By Senator Arlen Specter's calculus, the inextricably intertwined issues of the Bush administration's embrace of torture and whether Michael Mukasey should be confirmed as the successor to the attorney general who issued secret legal opinions endorsing its use comes down to this: If Mukasey says that waterboarding is torture and if torture is illegal then some CIA agents … [Read more...] about Another Update on the Torture Debate
Voice of Indian Muslims…
India's leading newspaper The Hindustan Times catches up with a community in transition, "with Muslims who are proud of being Muslims, and do not hesitate to go back to their religion to get ahead in life, make money, get educated and change their lot." For their profiles and how the Indian Muslims think please click here... Islam in India is the second-most practiced … [Read more...] about Voice of Indian Muslims…
Update on the Prez Sex Scandal Rumor
Like water trying to find its own level, or something, rumors that the Los Angeles Times is sitting on a sex scandal story about a certain presidential candidate that could blow the campaign wide open are percolating through the blogosphere. As noted here yesterday, PajamasMedia blogger Ron Rosenbaum did a pretty good job of airing out the outlines of the “story,†as … [Read more...] about Update on the Prez Sex Scandal Rumor
Vietnam & Iraq: The Bitter Lessons of Backing Right Horse In Wrong War
President Eisenhower with Ngo Dinh Diem Three weeks before the death of John F. Kennedy in November 1963, another assassination of a president occurred halfway around the world -- the CIA-backed murder of Ngo Dinh Diem of South Vietnam. That assassination 44 years ago today is a mere historic footnote, but it helped propel the U.S. into a decade-long quagmire that took … [Read more...] about Vietnam & Iraq: The Bitter Lessons of Backing Right Horse In Wrong War
Our Home Town: Seed Corn Shall Not Be Ground
Perhaps you grew up in a small town like I did. I keep up with the local newspaper even though I no longer live in that little still semi-rural backwoods burg, population 600, with a struggling city nearby that is still going through the tailings of its own version of 'the rust belt.' You might remember my article about the good old guy who made tin can scarecrows and drove … [Read more...] about Our Home Town: Seed Corn Shall Not Be Ground
Guest Voice: Voting As Political Narcotic
NOTE: The Moderate Voice from time to time runs Guest Voice posts by readers who don't have their own website or some people who do who want to present their viewpoint or just another perspective to TMV's highly diverse readership. Guest Voice columns do not necessarily reflect the opinion of TMV or its writers. Here is another Guest Voice by Joel S. Hirschhorn. Voting As … [Read more...] about Guest Voice: Voting As Political Narcotic
Kucinich UFO
Brian Fairrington, Cagle Cartoons … [Read more...] about Kucinich UFO
Poll: Hillary Would Easily Beat Giuliani Amid GOP Popularity Nosedive
A new poll that suggests that New York Senator Hillary Clinton -- now under fire in what has been long predicted would happen to her if she pulled way out ahead -- would easily defeat former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani for President if the race was held today. And the GOP in in exceedingly bad shape in the way it is viewed by many Americans, the poll finds. The Politico … [Read more...] about Poll: Hillary Would Easily Beat Giuliani Amid GOP Popularity Nosedive
“The Fantasy of a Pro-America Europe”
"Rumors of a return to trans-Atlantic harmony are premature for the moment," writes Niall Stanage in The New York Observer. He criticizes the wishful thinking by some arrogant commentators. Instead of the term "arrogance," Stanage uses the euphemism "a robust sense of self-importance," which instantly became one of my favorite phrases: The ascensions of Ms. Merkel and, … [Read more...] about “The Fantasy of a Pro-America Europe”
Candidate Sex Scandal, Oooooo Just in Time for Halloween: Spooky
TMV columnist Shaun Mullen wrote a poignant question about media today: "Is the Los Angeles Times sitting on a sex scandal story about a certain presidential candidate that could blow the campaign wide open? Rumors about the story – which apparently does not involve a certain guy who gets $300 haircuts — have been circulating in Washington... the Times apparently doesn’t … [Read more...] about Candidate Sex Scandal, Oooooo Just in Time for Halloween: Spooky
The Republican Party Loses A Prominent Member
A prominent one in the blogosphere. … [Read more...] about The Republican Party Loses A Prominent Member
The Capitol Steps’ Halloween Show: “Politics Takes a Holiday”
Listen Tonight on the listed NPR stations or Listen Online in RealAudio … [Read more...] about The Capitol Steps’ Halloween Show: “Politics Takes a Holiday”
Saudi King’s Entourage: Advisers & ‘Handful of Wives’
King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, now on a three-day visit to the UK, has brought along with him a handful of wives along with an impressive array of advisers as a part of his entourage...More here... "The King was also believed to have brought a handful of wives – he has been married more than 30 times – and 100 servants to attend to his personal needs. And as the … [Read more...] about Saudi King’s Entourage: Advisers & ‘Handful of Wives’
Prez Candidate Sex Scandal In Offing?
Is the Los Angeles Times sitting on a sex scandal story about a certain presidential candidate that could blow the campaign wide open? Rumors about the story – which apparently does not involve a certain guy who gets $300 haircuts -- have been circulating in Washington for some time. The story apparently is ready, which means that it has been checked, double-checked and … [Read more...] about Prez Candidate Sex Scandal In Offing?
Mr. Zarqawi’s Neighborhood
A change in strategy: Al-Qaeda in Iraq appears to be taking a page directly out of the US Army Counterinsurgency Field Manual. David Dryer writes: Mohammed at Last-of-Iraqis recently reported on rumors that al Qaeda’s Iraqi iteration is fighting the battle of hearts and minds in the predominantly Sunni Adhamiya neighborhood of Baghdad (Recall that Adhamiya is the … [Read more...] about Mr. Zarqawi’s Neighborhood
Mukasey’s Tortured Response (Update)
With his once sure nomination as attorney general possibly hanging in the balance, Michael Mukasey has responded to Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee about his equivocating on whether waterboarding is torture with further equivocating. Mukasey declared Tuesday in a four-page letter that waterboarding and other harsh interrogation techniques "seem over the line or, … [Read more...] about Mukasey’s Tortured Response (Update)
The Comedy of Extremes
According to a recent Rasmussen Reports survey, Ron Paul and Dennis Kucinich would both be delivering concession speeches at the end of the night, if matched in head-to-head contests with comedian Stephen Colbert. My first reaction: Woop-tee-freakin-dooh. This is a professional satirist, we're talking about, people. Yes, Colbert is funny, but he has the governance … [Read more...] about The Comedy of Extremes
Guest Book Review: Kafka On The Shore
This is a Guest Book Review by fiction writer Jessica Schneider who also writes for the highly visited site Cosmoetica, is Book Editor for Monsters and Critics and is the only contributor to her own blog. Review of Kafka on the Shore By Jessica Schneider This is the first time I’ve ever read a novel by Haruki Murakami. I’d read a collection of his short … [Read more...] about Guest Book Review: Kafka On The Shore
Guest Poet: Father Dollar
Another poetic gem from TMV's favorite poet, Michael Silverstein, aka Wall Street Poet: The strength of a nation's currency is a barometer of how the world views that nation's economy. The U.S. dollar has been falling like a stone in recent months. Does that tell you something? Father Dollar "You grow weak, Father Dollar," the trader said, "And now sag 'gainst euro … [Read more...] about Guest Poet: Father Dollar
Democratic Darts
Larry Wright, The Detroit News … [Read more...] about Democratic Darts