For reasons both personal and related to exhaustion with the idiocies I see in blogworld, my postings both here at The Moderate Voice along with my own personal weblog Random Fate have been few and far between. Instead of a political diatribe, I offer photo I took Monday night in San Francisco on a businesss trip when out with an old friend I worked with in France. Click on … [Read more...] about A scene from a San Francisco night

Coming on the heels of a Los Angeles Times report indicating that the Pentagon wants "to "double down" in [Iraq] with a substantial buildup in American troops, an increase in industrial aid and a major combat offensive against Muqtada Sadr, the radical Shiite leader impeding development of the Iraqi government," a new poll underscores a bit of a problem: The White House's … [Read more...] about Latest Poll Shows White House Clout On Iraq Further Eroded

From the emailed Evans-Novak Political Report:In a remarkably short span of time, Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) has pushed aside former Sen. John Edwards (D-N.C.) as the principal challenger of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.). A long hard road is ahead for Obama, but he is clearly more than a media phenomenon.That begs the question: despite his protestations, will another … [Read more...] about Novak: Obama Orama Is Genuine

There's an old joke: Moses talking to God: "Now wait, let me get this straight. We're 'the chosen people'.... and you want us to cut off the tips of our WHAT??!" But circumcisions are now proven to have some medical benefits, so no more cutting remarks about the original snip and tuck jobs:Circumcising men cuts their risk of being infected with the AIDS virus in half, and … [Read more...] about Men Who Are Circumcised Face Lower HIV Risk

The You Tube Choir performs "The 12 Days Of Christmas": Friendly suggestion: Don't quit your day jobs. … [Read more...] about The Debut Of A New Choir Singing “The 12 Days Of Christmas”

">Judge upholds detainee rights terror lawA federal judge upheld the Bush administration's new terrorism law Wednesday, agreeing that Guantanamo Bay detainees do not have the right to challenge their imprisonment in U.S. courts.Just because we can withhold their day in court, I don't think we should. It seems to me that we have more to gain by demonstrating to the world our … [Read more...] about Habeas Corpus – We can withhold it…but should we?

"If the DHS really conducted an immigration raid by separating people based entirely on their skin color, somebody better lose their job over it." … [Read more...] about Two Lines

It probably doesn't show given the once-every-six-minute plugs I've been doing here, but I really hate campaigning for things. Club elections, weblog awards, whatever--I just feel awkward. In an attempt to allieviate some of the embarassment, I devote this post not just to myself, but to all the blogs I feel comfortable endorsing for victory. There won't be one for every … [Read more...] about Endorsements

We've all seen how the anonymity of the Internet can bring out the very worst in people. From vicious blog comments to fictitious rumors, the new media is a modern-day Wild West. Usually, the ugliness stays in virtual unreality-land; no real harm done beyond hurt feelings — but there's real danger lurking there too. Who will read your son's MySpace profile, and try to … [Read more...] about Hunting the Predators

Here's a question for all the White readers of TMV: Do you feel like you have to "walk on eggshells" when talking to minorities? … [Read more...] about Race Talk

Or so my doctor tells me. My chances of winning the blog awards, however, are on life support. Click here and vote for The Debate Link. … [Read more...] about I’m Alive

MSNBC is reporting that Senator Tim Johnson, 59, D-SD, has apparently suffered a stroke. In the event of Johnson's death or retirement, the Senate could change control in January - South Dakota's governorship and legislative chambers are both currently held by Republicans. Our thoughts should be with the senator and his family this evening. … [Read more...] about Breaking News: MSNBC Reports Senator Tim Johnson (D-SD) Suffers Stroke

As all of you know, I read a lot. I thought that it would be nice to start a new, daily routine: the literary quote of the day. For those who already read a lot, perhaps you recognize the quote and want to leave a comment about it / the author... or perhaps it makes you realize that you did not read the specific essay, article, book, story, poem, etc. it was taken from and … [Read more...] about Literary Quote of the Day: Edgar Allen Poe

Yes, that David Duke. In short, Sean Aqui wrote a post detailing why he was against laws criminalizing the speech of Holocaust deniers. And I agree because laws like these play right into the hands of the deniers by making it appear as if their information is too dangerous to report. In any event, hop on over when you have time and check out what the former leader of the KKK … [Read more...] about David Duke Comments at Donklephant

David and Marc have already weighed in on yesterday's Washington Post editorial on the life and legacy of Pinochet, but I wanted to provide in some detail an argument for why it is a mistake to credit the former dictator with Chile's relative economic success. ********** The first two paragraphs of the editorial address Pinochet's tyranny. Sort of. While acknowledging that … [Read more...] about Excusing Pinochet

Today is not going to go down in the books as one of my favorites. I had to take my grandmother to a doctor's appointment in downtown D.C. (I hate driving, and I hate city driving even more). When we got there, we found out that the doctor was unaware she had an appointment in the first place, and had gone home for the day. So we had to drive all the way back. And nearly got … [Read more...] about Not The Best Day

It's unbelievable, but the once-so-stable Netherlands seems to have degenerated into a Western banana republic. I have reported on multiple occasions by now, about several political crises down here. Today... yet another crisis. The cause of today's crisis? Minister of Immigration and Integration Rita Verdonk. Dutch Parliament, now in new shape, had a debate with her about … [Read more...] about My Banana Republic

I had made a comment about Lebanon in one of the posts and a more informed reader corrected my facts. I asked if they would be interested in summarizing the situation in Lebanon for TMV. Here is an excerpt and a link to a Lebanon overviewThe ousting of Syria was an unacceptable blow to Iran and Syria . When the now independent government asked the world court to investigate … [Read more...] about Lebanon Overview

I apologize for the infrequency of my posting here at TMV recently. I seem to be battling a neverending cold and have directed most of my blogging energy at The Reaction. (The rest goes to work and family, of course.) Here's the first of a couple of posts I'll put up today, and hopefully I'll be back to a regular co-blogging schedule soon. ********** The Washington Post is … [Read more...] about Factory work

At TNR. Provides for a lengthy albeit very interesting read. … [Read more...] about Letter to a Christian Nation… Signed, Atheist