Like any theatrical piece, “The David Petraeus Show†is having out-of-town tryouts before opening in Washington two weeks from now. Today, the General gave an upbeat performance. He told the Australian in an interview at his Baghdad headquarters there has been a 75 per cent reduction in religious and ethnic killings since last year, a doubling in the seizure of … [Read more...] about Petraeus’ Gung-Ho Preview
Clowns 1, Klan 0
This is awesome (via AAB) … [Read more...] about Clowns 1, Klan 0
New Senator from Idaho: Will He Bring More Government Intrusion into Business, Rather Than Less?
Rumored that he will be Senator Larry Craig's replacement... On Lieutenant-Governor James E Risch's page at the Governor's website are the four or five Initiatives he stands for. http://lgo.idaho.gov/ One is on helping Idahoan businesses verify that new employees are properly papered to work in the USA. Alien Verification Initiative The State of Idaho has made the … [Read more...] about New Senator from Idaho: Will He Bring More Government Intrusion into Business, Rather Than Less?
Witch Hunt
I refrained on blogging on it for awhile, but the hounding of Debbie Almontaser out of her job as principal of a new Arabic-immersion school in NYC is bogus and unbelievably ignorant. Oh, and it makes America less safe. A trifecta of things that really annoy me. … [Read more...] about Witch Hunt
UPDATED: Senator John Warner R-VA to Retire
Washington Post: Va. Senator Warner Will Not Seek a Sixth Term Retirement is unwelcome news for Republicans who hope to take control of the Senate next year. UPDATE - Chris Cillizza of The Fix has a few comments: Va. Senate: A Golden Opportunity for Democrats Sen. John Warner's (R-Va.) decision not to seek a sixth term in 2008 places his seat in serious peril next … [Read more...] about UPDATED: Senator John Warner R-VA to Retire
The New Senator from Idaho
Reportedly, Larry Craig's successor has already been picked. It's rumored to be Idaho's Lt. Governor Jim Risch. More About Jim Risch … [Read more...] about The New Senator from Idaho
Tony Snow to Step Down Sept. 14th
AP via MSNBC: WASHINGTON - Tony Snow, the highly visible White House press secretary, will leave his job on Sept. 14 and be replaced by his deputy, Dana Perino, an administration official said Friday. President Bush was to announce the changes during an appearance in the White House briefing room. Snow, ailing with cancer, had said recently he would leave before the … [Read more...] about Tony Snow to Step Down Sept. 14th
A Little Bit More Conservatism Please
Today I published this post at my own blog, in which I wonder where true conservatives have gone (in America). Since this is The Moderate Voice and not The Conservative Voice I decided not to publish the article in its entirety here, but, instead, to only publish a so-called pointer post (short intro, link). So, if you would like to read this post please click here. … [Read more...] about A Little Bit More Conservatism Please
PKK Uses American Weapons, Pentagon Admits
And Americans wonder why quite some Turks believe America is extremely hypocritical when it talks about a global war on terrorism: As U.S. officials confirmed that some weapons, originally given to Iraqi security forces by the American military, had been seized by Turkish authorities, the Pentagon said it had not armed and does not arm the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which … [Read more...] about PKK Uses American Weapons, Pentagon Admits
CNN: Craig Will Quit Soon
CNN reports: Several well-placed GOP sources in Washington and Idaho have told CNN that embattled Republican Sen. Larry Craig is likely to resign soon, possibly as early as Friday. A GOP source with knowledge of the situation told CNN's Dana Bash that the Republican National Committee was poised to take the extraordinary step of calling on Craig to resign. However, … [Read more...] about CNN: Craig Will Quit Soon
Craig’s Toiletgate Has Late Night Comedians On A Roll
Oh, those late night comedians love the scandal surrounding Republican Senator Larry Craig's airport men's room arrest. Here's a long list of their jokes. Some are quite adult oriented (go to the link and read the entire list). Most of the jokes are essentially about hypocrisy or are new gay or recycled stock gay jokes. Here are a few of the tamer and funnier … [Read more...] about Craig’s Toiletgate Has Late Night Comedians On A Roll
