Daryl Cagle, MSNBC.com This cartoon is copyrighted and licensed to appear on TMV. All Rights Reserved. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited. … [Read more...] about AIG Robbery
Farmer Hans to U.S. Bankers: “Welcome to the Kill”—Dutch Commentary
About a week ago, I posted excerpts from a story from the Dutch newspaper NRC Handelsblad, about a young Dutch farmer, Jelle Hans Reitsma, who emigrated to the U.S. 20 years ago and recently committed suicide because of huge---to him probably insurmountable--- financial problems. The story evoked only one comment from a reader---a nice and sympathetic one at that. I have … [Read more...] about Farmer Hans to U.S. Bankers: “Welcome to the Kill”—Dutch Commentary
Education Department’s Annual Digest of Statistics
Everything you could ever want to know about education in America (this year): The U.S. Department of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics released today its “Digest of Education Statistics, 2008” — an annual compilation of data on American education from prekindergarten through college. One statistic included in the report is the change in tuition from … [Read more...] about Education Department’s Annual Digest of Statistics
Obama, The Gridiron And Leno: Where’s The Outrage?
Sigh.... Perhaps it's a sign of impending pundit burnout. Or a sign of eyes nearly popping out as I remain addicted to reading a host of websites and blogs of all persuasions. But I KNEW some stories would fall a certain way... For instance, when it was announced the Barack Obama wouldn't attend the Gridiron, I told friends: "Just watch. This will become a big issue now. … [Read more...] about Obama, The Gridiron And Leno: Where’s The Outrage?
Breaking The Wall Street Union
In 1981 President Ronald Reagan took an enormous chance that delivered enormous benefits for his administration and its core beliefs. He broke the airline controllers' union. Unions had been losing a lot of power and membership for years before this, but the controllers' encounter seemed to be a unique situation. Airline controllers felt that had an unbeatable hand. Their … [Read more...] about Breaking The Wall Street Union
Obama Set the Bar, But GOP Embraces Defense Mechanisms to Thwart His Efforts
One thing that I’ve noticed since President Barack Obama was inaugurated, but which comes as no surprise, is that, how, when you campaign on the idea of transparency, and you succeed a president whom people say they voted for because he was so folksy and you’d want to have a beer with him but that president then abused that folksiness image to let people who saw him as folksy … [Read more...] about Obama Set the Bar, But GOP Embraces Defense Mechanisms to Thwart His Efforts
Jon Stewart Rips Obama on Troop Insurance
Ever since I caught the business end of a verbal Louisville Slugger for asking if late night comics would begin criticizing the Obama administration, I've been carrying this guilty feeling as if it's my responsibility to keep watch over the late night comedians. Last night, more signs of life were breathed into my hopes for even handed satire in the age of Obama when Jon … [Read more...] about Jon Stewart Rips Obama on Troop Insurance
AIG: The Populist Outrage Wave Breaks On The Shore
By SHAUN MULLEN GUEST VOICE The long-building wave of "populist outrage" over craven capitalist elites with a suffocating sense of privilege has broken on the shore with the AIG bonus scandal. Having spent the last few days on the road, I come late to the story of the moment. Nevertheless, the more complicated it becomes the simpler it is: The U.S.'s largest insurance … [Read more...] about AIG: The Populist Outrage Wave Breaks On The Shore
Bat-Gate!
Animal rights activists around the globe will surely be up in arms over news that NASA has cruelly and unusually murdered a free-tailed bat which was attempting to get a free ride on the Space Shuttle. A bat that apparently had trouble flying instead tried to hitch a ride on the space shuttle Discovery, NASA officials said. The rodent was last seen clinging on the foam of … [Read more...] about Bat-Gate!
