That commenter with a pen name could be someone who's working for a politician and indulging in some political mind-games to badmouth an opponent or misdirect a political foe's supporters. But these cyberspace political operates sandbagging honest discussion on blogs do occasionally get busted. … [Read more...] about Be Careful When You Read Comments On Blog Posts

Is it about to undergo a massive change? Will Chris Matthews, Keith Olbermann and others be moved to CNBC? There is informed speculation that something may be in the works. … [Read more...] about MSNBC’s Future

We don't usually do this, but this is a follow up to a post we did yesterday that provoked a comment from a a reader who made a big deal because we ran part of a news report about Mel Gibson showing up out of town in a mask and wig to attend an event showing his new movie. The story said Gibson had avoided the press at the event. Now, if you've followed Gibson's career, you … [Read more...] about Mel Gibson Promotes His Movie And Condemns The War

I will not be able to post a lot today, let alone participate in the comment threads: my parents have gone to my grandmother who seems to be dying, she does not breath for a while, before she starts breathing again, does not respond to anything, &c. I have to go to classes in a second and after that I have to go to my grandmother. Again: I am afraid that I will have little … [Read more...] about Just Letting You Know

The White House, Karl Rove, and Republicans had hoped to shove national security into the forefront of the 2006 election campaign — achieving a kind of mind-meld so voters would go to the polls thinking about Iraq and the link they've made to it in the war on terror. It now appears as if they're getting their wish — but not in the way they had in mind. The New York … [Read more...] about Will Iraq Intelligence Findings Undermine National Security As GOP Issue?

Is this like the Cold War? Or is it worse? Here's one view. … [Read more...] about The U.S. Versus The Terrorists And Radical Islam

TMV occasionally runs book and DVD reviews. This is by Dan Schneider, who has also written Guest Voice posts for this site. DVD REVIEW: Chaplin's Goliath By Dan Schneider Copyright © by Dan Schneider The Time: Mid-1970s, summer vacation, 1 am. The Place: My dining room, in front of a small 15â€? black and white Philco tv. On WOR, Channel 9 in New York City, there is a 90 … [Read more...] about Guest DVD REVIEW: Chaplin’s Goliath

Mad TV style: … [Read more...] about Steven Segal Kung Fu

Virginia Senator George Allen is in the political hotseat again, heading into a week when he's going to have to be answering more questions about his attitudes towards those who aren't exactly like him. Salon reports:Three former college football teammates of Sen. George Allen say that the Virginia Republican repeatedly used an inflammatory racial epithet and demonstrated … [Read more...] about Senator George Allen In Political Hotseat Again: Past Use Of “N” Word

Like heck they are How about doing something against Muslim extremism in Africa? Somalia is now just about completely ruled by the "Islamist militia". They now seized "the southern town of Kismayo, one of the last seaports that had been outside their control in Somalia".The United States has accused the Islamic group of sheltering suspects in the 1998 bombings of U.S. … [Read more...] about Extremists In Africa

PETA has another pet peeve:People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals wants Six Flags Great America to scrap its Halloween-themed cockroach-eating promotion. A spokeswoman for the animal rights organization said the contest at the amusement park's FrightFest is "gratuitously cruel." The park in Gurnee, Illinois, is joining other Six Flags parks in offering unlimited … [Read more...] about PETA Objects To Six Flags’ Roach Eating Contest

Here's the first part of it. … [Read more...] about Bill Clinton’s Interview On Fox

Europe has, for the fifth time in the last six years (and three times in a row) won the Ryder Cup. To be honest, I could not care less about golf, but knowing that Europe is the best in something, is always a pleasure. That being said, this year's Ryder Cup was a special and dramatic one: Darren Clarke lost his wife to cancer 13 August this year.Clarke wasn't sure he should … [Read more...] about Sad Day For Americans, Victorious One For Europe

Another important point in the short history of a Democratic Iraq: Iraq's fractious ethnic and religious parliamentary groups agreed Sunday to open debate on a contentious Shiite-proposed draft legislation that will allow the creation of federal regions in Iraq". Continue reading. … [Read more...] about Iraq Moving Towards Federalism

He's usually available to the press but wasn't this time:Actor and director Mel Gibson visited two Oklahoma towns this week to attend screenings of his new movie, "Apocalypto." Gibson did not make a public appearance during screenings held at the Riverwind Casino in Goldsby and Cameron University in Lawton. At the entrance of the casino - where the film was shown Friday to a … [Read more...] about Mel Gibson’s New Low Profile

David S. Broder does a good job analyzing the current political climate in America and what that climate means for the chances of politicians who are not willing to follow the party-line, just because it's the party-line. His view: independent thinkers have a (good) shot at winning these days. The uberpartisan climate is frustrating to a lot of Americans: independent … [Read more...] about Time For Unity?

Frustrated are we? An interesting post at Firedoglake. Pachacutec is frustrated with the DC Democrats, but committed to helping the Democrats win the elections nonetheless. … [Read more...] about Frustration And Commitment

SURPRISE There is a lot of speculation going on in the blogosphere (and outside of it) about what Karl Rove's 'October surprise' might be. A lot of people seem to think that this surprise will be a military strike against Iran. Iran must be dealt with sooner or later. The best thing to do, most likely, is deal with it sooner. The more the West lets Ahmadinejad get away with … [Read more...] about October Surprise In The Making…?

Since a fierce debate emurged about private vs public schools / education in the thread about education in Afghanistan, it might be of interest to some, to debate about before mentioned issue, in this thread, which will make it more accessible and orderly. My opinion: government should provide for public schools, while not having a monopoly on education. Private schools … [Read more...] about Public vs. Private Schools

Former Senator Gary Hart says don't be surprised if preemptive war with Iran starts before the November elections. Is any discussion about an "October surprise" basically speculative, paranoid nonsense? Or is there any substance to the claim that this will happen? Here's some history. TMV's view: Just ignoring Iran is not an option. In looking at Iran's actions (work on … [Read more...] about The October Surprise? More Predictions It Will Be Iran (UPDATE)