We'll see. … [Read more...] about Could This Be “The Passion Of The Budweiser”?

Well, they're good for some people:Surging oil prices helped drive quarterly profits for US energy giant ExxonMobil to 10.36 billion dollars, the latest in a string of mammoth profit reports that have drawn fire for the industry. The second-quarter profit was up 36 percent from a year ago and approached the company's all-time record profit of 10.71 billion dollars that was … [Read more...] about Are Oil/Gas Prices Making You Broke?

(Please click to enlarge and read) "Here is the Declaration of Independence as it originally appeared in the Pennsylvania Packet in its issue of Monday, July 8, 1776. This facsimile of a portion of The Packet is from a reprint of the original by J.V. Vondersmith of Philadelphia on the centennial observance of the Declaration in 1876." Click here for text only version. In the … [Read more...] about Remembering Jefferson & The American Mind

"We Europeans must never forget that we created the Middle East conflict," says Timothy Garton Ash in The Guardian. "Justified criticism of Israeli policy needs to be informed by a sense of our own historical responsibility. "When and where did this war begin? Shortly after 9am local time on Wednesday July 12, when Hizbullah militants seized Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev - … [Read more...] about Who Created The Middle East Conflict?

American pizza arrived in 1905. That’s when Gennaro Lombardi received the first license in New York City to run a pizzeria at 531/2 Spring Street. And since then the American appetite has definitely improved! Let us take a look at other flavours in life... As the U.S. Administration, and a large number of vocal Americans (including bloggers) appear to take an aggressive and … [Read more...] about Superpower USA : 100 Years Ago

Our linkfest from weblogs of VARYING opinions. Opinions in the links don't necessarily express the viewpoints of TMV or its co-bloggers. A Blunt Assesssment Of The Middle East From A National Security Advisor: Former National Security Advisor Zbigniew Brzezinksi had blunt comments about Israel's actions at a dinner. Steve Clemmons has details. Bush Made A Major Concession To … [Read more...] about Around The Sphere July 28, 2006

In response to the emails and comments, here's more of the REAL "The Great One," Jackie Gleason. In yesterday's post (chain linked below this post) we offered you Gleason as Reginald Van Gleason III, the rich playboy. Below you'll find another one of his incredible talents: his mastery of pantomime. In this clip from his 1963 "American Scene Magazine" show on CBS, Gleason … [Read more...] about Comedy Greats: Jackie Gleason Part 2

THIS JUST IN from investigative reporter Andy Borowitz:FIGHTING BREAKS OUT BETWEEN CNN AND FOX Anderson Cooper, Geraldo in Border Skirmish Fears of a wider war in the Middle East were realized today as fighting broke out between CNN and Fox in southern Lebanon. In the two weeks since the Mideast conflict began, camera crews and on-air personalities from the two cable news … [Read more...] about This Just In!

Sadly, the pessimistic scenario for Israel’s war in Lebanon outlined in this space earlier is becoming reality faster than expected. The situation on the ground may be worse than first hand analysts in Lebanon, Israel and the United Nations estimated. It would be prudent not to neglect these signals as rhetorical assumptions. Several Western reporters have now confirmed … [Read more...] about You read it here first

We knew this was coming, didn't we?Al-Qaida's No. 2 leader called Thursday for Muslims to unite in a holy war against Israel and to join the fighting in Lebanon and Gaza until Islam reigns from "Spain to Iraq."It's an attempt to unite Muslims under its banner to go after Israel and basically non-Muslim governments everywhere. MORE:Ayman al-Zawahri's taped message, the first … [Read more...] about Al Qaeda Expands Its Job Description

The highly controversial Rep. Cynthia McKinney has now been forced into a runoff and her opponent Hank Johnson has been making his case via blogging on the solid website Winds of Change. And he is somewhat prolific in his posts. He wrote THIS POST introducing himself. Then THIS POST making his case and explaining why supporting him would be good for politics. Then he did … [Read more...] about McKinney’s Runoff Opponent Now Blogging

Back on July 14, I declared myself "cautiously optimistic" on the deal reached between the Administration and Senator Specter on the NSA eavesdrop program. I cannot say that is the case anymore. After yesterday's Senate Judiciary Committee hearings on the issue, it appears that the Administration is seeking even more power outside the FISA framework. While the agreement would … [Read more...] about Eavesdrop “Compromise”: I Smell a Rat

It's like a bunch of you-know-what's fleeing a sinking you-know what. Katherine Harris' Senate candidacy in Florida is to increased poll numbers what garlic breath is to romance:In only three months, U.S. Senate candidate Katherine Harris has lost almost half of the Republicans who planned to vote for her, according to a new poll that suggests the congresswoman has little … [Read more...] about GOP Voters Deserting Katherine Harris In Droves

Jackie Gleason was as big a comedy genius as television ever produced. And that is NOT a comment on his size. Today, he's mostly remembered for being the star of The Honeymooners in his lifetime role as blustery, every-losing bus driver Ralph Kramden. But he was MUCH more. Aside from being an excellent actor (watch him as Minnesota Fats in The Hustler), his show in the 1950s … [Read more...] about Comedy Greats: Jackie Gleason

What is the meaning of tradition? Why is it viewed as something unchanging, when in reality tradition is a fluid, contested, and variable concept? … [Read more...] about The River Is Eternal, The Water Never Stops Flowing

Some thoughts on learning from others about race and racism. … [Read more...] about The Teacher and The Student

The Washington Supreme Court has rejected a challenge to the state's anti-gay marriage law, the latest in a string of setbacks for the marriage equality movement. I've got a round-up at my site, but the post proper focuses on a separate issue: why is it considered problematic when a judge appears to use her personal beliefs to strike down a statute, but not when a judge uses … [Read more...] about Washington Gay Marriage Decision

Maariv via Daily Alert: Assessment: Nasrallah is in the Iranian Embassy in Beirut - Ben Caspit. The latest intelligence assessment in Israel is that Nasrallah is hiding in the basement of the Iranian Embassy in Beirut. Even though there is no final determination, more and more Israeli officials are pointing at the Iranian Embassy, which is under Iranian sovereignty and … [Read more...] about Nasrallah’s Reputed Whereabouts

1) From the U.S.: "A new USA Today/Gallup poll finds 37% of Americans approving of the way Bush is handling his job as president and 59% disapproving." Bush's approval rating "seems to have reached a plateau in the 37% to 40% range since mid-June". 2) From the U.K.: "Britain should take a much more robust and independent approach to the United States, according to a … [Read more...] about Bush and Blair: A tale of two polls

Larry J. Sabato's CRYSTAL BALL: The Israeli-Hezbollah war in the Middle East has become this summer's obsession, and rightly so. The dangers of a wider war are ever present, and no story is equal to the misery of armed conflict in the world's tinderbox. Nonetheless, one wishes that the television media could walk and chew gum simultaneously. Loads of important stories, like … [Read more...] about Sabato’s Crystal Ball: The Mideast War and the Midterm Elections