I didn't actually do policy debate (Congress and LD), but nonetheless, I pretty much lived this movie for four years in high school. One of the more surreal moments of my life came in college last year, when I was able to make two senior girls go ga-ga over me by reading from John Dewey at spread-speed (and believe me, I wouldn't be even considered fast on the policy … [Read more...] about Debate: The Movie
Senior Citizen Sex
Bob Englehart, The Hartford Courant … [Read more...] about Senior Citizen Sex
Republican Firm Lobbies to Undermine Al-Maliki
One gets the impression more and more that Republicans - and thus the White House - want to replace al-Maliki. Instead of just criticizing al-Maliki, a lobbying firm owned by Republicans is now calling for al-Maliki's resignation and wants him to be replaced by Iyad Allawi. Meanwhile, Bobby Ghosh explains at TIME that there are few good alternatives after Nouri al-Maliki. … [Read more...] about Republican Firm Lobbies to Undermine Al-Maliki
Key Findings NIE Report
If you want to read the key finding of the NIE report and Nancy Pelosi's reaction, I suggest going here. … [Read more...] about Key Findings NIE Report
Krugman: Republicans are Racists – It’s that Simple
Joe Gandelman selected a part of this column by Paul Krugman for his Quote of the Day. The quote: Quite simply, America is becoming less white, mainly because of immigration. Hispanic and Asian voters were only 4 percent of the electorate in 1980, but they were 11 percent of voters in 2004 — and that number will keep rising for the foreseeable future. Those numbers … [Read more...] about Krugman: Republicans are Racists – It’s that Simple
Iraq and the Middle East: Pardon Me, But Your Partition is Showing
Like a bad penny that keeps turning up, partitioning Iraq into three ethnic mini-states in order to save it is back in the news. The latest slugfest over this truly lousy idea has been aired out this week at TMV, and I review that in a lengthy post at Kiko’s House. But I also add some pertinent background – as in the fact Iraq’s borders today are a result of an … [Read more...] about Iraq and the Middle East: Pardon Me, But Your Partition is Showing
Ex-Republican Bob Barr Condemns Recent FISA Bill
On Wednesday, Republican-turned-Libertarian and Former Georgia Congressman Bob Barr wrote an Op-Ed piece in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution in which he expressed his views about the recent FISA Bill that was passed by Congress just prior to the August Recess. Introduced by Republican Senator Mitch McConnell and named the Protect America Act of 2007, the bill was passed by … [Read more...] about Ex-Republican Bob Barr Condemns Recent FISA Bill
Give War A Chance
Pat Bagley, Salt Lake Tribune … [Read more...] about Give War A Chance
(Updated) Today’s Iraq War Cold Shower Is Brought To You By . . .
. . . the U.S. intelligence community and Senator John Warner. As noted in previous posts here, the spooks have vetted a declassified version of the National Intelligence Estimate on Iraq, only a small portion of which was released earlier in the month. The report concludes that Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki may not have the ability or capacity to "push forward" … [Read more...] about (Updated) Today’s Iraq War Cold Shower Is Brought To You By . . .
Quote Of The Day: Krugman On GOP Immigration Debate
Paul Krugman, writing in New York Times (select) has our quote of the day: Quite simply, America is becoming less white, mainly because of immigration. Hispanic and Asian voters were only 4 percent of the electorate in 1980, but they were 11 percent of voters in 2004 — and that number will keep rising for the foreseeable future. Those numbers are the reason Karl Rove … [Read more...] about Quote Of The Day: Krugman On GOP Immigration Debate
Guest Poet: The Hillary Poem
Another poetic gem from TMV's favorite poet, Michael Silverstein, aka Wall Street Poet: Most Democrats and Republicans finally agree on something. Both seem determined that Hillary Clinton top the Democratic ticket in 2008. Republicans know she's their only hope for victory that year. And democrats, well, Democrats are so immersed in Clinton cultism that common sense, or … [Read more...] about Guest Poet: The Hillary Poem
Troop Deployments
Sandy Huffaker, Cagle Cartoons … [Read more...] about Troop Deployments
Fox News Cancels Democrat-Snubbed Debate
Fox News, increasingly shunned and challenged by Democratic candidates and progressive bloggers, has canceled a highly touted debate -- a watershed development that could have implications on several fronts: Fox News and a black political group say they will not hold a Sept. 23 Democratic presidential debate in Detroit, which the leading candidates already were planning to … [Read more...] about Fox News Cancels Democrat-Snubbed Debate
Internal displacement at all-time high after surge
The surge of US forces in Iraq since February has led to an increase in internally displaced Iraqis across the country, according to two humanitarian groups. Statistics collected by one of the two humanitarian groups, the Iraqi Red Crescent Organization, indicate that the total number of internally displaced Iraqis has more than doubled, to 1.1 million from 499,000, … [Read more...] about Internal displacement at all-time high after surge
The Nike Theory of Genocide Response
Anybody can come up with reasons for Israel to turn away the Darfur refugees. Anybody could have (and did) come up with reasons to turn back Jewish refugees in the Holocaust. Avoiding one's responsibilities to the victims of genocide is easy, and easier to justify. But Jews have always been insistent that nation's were wrong to do so. We've staked a significant amount of moral … [Read more...] about The Nike Theory of Genocide Response
Proposed Changes to CoA
Regular readers may have noticed that the standard, scales-of-justice image for our "Center of Attention" (CoA) feature was missing from today's installment. And why was that? Because I thought it was growing a bit stale and was overdue for a change; which, in turn, led me to wonder if a larger overhaul of the feature might be in order. CoA has never been a big … [Read more...] about Proposed Changes to CoA
American Radical Muslim: Korean Hostages are “Terrorists”
Classy: Don't fool yourselves the Taliban are not barbarians like the US & it's coalition forces NAY, these Korean Crusaders were tried and sentenced just as the spy Daniel Pearl was. No apology from this Muslim, rather a BIG smile and lots of Duaa (supplications) for my Taliban brothers in Islam. The crime? Trying to convert Muslims to Christianity. The punishment, … [Read more...] about American Radical Muslim: Korean Hostages are “Terrorists”
Sabato’s Crystal Ball: A MAP IN FLUX?
The 2008 Potential to Reshape the Electoral Landscape A whole generation of young Americans may be growing up with the impression that the nation's electoral map is locked into a rough balance between the Democrats and Republicans, with their states sharply etched in shades of blue and red. It is an understandable impression. After months of campaigning and the … [Read more...] about Sabato’s Crystal Ball: A MAP IN FLUX?
Iraq wasn’t like Vietnam, until it was
That is, until it suited the president to make the comparison. Which he did. Yesterday: President Bush defended his ongoing military commitment in Iraq by linking the conflict there to the Vietnam War, arguing Wednesday that withdrawing U.S. troops would lead to widespread death and suffering as it did in Southeast Asia three decades ago. "One unmistakable legacy of … [Read more...] about Iraq wasn’t like Vietnam, until it was
More Canadian Dead
The unpleasant latest: "The dangers of Afghanistan were driven further Wednesday night with news that two Canadian soldiers and an Afghan interpreter were killed and another soldier and two Radio-Canada television journalists were injured." The Canadian death toll in Afghanistan since 2002 now stands at 68, including a diplomat. Yes, far fewer than the number of Afghans … [Read more...] about More Canadian Dead