasing an Arab child. With President Obama slated to give his much-awaited 'speech to the Arab world' in Cairo on June 4, it seems Arabs are afraid to hope for too much. There may be, compared to President Bush, wide Muslim support for Obama, but there is far less confidence - even now - that he will … [Read more...] about Arab Leaders Prefer to ‘Listen to Obama’s Fables’: Le Quotidien d’Oran of Algeria