(Editor's Note: The following story is absolutely true.) Necessity is the mother of invention, and so when U.S. troops in Iraq found that Silly String was an effective way to spot nearly invisible trip wires they asked their commanders to order up cases of the child’s toy. No can do, they were told. Not content with that answer, Army Specialist Todd Shriver, who is … [Read more...] about Winning in Iraq One Can of Silly String at a Time

The Decider and his environmentally-unfriendly minions have been in denial about global warming from the jump. Now the most powerful presidential administration in modern times — the one that says it has the power to do whatever it wants, Congress and courts be damned — will argue in a Supreme Court showdown with 12 states that it does not have the power to slow … [Read more...] about Global Warming Goes to Court

The Justice Department is at it again, seeking to turn the case of foreign student arrested in the U.S. on terrorism-related charges into another test case of Congress' power to strip federal courts of the authority to hear habeas challenges. Mischief such as this will have a whole lot more bearing on the future conduct of the War on Terror — and the future of America … [Read more...] about Be Afraid America, Be Very Afraid

It is deeply offensive that The Decider wants to raise $500 million to build a president library and think tank at Southern Methodist University in Dallas. Beyond the fact that George Bush is probably the least literate and most poorly read president since God knows when, his administration's penchant for secrecy extends to papers that routinely are made available to the … [Read more...] about ‘My Pet Goat’ & The Bush Presidential Library

Conservatives love to accuse liberals of being overly Politically Correct. And this is an era, indeed, in which certain kinds of ethnic and stereotypical humor are taboo. But there's one taboo that those on the side accused of being PC apparently don't feel is PC: Sexism. Apparently some folks think its just fine to call a woman a certain word that begins with the third word … [Read more...] about Do The PC Police Need PC Police?

On a website. An extensive interview with Captain Donald Macintosh - Royal Air Force bomber pilot of a lancaster bomber in 1944. Read it here. … [Read more...] about An Incredible Piece Of History

The Moderate Voice occasionally runs Guest Voice posts by readers who don't have a weblog or have one and have something special to say here. Guest Voice posts do not necessarily reflect the opinion of TMV or its co-bloggers — but they do add to our free-wheeling debate. Nicholas Rivera, who has a new blog called The Coming Realignment (we have blogrolled it under Other … [Read more...] about Guest Voice: Republican Senator Calls for Phased Troop Withdrawal From Iraq

Another poetic gem from TMV's favorite poet, Michael Silverstein, aka Wall Street Poet: Think tank neocons. Pentagon advisors. Intel analysts. Senators with presidential ambitions. As the full idiocy of our Iraq adventure has finally become clear, inside the Beltway the big question is: Who's gonna take the political fall for this disaster? Iraq Blaming Beyond sad Beyond … [Read more...] about Guest Poet: Iraq Blaming

THIS JUST IN from investigative reporter Andy Borowitz:Al-Jazeera Refuses to Air O.J. Special 'Not Up to Our Standards of Taste,' Says Satellite Net The Arabic-language Al-Jazeera network, which gained international notoriety for putting some of the most renowned sociopaths in the world on the air, today became the second network to refuse to broadcast the controversial O.J. … [Read more...] about This Just In!!

Not legally, necessarily, but in the wake of Michael Richards' appalling racist tirade some Black leaders are taking the initiative to get the word off the stage. … [Read more...] about Ban The N-Word?

Last time, he got it from former President Bill Clinton. This time he gets it from Barney Frank. Video here. … [Read more...] about Another Democrat Zings Fox News‘ Chris Wallace On Bias

My review of Stranger than Fiction, as well as first impressions of Final Fantasy XII. Even I'm not 100% politics, y'know. … [Read more...] about Cool Down

I am inspired by Governor Schwarzenegger's sense of possibilities, independence, self discipline, adaptability and vision. As an executive it is hard to imagine a better role model for any Centrist Governor or President. Here are some excerpts from his recent visit to Meet The Press. RUSSERT starts with a quote: "“Arnold Schwarzenegger’s 17-point victory alone commands … [Read more...] about The Very Model of a Modern Major Governor

The 16-year old actress playing the Virgin Mary is pregnant. I wonder who The Father is? … [Read more...] about I’ve Heard of Method Acting, But This Is Ridiculous

Meanwhile, in Bahrain:Bahrain's Shia Muslim opposition has won at least 40% of the vote in elections which saw women and liberal candidates fare poorly.This election was "only the second time people have been able to vote for national MPs". Bahrain is essentially a constitutional monarchy. The two-chamber National Assembly includes a 40-seat Consultative Council, appointed by … [Read more...] about Bahraini balloting

So what's up in Ecuador? Well, the run-off vote between the top two candidates in last month's presidential election -- Alvaro Noboa (banana tycoon, Bible thumper, the country's richest man) and Rafael Correa (leftist economist with a Ph.D. from Chicago, populist, friend of Hugo Chavez) -- was held today, and, as the BBC is reporting, with regular updates, Correa leads Noboa 68 … [Read more...] about Correa triumphs in Ecuador

Israel sweetened its offer to the Palestinians. If miraculously Hamas accepts, then the wise course is to reward the Palestinians with overwhelming aide and support. This is to help promote moderation in their community and to help make a peaceful prosperous future look more attractive than the violent past. … [Read more...] about Hope in Israel

Given this year's election results you knew it had to happen: the New York Times has printed an obituary for the "Yankee Republican (Republicanus newenglandensis)." Pam Belluck describes the subspecies as "Dignified in demeanor, independent in ideology and frequently blue in blood [how the heck did I miss out on that one?], they were politicians in the mold of Roosevelt and … [Read more...] about NY Times Runs Obituary for New England Republicans

Thomas Barnett is an international strategist with a growing fan base. He recently commented on an article by Henry Kissinger about negotiating with Iran. He agrees that to a great extent, "all the talks need to do is buy us time and a forum for starting what will inevitably be a long-term forum for regional security discussion, much like the The Organization for Security and … [Read more...] about Realism is just idealism stretched over time

It's not hard to see why golden retrievers are among the most popular breeds in the U.S. year in and year out. They're cuddly cute as puppies and beautiful as adults. They're great around kids, energetic, intelligent, intensely loyal and easy to train. In fact, they often train their owners. But many American golden retrievers are also time bombs because an extraordinarily … [Read more...] about What’s Killing Our Golden Retrievers?