Well, he's criticizing his fellow Democrats for not being open to and respecting people of faith. Indeed, Democrats do not "acknowledge the power of faith in the lives of the American people". First, this isn't true, as Steve Benen says. Yes, Democrats need to do a better job reaching out to, and making sure voters know they're open to and respect, people of faith. But … [Read more...] about What the hell is Obama doing?

The Four T's of the 2006 battle for the House David Wasserman & Larry J. Sabato of the U.Va. Center for Politics Just how perilously close are Republicans to losing their congressional majority in 2006? The way several independent observers and Democrats are talking and acting these days, you might guess the GOP's demise was all but a done deal. Only last month, veteran … [Read more...] about Sabato’s Crystal Ball: MICRO-WAVE or MACRO-WAVE?

Yes, yes, I know. Such an immoderate post title. But, then, sometimes you need to respond to immoderation with a little immoderation of your own, even at a moderate site like TMV. Don't you think? Over at The Reaction, I explain just why Jimmy D. is so dangerous (and such an idiot). Facile characterizations aside -- and there is some humor involved -- this is serious … [Read more...] about James Dobson is a dangerous idiot

AP via New York Times: WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court ruled Thursday that President Bush overstepped his authority in ordering military war crimes trials for Guantanamo Bay detainees. The ruling, a rebuke to the administration and its aggressive anti-terror policies, was written by Justice John Paul Stevens, who said the proposed trials were illegal under U.S. law … [Read more...] about SCOTUS Blocks Bush on Guantanamo Military Tribunals

TMV's PERSONAL NOTE: Last night in redating some posts on this site I inadvertantly pushed this GREAT POST back when it should have been put on today's blog. I just saw Jeremy's note when he could not find his post. So I'm putting it on TOP and leaving his note on as well. TMV regrets the ERROR. The Supreme Court has kept the partisan gerrymander (pictured here in its original … [Read more...] about Redistricting Watch: The Gerrymander Lives

....in Great Britain. We thank reader Isidora for the tip. … [Read more...] about Controversy Over Terrorism, Civil Liberties, The Legislative Branch, And Government Power

My long post from last night on the Supreme Court's redistricting decision seems to have disappeared into the ether (ah, the wonders of modern technology), so if you missed it, it's here. TMV's NOTE: This was a mistake in redating the blog. We have corrected the error. This long and GREAT post is now at the top of today's posts. … [Read more...] about Redistricting Watch: The Gerrymander Lives

Our first reaction was: oh, so he wants to tax members of Congress:Republican Sen. Charles Grassley of Iowa is hoping to stamp out the sex trade by taxing pimps and prostitutes, then jailing them when they don't pay.But then we realized we were wrong when we read more: The Senate Judiciary Committee Wednesday morning approved a bill sponsored by committee chairman Sen. Charles … [Read more...] about Senator Proposes A Special Tax

For people of all — or no — parties. Unity08 has come up with this "Declaration of Independence From Politics Without Purpose" for people sick of partisanship. Read it and if you like it, sign it. You do NOT have to be ready to vote for a third party to sign it (or to agree with much of what Unity08 espouses). … [Read more...] about A Declaration Of Independence For People Sick Of Partisanship

Winston Groom's new book Patriotic Fire (about the Battle of New Orleans) is the subject of my latest book review, which I've posted here at my brand-new literary-related blog, PhiloBiblos. … [Read more...] about Book Review: “Patriotic Fire”

From an article at MSNBC.com on the elimination of the taxes on telephone calls: Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., who won approval of the ban in the Senate Finance Committee, said he didn't want the Internet to fall victim to taxes like the telephone tax enacted for the Spanish-American War. "That war ended two centuries ago, and Congress is just now getting around to getting rid of … [Read more...] about Historically challenged

What happens to the jury pool when only "death-qualified" jurors are allowed to serve in capital cases? … [Read more...] about Has The Jury Reached Its Verdict?

James "It Will Destroy The Earth" Dobson goes off the rails again. … [Read more...] about Gay Marriage…More Threatening Than Slavery

MSNBC: SIDNEY, N.Y. - Authorities Wednesday ordered the mandatory evacuation of 150,000 to 200,000 people from Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, and surrounding areas along the Susquehanna River, a Luzerne County official said. Luzerne County public information officer Kathy Bozinski said residents from 10 communities in Wyoming Valley were ordered shortly after midday to leave … [Read more...] about FLOOD ALERT in Pennsylvania

For decades, some holy cities and tourist destinations in India have attracted foreigners in view of the open use of cannabis/marijuana/hashish, especially in the post-Beatles days. Can it be clubbed with cocaine and heroin in terms of its after-effects? The debate goes on...So those interested can find out here. Cannabis is believed to have been used in India as early as … [Read more...] about Cannabis or Hashish: A Healer Or A Killer?

Not too long ago, I wrote about what I consider to be the shame of America's free press, that is, the mainstream news media's gullibility with respect to the White House's preferred spin and their refusal, or inability, to do their jobs properly: Forget the liberal press. The accurate adjective is gullible. It wants a story, any story, preferably a new story. Apparently, the … [Read more...] about The attack on America’s free press

AP via MSNBC: WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court on Wednesday threw out part of a Texas congressional map engineered by former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, saying some of the new boundaries failed to protect minority voting rights.... … [Read more...] about SCOTUS Partially Invalidates Texas Redistricting

From now on it's no more Mr. Nice Guy:Russian President Vladimir Putin told his country's security services to find and kill the people responsible for the deaths of four Russian diplomats in Iraq. Putin's order will be posted on the presidential Web site later today, an official in the Kremlin's press service said by telephone in Moscow, declining to be named.You can't get … [Read more...] about Terrorists May Regret Crossing Putin

Sent to us:Forty-three percent of all people polled in the U.S. say that immigration a serious problem. The other 57percent said, "No hablo inglÈs" … [Read more...] about Immigration Factoid From A Reader

Senator Specter hauled an administration official (this time it was Michelle E. Boardman, deputy assistant attorney general in the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel) before the Judiciary Committee yesterday to sit and take a lambasting for the Administration's use of "signing statements" as an m.o. to get around provisions of the law they just don't like (I've … [Read more...] about Judiciary Committee Tackles Signing Statements