Bush Declines To Criticize Obama And Doesn’t Agree With Limbaugh
Former President George Bush pointedly passed up a chance to criticize President Barack Obama, who has increasingly peppered his speeches with pointed criticism of Obama -- once again underlying a seeming split between Bush and his former Vice President Dick Cheney. On several occasions since leaving office, Cheney has criticized Obama in terms that are more akin to a talk … [Read more...] about Bush Declines To Criticize Obama And Doesn’t Agree With Limbaugh
State-By-State Review of How Tight the GOP is Wearing Their Blinders
Salon.com has compiled a review of the health and well-being of the Republican Party, state by state: The following list examines the trends in each of the 50 states over the past three election cycles, assessing demographic shifts, voting patterns, rising and falling political stars and organizational strengths and weaknesses. The picture it paints is not pretty, but it is … [Read more...] about State-By-State Review of How Tight the GOP is Wearing Their Blinders
Sex & Sin As Economic Stimuli
Colonel Pickering: “Have you no morals, man? “ Alfred P. Doolittle: “Nah, can't afford 'em. Neither could you, if you were as poor as me.” These were some of the many great lines from “My Fair Lady” a Broadway Musicale by Lerner & Lowe, that was based upon the play “Pygmalion” by George Bernard Shaw. These 2 lines are most appropriate for our current national economic … [Read more...] about Sex & Sin As Economic Stimuli
Two Disturbing Signs From Obama
OK it's been a couple of months and the nation's ills haven't been fixed yet, so I feel like complaining about all the bad decisions Obama is making. Well actually I think the vast majority of things aren't his fault -- even if he does make bad economic or foreign policy decisions they are accepted wisdom and he feels his hands are tied, so it's expected. I supported him from … [Read more...] about Two Disturbing Signs From Obama
MRSA ST398 & the Overuse of Nontherapeutic Antibiotics
Nicholas Kristof last Sunday: We don’t add antibiotics to baby food and Cocoa Puffs so that children get fewer ear infections. That’s because we understand that the overuse of antibiotics is already creating “superbugs” resistant to medication. Yet we continue to allow agribusiness companies to add antibiotics to animal feed so that piglets stay healthy and don’t get ear … [Read more...] about MRSA ST398 & the Overuse of Nontherapeutic Antibiotics
Obama White House Plays More “Politics As Usual”
And The New York Times Plays Along As if we needed another example of why the average citizen is turned off not only by politics but also by "reporting," here comes a tale of complicity and intrigue from two bastions of power: The White House and The New York Times. On Saturday, the NY Times provided anonymity (not quite Judith Miller style, but close) to an … [Read more...] about Obama White House Plays More “Politics As Usual”
Poll: Limbaugh’s Favorable Rating Is 19 Percent
A new poll is out that measures conservative talk show host and GOP powerhouse Rush Limbaugh's favorable rating. And you look at the South Pole polling numbers and you wonder: with these numbers just who is Limbaugh trying to emulate? His biggest fan..the popularity challenged former Vice President Dick Cheney? Over the past few weeks, the White House has been casting … [Read more...] about Poll: Limbaugh’s Favorable Rating Is 19 Percent
New AIG Logo
RJ Matson, The St. Louis Post Dispatch This cartoon is copyrighted and licensed to appear on TMV. All Rights Reserved. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited. … [Read more...] about New AIG Logo
Fox News for Newsweek’s “Utterly Shameless” Honor in Next Week’s Dignity Index.
One of my favorite segments in Newsweek is "The Dignity Index." In the magazine's words, this Index is "a weekly mathematical survey of dubious behavior that measures, on a scale of 1 to 100, just how low a person can go." The scale ranges from "mildly tacky" to "utterly shameless." In very fine print, below the index, one with good eyes or a good prescription can read: … [Read more...] about Fox News for Newsweek’s “Utterly Shameless” Honor in Next Week’s Dignity Index.
GSA Court Victory in Florida High School Case
In Florida last week, a judge used the Equal Access Act, originally promoted by organizations seeking to protect after-school prayer clubs, to rule in favor of students who set up a high school gay-straight alliance: As long as we’re Imagining, let’s think about schools in which it’s safe to be lesbian or gay. A federal court did just that last week in Gay-Straight Alliance of … [Read more...] about GSA Court Victory in Florida High School Case
China and America: Europe Should Fear G2 Rather than G20: Financial Times Deutschland
Judging from the recent content we've been translating, European concern that the United States and China are sidelining a disunited Old Continent seems to be reaching something of a fever pitch. Likening Washington to ancient Rome of the fifth century, Thomas Klau of the Financial Times Deutschland warns Europeans that the largest debtor [the U.S.] and the largest creditor … [Read more...] about China and America: Europe Should Fear G2 Rather than G20: Financial Times Deutschland