The US Senate Foreign Relations Committee voted 16-2 to give a thumping majority support to the US-India nuclear cooperation accord on Thursday, a major step toward approval of the unprecedented deal. The debate preceding the vote lasted almost 90 minutes. This comes two days after the House of Representatives' International Relations Committee approved a similar measure. The … [Read more...] about India-US Nuclear Deal: Another Big Win in Senate Vote

...but it returns to full strength. … [Read more...] about A Controversial Blog Is Attacked By “Cyberspace Terrorists”

THIS JUST IN from investigative reporter Andy Borowitz:BUSH OPPOSES MARRIAGE BETWEEN A MAN AND A FLAG Constitutional Amendment Could Become Hot-Button Issue for November In what many political observers believe could become an effective wedge issue in the 2006 midterm elections, President George W. Bush today proposed a constitutional amendment banning marriage between a man … [Read more...] about THIS JUST IN! Bush’s Latest On The Flag

Read this. … [Read more...] about Does Barbara Walters Have A “Star Complex”?

My latest column is up on the Unity08 website: it touches on polarization, Joe Scarborough, the New York Times, the New Republic, Daily Kos - and it is quite blunt. … [Read more...] about Declaring Independence from the Party Line

Can you guess where it is? It's here... … [Read more...] about The Most Perilous Place In The World To Be A Journalist

Dr. Steven Taylor at PoliBlog makes an important point regarding the Hamden decision by the Supreme Court that he promises to explore in more detail later: However, I would note the following from Article VI of the Constitution of the United States of American which notes (in what is know as the “Supremacy Clauseâ€?): This Constitution, and the Laws of the United States … [Read more...] about What does “Constitutional” really mean? The devil is in the details

Why Peter Beinart has the right idea about how to win the war on terror. … [Read more...] about Show Our Strengths

In a most serious indictment of the Bush adminsitration, the US Supreme Court today blocked the trial of Guantanamo Bay prisoners in special military courts, ruling that the process drawn up by the Bush Administration broke both American law and the Geneva Conventions. This judgement may expose the Bush administration to the charges of "war crimes". The US Supreme Court has … [Read more...] about “Bush Administration Violated Geneva Conventions”: US Supreme Court

Our own Jeremy Dibbell has done some outstanding work on the gerrymandering/redistricting story, both here and at Charging RINO, and I highly recommend his post in response to yesterday's SCOTUS ruling in League of United Latin American Citizens v. Perry. My own take is below. ********** The Supreme Court yesterday "upheld almost all of Texas' Republican-friendly U.S. House … [Read more...] about Gerrymandering unlimited: Partisanship, redistricting, and the corruption of American democracy

Two recent reports - one by the World Bank and the other in Time Magazine - attempt to draw a profile of a land that can fox the profoundest of pundits in search of parameters for assessing the country’s economic health now, as also in the foreseeable future. Sample this: 1) World Development Indicators (WDI), published annually by the World Bank, states that India's per … [Read more...] about India through the Eyes of World Bank and Time Magazine

One of the blogs at ZDNet.com points out something I have been aware of for quite some time, but haven't posted upon. Perhaps I should start making some noise. From Tom Foremski: IMHO, "US chip leadership is in trouble - but business is good": The bad news is that US is likely to lose its lead in chip manufacturing expertise and that could be catastrophic to the US economy. … [Read more...] about For want of a nail…

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