Panel Will Urge Broad Overhaul of Iraqi Police
The New York Times reports that “an independent commission established by Congress to assess Iraq’s security forces will recommend remaking the 26,000-member national police force to purge it of corrupt officers and Shiite militants suspected of complicity in sectarian killings.†In fact, an administration official told the Times that the panel recommends that “we … [Read more...] about Panel Will Urge Broad Overhaul of Iraqi Police
Gonzales: Oops
Potentially bad news for Alberto Gonzales: The Justice Department's inspector general indicated yesterday that he is investigating whether departing Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales gave false or misleading testimony to Congress, including whether he lied under oath about warrantless surveillance and the firings of nine U.S. attorneys. The disclosure by Inspector … [Read more...] about Gonzales: Oops
Columnists Criticizing Each Other
At Turkish Daily News two columnists are currently debating each other. Mustafa Akyol first criticized fellow TDN columnist Burak Bekdil three days ago. Today, the latter responded to the criticism. Both columns are interesting reads, if for nothing else then to see how respectful both treat each other, while fervently disagreeing at the same time with one another. Of … [Read more...] about Columnists Criticizing Each Other
Month 53 of the War By the Numbers
As far as the war in Iraq is concerned, the trouble with September for the Bush administration is that August has to come first. This means the good news in the run-up to the anxiously awaited Petraeus-Crocker progress report gets upstaged by the bad news: Negligible decreases in U.S. and Iraqi casualties despite all of the spinning about how much better things … [Read more...] about Month 53 of the War By the Numbers
Is Secretary of Defense Gates Out Of The Iraq Policy-Making Loop?
President George Bush wants $50 billion more for the Iraq war and Secretary of Defense Robert Gates reportedly did not even know about it. This suggests some possibilities: (1) Policy is being made by Bush and a very small group of people. And the link above also notes that the military is NOT solidly backing the Bush administration on Iraq anymore -- because they fear … [Read more...] about Is Secretary of Defense Gates Out Of The Iraq Policy-Making Loop?
Guest Voice: Obama’s Opportunity
NOTE: The Moderate Voice runs Guest Voice posts from time to time by readers who don't have their own websites, or people who have websites but would like to post something for TMV's diverse and thoughtful readership. Guest Voice posts do not necessarily reflect the opinions of The Moderate Voice or its writers. This cross post is by the independent blog Walking Think Tank: … [Read more...] about Guest Voice: Obama’s Opportunity
Guest Poet: The Great Stock Plunge
Another poetic gem from TMV's favorite poet, Michael Silverstein, aka Wall Street Poet: A concerted effort featuring huge infusions of money supplied by the Fed, highly focused buying orchestrated by Treasury officials that gave a positive skew to key averages, abetted by buying opportunity calls to individual investors by every stock broker from Panama to the Yukon, kept … [Read more...] about Guest Poet: The Great Stock Plunge
This Just In!!!
THIS JUST IN from investigative reporter Andy Borowitz:NBC Launches ‘To Catch a Senator’ Chris Hansen to Stake Out Airport Bathrooms “Dateline,†the NBC newsmagazine which has scored big ratings for its “To Catch a Predator†investigations, announced today that it would introduce a new investigative series this fall, entitled “To Catch a Senator.†At a … [Read more...] about This Just In!!!
Important Notes For TMV Readers
This was posted early this morning and we've moved it up. NEWER POSTS are under this so keep scrolling. A few important notes for TMV readers: OUR SITE REDESIGN AND UPGRADE IS CONTINUING There will be some important and extensive upgrades to TMV starting early Saturday morning around 5 a.m. through 8 a.m. There could be some disruptions. We are doing a major server … [Read more...] about Important Notes For TMV Readers