The deluge of first 100 day evaluations of President Barack Obama has begun, but one of the most interesting discussions came on Meet the Press with istorian Doris Kearns Goodwin and Newsweek Editor John Meacham. A counter cultural presidency? The leadership of patience? A dangerous expansion of the federal government? A President who paces himself and replenishes his … [Read more...] about Barack Obama’s First 100 Days: Huge Government Expansion, The Leadership Of Patience Or Both?
Looming Pandemic
Monte Wolverton, Cagle Cartoons This cartoon is copyrighted and licensed to appear on TMV. All Rights Reserved. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited. … [Read more...] about Looming Pandemic
CBS Poll: Blacks support Obama 96-0
Not surprisingly, President Obama's approval numbers on the 100th day are very high. At 68%, the latest CBS/NYT poll shows widespread support for President Obama as a person, and the job he is doing. When you remove the Rasmussen daily tracker, which skews negatively for Obama for some reason, Obama's … [Read more...] about CBS Poll: Blacks support Obama 96-0
Lawyers for Torture
The Federalist Society hosted a conference call this morning with themselves to brainstorm strategies for defeating the threat of prosecutions against former Bush officials for devising, authorizing, and justifying a torture program against foreigners the Bush administration deemed to be terrorists: … [Read more...] about Lawyers for Torture
Getting A Little Help From The Opposition
In 1898 Republicans in Indiana were concerned about winning a race for Congress in the 6th District. It was an open seat and the party had two major problems in holding it. The first was the black vote, which at that time was still heavily Republican. But in this particular year black voters were, for one reason or the other, upset with the local GOP. There was no danger they … [Read more...] about Getting A Little Help From The Opposition
Wall Street’s Welfare Queens
As the furor over AIG bonuses fades, Paul Krugman today points to a real outrage: "pay at investment banks, after dipping last year, is soaring again--right back up to 2007 levels." Such a symbol for unquenchable Wall Street greed may serve a political turning point just as did Ronald Reagan's Welfare Queen who drove a Cadillac three decades ago--with a number of added … [Read more...] about Wall Street’s Welfare Queens
President John McCain’s First 100 Days
What would the first 100 days of President John McCain's presidency likely have looked like if the Arizona Senator -- sometimes at much at odds with his own party as with the Democrats -- had won the Presidency? Walter Shapiro, writing on Salon, gives you his always perceptive take. (Shapiro was a great columnist on USA Today some years ago and now Salon regularly runs his … [Read more...] about President John McCain’s First 100 Days
Mexico City Did Not Need A Major Earthquake Today
MSNBC says that both Reuters and AP are reporting that a major earthquake has rocked Mexico City's skyscrapers. USGS Earthquake Details Magnitude 6.0 Date-Time Monday, April 27, 2009 at 16:46:31 UTC Monday, April 27, 2009 at 11:46:31 AM at epicenter Time of Earthquake in other Time Zones Location 17.322°N, 99.326°W Depth 41.2 km (25.6 miles) Region GUERRERO, … [Read more...] about Mexico City Did Not Need A Major Earthquake Today
When Can We Say The Swine Flu Isn’t As Bad Here As There
When I first started writing for TMV, I meant to have a few posts pointing out how a basic ignorance or misunderstanding of statistics clouds our political discussions and news stories. I got distracted with all the happenings in the world, but this outbreak sounds like a good place to start. So far there have been 103 deaths in Mexico out of 1614 suspected sickened. This is … [Read more...] about When Can We Say The Swine Flu Isn’t As Bad Here As There
The CDC is Tweeting Swine Flu Updates. And Why Twitter Works.
The Centers for Disease Control is tweeting updates on the swine flu outbreak. Meanwhile, over the weekend Evgeny Morozov at Foreign Policy's Net Effect looked at Twitter's power to misinform: [D]espite all the recent Twitter-enthusiasm about this platform's unique power to alert millions of people in decentralized and previously unavailable ways, there are quite a few reasons … [Read more...] about The CDC is Tweeting Swine Flu Updates. And Why Twitter Works.
