From Cox & Forkum: … [Read more...] about Status Quo Redux

THIS JUST IN from investigative reporter Andy Borowitz:In a special pre-Thanksgiving radio address broadcast from the White House, President George W. Bush asked his fellow Americans to join him in giving thanks for the following things: “My fellow Americans, let’s be thankful for global warming, because as these winter months approach, it makes the world such a nice, … [Read more...] about This Just In! (THANKSGIVING EDITION)

AP: 145 Die in Deadliest Attack of Iraq War BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) — In the deadliest attack since the beginning of the Iraq war, suspected Sunni-Arab militants used three suicide car bombs and two mortar rounds on the capital's Shiite Sadr City slum to kill at least 145 people and wound 238 on Thursday, police said. The Shiites responded almost immediately, firing 10 … [Read more...] about Bombs, Blood and Baghdad

Interesting news for all those interested in the Medicaid program:A federal advisory panel says that long-term care for aging baby boomers threatens to bankrupt Medicaid, and it recommends sweeping changes to rein in costs, including greater use of managed care for the sickest Medicaid recipients. The proposals set up a likely clash between the new Democratic Congress and the … [Read more...] about Changes Coming In Medicaid?

The New York Times reports: Speaker J. Dennis Hastert made history this year when he became the longest-serving Republican in that post. Now he is about to go into the books again as one of the few House speakers, and the first in almost 50 years, to rejoin the rank and file. Defying expectations that he would immediately retire if the Republicans lost their majority, Mr. … [Read more...] about Waiting for the Blame

Yesterday were the elections for Parliament in the Netherlands. Everyone politically engaged expected a run-off between the party of Prime-Minister Jan Peter Balkenende (the CDA) and Wouter Bos' party the PvdA. The party that wins the elections delivers the PM. During the last couple of weeks of the campaign however, polls showed that the PvdA was losing ground fast. Where did … [Read more...] about Dutch Elections: A Strange Outcome

I'll let this enraging and chilling video by Channel 4 (UK) speak for itself. You'll never be able to read another mundane line about "bodies discovered with evidence of torture" again without knowing exactly what that means. … [Read more...] about Death Squads in Iraq

O.J. Simpson remains a great news media quote-machine, even after his highly hyped book deal and two part Fox interview specials were nixed by News Corp's Higher Power, Rupert Murdoch himself. And Simpson provides quotes galore. He told the AP the book was admittedly "blood money" but that he is innocent:O.J. Simpson told The Associated Press he participated in the ill-fated … [Read more...] about OJ Calls Cancelled Book “Blood Money” And Proclaims Innocence

I wonder why? … [Read more...] about The Most Popular College Course EVER

The always-thoughtful Polimom takes a look at this issue HERE. … [Read more...] about Gay or straight: re-approaching the question of marriage

The big controversy of The Day. First, watch Clay Aiken guest host on the Regis-Ripa show and give Kelly Ripa an unpleasant surprise: The next day Kelly Ripa makes it clear to Regis Philbin that she was not amused: Then Rosie O'Donnell accuses Ripa of being "homophobic" and gets a surprise: Ripa calls in and ripas Rosie a new one: Your reaction? … [Read more...] about Clay Aiken, Kelly Ripa And Rosie O’Donnell In Celebrity “War”

It's a happy day for all of us (well, almost all of us..) … [Read more...] about Happy Thanksgiving 2 U

You'll see some fine-tuning at TMV over the next 12 months. (1) THE BLOGROLL: Starting Friday the blogroll will be looked at. Blogs on it that haven't been updated in a while will be removed. If you're a blogger and yours is one of those, if you start up again just contact us and we'll put it back (we've done that with one already). We'll also remove a few blogs that dropped … [Read more...] about Some TMV Fine-Tuning

The search for a dignified exit from Iraq, while ensuring some amount of stability to prevent all-out civil war is a central question both for US foreign policy and countries in the region. Nobody has the answers but calls for diplomacy are becoming more insistent within the US, while European and other countries are urging the White House to deal with the Iraq issue within a … [Read more...] about Diplomacy for a dignified exit from Iraq

Featuring Rahm-bo, an apology by the Senator, and the early stages of the right-wing attack machine. … [Read more...] about Today in Obama

John McCain supports a troop increase in Iraq. Robert Reich tries to get inside his head: "I think McCain knows Iraq is out of our hands – it’s disintegrating into civil war, and by 2008 will be a bloodbath. He also knows American troops will be withdrawn. The most important political fact he knows is he has to keep a big distance between himself and Bush in order to avoid … [Read more...] about Reich on McCain

What's behind the whole Pelosi-Harman brouhaha? The L.A. Times looks at their friendship and recent enmity here. (I still think Harman should be chair of the House Intelligence Committee. Snubbing her is a bad move for Pelosi.) … [Read more...] about Personal differences

Robert Altman — the director of such acclaimed films as M*A*S*H, McCabe & Mrs. Miller, Nashville, The Player, Short Cuts, and Gosford Park — died yesterday in Los Angeles at the age of 81. Although I found The Player and especially Short Cuts vastly overrated, and some of his work mediocre, M*A*S*H remains a powerful anti-war statement, as well as the basis for … [Read more...] about Robert Altman (1925-2006)

Middle Earth Journal's Jazz linked to the post I published earlier today about Thanksgiving. In his own post, he takes the time to reflect on his life and what he is grateful for.I am grateful to live in a country where we were able to vote out an inefficient and flawed majority in Congress, giving us at least some hope that their replacements will do somewhat better for us. I … [Read more...] about Reflections

It remains to be seen if Schwarzenegger is the real deal when it comes to the no-nonsense politics of the middle, but he's certainly gaining a solid reputation in California. Now he wants to push these some centrist ideas into the mainstream for the 2008 Republicans. Can he do it? I have more here. … [Read more...] about Arnold Embraces Centrism For ’08