The Perils of Lila Rose
For an interesting look at one of the front-line warriors in the abortion wars, be sure to stop by the L.A. Times for their profile of culture warrior, Lila Rose. (For disclosure's sake, I've had the chance to sit in on a number of interviews between the subject in question and Ed Morrissey during his daily talk show.) While you can find out much more from the linked article … [Read more...] about The Perils of Lila Rose
Around The Sphere
Is Obama A Leftist? Socialist? Moderate? Or What? E.J. Dionne, Jr. has an analysis that seems to hit it on the head: How many ironies can a single presidency engender? Barack Obama is a detached man who has inspired fierce loyalties, and a cool man who has aroused both warm feelings of affection and a fiery opposition. He loves to engage conservatives, yet few of them … [Read more...] about Around The Sphere
Miss California: Champion of Federalism on Gay Marriage?
A week after Miss USA runner-up Carrie Prejean started a national conversation about whether it's wrong to say something plainly, with no shades of nuance - "I believe that a marriage should be between a man and a woman," the verbal version of the Prop 8 vote tally and our president's personal belief - Prejean's preamble is still drawing harangues over its accuracy. She … [Read more...] about Miss California: Champion of Federalism on Gay Marriage?
Mexican Swine Flu
Rainer Hachfeld, Neues Deutschland, Germany This cartoon is copyrighted and licensed to appear on TMV. All Rights Reserved. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited. UPDATE: And the question now becomes: what are we up against? … [Read more...] about Mexican Swine Flu
Drug Decriminalization Working in Portugal
Time has a report on a new study by Glenn Greenwald -- yes, that Glenn Greenwald -- finding that decriminalizing drugs in Portugal has worked: The paper, published by Cato in April, found that in the five years after personal possession was decriminalized, illegal drug use among teens in Portugal declined and rates of new HIV infections caused by sharing of dirty needles … [Read more...] about Drug Decriminalization Working in Portugal
Torture: Why It’s Best To Go Slow On ‘The Past That Is Haunting The Future’
By SHAUN MULLEN GUEST VOICE As someone who has banged the drum relentlessly about the Bush administration's torture regime, there is a certain satisfaction to be felt in the events of the past week. This includes the knowledge that so long as America is a functioning democracy with a semblance of an independent news media and a vibrant blogosphere, a fuller account of … [Read more...] about Torture: Why It’s Best To Go Slow On ‘The Past That Is Haunting The Future’
Heroism Should Not Be For Sale
The internet has brought a number of wonderful advances to society and one of the more interesting (and frequently useful) are web sites like E-Bay. The site provides a wonderful ability to sell items you no longer need and to buy products at cheaper prices. However there are certain things that simply should not be sold, whether on E-Bay or anywhere else for that matter. … [Read more...] about Heroism Should Not Be For Sale
Why Tom Selleck Is A Class Act
Tonight the TV Land network aired their annual TV Land awards program. Among the honorees this year was Magnum PI which won the 'Hero award'. When he accepted the award, Tom Selleck showed what a class act he is. Rather than using his speech to talk about the show or himself, he chose to talk about those he considers to be the true heroes, our military veterans. He delivered … [Read more...] about Why Tom Selleck Is A Class Act
What the Tea Parties Can Teach Moderate Republicans
Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed. -Martin Luther King Jr. In reading some of the blogs as of late, it might seem that moderate or progressive Republicans are finally getting some love. The recent speeches by Meghan McCain and former McCain campaign manager Steve Schmidt, have given people the impression that maybe, … [Read more...] about What the Tea Parties Can Teach Moderate Republicans
‘Fussy’ Rights Groups ‘Wrong’ to Be Impatient with Obama: Le Monde of France
How is President Obama doing as he nears the 100-days-in-office milestone. According to this editorial from Le Monde, in the area of international justice he has done well and is getting a bad rap from well-meaning but wrong-headed human rights groups. The Le Monde editorial says in part: "On April 30, the Obama Administration will have been in place for 100 days. It's … [Read more...] about ‘Fussy’ Rights Groups ‘Wrong’ to Be Impatient with Obama: Le Monde of France